On Sunday, June 25 at 10:00 a.m. we will be live streaming the UUA General Assembly Worship Service into our Sanctuary.  Our own Rev. Mara Dowdall will be preaching the sermon.  We will be singing along and worshiping together with all the UU's at GA.  Please join us for this very special event!

It's that time of year when everyone begins to take off. I just wanted to remind people of the unusual office hours for the next few weeks. Two of our administrative staff will have their last day at the UU on Thursday, June 15. If you see Annemarie or Dinny, please wish them well.

Christina will be away from the office from Tuesday, June 13 through Sunday, July 2. This trip will be part vacation and part work. So during this time, I will be checking email from June 20 - June 25. The remaining time will be vacation time and I will be staying away from my work email.

Martha Dallas will be away from June 14 - June 30.

Nina Dahlstedt Buss will be out from June 22 - June 25.

Rev. Mara will be out from June 17 - July 3.

As you can see we will be very short staffed for much of June and during this time the office will be closed. If you have a meeting scheduled during this time that has been confirmed by Bob, the building will be available at the time of your meeting. If you're unsure if Bob has confirmed your meeting, please email him to check at Bob@uusociety.org. If you have a group that needs to meet, but has not yet reserved space, we ask that you please try to find an alternate place to meet - or if the weather is nice you can meet at the picnic table near the Clarke Street building.

Thank you for your patience!
Christina Fulton

 

Members of First UU have been cordially invited to share an Iftar meal at the Islamic Society, 182 Hegeman Avenue in Colchester, just after the final daily prayer at sunset (around 8:40 pm) on June 17. Iftar is a religious observance of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. In the spirit of Ramadan we are invited to fast for the day as well, so we can share the full experience with our Islamic friends and neighbors. Traditionally before the start of the meal, three dates are eaten to break the fast in emulation of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, who broke his fast in this manner. Many Muslims believe that feeding someone Iftar as a form of charity is very rewarding and that such was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad. This dinner is being facilitated through Vermont Interfaith Action.

If you would like to participate, please email Linda Graves at ljoslyngross@gmail.com by Thursday, June 15 with your RSVP. Plan to bring either a salad or dessert (nothing with any pork products such as gelatin). You may also call her at 865-0038.

 

Join us at the Labyrinth after the service June 11th, weather permitting. After the service, the flags will be out around the labyrinth and someone from the Labyrinth Ministry will be there to answer questions and guide you on your walk. Labyrinth Sundays will be held on the second Sunday of the month into the fall.

We also welcome anyone who would like to join the Labyrinth Ministry or help us with maintenance over the summer. The maintenance mostly entails periodic meditative weeding. Contact Carol MacDonald for more information. carol@carolmacdonald.com or 802-862-9037

This is a photo of one of stops on the UU Labyrinth Ministry Labyrinth Tour. We walked four labyrinths in the area and appreciated their differences. It was a wonderful way to deepen our relationships with each other and ourselves.

 

Congratulations to our Coming of Age participants, who shared their Credos with us this past Sunday. If you missed the service, or wish to revisit what they said, their Credos are here I'm grateful for their permission to share their words with all of you!

 

New UU Class June 10th: Would you like to learn more about Unitarian Universalism? Find out more about our own Burlington UU Congregation? Meet other newcomers? If so, please sign up for the New UU Class! The class will be held June 10th from 9am -12:30 here at the Meeting House. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside the Parlors or you may e-mail Nina Dahlstedt Buss at nina@uusociety.org

 

The UU book group will meet Tuesday, June 13th from 12:00-1:30 in the SBA room. We are discussing The Dream of the White Village: A Novel of Stories by Philip Baruth. The book is a compilation of 13 stories of the lives of residents of Burlington in the 1970's and 90's. All are welcome to join us!

 

Summer is actually arriving and UU families still need help with meals and rides.  As you make your way through this lovely but busy time of year, please remember these families if you can.  

(We are using the Meal Train application to help schedule rides.... this link is really for rides, not for meals.)

Rides for Jill:  https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/820k64

Erica, Missa, and Mira: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/qvmnd8

The Library Committee has grouped together books on Unitarian Universalist on the book carts in the parlors. Two shelves are marked and they are colored coded with an orange sticker. Included are books about our history, commentaries on our beliefs and noted UU authors.

NEW BOOKS include our newest addition of UU Voices books.

230.91H  Pagan and Earth Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism

This book ties into the sources of the UU Principles; stories of the many expressions of Nature based on spiritually. Glossary included.

289.1A  Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism

History and personal stories by UUs who became Buddhist and Buddhist who became UUs. Includes a glossary.

289.1A  Jewish Voices in Unitarian Universalism

This poignant anthology is the first to give voice to this community's struggles, wisdom and contributions. Includes a glossary.

289.1  Christian Voices in Unitarian Universalism

Personal stories by laity and clergy about how they arrived at at their liberal Christian faith by different paths.

 

As the program year winds to a close, I wanted to be sure everyone knew about two immediate staff transitions.

Alex Kerrigan, who has been our RE Assistant this past year, decided to end her time with us so that she can pursue full-time work and better balance her life as a mom to two young twin boys. Alex has been a kind, helpful, and friendly teammate of mine and I will miss her! Thank you, Alex!

In wonderful news, Alex's shoes will be filled by Erika Reif, who has generously agreed to add the RE Assistant duties to her role as our Childcare Coordinator, one which she has held for many years. Her close familiarity with RE (both as a mom of an RE kiddo) and as an RE staffperson will contribute to a smooth transition of leadership when I depart at the end of November. Her work in that role will begin in mid-August. Thank you, Erika!

Also, this past Sunday we conveyed our gratitude and well-wishes to Tiffany Tillman, who is stepping away from her role as Youth Ministry Coordinator. She will be deeply missed by so many, and has done wonders for our youth and the programs which serve them. Plans are underway to find someone who can ably take the reins from Tiffany and continue with minimal disruption to support our youth ministry next year.

All three positions: RE Assistant, Childcare Coordinator, and Youth Ministry Coordinator, will exist for one more year before the duties of each begin to be redistributed among new staff positions.

Any questions about our staffing vision and transitions should be directed to Christina Fulton or Rev. Mara.

 

The 2017-2018 RE year was slated to include Bible Stories for our 4th & 5th graders. For two reasons, we will be giving Jeff, and his amazing Bible Stories curriculum, a break next year. First, when 9:00 kids had Bible two years ago, we expanded it to include the few 2nd & 3rd graders enrolled at that time (so, as rising 4th & 5th graders, they've already done it). Second, I anticipate extremely low enrollment among 4th & 5th graders at 9:00 next year, so we won't have enough to make a viable group.

Add to this the fact that Jeff has been leading this program without a break for too many years to count... it's good to let the man rest!

Not to fear, we'll make sure every FUUSB kiddo gets their year of our beloved Bible Stories! Jeff will be back in 2018-2019 (and you *may* see him in other roles around the UU this year, too!).

Thank you, Jeff! Rest up and know how much we love you!

 

Children and youth of all ages are welcome to join us on summer Sundays! June 11 is the last Sunday we will sing children from the sanctuary after the first portion of the service, to join the group supervised by our childcare staff team. Parents must sign children into childcare. Starting June 18, services will not have a dedicated time for children to leave, so parents may sign children in before the service, or slip out to do so at any time. Weather-permitting, the group plays outside; otherwise they are in and/or near the basement-level nursery. Once again, should a child arrive to join the supervised group without a parent present to sign them in, staff will send them back to their parent with a "hall pass"- like mini-form for parents to sign, indicating their permission for the child to be with the group. Copies of this form are also available in the office. Parents, please cooperate with these procedures to help our staff ensure the safety of children in their care! Thank you!

 

Fill out this quick form and I'll get back to you during the summer to talk about where you might best fit! THANK YOU!