Wednesday, March 17, 2021
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THIS SUNDAY'S
VIRTUAL WORSHIP SERVICE
"Wearing Our Commitments!
T-Shirt Sunday"

Rev. Sue Browning

UUCR & UUFE Zoom Worship Service
March 21, 2021
Do you have a T-Shirt with a logo of a favorite group? Do you have coffee mugs and bumper stickers with favorite sayings? Join Rev. Sue for a service where we'll share with one another how we share our commitments in public spaces. Please wear your favorite T-shirt or have your coffee mug ready!

Pictures of T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, signs welcomed in advance! Please email the picture to the UUCR office email or to Rev. Sue by Thursday, March 18.
Join us by clicking the Zoom worship service link here on Sunday, March 21 before 10 am, immediately followed by UUCR & UUFE Coffee Hour. Please sign in by 9:50 am so we can begin the worship service promptly at 10 am.

If you have a joy or sorrow for the March 21 worship service, please share it during the discussion or if you're not planning to attend, email the UUCR office at UUCR email by Friday, March 19 at noon.
Come Join Us for Coffee Hour
Please come join us for UUCR & UUFE Coffee Hour at 11:00 am, on Sunday, March 21 immediately following the worship service (continuation of the worship service's Zoom link.)

It's a time to see and talk to one another, and the next best thing to being there!
Helpful Links
Upcoming Events
Mar 19 - Social Concerns and Social Justice meeting via Zoom - see below for more info.

Mar 20 - Spring Equinox 🌷
Sock Burning Party - See below for more about this event.

Mar 21 - T-Shirt Sunday Zoom Worship Service UUCR & UUFE

Mar 28 - YouTube Worship Service UUCR & UUFE

Apr 4 - Sunday Worship Service

Apr 9 - Folk Music Zoom Concert FREE - See below for more info.

Apr 14 - Board Meeting

Apr 17 - Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day - see below for more info.
If you know of another link or event that should be added, please contact
the UUCR office by email or phone 410-778-3440. Thanks!
Upcoming
Virtual Worship Services
Sunday, March 28

“Dancing With Anxiety”
YouTube Worship service
Rev. Abbey Tennis, guest speaker and
Annie Lavin, worship service leader

Spring has arrived bringing optimism and hope for many. Yet for others, fear and anxiety remain. In today’s service, Rev. Abbey Tennis, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, presents a sermon titled, “Dancing with Anxiety.” She offers ways to harness Anxiety’s power and use it as a spiritual tool in counteracting fear.  Rev. Tennis ends with a personal story that will change your perspective and touch your heart. In this service we will include a message of hope from Passover along with music and song for joy and healing. Come join us!
Minister's Column
Tell Me About That T-Shirt? 
This coming Sunday our virtual service will be a “T-Shirt” Sunday. This is a tradition I've adapted from my home congregation, where on one Sunday each year, everyone would wear a t-shirt and come to the mic to briefly share something about why the shirt was important to them.

We generally wear our t-shirts, hats and the like as labels when we’re out and about in the community. “Tell me about your t-shirt?” opens conversations about experiences and values. Yet, this year we’ve had fewer opportunities to connect in public spaces. I sense these informal interactions are part of what we're missing after a long year of social distancing.  

To help us foster our connections this week, you are invited to send to the office a picture of a t-shirt (coffee mug, hat, or bumper sticker) that is meaningful to you and we’ll include the images and stories in the service this Sunday.
 
As a start, I looked through our closets and cupboards and found a few images Bill and I might share. 
 
You'll see sports teams and colleges represented. (Our family has filled out NCAA brackets for decades!) There is Bill’s "Regional Master Naturalist" t-shirt. (Did you know he's focused on the overpopulation of deer?) And there is the coffee mug with a picture of Bill and his siblings. (The photo was taken in NH on the day of their Mom’s memorial service.) I even found a Bell Atlantic mug, a throwback to my earlier career. (A much longer story!) 
 
What are your stories? 

At the service on Sunday we’ll do our best to remind one another of our varied interests and commitments - to recreate a bit of what we are missing. To help this work, please email a picture to the office by Thursday!
 
In connection,
Rev. Sue 
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Keeping in Touch
Betty Kerr would like everyone to know her cell phone number if you need to reach her: 410-739-4939.
Come to a Sock Burning Party!
Celebrate the
Spring Equinox
on Saturday
March 20, 5 pm
UUCR Parking Lot
914 Gateway Dr.
Chestertown
 
Time for our usual Salute to Spring, but this year we will hold our gathering at UUCR (*while following CDC's Covid-19 guidelines.)

To remain "earth friendly," socks that are to be burned should only be made of cotton or wool — please no synthetic materials.

What’s our schedule?
  • 5 - 5:15 pm – Arrive at UUCR, sample some libation and finger food
  • 5:30 - 6 pm – Enjoy a short ceremony marking the (most welcome) Change of Season, followed by the burning of those grungy ol’ socks!
  • 6 pm onward, Observing social distancing guidelines, gather round the fire and visit with friends, old and new!

What should I bring?
  • Your mask for wearing when not eating!
  • Finger food to share – we will have lots of utensils for serving and small plates
  • Wine, beer or non-alcoholic beverages of choice – we will supply box wine
  • Socks that you don’t mind saying goodbye to
  • Optimism and good cheer!
  • A portable chair if you’d like to sit
 
Can I attend this event virtually?
  • Sorry, there will not be a Zoom broadcast

Is there a rain date?
  • Yes, Sunday, March 21, 5 pm
 
Do I need to RSVP?
  • No, no need to reserve a space; just bring a dish to share.
 
Save the date!
See you March 20.
Joe Jencks
in Zoom Concert

Friday, April, 9th
7:30 - 9 pm

FREE
hosted by the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark, DE
All we want is for you to have a good time.
To join us contact worship@uufn.org and we'll send you the link.
Joe Jencks is a 22-year veteran of the international folk music circuit, an award-winning songwriter and a celebrated vocalist based in the Chicago area. He is known for his performances of musical beauty, social consciousness and spiritual exploration. Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel. Co-founder of the harmony trio Brother Sun, Jencks has penned several #1 folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor. He has become a fan favorite throughout North America and beyond. Joe has performed and preached in over 200 Unitarian Universalist congregations in the US, Canada, and Ireland and he is also a dual US-Irish citizen. Jencks has also been a Cultural Ambassador with the US State Department.

To learn more about Joe, please visit: www.joejencks.com. To sample his music, some of his previous concerts are available on YouTube.
Household Hazardous Waste
Drop-off Day
Saturday, April 17
8 am - 2 pm, rain or shine at the
Nicholson Transfer Station
Free to Midshore County residents (Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties). For further information about the event, and acceptable drop-off items, please click here.
Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee
Social Concerns Social Justice Meeting
If you want to know more about racial justice, homelessness, or legislative advocacy for the minimum wage or gun control, we invite you to participate in the next Social Concerns and Social Justice meeting via Zoom on Friday, March 19 at 10 am. We encourage lively discussion and new perspectives. If you're interested, please contact Lynn Dolinger for details at lynn.thirdwish@gmail.com.
New Home, New Hope
We want to share the joy of the Kent Attainable Housing's first family in their new home. After many months of planning and construction, Randy, Michelle and their three children are now enjoying their new home near Garnett Elementary School in Chestertown. A great team of UUCR volunteers and donors helped the family furnish their new home and we hope to continue the partnership as they transition into their new home and life.
Public Information Act – Personnel Records – Investigations of Law Enforcement Officers (Anton’s Law)
Many of you may remember the tragedy and resulting public outcry after the death of Anton Black, a nineteen-year-old from Greensboro, who died after an encounter with police in 2018. Legislation to open up officers’ discipline records to the public and other measures to increase police accountability is now moving through the General Assembly, entitled “Public Information Act – Personnel Records – Investigations of Law Enforcement Officers (Anton’s Law.)” Last week the Senate passed the bill, and now it will go to the House of Delegates, where it is likely to be considered by the full House this week. Here’s a link giving more information about Anton’s Law and other police reform bills being considered; 
 
 
Action Item #4 in our Strategic Plan Goal III, “Undertake a church-wide focus and community activism regarding racism and racial equality,” for this year is to advocate for the passage of Anton’s Law. Please contact the offices of our State Delegates in District 36, either through phone calls, emails, or letters, to express your support for this important bill, HB 120. 
 
Delegate Jay Jacobs
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3449, (301) 858-3449
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3449 (toll free)
 
Delegate Steven Arentz
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3543, (301) 858-3543
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3543 (toll free)
 
Delegate Jeff Ghrist
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3555, (301) 858-3555
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3555 (toll free)
fax: (410) 841-3434, (301) 858-3434
 
Thank you!!
Amy Warner,
Co-chair of the Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee

For All Seasons Outreach Collection
We're all experiencing stress and anxiety in the world today, and many need support services to cope. Four in ten adults have reported symptoms of anxiety or depression this past year compared to one in ten in 2019. And, certainly, our children and essential workers are particularly vulnerable during this crisis.  This month our Outreach Collection will support "For All Seasons"a non-profit counseling service that provides behavioral health and rape crisis services on the Eastern Shore for families, adults and children. With an unprecedented number of folks in need of services, the Social Concerns Social Justice Committee is asking you to consider giving a generous contribution that will help provide these services for those who are unable to pay for them on their own. I invite you to visit the organization's website, forallseasonsinc.org for more information about services and locations. You can contribute by sending a check to the church office, made out to UUCR specifying "For All Seasons Outreach Collection" in the memo line, or you can donate online at the church website using the "Donate" button (click here ) and "Custom Amount", specifying "For All Seasons Outreach Collection" in the comment section. Any questions, please contact Lynn Dolinger, SCSJ Co-Chair, lynn.thirdwish@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for your continuing and generous support of our church's outreach mission.
Pastoral Care and Connection
We are here for you!  We will focus on staying directly connected with our members and friends, especially those who may need assistance or support. The caring teams from our congregation is staying in touch, but if you need to reach out, please be in touch with any of the contacts below to stay connected (and see additional contacts below for RE families).
 
Please know your congregation is here. We can help you find connections. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know what is helpful for you in this time. 

Rev. Sue Browning, and the Pastoral Care Associates: Kevin Brien,
Gayle Folger, Nancy Holland, and Vida Morley
or for more information, contact:
Darlene Wiggers (Office) p: 410-778-3440 | e:uuofchesterriver@gmail.com

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

Mar 14 Neenah Newell
Mar 18 Jackie Mathwich
Mar 30 Jan Sprinkel
We want to help celebrate your birthday! If we didn't include your birthday, please contact Darlene at UUCR office email
Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (410) 778-3440