"Faulty Failures"
Rev. Joel Miller, Preaching
Rev. Tina Simson
, Co-Leading
Saturday, March 4, 2017
4:30pm
Music by Orange Sky
Sunday, March 5, 2017
9:30am and 11:15am
Music by Zachary Zwahlen
This week, our Plate collection will help support
our church.
Next Weekend
:
Rev. Tina Simson, Preaching
Rev. Joel Miller, Co-Leading
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Let Us Keep You In Our Thoughts and Prayers
I
f you have a joy or concern to share, please contact Rev. Tina Simson at tsimson@rochesterunitarian.org or 585-330-9177
for inclusion in our newsletter.
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Worship Theme Article: Risk
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What Does It Mean To Be A Community of Risk?
"To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger."
~James Baldwin
Risk is usually associated with the dare devils and thrill seekers. The real danger, we're told, is a life of boredom. The battle is between the bland and the bold. Yet, as James Baldwin reminds us, it's not quite that simple. He places commitment, not thrills, at the center of the game. For him, the ones to be admired are not so much the dare devils as the dedicated ones. And that Holy Grail? Well, he suggests, maybe it's not "the exciting life" as we've been told. Maybe it's the faithful life. And that turns everything wonderfully on its head. To read more, click here.
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To date we have facilitated 10 Listening-Healing circles. The primary response from participants has been positive. Here are just a few examples:
"I feel connected again." "I feel certain I can move forward now." "The whole process was helpful, the pre-work made me really think about my own contribution to the conflict. I was silent and should have spoken up." "This will build trust among us again. I wish everyone would take advantage of this."
Listening to one another is a primary task of interim time, so we learn to trust each other again as we prepare to call a new minister to our community. Our Reference Team, through their work with the congregation and Dr. Brubaker, also recommended these circles.
I encourage you to sign up. It is the important work of each of us as a member of the congregation. The Listening Healing Circles are scheduled through May. Please follow
this link and sign up for a session. Those who are uncomfortable signing up online, please call Rev. Tina at 585-271-9070 x104. Once you sign up, you will receive a packet of pre-work to complete before the session. This pre-work is the beginning of the healing process and is necessary for you to be fully present to the experience of the circle. If you have any questions, please contact me at
tsimson@rochesterunitarian.org.
Yours in Faith,
Rev. Tina
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Happening in the Week Ahead
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People's March For Education Justice
Please join our UU/Schools Partnership, along with Metro Justice and Alliance for Quality Education, this Saturday, March 4, 2:00pm at 1 Liberty Pole Way in downtown Rochester. Join us with friends, and signs are welcome, too! Our State lawmakers must protect public education by equitably funding all public schools, ending the school-to-prison pipeline, creating community schools, reducing class size and testing, and raising the age for incarceration from 16 to 18. Car-pooling is available, from the bottom church parking lot at 1:30pm. Please RSVP to jsimson@rochester.rr.com.
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Sock it to Me Saturday and Undie Sunday
Books, pencils and paper are important, but sometimes we need to tend to kids' more basic needs. The children at schools #22 and #15 often need underwear and socks. This Saturday, March 4, has been designated as "Sock it to me Saturday" and this Sunday, March 5, as "Undie Sunday." Please help us by donating new underwear and socks, and new or gently used sweat pants and leggings for boys and girls. Sizes needed are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, & 10. There will be collection boxes in the Lobby on both days, as well as a table in the Lobby before and after services. The teachers and nurses at Schools #15 and #22 appreciate all we do for their kids. For more information, contact Joe Simson at jsimson@rochester.rr.com.
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UU101: Introduction to Unitarian Universalism and Our Church
The next class will be offered this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, March 4 and 5, after each service. UU101 is a 45 minute introduction to Unitarian Universalism and our church. No need for prior registration, just meet outside the Sanctuary after service; children are welcome.
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Cafe Veritas
Next up at Cafe Veritas is Aztec Two-Step this Saturday, March 4, 7:30pm. Opening for Aztec Two-Step is Jim Lane. Cost is $18 for adults, $10 for students, and children under 12 are free. For more information, click here. |
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Bagels Are Back!
Muffins were a great success but we're back to the warm, fresh bagels this Sunday, March 5. The money from bagel sales helps to reimburse teachers for money they spend on supplies as well as field trips for the children. Help support the UU/Schools Partnership by buying a delicious bagel.
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Knitting Circle
Update for our Uknitarian project to keep the children at schools #15 and #22 warm this winter. Knitting circle will be held this Sunday, March 5, 10:30-11:15am between services. Learn how to knit or crochet, or work on a project you already have underway. We have patterns and yarn available to use and take with you. As always, we are collecting warm outer clothing, especially coats, mittens and gloves for children ages 5-12. Clothing can be handmade, gently used or store bought. Items may be dropped off any time in the UU/Schools Partnership area under the Workroom table. For questions, contact Jenny Cos at jennycos717@gmail.com.
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Black Lives Matter/Youth Lives Matter (BLM/YLM)
The next BLM/YLM Action Group meeting will be held this Sunday, March 5, at 12:30pm in Room 110. This will be an important meeting as we will be planning ahead for future projects to follow up on the work we've been doing for the Raise the Age initiative. Jon Greenbaum, head community organizer for the
Rochester Alliance of Communities Transforming Society
(ROC/ACTS), will be joining us to offer his recommendations as we discuss future directions. All are welcome. For more information, contact Len Stein at drlstein@rochester.rr.com.
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Feathers, Faces and Foliage
Our current Williams Gallery art exhibit is a father/daughter art show, featuring the Roberts family of artists, Richard Roberts and his daughter, Allison Roberts. The artists reflect a rich combination of paintings and pen illustrations featuring birds, figures, portraits and nature. Influenced by the political climate, Allison Roberts has painted numerous portraits of intriguing women in Rochester and is dedicating an entire wall to honor the rich diversity in our city. The exhibit is open through Monday, March 6. For more information, click here.
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Currents Discussion Group
Currents meets monthly to explore in-depth a topical issue selected by the group. All are welcome to attend as many or as few of these discussions as you like. The moderator for March will be Susan Roark-Calnek, and the group will next meet on Wednesday, March 8, at 12:15pm. To get on the email distribution list and receive articles prior to the meeting, contact Dave McLaughlin at davebcctf@hotmail.com, with "Currents" on the subject line.
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UUs Reading Non-Fiction
Our next book describes the harrowing survival story of a North Korean woman and her two young daughters who escape an atmosphere rife with executions and starvation to try to reach South Korea and the hope of a better life. It's called A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape From North Korea, by Eunsun Kim, who is one of the daughters. All are welcome to join our discussion on
Wednesday, March 8, 7:00-8:00pm. For questions, c
ontact Audrey Perry at 585-244-4013 or auperry066@gmail.com.
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Aging Gratefully and Spring
Aging Gratefully is a discussion group open to everyone age 60 and over meeting monthly to discuss a topic related to aging. The next meeting is Thursday, March 9, 1:30-3:00pm and the topic is "Spring: Rebirth and New Beginnings." Come and share your joy at the coming of Spring!
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Thank You For Your Generosity!
Two weekends a month, our plate collections go to a community organization outside our church. On the other weekends, the collection goes directly to support our church budget. This fiscal church year, we have already donated $15,297 back to our greater community (excluding the Greater Good fund). On February 4 & 5, $1,228.70 was collected for our church. On February 11 & 12, $839.08 was collected for Isaiah House. On February 18 & 19, $705.51 was collected for our church. On February 25 & 26, $1349.05 was collected for R Community Bikes.
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Annual Petition and Letter Signing Weekend
Social Justice Council is again having its annual Petition and Letter Signing Weekend, March 11 and 12. Plan on coming to Williams Gallery after any of the weekend services and check out the many tables, giving you the opportunity to communicate with your legislators on issues such as education funding, health care, farmworker rights, Raise the Age of incarceration, carbon fee & dividend, gas pipelines in NYS, or animal rights. Democracy is not a spectator sport, get involved!
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Honduras Task Force Requests Donations
The Honduras Task Force will be collecting school supplies for their curriculum on Eric Carle, a regional and international children's book illustrator and writer. Barbara Gawinski will take these supplies and curriculum to teachers of seven schools in Honduras to help them practice developing curriculum to learn English, Spanish, art, observations and book-making. Please consider donating a new or slightly used Eric Carle book, large glue sticks, 12 x 12 colorful crafting paper, construction paper, scissors, markers and color pencils. The collection bin and members of the task force will be available Sundays, March 12, 19 and 26, between and after services, for further discussions.
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Food Cupboard Appreciation
The four bags of baby diapers contributed last week were especially appreciated by the Brighton Food Cupboard volunteer, weighing our church's 44 lbs. of donations. The foodstuffs are appreciated too, of course. Thanks to all the donors. For questions, contact Alison Wilder at awilder@frontiernet.netor 585-342-2459.
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Annual "Rochester Reads" Community-Wide Book Discussion
The Enchanted
by Rene Denfeld is this year's selection for the annual "Rochester Reads" community-wide book discussion. This novel was written by a death penalty investigator, and is about an inmate on death row in an old stone prison who experiences his grim life as enchanted, and an investigator who tries to save inmates from execution. The Literature And Visual Arts (LAVA) book group will discuss this book on Friday, March 10, 7:00pm in the Susan B. Anthony Lounge. Our meeting is open to anyone in the Rochester community, so come and join us! For more information, click here.
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Starting Point Class
Register now! Starting Point provides an enjoyable exploration of our church, Unitarian Universalism, and how we join together in community to deepen our understanding of ourselves and Unitarian Universalism. The next class is scheduled for Saturday, March 11, 9:30am-2:00pm. Please email Rev. Carlos to register for this class at
connections@rochesterunitarian.org
with "Next Starting Point" in the subject line.
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From the Nominating Committee
If you are interested in playing a pivotal role in steering the direction of our church, our community, and our place in the community at large, please consider taking on a leadership role next year. Currently we are looking for candidates for the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee. If you are interested, would like to nominate someone, or have questions, please email Ahlia Kitwana at
ahlia.kitwana@gmail.com.
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Special Education Volunteer Needed
We have an opportunity for a special volunteer to help with reading and/or math in a 6th grade or 3rd grade Special Education class at School #22. These are small classes with kids who really need and will appreciate your help. If interested, please contact Joe Simson at jsimson@rochester.rr.com or 585-329-4421. Thank you!
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sUUper Supper
Th last sUUper supper was a great success and a lot of fun! What a great way to meet new people and enjoy a relaxing evening chatting, eating, drinking and becoming acquainted with a church member you don't know or haven't spoken to in a while. We are looking for folks to host a supper in April. The host simply opens his or her home to six guests, each of whom will bring a part of the meal, your choice of potluck or structured. If you would like to host, please let Ellie or Elaine know. You can contact Ellie Stauffer at
estauffer@rochester.rr.com and Elaine Richane at
richanee@frontiernet.net. Please give a date that is convenient for you. We would like to do the dinners on a Friday and/or Saturday evening.
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Membership Team Forming
Interested in engaging with new prospective members? Are you comfortable leading/facilitating groups and possess good listening skills? Eager to share your enthusiasm for Unitarian Universalism and our church? Then email Rev. Carlos at cmartinez@rochesterunitarian.org with "Membership Team" in the subject line to join the newly forming membership team.
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Black Lives Matter - An Approach to Building the Beloved Community
Our local Interfaith Impact of NYS Committee is conducting a briefing on a current topic of concern to UU's, entitled "Black Lives Matter - An Approach to Building the Beloved Community." On
Sunday, March 19, at 2:00pm, panelists will discuss what gave rise to the Black Lives Matter Movement, what the current issues are, and what action you can take to address these root issues. More information is available
here. Interfaith Impact is our UU State Action Network, putting our religious values into action in Albany.
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Grants Panel Accepting Applications
Through Friday, March 24, the Grants Panel is accepting applications for grants of between $2,000 and $4,000 from the Social Justice Outreach Fund and the Josephine and Paul Wenger Fund for Peace through International Understanding. If you are aware of a Rochester organization that needs funds to carry out a project related to Social Justice or International Peace, please let them know about this potential funding from our church. Information, applications and sponsor forms are available via email from Mary Palmer at mmkp120@gmail.com. Copies are also available in the Workroom. Questions may be directed to Mary Palmer at mmkp120@gmail.com or by calling 585-242-0522.
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Gifts and Talent Auction
The Gifts and Talent Auction will be held on Sunday, March 26, so be sure to save the date! During the event, we will have a "Wine Grab" activity and we need your help with donations of bottles of wine. We have some great items up for bid, such as gourmet dinners, water skiing, sunset cruises, vacation homes in Vermont and Paris! We will continue to accept new offerings until this Sunday. Committee members will be available after services this Sunday, March 5 to collect your donations and to discuss ideas for offerings.
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St. Lawrence Gathering & UUA Candidates Forum
All congregations and clusters are invited to attend the "St Lawrence Spring Gathering: UUA Presidential Candidates Forum and Gould Lecture"
on
Saturday, April 1,
9:30am-3:30pm
. Click here for the flyer. The
location is May Memorial UU Society (3800 E Genesee St, Syracuse NY 13214)
and is
hosted by May Memorial and the Central New York Cluster. C
andidates for UUA President will participate in a forum at Cedar Lane UU Church in Bethesda MD while the event is live-streamed
to May Memorial UU Society in Syracuse.
Following the Forum, Rev. Richard Gilbert will offer the 2017 Gould Lecture, titled "Singing Our Broken Hallelujahs: The Prophetic Imperative in a Messy World."
Lunch will be provided and is included in the price of registration.
Registration is $18-$26, on a sliding scale based on your assessment of your ability to pay.
Register here
by
March 26.
Childcare is available at no additional charge, however please register for childcare by March 19 by emailing Stacy Sceiford at dre@mmuus.org.
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Buses to Washington, DC - Save the Dates!
Once again there will be buses to Washington, DC on Saturday, April 22 for the
March for Science and Saturday, April 29 for the People's Climate March. The first bus is supported by the Social Justice Council, and the second bus is organized by the Rochester People's Climate Coalition. Contact Paul Minor at minorarch@aol.com for further information, and to reserve either trip.
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People's Climate March
The Environmental Climate Task Force is encouraging support for the People's Climate March on Saturday, April 29. There will be a march here in Rochester on that day, but the main action is the National march in Washington DC. Buses from Rochester are available, but are likely to fill quickly. Get details on Rochester People's Climate Coalition here and the People's Climate March event here.
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Mother's Day Recycled Plant Sale
This annual plant sale at our church, which consists of donations from our gardens, will be held Sunday, May 14. If you have a garden, put the date on your calendar now. We bring extra perennials, ground cover, etc. from our gardens to sell to others. If you start your own plants from seeds, please grow extra for our church sale. Proceeds are used to buy plants for our church front courtyard and elsewhere. For further information, contact Nancy Koch at 585-662-5537 or nkoch@rochester.rr.com, or Alison Wilder at 585-342-2459 or awilder@frontiernet.net.
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Pledge Payment Options
You have options in the way your pledge payments are processed. Some choose to send a check directly to our Church. Another good alternative is automatic ACH contributions from your checking account. They are the easiest way for our Church Office to receive pledge contributions. They are easy to set up and save us credit card fees. Your monthly contributions would come out of your account on the 15th of each month. Please contact Al Gundlach at 585-271-9070 x103 or agundlach@rochesterunitarian.org if you are interested.
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Church Office:
585-271-9070 (Monday-Friday, 10:00am-2:00pm)
Next deadline is Tuesday, March 7 at 10:00am.
For Emergency Pastoral Care:
585-330-9177
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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