WEDNESDAY, February 24, 2021
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THIS SUNDAY'S VIRTUAL SERVICE
"About the 'Love Thy Enemy' Thing"
Rev. Sue Browning
UUCR & UUFE Zoom Service
February 28, 2021
"Beloved Community" sets forth a vision where all are fully included, where justice prevails for all, and where all are held accountable to this vision. At our Zoom service with Rev. Sue Browning, we'll explore the challenges of creating Beloved Community, with special focus on that "love your enemy" thing. 

Join us by clicking the Zoom service link here on Sunday, February 28 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 28 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 26 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 28 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!
Helpful Links
Upcoming Events
Feb 25 - Zoom Book
Discussion (see link at left, bottom)

Feb 28 - Zoom Service UUCR
& UUFE, Coffee Hour follows

Mar 2 -> Apr 20 - NAMI
Family-to-Family Course

Mar 7 - Zoom Service
UUCR & UUFE

Mar 14 - Daylight Saving
Time Begins 🕒

Mar 14 - Zoom Service UUCR

Mar 14 - Coffee Hour UUCR

Mar 20 - Spring Equinox 🌷
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 Services
Sunday, March 7

"The Nature of Commitment"
Rev. Sue Browning
Zoom Service UUCR & UUFE


Sunday, March 14

Topic to be announced
Marilee Taussig
Zoom Service UUCR
Pledge Drive Committee
UUCR Pledge Drive –
Only Two Weeks
To Go! 

We’re 71% of the way toward reaching our goal! If you haven’t pledged yet, you can still watch the kick-off Sunday Service on YouTube (click here) and learn more about the proposed budget on YouTube (click here). If you want more financial information, email our Treasurer, Tom Tontarski at

Help UUCR remain a strong and vibrant congregation by making your commitment now!
 
Goal: $76,169

Pledges Received: $53,785


Renewing our Faith, Renewing our Connections,
Renewing our Commitment
Minister's Column
All of All of Us
This past week we worshiped with other UU churches across the country as a part of "Side With Love Sunday."
 
The service included a powerful reflection by Laura Conkle on inclusion. Laura, who identifies as “trans and non-binary, queer, disabled, surviving poverty, first generation with access to college,” reminded us that inclusion means "all of all of us” and that hospitality means “honoring folks as their full selves.”
 
The phrase "all of all of us" reminds us that to live into our words of welcome, we need to fully embrace the full identity of everyone. Take a moment and re-listen to Laura’s reflection. Hear of the limitations they and their peers have encountered in Unitarian Universalist spaces. Laura challenges us to strengthen our welcome by living into a fierce love. They note: “I want us all together to build our own resistance to the many assumptions folks make about who is in the room, who is at the table, and who is in Unitarian Universalist spaces online and otherwise. I pray we cast off assumptions.”

This message is consistent with themes from the recent UUA "Widening the Circle of Concern" report (publication available online here

This study includes a powerful claim: “Though our predominantly white congregations and organizations may see themselves as welcoming, without particular practices they continue to mirror the kinds of harms done to people of color and other marginalized groups in our larger society.”

The UUA study invites us to be intentional in our practices. Laura asks us to consider our assumptions and shares, "I wish that every event that is planned moving forward is planned with us in mind and considering what we need." 

How do we hear the phrase "inclusion means all of all of us"? How might we make our congregations live into being more deeply inclusive? 

In reflection, 
Rev. Sue  
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
Sometimes due to the length of Reflections, some committees' sections are on a second page in some members' emails. If you don't see a "Follow Us," in the middle of the page, at the very end of this email, you need to click at the bottom where it says "[Message clipped] View entire message" (or something similar in whatever email service you use.) Or, you can click below.
The "Birthdays" Section is now at the end of the newsletter.
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120 Years Too Late: We Must Address a Lynching
UUCR Board votes to be added to the list of organizations signing the James Taylor Justice Coalition (JTJC) Certification of Agreement. JTJC has a singular focus and a defined mission to educate our community about the injustice of James Taylor’s lynching in Chestertown, MD in 1892. Aligned with the Equal
Justice Initiative’s (EJI) Community Remembrance Projects, these organizations seek to shine the light of truth upon the more than 4,000 extrajudicial lynchings of African American people that occurred in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950. Only by telling the unvarnished truth about our past, can we begin to address the injustices that continue against Black and Brown people in the U.S. today.
Green Sanctuary Committee
Zoom Book Discussion tomorrow on Thursday, Feb 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Hello Community - Our book discussion is tomorrow. 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 (click here). 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
Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee
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 [email protected] or by phone at 443-480-0565.
Winter Shelter Special Collection Total
Wow! We are blown away by our members’ and friends’ generosity for the Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee’s second special collection for this year. The total collected: $502.94! These funds will support the financial needs of the Samaritan Group’s winter shelter program that continues to the end of March. On behalf of the committee, we thank you for giving generously and living out our UU ideals of love and compassion for all.

Amy Warner and Lynn Dolinger, co-chairs
Health Care for All in Maryland

Do you care that there are inequities in people’s access to health care in Maryland? Are you willing to take two minutes to send an email to our District 36 legislators about proposed legislation to address this problem?
 
The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative is sponsoring HB 136/SB 172 to create much needed Health Equity Resource Communities in our state. This initiative is based on a 2012-2016 pilot that successfully increased access to health resources, improved residents’ health, reduced hospital admissions, and created cost savings. The permanent and dedicated funding source for these communities would be a one cent/dollar increase in the alcoholic beverage tax.
 
UUCR is already behind this proposed bill. At the Feb. 17 Board meeting, they voted to sign on to the Resolution in support of this legislation, adding our name to the over 280+ organizations in Maryland who also believe in health care for all. 
 
Our three District 36 delegates, Jay Jacobs, Jefferson Ghrist, and Steve Arentz, and our state senator, Stephen Hershey, need to hear from their constituents on the Eastern Shore about our support for this legislation. Access this link to email them
https://healthcareforall.com/EquityResolution/ and where you can also read more about this legislation and the organization’s efforts to pass it. There’s also a link at this site to a very informative editorial in the Baltimore Sun in support of the bill.
 
I’m challenging ten people from our congregation to email our state representatives. Once you email them, let me know at [email protected]. Can we get more than ten?
 
Amy Warner, on behalf of the Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee
Fight for $15
One of UUs guiding principles is to "honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person." Therefore, we are advocating for a federal minimum wage that reflects an equitable, living wage where every person has the resources to achieve a life of purpose and financial wellbeing, one that allows working folks a chance to not only survive but thrive!  If you want to advocate for this important legislative effort, tell Congress, by creating a handwritten letter, here are the instructions. It's time to Raise the Minimum Wage to $15/hour Nationwide! Support the Raise the Wage Act & Accelerate a Compassionate Economic Recovery.
Covid Vaccination
By now, we hope that most of our Members and Friends have found a route to getting their vaccines with the help of family or friends.  While there are some mass vaccination sites coming on-line on the Western Shore, we believe that the best opportunities currently available on the Eastern Shore are through your local Health Department, so we encourage you to register if you haven't already.  The websites we've found most helpful for Kent County residents are kenthd.org and 
marylandvax.org. Any additional updates we receive will be sent through the new UUCR Google email group. If you still need assistance with registration or transportation, please contact the UUCR Office.
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:[email protected]
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
Feb 11 Dick Brockmeyer
Feb 24 Philip Dutton
Feb 25 Les Palmer
Feb 27 Laura Mitchell
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