Sunday, March 24th: "An Ozark Spring Equinox!" UUFF's Web of Life Nature-Based Spirituality Group invites you all to come celebrate Spring Equinox this Sunday! Awaken all you dreamers! The time of Spring and balance is upon us! Come celebrate with us the world made anew by the Sisters of the Dawn! We will circle together and turn the Wheel of the Year! **All are invited to stick around after service for a finger food potluck (please bring food to share if you can, but know you are welcome to partake even if not!) and cake to celebrate the birthday of UUFF Member, Bill Nichols.

You can attend service in person at the fellowship building or view it remotely online via Facebook Live Stream. To attend via Facebook, click on: https://fb.me/e/3WpE9Zo17 at exactly 11am Central Standard Time (CST), and then click on "Watch Live Video. You don't need a Facebook account to access.

The UUFF Nursery (located downstairs) offers childcare during both the 10am Religious Exploration hour and the 11am Service.

Please see Nursery Coordinator, Alex Emmons if you need to register your child(ren) or if you have questions.

Adult RE Mindful Discussion is held at 10am each Sunday in the downstairs common room. All are welcome.

Topic this Sunday: "Unitarian Universalism Today." Where are we going as a denomination? What changes are on the horizon? What makes UUism so very special? Let's talk about it! Join Rev. Renée as we dig deeply into our beloved UUism!

Youth (ages 11+) and Children's (ages 4-11) Religious Exploration Classes are offered each Sunday at 10am in the classrooms downstairs.

Questions about this Sunday or about YRE or CRE in general? Contact Leanda Gavin (lmshelby@gmail.com) or Stephanie Bentley (stephmacbentley@gmail.com).

UUFF Member Bill Nichols is turning 92, and we'll have cake and a little celebration directly after the 11am service on Sunday, March 24th. Join us in wishing Bill a happy birthday!

MEMBER BIRTHDAYS IN MARCH:

Amanda Bancroft

Dick Bennett

Marquette Bruce

Sarah Faitak

Leanda Gavin

Tim Hudson

John King

Bill Nichols

And coming up in APRIL:

Karl Brown

Shermon Brown

Natalie Emmons

Marty Faitak

Elizabeth Hancock

Ron Hanson

Billy Hargis

Burnetta Hinterthuer

Rev. Renée Janski

Bettina Lehovec

Fran Levin

Ines Polonius

Cathy Schermer

Mark Schuyler

Rose Selvey

Ruth Vacin

If you would like to send these folks a card or note and are unable to access the online directory, you may contact Fawn at uuff.ar@gmail.com and ask for the address.

UUFF New Member Ceremony and Celebration on March 31st!

We will have a UUFF New Member Welcome Ceremony on Sunday, March 31st, during the 11am Service!

If you have are interested in joining the UU Fellowship of Fayetteville and participating in the welcome ceremony, please let Fawn and Charlotte (contact info below) know by Wednesday, March 27th, so that we can plan accordingly.

To become an official member, you must:

-Be a Unitarian Universalist from another UU church or have taken the Being UU Class here.

-Fill out a 2024 UUFF Pledge Covenant form and turn it in to Fawn in the office.

-Be ready to sign the UUFF Membership book during the Welcome Ceremony.

We hope that the fellowship will get to welcome many new members during this special event!

Again, by March 27th, please let Fawn Smith - Administrator (uuff.ar@gmail.com) AND Charlotte Taylor - Membership Team Lead (cathog58@gmail.com) know if you (a) want to join UUFF as an official member and (b) plan to participate in the New Member Welcome Ceremony on Sunday, March 31st!

THANKS!

This Saturday, March 23rd, beginning at 9am - Arbor Day Celebration and UUFF Free Tree Give-Away event in Springdale (Shaw Family Park)!

UUFFers, please come participate in this fun earth-appreciation event! We really want to involve our youth and families by having y'all fill pots with dirt for the 200 native tree seedlings that we will be giving away.

Volunteers, please bring trowels and/or shovels and meet at 9am at the pile of dirt just south of the parking lot. People will start coming to get them at 10am. The purpose is to re-forest parts of Springdale damaged by the 2022 tornado and by recent subdivision development. 

This has morphed into Arbor Day for Springdale, with their mayor speaking. There are tennis courts and a big field near the tree pavilion to fly kites, if you'd like to stay and fly kites. Why not bring a picnic lunch and make a great fun day of it?

This is in Shaw Park at 7341 W. Downum Rd., Springdale. If you plan on coming to help fill the pots, please text Dina Nash at 501-554-2200 or email Stephanie Bentley at stephmacbentley@gmail.com

First Quarter 2024 UUFF Leadership Gathering Highlights: In January 2024, fellowship leaders gathered to build community, reflect on successes of the prior year, and brainstorm ideas and strategies for the continuation of this success for 2024. Members in attendance included the Board of Directors, Associate Minister/Music Director - Reverend Renée, Administrator - Fawn Smith, and leaders of volunteer-led teams.

Each member in attendance took the HIGH5 online strengths assessment questionnaire and results were discussed to evaluate the varied strengths of our leaders and how to effectively utilize these strengths. Other topics discussed included our values and how they are captured in the UUFF vision and mission statements, effective communication, our successes and challenges, and our volunteer needs. The group revisited the strategic planning report from 2022 and identified items to consider prioritizing for 2024.

Feedback on the leadership gathering was highly positive and there was general consensus among attendees that meetings like this should occur on a regular schedule moving forward.

We are cozying-up the Youth RE classroom and need your help!

We are especially keen on receiving any gently used bean bags or floor chairs that are ready for a new home! If you can help, please contact Abby (abigail.horsager@gmail.com) or Leanda (lmshelby@gmail.com). 

Thanks!

UUFF Poetry Service is coming up on Sunday, April 7th!

Please send the title and author of the poem you wish to recite/read during the service to Rev. Renée Janski at janskistudio@gmail.com

Dallas Arceneaux is heading up UUFF's relationship with 7hills Homeless Center, and we are determined to collect donations for them per what they list as needs on their website. We have a special collection cart in the UUFF lobby the entrance doors, or you can drop off donations at the center yourself. To check the current needs, go to: https://7hillscenter.org/7hills-needs-list/

-Article by Dina Nash-

Social Justice Issue:  The Right to An Abortion. First of all, women who are pregnant are in relationships with men, unless they are pregnant by in vitro fertilization. So men are affected by abortion in various ways, though  not necessarily the same ways that women are. Men have no health consequences, one way or another: those fall on the woman. It is up to us all to protect the rights of all to quality health care. 

The remainder of the Justice Spotlight paraphrases a talk on March 19 by Gennie Diaz, the coordinator for the group “Arkansans for Limited Government” which is trying to get a more generous abortion amendment on the November ballot.  This amendment would allow women to decide for themselves whether to have an abortion (up to the 18th week of pregnancy), which is about 20 weeks from conception. It also specifically creates exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly, and to save the mother from a life-threatening condition. Sixty-one percent of Arkansans surveyed support abortion when there is a fatal fetal condition. Seventy percent support it for the life of the mom is at stake.  So where is the support for Gov. Sanders and her supporters? It’s coming from the Family Council’s Right to Life campaign and the group of Sanders supporters, Stronger Arkansas.  

We have a serious health care crisis in Arkansas. The AR Legislature except for the Democrats voted last session to totally restrict the opportunity to limit one’s family by terminating a pregnancy, except in a life-threatening emergency for the mother.  There is legal debate about the term “in the professional medical judgment of the doctor”, so OB-GYNs in AR are afraid to do an abortion on a woman whose pregnancy is failing for any reason.  Many are looking for other states to move to, to set up practice.  There is no Planned Parenthood or any other service that does abortions in Arkansas anymore unless the woman is imminently going to die.  This means that a woman whose ectopic pregnancy or other complication has to be to the point of nearly killing her, not just making her unhappy or uncomfortable, for her to be treated at an Emergency Room, and doctors recently are turning down women in the ER and in their private clinics. One Ft. Smith Ob-Gyn told Mrs. Diaz last week he sends 2-3 women a week out of state for abortions, due to fetal anomalies.

That same Republican-dominated Legislature also denied over 27,000 women who had Medicaid during the height of the pandemic! This policy also stopped allowing women on Medicaid to have 12 months of post-natal care after a delivery:  this was decided in the climate of AR’s being #1 in maternal deaths, #1 in teen pregnancy, and one of the highest in the nation in hunger and poverty. Keep in mind that 20% of AR kids live in poverty, and 21% of AR women live in poverty, a risk factor for difficult pregnancy.  Many women in poverty simply cannot afford another mouth to feed and support for 18 or more years.  Some of them keep the baby for religious reasons, then run into trouble trying to support it, leaving many of them no option but to give the child to the foster care system or adopt it out. The majority of women getting abortions in AR are married with children and do not want more. In 2023, there were about 3,900 children in foster care in AR. Will the Family Council step up to provide homes for these children?  No.

What we hope you will do is support the passage of this amendment in November by any of the following means.  Many of you have signed the petition to put it on the ballot already.  Next, what we need you to do is talk with your neighbors and representatives about the health disparities in Arkansas where 27,000 Medicaid moms have been denied medical coverage last year.  Think what you would do without health care coverage! Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy and eviction, and thereby, homelessness. Please consider sending a generous contribution to the campaign to pass this amendment to the address listed at  www.ARLiberty.org.  Your pressure on your legislator could make the difference in many families’ lives!

Dina Nash for the Justice Team - (501)554-2200 or dinacnash2014@gmail.com

DISCLAIMER: Please note that any personal views expressed by authors of articles within the UUFF eNews should be attributed to those authors as individuals and not to UUFF as an organization.

Upcoming Sunday 11am Services:

March 31st - "A UU Easter," led by Rev. Renée Janski. UUFF will host the annual Egg Hunt for kids after the service! Look for more details in next week's eNews!

April 7th - "Poetry Sunday!" All are encouraged to take part in this special annual service. Please email Rev. Renée (janskistudio@gmail.com) to let her know the title/author of the poem you'd like to read or recite during this service.

April 14th - "Welcome the Stranger," led by Gene Vinzant.

Calendar of UUFF Events for March 20th - 28th

Thursday, 03/21 - 10a-12pm - UUFF Grounds Work Day - UUFF

Saturday, 03/23 - 9am-1pm - UUFF Justice Team doing free tree giveaway at Shaw Family Park in Springdale on Saturday, March 23rd, as part of a larger Arbor Day Celebration taking place. Volunteers are needed to show up at 9am to help fill pots with soil for seedlings! Please text Dina Nash at 501-554-2200 if you plan to be there. Or contact Stephanie Bentley at stephmacbentley@gmail.com

Sunday, 03/24 - 9am - Sunday Meditation Group - Zoom (Ines sends out link each Saturday evening)

Sunday, 03/24 - 10am - Adult RE Mindful Discussions Group - Downstairs Common Room

Sunday, 03/24 - 10am - Children and Youth RE Class - Downstairs Classrooms

Sunday, 03/24 - 11am - Main Sunday Service - UUFF or remotely via Facebook Live Stream

Sunday, 03/24 - After 11am Service - Finger Foods potluck and celebrating the birthday of Bill Nichols

Monday, 03/25 - 7pm - Yoga with Shari (free - donations appreciated) - Downstairs

Wednesday, 03/27 - 6:30pm - Space Team Meeting - UUFF or Zoom (ask Leanda)

Thursday, 03/28 - 10am-12pm - Grounds Work Day - UUFF

Thursday, 03/28 - 6:30pm - UUFF Board Meeting - Zoom