Auction
2021 Annual Auction Results!
We have completed our auction and what an auction it was! Our total as of Feb. 21 is $5,340 and with a generous $500 donation received and possibly some more sales and donations it is conceivable that we could reach our goal of $7000! At the time the goal was set, though we were in the early stages of the pandemic, we envisioned that we would be back to in person meetings and that things would be relatively normal. That didn’t happen, but we persevered.
I applaud everyone’s resourcefulness as we brainstormed ways to hold an auction while being physically distant. It meant using technology, thinking outside the box, and believing that we could do it a different way.
Members donated like-new items and events honoring CDC guidelines. Bob Yavis sought out business donations, our catalog was converted to Word and included pictures, members received daily tally sheets showing the status of the bids on every item, and most importantly, people sat at their computers and used their phones to bid throughout the two weeks of the Silent Auction.
The Live Auction proved to be both fun and lucrative! Bob Yavis serving as auctioneer, managed to bring the bids up high and even threw in a song at the end! We were all entertained and felt connected once again!
There are a few sign-up items at fixed prices still available so if you are interested in them please look at the list that was sent out Feb. 21 after the auction. We are all hungry for human contact and these events are as good as it gets for right now!
Thanks to all who donated and who purchased or bid and got outbid. Thank you to Karen Salzinger for preparing the slides and to John Isham for handling the technical side during the Live Auction. And a special thanks to Bob for being our auctioneer extraordinaire!
Carol Bartz
Book Club
The Manatee Unitarian Universalist Book Club is composed of a small group of congenial persons, usually between eight and ten per meeting — not necessarily the same each time — who enjoy reading and then discussing books on a variety of topics. These books are usually nonfiction and related in some way to social justice or UU principles. If we do read fiction, it would be related to an actual historic event or social problem. We stay away from academic tomes.
The group meets on the first Monday of each month at 2 p.m. During the pandemic our meetings are via Zoom. The discussions are light, frequently filled with laughter, and respectful of a variety of opinions. The books to be read are suggested and chosen by the group. This is how we maintain a variety of topics.
We have been meeting since 2015.
Everyone is welcome; you don’t have to be a Manatee UU Fellowship member to participate. Come and join us!
Some of our recent books:
Past Great Decisions Topics:
- Climate Change and the Global Order
- India and Pakistan
- Red Sea Security
- Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
- US Relations with the Northern Triangle
- China’s Road Into Latin America
- The Philippines and the US
- Artificial Intelligence and Data
- Nuclear Negotiation: Back to the Future
- The Middle East Regional Disorder
- The Rise of Populism in Europe
- Decoding US – China Trade
- Refugees and Global Migration
- Cyber Conflicts and Geopolitics
- The US and Mexico: Partnership Tested
- State of the State Department and Diplomacy
Great Decisions Discussion Group
Great Decisions Discussion Group is an annual seminar, held each of 8 weeks during February and March using the Great Decisions Manual published by the U.S. Foreign Policy Association of New York. Our group, 25 years old, is an official group, registered on the Great Decisions website, and is open to the public. As a result, the discussion participants are not only from our Fellowship, but also from the community.
In addition to the curriculum book, we watch a discussion video by professionals in the field. The cost of the book and a share in the video is $30. A different group member serves as discussion leader each week.
This year, the discussion will be held on Zoom, and topics are:
- Global Supply Chains and National Security
- Persian Gulf Security Issues
- Brexit and the European Union
- Struggles Over the Melting Arctic
- China’s Role in Africa
- The Korean Peninsula
- Roles of International Organizations in a Global Pandemic
- The End of Globalization?
Knit ‘n Chat
Our Knit ‘n Chat group provides a fun time to knit and chat together, catching up with and supporting each other plus sharing our current work. And there has often been a social outreach aspect to the literal work of our hands, with special knitting projects for service groups such as Hope Family Services of Bradenton and Knitting4Peace.
Some of us have been away from our Florida homes longer than we would have expected, but we can all join on Zoom — both a challenge to deal with and a new kind of joy in sharing our personal space. It has really been fun to see inside each other’s homes. Often there are family members that pass behind us or cats on the keyboard with tails filling the camera eye. We miss the hugs but enjoy our time of connecting.
So, please learn how to join us on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m. via Zoom by clicking the box below and sending us your current email address.
Men’s Discussion and Support Group
John Isham, Facilitator
The Men’s group meets twice a month on the second and fourth Wednesday at 2 p.m. on Zoom (while our building is closed due to COVID-19). The Zoom link for the meeting is sent out by email prior to the start.
Because of the wide-ranging backgrounds and interests of our male membership, discussions have been lively and thought-provoking. There is no limit to the subjects we discuss, and each meeting we have a topic suggested by a member. Some topics have been, and can be, significant events, personal successes and failures, brief personal histories, families, childhoods, fathers, mothers, siblings, children, gripes and irritations, fears and fights, the male side of relationships, the seven UU Principles, just to scratch the surface.
We open with an impulse of sound, have a brief reading and do a check-in. Each “holder of the gavel” has the floor without interruption for up to five minutes. Afterwards, questions or comments are welcomed and then the gavel is passed on. Meetings last for an hour and a half but can go on longer if people desire.
The support function of the group means we stand ready to help anyone with personal needs who makes a request. Personal facts are private, confidential and respected not to be disclosed outside of the meeting.
Racial Concerns Discussion Group
The Racial Concerns Group is a new Fellowship organization and is still feeling its way. This is good because it can go wherever its members desire. Right now we are researching, learning, discussing and acting on the many racial issues facing our community and nation. Our interests take us back into slavery and up to the latest police brutality. We will use books, movies, documentaries, periodicals, newspapers, music, field trips and other sources for information. We are anxious to live up to our UU principles, especially to promote the worth and dignity of each person.
Unitarian Universalist Association
