Thursday, September 7, 2023 |
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THIS SUNDAY'S
INGATHERING
WORSHIP SERVICE
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"The Courage to Evolve"
Rev. Paul Boothby, Guest Speaker
Annie Lavin, Service Leader
In-Person & Zoom
Sunday, September 10, 2023
Science and spirituality both teach us that there is nothing unchanging in the universe. Even Unitarian Universalism has evolved and continues to do so. Are we prepared to live into the larger love our movement is embodying in this generation? What is the tension between the greater possibilities at hand and the resistance, even hostility, to our progress? On this Ingathering Sunday, we celebrate the power of community to save lives in a hurting world.
- Michael Casey, Musician
- Marti Steudle, Youth & Teen Welcome
Please CLICK HERE for the link to join us via Zoom. |
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Upcoming Worship Services |
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Sunday, September 17 — In-Person & Zoom
Water Communion
"Doors Wide Open, Hearts Wide Open"
How might we continually welcome one another and welcome the stranger? How might a vision of radical hospitality guide our coming year together? At this service led by Rev. Sue Browning, we'll reflect on the "gift of welcome" as a foundation in our Unitarian Universalist faith. The service will include our annual Water Communion ritual. All are welcome!
(Keep an eye on the newsletter and website for more details on Water Communion.)
- Rev. Sue Browning, Minister
- Marilee Taussig, Service Leader
- Michael Casey, Musician
- Amy Warner, Youth & Teen Welcome
Sunday, September 24 — In-Person & Zoom
"We Begin Again in Love"
As Jews around the world pause to observe Yom Kippur, might we too pause and ask, "How do atonement and forgiveness enter into our UU theologies? At the end of our days, will there be grudges, regrets, old hurts, and angers that we’ve held on to? Or can we find a way to remind ourselves to let go of those things?" In this service, based in part on a Church of the Larger Fellowship interview with Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Rev. John Wright will think about forgiveness and, as Eller-Isaacs has so beautifully put it, “begin again in love.”
- Rev. John Wright, Guest Speaker
- Jan Sprinkel, Service Leader
- Michael Casey, Musician
- Jackie Mathwich, Youth & Teen Welcome
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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
- Minister's Column
- Special Congregational Meeting - HVAC — September 24
- Legacy Advisory Task Force Update
- Hospitality Help Needed — Greeters, Coffee, & Potlucks
- Social Justice Cmte. Meeting Invitation — September 8
- Potluck in Woodland Memorial Garden — September 22
- UUCR is No Longer Collecting Grocery Receipts
- List of Books Shared at 8/27 Discussion Service
- UU Author Event — September 13
- Sumner Hall Book Club Invitation — September 21
- Pastoral Care and Connection Committee
- Birthdays
- UUCR Contact Information
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End of Reflections Notice at the VERY END
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If you don't see "VERY END of REFLECTIONS for September 7, 2023"
at the VERY END of this email, you're not seeing the entire email.
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This Week's
Worship Service
UUCR
UUCR Office Hours
W, Sa, Su — 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
M, Tu, Th, F — CLOSED
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SEP 10 | Worship Service
UUCR Homecoming
Rev. Paul Boothby, Guest Speaker
SEP 17 | Worship Service
Water Communion
Rev. Sue Browning, Minister
SEP 22 | Potluck in UUCR's Woodland Memorial Garden
SEP 24 | Worship Service
Rev. John Wright, Guest Speaker
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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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Centering Welcome (In Everything)
It's hard to believe we just crossed that imaginary "summer is done" line. While 90+ degrees, it is officially after Labor Day!
Before moving forward, we start with gratitude for all who offered a message or experience at a summer discussion service, and consider how we were nourished by the weekly gatherings. Thank you!
As we look to a new church year, and imagine our ministry together, it's time to ask, "What do we need from one another? What does the world need from us?"
Big questions that can be overwhelming.
Maybe a simpler question to get us started is around our theme for September - The Gift of Welcome. What might we do to center welcome in all we do? What might that look like — not just the welcome of the stranger or newcomer, but offering a continuous, deep welcome to one another?
I'm intrigued by my colleague Rev. Renee Ruchotzke's quote, "Radical hospitality is about putting our own assumptions up for examination." Putting our own assumptions up for examination reminds us that practices of welcome are something well beyond initial friendliness. It's a reminder that the work of welcome and hospitality changes us.
What might UUCR feel like this coming year if we continually ask, “What is the most welcoming way we can ‘do’ church together?” and then move toward that vision of radical welcome together? It's a question I have in mind as we start the church year that I hope will lead to a sense of energy and renewal among us and with those who come to check us out.
(And as an experiment, we'll be asking the questions around the monthly theme among our adults and in our children and youth programming this year.)
In faith,
Rev. Sue
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Special Congregational Meeting - HVAC September 24 |
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Legacy Advisory Task Force Update |
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The Legacy Advisory Task Force (LATF) submitted its report to the UUCR Board of Trustees, as charged, and the Board reviewed it at its August retreat.
The LATF report included several recommendations, as highlighted below.
A. Decide if endowment funds are to last in perpetuity or to have a finite life span, such as 10, 20, or 30 years? A defined life span would allow principal as well as interest to be used on a structured basis.
B. Form a Legacy Committee comprised of three (3) individuals to continue the management of the bequest funds and to develop a Legacy Program for UUCR. This committee would report and make recommendations to the Board.
C. Consider allocating the bequest funds in the following or similar manner:
- Make a one-time allocation of $XX to be used to upgrade the AV system at UUCR, or for a use determined by the congregation.
----2. On an annual basis:
- XX% of the funds from the endowment fund can be used for operating budget projects/programs for our church and in our community.
- XX% of the gift can be used for annual scholarships in Kent and Queen Anne’s County Schools to recognize Dorris Scott’s gift.
- XX% of the gift to sustain a viable ministry at our church.
The Board has asked the LATF to conduct a more in-depth exploration of the congregation’s wishes regarding the LATF recommendations. It is understood that ultimately there will be a congregational meeting with a quorum and member vote. You will soon be receiving more information on this, so keep a lookout as we move through this important process.
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Volunteers are needed as Coffee Hosts and Greeters at our Sunday worship services. Signup sheets are on the white board in the lobby.
We also need Potluck Hosts for our monthly potlucks beginning in October, as PROCC is hosting the September potluck. A signup sheet is on the white board in the lobby.
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Please consider sitting in on our
UUCR Social Justice meetings!
Friday, September 8, 10:45 a.m. at UUCR
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SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 6 PM |
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Beer Garden Potluck
in our Woodland Memorial Garden
Your Public Relations Committee hopes to turn our outdoor space into a lighted eating area. Be thinking of German-themed dishes and beverages to bring!
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UUCR is No Longer Collecting
Grocery Receipts
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Summer Book Discussion
— books shared on 8/27/23
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The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (Peggy Christie)
The Hidden Life of Deer by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (Linda Weimer)
Jefferson’s Daughters by Catherine Kerrison (Harry Hart*)
Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom (Bob Bjork)
Sing, Memory by Makana Eyre (Vida Morley)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (Sydney Brookes)
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf (Gerry Edwards)
Oppenheimer by Martin Sherwin (Guy Edwards)
A Most Intriguing Lady: A Novel of the Victorian Era by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (Debra Woodruff-Capper)
Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum (David Biehler)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Marcy Dunn Ramsey)
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham (Mindy Miller)
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Christopher Murray (Annie Lavin*)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Lynn Geisert)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Joy Kim*)
The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple (Bob Coleman)
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann (Amy Warner*)
*will loan out
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Ned Tillman, UU from Columbia, MD, will speak on his book Good Endeavor: A Maryland Family's Turbulent History 1695–2002, a story of 300 years of struggle for the environment and justice that mirrors Maryland's history and UU values. Sponsored by the Bookplate on Wednesday, September 13th at 6 p.m. in the back room at The Kitchen and The Pub at The Imperial. For more information https://savingtheplaces.com
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The newly formed Sumner Hall Book Club is inviting all to attend its next meeting on Thursday, September, 21, 4:30 - 6 p.m. at Sumner Hall, 206 South Queen St, Chestertown. Join to enjoy great books and follow up discussions. All are welcome!
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Pastoral Care & Connection |
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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
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SEPTEMBER
_8 - Linda Weimer
14 - Larry Schroth
16 - Mary Pritchard
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We want to help celebrate your birthday! If we didn't include your birthday, please contact the UUCR office by email (click here).
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Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River 914 Gateway Drive | Chestertown, MD | 21620
Phone: 410-778-3440
Office hours: W, Sa, Su — 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Closed — M, Tu, Th, F
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VERY END of REFLECTIONS for September 7, 2023
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