First U Book Club: April 14
We will meet on Monday, April 14 at 6pm in the library to discuss Hijab Butch Blues. Our next book will be 100 Years of Solitude. Please consider joining us for a lively discussion

Office Administrator Away April 12-20
Barbara Creasy will be away from the office this coming week. It is okay to email, but it will not be addressed until she returns. For more urgent emails, contact the Volunteer Desk.

A New Book of Interest
One of our members has just joined the ranks of First U authors.  His book, LOONERICKS, published by Butler Books prompts readers to draw cartoons based on his silly limericks.  For more information, contact the office.

CLCM Capital Campaign: A Noble Cause@Noble Funk April 13
Central Pres’ partnership with Central Louisville Community Ministry has been strong for over 50 years…and it’s time to celebrate. Our Annual Campaign is underway, and we invite you participate in several ways: make a donation on our website or mail a check; buy a raffle ticket for 3 great prize packages, and come join us for nibbles drinks and fellowship on April 13, 922 S 2nd St at A Noble Cause@Noble Funk, starting at 12:30pm. Raffle tickets for a fantastic 3-day getaway in a 5 bedroom home in Innsbrook Golf Resort (Helen, GA), a Heaven Hill bourbon package and a picnic/wine package are available to view and purchase here.

Calling All Poets!
We will be honoring verse on May 25 during the service, “Imagination: the Gift of Poetry.” During this service, a handful of poets from our very own congregation will be sharing their poems. So if you, too, have a small poem you have written we encourage you to spread your wings and share it with your welcoming First U community at a Poetry Slam during the coffee hour after the service! If you would rather have someone else do the public speaking, consider asking a friend to read your poem aloud for you. Seriously consider reciting your work, though- poetry comes alive when shared aloud!

If you have a poem already written or can get one ready for the last weekend of May, RSVP for the Poetry Slam! Please time yourself speaking the poem aloud, and send your RSVP and the timed length of the poem to the office. We’re looking for pieces that are 3 to 5 minutes long, but please email to ask any questions.

Many of us presently are undergoing the upending of values and expectations in our culture as we watch chaos unfolding daily.

How do we live with hope and care when everything is flying apart?  And how do we discern when to let the upending continue, and when to try and stop it?  We welcome back our former Interim Pastor, Rev. Dr. Kathy Hurt, to lead this service.

For the zoom link, Click here. The Meeting ID is 4508929882 if you can’t attend in person.  You will not need a password. Contact the volunteer desk if you have trouble getting online.

In this worship service, we will celebrate Easter as we learn more about the historical and theological significance of one, Jesus of Nazareth. Historically, Houston Smith, renowned world religion scholar and author of The World’s Religions says this about the actual biographical details we have about Jesus. They are meager: He was born in Palestine, probably around 4 BC, and grew up in Nazareth. He was baptized [an ancient Jewish rite] by a prophet, John, who was electrifying the region with his proclamation of God’s coming [kingdom]. In this early 30s he had a teaching and healing career that lasted between one and three years. In time, he incurred…the suspicion of Rome, which led to his crucifixion.

Join us for this worship service in which we explore how Jesus became Christ became Superstar. Also, we will have our traditional Easter Egg Hunt after the service.

With a nod to the documentary, Call Of The Forest – The Forgotten Wisdom Of Trees, featuring scientist and writer Diana Beresford-Kroeger, we will explore our evolutionary and spiritual connection to trees in honor of this month’s celebration of Earth Day. With our congregation’s 7th Principle Team, we will also investigate the actions, small and large, we can take to bring balance to our planet’s eco-system.

Weather permitting, we will participate with our neighbors, Calvary Episcopal Church, in a Blessing for Trees. The Blessing will take place in our parking lot during the worship service. Hence, wear comfortable shoes. Folks can also remain in the sanctuary’s silence or view the Blessing from the entryway.

April 13, 2025 – Central Louisville Community Ministry and First U
First Unitarian is one of the ten member congregations that support Central Louisville Community Ministries (CLCM), and our membership is one of the many ways this congregation lives out its values in the world.  Linette Lowe, Executive Director of CLCM, will invite us to examine how First U helps meet the needs of our central Louisville neighborhood, what community ministry is, and how CLCM and the many First U members involved there are resisting the cycle of need in our community.

April 20, 2025 – Seventh Principle: An Earth Day Experience
The Seventh Principle team at First U is going to help us honor Earth Day and our UU values by exploring why, in a world full of political turmoil, we cannot afford to disconnect from our values that emphasize the environment, our planet, our ecosystem, and the entire interconnected web of existence.

April 27, 2025 – Chalice Circle One-Time Sampler (Joy)
Are you still curious about our small group ministry program, “Chalice Circles,” and don’t know enough about it to commit to it? Are you uninterested in commitments but would still like to take it out for a test drive? If you have any curiosity about small group ministry and are not already active in a Chalice Circle, join us for a one-time, no obligation 45 minute session on this month’s worship theme, “Joy.” (If you’re in a circle and want to join, you’re welcome as long as there’s room.)

LCAN Information
The Louisville Climate Action Network shares tips and offers educational programs and workshops, provides energy-efficiency services to other Louisville-area nonprofit organizations and advocates for smarter public policies—all to cut carbon pollution and costs. Check it out here.  From the Seventh Principle Team           

LaCasita Center
La Casita Center provides support and empowerment based on the needs of the community, using a ground-up strategy to help the Latinx community access services and overcome barriers. Volunteers and donations of diapers, food and clothing are needed and welcomed. They are located near the church at 223 E. Magnolia Avenue, 40208. Reach them by phone (502) 322-4036, by email, or on the web. For more information, to read their monthly newsletter, or to sign up to receive the newsletter directly, click here.