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Having trouble viewing this message? Scroll to the bottom & click the link to view this email online. The newsletter is long and may get clipped. Please scroll down to the bottom and check for a "view entire message" notice to make sure you see all of the content.
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Board & HR Committee Listening Sessions
Sundays, January 18 & 25, 12:30 pm
If you want to hear more or have questions about the upcoming staffing changes at the Fellowship, come to one of these sessions. They will be hosted by our HR Committee and Governing Board, and one of our co-ministers will be in attendance. The information about the staffing changes can be found in the All Fellowship Email sent on Jan. 13, or click here.
These sessions will be held in-person and virtually. To join online, use the same link as the Sunday service that day.
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Ecumenical Prayer Service January 19
Rev. Christina will participate in Ecumenical Prayer Service at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Appleton.
A new connection is born! Thanks to our Crossing Paths RE trip to visit St. Mary's Catholic Church, they reached out to us to ask if we could join them for their ecumenical (meaning Christian of all types) prayer service next Monday, Jan. 19 from 6:00-7:00 pm. This service is in honor of the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Rev. Christina agreed to participate in the event on behalf of our Unitarian Universalist Christians. St. Mary's leadership expressed that they are excited to work with our UU Fellowship because of our open-minded, LGBTQ+ affirming, and justice-focused approach to faith.
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You Are Not Alone - Dinner & Event
Wednesday, January 21, 6:00 pm
Support for all of life’s chaos: addiction, illness, transition, grief, political angst, caregiving, and more. We will gather for dinner and then have time for discussion, support, and some practical skill-building around resilience and self-care. Depending on the response to this event, we will hopefully host a gathering like this on an ongoing basis. Join us!
Please RSVP to Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy at christina@fvuuf.org by January 18 so we can plan appropriately for dinner. Let her know how many people will join you and any dietary restrictions.
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Rising Together 2026: Investing in Liberation
Saturday, January 24th, 2026
9:00 am – 3:00 pm at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Are you rethinking your understanding of what freedom and safety mean in our world today? Are you wondering how to imagine a liberated future where we invest in each other rather than policing, prisons, and immigration enforcement? Are you curious about how abolition movements are grounded in spiritual work? Join us for Rising Together 2026: Investing in Liberation!
The event is free, open to the community, and includes a light breakfast, snacks, lunch, and childcare. We are also hoping to offer home hospitality connections for anyone who is traveling from out of state. Please register by January 8th if you’d like to buy a t-shirt, or at least by January 20th to help us plan for food and other logistics!
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Sunday, January 18
• 9:00 am Central Time in-person
informal coffeehouse-style service with conversation
• 11:00 am Central Time in-person & livestream traditional service with sermon
Until We Are All Free: Exploring How to “Get Free” Using a UU Prison Ministry and Prisoner Solidarity Lens by Rev. Allison Farnum
Rev. Allison Farnum (she/her/ella) is the Director and Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of IL, and a lifelong Unitarian Universalist living in Evanston, IL. She is dedicated to the vision of collective liberation, one mindful act of care at a time.
• Watch past sermons on our YouTube channel.
• Services details HERE
• See our website HERE for information about religious exploration programs for children and youth.
• Share the Plate: In January, we share the plate between the Fellowship and ESTHER Interfaith Social Justice.
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January Banner in the Sanctuary
Three volcanoes stand in the background. To the left, an active one. In the center, a newly dormant one with lava hardening, and a 'greening' one on the right. A prison stands in front of the active one, fueled by the prison-industrial complex (dollars flowing in). The hot lava descending is arrested by the spiritually based hardening lava, which impedes and ultimately breaks down prison bars. Orange prison guards attempt to hold prisoners in, but as the bars break, people (green) escape, to be met by people with outstretched arms coming from the greening volcano.
You may need to approach the banner to take in all the details. The banner for January is created by Margaret Alexander.
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Music Ministry
Hello friends, old and new! Our music programs are rolling, and we hope you'll join us! If you have questions or want to see the schedule of rehearsals, you can look at our Music Ministry page HERE or contact Tam Masters at tam@fvuuf.org - they'll point you in the right direction. If you want to be involved, let us know, HERE.
- January 18 - 10:00 am, mUUse Rehearsal, 11:00 am mUUse performance
- January 25 - 10:00 am Fellowship Choir Rehearsal, 11:00 am Fellowship Choir performance
For information about our Music Ministries and the upcoming schedule, click the button:
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Middle Hour
Learning, Connection & Fun for All Ages at 10:10 am on Sunday Mornings.
Sunday, January 18:
- Learning More About Prison Ministry with Rev. Allison Farnum, today’s guest preacher. Rev. Allison (she/her/ella) is the director of the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois.
Click the button to see what's coming up, including the Povery by America book discussion on February 22:
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Blood Drive - February 1
Our Fellowship is sponsoring a blood drive! On Sunday, February 1st, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, The Community Blood Center (CBC) will bring its bloodmobile to our parking lot. CBC employees and Fellowship members Rafe School and Willow Gallagher are also offering tiered incentives to fill all 24 of our appointments. Rafe will dye their hair whatever color the RE kids pick for 10 donations. Willow will take a whipped cream pie to the face for 20 donations. If all 24 appointments are filled, Rafe and Willow will write and sing a song about blood donation for the congregation. To sign up, you can use the QR code on our posters, speak to either Rafe or Willow, or call CBC at 800-280-4102 and ask to be scheduled for our drive.
There is no substitute for human blood--your donation saves lives.
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UU the Vote - January 18
Funding crisis in public education. Please stop by the UU The Vote table in the Fellowship Hall this Sunday, January 18 to learn more about public school funding and the significant funding deficit for many local schools. You can also learn more about the general funding crisis HERE.
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Immigration Response: How to Help
After listening to Rev. Christina’s very powerful sermon last Sunday, I would like to share a little about what our Fellowship has been able to do in helping people seeking a safer life here in the United States. This work is done without much public notice for obvious reasons of keeping our friends as safe as possible. While we have declared our Fellowship as a sanctuary church, we have also done much more. READ MORE
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 | Click the image to view the Justice Hub
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Justice Hub
Check out the Justice Hub, featuring an easy-to-use calendar! Each event on the calendar includes time, location, and program details to help you learn more about how to get engaged with our wider community.
When you click on an event, at the bottom of the description, you can click “Copy to my calendar” to add the event to your calendar and never miss a chance to act courageously for justice in our world.
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SoUUper Bowl II! - Saturday, February 7, 5:00 pm
Our Fellowship will be holding its second annual SoUUper Bowl Competition. This year it falls on the day before the NFL Super Bowl!
There will be four categories this year: Chili, Vegetarian/ Vegan, Kids’ Creations, and Soups that don’t fit into the above categories.
For SoUUp Providers, competing is free. Please sign up using this link, or on the sign-up sheet in the Fellowship Hall. For SoUUp Tasters: For $5.00 (cash only please), you will have a chance to taste several soups and vote for your favorite!
We will also need people to bring bread, salad, and desserts, but only soups will be judged. You can use the same sign-up link as above.
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Cabaret - Saturday, February 21, doors at 6:30 and show at 7:00 pm
Come on down! A fabulous Fellowship evening of music, humor, talent and community. This year our annual Cabaret will have a game-show theme with a chance for audience participation and prizes!
Sign up at the table in the Fellowship Hall to offer your talent, bring food, or help out in various ways. Questions? Contact Mary at gerlachmz@gmail.com.
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Check out the Events & News website page for all of our upcoming events:
- January 18 - Governing Board & HR Committee Listening Session
- January 19 - Ecumenical Prayer Service
- January 21- You Are Not Alone, Dinner & Event
- January 24 - Rising Together 2026
- February 1 - Blood Drive
- February 7 - SoUUper Bowl II
- February 15 - Poetry as a Spiritual Path
- February 21 - Cabaret
- March 1 - Tell Me More
- March 7 - Soup Saturday & PokUUr (UU Poker) Night
- March 14-15 - Spring Weekend Camp - "Blue Boat Home"
- March 26 - Book Discussion - The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- April 18 - "Waddle This Way!" All-Ages Dance Party
- April 19 - "Pop-Up" Membership Ceremony
- April 19 - Community Art Event
- August 2 - Fellowship Picnic at Smith Park
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| | Religious Exploration - Children & Youth
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Volunteers Wanted: Spring Weekend Camp (March 14–15, 2026)
Come be part of the fun at Blue Boat Home! We’re looking for friendly volunteer camp counselors and workshop leaders for a joyful, hands-on weekend filled with science, nature, and curiosity. Whether you enjoy working with kids, exploring science, making art, or simply helping to build a caring community, there's a place for you. Come join us on our Blue Boat Home spring weekend camp! Contact Kim Hartman at kim@fvuuf.org if you can volunteer.
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Discovery and Friendship Happen Every Week! Join us in our Religious Exploration Classes
Our Religious Exploration programs spark curiosity, friendship, and spiritual growth. Each week, kids and teens explore big ideas, make friends, and practice living with compassion and purpose as they grow into our UU values — together.
There’s a place for every young seeker to connect and grow! Click here for information about each of our programs, including nursery, children’s Sunday Religious Exploration, and our teen programs: Crossing Paths, Being a Teen, and Our Whole Lives.
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Office Closed
The Fellowship office will be closed on Monday, January 19, in observance of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
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The Engagement Hub team wants to feature your team or group on a Sunday morning so you can get the word out to the Fellowship community about who you are, what you do, and how to get involved. Use the form link below to choose a Sunday, and then have at least one person from your group or team available to light the chalice at each service (9 & 11 am, no speaking required! We'll just call you up to light the flame). You'll also host the Connection Corner table in the Fellowship Hall during Middle Hour (10 am) that same day, giving you a chance to share information, activities, or just talk to people!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN YOUR TEAM OR GROUP UP FOR A SUNDAY!
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Inclement Weather Policy
Wisconsin winter is upon us, and it is never easy to predict when weather conditions will be severe enough to warrant closing the Fellowship or cancelling Sunday services. Please click the button below for details about our inclement weather procedures.
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Care and Support
To submit a Joy or Concern, fill out the form on our website or contact Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, Co-Minister, at christina@fvuuf.org or 920-731-0849. For pastoral emergencies, call 920-383-1565.
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