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A note from Rev. Leah
Last Sunday, I preached about a hard topic. I shared that I recently became aware that the late Rev. Dr. Peter Lee Scott, the first minister to serve the Fellowship (quarter time, 1979-83), was a serial sexual predator in UU congregations before and after he served here. While a few people in our community were made uncomfortable by him, I don’t have any information that he misconducted in Appleton.
You can listen to the audio recording of the sermon HERE. If you're curious about the artistic images I showed, you can search #sashiko and #visiblemending on Instagram and check out this article.
Please be gentle with yourself if you listen or contemplate the subject of sexual misconduct. It can be upsetting whether or not we have relevant personal experience. If we do, past trauma can resurface. Let me know if you’d like to meet with a member of our care team, connect with me, or explore some resource referrals that might help support you.
We heard these words from Pema Chödrön on Sunday:
Let the hard things in life break you. Let them effect you. Let them change you. Let those hard moments inform you. Let this pain be your teacher. The experiences of your life are trying to tell you something about yourself. Don’t cop out on that. Don’t run away and hide under your covers. Lean into it. What is the lesson in the wind? What is the storm trying to tell you? What will you learn if you face it with courage? With full honesty and – lean into it.
Love,
Rev. Leah
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2020 Annual Congregational Survey
The Fellowship Governing Board and Executive Team are hoping that all of you – members and friends of the Fellowship – will participate in our annual congregational survey. The information gathered in this survey is of critical importance as we evaluate progress toward The Fellowship’s goals and identify areas in which we need to dedicate additional time and resources. Your opinion counts.
The survey includes 57 questions and may take around 15 minutes to complete. The questions are about Fellowship demographics, how we live, and our engagement with the Fellowship over the last 12 months. All responses are anonymous.
We will report on the survey results at the 2020 annual meeting. We administered the same survey last year and plan to continue asking the same questions every year so that we can track our progress over time.
The survey will be available through March.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RCKFNT9
Thank you so much for sharing your input.
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“Sharing Our Love” Stewardship Update:
We are in the midst of our annual stewardship pledge drive. As of March 1st, 149 pledge forms have been returned. This is 33% of the total number of forms that were sent out. Our goal is 100% joyful participation! Thank you to everyone who has already returned your pledge form.
We have several ways you joyfully participate! Pledge forms can be found online (HERE), or you can mail it in or return it when you come to service this weekend. Our generosity ministry team will have a table outside the sanctuary to receive your form, offer you a new one if yours is missing, or answer any questions you might have. Whatever you are able to pledge, even if it is nothing, by completing and turning in your pledge form you are helping us reach our 100% participation goal!
If you return your pledge form, you are automatically entered in the prize drawings on March 29th for Wilmar’s Chocolate gifts cards, or grand-prizes of a free night’s stay at the Copper Leaf Hotel or Bridgewood Resort Hotel!
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Upcoming Services
Sunday at 9:00 and 10:45 am
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March 8
Freedom Within Fences by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy
"Fences make great neighbors" is a folksy way of saying that our relationships are stronger when we have clear boundaries. Many people think that being a UU means total freedom-- believe, or act, however you want. But that's not true! What are the "fences" that might be part of our tradition, and our commitment to deep connections and right-relationship?
March 15
Reclaiming Faith (Part I) by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy
We're beginning our season of "Healing Religiously" this Sunday with the first of two sermons on Reclaiming Faith. These sermons are based on UU minister Daniel Kanter's book Faith for the Unbeliever. Rev. Christina is preaching this service on two of the four parts of the book: belief & trust. Rev. Jim Coakley will preach the other half on April 19 as we wrap up this theme.
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At last weekend’s services, we collected $620.94 for UU the Vote. If you missed the opportunity to contribute at services you can still contribute by dropping off or mailing a check payable to Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship with UU the Vote noted in the memo field, no later than Friday March 13, 2020. Your contribution will help the UUA support congregations and UU organizations in activating thousands of Unitarian Universalists to mobilize for electoral justice at the local, state, and national levels. Thank you for your support!
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| Religious Education
RE registration form HERE
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An Updated Education for Our Modern Community!
We are exploring some changes to the way we offer religious education to our young people in order to meet the needs of our diverse and dynamic community, bringing our Fellowship closer together across generations and interests.
Our plan is to offer lots of ways for adults to share their passions with our Fellowship’s young people, easily and without a huge time commitment! We envision creating more experiential classrooms in which children can choose their educational experience from a few options each Sunday. Classes or experiences will be connected to our Fellowship-wide themes, so the entire community can explore concepts in age appropriate settings at the same time
* Do you have a passion, hobby or skill that you would like to share?
We would love to work with you to help you bring it to our classrooms! No expertise or teaching experience required!
* Are you interested in serving our children or youth on a consistent (eg, monthly) basis?
We are also looking for people to support the RE program more broadly in an ongoing way.
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Director of Religious Education Sabbatical
Thank you all for the beautiful gift of my sabbatical during the month of March! I will be focusing on my spiritual practices and look forward to seeing you all when I return on April 1st! I will not be in communication or checking email while I am gone, so Eve Rosera (eve@fvuuf.org) and Heather Maass (heather@fvuuf.org) are acting as co-DREs in my absence. Please contact them for your needs during the month of March, but keep in mind that they have limited schedules and will be in for very limited hours during the month.
Thank you! - Kim Hartman, Director of Religious Education
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Helping Hands Soles4Souls Shoe Drive Results
Through the month of February, the Fellowship youth collected shoes to donate to Soles4Souls, an organization that donates used and new shoes to those who need them around the world. We are excited to announce that 257 pairs of shoes were collected! That translates to over 340 POUNDS of shoes! Thank you to everyone who donated and thank you to our Helping Hands RE Program for making this incredible contribution to those less fortunate possible!
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Soup Saturday - March 7
Soup’s On! Join us from 4:30-7:00(ish) on the first Saturday of the month (October – April) for soup, bread, games, and conversation. Enjoy a hot bowl of soup while you mingle and meet new people, catch up with old friends, play games, or just sit and relax. Jerry Behrendt has agreed to continue hosting a Dungeons & Dragons table for anyone interested in playing. You don’t need to bring anything but your appetite, but if you’d like to bring a crock of soup to share, please let Angie or Matt Demers know so they can plan accordingly, email angiebaby826@yahoo.com or matthew_demers@yahoo.com. Breads and desserts are welcome as well. As always, if you’d like to stay behind and help with clean-up, it would be greatly appreciated. Hope to see you soon!
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Senior Wonders
Senior Wonders will meet Tuesday, March 10 at noon. Join us for shamrock cookies to go with your lunch. Maybe there'll even be something green to drink! Bring a friend and stay for games until 3:00 if you wish. Think spring!
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Wellspring Wednesday
March 11, 6:30 pm
Music as a Spiritual Practice by Steve Sieck, Music Director
Religious practices around the world prioritize music-making one of the essential ways to build community and achieve heightened spiritual states. From monastic chant to ecstatic improvisation, from songs around a fire to praise-band hymns sung in mega-churches, music is an integral liturgical part of nearly every religious community. In this session we will explore some of the ways in which composers, faith traditions, and communities align their music and spiritual practices, as well as reflect on where UU communities might find themselves.
Dr. Stephen Sieck is Associate Professor of Music, Co-Director of Choral Studies, and chair of the Voice Department at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, and the Director of Music at the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Sign up for childcare HERE.
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The Rebirth of Gathering Circle (a UU Pagan Small Group) Led by Heather Westley
For many cultures and spiritual paths, spring is the symbol of rebirth, renewal, and starting over. So what a perfect time to "resurrect" this small group! I started Gathering Circle in 2006 when coming out as a Pagan was more challenging and the local Pagan community was starting to be more visible in the Fox Valley. I am forever grateful to this Fellowship for its support and the amazing people I met along the way for the seven years the group was active. I will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of my first pagan ritual this spring, and it reminded me of how important Gathering Circle was in making friendships, growing my spirituality, and sharing that with the greater Fellowship. If you currently are on a Pagan path, or seeking to understand more about Paganism, please join us on 4th Mondays from 6:30-8:00 pm.
Our upcoming topics are:
March 23 - What's your Story? (Sharing our journey to Pagan spirituality)
April 27th - How do you celebrate? (The Wheel of the Year and Lunar Rituals)
May 25th - Summer Reading List (Sharing a few favorite Pagan books)
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Immigration Justice
The Immigration Justice Committee received news this week that we are a good match with a young woman seeking asylum in the United States. Her name is Mayra and she has a 5 month old son. We will be offering her and her son housing and support as she goes through the process of seeking asylum.
This is an opportunity for us to live our values as stated in our UU Principles: the inherent worth and dignity of each person; justice, equity, and compassion in our relationships with each other; and our respect for the intricate and interdependent web of life.
Many have already offered various types of support and help, and we will be calling on you as we learn more about Mayra and her son. We will be developing a detailed plan of ways support is needed and how we can make her stay with us as safe, welcoming, and loving as possible.
The Immigration Justice Team will continue to update everyone on when our guest will arrive and ways we can each welcome her and her son into our community. Learn more about asylum sponsorship HERE and contact Marti Wheeler, co-chair, at mwheeler@new.rr.com to sign up to help.
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Brown Room Updates Happening Soon!
Members of our Religious Education Committee have been hard at work putting together a plan to update our Brown Room (at the end of the RE wing with the couches) and are excited about the changes that will spruce up the space. Plans include all new couches, rug, side tables and large coffee table, and painting the walls. We recognize that the walls include some artwork done by youth and volunteers from years’ past, and we honor that some of the wall-art has sentimental value. We will be photographing the wall-art to be framed and hung up as a reminder of the previous space, but we will be moving forward with painting over the bricks and hand-prints in the coming week.
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Upcoming Child Dedication Ceremony Date
Dedicating a child at the Fellowship is a powerful and precious ritual, designed to welcome your young one into life and into the loving embrace of our community. Any member or committed friend of the Fellowship may request a child dedication by contacting Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy.
April 26 9:00 and 10:45 am: Earth Day services. Sign up by March 26.
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| Click here for the current financial report.
Click here for the current Governing Board meeting agenda.
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Thank you for reading The Weekly Scroll, and pardon any typos.
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| Quick Links
Anti-racism Learning (for home, or groups)
Characteristics and antidotes of white supremacy culture
March: Individualism - click HERE
Joys and Concerns
As your faith community, we want to celebrate your joys with you and support you through times of concern.
To share a joy or concern with our ministers and/or at services, please email Rev. Leah at leah@fvuuf.org.
To be added to the Joys and Concerns email list, contact Cyndi Polakowski at cyndi@fvuuf.org.
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Weekly Calendar Saturday, March 7
7:00am Joyful Mind Zen Sangha
10:00am Spanish Charla
3:00pm Cancer Support Group
4:30pm Soup Saturday
Sunday, March 8
9:00 & 10:45am Worship Service
10:00am High School Breakfast Club
10:45am Inquirers Series
12:15pm Pollinate (BIPoC)
3:00pm American Sign Language
6:00pm Smiling Dandelion Sangha
Monday, March 9
9:00am Goddess Group
6:00pm Essentials JAM
Tuesday, March 10
12:00pm Senior Wonders
Wednesday, March 11
6:30pm Wellspring Wednesday
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Click the image for our mailing address and staff email addresses or call 920.731.0849.
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