Announcements

Putting up a Christmas tree is a traditional delight of this winter holiday season. However, taking it down is often viewed with sadness or at least it is considered a chore. Not so at Heritage! For this activity, we become “Christmas Tree Angels.”

Come join us on Sunday, January 5, 2025 immediately following the morning service, as we retire the sanctuary’s Christmas tree for this season. Everyone can participate. You don’t want to miss this amazing cooperative choreography.

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/4j98ck5u

Our area UU churches are officially re-launching citywide OWL this year with Sr. High and K-1 OWL offerings, along with a possible adult or senior adult collaboration with a Cincinnati UCC church. If you love OWL and want to support our expanding citywide partnership, please consider these opportunities:

1. Do you have a Sr. High youth who hasn’t completed OWL? To receive information about our Sr. High OWL class starting in 2025, email Laci at:

2. Are you an adult who would like to take OWL? Make sure to fill out the Adult RE Interest form found at:  https://huuc.breezechms.com/form/b7b9a8

3. Are you a trained Jr./Sr. High OWL teacher? We are still building our Sr. High OWL 2025 teaching team. The commitment includes teaching once or twice a month on Sunday afternoons at Heritage.

4. Might you be interested in teaching a future OWL course? We are planning to host OWL teacher trainings for both K-1/Grade 4-6 and Jr./Sr. High teachers in the coming year. 

Best,
Laci Lee Adams
HUUC Director of Lifespan Faith Development

Image caption: OWL program logo, fair use

Image source: http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50255_30258756296_1249_n.jpg, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33016606

 This fall, did you get a text message from “Breeze-huuc” with an event reminder? That’s because we began using the text option in our directory database, Breeze. But new regulations require that cell phone carriers receive “double opt in” to transmit SMS messages from HUUC via Breeze. That means you need to reply YES when you receive a request from Breeze to transmit messages on behalf of Heritage even if you have already given a member of the church staff your permission to receive text messages. 

If you received a text message on October 23, 2024 from 87447 asking you to opt-in to messages from “Heritage Universalist Unitarian Chu…”, you may still reply “YES” to that message. If you think you deleted that message or replied “stop” by mistake, try sending a text to 87447 with the message “Start.”

If your cell number is not in our database, and you would like to receive text messages, please contact Martha in the HUUC office, give her your cell phone number, and state or email your express permission to receive text messages from Breeze on behalf of the church. You will then receive a text asking you to confirm your request, and you will need to respond to that text message to complete the double opt-in process.

If you aren’t certain that Heritage has your mobile number in our database, please contact Martha in the HUUC Office by calling (513) 231-8634 or emailing Heritage UU Church at:

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/2kwpctdd

We at HUUC are so very lucky as a community to have regular, long established, and thriving adult programming, from our HUUC gardeners to Babes with Books and Healthy Lifestyles Group. Our adult programming offers everything from periodic pagan rituals to monthly singing circles and weekly lunch gatherings. We often don’t think of these opportunities as “faith development” but they are.

Our abundance, however, does not mean that we couldn’t benefit from other, novel adult faith development opportunities. Over the next quarter, Heritage will be rolling out several new faith development opportunities geared toward the adults of our congregation. Most of the new offerings are still in development, so there are not yet specifics to share. BUT, we do want to get a sense of interest and begin communications with potential participants.

So, read on for general information about coming programs and if something looks interesting to you. Please fill out the linked interest survey form, below, in order to be added to communications about those specific programs or our general adult faith development programming. Also, if none of these offerings strike your fancy, there is a place for dreaming on the form. The more we know about how many people are seeking to connect in new ways and what people are looking for, the better our planning will be.

Interest Survey Link:  https://huuc.breezechms.com/form/b7b9a8

Future Offerings:

Adult or Senior Adult OWL — Using values, communication skills, and spirituality as starting points, this program explores sexuality issues for adults of all ages. It builds understanding of healthy sexual relationships, and affirms diversity. It helps participants accept and affirm their own sexuality throughout their lives. This program would likely include 12 workshops, plus introductory and concluding sessions, but adaptable for many formats. Adult or Senior Adult OWL is likely to be included as a new OWL offering in our restarted Cincinnati City-wide OWL collaboration with other UU and UCC churches.

Intergenerational Neighboring Faiths — Have you ever seen our middle schoolers go off to visit other houses of worship and think, “I wish I could join them?” Well, now is your opportunity. We are re-imagining the Neighboring Faiths program as an intergenerational program. Adults would come together to learn about a religion as an adult learning community. Then adults, along with a skilled youth facilitator, would help guide the learning and exploration of our youth. Then youth and adults would visit other houses of worship together. This would be an awesome opportunity for fostering both adult and intergenerational connections while learning about and experiencing the faith of our neighbors.

It Made Me Think — Do you ever hear a story on the radio or read a book, or have an experience that really made you think? Has anything ever accidentally helped you consider what you believed or challenged an assumption? This forum is the perfect place to come and share those things while learning from others “hmmm?” and “aha!” moments

Contact the HUUC Director of Lifespan Faith Development, Laci Lee Adams, for more information at:

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/2m23et96

The Heirloom’s inaugural attempt at publishing original prose and poetry from HUUC congregants (members and friends) was a success. If you are reading this announcement in the Heirloom, check out the submissions in the separate feature section, Creativity Corner, below. If you are reading this on HUUC.net, explore the submissions in the website’s Creativity Corner section under the Community tab.

We are offering another chance for congregants to publish their creative writing works (short story, prose, or poetry) in the January 2025 Heirloom edition. For this opportunity, the submissions theme is “Holidays.” The submission can delve into any holiday(s), holiday feelings, tales of holiday episodes or escapades, holiday memoires, etc. The submitted work should not exceed one page.

The submissions deadline is December 19, 2024. Works will appear in the January 2025 Heirloom edition. Space is limited, so send in those original creative writing creations soon and avoid the holiday rush. Direct any questions and/or submissions to Barb Barnes, Heirloom Editor, at

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/h7d29ccv