On August 17, 2025, we had a Shared Ministries meeting after service to talk about volunteer opportunities, covenant groups, and upcoming events. I’m very excited about our programming and events this Fall!

To download a PDF copy of the following, click: Shared Ministries Notes & Calendar.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the following, reach out to the associated contact. If you need the contact’s name, let Kristin R. know (kristin.reveal@gnuuc.org).

United Volunteers of TN (UVOTN) is hosting a protest picnic during Sen. Marsha Blackburn's event at the Tennessee State Museum on Saturday, 8/23.

White Stork is a US-based, veteran-led critical aid and last mile logistics charity that delivers medical supplies and evacuates civilians from the frontlines in Ukraine. Taking their name from the national bird of Ukraine, their mission is to give every Ukrainian the means to survive. They focus only on Ukraine, assembling and delivering high-quality individual first aid kits to soldiers and civilians. They also provide temporary housing and other forms of humanitarian aid. They do not provide any weapons or ammunition. 

The Covenant Renewal service is an opportunity for NOAH's diverse membership to make a stand against the rise of tyranny, nationalism, oppression, and hate. It will be a chance to publicly demonstrate our unity in these divided times. Following the service, we will have a reception for all our NOAH members, new and old, to celebrate our shared commitment!

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the separation of religion and government as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right to believe or not believe, for all. Please donate to Americans United through Share the Plate in July, defending freedom of religion, and freedom of belief.

Please help us by bringing bottled water to church during July.  We will deliver to the Nashville Rescue Mission.  If you have a large vehicle and can help with delivery, please let us know. Please put the water bottles on the table at the back of the Fellowship hall.

The Belonging Fund was established by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Conexión Americas, and Tennessee Justice For Our Neighbors, in conjunction with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, and will be used to support families impacted by civil immigration enforcement operations in Middle Tennessee that began on May 4, 2025, and are ongoing. This fund will be responsive and evolving to the community's needs as determined by the founding organizations and will be flexible to adjust to the shifting policy landscape. 

This month we are honored to share our offering with Free Hearts, a Tennessee-based organization led by formerly incarcerated women. Rooted in Nashville, Free Hearts works to support and reunite families impacted by incarceration through education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

In partnership with the National Bail Out collective, Free Hearts is participating in the 2025 campaign to free as many Black mothers and caregivers as possible in time for Mother’s Day—offering not only release, but reunion, dignity, and healing.

Free Hearts also leads Nashville’s Participatory Defense Hub, a powerful community initiative where families and loved ones come together each week to learn about the court system and advocate for justice. Since 2017, these efforts have resulted in more than 1,100 years of incarceration avoided—a testament to the transformative power of collective care and resistance.

Your generosity today helps Free Hearts continue this vital work: reuniting families, shifting power within the criminal legal system, and imagining a world where love and liberation prevail.

To learn more about Free Hearts, visit https://freeheartsorg.com/.

This year’s banquet will again take place at the Boone Center at Trevecca Nazarene University, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Charlane Oliver, District 19 Senator in the Tennessee legislature, will be our keynote speaker. Tickets may be purchased here. The deadline is MAY 15 for ticket purchase. GNUUC folks can share a table. For information about NOAH and some of its recent accomplishments, opportunities to purchase ads in the banquet program, as well as different levels of sponsorship, click here.

The American Civil Liberties Union originated in 1920 as a response to the Palmer raids, in which thousands of people were arrested without warrants or regard to constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure, then brutally treated and held in horrible conditions before deportation. The ACLU today is the nation's largest public interest law firm, with a 50-state network of staffed, autonomous affiliate offices. It appears before the United States Supreme Court more than any other organization except the U.S. Department of Justice. About 500 ACLU staff attorneys collaborate with about 2,000 volunteer attorneys in handling close to 2,000 cases annually.

April 5, 2025, is the deadline to apply or recertify for Nashville’s Tax Relief and Tax Freeze programs for 2024. These programs are for those 65 and older, the disabled, and disabled veterans and widow(ers). This is the first year that the qualifying annual household income limit has been raised to $60,000 for the tax freeze program; the income limit for the tax relief program is $36,370. You can find more information about the two programs here and here. Download a flyer here.

Mark your calendars now for NOAH’s annual banquet on May 29 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. This year’s banquet will again take place at the Boone Center at Trevecca Nazarene University, with Charlene Oliver, District 19 Senator in the Tennessee legislature, as keynote speaker. More details to come. Watch this space!

The mission of the Tennessee Justice Center is to use the law to advance economic, racial, and social justice by relentlessly working for and with Tennesseans seeking better lives for themselves and their neighbors. 

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to the food and resources people in our community need to thrive. For nearly 50 years, they have welcomed our neighbors with radical hospitality, empowering them to live free from the daily burden of food insecurity. They prioritize innovation and remain committed to sustainability as they strive for a future where everyone is food secure, and no food is wasted.

Commemorating National Religious Freedom Day

Since its founding, TIRRC has grown from an informal network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States. TIRRC’s vision is a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive.

If you know or discover such an organization, please nominate it by using the form found with the Share the Plate Nomination form..

Our December Share the Plate partner is the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) through its Guest at Your Table program. Since it began in 1975, the Guest at Your Table program has introduced generations of Unitarian Universalists to our grassroots partners working for justice around the world with your support.

Hurricane Helene is now the second deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. and has left a trail of devastation across the southeastern states. Just days later, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane. Communities are grappling with catastrophic landslides, historic flooding, and relentless rainfall. Millions of people remain without power, and homes, streets, and businesses have been damaged or destroyed.

 Nashville has been divided into three different Congressional Districts in hopes of suppressing the voice of the people - specifically people of color. But this Sunday, October 20th, at 3:00 pm, NOAH is bringing four districts together to prove that Middle Tennessee voters will not be silenced! 

 Join NOAH for a US Congressional Showdown where you will hear straight from five candidates on the issues that matter to you. This is about all of us! Share the flyer, post on your social media, and invite your network to register at bit.ly/NOAHshowdown.

GNUUC will be sharing the plate with Room In The Inn in October. Last year, we resumed our hosting of overnight guests as part of RITI’s Winter Shelter program, which includes sending guests on their way with a sack lunch. We will be assembling the lunches for this winter after church on October 20. 

The program provides safe shelter, warm meals, and fellowship for our neighbors struggling with homelessness during the coldest months of the year. In the 2023-24 season, congregations provided more than 15,000 beds.