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Our Mission:
Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church exists to create and nourish a loving community that seeks justice and respect for all.
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Services are held Sundays at 10:30 am
8447 Manresa Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32244
Church Phone: (904) 276-3739 • www.BBUUC.org
Check the BBUUC Calendar for information on other programming.
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August 6 Service
“Hammer Out Love”
Worship Leader: Viqui Hilliard
Accompanist: Sydney Crisp
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About our Service
Pete Seeger used folk music to build community. For in community, there laid the possibility for political action. A Unitarian Universalist, Seeger’s songs bolstered the labor movement of the 1940s, the civil rights marches and anti-Vietnam War rallies of the 1960s, and environmental and antiwar causes of the 1970s. We celebrate the songs of Pete Seeger and other contemporary musicians who helped shape America’s folk revival movement.
Our very talented in-house musicians will lead us in songs about labor, civil rights, peace, and the hope for a better world. We will post words to the songs so everyone can sing along.
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Pennies from Heaven is August 6
Please bring your extra change for a special collection to benefit our local Meals on Wheels program.
Thank you all for your generosity!
Last fiscal year (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017) BBUUC donated nearly $1,500 to Meals on Wheels. Each quarter we alternate donations between Mandarin and Clay County. Mandarin received $686 and Clay County $776. July’s collection for Pennies from Heaven was $69.
Please save all your coins for the first Sunday of every month, and remember bills are welcome too
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August 13 Service
Tessa Duvall
“Diversity in the Media”
Worship Leader: Jennifer Stokes
Accompanist: Gary Smart
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About our Service:
We live in a time where anything that doesn't align with our world view is "fake news." If it's not our reality, it's not real. It would be comfortable to go through life like this, only accepting convenient news. But some people don't have that luxury. These are often the people I write about. My job, my code of ethics, my personal morals demand that I seek the truth and report it. The truth is Jacksonville has a lot of challenges. We have children who find themselves in trouble with the justice system. We have a lack of economic mobility and significant racial disparities. We have undocumented but brilliant young DREAMers who are scared for their futures. We have schools that struggle and families that go without. Some people can ignore all of these things. But I can't. There are too many important stories to be told, and to only to tell them from a limited point of view would be a disservice to this community.
About our Speaker:
Tessa Duvall joined The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville as the education, children and families reporter in December 2014. Her reporting focuses on the issues that affect children living in Northeast Florida, including juvenile justice and mental health.
As a John Jay College fellow in 2016, Tessa began reporting extensively on juvenile life without parole and the years-long resentencing efforts underway. Her reporting on the transformation of a troubled school led to her speaking at TEDxJacksonville in 2015. The Florida Press Club awarded her first place in education reporting in 2016, and the Jacksonville-based Atlantic Institute selected her as its 2017 Diversity in Media award recipient. As a National Fellow at the University of Southern California's Center for Health Journalism, she will tackle her most ambitious piece of journalism yet: Why do juveniles in Jacksonville commit homicide at such a high rate?
Tessa graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and sociology from Western Kentucky University in 2013, and spent a year covering education in the dusty oil fields of West Texas before moving to the Sunshine State.
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August 20 Service
“Resist and Rejoice”
Worship Leaders: Jennifer Stokes &
Meg Kaminski
Accompanist: Marilyn Smart
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About our Service:
BBUUC’s delegates to the 2017 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association will share the experience of this “Justice GA” in New Orleans.
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August 27 Service
Linda Crawford
“Our 4th UU Principle”
Worship Leader: Vanessa Birchell
Accompanist: Gary Smart
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About our Service
Our fourth principle calls for “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” So what does the principal actually mean? How free can we be? How responsible should we be? What is the nature of a search: will we find a definitive answer at the end of our life? And what do the words truth and meaning signify? Is there one underlying truth, and one cosmic meaning for all of humanity? Linda will explore these difficult questions as part of her ongoing series on our seven principles.
About our Speaker:
Linda and her husband Dale have been enthusiastic and active members of BBUUC for nine years now. This church has provided a home for her, a circle of friendship, and a refuge from a sometimes incomprehensible society. In the last few years, she has probed ever more deeply into Unitarian Universalist values; our greatest, in her mind, is compassion.
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Greetings!
Most Unitarian Universalists are more than familiar with the seven principles that serve as our covenant. The seven principles are a guide for all Unitarian Universalists to live their lives in a manner that fully embraces “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” What many Unitarian Universalists do not have strong familiarity with are the six sources that our seven principles are drawn from. These are the six sources our congregations affirm and promote:
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•Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
•Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
•Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
•Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
•Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
•Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
For the next six months, I will use this space to delve in to each of our six sources. The sources are our “living tradition”; the foundation of our faith. All the sources are important. No source is more important than the other. None of the sources support the misguided thought that Unitarian Universalism is a religion in which you can believe whatever you want. Our faith has a direction and a purpose. My hope is that we can utilize this exercise in exploration to identify the direction and purpose of our church internally and in the greater community.
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In Faith,
Vanessa Birchell, BBUUC Board President
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We have completed the books closing out the 2016-2017 fiscal year. As mentioned in my report at the Annual Meeting, we planned to transfer the Change in Net Assets after loan principal repayments and funding for the Capital Repair & Replacement Fund to the new Congregational Growth & Development Fund (CG&DF). I am pleased to report that $17,222.96 has been transferred to the CG&DF to start the new fiscal year. If interested, you can find the Treasurer’s Report to the Board dated 20 July 2017 on the website:
http://www.bbuuc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2017-07-20-17-combined-Treasurers-report-to-the-Board.pdf
Dale M Crawford, BBUUC Treasurer |
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BBUUC Finance Committee
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Coloring as a Form of Meditation
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August 2 @ 7:00 PM
Can you remember the sense of peace and enjoyment you felt coloring as a child?
Can coloring really help you relax?
From choosing colors to the gentle, repetitive motion of your hands as you bring color to paper, coloring can be seen as a form of “active mediation”. Oftentimes when you think of meditation you think of sitting still for a long period of time. With active meditation it is just the opposite. Repetitive motions such as coloring (or running, walking, dancing or even drawing) can help strengthen your focus and easily shift your attention back to a relaxed state. Stressful thoughts and future worries can be simply pushed aside as you take time to enjoy the present. When is the last time you have done this for yourself, or have you ever?
Join Jacksonville CUUPS as we explore this meditation practice that has been rising in popularity.
Respectfully quiet children are welcome to attend the meditation.
You may bring your own favorite coloring book and supplies, or use those from the selection that will be provided.
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Afternoon Tea
Saturday August 19 from 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Join us this month at Eileen Morrison's home for tea, snacks, and conversation!
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Dress: Casual (or feel free to dress up if you’d like!)
Goodies: If you would like to bring something, great! If not, great also! Some of us love to bake, some of us don't have the time or desire. But we all like getting to know each other better. If you’d like to bring something not homemade, we welcome it.
Directions: Contact membership@bbuuc.org to RSVP or for address or directions.
Future Tea Events:
Wednesday, September 20 - Ellen Miceli's home
Saturday, December 16 - Janice & John Knapik's home
Contact membership@bbuuc.org to volunteer for an October or November Afternoon Tea
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August 18
Every third Friday of the month at 6:30 pm, we will be having Friday Night Movies and Dinner with Diversity. Movie titles will be announced at a later date.
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Tubing the Ichetucknee with LRE: August 12
We will be tubing on the Ichetucknee on Saturday, August 12. We will be meeting at the park early and have a pavilion reserved. More details to come!
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We Welcome The Antunes Family
In 2011 Nelson and Sharon Antunes moved from Watertown, Connecticut to Middleburg - both to escape the cold and to be closer to family. Nelson works in operations at Consolidated Metals in Riverside and Sharon is employed from home as a graphic designer for TheGiftedOak.com, creating beautiful and one of a kind personalized wood picture frames and signs. Their daughters Elise (age 7) and Brielle (age 4) also love arts and crafts, and both recently started piano lessons. The girls are the sunshine of their parents’ lives! When not spending time with their daughters, Nelson and Sharon enjoy working out together at the YMCA, practicing yoga and trying different restaurants.
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Sharon first attended BBUUC the week after Christmas in 2015, and quickly realized that this was a place she could be comfortable on her spiritual journey. Scheduling conflicts prevented Nelson from attending church services until recently, but once he was able to make it, he agreed that this is a great fit for him and his family, especially upon seeing how much Elise and Brielle enjoy attending as well! Sharon and Nelson became members of BBUUC in May. Sharon has been actively helping the Public Relations (PR) committee since Spring 2016, and has been the editor of the BBUUC Journey for the past year.
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8/2 – Pat Ray
8/2 – Zoe Atkinson
8/8 – Janice Knapik
8/9 – Victor Siebert
8/10 – Michael Bernos
8/11 – Brad Goodrich
8/19 – Barry Heath
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8/20 – Lee Albright
8/21 – Hanna LoTempio
8/23 – Phil Hamon
8/24 – Gabriella Siebert
8/25 – Judah Ritzmann
8/26 – Abby Crisp
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8/5 – James Bunce and Anunnaki Ray
8/7 – Cliff and Joani Maskell
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8/17 – Gary and Marilyn Smart
8/28 – David and Viqui Hilliard
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BBUUC Membership Anniversaries
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8/10/2016 – Billy and Rachel Thomas
8/11/2002 – Chris Jarman
8/17/2008 – Dale and Linda Crawford
8/21/2016 – Cindy Gaunder
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8/21/2016 – Elizabeth Spade
8/21/2016 – Kat and Peter Vergenz
8/21/2016 – Robert Brewer
8/28/2016 – Janice and John Knapik
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Help us keep our records up-to-date! If you see birthday, anniversary, or membership anniversary that needs to be corrected or added to our list, please send it to membership@bbuuc.org.
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ICARE House Meetings will be held from mid-September to mid-October. These House Meetings will include sharing of individual experiences, an introduction to what ICARE is and how it operates, and an opportunity to lift up justice issues we are deeply concerned about. As in previous years, the attendees at each House Meeting will vote on which issue they feel is most important for ICARE to address citywide. For the first time this year, however, the meetings will offer an opportunity for individuals to identify justice issues closer to home, not just citywide, to which they would be willing to contribute their energy as part of BBUUC.
House Meeting dates will be set on August 8. You don’t have to wait for an invitation to sign up for an ICARE House Meeting. Sign up when you see the announcement in the September Journey, in church, or in your email.
The acronym ICARE stands for the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment, a coalition of thirty-eight Christian, Jewish, Muslim, B’hai and Unitarian congregations. More than half the congregations are predominantly African-American and located in Northwest Jacksonville. ICARE Team Leaders at BBUUC include Carole Hawkins, Viqui Hilliard, Corrine Warren, Karen Christiansen, and Ken Christiansen.
Is ICARE for you? The question is not, are you excited about something everybody is doing and want to be a part of it? Rather the questions are: What justice issues am I deeply concerned about? What keeps me up at night? How can I be part of a solution?
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Social Action Committee News
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A renewed petition drive is underway to put voting rights for felons who have served their sentences on the ballot in 2018. Florida is one of only three states that take away voting rights for life from persons who have served their sentences and completed any parole requirements.
This is a continuation of the petition drive conducted in 2015-16. Not enough valid signatures were collected to get the amendment on the 2016 ballot.
What is needed are new signatures. If you signed this petition during the 2015-16 drive, do not sign it again. If you didn’t sign it then, your signature is desperately needed now. Close to 800,000 valid signatures are needed to get this on the 2018 ballot.
Petitions can be downloaded, printed out and mailed in from the web page at https://www.floridiansforafairdemocracy.com/sign-the-petition. Social Action Committee members will help make them available after church at the back of the sanctuary most upcoming Sundays. August Social Action Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the Social Action Committee will be August 20 at 11:50 AM at the Olympia Brown Room. New members are always welcome. If you wish to receive an advance agenda, email social_action@bbuuc.org. |
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Are You Shopping on Amazon?
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Last fiscal year (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017) BBUUC earned just over $1,300 from Amazon.
We budgeted $1,200 for this fiscal year – but -- let’s challenge ourselves to exceed both last year’s revenue and this year’s budget! Use the BBUUC link to Amazon every time you make a purchase, and ask your family and friends to do the same – you don’t need to be a member of our church to contribute.
Just use this link (also found at the bottom of our webpage bbuuc.org)
http://amzn.to/1LcEwFZ
No special login or code is needed. How easy is that!
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For more information about monthly activities, click the pictures below:
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Childcare is available for many church activities but must be requested in advance when you sign up for an activity. Please contact the activity sponsor listed in the announcement for more information.
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Church Directory
If you would like online and quick/easy access to the BBUUC directory on your computer, tablet, or smart phone (always up to date and with photos), contact membership@bbuuc.org or see Pam Richards or Peg Christenson for login instructions.
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If you would like the PDF directory and separate Picture directory emailed to you so you can access the file on your computer, tablet, or smart phone without an internet connection (or so you can print a hard copy), contact admin@bbuuc.org or see Stacy Asimos in the church office.
If you don’t use a computer and need a hard copy, see Stacy Asimos in the church office.
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Introduce Yourself!
If you are a recent member and we have not run an introduction article about you for the Journey yet, please feel free to contact publishing@bbuuc.org. We're interested in how you found BBUUC, what you like here, and what you would like other members of the BBUUC community to know about you.
We can help you write the article or you can write a 400 word or less article about yourself. We would also like a photo so that people know who you are and can introduce themselves to you during Fellowship Time after the service.
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The Journey is the official newsletter of the Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church. It is distributed monthly by electronic means to members and friends of the BBUUC community. If you would like to subscribe, please send an email to publishing@bbuuc.org.
Physical printouts of the Journey are also available at the Membership Table in the Sanctuary. (If a pledging member of the community does not have home Internet or computer access, a mailed printout can be requested from admin@bbuuc.org or by contacting the church administrator at 904-276-3739.)
If you have comments or suggestions about the format or content of the Journey, please contact the editorial team at publishing@bbuuc.org.
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P.O. Box 844
Orange Park, FL 32067
904.276.3739
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8447 Manresa Ave
Jacksonville, FL 32244
904.276.3739
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