Kudos to NW’s Work Team!
Last Saturday 6 folks helped beautify our home in the woods. Richard Goodnight, John Hagler, and Larry Wallis cleared out the large retention pond near the Chalice House; blew the walkways and parking lot; and created a better water passage under our wooden bridge. Fearless Morning Washburn was up on the roofs blowing leaves and washing the skylights. Larry Helferich tackled the never-ending weeding, picking up pinecones, etc., and Anne Bennett pulled out a lot of invasive English Ivy and (very carefully) some poison ivy.
If you’d like to help with any NW maintenance tasks, please let us know. We have jobs that need to be done weekly like blowing leaves and cleaning up the church front lawn and playground. Other less frequent jobs include removing spiderwebs and weed whacking the front lawn & Mt. Vernon Hwy sidewalk grass strip. We also have occasional needs like pruning, removing invasive plants, and cleaning windows. If you are interested in enjoying NW’s fresh air and birds while providing a much appreciated service, why not join us? We’d love to hear from you! Contact Anne Bennett (anne.bennett@gmail.com)
Reserve Your Space at the Retreat, October 21-23
Time to plan your trip to The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center in Highlands, NC, for our congregational retreat October 21-23. This is a great opportunity to connect again with fellow congregants amid the breathtaking autumn colors and vistas from the top of our mountain.
Saturday morning our minister Misha Sanders will lead us in a workshop – The Art of Connection. There will be other activities for the children. After lunch there will be opportunities for hiking, crafts or just relaxing! There will also be time to practice your talent for our popular Saturday night talent show, followed by a campfire and yummy S’mores.
Registration is available on The Mountain website under retreats or through the Mountain calendar page. Registration deadline is October 7, but spaces go fast so don’t wait to register!
www.themountainrlc.org 828-526-5838
Questions – call Penny Raney 770-551-8817.
SECOND HOUR PROGRAM SEPTEMBER 11
DEATH CAFE
Northwest will be hosting our first ever Death Cafe. The goal of Death Cafe is to increase awareness of death as a means of helping people make the most of their finite lives. This is not a bereavement support or grief counseling group; rather, it is a group directed discussion with no agenda, objectives or themes offered and no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or course of action. The topics are determined by the attendees. If you are wondering or concerned about or otherwise interested in talking more about death, then please join our Death Cafe facilitated by Larry Helferich and Ashley Fournier-Goodnight on Sunday, 09/11 at 11:30 in the Chapel of the Chalice House.
Special Virtual Documentary Night
Our next Special Virtual Documentary Night will be on Sunday, September 11 at 7 pm. This event is in collaboration with Voices of Reentry. They invite formerly incarcerated people to tell their stories and, through storytelling and community dialogue, engage the public in conversation about the role we can all play in welcoming returning citizens back into our communities.
This documentary weaves together the stories of formerly incarcerated people and the community members who support them, with historical footage and expertise to provide a rich, nuanced portrait of the harms of mass incarceration and the challenges of successful reentry. They just completed this film last week so we will be some of the first to watch it! We will be joined by some surprise guests from the film for a special guest Q&A at the end of the night! You will receive the link and password to the film once you register for the event HERE on the Eventbrite page. This was requested by the filmmaker. Please let me know if you have issues accessing the film. I have attached the flyer for the event so feel free to share it and invite others you think may be interested in attending. I would encourage you to reach out to your reentry organizations The flyer is hyperlinked to the RSVP page where they will receive the film and zoom link once they have RSVPed for the event. They can also be added to the email list if they want to get the zoom link and keep up with future events.
Virtual Documentary Night
We will have a Virtual Documentary Night on September 18 from 7-9 pm. We are meeting to talk about the documentary, The Gig is Up. This is a documentary about the real costs and false promises of the current gig economy that supports apps from Uber to Amazon and more. Here is a link to where you can watch it for free. https://tubitv.com/movies/654449/the_gig_is_up
Here is a link to where you can RSVP. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-documentary-night-tickets-398673090947 This is also a Voting Night where we brainstorm and decide as a group what we will watch the following month, so please come with recommendations. If you need any ideas, you can search through the flyers HERE on our website, which have documentaries sorted by monthly holidays and other subjects. You can check out our Community Documentary Night website for more details. https://documentarynight.wordpress.com/
NWUUC Book Groupies
The NWUUC Book Groupies will meet on Zoom Tuesday, October 4th at 7 pm to discuss Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, a Nobel Laureate and author of Never Let Me Go, Remains of The Day and When We Were Orphans. It is claimed this book will change your view of the world as the effects of artificial intelligence are portrayed and examined. According to NPR’s Maureen Corrigan this is “a masterpiece …one of the most affecting and profound novels Ishiguro has written …”. Copies of this book are available in our Bellwether Bookstore.
If you are interested in attending this Zoom meeting please let Penny Raney know, 770 551 8817 or raneypb@cs.com, with Book Groupies in the subject line, in order to be emailed the Zoom link or call in #.
Creative Makers ALERT!
Northwest UU Congregation will have a
Makers’ Market on Sunday, October 9
If you make original stuff, we would love you to share it with the rest of the Congregation (and, hopefully, the community of Sandy Springs!) We will provide a table and tablecloth; cashiers will handle the sales (15% goes to Northwest). Your creations could be edible!
Let Helene helenejohnson299@gmail.com or
Nancy thenancyhelene@aol.com know, so we can begin
promoting the event. Send pictures, if possible.
2022 NORTHWEST NIGHTS ANNUAL AUCTION IS COMING!
The Stewardship Committee proudly announces that the Northwest annual auction is live and in person from beautiful Subramanian Hall on November 12 this year, and we are planning a gala evening filled with hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and fabulous items with experiences to make your own!
Want to have an exciting and fun-filled LIVE event with all of your NW friends? Auctions aren’t awesome without neat things on which to bid. Please check your attics and basements and donate your gently used treasures. Are you an artist or extremely clever and crafty? Please consider offering the coolest expressions of your art for someone to bid on and love! Do you have a gathering or dinner idea that only you are able to throw in the niftiest way? Offer it for auction and gather your friends to enjoy your hospitality! Do you have a second home or a vacation getaway to share? Consider how much joy you could bring to others while simultaneously raising funds for our home in the woods!
Please watch the newsletter and your email for additional instructions on how to donate your lovely items and entertaining experiences for our exciting auction event! We appreciate you- see you all November 12.
SEEKING WORSHIP ASSOCIATES!
SEEKING GREETERS AND USHERS!
SEEKING TECH TEAM MEMBERS!
SEEKING RE VOLUNTEERS!
Are you looking for ways to engage or re-engage with our beloved community?
Wow do we ever have JUST THE THING!
Questions about any of these roles? We have plenty of volunteers and staff folks who would LOVE to talk to you about the expectations.
Please reach out to Rev. Misha via email at minister@nwuuc.org.
We’re already excited to have you on board and cannot wait to work together with you to make this beloved community even more of a collaboration of love and joy!
Womenspirit 2022: October 5-9, 2022
UUWomenspirit is a biannual spiritual retreat for women from all walks of life. We gather recognizing that we have journeyed on varied paths to Spirit: earth-based, indigenous tribal, Christian, Hebrew, Wiccan, Buddhist, and more. We gather to honor the manifestation of the Feminine Divine in our own deep beings, in each other, and in the world around us.
We recognize and celebrate the four ages of Woman: the Maiden, whose curiosity and boundless energy propel her towards discovery; the Mother, whose endurance and nurturing comfort all; the Warrior, whose passion and strength protect what is vital for the greatest good; and the Crone, whose wisdom and patience bring a wise perspective to us all. Each passage teaches us and those around us.
All women are welcome at UUWomenspirit, regardless of sex assigned at birth. Here, we believe and affirm that transgender women are women. While we recognize that we are still learning and growing, we aim to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all women who wish to celebrate the Feminine Divine.
