 The Sunday Worship Service Committee meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Commons Room to help plan the congregation's Sunday services. Please contact Minta Napier or Renée Zenaida for more information. Worship Program: Sunday Services Schedule Google Spreadsheet: This is the scheduling for the folks who help make our Sunday Services so wonderful, a function of the Program Council's Worship Program. This is a dynamic spreadsheet that shows who is responsible for the what tasks and what day. This spreadsheet is maintained by the Worship Program. Each Circle will have their members listed on a web page in the near future with each circle leader designated as a contact person.
Previous Worship Service Highlights: November 27, 2005: Thanksgiving Ethnic Bread Communion  This service was a joint effort of the Sunday Worship Services Committee (Maria Ohrn-Bentley and JoLaine Jones-Pokorney co-chairs, Helen Hardy, Anne Lambert, Tom Mareci, Minta Napier, and Anne West-Valle), based on the Thanksgiving Ethnic Bread Communion in "The Communion Book" edited by Carl Seaburg and published by the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. Our Minister, Music Director and Choir were all off that Sunday so we were totally on our own. We anticipated that this would be a low attendance Sunday due to the holiday and travel, so we wanted a service that was interactive.
We began several weeks in advance asking people to bring a loaf of bread that was typical of their heritage. Guest musicians Lee Staley (4 time winner of the Florida fiddlers contest for his age group), Tom Staley and Fay Baird were invited to provide traditional American folk music for prelude, postlude, offertory and during the sharing of the communion. Beverly Haynes, chair of the Hospitality Committee planned to set seven bread machines to baking so that the sanctuary would be filled with the aroma of baking bread as people arrived and all through the service. The refreshments during social hour would be the breads, hot from the "oven" with a variety of spreads. Debra Neil-Mareci and Judy Funk were enlisted to decorate the tables with Fall flowers, gourds and pumpkins. 
What to do when Christmas falls on a Sunday morning, the minister, the music director and most of the Sunday Worship Service Committee is out of town? Have a party of course! This notice was sent to the congregation: Hello everyone — As I'm sure you're aware, Christmas falls on Sunday this year and while some churches are closing their doors, we decided it's a great excuse for a pajama party. So after you wake up Christmas morning, open your presents and sit sipping coffee amid the wrapping paper and ribbons, remember that it's not over yet! You don't even have to get dressed. Come as you are to UUF at our usual time of 11am for cocoa and cider, some games, storytelling and maybe some singing. Please bring one inexpensive (less than $5) gift for each member of your family as we will be swapping gifts also. "What in the world am I going to find for less than $5?" you may be asking yourself. Let me take this opportunity to promote the Gainesville Community Ministries thrift store, just north of the Fellowship in the same shopping center where Sandy's Greek Restaurant is. If you haven't been there yet, you're in for a great surprise. It is clean, neat, well-organized and has some fabulous bargains for $5 and less. I won't tell you what I bought there to bring to the Fellowship, but I suspect there will be some fierce competition to be the one who goes home with it! AND you'll be supporting the great work of Gainesville Community Ministries. And then there is always re-gifting — totally acceptable in this context! Please join us for a wonderful Christmas morning with your friends at UUFG! Twenty two people showed up Christmas morning, most in their pajamas, worried about how to explain it if they were stopped by the police on the way! Beverly Haynes had hot cider, hot cocoa and plates and plates of yummy cookies set up for us. Len Peterson brought his accordion and Jane Larkin brought a stuffed cat with a story attached. In fact, many people had stories of Christmas past (turn up the volume on your player) to share. |
