What's Happening at UUFW and in our Community?

MOTHER HUBBORD’S CUPBAORD SHELF - STOCKING MAY 10TH
UU Youth and those Young at Heart. Hubbard Cupboard Shelf Stockers needed! Come help us stock groceries Saturday May 10th at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard located at 313 N. 5th Street. Afterwards meet for fun and frivolity a the new Flaming Amy's Bowl located near Long Leaf Mall. Call Michelle for questions or for a ride at 350-7886 or email michelle. masson@gmail.com. For your Calendar, future MHC Shelving Dates: Aug. 9, Nov. 15.

FOOD COLLECTORS NEEDED FOR MOTHER HUBBARD’S CUPBOARD
Our quarterly food collection for Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is coming up on Friday & Saturday, May 9th and 10th. Volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts at Lowe’s Foods on Oleander Drive (near Sears). We hand out flyers to arriving shoppers, and ask them to pick up an extra item or two or three for the needy people who come to the downtown Cupboard, and drop their extra purchases off with us as they leave. We operate in two-person teams, to handle both doors, for the two-hour shift. With the cost of food escalating, this is a worthy ministry to put our UU principles into practice by helping out those less fortunate than ourselves. If you can help out on a two-hour shift, please call Charlie West at 458-4136 or email him at westjrc@aol.com

WORSHIP AFFINITY GROUP MAY 14TH
The Worship Affinity Group will hold a meeting on Wednesday May 14 at 7:30 PM.

FULL MOON WOMAN CIRCLE TUESDAY, MAY 20TH 7:30 P.M.
Our Woman Circle is an ongoing support group that meets monthly in our members’ homes. We celebrate the cycles of our lives in nature-honoring rituals as we move around the Wheel of the Year. Beltane, celebrated on May 1st, is a cross-quarter day, and one of the two Celtic “Great Sabbats.” Samhain, on November 1st, opens the door into the dark half of the year, while Beltane ushers in summer, the bright half. Beltane is a sacred time of year, a time of connection honoring light, life and love. The lives of our ancestors were naturally attuned to the seasonal cycles. To celebrate the Earth in a sacred manner was to constantly renew the contract between human beings and the Divine. We, too, can feel the great turning of the Wheel in our own bodies, hearts and minds as we live in harmony with the Earth – and with each other. Heidi Delosier-Friley will lead our Gathering, and present a special Beltane ritual. We’ll meet at the home of Therese Landry. Please RSVP if you plan to join us. Contact: fullmoonwomancircle@ uufwilmington.org

THE AWAKENING SPIRIT MEDITATION CIRCLE
The Awakening Spirit Meditation Circle meets weekly Thursday night from 5:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary at the UU Fellowship. We provide a safe and sacred space to explore meditation and spiritual growth. It is a place of sharing and learning that supports and enriches the path of each Seeker in order that they may continue to grow each in their own way. Please join us. For more information please contact Brooks Carey 910-620-4929

CHALICE CIRCLE UPDATE
Chalice Circles continue at the fellowship as a way for people to learn more people in the fellowship and to offer deeper levels of relationships and meaning as our membership grows. . If you have always wanted to be in a Chalice Circle or know about them, come to a Social Chalice Circle on the first and third Sunday following the 11:00 service. These gatherings are the same as regular Chalice Circles in every way except that they have no formal membership commitments. They are available to everyone as an introduction to the concept of Chalice Circles.

STEWARDSHIP DINNERS
Very early in her ministry here, Reverend Elaine conducted a Leap Weekend at the Fellowship where members participated in workshops using a new methodology called “Appreciative Inquiry” which our minister initiated. One of the break-out groups examined Stewardship at the Fellowship and began work on this year’s Stewardship programs. As a result of that work the group determined to modify the way our annual fund-raising campaign is conducted in order to utilize the Appreciative Inquiry model. Soon members of the Fellowship will receive an invitation to Stewardship Dinners to be conducted in members homes May 9th or 10th. Please plan to attend one of these important dinners. Besides having a nice meal and giving you the opportunity to get to know other members in a small group, the stewardship campaign will take place at the dinners. It will not involve Canvassers who present pledge cards or any hard sell approach. It will involve the Appreciative Inquiry approach. Please come and participate in this essential Fellowship Stewardship campaign...and learn something new

REMBERANCE & MEMORIAL GARDEN NEWS
The Memorial Garden Committee wishes to thank the membership for an outstanding first fundraiser. The money we raised for the garden exceeded $1,000. Special kudos to organizer extraordinaire Roxie Morison for her amazing talents of putting together such a successful fundraiser. We hope to have Phase 1 of the garden completed by this summer. “The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the wind and washed by the waters and polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms." Members of the Memorial Garden Committee will be selling River stones as a fundraiser for the Memorial Garden. Look for us in Dobkin Hall or if it is beautiful outside, near the Rain Garden. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Masson @350-7886 or email: michelle.masson@gmail.com

SPACE & FACILITIES PROPOSAL
The Space and Facility Group organized on LEAP Weekend has adopted a goal of implementing the recommendations of the Long Range Planning Committee report of May 2005* pertaining to building and grounds. This report projects UUFW membership in 2010 at 250. It details a need for expanded space in the following areas: RE, Social (Dobkin Hall is inadequate), Kitchen, Restrooms, and Parking. To develop a plan to best suit our existing land and facilities we propose the following: Engage the services of John Jefferies, the architect who worked with us on our last expansion. We are requesting this be funded with the money ($5,200) left in the Building Fund from this expansion. The Space & Facilities Committee is requesting this be placed on the agenda for the May 18 congregational meeting. Please consider this official notice of our proposal.
*To receive a complete copy of this report in a PDF file e-mail Don Wood at: dgw@ec.rr.com

WEEKEND AT SHELTER NECK
In intergenerational weekend in the country is planned at Shelter Neck, the UU camp in Pender County, about 40 minutes from Wilmington. Dates are May 30-June 1. Great opportunity to hang out with like-minded and likespirited UU’s from nearby congregations. See the Denominational bulletin board for details. Go for the weekend, or take a day trip for Saturday only. For more info, check with Charlie West.

SEEKING LAY DELEGATES FOR G. A.
General Assembly, the annual meeting of our denomination, will be held in Fort Lauderdale, FL from June 25 to 29. UUFW is seeking lay delegates, although travel subsidy is limited. If you have family in south Florida, or are headed down there for a vacation this summer, this would be a great chance to participate in the central event of UUism. Numerous workshops, special services, concerts, lectures, and other cultural events, plus a large display hall for free handouts and one-on-one questioning of experts in the various activities and aspects of UUism. For more information, contact Ellen Sutliff or Charlie West.