Virtual SUUSI 2020: Kaleidoscope
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Registration opens Sunday, June 7th at noon!
To register for Virtual SUUSI, just log in to
SOLIS
, the SUUSI Online Information System. Registration will involve a slightly simpler version of our usual process. A few special notes:
- There is no charge to attend Virtual SUUSI.
- It is very important to make sure that your email address listed in SOLIS is the one you want to use to get emails during SUUSI and to log on to our virtual conference space.
- Workshops will not have a fee, but you do need to register for them. Some have attendance limits.
- New this year, in the "personal details" section you will be asked to select pronouns for each person you register.
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What Can You Look Forward to at Virtual SUUSI?
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- Concerts by Friction Farm, Bob Sima & Shannon Plummer, and Lara Herscovitch
- Five worship services, plus Ingathering and Closing Circle
- Teen Way Off Broadway dramatic performance
- Cabaret, Late Night Jam, Showcase of Stars, and a Common Ground Coffeeklatch
- Workshops, including "The Hero's Journey in Folk Music," "Introduction to Zentangle," and "Sustainable Living"
- Age group programs, Community Time, and virtual sports and games
- Community meals and touch groups for small-group connections
- Social features which make it easy to meet up with your SUUSI friends for informal get-togethers and conversation
Read on for more!
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Sharing Nature Together - Virtually!
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This year at SUUSI, our Nature program will encompass the flowers, lakes, mountains, trails and paths that you bring with you. While we will certainly miss taking our favorite trips in the Great Smoky Mountains and being in one another’s company … and the hugs, of course! … we will still intentionally connect with each other and Nature during two online meetings. Here, we will share some new Nature ventures, perhaps not available in Western North Carolina.
What does that mean? It means that you will have an opportunity to sign up for one of two sessions held during Virtual SUUSI (Mon & Wed afternoon) to share photos, videos, and/or a narration of a trip that you’ve recently experienced on your own. Anyone can participate – because nature is all around us, all the time. Pick a favorite bike ride and film part of it. Take a hike to your favorite spot and share the panoramic vistas or the plants along the trail. Live near the beach and like to surf? Show us! The sky is the limit. You should plan on having enough material to share in a small group for about 3 or 4 minutes during our time together. Specific technical information to help you share your files will be sent out once registration is closed.
Nature staff will also share resources online with our community that include highlights of the trips we have taken and will take in the future at SUUSI. Get out there, get creative – we look forward to sharing in your adventures!
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Youth (Ages 0-10)
Hello, Youth and Youth parents/guardians! We are sorry we will not get to see you in person this year, but we are excited to see your faces for some fun activities we have planned for Virtual SUUSI 2020. Several past Youth staffers have graciously volunteered to run some cool workshops and host song-filled gatherings throughout the week.
All workshops are available for all youth that are interested in participating or simply watching along. We are planning our workshops around supplies that you should already have in your home. However, we will send out a list of supplies for any workshops to parents/guardians ahead of time so you can gather anything you need in preparation.
Please be sure your contact email and phone number on your registration are correct and current so you don’t miss any details.
More details about our fun activities coming soon, so keep a lookout! See you soon!
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We are looking forward to connecting with you virtually this SUUSI. Some of the plans we are developing include: Coming of Age activities at home for the 13s, an all Middler dance, a couple of virtual activities for everyone including Theater Games, and separate Zoom meetings for the individual Age Groups. We hope to see you all!
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Your Nurture Staff are virtually with you this year to offer inspiring worship services, safe space for people in recovery, a Minister on Duty “Office Hours”, and the OASUUS space for People of Color/Indigenous to gather with one another during our Virtual SUUSI. We will also continue our conversations to create a SUUSI Community Covenant. More details will be available in the Confirmation NUUS.
Worship Services
Pre-Saturday, 7:30 pm: Ingathering, Rev. Jan Taddeo, Jennifer Sanders
Monday, 9:00 am: Rev. Kiya Heartwood
Tuesday, 7:30 pm: Bob Sima & Sharon Plummer
Wednesday, 9:00 am: Rev. Jon Coffee & Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Thursday, 7:30 pm: Transitions Worship Service: Memorials, Child Dedications, and Teen Bridging
Rev. Jan Taddeo, Rev. Bill Gupton, Rev. Amy Carol Webb, Molly Basham, Duncan Allen
Friday, 9:00 am: Rev. Lauren Levwood & Maryann Somervill: Earth-Centered Service
Saturday, 5:30 pm: Closing Circle, Rev. Jan Taddeo, Amy Davis
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We hope you can join us as we connect in small groups online to play your favorite games or even learn some new ones. On the schedule: Trivia, Blackjack, Bridge and new this year to SUUSI...Connect 4! We also have a great lineup for Pair-a-Dice games. Be sure and check out all the options available in SOLIS.
Pair-A-Dice On-Line
Pair-A-Dice, like SUUSI, isn’t a place — it’s the people (and the GAMES!) During our virtual SUUSI, Pair-A-Dice will be open and games will be played.
We will be offering easy to learn party games like Fact or Crap, Wise and Otherwise, and Things! Each is easily adapted to Zoom, easy to learn, and fun to play. If you are looking for something a little more intense, we’ll also be playing Wingspan, last year’s Game of the Year. To play Wingspan via Zoom, you will have to own a copy of the game. With a few minor rule and play adaptions, the game plays just as if we were sitting across the table from one another.
And for those who were looking forward to Dungeons and Dragons’ return to SUUSI this year, the adventure will still take place. We’ll be offering one-shot adventures with pre-generated low-level characters throughout the week. Beginners welcome! Come on in, the gates of Pair-A-Dice are open, and your SUUSI friends are waiting to play a game with you.
Virtual SUUSI Community Time!
Fun for all ages to join in and experience virtual SUUSI programs together. MWF from 4pm - 6pm EST get ready to share, laugh and love with each other as we gather across all generations. Nothing can compete with a physical SUUSI, but we will reach you in spiritual and emotional ways during this joyous community time together. Watch for more details in the Confirmation NUUS!
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While we are so very grateful for the opportunity to be together this summer at Virtual SUUSI, it’s clear there are many aspects of our time together that will necessarily be very different this year. While our amazing staff are working on most of these adjustments, your board has had work to do too! One area that required adjustment this year was the SUUSI Board process for onboarding new members. Our election and nomination processes, as defined by our bylaws, are deeply intertwined with SUUSI as a physical gathering. With a Virtual SUUSI this year, it meant the board needed to decide how and if we will bring new board members onto the board. During our discussions we debated the democratic process and the need for stability during this very different SUUSI year.
With the exception of our youth representative, all current board members will have their terms extended by one year. As a result, we will not have a nominating process this year or elections for an Adult Representative. The Board felt that stability was necessary to guide our organization through this crisis; however, we were not blind to our democratic foundations. Rather, we heard strong arguments that democracy is much more than a vote. It is also the exchange of ideas and speech that we felt would not be possible in a meaningful way with a virtual SUUSI. We want to be able to ensure that campaigning can happen equitably, and we do not feel we can ensure this in the curated environment that a virtual SUUSI offers.
The Youth Representatives, on the other hand, are the only board members who represent a constituency within the larger community. We felt the intent of our bylaws is to ensure representation from the age group. As such, there will be a Teen election forum and election during our virtual SUUSI.
Your board is committed to serve our community, and we are always open to your feedback on this or any other matter. You may contact Board President Wilson Farrell directly at president@suusi.org or you may reach out to the entire board at board@suusi.org.
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SWIM – Southeast UU Winter Institute Mid-Florida
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December 26-January 1, Lake Placid, Florida
Whether SWIM will be in person or virtual…It IS going to happen!!! We are excited to have Friction Farm back again this year. We are enthusiastically planning workshops and excursions, and we hope to be taking you on trips in the warm Florida sunshine. Many of our usual programs will translate nicely into cyberspace, if need be. We hope to see you there.
For more information, see our website at swimuu.org
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