As winter approaches, so does Festivals of Lights on Dec 13! This is an annual, intergenerational service that recognizes different holidays around light that are celebrated by people in our congregation and people who have come before us. We are looking for speakers, candlelighters, and singers. This is a wonderful chance to get involved and there are opportunities for all ages and interests.
Email Sarah or Cathrine at festivals@hvuuc.org to volunteer!
We will also be decorating the sanctuary on Dec 12 from 9a-12pm and welcome all help. If you have any fresh evergreen trimmings, please bring them!
Join us for church on Nov 8, 2026.
9:30am RE
11:00am Service
12:00pm Potluck
1:00pm Metaphysics Group
What do the characters of the Medusa myth and the characters of the Moana Disney movie have in common? They can teach us a lot about the paths to healing, both when they work and when they don't work. Come explore these complexities with Rev. Tiffany.
(content warning for trauma stories and a brief mention of sexual assault)
A HUGE thank-you to the groups that have stepped up to help host Coffee Hour! The Men's Group, Social Justice Committee, and BUUK Club have all answered the call, and we truly appreciate their support! And of course, all of the other individuals that routinely step up to help.
However, we still need volunteers to fill in the gaps. Never hosted Coffee Hour before? No worries! An experienced volunteer will show you the ropes and make sure you know everything you need to know. Not able to bring food? That's okay, too! We can provide the refreshments.
Hosting Coffee Hour is an easy way to help out, connect with fellow members, and make everyone feel welcome. All you need to bring is a little time and a willingness to help! For more information, please contact coffeehour@hvuuc.org or speak to Debbie after church.
💜 A Note from the DRE
💜✨ Child-care volunteers needed for Auction! ✨💜
🤝 Religious Exploration Collaborative (REC) in person again!
✨ Wonder Worship Returns!
🌟 Youth Group Gathering!
🎂 November Birthdays!
🌟 Gratitudes Across the Bridge
Nursery Volunteers Needed — Saturday, November 7 | 4:30–10 PM
Our regular childcare team is unavailable for this year's Service Auction, and we're calling on our wonderful HVUUC community to help keep our littlest members cared for while the festivities unfold!
Here's where we need help:
- 4:30–6:30 PM: Volunteers to cover the beginning of the evening.
- 6:30–10 PM: A copilot to join Jess, or a few volunteers to share shorter shifts!
Even an hour or two makes a difference! With a handful of helping hands, we can share the responsibility so everyone has a chance to enjoy the celebration.
Interested in helping? Contact Jess at hvuucdre@gmail.com with your availability.
Let's make this a beautiful evening for ALL ages!
Service Auction Families — We Need Your Input!
Are you planning to attend the Service Auction this Saturday, November 7, and will you need childcare for your little ones (ages 6 and under)?
We're gathering a headcount to help us plan childcare coverage for the evening!
If you'll need childcare, please email Jess Ox at dre@hvuuc.org with:
YES — Childcare needed!
Number of children (ages 6 and under)
Your response will help us determine our childcare needs and plan accordingly!
Thank you for helping us make this a wonderful evening for everyone!
To the wonderful HVUUC members and friends … our facility is in need of careful painter skills.
Both inside and outside work is available as weather permits.
Please Contact facilities@hvuuc.org and lets work as a team to improve our facilities.
Headlines .…
· Minister’s Note
· Painting Needs
· Tree Day
· Pledge Drive
· Women’s Night
· Youth Group
· Astronomy Presentation
Click here to read the entire newsletter.
Click here for past newsletters.
You can also find a few printed copies at our visitors table in the sanctuary.
Up to date church info is always available at www.hvuuc.org
Join us for church on March 1, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
Wild Bodema is a women’s percussion group specializing in music from West Africa using instruments from that area. Bodema means “wimmin who drum” and their energetic beats are sure to call to your inner sense of rhythmic wildness. Based in Asheville, NC, the group performs regionally to share their joy of rhythm and their love of community.
Thank you to all who came together for our impromptu All-Ages class last weekend! And so much gratitude to Reverend Tiffany for stepping in as a guest teacher and sharing her wisdom around animal connections, her personal practice, and the beautiful nature-art she created. I loved witnessing the rich engagement across ages — the many wisdom-drops and the way insight and curiosity flowed between generations was truly fantabulous!
Here’s a glimpse into what’s happening in RE this week:
K–5 RE:
Sue and Greg will be guiding our youngest learners through the lesson “What Makes You, You?” — exploring identity, story, and belonging through thoughtful wonder questions. Our K–5 class continues to nurture curiosity, self-awareness, and connection in age-appropriate and joyful ways.
Families are also invited to participate in the ongoing Gratitude Zine challenge and make use of the Sanctuary Fidget Station — both small but meaningful practices that support our shared worship experience.
6–12 RE & Youth Service:
Justin and Shylah will be collaborating with our youth to explore how they’d like to shape the remaining spring curriculum. When our youth express interest in shifting direction, we listen — co-creation is part of the practice.
Their Feeding the Hungry initiative continues gaining momentum! Youth have created food bags, are assembling pet-care bags, and are coordinating a hot meal distribution in partnership with The Melting Pot in Johnson City. We are currently gathering availability input for two possible service dates — if you’d like to see how this effort is unfolding or support our youth in action, you can find the Helping Hands in Action survey here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBxV2D6l7mVQyONRYvmLcbczmGVHeuUlERgKCT3L70wZrQPQ/viewform?usp=header
Additionally, families registered for Stellar Sex Health (grades 6–8) are reminded that classes meet in the Meditation Room.
Adult RE 2:
This Sunday, Byron will be leading a discussion on The Joy of Rhythm — a reflective aperitif to the Wild Bodema Women Drummers joining us in service. Adult RE continues to be a vibrant space for reflection, conversation, and shared growth.
As our Adult RE community expands, we are exploring the possibility of adding an Adult RE 3 group to support smaller discussion circles and deeper engagement. We would love congregational input — please consider sharing your thoughts through our More Circles, More Connection Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRkninSMUUyju7xlfmmnbDRpm3vgx9faiov0xLC2szIbmzsQ/viewform?usp=header
Religious Education at HVUUC is truly shared ministry in motion — across ages, across ideas, and across the many ways we show up for one another. Thank you for being part of it!
Jess Ox, DRE
dre@hvuuc.org
Please save the date for a Memorial Service to honor the life of our own Ray Hatch, for Sunday March 29th at 4:00pm, with reception to follow.
Help with reception setup and food is always appreciated, please contact memorialreception@hvuuc.org to volunteer.
I hope this note finds you well. It is that time of the year when the Stewardship Trustee asks all our church members and friends how much they intend to pledge to the church for our next fiscal year, June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027. I will then take this amount to the Board of Trustees to develop next year’s budget. The budget that the Board proposes will be voted on at our annual congregational meeting on April 26.
We have so much to celebrate this past year! It is through your generous pledges that we have been able to afford the Church Services in person and on YouTube, Religious Classes by Rev Tiffany, Covenant Groups, Religious Ed for our Adults and Children, Wednesday Night Suppers, the Giving Tree, Special Interest Groups and more!
The present preliminary budget is up 33% from last year. We have an increase in our preliminary budget because: 1) Increase of Training Budgets for members. In the past only members of means, could go to training classes. We need to pay for training for our up-and-coming leaders. With our growth in membership we have needs to hire new people or increase hours of existing employees.
Please mail to PO Box 8383 Gray, TN 37615
OR email your pledge to pledge@hvuuc.org.
Join us for church on February 22, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
The Unitarian Universalist commitment to love, empathy, and the inherent worth and dignity of all is always drawing the circle wider. Many of us understand that these values are for more than just humans, but all living beings who call this Earth home. Today, guest musicians PossumTrot Road and Rev. Tiffany reflect on our relationship with the rest of the natural world in this very special service, "Songs for the Animals".
Hello You Gorgeous Souls!
Our Religious Education program is seeking two volunteers to help facilitate the K–5 class this Sunday, and this is a beautiful opportunity to step into shared ministry with our youngest community members!
One of our beloved facilitators is currently taking time to heal following the passing of her husband, and several of our regular volunteers will be attending the Guardian Orientation for the upcoming Stellar Sex Health (RISE) program. This creates an opening for others in our community to step forward and help hold this meaningful space.
If you have already completed a background check, wonderful — we would be so grateful for your support!
If you have not yet completed a background check, but have been attending HVUUC for three months or more, we can get that process started lickety-split! This includes a simple background screening and a brief discernment conversation with Rev. Tiffany and Jess. Our goal is always to create a safe, welcoming, and well-supported experience for both our volunteers and our youth.
You would not be stepping into this alone — curriculum and guidance are provided, and support is always nearby. What matters most is your presence, care, and willingness to be part of the whole that nurtures our children.
If you feel called to help this Sunday, or would like to begin the volunteer process, please contact Jess Ox, Director of Religious Education, at dre@hvuuc.org
Thank you for helping create a space where our children — and our entire community — can continue to grow, connect, and thrive together!
Jess Ox, DRE
Last year there was the first Women's Retreat since COVID. It was a great event and fully subscribed. Is it time to do this again? If so, where/when? May 29-31? This is a call for those interested to join a planning committee hosted by Noel.
Interested parties should email president@hvuuc.org for more information.
HVUUC is sending four individuals to UUA's virtual General Assembly this year, June 14-21! If you are interested in leadership development and building connections with other HVUUC folks as well as the wider UU community then please submit your application here: https://tinyurl.com/HVUUC-GA2026
Learn more about UUA's General Assembly here: https://www.uua.org/ga
Email vp@hvuuc.org with questions
Please join the Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Community Action Network (TUUCAN) Safety and Security Workshop at Westside Unitarian Universalist Church at 616 Fretz Rd, Knoxville, TN 37934 on Saturday, February 21st. It will also be on Zoom. The program will start with a section to reflect on individual risk assessment and then shift to conversations and best practices around protest safety, digital safety, and congregational safety.
The event runs from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM ET, with a potluck lunch and childcare provided. Home hospitality is available if needed. Registration is required to attend, and you can do so using this link-https://tinyurl.com/yc7ts8cp
Schedule of events:
9:30 AM ET- Coffee and conversation
10:00-12:00 PM ET- Spiritual grounding and discussion of risk assessment
12:00-12:45 PM ET- Potluck lunch
1:00- 3:00 PM ET- Discussions around protest, digital, and congregational safety- includes Q&A opportunity
Families/Couples attending: Please complete one form for each adult attending. If childcare is required, only complete that information on one form.
Registration link-https://tinyurl.com/yc7ts8cp
Join us for church on February 15, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Youth Baked Potato Fundraiser
1:00pm Risk Assessment Workshop
To live our lives is to engage with risk. Which risks are worth taking for you personally, and which aren't? How does taking risks change when we're talking about taking risks as a community in order to live our values? Join Rev. Tiffany to begin addressing this vital topic for congregational life, and then stay for a meal and the Risk Discernment workshop that will be held after the Sunday Service.
Make your wishes known as the congregation discerns which risks we want to take together as a community to transform ourselves, our community and our world!
On Sunday February 15th after church, Rev. Tiffany and team of our church leaders will be facilitating a Risk Discernment workshop sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist's social justice organization Side with Love.
This workshop is designed specifically for us to gauge the risk tolerances of congregation members so that we can make better decisions about what is worth doing and what is too risky for our congregation when it comes to social justice matters. But we can't do that unless you come and let us know where you're at. We hope this workshop will be very well attended to help us get a clear sample of congregational values, hopes, and boundaries.
The youth group will be providing lunch as a fundraiser right after church, and the workshop itself will go from 1-3pm.
Please use the sign up sheet on the back table of the sanctuary, or email risk@hvuuc.org to let us know you're coming (and to help the youth prepare enough food).
Join us for church on February 8, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Potluck
What do the visual arts offer us when it comes to our shared quest for truth and meaning? This Sunday Rev. Tiffany explores how art through the ages has reflected the human experience, and our yearning for the sublime.
As many of you know, First Presbyterian Johnson City, 105 S Boone St, operates a warming center during the winter for our neighbors who are homeless. Whenever they have "white flag" conditions, that is when the temperature drops to 35 or below, First Presbyterian opens its fellowship hall for those who need a safe, warm place to be. Because First Pres also operates a preschool, the warming center is only open on weekends, holidays, and when Johnson City Schools are closed for inclement weather (because the preschools is also closed then,) but with the recent pattern of weather, they've been open every weekend and holiday recently.
Running the warming center relies on volunteers, which is where you can help. They need people to help with the following:
• Providing food (they offer breakfast and lunch as much as possible)
• Kitchen assistance with prepping and serving food, and cleaning up
• Guest sign-in when people arrive
• Set up and/or clean up of the space before guests arrive and after they leave
• Guest engagement
• General help wherever needed
The warming center is open 8am to 4pm on days it's open. Volunteers usually work in shifts of about two hours, although you are welcome to come for longer or shorter as your schedule allows.
If you are interested in learning more, or to be added to the volunteer roster to be contacted as needed, please reach out to Lynnea Hunter Salinas at 828.266.1917 or at LynneaSalinas@gmail.com.
