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| “Settling In: The Further Evolution of Our Revels”
by Jay Thomas, Music Director Normally, this would be the time of our Winter Solstice Revels and we would be looking forward to a celebration of the cold and darkness. This year, however, we are trying something a little different. This Sunday, December 18, we will recognize the ground-breaking work of Ezra Jack Keats, specifically the children’s book, The Snowy Day. There will be Revels elements sprinkled throughout the all-ages service, including poetry, dance, music, storytelling, and a very groovy calm bottle. The overall tenor, however, will be one of quiet and meditation as we settle into this winter season. For those of you jonesing for more Winter Solstice celebration, we invite you to attend a winter solstice ritual to mark the change in seasons and welcome back the sun to be held on Saturday, December 17 at 6:00 p.m. People of all spiritual backgrounds are welcome to participate in the circle. Bring a dish to pass to share some food before and after the ritual. Contact Heather Westley at firemoon0812@yahoo.com with questions or if you would like to help in any way. Please sign up at the Sign Up Spot in the Fellowship Lobby to aid our planning.
Looking ahead, I am very excited to announce two other Revels celebrations in 2017. In June we will have our first ever Summer Solstice Revels. There will be just one service, so let’s fill up the Sanctuary and usher in another glorious Wisconsin summer! And on October 15, we will revisit Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. My hope is to make this our most dazzling Revels yet!
Revel on, folks!
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Upcoming Services
Sunday 9:00 and 10:45 a.m. December 18 The Deep, Deep Snow
by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg with Rev. Kathleen Rolenz, Jay Thomas, Music Director, and Kim Hartman, Director of Relgious Education
We’ve had a long and lovely fall but winter is coming! Instead of dreading the cold and inconvenience, let’s explore some of the positive aspects of winter. Is there a certain kind of sacred contemplation that is especially possible when the world is dormant and dark? Sometimes this season’s stillness can lead to a quiet calm we might not be able to get at any other time of year. Children are invited to bring a small winter blanket so we can have a cozy all ages service. Anyone who wishes is welcome to bring a homemade snowflake to hang on the Sanctuary window before the service starts! Nursery care provided. December 24 (4:00, 7:00, and 10:00 p.m.) Christmas Eve at the Fellowship with Rev. Kathleen Rolenz and Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg
Join together with family and friends for a Christmas Eve service that features special music, stories, carols and the traditional Transylvanian communion (10 p.m. only). We'll light candles against the darkness of night and reflect on the meaning of this special evening. This is a service for all ages. Religious Education classes and nursery care not available.
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| Special Collection for Appleton Housing Authority
At last weekend’s services, we collected $561.55 for the Appleton Housing Authority and we heard a beautiful song by Christopher Lwenzy who recently moved into a house through this service. For more information on Christopher’s family’s story, including a video of his music, check out this Post Crescent article. For more information about the Housing Authority, check out www.appletonhousing.org. If you missed the opportunity to contribute and still wish to send a contribution for this organization, please drop off or mail a check payable to FVUUF with Appleton Housing Authority noted in the memo field, no later than Friday, December 23, 2016. Thank you for your support!
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| Do you have questions for the Senior Minister Search Committee? We are about halfway through our process to find our next settled senior minister. Members of the Senior Minister Search Committee will be available in the Fellowship Hall after both services this Sunday, December 18. Feel free to stop by and share any questions or concerns you have about the search process. Committee members will be glad to discuss the search.
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| Message from the Stewardship Committee
During the holiday season (which seems to get extended every year) we are bombarded with messages of commercialism and a culture of "buying and giving" to secure our happiness and show how much we love others through gifts and things. Our Stewardship Committee has had deep and meaningful dialogue about how our spending in a way reflects our values. Many of you participate in our giving beyond our walls (which totaled more than $14,000 so far in 2016) and have participated in the past in our Greater Good initiative which seeks to channel typical holiday spending into our community to support those in need. How does your spending reflect your values? This year, the Stewardship Committee hopes to inspire community conversation about how we can live our values through our spending and giving, including through supporting our Fellowship with the gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Each week, you see a link at the bottom of the Weekly Scroll to our Fellowship's financials. Our finances are directly linked to our ability to fulfill our mission, whether it's staffing for growth, ensuring we have enough supplies for Religious Education, or expanding programming to meet a growing membership. Although our congregation is one of the largest in the country, our total budget falls behind what could truly support a vibrant congregation. During this season of giving, we invite you to think of the meaning of the Fellowship in your and your family's lives, and how you can translate that meaning to ensuring we can reach toward our mission and vision as a faith community. End of year donations would be gratefully received if you and your family would like to share your giving spirit with the Fellowship. Please e-mail Phyllis Schmitt at the email below for more information about the opportunity to give. We are grateful for each and every person who walks through our doors and enriches our community and hope 2017 brings an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how to best give back to our Fellowship community which gives so much to each of us! - From Karen Riggers, Member of the Stewardship Committee. And a note from our Business Administrator: If you have not yet made your monthly, quarterly, or annual contribution to the Fellowship it is not too late to make a contribution for the 2016 tax year. The office will be closed for general business during the week of December 25th - 31st. However, I will be in the office and available Monday-Thurday, December 26th-29th between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to receive your contribution payments. All contributions received in the office by 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 29th or received in the mail postmarked December 31, 2016 will be credited to tax year 2016. Any contributions received after that time will be credited to tax year 2017. If you have any questions about your current 2016-2017 pledge, please contact me at the Fellowship office, 920-731-0849 or Phyllis@fvuuf.org. Thank you for your generous support! -Phyllis Schmitt
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| Wellspring Wednesday meets the
Winter Solstice in Oshkosh B'Nai Israel Congregation
1121 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh, WI 54901
Service at 6:00 p.m.
Dessert Potluck at 7:00 p.m. This week's Wellspring Wednesday in Oshkosh falls on the Winter Solstice (December 21st). Rev. Kathleen Rolenz and Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg will offer an all-ages celebration of the Solstice Season with a service that includes changing, poetry, song and ritual. The service will be held upstairs in the Sanctuary at 6:00 p.m. and then we'll have a dessert potluck with decaf coffee, tea and hot cocoa in the Fellowship Hall downstairs immediately following the service. This year, the Oshkosh group has been focused on immigration experiences, so if you have a favorite dessert from your own family's tradition, bring it along to share!
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| Racial Justice Opportunities at the Fellowship
As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in “justice, equity, and compassion in human relationships.” What does that phrase mean in our current environment? Many people interpret the results of recent elections to mean that our country may be moving toward embracing white nationalism and a return to a more racist, homophobic, and misogynistic society. Members of the Fellowship seek advice and training on how to speak out and act according to our belief in justice: how to be an advocate and an ally to stand up against hatred and violence directed at marginalized peoples. The Racial Justice Action Team (RJAT) is one of the Fellowship’s four Action Teams. The others are: Climate Justice; Essentials: Food & Shelter for All; and Women & Men United for Women’s Justice. The RJAT offers programs each month to help members and friends to engage in thoughtful dialogue. Moreover, on occasion the RJAT offers ways to take direct action to counter oppression, racial injustice, and white privilege.
This fall the RJAT made an important decision that we wanted you, the congregation, to know about. Over the years, we’ve struggled to coalesce around one mission, with one plan of action. Consequently, the Racial Justice Action Team will have periods of “open enrollment,” and periods when it is closed to new members. We believe that this open/closed approach will allow us to build the trust, cohesiveness, and focus necessary to do this work. We also will be able to form a shared understanding about words like race, microaggressions, and white fragility. So, we made a commitment to each other this past September that we would make team attendance a top priority in our lives. The team knows there's passion around this issue and interest among congregation members in joining them. We wanted to personally invite you to join members of the RJAT Team for three opportunities that are coming up this January, February & March: They include: a face2face conversation in January, a February Friday Night Film Series on Race, and/ or the Waking Up White book discussion, which will be held on four Wednesday evenings in March. Books are now available in the book store. If, after attending either Beloved Conversations (registration closed Dec. 15) or the four sessions of Waking Up White has inspired you to want to join the Racial Justice Team, then please, let one of us know! The next opportunity to join the Racial Justice Team is during April/May when the team is seeking new team members to build the Racial Justice Action Team which will then be presented and affirmed at the Annual Meeting in June. We hope that by providing regular opportunities for engagement with Racial Justice issues that you feel included, welcomed and encouraged to go deeper into the hard work of racial justice. You will find information about the programs offered this winter in upcoming newsletters and on the Fellowship bulletin board. We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events this year! With deep appreciation, members of the Racial Justice Action Team:
Brian Looker, Connie Kanitz, Connie Raether, Jennifer Levenhagen, Marie Liddell, Penny Robinson, Suzie DeBeers, Tina Main, Wendy Sieja, Margaret Alexander, Chair, Kathleen Rolenz--Minister and Staff Support
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| Religious Education Registration Reminder
This is a reminder to please register your children for Sunday Religious Education classes if you have not done so this year. We have a goal of a 100% registration rate, and there are still an estimated twenty to thirty children who remain unregistered. Our policy asks all individuals between the ages of infant through 18 years to be registered after the third visit to our classrooms. This not only helps us to meet the needs of our individual students, but it also allows us to provide accurate Fellowship data to report to the Unitarian Universalist Association. Students may be registered on line via our website or paper copies of the registration form can be found on the Religious Education table in the RE hallway. Please contact Kim Hartman, Director of Religious Education, with any questions or concerns.
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| "Pearl Necklaces" for Sale!
An effort supported by the Women and Men’s United for Women’s Justice From Lauren Anderson, mother of Pearl Anderson, who is in the Spirit Play Religious Education class. Pearl Anderson was excited about the possibility of the nation having our first female president and knew that I was disappointed when it didn’t happen. Her response made me so proud. "It's ok, mom. We just have to keep working to get more women elected." She wants to give money to "women running for President." The Women and Men United for Women's Justice want to help her achieve this goal. We are inviting all Fellowship kids to make necklaces or lanyards. Pearl is wearing one in the picture to show that they can be great name tag holders for those of you who don't want to poke holes in your clothes. We'll sell the necklaces for $1 each in the month of December to raise money for Emily's List. Emily's List supports pro-choice women who are running for public office. If you make a necklace, just add it to the display. To purchase a necklace, put a dollar in the shoebox and enjoy your purchase! The display will continue until the end of the month in the Fellowship Hall. Thanks for your support.
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| Upcoming Programs, Activities & Events
Mark Your Calendars for these upcoming events.
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| Mitten Wreath Gift Reminder
Please remember to bring the gifts back wrapped WITH THE MITTEN ATTACHED by this Sunday, December 18. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. Contact Mary Gerlach with questions.
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| Women’s Justice Action Team
Thank you to everyone who donated to our October Collection for the domestic abuse shelter, Harbor House. December 15 Action Team Meeting at 6:30 - 7:00p.m. We’ll cover plans for the January March for Women’s Lives in Madison and Washington, D.C. including a Knit Hat Project (click here for more information) see above photo, and the Raging Grannies Storm Cabaret on Valentine’s Day. If you like to sing - Join us!
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| Soup Saturday
One of our Founders, Len Weis, told us once that “food and fellowship both begin with the same letter and are properly united.” Reigniting a tradition started years ago, we will be continuing our Soup Saturdays, a wonderful opportunity on the first Saturday of each month to gather around a simple meal and to share fellowship. The next Soup Saturday will be on January 7, 2016. No need to RSVP, just join us in the Fellowship Hall for delicious homemade soups, fresh bread and the finest conversation.
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| Appleton Wellspring Wednesday
January 11, 2017, 6:30-8:00 p.m. When You Haven't Got a Prayer
Led by Rev. Kathleen Rolenz
Unitarian Universalists have often resisted the word and the practice of prayer because of a narrowly-defined understanding of a private conversation between oneself and a deity. However, prayer can take many shapes and forms. This month's Spiritual Practice will seek to broaden both our understanding of prayer as an act of deep listening, and as part of a rich spiritual tradition of contemplative practice. Contact Cyndi Polakowksi at cyndi@fvuuf.org to sign up.
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| The Kishin Zen Sangha has canceled their meeting on Saturday, December 17 due to the snow storm. They are likely re-scheduling, please contact Jim Bowker at jtbowker@yahoo.com for details.
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| December 21 Solstice service in Oshkosh; 6:00 p.m. Service; 7:00 p.m. Dessert potluck (bring a dessert from your family's ethnic tradition)
December 24 Christmas Eve services- 4:00, 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. No services on December 25
The office will be open on a limited basis Monday, December 26 through Thursday, December 29 and closed on Friday, December 30. January 1 Turning of the Year services - 9:00 am and 10:45 a.m.
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| Click here for the current financial report.
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| Quick Links
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 click here.
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| Weekly CalendarThursday, December 15
6:30pm Women's Justice Action Team
7:00pm Choir 7:00pm UU Book Club Friday, December 16 6:00pm Acustic Jam
Saturday, December 17
6:00pm Spirit of the Seasons
Sunday, December 18
9:00 & 1045am Worship Service 10:00am U-Youth Choir Rehearsal 10:00am High School Breakfast Club 1:00pm Kishin Zen Sangha
6:00pm Smiling Dandelion Sangha
Monday, December 19
9:00am Goddess Group Tuesday, December 20
6:30pm Kishin Zen Sangha 7:00pm Men's Group
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Book Club BooksFirst Thursday Book Club
January:Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
February: The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian UU Book Club
December: The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis
January: Forty Autumns by Nina Willner
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