First UU Austin’s Spring Silent Auction is back and will run from Thursday, May 9th to Sunday, June 2nd. Our silent auction is a different kind of auction as it features experiences and services. Of course, our primary goal is to raise money, but our silent auction also allows an opportunity to connect with others in your community through shared experiences. Examples of an experience or service might include a games night, a French picnic or having someone detail your car.
We need you to donate your experience or service. There will be a sign up sheet located in the kitchen before and after services on Sunday beginning Sunday, April 28th and will remain in the kitchen every Sunday until May 28th.
Please refer to Aubrey for questions and to offer up your experience and/or service. She can also be reached at kitchen@austinuu.org or you can call the church office at 512-452-6168.
11:45 a.m. Opening Ceremony with Susana Almanza & Daniel Llanes, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, The Texas Wanglers, Riders Against The Storm, Pow Wows, Energy and Sustainability Displays, Food, Drink, Dancing and MUCH MORE…
“Global climate progress, global coral bleaching, and the 25,000 conversation challenge
Monday was Earth Day (Austin will celebrating this Saturday, April 27th!) but really – isn’t every day? Half the oxygen we breathe comes from phytoplankton and seaweed in the ocean, and the other half comes from plants and trees. All our food, all our water, and all the materials we use come from this Earth. The Earth doesn’t need us: we’re the ones who need it. In fact, we can’t survive without it!
That’s why, given our near-total dependence on its resources, I feel every day should be an opportunity to celebrate and be good stewards of the only home we’ve ever known.
I often hear from people discouraged about the slow pace of climate action. “We’ve tried so hard to tackle climate change and nothing changed,” they say. “Why even bother anymore?”
While it may feel subtle or almost imperceptible at times, a lot has changed over the last decade. Just 10 years ago, 0.7% of cars sold around the world were electric vehicles. Today, 20% are. In 2015, experts were speculating that solar might become cheaper than natural gas one day. That future is already here today. Onshore wind and solar are cheaper to build than new fossil fuel plants.
Before the Paris Agreement, the world was forecast to warm by up to 5 degrees C (9F). Now, as this article explains, that number has been dialed back to 2.7 degrees thanks to already enacted government policies around the world.”
Nominations for the Ballot for the Second Ministerial Committee
The Board is pleased to announce the ballot for the second Ministerial Search Committee. Over 25 people were nominated by congregants and the board identified ten individuals for the ballot from among those with the most nominations. The candidates are:
• John Archibald • Nancy Mohn Barnard • Leo Collas • Jim Houchins • Michael Kersey • Jenny Loehlin • Melanie Mahoney-Walters • Joe Milam-Kast • Jim Schmidt • Toni Wegner
The second Ministerial Search Committee will be composed of seven members from the ten shown on this ballot. Five of the members will be selected by the congregation and two will be selected by the board. We believe this is a strong slate of candidates and that any of those selected will bring integrity and commitment to the process of selecting a ministerial candidate to present to the congregation. We thank the nominees for their willingness to serve.
The Search Committee Election will take place by secret ballot at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 1:00 pm. To vote in the election, an individual must have been a member* of the church. Members must be present, either in-person or virtually, to vote in this election. Additional information on the procedures for the vote will be disseminated prior to the Congregational Meeting. The results will be announced following the vote.
The committee will begin its work in June. After the Search Committee has done its discernment and identified a ministerial candidate, the congregation will vote on that candidate in the spring of 2025. Our bylaws require that a candidate get an affirmative vote of 90 percent of the members. Additional information on the search process will be provided as the process unfolds.
For additional information on the search process or election, please contact a member of the Board Transitions Committee – Donna Carpenter carpenterdonna@yahoo.com, Kelly Raley rkellyraley@gmail.com or Russell Holley-Hurt russell.holleyhurt@gmail.com.
*Definition of a member – – Individuals who have been members of the church for 30 days or more and who have (as an individual or part of a family unit) made a recorded financial contribution during the last 12 months and at least 30 days prior to the meeting, have the right to vote at all official church meetings. To verify if you are on the membership rolls, please contact Shannon Posern, Executive Director at shannon.posern@austinuu.org.
Candidates for the Second Ministerial Search Committee
John Archibald (he/him) grew up in New England serving many a detention while attending Catholic elementary and high school. As a teen he was a staunch atheist who thought he knew it all but times have changed. Since before he was born his late father had a sign company, A&S Signs, and John spent much of his formative years at “the shop” where he developed his handyman skills.
He has always had a passion for film and stories especially those taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Over a decade ago he moved to Austin, TX from Bridgeport, CT via a 3 month detour through South America. Upon arriving in Austin and searching for “something” he googled churches, found First UU Austin and was struck by the knowledge and charisma of Rev. Meg and the welcoming warmth of the congregation.
He has worked in hospitality for years with a passion for “taking care of the guest” which translated well in helping to organize and execute the Opening Night Galas for First UU’s Paradox Players Theater Group. Paradox is where he initiated many lasting friendships with church members.
The church that is First UU Austin is more than just an award winning theatre company or dedicated caring ministers or a rockin’ children’s choir. FUUCA is a whole that’s so much more than the sum of its parts. It is a caring community made up of ministers, staff, the board, committees and a loving legion of individuals all doing their part to take care of one another and create something meaningful that is both ephemeral and lasting.John Archibald is extremely proud and very lucky to be a tiny part of that legion.
Nancy Mohn Barnard (she/her) has a passion for storytelling, literature, event planning and worship. After receiving an MA in Literature, Barnard taught college English, founded a community theater, where she wrote and produced plays, and coordinated conferences and trainings in the public sector. After unexpectedly losing her mother, Barnard found herself called to work with the dying. She spent the next few years working as the Concert Manager for Swan Songs, a local non-profit that provides musical last wishes for the terminally ill. In 2021, Barnard decided to attend seminary, in order to become a chaplain. She will graduate from seminary in May 2024, and will begin a chaplaincy residency at Seton Ascension in September. Barnard is a candidate for ordination with the UUA.
Leo Collas (he/him/his) became a member of First UU in 2003. He has worked as a financial advisor, corporate controller, and as a systems security analyst. Leo serves on the TXUUJM Advisory Council, has served on the boards of several Austin non-profits, and co-moderates the monthly LGBTQ & Allies Community Heart Circle here at First UU. Leo was raised in his family’s restaurant business in Colorado, and later grew up in Honolulu. He moved to Austin in 1993.
James (Jim) O. Houchins (he/Him) has been practicing law continuously in Austin since his admission to the State Bar of Texas in 1974. Jim received a Plan II Honors B.A. Degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1971 and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1974. Jim received an LLM, cum laude, in International and Comparative Law, from the University of Brussels in 1977.
Jim is a former Senior Legal Examiner at the Railroad Commission of Texas and an assistant professor (teaching law) at Southwestern University and at Texas State University. He is a former volunteer mediator and arbitrator with the Travis County Alternative Dispute Resolution Center and has extensive training and experience in mediation and arbitration. Jim is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, the Austin Bar Association and the International Law Society.
Michael Kersey (he/him). I’m honored to be nominated for the search committee for a new co lead minister. My wife, Karen Cleary, and I started attending services here in 1992. It’s been our spiritual home ever since. We were married here and raised our child with the help and support of this community. Together, through the years, Karen and I have been active in various ministries and programs of the church including social action, the young adult group, the families with small children group, religious education, OWL, chalice circles, friendship, fellowship, and more.
As an individual, my participation with First UU has included leading Hands on Housing crews, serving on the Bridge Builder Team that helped develop and implement the recommendations stemming from the church’s engagement with a church consultant, the Rev. Peter Steinke; serving on the Transitions Team for an interim minister, the Rev. Janet Newman, that worked with the congregation to draft the first version of our church’s covenant of healthy relations. I co-led, along with Sharon Moore, the Settled Ministerial Search Committee that presented the Rev. Meg Barnhouse to the congregation as a candidate to be our Senior Minister. Following that I served on the church’s Board of Trustees as both a board member and president in the initial years following the church’s adoption of policy-based governance. After which, I served on and led the nominating committee. In addition, I’ve completed three years of the Wellspring small group curriculum exploring UU theology, sources, and inspiration. And I’m a graduate of the UUA Southern District weeklong lay-leader development program, the Dwight Brown Leadership Experience. In 2011, I started and currently continue to facilitate the Monday Mindfulness Meditation Group. As time and the weather allows, Karen and I enjoy cultivating our garden at the Sunshine Community Garden.
Academically, I have an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Tulsa and a graduate degree in organizational leadership and ethics from St. Edward’s University. Professionally, I am a Vendor Manager in the Shared Technology Services program at the Texas Department of Information Resources.
Jennifer (Jenny) Loehlin (she/her) began attending First UU with her mother in the 1970s and participated in LRY (Liberal Religious Youth) in high school. After several years as a Presbyterian, she joined the church in the early 1990s. She was a member of Voyagers (the Very Old Young Adult Group), taught in the children’s RE program, served as co-chair of the Fellowship Committee, and served on the Nominating Committee. Currently she is in her second year of Wellspring and is active in the Monday night meditation group, Earthkeepers, and Grief Support Circle. She is a retired web application developer and enjoys gardening.
Hello, 1st UU friends and family! My name is Melanie Walter-Mahoney (she/her). I have been attending 1st UU Austin since 1979. I met my husband here, both of us teaching in RE in the 80‘s, and we married in the very new sanctuary at the time. I have raised four daughters at 1st UU.
I am a happily retired Social Worker, having worked for a number of non-profits (Austin Families, Communities in Schools, Austin Child Guidance, and Child, Inc.) over the years, as well as brief stints with the State and County. I love music, reading, and being outdoors, especially walking in Nature, and get joy from delivering Meals on Wheels.
You may have seen me staffing the Bookstore in the Alternate Space Gallery currently and over the past years; it has been a wonderful way to meet and talk with folks. I am also teaching in the Children’s Religious Education Department again and am on the Care Team, both of which nourish my soul.
I have been involved with the Austin Sanctuary Network since Alirio Gamez took sanctuary in our church back before the remodelling and the pandemic, am active with Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministries (TXUUJM) , and am on the Board of Trustees at UBarU (no Google, I do not mean Subaru!) Camp and Retreat Center near Kerrville in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
I am honored to have been nominated for this very important job and will do my very best if elected.
Greetings and salutations!
My name is Joe Milam-Kast (aka “Zoeysdad” – capital Z, one word ��; he/him). I would be honored to continue serving this congregation by assisting in this new ministerial search process.
I have had the privilege of serving this community in a variety of ways since joining in 2016, including Religious Education (RE) – both youth and adult, Spring into Action, the Fellowship committee (and many a holiday party!), FReD dinners, ushering, the Children’s Choir, Connections Fair, Paradox Players, and Camp UU. My daughter Zoey is growing up here at First UU and represents her generation in our community by helping with RE, ushering, chalice lighting and in the kitchen on occasion.
I believe that all our voices need to be heard and considered for choosing our new Co-Lead minister. I advocated for this in the previous search and will continue to do so in this one. Individual voices contributing to consensus and decision play a key part in ensuring the best and brightest future for this church and our beloved community!
Thank you for your consideration and go in peace.
I am Jim Schmidt (he/him). Born in 1943, I grew up in Boerne, Texas, came to Austin in 1961 for college, married in 1965, served in the Peace Corps, became a registered nurse, retired 1999, and am now doing crafts & part-time work at Pioneer Farms. I first came to 1st UU of Austin in 1964 with my wife. I have been active member since 2017 after my wife died. My interests here are Austin Sanctuary Network, U Bar U, Men’s Breakfast Group, Earthkeepers and Welcome Committee. If I am elected, I will do my best to represent the whole church. I want to help select the most appropriate person for the position of 1st UU’s co-minister.
Toni Wegner (she/her) joined First UU after moving to Austin in 2016 from Winchester, MA (Boston suburb), where she discovered Unitarian Universalism in 2001. First UU was an easy transition and felt like the right fit from the start. Toni has participated in a variety of activities here including chalice circles, memorial service receptions, stewardship, Wellspring, Lee Legault’s ministerial internship committee, adult OWL, and senior outreach ministry. She served as president of the board of trustees in 2021-22 and is currently co-chair of First UU Cares. Toni values the people and community at First UU and is deeply committed to our mission.
Toni currently works at UT Austin (her alma mater) in continuing and professional education but is retiring THIS SUMMER! She is a volunteer with Hospice Austin, loves to travel, and has been a passionate racquetball player for over 40 years. Toni has two adult daughters and a delightful granddaughter. She served on a ministerial search committee for her previous congregation, which was a great experience resulting in a successful search. Toni would consider it an honor and a privilege to be part of the team that helps First UU complete its ministerial team.
Here is a brief recap of news from our denomination:
General Assembly is June 20 – 23, and will be completely virtual! This will make it much easier to attend and fully participate. More information and registration is at https://www.uua.org/ga. Scholarships are available.
UBarU summer camps are coming up!
age 9-11 or rising* grades 4-6th – June 9-15, 2024
age 12-14 or rising grades 7-9th – June 16-22, 2024
age 15-18 or rising grades 10th-2024 high school graduates – June 23-29, 2024
Here are some great Earth Day climate resources: 1. A treasure House of inspiration resources and more at talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com , 2. Discover Earth Day events, 3. Austin Sustainability Office calendar and 4. Austin Commons events
1. “Clean energy in Texas, wildfire and flood in Canada and Russia and how to engage your elected officials’ A powerful list of “What You Can Do”, printable coloring books and videos on “how climate change hits home” all this and more in the latest free issue of talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com
Climate & Reproductive Justice, Author Talk, and more!
The Texas UU Justice Ministry’s April Newsletter is here! TXUUJM is excited to welcome several prominent guest speakers this spring — author Steve Phillips (How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good), Elle Cross from Mano Amiga (5/2/24), and the leaders of UU Ministry for Earth and Side with Love on Moving from Environmentalism to Climate Justice (5/9/24). All events are FREE, online, and open to everyone.Register and get more info! . TXUUJM is also your source for Texas UU the Vote efforts this election year!
On the Saturday, May 4th ballot for voters in the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) [coincident with Travis County] is, for the first time, the election of three members to the TCAD Board of Directors.
What does the appraisal district’s board do?
Up to now, core tasks were hiring the chief appraiser and approving the district’s budget. Now they will also appoint members to the Appraisal Review Board – the group who settle property value disputes between property owners and district appraisers.
If we elect the wrong folks to the board of directors, they can cause chaos in our property values and underfund public services (e.g. schools, EMS, fire departments, etc.), so we encourage everyone to to research the candidates and to vote!
Early voting will be April 22nd through April 30th.
This month is Earth Month below is a wonderful calendar of Austin events celebrating our Earth Home. Before we get there have you seen the award on the church wall by the double gallery doors? It says Our five-acre lot, has been certified as an official National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Backyard Wildlife Habitat site for its ongoing efforts to cultivate the church grounds with native plants and wildlife-friendly features. The certification is awarded to sites that use native plants to attract and sustain wildlife. The project was the brainchild of church members Pat and Dale Bulla, who have a deep interest in environmental issues. “We took the NWF Habitat training and our church members were excited to make this happen”
We are currently blessed with our church five-acre home being cared for by our own Earth Keepers! You can pitch in with this fun verdant crew, contact wonderful Wrangler Donna Carpenter: drdonnacarpenter@gmail.com
Hope you, your family and friends can can share our Earth Keepers and these Austin events:
First UU’s resident arts group Unwound Sound is proud to present Boston’s Duo Amie on Friday, April 19th at 8 p.m. in our Sanctuary. Duo Amie will perform “In Her Own Key: a Celebration of Cello & Piano Works by Women, and a freewill offering will benefit the organization Black Mamas.”
Ellyses Kuan and Julie Reimann
Praised for their “brilliant virtuosity and evocative musicality”, Duo Amie (Julie Reimann, cello and Ellyses Kuan, piano) is a Boston-based cello/piano duo with an active performing schedule and online presence, dedicated to inspiring and bringing diverse people together with thematic musical programs that capture the imagination through musical expression and visual elements. They will perform a program of pieces titled ‘In Her Own Key’ on Friday, April 19th as part of our Unwound Sound Series, celebrating pioneering female visionaries Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke and Florence Price.
The program, which includes Beach’s beautiful ‘Romance’ and Price’s virtuosic ‘Fantasie in g minor’, will be interspersed by commentary on the pieces as well as visual art. Reimann and Kuan are world-class trained musicians who have performed nationally and internationally. They founded Duo Amie in 2015 to bring people together through the beauty and universality of music. Equally at home in classical, contemporary, and popular music forms, Duo Amie has been praised for its virtuosity, expressivity, and engaging presence. Visit www.duoamie.org to learn more or check out this event on Facebook.
I would like to invite you to a concert that’s very special to me as it’s my Austin conducting debut. I’d love to see many familiar faces in the audience!
The concert is called Inversion at the Library, and it’s on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30pm at the Austin Public (Central) Library downtown. The organization I’m part of, Inversion, firmly believes in amplifying through music the voices of those who are marginalized and vulnerable, and this concert represents so much of our core philosophy.
Stories of the common lived experiences of immigrants are at the heart of this concert that heavily features my professional treble chorus Da Capo in their debut performance under my direction. These songs, most of them by BIPOC composers and poets, take us through different sound worlds that weave together a tapestry of shared joys, heartaches, hopes, and dreams. We’re performing in a couple of different languages (Arabic, Spanish, Maguindanaon, Somali, Vietnamese, etc.) aside from English, and text and translations will be projected on screen, so you can follow along and also understand what we’re singing about.
I’ll be sharing the stage with Inversion Artistic Director Trevor Shaw who conducts the rest of Inversion’s family of ensembles—our mixed-voice professional ensemble, Coda (50 and up), and Nova (youth choir)—in performing music from different cultures around the world.
One of our First UU of Austin Monthly Offering recipients, Casa Marianella, will also be present at the concert as they are our Inversion Cares partner. (Inversion matches an organization with a particular concert theme to bring awareness to the work and needs of these organizations. We invite their representatives to the concert to share and interact with our audiences.)
Tickets can be bought at inversionatthelibrary.eventbrite.com, and half price tickets are available to students. If you want to come but it’s not in your budget, please let me know so that I can help you.
Building Beloved Community: Beyond the Binary is our first collaborative, multi-site, justice-making event happening throughout the Southern Region. Join us (in Cedar Park TX, Nashville TN, Orlando FL, Charlotte NC, or online!) for a day of creating community with transgender, nonbinary folx, and our allies. This conference is an opportunity for LGBTQIA+ folks in our local communities to gather, laugh, create joy, and find partnerships in our local communities which will be a sustaining force throughout the upcoming year AND for folks not in the LGBTQIA+ community to learn effective, appropriate allyship through a Unitarian Universalist lens. We will gather online and in-person at various host-sites around the Southern Region to learn, grow, and become – together.
Learn more about Building Beloved Community: Beyond the Binary on our website. Register for Building Beloved Community: Beyond the Binary today!
Below are life changing messages from hopefull Climate Scientists Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe. Links to their good work.
“This week the World Meteorological Organization officially certified, 2023 as the hottest year in human history. Just to put on the record here what should have been the lead story in every journal and website on our home planet:
Andrea Celeste Saulo, secretary general of the WMO, said the organization was now “sounding the red alert to the world.
The report found temperatures near the surface of the earth were 1.45°C higher last year than they were in the late 1800s, when people began to destroy nature at an industrial scale and burn large amounts of coal, oil, and gas.
Last year’s spike was so scary that NASA’s Gavin Schmidt—Jim Hansen’s heir as keeper of NASA’s climate record—wrote in Nature this week that it raised the most profound possible implications. Please read his words slowly and carefully“.
Climate Scientist and Texas Tech Professor Katharine Hayhoe is a secure connection on hopefulness and climate actions you can choose. The latest on eco-innovations and climate risks from the Aspen Ideas Festival in Miami.
Search for Katharine Hayhoe climate solutions at The Aspen Institute’s climate summit in Miami for the my first time. It was a joy to meet so many incredible people passionate about climate solutions and reminded me once again how much stronger we can be when we work together".
For Katharine’s free very cool climate solutions oriented newsletter: talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com”
For climate solutions here at home put on your calendar the first Tuesday of each month Green Sanctuary hosts Bob and Victoria Hendricks presenting Sierra Club Climate Crises and Solutions; Howson Hall 6:30 p.m. potluck and 7 p.m. meeting. Free, all welcome.
** Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/katharine.hayhoe/) ( Facebook has reduced Katharine ’s visibility saying her talk about clean and renewable energy is political!?) check it out. From her Facebook page: “On Easter, we celebrate God’s gift of life. That’s why I’m convinced that tackling climate change isn’t just a responsibility—it’s a way to demonstrate our love for people, for God, and for His creation”.
Huntington Surrey student, Sunil Desha has chosen First UU as his Eagle Scout project recipient. Sunil is working to build 9 new benches for First UU’s Memorial Park and is asking for your assistance in funding the project for our church. This project is currently in the works and he is hoping to complete it before the end of May.
Since 1937, Planned Parenthood has provided quality, compassionate healthcare from expert clinicians, medically accurate, inclusive sex education from professional educators, and a fierce commitment to a world in which everyone can access quality healthcare and information to live their lives fully, without judgment.
Planned Parenthood’s 4 Austin health centers offer annual exams, the full range of birth control methods (including IUDs and implants), testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), screenings for breast and cervical cancer, HPV (human papillomavirus) and flu vaccines, PrEP and PEP HIV prevention medication, UTI and infection treatment, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and more. Planned Parenthood is committed to providing quality sexual and reproductive healthcare to the 20% of Travis County residents ages 18-65 who do not have health insurance, including our Black and Hispanic neighbors who experience even higher uninsured rates.
To expand access to healthcare appointments for patients juggling work, school, and childcare, at least one of Planned Parenthood’s four Austin health centers are open 7 days a week, helping us to see close to 10,000 patients across the Austin-area in 2023. Over the last year Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas has seen a 21% increase in clinic visits, and as of spring 2024, PPGT now offers gender-affirming hormone therapy across our service area – from Austin to El Paso, and even online!
More than 100 Texas UUs and partners gathered in Dallas and online on Saturday, March 23, for the 2024 TXUUJM Annual Gathering. It was an inspiring day of learning, connecting, and renewing our spirits for justice work! If you missed it, can watch the morning program and see more photos on Facebook and Instagram. TXUUJM is your source for Texas UU the Vote efforts this election year! Sign up for TXUUJM emails to get the latest news and actions.
