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Austin Justice Coalition has had “a long, challenging year of advocating for change and more equitable policies. (They) have been a part of some key wins:

• Furthering housing justice by eliminating HACA screening criteria that blocked formerly incarcerated people from accessing housing vouchers.
• Working with the Eviction Solidarity network and a coalition of renters to win the ‘Right to Organize’ and seven-day‘ Right to Cure’ period for Austin’s tenants.
• Advocating at the SHFC board and County Commissioner’s Court for the Tenants at Rosemont Apartments
• Encouraging the City of Austin to put the largest housing bond in its history on the ballot, and working in coalition with many orgs and advocates to get the bond passed by over 71% of the vote
• Championing permanent supportive housing developments like Cady Lofts, which will provide housing
• Organized the first Community Investment Budget proposal at the City and saw many of our priorities funded including:
  • A pilot for a guaranteed basic income program,
  • The creation of a Trauma Recovery Center,
  • An increase in the minimum wage for city workers,
  • Continuing the rental assistance and anti-displacement program following the end of federal dollars
  • Additional dollars for inclement weather shelter and permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness

  • Defeated efforts to increase sworn police staffing and the police budget, which enabled many of the Community Investment Budget items above to be funded.

• Supported a successful coalition effort to get a petition strengthening Austin police oversight on next May’s ballot
• Supported the successful unionization drives of workers at the primary public low-income healthcare provider (Integral Care) and nurses at the Ascension Seton Medical Center, creating the largest hospital union in Texas to ensure better conditions for those serving the poor in our community
• Supported allocation of dollars to community-based organizations to support gun violence victims in the hospital and to enable those accused of illegal gun possession to avoid the worst outcomes of the criminal legal system – 2 approaches shown to help prevent future gun violence

& of course (they) served our community in a multitude of ways, including:

• Supported community members financially with childcare, rent relief, medical bills, groceries, funeral expenses, etc… equaling over $100,000 in crisis relief for the community
• Sponsored back-to-school drives, Black youth football, cheerleading, and basketball teams, Brown Boy Productions, UNCF @ Huston Tillitonson, Jump On It, DOLE, Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation, community events, and more.
• Hosted supply drives to support our unhoused neighbors and families in need.*”

Join Austin Sanctuary Network as we celebrate Ivan, Hilda’s son, receiving his Legal Permanent Residency Saturday, March 11 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. We’ll celebrate this momentous occasion with games and fun with Ivan at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 14311 Wells Port Dr., 78728. Feel free to bring any snacks or drinks to share. He loves Takis, Tres Leches Cake and Flan! RSVP on our Facebook page: The Foundation for the Austin Sanctuary Network.

We are so excited to celebrate Ivan and reconnect with our Austin Sanctuary Network friends including Alirio Gamez! We still have work to do to free Hilda and Alirio, but it’s time to celebrate Ivan and his freedom now. We hope to see you there! For questions email Peggy Morton at insideamigos@austinuu.org.

Over 60 candidates were nominated for search committee membership and the Board
Transitions Team contacted the top nominees (i.e. those nominated the most times) to
determine who is able to serve. As a result, we have 10 candidates for the Search Committee
that will work to bring to the congregation a candidate to be our next settled minister: Wendy
Erisman, Ruth Friede-Cornell, Carolyn Gremminger, Tomas Medina, Peggy Morton, Celeste
Padilla, Gillian Redfearn, Tom Shindell, Bis Thornton, and Susan Thomson. You can read about
these candidates here.

The Search Committee Election will occur on Sunday, April 30th. Individuals who are members of the
church as of March 31st will be able to vote either in-person or online. The ballot will list all 10
candidates and voters will be asked to rank the candidates by preference. More details and a
chance to practice are forthcoming.

After the search committee has identified a candidate, the congregation will vote on that
candidate. Our bylaws require that a candidate get an affirmative vote of 90% of the members.
The timeline depends on whether the search committee and Rev. Chris Jimmerson agree that
he is the right candidate for the job.

General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, celebrate and worship, and learn about our faith. This year’s GA will be June 21st – 25th, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and you can attend online or in-person. More information and registration here.

Scholarships are available. Contact David Overton at denom@austinuu.org with any questions.

The Transformation Connection Service (TCS) team can help you find meaningful connections with the many church groups and ministries available at First UU.

Here’s how it works:
1) Schedule a conversation with a TCS team member by emailing transform@austinuu.org.
2) Tell us about your interests, skills, and experience as well as what you hope to get out of being a part of First UU.
3) Get connected with church groups, activities, and/or service opportunities that match your interests, skills, and time availability.
We look forward to talking with you soon!

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending that we take precautions over the next months, as the spread of viruses such as the FLU, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Covid-19 is increasing. Here are some tips to help protect yourself and others:

– Wash your hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizer.
– Maintain social distancing when possible.
– If you are feeling sick or having symptoms, stay at home and get plenty of rest and hydration.
– Keep your vaccinations up to date.
– Carry tissue and cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
– Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

If you think you may have been exposed or just want to be even more cautious to avoid getting an infection and/or infecting others, wearing a mask when outside your home is a reasonable and perfectly acceptable practice.

To help stem the spread of potential infections, our religious education department is expanding the use of Force of Nature, a people-safe, hospital-grade disinfectant. 

If we all take these simple and sensible precautions, we can help protect ourselves and one another.

Our Green Sanctuary Program has been working in youth and adult partnerships on the climate crises for the past few years. Green Sanctuary is currently partnering with Sierra Club to fight the Climate Crises. Bob and Victoria Hendricks are hosting the Climate Crises Committee Meeting first Tuesdays of each month @ 7 p.m. Meetings had been happening at First UU, but will now be held via zoom due to the Covid uptick. Contact Bob at roberthhendricks@aol.com for zoom link. 

Beki & Richard Halpin green@austinuu.org

Learn more about Climate Solutions.

Video: Katharine Hayhoe: To fight climate change, “Talk about it”

For more than ten years, First UU Austin has provided volunteers to help serve the chef-prepared cafeteria-style dinners at the ARCH, Austin’s downtown homeless shelter. We provide that service on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 5 – 7 p.m.

In order to fill this service need, we need one to two volunteers for each Sunday we agree to help. It’s an opportunity to connect with our homeless neighbors, an often rewarding and transformative act. The clients served are approved for spending the night in the shelter. Scott Butki leads the group, and utilizing an email list of volunteers, announces openings for service. The work itself is easy.

Contact Scott Butki, sbutki@gmail.com to sign up or get more information. 

A study commission of the central organizing and support structure for our faith, the Unitarian Universalist Association (or UUA) has recommended that we, the constituent congregations and faith groups of the UUA, consider a change to the bylaws for our association.

Paula Cole Jones, co-author of the 8th principle serves on that commission.

The change would be to Article II of the UUA bylaws, which currently contains our covenant to affirm and promote our principles.

The commission is proposing a new covenant for our religious movement composed of a set of religious values that embody the essence and intent of our current principles, as well as incorporates key language from each of them.

Rev. Chris will be leading a discussion of the proposed change on Sunday, February 19 at 12:30 p.m. in room 13 at the church.

Please join the discussion.

If you plan to attend, please familiarize yourself with the information found here.

Then, join the discussion with your thoughts and questions!

Pizza will be provided.

To help us prepare for the meeting, please let us know your dietary and childcare needs by registering here.

On March 13, UUs from all around the state will gather in solidarity, bring our values to the public square, visit with our legislators, and have fellowship time together. We have also been invited to be part of an important interfaith rally that day around Black maternal mortality, postpartum healthcare, and more. Details of buses, carpooling, and more to come, but please put Monday, March 13, 2023, on your calendar and plan to come to the capitol! Tell your friends!

Meanwhile, you’re invited to join UUs across Texas every Thursday night for We Cry Justice and Action Hour. Details here. Bookmark the Zoom link (it’s the same every time!). Zoom meeting ID: 333 042 6480. Not a night person? There’s a bonus “Final Friday Lunch Bunch” Action Hour on the last Friday of the month at 12 noon. Same Zoom!

Not on TXUUJM’s email list yet? Please sign up here for latest actions and news.

COVID threw us for a loop in so many ways, including how to care for one another. While we were in the worst of it, we could not visit our members in the hospital (or at home!), gather for a memorial service, or make the most basic, essential personal connections. Now, we are remembering how to care for one another and how to ask for help.

This conversation with Rev. Jonalu Johnstone and Co-Chairs of First UU Cares will help reorient us and give us a boost so that we can make sure that all our members feel cared for and valued, whatever their circumstances. If you have input or want to know how to help, please be there. All who are interested in caring – giving and/or receiving – are encouraged to attend one of our sessions. We’d love for you to register, but the important thing is showing up.
 
Register here to join in person – Sunday, March 12, 12:30 – 2 PM
(pizza will be provided) 
 
Register here to join virtually on Zoom – Thursday, March 16, 7-8:30 PM
(sorry, no pizza)

Local non-profit Manos de Cristo serves poor community members with dental care and education, and will be featured throughout February. When the Rev. Frank Diaz worked with the poor and homeless at El Buen in Austin more than 35 years ago, he kept hearing men ask for baby food and he assumed they had children to feed. But he was mistaken and eventually noticed, “These men would smile but they had no teeth.”

At the time, local hospitals had a 6-month wait for help, and many suffering from severe toothaches could not endure the pain. Their only option was to pull their own teeth. Thus, with help from both Rev. Dias and Roland Casteneda, an elder at El Buen, Manos de Cristo opened its doors in 1988 to give the impoverished community a humane, dignified option for dental care.

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin elected Manos de Cristo as one of its recipients for a monthly special offering in 2023. Manos will be featured during and after the Worship Service, Sunday Feb 12, and Executive Director Julie Ballesteros will join us to share more about them including ways people can volunteer with them.

Through grants and support from Austin-area churches and organizations, Manos founding principle is to serve by reaching out with compassionate concern. Manos now has headquarters and programs in North Central Austin, serving our community through an 11-chair dental clinic, adult education services and basic needs. Manos’ reach has continued to grow through a Back-To-School program to teach adults computer skills, citizenship and English classes.

Our own Alirio Gamez, who took sanctuary at First UU, has received low cost dental care from Manos and Hilda Ramirez, who takes sanctuary at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, has taken English with them. First UU will recognize Monthly Special Offering recipients each second Sunday of the month and then divide all of the donations equally among the recipients. To learn more about Manos de Cristo go to http://manosdecristo.org and during the service, Sunday, Feb. 12 plan to donate what you can to this good cause.

Join Austin Sanctuary Network as we celebrate Ivan, Hilda’s son, having received his Legal Permanent Residency. We’ll celebrate Ivan’s momentous occasion Saturday, March 11 from 3-5 p.m. with games and fun at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 14311 Wells Port Dr., 78728. Feel free to bring any snacks or drinks to share. He loves Takis, Tres Leches Cake and Flan! RSVP on our Facebook page: The Foundation for the Austin Sanctuary Network. We are so excited to celebrate Ivan and reconnect with our Austin Sanctuary Network friends including Alirio Gamez! We still have work to do to free Hilda and Alirio, but it’s time to celebrate Ivan and his freedom now. We hope to see you there! For questions email Peggy Morton at insideamigos@austinuu.org.