A National Tendency: First Announce for October 23rd, 2022








The Whole Souul Living Theme for October is Courage

Sunday Worship –

October 23rd 10:00 am

A National Tendency

by Rev. Mike Morran

As we approach the midterm elections, we will consider some recent and very loud calls to nationalism and Christian nationalism. Especially, we will consider how to intelligently respond as people of faith.

We have coffee hour after the service and would love for you to bring snacks (healthy and otherwise) to go with our coffee!

Multiplatform Worship at First Unitarian Denver

Join us on Sunday at 10:00 am, in person or online. At this time, masks are optional but highly encouraged for those who might have been exposed, might be at higher risk for severe illness, or have weakened immune systems. Our service streams to Youtube and Zoom (meeting ID is 466-677-668 and the password is 454623).

Join us for virtual coffee hour on Zoom after the service. The meeting ID is 912-1732-1324. Come see familiar faces and meet new people.

Children’s Choir – Rehearsal Sunday, October 23rd!

(thanks to Charlotte Braud-Kern for the post)

The First Unitarian Children’s Choir will be singing on October 30th during our annual Remembrance Service. If you have a child age 4+ who likes to sing, please join us at our rehearsals after Sunday services. We will practice in the upstairs chapel for 30 minutes this Sunday, October 23rd, with a performance on October 30th.  

Please contact Charlotte Braud-Kern at cskern54@gmail.com if your child is interested in singing with us now or later in the year – we will be singing again during the winter holidays. More specific information will be sent to interested families.

Repelling Fewer People!

Come one, come all!  After church this coming Sunday, Rev. Mike will lead a short workshop (about twenty minutes) about welcoming all the visitors who have been coming to church. We’ll consider who these people are, what they are most likely hoping for, what to say, what NOT to say, conversation starters, and more! (Psssssst…. If you are a member or friend of the church, congratulations! You’re part of our Connections Ministry!)

Rev. Mike Morran – First Video Blog!

Please click here to view a short video message (three minutes) from Rev. Mike Morran. The purpose of this weekly message is to share what is going on at First Unitarian, spiritually and in the world.

Family Ministry – October 2022 Newsletter

Please click here to view the FUSD Family Ministry Monthly Newsletter.

Successful Record Sealing Event on Saturday 10/15!

(thanks to Trudy Glidden, FUSD Record Sealing Project, for the post)

Over 100 individuals with criminal records attended the 5th Annual Record Sealing Clinic held by Expunge Colorado and sponsored by the FUSD RECORD SEALING PROJECT and other co-sponsors. Twenty pro bono lawyers and 10 volunteer law students reviewed records and consulted with petitioners, while dozens of other volunteers organized a job/community fair and fed everyone present all day. Full details on the number of people attending and the number of records sealed will be available in coming weeks.

Halloween Dance – Saturday, October 22nd!

(thanks to Erin Kenworthy, DRE for the post)

It’s a SPOOK-tacular time to BOO-gie together! Our Halloween Dance is family friendly. Join us on Saturday October 22nd from 6-9 p.m. $10 suggested donation at the door, costumes encouraged, all are welcome. Come early to help decorate. We’ll have a DJ, drinks, and snacks, and you are invited to bring snacks to share. 

Walk and Talk – Monday, October 24th

(thanks to Marty Dawley for the post)

Walk and Talk on Monday, October 24th– Come, share a walk with us at the Denver Botanic Gardens at 1 p.m. on Monday, October 24th. All are welcome: young, old, strollers, wheelchairs (the Gardens will loan you a chair if you need one), fast walkers, and slow. RSVP to Marty Dawley (martydawley@yahoo.com), and let her know if you are coming and if you need a free ticket(s). (We have several available through our memberships.) We’ll meet outside the entrance if the weather is agreeable. Inside near the gift shop, if it’s not so pleasant. Hope to see you there.

George Mitchell’s Memorial

(thanks to Kathy Mitchell-Garton for the post)

Our dear and faithful George Mitchell passed away on September12. Please join the Mitchell family in a celebration of George’s life on October 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. at First Unitarian. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Golden Rotary or the charity of your choice. George’s full obituary is here.

Day of Remembrance Service – Sunday, October 30th

(thanks to Erin Kenworthy, DRE for the post)

Sunday October 30th, is the multigenerational Day of Remembrance service. You are invited to bring photos and items to add to our altars, built to honor those loved ones who have passed this year. In the spirit of celebrating lives well lived, we encourage the expression of mirth that accompanies wearing Halloween costumes.

FUSD Black Reparations Fund

(thanks to Patrick Whorton and the FUSD Racial Justice Project)

In our ongoing black reparations effort, the President of the Denver Black Reparations Council, Arthur McFarlane II, great-grandson of W.E.B. DuBois, will be our featured speaker at the regular Sunday service on November 6th. A question and answer session with McFarlane will be offered after the service.

Please visit our table during coffee hour after Sunday’s service if you have questions.

Lunch Bunch Returns – Friday, November 11th

(thanks to Marty Dawley for the post)

Everyone is invited for the return of our monthly potluck, Lunch Bunch, on a new day, the second Friday of the month. Our first get together will be on November 11th, and we’ll meet again on December 9th in the FUSD Community Room. We gather around 11:00a.m. to set up, and we generally ring the lunch bell at noon. If you don’t have more than an hour, just come at noon and join us. The food is always delicious, and the company is stimulating.

The Case of the Missing Linens

Everyone loves a good mystery, and here’s one right at First Unitarian. We have hardly a single dishcloth/towel left in our kitchen, and almost all of our table linens are gone. Sometimes this is the result of folks taking linens home to wash and forgetting to bring them back or …  The linens may have been moved and be somewhere else entirely. We just don’t know.  If you have a clue, please, contact Cindy Robertson or Marty Dawley. It’s hard to clean up or to spiff up our receptions without these supplies.

Did You Know?

FUSD is an energy company! (Well, sort of.) We own 160 solar panels near the airport with a capacity of 39.2kW. We sell our production to Xcel to offset much of our monthly electricity bill. We took out two loans to buy the panels and have already paid off one loan. When we pay off the second loan, we will still have more than 16 years of guaranteed energy output. We’re (pale) Green!

Our Whole Lives Update

(thanks to Erin Kenworthy, DRE for the post)

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is sexuality education that fosters informed, responsible, and values-based decisions about sexual health and behavior.

First Unitarian is preparing to offer classes in January as part of our RE program and in line with our congregational Reproductive Justice Project initiative supporting education.

If you are interested in facilitating OWL, please connect with Erin, as she is beginning to assemble teaching teams for A K/1+ family class, a 5th/6th grade class, and a comprehensive middle school class. Orientations and classes will begin in January of 2023.

All facilitators will need to attend a weekend long training workshop before leading classes. There is a training workshop for middle and high school class facilitators coming up November 11 and 12 at First Universalist. Registration is currently open on a first come, first served basis. If and when facilitation teams are in place, families will be able to register their children and youth for participation. Thank you for your enthusiasm, support, and your patience as we return to providing this life changing experience.

WELCOME ALL TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ACTION AT FUSD: FALL 2022

(thanks to Tammy Carpenter for the post)

As the fall church year begins, the FUSD Faith in Action Council (FIAC) wants to update you about our social justice projects approved for the next two years by the congregation this past June and about our FUSD Giving in Action collections on the first and third Sunday of each month. 

FIAC PROJECTS:

Family Promise, a metro-wide collaboration of churches to house unsheltered families, has been in place at FUSD for several decades. Four families are housed in our RE rooms for a week or two, two or three times each year. Numerous volunteers participate in providing meals, overnight care and transportation. The contact person for Family Promise is Hillary Barrett-Osborne at hillarybarrettosborne@gmail.com.

The Racial Justice Project, in place at FUSD for 6 years, has concentrated on education of the congregation through workshops, seminars, films, and book talks. Current year efforts aim toward work on reparations for African-Americans. The co-chairs are Patrick Whorton (pwhorton@gmail.com) and Steve Brainerd (steve.brainerd@dgslaw.com). 

The Climate Justice Project, a new project this year, is pursuing climate equity and justice in collaboration with local Denver metro community organizations. Stephanie Walton and David Alley are co-chairs. Julie Meyers is the contact person.

The Reproductive Justice Project, new this year, has created four vectors of action including advocacy, education, service, and witness. Co-Chairs are Kimberly Urish and Erin Kenworthy. The email to get more involved is reproductivejustice@fusden.org.

Giving In Action Sunday Collections. FUSD has also committed to expand our social justice efforts beyond our approved projects through bi-monthly donations to 501(c)3 organizations which are approved by the Giving in Action Committee of the church. Carol Ruckel (carolruckel@gmail.com) is the liaison to FIAC from the GIA Committee. 

If you have any interest or questions about the FIAC social justice work at FUSD, please contact Tammy Carpenter (tcarpent7@gmail.com) or Betsy Brainerd (betsybrainerd@gmail.com), co-chairs of the Council. Other FIAC members are Theresa Tomich, Karen Ray, and Peggy Ulrich-Nims.

Nonpartisan Election Call Center

(thanks to Julie Meyers for the post) 

I’ve been involved in the Election Call Center for the last few election cycles. It’s very well organized and a great way to help voters in a nonpartisan way. See below for more info. Let’s help our democracy!

Every two years, the Colorado Lawyers Committee co-sponsors* a Nonpartisan Election Call Center where volunteers answer phone calls from Colorado voters on the national 866-OUR-VOTE hotline by providing voter information, documenting problems callers encounter when voting, and working with partners and volunteers on the ground to identify and remove barriers to voting. Typical questions include, “Has my ballot been received?” “Where do I register?” and “Where can I drop off my ballot?”  

The 2022 Call Center will take place in person on Monday, November 7th and Election Day, Tuesday, November 8th at the Polsinelli law firm, 1401 Lawrence Street, Suite 2300.  Instead of answering calls on the phone, volunteers will answer them by computer. Therefore, we are asking all volunteers to bring a laptop with audio capabilities, and headphones with a microphone. Every volunteer will be required to attend a 2-hour training via zoom (training times are included in the sign-up form). 

If you would like to join us on Monday, November 7th and/or Election Day, Tuesday, November 8th, please complete the online sign-up form.

The Call Center is sponsored by Just Vote! Colorado Election Protection, a nonpartisan voter assistance project and is not affiliated with or promoting any party, candidate, or ballot issue. Just Vote is a coalition of several organizations: the Colorado Lawyers Committee, Colorado Common Cause, Mi Familia Vota, Disability Law Colorado, and the League of Women Voters of Colorado. 

Help Needed: Saturday, October 22, Afghan Asylum Workshop in Northglenn

(thanks to Julie Meyers for the post)

I’ve been running this post for a few months. I attended a workshop last week and it was an amazing experience. I’m happy to tell anyone interested more about it. Just email me at: julie.meyers.md@gmail.com. I believe these will be the last two opportunities to participate.  

Please consider signing up to help at the Afghan Asylum Workshop on Saturday, October 22nd. As you know, the Colorado Lawyers Committee has been partnering with Catholic Charities Denver to help resettled Afghans complete their asylum applications. 

 

We need both lawyers and non-lawyers to run the workshop. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, this is a great opportunity to provide real assistance without long-term commitment beyond the day of the workshop. No prior experience or expertise is required for most volunteers (although you must complete the online training if you are working with the Afghan families directly). 

We currently have about 1/2 of the volunteers needed to assist 25 Afghan families at the workshop. If you haven’t already signed up, please join us. You can sign up here

— from the Colorado Lawyers Committee Board and Friends

Distance Walk at Swallow Hill on November 26 

(thanks to Barry Osborne for the post)

FUSD members Seth Fine and Barry Osborne play in Denver folk quartet Distance Walk. Their sound is a mix of old-time folk, indie, Celtic, and baroque, and they have a concert at Swallow Hill Music on Saturday, November 26 at 8 p.m. With Seth on guitar and Barry on banjo and vocals, they are joined by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Niki Tredinnick, and Olivia Shaw on fiddle. If you’re in town over the holiday weekend it’s a perfect reason to get out of the house! Also on the bill is Denver’s Fables of The Fall. Get tickets by clicking here or at swallowhillmusic.org, or get details by emailing Barry at barry.osborne@gmail.com 

 

Join the FUSD Tech Team!

(thanks to Diane Hoffman for the post)

We need two videographers who can commit to working an average of one Sunday per month. No prior experience is needed; we will train you. Training is one session for about two hours, with the trainee running the video the following Sunday with supervision. If you are interested, please stop by the sound booth after Sunday service or email Diane Hoffman at m7gfd3r8@gmail.com 

 

FUSD Building Custodian- Job Opening

FUSD is searching for a Building Custodian. Click here to view the job description.

If you are interested, please send a cover letter and your resume to Rhonda Williamson at office@fusden.org.

 
 

QuickDirectory

Questions About Pledging? – stewardship@fusden.org

Candles of Community – candles@fusden.org

Caring Committee – caring@fusden.org

Volunteer Greeters – greeters@fusden.org

Connections Ministry – connectionsministry@fusden.org

Office/FirstAnnounce/Rhonda Williamson – office@fusden.org

Giving in Action – givinginaction@fusden.org

Mental Well-being – wellbeing@fusden.org

 

Car Donations – 877-999-8322

 

FirstAnnounce is a compilation of news items sent to us from many different sources. Items printed in FirstAnnounce are for your information only and do not necessarily represent the views of First Unitarian Society of Denver or its members.

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