6/25 - "The Shared World" - Rev. Mara Dowdall, via video
**Worship will run to 11:30am**

Live from New Orleans, it's Sunday morning worship! Join us for a special service experience, as we livestream the Sunday worship from our annual UU General Assembly. Our own Rev. Mara Dowdall is preaching, and there will be powerful music by the GA Choir, led by Mark Vogel, Director of Music at the UU in Houston. The UUA Interim Co-Presidents will all be participating. **Please note, the GA service is set to run for 90 minutes (from 10-11:30am). Hymn singing will begin 15 minutes before the service at 9:45am. If you need to leave before the service is over, that's certainly fine! Just keep in mind Mara's sermon will probably get under way close to 11am.

7/2 - "You Could Be Wrong" - Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long

Our service will be led by Rev. Jordinn, who serves as minister of the UU Society of Fairhaven, MA, who will help us explore our human fallibility and how we might embrace it. You can learn more about Jordinn and her ministry here:

  http://uufairhaven.org/contact/staff/.

 

Rev. Mara will be out of the office starting this Friday June 16 through Sunday July 2 for General Assembly then some vacation time. If you need support with a pastoral care matter (illness, hospitalization), please call our Pastoral Care Number (802-870-0447), where a member of Care Network will be able to assist you or, if needed, connect you with Roddy O'Neil Cleary, our Minister Emerita who will be serving as on-call minister while Rev. Mara is out. Mara will be back in the office the week of July 3.

Rev. Mara's schedule this July and August will be a little different than previous years. She will be spending much of July and August in the office attending to administrative tasks and preparing for the fall program year. This will include hiring for new staff positions, creating 2017-18 work plans with current staff, meeting/retreating with lay leaders to set goals and plan programs for the coming year, planning the 2017-18 worship calendar and services, and catching up on various administrative tasks (whew!). She'll be available for pastoral care during that time as well.

During July and August, Mara will generally be keeping a Monday-Friday daytime schedule. As is our custom, summer services will largely be covered by guest preachers and members of the Worship Associate team, but Mara will be preaching on August 20, before heading off for her sabbatical time.

Here's Rev. Mara's summer schedule-at-a-glance:

Weeks beginning:
6/19: Traveling for General Assembly
6/26: Vacation
7/3, 7/10, 7/17: In the Office
7/24: Vacation
7/31, 8/7, 8/14: In the Office
8/21: Sabbatical Begins

 

In case you missed them, be sure to check out these items on Rev. Mara's upcoming sabbatical  and sabbatical minister plans. 

 

Our next eNews will be coming out July 6, and after that will run on a biweekly basis throughout the summer. 

 

Wed, June 21st at 5:30 pm

Join us to celebrate the light on the longest day of the year. Meditate with us on the wonders of light in your life, as the seasons change.

Contact Carol MacDonald (862-9037) [email protected] for more info or questions.

 

 

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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected] 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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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!