From last Sunday's Shared Ministry meeting, we have several ways you can get involved:

Greeters Needed! Would you like to be a Sunday morning greeter? It's an easy and fun way to contribute your time to the congregation! If you're interested, simply show up at 10:45 any Sunday and find Lisa G. — she'll review the guidelines with you and greet alongside you your first time. If we can get 7 more interested people, we can each be assigned one Sunday per month to volunteer. Questions? Contact Lisa G.

TUUCAN Representative We are actively recruiting a representative to TUUCAN — the Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Community Action Network. Meetings are held on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 10 AM via Zoom. Last month's meeting featured guest speaker Makaela Webb of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (TAPP), who spoke about the state of reproductive rights in Tennessee and TAPP's legislative priorities during the current General Assembly session. Your only responsibility would be to attend the monthly meeting and write a brief summary for the e-blast, which will also be posted on the bulletin board.

UU the Vote: Igniting Solidarity, Reimagining Democracy On March 25, Side with Love launchedUU the Vote: Igniting Solidarity, Reimagining Democracy! This initiative honors the work UUs have done over the last six years protecting democracy and combatting fascism, introduces partners from around the country, and unveils the resources, programs, and tactics we'll be focusing on in 2026. Susan T. has generously volunteered to watch the launch recording and write up a summary to keep our congregation informed on what's ahead. If you are interested in learning more, visit UU the Vote.

General Assembly Banner Great news! Linda B. is working on designing a General Assembly banner for us to use this year — stay tuned for more details!

Join us on Saturday, April 18, at 4 PM for Game Night! Bring your favorite board game to share.

Pizza will be provided! You are welcome to bring a side, drinks, or dessert (optional).

All ages are welcome.

Questions? Contact Ryan

AI for Good (good for you, good for the congregation, good for the community). You can use AI right now, and we'll show you how.

More importantly, we'll show you how to use AI to make a real difference in this congregation, and in the community.

Bring a laptop if you have one, or your phone.

No technical background needed--EVERYONE WELCOME.

Date: April 26

Time: 12:45-1:45 Workshop, 1:45-2:45 Work Session.

Facilitator: Jesse S-S.

Greater Nashville UU Congregation has a booth at the Bellevue Picnic on May 16th. We need volunteers to sign-up to staff our booth! Ryan D. is donating some great swag to hand out as well. Thank you, Ryan!

Booth Details

Exhibit hours are 11 AM - 6 PM. We’ll need a Setup team and Shutdown team as well.

Sign up with organizer Caren S-S during lunch in April. Also, join the Slack Channel #bellevue_picnic.

Bellevue Picnic Details

Date: May 16, 2026
Hours: 11 AM - 9:30 PM
Location: 655 Colice Jean Road, Nashville, TN 37221

The Bellevue Community Picnic is an annual festival managed by the Bellevue Harpeth Chamber of Commerce. Join us for live music and engaging entertainment for the entire family, an amazing variety of food trucks, carnival rides, inflatable attractions, exhibitors, and businesses, plus an incredible fireworks display.

The Auction raised $9,469.50 for the congregation!

A BIG THANK YOU to all who planned and participated in this event.

Two seats available to Seat at "Table at Rudy's Jazz Room Downtown" with Susan M. on Saturday, April 4, at 5:30 PM for $45/seat.

One Seat is available at the Indian Cooking Class and Dinner (Oct 3, 4 - 6 PM) with the Spencer-Smiths for $55. Each seat is for an adult chef participating in the class, and family members can join the meal at no extra charge.

Contact Kristin R. for more information.

NOAH and Gamaliel are hosting an Organizing Revival Bootcamp where we will dig deeper into the work we need to do to topple authoritarianism in our city, state, and country.

This Bootcamp will be on Friday, March 6th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and concluding at 5:00 p.m. (An optional breakfast is available at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served midday, and an optional dinner will be held at 6:00 p.m.) Location is the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, 2025 Rosa Parks Blvd. Register here.  

Greater Nashville UU Congregation Presents the "Going, Going, Greek!" 2026 Auction

Join us for a Greek Bazaar with Live and Silent Auction - the social event of the year!

Auction Website

- Purchase Tickets, Donate Items, Browse Catalog at the Auction Website.

Date / Time / Location

- Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026

- Time: 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM

- 12:00 PM: Greek Taverna Lunch and the Silent Auction start.

- 1:30 PM: Live Auction starts.

- During Intermission, sign up for Set Price Events and make final Silent Auction bids.

- Location: 374 Hicks Road, Nashville, TN 37221

All are welcome!

Tickets

- Adults: $10

- Sunday Service Visitors are free.

- 18 & younger: Free

Tickets include food & live auction. Adult Tickets includes bidder #. Tickets can be purchased onsite or at the Auction Website.

The UUA’s General Assembly planning committee has created a totally on-line GA for 2026—and scheduling of the business and program segments will be very different. Check it out and consider being a delegate—again or for the first time! GNUUC is looking for 2 people to represent us as the business of our association is conducted. 

See the full schedule (Note: delegates should be available to participate at least in General Sessions 1-5; budget hearing optional) The congregation has funds to help cover delegates’ registration fees.

Contact Rev. Denise (revdenise@gnuuc.org) for more information or to volunteer to be a delegate. The Board will select/approve delegates.

Are you interested in becoming a member of Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (GNUUC)? 

If yes, talk to Rev. Denise. If you’re not sure, read on!

People become members of our congregation by signing our Membership Book and pledging to support the congregation with their time and resources. The privileges of membership include voting at congregational meetings and eligibility for elected or appointed service on the congregation’s Board, Finance Team, or as a GNUUC delegate to the General Assembly of the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations). 

To vote in any particular congregational meeting, a member must have signed the Membership Book at least three months prior to the meeting date and must have a recorded contribution to the congregation within the prior twelve months. (To be “recorded”, your contribution must be received with your name attached–as a check or cc contribution, or as cash in a labelled envelope.)

New Members who sign the book during the New Member Signing on February 22, 2026, will be eligible to vote at the May Annual Meeting, as long as we have a recorded contribution. Reach out to Rev. Denise about participating! 

To learn more, email Rev. Denise at revdenise@gnuuc.org.

GNUUC Members,

The members of the Contract to Call Task Force (Ryan D., Carol L., and Kristin R.) wanted to thank you for the exceptional turn out at Sunday's Congregational Meeting. We also wanted to thank each and every one of you for your engagement and honest reflections throughout this process. We truly feel like we are a more cohesive and healthy congregation now than we were several months ago. This process has strengthened us in ways that will service us well into the future.

The resolution proposed during the meeting was:

"That the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation call Reverend Denise Gyauch to be our Settled Minister, effective immediately, upon the terms and conditions outlined in the Ministerial Agreement to be signed pending an acceptable and accepted congregational call vote."

Of our 51 Voting members, we had 42 people participate in Congregational Meeting and vote via in-person vote, Zoom vote, proxy vote, and absentee vote. Of the 42 participants, 41 people voted for the resolution and 1 person voted against.

The resolution passed. Reverend Denise in turn, accepted the call and signed the Ministerial Agreement.

We also invite all members and friends to join us for a Shared Ministry meeting on Sunday, March 1 at 1 PM. Ryan D. and Rev. Denise will lead the meeting. We'll review the Suggestions for the Future document. Look for upcoming announcements!

And with that information, the work of our Contract to Call Task Force is finished. It has been our honor to serve you.

With love,

Kristin R.
Ryan D.
Carol L.

The Board has officially called a Congregational Meeting on February 15, 2026, immediately after the service at noon. The Congregational Meeting has a single item on the Agenda: To vote on whether to call Rev. Denise as our Settled Minister.

To join online, use the same link as the Sunday Service: tinyurl.com/gnuuczoom

The Contract to Call Task Force (Ryan Davison, Kristin Reveal, and Carol Looney) will oversee the vote. The vote will be made by secret ballot.

IMPORTANT: We will not open the floor to discussion during the Congregational Meeting. We have already discussed this vote at the February 8th Town Hall Meeting.

IMPORTANT MEMBER EMAIL

Members, please read the email that directly went out to members from kristin.reveal@gnuuc.org that reviews the voting process. If you did not receive the email, reach out to kristin.reveal@gnuuc.org.

VOTING ELIGIBILITY

In order to vote, you need to have signed the book at least 3 months ago, as well as attended a GNUUC event and given a recorded contribution to GNUUC within the past 12 months. If you are a member, but have not made a recorded contribution in the last 12 months, consider making a donation of any amount before Sunday’s meeting. You can donate via https://www.nashvilleuu.org/donate. Or you can bring a check or cash on Sunday in an envelope with your name on it and hand it directly to Kristin R. Contact Kristin Reveal with questions. kristin.reveal@gnuuc.org.

PROXY AND ABSENTEE VOTING

If you cannot attend in person, you can give a Proxy Form to give to another member for your vote. Likewise, you can vote via Absentee Ballot. The Proxy and Absentee Ballot have been emailed as part of the Member Email mentioned above.

The Mental Health Cooperative was founded in 1993 with a bold mission to provide community-based care for adults with serious mental illnesses. We united three essential services — Urban Case Management, Continuous Treatment Team, and the Mobile Crisis Team — into one coordinated model focused on access, dignity, and real outcomes.”

The Kitchen's supply of containers used for take-home leftovers is depleted. Please return containers you have used to take leftover food home, or donate any extras that you don't need. Bring them on Sundays and drop off at the Kitchen.

Game Night is canceled this month due to inclement weather.

Come to GNUUC on Sunday, January 18, from 1:00 - 2:00 PM for our next Auction planning session.

New and previous auction planners - join us!

Our theme this year is: Going, Going, Greek!
The lunch will be Greek food - think gyro, falafel, Greek salad, dolmades, marinated veggies, feta, hummus, spanakopita, baklava, etc.

Dan L. is our Auction coordinator.

Mir S. is in charge of lunch. Ryan D. will reach out to local Greek and Mediterranean restaurants for donations. Allie W. will be also be helping. Reach out to Mir to find out how you can help with food.

Carol L, Theresa K., and Sandy B. are in charge of decorations. The Women’s Group will help. They will also make sure the bid paddles have all numbers 1-50.

Ryan D. is in charge of Gift Cards - if you have a place you would like to recommend to donate a gift card, or to recruit yourself, just reach out to him.

Kristin R. is in charge of e-blast updates and marketing to members. She will also recruit Live, Silent, and Intermission events. If you would like to help in this capacity, please reach out. Also, if you are an artisan and could make 10-15 items for donation to the Silent Auction, let her know.

Kris T. and Kristin R. will enter donations into the Auction software and be in charge of tech.

ABOUT THE AUCTION

At GNUUC, the Auction is more than just a fundraiser. We decorate, have food and entertainment, and have a great time! It is one of the best social events of the year. Items are priced so that everyone goes home with something. Join the Auction team - we have so much fun planning this event!

The date of the 2026 Auction is set for the afternoon of Sunday, March 29, 2026. It will include a themed lunch, a live Auction, and fun intermission events and silent action items.

Our January Share the Plate partner is Side with Love, the organizing strategy team of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Side With Love confronts exclusion, oppression, and violence rooted in identity. With the goal of building Beloved Community, they pursue social change through advocacy, public witness, and solidarity with those whose lives are publicly demeaned.

Through education, organizing, and collective action, Side With Love supports work for democracy, climate justice, racial and immigration justice, and LGBTQIA+ and gender justice—reminding us that these struggles are deeply connected, and that lasting change happens when we act together, grounded in love.

Side With Love has also supported our wider Tennessee UU community, including a recent grant that helped make the TUUCAN Fall Flock in Nashville possible.

We invite you to give generously today as a way of choosing, together, to Side With Love.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Nashville will be hosting Andrew Seidel, attorney and author, to speak about "Tennessee: The Tip of the Sword of Christian Nationalism. What Can We Do?" on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 7:00 PM at the Glendale Baptist Church, 1021 Glendale Lane. The event with be emceed by Monte Mader, Deconstructed former Alt-Right Christian Nationalist. Doors open at 6:30 PM.  Light refreshments will be served. 

Middle Tennessee Humanists are hosting national executive director of the American Humanists Association, Fish Stark on December 13, 2025, at 7:00 PM at First UU. The event is being cohosted by Americans United for Separation of Church and State Nashville.

Our December Share the Plate partner is the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) through its Guest at Your Table program. For half a century and counting, UUSC has worked with faith communities across the country to bring our partners’ stories and experiences to your family table. The long-running Guest at Your Table program is a chance to learn about our partners’ work and support our shared efforts to advance human rights.

Now is the time for us to build voter momentum ahead of the December 2 General Election for the 7th Congressional District. Early voting begins today and continues through November 26. A schedule of early voting times and locations can be found here.

After a successful canvassing action last month, NOAH is ready to build on that good work. Two more canvassing dates have been scheduled for November 22 and November 30, so mark your calendars and save the dates! Register now! The more hands and feet we have, the more voters we will reach!

To register for the Lee Chapel (1722 Scovel St, 37208) event on November 22, use the QR code on the attached flyer or click here: 11/22 Lee Chapel Registration

To register for the Muslim American Cultural Center (1513 Jefferson St, 37208) event on November 22, use the QR code or click here: 11/22 MACA Registration

To register for the Riverside Seventh Day Adventist Church (800 Youngs Ln, 37207) event on November 30, use the QR code or click here: 11/30 Riverside Registration

Contact Nancy C with any questions.