Midweek UUpdate 6/4/25

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FYI 
 

Save the Date: Pride Parade June 21
 

Bring a Flower Sunday
This Sunday is Flower Communion Sunday.
Bring Bread Sunday, June 15
During Rev. Mary Ann’s farewell service, we’ll be sharing bread.
 

Book Club: Monday, June 9
We will meet in the library at 6pm to discuss “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi  Coates. All are welcome.
 

A Call for Cloth Napkins!
Every so often, the cloth napkins at church go rogue. They accidentally get thrown away. They get stained beyond repair.  And so our inventory grows low.  We’re in need of more donated cloth napkins for use with our Sunday lunch, which reduces our environmental footprint by reducing waste going to the landfill. If YOU have some extra cloth napkins you can donate to First U, please bring them and leave them on the coffee/dessert table in the social hall.
 

Save the Date: Wednesday, June 11 CLCM Community Meeting
Central Louisville Community Ministries will be hosting a Community Meeting on Wednesday, June 11, beginning 5:30pm at Calvary Episcopal Church (821 S 4th St).  Have you heard about CLCM but curious to know more? This meeting is for YOU, and bring a friend! Hear updates and learn how you can engage. Refreshments served, and plenty of free parking is available.
 

Housing Leads Needed
A church member is seeking to rent a studio apartment, or equivalent housing, asap. He is on a fixed (SS) income and has a strict budget, including utilities. Contact the office for more information.
Investing in a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Future
To make a pledge for for the next fiscal year (July1-June 30), you may pledge online here. Thank you for all your generosity in all the ways you give throughout the year. The funds you pledge now will fund our ministry for the church year 2025 – 2026.

Join Us Sunday, June 8 at 11:00am
 
A Day of Welcome: Annual
Flower Communion Ceremony 
Speakers:
Reverend Liz Weber and
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Join us as we welcome the congregation’s New Minister, Reverend Liz Weber. Reverend Liz will join Interim Minister, Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, for our  Annual Flower Communion Ceremony–a Unitarian Universalist ritual that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Mája Čapek, Norbert’s widow. In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower.

Each person places a flower on the altar or in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, and they’re redistributed. Each person takes home a different flower than the one they brought. We will have extra flowers for first-time visitors or if you forget yours.

During the worship service we will also honor our newborns and their families with a Baby Dedication. We will have a reception for Rev. Liz following the worship service. Join us for this joyous occasion of welcome and blossoms.

Remember to bring a flower to share.
 

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 after This Week
 
June 15

Let Us Break Bread Together:
A Farewell Worship Service

Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Linette Lowe
Bread is a symbol of communion and community. The breaking of bread is a sign of friendship and sharing. Join us as we say farewell to Reverend Mary Ann Macklin for her final time in our pulpit as our Interim Minister.

Reverend Mary Ann joined us in the summer of 2023. She and Linette Lowe will  collaborate to create a service that honors the relationship shared by a minister and congregation and what it means when it is time to let that go. We will have a simple reception following the service.

We invite you to bring a loaf of bread to share during the reception—any type of bread— and any additional culinary accoutrements if needed. Bring our loaf of bread to the kitchen upon arrival for the worship service.
 

June 22
All of Us or None of Us:
Real Solidarity During These Critical Times
Speaker: Kaila Adia Story, PhD

We will welcome Dr. Kaila Adia Story who will be discussing her book, The Rainbow Ain’t Never Been Enuf: On The Myth of LGBTQ+ Solidarity, and what it means to be in community and solidarity with one another without bigotry or bias.
There will be an opportunity to purchase her books after the service during Coffee Hour.
About the Speaker:
Kaila Adia Story, PhD is an associate professor in the Departments of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Pan-African Studies, as well as the Audre Lorde Endowed Chair at the University of Louisville. She is also the co-creator, co-producer, and cohost of Louisville Public Media’s Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture, and Black Gay Life, a popular award-winning podcast.
 
June 29

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.

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

Justice Information
 
Pride Parade: Saturday June 21
Mark the date for the Pride Parade here in Louisville. As has become our usual MO, we will march with All Peoples UU, starting from New Lou neighborhood and marching to the Big Four lawn.
Stay tuned for more details!
 

You are Invited: 4th Annual Drag Revival – June 5, 7-9pm 
Highlands Community Ministries, 1228 E. Breckinridge. This is a family friendly, interfaith evening to celebrate the relationship between LGBTQ+ folks and faith. Reserve FREE Tickets (thanks to Fund for the Arts and nearly a dozen houses of worship) and there’s a bake sale and freshly popped popcorn. It’s a fundraiser benefiting Camp Beacon, Kentucky’s only summer camp with the mission to create a safe, inclusive summer camp experience for LGBTQ+ kids around the state, free of charge.
 

Click here for more information.