Join Us for Worship This Sunday!

June 15 at 10 a.m.

Lucy Samara, Guest Speaker

Betsy Ferries, Worship Associate

"Nurturing Resilience: When Problems Seem Relentless"

What inspires and sustains you? At this service, guest speaker Lucy Samara will share stories from the Joint Urban Ministry Project (JUMP) Outreach Center, addressing how nurturing resilience is important in all our lives and the value of faithful collaboration in addressing community needs. FUUSB has supported the vital JUMP ministry since 1988.

Lucy Samara is active in the Burlington area supporting community responses to food and housing insecurity and mentoring volunteers engaged in service. Lucy is a JUMP volunteer serving on the Board of Directors and in the JUMP Outreach Center. She has served on the First Congregational Church UCC of Burlington’s staff part-time for decades in outreach ministries, youth ministries, communications and pastoral care coordination. A South Burlington resident, Lucy is a grandmother to five.

Join us for worship in person in the Sanctuary, or online. The livestream link and order of service will be shared at bit.ly/FUUSBWorship, or visit our YouTube channel.

Following the service, all are welcome to Coffee Hour in the Lawn, (weather permitting) or Community Room.

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 This Sunday

Erika Reif, Director of Lifespan Faith Development

Starting this week and continuing through all of July, families will stay together in the Sanctuary throughout the service. Children, their noises and their active bodies are welcome during worship. Activity stations at both entrances provide coloring pages, stuffies, and fidget toys to help children (and many adults!) engage. If a child needs a break, parents and caregivers are welcome to accompany them to the lower level to play in the unstaffed nursery or read in the children’s library. Listening devices are available at both entrances which can be used to listen to the service while supervising a child. Childcare will resume on August 3.

Looking Back to Sunday

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister



Here is a link to the video recording of last week's service.

The latest Minister's Message

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

Occasionally, Rev. Karen records a Minister's Message for the congregation. Here's one from this past Monday, June 9th.

End of Year Housekeeping

Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance

As we near ever closer to the end of the fiscal year (June 30th) it is time to look at your pledge status. Our budget relies on everyone completing their pledge if they possibly can. I will be emailing out Pledge Statements this week. Please, please, please, open your Pledge Statement. Even if you think you are paid in full, please open the statement and check. Thing happen all the time that can mess up your pledge status, it is really important to check it out.

And then, July 1st begins the new fiscal year and you will begin to pay on your pledge for the 2025/2026 Pledge Year. That means that you will need to go into Realm and set up your automatic payments, making sure that your total payments will fulfill your 25/26 pledge, and making sure that the Fund account listed is the 2025/2026 pledge year. If your automatic payments are paid with a credit card, make sure the card in Realm is the correct card and not an old expired card. You can also have payments taken directly from a bank account (which have lower fees than credit card payments).

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to Christina at xina@uusociety.org.

Two scheduling notes for this summer!

Erin Barbot, Ceremony and Scheduling Coordinator

Planning to meet in July?: If you are planning to have meetings at The Meeting House in July they need to be submitted by Thursday, June 20th. Erin is taking July off from scheduling so all requests for space need to be submitted by Thursday June 20th. You can submit those requests here. 

Recurring meetings: All recurring meetings follow the congregational calendar which means they end in June. If you are hoping your meeting will continue into the summer, or start again in the fall, please submit a new space request here.

Summer Administration Changes

Töve Johnson, Program Assistant

As you may remember from last year, the Administrative Assistant at FUUSB currently takes a 6-week hiatus during the summer. This means that Töve will not be working from June 28th to August 18th. 

In her absence, the following will occur:

• There will be no eNews- the last edition before the break will be 6/29. It will return on 8/27.

• Any emails sent to tove@uusociety.org will remain unanswered and deleted upon her return in August. 
• If you need to contact the office, reach out to Director of Finance & Operations, Christina Fulton at xina@uusociety.org

• Orders of Service will not be published for Summer Services, however a list of titles and descriptions will be available. 

• Administrative support will be significantly decreased during this time. Expect slower responses to administrative emails and tasks *Note: Some requests may not be able to be fulfilled until Töve returns in August*

Here is a graphic with the calendar of our Summer 2025 Sunday Services. If you want more details about each service, click here.

Special Thank You for Annual Picnic Help

Kim Watkin, Board of Trustees Member and Sarah Russell, Member.

When you need more tables and chairs at the last minute, you know the Annual Picnic was a great success! Plenty of delicious food and can you believe the sunny weather??  What a lovely day!

A Special Thank You to all the volunteers who helped with the set up and clean up at the Picnic. It is certainly true that " many hands make light work" when you have to set up and put away all those extra tables and chairs!

And, we need to recognize the tremendous help from our Facilities Manager, Devin, and Caretakers Phil and Darrell in helping us make this event possible!

Also, there were a few plates etc left behind. They are on the table that is outside the kitchen in the Community Room.  

June's Date with Death Club - register now for June 28

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

Our last session before a summer break, June's Date with Death Club session is "Owning Our Dying" with a focus on home funerals, death doulas, and how to hold a deathbed vigil.

Click here to register.  You are welcome to invite a guest and register them as well.

Taking a break in July & August, DwDC will be back the 4th Saturday of each month starting in September, going through the whole congregational year (with a break in December).

Black Lives Matter Banner

Racial Justice Team

Racial Justice team members and congregation attendees were engaged at that time with the local Black Lives Matter organization by attending protests to raise awareness of discrimination, bias, and injustice toward black and brown Vermonters. Though Burlington no longer has a local Black Lives Matter organization, we continue to fly this banner to affirm the simple truth that black lives do matter. We believe the message of the banner is as important and relevant today as it was when we raised it back in 2018.

Elmore Campout

Erika Reif, Director of Lifespan Faith Development

If you look around Sunday morning and notice that some familiar faces are missing, it could be that they are part of the more than 50 FUUSBers that are camping together at Elmore State Park. If you would like to join them for the Friday evening potluck, or Saturday hiking, contact Erika for more info. erika@uusociety.org

UUA General Assembly for Everyone!

Christina Fulton, Director of Finance & Operations

If you are unable to attend General Assembly, there are still a few ways for you to participate! Video of some events from General Assembly (GA) 2025 will be live-streamed, June 18-22—no registration required. Live-streamed events will include the General Sessions and Sunday Morning Worship.

The Ware Lecture, Service of the Living Tradition, and Synergy Bridging Worship will not be available for public live-stream or on-demand viewing. General Assembly registration is required to live-stream these events, or access the video on-demand.

• Stream 2025 Events
• Videos of GA 2024 General Sessions, Service of the Living Tradition, Synergy Bridging Worship, and Sunday Morning Worship
• Program Book
• Program Schedule/Agenda

Climate Justice Team will meet online

on June 26th at 7:30 pm

Caitlin Waddick, Climate Justice Team

The Climate Justice Team welcomes new members to our monthly meeting on Thursday, June 26th at 7:30 pm. The meeting link will be shared via our Realm group and by email -- or ask! Direct your ideas and questions to climatejustice@uusociety.org  

As we deepen our commitment to the UU Climate Justice Revival, we ask, “What can FUUSB do to create a flourishing society that builds our connections to each other, nourishes people, and that envisions climate justice and collective liberation in Burlington and beyond?” 

As a part of it, we are talking about solidarity economics, summarized briefly here and inspired by the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network  and the Resist and Build Network.  

Faith Development Registration for 2025-26

Erika Reif, Director of Lifespan Faith Development

Please register Children and youth for the 2025-26 program year! Registration provides us with important information about the kids we serve and helps us plan for the year to come. Please include infants and toddlers who might use the Nursery and high school youth, even if they only plan to participate occasionally.

Interested in joining a Group at First UU?

Susan Ogden, Member

Dear Friends,

If you are looking to deepen your connection with others and explore meaningful discussion, consider joining a circle at First UU!

We offer a variety of circles designed to foster community, personal growth, and spiritual exploration. To learn more about the different types of circles available, please visit the LINK to the FUUSB Circles web page.

For further information, please contact Gail Beck or Susan Ogden at ThemeCircles@uusociety.org.

Deepening Our Lives

Susan Ogden, Member

We are a Chalice Circle meeting the first and third Mondays of each month from 5-6:30 PM, at the meetinghouse. We are a diverse group and we are seeking more members. Our discussion derives from the Path. In June we will explore the Practice of Freedom .

Contact: ChaliceCircles@uusociety.org

Each month FUUSB has an Earth Teacher and a packet of materials to help you connect with and make meaning in your life in relationship with that Earth Teacher. Check it out.