In preparation for the discussion at our June 7 service, find out more about the race for UUA president. Audio, video and transcripts from the candidate forum…

We know you are ready for plants grown from UUFF seeds (these plants are full of compassion and they thrive on truth and justice).  We have several volunteer growers who plan to bring the plants they’ve lovingly tended all spring to offer for sale on Sunday, May 31st, at UUFF after the service (about noon).  Those of you who aren’t donating by bringing things to sell are encouraged to pick up some summer greenery for your garden and flower pots.  Your donations will contribute towards the landscape projects around the building, such as new fencing and stairs.  If you have garden or yard-related donations, they will be accepted anytime before the sale on Sunday.  Volunteers are neede to help with the sale. Contact Anna Plager (455-6695).

This is the first in a series of summer services that will look at the ethics of eating. Our May 31 program explores the ethics of hunting and the question of how Alaskans, UUs or not, reconcile their hunting practices with their spiritual beliefs, including Unitarian Universalism’s seventh principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.  We have invited several speakers to present varying perspectives on the question. Later services in the series will examine growing our own food and raising animals for food. Ethical Eating was selected at UUA General Assembly 2008 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to be the Congregational Study/Action Issue for 2008-2012. The UUA site has online materials including an Ethical Eating Study Guide. Lay leader, Cam Leonard. Accompanist, Laurel Holmes.

 

 Hunting: Our relationship with animals: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Please bring a side dish, dessert or something for the grill for Sunday’s Spring Celebration potluck. UUFF will provide the condiments, buns and beverages. We will have two small grills going (if you have a larger one you can bring, please let Frida know).

Join us and bring a friend to our annual Maypole dance – an outdoor, intergenerational celebration of Spring’s arrival. Everyone from children to nonagenarians are encouraged to join in the dance. As the dance progresses the ribbons are braided onto the pole or into a web around the pole. The dancers then retrace their steps exactly in order to unravel the ribbons. We’ll try two or three different versions accompanied by country dance music played by members of the Fellowship. If you are a musician who wants to join in, contact Jana Peirce (488-8692) or Pete Bowers (455-6528) or just show up with your instrument. Lay leader, Jana Peirce. Music, UUFF Maypole Dance Band. After the maypole dance, we will continue the celebration with a community picnic and barbecue. Please bring a side dish or something for the grill. If you can help with the planning or the clean up, contact Frida Shroyer (460-5372).

Visiting speaker, Jack Peirce will lead a conversation about the nature of faith and religious inquiry. Inspired by the controversial writings of French philosopher and Jesuit theologian, Teilhard de Chardin, Jack will start the conversation using a list of words and sayings to help us explore the positive role of heresy and doubt, or agnosticism, in religious thought. We will explore such words as resilience, belief, adaptive unconscious, uncertainty and problem-solving — where verbal definitions come readily, albeit variably — and wonder, awe and reverence, where definitions are harder to come by, but which converge on religious experience. Speaker, Jack Peirce. Lay leader, John Peirce. Accompanist, Laurel Holmes. Read More »

One of the best parts of our annual outdoor maypole celebration (held on Sunday, May 24, this year) is the live music played by members and friends of the Fellowship. If you are a musician who can play country dance/folk music and you want to join in, contact Jana Peirce (488-8692). Once we know who’s playing, we will arrange a practice time to go over which songs we’ll play. The practice will either be this Sunday (May 17) after service or at 9:30 a.m. on May 24, before the Maypole service.

Frida Shroyer asks everyone planning to participate in the Maypole celebration barbeque lunch on May 24 to contact her with items they’ll be bringing. UUFF is needing barbeque grills, things to grill, beverages, salads, and desserts, and we need good organization for this event. You can leave Frida a message at 460-5372. Thanks!

We are all, sometimes for better or worse, our mother’s child. Peter Pierson will lead our Mother’s Day service when we take the time to remember just how much our mothers have given us. On this Mother’s Day Sunday, we will examine those moments when we do or say or see something, and we are suddenly aware of those pieces of our mothers that are deep within us. Bring a photo and share a personal story or anecdote — whether serious, humorous, or both – about one of those moments that has revealed to you just how influential your mother has been on who you have become. Everyone is welcome to participate. Speaker, UUFF members and friends. Lay leader, Peter Pierson. Accompanist, Laurel Holmes.

SOMETHING TO SHARE: May 10 is Mother’s Day, and we are calling our service, “We Are Our Mothers’ Children.” Everyone is invited to bring a photo or a memento that you have of your mother. During the service, you will be invited to share a story or anecdote about something your mother has given you – whether it’s a family heirloom, a desired (or undesired) character trait, or a lesson you learned from her.