January 16, 2026 - Wildflower Church Weekly Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter for January 16, 2026

Sunday Service

In Person Only

Sunday, January 18 at 11:45 am

Worship Theme for January - Sacred Community, or the understanding that positive change in a community stems from the healthiness of the ways we allow ourselves to change in relation to each other's needs. A community commitment to equity and justice requires us to cultivate a shared culture of accountability, and to learn to keep our balance as we work through conflicts with love in the center. In this service series, we will cultivate open hearts and steady minds to help prepare ourselves to perceive each other clearly.

Congregational News and Events

TIME SENSITIVE: Calling for Recommendations for a Facilitator

The Facilitator Selection Team (FST) is collecting names of potential consultants to guide the healing phase of our Wildflower transition process. The deadline for your recommendations is end of day THIS Sunday, 1/18. Please contact Dee Adams, Laura Miller, Daniela Silva or Paula Vaughan for information. Submit your recommendations by emailing the Team at fst@wildflowerchurch.org or via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/iPbCF7WF5Cccs4XU7

Wildflower Address Update:

Please update Wildflower address on any future correspondence to our physical mailing address.

1314 E Oltorf

Austin, TX 78704

Important Reminder!!

Don't forget to update your monthly Pledge contribution on Vanco!!

Many of us increased our Pledge for 2026, which is awesome and we are grateful, but don't forget to change it in Vanco!
Here are the steps (because if you are like me, I forget how to do it year to year):
1. Go to website, click on the three bars in the top left corner of the page
2. Select Support our Mission, select Donate
3 Under Giving options, Online Options, select Donate Online
4. Go to Pledge Payment-General Fund and put the new amount and start date, add to basket
5. After you enter the payment info, Go into your Profile on the Wildflower and cancel your old pledge. This is an important step otherwise you will make two payments.
Voila!! All done!!

One on One Deep Listening Sessions Available

You can request an appointment for deep listening:

calendly.com/jhigaus.

During the time when Bis Thornton, our Chaplain, is away, Jan Austin will be available for one-on-one deep listening sessions.

Jan has been a member of Wildflower UU Church since 2004 and has been active in several areas of the life of our congregation since then. Currently, she is Chair of the Pastoral Care Team.

Jan was high school counselor for 25 years before retiring and was also trained as a Certified Professional Counselor, maintaining that certification for many years after retiring.

January Fun and Fellowship Events!

MLK Day Service Project:

In partnership with our friends at Austin Youth River Watch, come participate in a park restoration project in honor of MLK's legacy of service.

Mon, Jan 19
10AM-12:30PM
Buttermilk Neighborhood Park
Must RSVP Here: https://www.givepulse.com/event/717878-ayrw-mlk-jr-day-of-service-creek-clean-up-2026

Vision Boarding Workshop:

New year, new intentions??? Learn with one another how to set intentions and create your personal vision for the upcoming year or an upcoming period of transition.

Sat, Jan 31
5-7PM
Wildflower Community Room
No RSVP required

Happy New Year, everyone!

Old School Lovin’

For Valentines Day, a visitation or drop off will be scheduled at two different nursing homes in the Austin area. If allowed by the location, we will spend up to two hours at each socializing with residents or doing small activities in the nursing home with them. A lot of elderly residents have spouses that have passed, or family that don’t visit often, so I would like to invite everyone at Wildflower to participate however they wish to helping these people feel loved on the day of love. Times, locations and what we will be allowed to do (i.e socializing for up to two hours or just dropping off cards and goodie bags) are yet to be determined, but will be pushed out to the church as soon as possible.

We will be making goodie bags and handmade for nursing home residents at two locations in the Austin area, one right here in the community room on 01/24 from 2-5pm (while watching a movie or two!)

Supplies for the goodie bags will be provided, as well as some art supplies for the cards. Feel free to bring any arts and crafts stuff you have to add more individuality to each card!

Worship-at-Home

Not able to attend the in-person service but want to stay connected?

If you wish to submit joys & concerns, please do so here (click this link). (Note: submissions received before 9 am on Sundays will be included in the Sunday service.

Want to receive an email with the service announcements and a recording of the worship service? Please sign up for our Worship-at-Home email list.

Do You Want to Learn CPR or Brush up on Your Skills?
The Austin-Travis County EMS offers a free 30-60 minute "bystander training" class, covering CPR, AED, and adult choking relief. Training manikins are provided, and participants can choose whether to engage in the practices. Participants are shown how to recognize the patient, assess the patient’s condition and needs, and respond accordingly. Conditions such as resuscitating adults with drug overdose or children are not included, as these require mouth-to-mouth contact, which is not covered. The goal is to enable participants to support a patient long enough for the EMS crew to arrive. This training does not provide certification; that requires more extensive training and skills assessment, for a moderate fee.

With 6 or more participants, the free training can be held at our church facilities. Please indicate your contact info, best days and times for attending the class, and submit this form if you are interested in participating. Due to the year-end holidays, this will be scheduled for sometime in January 2026.

CPR Class Interest Form

Newsletter Content Submission Guidelines

The link to submit newsletter content has been updated.

Please submit content for weekly newsletter using this form.
Content should be submitted no more than (approximately) 2 weeks in advance of event.
Weekly Newsletter content deadline is Wednesday by 12 pm

Submissions received after the deadline will go in the following week’s edition.
NOTE: Please refrain from using ALL CAPS or “quotation marks” when submitting content.

Ongoing Events

Ideas Worth Contemplating

1st and 3rd Sundays at 9:30 am

https://zoom.us/j/97826544113?pwd=SVVPM2NaNm5vaXJtZmN3ZjgrU3l3UT09

Ideas Worth Contemplating is an ongoing group led by Wildflower Mike Ignatowski that uses inspiring and thought-provoking TED Talks to generate discussion about important topics.

Climate Education Zoom class

2nd Sundays from 9:30am-10:30am

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2635700913?pwd=bjNxMEczWHU2bUp3dXpEcVRXWjhRUT09

Meeting ID: 263 570 0913 Passcode: 002030

Our WildEarth Climate Action Team offers this class on most 2nd Sundays of the month. We usually feature a 20-30 minute video, and ample time left over for lively discussion. Join us!

Coffee and Conversations

Wednesdays at 10 am

https://zoom.us/j/93681478930

Meeting ID: 936 8147 8930

Hi, Wildflowers! Come check in about life, the universe and everything with other Wildflowers with the Pastoral Care Team.

Tarot Circle: 3rd Wednesdays @ 7:00pm

Come and explore your spiritual life with support from the tarot!

On January 21 we adventure into the great unknown with the FOOL.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81959828225

Contact MelissaOMeeks@gmail.com to register.

Board of Trustees Meeting

2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm

Zoom Link:https://zoom.us/j/99578028139

Regional and National Information

TXUUJM NEWS: December 2025
The TXUUJM staff and board send gratitude to UUs around Texas for all your powerful work for justice in 2025! THANK YOU! (Click here for an amazing report on what TXUUJM members did this year!)

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