Easter Plants

 Please help decorate the sanctuary for Easter by ordering a plant for $8.  Marcy Klein and Marti Eggers will be taking plant orders through Sunday, March 29th.   

 Please specify whether you want to take the plant home with you after the Easter service or want to donate it to a member of the home congregation. If you'd like to dedicate the plant in memory of or in honor of someone, we'll list his/her name in the Easter Sunday Order of Service. Also, if you'd like to deliver a plant to someone, we could use your help!

Social Justice

Social justice is an important component of life at First Universalist.  We invite you to join Eric Van Dusen on March 22 to learn more about our social justice work .  We will meet in the Adult Lounge from 11:45-12:45.  Child care will be available.

Path to Membership

Have you been coming to First Universalist for a while and feel that you have found a spiritual home here?  If you are considering formally becoming a member of our congregation, we invite you to attend a Path to Membership class on Saturday, April 11, from 9:30-12:30.  We will meet in the Clara Barton lounge  for a tasty breakfast, then spend time together exploring the meaning of membership.  

Those deciding to become members will be formally welcomed into the congregation on New Member Sunday, April 12.  Childcare will be available if requested.  Please contact Nancy Gaede (256-2611) to sign up for the Path class and to make child care arrangements. THE DEADLINE FOR BOTH IS SUNDAY, APRIL 5.           

This Week at First Universalist

Thank you for keeping us updated, both when you schedule events and when you need to cancel one!  Please continue to do so.  Send news of your events to office@uuroc.org; or call 546-2826.

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

RECYCLING: The church hauler does not take our recycling. Please help by taking the blue bins home. There's a signup sheet in the lounge, on the small stand-up bulletin board near the cabinets. See Karen Dau with questions.  Thanks so much!  

COFFEE: Our church is now purchasing fair traded, organically grown coffee from the Coffee Connection, with three locations in Rochester. Its mission is to empower women in recovery from drug addiction as well as teach job skills. A win-win UU value!

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY TO MEET PEOPLE AT FIRST UNIVERSALIST?  Why not usher?  The duties are easy:  greet people at the sanctuary entrances and hand out order of service; take up the offering; count those attending; give the joys and sorrows cards to the minister; count the offering and process checks after the service.  This would not be an every Sunday duty. Contact Karl Abbott karl47@frontiernet.net, 256-2611.

EASTMAN LUNCHTIME CONCERT SERIES: Concerts are held in the sanctuary each Thursday at 12:15 pm. They are free and open to the public.

SAVE THE DATE:

NOW-APRIL 19: LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Our annual stewardship campaign is here!  We will begin soliciting pledges next week and will conclude the campaign on April 19^th with an old fashioned pie fest in the Clara Barton Lounge following the church service. Please watch for a stewardship mailing, and please let your voice be heard by making a financial contribution to First Universalist for 2015-2016.

MARCH 20: EQUINOX VESPERS: On Friday, March 20th, at 7 pm, there will be an evening, contemplative service to welcome the coming of spring. This is a short (about 1/2 hour) service of singing and silent meditation. Candles of hope or intention for the spring may be lit throughout the service. Song leaders will guide us; all are welcome, no singing experience required.

MARCH 22: LUUNCH BUUNCH: Sunday, March 22, 12:30 pm at Arnett Cafe, 322 Arnett Blvd. "Warm welcome, Southern food." (D&C July 2014) Everyone is welcome!

MARCH 26: RAIHN is holding a special session at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 25 Westminster Rd, on Wednesday, March 25th at 6:30 pm.This will be an interactive discussion for learning more about the issues our families are facing that shape their experiences, such as culture, trauma and poverty. It is also a chance to share your RAIHN stories and experiences with other volunteers. All are invited! RSVP to Jen Canning (coordinator@raihn.org, 585-506-9050 Day Center, 585-469-0912 cell)

MARCH 27-29: DISTRICT ASSEMBLY will be March 27-28, 2015 in Niagara Falls. This year's theme is "Deep Roots, Broad Wings". If interested, please contact Tom Williams.

MARCH 29: BOOK GROUP: The March book will be The Road From Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway. There are multiple library copies. This autobiography highlights growing up in Australia in the 1930's. We will meet March 29, the LAST Sunday in March, at noon, in the Adult Lounge.

APRIL 1: TENEBRAE SERVICE: On Wednesday, April 1, at 7:00 in the Sanctuary. "Tenebrae" is Latin for "shadows." This is a contemplative service of readings, hymns, and instrumental music centered on the theme of sacred darkness-- the darkness that is the pathway to the hope and light of Easter. Lights are extinguished throughout the service, until at its close, only that of the chalice is left. (Please note, near the end of the service there is a sharp noise known as a strepitus -- a symbolic sound of lamentation.) This is an opportunity to honor the parts of our lives that are shadowed by loss, and the mystery of healing. 

APRIL 5-12: RAIHN HOST WEEK: First Universalist Church will host temporarily homeless families with help from St. Mary's, Church of Love, and Aldersgate. If you haven't attended training for RAIHN, you can still volunteer to help with set up, clean up, and launder bedding. If you're unsure what a specific task involves, ask us about shadowing a seasoned volunteer. To volunteer or to ask questions, contact Chris DeGolyer (chrisdeg@frontiernet.net or 461-3616) or Marti Eggers.