Sunday, October 4 — 10 am

In-person & ZOOM



"'What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say'

—Ralph Waldo Emerson"

Grounding in the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson, let us talk about the courage of our ancestors in faith. We need courage at these times. This is the start of a month that celebrates both Disability History and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History. We have an amazing legacy of courageous ancestors whose actions speak through history.

• Rev. Kathryn Adams, Minister
• Nancy Holland, Worship Leader
• Michael Casey, Musician
• Margo Long, Greeter
• Elisabeth Tully, Coffee Host

This week's music:

• Sing Out Loud website - "We Sing Now Together"
• Sing Out Loud website - "We Rise"

Please CLICK HERE to join us via Zoom.

Order of Service available by noon on Friday CLICK HERE.

OCT 11 | "Inflicting Good on an Unsuspecting World," Rev. Paul Boothby, Guest Speaker — In-person & Zoom

The core of our moral being, rooted in the reality of our interdependence, calls us to respond to the tragedies, corruption, and injustices of our time with a broader love for all people and all life.

OCT 18 | "Living Our Best Lives Every Day of Our Lives," Rev. Kathryn Adams, Minister — In-person & Zoom

This life is a beautiful journey. We live, love, and age. How we age varies by individual. Our biology and our social environment and exposures all contribute to our journey and how we live the latter part of our one wild, wonderful life.

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• This Week's Worship Service
• Upcoming Worship Services
• This Issue's Contents
• Helpful Links, Office Hours, Upcoming Events Calendar
• Minister's Column
• A Message From Your Tech Team
• Do You Like to Sing?
• Hospitality Help
• Children's Book Donation Deadline October 11
• Legacy Fund Committee
• Social Justice Committee
• Sanctuary Task Force
• Fundraising Committee
• Democracy Corner
• Birthdays

In the cyclical flow of the year, this is the season of harvesting what we need and letting go that which no longer serves us. I look forward to hearing what you are harvesting in your lives. I am harvesting communal singing that feeds my soul. A therapist gave me the requirement to do something I enjoy without trying to get better or judging my performance. That has been painting in the past. Now, there are many groups forming to sing songs of power. Many of my favorites are on the Interfaith Alliance site with the Resistance Revival Chorus. I love the story of their singing and talking with Harry Belafonte at the Woman's March in 2016. "This Joy" is a fabulous song.

The Rapid Response choir has many short songs of power that are quick and easy to learn.

The Singing Resistance is another great organization with a Songbook: tinyurl.com/songbookSR and Accompanying Toolkit: tinyurl.com/toolkitSR

 If you choose to check them out, I wish you happy singing. 🎶

Those of you who have tried to watch the service on Zoom have noticed that the piano and the congregation have been strangely silent. After three services we finally asked the all knowing AI. It responded, "Zoom's default background noise supression and automatic audio processing often filter out piano music and softer congregational singing, treating them as unwanted background noise rather than human speech." We have turned off the noise suppression. Hopefully that will solve the problem. Please don't give up on us.

If you haven’t sung with the UUCR choir, but would like to, contact Nancy Holland or Michael Casey. Come join the fun and learn some new songs. We rehearse and sing monthly.

PLEASE JOIN US!

Help Send Letters to GET-OUT-THE-VOTE

OCTOBER 11, 11:30 AM–1:30 PM at UUCR

(after the service)

The Social Justice Committee at UUCR is organizing a nonpartisan Get-Out-the-Vote mailing effort, and we need your help! This project complements the UUA’s UU the Vote commitment to encourage civic participation and empower more people to make their voices heard. Our letters will go to historically underrepresented voters in Michigan.

The campaign is organized by Vote Forward, a national nonprofit that engages volunteers in sending personalized letters to voters. We provide the letters, and YOU provide the stamps and a short personal message about why voting matters to you. It takes just a few minutes to prepare each letter.

Our LETTER WRITING EVENT will be Sunday, October 11, 11:30 AM–1:30 PM at UUCR. Please invite your friends. Refreshments provided. The more volunteers, the better!

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST RSVP. Please RSVP to letterevent2026@gmail.com. Please tell us how many people will attend. Detailed instructions will be sent to registrants before the event.

Help us scare up a love of reading this Halloween! UUCR will host a book giveaway at the Garnet Elementary School (HHGES) Trunk or Treat event in Chestertown on October 23^rd. Help us by donating children's books in new or nearly new condition, or selecting from our Amazon Wish List  https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Y6G6FMI2SYNL?ref_=wl_share  Drop books off in the collection bin in UUCR's lobby by October 11, 2026, or make selections from our Amazon Wish List for direct delivery.  Questions? Contact Pat Bjorke.

The Legacy Fund Committee is seeking grant applications for Fiscal Year 2026/2027. Applications may be submitted by committee chairs or individual members/friends of UUCR. Grants may be requested for programs to enhance our facility, foster congregational life, or to support specific programs or projects in the community. See MQ, Amy, or Nancy for further information.

We are three weeks into our new church year, and STF members have been listening to your comments about the new look of the sanctuary. We will evaluate the feedback at the end of October (we want to "live" with these changes for a while), so please share your thoughts with any of the STF members: Rev. Kathryn Adams, Dave Hart, Nancy Holland, Eileen Kessler, Dawn Miller, or John Ramsey. Thank you.

Our Mah-Jongg Festival, slated for November 7, has been postponed until the spring; stay tuned for updates!

But mark your calendars for our 5th Annual Soup Sampler Supper, Friday evening, December 11. Tickets will go on sale soon!

From your Fundraising Committee: Jane Hardy, Mary Pritchard, and Elisabeth Tully

We want to help celebrate your birthday!

If we didn't include your birthday, please contact the UUCR office by email.