Leadership Development Opportunities:
Do you want to serve in a leadership position at HVUUC, but want more training before diving in? Would you like to development your existing leadership skills?
There are a number of trainings coming up:
Southern Region UUA- Lead with Love 2/7/26 in Greenville, SC (https://uua.wufoo.com/forms/qkqkmlm0mhvfl4/)
SOUUL Summit March 19-22, 2026 in Atlanta, GA (https://www.uuca.org/souul/) - early bird registration by 12/31/25!
General Assembly (GA) June 14-21, 2026 online (https://www.uua.org/ga)
UU Institute online training programs (https://uuinstitute.org/).
If you want to submit an application for financial assistance for any of these options, complete this form: www.tinyurl.com/HVUUCleaders or email questions to vp@hvuuc.org.
We are excited to see you step into leadership!
Click through for a collection of upcoming news and events at HVUUC. Click the images to be directed to more information.
NOW FORMING: Do you have an interest in metaphysics? There is a new fellowship group forming with the purpose of discussing metaphysical concepts, teachers, books, videos, experiences and more.
If you have any interest, please email metaphysics@hvuuc.org and put Metaphysics in the subject line.
Join us for church on December 14, 2025.
NO RE
11:00am Sunday Service
12:00pm Potluck
An annual, intergenerational service to recognize different holidays of light celebrated throughout the year from different faith traditions, including Hanukkah, Diwali, Advent, Humanlight, Bhodi Day, Winter Solstice, and the history of our own Unitarian Universalist chalice. The entire service will be lit only by candles and includes a candle lighting ceremony for everyone to participate in. Join us for this beloved service full of stories and songs where we will discover how each of us has our own light to share for the world.
We are still collecting Giving Tree items for children, women, and men such as:
gloves
hats
scarves
socks
undies
individual snacks
hygiene items
hand warmers
Please join us after church service on Sunday, Dec. 21st from 12:30-1:30 p.m. to package items which will be hung from the Giving Tree.
If you would like to volunteer to re-stock the Giving Tree, please visit the following link to sign-up with details and instructions:
tinyurl.com/givingtreevols
If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to givingtree@hvuuc.org.
You can also find a few printed copies of the newsletter on the visitors table in the sanctuary.
Click here to read the entire newsletter.
Click here for past newsletters.
Up to date church info is always available at www.hvuuc.org
Next week we have some absences and changes:
Rev. Tiffany will be out of the office from 10/3 until 10/9.
Sarah White will be out of the office from 10/4 until 10/7.
Charis Carter will be out of the office from 10/8 until 10/15.
And Jessica will be working from home instead of in the church office on 10/4 and 10/6.
Please plan accordingly, and contact your board members if you have an emergency.
Due to expected heavy rain this coming weekend the church work day planned for Saturday has been cancelled.
An alternate work day for outdoor tasks including weeding, picking up limbs, raking leaves, and general cleanup of the grounds will take place TOMORROW September 30th. Anyone that can help with outdoor chores is welcome to join around 8:30 am or anytime you wish.
Contact Doug at facilities@hvuuc.org for details or questions.
HVUUC currently has two paid childcare workers for the nursery. We also have a few people who have volunteered to serve as backup if one of the paid workers can't make it. We need more backup volunteers.
Hours will be 915 to 1215 when there is RE. You may be called on very short notice. Please volunteer to take care of our future at HVUUC.
Contact Joshua Beckett at childcare@hvuuc.org if you can help out.
When: 9:30-10:45 a.m., Sunday Oct. 2
Where: Youth room upstairs in the REZ building
Why: Because it is important for adults to know what youth need and want rather than deciding what youth need and want.
Youth in middle and high school are invited to eat donuts and participate in a listening circle this Sunday morning during regular RE. Cindi H. works with a group of organizations in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee that want sex ed and reproductive and sexual health services to be more accessible to all youth. These organizations are interested in knowing how youth feel about the sex ed they get in schools, what other resources youth have, and what they want. Youth, if you have thoughts (and we know you do!) about this, please join us for donuts and deep listening.
We’ve made some great progress on our playground/deck area, but still have a few chores there plus many other things to do to keep our grounds looking great.
Please join us for this work day and bring any outdoor tools you may have such as weed eaters, rakes, loppers, chainsaw, etc. If you have a truck and are willing to haul mulch, please bring it.
Water and individually wrapped snacks will be available.
Our annual church auction needs to be organized, and we need a team to coordinate the festivities. This year we are planning for an in-person component, so your energy to reboot the process will be critical. Please contact stewardship@hvuuc.org if you are interested in a rewarding service to the congregation.
This class will run on Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:45.
Oct. 23 & 30, Nov. 6, 13, & 20, Dec. 11
Oct 1, 10:30 a.m.-Noon at HVUUC
Guardians, we want to make sure we have your informed consent for your youth to participate in Stellar Sex Ed, so please plan to attend this meeting if you’re thinking about signing them up. We will have consent forms for you to fill out after the meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting, please reach out to Sarah White at DRE@hvuuc.org.
Stellar Sex Ed engages participants in an expansive exploration of their inner and outer space. It fundamentally changes the way we approach sexuality education. Free of judgment, Stellar Sex Ed dismantles stigma and invites honest, compassionate curiosity about bodies, identities, and relationships.
Over the course of six lessons, participants will cover whole people, basic internal and external anatomy, intersex, body image, gender, orientation, power dynamics, healthy relationships, bias and discrimination, pregnancy, STIs, and prevention methods.
HVUUC is offering Stellar Sex Ed, developed by RISE: Healthy for Life, to this age group because it is a contemporary, inclusive, affirming approach to sex ed.
You've probably seen the Save the Date slides and announcements for the upcoming Installation Service, October 2nd at 4:00pm. But what is an Installation? Basically, and Installation is a special service where a congregation formalizes its relationship with a called settled minister. (That's me!)
(Click to read the full message from Reverend Tiffany)
Starting today, the Risk Assessment Team has determined that we can move our Risk Level back to Medium. For full details see here: https://hvuuc.org/level-2-medium
This now means that:
We will still wear masks during Sunday Services because it's such a large group
Speakers & Singers no longer have to have a Rapid Test (though they should still test if they are uncertain of their health)
Everyone should still stay home if they are sick
Masks are now OPTIONAL in classes and small groups, when everyone present is vaccinated
Food and drink is now allowed indoors
With the lowered Covid level, food and coffee are now allowed to be served in the church!
Please feel free to bring a dish to share, buffet style, for this Sunday's Picnic.
Hotdogs, chips, lemonade and ice water will be served.
Contact picnic@hvuuc.org with any questions. Or call/text Cynthia G.
This Sunday is the church picnic! Here at Holston Valley UU church right after church, on September 25th.
Hot dogs and toppings, chips, and water will be provided.
You may bring prepackaged treats to share with everyone if you would like.
And please bring your own box lunch if you want more than hotdogs!
If you want to volunteer or need more information email picnic@hvuuc.org
Did you know we have a book club here at HVUUC? The “BUUK club” as we call it meets each third Tuesday of the month.
New people are always welcome! For more information contact buukclub@hvuuc.org.
September 20, 2022 - Gratitude by Oliver Sacks, Non fiction, Facilitator Cyndi Hatch
October 18, 2022 - Bewilderment by Richard Powers, fiction, Facilitator JoAnne Medlin
November 15, 2022 - Under a White Sky: The Nature of the future by Elizabeth Kolbert, Non fiction, Facilitator Judy Hardin
December 13, 2022 - Sweet Darusya: A Tale of Two villages by Maria MaKos, fiction, Facilitator Barb Sims
January 17, 2023 - Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, Non-fiction, Facilitator Cyndi Hatch
February 21, 2023 - Hard Laughter by Anne Lamott, Fiction, Facilitator Sue Shuler
March 21, 2023 - Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, Non-fiction, Facilitator Paggy Perez
April 18, 2023 - Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Fiction, facilitator Judy Tucker
May 16, 2023 - Beloved by Toni Morrison, Classic, Facilitator Denee Mattioli
Beloveds,
We have a need for RE teachers for this coming Sunday 9/18 and the following Sunday 9/25.
Please e mail Sarah (DRE@hvuuc.org), especially if your children participate in our RE Program, if you can assist in the classrooms!
In deep gratitude,
Sarah
Many of you know about our Memorial Wall at HVUUC. The Memorial Wall is located outside to the right of the sanctuary. When we lose a member of our beloved community, we honor their memory (upon request) by adding their name, year of birth, and death.
We are collecting biographies to compile into a binder to be kept in the HVUUC library so that our congregation has a resource to learn more about the many friends honored on the wall.
If you have a personal connection to anyone on the Memorial Wall please fill out the form below and return or email it to the office at office@hvuuc.org.
If you cannot be with us in person but would like to share in our Water Communion, you have two ways for you to participate.
The easiest option, if you would like us to pour some water for you, we can pour some water from the church for you and say that it came from wherever you would like to say it came from. Please email minister@hvuuc.org by Friday night with a subject line "Virtual Water" and say this:
“This water is given on behalf of (insert your name here) and is from (insert the place we are imagining your water came from). It means to me: (one sentence statement about why this water is important to you)”
Leave a small container of your water on the bench in front of the church no later than Saturday night with a note attached to it that says:
”This water is given on behalf of (insert your name here) and is from (insert the place we are imagining your water came from). It means to me: (one sentence statement about why this water is important to you)”
All water is connected and so are we. We hope that if you can't be with us in person, that you will let us celebrate our connection that continues!
We’ve made some great progress on our playground/deck area, but still have a few chores there plus many other things to do to keep our grounds looking great.
Please join us for this work day and bring any outdoor tools you may have such as weed eaters, rakes, loppers, chainsaw, etc. If you have a truck and are willing to haul mulch, please bring it.
Water and individually wrapped snacks will be available.
