Join Us for Worship This Sunday!

June 7 at 10am

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

Mary Beth McNulty & Hallie Getty, 
Worship Associates

Recognition Sunday

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to allow a congregation to hum and strum, to survive and thrive. Each congregational year, thousands of hours are spent embodying who we are, how we are, and what we are. Let’s pay attention, with gratitude as our guide, to this most-amazing effort that is the essence of First UU. We will be welcoming new members of the Society. This is a multi-generational service. Rev. Karen is in the pulpit.



After the service is our Annual Meeting. All are welcome; only Members of the Society can vote.

**There will be a pre-service Community Sing led by Lance C. Smith beginning in the Sanctuary at 9:40am. The livestream will begin at the same time. Whether from the couch or the pew, join in and raise your voice!**



Join us for worship in person in the Sanctuary, or online. The livestream link and order of service will be shared at bit.ly/FUUSBWorship, or visit our YouTube channel.

Following the service, all are welcome to an abbreviated Coffee Hour in the Parlors prior to the Annual Meeting.

While at the Meeting House, anyone is welcome to wear a mask. In the spirit of caring for each other, please stay home if you have any cold or flu symptoms. Thank you.

Children & Youth This Sunday

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

Last Sunday was our last formal faith development for children & youth. Thank you for a wonderful year together! The next two Sundays families will remain in the Sanctuary together for our multigenerational services. Activities for all ages will be available in the back of the Sanctuary during the service. 

The Nursery will be staffed and open for any families who would like to use it. Additionally after Coffee Hour, we are offering supervised fun for children & youth who are staying through Annual Meeting!

Looking Back to Sunday

Here is a link to the video recording of last week's service.

Busy crafting last Sunday!

A glimpse into last Sunday's Chalice Choice Activities for Children & Youth

Latest Minister's Message

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

Here's a Minister's Message with not only Rev. Karen, but Mo, our Family Programs Assistant. If you start the video at 0:43, you'll miss the part that's about last Sunday. Check it out.

End of Year Potluck Picnic- Sun. June 14th

Kim Watkin and Sarah Russell, Co-leaders of the Picnic

We all create the picnic at the end of the Year. Bring a dish, sign up to setup or cleanup. It takes us all the have this wonderful event. 

Bring dishes before the service to the community room kitchen. See you all there.

June 14 - after the service. 

Fill the Gap Campaign

FUUSB Stewardship Team

We’re reaching out to you with an honest assessment of the current state of our congregation’s finances. As we look ahead, we find ourselves facing a gap: our pledges fall about $15,000 short of what our budget requires. That means we need to ask – once again – for your support.

We know that this kind of request is not always easy to receive. Many of you have already given generously, and we are deeply grateful for that. At the same time, sustaining a vibrant, compassionate, and engaged UU community requires all of us, together, to reflect on what we value and how we support it.

If you are able, we ask you to consider increasing your pledge or making a one-time gift. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps close this gap and ensures that the programs, ministries, and connections we cherish can continue to thrive. Filling the gap will require an average additional contribution of just $60 per pledge. We all know that not everybody can make this stretch, so we invite those who have a little more to give a little more. To increase your pledge or to give a one-time gift, please use the Fill the Gap button below, or you can email Christina at xina@uusociety.org.

2026 Annual Meeting Instructions-

In-Person & Zoom

Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance

This year's annual meeting will be held both in-person, at the Meeting House, and on Zoom! If you are a voting member, you should have received the annual meeting warning in the mail. This year, we will be voting on three items:

1. Accept the minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting.

2. Elect candidates for openings on the Board of Trustees, the Officers of the Society, the Nominating Team, and the Endowment Fund Team.

3. Vote on the proposed 2026/2027 Fiscal Year Budget We need to have at least 43 members at the meeting to reach a quorum, so please plan to attend on Sunday, June 7 at 11:20 a.m. If you are attending in-person, you must check-in. Christina will be checking people in prior to the worship service, and then again once the service ends. Anyone is invited to attend, but you must have signed the Membership Book prior to May 11, 2026, to be considered a voting member. Life Members are the only members allowed to vote by absentee ballot; their ballots were mailed directly to their home address, and must be returned by June 6th.

If you plan to attend the meeting on Zoom, use this link: https://bit.ly/3OQUPVM If you do not have internet access, you may call in to the meeting at 1-309-205-3325 .

Meeting ID: 840 6944 6296 

passcode: 508298.

Please note that registration opens at 11:00 a.m. When you check into the Zoom meeting, you will be put into a waiting room. You may be there for a little while; please be patient. Please make sure that your full name is entered on your Zoom window. We will be voting by using the “Raise Your Hand” feature in Zoom. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Zoom, we will walk you through it at the beginning of the meeting. If you have more than one voting member in your household, you may wish to log on to different devices so that we can count both of your votes.

You can find the Summary Budget , Annual Meeting Warning , Annual Report, and last year's Annual Meeting Minutes on our website at uusociety.org/members/meeting-minutes . Please join us on June 8 at 11:20 a.m.! 

Slate of Nominees for Annual Meeting

FUUSB Nominating Committee

Greetings from the FUUSB Nominating Committee! Every year, we prepare a slate of nominees for each of the Society’s elected lay leadership positions. The Committee recruits members of the congregation for open positions, which are then voted on by the Society’s members at each annual meeting. 

Last year, we recognized that we were asking congregants to vote for candidates whom many had never met or otherwise didn’t know. So in the spirit of enhancing our democratic process, we opted this year to include brief bios and photos from all candidates (including existing members who are up for reelection or election to a new position). 

The nominees for this coming fiscal year are included in the Warning notice you should have received by mail. Please use this updated URL to review the proposed lay leader candidates and their bios. You will be prompted to log into Realm to view this content.

Annual Meeting Warning

Submitted by The Nominating Committee 

The congregation is warned that the Annual Meeting of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington will be held on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 11:20 a.m. The meeting will be held both

in-person at the Meeting House and remotely via Zoom at this link https://bit.ly/3OQUPVM

Detailed information on how to participate online will be emailed prior to the meeting date.


The following items of business will be voted on by the membership:


● Accept the minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting, available online at https://uusociety.org/members/meeting-minutes/


● Elect candidates for openings on the Board of Trustees, the Officers of the Society, the nominating Team, and the Endowment Fund Team. see page 2, here. 


● Vote on the proposed 2026/27 budget. A summary of the proposed budget is included with this warning and is also available online at https://uusociety.org/members/meeting-minutes/

All Active Members (people who signed the membership book as of 5/10/2026 and made a pledge and contribution of record in the last year) and all Life Members are eligible to vote.

Nominees can be nominated from the floor with the prior consent of the nominee.

Sign-up Now For Middle School OWL!

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

If a child in your life is entering 7th or 8th grade, or the home-school equivalent, who would benefit from the comprehensive sexuality education provided by the Our Whole Lives program, now is the time to let us know by filling out this OWL Interest Form.

Our OWL coordinator and volunteer facilitators have begun the complicated work of mapping out a schedule for this 26-session series which will begin next fall. The sooner we hear from interested families, the sooner we can solidify that schedule.

Find out more about OWL in general, here. Contact Mary Anthony at OWL@uusociety.org with questions about OWL at FUUSB.

Annual Elmore Campout

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

Elmore State Park 
June 19–21 

One of First UU’s most loved multigenerational gatherings is only a few weeks away! With just two sites left, consider joining other UU friends & families at Elmore State Park for a weekend of play, eating, and community. There will be plenty of time to fellowship, relax, hike, swim, paddle, play games, make s’mores, and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. All activities are optional; just come and share in loads of fun! Daytrippers are welcome!



You can sign up here, or reach out to Chip Patullo at sunergy.vt@gmail.com with any questions. 

Additionally, a congregant in our community is looking to share the space and split the cost of a lean-to for the weekend. She is open to sharing with an individual, couple, or family! If you're interested, please contact Mo (mo@uusociety.org) to learn more. 

Don’t miss the Upcoming Deadline (6/7) for Reduced Rates at UU Weekend at Silver Bay!

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

Comradery, colorful fall scenery, campfires, kids’ programs, canoeing, and culinary pleasures await you at a coveted setting on Lake George from October 9-11, 2026 (with an option of extending your stay until October 12!)


Join the nearly 200 people who have already registered for this weekend, a highlight of the fall season! Like these early registrants, you can receive the lowest rates for the UU Weekend at Silver Bay if you register by June 7th.  Remember – your room, meals from Friday dinner through Sunday (or Monday) lunch, programs, activities, and entertainment are all included in the price. Children under 6 are free and there are substantial discounts for older children and youth.


Access additional information about Silver Bay and UU weekend, including the registration form, the 2025 schedule, and a slide show, at https://albanyuu.org/blog/uu-silver-bay-weekend/