Weekly Connections Newsletter

First Unitarian Church

Weekly Connections

Upcoming Virtual Worship Services

Sunday, May 31 at 10:00 AM

Intergenerational Worship Service

All ages, gather round for our first-ever online Flower Communion and dedication of our new UU babes and kids !

We'd like you to bring a flower, color in the one provided here ,

or draw your own!

Sunday, June 07 at 10:00 AM

Rev. Bob Renjilian, preaching

Will Stacey, Worship Associate

Worship service at 10:00 AM

with Children's Worship at 9:30 AM

Meet meet us online (live-captioning also available there), or if you do not have access to the internet, call 646-876-9923,

and use meeting ID #5852719070

Gratitudes, Joys and Sorrows

Our hearts go out to Ron Ring upon the death of his wife, Nancy Ring, from Covid-19 on Thursday, May 28, 2020. "To live in hearts that love is not to die."

Care for our community is our first priority right now. If you are ill, have been hospitalized, have decided or are ordered to self-quarantine and need food or other supplies, or are simply worried about how you will respond to these needs, please reach out to Rev. Bob and our pastoral care team at Caring@RochesterUnitarian.org or 585-270-0851 .

The Honduras Ministry is pleased to report that with the collaboration between the ministry, Roney Amaya (the director of schools in the San Marcos region) and Tayris Tatum (Volunteer Liaison in Honduras), PPE equipment and supplies have been delivered to each of the schools to help keep families safe during this pandemic. The community sends their gratitude. The ministry is working to find connections to have basic food (beans, rice, corn) delivered during these difficult times to the families who are most at risk.

This Week's News and Reminders

New Members May 2020

Please welcome our newest members to our congregation: Diane Addabbo,

Wendy Bachhuber, Stefan Baer, Mary Brett, Lindsey Brown, Donna Fraser, Greg Garvey, Alex Hale, Krista Hauschild, Craig Lending, Tracy Nemecek, Kristi and Mark Reisch,Madeleine Reynolds, Amy Stockwell, and Hope Worthington!

The Unitarian Universalist Association invites you to attend the annual General Assembly to be held June 24 to 28! Virtual attendees will be able to watch and participate in live meetings and workshops. Find more information here . Attendance costs $150. Email Rev. Shari if you wish to be a delegate or require financial assistance.

This Friday, May 29 at 6:30pm, the UU Young Adult Group is meeting online for our annual Unirondack Young Adult Weekend! Attendance is completely free, but registration is required. Click here for Unirondack Event Details, and here for the Registration Link. Although our young adult events are exclusively open to people ages 18-35 years old, we would love to connect with those outside of this range to help them find fellowship elsewhere in the church. People interested in attending or learning more about the young adult group can directly contact Enri or Jenna .

Are you new to First Unitarian? Did you discover us through our online worship services and want to learn more? Please join us for UU 101 : An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism and First Unitarian Church, this Sunday May 31 at 11:30am. We will be meeting through this Zoom link . We will have 45 minutes or so to talk about UU faith and what opportunities you have to connect with our community. No need for prior registration, just join us through the link provided. Next offering will be on June 14. For more information about First Unitarian and our membership classes contact Shannan Foos .

Noontime Connections Schedule Change: We have shifted our noontime connections to 3 days a week - Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays . Elder Tree will continue each Saturday (please contact Libby Moore if you are interested in sharing a story). The other 2 weekday meetings will be hosted by lay leaders and staff on a rotating basis. Connect via Zoom . You can also join by calling 646-876-9923 (Meeting # 5852719070).

You are invited to attend the Virtual Ordination of Margalie Belizaire! Margalie will be our new second minister beginning in August! The ordination will be held virtually, on Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm . Click here to attend (password: 987157).

The Board of Trustees approved holding our June 7 Annual Meeting online (per our Bylaws Article Four Congregational Meetings, Section 4.8.F.) in order to promote the health and well-being of our members. The meeting will be held online, using Zoom, the same tool we use for our Sunday worship. Our Moderator, Barbara de Leeuw, Board leadership and Rev. Shari are working through the details of how that will be done. Please direct any questions you may have to our President Tim Farnum . Click here for the Meeting Agenda.

Join the June 19th virtual Juneteenth 5K Run/Walk! Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This year’s race is “virtual”: Walk or run the 5K (3.1 miles) from home or wherever you are. Register at this link . Proceeds will support creating the Rochester Civil Rights Heritage Site at Baden Park. The event is sponsored by the Spiritus Anti-Racism Coalition (SPARC) and the First Universalist Initiative for Racial Equity (FIRE). To donate, click this link . Consider supporting our First Universalist friends by helping them reach their fundraising goal. Click on their name in the list of Top Teams. Questions? Contact Tom Perry .

Attention UU Golfers: Sign Up Now for our 2020 UU Open, Sunday July 26 at Parkview Fairways, Victor . We’ll meet at 12:30pm at Parkview for warm up events, then tee off in groups starting at 1:00pm. After we finish our 9-hole best-ball event, a picnic dinner will follow in their spacious outdoor pavilion. You have your choice of driving a 1-person cart or walking this easy circuit. A $40 riding ($35 walking) fee includes everything. Keeping the pandemic in mind, we will observe the 6 feet minimum social distancing recommendation - not hard to do on a golf course! And then we'll have a big pavilion to spread out in. The entire event will be outdoors. Please e-mail Paul Suwijn to confirm interest and send checks today to Paul Suwijn, 49 Shire Oaks Drive, Pittsford NY 14534-1523.

Calls to Action

Our Immigration Ministry is partnering with Refugees Helping Refugees in Rochester to collect and deliver hygiene supplies and masks to refugee families who have a family member who has tested positive for COVID-19. Items needed: soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, wipes, disinfecting cleaners, laundry detergent, dish-washing liquid, $25 Amazon gift cards, and cards of encouragement. Please drop off items during these hours, using the one-way driveway into our main church parking lot, 220 Winton Road South, Rochester 14610: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, Tuesday to Friday, May 26-29 . Please note this collection will take place entirely outdoors (rain or shine) with social distance safety measures in place. Our church building remains closed to the public. Questions? Email the Immigration Ministry . For Amazon gift cards, please use this link - a percentage of the purchase will be donated back to the church as well.

The Criminal Justice Ministry (CJM) has been an active partner with the Police Accountability Alliance (PAB) since the beginning. Mary Hammele, a member of the CJM, also represents First Unitarian Church on the PAB Alliance Board. A recent article describing another example of the Rochester Police Department using force on a minor in the Democrat & Chronicle caught our attention. In this case, a ten year old girl. We urge our congregation to stay informed about our urban siblings; the how and why regarding their daily experiences with education, employment, police, housing, transportation and the high incidence of COVID in black and brown neighborhoods. For additional information or, even better, to get involved click here . Interested in information about our CJM? Call Roberta Buckle (585-704-8385) or Penny Townsend-Quill (585-503-5301).

From the Environmental Justice Ministry: “The Green Life“ is an online publication from the Sierra Club in which “Ms. Green” answers questions from readers (submit questions here ). The question answered in the May 19 online issue is “What Is the Most Effective Thing an Individual Can Do To Help the Earth?” You will meet Ms. Green in a 3 minute video to hear her answer and there’s also a short narrative with further explanation.