OUUC Weekly Update 4-12-22
News from the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Worship Service April 17 at 10:00 am - online and in-person
“Practice Resurrection” – Rev. Mary Gear
OUUC Sunday Morning Service
https://zoom.us/j/873210124?pwd=U21qdmwxcTNyaE1LQ0xlU0MwM3VMQT09
Meeting ID: 873 210 124
Password: 995142
Dial +1 253 215 8782
See recordings of online services here.
No RSVP is required.
Thursday Evening Spiritual Practice - online and in-person
This Thursday evening spiritual practice is offered by Rev. Carol McKinley and Troy Fisher. It’s music, words, and silence for us to catch our breath during the week. Join them at 7:00 pm on Zoom or in the sanctuary.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82994463887?pwd=TkRaOTNWekdTaEx4VENiL0VoVjRPdz09
Meeting ID: 829 9446 3887
Passcode: 548890
Easter Egg Hunt
A Community Inquiry - Sign Up
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation will gather together with members and supporters of our larger community to celebrate the 70th anniversary of OUUC and the Installation of our Settled Minister, Reverend Mary Gear. In the month of April, we are asking gatherings of the OUUC to consider what it means to have a Covenanted relationship with our installed minister.
Read the reflection questions, see the meeting schedule, and RSVP here.
COVID Phases
Auction 2022: We Are Building a New Way
Our vital annual fundraiser is hybrid this year! We will have both a full week (May 7-15) to bid on the catalog of enticing items, services, and events online, AND an in-person auction dinner and games on May 14th at Indian Summer. This auction will have far-reaching effects--not only supporting OUUC’s current needs and building community but also extending our goodwill by contributing to Ukrainian relief through the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Come one, come all!
But first…April is donations month! Now is the time to brainstorm your unique contribution to the catalog. Add your donation(s) here and find Item Donations at the top, far right. The deadline is May 1, but don’t wait!
Some proven past ideas to consider:
Dinners such as Beer, Bocce & BBQ; Backyard Bash (cookout and lawn games); Picnic in the Park; Mexican Fiesta; Pool Party; or Game Night. Services such as painting a room; yard work; planting a flower bed; art lessons or present wrapping. Interests or skills you’d like to share: perhaps a guided canoe or kayak trip, day hike or scenic drive; rides to and from Sea-Tac; a fishing trip; poker night; homemade cakes, pies, or holiday cookies.
Need help? We can brainstorm with you, and even enter items into the system for you. Please contact Melanie Ransom.
Let’s Celebrate Sara’s Ordination on May 22!
Sara Lewis, our very own Lead for the Community and Faith Development Ministry and beloved OUUC DRE, was ordained as an Interfaith Chaplain by The Chaplaincy Institute of Berkeley, California on April 9. It’s time to CELEBRATE! On the afternoon of May 22, after the congregational meeting and between 2:00 and 4:00 pm, come applaud Rev. Sara for her success and thank her for her dedication to OUUC. There will be cake, a basket for you to leave congratulatory cards in, and, at 3:00 pm, a special presentation of gifts from Sara’s co-workers and the Congregation. The event will be held outside, weather and pandemic permitting.
Thurston’s Hunger Walk 2022
The fundraising walk evolved from 30+ years of our community’s “Crop Walk,” to this year’s magnificent 2022 walk-to-be! It will be at the lovely track at St. Martin’s University. Plan to walk the walk and talk the talk on Sunday, May 1, starting sharply at 3:00 pm. Participants will be encouraged to walk as much or as little as they like. You'll be raising much-needed funds to help two local agencies – folks that are working so hard under such difficult circumstances to keep our hungry neighbors fed: The Thurston County Food Bank and The Community Kitchen overseen by Catholic Community Services. Easily/safely donate online here, then scroll down to OUUC. Last year OUUC raised $2,520 for The Hunger Walk. Let’s see if we can match that or even reach $2,800 this year.
Partner Church History
In preparation for our annual OUUC Partner Church service on Sunday. May 22, the OUUC Partner Church Team would like to share a history of our OUUC Partnership with Kissolymos. PARTNER CHURCH HISTORY--Part 1: After World War II the UUA began developing Partner Church connections with Unitarian Churches in the Transylvanian area of Romania. Since 1994, OUUC has shared a partnership with the Unitarian Church in the farming village of Kissolymos, (Transylvania) Romania. Since that time this congregation has been in communication with the Kissolymos ministers and congregation, assisted church repairs financially, organized visits to the village, and been hosted by Kissolymos congregational members and offered student scholarships.
Board of Trustees News
The Board of Trustees meets on April 14, at 7:00 pm. Contact Board Member, Rich Kalman for information.
Please view the April Board of Trustees message below.
Contribute to OUUC’s 70th Anniversary Time Capsule on May 1!
What would you like to say to 2032 OUUC? Join us on May 1, between 2:00-4:00 pm, for a party in the church parking lot and help assemble the 70th OUUC Anniversary Time Capsule. Bring your mementos from home--a favorite poem, quotation, picture, or writing, or use materials we’ll have there, to express your hopes for the future and how best to make them come true for OUUC. There will even be a “video booth” for recording your messages for posterity. All these items will become part of a display at the 70th Anniversary/Rev. Mary’s Installation celebration on June 4 and then will be included in the ten-year OUUC time capsule, marked “Don’t Open Until 2032.” Join your friends for live music, cookies and lemonade, and fun to be had by all! (The event will be moved indoors in case of inclement weather.) Contact Tim Ransom, Lee Doyle, or Emily Ray if you have any questions.
Film Viewing and Discussion
The OUUC Environmental Action Team invites you to a film viewing and discussion. We have the opportunity to watch an award-winning movie this month: NEWTOK. Water will erase Newtok, Alaska. Built on a delta at the edge of the Bering Sea, the tiny Yup'ik village has been dealing with melting permafrost, river erosion, and decaying infrastructure for decades. To keep their culture and community intact, the 360 Yup'ik residents must relocate their entire village to stable ground upriver while facing a federal government that has failed to take appropriate action to combat climate change. In moving their village, they will become some of America's first 21st-century climate refugees. It is a film about a village seeking justice in the face of climate disaster. Read more....
Challenges After Jail – Services in Thurston County
Politics as Religion Class
Tuesdays, April 26 and May 3 at 7:00 pm on Zoom. Have you ever wondered how our prior president won the support of many Christians who appear to have taken a U-turn on their tenets? We will explore how politics have become the new religion. In the first class, we will study religion and the far-right movement in America. In the second class, we will look at the global far-right religious movement indicating fascism is on the rise. We will discuss what is happening in our country and the world. Kristen Howard spent over two years studying politics, religion, and politics as religion and wrote several academic papers on the topics. She has a Master of Education and is working on a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change. Sign up.
Celebration of life for Evelyn Greenberg – Friday, April 29 at 1:00 pm, online and in-person. We will inter both Ruth Weber’s and Evelyn Greenberg’s ashes immediately after. Reception to follow.
Quick Notes
Church Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
On Wednesdays April 20 and 27, as we do each third and fourth Wednesday of the month, OUUC volunteers provide the dinner for the 60 guests who live in the Unity Commons Shelter and shelf-stable foods for the students who receive the food bank's weekend backpacks of food. Needed at the Shelter are main and side dishes to serve between 8 and ten, and shelf-stable foods for the backpacks. To volunteer please call Jo Ann Young.
Save the Dates:
*In-person dinner and auction on Saturday, May 14 at the Indian Summer Golf and Country Club.
*OUUC 70th Anniversary and Installation of Rev. Mary Gear on Saturday, June 4 at 2:00 pm at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.
*Family Fun Picnic at Millersylvania on August 27.
In the Larger Community
Learn more about the following events and others here.
Register for UUA General Assembly, June 22-26.
Sunday, April 24, 1:00-3:00 pm, Learning Right Relations presents "We Are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth."
Interfaith Earth Day Service - April 23 at 1:00 at Woodruff Park, 1500 Harrison Ave NW. Please join this community event that will feature voices from various spiritual and religious traditions reflecting on the theme of listening to our relationship with Earth.
Chalice Lighters News - Help our neighbor congregations grow - Spring Call.
Pursuing Justice: The Roles of Reparations and Reconciliation - Join Vashon Island Unitarian Fellowship (VIUF) for this 6-week exploration of reparations - the bridge between truth and reconciliation.
Read more....
About Us
Sara Lewis, Director of Community and Faith Development
Darlene Sarkela, Congregational Administrator
Marie Arensmeyer, Facilities Manager
Anissa Bentlemsani, Religious Education Assistant
Office Hours
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Email: liberalfaith@ouuc.org
Website: http://ouuc.org
Location: 2315 Division Street Northwest, Olympia, WA, United States
Phone: 360-634-2005
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OlympiaUUC/
Twitter: @OlyUUC