Midweek UUpdate 8/19/26

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Proudly Progressive, Boldly Inclusive, Radically Friendly

FYI 

Children’s RE August 23:  Cooking Day II

Create goodies for a donation-based lemonade stand. Proceeds go to CLCM.

Join Us for the Peace Walk this Saturday! 

See below for information.

Justice News 

See below for many new items of interest.

The Auction is Coming!

Each year, First U has an auction that raises funds to support our church community…and is a lot of fun!  Mark your calendar now for our silent and live auction, coming on Sunday October 18 beginning after the service and a light lunch.  It’s not too early to start thinking about what you may be able to offer to the auction. Can you donate your time offering a class in a skill that you have? Babysit? Give a ride to the airport? Weed a garden? Offer a meal in your home?  Let your creativity flow, and plan to attend.  Contact the office with any questions.

Time for First U to Sign Up for a CLOUT Listening Session 

Meetings are IN-PERSON. See below for more information.

HELP – Coffee Hour Hosts

Looking for a way to get involved at church? Join our team of Coffee Hour hosts! This low key commitment is 11:50-12:45 one Sunday a month after service. If you are interested, please use our online form to sign up!

First U Book Club: See You Monday, September 14

The Book Club is taking a break in August. Join us the 2d Monday in September when we’ll be discussing The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George!

Reminder: You can still attend virtual GA Sessions for FREE

Click here for a FREE special opportunity to participate in sessions, workshops and worship services, even though GA is over in person.

Join Us This Sunday at 11:00am
 

Heal Thyself!
Speaker: Dr. Muriel Schmid
 

Access to care can be challenging, especially when we talk about reproductive care. Abortion bans, OBG-YN flight, medical misogyny, and transphobia have made it very unsafe for pregnant people as well as anyone on their reproductive journey to receive the care they need. As people of faith and people of conscience, how do we address this?
 
About Our Speaker:
Rev. Dr. Muriel Schmid

Rev. Dr. Muriel Schmid grew up in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. She was a pastor in the Swiss Reformed Church (equivalent PCUSA) for several years before coming to the U.S.
She first taught religious studies at the University of Utah and then started working for different faith-based nonprofit organizations. She joined the reproductive rights movement in Kentucky. Now she is the first Executive Director of the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (KRCRC). For now, she still splits her time between KY and MD, where her wife lives.

Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Their mission is to advocate for the right of all Kentuckians to exercise reproductive and religious freedom consistent with their beliefs. For more information on KRCRC, click here.
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.
The Nursery: The Tadpoles Room will be open for babies and pre-k  from 9:30am-12:15pm on Sundays. Registration Forms. are required for each child, including those in the nursery.

Join Us for Upcoming Services
 
August 30

Water Communion Service

Minister: Rev. Liz Weber
 

We will soon celebrate our coming together in community. This uniquely Unitarian Universalist ritual is a feminist gift to our faith. You are invited to bring a little water from a place that is sacred to you or a place where you spent time over the summer.

  • Older kids (Fox Den class) will stay in the sanctuary.
  • Younger kids (Raccoon Room) will start in the sanctuary and then go to the last summer RE session with Ms. Loren.
 

 

September 6

There are No Weeds

in My Front Yard

Speaker: Jill Sampson

 

Perspective is complicated.  Sometimes we get an idea of how things or people should be and that expectation keeps us from connecting to each other, to beauty, and to the divine. How can we step out of what we expect in order to widen our circle of welcome in this sanctuary and our community? If our goal is to build a loving, thriving community, what ideas might be in our way?

Speaker Bio: Jill Sampson is a member of First Unitarian.  Jill grew up in central Indiana but has been in Louisville now for 30+ years although you can’t tell it from her accent. She lives with an awesome spouse in dogleg-camelback-shotgun house in Germantown. She has a biochemistry degree from the Ag School at Purdue and an MBA from U of L. For fun she golfs, reads, writes, dabbles with an art journal and doom scrolls on social media. Please don’t ask her to sing.

Social Justice
 

Walk for Peace Louisville!

This Saturday, August 22 Register Here

Join us at this city-wide event to use our words, our feet, and our hope to declare that Love Transforms! This event features the creation of a Flower Mandala for Peace outside PCUSA, speakers from the community, a two mile walk in the downtown area, and a closing action. Join us as a people who envision peace and flourishing for everyone in our community and world.

Walk for Peace Louisville is sponsored by Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion and Nonviolent Louisville. 

Time for First U to Sign Up for a CLOUT Listening Session 

Meetings are IN-PERSON: Locations to be Shared
Autumn marks many beginnings – like school and our church year – and it’s also the beginning of the CLOUT (Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together) annual justice cycle, where we listen to learn which problems weigh on you and your loved ones. Gathering our stories fosters meaningful connections and it reveals how we are all stakeholders in our justice work, bound up in a spirit of mutuality.

First U is offering three opportunities to participate in this important stage in working with 26 other metro area faith communities to build Beloved Community through holding leaders accountable. Each session will run about 75 minutes.

  • Friday, September 11 at 5 pm
  • Tuesday, September 15 at 2 pm
  • Wednesday, September 23 at 6:30 pm

Each session has limited space. We can add more sessions, but if you have a preference for any of these times, do not delay. Get in touch with the office to reserve your spot or to learn more about the CLOUT listening process at First U.

Louisville Pride: Save the Date! Sign Up to Help

Louisville Pride is almost here and we’re looking for volunteers for the Glitter Booth! This event is more locally based with lots of community vendors, and our church will be co-hosting a booth with All Peoples September 12th from 11am-10pm.

If you’re interested in sharing some sparkletastic joy with us contact the office.

UU Justice Film Festival 2027 – Want To Help Make It Happen?

First U is looking for people who are interested in helping – in your own preferred way – to stage the second annual Justice Film Festival, in collaboration with the Justice Center at All Peoples. Do you want to help select films for the early 2027 festival? Do you want to help acquire viewing rights? Or maybe help with publicity or put together panels for the post-viewing discussions. If you’re interested in learning more and have skill or passion to participate in some way, click here.

Support Healthcare for All: Sign Up August 30

There’s a new way to support Healthcare For All! Want to help? We will be showing people how to use this simple sign-up to support the cause at a table in the social hall during coffee hour on August 30th.

UU the Vote:  Please Join Us!

We’re writing postcards to get out the vote for the November election. Come by the Social Hall after the service, or for more information, click here.

RE: Religious Exploration
Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)
Learn More about RE Here
Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30

Adult (RE) Contact: Adult Religious Exploration

Are you curious about Adult RE? Click here
All are Welcome: Members, friends, visitors, curious people, and people lost in the building are all welcome. Check-in begins at 9:45. Class meets in the Church Library at 10am.

Children’s RE Contact: Loren Crawford

Are you curious about Children’s RE? Click here

This begins in the sanctuary at 11:00 with the Moment for Ages. They leave during the Song for the Children.
The Nursery: Tadpoles will be open for babies and pre-k  from 9:30am-12:15pm on Sundays.

Registration Forms Registration information is required for each child, including those in the nursery. They will join the older children in Summer RE as appropriate.

Summer RE for Kids!

AUGUST
  • 23: Cooking Day II: Create goodies for a donation-based lemonade stand. Proceeds go to CLCM 
  • 30: Water Day III The Last One:  It’s Water Communion Day!
September 6: RE Classes begin