Midweek UUpdate 6/25/25

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FYI 
 

While We’re Between Ministers: Need Anything?
During our time in between ministers (next few weeks), please contact the office if you have questions regarding church.
 

Lyman T. Johnson Award Dinner: Honoring Bill Allison
Saturday, June 28 at 6:00pm at First U
Join the Louisville Democratic Socialists of America as they honor our own Bill Allison, Civil Rights and Labor Attorney and former Alderman. Go to the website for ticket information.
 

Kids RE This Summer – 11am Sundays
All Ages Children’s Religious Exploration will continue through the summer, but instead of classes we will focus on fun and delight.  We will start out in the service and then leave after the Moment for All Ages. Children in the nursery will join us as appropriate. Let Loren know if you want to help organize one of these days.

This Sunday, build and decorate your own kite to take home! We will meet in the lobby. Click here to see the rest of the summer schedule.
 

Justice News and Topics Below (several are new) 
  • Gospel Drag Show
  • The Anti-Racism Challenge
  • CLCM School Supply Drive
  • Gift Cards for Refugees
 

Coffee Hour Volunteers
Are you interested in volunteering beginning in July? If so, please contact the office.  We’re looking for any volunteers to setup and serve Coffee Hour after service. Would you rather donate food or beverages? Maybe both!!

Join Us Sunday, June 29, at 11:00am

 
The King’s Chapel
Speaker:
Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk
She will speak to us virtually via a message recorded during the UUA General Assembly worship service held in Baltimore. In addition to her work at Meadville Lombard Theological School, Rev. Kirk is currently the Program Minister (part-time) at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the largest UU churches in the world with over two thousand members.

Except for the virtual speaker for the sermon, the rest of our service will be live in person from and involving the people of First U, and also via zoom.
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.

Upcoming Services
 
July 6

Building Personal and
Collective Resilience
for Chaotic Times
Speaker: Mark Steiner
Maintaining some sense of control, especially when the world around us seems particularly chaotic, is more than a deep seated desire, it is essential if we are to maintain vibrancy, meaning and joy.  And while we can seldom control the world around us, we can, to varying degrees, have significant say in how we respond to it. In this talk we will explore practical choices we can make, and actions we can take, to help ensure we thrive amid these strange and challenging times.
 
Mark Steiner has spoken at First U many times in the past. Lately, he has been offering programs and presentations designed to strengthen our connections with each other and the natural world for over 3 decades.
He’s an official facilitator of Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects and seeks to live out poet Mary Oliver’s Instructions for Living a Life: Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell About It.

RE: Religious Exploration
10am: Adult Religious Exploration   
Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30
Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)
Learn About More Upcoming RE Opportunities Here
 

Adult RE
This week begins our much lighter, more conversational “summer” lineup for our 10 am Adult Religious Exploration sessions. Sometimes we’ll be watching a Ted Talk and discussing it. On June 29, we will continue discussing the Anti-Racism Challenge. (see below)
 

Hey Kids!!!  All Ages Religious Exploration will continue through the summer. But instead of classes we will focus on fun and delight.

Sundays 11- 12   Most Sundays, we will start out in the service and then leave after the Moment for All Ages. Children in the nursery will join us as appropriate. Let me know if you want to help organize one of these days.  (Children will meet in the lobby before church on June 29.)

  • JUNE 29: Build a Kite Day (Build and decorate your own kite to take home)
  • JULY 06: Painting Day (Body portraits, chalk murals, finger painting. It will get messy.)
  • JULY 13: Water Day (Prepare to get wet! Bring a towel and extra clothes!)
  • JULY 20: Board Game Day (A wide assortment of games for all ages)
  • JULY 27: Build a Fort Day (We’ll build a fort in the kindergarten room and have a spooky time)
  • AUGUST 3: Mask Making (Making masks of all sort and playing with them)
  • AUGUST 10: Critter Clay Day (We’ll build all sorts of creatures in clay)
  • AUGUST 17: Cooking Day (Fruit Salad and Cookies and who knows what)
  • AUGUST 24: Theater Games (Because why wouldn’t we?)
  • AUGUST 31: Water Day (It’s Water Communion Day!)

Justice Information
 

Save the Date! Gospel Drag Show Saturday June 28
The third annual Drag Me to Church: A Gospel Drag Show will be coming to Calvary on Saturday June 28th, 2025. Open to everyone, reception at 6 pm, show begins at 7 pm. Donations welcome, all proceeds benefit the Calvary Food Pantry.
 

Request of Gift Cards from Kentucky Refugee Ministries
Kentucky Refugee Ministries, a local organization that resettles refugees and provides services to immigrants, is currently asking for donations of gift cards.  These cards are a great help to immigrants who are experiencing a slowdown in finding employment caused by employers’ reluctance to hire immigrants under this new Administration. The grants KRM once had access to for gift card aid has dried up due to federal withdrawal of funds.  Gift cards to Aldi, Walmart, Kroger, or Visa gift cards in $50 donations would be appreciated and can be delivered to KRM, attn. Joseph Caminiti: 969-B Cherokee Rd, Louisville, KY 40204.
 

CLCM Back to School Supplies Drive
Central Louisville Community Ministries is ready to begin collecting school supplies in time for back-to-school in early August. Last year CLCM sent two carloads of supplies to our neighborhood schools–let’s see if we can top that! Please spread
the word and drop off your supplies at our office any time between now and July 30.
Here’s what we need:
10-packs of pencils
Pens
Scissors
Spiral notebooks
Two-pocket folders
Chart paper
Disinfecting wipes
Tissues
Backpacks
Boxes of 24 crayons
Packs of colored pencils
Packs of post-it notes
Packs of at least 8 washable markers
3-packs of highlighters
Packs dry-erase markers
Dry-erase student boards
3-packs glue sticks
Packs of loose-leaf filler paper
Primary lined composition notebooks
Please drop off at the CLCM office M-Th between 9:30 and 1:00 BEFORE Wednesday, July 30.
 

The Anti-Racism Challenge (ARC)
Members of the First Unitarian community are taking the Anti-Racism Challenge (ARC)! For four weeks starting July 4th, we will have the opportunity to take part in anti-racism activities that help us notice racism in our lives and challenge it. Past ARCs have included watching movies, attending music events, and visiting art exhibits featuring local Black artists (to name a few). These opportunities lend themselves to fellowship with one another. You don’t not have to be a signed member of the community to join!

We would like to thank Listen, Learn, Act, the organization hosting the ARC, for this opportunity. To learn more, please click here. We will be discussing our participation in the ARC in the church library on Sunday, June 29 at 10am. We would love to see you there!
 
ICE Detention Protest
Join together outside the jail to protest ICE detentions at the Clark County Law Enforcement Center, 501 E Court Avenue, Jeffersonville, IN.