Newsletter 8/13/26
 Sunday Service, 3 P.M.: FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE 625 SOUTH ST., DAVIDSON Please visit our events calendar for more information. Mail: P.O. Box 991 Davidson, NC 28036 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER Aug. 16: Rev. Pat Jobe: ‘Elvis, Babe Ruth and Luke’When my son Luke was born on an Aug. 16, I went to Wikipedia and hoped to find some inspiring North Star who shared a birthday with him. Although surely there must be dozens, I wandered down to people who died on that date and found both Elvis and Babe Ruth. We’ll reflect on all three and how they lived their lives, or in the case of my now 30-year-old son, how he is still living his life.The Rev. Pat Jobe joined our Fellowship on Aug. 1, 2020. He is married to his lovely spouse Gabe and is an enthusiastic supporter of UU Lake Norman, FeedNC, Heart of the Carolinas UU Animal Ministry, the Barefoot Ministry, and all work done by UUs in our area.  Services can be viewed live at 3:10 p.m., and later for replays, by clicking here to reach them on our website. Information on upcoming services can also be found on our Facebook page. Aug. 23 – Dr. Benjamin Thorne: ‘Angel is a Semaphore: Making Meaning in the Age of Doubt’In his Ode on a Grecian Urn, the poet John Keats famously wrote “beauty is truth, truth beauty.” But what does this mean in an era increasingly defined by declining faith in science and professional expertise, and an embrace of conspiracy theories and alternative facts? What can be offered as a rebuttal? In this talk, poet and historian M. Benjamin Thorne will try to answer this question by looking at the nexus of spiritual faith, critical theory, and the literary arts: the word. And somehow tie all this in with an allusion to the J. Geils Band. How could he possibly make that work? Who knows! Will his premise go down in flames? Quite possibly, but it will still be a show! Ben Thorne is associate professor of modern European history at Wingate University. This summer he spent a month traveling throughout India, including Kashmir, one of the most hotly contested regions on earth. His talk will touch on some of his observations from that trip.  We continue to welcome first-time visitors. Our Aug. 2 service welcomed five first-timers and two who came for a second or third visit. The UU Association says our congregations attract the most first-time visitors and maintain the least. It’s a mystery, but I got a hint during a recent conversation with a dear friend who declined my invitation. He lives at the edge of our service area, but I think the clearest reason for his reluctance is that he already thinks like us. It feels a little off. This is how the reasoning goes. Since someone already thinks like us, they wonder what would be the point of gathering with us. Many times, people have said to me, “I don’t go to church, but if I did, yours is the one I would go to.” I keep inviting because I know we have been a harbor for so many who see the value of being in community with “like-minded people.” But that is not our only selling point. Our minds are not all alike. We do share mutual respect in hopes of being able to disagree without being disagreeable. It doesn’t always work. We also share a deep belief in the right of people to believe whatever they like as long as they do no harm and generally act with shared humanity. I could be wrong, but it feels to me that major world religions respect the sacred to be found in everything, in nature, in shared humanity, in basic human rights. We have to test all our behaviors against a standard of the greatest good for all.  Agnes Fiore hosted a birdhouse-painting party last month — another of our auction items. All reported having a great time!  Eddie Gunn was among the Unitarians of Lake Norman who recently visited the exotic animals at Lazy 5 Ranch near Mooresville, also an auction item.  It’s Time to Choose a Chalice Circle Each fall we offer our members and friends an opportunity to participate in a Chalice Circle. A Chalice Circle – a form of small-group ministry — is a group of six to nine people who meet monthly for 10 months, usually at someone’s home and, sometimes, virtually online. The purpose is to get to know each other well, as the group considers a variety of topics using a short reading and several questions to launch the discussion. Both the UUA and some individual congregations throughout the country have published a wealth of discussion outlines from which to choose. If a Chalice Circle is of interest to you, let us know before Aug. 31. Four are being offered: Thursday afternoons in Mooresville on the lake; a weekday morning Cornelius; and two others that are in the planning stage. Please choose the one that would be most convenient for you, and which you would be most likely to attend on a monthly basis from September through June. A commitment to regular attendance is important to the success of the group and to each participant’s experience. At this annual planning stage, we find that some people want to change to a new group – where they may get more deeply acquainted with a different group of people. Others prefer to stay with whatever group they are already in. We will do our best to accommodate both preferences. If you’re interested in any of the four meetings, or could attend only by Zoom, click on their names to email Marge Flowers or Natalie Heling with your preference and contact information. Sign-up forms with the leaders’ location and meeting time will also be available in the lobby during Sunday services through the rest of August.  A big thank you to Helen Patil, Sue Friday and Tim Brown for volunteering to help with our Fellowship’s quarterly litter pick-up on Concord Road in Davidson on Saturday, Sept.12. We have been doing this for over 12 years! In the fall and spring we try to do this in coordination with the N.C. DOT’s Litter Sweep.___________________________________ Please join Heart of the Carolinas UU Animal Ministry to build a fence that will free a dog from his chain. Work will start this Saturday, Aug. 15, at 9 a.m. The address is 265 Amity Church Rd., Iron Station. No experience is needed for this rewarding work!  Everyone is invited to join UU Justice NC’s weekly Friday Action Hour, a virtual gathering of justice-seeking friends where we take action together and nurture our spirits for the work ahead. It’s an opportunity to live our values. Last week, we learned about ICE operations nearby, in Greensboro and at a picnic area in Pisgah National Forest on a Sunday afternoon. The Google document has links to many news articles and sources of information and provides links and a brief suggested script to use when sharing your reactions to ICE’s procedures and behavior. There were also talking points to use with the N.C. Speaker of the House and Gov. Stein. It is at least a little cathartic to speak truth to power. Information, phone numbers and suggested scripts for all actions are spelled out in the Google doc — click here to view it. Join us this Friday morning at 11 by clicking on this Zoom link. If Friday doesn’t work for you, please take a moment to look over the Google doc, updated every week to describe small actions you can take to support Unitarian values. Sign up for our Friday Action Hour weekly email by clicking here.  We send warm and hopeful thoughts to Harvey Wigder as he recovers from shoulder surgery and some subsequent medical issues. Auction Item Still AvailableThere’s still room to join fellow UUs at our private wine class at Total Wine in Cornelius on Sept. 23 from 6-8 p.m. This year’s class is “California Uncorked — Napa Valley and Beyond!” The classes are informative and fun, with a tasting of both white and red wines. The price is $25, which goes to the Fellowship. Click here to email Pat Wall if you’d like to join us.  UU Lake Norman’s Building Fund accepts donations to help ensure our future. For more information, please contact Alan Perkinson. FROM OUR TREASURERThanks to all who have pledged to keep our Fellowship strong. You can mail your pledge to: UU Lake Norman, P.O. Box 991, Davidson 28036. To set up easy online giving from our website, just click the “Pledge or Donate” tab at the top of the page. Join us? If you are not a member but would like more information on becoming a member, please contact Marjorie Flowers at admin@UULakeNorman.org Rev. Pat Jobe UU Lake Norman Minister 2026 Board of TrusteesGreg Davis, President Jim Price, Vice President Jim Arnold, Past President Véronique Singerman, Secretary Karen Abrams & Linda Heydenburg, Co-Treasurers Gail Arnold, Trustee at Large We walk diverse paths to find meaning and purpose, but we are united by our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all, and the obligation to express our faith through acts of justice and compassion. Join us as we create a diverse, spirit-curious, and justice-seeking community. Please send your newsletter items, suggestions or comments to news@uulakenorman.org. The deadline for each week’s newsletter is 5 p.m. Wednesday. Lake Norman UU Fellowship P O Box 991, Davidson 28036 www.uulakenorman.orgCopyright © 2026 UU Fellowship of Lake Norman, All rights reserved. |