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UUCM Newsletter
September 2017
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Greetings!
This is an exciting time for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Milford and I'm delighted to be here to share it with you! I'm quickly getting a sense of UUCM as a thoughtful, talented, and dedicated group of people who really value their church community as their spiritual home and a voice for Unitarian Universalist values in the wider community.
I've been here a week and it's been an eventful one, beginning with moving day. Kate and I arrived in a U-Haul and were greeted by a team of guys from UUCM with warm smiles, outstretched hands and strong backs ready to help us move into my new apartment. Many hands make light work and together we had the truck unloaded in less then an hour. Thanks guys! Kate and I were so grateful for the help and touched by your warm welcome.
How fitting it seems that the Soul Matters theme for this month is "Welcome"! The warmth of your welcome has continued throughout the week. Again and again, I've experienced a richness and a depth of connection and dedication that leaves me feeling humble and grateful for the opportunity to help guide you through the interim process. I have no doubt that exploring the meaning of welcome with intention this month will be a wonderful way for us to begin our journey together.
You may still be wondering what
the interim process is all about. Basically, it's a process designed to help you prepare for your next settled minister. Together, we'll take a look at where you've been and where you are so you can make some conscious decisions about where you want to go. By the time you call your next settled minister, you'll have a strong sense of identity and direction. You'll know what kind of minister you need to help you get where you want to go.
Looking ahead, there are some wonderful opportunities for us to get to know each other better coming right up. I'm really looking forward to our time together at
Ferry Beach; September 8-10. In my experience, there's something very special about bonds of friendship forged at camp and conference centers. I can't think of a nicer way for us to spend time getting to know each other.
Ferry Beach might be the perfect place to scoop up a little water for our Water
Ingathering Ceremony on September 17th. But regardless of whether you can
attend Ferry Beach or not, plan to bring a little water from a place that quenches your thirst, either literally or figuratively, to Sunday Service that morning.
The last Sunday in September (the 24th) we'll gather at Peabody Mill
Environmental Center in Amherst for an opportunity to explore our place in the
interconnected web of life with activities for all ages.
Again, it's great to be here with you. I know this is just the beginning of what will be a marvelous journey together. You can reach me by email at
[email protected] or by phone 603-673-1870.
Peace,
Rev. Carol
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We gather at 9:30am, sitting in a circle in the Fireside Room or Emerson Hall. The facilitator for the day starts the discussion by supplying a word, phrase, or theme, which leads to an exchange of ideas that can evolve in any direction.
Summer Services are smaller in scale and less formal than our regular services, and are a great way to get to know others in the church community and for newcomers to ease in. There's no sermon and little ritual, but there is a wonderful feeling of nurturing our spirits by sharing our joys, concerns, thoughts, and inspirations in a meaningful way and keeping our connections alive through the summer.
As part of our annual congregational retreat at Ferry Beach, we'll worship together in the Grove on both Saturday and Sunday morning. This year we'll be sharing Ferry Beach with the First Parish UU Church of Beverly, Massachusetts. On Saturday, Rev. Carol Strecker will lead a service on welcoming as spiritual practice. Rev. Strecker will co-lead Sunday's service with the Rev. Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson. Together we'll enjoy the peace of tall pines and the seashore, make some new friends and deepen friendships with folks we know. If you have questions about
Ferry Beach, contact Beth Soederberg (
[email protected])
Linda Goodman & Nancy Baker
Welcome to all whether you have been with us for years or are visiting for the first time! This is a service of connection and anticipation as we begin a new church year. Two of our most gifted worship leaders invite you into a new congregational year of worship services in our sanctuary. Music provided by Joe Pollock. Nursery care for 2-year olds and younger begins this week.
Whole Congregation Worship and the Family Room begins next week
Join us for our annual ingathering service. Bring a little water from a place that has special meaning for you as a symbol of the many ways our lives meet and merge, like streams flowing to the sea. We gather to celebrate the source of life and the sources of our strength in community as we share our hopes for a year of reflection and renewal.
After the worship service, we'll share in the fellowship of our first coffee hour of the new congregational year.
(Whole Congregation Worship)
Come celebrate the autumnal equinox; a time of natural balance, when daylight equals darkness, in the wheel of the year. It's a lovely time to stop and pay attention on this liminal day between the seasons. We'll open our service by gathering in a circle of community. Then you'll have a variety of opportunities to engage your senses in the natural world - walking the trails, exploring the pond, sharing music, or gathering for reflection and conversation on the gifts of the season. You are invited to bring a picnic lunch so that we can enjoy a meal together after our explorations.
Directions to Peabody Mill.
(Whole Congregation Worship)
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Whole Congregation Worship is designed to be welcoming, engaging and meaningful for all ages. These are gatherings for the entire community. Nursery care is available every Sunday for infants and toddlers. At any time during the service children accompanied by a parent may leave the sanctuary and enjoy our Family Room, which has a speaker broadcasting the service.
Soul Work Boxes are available for anyone of any age that would like to work with their hands during worship.
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Music! Music! Music!
For more information about our music programs, contact our music director, Carolyn McCreary ([email protected] 978-772-5870).
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All singers are invited to join the UUCM choir. We rehearse Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 8:30pm in the sanctuary. Please join us!
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 For Sunday Service Music this year, I would like to increase the variety of musical styles and add different instruments to our musical offerings. Please contact me if you play a musical instrument and would like to participate in a "UUCM Band". I'm especially looking for percussionists.
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Rev. Carol plans to continue to work with the staff from the UU congregations in Nashua and Manchester on sharing offerings for all three congregations. Stay tuned for details.
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UUCM
 Activities & News
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Council chartered an Interim Transition Team in June. Their role is to provide the Interim Minister with insight, organizational and facilitative talent, and willing hands as the ministry proceeds. Members include Sue Durham, Linda Goodman, Ellen Groh, Bryan Higgs, Carl Olsen, and Donna Ryan. They look forward to working with Reverend Carol throughout the year, focusing on these areas:
- Planning congregational opportunities to address the first two tasks of interim ministry; claiming and honoring the past and engaging and honoring its griefs and conflicts and recognizing the congregation's unique identity and its strengths, needs, and challenges,
- Help educate the congregation about the interim ministry/search process and organize to a congregational process for selecting the Ministerial Search Committee.
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Would you like to be a part of worship planning next year? If you can't commit to a whole year of monthly meetings, but would like to help with services for just one month (or two), we have a new format for you to consider. Worship next year will definitely be rich with substance and spiritual stimulation, with a clear message and more visuals, music, short readings, poetry, stories or movement. Those who sign up for a particular month and its theme will work with Rev. Carol and a core group from the Worship Committee to create services around the theme for two of the Sundays that month. Brainstorm with us! Be creative and get to be a voice in the service if you like. Share your talents for music, art, storytelling, or movement. You might offer a brief (less than 10 minutes) exploration of your thoughts on the theme and have help combining them with music and visuals. The themes for this 2017-2018 are listed below. December and January already have volunteers, but if hope or intention appeal to you, please jump in. If you'd like to join the team for a particular month, contact Nancy Baker
[email protected]
or 673-7659
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Our congregation participates in the Soul Matters Sharing Circle; a collaborative of over 100 ministers and congregations that share resources on thematic materials that can be used to support worship, faith formation and small group ministry. This years themes are:
Courage (October)
Abundance (November)
Hope (December)
Intention (January)
Perspective (February)
Balance (March)
Emergence (April)
Creativity (May)
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A  s summer winds down - or at Ferry Beach! -- remember to take photos of yourself or a family group for a community bulletin board in Barnum Hall. This will be an aid to Rev. Carol and eventually our new settled minister as well as for newcomers to our church. You can leave photo prints in the office mail slot in the coatroom at UUCM or you can email them to Pat Nelson at
[email protected]
. (See email tips below and include full names of people in the photo.)
NOTE:
If emailing a photo to be printed, attach the file the way you would attach a document. That is, don't specify that you are attaching a photo and don't use a photo mailing program. Those methods often automatically reduce the resolution of the photo for online viewing, but are poor for printing.
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Learn how to advertise your event in the newsletters and on the church calendar.
October newsletter - Sept 20 - Send to [email protected]
Weekly update - Every Monday starting Sept 6 - Send to [email protected]
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Volunteer at the Nashua Soup Kitchen
Every month we need three volunteers to help Meghan Hoye (424-3431 or
[email protected]) serve Sunday lunch at the Nashua Soup Kitchen.
When: 2nd Sunday of every month (next on
September 10)
Time: 10:30am-2:30pm
Duties: Setup, simple food prep, serving, cleanup
Who: Adults and youth 12 and older (accompanied by a responsible adult)
Learn more: Talk to an NSK volunteer: John & Marty Miller, Jeff Hoye, Marti Kennedy, Dona Eaton, Barbara Coan
Click here to volunteer for one or more Sundays.
Thanks so much!
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, 5:30-6:30pm (Third Wednesday Every Month)
Our suppers are becoming ever more popular! To learn more or to join the pool of volunteers, please contact Nancy Danzinger, UUCM Community Supper Coordinator, ([email protected], 673-9561), Barbara Smith (673-6629, [email protected]), or Dona Eaton ([email protected], 673-7526).
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Greater UU Community Events
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The Church of Our Saviour is sponsoring a simple
Candle Light Prayer Vigil on Sunday night. This is intended for the whole community and will be interfaith or no faith based...it is simply a time for us to gather as community to pray for peace, reconciliation and safety. ~
Rev. Hank Junkin
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September: Carole Treen, [email protected]
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Send an email to [email protected].
Please leave contributions in the SHARE basket in Barnum
. This month's needs: Toothbrushes & paste, Deodorants, Shampoo & Conditioner, Bar Soap
Please observe UUCM's Food Allergen and Alcohol policies on the
UUCM Policies
webpage.
Weekdays before 6pm and Saturdays before 5pm: Park only behind the church or in the circular driveway in front (and NOT in front of the Garden Door). For more parking information (including a printable map),
click
here
.
In the
Members & Friends section
on the UUCM website,
you will find the latest directory, committee listings, and info about people who've moved. Or you can get a directory from the UUCM office. If your contact information is incorrect, email [email protected] with 'Directory Changes' in the subject line.
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