"Faith and" Dinners

So many of you have asked for the opportunity to “go deeper” and to have “real conversations” with your fellow Unitarian Universalists, your friends and neighbors in faith. We have listened. Throughout the church year, the Welcome Team will be sponsoring a series of four dinner conversations centered around living your UU values while living your everyday life. The four topics of conversation will be:

Faith and Politics
Faith and Families
Faith and Caregiving
Faith and Play

The series kicks off on Sat. Nov.12th when we will be discussing Faith and Politics.

Please join with fellow newcomers, members, and friends to share a meal and talk about faith, UU values, political decision-making, and participatory democracy. This dinner will be a small, intimate gathering at a host home. Over a shared meal, we will consider several questions related to the theme. The conversation will be lightly facilitated so that each person has a chance to share his/her thoughts and feelings if they wish. Please sign up at http://bit.ly/mUG7Q8 or call Deborah Levering at 978-621-4525. Firm deadline to register is Saturday, Nov. 5th.

Your thoughts and questions are always welcome.

Deborah Levering for the Welcoming Team, deborahlevering@me.com

Bargains in the Belfry is Open!

The consignment shop at the Harvard Unitarian Church is open on

Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
First and third Saturday mornings each month from 10 to 12
First Sunday each month from 11:15 to 12:15

The shop features slightly used seasonal clothing for men and women and some children’s clothing. A dressing room is available.

We are accepting fall and winter clothing, attic treasures, memorabilia and collectibles on consignment. We can accept only children’s clothes that are made of cotton fibers and that contain no metal snaps, buttons or zippers, nor contain plastics of any sort. (See HR 4040) All items must be clean and in good condition and can be left in the church office. Please include your name and phone number.

Bargains is run by the Women’s Alliance of the Harvard Unitarian Church. Profits go to benefit both the church and community. For more information, call Janice Goodell or Barbara Henderson.

Glean Team Update

This has been a remarkable month!

Lisa Oldham collected green stamps from so many supporters that she was able to get eight knives of all shapes and sizes for the FB kitchen for free. Pam Frederick donated a knife block to hold all of them. Be careful, these are very sharp knives!

Gleaning at Roche Bros. in Acton has begun. About eight cases of food are collected on Tuesdays and Fridays and transported to Loaves & Fishes or WHEAT. The experience has been inspiring from all angles. Volunteers are thrilled with the ease of the procedure and with the reception offered at the food pantries. We are going to need a scale to weigh the food collected so that we can keep track of the volume. Donations from the supermarket include produce, bread, milk, and prepared foods.

Oakes Plimpton spoke to a group of about 20 people on Saturday, April 17th in the FB. He described his experiences as an early gleaner and his vision for the future; he asked us all to share our gleaning experiences. Oakes is a fascinating and engaging speaker. Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this event with your food contributions!

Soon it will be summer and time to start gleaning at the Farmers’ Market and in the fields. Would you like to join us?

Risa Goldman and Cary Browse,
co-chairs of the HUUC Glean Team

HUUC Visioning Survey

For the past year the Vision Task Force has been engaged in asking members and friends to help us envision the HUUC of the future. Out of this process they have created a survey to get your final input on a vision for our congregation. Your participation is vital to determining the direction we want to take over the next decade and will help us shape both our near and long term goals. At a time when resources are limited it is critical to make sure we are using them efficiently and wisely. We want to ensure that we really are serving our members and fulfilling on our mission.

This on-line survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. It can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/473553/HUUC-Visioning-Survey. The survey will be available until May 9th. If you are
unable to take the survey on line, please contact Susan-Mary Redinger (978)456-3510. We thank you for your
support!

The Visioning Task Force Team
(Chuck McCormack, Darrell Wickman, SusanMary Redinger).

Caring Committee Survey

The Caring Committee has prepared a "Caring Survey" to collect info to keep on file for various "help items" like providing meals, rides, etc. Please download it here, print it, fill it out, and drop it off at church.

An Invitation to be an Usher

Ushers are the first real connection a newcomer makes as they experience our sanctuary for the first time. Ushers
are the “eyes and ears” for the congregation taking the pulse of the room during the worship service. They pay attention to room temperature, emergencies, discomfort and distractions, guarding the safety and comfort of the congregation. Ushers are a precious, integral, and crucial part of our Sunday morning worship experience.

A team of 4-6 individuals is responsible for a specific Sunday each month. For instance, Team A would be responsible for ushering on the 1st Sunday of each month from September through June. Ushers are plugged in to the master calendar. If a particular scheduled Sunday doesn't work for you, you are free to switch with a teammate. Team B would cover the 2nd Sunday, and so on. Using this method, each person would commit to 4-5 Sunday mornings throughout the entire year.