We sponsored a booth at both the 2018 and 2019 Blue Ridge Pride Festival in Asheville. Our volunteers had great fun sharing our status as a “Welcoming Congregation”, raffling free books, and meeting more of our LBGTQ+ community. The events and parade were an inspiring positive occasion.

UUCSV has been working on Habitat projects each year since 2010.  Last fall we helped build another interfaith home with Habitat for Humanity for the Parrott family.  In addition, we provided lunch on Saturdays that we worked.  Our crew worked from 8:15am until 3:30pm.

As a single parent born and raised in Asheville, Tyrecka Howell has always managed to make ends meet.  As a full time Medical Assistant for MAHEC and a part time employee of Quality Janitorial, she works hard to provide for herself and her son.  But when Asheville turned into a dream destination for newcomers, making ends meet turned into barely making it and Tyrecka began looking for help.

When one of her neighbors moved into her new Habitat home, Tyrecka realized that Habitat home ownership could be her pathway to a safe, affordable home.  With a baby on the way, Tyrecka has been approved to purchase a 3 bedroom home in Arden.  Sponsorship for her home is provided by a coalition of organizations from all different faiths referred to as the Asheville Area Habitat Interfaith House.  This is Habitat's 20th such interfaith house sponsorship.  And UUCSV continues to work on the interfaith house.

The Social Action Committee (SAC) collected 128 pairs of new warm socks for AHope on March 11 and 18.  AHope, part of Homeward Bound, runs programs for the homeless, such as Room at the Inn.  Their goal is to help the homeless move toward jobs and permanent housing, by providing phones and help with job applications.  They also help with applications for food stamps and health services.  One ongoing need is for new warm socks for men and women who live on the streets.

Each year the Social Action Committee provides lunch on one day for a volunteer construction crew of Baptist men and women prisoners. These men and women work on repairing a house or houses that someone lives in but cannot afford to repair. This year we provided lunch at Lake Tomahawk Pavilion.

Other local churches also provide a lunch or supper on different days.

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Community Bulletin Board
The Social Action Committee along with others in the wider community worked to bring about a new community bulletin board in the center of Black Mountain. Tom Motzko crafted it and it was dedicated to UUCSV member Rita Styer who was on the committee and died in November, 2010. Chamber Executive Director Bob McMurray cuts the ribbon on November 23 as Rita's family and others celebrate the opening and remember Rita's love of community and family.

Peace Advocacy
On August 6, 2005, sixteen members and friends of our congregation journeyed to the gates of the Y–12 plant in Oak Ridge, TN, for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. We joined over one thousand others from all over the nation to protest the continued enhancement of nuclear weapons. This was the largest such gathering in east Tennessee history.

In addition, members of the congregation have participated in peace demonstrations in Washington, D.C. as well as local demonstrations such as the MLK Peace Walk in Asheville. Peace continues to be important to our congregation.