"The River"
This Sunday
March 17
Speaker: Ken Stern
Celebrant: Peggy Bissell
The Pain of Universalism
Since Universalists proclaim "God is love" and everyone goes to heaven, why should Universalists be in pain? This is also true: all lives are difficult, each of us often hurt. And, because we love all our neighbors, we ought to feel their pain. A sprinkling of Universalist history included.
For the Children:   Children's Religious Education will follow the service on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sundays of each month.

Also the smaller babies room now was a speaker system installed. If you should need to leave the service, you can still hear everything in there..


E volution of the Feminine Divine
by Nancy B. Miller
 
I n ancient times, shoeless, she walked.
A warrior near with weapons ready.
Across the tundra and over the steeps, she walked.
Exhausted with child, at times engulfed with fear, she walked.
Fully aware she needed her band to survive, staying close, she walked.
It is the story as old as human kind,
The spirit emerges of the feminine divine.
 
Across the deserts, mountains and valleys, she walked.
Absorbing knowledge old and new, she contributes to her bands existence.
Her hearth mate transforms her sons to men, together they walk.
She tends her fire from the Nile to the Rhine.
Her stories told through myth and lore-her spirit to define.
Like Mother Earth she too gives life, blessed be, she is divine.
 
Over centuries, her skills refined as into the new world she walked.
Loving, working, learning, dancing, weeping-interdependent, they walked.
Arriving now in modern time,
She grapples with the struggles of human kind,
and joining with her masculine and feminine counterparts,
They move together toward a better new tomorrow using intelligence and heart.
 
So look into her eyes, her soul and you will see,
a spark kindled by all the ancestors who ever were,
And another spark that will be passed to those who are yet to be.
With steps that lead into the future, bravely, into space and time, she walks.
She is the evolving spirit of the feminine divine. 

This space awaits a photo or poem or news or reminiscence from you, when you're ready. Email your contributions to the office.
Happy March birthdays!!! Best wishes to Mathew B, Jasmine, Allen, Iola and any others celebrating your special day this month.
March 2019 services

March 24
Speaker: Jon Prescott
Celebrant: Matt Bianconi
Finding Freedom
Jonathan Prescott, a Buddhist monk and founder of Wise Caring, will present a sermon with a theme of Finding Freedom. He will talk about the nature of liberation and how to foster it in your everyday life. Jonathon
speaks frequently about finding the happiness that is always nearby and will help us do so this Sunday.  

  March 31
Speaker: Victoria Poling
Celebrant: Peggy Bissell
Utopian Visions and Practical Impacts
We'll explore movements in Universalism of the Early 20th Century ranging from spiritualist communications with ancestors to moderate social reform.
Come and learn so much more in this, our fourth installment of this year's “UU 101” series.
Upcoming Family Promise Event To all of you out there who might be interested in helping out with our upcoming Family Promise dutes on March 31/April 1 : On March 31, a group of up to 14 Family Promise guests will arrive at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Vernon. One group of SUUF volunteers will be responsible for providing and serving their dinner and otherwise helping our guests who are currently without homes. After dinner the guests will get settled in their rooms and SUUF volunteers will clean up the kitchen.  

A second small number of SUUF volunteers will spend the night at the church, setting out food for breakfast or sandwiches early the following morning. At 7 a.m.or earlier, guests will leave via provided van or personal vehicle to either a job or other activity at the Day Center in Sedro Woolley. SUUF volunteers do a little clean-up, lock the church door and go home. That ends our responsibilities. 

This is a short picture of our Family Promise duties but it's an important job that doesn't take much time or effort and you might meet, and help, new friends. We won't know until the Thursday just before our evening starts but the maximum number of guests is always no more than 14 guests. We have a great helper, Sharon Johnson, who keeps us informed of who and what we can expect. Overall, this is a simple but very important short-term help that makes life better for many people. 

We are also looking for two people who would be willing to spend Monday night at the church. Comfortable cots and blankets are provided. If you would be willing to do any of these activities - make dinner, clean up counters and dishes, put out breakfasts, etc. - contact Patti Young or Pat Young. We will have a short meeting at SUUF after a Sunday service to let people know what's expected if they don't know and answer any questions. Thanks so much for participating in this great activity.
General Assembly is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association. Attendees worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process. Anyone may attend; congregations must certify annually to send voting delegates. The 2019 General Assembly will be June 19-23 in Spokane, Washington.
Nancy B. Miller is offering an interactive class on the 7 principles based on Rev. Bruce Davis , "A String of Pearls", An introduction to the UU Principles and Purposes. This class will be on the 2nd Sudays following coffee hour.
It began Oct. 2018 and will continue for seven second Sundays omitting the second Sunday in Dec.

Our Fifth Unitarian Universlaist Principle...........
"We covenant to affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the Democratic process within our congregations and society at large" It is this search that we will explore together. Please join us.

The meaning of the word "conscience" has evolved dramatically in the last thousand years. It is derived from the Latin, consciere, which means literally to "know with". The original meaning of the word was to know something with another person, as in shared knowledge or a shared secret. By the fourteenth century, its meaning has had evolved to imply "inward knowledge", distinct from knowledge that may be discovered in texts. Conscience began to denote the whole of mental life, including reasoning, thinking, and ruminating within oneself. For a time the notion of conscience and consciousness were nearly equivalent, and the old English word inwit, meaning the knowing within, was synonymous with conscience.

Conscience is the source from which our ethical actions emerge, yet your take on right and wrong may differ from mine. There would be no need to speak of the "right" of conscience if we didn't have some variability among us as to what is good or true. I may appropriately assert my view of the good, but not in a way that overshadows your own view of the good. This is akin to the free and responsible search for truth and meaning of our fourth principle, by which I must not let my search violate yours.

Please come and share your current thoughts on how you feel connected or not to each of the 7 Principles as they are each individually discussed.
Looking forward to your sharing and connecting.
May you be blessed with wisdom,
Nancy B. Miller
The Covenant Circle discusses periodical and book and news. Lately the topics have centered on major socioeconomic issues of the times. The discussion is lively and the spirit is convivial.

They meet every Thursday afternoon at 1:30 at Haggen on Division Street, except the second Thursday of the month, when they convene over lunch somewhere at 1:00. Call Joy Lindberg (360-424-8090) for further information.
New email address:
 skagituu@gmail.com
The Board of Trustees meets the first Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 8:00 p. m. Any member may attend and observe the meetings, and all members are welcome.
Office Administrator, Newsletter : Claire Phillips skagituu@gmail.com Hours: Tue. & Thur. 12-4 pm
Worship Team Leader : Sally Riggers suufmusic@gmail.com Board contact: Rosemary Stevens rr_stevens@comcast.net