What's going on.... November 1999

November - A time to be Thankful! ...and another busy month at UU-Valdosta. Rev. Yvonne Miller, from the High Street Unitarian Universalist Church in Macon, Georgia, will be our visiting minister, November 7, early in the month! Her sermon will be "Remembering Walden." She will be exploring "Henry David Thoreau's contributions to UU theology and what his message of integrity and simplicity can mean for us in these complicated times."
Other events in November: A workshop on "Lesbian and Gay Issues" will be held at the church, November 3 (see next page); several of our members will be presenting Sunday services around the Thanksgiving Holiday (see calendar above), and there are a couple of social events you won't want to miss! (see inside).
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is Nov. 14 - 20^th, see the Social Action update from Laurel Hahlen in this issue for more information, or contact Laurel to find out what you can do to help.

Georgia Equality Project Workshop...The UU Church of Valdosta will be the site of a Georgia Equality Project (GEP) workshop, November 3, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. The interactive workshop is entitled "Lesbian and Gay Issues: Building Bridges Between the Gay and Straight Communities." The workshop will be facilitated by Vern Lewis, GEP Education Director. Because this is a highly interactive workshop, space is limited, but we want as much participation as possible from a cross-section of the gay and straight communities. To register for the workshop, contact Carol ASAP send an e-mail to cranfun@peachnet.campuscwix.net

Games Night!

Sat., Nov 6, 7:00 p.m. Call René or Julie for more information.

Thank You, Thank You
For delivering Break Bread Together meals last month: Lea Atkinson and Virginia Branan. Thanks for the many offers to help. We have volunteers already scheduled through February!
For helping clean up the church and grounds prior to religious education class. A special thanks to Daniel, Jonas, Jason and Jeremy (Daniel can even make a good pot of coffee!)
For enabling some of our UU Youth to attend the Florida District YouthCon in Orlando: Rene Kerr
For installing a timer light for our UU sign, connecting the microphone system to the nursery, and fixing the entranceway lights! Doug Fraser (This deserves repeating....)

Religious Education News
Youth R.E. -
Elementary R.E. pupils are finishing their study of Travel in Time, a history of Unitarian Universalism. The Elementary R.E. is being led by Virginia Branan. The Teenage R.E. group has chosen to learn about world religions through the curriculum, Neighboring Faiths, this group is being led by Janet Andersen.
Adult R.E. is focusing on Love is Letting Go of Fear, by Gerald Jampolsky, MD, led by Robert Dixon and Charles Judah.
If you would like to volunteer to help with or lead any of these groups, please contact Janet Andersen.

The Program Committee will meet at Betty Derrick's sometime during the potluck on Sunday, Oct. 31, to plan for Spring, 2000. Give suggestions for speakers to Virginia, Betty, Theresa or Tom.

Women's Group
Join us for good food and great company, the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Bring a snack, ideas for discussion, or just yourself! Contact Julie Halter for more information.

R.E. field trip:
Jason, Jeremy and Daniel, and Virginia Branan enjoyed their first R.E. outing of the year. They went to Tallahassee's Odyssey Science Museum. The automated dinosaur exhibit and the many hands-on activities made for a fun afternoon. The day was capped with dinner at the Olive Garden. --Virginia Branan

Social Action Activities
Break Bread Together
Our date for meal deliveries with the Break Bread Together program is now the 2^nd Monday of each month. If you can deliver meals on this day beginning about 11:00 a.m., please contact Virginia Branan.

Adopt-a-Stream
On Saturday Oct. 16, several UUer's joined over 100 Lowndes residents to help with the 8th Annual Rivers Alive Cleanup. The event took place on the Withlacoochee River at Langdale Park and was a great success -- and lots of fun! Plans continue for our adoption of a portion of the river. Please contact Tom Hallock for more information on this project.

UU Activities and Announcements
Check the bulletin boards in the church and R.E. building for information on the following events:

Nov 6, Southwest Cluster Fall Workshop, UU Church of Ft. Meyers
Nov 7-13, Florida Leadership School, Oviedo
"The View That Refreshes."

Concerns of the Congregation

Our thoughts and prayers are with our members and friends who have recently lost family members or are experiencing difficulties in their lives.  

Membership?
Curious about membership in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Valdosta? Contact Charles Judah or Tom Hallock of the Membership Committee

Social Action Update
If you are interested in being on the Social Action Committee, please contact Laurel Hahlen. Laurel also has information on the following social action opportunities:

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week is Nov. 14-20th and will be marked by several events locally including a coffee house featuring work by a homeless poet, a candlelight vigil and the Grate American Sleep-Out. For more information, please contact Laurel or Amber.

Stop the Clock Campaign
Please save any unwanted clocks or watches (working or broken) you may have for an upcoming poverty/welfare event that is being sponsored by the
South Central Georgia Task Force for the Homeless, the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, Up and Out of Poverty and other
human interest groups. More information will be provided shortly.

GCEH State Wide Network
The Georgia Coalition to End Homelessness is in the process of building a web site that will link as many social service providers as possible throughout the state. This could be an incredible asset to anyone who is seeking services, wishes to donate excess goods or tap into resources anywhere in the state. If you can provide information that would be beneficial to others, please contact Laurel.

School of the Americas Protest/
Witness for Peace Delegation
Unfortunately, the Witness for Peace delegation to Chiapas, Mexico (also a UUSC project) has been postponed. The delegation would've been going in the midst of the national election in Mexico which could be a dangerous time to be in some parts of the country. Since much of the violence in that area has been attributed to graduates of the School of the Americas, I still plan to be at Ft. Benning, GA on November 20 & 21 for the 10th annual SOA protest and have committed to being a peacekeeper and non-violence trainer for the event. If you are
interested in attending the SOA protest or would like more information, please contact me.
Thanks, Laurel Hahlen

A Note from the Editor:
For those of you who haven't heard, this will be one of my last issues as editor; I will be moving in December. It has been a joy - and a privilege - providing you with all the "goings-on" over the last couple of years; I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have, and thanks for all of your support. Please note - I won't be far away.... -- Ed. (Carol Stiles)