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Springtime Reminders…
From Phyllis Schmitt, Business Administrator Spring is more than a season. In fact as we have just witnessed spring is a great chameleon and often comes disguised as many other seasons rolled into one. However, spring or “springtime” brings about thoughts of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. As we turn our thoughts to these positive aspects of springtime, yes things will start to bloom, awaken, and emerge from under this ‘white blanket”, it seems to be a perfect time to remind everyone of some of the policies, procedures and activities that keep our Fellowship safe, beautiful, and welcoming to all. Here is a brief review: - We are a non-smoking campus. This means smoking is prohibited inside the Fellowship, outside of any doors of the building or on the grounds. Smoking is permitted in private cars parked in the parking lot and on the public sidewalks (i.e. on Philip Lane, not the sidewalk right in front of the building).
- No weapons are permitted in or on Fellowship property.
- Pets are not permitted in the building. However ADA defined service animals are always allowed.
- Peanut safe facility - all common areas of the Fellowship are peanut free. The exception to this policy is the staff office wing and its kitchenette, where peanuts might be stored or consumed by staff. Please note that the Fellowship is not a nut-free facility. This policy only extends to peanuts and products containing peanuts.
- Welcoming and accessibility – the Fellowship strives to be a welcoming and accessible space for everyone. Although we do not have specific policies governing the use of fragrances, or prohibiting individual food items (except peanuts and peanut products as listed above) we want to remind and encourage everyone to be more aware that some people have severe sensitivities to fragrances and allergies or dietary restrictions limiting their food choices. Please consider skipping your perfume, lotion, soap or other fragrances when coming to the Fellowship, and label your potluck items with ingredients to help people make their food choices.
- Building usage – as we grow, so does the use of our building. We can no longer accommodate ad hoc meetings, and request that groups needing meeting space and individuals or non-Fellowship groups wanting to rent space contact Fellowship Secretary Cyndi Polakowski Cyndi@fvuuf.org to reserve an appropriate space. Storage is also at a premium at the Fellowship and we have guidelines for groups wishing to store items at the Fellowship. We cannot accommodate storage for individual private events. Please contact Cyndi if you have questions about this.
- Safety and security – please be mindful of the safety and security of the building and those around you; if you unlock a door, relock it when you are done, if you turn on a light, turn it off when you leave, if you light a candle or chalice please extinguish the flame before you leave. If you see something that needs repair or specific attention please contact me, Phyllis@fvuuf.org. In the event of an emergency or inclement weather please be aware of the safe zones marked on the building maps located throughout the Fellowship. We will also be rescheduling the emergency evacuation drill that was cancelled last weekend.
- General housekeeping inside and out - as you travel through the building and grounds of the Fellowship please consider the footprint that you leave, and help minimize the effects on the building, staff, volunteers, and the environment. Please remove any food in the refrigerator after your event, and clean up the kitchen. We encourage everyone to pick up after yourself, but if you see any litter inside or outside the building we thank you for helping us out by picking it up and disposing of it properly. Please use the supplies provided, however we encourage you to use them sparingly and to take advantage of reusable options such as cloth towels in the kitchen, or regular plates, etc. versus disposal when available. If you notice that we are low on supplies please inform me, Phyllis@fvuuf.org or other staff as appropriate.
- Landscaping and grounds – we do have a landscape committee. This committee falls within my portfolio and is made up of a hard working group of volunteers lead by Dave Roisum as the committee chair. This committee has worked tirelessly to make and keep the grounds beautiful and inviting, and have a developed plan for growing and maintaining the native gardens on our grounds. We ask that you respect their work and do not plant, trim or remove anything from the landscape without permission from Phyllis Schmitt or Dave Roisum. If you have a green thumb or wish to develop one all are welcome to join the committee please contact me, Phyllis@fvuuf.com, and I will forward your request to the committee.
- Earth Day – this coming Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. Our Green Sanctuary task force is supporting the Fellowship’s efforts to honor earth day during services. Please join them for some “green” tips and support their efforts by being mindful of some of the ways mentioned above that will conserve our resources both at the Fellowship and for the environment as a whole.
Thank you all for your help in making and keeping the Fellowship safe, beautiful, welcoming and spring like all year round!
Happy Spring! Phyllis Schmitt, Business Administrator
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Upcoming Services Sundays 9:00 & 10:45 am
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April 22 Interdependence Day (aka Earth Day)
by the Green Sanctuary Task Force
Offered by the Fellowship’s Green Sanctuary task force, the group appointed to guide our congregation’s efforts to honor the earth, this Earth Day weekend service will consider ways each and every one of us can positively impact the environment. Come for some guilt-free practical ideas and spiritual inspiration, rooted in our 7th UU principle of interdependence. April 29 Encountering the Buddha by Rev. Cynthia Barnes Johnson
This Sunday, we welcome Rev. Cynthia Barnes Johnson, who was a member of this congregation many years ago. She served UU congregations in Dallas, and Oklahoma City, before retiring to Door County. She'll be preaching on "Encounters with the Buddha"- Imagine my surprise and delight when I had two Buddha-encounters at 10,700 feet — and then they kept on coming for awhile. I could hardly believe it myself. The religious imagination can be a good companion to the living of our lives.
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New student check-out practice in Religious Education
If you have recently picked up a child from the RE wing, you likely have noticed that we have a new child check-out procedure for children in the nursery through grade four. Parents and guardians coming to get their children are now asked to initial the class attendance sheet before leaving with any child. The procedure was introduced a few weeks ago to reflect best safety practices for our youngest students. Pizza Palate Event this Sunday!
Sunday April 22 at 4:00-7:00 pm
Middle and High School youth invited to create art for the next Fellowship Hall art display. The art show theme is Emergence.
Pizza dinner provided - please RSVP to Ms. Kim with your pizza preferences. We need a couple adults to help with the event. RSVP to Ms. Kim if you can help. Questions, contact Theresa Spoehr at cmtheresa@gmail.com.
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The Essentials team will be handing out pans for the E2F pan project on Sunday, April 29th and collecting the full pans on May 6th. The E2F project (Empty to Full) is an easy way to help the homeless shelter, Homeless Connections. One pan provides 12 servings of food to people living at the shelter and goes a long way to reducing the food budget of the shelter. If you've helped with this before, you can attest to how easy and fulfilling this meal preparing really is. Look for us with our pans in the Fellowship Hall on April 29th!
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The Essentials team is serving the evening meal at Homeless Connection shelter, 400 N. Division St, Appleton on Monday, April 30th. We will be serving a meal that we provided through the E2F pan program. We need a few people to help serve the meal and clean up from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, and a few more to make dessert. Please sign up here. If you have any questions contact Sue Sawyers at 920.450.1588 or ssawyers1@new.rr.com.
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Open Conversation on the State of Stewardship
April 29, 10:10 am
As we near the end of our stewardship season and approach the June 3rd annual meeting, Rev. Christina will be hosting a Fellowship Conversation about the state of stewardship on Sunday, April 29th at 10:10am (between services) in the sanctuary. Come learn where we are in terms of pledges and the updated draft budget for 2018-19, and give your input for the options for how to move forward! Come early or stay late, but mark your calendars to be there for this important conversation. Childcare will be available for preschool and elementary kids.
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Journey to Belonging
Thursday, April 26, 6:30-8:30 pm
This one time program will help you consider the journey that has brought you to belonging to the Fellowship. From what from your past spiritual experiences may be holding you back and what has helped you become the person you are, what you were looking for when you first came the Fellowship and where you are going on your journey. This program gives a unique opportunity especially to those newer to the Fellowship, no matter how you are involved. Sign up by emailing marie@fvuuf.org by April 24.
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Pop Up Choir April 29
Are you looking for a way to share your love of singing with a minimum of commitment? Join the Pop Up Choir on April 29! It’s easy! 1) Report to the Legacy Room at 8:00 am and learn a fun and easy song. 2) Take a short break before the 9:00 am service. 3) Sing during the service; and when the service is done, you’re done, too! IT’S THAT EASY! No prior training necessary, and you don’t need to read music. Did you sing with us in February and want to do it again? No problem! Rediscover your passion for music and join the Pop Up Choir! If you have any questions, please contact Jay Thomas, Music Director, at jay@fvuuf.org or call the office and leave a message.
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An Earth Day Celebration in Song - by Jim Scott with friends Helen Avakian and Dave Irwin
Saturday, April 21 at 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Open Circle Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (19 3rd St. Fond du Lac) It’s a raising of voices and of spirits as composer/guitarist Jim Scott and friends Helen Avakian and Dave Irwin lead songs of earth, peace, love and just fun. Jim’s lyrical melodies, well-crafted words and humorous surprises invite all to get involved with the songs and ideals he raises. Helen Avakian won the International Fingerpicking Guitar Championship and with her partner Dave Irwin make beautiful music with two guitars and two voices. Their repertoire includes many earth celebrating songs as well. You’ll find a real call to activism in Jim’s new get-out-the-vote song “The World Needs Your Voice,” as well as “A ...Song for the Earth,” “Common Ground,” etc.
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Spring Art Show Reset for April 24
Due to the cancellation of services last weekend, we are postponing hanging the spring art show until April 24. Please bring in your pieces on the theme of EMERGENCE this weekend or at the latest by noon on Tuesday, April 24. Original art by Fellowship members or their friends and family are welcome. Please make sure the title of the piece and the artist’s name are on the back. Thank you for helping to beautify our Fellowship Hall. - Mary Gerlach, Art Committee
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Senior Fun & Games — Join us for playing light-hearted games like Apples to Apples and Balderdash. This new group will meet once a month for the sole/soul purpose of fun. Fun is good for the soul, right? Jay Thomas taught us the importance of fun last summer at one of our services, when we batted beach balls across the Sanctuary. In her April 8 sermon, Rev. Leah, too, mentioned the importance of fun. Plan on meeting Tuesday, May 1, 1–3:00 pm. Bring a friend. Questions? You may contact Marj Moeller at 920.739.6807, or Linda Grishaber at 920.419.0300.
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UU Night Out
Join us on Thursday, May 1 at DRAFT Gastropub for great food, conversation, and lots of laughter. UU Night Out is about making new connections. Members and friends of the Fellowship are welcome. DRAFT requires us to have a confirmed number for the reservation by April 24. So, please get your name in for the reservation ASAP. Join the group on Facebook by friending Cindy Darling. Email kitsudarling@gmail.com or text/call 920.205.9635.
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Our Fellowship Plant Sale
On Mother’s Day this year (May 13), the Partner Churches Committee will have the annual Plant Sale with profits supporting our partner churches in Deva, Romania and Banaybanay, the Philippines. Please note the date and time (8:00 am til 12:30) and plan to take home some lovely plants or fresh flowers. This year we will also have composting information and an opportunity to learn more about our Fellowship trip to Deva later this year. The sale takes place in the Fellowship parking lot. We sell sun and shade perennials, native wildflowers, vegetable seedlings, including many heirlooms, herb plants, house plants and some annual flowers. We will also have fresh flowers, a must for Mother’s Day! We really appreciate contributions of the above plants from our gardening Fellowship members. If you have anything to contribute to the sale please contact Vickie Milde (vicmilde@hotmail.com) or Lee Boeke Burke (leeboekeburke@gmail.com) or sign up by the Plant Sale poster in the Fellowship Hall. We also invite any of you who are interested to join us for a fun afternoon of plant potting, followed by a potluck- this is our “pot party” and will happen from 2 til about 6 at the home of Tony and Jane Salsich. Once again, you can sign up by the Plant sale poster.
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Wellspring Coming of Age for All Retreat
The Creative Credo – A daylong retreat of exploration and expression
Saturday, May 19; 9:00 am - 3:00 pm; lunch and snacks will be provided.
Girl Scout Building - 4693 N Lynndale
Max of 30 adults and youth. No cost.
Led by Mark Walker, who led the youth Coming of Age program for many years, we will spend a day exploring outside spaces and inner spaces. There will be time for writing, drawing, making, crafting, conversing, collecting, or taking pictures and will culminate with an optional credo sharing. Plan to spend time inside and outside. Sign up at the Sign Up Spot.
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Heart to Heart 2018
A weekend retreat for couples to enrich and strengthen your relationship. Heart to Heart will be held Friday, September 21 through Sunday, September 23 at the Pilgrim Retreat Center on beautiful Green Lake. The retreat is open to all couples committed to each other and their relationship. All couples are welcome, unmarried, married, same-sex, opposite-sex, or gender fluid. Click here for details and a registration form.
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Welcome to our recent new members!
Angela Braun
Helene and Jerry Iverson
Don Grogan
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Fox Valley UU Fellowship congregational trip to visit Transylvania and our partners in Deva is on for November of this year. Stay tuned for a traveler’s meeting which will be announced soon. Contact Lee Boeke Burke for more information.
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Come Celebrate!
June 2nd, 4:30-7:30 pm
Our beloved music director Jay Thomas will be leaving his position with us on June 15th after nine incredible years of service. Certainly, Jay’s impact on our community, our worship life, and our music ministries has been powerful. We will miss him dearly. He and his partner Lorry Pearson are moving to Ohio to be closer to Jay’s mother, who is aging and in poor health. So, in the spirit of celebrating Jay and his contributions to the Fellowship, we will have a big party! All are welcome!
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Justice starts here!
Follow up calls have started.
We need your help in order to continue our mission…please return your 2018-2019 pledge form as soon as possible!
We are grateful to all of you who have submitted your pledge forms. However, there are still many of you that we have not heard from. Please remember the Fellowship operates on a fiscal year of July - June, and requests pledges from our membership on an annual basis, even those members who are participating through EFT. Pledges help the Fellowship plan ahead, and prepare a viable operating budget; which includes all personnel and administrative costs, program expenses, and building and grounds maintenance. All of which are needed to enable the Fellowship to carry out its’ mission. Click here for more information and for an online pledge form. You may also find blank pledge forms and envelopes in the Fellowship Hall. Please contact Phyllis Schmitt, Business Administrator, at phyllis@fvuuf.org or 920.731.0849 with questions about your pledge.
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Rev. Christina's Community Office Hours
Most Thursdays (unless otherwise noted), 1-3:00 pm, drop-in, no RSVP required! If you'd like to make an appointment to chat with Rev. Christina aside from these times, contact the Fellowship office. April - 26
Caramel Crisp & Cafe - 200D City Center, Oshkosh May - 3, 10, 17, 31 (not on the 24th)
Lou's Brew - 233 E. College Ave., Appleton
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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
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 CalendarFriday, April 13
6:30am Joyful Mind Zen Sangha 6:30pm Spill it Sister
Saturday, April 14
6:30am Joyful Mind Zen Sangha 7:00pm UU Dance Group
Sunday, April 15
9:00 & 10:45am Worship Services 10:00am U-Youth Choir
10:45am Breakfast Club
6:00pm Smiling Dandelion Sangha Monday, April 16
9:00am Goddess Group 6:00pm Partner Churches
Tuesday, April 17
6:00pm Governing Board Meeting 7:00pm Men's Group
Wednesday, April 18 4:00pm Social Justice Core Team
Thursday, April 19 7:00pm Fellowship Choir 7:00pm UU Book Club
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Book Club Books First Monday Book Club
Contact Chris Wales at kcrark@new.rr.com for the current book. First Thursday Book Club
April: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
May: Miracles on the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack by Tom Nagorski UU Book Club
April: Motherest by Kristen Iskandrian
May: Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty
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