ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 14:
 
NEXT SERVICE: March 21: Patience and Other Virtues I Want Right NOW
What does it mean to be right at the moment of the spring equinox, on the edge of the new season, and to be thirsting mightily for that which is just beyond our grasp- the warm weather, the spring flowers, the promise of rebirth? Does the waiting make the gift all that much sweeter?  Is there a gift hidden in the waiting itself? Join Reverend Sally Hamlin and Worship Associate Michael Scott for this worship service which is also Stewardship Sunday, the launch of our 2010-2011 canvass.

NEXT DROP-IN DISCUSSION: March 21: On March 21, our drop-in discussion topic will be Haiti’s plight, and we’ll meet at 9:15 a.m. only.  On March 28, our topic will be rising health care premiums and we’ll meet at both 9:15 a.m. and 12 noon.  The corrected schedule is on the bulletin board in the Clara Barton Lounge.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE) CLASSES: School-age children are invited to join us upstairs for Religious Education (RE) classes after the Message for all Ages. Nursery care is provided throughout the service.

SEM FOOD INGATHERING is today. Donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries, and paper goods will be collected to benefit the Food Cupboard at Southeast Ecumenical Ministries.

SPIRTUAL LITERACY CLASS: Tuesday, March 16, at 12 noon in the Adult Lounge.  Bring a lunch to munch while we view the dvd on Gratitude, and discuss afterwards. No fee, all are welcome; let Rev. Sally know you wish to attend by sending an email to minister@uuroc.org or leave a message on office phone: 325-5092.

A MESSAGE FROM THE STEWARDSHIP TEAM: March 21, next Sunday, is Stewardship Sunday. We hope to see the whole congregation at the intergenerational service; please stay after as our guests for luncheon. What does The Little Church with the Big Heart serve for lunch? Comfort food!

NEW SMALL GROUP WRITING MINISTRY: This three-session daytime SGM is just long enough to give you a taste of what SGM is all about if you’ve never done SGM before, and provides a “welcome back home for a visit” for those of you have participated in SGM in the past. All three sessions (April 27, May 4, and May 18 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM) are at the home of Elizabeth Osta and Dave Van Arsdale, facilitated by Elizabeth.  Sign up now in the Clara Barton Lounge on the SGM bulletin board.

AND THE WINNERS ARE… Our Facebook Haiku Contest winners are (in alphabetical order) Catherine Coates for ‘Love is our calling’, Ruth Fitzgerald for “Fruity People”, Elizabeth Osta for ‘Hope comes like a breath’, and Keith Stott for ‘Flake by flake, soft snow’. Winners, please pick your mugs up in the Clara Barton Lounge after the service.  Thanks to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for the next contest!

HYMNAL SALE: The hardcover grey, Living the Tradition ($30) and the teal supplement, Singing the Journey ($20) are available to purchase during the Coffee Hour. A personal dedication done in calligraphy will be available for each hymnal purchased.

MINISTRY OF COFFEE HOUR ACTIVITIES: (aka MOCHA) has volunteer opportunities. You don’t need to make the coffee or buy the treats. To learn more and to sign up, please see the bulletin board near the coffee hour table.

RADICAL HOSPITALITY WORKSHOPS:  Stay tuned for more information about Part II on March 27, with Jan Gartner, focusing on inclusion topics.  More info available from Jan.

UNIVERSALIST CONVOCATION 2010: May 14-16, 2010 First Universalist Society of Rochester, NY Keynote: The Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed, “Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Heaven” For more information please go to nmuc.org/Convo

MEN OF THE CONGREGATION: The 20th Universalist Unitarian Gathering of Men will be held this year on June 11, 12 and 13 at Camp Unirondack in Lowville, NY. All lodging and meals included for approximately $70.00. Men, mark your calendars.  For a personal endorsement, talk with past attendees….Bill Elwell, Brad Hindson, Paul Swiatek, Steve Farrington, David Damico, Paul Brew, Todd Plank or Tom Williams

SAVE THE DATES FOR DISTRICT ASSEMBLY: “Visions of Hope and Promise” May Memorial, Syracuse, NY, April 23-24. Stop by the Denominational Affairs table in the Clara Barton Lounge for more information. 

EASTMAN AT WASHINGTON SQUARE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Thursdays from 12:15- 12:45. The concerts are free and open to the public!  For a schedule, visit: http://esm.rochester.edu/community/calendars/lunchtime.php 

CLAUDE BRAGDON TALK: Friday, April 9, 5:30 pm, at U of R- first floor Rush Rhees Library. RSVP 275.4477.

LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY DAY: Monday, April 12, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY. Meet with elected officials to discuss ethics reform, GLBT civil rights, reproductive health care. www.interfaithimpactnys.org or 518.441.3231 for more details.

TRUTH COMMISSION ON CONSCIENCE OF WAR: Public hearing, March 21 in NYC. More information is posted on the bulletin board outside the office.

A CARING COMMITTEE REMINDER: When a family member enters the hospital, needs emergency meals, needs transportation to church, or wants home visits; please contact Marti Eggers, mceggers@gmail.com or 385-4342, Christine DeGolyer, chrisdeg@frontiernet.net or 461-3616.
 
HEARING LOOP IN SANCTUARY: Please use the T setting on your hearing aid or see an usher for a receiver.

December 2008

As I write this, the first snowy blanket of the winter has arrived in Rochester, and the morning ride to church was so bright and lovely. I cannot help but feel happy when I see the fresh white cold cover arrive, even though I know that its presence signals the end to warm weather for a while. This change is part of the mix of things I enjoy about living in western New York. I love the seasons’ changes; I love the way the distinct shifts in climate, four times each year, invite me into seeing another type of pattern in my life. It is almost as if we get to start over, begin anew, with each shift and flow of season. A gift, truly.

And much else has been shifting and changing in our church community. This past fall has seen us with so many exciting events, worship services, lots of visitors, potlucks and guest speakers, old friends ans new ones coming into our Sanctuary. The Sunday visit of Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, former co-minister with his wife, Donna, was one such highlight. What a legacy they have bequeathed this congregation. The impact of their ministry here is still strong, 20 years later.

It is my belief that each of us has the potential for such impact upon this community. Despite the challenges of change, we commit ourselves over and over again to start anew. Despite how we are challenged in our quest to create the beloved community, we keep our promise to stay in the discussion, to speak our truth with love and compassion. We must find ways to ‘disagree without being disagreeable,’ as my supervisor once said to us, her team, as we struggled mightily with how to work creatively with one another in our struggling community health care center.

And so it is here, in our church community. Let us promise to stay in the game, to stay on course, to use what two authors (Rendle, Mann – Alban Institute) call ‘holy conversation’; a “people’s understanding of their identity as a faith community, their sense of purpose and their relationship to God” to find out what we mean to on another and to the world. Let us find our way to one another in these exciting and uncertain times.

As the season of seasons comes upon us, and we find ourselves stressed and over-scheduled, stretched financially and emotionally, may we remember to find times to enjoy the peace and quiet of a new winter’s day; find small ways to celebrate with and listen to our loved ones; pay attention to all the ways we are blessed in this world; and continue to create moments where the abundance of hope and joy can hold court in our lives, speaking truth into life.

For each moment is sacred. Each moment is unique. Each moment is a gift.

See you on Sunday.

November 2008

Dear Ones,

As I ponder what it is I want to write to you this month, I am thinking about how much you have taught me already. In just a short time, I have learned so much about this community and how much you love this congregation. It shows in all the ways you step forward to care for one another, and in the depth of passion which each of you brings to the beloved community.

I have found in you models for how to care for the world, for what it takes to step out, over and over again, in courage and in hope, to be good stewards of this faith we love.

The times in which we live are not for the faint of heart. There is so much going on that threatens to disturb all the foundations we took for granted in the past. Not the least among these is the upheaval we have seen in our country’s financial status.

I hear on the radio and on the TV the warnings to stay calm, to stay the course, to not panic, to avoid rash decisions, and all this makes sense to me. At the same time, I wonder about how those among and around us will make do with less, how people will learn to stretch further and further the meager dollars they have to get through the month. It takes courage to step forward, into the unknown, over and over again.

I take comfort in the knowledge that we are survivors of all sorts. Those of us from the northeast, particularly upstate and western New York, have already had too many years of being smart about making dollars stretch. I think we could be the people who write books about this for others to read in detail, so good are we at this, instead of the ones reading and listening to the pundits telling us what to do.

But then I wonder: What else can we learn?

Perhaps the question should be: What else is it that we have to teach?

I think there is still much to be hopeful about and much to celebrate. This congregation has stood through many years of hard times, within a community that has withstood hard times, and yet you still meet and sing with joy and heart every Sunday morning.

You still gather here in this building on the corner of Clinton and Court and work with RAIHN or organize and plan your ministries. You teach your children, or one another; you know every square inch of this building, top to bottom, and you love its peculiarities, even as you struggle with its challenging and aging design. And you write notes of care and concern, make visits and phone calls, check in with one another, always looking to the future, while relishing the present moment.

I look forward to our time together whenever we meet; I know I still have so much to find out about who you are.

In the coming season, as we anticipate ramping up for visitors, special celebrations and times that have, in the past, called for spending extra money, when we can expect to feel swept along with the holiday hype, let us take some time instead to listen to one another, plan in some quiet reflection time, take walks in the brisk fresh air sweeping in off the lake, make tea or cookies and invite the elderly neighbor to come and visit. Find and create new ways to recall what it is that has named us into being in the first place, and practice one of the most important of the ‘holy manners’: that of listening for the voice within that calls us into full interaction with life.

May First Universalist continue to stand proudly here and remain a symbol for the future. May we continue to grow in our knowing of one another and the world, and may we continue to find ways to fill our mission to “Nurture the Spirit and Serve the Community.”

In love and faith,

Universalist Unitarian Association (UUA) news can be found here.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) news can be found here.

UUWorld, the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, can be found here.  

National organization of Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) news can be found here.

New York State Convention of Universalists (NYSCU) news can be found here.

Saint Lawrence District (SLD) news can be found here.

Sunday, March 7, 2010
10:30 Service: Singing the Journey: Our Unitarian Universalist Heritage Through Music
This service is a hymn sing service that will introduce music as theological theme, and include pieces from our newest hymnal, “Singing the Journey”, which we have recently acquired.  Join Reverend Sally Hamlin and Worship Associate Janus Mary Jones, and of course, our talented First Universalist music community for a fun and inspirational service.

Sunday, March 14, 2010
10:30 Service: On Jewish and Christian Teachings: A Sermon on the Fourth Source
This Sunday, the choir will perform Jason Shelton’s song On Wings of Praise, the fourth movement from the Sources Cantata, composed by Shelton and the Reverend Kendyll Gibbons.  Many of us come to Unitarian Universalism from other traditions, while many of us have been raised as Unitarians, Universalists, or as Unitarian Universalists. What does this mean to us as we embrace the fourth Source of our wisdom teachings, Judaism and Christianity? Join Reverend Sally Hamlin and Worship Associate Tom Williams for this worship service.

Sunday, March 21, 2010
10:30 Service: Patience and Other Virtues I Want Right NOW
What does it mean to be right at the moment of the spring equinox, on the edge of the new season, and to be thirsting mightily for that which is just beyond our grasp- the warm weather, the spring flowers, the promise of rebirth? Does the waiting make the gift all that much sweeter?  Is there a gift hidden in the waiting itself? Join Reverend Sally Hamlin and Worship Associate Michael Scott for this worship service which is also Stewardship Sunday, the launch of our 2010-2011 canvass.

 Sunday, March 28, 2010
Topic: To Be Determined

If you just look around our region, there are lots of celebrations. There are harvest festivals, spring festivals, winter festivals, celebrations of music, culture, art, food and neighborhoods. Around the country, people celebrate history, the black-backed gull, the paddlefish and other regional delights. What do these sometimes zany celebrations tell the world about those who celebrate – and about ourselves? Join us for a chance to laugh and learn!

-with Mary Louise Gerek and Ann Rhody