CHILDCARE AT UUCA THIS SUMMER

Childcare for the May 18 congregational meeting (after the second service) must be reserved online no later than May 11. Parents should provide lunch for their child.
When the summer worship schedule begins on May 25 (one service at 10am), childcare will be available without reservation from 9:30-12:30 (If there are no children signed in for programs following the service, providers will leave at 11:30).
If childcare is needed for a weekday evening during the summer (after the last Wonderful Wednesday on May 21), it must be requested online by the event organizer at least 3 weeks in advance. If approved, participants must make an online reservation one week in advance.

EARTH SCOUTS IN FIRST YEAR AT UUCA

UUCA's Earth Scouts has been focusing on "Respect for Nature" during this "inaugural" first year and will be doing mostly outdoor activities - hikes, birdwatching, camping, etc. UUCA Earth Scouts is organized cooperatively by the participating families, in other words, we take turns organizing events and do things together as families.
If you would like to learn more, we have a yahoo group. To join and to volunteer to lead an activity, contact Mark Nuhfer at mailto:mjn9@cwru.edu or Laura Yamashita at LauraYama@aol.com.
For more information on the national Earth Scouts organization, go to earthscouts.org.

FOOD AND SPIRITUALITY

Cindy Brown, Our Seminarian in Residence, has created a 5 week intergenerational summer RE program on "Food and Spirituality" as part of her Care of Creation class at Candler. If you are interested in participating, please contact Cindy Brown at mailto:cbrown@uuca.org or Dana Boyle at danaboyle@bellsouth.net.

UUCA DELEGATES TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

As a large congregation, UUCA is entitled to 14 delegates and some alternate spots for the 2008 UU Association, which is being held June 25-29 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. If you are planning on attending and wish to be considered for a delegate slot ( votes this year include the final version of our denominational Peacemaking study initiative), please answer the following questions and submit to both Rev. Anthony David and Rev. Marti Keller at the following e-mails: adavid@uuca.org; mkeller@uuca.org

1. What is your understanding of what it means to be a GA delegate representing UUCA?
2. What denominational action items under consideration in 2008 are particularly interesting to you, and why?
Information on the General Assembly may be found at http://www.uua.org/ga Information on the study action issues for 2008 may be found at http://www.uua.org/csw
If you have any questions, please contact me at mkeller@uuca.org or 404 634-5134 X215

NEW FELLOWSHIP GROUP for 40SOMETHINGS

A new fellowship group is forming for people in their 5th decade or more. The next 40somethings event will be lunch at Panera in Loehman's Plaza May 18 after worship. Gather at the Kroger table or meet us there. For questions, contact Parjit Kaur at bioppk@landgate.gsu.edu.

MY STORY PROJECT TOPIC FOR MAY

Please continue to share your stories with us! Send to mailto:MyStory@uuca.org or call 1-877-284-7959 to record your story.
You may also share a written copy with a Honeymooners Team member or to honeymooners@uuca.org.
The May theme is "a creative community that challenges us to see the world with new perspecrtives and gives voice to the human spirit thorugh music and other arts." Your stories might address times when you felt UUCA exemplified the desired goal, (e.g., gave voice or vision to the human spirit through the arts) or perhaps when you felt we fell short of our goal. Or your story might reflect your perspective on the value of the particular ends statement in our community. Since we have delved deeply into music themes in the search process for a new director of music, perhaps your "my story" can look to the other arts and how they have been a rich part of our UUCA lives.

HOMEBOUND MINISTRY

The Lay Ministers at UUCA are working to begin a new Homebound Ministry program. The Lay Ministers are seeking names of UUCA members who cannot easily leave their home who might enjoy a card, phone call or visit from a Lay Minister now and then. We are especially interested in staying in touch with members who are no longer able to attend services. If you know of anyone you think would be appropriate for this ministry, please contact Ginny Sjoquist at sjoquist@bellsouth.net.

UUCA'S 2008 ELECTION SLATE

After months of conversations, interviews, emails, and meetings, the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee (NLDC) proudly presents the slate candidates for the two-year (2008-2010) terms on the Board of Trustees (five positions) and NLDC (three positions).
Laura de Castro, currently a Trustee, has been selected as the candidate to the office of President Elect
Board of Trustees candidates are: John Guyton, David Smith, Marshall Orson, and Gordon Love. These candidates will join current Board of Trustees DeAnn Peterson (President), Doug Abell, Shirley Adams, Michael Dangerfield, Denise Sheriff, Mary Sherman, and Laura Yamashita.
The NLDC would like to take this opportunity to thank these outstanding UUCA members who accepted our invitation to serve, and those who will continue to devote their time and energy to our congregation.
The candidates to serve on the NLDC in 2008- 2010 are: Phil Nungesser, Judy Shaklee, and Xavier Ashe. If elected, they will join Brian Baker, Bill Goolsby, and Janet Weeks, and continue the charge of identifying lay leadership to support the mission of UUCA and fostering a spirit of service.
Make sure to attend the Congregational Meeting on Sunday May 18 to vote on the proposed slate. The NLDC believes it has identified a truly impressive group of leaders, remarkable both for the unique skills they bring and the dedication they have shown to UUCA. Please support this wonderful slate and support them as they give of their time and energy to serve UUCA in these important roles. This slate is the result of many months of work by the NLDC, endeavoring to identify the many grass-roots leaders of our congregation, focusing on members with leadership skills and the ability to work cohesively on a team, as well as people with a dedication to the vitality and success of the congregation. The NLDC sought suggestions on potential candidates from the current leadership and from the congregation at large. The entire congregation should be involved with electing its leadership, so please participate in the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 18, 2008.

SPRING AT FERN CREEK

Our monthly Fern Creek efforts are showing beautiful results with Toadshade Trillium, Woodland Poppy, Mayapple, Senecio and Red Chokberry blooming along the path to the creek. Christmas Fern, Hearts a Bustin and various wildflowers are emerging daily. Volunteers are continuing to remove invasive plants from the area along the Access Road above Fern Creek to be replaced with short grasses and wildflowers in the next year or two. Visit the area at the back of the parking lot today and enjoy nature's beauty. If you would like to join the Fern Creek Team, contact Karen Lindauer at klindauer@bellsouth.net.

INSPIRATION JARS - COMING OF AGE FUNDRAISER

The COA class is working hard to bring you creative and inspirational items as they continue in their fundraising efforts for their heritage trip to Boston. Come by the table in the social hall to check out the new "inspiration jars." Each handdecorated jar contains 52 sayings from notable Unitarian Universalists to lift your spirits and maybe even inspire you to be, as Gandhi once said, "the change you wish to see in the world!" Please check out our other Chalice inspired creations as well - and don't forget about ordering yourself a chalice t-shirt. The first orders are in and they look fantastic!

SPRING/SUMMER ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION BROCHURE

The adult religious education brochure for spring and summer 2008 is now available online, at the desk in the front lobby, and in the office.

NEW STAFF

UUCA Welcomes Laura Towar Wade who joined the staff of UUCA in mid-March as our half time Justice Associate. She will be working with Rev. Marti Keller, our justice ministry team, and various action groups to support and coordinate our social action and advocacy programs. A key area of responsibility will be supporting the volunteer efforts of our UUCA-John Hope Partnership, a direct service ministry to an inner city elementary school.
Laura comes to this position with varied experiences in organizing around such issues as minimum wage and improving the working conditions of direct care workers in the mental health and mental retardation fields; with the Institute for Educational Partnerships, providing assistance to K-12 principals in developing and sustaining communities and America's Promise, promoting community collaborations to enhance services for youth.She is pursuing a degree in public policy at Georgia State University.
"Laura is joining our staff at a point in the life of our congregation when we will be evaluating and re-visioning our social action and justice ministries in a major way," says Rev. Keller. "We want to be positioned as a leader in this area in Atlanta, the Southeast, and within our liberal religious movement." Look for Laura most Sunday mornings in addition to her weekday hours.

GIVE AWAY THE SPACE PROGRAM

Our Give Away the Space program allows outside groups to use the facility without a rental fee. These groups are required to have a building attendant and to pay any fees for the building attendant.
• Give Away the Space events are reviewed and must be approved by the Executive Team.
• Priority is given to non-profit groups
• Most groups are only allowed to be considered for GATS once a year. Groups that exchange their services for use of UUCA's facilities may be considered for an ongoing gift of facility use. (Example: Happy Horns Chamber Group needs a monthly rehearsal space. In exchange for this they provide music during a worship service).

COMING OF AGE CLASS PREPARING FOR BOSTON

Coming of Age Class Going to Boston Our Coming of Age class (8th grade) is going to Boston, (see article in the Jan. newsletter), so we're doing a lot of fund raising. Stop by the table on Sunday mornings for baked goods to go with your coffee and also place your order for a fabulous t-shirt designed by our COA youth. The Valentine dinner event was a great success and watch for future fundraisers such as a Trivia Night and Garage Sale in the coming months.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2008

2008's UU General Assembly, June 25-29, is close to home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. For registration information and an online registration form, click here.
Office, UUA On the web at www.msduua.org or 9 County Road 1058, Oxford, MS 38655 Phone/Fax: 662-234-4423

SERMON TEXT NOW AVAILABLE AS AN RSS FEED

You may now subscribe to the text versions of UUCA sermons by pointing your RSS reader here. (Audio podcasts of recorded sermons have been available for some time now). If you regularly read blogs, news items, or other frequently-updated content online, you're probably already reading RSS feeds (whether you realize it or not!). There are many different ways to read RSS feeds:

* Web sites, such as Bloglines, Google Reader and My Yahoo! * Web browsers, such as Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox * Standalone readers, such as RSSReader and SharpReader * Email-based readers, such as NewsGator

If you have any questions, please contact the Webteam (webteam@uuca.org) - we'll be glad to help!

Got an item you'd like to include on this page? Email your request to webteam@uuca.org.