Dear Reader,
This is the Friday, May 9, 2025 full edition of the Tapestry newsletter of upcoming events and announcements. All events are open to anyone who wishes to join, except where otherwise noted.
Quick Links to Contents:
Upcoming Sunday Service at 11:00 AM:
Power of Awareness
by Grace Ngo
In a world overflowing with distraction, true awareness is a revolutionary act.
In this heart-opening sermon, Grace Ngo explores how the Power of Awareness—rooted in the teachings of Neville Goddard—can awaken us to the sacred truth that our inner state creates our outer reality.
Through personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical wisdom, Grace invites us to slow down, come home to the present moment, and reclaim our power as conscious co-creators of our lives. When we become aware—not just of our surroundings, but of our thoughts, assumptions, and identity—we begin to move through life with intention, grace, and quiet strength.
Come discover how awareness isn’t just passive observation—it is the beginning of transformation.
If you're unable to join us in person, Zoom is still an option by clicking HERE.
Announcements:
Board of Trustees Slate Approved
Yay! We approved the entire slate for the Board of Trustees!
- Incoming President will be Eric Huckabay
- Incoming President-Elect will be James Moore
- Incoming Member-at-Large will be Lisa Pedersen
We will meet Thursday, 5/8, at 6:30 pm to discuss combining the two proposed budgets, and send out *one* corrected budget in a few days. Everyone will have some time to look at it, and we will highlight changes. And then at the end of the month we will vote to approve the budget.
We did have several write-in candidates, woo hoo! We are in the process of discussions with all of them, and will let you know what they say.
Thank you again for your patience with this whole process,
Tracy Cook
Cooking Covenant Group: May is Popsicles: Kids are welcome for this demonstration
by Tracy Cook on 5/5/2025
Howdy, Friends and Neighbors!
Mmmmm, homemade popsicles! I used to dream of having a business where I made popsicles during the week and then sold them on the weekends out of a push cart. I figured maybe sometimes I would haul my cart to the beach, and other times around to neighborhood pools…
Well, that didn’t happen, ha! I looked into it, and if I want to sell them then I have to have a commercial kitchen. When we were house-hunting, I saw a home with the garage turned into a commercial kitchen and thought “Hey! I can sell popsicles now!” But alas, it was in a flood zone rated level 6 out of 10. Boooooo!
But, the good news is I did a *lot* of recipe testing and so I have some fantastic popsicles on hand! We can create a few batches, and I will also have some frozen ones for us to sample. Bring the kiddos if you would like, and no need to bring anything else. This is a demonstration. If you want to bring a recipe or two (or more!) then bring the ingredients along. Please remember ice if your recipe calls for it - I always forget to have enough ice. And then we can pick a selection for you to take back home with you! This will be a mix of frozen and not-yet frozen baggies, so bring your cooler for the return trip please.
See you June 7 from 3:00-4:30 at Dawn and Elisa’s home!
Read More and Comment on the Cooking Covenant Group Blog
Letter From Our President: Welcome to May!
by Tracy Cook on 5/5/2025
Wow, almost a year has passed since y’all elected me as your President. I cannot believe we have just had our Annual meeting again! Congratulations to our incoming members. James Moore is stepping into the President-Elect position this summer, and Lisa Pedersen is taking a Member-at-Large position. I am so glad to welcome them to the Board of Trustees, and am really looking forward to having their input!
I’m also enthusiastic about our newest Covenant Group, the WFPB group. They meet every Saturday on Zoom at 2:30 PM. Whole Food Plant Based is a completely plant-based diet, aka vegan. No animal products are used at all. If you were at the Retreat, we had vegan options there for our friends who choose this path, and I have to say the foods were yummy. I know our vegan friends have been talking since *forever* about getting a group together. And after a few of them went on a plant-based cruise recently, they dove into setting this in motion!
The Board will be meeting to combine the two various budgets into one cohesive proposal. I guess this is what happens when the Board members meet without the Finance team, and then the Finance team meets separately from the Board. Yikes! Those circumstances will probably never happen again, thank goodness. But this year they did. Thank you for being so flexible and trusting us to work out a plan.
Bear with me for just a few more weeks, and then you will get to hear a brand new voice in these blogs as Eric Huckabay steps into his new role as President! Yay, Eric!
Read More and Comment on the Letter From Our President Blog
Stewardship Blog: Moving On
by Geoff Sanders on 5/1/2025
This will be my last Stewardship Blog article for awhile, but I encourage all members to write your own thoughts about our church, why you feel it is important, and what you think we should aspire for in the future.
I first joined Tapestry in 1996 when my daughters were little. They are adults now, and I have a granddaughter who is attending Emerson UU Church. How times have changed. This church has definitely been a highpoint in my life. I hope it is, or will be, the same for you.
My first leadership position was to serve as secretary to the board in 1997 and 98, but I didn’t truly appreciate what ministry means until I first served as president of the board in 2006. I accepted the position reluctantly - no one else wanted it - but it changed me in ways I couldn’t foresee.
For one thing, I learned technical and management skills that served me well in my downtown job. More importantly, however, I grew as a person and came to better understand the importance of a spiritual community and service to one another and the greater community.
Author Michael Durall teaches that people come to church for spiritual growth, to help build a better community, and to promote social justice. These are all important, but so is everything that we all do to promote and sustain our community. I like to say that even making coffee in the social hall is a form of ministry.
I am turning 75 next month, and it is right and timely that I step down from my leadership roles and make space for younger and more energetic people to learn and grow as I have done. I encourage all of you to volunteer your help, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone. Not ready for a team lead or board position, just lend a hand. Need guidance? Talk to our minister. She will be happy to listen to your thoughts and suggest ways you might become more involved. Or, talk to any board member or team leader. These are people already engaged in the work of the church. I’m sure they will be happy to share some ideas with you.
And I’m not going anywhere, except on an occasional trip or cruise. I’ll be happy to talk with you about the church and the many ways that you might be able to serve.
See you at church!
Read More and Comment on the Stewardship Blog
Share-the-Plate
May's share-the-plate offering is going to The Trevor Project. It is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. The Trevor Project shows LGBTQ+ young people their lives are worth saving. The Lifeline Campaign will mitigate any damage caused by these anticipated federal cuts and fuel our suicide prevention and crisis services.
Rev. Alisha's Theme Weaving: How an "Intentional Mind" spiritual theme for Mental Health Awareness Month can ground you in these difficult times
by Alisha Mills on 4/29/2025
Hello, dear ones! Rev. Alisha here. I've decided to start offering a monthly newsletter article on the Spiritual Theme for the month. My hope is to encourage our congregation to use the theme in new ways so it is woven throughout our tapestry. This month's theme is Intentional Mind.
When selecting a theme for May, I tried to be mindful of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) annual Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAW). I chose Intentional Mind for 2025, as the theme to align MHAM with reflections on intentional mental wellness activities. Two Intentional Mind choices I think are especially helpful while we are enmeshed in the difficult circumstances of 2025 are:
- Mindsets
- Expectation check-ins
These two skills can ground you and your activities at Tapestry UU of Houston with wisdom, well-being, and achievable goals. Mental Health Awareness Month 2025 campaign is "In Every Story, There is Strength." So, I would like to share some of my story. Mental health education, advocacy, and promotion of self-care are very important to me. Not only do I live with chronic depression, but also I require daily self-care for a brain disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Mental wellness is an everyday intentional action for me and my loved ones who help care for me.
In 1994, I was an undergraduate student at Ball State University. I began having emotional episodes of extreme tearfulness in reaction to thoughts of despair, catastrophizing, and shame. All the while I was struggling to stay awake enough for classes and gaining weight at nearly ten pounds per month. My then-boyfriend and parents helped to guide me to the mental health services on campus. Given my age and symptoms, they diagnosed me with depression and started me on antidepressant medications. However, nothing seemed to help with the symptoms in the coming months. After a year with no real improvement, I saw a new family physician that my parents liked. He was able to diagnose an underlying autoimmune condition that was the root of my symptoms. While the medication he and an endocrinologist were prescribing helped me, over the coming years it became evident that chronic depression was either coinciding with my autoimmune disorder or was the strongest symptom in my experience. I've been cared for by mental health professionals, my loved ones, and various support tools for over thirty years now. I offer gratitude every day because these things have saved me from wanting to end my life on multiple occasions, even in the last year. This is a part of my story that I try to be fairly open about with others because as you can see it creeps into my life repetitively and requires me to redirect my focus to self-care with more vigor. Without people knowing it leaves them wondering what could cause such a change in my usually vibrant personality.
Increasing my intentional self-care is one of the ways I heal. I'd like to share about two skills I've used that can help to ground me during difficult times. The first is the use of mindsets. You may have heard of growth mindset or Radical Acceptance from me over the last couple of years, both of which are mindsets that I find useful. A mindset is like a lens you use to view the world. I can easily slip into autopilot on how I view the world around me. Negative mindset is pervasive and studies show we ALL have a strong default of negative thoughts. Intentionally choosing how I view my experiences helps me see the lies in my negative thoughts. It can help you as well as you navigate what is happening around us these days. I encourage you to check yourself on how quickly you see a headline and assume it's true when that headline triggers your fears. If you can intentionally set your mind before reading a headline, watching the news, or doom scrolling, you are better able to wisely navigate the awful tactics being used to spark our worst fears thus generating negative thoughts. Our tapestry Weavers can use intentional mindset activities as a chalice lighting before a meeting, "Intentional Mind" can be a theme for a check-in, or we can encourage each other when we hear someone speaking about with a negative thought mindset. We are a great support to each other and intentional mindset is a super-tool of support and self-care.
The other tool I like to use is an expectation check-in. One of my challenges is setting WAY TOO HIGH expectations for myself and others. As my congregation, I bet this is no surprise to you. As we UUs make wise moves to address a injustice, I try to set an hour aside each month to check in on my expectations. One of the best indicators of impending burnout is expectations that are misaligned with reality. In my personal self-care, parenting, team leadership, volunteer efforts, and even pleasure escapes, I check in on my expectations of myself, the actions I take, and my expectations of others. This intentional mind activity can release me from the bondage of unrealistic expectations. At Tapestry, I've noticed the wonderful result of realizing achievable expectations in our SEE Justice Team. They have intentionally focused on providing us small actions we can take to make a difference knowing we are all struggling with big things right now. This wise choice will keep this team and us grounded in wisdom and help us avoid burnout.
Dear ones, we have shared our worries, disgust, and grief in these last six months. It is a trying time and yet our Tapestry must continue to be woven. We can sustain and even grow as a community in the coming years, but just like when I'm struggling with the dark aspects of depression, we need to choose intentional self-care to stay wise, well and not burn out. Take some time each month to intentionally review your mindset and expectations. Another thing that can be helpful is to schedule time with me as you need it. You can learn more about my tools or just simply have time with me who will compassionately listen. I keep a calendar with time slots that you can use here: https://calendar.app.google/EX8MVydmeKqdXowo8
More resources are available through NAMI Greater Houston at this link as well: https://www.namigreaterhouston.org/resources/ including information about the May 17th NAMI Walk. The Houston Unitarian Universalist Network is gathering regional UUs to join together to walk. See Andy Savidge, our UU Network of Houston representative for more information.
In Service & Peace,
Rev. Alisha
Read More and Comment on the Rev. Alisha's Theme Weaving Blog
Superhero Summer Camp
CAMP DETAILS
(full details at: https://emersonhouston.org/superhero-summer-camp/ )
Cost
$125 for the first camper and $100 for each additional sibling
Please inquire about financial assistance if needed
When
Monday, July 28 to Friday, August 1 - Sign Up By June 1st
Drop-off: 9am and Pick-up: 4pm
Early drop off and late pick up will be available
Where
Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1900 Bering Drive, Houston, 77057
ISO - Greeters for the rotation
Do you enjoy hospitality? Would you like to work with Andy? We all love Andy and this is your chance to work with him and his team of greeters. We are looking for a few people to help out at the front door and/or the welcome cart inside. Requirement is to be available at a minimum once per month. Contact Rev. Alisha or Andy to sign-up.
ISO Hospitality Helpers for Sundays
Would you like to help our beloved Susan on Sunday mornings? We are in search of people to help with set-up of the social hall on Sunday mornings at 10:15am and/or help with the cleanup after coffee hour. If you would be willing to help with these tasks once per month please see Susan Berg or Rev. Alisha to inquire.
Tapestry Disc Golf!
Disc Golf Signal app group SIGN-UP
Interested in getting together for disc golf? If you'd like to play disc golf some early Saturday morning then join the Disc Golf Signal app group for notifications on the day(s) before the game. Then if you are available show up with some water and a hat. There will be discs available so there is no need to buy or bring discs. The game takes less than 2 hours and is free.
You can email dg@uutapestry.org with your Signal app phone number or userName to get an invite to join the Signal app Disc Golf group. If you have the Signal app installed you can send a message to: oldwippersnapper.01 to join the group. Then you'll get a Signal app Disc Golf group event notification whenever anyone posts an upcoming disc golf game event with the date, time, and location for the game. If you see the event notification just show up on Saturday to get some exercise, to spend some time in nature, and to enjoy playing disc golf with friends.
Disc Golf is good fun, companionship, and a great way to get out in nature. All skill levels are welcome, and loaner discs are available. There are a variety of attractive and challenging courses in the NW Houston area (no fees required), and we sometimes organize road trips to sample other venues. See our Disc Golf group slideshow at: https://uutapestry.org/DiscGolf. We also meet on Zoom Fridays at 4 pm CT to talk and plan future events.
The Group is open to current and former members and friends of Tapestry UU Church of Houston who are interested in playing disc golf. Games and other outings are organized on the Tapestry Disc Golfers Facebook private group page and via the Signal app. To learn more, request to join the Tapestry Disc Golfers Facebook group, or email dg@uutapestry.org. See you on the course!
We're Looking for More Liturgists!
Tapestry Board Meetings
Your Tapestry Board of Trustees is meeting monthly.
When: 2nd Thursday of each month beginning at 1:00 pm.
Where: On Tapestry’s Thursday Zoom account unless otherwise published.
View the upcoming agenda by clicking HERE.
Covenant Groups
The following groups are currently accepting new members:
- Cooking Covenant Group
- Gardening Covenant Group
The Women Aligned Spiritually Group is currently closed, but it may reopen to new members next summer.
For more information, please see https://uutapestry.org/CovenantGroups or to suggest a new group, email pastpresident@uutapestry.org.
Tapestry Caring Team
Upcoming Events From Our Calendar:
May 9 (Friday), 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Disc Golf V-Beer Meeting
Weekly Friday 3 PM to 4:30 PM disc golf v-beer Zoom meeting
May 10 (Saturday), 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM: WFPB Covenant Group Meeting
The Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) Covenant Group meets via Zoom every Saturday at 2:30 pm, and once per month on the last Saturday at Dawn and Elisa's house. Our mission is learning more about WFPB eating, cooking, recipe-sharing, and supporting each other in our healthy lifestyle journeys. We are currently viewing each of the 40 video presentations each week from the Holistic Holiday at Sea cruise which several of our members recently enjoyed, along with discussion, and monthly sharing potluck WFPB snacks. Please contact wfpb@uutapestry.org if interested in joining us.
May 12 (Monday), 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM: WITS Meeting
The Website and Information Technology Systems team meets on the 2nd Monday off each month on Zoom.
Do you have an interest in website design and development? Would you like to learn how to update our website? Contact wits@uutapestry.org to join our next meeting.
(Open to Tapestry members of more than one-year-standing due to a high level of security permissions granted on our website.)
May 13 (Tuesday), 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Worship Team Meeting
Weekly team meeting to discuss upcoming services and current projects.
May 15 (Thursday): UU Consolidation Anniversary
https://www.uua.org/southern/blog/happy-may-lets-celebrate-consolidation-day
May 15 (Thursday), 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Rev. Alisha HUUMA Zoom
Thank you for your interest and readership...
Newsletter editor, Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston
newsletter@uutapestry.org