Welcome to CommUUnique – a forum for news, events, and discussion for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff (in Dallas, TX).
We have decided to bring our monthly newsletter into the 21st Century and put it into blog format. Rather than putting out a monthly PDF newsletter, it will be updated on a regular basis and articles will be posted as soon as possible after they arrive in my inbox.
Everyone will also be able to comment on any of the articles posted. (Please note that all initial comments may be held for moderation and you’ll need to supply your name and email address.) You don’t need to do anything to read our content, only to comment.
We are dedicated to keeping discussions respectful and loving, in keeping with the church’s Covenant. Anyone who seeks to create dissonance will be removed. This does not mean we will not tolerate disagreements; it simply means we ask that those who disagree to remember there are sometimes many equally valid perceptions to any point.
If you have an article, photos, or information you would like to see published here, you may send them to ella-editor@oakcliffuu.org.
Beth Ferree
CommUUnique Editor
Latest CommUUnique News & Events:
But, next time I will be more careful when I choose my gift. I swear it didn’t look like a curling iron when I pulled it out! 😀
Regardless, a good time was had by all and there were some interesting gifts given out. The Animal costume reappeared as did a tutu and a complete hula get up! The favorites that were stolen a couple of times were the lava lamp and the foot bath.
We ate until we were stuffed, then had seconds
No matter what we ended up with though, it was a great time spent with our UUCOC family!
I swear it didn’t look like a curling iron at first glance
Recognize Dec 2
Clint Chamberlain 11/26/2014 November 26
James Fairchild 11/26/2014November 26
Jean Kelly 11/29/2015 November 29
Sarah Ricke 11/29/2015 November 29
Recognize Dec 9
Pat McAfee 12/05/2010 December 05
Recognize Dec 16
Becky Brown 12/16/2013 December 16
Dan Brown 12/16/2013 December 16
Recognize Dec 23
Bernie Tjarks 12/18/2014 December 18
Recognize Dec 30
Charles Cranford 12/24/2014 December 24
“Myanmar’s Killing Fields” 
December 4th at 7:00 pm
This free film screening is being co-sponsored by the Dallas Peace & Justice Center.
You can read the review of the film here:
https://www.oakcliffuu.org/wp/2018/11/first-tuesday-film-for-december-a-review/
Every month, at 7:00 pm on the first Tuesday, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff screens a film focusing on an important social justice issue.
Content Advisory:
The material is not suitable for younger audiences.
Trigger warnings for sexual assault and violence.
Financial Brainstorming Session
Dec. 2nd, 11:15 am in Faith
Have ideas for improving our bottom line? Please come and share!
“Your Head’s Too Big”
Donna Leach returns to our pulpit with a message about humility.
Have you noticed this box in the RE Building near Kathy KinKaid’s office? 
UUCOC is working with CitySquare to provide a happier winter to some folks who need us!
CitySquare Holiday General Giving Ideas:
Coats & Sweaters
Undershirts or plain t-shirts
Waterproof boots
Jeans
Rain Gear
Underwear (must be new)
Tennis shoes
Scarves and gloves
Blanket or sleeping bags
Pop up tents
Backpacks or rolling suitcases
Hygiene:
Full-size shampoo & conditioner
Bar Soap/Body Wash
Toothbrushes & toothpaste
Deodorant
Razors
Lotion (cocoa butter preferred)
Towels
Wash cloths
Laundry pods
Dryer sheets
Laundry baskets
Food:
Meat (canned beef, chicken, pork, tuna fish, etc.)
Basic Condiments (Salt, Pepper, Flour, Cooking Oil, Ketchup, Mustard, etc.)
Canned Vegatables and Fruit
Soups (Campbell’s Tomato, Chicken, etc.)
Other canned items (chili, beans, etc.)
Non-perishable food items
Holiday:
Gift cards
Bus passes
Flashlights
Headphones
Slippers
Alarm clock radios
Scented candles
Candle warmers
Stress balls
Games
Holiday decorations
Stockings
Holiday foods
– candy canes, apple cider, hot chocolate, candy
The Holidays are just around the corner, so before the craziness sets in, take a moment to verify that your meetings have carried over to 2019 on the UUCOC Calendar.
If you need anything to be added to the calendar, please send me an email with:
• The date
• The beginning and end time
• The building and room you want
• Any special notes, such as equipment, in case more than one group requests the same space at the same time
Knowing when space is being set up or is being used will help our lives run more smoothly and happily! I’m here to help, so let me know if you need to put something on the calendar!
Thanks,
Rita
Sandra Kochenower November 01 11/01/2009
Laurie Telfair November 04 11/04/2015
Recognize Nov 11
Donna Leach November 09 11/09/1986
Larry Brumfield November 10 11/10/2013
Recognize Nov 18
Rosie Connolly November 15 11/15/2015
Jose Espericueta November 15 11/15/2015
Recognize Dec 2
Clint Chamberlain November 26 11/26/2014
James Fairchild November 26 11/26/2014
Jean Kelly November 29 11/29/2015
Sarah Ricke November 29 11/29/2015
Join us this Sunday for a special service presented by Sarah Nejdl, Executive Director of Families to Freedom. 
Families to Freedom provides survivors of domestic violence free long-distance transportation to reunite with family or get to shelter far away.
From our Leadership Development Committee:
We need at least two, likely three, more to join the Leadership Development Committee, and we are looking for a couple of people to help manage our annual fundraiser.
Please contact Robertus van der Wege if you can help!
And congratulations to our new board treasurer, Dan Brown!
Want to have a BIG impact on the littler members of our church?
RE is looking for volunteers!
Help the next generation to become kind, respectful, fair-minded, caring people strong enough to side with love and fight for justice!
Please contact Kathy Kauffman Kinkaid
Is the Second Sunday Jazz Jam on your radar?
https://www.facebook.com/events/621062931622653/
We’ve been doing this for years, and we’re still finding out that many in our church family don’t know about it! Can everyone please help spread the word? It’s fun, it’s free. And we make some great music!
********************************************
Do you love playing Jazz?
Do you love singing Jazz?
Do you love listening to jazz?
Would you enjoy listening to Jazz in a quiet setting while having a glass of wine or cold beer or soda and letting the sounds take you away to places you enjoy?
The jam will start at 5 pm and end around 7 pm. Admission is FREE!!!
If you come to listen, feel free to bring food and beverage (nothing harder than beer or wine) for yourself or to share. We have had listeners even bring a candelabra to decorate their table for the evening..
Come planning on having a great time and hearing some of the finest musicians in the Metroplex.
Invite a friend to come with you. The admission is free but the experience is priceless!!!
The Concept of the Goddess
Oct. 14th, Nov. 4th & 11th
A new religious education offering from the UUCOC Young Adults – All adults are welcome.
This four-part series will look at the phenomenon of Goddess Worship, from ancient sects to the modern renewal in feminine faith paths, as well as the Goddesses themselves.
UUCOC OnLine:
Do you want to know where to go to connect with our church, our members, and our community?
We’ve created a new page on the website to break down all of the exciting options now available:
www.oakcliffuu.org/online
Coffee Help Needed! 
We could still use additional volunteers to help with the Sunday morning coffee & snacks.
There will be no coffee without volunteers to make it!
Contact Jose at coffee@oakcliffuu.org
Promoting Safety & Security at UUCOC
We need a few folks with a perceptive eye and a desire to help make our church more safe and secure. Items of focus might include:
• Reviewing First Aid kits & equipment
• Creating evacuation plans
• Maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Considering classes such as CPR, self-defense for women
And we know the right people will find even more items that need attention!
If you are interested, please contact Rita at admin@oakcliffuu.org by September 23rd.
Justice Without Bitterness
The trouble with social justice work is that we never reach our destination – there’s always more to do. Too often, we end up angry, disillusioned, and bitter – which makes it hard to continue. There are ways to stay in the game while keeping an open heart.
Will Handy will be in our pulpit.
We Are Building a Garden! Saturday, September 15th Register Today! On Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 (10AM-1PM), For Oak Cliff will be partnering with The Mission Continues for a National Day of Service as we build our 10th Street Community Garden (1300 E. Clarendon Dallas, TX 75203). We will be constructing raised planter boxes, picnic tables, a shade structure and more! Kids will even have the opportunity to paint picnic tables and add their creative input into this community space! This is our first of many garden spaces in the Super Block, and we’d be happy to share this experience with you! Register here; https://www.missioncontinues.org/event/details?id=a1l1W000006TJzfQAG For Oak Cliff
Recognize Sept 2
Renee Brill – August
Recognize Sep 9
Jan Brubaker 09/05/2010
Chris Kajzer 09/05/2014
Johnnie Chatman 09/06/2016
Annie McNamara 09/08/2016
George Gregory 09/08/2014
Jim Klipp 09/09/1996
Recognize Sep 16
Chris Snively 09/11/2005
Recognize Sep 23
Roy DeLay 09/17/1978
Emily Brock 09/21/1997
Recognize Sep 30
Rick Martinez 09/24/2017
Yecenia Martinez 09/24/2017
Allison Brim 09/27/2016
Susan Ammons 09/30/1984
Promoting Safety & Security at UUCOC
We need a few folks with a perceptive eye and a desire to help make our church more safe and secure. Items of focus might include:
• Reviewing First Aid kits & equipment
• Creating evacuation plans
• Maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Considering classes such as CPR, self-defense for women
And we know the right people will find even more items that need attention!
If you are interested, please contact Rita at admin@oakcliffuu.org by September 23rd.
This Sunday, August 19th, the children will come to the sanctuary at the beginning of the service where they will be given a token to attach to their backpack and a blessing from Renee Brill. After each child has received a blessing they will then return to the Hope building for RE.
On Sunday, August 12th we asked the congregation to choose the three issues they would like to see the Texas UU Justice Ministry focus on in the 2019 legislative session. They were provided with a ballot offering these possibilities:
- Criminal Justice Reform (e.g. pretrial diversion, alternatives to incarceration, re-entry support)
- Economic Justice (e.g. minimum wage, access to health care, affordable housing)
- Environmental Justice (e.g. plastic bag bans, fracking, water resources)
- Gun Control (e.g. open/campus carry, assault rifles, gun storage)
- Immigration (e.g. local cooperation with ICE, border security, family detention centers)
- Public Education (e.g. state funding, standards/curriculum, special education)
- Reproductive/Gender Justice (e.g. access to abortion/birth control, sex ed in schools, LGBT/transgender rights)
- Voting Rights (e.g. voter identification, online voter registration, early/mail-in voting)
The results were:
- Economic Justice
- Voting Rights
- Immigration
Thank you for your help! Our representatives to the TXUUJM will be Barbara Fudge and Annie McNamara.
There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of those who use our facilities. With that in mind, we are currently updating our security. Please refrain from propping doors open or leaving them unlocked if you leave the building. More information will be available as soon as the new policies are in place. Thank you for helping us all out!
We have some leftover wood from the construction of the new stage that are being stored in the shed for right now. Yours for the asking. Also – the remaining pieces of the original stage will be hauled off later this week. If you have a use for any of the timber or plywood, we’d love to see it recycled. (Look for the pile behind and to the east of the church mailbox.)
(Aug. 5, 12, 19, and 26)
Many of us as Unitarian Universalists come to this faith after a long, and decidedly troubled relationship with traditional religions. And most often, the religion in question is Christianity. It can take a long time to come to terms with our past problems and to take a fresh, unbiased look at the faith again. This is the purpose of the Phoenix Affirmations.
This month-long study group will look at this new liberal form of Christianity, a critical foundation of Unitarian Universalism, and see it for the loving and inclusive religion it strives to be.
This study group is open to the entire church community. It will take place each Sunday in August from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in the Charity North Meeting Room.
This Sunday, August 5th, The longtime social activist and UUCOC member Mavis Belisle will take our pulpit to discuss the impact of music on social change. And the impact of social change on music.
The video of the hardworking, cheerful crew putting in the new stage reminded me of a similar Saturday when the Faith building was built.
To save money, we told the contractor that we would lay the tiles in the sanctuary and about half the membership turned out for the task. We cut the angles on the tiles on the south wall, applied the gooey adhesive and laid one row after another. You’ve never seen so many Unitarians on their knees!
Elaine Wildman
(if you’re looking for a year, it was about a year before the end of the term of the minister who preceded Don Fielding)
Elaine
The Women’s retreat is October 5-7
The Men’s retreat is coming Oct 19-21, 2018
Registration is still open for you to come and enjoy a quiet weekend with familiar faces and new friends at UBarU!
Lodging in the Dwight & Marie Brown Center along with your meals from Friday dinner – Sunday breakfast are included.
Early Bird cost is $150 for the weekend. Arrive after 4 p.m. on Friday
A rejuvenating time for fun, quiet and renewal is awaiting you in the Texas Hill Country.
Recognize on August 5th
Robertus van der Wege 08/02/2015
Recognize August 19th
Gerald Dollinger 08/13/2009
Recognize August 26th
Alice Ewing-Warren 08/25/2015
Recognize September 2nd
Renee Brill 08/28/2011
We are invited to an 80th birthday celebration for Rev. Don Fielding. For those whom may not know, he served as our Minister from 1990 to 2003.
WHERE: 706 Villanova Court in Allen, Texas
WHEN: Saturday, August 4, 2018
WHAT: 80th birthday party for Don Fielding
HOW: By bringing your rad self, your bathing suit and your appetite; but, no gifts, please!
If you have any questions or need additional info contact Brenda Fielding at 972-841-3444.
You can download past issues of the OakLeaf from January of 2012 to April of 2018 from our archives.
