Green Sanctuary Certification for the Fellowship!

The Green Sanctuary Committee is celebrating the news this month that the Fellowship was certified as a “Green Sanctuary.” The UUA committee reviewing our application certified that the work we have done over the past five years met all their requirements for this accreditation. The requirements include engagement in a major Environmental Justice project, participation in special Fellowship worship services, offering religious education programs for adults and children, and hosting activities promoting sustainable living. An excerpt from the letter from Rev. Karen Brammer of the UUA noted, “We are well aware of the high level of commitment, creativity, and leadership necessary to have accomplished this. Congratulations! Your work shines!!.”
Team members Sara Arnold, Terry Dawson, John Duffin, Roger Kanitz, Doug Middleton, and Dave Muench would like to thank the Fellowship ministers, staff, and all the congregation members who have supported us during this period of candidacy for the certification. The team is particularly grateful for others who have been part of this committee and those who worked years ago in earlier iterations of this program, and we also acknowledge the great leadership provided by Doug Dorn in the recent years of this effort.
We know that many of you are living in sustainable ways, are active in environmental advocacy groups in the community, and generally are role-modeling values and lifestyles which support conservation of the Earth. As you may know, the UUA is championing climate justice in several ways, including healthier land, air, and water for all including Native American, African American, and other underprivileged people in our country who have been disproportionately harmed by environmental injustice. We are proud to be a part of this broader heritage.
Please help celebrate our new status at the Fellowship as a “Green Sanctuary!” If you want to join us in pursuing environmental justice projects, this would be an excellent time to do so. Examples of projects we plan to continue working on include supporting Wisconsin Indigenous Peoples who hold vigils as “Water Protectors,” expanding public awareness of the increasing threat posed by plastics pollution, mitigating climate change by any number of lifestyle and political actions, and more. We would welcome your involvement and whatever time you could give! Contact Roger Kanitz or Doug Middleton for more information.

Sunday Service
10:00 AM Central Online

The Ministry Inside Us by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, Senior Minister
One of the most powerful things about the UU tradition is our commitment to congregational polity or the idea that we all have equal access to the ministry. We also say there is "freedom of the pulpit and freedom of the pew." How can we find our own ministry inside us, "be the church," and connect with joy even in times of pandemic isolation?
Click HERE for Worship Service Zoom Information and the Order of Service
  • Listen to past sermons HERE.
  • Watch some of our past services on our Youtube channel.
  • Currently, all religious education classes are online only. Please see the Religious Education section below for more information. See our website (here) for more information about all Religious Education classes for children and youth.

Monthly Evening Service

Wednesday, January 26 at 7:00 pm CT on Zoom
Join us for a Zoom worship service led by our Assistant Minister, Ali Peters. On the last Wednesday of each month, we will hold an informal evening service to re-center ourselves during the week, connect more deeply with one another, and hold each other in community. All are welcome! If you have questions, please reach out to Ali at ali@fvuuf.org. Log-in information is available on the services page of our website HERE. We hope to see you there!
Covid 19 Safety Plan

Adult Faith Development

Grief Book Group: It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine

Five Sessions: January 20 (online), February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19 –6:00-7:30 pm CT. The first session will be on Zoom with hopes that the following sessions will be able to meet in person at the Fellowship.
Join Assistant Minister, Ali Peters, and Care Team Member, Debbie Wagner, on the third Thursday of each month starting in January as we journey with grief together using Megan Devine’s book, It’s OK That You’re Not OK. This group is a space for those who are grieving the loss of a person (no matter how long ago the loss) as well as those who would like to explore how to best support others in their grief. For the first session, we will gather together without having read any of the book.
Please email Cyndi@fvuuf.org to register by today, January 20, at 4:00 pm. Due to the sensitive nature of grief, registration will close after the first session and we ask that participants try to attend as many of the five sessions as possible. If the cost of the book is a barrier to participation, please let us know so that we can assist.

Wellspring

February 9, 6:30 pm CT
Trauma, Movement, and Breath with Heather Chantelois-Kashal
Heather will offer an educational and experiential session on how trauma is held in and affects our bodies and how movement and breathing practices can help us to release trauma energy and heal. Click HERE for more information and for the Zoom link.

Notable

UU Women's Connection "Tea & Talk"

Saturdays: January 22, March 19, May 14
2:00-3:30 pm CT via Zoom, link HERE
We've missed all of you so much! Bring your beverage of choice and come join us for a chat on Zoom! We will all say "Hello" in the main room and then move to breakout spaces for a bit to allow everyone to get a chance to catch up in small groups.

Men's Group Outing at Bubolz 

REVISED PLAN! January 23, 2022. With the news that all in-person, indoor Fellowship activities temporarily shut down this month, the Fellowship Men's Group now plans an outdoors-only event at Bubolz Nature Center. We will enjoy skiing, hiking, or snowshoeing in the morning. We will meet in the parking lot outside the Nature Center at 9:30. Although each person can ski/hike as long as he wants, we will likely be ready to leave before noon. All who identify as male in the Fellowship are welcome even if you are not a member of the Men's Group. If you might want to join us, please contact John Duffin at japple51@gmail.com or Dave Vicksta at dvicksta1@yahoo.com for more information or just to sign up.

Fellowship Online Games Night

Thursday, January 27, 7:00 pm CT
How does this work?  
You will need 2 devices. One to log in and participate in the zoom call, and the second to play the game. The second device is commonly a phone or tablet. You do not need any special software, just access to the internet on your device. We will talk you through how to access the game when you join the zoom call. 
For the first event, we will be playing Fibbage. It is a bluffing game where you provide fun answers to questions to try to fool the others and then players have to guess which is the lie and which is the truth. There is an 8 player max on this game, so the first 8 people to show up can play but more are welcome to join and watch. Contact Hope Karth with questions at karths@ameritech.net. The Zoom link can be found HERE.

Partner Church News

Please join us as we welcome pastor Zoli Koppandi from Deva, Transylvania through the magic of Zoom on Saturday, January 29th at 10:00 am CT for a fun and lively discussion focusing on winter celebrations and traditions. We look forward to seeing you there. Click HERE for the Zoom link.

Seminary for a Day: Doing the Inner Work of Racial Justice with Rev. Abhi Janamanchi

All are welcome to join First Unitarian Portland for their VIRTUAL Seminary for a Day on Saturday, January 29 from 11:30 am - 2:00 pm CT. This year’s spiritual theme is entitled, Doing the Inner Work of Racial Justice.
The keynote speaker is Rev. Abhi Janamanchi who serves as the Senior Minister of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, Maryland. He describes himself as a Hindu-Unitarian Universalist and says that his Unitarian Universalism makes him a better Hindu.
If you are engaged in the work of racial justice and long for spiritual connection in this work, join us for this year’s virtual Seminary For A Day.
This is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how racism has shaped our UU faith and our congregations; how structural racism still operates today, often unnoticed; and what is involved in cultivating Beloved Community and working against racism and oppression in all of its forms.
We will practice mindfulness meditation, conversation, and experiential exercises that get to the heart of healing internalized racism and being anti-racist. We will seek to create brave space, engage in courageous conversations on what is healing and what is harming racial justice, and rest in restorative meditation and embodied practices.
Registration is open until 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday, January 29th. You will receive a Zoom link via email before the event. Register HERE.

New Member Joining

March 2, 6:00-7:00 pm CT
Joining the Fellowship can be a meaningful step on your journey! If you have been thinking about becoming an official member of the Fellowship, Assistant Minister Ali Peters and Director of Congregational Life Marie Luna invite you to join them for our next new member joining. Contact Marie at marie@fvuuf.org for more information or to sign up.

A Message from Marie Luna, Director of Congregational Life


Dearest members and friends,
I have known for a long time that at some point, it would be time for me to move on to focus on work in the greater Unitarian Universalist world, and in doing so make room for someone else to develop this position in new ways. I now know that time has come. I will be resigning from my position as your Director of Congregational Life as of May 30, 2022. While this may feel surprising to many of you, this is a decision I have been discerning for many years. The complexity of the pandemic has simply moved my timeline up by a year or two. READ MORE
Meet with Marie!
•  Set up a phone call, zoom chat, or in person meeting:
https://calendly.com/marieuu (Make sure to include a note on how you want to meet. If you want to meet on zoom, Marie will send a link.)
•  Contact her at
marie@fvuuf.org or 920.731.0849 if the available times don’t work for you.
•  Drop into an open zoom time on Tuesday, January 25th from noon-1pm CT: Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3njM8C4

Fellowship Anti-Racism Practice

Join us as we continue our UU commitment to anti-racism and dismantling white supremacy culture.
In January we invite you to listen to the first half of an On Being with Krista Tippett episode featuring Resmaa Menakem and Robin DiAngelo (0:00-26:08). Click HERE to play the episode. While listening, ask yourself: What feels uncomfortable? Why is it uncomfortable and how can I move past that to keep going? What is new to me? How can I use this in my life? What SKILLS are helpful? Do I notice anything here that resonates with the Fellowship?
Why do we do this work? What makes it appropriate for a religious congregation? Isn't this just "political" and "social" stuff? NO! Our UU religious tradition calls us to have faith in the possibility of a world more free, fair, and filled with justice and compassion -- and that our actions are what will make that possible. The only way we can fully live our UU values is to keep learning and working. These resources, which are the same our Governing Board is exploring together in their commitment to anti-racism, will also be shared on our Anti-Racism Learning Group on Facebook, and we encourage interaction there. Watch the Scroll for future Zoom opportunities to discuss these resources!
click the image for current information

Justice Action Ministry

Justice Hub Webpage

The Justice Hub webpage has information about our JAMs, justice events, and opportunities here at our Fellowship and out in the community right at your fingertips any time you need it.
This week: Read more about each of these on the Justice Hub webpage
•  Rally for fair maps on January 21
•  Take on Mass Incarceration with WISDOM (as discussed in last Sunday's service)
•  Virtual Seminary for a Day: Doing the Inner Work of Racial Justice on January 29
•  What you can do to support the work of the Poor People’s Campaign
•  New ways to support the work of ESTHER community organizing
•  UUA’s Side With Love offers resources at the Action Center
If you want to share something on the Justice Hub webpage, please do so by completing this form by Thursday to be posted when the page is updated each week. Submissions may be subject to staff approval and editing.

Religious Education - Children and Youth

Religious Education Sunday Classes Schedule


We have temporarily returned to online only children’s religious education classes.
Religious education classes for 4K-6th grade will meet weekly at 9:00 am CT via Zoom. The link has been sent to all families of registered children and is located at the top of our monthly religious education calendar. 
Crossing Paths class for 7th-grade students and above will meet at 11:00 am CT via Zoom. We will use the same Zoom link that we have been using since the fall. It is located at the top of our monthly RE calendar. Please be aware that there are two links for this class; one is for our class that meets on the first Sunday of the month, and the second is for the class that meets on the third Sunday of each month.
If you would like to register your child to receive the link(s), please fill out the form HERE.
Contact director of religious education, Kim Hartman, with questions.

Small Groups: A great way to connect!

Join a Small Group!

All are invited to check out our Small Groups for connection and spiritual growth. The full list can be found on our website. Click on the image to learn more about our groups.

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