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To view this service (it will be uploaded by Sunday morning), click here to go to the UUCR's YouTube channel. You may also go to the church's webpage by clicking here and find the service by clicking on the tab at the bottom of the "Keeping In Touch" column on the left side of the page.

If you would like to have a "Joy" or "Sorrow" included in the service, please submit it in writing to both Rev. Sue Browning's email and the UUCR's office email by 12 pm Thursday and she will read all submissions as a part of the service.

Please come join us for UUCR Coffee Hour at 11:00 am, on Sunday, January 24 at the Zoom link here.

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

On Tuesday evening the nation set aside a time to mourn the 400,000 lives lost to the Covid-19 virus. The ceremony included prayer, beautiful music, and brief words from President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. It was a needed moment.

The setting was particularly striking. The speakers faced the Lincoln Monument, the reflecting pool glimmering before them. Behind them was the Washington Monument and Capitol, lit

against the darkening sky (this picture). As cameras zoomed in and out, we were offered views of the Potomac River, the bridges closed for inauguration, a wider panorama of Washington DC, and the statue of Lincoln.

These iconic American images in DC offered a sense of our shared national experience; a sense of our shared sorrow; and a sense of our shared resiliency. Throughout the country, other cities and towns found ways to "light up" and ring bells in what was named, “A National Moment of Unity and Remembrance.”

We can barely comprehend 400,000 deaths caused by a virus we had barely heard of a year ago. Something does feel more real when we hear the stories of those who died, including details of their childhoods, careers, interests and families. It is a difficult time.

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory included these words on Tuesday,

“May our prayer this evening serve as a small expression of our national desire to comfort and strengthen those who have endured the loss of a loved one to this pandemic, and may it be a resounding gesture of gratitude for all those who have cared for the victims of this virus and their loved ones.”

I add my prayers to those offered Tuesday. I’m grateful to those who realized it was time to pause and collectively share a time of mourning.

The goal is to keep them active as resources to connect with our community. If you have the time, and maybe a flair for communication, we could use you. The main requirement is being alert to what’s going on at UUCR (think of our social justice work, our sermons, our guest speakers, our community information) that might be of interest and importance to other Kent Countians. While we regularly post links to our services, we would also like to highlight particular “good bits” and stirring music from the service as “stand alone" Facebook posts. If you have or can obtain video editing software that would be helpful, but not absolutely essential. You job would be to help us be in the public eye.

Please contact John Ramsey at johnramsey1948@gmail.com or 443-480-9460

on Valentines Day!

Our committee has been looking at ways for our congregation to “connect” non-electronically during these strange times. So, when we noticed that Valentines Day falls on a Sunday this year, we thought about handing out a plate of homemade cookies and/or sweets to each carload of UUCR-ers that comes to our parking lot at 914 Gateway Dr. We are still in the planning stages, but please let us know if you would volunteer to: 

Jane Hardy, janewhardy@gmail.com, 410-639-7811, or

Darlene Wiggers (our new church administrator!),

uuofchesterriver@gmail.com, 410-778-3440.

We are still in the planning stages with this Great Cookie Giveaway: we don’t yet know all the logistics, or the time of day, just the date, February 14, and we need to hear from you if you’d like to bake, share, or just partake!

After an effort that started in late October, a team of dedicated UUCR members, artfully led by Nancy Holland and Linda Weimer, was gratified to see their work culminate last week at the first home built by Kent Attainable Housing (KAH), a local charity dedicated to working with low income working families to break the generational cycle of poverty through home ownership.

As sunny skies helped buoy the mood, ten UU donors carried their furnishings to the charming, traditional two-story house at 204 College Avenue on Wednesday and Thursday. In support of the UUCR commitment to racial equity, the team spent countless hours helping the bi-racial family of five furnish their first home. The collection ranged from the big (a trundle bed for two kids) to the small (serving dishes for the kitchen) with plenty of mid-size pieces like compact storage. In addition to the UU donors, another six of our neighbors and friends made property contributions.

UUCR has been pleased to partner with Kent Attainable Housing to help this family move in to their new home and hopes to continue its work to support their successful transition to home ownership.

For those of you who have been navigating the path to scheduling a vaccine, you know that it is challenging! What we know now is that all residents age 65 and older will be eligible starting next week. You can schedule appointments anywhere in Maryland, however they are very hard to find and limited by the rolling availability of vaccine within the state. Bob Bjork and Lynn Dolinger are working with a local team of churches and the Kent County Health Department to understand the process and will continue to provide updates as we have them. The websites we've found most helpful are kenthd.org and marylandvax.org. Patience is the "name of the game." We will continue reaching out to members and friends listed in the recently published church directory to provide information about the scheduling process and to identify those who might need assistance in completing the forms or with transportation. If you do not receive a call, or are not listed in the current directory and need assistance, please contact the church office by UUCR email or by UUCR phone at 410-778-3440. 

Winter Shelter through the

Please watch the appeal from Rev. David Ryan, the Samaritan Group’s Board chair, during this Sunday’s service. 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

Join the Green Sanctuary in our annual environmental book read! We will be reading As Long As Grass Grows by Dina Gilio-Whitaker and discussing it in February, most likely on Zoom! This book is available on Amazon new or used as well as at the library. BookPlate is another source that is always accommodating. Happy reading and I hope to see you in February.

“Through the unique lens of “Indigenized environmental justice,” Indigenous researcher and activist Dina Gilio-Whitaker explores the fraught history of treaty violations, struggles for food and water security, and protection of sacred sites, while highlighting the important leadership of Indigenous women in this centuries-long struggle. As Long As Grass Grows gives readers an accessible history of Indigenous resistance to government and corporate incursions on their lands and offers new approaches to environmental justice activism and policy.

Throughout 2016, the Standing Rock protest put a national spotlight on Indigenous activists, but it also underscored how little Americans know about the longtime historical tensions between Native peoples and the mainstream environmental movement. Ultimately, she argues, modern environmentalists must look to the history of Indigenous resistance for wisdom and inspiration in our common fight for a just and sustainable future.”

Gayle Folger, Nancy Holland, and Vida Morley

Darlene Wiggers (Office) p: 410-778-3440 | e:uuofchesterriver@gmail.com