The Huntsville UU Fellowship of Huntsville, TX
As a small congregation of only twenty-eight members who gather in a hospital chapel in rural Texas, the Huntsville Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship hasn’t always found it easy to feel connected to the larger denomination. The celebration of Association Sunday provided the fellowship with an opportunity to recognize and affirm the common bonds that unite us as Unitarian Universalists and they joyfully scheduled their special service for October 12, 2008. But a tragic event sadly derailed these plans.
The congregation has been without a minister since theirs moved to Iowa, and they had arranged for one of their members, a former Biology professor, to speak on Association Sunday on October 12th. Just days before the scheduled service, he was hospitalized and learned that he had only two to three weeks to live. And we are deeply saddened to have heard that since then, he has passed on. Needless to say, the entire congregation is in great mourning.
As astonishing as it may be to think about moving forward in the face of such immediate tragedy, that is what the Huntsville UU Fellowship did. They lined up a replacement speaker, a young local Methodist minister, and rescheduled their Association Sunday service for October 26, 2008. This young minister was first an ordained Baptist before he became a Methodist, and the folks at HUUF tell him that he is really UU.
They announced Association Sunday and stressed its importance for such a small congregation, not existing in close geographic proximity to other UU organizations. They also used this opportunity to begin energizing the congregation for the campaign to build a new church building where they can be more inviting to the surrounding community and better suited to serve families.
The fellowship hopes that by demonstrating this commitment to their faith and its growth, they will be able to celebrate future Association Sundays in their own building.
Last updated on Friday, November 7, 2008.
