Sunday, February 20, 2022, at 10:30 am - online only!

Dear First Universalist Friends,

Due to the changing trends of the pandemic, our Covid Safety Team has carefully discerned that we can resume in-person worship services on Sunday, February 27th!!!

And, of course, we will continue to offer services on Zoom for those who are not able to come to the sanctuary. For those who would like to join us in person, we will have several safety measures in place including distanced seating and masking requirements. Stay tuned next week for more details. 

Friends, it will be so good to be together! All are welcome!

Yours in peace and friendship,

Rev. Hillary 

Collectively, our Annual Campaign Giving is 70% of First U’s annual expenses. Our salary and benefits expenses are also 70%. Your Giving honors our wonderful minister and staff – Rev. Hillary, Gwen, Mack, and Sam who bring you Sunday Worship (and more); behind the scenes are Andrea and Todd. This year our Giving must increase 4% to keep up with fair compensation. To view our video and to offer your commitment, visit our website.

With equal amounts of love, excitement and safety precautions, we are planning to offer group worship and RE in our sanctuary. Other groups and activities in the building may also resume.

This decision was made so very carefully. Thank you for your faith and patience. We hope it will be possible to stay in this place for a long time, but of course we will respond to local conditions and go virtual again if and when we have to. 

Please click and review our updated Covid Safety Policy so you know all the guidelines about stuff like masks, social distancing, and no food or drink in the building. 

We will still provide zoom access for anyone who needs or prefers to stay home. 

We can’t wait to see you in 3D!

With love, Rev. Hillary, Gwen, Mack, Sam, the Board and Covid Safety Team

This year's reimagined Maine Farm Supper is a personal pot pie takeaway dinner. Visit Maine Farm Suppers for more information or to preorder.

If interested in volunteering to help out with the Maine Farm Supper on March 4 or 5, please contact Cindy Guernsey at cindyguernsey@icloud.com.

Each gathering will center on a curiosity-piquing, heart-opening, or just enjoyable piece of media that attendees will read, watch or listen to in advance, and then come together to discuss in depth.

Rev. Hillary is excited to offer a six week Adult Coming of Age course. Over the course of the class, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their spiritual autobiographies and the evolution of their faith, as well as consider on the ethical values that shape their actions, the foundations upon which they build relationships, and explore their beliefs about God, love, evil, life, and death.

The Judiciary Committee received over 1,200 testimonies! 10 of us at First U offered testimony.  Of the 105 spoken testimonies, only 1 was against. Next step: Judiciary Committee will, we hope, vote “ought to pass” so that LD1626 can move to the full legislature for deliberation. Stay tuned for updates.

MUUSAN is asking folks to encourage their legislators to support the seven bills that are priority bills of the Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC) for 2022. To learn more about these – see bill descriptions and fact sheets and be able to watch the EPC recorded presentations about these - go to: https://protectmaine.org/epc/priorities/2022

For a very inspiring one-hour recorded presentation about Spiritual Leadership for a Climate Changed World, given by the Bangor Theological Center director, click here.  

On Wednesdays from 12:00 - 1:00 pm Rev. Hillary will be holding an outside drop-in space at our church picnic tables. All are welcome to come by and check-in. (Weather permitting.) Throughout the week, Rev. Hillary will be holding office hours for individual conversations. These conversations can be on Zoom, over the phone, or in-person. Please reach out to Rev. Hillary directly to schedule a conversation, firstuminister@gmail.com. Note that Rev. Hillary is not available to meet on Saturdays and Mondays.