Wednesday, March 24, 2021 |
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THIS SUNDAY'S
VIRTUAL WORSHIP SERVICE
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"Dancing with Anxiety"
Rev. Abbey Tennis, guest speaker and
Annie Lavin, worship service leader
UUCR & UUFE YouTube Worship Service
March 28, 2021
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Fill me with anxiety, O Life!
Electrify me, make me nervous...
For those things which challenge...
Keep me tense, a-tiptoe,...
Reaching out for those things
Just beyond my fingertips;...
Which will beat with life...
— excerpts from the poem "Anxiety" by Arthur Graham
Spring has arrived bringing optimism and hope for many. Yet for others, fear and anxiety remain. In today’s service, Rev. Abbey Tennis, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, presents a sermon titled, “Dancing with Anxiety.” She offers ways to harness Anxiety’s power and use it as a spiritual tool in counteracting fear. Rev. Tennis ends with a personal story that will change your perspective and touch your heart. In this service we will include a message of hope from Passover along with music and song for joy and healing. Come join us!
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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 have a joy or sorrow for the March 28 service, please share it during the UUCR Coffee Hour or if you're not planning to attend, email the UUCR office at UUCR email by Thursday, March 25 at noon.
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Come Join Us for Coffee Hour |
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Please come join us for UUCR Coffee Hour at 11:00 am, on Sunday, March 28 by clicking here.
It's a time to see and talk to one another, and the next best thing to being there!
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This Week's
Worship Service
Last Week's
Worship Service
Note from David Biehler:
The recording of the very informative March 10 Zoom session with Marilee Taussig ("So What's All This About Pronouns?") is now available on the web site in the same area as other past sermons and also here.
Last Year's Sock Burning
This Year's Sock Burning
March 20, 2021 - will be uploaded to YouTube
UUCR
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Mar 25 - "Freedom Riders" FREE virtual film screening & discussion with the director - see below for more info. 📽️
Mar 25 - "For All Seasons" virtual fundraiser "Give with your Heart" with music by Pam Ortiz see below for more info. ♫
Mar 28 - YouTube Worship Service UUCR & UUFE
Mar 28 - UUCR Coffee Hour
Apr 4 - Sunday Worship Service
Apr 4 - Easter
Apr 9 - Folk Music Zoom Concert, FREE - see below for more info. ♫
Apr 11 - Sunday Worship Service
Apr 14 - Board Meeting
Apr 17 - Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day - see below for more info.
Apr 22 - Earth Day 🌎
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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!
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Upcoming
Virtual Worship Services
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Sunday, April 4
"Trusting A Different Way"
Easter marks the beginning of many transitions for Jesus's followers, but transitions to what? We too live in a time of uncertainty as we cautiously anticipate a post-Covid world. Join us for our Easter Service with Rev. Sue Browning as we reflect on the potential of resurrection especially in times of adaptation.
- UUCR & UUFE YouTube Worship service (pre-recorded)
- Rev. Sue Browning
Sunday, April 11
"What If Big Things Changed?"
Do all changes need to happen slowly? What spurs new ways of becoming? Join Rev. Sue Browning for a service exploring the potential of bold ideas taking hold in community. What do we need to accept as fixed, and where might we trust our dreams of what could (and should) be?
- UUCR Zoom Worship Service
- Rev. Sue Browning
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Once Again
Last Sunday we lit a candle for the victims of the Atlanta area shootings. As I lit that candle, I noted that while we had heard much about these deaths, many others die each day from gun violence. During Joys and Sorrows, a member lit a candle for losses due to suicide, noting these deaths often go unacknowledged.
This coming Sunday we will again light a candle recognizing the horrific murders at the grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.
Our hearts ache. We can imagine the pain of each loved one dealing with loss. We can imagine the trauma to these communities. I add my prayers to the many holding these communities in care.
Our compassion has value, yet it is not the change we need. As a country, the United States has, by far, more mass murders than other countries. Guns are readily accessible. It’s a choice we’ve made to have lethal, often military-type, weapons readily accessible. Other countries make other choices. In the aftermath of such events, from Newtown to Parkland (and so many more), we see the federal gun policy debate take center-stage, hit a stalemate, and then fade. Will this time be different? I'm encouraged by groups which help us stay engaged and sustain a long-term focus on change.
Beyond policies and laws, we need to address the culture of violence which underlies society. We need to understand the roots of violence. We need to consider the role of hatred and bigotry. We need to consider where we in effect "teach" and glorify violence. Where can we find other paths to resolve conflict and frustration?
More questions than answers, I know. I encourage us to hold firm in a belief that what we witness day after day, year over year, doesn’t need to be this way. Violence lived out through the use of guns does not need to be this way.
We can make other choices.
In love,
Rev. Sue
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*** 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.
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Having trouble viewing the entire email? Click here
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56 Years: Remembering Our Unitarian History in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement |
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Rev. Sue’s sermon to us two weeks ago was about commitment. Who could better exemplify “commitment” than those willing to lay down their lives for a cause they believed in? Viola Luizzo, a Detroit native and mother of five young children, was another Unitarian Universalist who participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches; it’s incredible that she and others soldiered on after the Unitarian minister, Rev. James Reeb, was bludgeoned to death only two weeks prior. Viola was shot and killed on March 25, 1965 (56 years ago tomorrow) by KKK Klansmen while driving other activists to the Montgomery airport. Because the FBI had planted an informant (who may have been complicit in the murder) amongst that particular Klan group, the agency tried to deflect attention from the killing by producing disinformation about Viola — that she was a Communist and drug addict who had abandoned her children and other falsehoods. Her family filed suit against the FBI, but the case was dismissed.
Viola has been memorialized in a fabulous Blues song, “Color Blind Angel” by Robin Rogers released in 2008 — here's a link to the recording. (Thank you, David Biehler, for unearthing this song and creating this link for us!)
"Color Blind Angel”
Chorus: Viola, Viola, you laid your young life down.
From Selma to heaven, 3 Ks took you out.
Color blind angel battled bigotry.
Viola, Viola lives on in history.
Both Viola Luizzo and Rev. James Reeb's names are inscribed on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, which was created by Maya Lin.
Hats off also to our own Nancy Holland, who brought Viola to life in our last “Living History” event, in 2014.
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"Freedom Riders"
FREE Virtual
Film Streaming
with
Director Stanley Nelson
Thursday, March 25, 5 pm
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This week’s “Thursdays with the Starr Center” (The Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College) is going to be big! We’re welcoming award-winning documentarian and director Stanley Nelson for a virtual screening and discussion of his 2010 film “Freedom Riders.” This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Riders’ journey when 400 black and white Americans risked their lives challenging Jim Crow segregation through the Deep South in May 1961.
Brought to you by the Crossing Cultures Lecture Series, watch the film ahead of time here, or join us for a screening at 5 pm on Thursday. The film will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session with Nelson at 7 pm. Click here to register for this free event. For more information about the event and Mr. Nelson, click here. To view the trailer for the film, click here.
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Are you looking to deepen your connections to UUCR next year? The Leadership Development team is actively seeking individuals to serve on the Board of Directors next year. Our Board consists of a President and President-elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and three Trustees.
The Board provides direction for carrying out the mission and purpose of UUCR, oversees our various activities and programs, and ensures the effective management of our resources. The Board meets monthly (currently via Zoom.)
We are seeking candidates to fill the President and President-elect positions (one-year terms), and one Trustee position (a three-year term.)
If you are committed to UU values, want to make sure our UUCR mission remains relevant in the Chester River community, and want to be a vital team member working with our wonderful Board leadership, we want to hear from you!
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Joe Jencks
FREE Zoom
Folk Music Concert
Friday, April 9th
7:30 - 9 pm
hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark, DE
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To learn more about Joe, please visit: www.joejencks.com. To sample his music, some of his previous concerts are available on YouTube. |
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Household Hazardous Waste
Drop-off Day
Saturday, April 17
8 am - 2 pm, rain or shine at the
Nicholson Transfer Station
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Free to Midshore County residents (Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties). For further information about the event, and acceptable drop-off items, please click here. |
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A pair of sunglasses and a toothpick holder were left behind and are currently in the UUCR office. |
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Give With Your Heart to Support Mental Health
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New Matching Donation Opportunity
"For All Seasons" Outreach Collection!
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As we near the end of our collection for this month, we haven't talked much about the valuable rape crisis services that this organization provides for our community. "The For All Seasons Rape Crisis Center (RCC) began with the opening of the agency in 1986. It is the only Rape Crisis Center serving the five Mid-Shore Counties. The RCC offers comprehensive, free and confidential services in English and Spanish to survivors of sexual assault including crisis counseling, advocacy, case management and education for survivors of rape, and abuse as well as services for adults molested as children."
If you haven't already given to the collection this month, the organization just launched a new matching campaign incentive up to $50,000. This means every dollar that you give to them this month will be matched dollar-for-dollar! You can also check out their virtual spring fundraiser, "Give With Your Heart" on their website, forallseasonsinc.org, with a special music presentation premiering on March 25, featuring local favorite, Pam Ortiz.
You can contribute by sending a check to the church office, made out to UUCR specifying "For All Seasons Outreach Collection" in the memo line, or you can donate online at the church website using the "Donate" button (click here ) and "Custom Amount", specifying "For All Seasons Outreach Collection" in the comment section. Any questions, please contact Lynn Dolinger, SCSJ C0-Chair, [email protected].
Thanks so much for your continuing and generous support of our church's outreach mission.
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Pastoral Care and Connection |
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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:
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Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (410) 778-3440
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