This Week at UUP: April 25-30, 2008

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
An Oasis for Heart and Mind Every Sunday in Downtown Petaluma


ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Step Up to the Plate -- Annual Pledge Drive Gets Underway this Sunday
Please plan to attend an informative event following the service on Sunday, April 27. Lunch will be served, and childcare will be provided. We will spend about an hour talking about the congregation's financial well-being, and make our pledges of sustaining support for the coming year. Did you receive a letter announcing the campaign, along with a brochure featuring our "team" statistics: averages, box scores, a review of the past season, and our prospects for the coming season? --hmmm...how far can this baseball theme go, you may ask? Come and find out on April 27!

Leadership Positions Available at UUP
This year's annual meeting (June 1) will see three members elected by congregational vote to the UUP Board of Trustees. These are three-year terms. Don't be surprised to be approached by a member of the Nominating Committee (Nancy Blake, David Dodd, and KC Greaney), who will be seeking out hidden talent throughout the membership. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, please don't hesitate to speak with any member of the Nominating Committee.

Considering Becoming a Member of UUP? The next New Member Ingathering is Sunday, June 1st
If you've been attending UUP regularly and have been thinking about joining the congregation as a member, here's your chance! We will hold a new member welcome ceremony during the Sunday service on June 1st. For details, please contact Hope Stewart, for the UUP Membership Committee.

Unitarians Universalists are fighting global warming together with the "UULM Low Carbon Challenge"
Our goal is for Unitarian Universalists in California to collectively lose one million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions by Earth Day 2009. "Carbon Rings" in 50 of our California congregations are going on the "Low Carbon Diet" to lose 5,000 pounds of carbon emissions per household. Please contact Stacey Meinzen, David Dodd, or George Beeler for details.

Religious Education Volunteers Needed
Our program is growing! Please consider volunteering occasionally to help with the 7-11 year old class on Sunday mornings. Volunteers will assist our regular teachers or help out on a service Sunday project. No advance preparation is required. This is a great opportunity to strengthen our intergenerational connections! Please contact Leslie Harrison for more information.

Interested in seeing 'West Side Story' at Sonoma State University?
A UUP group is gathering for Saturday, May 3. Order tickets through Sonoma State, then contact Dick Allen (dickallen1st at hotmail dot com ) to coordinate a place to meet and eat. Maybe picnic on the lawn?… eat at a nice restaurant right across the street?

Save the date! Saturday, May 3rd Annual Petaluma River Clean Up
As part of our Service Sunday program, the Religious Education committee invites you to participate in this year's Petaluma River Clean Up. Please join our children and youth as we pull on our gloves and head down to the river. We'll work as a team under the guidance of Friends of the Petaluma River, city-wide sponsors of this event. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Petaluma Marina, 775 Baywood Drive. For directions: http://petalumariver.googlepages.com/ . Friends of the River provides music, food and prizes for participants!

UPCOMING SUNDAY SERVICES
(Social time with refreshments begins at 10:00 am , at the Petaluma Woman's Club, 518 B Street. Worship service begins at 10:30 am. )

This Sunday, April 27, 2008: Stewardship Sunday: "The Present Value of Our Future Vision"
Minister: Rev. Ben Kocs-Meyers
Worship Leader: Meredith Guest
The words of the great American social reformer, Dorothy Day, are encouraging: "Spend your life on something that outlasts it." This Sunday, the hopes for the future of this congregation, the quality of its programs and services, and the vibrancy of its mission and ministry to the community will either be met and fed, or not. What role does a collective vision play in this little drama? How do you assess the present value of your future legacy as a member or friend of this congregation?

Immediately following the service, we will gather to share our hopes for the ensuing year and make a pledge for fiscal year 2008-09 to fulfill our collective vision. Plan to stay after for a light lunch, and a one-hour meeting. Childcare provided.

Sunday, May 4, 2008: "Flower Communion"
Worship Leader: Diana Spaulding
This year marks the 85th annual Flower Communion Celebration. This beautiful celebration of community is one of the very few (almost) universally practiced Unitarian traditions. Each person is asked to bring one flower for the ritual.



REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS

The UUP Board of Trustees will meet Sunday at 8:30 am in Christian Science Fireside Room.

UUP Membership Committee will hold a retreat at May 10 at 11am at Hope's home

Larking About, the UUP Singers, meets on Wednesday evenings from 8 to 9:30 at the home of Diana Spaulding and David Dodd

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION TO "THIS WEEK AT UUP" AND TO THE UUP CALENDAR

If you have an item for "This Week at UUP" (UU or UUP-related only, please), send it to our Administrator, Jennifer Newman at uupetaluma at gmail dot com by Wednesday for inclusion in that week's email newsletter. For information that needs to go on the calendar (located at http://www.uupetaluma.org/calendars/current.html ), please send your event details to the same email address.



www.uupetaluma.org