Join Us for Worship This Sunday!

January 18th at 10 a.m.

Esther Charlestin, Guest Worship Leader

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Worship Associate

"Dimming Our Light"

In this service, we’ll explore what it means to stop shrinking ourselves in order to fit into spaces that were never designed with us in mind. Drawing from personal story, communal wisdom, and our shared Unitarian Universalist values, we’ll reflect on how we honor our full light. Especially in times of tension, transition, and uncertainty. Together, we’ll consider how we might create communities where everyone can shine without apology.

Esther Charlestin is the founder of Conversation Compass LLC, a consulting practice dedicated to building cultures of belonging and courageous communication. She serves as Chair of the Vermont Commission on Women and has spent her career working at the intersections of education, equity, and community leadership. Esther lives in Vermont with her husband and two children, who continually inspire her with their curiosity, resilience, and joy. They have recently begun attending FUUSB.

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 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

Mo Singletary, Family Programs Assistant

Families will begin the morning together in the Sanctuary. After the Time For All Ages, children in Building UU Values (PreK-3rd grade) will be escorted to their exploration group on the lower level. Members of Crossing Paths (4th-7th grade) are taking a field trip to Cathedral Church of St. Paul and will need to meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Susan B. Anthony Room (SBA) on the upper level. Youth are taking the week off to be in service with families or join their siblings on the Crossing Paths field trip. Childcare for infants and toddlers is available throughout the service in the Nursery on the lower level.

Looking Back to Sunday

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

On Sunday, as part of the pastoral prayer, Rev. Karen shared a slightly abbreviated form of the statement made by Becca Good after her wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, was murdered by ICE.  You can read the full statement at the end of this public radio article.



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

Facilities Updates

Devin Fallon, Facilities Manager

Christmas Eve Fire Alarm - As many of you experienced, a fire alarm in the building was triggered just before our 6pm Christmas Eve service. We employed our safety systems, which worked as intended, due in no small part to all of you. Incidents like this are why we practice. Ultimately, it was found there was not an active fire in the building, however, the staff here at the FUUSB would like to thank everyone present for their cooperation and calm evacuation of the building.

Parking Lot Ice - For anyone planning to come to the meeting house, the gravel portion of the back parking lot is incredibly icy.

Please use abundant caution and your best judgement when parking and walking around the meetinghouse, especially in the back parking area.

 -Thank You, The FUUSB Facilities Team

Thank you, First UU!

Socially Responsible Santa

Thanks to the generosity of this congregation, we raised over $7,400 for the Socially Responsible Santa fund this holiday season!  40 families in our community were the joyful recipients of cash gifts that they were able to spend in whatever way was meaningful to them.  All of these people have hardships in their lives so this unexpected act of kindness was deeply felt.  On behalf of these neighbors in need, I say “thank you” to you all!

–Ellen Wollensack

Scam Emails

Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance

Once again, members have been receiving scam messages from Rev. Karen and other staff. Please be careful, this most recent version was a one sentence message that said "Hi, if you're not too busy, let's quickly chat here." It seems harmless enough, except if you reply to this message you are not chatting with Rev. Karen, you are chatting with a scam artist. Use this easy trick to tell if an email is truly coming from Rev. Karen or any other staff member: roll your mouse/cursor over the name of who the message is from and it should show the senders email address. Rev. Karen and ALL other staff members have email addresses that end in @uusociety.org. If your message is not from an @uusociety.org email address, then please just mark it as spam. Do Not Reply to the message!  

Jan. 16th Talk & Discussion:

Apartheid-Free Communities

Caitlin Waddick, Member

January 16, 7:00–8:30 pm | First UU Society of Burlington (Parlor)

Join the First UU Society of Burlington for an evening of learning and dialogue with Hamed Bakir, a Palestinian American public health and environmental specialist and retired United Nations professional. Raised in Ramallah, with family roots in Jaffa, Hamed brings personal experience and decades of international work with WHO and UNICEF to his reflections on Palestine and Israel.

Hamed’s talk will explore what many human rights organizations and Unitarian Universalists refer to as Israeli apartheid—examining structures and practices affecting Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the diaspora. The event is designed to support thoughtful engagement, including for those who have questions or concerns about these terms or feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the conflict.

This event is co-sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Team, Racial Justice Team, and Immigration Justice Team. Attendees will also have an opportunity to discuss the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge  being considered by our congregation.

Learn more about UU values and voice your support for the pledge here.

Click here to read the 2024 UUA Action of Immediate Witness, Solidarity with Palestinians.

UUA Side with Love resource

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

These times have more and more challenging moments. The UUA's Side with Love offers this resource for Spiritual Practices in Challenging Moments. Check it out!

De-escalation Training this Saturday

Submitted by Kim Watkin of the Democracy Project

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you could diffuse a tense conflict or disagreement? 

The Democracy Project and Racial Justice Team of the FUUSB are co- sponsoring a De-escalation Training on Saturday, Jan. 17th from 1pm to 4pm in the Community Room of the FUUSB. 

Register here OR you can email Kim Watkin at watkinfam@aol.com and she can register you.  

Only 50 spots available. Open to FUUSB Members, Friends and their Guests 

Cost? A sliding scale of $0-50 and a donation of an item for the Sunday Morning Breakfast: orange juice, half and half, ground coffee, socks, warm clothing. 

This de-escalation training will focus on skills that are helpful to manage conflict, reduce violence, and improve safety for everyone. We will:

• Discuss and practice situational awareness 
• Explore tools for tracking a crisis 
• Explore whether or not to engage in an escalation
• Practice methods for diffusing an altercation
• Learn about the nervous system and the need for self-regulation
• 
  

The training will also include an exploration of our identities and how they interface with de-escalation.

Our trainers include:

• Leif Taranta is a local organizer who you’ll find at most leftie protests acting as a de-escalator and caring for our community. They work for the Climate Disobedience Center and help coordinate the Vermont Solidarity Network among many other projects.
• Rachel Siegel is a local political and community organizer, educator, and former Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Center in Burlington. She is also a dancer, a performer, and the mom of two young adults. She has a small business called Toward Liberation.

Our Next Gathering: Defining Our Path

Respectful Dialogue

We are officially beginning to "dig into our purpose." This meeting is crucial as we formalize who we are and how we will hold space for one another moving forward.

• When: Sunday, January 25, 2026
• Time: 11:30 AM (Immediately following coffee hour)
• Where: FUU
• Who: All are welcome—the curious, the concerned, and the seekers.
• 
  

Your Voice Matters

If there is a UU position that concerns you, or if you simply value the art of deep, respectful disagreement, please join us. Let’s build a circle where every perspective helps us see the full picture.



Questions? We’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to Rosanne Greco at rosanne05403@aol.com for more information or to let us know you're coming.

Date with Death Club- Jan. 24th

Rev. Karen G. Johnston, Senior Minister

Date with Death Club returns after a December break. Meeting most 4th Saturday of the month, in January we are meeting on the 24th, 10 - 12:45. Our topic is Good Life and Good Death: What do people mean when they say “a good death?” And how is that connected to having “a good life?” Is it the same for everyone? Are there barriers to a good life? What do these terms mean for you?

Attendance is limited and by registration. Click here to register.

Spring Homestay Announcement

Homestay Team

The Homestay Team is excited to announce UU Homestays for area college graduations are in the works. We had some success for fall parent weekends and hope to increase the bookings for the Spring. Here’s what one inquiry told us: It’s great to have an alternative to hotels and airbnbs!

If you are interested in donating space, please fill out this short survey so we can get the Spring website launched. Many of you provided Spring dates earlier in the year; please confirm and let us know of any changes in this form.

Also, we need help getting the word out. We are interested to hear from current parents of St. Michael's College and UVM students. We may be able to advertise on certain social media sites with posts from members of parents-only groups. Please email:  homestay@uusociety.org. 

  The Homestay Team Thanks You!