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Earth Day Wrap-up at 1U – EV’s, The Garden, and Goodfills
1U’s Electric Vehicle Show – Sun, April 28, 2024 and Helping our Planet
To wrap up Earth Month 2024, the Green Team hosted an electric vehicle (EV) show with eight owners/vehicles and Goodfills, a refillery store, during coffee hour after worship in 1U’s garden.
The 1U Hospitality Team provided refreshments and the Garden Team provided garden tours and fresh vegetables to take home.
To learn more about the owners and their EVs, read their comments below.
To learn more about Goodfills, go to https://goodfills.co/ See their portable store that came to 1U to share their vision and offer their products.
Electric Vehicles at 1U-Hearing from the Owners
1..Why did you decide to buy or lease an EV? For environmental reasons.
2. Why did you buy/lease this particular model? Good size and excellent reviews.
Debbie Reinhart, Owner of Hyundai Ionic 5
3.Did you buy or lease – which one did you choose and why? We bought because we never lease cars.4. What is your EV’s range? 330 miles
5. EV charging – where do you do it? How long does it take? Level 2 takes about 7 hours to go from 20 to 80 %, level 3 takes 18 minutes.6.What challenges have you faced? None so far, but we’ve only had it a month.
7. What are the benefits of your EV? Charge at home, no gas stations. Smooth ride. Nice car. Great for in town driving.8.Will your next car be an EV? I think so. So far, so good. What else? Thanks!
Continue readingTHE PLEDGE Central Florida at 1U and Beyond
Commit at 1U and online at the website below.
“Hate cannot drive out hate,
only love can do that.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Right here in Central Florida, many in our community are living in fear — fear for their own safety, fear for the well-being of their children, and fear of practicing their religion and identifying with their culture.
This IS who we are
We are committed to the promise that Central Florida is a safe community for all who live here and for all future generations. We pledge to protect and value each of our neighbors, especially those who are being threatened or feel unsafe.
We are committed to the promise that Central Florida is a safe community for all who live here and for all future generations. We pledge to protect and value each of our neighbors, especially those who are being threatened or feel unsafe.
I WILL lead by example, treating all people, especially those with whom I disagree, with kindness and respect.
I WILL refrain from inflammatory words and actions, and actively support those being attacked.
I WILL report threatening incidents of hate and violence to 800-423 TIPS (8477)
I WILL educate myself about antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia, and all other forms of discrimination, and help others in my circle of influence to do the same. I WILL lead by example, treating all. See website and learn more.
The Pledge Drive-Why we contribute
Each year The Pledge Drive gives some of our members an opportunity to share the importance of 1U in their lives. The following are excerpts—
A mother of two children offered the following: Know that when you support 1U you support families who need this village and children who need us to say “I’m so proud of you.” You’re supporting programming that teaches children to act on their values and speak out about their beliefs, making positive changes in the world.
Today I give to 1U and volunteer with the RE program because I want our children to have a loving community. We give our UU children a space where they can be themselves and not only be accepted for who they are but supported and celebrated. Our children need us. They need to know we’re here and we’re on their side. And my message for the youth here is: What you do matters. You are making a difference. And I am so proud of you.
A grandfather shared: “As we traveled around the country building houses with Habitat for Humanity, Here’s what we found — As we worked side by side with future home owners – We found that our gift of helping them was also their gift right back to us – it was a gift that lifted our spirit and filled our hearts.
I think the Unitarians have gotten it right all along – that spreading love and justice, and helping others, is a necessary part of our spiritual journey. — It completes the circle from looking inward to reaching out.”
A dedicated climate change activist shared: My experience at 1U affirms that our church community truly affirms that the environment is vital and that we are all part of the interdependent web of life. That was brought home to me by the support I received when I brought up the new idea of a solar co-op.
A meeting on May 15, 2015 that started solar co-ops in this Sanctuary happened because I received an immediate “Yes” when I asked Dan H. if he would be interested in hearing about solar co-ops, an idea I had heard about on NPR which sparked a “light bulb” moment. And, next I received another supportive “Yes” when I asked Rev Kathy, our minister at the time, for her OK to use the Sanctuary for a public meeting to launch the solar co-op.
Now looking forward, I have aspirations for THIS church-that we install SOLAR panels on THIS Sanctuary and our other rooftops so that we reduce our energy footprint and serve to encourage others in our community to consider the solar option.
And, then we have a long time member person share how the Unitarian Universalist principles support her life path: She reminded us about the worth and dignity of each person, compassion for all, the value of a personal philosophy, the importance of democracy, and that all the nations of the world and the natural world are interconnected.
A dedicated Justice member said: I’ve been invited to speak with you this morning about JUSTICE and GENEROSITY. 1U has a reputation in Central Florida as
a place where justice is our core principle, a place where justice happens. So, anything we do to support the existence and life of this church is an act of justice . . . So, here’s the GENEROSITY part. One of the major ways we support this church is by being generous with our money. To keep justice alive at 1U, we must pledge as much money as our circumstances allow. . . . LIVE YOUR VALUES, TAKE OWNERSHIP OF 1U IN YOUR HEART, AND PLEDGE ACCORDINGLY.
April’s Theme is Interdependence!
As we begin, may these words by Rev. Kaaren Anderson send us on our
way.
We Are One
Perhaps if I could pull my senses back
to the scraping squeak of the window opening
that welcomes in the pasture’s chorus of peepers,
whose resonate tones glide over my bed sheet and mental haze,
I’d be able to hear my amphibian friends’ primordial call:
We are one, we are one, we are one
Perhaps if I could recall the rapid thrum
of the nine hummingbirds beating wings,
whipping in and out around the feeder,
with a thrummmm, thrummmm, thrummmm
on that cold Montana morning in May,
I’d remember that my heart beat synched with metronomic ease
to their tiny thrumming selves and rhythmic reminder:
We are one, we are one, we are one
Perhaps if I could be real still
and lay my body on the syrupy mud
along the creek behind the wood
and hear the ferns unfurling in unison
and the roots of the poplar stretching toward the spring,
I’d remember that the universe sings a song to us,
each minute, of every hour, of every day, of every year:
We are one, we are one, we are one
Perhaps if I made it a priority to listen to that siren song,
I’d ask the right questions, and make the right statements;
and return to the communion of creatures of which I am a part.
The truth is we make this planet about us, and only us
and when we do, the earth calls our separate selves back, singing:
“Ask yourself, you beautiful, thoughtful, gorgeous species,
How much of the planet are you really entitled to?
How much of the planet are you really entitled to?“
And with the peepers, and the hummingbirds and the ferns and the roots,
I would respond:
We are one, we are one, we are one
International Transgender Day of Visibility
Each year on March 31, the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) honors International Transgender Day of Visibility! The following is taken from the HRC website:
We celebrate the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary people everywhere by elevating voices and experiences from these communities.
There are over 1.6 million trans, non-binary and gender-expansive youth (age 13+) and adults across the United States. We are parents and family members. We are your coworkers, your neighbors and your friends. We are a diverse community, representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as all faith traditions.
Winged Wonders and Wildlife Day
The Interfaith Environmental Alliance of Central Florida’s Day for Winged Wonders and Wildlife sponsored a guided walk at the Orlando Wetlands Park recently. More than 30 people attended-many from 1U, some from the Interfaith Alliance and some from the Orange County Audubon. The Orange County Audubon supplied 4 guides and binoculars for all who needed one. See here for more information about birding with the Orange Audubon Society.
The leisurely one mile walk was a joy and informative due to the beautiful weather, the four knowledgeable guides, and the many questions and comments from the attendees about the habitat, the wildlife and the history of the Wetlands. Just some of the wildlife that we observed: roseate spoonbills, purple gallinule, sandhill cranes with newborns, some nesting egrets and great egrets and even a harrier hawk as well as many coots, ibis and blue teal, and, of course, a few alligators. Thank you Green Team for being a founding member of the Interfaith Alliance and organizing the sign ups and the binocular pick-up.
Spring Sharing
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Share your bounty with our neighboring church Joy MCC! Bring nonperishable food items to church on Sundays March 24 and 31, 2024. Collection boxes will be outside the sanctuary and in Gore Hall. Click here for specific requests. (Donation box located in Gore Hall. Bring items anytime! Click the link above for specific requests.)
1U Online Auction Starts Feb 3, 2024
We’re excited to offer the 1U Community Exchange as our Online Auction Fundraiser for 2024! We have lots of great dinners, services, and so many other events, including babysitting for you to bid on and buy. Everything is online, so follow the 1U Community Exchange link to register now so that you can start bidding and buying on February 3 at 9:00am. You can revisit the site to bid and buy more through February 12 at 9:00pm.
Want to know more? Log on to a Zoom party (Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7035990877 ) at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 1 and Linnea will give you a preview of the whole Community Exchange. Or, check out the directions below to get yourself registered so that you can be ready to bid when bidding opens next Saturday, February 3!
Fill your social calendar with all of these great events while supporting 1U!
Continue readingChildren and Youth Religious Enrichment Update for January 4, 2023
Click here to read our latest family news.
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