HUU Community Cafe » Announcements

Growing Together Classes at HUU

Administrator — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:45:12 +0000

JOIN US EVERY SUNDAY AT 9:00 A.M.
Along with Adult RE which is offered on the second and third Sunday of each month, we are now offering classes EVERY SUNDAY!

October 16th
Chanting and Meditation
Buddhist Tradition
Facilitator: Laura Dent

October 23rd
“State of the City: Opportunity for Social Action”
Facilitator: Kai Degner, Former Mayor and current
member of the city council, Harrisonburg

October 30th
“The Spirituality of Going Green: A Green Church?”
Facilitator: Cathy Strickler, Advocate, activist and
member of HUU

November 6th
“What we know and how we learned it” Part of the continuing discussion on LGBT issues offering by the Welcoming Task Force
Facilitator: Welcoming Congregation Task Force

November 13, 2011
Karen Armstrong’s 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life
Steps 1, 2, and 3
Learning About Compassion
Look at Your Own World
Compassion for Yourself
Facilitator: Paul Revell

November 20, 2011
Chanting and Meditation
Kundalini Yoga: Sikh Tradition
Facilitator: Laura Dent

November 27, 2011
Highlights from General Assembly 2011 “What We Learned”
Facilitator: David Lane

December 4, 2011 9am
The Common Elements of Oppression Focuses on the GLBT Community and also to all who experience oppression
Facilitator: Welcoming Congregation Task Force

December 11, 2011 9am
12 Steps to a Compassionate Life
by Karen Armstrong
Empathy, Mindfulness, Action
Steps 4,5, and 6
Facilitator: Paul Revell

December 18, 2011 9am
Meditation and Chanting Practice
The Christian Tradition- Gregorian Chant
“Be Still and Know that I Am”
Facilitator: Laura Dent

December 25 and January 1
NO PROGRAM these days!
See you on January 8, 2012 as we continue GROWING TOGETHER!

WATCH FOR FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE HUU E-NEWS AND SUNDAY SERVICE BULLETIN FOR UPCOMING CLASSES!!!
COME AND GROW TOGETHER…

More Details . . . .

International Day of Prayer for Peace

Administrator — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:32:13 +0000

Members and friends of the Interfaith Association: The City of Harrisonburg is celebrating the International Day of Prayer for Peace with a Peace & Unity Prayer Vigil and Dedication of the Peace Pole on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at the Lucy Simms Building, 620 Simms Avenue, Harrisonburg. The event begins at 7PM and is free to the public. Jeffrey Helsing of the United States Institute for Peace is the keynote speaker. Everyone is welcome

New UU Session

Administrator — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:01:17 +0000

Judith Hollowood and David Lane will hold an orientation session for people who are curious about Unitarian-Universalism and HUU, maybe even thinking about joining the fellowship. Session 1 on Saturday October 1 from 10 to 12, rolling into session 2 at the potluck on Sunday October 2. Sign up via email to Judith or David (judith@huuweb.org, david@huuweb.org). You can also just drop in.

Vesper Service

Administrator — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:47:08 +0000

A time for reflection, meditation, and renewal – a time to nurture and explore our deeper selves with music, wisdom words, and silence: that’s how we envision VESPERS, a new addition to the HUU worship calendar.

No sermon, no announcements, no technical explanations that interrupt the flow. A worship style that asks participants to stop, focus with song and silence, and listen to the “still, small voice” within.

If you seek a language of reverence that can quiet the mind and free the heart to hear its own truth, consider joining us for a half hour every other month on early Sunday evenings. We will gather for the first time on September 18 at 7:00 PM.

The Shower of Stoles

Administrator — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:26:12 +0000

WHEN: May 1, 2011
WHERE: Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

What is it ?

The “Shower of Stoles” is a remarkable collection of over 1,000 clergy stoles. A stole is the long band of cloth that many clergy wear around their necks in worship. The Shower of Stoles began in the mid 90′s as a way for clergy and their supporters to speak of the pain and suffering they endured while remaining closeted as GLBT persons OR after they finally came out and were asked to leave or literally thrown out of their churches/denominations. Some of the clergy were also suffering AIDS and have died since they donated their stoles to this traveling exhibit.

We will NOT be having all 1,000 stoles ! We will have 30 which will be on display during worship and following during the potluck until around 1:30 p.m. The public has been invited to come to see this display from noon to 1:30 as well.

Every stole tells a story. On the reverse of each stole is a card telling about the person/s who donated the stole and a little of their journey. It is a moving and powerful display.

This showing at HUU is sponsored by our Board and by the Welcoming Congregation Task Force of HUU. HUU is in the process of being certified as a “Welcoming Congregation” through the UUA. Harrisonburg UU has welcomed GLBT persons from the beginning. Certification is a way of joining with hundreds of other UU congregations in a unified witness to our welcome to GLBT persons and to ALL PERSONS. We are nearing the end of the certification process and thank all at HUU for their ongoing support !

Questions and Answers about Pledging

Judith Hollowood — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:36:15 +0000

What is a pledge?

A pledge is an offer and a plan to contribute an amount of money you choose to your church over the course of the July-June financial year.

How is this different from putting money in the plate?

Your pledge is the money HUU counts on. The Sunday cash offering provides a small amount of additional income.

How many people pledge?

In 2009-10, 34 pledges; in 2010-11, 37 pledges. A pledge from a household is counted once, even if there are two members, so the number of pledges is normally fewer than the number of members.

How much should I pledge?

We hope you will give at a level that reflects your ability to contribute and your enthusiasm for HUU. Every household’s ability to give is different. The range of individual pledged amounts is very wide.

Every pledge raises our level of participation, and that encourages others to believe that HUU is worth their financial support. All pledges are valuable because they help the governing body of the church plan the budget that members vote on in May.

In other words, no pledge is too small. In recent years, the average pledge has been in the $1,350 – $1,550 range. As we propose bigger budgets, we hope for bigger pledges.How do I make a pledge?

Pledge cards will be available on Stewardship Sunday and throughout the month of March.

You can pick up a pledge card at the table by the door at HUU. Put your completed pledge card (in its envelope) in the collection basket.

Or send the Treasurer an email with your pledge amount. Include your name and address so that he can set up a record for you. Send your pledge to Treasurer@huuweb.org .

Do I have to be a member to pledge?

No. Some people prefer not to be members of any church or have not yet decided to join HUU.

When should I pledge?

We carry out our pledge drive in March and wrap it up in April. The Finance Committee and the Board have to have a budget ready in May for the annual meeting of the congregation. The new fiscal year begins in July.

You can pledge at any point in the year by sending an email to Treasurer@huuweb.org .

Who knows how much I pledge?

Only the Treasurer has access to this information.

How do I pay my pledge?

We’re UUs, so as you might suppose, everyone decides this for him- and herself. You can write one big check; you can put a check in the collection basket on a regular basis; you can mail a check to the church if you don’t come to services often.

If you pledge, any check you put in the Sunday offering will be credited toward your pledge unless you specify that it is for some other purpose. If you want to make pledge payments in cash, put the money in an envelope with your name on it.

What if I can’t pay my pledge?

An email message to Treasurer@huuweb.org enables him to change the record he keeps of each pledge. Circumstances change; and any changes you find you must make are confidential.

What if I forget how much I pledged or how much I’ve paid on my pledge?

Send an email to Treasurer@huuweb.org . The Treasurer will answer you promptly. The Treasurer also sends statements twice a year.

What’s the bottom line?

We act in faith that those who can, will pledge, enabling us to provide HUU with those resources that only money can buy. This is not to say that gifts of your time, energy, and just your presence are not valuable to HUU, too. But at this time of year, we encourage you to consider you financial contribution.

Nourishing HUU Financially

Judith Hollowood — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:59:44 +0000

Nourishing HUU Financially For Fiscal Year 2011

We have great goals for HUU and a big challenge to pay for them. Can we feed our appetite for a richer experience at HUU? The Finance Committee offers us this background information.

HUU Member/Friend Giving Statistics

62 members and 18 friends

FY09

29 pledges totaling $42,125

average pledge = $1,453

FY10, the year that is now in progress

34 pledges totaling $45,800

average pledge = $1,347

Prospects for FY11, the New Year

The preliminary income budget for FY11 (next year) uses an estimate of 38 pledges totaling $51,300 and an average pledge of $1,350

The preliminary expense budget – ordinary ongoing expenses and committee proposals for stronger programming and pay equity – is $8,400 more than the estimated income.

To fund the preliminary expense budget from current income, HUU would need 40 pledges for a total of $60,000 – an average pledge of $1,500.

HUU’s Average Expenditure Per Member

$757 (2008-09)

$894 (projected 2009-10)

$1,079 (goal for 2010-11): a 20% increase over the prior year yet 10% less than the UUA average of three years ago

Average Expenditure Per Member in All UU Congregations

$1,203 (2007-08)

163,789 UU members in 1,042 UU churches

About Joys & Concerns

Judith Hollowood — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:43:30 +0000

Back in November, the Sunday Services Committee asked for congregational feedback on services and heard from about a dozen people. We paid particular attention to comments about Joys & Concerns. Several members had spoken publicly about their dislike for this feature of our services. We wanted to know if this feeling was widespread. We did not find that this was the case.

HUUs don’t have a regular minister to turn to for immediate personal communication in a time of crisis. People are unsure how to connect to the caring resources of HUU, and Joys & Concerns is an obvious avenue for doing that. Listening to Joys & Concerns helps listeners learn important things about our fellows that might emerge in more private settings if HUU provided them.

UUs share many values but have a full range of human temperaments. Recent discussions showed that we don’t define appropriate public disclosure in the same ways. What some are eager to share, others would not; and what some are glad to learn, others find irrelevant and uncomfortable to know.

Moreover, some of us recall Sunday services in other houses of worship that create an atmosphere of calm, quiet, and order. Some treasure a certain formality and consistency of tone even as they distance themselves from the creeds and politics of their churches of origin. This worshipful dimension is not easy to recreate in the informal atmosphere of HUU, and Joys & Concerns create many of our most informal of moments.

What to do? The responses we received didn’t show any groundswell of desire to remove Joys & Concerns from Sunday mornings. People valued it even though it sometimes made them uncomfortable and irritated. Still, most respondents hoped that people would

avoid strong and hostile political statements;
be brief, focused and audible.

There was also a sense that some announcements of events belong in Joys & Concerns, while others do not, but there was no consensus on how we would define the difference.

The Sunday Services committee will continue to remind you of how your fellows hope you will use this precious Sunday morning time. If you will introduce yourself, it will help those who do not know you yet to make a connection with you and make Joys & Concerns a moment that includes both long-timers and newcomers.

We will encourage members who want to address the congregation at greater length to speak to the worship leader earlier in the week, so that his or her remarks can be part of the fabric of the morning. Memorial statements are an example of a kind of sharing that deserves its own moment. Standing at the podium and using the microphone system is another way to be sure that all your listeners are included.

Occasionally, we will use the time customarily devoted to Joys & Concerns to experiment with rituals that other UU churches use to acknowledge our commitment to mutual support. Spoken joys and concerns are powerful, but so are other rituals that may also open doors for people who do not resonate to joys and concerns.

Finally, we hope that emerging programs of small group ministry and adult religious education will meet more of the need to know about each other’s deepest concerns and support each other on our journeys.

Written by Judith Hollowood and Submitted to the congregation by the Sunday Services Committee: Bernie Mathes, Pat Geary, Judith Hollowood, Beryl Lawson, Barkley Rosser.

General Assembly, A Meeting of Congregations

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:18:22 +0000

General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. General Assemblies shall make overall policy for carrying out the purposes of the Association and shall direct and control its affairs. Voting at each regular and special General Assembly shall be by accredited delegates from certified member congregations, certified associate member organizations, and trustees.

Registration and Housing Reservations are now open.

The full Program Schedule is now available.

Thomas Jefferson District Annual Meeting & Family Retreat

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:50:39 +0000

Want to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and our Association?

The Thomas Jefferson District Annual Meeting & Family Retreat will be in Haw River State Park, Brown Summit, NC (near Greensboro) on May 8 – 10. The business meeting will intentionally be very brief; the weekend is planned as an intergenerational retreat where you can relax, renew old friendships and get to know new UU friends from other congregations. The focus of the weekend will be on how to create authentic intergenerational community in our congregations. There will be lots of music, informative workshops, excellent worship, and plenty of community time. The two candidates for the Presidency of the UUA, Rev. Laurel Hallman and Rev. Peter Morales, will be there on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Accommodations at The Summit are cabins of 8 or 9 and motel-like rooms that sleep 2 or 3. The District has arranged discounted rates at motels close by, and there are campgrounds too. Full registration is $95 for adults and $65 for children. This includes conference fees, all meals and 2 nights lodging. More information is available at http://tjd.uua.org