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A proposal has been submitted to Chestertown Town Council to paint two murals on Chestertown Streets. One mural to be located on High Street would read "Black Lives Matter." Another mural in the Calvert Heights neighborhood would read "I Can't Breathe." You can find a copy of the complete proposal on the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice Facebook page by clicking here. If you live in Chestertown, be sure to indicate the ward you live in (Ward Map)

Chestertown Town Council will consider this proposal at a meeting on August 3. If you would like to support the proposal, please send an email before that date to council@chestertown.com .

Philip Dutton

Come join us for a time to see and talk to one another. It's the next best thing to being there!

Click on the Coffee Hour Zoom Link at

11:00 am this Sunday.

Dear UUCR Members and Friends,

On Sunday, August 9, at 10 am, we will gather on the grounds of UUCR, 914 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, to conduct a special service in remembrance of Mr. Dick Hawkins, who passed away suddenly last November, and was a founding member of UUCR’s Green Sanctuary Committee. In Dick’s honor we will dedicate two new American Chestnut trees, recent additions to our Memorial Woodland, where we will be seated for the service. Our service will be shot as a Zoom presentation from within the Memorial Woodland for people who cannot attend in person.

We will have Joys and Concerns at the beginning of the service. Please send any Joy or Concern you would like to share to Jan Whitney at uuofchesterriver@gmail.com before Thursday afternoon, August 6. 

In order to assure everyone’s safety as much as possible, we are asking you to agree to a “Covenant for Regathering,” which is modeled on one drafted by a nearby Episcopal Church. You will be sent a copy of this covenant by email, and you, and all those in your family unit who will be attending, will be required to sign the covenant before you will be allowed to join the service. You may mail or email us your signed covenant, or you may leave it when you come at a special table that will be set up for the service. Extra copies of the covenant will be available on the table as well.

Three important things to remember about the service: 

1)  You must bring your own folding chair(s), to be placed on red dots, marking spots 6 or more feet apart, within our Memorial Woodland. A family unit sitting together may cluster around a red dot.

2) Our building will be closed, so there will be no bathroom access. Sorry, no exceptions.

3) And, as described above, a table will be set up outside the building near the back entrance of the sanctuary for people to leave their signed copy of the “Covenant for Regathering.” Extra copies of the Covenant will be available for those who need them.

Thanks for your understanding about the precautions we must take to put on this service. We sincerely hope to see you there on August 9.

David Biehler, President, UUCR Board of Trustees

Carl Gallegos, Past President

The American Chestnut Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh. was one of the most valued and beloved eastern hardwood species due to its use as a timber tree, its abundant nut production, and its secondary wood products. American Chestnut grew straight and tall, reaching up to 5 feet in diameter and 120 feet in height, and the species could live for several hundred years. It was one of the most versatile trees on the continent, historically used for construction lumber, shingles, fence posts and rails, poles, paneling, trim, furniture, firewood, and extracted tannins drove the leather tanning industry in the Northeastern United States (USDA FS. 2013. General Technical Report SRS-173).

The American Chestnut is gone from the forests, a victim of the chestnut blight ( Cryphonectria parasitica) caused by an introduced fungus. This disease began in New York City in 1904, spread rapidly, and within 40 years had virtually wiped out this once abundant species. Fortunately, there is no threat of extinction; sprouts continue from roots until killed back by blight, and cultivated trees grow in western states and other areas where the fungus is absent. Currently extensive research is being conducted to produce blight resistant chestnuts using breeding techniques, biological control, and genetic engineering. There is great hope that someday the American Chestnut will be restored into the forests of eastern North America.

In last Sunday’s sermon I referenced a workshop I recently attended called “Dismantling Ableism.” When I prepared the sermon, I hadn’t realized July 26, 2020 was also the 30-year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 The ADA set an important bar on rights for those living with disabilities; it is civil rights legislation. At the signing ceremony 30 years ago, President George H. W. Bush offered, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”

At the workshop long-term disability rights activist Judith Heumann (author of “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist”) spoke about the history of the ADA. Through her telling of the history we can better understand the ways education (and stories) about barriers to inclusion paved the way to change, and how new policies were crafted, and how advocacy and protests were all a part of passing the ADA.

Passage of the ADA in 1990 was not a final answer, but remains a foundational step. The history of the movement reminds us that change to systems takes time and perseverance.

After the service several members asked whether as a congregation we were welcoming and inclusive to everyone, including those with disabilities? They asked if our work in the broader community included work to dismantle ableism?

Their questions have me wondering, what are our own stories on the challenges of living with disabilities which are ready to be shared? Who among us worked on the ADA? What are we doing well? Where could we do more? If you have thoughts on these questions, please let me know and together we can explore next steps.

Grateful for the many ways we learn together,

Rev. Sue

Help us promote our special UUCR “brand” and tout our services and community work by “liking" UUCR’s Facebook page. Not a UUCR Facebook page “follower" yet, or even a Facebook user? Click the Facebook icon in this article or at the bottom of this newsletter. We need as many “likers” and “followers” as possible as we navigate these strange on-line times!  Jane Hardy

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:

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