Click through for a collection of upcoming news and events at HVUUC. Click the images to be directed to more information.
Join us for church on April 20, 2025!
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Sunday Service
12:00pm Egg hunt and Open Mic
4:00pm Youth Group
An Easter celebration highlighting the diverse perspectives present within Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. This member-led service offers us an opportunity to hear about Easter, past and present, from four of our members, Denee Mattioli, Deb Helmer, Charlie Miller, and Lee Sinnot.
Our annual Flower Communion service is on Sunday, April 27th! Please plan on bringing a flower for this very special service: store bought, from your garden, or a roadside wildflower: all are welcome!
If you'd like to volunteer to bring in an entire vase-worth of flowers to share with people who didn't bring a flower, email minister@hvuuc.org to volunteer!
Registration closes April 30th, limited rooms still available as well as camping. INFO & REGISTRATION HERE: Www.tinyurl.com/hvuucwomen
THEME:
Radical Joy in Hard Times
PLACE:
The Peace Pentagon (www.peacepentagon.net)
88 Oracle Way, Independence, VA
We will have access to the entire campus which includes New River frontage, a babbling creek for water ceremony, turtle labyrinth, medicine wheel and peace pole as well as the picnic pavilion, bathhouse and, of course, the Peace Pentagon chapel.
CONVENER:
Rev. Becky Suzik, UU Peace Fellowship (https://uupf.org) Raleigh, NC;
Rev. Becky’s personal charity: www.joyfuel.org
The purpose of our gathering is to persist in bringing the frequency of JOY into our lives as we face difficult times. The greatest antidote to fear and separation is community, heart resonance and kindling JOY. And, yes, better together!
This gathering is flexible. Come Friday evening for a bonfire, drumming and stay on campus – rates ranging from $25/night camping to $100 for a private King bed and bath. Another option it to rent the whole house and share costs. Plus taxes.
OR – come for just Saturday.. arrive at 10 for a full day of JOY immersion.
PLANNING:
Are you interested in planning the details for the gathering? For example, food committee, leading a JOY activity, other?
REGISTRATION:
Fee: By Donation – No One Will be Turned Away;
INTERESTED? – More details as they are developed.
Email Noel: VP@hvuuc.org
Join us for church on September 3rd, 2023
NO RE THIS WEEK
11:00 Sunday Service
Join us after the service for coffee hour!
Linda G. will talk about the circumstances around this topic coming forth - why she organized the Divine Feminine covenant Group, and the goddesses that will be studied and honored in that group.
Covid is on the rise again, folks! Help us minimize our exposure risk. Please wash/sanitize your hands often, cover your mouth if you cough, and respect others’ wishes for distancing.
Masks are not required at this time. We ask that if you are not feeling well, PLEASE STAY HOME and worship with us on line.
If you test positive for Covid after being in close contact with others at church, please let appropriate staff know so that others can be informed of exposure and risk.
Thank you for doing your due diligence to keep our community safe and healthy!
We have listened to your feedback and are expanding our path to membership classes from one session to two in order to give more information about Unitarian Universalist history, and polity, and what it means to be a covenental community. History, polity and covenant will all be covered in the first class by Rev. Tiffany on September 17th.
If you wish to join the church, you will need to attend both the 9/17 and 9/24 sessions. Childcare is available and a sign up sheet is on the back table in the church, or you can email membership@hvuuc.org
If you’re already a member and regret not getting a chance to cover our history, or if you’re not ready to join but are curious about what this whole Unitarian Universalism thing is about, we would welcome you to the 9/17 class.
If you wish to take just the first class but NOT the second, please let Rev. Tiffany know you're coming to the first class by emailing minister@hvuuc.org
K-2nd Grade Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education
Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is offering an 8-week relationship and healthy bodies education program for Kindergarten-2nd graders
Mandatory orientation for families and kids will be Sunday, Sept. 10 in the K-2 room on Sept. 10 during RE (9:30-10:45 a.m.).
Classes begin Sunday, Sept. 17 and run from 9:30-10:45. Proposed dates are Sept. 17 and 24, Oct. 1 and 22, Nov. 5, 12, and 19, and Dec. 10 and 17. This allows for one snow day. Youth will get the most out of the class if they attend all sessions.
If you are interested in this program for your child, please register as soon as possible as there are a limited number of spots available.
The Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education curriculum is age-appropriate, trauma-informed, and inclusive and affirming. OWL programs nurture and support the three Rs of childhood sexuality education--respect, relationships, and responsibility--by helping children increase self-respect and respect for others, build relationships with people of all genders and with many kinds of families, and understand their responsibilities regarding their own health and that of others.
It helps children:
Strengthen and support their sense of self and self-esteem.
Recognize and appreciate their bodies as good and beautiful, private and their own.
Gain understanding and accurate, age-appropriate information about human bodies and reproduction.
Develop more effective communication skills.
Learn to make decisions that respect themselves and others and that anticipate possible consequences.
Learn about healthy habits and what to do when they don’t feel safe or respected.
OWL engages families in open communication about life questions and reinforces guardians’ role as their children’s most important sexuality educators.
Our Whole Lives uses approaches that work. The curriculum is based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education, and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS).
Although developed by two religious organizations, Our Whole Lives is a secular program that contains no religious references or doctrine.
Facilitators will communicate with guardians throughout the course, and guardians are welcome to ask questions of the facilitators.
Please use the following link to register:
https://hvuuc.betterworld.org/events/k-2nd-grade-our-whole-lives#details
Join us for church on Sunday August 27, 2023
9:30 Religious Education
11:00 Sunday Service
Join us after the service for coffee hour!
One in Five US Adults experience Mental Illness. Mental Healthcare is shockingly difficult to obtain. And the last few years have definitely made matters around mental health more difficult to navigate. How can communities like ours make a difference in the journey to have a healthier life, mentally and emotionally?
Job Description: Video Production Specialist
Reports to: Minister
Effective: Fall 2023 – will be updated to match hire date
The Video Production Specialist will provide reliable expertise and weekly video production services on Sundays, to maintain and enhance Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church’s online presence.
Note: HVUUC members and friends will not be considered for this position. However, if you know someone who might be a good candidate, please share this with them and encourage them to submit a resume and cover letter to pastpresident@hvuuc.org by Sep 8, 2023.
***ATTENTION**
*CANCELLATION NOTICE*
September UU Women's Group cancelled due to the many Labor Day weekend activities already planned.
Next meetup will be October 6 2023.
Remember to MARK YOUR CALENDAR EVERYONE!
Further info to be announced!
Thank you.
See sign up list in Fellowship Hall
womensgroup@hvuuc.org
Join us for church on Sunday August 20, 2023
9:30 Religious Education
11:00 Sunday Service
Labels. We love them and we hate them. Religious labels are especially interesting when you're a Unitarian Universalist, because we are very much a both/and religion. Come explore how you label yourself, how your friends in this community label themselves, and how different that is than when someone puts a label on you.
For extra fun, take the Belief-O-Matic before the service starts, at https://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/quizzes/
A sociology graduate students at ETSU, Charles Mawuli Nutsugah, is hoping to be able to live with a host family. Do you know any folks who might be willing to host a grad student for approximately a semester? (or less, depending on their situation)
Mawuli is from Ghana, is in his 30s, and he's a fluent English speaker (it's the language used for public education in Ghana). He would like to get acculturated to the U.S. He is going to be on a graduate assistantship and will be able to pay rent to the host family, if that would help.
Email minister@hvuuc.org if you’re interested.
Join us for church on Sunday August 13, 2023
9:30 Religious Education
11:00 Sunday Service
Join us after the service for Coffee Hour!
Music is a rich metaphor for community and tells the story of how we harmonize, explore our differences, and learn our own true song. Hear musical gifts from our congregation's musicians, and hear stories of community from several of our members and staff.
Fall RE begins on Sunday, August 13, with classes for K-12! This year we will have offerings for K-2; 3-5; 6-8; and 9-12.
Our K-2 and 3-5 classes will be using a LEGOS based curriculum.
Our 6-8 class will engage in Popcorn Theology a movie based curriculum.
The 9-12 class will have a social justice themed curriculum called Social Action For Tweens and Teens.
Come join us at the REZ at 9:30 - 10:45 to meet your RE Teachers!
A 7 week Covenant Group based on the book, Heart to Heart. We will be meeting every Monday beginning August 28 and ending Oct 9 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Book ($5) available from Facilitator, Wanda Earp. Meets at HVUUC in the REZ. Maximum of 10 members. Subjects vary every week, covering chapters 8-14. No requirement to have participated in the Part 1 Group. Deadline to register August 25 via heartsgm@hvuuc.org
Let's Chat is an ongoing Covenant Group, that meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. Members may join after talking to Greg Kramer, and may leave at any time. Topics have included Mystery, Integrity, Laughter, Leisure and Spirituality as Community. Our next meeting July 23rd is Empowering our True Selves and Shedding the Imposter Syndrome. See me after the service or email letschat@hvuuc.org
A four-session Covenant Group focusing on the divine feminine will take place on Sunday afternoons from 12:30 – 2:30 upstairs in the REZ. 9/24, 10/15, 10/29, 11/12 Open to all who identify as women.
In these four sessions the group will explore a culturally diverse, feminine face of God and ask how we can live into Her and bring more of Her into the world. Four goddesses from matrilineal cultures in different geographic regions will be explored. For more information, email divinefeminine@hvuuc.org.
Join us for church on Sunday July 30, 2023
9:30 Religious Education
11:00 Sunday Service
Join us after the service for Coffee Hour!
Hear reports from our delegates and our minister about our trip to General Assembly, the annual national gathering and business meeting for the Unitarian Universalist Association. What did we learn? How did it make us think? Who are we becoming as a movement? We will also offer our kids and youth a backpack/notebook blessing during this service. Students of ALL ages (including adults!) should bring either their backpack or a notebook to the service.
