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In just one week Election Day will be behind us. It will be a relief. While it may take some time to know the results, ideally all systems will work well and we'll have results we can trust. I am hopeful (confident?) this will be the case.

I know many members have helped with voter registration, calls and texts. Many have made donations. Folks have voting plans.The stakes are high, and folks have engaged in unprecedented ways. We sense the tension in the air.  

As we move through the coming week, I encourage you to pause and consider how you are feeling about our democracy and this election. Take a few really big breaths. What are you grateful for? What has been reassuring? What are you frustrated with? Where are you worried? Where has there been joy?

It feels important to check in with one another on these questions. If times were more normal, we’d be able to do this sharing in person, but alas, this is not possible. 

Instead, to provide a chance for post-election sharing, I have set up a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, November 4 at 7 p.m. We hope many will join and share their perspectives on the election.

Zoom Sign-In for Wednesday, November 4 at 7 pm.

Join Zoom meeting by clicking here.

Passcode: 694963

As we enter this final week, we offer our shared gratitude for the many who are overseeing the election process and doing everything in their power to assure everyone can exercise their right to vote. *

In hope,

*Note: For this month we will not hold our anti-racism check in call. We’ll use the time for this post-election check-in.

There will be a memorial service celebrating the life of UUCR member Dick Hawkins on Sunday, November 15 at 3 pm on Zoom. All are invited to attend. As we get closer to the service, a Zoom link and additional details will be shared.

If you need support using Zoom, please let us know by email at uuofchesterriver@gmail.com or by phone at 410-778-3440.

General Election Day:

Early Voting: Mon, Oct 26 – Mon, Nov. 2, 7 am until 8 pm

1) VOTE EARLY (in person), Oct 26 – Nov 2, 7 am – 8 pm.

In Kent County at any of the three KC voting centers:

In Queen Anne’s County at any of the four QAC voting centers:

3) VOTE BY MAIL-IN BALLOT

b) by placing it in a ballot drop-off box.

The League of Women Voters has worked diligently to prepare

Voters’ Guides for the 2020 General Election. Hard copies will

be distributed throughout both Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties. KC Guides will be handed out at the Farmers’ Market in Chestertown every Saturday morning until November 3 – but if you’d like to see the Kent County Guide online, click here. For the Queen Anne’s County Guide, click here.

Two statewide ballot questions will be on the ballot on November 3. Want to know more about them? The League of

Women Voters of Maryland has put together descriptions of both questions, including the arguments for and against each. Click here if you’d like to see these.

A new house on College Avenue is giving the Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River the chance to build hope for a local bi-racial family of five.

Kent Attainable Housing is building the modest house. All we have to do is furnish and equip it, all 1,200 square feet.

With what? Just about everything. Open the attached List of Needs for the details.

Despite needing to find new employment, due to the Covid-slowed economy, a couple with three children has accomplished everything required of them so far by Kent Attainable Housing (KAH). They will soon be leasing-to-buy the modular home due to arrive on College Avenue Wednesday, Oct. 28. Move-in is anticipated in early December.

The couple had to jump through all the qualifying hoops, like classes in personal finance and a HUD certified First-time Homeowners Class, before their selection. KAH is a local non-profit committed to ending multi-generational poverty through home ownership. This home, recently named Garnet House in honor of Kent County’s noted abolitionist H.H. Garnet, will be the first KAH completion.

The UUCR’s Social Concerns/Social Justice committee was inspired by Kent Attainable Housing after hearing Lani Seikaly, the founding chair, present the 501-C3 charity to the Chester Valley Ministers Association last year. The UUCR study of racism had already taught members about the blatant discrimination by federal and private mortgage entities aimed at African-Americans for decades.

The nest egg, the inheritance that many White families have received from their parents, often based in the paid-off family home, never existed for most Black families. Helping this family start building their nest egg is a rare chance for us to make a difference, a material difference in our own community -- financial security and a leg up for the next generation of long-oppressed Americans.

The UUCR committee envisions this project as a first step toward a possibly lasting relationship with the local couple. Both Lani and Lynn Dolinger, initiators of the collaboration, say there may be opportunities to assist the family with technical and budgeting issues they encounter for the first time. “This relationship could develop into something fun and beneficial to both parties,” Lynn noted.

Another value of UUCR’s role will be to serve as a test-case for KAH collaboration with other churches for future homes. KAH already has received applications from 24 families, mostly led by single women with children. Six households are in various stages of the lengthy process, and a second homesite and qualified family might emerge within the foreseeable future. When the area’s economy recovers, KAH expects its clients to qualify for mortgages rather than lease-to-buy contracts.

So, if downsizing or clean-outs of garages and attics are on your autumn agenda, please reserve the choicest items that fit the attached Needs List. Contact info is shown at the top of the List.

Thanking you in advance,

It's not too late to sign the White Allies Pledge. UUCR has been assisting the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice to engage community members in supporting People of Color in their quest for justice and racial equity.  We hope that you will sign the Pledge and be counted when supporters' names are published in early November.

While this is a product of the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice (SACRJ), our own Board and Social Concerns Committee are partnering with the SACRJ in support of our Strategic Plan's focus on racial equity. In addition, many of our members are actively working with the SACRJ to promote racial justice in our community, including Philip Dutton who is a member of the SACRJ Steering Committee. If you want to do more, please consider signing the Pledge and becoming a member of the SACRJ. There's a lot of information on their new website https://sacracialjustice.com. You can also contact Philip Dutton at SACracialjustice@gmail.com or Lynn Dolinger at lynnscsj@gmail.com.

All members and friends should have received an email with instructions on giving us the latest picture to be included in the UUCR photo directory. You can send them either through the web site, www.uuchesterriver.org or by email at UUCRpictures@gmail.com. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and their family.

How are you sure something is true? Andy Rooney once noted, “People will only accept facts as truth if the facts agree with what they already believe.” Join us for this service with Rev. Sue Browning as we explore the ways we each determine what is true.

Deep gratitude for Words and Music from Nancy Holland, Sue Browning, Ellen Barry Grunden, Eamon Peach, Philip Dutton and Crashbox Theater. Our grateful thanks as well to the Tech and Communications Team of Elizabeth Hausburg (editor), John Ramsey, Don Barker, James Lavin, Bozena Lamparska, Jane Hardy and Jan Whitney.

Rev. Sue Browning, and the Pastoral Care Associates: Kevin Brien, Gayle Folger, Nancy Holland, and Vida Morley

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