Econnection: November 16, 2023

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Please Note: The office will be closed Wednesday and Thursday (11/22 & 11/23) for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Featured Events Family Sunday November 19 We invite our families to join us for a chance to connect with their UUMC community! During the Sunday School hour, we’ll have Godly Play and Modern Family. Children and Youth will help lead our worship service. And after we’ll have an Acolyte Training for kids in grades 2 - 5 who are interested in learning more about additional ways they can serve during worship! Advent Studies begins Next Sunday! Tuesdays @ 7 pm |  Sundays @ 9:45 am We invite you to a four-week Advent Study as you make this season a meaningful time to wait for Jesus to come with hope, peace, joy, and love. We will use “Light from Afar,” a daily Advent devotional that illuminates the season through the stories and reflections of four writers from around the world. Learn more & Register Children and Youth Caroling! December 3 | 12 - 3 pm Join Alicia and Jillian for carolling after the service! We'll visit a few of the wonderful retirement homes in our community after a lunch provided by us. Kiddos are welcome to wear festive outfits but no rehearsal is required. We're just going to spread some cheer. Parents are welcome to help us drive kiddos or stay at the church to complete some workday tasks. Pickup at the church at 3 pm. Worship | Sunday  @ 11:00 am Online or In-Person Join us for worship on this Sunday before the Thanksgiving holiday. On this 3rd Sunday of the month, we will have more voices of youth and children incorporated into the worship service. Pastor Teresa’s sermon is entitled “Repairing the World” and our scripture reading comes from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. Worship is at 11 am in the sanctuary and our YouTube service premiers at 11 am.  “If you’re grateful, you’re not fearful, and if you’re not fearful, you’re not violent. If you’re grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people, and you are respectful to everybody, and that changes this power pyramid under which we live.” – David Steindl-Rast News Poinsettia Orders Every year, we order beautiful poinsettias from Down Home Ranch to decorate our sanctuary for the Advent Season. Down Home Ranch is a local farm that helps provide social and vocational opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Our tradition at UUMC is to dedicate these poinsettias in memory, or in honor, of a loved one. Each plant is $12. You can order them on our website (credit card payments only). If you’d prefer to pay via cash or check, forms are available in the Front Office and Narthex. Poinsettias will be in the sanctuary through the Advent season and Christmas Eve.  We will list the memorials and honorees in the Lessons and Carols bulletin. The deadline for inclusion in the bulletin is December 3.  Stewardship Update So far, we’ve received 131 pledge cards totaling $658,837. If you haven’t had a chance to turn in a pledge card, there’s still time and members of the finance committee will be reaching out soon. Thanks again for all you do. Around the Community HIV & Aging Conference The HIV & Aging Conference was created to bring community leaders together to improve the lives of older adults living with HIV. For the past 12 years, the Conference has brought some of the top experts in the nation to Austin to educate and inspire Central Texas social workers, physicians, nurses, and care managers. This year’s conference will be held on December 1. Learn more on their website. iACT Interfaith Thanksgiving Service We are excited to announce the 39th Annual  iACT (Interfaith Action of Central Texas) Interfaith Day of Thanks Service and Celebration, on Sunday, November 19 at Huston-Tillotson University's King-Seabrook Chapel (900 Chicon St, Austin, TX 78702). The interfaith service will be held from 3- 4:30 pm, followed by a reception from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. This is the first time iACT’s Interfaith Day of Thanks will be hosted on a University Campus and on the only HBCU campus in Austin. Event Calendar November Family Sunday 11/19 @ 9:45 am Learn More Acolyte Training 11/19 @ 12 pm Learn More Advent Study Sunday Mornings & Tuesday Evenings Learn More Children & Youth Caroling 12/3 @ 12 pm Learn More Trustees Workday 12/3 @ 12 pm What we’re working on! Finals Week Fun 12/3 @ 5:30 pm Learn More Lessons & Carols 12/10 @ 11 am & 6:30 pm Learn More Christmas Caroling 12/13 @ 6 pm Learn More Youth: Lock-In & Fig Leaf Volunteering 12/15 @ 6 pm Learn More Age-Level Newsletters Get more specific updates from our Age-Level ministries by reading their newsletters! Want to get these newsletters directly in your inbox? Update your preferences! Children Youth Get Connected Children’s Ministry If you have kiddos that you’d like to get involved in our children’s ministry, or just to learn more, reach out to Jillian. jillian@uumc.org College & Young Adult College Students and Young Adults, we have programs for you too! Contact Megan to get involved. motto@uumc.org Music Ministry UUMC is proud of its rich tradition of outstanding music. We offer opportunities for anyone, of any age or skill level. To get involved, contact Alicia. alicia@uumc.org Continuing Adult Education UUMC provides a variety of Sunday School groups, classes, and mission and justice ministries. Contact Pastor Earl to learn more. pastorearl@uumc.org Worship & Administration There are a lot of moving parts to operate this wonderful place. If you'd like to learn more or potentially volunteer, contact Pastor Teresa. pastorteresa@uumc.org 2409 Guadalupe Street Austin, Texas 78705 512-478-9387 Want to change how you receive emails from us? Click here to update your preferences or unsubscribe or unsubscribe from this list