Peggy Meeker, Acting DRE

We proudly announce that the Rev. Peggy Meeker has accepted the position of Acting Director of Religious Education (aka DRE) at 1st Universalist.

Peggy is busy getting to know the people, plans, projects, and policies that make up our Religious Education program for children and youth. She begins this coming Sunday with a project to welcome our new minister and introduce the UU Principles, which will be our focus this term. If you haven’t met Peggy yet, please introduce yourself to her over the next couple of weeks.

We hope you’ll join us in the activities below. Some are educational, some are purely social and some are both. Inter-generational activities include children of all ages, while other activities are for adults only. Check the details to see if childcare is provided.

• Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 — SEM food ingathering during service. Donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries, and paper goods will be collected to benefit the Southeast Ecumenical Food Cupboard. See our Social Justice sub-page under Congregational Life for  more details.
• Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 — Registration for Religious Education (RE) classes will be held in the Clara Barton Lounge immediately following the service today.
• Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 — 7:00 p.m. — The Causes in Common event originally to be held at 1st Universalist today has been re-framed as “Let’s Get Political!” and will now take place at Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Ave, Rochester NY. It is open to the public. Interfaith Impact and the Empire State Pride Agenda will be hosting an educational forum on the position of local candidates on several pieces of legislation. More info can be found in the Outside 1st Universalist Announcements.
• Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 — Social Justice Plate Offering during service. Money collected will benefit children in the Rochester City School District with their back-to-school needs.  Sarah Singal and Santosha Kuykendall will also be collecting in-kind donations (backpacks and school supplies) after church.
• Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 — deadline today — First U T-shirt order will be placed today. The navy blue t-shirts are $15 each. If you’d like to put your t-shirt check in the plate during the offertory, please write “T-shirt Fund” and size on the memo line of the check.  Contact: Santosha.
• Friday, Sept 26, 2008 at 6:30p.m. — in the adult lounge, Movies to Inspire and Uplift will show “Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story” followed by discussion.  Please bring a snack to share. RSVP to Linda
• Sunday, Sept. 28 to Oct. 5, 2008 — RAIHN host week at 1st Universalist. See our Social Justice sub-page under Congregational Life for details. There are many volunteer opportunities available. If you are able to help, please contact Matt Comeau.
• Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 — beginning of a Small Group Ministry based on the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. Please see the sign up sheet on the bulletin board in the Clara Barton Lounge.
• Friday, October 17, 2008 — in the adult lounge, Movies to Inspire and Uplift will show “Iron Jawed Angels”, starring Hilary Swank  We will be viewing this movie in the sanctuary at 6:30 PM and will move to the Clara Barton Lounge for discussion directly following the movie.  There is no charge for movie viewing and discussion time. Anyone wishing to bring a snack to share will be gratefully appreciated.

  Said reviewer Bret Fetzer, “The fight for women’s voting rights has rarely been given as dramatic a treatment as in Iron Jawed Angels. Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry) and Frances O’Connor (Mansfield Park) star as second-wave suffragettes Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who led the final fight for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.  The mounting energy of the fight–and the increasingly nasty opposition–gains real momentum when a wartime picket line leads to Paul, Burns, and their sisters-in-arms being arrested on trumped-up charges and imprisoned. The actors–including Julia Ormond (Smilla’s Sense of Snow), Angelica Huston (Prizzi’s Honor, The Grifters), and Brooke Smith (Vanya on 42nd Street)–give fervent, determined performances.”

Some of our ministries would like your involvement too …

Outreach at First Universalist
The Outreach Ministry, aka Social Justice, is organizing and needs your input. Our current endeavors focus around Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network, Southeast Ecumenical Ministries, and the social justice plate on third Sundays, and we are proud to continue all these activities.

In addition, we need some people to meet from time to time and brainstorm about what  we need to do, and to make sure it happens. We need some folks to be go-to people for members, visitors and friends looking to get involved in particular areas, such as Peace, Gay Rights, Environmental issues, and International Social Justice.  Please contact Sarah Singal at church, by phone, or by email and find out how you can join others in serving the community.

MOCHA (Ministry of Coffee Hour Activities)
It was wonderful to be together again at coffee hour on Water Communion Sunday!  Our thanks go out to our “kitchen fairies,” who magically appeared and helped with serving and clean-up.

MOCHA is attempting to “go green” this year.  We’ll be using real dishes and glasses.  We’ll be working on posting directions for the dishwasher to make clean up easier.  Please bring in a mug from home if you have not already done so. (Of course, we’ll have a few extras on the table, just in case.)

The sign-up sheet has been posted on the standing bulletin board in the Clara Barton Lounge.  Please consider signing up for a Sunday.  There are written directions available tacked to the bulletin board.  As always, Karl and Nancy would be glad to work along with new volunteers to make things go more easily.  Everything is provided for coffee hour.  It takes 30 – 45 minutes to set up before church and about the same amount of time for clean up.

Social Justice Plate Offering Nominations
Do you know of a local social justice organization that could use a one-time infusion of cash?  Please consider nominating them for our Social Justice Plate Offering.  The forms are in the church office.

Religious Education
Volunteers are welcome for our Religious Education Program. Please contact Peggy Meeker for more info.

Lay Sunday Speakers
Lay Sunday Speakers are needed for the upcoming church year.  More information is on our Lay-led Services sub-page of the Worship page. Please contact Linda Lorenzo. (Note: as of Sept 30, 2008, the Lay Sunday speakers list for 2008-09 has been finalized.)

We hope you’ll join us in one or more of these events or activities.

Activities and events newly announced this week are:

• Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 – SEM Food Ingathering. Donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries, and paper goods will be collected during the service to benefit the Southeast Ecumenical Food Cupboard.
• September 28 – October 5, 2008 – RAIHN Host Week at 1st Universalist. See our Social Justice sub-page under Congregational Life for details about RAIHN. There are many volunteer opportunities available for this host week. If you are able to help, please contact Matt Comeau.

Previously announced upcoming activities and events are:

Sunday, September 7, 2008 – immediately following the Ingathering Water Communion service, which starts at 10:30 a.m. and which will be led by the Rev Sally Hamlin, there will be a reception to welcome Sally. See our Sermons & Services sub-page under Worship for details about water communion.

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 – 9:15 a.m. — DROP-IN DISCUSSIONS coordinated by Phil Ebersole will resume. For a list of upcoming topics, visit our Drop-in Discussion sub-page under Congregational Life.

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 – REGISTRATION DAY FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE) PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH. Look for a sign-up table in the Clara Barton Lounge where you can register your children for our RE program. If you are unable to register on September 7th, please contact Marie Sidoti with the number of children you are planning to register. We look forward to meeting you and your children.

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 – during coffee hour after service – BOOKSTORE & LIBRARY. The Clara Barton Library and Bookstore reopens today and will remain open until the end of next June. You may buy or borrow books during coffee hour following each Sunday’s service.

Friday, September 26, 2008 – FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIES TO INSPIRE AND UPLIFT
“Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story” will be shown Friday September 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the adult lounge at First Universalist. Discussion will follow the movie. There is no charge, but donations of snacks to share are gratefully appreciated.

From the editorial review at amazon.com, “The title refers to the religious practice of treating all people, no matter how poor or humble, as if they were visiting angels. Day was a famous activist and philanthropist of the 20’s and 30’s. The film traces her growth – mostly spiritual and religious – as she left journalism to become a suffragette in Greenwich Village. Eventually, Day converted to Roman Catholicism and dedicated the rest of her life to helping the poor.”

RSVP to Linda Lorenzo.

October 7, 2008 to January 6, 2009 – A NEW SMALL GROUP MINISTRY based on the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism will meet on the first and third Tuesdays of the month beginning October 7th. Please contact Marti Eggers for more information.

COMPUTER GRAPHICS DESIGNER NEEDED. The Caring Committee is looking for a computer graphics designer who will help design a flier promoting a workshop the committee is sponsoring. The flier would be sent as an e-mail attachment. If you can help, please contact Marti Eggers.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR OUR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE) PROGRAM in the following areas: teachers, substitute teachers, classroom assistants, general assistants, special skills volunteers, and RE Committee members. Contact the R. E. Committee Chair, Paul Swiatek.

LAY SUNDAY SPEAKERS are needed for the upcoming church year. A description is at the Aug. 19, 2008 This Week, This Month announcement, below. If you are interested in being a speaker, or know of someone whose message would be of interest to our congregation, please contact Linda Lorenzo. (Note: as of Sept 30, 2008, the Lay Sunday speakers list for 2008-09 has been finalized.)

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 or Christine De Golyer.

SAINT LAWRENCE DISTRICT has a wide array of events coming up in the Fall. A full list is on our “Outside 1st Universalist” Announcements August 22nd post or visit www.sld.uua.org.

We hope you’ll join us in one or more of these events or activities .

• THE CHURCH OFFICE IS OPEN. Office hours are Tuesday- Friday 8:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. If you’d like to leave a message after office hours, please call (585) 546-2826 or e-mail office@uuroc.org.


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