WEEKLY UPDATE |June 19-25, 2022
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June 19, 2022 | 10:00am
"Salt"
Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein
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Worship with us at 10:00am
on Fisherman's Beach in Swampscott!
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Gather at 10am on Fisherman’s Beach for our traditional gathering on the shore. Please bring your beach chairs, sunscreen and hats! (There will be a limited number of folding chairs available.)
Fisherman's Beach is that little beach on Humphrey Street, next to the Swampscott Yacht Club, with the pier and launching ramp. There is a parking lot and street parking.
For those of you who cannot attend, but would like to contribute to the morning offertory, you may donate online: uucgl.org/donate.
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Information about our Sunday, June 26 General Assembly Sunday Service "Meet The Moment: Reimagining Radical Faith Community" will be available in next week's Weekly Update. This service, held at GA in Portland Oregon, will be available online at 12:30pm Eastern Time.
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Special Collection for Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund
The recipient of UUCGL’s special collection during our June Sunday services will be the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund, to support MA residents and women who are coming to MA for an abortion. There are several ways to give: our plate cash, checks payable to Eastern MA Abortion Fund, checks payable to UUCGL with Eastern MA Abortion Fund on the memo line, and online donations at uucgl.org/donate (specify Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund on the form).
For more information about Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund:
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Did you miss a Sunday service, or want to watch a sermon segment again?
Visit our website Sermons & Service Segments here. To view a past service or a sermon segment on our YouTube channel, click here.
Our Annual Meeting and Worship Service will be available soon to view on our YouTube Channel. Church members may contact the church office for the link.
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A Message from Rev. Vicki |
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In the Spirit
It has been such a happy development to be walking a dog around my neighborhood again. I adopted Dibley from the same rescue organization that I got my cat, Bendigo, from in November. Dibs draws me into lots of the kinds of casual conversations and interactions that create good neighborly relations; the kind that so many of us missed terribly during the worst of the pandemic. Beach roses are growing like crazy in many yards, and the towns and cities are busy with farmer’s markets, Pride and Juneteenth celebrations, graduations, and festivals. We return to the beaches and backyards. The pandemic is still a reality but life goes on in many beautiful and accustomed ways again.
As we bring another program year to a close, my greatest question to the congregation is about how we will come back together in the coming year. I hear many comments and questions about what “the church” should or will do to come back from diminished attendance and engagement, and in each case I respond that there is no “church” that is not its people. The office can send out notices, announcements, updates, Facebook posts, website listings, and promotional materials but in the end, the community creates community. You do it by committing to life together and by reaching out to those you hope will do so with you. It has always been thus, and always will be. How will you engage with UUCGL in the months and year to come? Will you review and hold the covenant close to your heart? Will you not only attend, but support, the church’s worship and other programs? Will you be part of the ministry of hospitality? Will you continue making pastoral calls, and consider taking a pastoral caregivers training in the fall? Will you commit to reading the Weekly Update and following the news of the church?
I will be on vacation for the month of July. Our Minister of Community Life and Learning, Chris Scheller, will be available for your calls and to lead the Summer Sundays.
In August, I will be back on stage with the Apollinaire Theatre Company of Chelsea, playing The Wizard in an outdoor, immersive, bilingual comic contemporary adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” called “Y Tu Perrito Tambien (And Your Little Dog Too).” Visit www.apollinairetheatre.com for more details and to get tickets. The show runs Friday and Saturday evenings the first three weeks of August.
In faith, hope and love,
Rev. Vicki
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How to Contact the Minister |
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When and How to Contact the Minister
This is just a periodic reminder that your minister is available to you and loves hearing from you. Some people are comfortable getting in touch, some people are in regular touch because of their involvement in church, and others are unsure of when they should call the minister. Here are some suggestions:
A good time to call your minister is when… READ MORE
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June Faith Development
This Sunday is a transition Sunday, of sorts. We will have our annual beach service for all ages, and while there will be no separate program for children and youth that morning, I understand that it isn’t necessary, as all enjoy the experience, perhaps each in their own way. This also marks our summer break from faith development programming for children and youth, which will pick back up in the fall.
Saturday, June 25th, come join us at the North Shore Pride Parade & Festival in Salem! We will be marching with other communities of faith behind a "People of Faith Marching For Pride" banner. Please join the group at Shetland Industrial Park by 11:15 to gather to march at noon. Eileen and I will be hosting a UUCGL table with games and prizes. Please drop by and say “hi” if you'll be there.
Our Summer Sundays series kicks off on July 10th with the theme of the heart, conceived of as both a physical and spiritual organ. The Summer Sundays will include a liturgy of healing, sharing, and meditation, like last year. I will be leading worship that Sunday, and after worship, Clem Schoenebeck will offer us a second poetry-writing workshop. All are invited to bring in a poem to workshop with the group. I hope you can join us!
Thank you again to all of you for helping this congregation offer the best of our shared ministry together this year, and I remain ever so grateful to be a part of this wonderful community.
Abundant Blessings,
Rev. Chris Scheller
Minister of Community Life and Learning
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UUCGL Pride Parade & Festival in Salem |
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This is going to be the largest North Shore Pride celebration in its history! We will be marching with other communities of faith behind a "People of Faith Marching For Pride" banner. Please join us at Shetland Industrial Park by 11:15 to gather to march at noon. Check in at the front desk and they will direct you to our group. If someone can bring the UUCGL banner, please let Rev. Vicki know.
Eileen Cummings and Rev. Chris Scheller will be hosting a UUCGL table with games and prizes. Please contact Chris Scheller to let him know if you'll be there so he can coordinate!
We also invite you to join us on Thursday, June 23, 7-8:30pm for an Interfaith Pride Service, "Proud To Be Back," Tabernacle Church, 50 Washington Street, Salem.
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UUCGL Holiday Office Schedule |
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Church office closed
Monday, June 20
Juneteenth Federal Holiday
Juneteenth National Independence Day falls on Sunday, June 19, 2022, and is a federal holiday observed on Monday, June 20. The newest Federal holiday was signed into law on June 17, 2021, by President Joe Biden to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. following the conclusion of the Civil War. The day has been celebrated annually around the country since 1865 when a Union General arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the enslaved African Americans that the Confederacy had lost the war and that they were free as per the Emancipation Proclamation, which was inked in 1863.
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Summer Garden Volunteers Needed!
The children in the RE program planted veggies and herbs in the church's raised beds this spring and they need your help keeping the garden tended over the summer! Tasks include watering as needed and harvesting whatever you'd like to enjoy. Sign up to be a garden volunteer at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0848ABAE2FA2F85-uucgl2. Thank you!
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Reopening Task Force Recent Update
The Reopening Task Force met recently and discussed the recent rise in Covid cases, including cases within our congregation. We urge everyone to continue to exercise caution, even as we begin resuming some of our "normal" activities. A few reminders as we move forward here at UUCGL:
- Masks are not required but are appreciated.
- If you have been exposed to someone who tests positive, please wear a well-fitting mask at church for ten full days after exposure.
- If you test positive and have no symptoms, please stay home for five days and wear a well-fitting mask for ten days.
- If you test positive and have symptoms, please stay home for at least five full days after your symptoms improve and continue to wear a well-fitting mask for ten full days after the positive test.
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Poetry-Writing Workshop
Art & Spirituality series continues!
Sunday, July 10 | 11:30am-1:00pm
Fellowship Room at UUCGL
Award-winning resident poet, Clem Schoenebeck, will present another poetry-writing workshop on Sunday, July 10, at 11:30am. All are invited to bring in a poem to workshop with the group. I hope you can join us!
We will begin after Fellowship Hour to learn the “how to” on the spiritual practice of writing poetry. Clemens Carl Schoenebeck has had poems published in The Aurorean, Midwest Poetry Review, Caribbean Writer, Ibbetson Street Press, Small Brushes/Adept Press and other publications. Four of his poems had been nominated for The Pushcart Prize.
Please RSVP to [email protected] so that we can plan appropriately. This event is open to the larger community and so please feel free to bring a friend and spread the word!
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Ways to Help Our Community |
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Meal Bags for My Brother's Table
Tuesday, June 21 | 6:30-8:30pm
UUCGL Parish Hall
Join us Tuesday, June 21, at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall as we make lunch and dinner bags for My Brother's Table. The bags are given out to the guests to supplement their main meal. We are making 75 lunch bags and 175 dinner bags. It takes about 10 of us a little over an hour to make 225 total bags. If you are interested in helping out, please email Michael at [email protected].
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Food Insecurity in Our Local Communities
How can you help?
Please visit the Social Justice Ministry Team's page here to read about how to contribute food to our partners St. Stephen's Food Pantry and My Brother's Table. Sending a check (or donating online) is very helpful, as is volunteering to unload the truck from the Greater Boston Food Bank at St. Stephen's and helping guests get their bags filled. There are also community refrigerators in Lynn that you can fill with fresh produce and Anchor Food Pantry in Swampscott that also makes it very easy to volunteer.
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Green Sanctuary Ministry Team -
Our Environment and Opportunities
to Take Action
Would you like to do more for our environment? Would you like to find ways that you can help? The Green Sanctuary Ministry Team offers a list of organizations that support the environment and offer opportunities to take action, click here for their resource list. For more information about current and past activities of the UUCGL Green Sanctuary Ministry Team, click here.
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UUCGL Church History Ministry Team
The Church History Team's mission is to preserve, organize, and make available pertinent materials relating to our church. Materials include church relics and documents, such as minister's sermons, annual reports, minutes of the church board, ministry teams and church committees and other church records. The Team meets on the first Sunday of each month. Anyone interested in preserving and organizing important church records is welcome to the meetings.
Experience the Lydia Breed retrospective at the Lynn Museum!
To learn more about Lydia Breed click here. Lydia was a long-time church member and a founding member of the Boston Print Makers. In a recent printmaking class at MassArt, students wanted to initiate a Wikipedia page devoted to Lydia's works and values. If you have anything about Lydia's works and social justice values, appropriate for the Wiki, or the Lynn Museum archives and exhibit, please pass it along to Anne Principe who will get it to the correct people. You can also speak to, or pass on information about Lydia, to Kelly and Tracy Slater.
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Pledge Payments
The church’s fiscal year ends on June 30. Please have your payments for this fiscal year in to the church by the close of day on Tuesday, June 28. If you still owe on this fiscal year’s pledge commitment, and you are not able to fulfill your pledge until July, please note in the memo line that it is for fiscal year 2021-22.
There are three easy options of paying:
- Send your check to the church (101 Forest Avenue, Swampscott, MA 01907).
- Set up a bill-pay system with your bank and have the check sent to the above address.
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Donate online. To donate online, click here for our website and click “Donate” in the upper right-hand corner. After you fill in the information page, click “Submit.” You will then be offered options to pay through your PayPal account, if you have one, or through your credit card.
Thank you for your support!
Reimbursement Requests
If you have outstanding check requests for reimbursement, please mail them to the office with appropriate receipts and committee/ministry team chair approval by June 29 or email the request and scanned receipts to the business administrator at [email protected]. Thank you.
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Stay Connected with UUCGL
Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or if we can help. Click below to email one of us. Stay well, stay connected!
The Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein, Rev. Chris Scheller, DCLL, Clare Campbell, UUCGL President, Elizabeth Muller, Business Administrator, Angie Kern, Administrative Assistant, Kenneth Griffith, Director of Music, Chris Hansen, Grants Coordinator
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Contact Information Reminder |
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Does the Office Know Your Current
Contact Information?
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Please keep your name, address, phone number, and e-mail current in the church office. E-mail Elizabeth Muller with your correct information.
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Not sure what information we have on file for you?
Call Elizabeth at:
781-595-8836, ext. 10
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The next issue: June 26, 2022
Deadline: Wednesday, June 22, 10am
Deadline for the July Summer Issue: Monday, June 27, 10am
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Recurring UUCGL Programming |
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Meditation
Group
Mornings
7:30-7:50am Zoom
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All are welcome to be a part of a small group ministry to practice mindfulness meditation. Now more than ever, our connections with each other are vital to our sense of calm and hope. Click here for sign up, more information.
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Dialogue
Group
2nd & 4th Sunday each month 5pm
Zoom
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"Dialogue" is a way of practicing deep listening that enables us to share personal experiences and thoughts in a way that collectively builds a more expansive understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Dialogue and the discursive meditation are part of the method of Cafh, a path of spiritual unfolding. Click for more information about the discursive meditation, and Cafh here. You can connect to the Zoom meeting here.
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Wisdom
Circle
2nd Wednesday each month
12-1:30pm
at UUCGL
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A monthly gathering geared toward seniors to share the perspectives and life experiences of older age. All are welcome, even if you have not participated before. More information can and be found on our website in our Lifelong Learning page. For meeting information contact Gloria Kozlosky or Ruth Griffin.
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Sunday Schedule
Fellowship Hour: 11am
(781) 595-8836
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