Upcoming Virtual Worship Services
Sunday, May 10
Worship service at 10:00 AM!
with Children's Worship at 9:30 AM!

Sunday, May 17
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 are with Mike Boyack who lost his father, Richard Boyack , to cancer on Thursday, April 23. He was in Florida, and the family was unable to be with him when he died or to be with Mike's mother since then. Let us hold them all in our hearts and prayers. “To live in hearts that love is not to die.”
Please join us in welcoming Skylar Marie Koegel ! Skylar (or "Sky" or "baby sister") was born on Monday, April 20, at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. Mom and baby are healthy, happy and in love with one another. Dad is trying to remember how to care for an infant, and Teddy (2.5 years old) loves touching his baby sister's nose.
The school buildings are closed, but school continues and so does the UU/Schools Partnership program . Our volunteers can no longer go into the classroom, but many are reaching out to their teachers and finding ways to help. One has done a read aloud for the 5th grade class where she volunteers, another has made videos teaching about flight or telling time. Others make appearances at zoom calls to warm their students' (and their own) hearts. We are so grateful for their support. UU/Schools Partnership is also working with the art teachers to be sure students have the supplies they need to participate in art class and to use their creativity. We will be spending about $1000 per school to supply art kits to students. In addition, we are making available to the teachers at each school about $2000 for needs that the teachers identify. Each teacher has their own style and way of connecting with their students, so we are letting them tell us how to help. The requests are just coming in. Next week we'll let you know what we are funding! Where did the money come from? Lots of bagels! Normally we would be funding buses for field trips and special projects. This is our way to adapt and support distance learning. We are so grateful for the support of the congregation over the years . Here are some fun links about our schools: School 15 principal Jay Piper's response to the RCSD Principal rap challenge ; School 22 Principal Clinton Bell's response to the RCSD Principal Rap Challenge .
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 .

Have You Lost Your Job? Revs. Shari & Bob ask that if you’ve lost your job please let the ministers know, via a note to Caring@RochesterUnitarian.org or phone call to the Pastoral Care line: 585-270-0851 . Whether you’d want a moment of nourishment for your soul or spirit, a friendly voice on the line, or need to talk about financial assistance, please don’t hesitate. Also, if there is enough interest we may create an online session for congregants in this situation to gather.
Our 2020-21 Candidates for Board of Trustees and Nominating Committee
Announcing Our 2020-21 Candidates for Board of Trustees and Nominating Committee: Our Board of Trustees nominees are: Lynn Kinsman , Jon Horne , Mara Sanchez , Gregory North (President), Robert Lyubomirsky (Treasurer) , Barbara de Leeuw (Moderator). Our Nominating Committee nominees are: Danette Johnson and Maren Kyle. There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates after worship on Sunday, May 17 via Zoom beginning at 11:15am following a brief coffee hour Click here for more information on each candidate.
This Week's News and Reminders
A new month means a new worship theme! May's worship theme is Nurture Generations . Click here to read Rev. Shari's take on how we are called to nurture generations, followed by this month's Soul Matters Packet.
Are you between the ages of 18 and 35 and looking for spiritual connection with your peers? The UU Young Adult Group is meeting over Zoom on Friday, May 8 at 6:30pm . If you are interested, please email Enri or Jenna .
Elder Tree , held each Saturday at noon, is a virtual gathering hosted by Rev. Libby Moore which features a different elder member of our congregation each week. This Saturday, May 9 , join us as longtime member Ellie Stauffer shares some stories from her life. The following Saturday, Dan Hollands will be our featured guest. Zoom link
How is UU the Vote rising to the challenges of COVID-19, while creating a movement towards UU values in the 2020 elections? Join us LIVE for a special update from UU the Vote on T uesday, May 12 from 7:00-9:00pm. This event will feature musicians from across the country, a message from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, and opportunities for you to get involved and make meaningful impacts in 2020. Let’s watch it together as a Facebook Watch Party! Email John Keevert for the link. You can also catch it at the UUA website . We understand there are many of you willing to put our fifth principle into action, so we request your help in making connections with other groups in the Rochester area that might work with us on non-partisan voter engagement. Please reach out and confirm their interest, then get back to John Keevert so we can follow up.
This week the Environmental Justice Ministry wants you to know about a book discussion we are hosting via Zoom on May 21 at 7:00pm . The focus is on Naomi Klein’s most recent book On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal . Each chapter is a discussion or a review of environmental events and their ramifications from June 2010-February 2019. The Epilogue is a capsule case for why the GND offers “a fighting chance” to be a practical and realistic reason to provide the infrastructure overhaul that the times require, especially as we live through this stressful period of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Trump Administration. Please join us for this exciting and timely discussion! It is not necessary to have read the book. To sign up, and receive background material and the meeting link, contact John Keevert .
meditating_old_temple.jpg
First Unitarian Buddhist Fellowship: Silent Meditation, Mondays at 7:00pm: Free, 40 minute unguided meditation sessions followed by conversation in community with others. All levels and drop -ins welcome, No registration required. For the online password protected access, please email  here .
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.  You will have an opportunity to meet the candidates for Board, President, Treasurer, Moderator and Leadership Nominating Committee after the service on  Sunday May 17 ,  as well as to attend a budget forum. Please watch for information on the budget and elections in the newsletter and on the website. Please direct any questions you may have to our President Tim Farnum . Click here for the Meeting Agenda.
Save The Date! Sunday, June 21 , following the 10:00am service, we will celebrate Rev. Bob Renjilian’s two-year interim ministry and wish him well on his road ahead.
Are you concerned about the safety of voting in the June 23 New York State Primary election? Monroe County has made it particularly easy to request that an absentee ballot be mailed to you - you can fill out an online form  which accomplishes that and saves Board of Elections personnel some time, instead of handling the paper ballot request form (that will automatically be mailed to you). While the Federal Democratic Presidential Primary is cancelled for NYS, many state and local positions will be on the ballot on June 23.If you need to register to vote or have changed your address, you can (re)register online (if you have a NYS driver's license or ID) here  or else you can download a registration form , fill it out and mail it in. The Board of Elections staff is also stressed by COVID 19, so don't wait to act.
Calls to Action
Our UU EcoChallenge 2020 is forging ahead full steam!  This week's theme is: Transportation. Join us as we delve deeper on how we can more sustainably get from here to there. It's never too late to join in! Participating for even a week is enough to make a difference. The challenge runs from April 19 to May 31 , and is built to inspire us towards Climate Action by Educating us on issues surrounding climate change, spreading Awareness of what we can do to help, and Empowering us to do it. Join the action at  here. You can reach out to Harley with comments or questions. It’s going to take all of us together to change the world!
An image of six black metal shelves full of books. Light is falling on them from a window to the right of the shelves. The books are a mix of old and newer looking ones and the book spines are many different colors.
A message from the Used Book Table: We hope your stack of books you’ve finally gotten around to reading is growing. Please plan on donating them to First Unitarian when we can safely reopen. The Used Book Sale will offer more “recently read” books at our same low prices.
Brighton Food Cupboard Request:    With the church no longer getting actual food donations for the food cupboard, why not substitute cash donations? You can participate by making out a check each week to the Brighton Food Cupboard, with “First Unitarian Church donation” on the memo line, and mailing it to Jewish Family Service of Rochester, 441 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, their sponsor. Contact person: Alison Wilder , 585-342-2459.
In Case You Missed It
Missed a recent worship service? Check out First Unitarian’s YouTube Channel (and while you’re there, please click on subscribe!), where you will find recordings of recent Children’s Worship and regular Sunday Worship services. We will upload new videos weekly.   
Looking for daily connection? We are gathering at noon each day Monday-Saturday for a drop-in hour in our main Zoom space. This Saturday: Elder Tree hosted by Rev. Libby Moore (this Saturday features Ellie Stauffer) , Mondays: TBA, Tuesdays with Rev. Shari, Wednesdays with Will Hayes , Thursdays with Thommy , Fridays: TBA. Connect via Zoom . You can also listen in by calling 646-876-9923 (Meeting # 5852719070).

Also join us each Wednesday at 7:00pm for Touchstone Vespers!
If you’ve never used Zoom before, feel free to call our Zoom Help Hotline - 585-250-0610, Wednesday-Friday between 2:00-5:30 PM . If you need a quick training on how to connect to any of these, please do reach out via the tech helpline during the hours listed above – we’d love to have you join us!