Communitarian

Published Monthly Sunday Services January

January 22 Do You Hear What I Hear? Visions, near-death experiences, conversions and other significant challenges to our assumptions about lived reality ask us to reconsider how we know what we know and what we live by. Worship Leader: Dr. Caroline Knowles Ph.D. January 29 Images of God In the story of the Exodus, the presence of God is indicated by a burning bush, a pillar of cloud, and a pillar of fire. Whatever we might believe about God, most of us carry images of the divine from various sources we have encountered on life's journey. We will explore a variety of these images and consider how they influence our lives. Worship Leader: Pamela Gehrke

January 2012 Presidents Message

What an exciting December we had! I would like to start by thanking everyone who made the dinners and fellowship that we had after our services a rousing success! Early in December Christina and I opened the church up for a fireside chat and we were joined by Kyle Herbold, Callie and Nadia Harper-Herbold. Kyle coached us through our first ever time making potato latkes. They were delicious! We topped them with sour cream, sat by the fire, and lit the Menorah. We combined two festivities and Christina read a story to the children about Yule. What a wonderful evening. We also attended the first concert of the Delta Harmony Express, and may I say Ladies that I was completely blown away! What a wonderful time we had! Beautiful music sung in our Beautiful church! Thank you to everyone who brought their families to the Christmas Eve Service and for everyone who brought cookies for fellowship after the service in Jackson Hall. For everyone who helped clean up - a HUGE thank you goes out to you! We hope to see more of these types of services in the future. Christina and I cooked turkeys, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes on Christmas

Sunday Services A Look Ahead at February

February 8 Rev. Art Severances First Service Come and welcome our new Interim Minister as he addresses the congregation for the first time! Worship Leader: Rev. Art Severance February 15 - Climate: Whats Love got to do With It? Come enjoy a special presentation on climate change by one of Al Gores panel of speakers Worship Leader: Doug Grandt

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Day for our 2nd Annual Christmas Dinner. Not only did we have far more than enough to feed our church members who came, but also two homeless men who were walking by and saw that our light was on. After clean up, Christina, Annabelle and I drove to St. Mary's Homeless Shelter and fed 14 other men who came to the back of our car to get a meal as well. So, another thank you, to all of you who brought food to share with us in our Christmas Meal at the church, you also helped feed another 14 people! For those who have not heard, we will be welcoming Rev. Arthur Severance into our church to become our Interim Minister. His first service here will be February 8, and we hope to see every one of our church members here on that Sunday to welcome Rev. Severance. Bright Blessings, Ben Cervantes Board President

Do you know of an organization that would be a good candidate to receive one of our social justice collections? If so, please contact Board President Ben Cervantes or board member Lauri McKindley. We meet periodically to decide who will be the recipients of our social justice collections, and we welcome your ideas!

December Social Justice Collection

Our December Social Justice Collection raised $275.05 in support of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they dont get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes. Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence in their lives. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations.

Social Justice News Social Justice Collection Sunday, January 15

This months social justice collection, on January 15, goes to support Nor-Cal All Stars Traveling Baseball Team. They are a nonprofit organization that helps to keep the youth of San Joaquin County off the streets and out of harms way. The funds donated today will be used to purchase equipment, uniforms, traveling expenses, air line tickets, entertainment, tournament fees, and insurance.

Congregational News & Updates Mens Group Meetings

January 3 & 17 The Mens Group, a biweekly social/support group for men, meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. Members meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. Meetings for this month will be held on January 3 and 17. If you are interested in becoming a member of this group, please contact Al Babylon at (209) 956-6838 or alhampshire@earthlink.net.
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Book Group Meeting

January 25 The book club meets January 25th at 7:00p.m., in Jackson Hall. This month's book is The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. "So good I had to read it twice simply to figure how he pulled it off," said Christopher Buckley, the NY Book Review. The book schedule is as follows: February: Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories March: Hotel on the Corner of the Bitter and Sweet April: Major Pettigrew New members or drop-ins are most welcome. If interested in joining, contact Lonnie Martin at (209) 981-7800 or leonebmartin@gmail.com. Lonnie Martin, Chairman

Updates to Your Church Directory

Please make the following changes in your Directory for the following members and friends of the church: New email addresses: Barbara Kent: bkentstockton@gmail.com Dee Heszler and David Yoder deeh952@gmail.com New mailing address: Carol Green 3031 Terra Linda Dr. Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Memorial Reception Coordinator

Beginning December 1, 2011, Christina Cervantes became the Memorial Reception Coordinator for the church replacing the UU Alliance, formerly responsible for memorial receptions. Unable to find a volunteer to organize memorial receptions, the Alliance recommended to the Board of Trustees that a Memorial Reception Coordinator be hired and paid for this responsibility. It was agreed that if a family requested a Memorial Reception following a service a fee of $40.00 would be charged and paid to the Memorial Reception Coordinator. It was also agreed that receptions would be limited to two hours following the church service. The Alliance and church members will be asked by the Coordinator, Christina Cervantes, to volunteer and furnish punch, coffee, tea and cookies as well as serving and
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Collecting Bottles and Cans

The Church is collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles (water, soda, & juice ONLY no other plastics) for recycling. Two barrels for your donations are in Jackson Hall; one for cans and one for plastic bottles. Please drain all liquids before placing in receptacles. Every Monday the cans and bottles will be taken to a recycling center. For more information, contact Judy Andrews at (209) 476-9828.

cleaning up after the reception. If the family wishes to serve food other than the cookies and punch there will be a clean up fee of $35 in addition to the Coordinators fee. If you have any questions concerning this information please call Joan Briscoe, Alliance Steering Committee Member at (209) 9569304.

UU Alliance News Bean Soup Jars Sales A HUGE Success!

Thank you, church members and friends, for supporting the Alliance Holiday Bean Soup Sale. As of the first week of January, we have sold all but nine jars for a profit of $541.64 for church needs. For example, last year, the outside front door sign was our special 2011 gift to the church. Anyone interested in one or more of the nine remaining jars, please contact Mary Lois Thompson at (209) 477-4180.

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Regular Church Activities Come Join Us!

Regular Groups & Meetings Book Group All are invited to read & discuss books selected by the group. Mens Group All are invited who wish to participate in our conversational sessions. Youth Group Formerly called YRUU, our youth group offers opportunities for social get-togethers and service projects.

Monthly Meeting Date(s) 4th Wednesday 7:00 PM

December Date(s) January 25

Contact for More Information Lonnie Martin, 469-3757 or

bookgroup@stocktonuu.org

1st & 3rd Tuesday 7:00 PM

January 3 & 17

Al Babylon, 956-6838 or
mensgroup@stocktonuu.org

Special Events as scheduled

Dates will vary. Please check the church website for more information

Michelle Mueller, 466-7743 or religious_ed@stocktonuu.org

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JANUARY 2012 First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton

Sunday
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Monday
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Tuesday
3 7:00 PM - Mens Group

Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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8 Choir

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11 7:00 PM Board Meeting

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13

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15 Choir 10:30 AM Service Faith in Community (Social Justice Collection) 22 10:30 AM Service Do You Hear What I Hear?

16 OFFICE CLOSED Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday 7:00 PM Finance Committee Meeting 23

17 7:00 PM Mens Group

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19

20

21

(Newsletter Deadline)

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25 7:00 PM Book Club

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29 Choir 10:30 AM Service Images of God

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Purpose
(Article III, By-Laws of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton) We, the members of this congregation, shall foster Unitarian Universalist principles. We encourage each individual to determine his or her own creed and standard of theological belief. Toward those purposes, we are committed to creating a loving religious community through worship, study, service and fellowship while honoring diversity and respecting the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. We shall strive to render enlightened service to the various communities of which we are a part. We respect the interdependent web of all living things. Director of Religious Education Michelle Mueller, M.Div. ...............................466-7743 E-Mail........................... religious_ed@stocktonuu.org Music Director Curtis Mannah. ................................................466-7743 E-Mail....................................... music@stocktonuu.org Administrator Krista Snyder ...................................................466-7743 E-Mail........................................office@stocktonuu.org Board of Trustees President Ben Cervantes .................................................. 373-3957 E-Mail ................................ president@stocktonuu.org How to Contact Us Phone ...................................................... (209) 466-7743 Fax ........................................................... (209) 466-6474 E-Mail .................................... contact@stocktonuu.org Web .............................................www.stocktonuu.org Mail/Office .................................. 2737 Pacific Avenue Stockton CA 95204 Office Hours ......................Mon. 8:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tues., Wed., Fri. 8:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Thurs. 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

First Unitarian Universalist Church 2737 Pacific Avenue Stockton CA 95204

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