Join Us for Worship This Sunday!

September 20 at 10 am

Rev. Sarah Lammert, Senior Minister

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister & Worship Associate

This sermon looks at what can happen when another person’s behavior gets under our skin, and what our reactions reveal about ourselves. Through the lens of self-awareness, curiosity, and compassion, we explore how we can open possibilities for deeper understanding.



The Rev. Dr. Sarah Lammert is a Unitarian Universalist minister, consultant, coach, and facilitator with more than thirty years of experience in ministry and denominational leadership. She is the principal of Shared Vision Consulting, where her work focuses on healthy leadership, conflict transformation, and reflective pastoral supervision. She currently serves the Universalist Unitarian Congregation of St. Johnsbury as its half-time contract minister and is working with FUUSB to grow our spiritual resilience around conflict.

Join us for worship in person or online. The livestream link will be shared at bit.ly/FUUSBWorship.

Following the service, all are welcome to Coffee Hour on the Lawn (weather-permitting).

While at the Meeting House, anyone is welcome to wear a mask. In the spirit of caring for each other, please stay home if you have any cold or flu symptoms. Thank you.

Children & Youth: Exploration Groups Kick Off This Sunday! 

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

This wait is over! This Sunday marks the first day of exploration groups for children & youth! We are SO excited to welcome everyone back for a new year of programming.

Families begin the morning together in the Sanctuary. After the Time For All Ages, children & youth will be escorted to their exploration groups on the upper and lower levels of the Meetinghouse. Check out our Family Calendar to see the schedule for upcoming Sundays, and descriptions of each exploration group!

The Nursery opens at 9:45am, offering care for infants and toddlers, and remains available throughout the service. Activity stations exist at both entrances of the Sanctuary, providing coloring pages, stuffies, and fidget toys for all ages to engage with. Reach out to Erika Reif (erika@uusociety.org) or Mo Singletary (mo@uusociety.org) with any questions! 

Looking Back to Sunday

You can view a recording of last Sunday's service here.

^{Rev. Karen featured in UU World Article}

UU News Article

Before being arrested and dragged away from an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in Williston, Vermont, on September 4, Rev. Karen G. Johnston joined other faith leaders in speaking the names of people killed by ICE agents.



“We spoke their names, their country of origin, their ages, and the circumstances around their deaths,” said Johnston, who is senior minister of First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington. “We prayed, we sang, and at the time of arrest, we kneeled.”

Read full article here:  https://www.uuworld.org/articles/uu-minister-arrested-vermont-ice-protest

Check out our new covenant posters

It's not to late to sign up for September's facilitated small groups!

Sep. 20th (in-person) & Sep. 22nd (online)

Thank you to those in the FUUSB community who have signed up for September's facilitated small groups to grow our spiritual resilience around conflict. We would love to see more of you participate in September, as well as in October and November. Listen to Rev. Karen's latest Minister's Message about this fall's deep commitment to each other, our covenant, and growing our strength to be a positive force in our community and the world.  You can access the video here.



Here is where you register, either for the in-person groups on Sunday, Sept 20th* (after the service lunch will be served to participants) or for the online groups on 9/22. 

*Note: There were no requests for child care by the deadline for the 9/20- in-person groups.

Good Trouble Potluck on Saturday, Sep. 26th

Submitted by Jennifer Callahan for the Building Democracy Team

Join the Building Democracy Team of the First UU on Saturday, Sept 26th from 4:30-6:30 pm for a Good Trouble Potluck.  



The late Rep. John Lewis encouraged a focus on voting rights in his "good trouble" message of civic engagement. The First UU's Building Democracy Team has invited guest speakers from organizations including the ACLU, the League of Women Voters of Vermont, Support for VT's Prop 4 and others to speak about direct actions we can each take to ensure fair and free elections in November.  

We welcome all food items for the potluck and ask that you bring them with a card labeling all ingredients. Dishes and silverware will be provided. 

Welcoming Congregation Renewal Project

Submitted by Welcoming Congregation Renewal Project

 (a project of the FUUSB Radical Welcoming Team)

HOLD THE DATE - View and Discuss Imara Jones Ware Lecture on 10/18 from 11:30-1:30 - FOOD PROVIDED.

This event is sponsored by the Welcoming Congregation Renewal Project of the FUUSB Radical Welcoming Team.

Please join us after the service on 10/18 to watch Imara Jones, the captivating 2025 UUA General Assembly Ware Lecturer, on video followed by small group discussion at the Meeting House.

Why is this event important? Imara Jones makes explicit connections between the attacks on trans and non-binary people and the 2024 election campaigns and results. Divide and conquer is not new, but Imara Jones illustrates how scape-goating this marginalized group was a detailed 10 year strategy used by the Christian Nationalists to achieve political goals. This strategy continues to be used in 2026 and we will see it in 2028.

Imara Jones is an American political journalist and transgender activist who created TransLash Media, a cross platform journalism, a personal storytelling and narrative project.

Let’s watch this video together to understand what happened and think about the future. 

UU Weekend at Silver Bay: Full Payments Due on 9/20!

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

In the blink of an eye, the long-anticipated UU Weekend at Silver Bay (held from October 9-12 2026) is less than a month away! Many folks from our congregation have signed up to join the nearly 300 people total registered for this year!

Please note: the deadline for full payment is this Sunday, Sept. 20th!

If you’re attending, now is a great time to start thinking about transportation. Right now we know of two families who have spots in their cars, and we’d love to help connect others who are looking to carpool! Please let us know if you’re going, whether you need a ride or can provide a ride, by filling out this spreadsheet: 2026 Silver Bay UU Weekend - FUUSB Participants.

If you haven’t yet registered, discounted rooms are available on the third floor of the inn and there are still several cottages available. Access additional information about Silver Bay, including the registration form, the 2025 weekend schedule, and a slide show, at https://albanyuu.org/blog/uu-silver-bay-weekend/