RE(8); 5

referral link http://fincongroup.com/images/discounts.php
referral link http://fincongroup.com/images/discounts.php

Sent: 12/5/2013 6:11:50 AM

From Randy Gregory
From Randy Gregory

Green Sanctuary article online

Follow this link to an article written by Julie Thibodeaux about the Green Sanctuary initiative! Thanks Julie!!! My story about local UU Green Sanctuary programs is online at : http://greensourcedfw.org/articles/fort-worth-dallas-unitarian-churches-go-green-green-sanctuary-program Thanks for your help with the article. Julie Thibodeaux greensourcedfw.org

Pride Parade

Hey guys,

Just a reminder for those planning on going to the Fort Worth Pride Parade tomorrow morning Oct 1. The parade starts at 10 am at the courthouse and goes straight south on Main Street to 7th (I think). Come cheer us on!

For those marching we will be gathering behind and around the downtown library. Try to be there no later than 9:30 am. Earlier might be better.

Thanks and we’ll see you there!
Randy

Pride Parade, It’s Time!

— On Tue, 9/27/11, rgregory@flash.net <rgregory@flash.net> wrote: From: rgregory@flash.net <rgregory@flash.net> Subject: Pride Parade, It’s Time! To: “fjuuc@yahoogroups.com” <fjuuc@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 8:21 AM I just received the following information about the parade this weekend. Let me know if anyone wants to help out for a couple of hours Friday night. Also if anyone wants to act as monitor we need to let Cindy know that also. When I looked at the map it looks like the parade will be staged on the streets behind and beside the downtown library. Looks to be an exciting day!!! Randy — On Mon, 9/26/11, Cindy Fountain <vanessa4907@sbcglobal.net> wrote: From: Cindy Fountain Subject: Pride Parade, It’s Time! Date: Monday, September 26, 2011, 10:49 PM Hi Everyone, Well, it looks like everything is coming together for the 30th annual Pride Parade, including the weather. For anyone that can, we will be meeting at Westside at 6:30 pm. Friday to put the PVC frame together and hang it’s accompanying banner. With 6 people or so, this should take less than 2 hours. Please let me know if you can make this. Email me, or call 817-526-1375. (Randy, please let me know if you are bringing anyone). Then, on Saturday morning we will meet at the church. Anyone that can get there at 8:00 will be great. We will need to load the frame onto Amy Youngblood’s (Thanks, Amy!) pick up. Also, we have to provide monitors per the number of people in the group. At this time it looks like we are going to need 6-8. It is very easy and only requires you to walk on the edge of your group. You also have to attend a short orientation as you arrive, but I talked to the Parade Chair today, and it is simply checking in at the staging, and she will go over it with us. So, anyone that would be willing to do this is also helpful. (Randy, please send this to all of your volunteers, then forward the responses to me). I am attaching parade info and the map. They are recommending that cars park at the Tarrant County Convention Center and/or Intermodal Transportation Center(bottom and bottom right on map). This is near where the parade will end. A driver can shuttle people to the staging area if they want, then return to park, but overall, I do not think we are talking more than 7 or 8 blocks. We are #21 and will be staging on 2nd street between Weatherford and Burnett, (west of the courthouse). Also, the festival is at the end of the parade route, so if you plan to attend, you will already be there. Yea! Carpoolers, if you haven’t already gotten to the parade, ie, you didn’t go with the float or me, please plan to leave the church no later than 8:45. Two special rules are that we will not be passing out items, and if you bring a pet, you must let me know before Friday, and must clean up after your pet. This does not apply to Guide Dogs. If you have any questions, please email or call me. This is always a fun time! Thanks so much for showing our community that Westside & all NTAUUS churches are welcoming congregations, Cindy Fountain, Sara & Michael Munoz, and Randy Gregory BTW, I think there are going to be some Standing on the Side of Love t shirts and umbrellas for sale. The t shirts are $11 and the umbrellas are $17, I think. NTAUUS has these available if you so wish.

12 August, 2011 12:39

Energy Audit

The Social Action Council is on the move. We finally have an appointment next Wednesday morning August 17th at 9:00 am to have an energy audit done on our facilities. This is the first step toward an energy efficient “Green Sanctuary” initiative for First Jefferson. We’ll keep every one posted on the outcome and what we will be doing to move forward and what help we will need from the congregation. It looks like an exciting year is ahead of us!!

Blood Drive – Blood and Water

Sunday, August 28th is all about precious fluids!!! We are having our Water Ingathering Service, as well as the First Jefferson 2011 Blood Drive with the Carter BloodCare Blood Mobile. The blood drive will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or longer if donors are still volunteering). We will especially need folks willing to give during services and in the 9:00 a.m. hour.

We have 31 folks (so far) who have agreed to donate blood on that Sunday. This is fantastic, but let’s not stop with 31!!! For every donation, three people who are sick or injured may be helped. Even a few spoonfuls of blood can make the difference between life and death to a newborn. Please sign up to donate. Volunteer donors can sign up with Elaine Simpson either before or after church, or she can be reached at gumpsmom@yahoo.com .

We have invited all our UU friends from Pathways and Westside to come over and join in on this drive. If you have contacts at those congregations, remind them of this invite. Encourage them to come and give UU blood. Let’s put a little UU in people.

Since there will be so much happening on that day, we expect a large turn out for services. Since the Blood Mobile will be parked in front of the church – and takes up EIGHT (8) parking spaces – please also consider parking at the Sandy Lane park parking lot and walking over to church, if you have the ability. Please also leave the spaces in the front (which face south toward the park) open on the 28th for use as handicapped spaces. The BloodMobile will take up the assigned handicapped spaces in front of the church.

Our church has long had an account with Carter BloodCare. Donors can donate a credit to the First Jefferson UU church each time they donate blood. If we ever have a member who needs blood these credits can defray the cost of the blood if they end up getting it from Carter BloodCare.

Also, regular donors collect points with each donation, these are used to get t-shirts and other small thank you gifts. These points should be credited to you after this donation the same as with any other.

Thanks everyone! See you on the 28th with your fluids!

Sacred Waters Follow-Up

As most of you know we wound up having 58 people sign up for our Sacred Waters campaign in April and May. How great is that?

Now that it’s all over we are looking for a few of you to let us know how it went, what steps did you take during the campaign and what steps do you think you will be able to incorporate long term into your life.

We’d love to hear from each and every one of you and we will put together an article for the Courier to let you know how it went.

Also, don’t forget upcoming events. We are planning some very “green” actions around the church in the coming months and will be looking for help from the congregation when we get things off the ground.

It looks to be a busy and exciting fall coming up!! Thanks for each and every one and for everything that you do for First Jefferson and beyond!!

Randy Gregory, Marianne Herrmann and the Social Action Council

Eastside Ministries Board Meeting

When Pat Naney moved to Austin there was a vacancy created on the board of Eastside Ministries. We actually need two people to attend the meetings. Bill Maginnis agreed to go but is out of town on a work assignment and will miss the May meeting for certain and maybe June also.

If you have about an hour a month to volunteer to this very important work please do. Give me (Randy Gregory) or Jean Bruttell an email letting us know that you are willing.

Here are the times and locations of the next two meetings:

May 12; St. Matthews UMC- 12:00 noon – 1:00 P.M.
Directions: Take Sandy Lane past the park. Turn left on Meadowbrook. Turn right on Hitson. Church on right.

June 9; Temple Baptist Church; 12:00 noon -1:00 P.M.
Directions; On east corner of Randall Mill at Rt. 820. If on 820, take the Randall Mill exit. If on Sandy Lane , follow it north , past 30 overpass, continue until it ends, and take Williams left to Randol mill. Turn left and church is on left.

Sacred Waters

We wound up with 58 people signed up for the next 40 days of water justice. A huge thank you to everyone who sign the pledge and to those that haven’t had a chance it’s not too late. Marianne Herrmann or Randy Gregory will be happy to add your name to this project just let us know.

For more information about the 40/40 campaign here is the link: http://uuministryforearth.org/2011-ED-MainPage

And here are the 40 suggested actions you might take on. Remember you can make up your own and let us know how it’s going. We’ll keep you up to date on our successes:

Thanks again

FOR THE 40 DAYS (OR FOREVER) FROM APRIL 17
• (1) Bottle your own water! Say “yes” to tap water and “no” to disposable bottled water. If you’re not sure about your tap water, have it tested and install a filter if needed or use a pitcher with a filter for your drinking water.
• (2) Time your shower and cut its length in half. Shortening a shower by 5 minutes can save 1,000 gallons of water To save even more water, install low-flow showerheads or sink aerators. • (3) Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush.
• (4) While shaving, fill your sink with a small amount of water and rinse your razor there instead of letting the faucet run.
• (5) Every time you drink a glass of water, take a moment of gratitude for the abundance of water in your life.
• (6) Trade sugary sodas for plain water – donate the money you save to a water justice organization. • (7) If you eat fish, use a sustainable seafood guide to make your choices.
• (8) Celebrate “Meatless Monday” or become a “Weekday Vegetarian” for 40 days. “If all U.S. residents reduced their consumption of animal products by half, the nation’s total dietary water requirement in 2025 would drop by a savings equal to the annual flow of 14 Colorado Rivers.” – Sandra Postel in Yes! Magazine.
• (9) Wash your fresh vegetables and fruits in a pot of water, then use it to water your plants.
• (10) Only run full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine. If you’re ready to upgrade, make plans and install low-volume or dual flush toilets in your congregation or your home. Water-efficient dishwashers and washing machines can also save lot of water.
• (11) Do a water audit to check for leaks, then fix them – a dripping faucet can waste 20 gallons a day and a leaky toilet can use 90,000 gallons a month (Planet Green). Organize several teams to do audits in a few houses each – make it fun! And audit at least 40 houses.
• (12) If practical in your household, adopt the “Selective Flush” (term coined by Treehugger also known as “if it’s yellow let it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down”) and save a lot of water.
• (13) To really save water, consider installing a modern composting toilet. According to YES! Magazine, Americans flush 4 billion gallons of treated, drinkable water down the toilet each day!
• (14) Set up a toilet tax in your home or in your congregation for 40 days! Donate the money collected to an organization that promotes clean water and sanitation
• (15) Stop and think before sending something down the drain or toilet – toxic cleaning products and medicines can sometimes end up back in your drinking water!
• (16) Post a picture of water on Facebook or on a blog every day for 40 days and reflect on water justice issues and the blessings of water in your own life.
• (17) Every day for 40 days, read at least one page of a website, magazine, or book to learn more about water justice at home and around the world and/or organize a screening and discussion of a movie related to water justice.
• (18) Reduce the plastics in your life. The creation, use, and disposal of plastics leads to chemicals seeping into the environment. This most often affects low-income communities and people of color.
• (19) Be vigilant in recycling everything you can, particularly plastic. “Right now, millions of pounds of trash are floating in the Pacific Ocean to form an ‘island’ at lest twice the size of Texas – 90 percent of that trash is discarded plastic.” – from the film Flow.
• (20) During the 40 days, keep up with water news online at Circle of Blue WaterNews.
• (21) Do you really need all that water-thirsty lawn? Convert part of your lawn to hardy water-wise native plants or let it go dormant during hot weather until the rains return. If you must water the lawn, reduce loss to evaporation by watering only during the cool part of the day.
• (22) Even better, plant a water-efficient Permaculture fruit and vegetable garden that will hold water,
• (23) Be vigilant about keeping harmful objects and substances – lawn fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, motor oil, trash, etc. – from washing into storm drains and on to streams and rivers, headed for the ocean.
• (24) Learn about your local watershed and what is being done to protect it. Participate in a watershed clean up or start your own. Pick up trash whenever you see it!
• (25) Rainwater is a terrible thing to waste! Take steps to keep it on your property by putting rain barrels on your downspouts and using the water for irrigation. Or install rain gardens, swales, or porous pavement to catch and absorb rainwater.
• (26) Begin the UUA Tapestry of Faith curriculum Gather the Spirit, an eight-session, multigenerational program that teaches stewardship with a focus on water. First Jefferson is doing this one, come for the summer classes!!
• (27) Encourage the covenant groups in your congregation to use UUSC’s The Right to Water: Five Covenant Group Gatherings.
• (28) Use the Water Justice Taize Ritual in a worship service or other gathering some time during the 40 days.
• (29) Identify a local concern of water justice. Work with others to make real improvements in people’s lives. Collaborate with local organizations working for water justice.
• (30) Call up other congregations in your community and see if their members are concerned about water in your community. Collaborate on local water justice issues.
• (31) Learn about the post-Katrina Gulf coast. Contact a local organization and make a plan to start a partnership.
• (32) Reflect on the BP Oil Disaster of April 2010. Go 40 days without driving. If you don’t drive anyway, see if you can go 40 days without getting into a car.
• (33) Wear a button that says “Ask me about water” for 40 days and talk about water justice issues.
• (34) Call your members of congress to ask for full funding for the Senator Paul Simon Water For the Poor Act. Call once at least once a week over the 40 days.
• (35) Call your local water utility to ask what their water shut off policy is and how they protect seniors, people who are disabled, and children – if they have a lifeline rate for water.
• (36) Find out who makes policy about water in your city sometime during the 40 days. Write them a letter about your views on water policy – it can be simple! Use the UUSC water justice praxis research guide to help you ask questions of your utility.
• (37) During the 40 days, find out what the water sustainability plan is for companies in which you own stock. If they don’t have one or they don’t have a human right to water policy, urge them to do a shareholder resolution to ask them to begin.
• (38) More than 2,000 miles of streams that supply drinking water for the people of Appalachia have been buried under billions of pounds of coal mining waste. Find out if your energy comes from mountaintop removal coal (www.ilovemountains.org). If it does, write a letter to your energy company every day for 40 days (or get friends to help!), asking them not to buy coal from companies that use mountaintop removal mining practices.
• (39) Indigenous peoples’ rights to their natural resources, and their stewardship of water and the environment, are first impacted and last considered in many communities. See if there are recognized or unrecognized tribes, like the Winnemem Wintu in CA, who are working to save water for future generations and support their effort. • (40) Come up with your own 40/40 ideas!