On Sunday August 2nd, we will be blessing backpacks, notebooks, or favorite school supplies for both our Students and Teachers for the beginning of the school year.  They will be blessed by the congregation during our August 2nd worship service, to celebrate our interdependence and send all our good energies to school with our students. Bring your backpack to church on August 2nd!

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 July 19, 2026.

• 9:30 am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Coffee Hour

Eat the Strawberry!

Life is short, so eat the strawberry! Rev. Tiffany shares one of her favorite stories from the Buddhist tradition and we all explore the gifts that the present moment has to offer us.

MUSIC LOVERS: Donnie Barnett's Bad Cats Brass Band will be bringing us several special music pieces on this day!

 🌉 The Bridge Weekly 7/19/26

✨ A Note from the DRE

 🌈 Religious Education is now Religious Exploration!

 🎲 Summer All-Ages RE: D&D 101

 🔥 S'mores & Stories

 💜 Wonder Worship Task Force

🛠️Behind the Scenes Gratitude

🧸 Nursery Wish List

If your group or committee is looking for additional volunteers, or if you'd simply like to share information about your group's purpose and activities, tables will be available at the church picnic for displays and outreach.

If you would like to reserve a table, please email fellowship@hvuuc.org or speak with Debbie after a service. We encourage all groups to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with our church community!

Volunteers needed for the annual church picnic on August 22!  If you enjoy sharing ideas or just want to help create a fun day for our church family, I'd love to have you on the planning committee and/or working team.  Those with the sacred knowledge of flipping burgers without burning them would be extremely helpful to have on board.

If you're interested, please email fellowship@hvuuc.org or talk to Debbie after the service.

Thank you!  Debbie Vasut, Fellowship Trustee

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.

Nursery Pick-Up Reminder

A friendly reminder that our wonderful nursery caregivers provide care for our littlest members each Sunday from 9:15 AM–12:15 PM.

As we continue nurturing an intergenerational church community, we invite families to pick up their children promptly following the worship service so they can join the congregation for coffee hour, potlucks, and other opportunities to connect across generations.

If you anticipate needing childcare beyond 12:15 PM on a particular Sunday, please reach out to our Director of Religious Exploration, Jess Ox, at hvuucdre@gmail.com in advance so we can explore available options together.

Thank you for helping us create a caring and connected community for all ages!

Join us for church on July 12, 2026.

• 9:30 am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Potluck

Back Numbers are Useful for Lighting Fires

HVUUC member, Wanda E., explores ideas of worth and dignity as we age. Retirement doesn't mean uselessness. It enables us to find new ways to offer our many life's experiences and dispel the negative nomenclature of aging.

MUSIC LOVERS: James Shawcross and Sierra Stratton-Ramsay will be preforming a flute sonata for our special music this Sunday.

I'm inviting anyone who is interested to join the Wonder Worship Task Force!

Join the Wonder Worship Taskforce!

This will be a short-term, collaborative team focused on:
🌟 Exploring the overall structure of Wonder Worship
🌟 Brainstorming ideas and possibilities
🌟 Helping think through how everything comes together in practice
🌟 Reflecting on our first few weeks after launch and recommending any helpful revisions

When you pay your Pledge using PayPal, PayPal keeps 3% of your pledge. The Church doesn't receive your full donation. If you’re using Paypal, please increase your pledge payments by 3% so the Church can receive your full pledge. If not, we ask that you please use Zelle.

Please make your donations to the Church using Zelle or a direct bank deposit. Ask Stewardship@hvuuc.org for the Zelle Link or how to do a direct bank deposit.

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 July 5, 2026.

• NO RE

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Coffee Hour

• 5:00pm RE Collaborative Meeting

Soapbox Sunday

This is a yearly tradition in which a handful of your very own friends volunteer to "get up on their soapbox" to speak to us about something they feel is of great importance to them. This is our church's nod to the 1st ammendment rights of the people of this country. This year, we also commemorate the 250th Birthday of our country.

Headlines .…

• S’mores & Stories!

• K-5 Options During the Service

• Scam Alert

• Family Movie Night

• Solidarity Summit

• Absences and Closures

• Women’s Retreat

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.

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 June 28, 2026.

• 9:30am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Coffee Hour

And Your Best Advice Is?

Come explore questions about your own and others "Best Advice". What is it? What was its source? Why is it pertinent? How do you share it? This exploration is facilitated by Steven Roberts.

✨ REC — Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Part of the Magic

🌟 All Ages, All In: A Summer of Community Connection

📖 Storytellers: S'mores & Stories

🧘 Healers: Family Yoga with Tish & More

🚒 First Responders with Gray Volunteer Fire Department

✨ Visionaries: Stargazing with Donnie and Mike Frisch

📚 RE Book Sale Fundraiser

🎬 Family Movie Night Fundraiser

🌈 Summer RE Class Updates

🦴 This Sunday: Fossil Exploration 2!

📱 Coming Soon: Simplified RE Sign-In & Sign-Out

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 June 21, 2026.

• 9:30am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Coffee Hour

• 4:00pm Youth Group

Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone

People try so hard to be remembered--to have a legacy--after their death. No other creature on the planet cares about this except humans. Guest speaker Bradley discusses his thoughts on humanity's fight against natural law, why we do it, and is there any point to it.

Due to the July 4th holiday weekend, the July first Friday Women's Night is cancelled. The Women's Nights will resume in August: save the date of August 14th, the second Friday for  women's night at the Kingsport home of Tish.  

✨ A Note from Jess

🌟 All Ages, All In: A Summer of Community Connection

📚 RE Book Sale Fundraiser

🎬 Family Movie Night Fundraiser

🌈 Summer RE Class Updates

🦴 This Sunday: Fossil Exploration!

📱 Coming Soon: Simplified RE Sign-In & Sign-Out

Please email all submissions for the July newsletter by Wednesday June 24th to newsletter@hvuuc.org.

The deadline is a little shorter this month as the office will be closed the following week.

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 June 14, 2026.

• 9:30am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Potluck

• 12:15pm Music Committee (all welcome!)

Name UnNamed

How do we, as Unitarian Universalists, talk about God? The Unitarian Universalist hymn "Name Unnamed" offers us several metaphors for exploring and understanding concepts of the sacred. Rev. Tiffany will reflect on how our lives are interwoven with sacredness.

For $1500 HVUUC can get 125 radio spots aired on WETS during the year. We are $500 short. If we can raise the needed amount by June 20 we can get information about our church to a wide audience of radio listeners.

HVUUC has usually managed to raise enough money to get a yearly contract with WETS. Then we hear something like this on the radio:
"Support for WETS comes from Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, a religious congregation working together as a church to share love, pursue justice, and seek wonder."

This year we are $500 short of our goal.  Can you donate before the June 20 deadline? Pay by cash, check, or Zelle--just be sure to designate it for WETS. Thank you!

Beware!

Rev Tiffany and staff will never ask you for help getting gift cards or ask you to send a copy of our directory via email. These are common scams to watch out for.

If you’re unsure of a request be sure to check in with office@hvuuc.org or minister@hvuuc.org.

This report highlights accomplishments, challenges, and plans for 2026-2027. Our leaders are guided by HVUUC's Vision of "We work together as a church to transform ourselves, our community, and our world by sharing love, pursuing justice, and seeking wonder."

You can find the annual report in the “Members Area” of our website. If you need to password to the Members Area, email office@hvuuc.org.

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 June 7, 2026.

• 9:30am Religious Education

• 11:00am Service

• 12:00pm Coffee Hour

• 12:30pm k-5 Service Option Meeting

The Problem of Evil

What do we do with the word "evil." Many of us, who may have been called evil ourselves because of who we love or what we do or don't believe, probably want to shy away from the word altogether or claim that evil isn't real. But life in 2026 might be inviting us to name what evil actually is, and to consider what we might do about it. Rev. Tiffany offers her reflections on one of the big questions of life.

Here are some dates to keep in mind this summer involving staff absences and holidays.

• Rev. Tiffany will be out June 15-July 13th.

• Jess, our, DRE will be out June 14-June 20th and also July 6 - July 12th.

• Our office manager will be out Tuesday June 30th and Thursday July 2 and our office will be closed that week.

• No RE July 5th!