UU Fellowship of Otero County

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Join us for UUFOC Sunday Services! Gathering and Chat is at 10am. The Service starts at 10:30 AM. Use the link below to join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85923449774

Sunday 7-5-2020 Annual Meeting
"Standing Between the Fires" - A sermon by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar

Our service today is in memory of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre— which happened 99 years ago on May 31. We are honored to have music (both secular and religious) from the era of Black Excellence before and after our historic Greenwood district was destroyed by the hands of white Tulsans. Special thanks to our local musicians Booker Gillespie and Cynthia Simmons for creating music for this service with Rick Fortner and David Smith. Rev. Marlin Lavanhar will share his messages about the anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the current realities of racial violence in America.

We will be sharing our joys, sorrows and offer advice for those who are in need of comfort during this difficult time. We will carry the flame together and keep on going through this.

If you have any questions, please email dee at [email protected] or call 575-491-8889. Dee will be more than happy to help you connect.

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Off-site Registrant Participation in General Assembly

Registration is going on right now for the UUA’s first virtual General Assembly of Congregations. Click on the link for more information and detailed worship and workshop program descriptions! 🌈☀️❤️🙏

uua.org Virtual Participants are able to watch and ask questions in live sessions including workshops and business sessions (mini-assemblies, hearings, etc). Voting Delegates are also able to propose amendments in the live business sessions, participate in debates, and vote in general sessions.

Pacific Western Region

Good evening,

We received the below email from Sarah Millspaugh from the UUA, and in light of recent developments regarding COVID-19 in the state of New Mexico, it is with a heavy heart that the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Otero County will be cancelling all Sunday services, Family Game Night, UU Movie Night, and Wine Down Wednesday for the next two weeks. We will reassess the situation at that time. The Wicca 101 classes will be rescheduled at a later date.

If you would like the links to ANY of the topics below, you can message Dee and she will be more than happy to forward them to you. We hope that you all are well and stay that way! Wash your hands and avoid touching your face unless they are clean!

From the Pacific Western Region UUA:

Dear friends and colleagues in New Mexico,

I learned just a few hours ago that Governor Grisham is discouraging non-essential gatherings, such as worship services, in an effort to contain the spread of novel coronavirus 2019 in New Mexico. I am very sorry to hear this. The UUA strongly urges congregations to follow the guidance of state, county, and local authorities regarding gathering.

As part of my role with Safe Congregations in our Pacific Western Region and our UUA as a whole, I’ve been in close conversation with our congregations in greater Seattle, nearly all of whom cancelled in-person worship last week and many of whom gathered online instead. I and other UUA staff have also developed resources that can be helpful to you as you go forward. They are:

Planning for and Addressing Pandemics in Your Community, which includes guidance on modifying worship and small group gatherings/meetings.
A collection of COVID-19 resources including sample emergency operations plans, sample literature, and links to CDC guidance for faith communities.
Just-updated guidance on how to hold online worship and online meetings.

I just led a webinar on COVID-19 response today, and it’s repeated next week if you want to sign up. You can also watch it by video soon—it’s buffering as I type and I’ll be uploading it to the above (first bullet) web section as soon as I can.

And tomorrow, the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship is devoting their live talk show, The VUU, to online worship and “sustaining connection in a coronavirus world.”

Please let me (or Sarah Schurr, if she’s your primary contact) know how things are going for you and what else you need. It’s indeed a difficult place to be in, not knowing how much is too much or too little. But it’s always helpful to know that we’re not in it alone.

With faith, hope, and love,
Sarah

Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh :: she/her/hers
Congregational Life Staff
Based in San Diego, CA
858-215-2650

Unitarian Universalist Association
Pacific Western Region
P.O. Box 567, Brighton, CO 80601
www.uua.org/pwr

uua.org Pacific Western Region staff encourage our congregations to take a deep interest in each other; to consider best practices together; to model spiritual leadership with one another; and to share their stories of doubt, risk and transformation.

Here are the UU Valentines! With love and light from us all! ❤️🙏🔥🌈🎉

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Church of the Larger Fellowship! We hope your day is full of luuve and ethically sourced chocolate. 😊💙

Thank you to Tim Atkins and Jessica Ferguson for these wonderful valentines.

Here are some photos from this year’s Christmas party! Thank you to all who could be a part of this wonderful service and celebration! We were blessed to see so many people this year old faces and new! Such great messages and positive energy with such a large circle during Carry The Flame! We wish you all a safe, happy holiday season filled with family, friends and happy memories! ❄️❤️🎄⛄️🎉⭐️🎅🔥

[12/13/19]   Our service for this Sunday, December 15, will be “Why We Celebrate Christmas" by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar. Why do Unitarian Universalists celebrate Christmas? I'm often asked this question because, historically members of UU congregations don’t believe in the virgin birth or the divinity of Jesus. But, if you look at the history of Christmas in America, a better question might be “Why do Christians celebrate Christmas since the holiday is so deeply influenced by Unitarians and Universalists?" I may sound as if I'm being provocative, but the reality is that UUs have played a major role in shaping the meaning, music, stories, and practice of Christmas as we know it. This is a very special video sermon. 🎅

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Celebrating Yule - A History of the Holidays” with stories, movies, music and more. 🎄

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

A special thank you to Nathaniel Lukas and all his wonderful service dogs that we were able to get to know for informing our fellowship about the importance of etiquette, inclusion and understanding of people with disabilities and their furry companions. For more info on PHD, head to petsandhelpingdogs.com

[10/11/19]   Our service for this Sunday, October 13, will be “One Community, Many Paths" by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar. Some people want to understand how Humanists and Pagans, Christians, Jews and Buddhists and people of multiple faiths and philosophies have created such a vibrant congregation together in the heart of this country. It’s not always easy to explain how we can all worship under the same roof but in this very special video sermon, Rev. Lavanhar breaks it down for you. It seems as if humanity is at a spiritual crossroads right now in which one fork leads to more fear and division and the other leads to more love and greater cooperation. ⛪️

9:00 AM – UUFOC Board Meeting will take place in the Fellowship. 🌐

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day - A Critical History Lesson” with stories, music, movies and more. 🎃

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

How wonderful! ❤️🙏🔥

Break out your black turtlenecks and raw denim, we've got an app now! (And yes, it's available in iOS and Android.)

Download from Apple Store: https://apple.co/2AR4B0h Download from the Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/30NZSqQ

[10/04/19]   Our service for this Sunday, October 6, will be “Heart To Heart: Friendship" by Lisa Yehle. We will return to a Heart To Heart format this Sunday within a circle of fellowship. It will be a time to reflect on the value, role, and challenges of friendship in our lives. Everyone will have the time to share, bond, and listen intently to one another. 🌿

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Learning From the Past - Looking Into The Future” with stories, games, music and more. 🌠

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

[09/27/19]   Our service for this Sunday, September 29, will be “My Suicide Family Tree" by Shari Adkisson. Shari will highlight her family tree in reference to the suicides that they have experienced as a family. She will recall the experiences of losing so many loved ones to a growing epidemic in this country. Prepare to be educated with the latest statistics on the suicide public health problem. Learn the steps that you can take when confronted by a suicidal person, spot the warning signs or simply even just comfort someone that has been deeply affected by it. 🌿

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Learning From the Past - Looking Into The Future” with stories, games, music and more. 🌠

After Lunch (around 2:00 PM) – Adult RE Workshop + showing of "Long Strange Trip: The Birth of American Unitarianism (1620-1860) in the Fellowship.

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

[09/19/19]   Our service for this Sunday, September 22, will be “Celebrating the Water Communion" by Dee Proctor. Bring water that has touched the west, the north, the south, and the east, which comes from the sky, the surface of the earth, and from deep wells and springs within the earth. Bring water that belonged to lakes, streams, and reservoirs of fresh water that quenches our thirst. Bring water that is a part of the great oceans and the seas that circle the globe, teeming with life, the source of all life. Bring water to this place of meeting and sharing for our annual service that honors one of the sources of life. 🔮

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Developing your Intuition - Wisdom from Ancient Tools of Divination” with stories, games, music and more. 🌠

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

[09/12/19]   Our service for this Sunday, September 15, will be “Small but Mighty: The Fellowship Movement" by Roxanne Richardson. Between 1948 and 1967, Unitarianism experienced a period of enormous growth, perhaps the most significant increase in numbers for any time in Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist history. One third of the people who swelled our ranks during these years came through the doors of newly organized "fellowships." The story behind the Fellowship Movement is one of the most interesting in all our efforts at evangelism. Building off from Rev Anderson’s sermon last Sunday, we will explore further the history, legacy, strengths and setbacks of our congregation as a small fellowship rather than a large church! 🌟

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be “Exploring the Spirit of Life through Visuals" with stories, movies, games and more! ⛪️

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

See you Sunday! ☀️

[09/06/19]   Our service for this Sunday, September 8, will be “Ministry - Yours and Mine" by Rev. Nancy Anderson. Join us for a celebration of the beautiful work of our very own minister. This will be Rev Anderson’s last sermon at our fellowship before her official retirement from the ministry. Come ready to be inspired and excited for the future of our faith. Discover how each and every one of us has a personal responsibility when it comes to doing God’s work for the benefit of all! 🌟

9:00 AM - UUFOC board meeting will take place in the fellowship. 🌐

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Developing Your Intuition - Mindfulness & Gratitude" with stories, music, games and more! ⛪️

11:45 AM - Autumn Potluck will commence right after the service in the fellowship. Please bring a dish to share with everyone! 🍗

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

See you Sunday! ☀️

[09/04/19]   Join us in fellowship this Friday evening as we gather for movie night to learn about the impact of global warming! Come and learn all about how you can do your part to save our Mother Earth! The film chronicles Al Gore’s continuous struggle to get climate change to the political forefront... still 11 years later after his first Academy Award winning documentary. When will government listen and heed the warning signs & devastation!!?Hope to see you all there! Click on the event for more details! 🙏🔥❤️🌎

[08/30/19]   Our service for this Sunday, September 1, will be “Winging It: From Fledgling to Freedom" by Carolyn Kittle. Join us for a celebration of words which describe the journey we share as UUs. Many of these words are in the songs of UU singers/songwriters and the theme of many stories like Jonathan Livingston Seagull. We will be winging it this Sunday so come ready to be inspired by good music, the cycles of life, and the human condition. 🎼

10:00 AM – Coffee, snacks and conversation will begin in the Fellowship. ☕

10:30 AM – Service starts in the Sanctuary. 🔥

RE (Sunday School) topic will be "Developing Your Intuition - Mindfulness & Gratitude" with stories, music, games and more! ⛪️

Look under our “events” page or calendar link for more info on what’s happening this week at the fellowship. 🌎

Come worship with us! 🙏

See you Sunday! ☀️