Dear Reader,
This is the Monday, April 6, 2026 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:
Love is Like a Box of Chocolates
by Justin Changalpet
TBD
Announcements:
Cooking Covenant Group: May: Freezer Meals - a Make-It and Take-It Event
by Tracy Cook on 4/5/2026
Howdy, Friends and Neighbors!
May is our annual Freezer Meals event, where you can come over and use my abundant and bountiful spice cabinet to make Freezer Meals for your future self!
Freezer Meals are packed raw and then frozen, so all you need to do is pop the meal into your cooking device of choice (oven, crock pot, or instant pot) and walk away. I have all kinds of recipes: vegan, carnivore, gluten-free, I even have meals for camping, and desserts and snacks as well!
How do I get access to this Fun and Exciting Event, you may ask?! Follow these easy steps:
- Email or text me to RSVP for the event by April 25 and I will send you a link to some recipes.
- Choose your recipes and let me know what they are so I can print your recipes and labels - I have a TON of labels!
- Purchase your foods, but leave off the spices - I also have a ton of these as well, ha!
- Bring your food to my/Tracy’s house, plus a cooler and gallon-sized freezer baggies, on May 2 at 3:00 PM.
- If you remember, please bring a can opener and maybe some knives and cutting boards for chopping.
This is one way we build community. We do chores together that are a challenge to complete, but doing them with other people is so much more enjoyable than doing the task alone. Come, laugh together, and leave with a cooler full of meals ready for your freezer!
Read More and Comment on the Cooking Covenant Group Blog
Give the Gift of Life!
Giving blood is fast, easy and rewarding. Just a small amount of your time makes a lifesaving difference for our patients.Sign-up today and bring a loved one with you to share the experience.
MD Anderson Northwest Houston Surgical and Specialty Care
9922 Louetta Road, Houston 77070
Mobile coach bus on site
Walk in donors will be accommodated
Friday, April 17: 7 a.m.-12 p.m.
To show our appreciation, all completed donations will receive our donor t-shirt and a baseball cap. In addition, if you donate platelets or double red cells in April, you will receive an umbrella.
Share-the-Plate
April's share-the-plate offering is going to Trees for Houston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting, protecting and promoting trees in the greater Houston area since 1983. Now celebrating their 40th anniversary with over half a million trees planted, they grow, plant and maintain over 20,000 trees each year for a multitude of projects across the greater Houston region. They take requests from the public to plant trees wherever they may benefit the public, and will plant a tree to honor someone's memory or other special occasion. They maintain the trees for 2 years after planting them. Trees reduce air pollution, provide oxygen, reduce urban heat and home cooling bills by shading buildings and concrete. Trees provide food and habitat for wildlife. Trees reduce storm water runoff and slow erosion. Not least of all trees reduce stress and beautify our surroundings. Your donation allows Trees For Houston to plant and maintain vibrant, healthy neighborhoods throughout the Houston region.
WITS Meeting
- What's that Document Repository all about and how do I use it?
- I'm on the worship team and I'm puzzled about some of the features of the Worship Schedule.
- I'm a snack provider, greeter, or liturgist and I have questions about how the scheduling works.
- How can I update the church calendar, or submit a newsletter article to the editor?
These are some of the many questions you may have if you are a member of Tapestry and have explored the Members Portal and other interactive sections of our website. If you would like to know how to use all the features available to you, and discover more that you weren't aware of, feel free to attend one of our WITS meetings on the second Monday of each month at 4:30 pm. Click here to join via Zoom, or contact wits@uutapestry.org at any time to ask questions or provide suggestions for our website.
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!
UBarU News: Spring Events
by Tracy Cook on 1/22/2026
UBarU Women-Aligned Retreat, April 10-12, 2026
Every fall and spring UU women-aligned folks gather for a weekend of relaxing, having fun and Sharing Our Stories. Please join us for this Friday evening through Sunday morning retreat at UBarU. ALL ARE WELCOME!
This is a weekend to recharge your body, mind and spirit in the companionship of other Unitarian Universalist women to dance, meditate, write, draw, read, talk, hike our gorgeous 142 acre campus, walk the UBarU labyrinth, lounge on the Meeting House porch or do just what your spirit needs. This is a weekend free from compulsory workshops and classes, although opportunities for worship, spiritual practices, and other group experiences will be offered. Meals, lodging and programming included for Friday night through Sunday morning. Add an extra day to relax and explore UBarU and the area if you like (extra day meals not included).
There is a sample schedule on the UBARU website at https://www.ubaru.org/womens-retreat-spring.
Bioblitz Weekend at UBarU, April 24-26, 2026
“A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. Bioblitzes are great ways to engage the public to connect to their environment while generating useful data for science and conservation. They are also an excuse for naturalists, scientists, and curious members of the public to meet in person in the great outdoors and are alot of fun!” source- https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/bioblitz+guide. See https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flora-and-fauna-at-ubaru-camp-retreat-center for iNaturalist observations at UBarU.
Over the weekend we will have time for learning, sharing and fellowship, and gathering info about plants and other wildlife at UBarU.
Saturday Program: Butterflies
Join us on Saturday, April 24, 9am - 10am for a talk on a nature topic followed by a guided walk observing species identified in the talk. In the afternoon we will explore UBarU using the knowledge we gained in the talk and documenting species in iNaturalist.
All ages welcome!
Tentative Schedule:
9am Talk
10am Walk
12pm Lunch (food provided - donations welcome - or bring your own)
1pm Bioblitz continues
Come for the programming on Saturday or stay for the weekend and participate in the full bioblitz. Stay in the Dwight and Marie Brown Center or camp in your own tent. Food will be available for Saturday lunch or bring your own. For those staying the weekend arrive any time 4pm or later on Friday. There will be a potluck on Friday evening and other meals may be coordinated among attendees staying the weekend. Coffee, iced tea, lemonade, and water available for all.
Bring your enthusiasm and cellular device and iNaturalist app.
UBarU Summer Family Camp, May 22-25, 2026
Spend time with your family in the beautiful Texas Hill Country! This Memorial Day weekend Family camp will offer opportunities to learn, grow, and share as a family, as well as opportunities for parents to enjoy some free time and activities designed just for them. Other activities will include cookouts, worship, camp meetings, campfires, archery, swimming, games, nature education, and a star party (pending conditions). Programming is being planned for kids (5 years old +) and adults.
Arrive after 4:00 for dinner on Friday evening. Weekend includes lodging accommodations in the Dwight & Marie Brown or cottages and all your (on-campus) meals from Friday dinner to Monday breakfast. A field trip to Kerrville on Sunday morning for church and/or lunch is often part of the weekend as well. Well-behaved, vaccinated canines are welcome this weekend. Dogs must relate well to other dogs and humans, be supervised by their owners at all times and leave no "gifts" for anyone to step in. If you or a family member have been exposed or are ill, please stay home.
Accommodations: Lodging will be in the Dwight & Marie Brown Center and in cottages. Tent or RV camping (bring your own tent or RV) is also an option. Each bunkhouse suite has central heat and air and one common bathroom. Additional bathrooms, sinks, and shower stalls are available one door down. More detail on our facilities can be found here.
A Registration "button" is at bottom of this page. Please register each person in your family/group. Cost will have 2 time frames - early bird and regular with a discount for early bird registration. Please be aware that weather can be an issue with camping including heat and/or thunderstorms. If you would like to stay in a cottage, they are available for this event on a first come, first “serve” basis.
Please feel free to contact Kathy Johnson-Throop director@ubaru.org or 830-460-6002, with any other questions or concerns you may have about the retreat. We are looking forward to spending a relaxing and spiritually rich weekend with you!
There is a sample schedule and a list of items to bring along on the website https://www.ubaru.org/ubaru-summer-family-camp.
Read More and Comment on the UBarU News Blog
Tapestry Board Meetings
Your Tapestry Board of Trustees is meeting monthly.
When: 2nd Saturday of each month beginning at 3:00 pm.
Where: Location will vary. Email board@uutapestry.org for more meeting specifics.
View the upcoming agenda by clicking HERE.
We're Looking for More Liturgists!
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:
April 6 (Monday), 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Program Council
April 7 (Tuesday), 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Worship Team Meeting
This meeting is to discuss ongoing Worship Team tasks
April 10 (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
April 11 (Saturday), 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: WFPB Covenant Group Meeting
The Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) Covenant Group meets via Zoom on the second and fourth Saturday of each month at 2:00 pm. Our mission is learning more about WFPB eating, cooking, recipe-sharing, and supporting each other in our healthy lifestyle journeys. Please contact wfpb@uutapestry.org if interested in joining us.
April 11 (Saturday), 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Board Meeting
Board meetings are the 2nd Saturday of each month via Zoom. Any member of Tapestry UU Church is welcome to attend.
Thank you for your interest and readership...
Newsletter editor, Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston
newsletter@uutapestry.org