Hello Fellow Planet Champion Congregants,

Last week we spoke about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), this is our tax money returned to folks who want to spend it on energy improvements in their home, church, non-profit organization, business or community. Our outstanding environmental leaders, Bob and Victoria Hendricks and their team, who have put together a slide show on how this IRA money is going to work for you, me and all. This is very cool and informative. If you want to know more about this environmental climate justice financial resource (hundreds to thousands of dollars savings). Click the link here!

Initial presentation designed for consumers, owners and renters

The next Sierra Club Climate Crises Committee (zoom) and in person meeting is 7:00 – 8:30 PM, first Tuesday of every month (August 1st) in Howson Hall.

Do you wonder about the cause of this heat-full time we are struggling through? You know our climate is warmed by what we pump into our atmosphere. We Austinites and Texans are co-owners of the Fayette Coal Fired Power Plant in Fayetteville, Tx. That is about 90 mins. east on 290 from Austin. Our power plant annually pumps into our sky tens of millions of tons of heat, the trapping gasses carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxide as well as carbon monoxide and NOx that cause air pollution and respiratory illnesses.  A recent report attributes 8 deaths annually to this coal fired monster. These deadly toxins are a contributing cause to our weather turning fatal. These extreme fires, drought, floods, heat, sea warming/rising, and more are caused by heat trapping gasses in our atmosphere that distort our climate. Our Fayette Coal Plant is spewing these poison gases out every day. 

Solution: one remedy is to decommission this old monster. Replace it with cheaper, cleaner renewable energy sources. If you want to help clean up our breathable air, share this with every one you know, family, friends, classmates, clubmates, sororities, fraturnaties and ask them to join you in communicating to the Austin City Council (40% ownership for us) and the Tx. Governor (60% ownership thru the LCRA, whose board the Governor appoints, for us). Say, in your words, ‘please decommission this dangerous coal fired Fayette power plant ASAP and replace it with renewable energy and energy storage’. They know this is true and just need a flood of determined communications to motivate them to action. 

Green Sanctuary Ministry green@austinuu.org Beki & Richard Halpin
“Together, we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.” 

7/9/23

Join us on Tuesday, June 27th from 9 a.m – 12 p.m. to improve our grounds and meet fellow gardeners. It’s hot now, so we’ll take try to work in the shade and take frequent breaks.

There is no obligation to stay until 12 p.m. Please be sure to bring water and wear sunscreen. Small tools are welcome, but not required.

First UU Pagan Alliance in collaboration with the Monday Meditation Group will host our Summer Solstice Ritual Celebration & Drum Circle.

This event will be held at First UU Church on Monday June 26th at 7 p.m.

We will plan to be in the First UU Courtyard, weather permitting. Please bring a camp chair and drum if you have them, and extras to share if you’re so inclined.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We’ve made it through our first year of the interim period. Rev. Jonalu’s last Sunday with us in person was in May and Rev. Erin will be concluding her time as an interim minister when she presides over Sunday service on July 30th . It has been a year of growth and we appreciate all that Jonalu and Erin have done for us.

Our new interim minister, Rev. Michelle LaGrave will begin her work with us in August. Rev. Michelle specializes in interim ministry and will be coming to Austin after she has completed her service with Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. We can look forward to learning more about her later this summer, but if you can’t wait please go to her website at uurevmichelle.com.

Finally, the ministerial search committee has begun its work. They, in conjunction with Rev. Chris Jimmerson, will decide in the fall whether to present Rev. Chris to the congregation as the candidate to be our next settled minister. If the decision is to present Rev. Chris as the candidate, a congregational vote will take place. The members of the congregation have the ultimate authority to vote to call a settle minister. Please look for the transition timeline in Howson Hall for more information about the timing of events in the transition. There will be multiple opportunities to engage with the search committee in the next few months. Be on the lookout for these opportunities.

If you would like to submit a request for a pulpit announcement, please send them to ministers@austinuu.org no later than noon on the Thursday before you would like the announcement to be made. Please keep such requested announcements to three sentences or less. 

The ministers will exercise their discretion regarding pulpit announcements, prioritizing those that apply to the whole of the church community and that address events and such that will be occurring on the Sunday for which they are requested.

We will show any announcements that we are unable to present verbally or that come in after noon on Friday on the screens in the sanctuary during the postlude.

The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce our Ministerial Search Committee, which includes Carolyn
Gremminger, Tomas Medina, Peggy Morton, Celeste Padilla, Tom Shindell, Bis Thornton and Susan
Thomson. Learn more about the individuals serving on the committee here.

Over the summer the search committee will receive training from the UUA on the search process, begin
conversations with the congregation about what we want for our church and our minister. This work will
prepare them to work with Rev. Chris Jimmerson to decide mutually whether he is a good match for the
position. If Rev. Chris and the committee decide that it is, then the congregation will vote. If not, then
the search committee will engage with the UUA open search process in December.

Our final vespers service of this program year will be this coming Tuesday, May 16th at 6 p.m. in the First UU Sanctuary. The theme will be a reflection on the season past and contemplation on the future of a weekday worship offering at First UU. 

If you’ve attended any of the vespers services, or meant to, we’d love to have you join us and share your thoughts and support. All of our Vespers coordinators will be collaborating on this final episode: Bis Thornton, Nancy Mohn Barnard, AJ Juraska, and Eric Hepburn. We hope to see you there!

Artist, June Gormin, at the Texas State Capitol protest, opposing the passing of Senate Bill 14. A bill banning
access to transition-related medical treatments for transgender youth. Photo by Reverend Erin Walter