Upcoming Events

• Friday, June 14, 7:30pm, Evening Women’s Group ~ on Zoom. Contact Diane Guernsey (dianeguernsey.uu@gmail.com).

• Friday, June 14, 7:30pm, Men’s Group ~ on Zoom and in person at South Church. Contact Paul Gross (pgross@pulsevoices.org).

• Saturday, July 20, 12:15-1:45pm, Reading Black Lives ~ at the Barnes Room at Hastings Public Library. Reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023) by James McBride. See below for book description. Contact Claudia Gisolfi (cgisolfi8@gmail.com).

Upcoming Worship

• Sunday, June 23, 10:00am, “TBA” ~ TBA/UUCHV

• Sunday, June 30, 10:00am, “Declaration of Independence” ~ FUSW Women’s Groups

Reading Black Lives Book Group

Saturday, July 20, 12:15-1:45pm, Hastings Public Library

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (2023). Winner of the National Book Award. A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK. NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, WASHINGTON POST, AND TIME MAGAZINE.

“A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel . . . Charming, smart, heart-blistering, and heart-healing.” —Danez Smith, The New York Times Book Review

“We all need—we all deserve—this vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

Set in 1972 in Pennsylvania, this novel is about small-town secrets and the people who keep them. Workers were digging the foundations for a new development and found a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. When the truth is finally revealed, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.

Volunteer to Lead a Summer Worship Service

As you know, we are sharing summer Sunday services with our fellow UUs in Croton (UU Congregation of the Hudson Valley). FUSW’s services will be held via Zoom. Two of FUSW's Sundays have not yet been claimed-- July 14 and July 28 are still available. If you and/or your FUSW friends would like to present the service on one of those Sundays, please contact Diane Guernsey (dianeguernsey.uu@gmail.com).

Summertime Services

FUSW’s summer services begin Sunday, June 23. We are delighted that once again, we will be sharing the pulpit with Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Hudson Valley (UUCHV). UUCHV’s services will be available at 10:00 a.m. both in person and via streaming on 6/23, 7/7, 7/21, 8/4, 8/18, and 9/1. FUSW will be hosting services (via Zoom only) on 6/30, 7/14, 7/28, 8/11, and 8/25. Links for both the UUCHV service streaming and the FUSW Zoom will be available through The Scoop and on the website the Thursday before each service.

Apply for Early Voting by Mail

On September 20, 2023, Governor Hochul signed Chapter 481 of the Laws of 2023, ushering in the New York Early Mail Voter Act. Effective January 1, 2024, this legislation introduces a new avenue for early voting by mail, applicable to all future elections. Under this law, registered voters can now apply for an early mail ballot individually. Click here for more details and to apply for your early voting ballots to be sent directly to your address.

FUSW Contacts & Information

Questions, Concerns, or Compliments for FUSW? Reach out to any member of our Board of Trustees, fusw.org/board-of-trustees (place cursor over the picture, then right-mouse click to copy the email).

Board of Trustees - The Board usually meets on the third Monday of each month via Zoom at 7:45pm. Click here to join our meeting on Zoom. Meetings are open to any member of FUSW. For confidential matters, non-Board members will be asked to leave temporarily. At the end of the meeting, there will be an open forum, during which non-Board members can speak about topics of concern, limiting remarks to two minutes. To access the minutes from previous meetings, visit the Members page of fusw.org and click on Board Minutes Archive.  

Scheduling Zoom Meetings or Submitting Information for The Scoop and FUSW Calendar - Contact our Administrator, Rina Schunk (admin@fusw.org). For Zoom meetings, please include the purpose and preferred date/time. Articles for The Scoop are due by Wednesday at 10:00am.