Last day for donations is this Sunday!

The GNUUC Women’s Group is sponsoring a food drive in August.  Please bring items to church in paper or plastic bags.  Please check the “best by” or expiration date on any donations. The food bank cannot accept anything past those dates. Leave your donations on the table against the wall farthest from the kitchen.

Here is a link to the Bellevue Community Food Bank.  Needed items are listed there as well as items they cannot accept.

Let’s help our neighbors who are food insecure.

NOAH is committed to educating Nashvillians about how they can be involved in the democratic process. One way we plan to do so is through a Text Banking and Postcard Feast!

Join us on August 22 from 6-8 pm at Edgehill UMC as we remind voters to register before the November elections. We encourage you to bring a friend to help out! Dinner will be provided. Register here.

Not free on the 22nd? Come canvass with NOAH in September! More details to come.

Organize Tennessee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization driven to uphold safe, secure, and accessible elections for every eligible voter. We advocate for voting rights protections, build coalitions, provide legal support and prioritize grassroots organizing to eliminate barriers and empower disenfranchised Tennesseans. Organize Tennessee is the only 501(c)(3) providing statewide voter protection year-round - from municipal elections to statewide elections.

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.

Rev. Denise Gyauch will be on vacation for the entire month of July (July 1-31). During that time, our wonderful affiliated ministers, the Revs. Dr. Michelle Pederson and Cynthia Stewart will be available for pastoral emergencies. If you find yourself needing to talk with a minister, please contact the church office by email (gnuuc@gnuuc.org) or phone (615-673-7699; leave a voicemail message). Our administrator, Kris, will connect you with the minister on call.

Rev. Denise will be leading a meditation during the event. This interfaith community-wide service will lift up how we all find our sacredness. We’ll share traditions and rituals from our respective groups. And much singing and love will be shared. Sunday Assembly, Music City Sisters, The Table, Congregation Micah, Covenant of the Cross, Nashville in Harmony, Nashville Pagan Coven, FUUN, and Major Minors will be present. Come celebrate and be celebrated. Sponsored by Nashville Pride.

Join us for a fun-filled night to commemorate a decade of NOAH on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Boone Convocation Center on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University, 333 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville TN 37210. The theme is "A Decade of Justice: Building a Legacy and Charting a Way Forward." We are hosting our biggest celebration yet, with dinner (including a vegan option) and live music, plus a special presentation from our keynote speaker Dr. Michael Eric Dyson! For tickets contact Nancy or Doug.

Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park
Saturday June 22, 2024 (11a-9p)
Sunday June 23, 2024 (11a-7p)

The Nashville Pride Festival returns to Bicentennial Park on Saturday June 22nd and Sunday June 23rd. Nashville Pride is a two-day LGBTQI+ festival featuring top-rated entertainment on multiple stages, a Kids and Family Area, Youth Area, Community Art Installations, and over 225 vendors featuring local not for profits, artists, and businesses.

Nashville Pride is committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all members of the LGBTQI+ community.

Tickets start at $10. Ages 10 and under do not require a ticket to attend

Please join Rev. Denise Gyauch on Sunday, June 30, 2024, after service for a Listening Circle. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon and Jordan. We mobilize resources for immediate emergency relief and for sustainable, long-term health, education, and economic development. Our staff serve in their communities, navigating the politics that constrict progress to get help where it’s needed most.

Workday at the Playground June 1, 9 AM to noon!  Mulch will be delivered Saturday morning and needs to be spread around the playground.  Bring a wheelbarrow, shovel, gloves and yourself.  We have buckets, shovels and rakes.

Ken Sizemore will perform songs from a decade of very special music——“The 60’s REVISITED”!

Tickets are $15 at the door, cash or check.

Ken will play songs from three genres…Folk, Country, and Pop Music.

This year's GNUUC auction exceeded our goal bringing in over $8000! Sincere thanks go out to all our members who donated food or auction items, attended the auction lunch or bought items at the auction.  It was a fun event, and we all helped with the church's budget!

Seats are still available at the Ken Sizemore concert on June 9 and the Roger Wiesmeyer recital on August 18. Email gnuuc@gnuuc.org for more information.

Please read more for details of the last Board meeting on May 15, 2024.

This past Sunday we met for our Annual Congregational Meeting and passed our annual budget for the GNUUC 2024-2025 Fiscal Year. Please drop me an email at jesse.spencersmith@gmail.com if you’d like to have a copy of the approved budget.

It’s important to note that we do not draw on contingency funds for our budget for the year! Thanks to your generous pledges, a well-planned and successful auction, and New Leaf Preschool renting our RE space for the full year, we are able to plan a budget that is balanced for the first time since the pandemic.

Some important highlights of the budget:

We are budgeting support for the Unitarian Universalist Association after not being able to budget for this last year. The UUA depends on congregations for their support, so this is an important improvement.

We have increased the budget for Buildings and Grounds to help address the cost of painting our building.

Due to a technical glitch, pledge request letters went out AGAIN on Tuesday, May 21. Know that we HAVE gratefully received and recorded your pledges. As I noted in a follow-up letter, I would not mind this technical problem, except for the fact that it went out before we had a chance to send out our thanks to each of you for your loving, generous support of GNUUC.

--

Jesse S-S

The Belfiglio family has once again sent us a gift of funding for a post-service luncheon in memory of Barbara! (Thanks to Jane S., Mir, and Gina for planning and executing this event.)

Our Annual Pledge Campaign ran from April 14 to April 21, 2024. We are still missing about seven pledges from members. Friends and visitors, consider making a Pledge to GNUUC for our July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 Fiscal Year.

This year, we celebrate Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation’s 30th Anniversary. In the summer of 1994, we first met as a congregation and were recognized officially by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Since then Greater Nashville has been a home for those seeking a liberal religious community, a place to raise their children, a supportive institution, a gathering of friends.

Now is the time to make a commitment. If you are member, now is the time to strengthen your support. If you are a new visitor, new friend, now is the time to consider joining us and pledging your support — and consider joining us as a member. Reverend Denise would love to talk to you.

By giving our time, our talents, and our money, we can support those in need, and serve as a voice of love, acceptance, and hope in a world that needs to hear these things. Our pledges this spring will resource the first year of the NEXT 30 years of our congregation’s mission: to transform ourselves, our community, and our world through the power of love; to embody a sanctuary of compassion, integrity, and respect; and to champion justice, equity, and peace.

Pledge what you can for the new year. Know that if your circumstances change, you can adjust your pledge. If you can give more, do so, knowing that you are contributing more in a time when others can contribute less.  Please visit https://www.nashvilleuu.org/pledge and pledge as generously as you are able.

Now is the time. This is your invitation.

To read this year’s pledge letter, click Invitation to Pledge.

Our May Share the Plate organization is Planned Parenthood - Tennessee & North Mississippi, a nonprofit healthcare agency. They provide essential reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care. Abortion is still legal in many states, and it's legal to go to a different state to get an abortion. If you live in Tennessee or Mississippi and need an abortion, our Patient Navigation team offers needed resources.

The Board discussed the extension of the A New Leaf school lease for an additional 12 months and received an update on the annual stewardship drive. The Board discussed the importance of welcoming and membership in the coming year. The Board planned the agenda for the upcoming May 5th briefing of the congregation and confirmed that the meeting will be hybrid. This is a preliminary Q&A session in advance of the Congregational Meeting on May 19. The Board put plans in place to start congregational visioning for the next 30 years with a progress assessment scheduled around December 2024.

The board confirmed that the current members are all likely willing and able to continue to serve on the board if asked. The board discussed the ongoing occupancy of the RE building by A New Leaf school. The board began making plans for congregational meetings and training priorities for the upcoming 2024/2025 fiscal year.