Current Programs and Events
at First UU Church

Below is information about the worship services and other events at First UU Church Houston, as well as significant community events. Please check the calendar, the newsletter, or the Schedule of Ongoing Programs Sponsored by the Adult Programs Committee for information on these or other events that may be of interest to you.

Purchase Meal Packs for the Homeless and Hungry

Please help ease the pain of hunger for some of Houston's less fortunate citizens by ordering pre-packed, nonperishable meals to be distributed to the homeless and hungry.  First UU Church members, in partnership with the Emergency Aid Coalition (EAC), will prepare the packs on Saturday, May 17, and we need your orders early so that we can plan the project.  You may order meals to distribute yourself, to be handed out by First Church staff members, or you may designate packs to go to the Emergency Aid Coalition who will then hand them out to their clients.   

You may place your orders on line, or print the order form and mail your order to: 

First UU Church, 5200 Fannin, Houston, TX.  77004, ATTN:  Tom Cowen.  Thank you for your support of, and participation in, this project of sharing our gifts.

Please return the order form to First Church with complete information before May 13.  

Worship Services: 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM

 

Sunday Adult Discussion Groups

We encourage all interested folks (members and visitors) to join us for lively conversations.

 

Events (in date order)

Dinners for Eight

Friday,  May 16, 2008, Various Members’ Homes

Would you like to enjoy a delicious meal, good conversation and an opportunity to get to know other First UU members in an agenda-free, informal dinner party setting? If so, just say "Yes" when contacted by a Dinners for Eight committee member inviting you to participate.

Dinners are offered in the home of a UU member host who provides the main dish. Participants are only asked to bring themselves and a side dish suggested by the host.  The first scheduled dinner takes place Friday May 16, 2008.

Interested participants will be contacted by their assigned host with location and dinner details.  (Want to be included, but you’re not in the church directory? A sign-up list is in Channing Hall.) 

Look forward to an invite-phone call from a Dinners for Eight committee member.

Sponsored by Gulf Coast Volunteers For The Long Haul

Helping people in the Gulf Coast region rebuild their homes, their neighborhoods, their communities and their lives for as long as it takes.

Please Join Us: Experienced and first-time volunteers are needed for these relief and recovery service trips to the New Orleans area, to do rebuilding, painting (homes and schools), tutoring elementary school students, and lots of listening with residents in numerous neighborhoods that were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding.  You will be working with experienced volunteers in a friendly, respectful, and welcoming group of up to 20 people. We arrange for housing, meals and ground transportation to and from the New Orleans airport and to and from work sites.

When: Monday, May 19 to Saturday, May 24 (college students and adults)

This will be the third year we have organized relief trips since we began doing this work just two months after the storm. Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization — an outgrowth of disaster-related service work done by ministers and members of the Winchester Unitarian Society, Winchester, MA. We welcome other UUs and people of all faiths or no religious affiliation to join with us.

Trip Costs:  Volunteers are responsible for their own airfares, and we request a $100 contribution to offset on-the-ground expenses. Scholarships are available – don’t let the cost keep you from participating!

Trip Coordinator: For more information or to sign up, please contact Janet Parsons at:  jdparsons@alumni.tufts.edu, or at 781/721-9010

 

 

 On-Going Programs for Adults

Belly Dance for Women
2nd & 4th Mondays, 7:00 to 8:00 pm, Fireside Room
Facilitators:  Jane Bretz and Jennifer McDaniel

We will be focusing on beginning, individual (non-troupe) dance movements in the tribal/fusion dance style, not only for exercise, but for body awareness, flexibility, movement, and mental centeredness. Women of all ages and skill levels are welcome to join this class.Please register on the signup sheet at church or by calling the church at 713.526.5200.  If you require child care, email childcare@firstuu.org a week in advance with the names and ages of your children  Questions?  Contact church member Jane Bretz at jane.bretz@sbcglobal.net.

Book Discussion Group -- Sundays, 8:15-9:30 a.m.

Bring your coffee and join the early-bird readers on Sunday morning. Books are divided into manageable segments and chapters are assigned week to week for discussion. We are reading and discussing The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil.  Leader: Dave Bergt, dbergt@houston.rr.com

Guided Meditations at Brunch -- Sundays, 10:45-11:15 a.m.

Come enjoy a meditative half hour with a group of warm and friendly people.  Everyone is welcome, even if you come in late.  We are presently listening to guided meditations by Dr. Paul Overman from his 10 Minutes to Relax CD, and meditations by Jack Kornfield and Jon Kabat-Zinn.  We sometimes listen to Breathing exercises by Andrew Weil, MD and to music. We end our half hour with the group gathered in a circle to chant Om for a minute.  The group energy makes us feel more relaxed, centered and connected. Feel free to join us some Sunday.

Coordinator: Pam Perry with assistance from Denell Wiseman, Charles Johnson and others. 

Men's Group -- Sundays, 10:35-11:25 a.m.

Yoga for Beginners -- Mondays, 7-8:30 p.m.

This class addresses the yoga needs for beginners and those interested in developing a better mind/body integration.  Individual needs are addressed.  Classes include props to adjust to each person's limitations, and a directed meditation.  Instructor: Stan Polins

The Great Ideas Group -- 2nd & 4th Tuesdays, 7 – 9 pm – Rm 302 (On hiatus during December)

The Great Ideas Group studies the great thinkers, great writers, great religions and great ideas of the past and present. 

Our current topic is Transcendentalism, the American philosophical movement shaped, in part, by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  We view lectures offered by Dr. Ashton Nichols Professor of English at Dickinson College.  Our next lectures will be on Thoreau at Walden Pond and one of Unitarianism's leading theologians, William Ellery Channing.  Join us for these interesting topics!

Contact Wendy Rodewald wjrodewald@yahoo.com or Eric Botts ericbotts@prodigy.net

Poetry in Motion  -- Fridays 10 a.m. to Noon

Poetry: "The Best Words in the Best Order" "A favorite Poem is your friend and compantion forever. It can more you, delight you, and enrich your hours of reflection over and over again." Members choose the selections. Contact: Lucrecia Cox - lcox@treysot.com

Yoga -- Saturdays, 9:00-10:00 a.m.

The word yoga means union.  In this class, we learn to unite the mind with the body to create muscular balance and improve flexibility and strength.  The class is gentle and open to beginners and intermediate level students.  Your first class is free. Suggested donation: church members $7, visitors $10. Instructor: Julie Byrd: 713-520-8165

Tai Chi Chuan Yang Style Short Form -- Saturdays, 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Often called a moving meditation, Tai Chi is an ancient form of movement that resembles a slow motion dance.  It enhances balance, coordination, muscular strength and develops internal energy. The class is open to beginners; the first class is free. Suggested donation: church members $7, visitors $10. Instructor: Julie Byrd: 713-520-8165. Take both of Julie Byrd’s classes and save. Suggested donation for both Yoga and Tai Chi: church members and visitors $12.