Ultimate Monday Juggling Meetup

On the last Monday of each month, our BAUUC sanctuary is the place to be to practice and learn your juggling skills. The Ultimate Monday Juggling Group meets to share skills and build community through play. Beginners are welcome and toys are provided. All participants are required to sign a waiver and minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The Juggling Group will gather next on Monday January 27 at 7:00pm. For more information, contact Laura Dean at lauxa.dean@gmail.com.

Wednesday Night Discussions with Rev. Bruce

Among the diverse sources that inspire our Unitarian Universalist tradition are “Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to love our neighbors as ourselves.” For many, the essence of this source can be summed up in The Beatitudes, eight ethical insights said to have been expressed by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. Rev. Bruce Beisner invites you to join him on Wednesdays January 15, 22 and 29 at 7:00pm for a 3-part discussion about The Beatitudes and how they relate to our understanding of ethics, morality and spirituality. The session on January 15 will include a historical look at the context of these famous words and an exploration of Jesus’ teachings about poverty and loss. The session on January 22 will focus on Jesus’ proclamations about humility, righteousness and mercy and the session on January 29 will end with a look at the Beatitudes on love, peace and justice. The class will meet at 7:00pm on Wednesday nights in the church library. Childcare will be available if requested in advance by contacting Dr. Tamar Wasoian at dlre@bauuc.org.

Exploring Diversity Book Group

“Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood”, by Trevor Noah, is the new book that our BAUUC book club is reading. This book was named one of the best books of 2016 by the New York Times, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday and Booklist. Noah recounts in funny, brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through bullying and ostracism. It is a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with its darker edges and perilous turns. The group will gather on Thursday, January 30 at 1:30pm in the library to discuss the book. For more information, please contact Jane Malin at orkidfam@swbell.net.

Great Decisions Foreign Policy Series Kick-Off Speaker

Our 2020 Great Decisions Foreign Policy Study-Discussion Series will begin on Thursday January 30. John B. Williams, a fellow at the Baker Institute who oversees the Institute’s Presidential Elections Program will be the kickoff speaker for this annual series of weekly speakers and discussions. Mr. Williams has served as a policy assistant to former Secretary of State James Baker since 2004, supporting Baker’s efforts to find solutions for a wide array of international and domestic challenges, including the Iraq Study Group, the Commission on Federal Election Reform, the National War Powers Commission and the BP U.S. Refineries Independent Safety Review Panel. He also prepares speeches, op-eds and other written materials for Secretary Baker and is an employee of Baker Botts L.L.P.  Williams had a long career reporting on governmental and political issues, serving as a political columnist and reporter in his prior job with the Houston Chronicle, where his focus was on state and local news. He will speak on Thursday January 30 starting at 7:00pm in our sanctuary. Great Decisions is a citizen foreign-policy study-discussion program, sponsored nationally by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) in New York.  Each year, participants around the nation, study and discuss eight current foreign-policy issues, submitting opinion ballots by the end of the eight weeks.  The ballots are tabulated, with the results being distributed to the President of the United States, members of congress and the media.  The expressed opinions are highly regarded, as participants are considered a part of the 20% “attentive” American public. For further information, please contact Bob Handy at bobhandy@comcast.net.

Bay Area Amnesty International

The next monthly meeting of Amnesty International-Bay Area will be on Monday, February 3, at 6:30 PM at the Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church, 17503 El Camino Real, Houston, TX 77058.

The guest speaker is Whitney C. Kubik. He is the Associate Director, Center for Criminal Justice, Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc., Innocence Project, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University. His presentation/talk is titled, “An introduction to the Innocence Project.”  Attached is the meeting flyer.

Please put this on your calendar. Please plan to attend. Bring a friend. Share this message with your contacts. Post it on social media.

Green Sanctuary Program

Learning about how we can protect our environment and promote positive change is the mission of BAUUC’s Green Sanctuary Program. On Wednesday February 5, we will be watching short videos on climate change and have discussion about them. Please join us in attending this informative session on Wednesday February 5 at 7:00pm in Cockrell Hall following our community dinner and Wednesday Night Service. For more information, contact Peter Bowman.

Wednesday Night Discussions - Practicing Our Faith

These sessions are based on Practicing Our Faith book edited by Dorothy C. Bass.  This book offers reflection on practices of faith as a way of connecting faith with our everyday and opens a path of spiritual formation. It will inspire you by offering stories from various traditions that run counter to some of our practices today. We will be having conversations together that will spread to many contexts, each of which presents unique opportunities for noticing, discussing, and living the practices of faith. Our Director of Lifespan Religious Education Dr. Tamar Wasoian invites you to join her on Wednesdays February 12, 19 and 26 at 7:00pm in the church library for a three-part discussion about: Times of Yearning, Honoring the Body and Hospitality. Childcare will be available if requested in advance by contacting Dr. Tamar Wasoain at dlre@bauuc.org.

Stewardship Campaign Kick-Off

Resolve to Save Lives in 2020

Plan to donate blood at BAUUC on Sunday February 16 (just two days after Valentine’s Day). The Gulf Coast Blood Center tells us that the most common reason a person is deferred from giving blood is low iron. So make your New Year’s Resolution to eat healthy food with lots of iron, and consider an iron supplement.

Wednesday Night Discussions - Practicing Our Faith

These sessions are based on Practicing Our Faith book edited by Dorothy C. Bass.  This book offers reflection on practices of faith as a way of connecting faith with our everyday and opens a path of spiritual formation. It will inspire you by offering stories from various traditions that run counter to some of our practices today. We will be having conversations together that will spread to many contexts, each of which presents unique opportunities for noticing, discussing, and living the practices of faith. Our Director of Lifespan Religious Education Dr. Tamar Wasoian invites you to join her on Wednesdays February 12, 19 and 26 at 7:00pm in the church library for a three-part discussion about: Times of Yearning, Honoring the Body and Hospitality. Childcare will be available if requested in advance by contacting Dr. Tamar Wasoain at dlre@bauuc.org.

Wednesday Night Discussions - Practicing Our Faith

These sessions are based on Practicing Our Faith book edited by Dorothy C. Bass.  This book offers reflection on practices of faith as a way of connecting faith with our everyday and opens a path of spiritual formation. It will inspire you by offering stories from various traditions that run counter to some of our practices today. We will be having conversations together that will spread to many contexts, each of which presents unique opportunities for noticing, discussing, and living the practices of faith. Our Director of Lifespan Religious Education Dr. Tamar Wasoian invites you to join her on Wednesdays February 12, 19 and 26 at 7:00pm in the church library for a three-part discussion about: Times of Yearning, Honoring the Body and Hospitality. Childcare will be available if requested in advance by contacting Dr. Tamar Wasoain at dlre@bauuc.org.