Join us this Sunday
10:30 a.m. Service:  The Gift of Love. On this Auction Sunday, we reflect on gifts, and on the ways we seek to give and receive love. Rev. Celie Katovitch.

9:15 a.m. Drop-in Discussion:  What Is Humility?  Humility is a Christian virtue, and pride is at the top of the list of the Christian seven deadly sins.  But what exactly is humility?  What are the signs of true and false humility?   Can you be too humble?  Is self-esteem different from pride?  Is there a conflict between self-esteem and humility?  Can you have too much self-esteem?  Phil Ebersole, who is not especially humble, will lead the discussion.
Upcoming Events
Join us this Sunday!

Plan to stay after the service to enjoy lunch and then participate in our annual Service Auction. The booklet of auction items is available at church or electronically by contacting the church office (office@uuroc.org). Our auction is lots of fun, with items for every price range and wallet size; and it’s user-friendly, even if this is your first time participating. The best part is that every dollar raised goes to support our church’s programs. Can’t make it but want to participate?  Contact Paula Marchese (pmarchese@rochester.rr.com) for a proxy form.
Train for RAIHN

Join our RAIHN* team of caring volunteers to help temporarily homeless families get back on their feet. Attend a two hour orientation session about putting the RAIHN philosophy into action. Attending the orientation is not a commitment, but  we hope you will join us as a volunteer during our next RAIHN Week, March 26 - April 2. 

The next orientation session is on Wednesday, February 8th, 6:30-8:30pm at St. Louis Catholic Church, 64 S. Main St., Pittsford. If you plan to attend this session, RSVP to Jen Canning, coordinator@raihn.org or 506-9050.

*Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network: helping homeless families achieve sustainable independence
"In The Present"
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Join us for a meditative Saturday morning, February 25th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will focus on various ways we can be "In the Present."  Please watch the Adult Education Bulletin board or see Joy Leceese or Kathy Russell (krussel6@frontiernet.net) for more information.
Additional Announcements

THANK YOU: The Social Justice Plate committee wishes thank the congregation for their wide support for Metro Justice. We collected  $557.00 on January 15th! Words cannot express our full appreciation. We will be hand delivering them a check at their annual meeting.

FOOD DONATIONS WELCOMED: We (Melissa and Rev. Celie) keep a small supply of bagged lunches on hand in the church office, to be given out to people in need who knock on our door during the week. (This is the indoor part of our "Clara's Cupboard" outreach that also includes the Little Free Library & Pantry by the garden.) We try to stock these lunches with healthy, high-energy foods, and so we are always very grateful for donations of the following items. Thank you for all you do to support this ministry!

  • Bottled water
  • Cheese and crackers/ peanut butter and crackers
  • Granola bars
  • Small packets of trail mix
  • Dried fruit or fruit in individual plastic packages 

ECO-JUUSTICE GROUP:  Due to the Annual Service Auction on Feb 5th, the EcoJuustice Group will meet at noon on February 12th in the Chalice Room. All interested in promoting sustainability of our planet are invited to attend. In particular, anyone who could help with activities related to Earth Day/Week/Month in April would be most welcome! For further information, see  Sarah Singal (ssingal@rochester.rr.com) or anyone in the group.

BOOK GROUP will not meet on January 29th due to the congregational vote taking place after the service. Book Group will resume on February 26th to discuss "Americanah" by Chimamanda Adichie. Any questions happily answered by Sarah Singal (ssingal@Rochester.ff.com) or Shirley Bond (bondshirl1@gmail.com).

"Children in Prisons - Is That Who We Are?"

Submitted by Becky Elwell

Rochester ACTS is moving forward with a postcard campaign to stop the practice of putting teenagers in adult prisons. New York is one of only two states that still prosecutes young teens as adults (North Carolina is the other state). Youth who are incarcerated with adults are 36 times more likely to commit suicide are 34 times more likely to be arrested again for violent and other crimes. Youth and their communities are harmed by placing teens in adult prison where they are often victimized and traumatized. We have decided that teens are too immature to vote, get married, operate a tractor trailer, sit on a jury or sign a contract. We understand that their brains (judgement and impulse control) are still developing. We should also acknowledge that the best place for young teens who commit crimes are youth facilities with appropriate programming that is more effective in helping them develop into productive adults. We think we can end this practice in 2017. The NYS Assembly has already passed legislation and the governor has expressed his support in the State of the State. The NYS Senate just needs a push. In an era of mass incarceration, school to prison pipelines and racial double standards, we are taking a stand for redemption and opportunity for all our youth. To participate in the postcard campaign, please contact Pastor Doug Stewart at (585)244-6065.  
~Jon Greenbaum, Roc/ACTS Organizer
To submit an item for "This Week at First Universalist", e-mail   office@uuroc.org  no later than Thursday at noon.   
Staff:

Rev. Celie Katovitch, Minister

Rev. Michelle Yates, Director of Life Span Faith Development

Stacey Yang, Director of Music

Melissa Davies, Office Administrator
150 S. Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14604 | (585) 546-2826 | office@uuroc.org