THIS SUNDAY'S
VIRTUAL WORSHIP SERVICE
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"Whole Hearted Living"
Guest Minister, Rev. Dr. Richard Speck
UUCR YouTube Worship Service
May 16, 2021
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Dr. Brené Brown states that Whole Hearted Living is engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness and with courage, compassion and connection. She has guideposts for us to follow. We will explore these guideposts and how they influence our lives as people of faith with guest minister, Rev. Dr. Richard Speck (for bio click here).
This worship service will be available on UUCR's YouTube Channel by Sunday morning (click here).
If you have a joy or sorrow for the May 16 worship service, please share it during the Coffee Hour.
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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, May 16 on Zoom ( click 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
This Week's Coffee Hour
Last Week's
Worship Service
UUCR
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May 15 - Justice Day - see below for further details
May 16 - UUCR Worship Service
May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity 🌎
May 23 - UUCR & UUFE YouTube Worship Service
May 30 - UUCR & UUFE Zoom Worship Service
May 31 - Memorial Day
Jun 6 - Worship Service
Jun 13 - Worship Service
Jun 13 - Annual UUCR Congregation Meeting,
11 am (Zoom)
Jun 13 - Flag Day
Jun 20 - Worship Service
Jun 20 - Father's 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, May 23
"Seeds of Being: On Truth-Tilling and Seeds as Sacred Text"
In a world where so many of us feel compelled to “do” rather than “be,” what does it mean to sow the seeds of being? Given all the demands of Zoom and modern life, as the world continues to open up for many of us this Spring, to what extent can silence and rest factor into our own lives? And what would it mean to the ecology of our communities if they did? Join us, and Cassie Montenegro, Master of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School, on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in an exploration of who we might continue to become together if we allowed ourselves more time to “be.”
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Guest speaker, Ms. Cassie Montenegro (for bio click here)
- UUCR and UUFE YouTube Worship Service
Sunday, May 30
"Loss and Grief"
Everyone experiences losses. Every community experiences losses. Do Unitarian Universalists have anything unique to offer on loss and grief? At this service with Rev. Sue Browning we'll consider where we might find support as we navigate our paths through loss. This service will include our annual ritual of remembrance to honor losses in our congregations this past year.
- Rev. Sue Browning
- UUCR and UUFE Zoom Worship Service
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Paying It Forward
When someone gifts us with a deed of kindness, we are taught to repay it. Or at the very least, thank our benefactor. But a new movement is rapidly gaining momentum and popularity — Pay It Forward. Instead of repaying an act of generosity or kindness to the original kindness-doer, people provide a new act of kindness to someone else, typically a total stranger. Instead of the exchange of kindness stopping at the repayment, in paying it forward a domino cascade of kindness is unleashed. Stories abound about fast food or Starbuck’s drive thru or Walmart lines where one person hands the cashier extra money to pay for the person behind them — and then THAT person pays for the person behind them, and so on and so on. In one of the longest-running streaks of generosity, an astounding 378 customers paid it forward for nearly 11 consecutive hours at a Starbucks drive-thru in Florida.
Envision Kindness (envisionkindness.org), a social media influencer advancing the power of positive interactions, states, “This phenomenon has a profound impact on our environments in that they create a sense of connectedness and positivity. When we feel connected to each other, we are kinder, more patient, and more supportive. We take better care of our communities and even think more collectively as opposed to individualistically. As we’ve already seen, these kinds of changes can produce huge effects.”
Doesn’t this sound like our own faith community at UUCR? Our Board President, David Biehler, recently commented that his acceptance of the position was prompted by his desire to pay it forward so that others coming after would continue to find a warm and welcoming faith community at UUCR.
What if we all adopted a culture of paying it forward at UUCR? Our struggle to identify progression in leadership could be eliminated in just one stroke when, if asked to serve a term on a committee or the Board, we would reply “Yes. I want to pay it forward so that others can enjoy the benefits of this amazing community just as I have.” Imagine the rich and fulfilling faith possibilities this embrace of positivity could have! UUCR could be ensured of a vigorous and vital future, with open doors to those who have not yet found us, if each of us would answer the call to leadership with “YES! I want to Pay It Forward!”
Pat Bjorke, former Board President
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Sue's Vacation
Sue will be on vacation May 7-23. If there are matters needing attention, please check with Board President, David Biehler (click here); Office Administrator, Darlene Wiggers (UUCR office email or office phone 410-778-3440); Caring/Pastoral team (contacts at end of this email) or other leaders. Sue will be available in case of an emergency.
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If you don't see "END of REFLECTIONS for MAY 13, 2021" at the very end of this email, you're not seeing the entire email . To view it to the end please Click here
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You are cordially invited to participate virtually in, |
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JUSTICE DAY
In Pursuit of Racial Equity
in Chestertown, MD
MAY 15th, 2021 3:00 - 4:45 PM
To listen and/reflect on our shared histories of racial inequality and terror with the purpose of reconciliation,
justice and equity for all, hosted by
the James Taylor Justice Coalition of Sumner Hall
Event Speakers:
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Sherrilyn A. Ifill, is the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the nation’s premier civil rights law organization fighting for racial justice and equality. She is also the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century.
Nowhere is the challenge of confronting the past greater than in those [Eastern Shore of Maryland] counties where lynching occurred. Sherrilyn A. Ifill
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Savannah Shepherd, an 18-year-old college freshman and social justice activist. She led a process working closely with the Equal Justice Initiative and the State of Delaware to create a Social Justice Remembrance Coalition (DSJRC), to acknowledge past incidents of racial terror in order to raise awareness today.
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Artura E. Jackson is a Public Historian who specialized in African-American History. Ms. Jackson is a historian at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Black History Program, which provides year-round programming related to African-American History and hosts the Annual Prince George’s County, MD Juneteenth Celebration and Black History Month exhibit.
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Larry Wilson, President of Sumner Hall and Co-Chair of the JTJC who will provide an overview of the vision and mission of the James Taylor Justice Coalition. Ruth Shoge, First Vice President of Sumner Hall, will introduce the 2021 JTJC EJI High School Essay Contest for Kent County. John Queen, Co-Founder and President of Bayside HOYAS and Chairman of the Black Union of Kent County, will kickoff a summer book club reading of Sherrilyn A. Ifill’s book.
Four thousand, seven hundred and forty-three (4,743) lynchings occurred in the United States of America between 1882 and 1968. James Taylor, an African American, was lynched in Chestertown, MD in 1892, steps from the courthouse lawn.
The James Taylor Justice Coalition (JTJC) believes that only by telling the unvarnished truth about the past can we begin to address the current injustices faced by people of color today. Our goal: Armed with the truth of the past and knowledge of the present, the people of Kent County and the Eastern Shore of Maryland will undertake the changes in our society necessary to insure justice and equity for all.
The James Taylor Justice Coalition is associated with the
Community Remembrance Project of the Equal Justice Initiative
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Social Concerns/Social Justice |
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Legislation Passes in Maryland General Assembly to Support
Health Equity Communities
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UUCR was among the 287 signers of Health Equity Resource Communities Coalition Resolution to support health equity legislation being presented in the Maryland General Assembly this year. The good news is that Health Equity Resource Communities legislation, which will address health disparities and improve health equity in our state, passed in this year’s legislative session.
Vincent DeMarco, president of the Health Equity Resource Commission, states, “We were thrilled that the General Assembly allocated $59 million in funding for health equity communities over the next five years from secure funding sources. This success happened thanks to the lead sponsors, Senator Antonio Hayes and Delegates Erek Barron and Jazz Lewis, Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson, as well as our broad coalition which made this legislation a priority, including the Maryland Hospital Association, the Johns Hopkins University, 1199 SEIU, MedChi, community health leaders, insurers, faith leaders and local government leaders.”
Thank you to the Board of Trustees who agreed to sign on to this resolution, and to any members and friends of the UUCR who wrote emails or made phone calls in support of this legislation to ensure equitable health care among our citizens.
Amy Warner
Co-chair, Social Concerns/Social Justice Committee
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Imagination Library Outreach Collection
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"The Gift that Speaks Volumes for our Community's Future."
We are happy to announce our newest Outreach Collection, Imagination Library, which will run through the month of May. Started in 1995 in Tennessee by vocal artist and philanthropist, Dolly Parton, this program sends bi-lingual books once a month to any child, birth to five years, free of charge, regardless of income, to prepare them for school. Kent County introduced the program in 2014 with 439 graduates to date and currently serving another 450. The Mid-Shore Community Foundation manages program funds. While the Dollywood Foundation provides the infrastructure for the program and supplies the books, the local program is responsible for enrolling eligible children and covering the costs of shipping and a percentage of the book costs. You can contribute through the donate button on the UUCR website by writing "Imagination Library Outreach Collection" in the comment section. You can also send a check made out to UUCR to the church. We hope that you will continue your generosity by considering a contribution to this successful and valuable program in Kent County. You can find more information about the program at imaginationlibrary.com or contact Lynn Dolinger, lynn.thirdwish@gmail.com.
Thank you on behalf of the Social Concerns Social Justice Committee
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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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MAY BIRTHDAYS
9 - Lynn Dolinger
10 - Tom Lippincott
14 - Rachel Perry
18 - Nancy Holland
27 - Harry Hart
28 - Betty Kerr
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We want to help celebrate your birthday! If we didn't include your birthday, please contact Darlene at UUCR office email
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Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (410) 778-3440
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END of REFLECTIONS for MAY 13, 2021
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