January 5, 2020
“Our Annual Fire Communion”
We begin the new year by releasing whatever has held us back – regret, fear, resentment. Letting go of burdens of the spirit makes room for wholeness and integrity to enter in. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Robb Geiger as Worship Associate. 9:15 is a Worship for All Ages. 11 a.m. children begin in the service and then head to religious education in the lower level. We will also be collecting our Guest At Your Table boxes for UUSC.
December 29, 2019
“On Not Waiting to Be the Hummingbird” – Rev. Karen G. Johnston
All of us must die. It is written in our blood and bones. How might we befriend this fact, rather than turn away? Hear the story of the life and death of Lee Hawkins, a Unitarian Universalist who lived her long life facing her death.
Reverend Karen G. Johnston is the settled minister at The Unitarian Society, which is located in East Brunswick, NJ. She grew up in Oregon, lived in Western Massachusetts for a couple of decades raising her children, and now finds herself in Central Jersey. She is the recipient of the 2018-19 Dana Greeley prize for a sermon she wrote on the migrant crisis (which is not the one she will be giving). Her mother, brother, step-daughter and grandchildren live in Chicago, so she’s thrilled to be able to preach nearby.
DLRE Newsletter Article December 2019
This time of year can be a joyous one as well as a challenging one for many. There can be conflicting emotions – the beauty of a winter snowfall yet the cold darkness as the sun sets at 4:20 in the afternoon; the joy of family as well as the missing of those who have died or moved away; the baking of holiday cookies and the hustle and bustle yet the feelings of being overwhelmed and having to do it all.
So far in my life, the time I felt these conflicting emotions happened when my children were younger. I wanted them to have happy holiday memories to carry them into adulthood. For many years, I ended up feeling like Scrooge and resentful. Then one year I got seriously ill with an infection and ended up in the hospital for a week in early December and spent another six weeks slowly recovering. The universe has a way of telling us when to slow down!
Since then, my family has taken the time at Thanksgiving to share what they most want from the holiday season and how to meet those wants in a less-stressful way. We find that many of them are similar enough that it isn’t hard to find ways to give each other the things we really desire during the holidays. I still struggle a bit every year, but as I get older, I find that I’m able to let go of it more.
My hope is that each of you find a way to make the holidays meaningful to you without wearing yourself down and trying to do it all. Whether you have a daily spiritual practice or simply take a part of the day to sit without a to-do list on your mind, take the time for yourself. Otherwise, the universe will find a way!
Now on to some UCE news! First, a huge “thank you” to Johna Van Dyke for coordinating the costumes and props for the pageant, along with her “elves”, Gay Menges, Alice Swan, Linda Clark, Trudi Davis, Kathy Talmage, Kay Wade, Sue Larson, and Martha Holman. And of course Don Mac Gregor for all the great photographs. It was a fun experience!
Ornament Sunday turned out wonderfully too! Thanks to all who brought a craft to share; Jordan Strueber, Carolyn Toporek, Gillian Lawrence, Brian Nielsen, Jeanne Kerl, Kathy Judge, Janice Milanovich, and Beth McDonald. And thanks to Sue Larson, Carolyn Toporek, Adam Gough and crew for helping set up and take down tables. It was fun to walk around and see all the creativity, hear holiday music and friendly conversation.
Looking ahead, the Children and Youth Program Team is hosting a family potluck on January 5 after the 11am worship service in room 3. This will be a great time for families to meet and get to know one another and enjoy a variety of food. No need to RSVP. We are hoping for 25-30 people, so bring a dish to share and join us!
Also on January 5, the Forum program will begin at 9:30am in room 6. This is an open program to discuss a variety of topics and share opinions in a friendly and respectful way. High school youth and adults are invited to come hear what we have in store to start off the Forum! Childcare is provided too.
Here’s to a new beginning and a new year!
In Faith,
Kathy
December 22, 2019
“Keeping the fire burning: collectively sustaining resistance”
Hanukkah reminds us of the miracle of the sacred oil that lasted, long past expectation, long enough to be renewed. Collectively, we find renewal in community and kindle the flame of faith together. Rev. Eileen Wiviott leads the service. John LaPlante is our Worship Leader. Childcare is available for infants through 1st grade 9 am – noon. Religious Education for 2nd grade – High school at the 11 a.m. hour, beginning in the worship service.
December 15, 2019
“The Christmas Story” – Rev. Karen Gustafson & Kathy Underwood
At our 9:15 am worship service, come hear the story of Christmas and enjoy singing carols to celebrate the birth of Jesus. As Unitarian Universalists, one of our Sources draws from the teachings of Christianity and Judaism. Whether or not you believe that Jesus was divine, his influence and teachings are immeasurable. We celebrate the love and light of the Christmas season this Sunday.
Our 11 am worship service will be our traditional Christmas Pageant. Come hear the story of Christmas as we help enact it with costumes, singing, and joy!
Both services are worship for all ages. Nursery & PreK/1st care will be available in the lower level.
Green Tip from the UCE Green Team – 12/13/2019
Here at UCE, many of us love to travel. Others of us have work-related reasons for traveling. Yet, how do we grapple with the reality that traveling has a very detrimental impact on the climate? Per the New York Times, “going someplace far away … is the biggest single action a private citizen can take to worsen climate change. One seat on a flight from New York to Los Angeles effectively adds months’ worth of human-generated carbon emissions to the atmosphere.”*
Limiting travel is the most straightforward way to tackle the problem. However, swearing off flying completely isn’t something that most of us can (or want) to do. So, what can we do instead? Purchasing carbon offsets is an alternative where you compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions your traveling produces by donating to a project designed to reduce emissions by an equal amount. There are a lot of choices when it comes to carbon offset programs. Standards groups like The Gold Standard or Green-e are two ways of verifying that your money is used appropriately. One company that has been vetted by both the New York Times and the PBS NewsHour is Cool Effect. PBS described them as a “nonprofit … with triple-verified, financially strong and ethically sound projects to offset the traveler’s footprint.”** The New York Times travel desk uses Cool Effect to offset airplane travel by staff members on assignment.
To learn more, go to https://www.cooleffect.org and click on the Offset Travel button. The price for purchasing offsets may surprise you: a round-trip 4-6 hour flight carries a carbon-offset price tag of under $8. If you work for a business or university, encourage them to join Cool Effect’s mission at a corporate level – see this link: https://www.cooleffect.org/content/for-business for details.
Per Cool Effect, “At the end of the day, the idea is simple: Do what you can, anything that keeps the planet cooler helps! If your flight length falls between two options, Cool Effect humbly challenges you to round up! Clearly, the planet is heating up and Mother Earth appreciates every tonne that helps to keep her cool!”
References:
* https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/travel/traveling-climate-change.html?module=inline