WEDNESDAY, February 10, 2021
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THIS SUNDAY'S VIRTUAL SERVICE
"Ages and Stages"
 
led by

Rev. Sue Browning
 
UUCR & UUFE Zoom Service

February 14, 2021

From our earliest birthdays, we know that we grow and change. We age. Is there anything you know today that you wished you’d learned earlier? How might we share these lessons with one another? At this service with Rev. Sue Browning, we’ll reflect on our most-valued learnings and how they help shape and re-shape our lives and communities.

Join us by clicking the Zoom service link here on Sunday, February 14 before 10 am, immediately followed by UUCR & UUFE Coffee Hour. Please sign in by 9:50 am so we can begin the service promptly at 10 am.

If you have a joy or sorrow for the February 14 service, please share it during the discussion or if you're not planning to attend, email the UUCR office at UUCR email by Friday, February 12 at noon.
You're Invited to Coffee Hour on Sunday!
Please come join us for UUCR & UUFE Coffee Hour at 11:00 am, on Sunday, February 14 immediately following the service (continuation of the service's Zoom link).

It's a time to see and talk to one another, and the next best thing to being there!
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

Feb 11 Dick Brockmeyer
Feb 24 Philip Dutton
Feb 25 Les Palmer
Feb 27 Laura Mitchell

We want to help celebrate your birthday! If we didn't include your February birthday, please contact Darlene at UUCR office email

UPCOMING VIRTUAL SERVICES


Sunday, February 21

"Siding with Love"
a national UU service
YouTube Service


Sunday, February 28

"About the 'Love Your Enemy' Thing"
Rev. Sue Browning
Zoom Service
Minister's Column
Small Acts of Kindness
“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.” --- Morgan Freeman
 
As we head towards Valentine’s Day, I’ve been noticing little acts of care and kindness.
 
I am grateful for the grocery clerk who noted one of my purchases was "buy one, get one free’' and reminded me I’d missed picking up the free item. I appreciated my neighbor who called to tell me my car door was not fully shut. Bill and I have enjoyed recent emails from friends thanking us for our holiday card. 
 
These are all examples of small gestures that took just a little time. All were moments of connection – a reminder of our shared humanity. 
 
I like Morgan Freeman's quote above, yet wonder, were these acts of kindness random? Each was random in its spontaneity. And too, each felt intentional. Those who extended these small kindnesses I imagine are people who do so over and over each day. These are folks I sense who are intentionally kind as their "way of being" in the world. Their acts of kindness feel anything but random.
 
If you google, "Random Acts of Kindness" you'll pull up lists upon lists of small actions that make a difference: A few examples: “Give an unexpected compliment”… “Scrape the ice off a neighbor’s windshield after you’ve finished doing yours” …. “Write a letter of encouragement to a child you know is having a hard time”…”Slow down so someone can merge in front of you in traffic.” 

What one extra act of kindness might you extend this Valentine's week?

Being kind helps us see further opportunities for connection. Being kind reminds us of what we can do in times when the world's challenges seem overwhelming. Being kind changes our outlook. 

Being kind is a part of changing the world.

Happy Valentine's Day,  
Rev. Sue
Feb 11 - Zoom Meeting 7:00
Q & A Proposed Budget

Feb 14 - Zoom Service UUCR & UUFE, Coffee Hour follows

Feb 14 - Cookie Giveaway

Feb 15 - Final Day for Winter
Shelter Donation

Feb 17 - Board Meeting

Feb 21 - YouTube Service

Feb 21 - Zoom Coffee Hour

Feb 25 - Zoom Book
Discussion

Feb 28 - Zoom Service
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!
Pledge Drive Committee
UUCR's Fiscal Year 2022 Pledge Drive
Has Begun! 

  • Watch the YouTube presentation of the proposed budget

  • Join the Zoom question/answer meeting this Thursday, February 11, at 7 pm (click here)

  • Review your Pledge packet and return the Pledge form


Renewing our Faith, Renewing our Connections,
Renewing our Commitment

Outreach and Communications Committee

YOUR ATTENTION NEEDED!

If you haven’t already done so, please respond to our email questionnaire of February 5 (from uuofchesterriver@gmail.com) asking you to let us know if you would like us to bring some homemade cookies to you on Valentine’s Day.

We hope to hear from you!

Your Public Relations and Outreach Committee
Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee

Special Collection for January
Winter Shelter through the
Samaritan Group in Kent County
This is the committee’s “last call” for this special collection, which will be used to support the work of the Samaritan Group in Kent County, in particular the winter shelter. The winter shelter houses and feeds homeless individuals from January until the end of March at three different churches: the Church of the Nazarene, First United Methodist, and the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the protocol has changed this year. Guests stay from 8 pm to 8 am each day and are given two bagged meals. There are more paid staff to monitor and assist the guests this season. 
 
Their need for funds is more critical now than ever before, and we hope that our members and friends will contribute generously to this community need. Please send your check to the UUCR church office by February 15 (marking it "winter shelter special collection") or make your donation from the UUCR website through the “donate” button by clicking here. On behalf of the committee, we thank you for your generosity.
 
Amy Warner, Co-chair
NAMI Family-to-Family is a free eight-week course for family caregivers of individuals with mental illnesses. NAMI-trained family members teach the course and all materials are free for class participants. The curriculum focuses on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and borderline personality disorder, with a new resource on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The course discusses treatment for these illnesses and teaches the knowledge and skills that family members need to cope with the challenges of living with a relative with a mental illness. The next session of this course runs on Zoom March 2nd to April 20th from 6:30- 9 pm. Contact NAMI to register by email namikentandqueenannes@gmail.com or by phone at 443-480-0565.
A Side With Love Watch Party: 
PBS's - "The Black Church"
February 16 & 17
8:45 pm - 11:15 pm EST
Side With Love invites you to join as we livestream the premiere of PBS’s The Black Church, an epic production about the impacts of the Black church movement on American society, culture, and politics. As Unitarian Universalists with our own unique history of engaging abolition and civil rights, it is important for us to know how our history has supported and has been in conflict with the Black church. The Black Church can also help us understand the rich tradition out of which our Black UU religious professionals and laypersons came to be and all that we bring to Unitarian Universalism.  

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song is a moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, that traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and grace, organizing and resilience, thriving and testifying, autonomy and freedom, solidarity and speaking truth to power.

The documentary reveals how Black people have worshipped and, through their spiritual journeys, improvised ways to bring their faith traditions from Africa to the New World, while translating them into a form of Christianity that was not only truly their own, but a redemptive force for a nation whose original sin was found in their ancestors’ enslavement across the Middle Passage.

A production of McGee Media, Inkwell Media and WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Get Lifted.
Covid-19 Vaccination Update

For those of you who have been navigating the path to scheduling a vaccination, you know that it is challenging! Vaccine supplies continue to be very limited and all vaccinations are now restricted to residents of the counties in Maryland in which you reside or work. Bob Bjork and Lynn Dolinger continue to work to understand and update the process, any additional updates they become aware of will be sent through the new UUCR Google email group. The Health Department site in your county is your best source of information. The websites we've found most helpful are kenthd.org and marylandvax.org

The Kent Health Department (kenthd.org) is sending out notices to those who have registered, providing an opportunity to schedule an appointment, so we strongly suggest that you register on this site (under "Hot Topics"). We also suggest that you enroll the help of a friend or family member if you need assistance with this challenging process. If you still need further assistance, please contact the church office by UUCR email or by UUCR phone at 410-778-3440. 
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Green Sanctuary Committee
Zoom Book Discussion on Feb 25
Hello Community - Our book discussion is approaching. I hope people have found the book, "As Long as Grass Grows" by Dina Gilio-Whitaker, interesting. If you are interested in participating in the book discussion, we will meet on Zoom on February 25 from 6:30 to 8:00. Bring a glass of wine or other libation and we can see where this book has taken us. Looking forward to sharing thoughts.

Kim Agee
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
Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (410) 778-3440