Join in a four-part series exploring the history, theology, and lived practice of Unitarian Universalism.  A great course for people new to Unitarian Universalism or who have been Unitarian Universalist for years.

Sessions will be both informative and participatory. People can participate in-person and online on Tuesday evenings at 7-8:30pm from March 18 through April 8.

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Dates:

• Tuesday, March 18

• Tuesday, March 25

• Tuesday, April 1

• Tuesday, April 8

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Please email Rev. Lane-Mairead Campbell to register at minister@uuroc.org.

This year's UU Common Read is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families.

Retired minister and member of the church, Rev. Peggy Meeker, has offered to facilitate a discussion of this important book where we come to know the  "real lives--revelations, challenges, joys, and networks of support" of trans and nonbinary peoples along with their families.

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Starting March 6th or 7th, we are looking at offering 3-4 sessions on Thursdays or Fridays either in the afternoon (1-2:30pm) OR evening (7-8:30pm) on Zoom.

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If you are interested or have questions please email Rev. Michell Yates at  edu@uuroc.org with your time and date meeting  preferences.

Being together, chatting, and sharing good food are fundamental features of a human community. Please join us on April 11 at 6pm for our Spring Potluck dinner at church. Remember we are a peanut-free zone. and please et us know all ingredients in your dish. COME ONE, COME ALL Friday, April 11, 6-8 at church for our Spring Potluck dinner! Hope to see you there!

Donna Anderson

membership chair

First Universalist Men's Group meeting, all who identify as he/him or they/him are invited! We shall meet from 10am to noon in the Clara Barton Lounge at First Universalist. We hope to see you there!

The Eastman Community Music School is proud to present free weekly concerts featuring artists from the Eastman School of Music and ECMS. Faculty and Student Performances from both schools offer an excellent opportunity to hear some of the best musicians that Rochester has to offer and all performances are absolutely free!

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Concerts begin around 12:15pm, and run until 12:45 to 1pm. We hope to see you there!

January 9
Jazz at Noon

Join Eastman jazz faculty Bob Sneider, guitar, & company for a fabulous laid-back lunch hour.​

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January 16
Paris is for Flutists

Come and enjoy French music performed by flutis, Sophia Gibbs Kim, and pianist, Irina Lupines.

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January 23
“H & G, a Great and Terrible Story”

Eastman Opera Theatre is excited to feature a preview of an opera by A. Shawn/Hong & Randich that offers abstract reinterpretation of Grimm's fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. ​

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January 30
Evidence of Things Not Seen: Songs of Ned Rorem

Come hear songs of Ned Roren with lyrics drawn from the works of various poets presented by Eastman Opera Theatre.​ 

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February 6 

Hungarian Motifs 

Eastman Violin professor Mikhail Kopelman and pianist Anna Gourfinkel will perform music by Brahms and Hubal. 

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February 13 

Love All Around 

Come and enjoy music from the heart as Jessica Ann Best and Irina Lupines present love songs from different parts of the world. 

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February 20 

Violin and Piano Showcase 

Eastman professors David Bowlin, violin, and Tony Cho, piano, will perform music by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Debussy, and Sarasate. 

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February 27 

Piano Extravaganza with Alexander Kobrin  

Professor Alexander Kobrin will join his students performing fabulous works for solo piano. 

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March 6

The Sound of Low Brass   

Enjoy the magnificent sound of ESM Trombone Choir directed by Larry Zalkind. 

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March 13

Women in Music 

Cellist Jennifer Carpenter and pianist Gina Lee perform music by French female composers Lili and Nadia Boulanger.

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March 20

Ainadamar

Eastman Opera Theatre presents the true story of Federico Lorca and his muse Margarita Xirgu in an 'opera in three images' by Argentinian composer Oswaldo Golijov. The story takes place in flashbacks from the present-day Uruguay of 1969 to the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The title Ainadamar comes from the Arabic word meaning 'fountain of tears.' 

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March 27

Lomazov/Rackers Piano Duo

From Mozart to Stravinsky-masterpieces of piano duo repertoire presented by Eastman professors Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers. 

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April 10

Ying Quartet 

As quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, the Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today's world.

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April 17

One Piano-Many Fingers! 

Please join the students of Professor Tony Caramia as they explore piano compositions at one piano with multiple players. This digital extravaganza features pieces by Bizet, Bonis, and Casella.

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April 24

"A Time to Remember ... ,,

Spend an afternoon with a preview of Eastman's Holocaust Remembrance Concert. ESM faculty and students will perform works by Jewish composers who died in or survived the atrocities of World War II.

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May 1

Violin and Piano Showcase

Renowned violinist Oleh Krysa and pianist Irina Lupines will perform gems of violin/piano repertoire from Beethoven to modern times.

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May 8

Guitar Roots

Join Eastman alum and graduate dean, Matthew Ardizzone, for a solo classical guitar program rooted in folk music and features pieces by Leo Brouwer, Edward Flower, and Joaquin Rodrigo.

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May 15

Gracias a la Vida: Music & Poetry of Chile

Tenor Pablo Bustos and pianist Priscilla Yuen will present the highlights of the cultural richness of Chile through musical settings by Chilean composers and poetry by Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.

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May 22

ECMS Honors Finale

Enjoy the final concert of the season, featuring the amazing young high school graduates from 
the Honors Program at the Eastman Community Music School. 

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More to come as they are announced!

And this is the third of three Search Committee Tuesday evening Zoom sessions where our Search Committee members are offering us another chance to share our visions, hear the visions of others, ask questions, and help in the important work our entire congregation must complete to prepare to find our next minister.​

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​Drop-in Discussions meet via Zoom Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30pm.

The Book Group will meet Sunday, April 13, after coffee hour, in the Chalice Room to discuss the 2022 novel “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver.

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Ron Charles’ Washington Post review said “it may be the best novel of 2022, equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. It is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants but readers will love. Set in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, it is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper colored hair, a caustic wit and fierce talent for survival. Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Damon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.”

You do not need to read the book to participate. Questions? Contact bookgroup@uuroc.org.

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You do not need to have read the book to participate. Questions? Contact bookgroup@uuroc.org.

Our monthly food ingathering for the Community Food Cupboard! Low-sodium non-perishable food, toiletries, paper products, and cash are always needed and deeply appreciated!

Our April Social Justice Plate Offering is designated for REACH Advocacy.

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REACH Advocacy is a community-minded organization seeking safe, supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness in the Rochester, NY, region. We have a threefold mission led by three teams. Project HAVEN. Edgerton Meadows. Advocacy.

Please contribute as generously as you can to support this important work. For more info, visit their website https://reachadvocacy.org/.​

Noon-1:15pm in the Sanctuary

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Please join us to view, consider and discuss the second part of "Welcoming Neurodivergent Children," a webinar from the UUA. You don't have to have attended Part I to participate. Rev. Michelle will facilitate.

Come, Come, Whoever You Are! Rumi’s poem is full of movement imagery. The second line combines notions of leaving and wandering together with worshiping. In our church and our nation, we are confronting departures from accustomed norms, and we find ourselves wandering into new places, some of which feel perilous.

During the season of stewardship, we remember that Beloved Community serves us steadfastly as an anchor, a microcosm of courage and care.

Stay after the service to hear a brief presentation about this year's Stewardship Campaign and get your pledge card!

TBA     

We will meet at 9:15am in the Chalice Room. Drop-in discussions will continue on the first Sunday of the month through June 2025.  If you have a topic you would like discussed or, better still, would like to lead a discussion, please speak with Phil Ebersole. ​​

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All are welcome! 

Please come enjoy a traditional Seder for all ages.

The Seder begins at 5:30pm and we will enjoy a buffet meal at 7pm. Please bring a dish to share. Sign-ups begin March 16.

Tableware, soup, wine, grape juice, and matzoh will be provided.

Questions? Contact Lew Ward-Baker or Richard Reed.

The Committee on Ministry reviewed and revised our church’s “Covenant of Right Relations” and its “Policy on Responsible Behavior”. These revised documents provide a structure to guide our process of conflict resolution. The documents can be found on our website at uuroc.org/bot.

We want our church to be a sanctuary in these challenging times—even as we are facing major changes ourselves. Distress around us can leak into relationships even in this community of intentional love and support.

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The design of the new policy is based on the Unitarian Universalist value of Love at the center of all interactions. Specific elements were developed from our own church’s previous policies as well as the work of other congregations.

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There is a forum planned to discuss and practice the policy as well as to review the Covenant following the service on Sunday, March 30. Please plan to attend!

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The documents have been approved by the Board of Trustees and other church leaders. We hope that some of you will look them over. and contact any member of the committee with questions or comments. Email any one of us at com@uuroc.org.