Thursday, February 3, 2022
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THIS SUNDAY'S
WORSHIP SERVICE
"Beautiful and Terrible"

Rev. Sue Browning
Annie Lavin, service leader

Online Zoom ONLY Worship Service

Sunday, February 6, 2022 | 10 am

We enter this month hearing debates on how we teach history to our children, and to one another. James Baldwin noted, "American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it." Does that ring true? At this service with Rev. Sue Browning we'll explore the possibilities that arise when we ground our next steps on a more complete telling of the past.

So we can begin the worship service promptly at 10 am, please sign into Zoom (click here) by no later than 9:50 am. A virtual coffee hour will immediately follow the service.

If not attending the service by Zoom, please submit "Joys and Concerns" and "Announcements" in advance by emailing them to the UUCR office (click here) by 9 pm Saturday.
Come Join Us for Coffee Hour
Please come join us for UUCR Virtual Coffee Hour at 11:00 am, on Sunday, February 6 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!
Upcoming Services
Sunday, February 13 — Online Zoom ONLY (?)

"Awakening to Life"

Rev Greg Chute, retired Unitarian minister from Newark, DE, takes our February theme of "Widening the Circle” inwards. He will guide us to look inside ourselves as a starting point to awaken and see a wider world. As Thoreau quipped: “Only that day comes to which we are awake."

  • Rev. Greg Chute, guest speaker
  • Catherine Brooks, service leader
  • Al Martinez, musician


Sunday, February 20 — Online Zoom ONLY (?)

"Holding Our Center"

This year the UUCR stewardship team has invited us to consider how we hold our center during trying times. How do we each hold onto our core values when times are challenging? Where do we turn for fresh ideas and connection? Join Rev. Sue Browning as we reflect on the ways UUCR is making a difference in our lives and in the world during unprecedented times.

  • Rev. Sue Browning
  • Marilee Taussig, service leader
Helpful Links
Upcoming Events
This Week's
Worship Service



Text of Last Week's Sermon

JAN 30 | "Living Boldly"


Previous Worship Service Recordings

are available on the UUCR YouTube channel


UUCR

FEB 6 | UUCR Worship
Service & Virtual Coffee Hour
Online Zoom ONLY
Rev. Sue Browning
Annie Lavin, service leader


FEB 13 | UUCR Worship
Service & Virtual Coffee Hour
Online Zoom ONLY (?)
Rev. Greg Chute, guest speaker
Catherine Brooks, service leader
Al Martinez, musician


FEB 13 | Great Valentine's
C💘💘kie Giveaway


FEB 20 | UUCR Worship
Service & Virtual Coffee Hour
Online Zoom ONLY (?)
Rev. Sue Browning
Marilee Taussig, service leader


FEB 20 | Pledge Drive
Kickoff
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!
Re-opening Task Force
Update
Your task force continues to assess local conditions, with the goal of returning to hybrid Sunday services (i.e. services with in person and virtual options) as soon as is reasonable. The group has decided to have at least one more virtual-only service on Feb. 6 and then to recheck the Covid situation. Stay tuned for updates regarding services on Feb. 13 and beyond. Thanks everyone for your patience in these confusing times. 
Congregants' Corner
A NEW YEAR’S PLEA FOR 2022

( To they it may concern)

Please send me some news that does not break.

Blend it with wisdom my mind cannot shake.

And enrich my soul with spirit not fake.

Transmit it all cyber quick, for goodness sake.

— Stan Salett, 1/1/22
Keeping in Touch
Betty Kerr (loyal UUCR coffee maker for many years) is now at Rock of Ages in Rock Hall.
She welcomes calls, notes, and may soon be able to have visitors. The mailing address is: Rock of Ages Assisted Living, 5307 Elburn Ln, Rock Hall, MD 21661. Her cell phone number is (410)739-4939.
Stewardship Committee
PLEDGE DRIVE: "Holding Our Center in Trying Times"
I picture the heart in our logo spinning around with the people holding on tight, their bodies outstretched behind them, hair flying. In these trying times, it’s not always easy to hold on to that center, and we hope that UUCR has helped you to do that in this past year. Our pledge drive kickoff will be February 20 — your opportunity to support the good work of UUCR. Look for more information in Reflections, your inbox, and your mailbox.

Your committee members,

Jackie Mathwich, Catherine Brooks, Joy Kim, and Peggy McKee
Leadership Development Committee
Collaboration with Other
Small Congregations
 
Two years ago, the Unitarian Universalist Institute (UUI) planned a meeting on March 14th, better known in some circles as Pi Day (3.14). Unexpectedly, a virus
showed up and postponed the event, indefinitely.

Now that we are experts at Zoom calls and "remoting-in," UUI has rescheduled the event as a remote networking opportunity, on March 12th at 3 pm. The workshop is designed to promote collaboration between small congregations and learning what others do well. Consider attending and if you would like to,
please let M.Q. Riding (mq.riding@comcast.net) know. Here’s a link to the description of the workshop: Second Slice of Pi: A Conference for Smaller Congregations .

Amy, Diane, & M.Q.
Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee



Outreach Collection
The Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee’s first outreach collection for this year was launched at our Sunday service on January 16th to benefit Rebuilding Together — a national organization whose work is carried out locally. This organization delivers critical home repairs in specific neighborhoods, engaging neighbors as partners.

Pam Vogel, one of our members, is both a volunteer and on the board of Rebuilding Together, Kent County. As Pam says in her moving segment (which you can listen to starting at 13:10 in the YouTube recording of the service here), “Almost all of the people that need Rebuilding Together’s services are elderly, many are veterans or people with disabilities. Often the repairs are serious and urgent — no running water, a non-working toilet or shower, leaking roofs, etc. These are people with a home, but find themselves in a circumstance where they cannot manage the repair.” This is where Rebuilding Together steps in.

But it’s not just individual houses. Working with other local non-profits, Rebuilding Together addresses the health and safety conditions of entire neighborhoods. Local affiliates who are rooted in the community work closely with community residents and leaders to revitalize our communities. The national organization is also positioned to address the long-term recovery of communities struck by natural disasters.

You can contribute by sending a check to the church office, made out to UUCR specifying "Rebuilding Together" in the memo line, or you can donate online at the church website using the "Donate" button (click here) and "Custom Amount," specifying "Rebuilding Together Outreach Collection" in the comment section. Any questions, please contact Marilee Taussig, Co-chair of the SC/SJ Committee at marileetaussig@gmail.com. Please make your donation by Friday, February 12th.

The committee thanks all members and friends for their very generous support of the outreach collections.

Marilee Taussig, marileetaussig@gmail.com Co-chair, SC/SJ Committee
UUCR/UUFE Book Discussion
Book Discussion: Sunday, Feb. 20 from 4 - 5:30 pm
"Our Time is Now" by Stacey Abrams
Our Time is Now (published June 2020) is a comprehensive review of the election system by Stacey Abrams. We will have a UUCR/UUFE discussion of this book and opportunities to address voting rights on Sunday, Feb. 20 from 4 – 5:30 p.m. (on Zoom). The Zoom link will be provided closer to the date. The book is available in several formats (print copy, ebook, audiobook) at local libraries or for a reasonable price online. 
Invitation from UUFE -
Gender Education
UNDERSTANDING THE GENDER SPECTRUM
& HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY
What is the gender spectrum? Are you confused by gender-related terminology? Is a friend or family member struggling with gender identity? Would you like to become a better ally for those who are grappling with these issues?

The Social Justice Pod of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton is offering interactive sessions on gender education. For your convenience, they will be offered in-person as well as in Zoom. For your comfort, none will be recorded. Feel free to invite a friend to register. Sessions are limited to 15 participants so please register early to secure your spot.

In-person (Masks are required.)
  • 101 (Introduction): Sunday March 6, 2022, 12:30-3:30 pm at UUFE, 7401 Ocean Gateway (Rt 50), Easton
  • 102 (Continuation): Sunday March 27, 2022, 12:30-3:30 pm at UUFE

OR

Via Zoom:
  • 101 (Introduction): Thursday March 10, 2022, 6-8:30 pm
  • 102 (Continuation): Wednesday March 30, 2022, 6-8:30 pm

Please register in advance at --

Questions? Please contact Emily Cranwell at emilycranwell@hotmail.com
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UUA Online Events
At our UUA General Assembly in 2020, shortly after the murder of George Floyd and the global uprisings for racial justice of that spring, our delegates overwhelmingly passed an Action of Immediate Witness called “Amen to Uprising: A Commitment and Call to Action”. It read, in part:
 
THEREFORE, we will create systemic change within our congregations by:

  • Revising agreements and policies to create alternatives to policing (including developing plans for safety and accountability);
  • Choosing not to involve police departments and deactivating security systems that mobilize police response when triggered;
  • Engaging in creative, transformative, justice processes;
  • Pursuing abolition of policing systems within the congregations and institutions in which we have power;
  • Moving congregational and institutional resources and endowments towards Black liberation organizing and long-term redistribution; and
  • Rooting ourselves in theologies of liberation and abolition.
 
This was a bold moment for us as Unitarian Universalists, in which we articulated an aspirational theology that we will have to stretch our souls and our imaginations to fully incarnate. To do that, we will need to practice together, again and again. And so, in this third week of 30 Days of Love, we invite you into the collective spiritual exercise of moral imagination.

As January comes to a close, Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth and Side with Love are excited to co-sponsor a winter concert fundraiser for Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth on Friday, February 11th (8 pm ET) — with the exceptional duo of Emma's Revolution!

Join UU Ministry for Earth to pause for excellent music, a conversation about music for climate justice during this moment, and to be galvanized for the work ahead!

Register today! The concert is pay what you can. Donations of any amount are appreciated and welcome.

Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. In their 20th year performing together, Emma’s Revolution shares that their songs "have traveled around the world, have sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger, and covered by Holly Near."

“Our work has always been about building connection, love and justice through song,” the duo says. “During this pandemic, we have moved much of our work online, creating opportunities for people to sing together (Zoom-style), use songwriting as a way to process emotions in an unsettled era, and attend concerts where they can have a sense of connectedness, solace, and even joy in this challenging time.” 
Pastoral Care and Connection
You are encouraged to share your joys and sorrows with the UUCR Pastoral Associates (see below). This team is a mixed group — but all have had previous life experiences and a variety of professional training in counseling and philosophy. Please contact one, or several of us, if you “want to talk.”

Pastoral Care Associates: Kevin Brien,
Gayle Folger, Nancy Holland, and Vida Morley
Birthdays

FEBRUARY

24 - Philip Dutton
25 - Les Palmer
27 - Laura Mitchell
We want to help celebrate your birthday! If we didn't include your birthday, please contact the UUCR office by email (click here).
Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive | Chestertown, MD | 21620
Phone: 410-778-3440
Office hours: W - Sa, 8:30-10:30 am |
Su, 8:30 am-noon | Closed, M & Tu
END of REFLECTIONS for February 3, 2022