News
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Join us for church on February 22, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
“Songs for the Animals”
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
“Risks: The ones worth taking and the ones that aren't”
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).
Upcoming News and Events
Click through for a collection of upcoming news and events at HVUUC. Click the images to be directed to more information.
If you receive a suspicious email from staff or members please be sure to check the it’s coming from a legitimate email address. Scammers in particular like to pose as staff requesting a copy of our directory. Be sure to never send anyone a copy of our directory!
Join us for church on February 8, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Potluck
“Truth and Beauty: An Exploration of Religious Art”
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.
The Bridge is our monthly Religious Education newsletter reflecting the life, love, and shared ministry of our RE community.
Each issue shares reflections from our Director of Religious Education, gratitude shared by members of all ages, volunteer spotlights, and updates on upcoming classes, gatherings, and opportunities to connect.
Whether you’re deeply involved in RE or simply curious about what’s blooming, you’re invited to step onto the bridge with us — connecting where we are now with where we’re growing together.
Read the first issue by clicking here.
With deep sadness we share that Ray Hatch died suddenly at his home on Thursday January 29th.
Even those who did not meet Ray personally may know him as the smiling man who was often seen doing yard work around the church accompanied by his dog Scout.
We hold Cyndi and their family in our hearts.
When we have additional information to share about a memorial service or other arrangements we will send out an additional ENews.
Upcoming News and Events
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 February 1, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
“Social Justice Sunday”
An exploration of immigration rights and local impact, and how it is concern for all of us based on our core UU principles.
Headlines .…
• UU History Group
• Chili Cook Off
• Imbolc Ritual
• Women’s Night
• Baked Potato Fundraiser
• SOUUL Summit
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
Our Church has a Ministerial Discretionary Fund so that Rev. Tiffany can help people in need connected to our church when a need arises. That fund needs a little extra love this winter, so we are providing the congregation an opportunity to make a special donation to that fund on Sunday February 1st.
We will have white envelopes available for the offering on that day, and anything given in the white envelopes will go directly to the ministerial discretionary fund. Thank you for your generosity!
Email minister@hvuuc.org with any questions.
Upcoming News and Events
Click through for a collection of upcoming news and events at HVUUC. Click the images to be directed to more information.
With a winter storm heading our way, we want to share with you what could change about Sunday mornings, and what has already changed, and where you can expect to get that information.
According to our policy, the decision to close our physical location on Sunday morning due to weather is made by the Minister, President and Facilities Trustee no later than 8am Sunday morning, and notice goes out to the congregation no later than 8:30am Sunday morning. But we can and will make that decision earlier if we have enough reason to cancel earlier (like a huge Saturday blizzard). When we make that decision it will be posted by email and on facebook, and we will notify two key local television stations as well. Keep an eye out on those information sources! But also, whether we have officially cancelled or not, if things look unsafe to you, please stay home and stay safe!
On Sundays when we have closed the building due to weather, there will still be a Sunday service posted to YouTube.
For this Sunday in particular, we have already postponed the baked potato fundraiser and Risk Discernment workshop until February 15th. We have also changed the subject of this Sunday's service to "Stories and Prayers for Social Change," where Rev. Tiffany and Alesha Chaffin will explore our local history of social change as a way of giving us hope for our collective futures! We hope that if you end up snowed in, that you'll hop on YouTube late afternoon/early evening on Sunday and still connect with your community online!
What's the difference between Pledging and putting a donation in the plate to the church?
When the Board of Trustee's makes the budget for next year (we are in that process right now), we can only use Pledged Money to build that Budget. Money donated to the plate can only be spent at the end of the fiscal year. We run from June of this year to May of next year.
What if I can't give my whole pledge? We do build into the budget for possible lost pledges. Please Pledge what you can fulfill and add to the plate if you’re feeling generous.
Email stewardship@hvuuc.org with any questions.
Due to concerns about possible inclement weather, we are postponing the Risk Discernment Workshop and the Youth Group Potato Bar Fundraiser until Sunday February 15th after church.
This is NOT a cancellation of church or RE. That decision will be made later in the week.
Join us for church on January 18, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
4:00pm Youth Group
“Queer Communion”
Queer Communion is a practice of spirituality and ritual that reclaims the center of faith from the margins. As the editor of a collection of storytelling voices around the question of one's queerness and faith in the context of Appalachia, Davis Shoulders seeks to call into question the limiting narratives of what counts as spirituality and who is "worthy enough" to receive the benefit of a spiritual community. Breaking outside traditionalist notions of church and religion, this communion expands into the concept of place, healing, pageantry, reckoning, and hopefulness where radical communities of various faiths are centered on queer expression and acceptance.
Upcoming News and Events
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 January 11, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Potluck
“Attachment, Connection, and Covenant”
Rev. Tiffany explores the human impulse to connect, looking specifically at the different ways humans form attachments and relate to each other. We will look at the Unitarian Univeralist tool of Covenant and how that can inform the ways we connect with each other as a community.
HVUUC is expanding and it is the Board's desire to support individuals interested in taking a more substantial leadership role. To do so, the Board is offering stipends for leadership opportunities.
SOUUL Summit is quickly approaching on March 19-22, 2026 in Atlanta, GA (https://www.uuca.org/souul/). If you want to submit an application for a stipend for this leadership development, the deadline is 2/7/26.
Complete the application here: https://tinyurl.com/HVUUC-Leadership or email questions to vp@hvuuc.org.
We, the Board, are excited to support you stepping into leadership!
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 January 25th 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).
Upcoming News and Events
Click through for a collection of upcoming news and events at HVUUC. Click the images to be directed to more information.
Don’t forget to bring small drums or rhythm instruments this Sunday as a part of Fire Communion!
Join us for church on January 4, 2026.
9:30am Religious Education
11:00am Service
12:00pm Coffee Hour
“Fire Communion”
Join us for an interactive multi-generational New Year's service where we burn away what we want to leave in 2025 and imagine a better future for all of us in 2026.
Headlines .…
· Discerning Risk
· Safe Here Task Force Report
· Metaphysics Group
· MACHO Social and Planning
· Women’s Night
· Risk Assessment Workshop
· Path to Membership
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
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