Ingathering Sunday & Water Ceremony
"Healing Waters"
Rev. Melanie Morel-Ensminger

We celebrate our coming together in community after the travels and rest of the summer with our traditional Water Ceremony.  We will also lift up our feelings about the oil spill and our hopes and dreams for the healing of the Gulf and our city and area.  Please bring a small amount of water to share in our common bowl.

Roles of Science In the Gulf Drilling Disaster
Dr. Julie Whitbeck, Terrestrial Ecologist, University of New Orleans
 
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2010 – 9:30am
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Progressive Community Networking
Coffee, juice and light breakfast pastries
$3.00 suggested donation
 
For more information, contact Kit Senter: (504) 866-8257 or kitsenter@yahoo.com.

Held every second Saturday of each month, the Gillespie Memorial Community Breakfast has been a project of the First Unitarian Universalist Church Social Justice Committee since 1983. http://thecommunitybreakfast.blogspot.com/

 Guest Columnist:  Outgoing Greater New Orleans UU (GNOUU) Chair and First Church member Claudia Barker
 
This church year the Greater New Orleans UU cluster, informally known as GNOUU, wraps up its first important mission -- the official closure of the shared Capital Fund Drive for all 3 area UU congregations.  GNOUU will continue to exist -- for the leaders and members of the 3 congregations to worship, learn, and promote liberal religion together -- but the capital campaign is drawing to a close (although contributions and pledges will still be gratefully received).

For some years now, Claudia Barker has been not only a representative of First Church on the GNOUU Leadership Group, but also has served as its very capable chair.  As my guest columnist for this month, I have asked permission from Claudia to share with the congregation her farewell message to the GNOUU leaders.

UU World Magazine 8.30.10, online at uuworld.org

Three New Orleans churches and a Gulfport, Miss., congregation struggle to regain members five years after Katrina / By Donald E. Skinner

“Increasingly when I go out of town, including to General Assembly, I find UUs very surprised to learn our congregations haven’t been completely rebuilt,” said Morel-Ensminger. “I have to keep telling our story.”

It's been a hard lesson for all of us since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita five years ago, and Hurricane Gustav in 2008, the recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.