Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 10 a.m.

In-Person & ZOOM

“A 'Reboot' of Our Faith” 

Often, when we "reboot" a computer, something realigns and it operates better. Might a periodic "reboot" of our faith tradition be wise? At this service with Rev. Sue Browning, we'll consider how the proposed updates to the Unitarian Universalist principles may serve as just such a "reboot" of our faith.

• Rev. Sue Browning, Minister
• Jan Sprinkel, Service Leader
• Michael Casey, Musician
• Fantaye Kehm, Youth & Teen Welcome
• Judy Graham, Greeter
• Vida Morley, Coffee Host

Please CLICK HERE for the link to join us via Zoom.

PLEASE REMEMBER the Social Justice First Sunday Lunch & Discussion after Coffee Hour!

Welcoming Families and Children on Sunday Mornings

Each Sunday, UUCR offers childcare and simple age-appropriate activities for children of all ages. If you have any questions about UUCR's programming for families and children, please be in touch with Rev. Sue. 

So You Don't Miss Anything!

• This Week's Worship Service Information
• Upcoming Worship Services Information
• Newsletter Index
• Helpful Links, Office Hours, Upcoming Events Calendar
• Daylight Saving Time Begins Next Sunday — March 10
• Pledge Drive Results
• UUCR Auction this Saturday — March 2
• March's Outreach Collection — Sustain Ukraine
• UUCR Spring Clean-up — March 9
• New FUNdraiser - Pizza & Trivia Night — April 12
• Pastoral Care and Connection Committee
• Birthdays
• UUCR Contact Information
• End of Reflections Notice at the VERY END

Daylight Saving Time begins next Sunday, March 10. Set your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night.

We are so close to our goal for the Pledge Campaign. Thanks to all who have pledged, and let’s keep going toward our goal. We are at 98% and need to hear from you! We will report the final results next week. Let’s hope it's 100%!

Thanks from your Stewardship Committee!

Join us this Saturday for our most important fundraiser of the year!

We will start at 6 p.m., when you can partake of hors d’oeuvres, wine, mocktails, and other beverages as you survey, and bid on, the treasures on display for our silent auction. We have a fabulous Hegland Glass piece, artwork by Marcy Ramsey, Ted Ramsey, and Larry Schroth, other paintings, pottery, camping equipment, a portable outdoor stove, a chain saw, an acupuncture mat, piggy banks, glassware, jewelry, a fine camera with all sorts of accoutrements, a Philadelphia Eagles man’s jacket, posters, fifteen collectible cottages by David Winter, china pieces, and an elegant “Vincent Van Crow” pitcher by Fitz and Floyd. Do your Christmas shopping early this year!

Our live auction session will start at 7 p.m., guided by our auctioneers extraordinaire, John Ramsey and Mark Handschuh. Be ready to bid on:

• Parties – Beverages, Bats, and Bonfire; Afternoon Tea; Bourbon Tasting; Cocktails; Scrabble Challenge
• Dinners – Italian Dinner Made in Your Home; Produce and Crab Feast; Oktoberfest
• Food Delivered to Your Door – Chili Dinner; Bean Soup; Fancy Desserts; Apple Pie
• Trips to Museums – The Baltimore Museum of Art; The Mütter and the Penn Museum in Philadelphia (both trips include lunch)
• Water Adventures – Be a Riverkeeper for a Day; Kayak on the Chester for an Afternoon
• Services – Genealogical Research; Tennis Lesson; Reiki Therapy; Garden Consultation; Instructions in Playing “Mexican Trains” Dominoes; A One-way Ride to BWI or Philadelphia Airport
• Artistic Opportunities – An Evening of Painting Instruction; A Morning Making Sand and Marsh Creations (lunch included)
• Musical Opportunities – A Free Pass to All Events of this Year’s National Music Festival in Chestertown; A Chance to Hang Out with the Band (The Alligators or The Good Stuff) for an Evening
• A Trip to Christiana Mall (includes lunch)!

Be sure to click on the “Auction 2024” link at the top of the UUCR website, www.uuchesterriver.org, to see the final catalog, which will have fuller descriptions of these items.

At the auction, we will be selling tickets to our next fundraiser, “Brownings’ Pizza and Trivia Night,” on Friday, April 12. This event, put on for us by Sue and Bill Browning, includes not only a pizza dinner, but also trivia team challenges! All this for a mere $20 per person. Mark your calendars and be prepared to purchase a ticket at the auction.

See you Saturday!

March's outreach collection will be for Sustain Ukraine, an initiative founded by local residents Neal and Sandra Jackson. We will be running this collection differently than usual, in that members and friends will give donations directly to Neal (see below). 

First, a bit about this worthy cause. Sustain Ukraine is a group of volunteers — citizens in Chestertown, Poland, and Ukraine — procuring nonlethal supplies and equipment and getting them directly to the fighters. It has no bureaucracy, and 100% of every dollar contributed goes to support the volunteer fighters. Your support goes directly to the Ukrainian Territorial Defense and Border Guard volunteers fighting to keep their nation free.

Neal and Sandra, now residents of Heron Point, retired to the Eastern Shore after distinguished careers. Neal was a lawyer in DC, first in a law firm where he specialized in commercial and administrative litigation, then for 12 years as Vice President and General Counsel of NPR. After leaving NPR in 2008, he took an unusual turn and began working as a consultant on the business of photojournalism and, from time to time, as a photojournalist himself. His work took him to all but two continents and many countries, including Ukraine. Sandra has worked or traveled as an executive in business, government, and nonprofit organizations in more than 75 different countries. One of these was Ukraine. Over a six-year period, she served on the board of East Europe Foundation, which met in Kyiv and throughout the country to help Ukrainian NGOs deliver social and economic services, meeting the specific needs of an emerging demography.

Neal and Sandra will be joining us for a discussion about Sustain Ukraine on Sunday, March 3, after the worship service. A light lunch will be provided for those who are staying. 

Here’s how to contribute throughout the month of March: 

1. By check, payable to Neal Jackson, and mailed to him at 470 Gull Ct., Chestertown, MD 21620 (He can also take your check on March 3.)
2. By Zelle electronic transfer from your online banking. Create a Zelle account (super easy), then “Add New Recipient” for Neal Jackson, using either this email address (nealjackson@3creekfarm.com) or his mobile phone number (202-365-4070). You can then send money directly to him for free.
3. By PayPal, if you have a PayPal account, you can send money to nealjackson@3creekfarm.com. Make sure it is designated as “sending to a friend.” 

Please do not write, send, or give checks to UUCR for this month's outreach collection, and do not donate via the website. 

Please note that Sustain Ukraine is not an entity — it is simply a conduit of caring people that enables you to support Ukrainians defending their nation, so your contribution is not tax-deductible. 

Amy Warner 

Spring is on its way, and the weeds at UUCR are beginning to stir. So before they are firmly entrenched, we need to remove them. With that in mind, B&G is scheduling a Spring Clean-up on Saturday, March 9^th, 2024 starting at 9 AM. This is a formidable undertaking, and we will need all the help we can muster.

Bring your gardening tools and smile as we bring the church back to its original beauty. Remember, this is your church, and it depends on all of us to keep it well maintained. We should be finished by noon or earlier.

Thanks. We look forward to seeing you on the 9^th!!



Your B&G Committee.

On Friday, April 12, from 6–8 p.m., Sue and Bill Browning will host an all-church trivia night! Come for an evening of pizza and salad, and a few rounds of creative (and not too hard!) trivia questions. We'll play in teams, and there will be a few prizes! Tickets are $20 per person and will be part of the auction proceeds. All ages are welcome. (With advance notice, we can have childcare available.)