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Sun Apr 21 2019 Spring #5
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On the Journey: Renewal (2019 Apr) - HERE
From the Minister: Sat Apr 20 - HERE |
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Practice of the Week: Practice When You're Distracted Practice is life, including everything in your life, even the distractions. When you think you are distracted, when you think you have forgotten about your practice, remember this slogan: Practice when you're distracted. As soon as you know your state of distraction, you are practicing. READ MORE |
List of all Practices of the Week -
HERE
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Religious Education
The simplicity and deep spirituality of last week's Animal Blessing came through with a resounding message that could not be ignored: if we make a covenant with all living creatures to rescue them, protect them, and be their voice, I believe we not only uplift our humanity, but simply become better people. RE This Sunday: All students start in the sanctuary before our Easter activities...
READ MORE
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From the Music Director
Easter and the spirit of Regeneration are embodied in the richly contrapuntal, harmonically complex, spiritually enlightened music of J. S. Bach. The hyphenated Bach works allude to Ferruccio Busoni and Egon Petri, pianist-composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who arranged Bach's organ and choral works for solo piano. The CUUC Choir is also on hand, with stirring selections to match the burgeoning season...
READ MORE.
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Upcoming Worship Services
Sun Apr 21, 10:00 AM
"Easter"
Rev. Meredith Garmon
The Easter story has captivated millions of people over two millennia. What's it really about?
"Passover Service"
Rev. Meredith Garmon & Friends
We honor and celebrate Passover, the important holiday about freedom, through a service that includes Passover seder elements and seats us at tables in the sanctuary. A cold buffet will follow, also in the sanctuary.
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Cooperative Coffee Hour, Sun Apr 21, 11:15am
Easter and Passover are times for sharing special foods. We invite you to bring along a treat to help fill our table for this Sunday's Cooperative Coffee Hour. Then pitch in to help us set up, serve, and clean up together. Many hands make light work!
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Last Week of Furniture & Game Drive
Appliance & Sports Equipment/Games Collection, Sun Apr 21
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Sunday Journey Group Meetings, Sun Apr 21, 11:40, rooms 13, 31, & 43
Our Sunday journey groups generally meet on the third week of each month, and in April that date falls on Easter Sunday. Facilitators and participants please let your group know if this is an issue for you.
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The Refugee Resettlement team is excited to report that the Interfaith Council for New Americans (ICNA) will be receiving a
new Afghan refugee family
as soon as next month! Interested in helping us welcome and support the new family? Come to our breakfast meeting on
Sat May 4, 9:30am in Fellowship Hall
. RSVP to Jane Dixon (
lilrhodie@gmail.com
), who can tell you firsthand how rewarding this work is!
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Auction planning in progress
We Need Sheets
Please donate your gently used sheets so the Auction decorating committee can start working (yes... they really do start this early!). Light colored, flat sheets, any size wanted. Drop off in lobby. Contact: Claire Flower (
claire@allegoryflowers.com).
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"Our Dreams Are Inspired"
2019 Annual Giving Campaign
CUUC is an important part of our lives, and our religious faith is a necessary force for good in the world. Both require our support to remain healthy and vital. Help make "Our Dreams" come true. Return your pledge form promptly, or pledge online at
cucwp.org/annual-pledge. Contact: Chris Kortlandt (
kortlandtbunch@gmail.com).
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Tour of Materials Recovery Facility, Mon Apr 22, 11:00am, Yonkers
Come see how your recycling is processed and reused. Kids welcome - a great educational family outing to plan during school vacation. Carpool leaves 10:30am. Join us afterward for lunch and discussion. Learn more HERE. RSVP to Joe Majsak (jmajsak@verizon.net
).
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Science & Spirituality, Thu Apr 25, 11:30am, Fireside
We meet the second and fourth Thursday and discuss books and articles on the intersection of spirituality and science. Join us! Contact: Barbara Mair (
barbara.k.mair@icloud.com
).
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A black Nike women's lightweight jacket was lost on Sun Apr 14 in the sanctuary. Contact: Janet Press (jpress@jpwealthmgmt.com)
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My Sister's Place
in White Plains is looking for temporary and permanent housing for women coming through their Human Trafficking Project. MSP is particularly desperate to place a young mother with 3 children. If you can help or know someone who can, please contact project director Nathalie Chara, 214-546-7946,
nchara@mspny.org
.
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From Environmental Practices
It's not too late to order native plants at an enormous discount through the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The nursery suggests you call in your order because many items are sold out. Call
Saratoga Tree Nursery
, 518-587-1120, Monday through Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm. Payment by check or money order. Order through May, 2019. Find a list of NYSDEC Nursery Stock HERE. You may purchase smaller quantities of the same items at your local nursery, but expect to pay much more.
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Passover-Inspired Buffet, Sun Apr 28, 11:15am, Sanctuary
After our worship service honoring Passover, stay to enjoy a light buffet of cold dishes, spreads, and salads (including whitefish salad) served in the sanctuary. Want to help with preparations? Contact Steve Miller (obitsman@gmail.com).
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CUUC Spring Concert, Sun Apr 28, 12:30pm, Sanctuary
Come hear clarinetist Pascal Archer and pianist Adam Kent performing the music of Brahms, Poulenc, and Honegger, plus the CUUC Choir singing pieces by Schubert, Brahms, and Bernstein, including favorites from
West Side Story
and
On the Town
. Discount tickets on sale Sunday during coffee hour. See flyer HERE.
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CUUC Variety Show 2019, Sat May 4, Sanctuary
Raffle tickets on sale this Sunday for the annual event that puts the FUN in fundraiser! All ages take the stage as we raise money for PrideWorks. Sign up your act on the board in the RE hallway, contribute treats to the bake sale, and solicit donations from your favorite shops for our prizes. Contact: Kate Breault (ksnowbro@gmail.com). Bake sale: Benetta Barnett (benettabarnett@hotmail.com).
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Volunteering for PrideWorks, the annual conference that supports LGBTQ youth and their allies, held at Pace University in March, was so incredible. I had the privilege of working with Tracy Breneman, our future DLRE, who coordinated the volunteers from all the UU congregations in Westchester. We held our UU banner "Standing on the Side of Love" to greet high school youth coming in buses. Over 600 high school students filled a large auditorium. The conference was supported by local organizations that staffed individual tables. I was assigned to be a volunteer at three smaller workshops where I got to witness how many young people are in need of our support as they shared some of their personal stories. The event was awe inspiring. Please support our Variety Show this year on Sat May 4 at 5:00pm. We are so grateful that the children and youth have chosen PrideWorks to be the recipient of the proceeds. Please consider donating something to be raffled or buy a raffle ticket. ~ Janet Wafer White and the LGBTQIA Social Justice Tea
m
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White Fragility Book Discussion,
Sun May 5
,
11:40am, Fellowship Hall
Even if you haven't read the book, the Racial Justice Team invites you to join this important discussion. Our easy-to-follow presentation will get to the key question: "Where do we go from here as individuals and as a congregation to deal with the racism of our society that affects us all?" Read more about author Robin DiAngelo's ideas HERE. Or see her video presentation HERE.
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Nominating Committee Members Wanted
The Board of Trustees is seeking two members to serve on the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee for a three-year term beginning this June. The role of the Committee is to select candidates, from among the members of the Congregation, for vacancies on the Board of Trustees. If you are interested or would like to recommend someone, contact Board Chair Dean Silverberg (dsilverberg@ebglaw.com, 212-351-4642). The deadline for nominations is Sun May 5.
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Social Justice
Opportunities
Virtual Town Hall: The Equality Act, Mon Apr 22, 8:00pm
Join our national call-in meeting about the Equality Act, the proposed Federal law to provide nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people across America. Have your questions answered, and learn ways to be involved in its success. Find out more
HERE
. Sign up
HERE
.
See more environmental and social justice opportunities HERE.
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"One Stride: Chosen Family," Film Screening, and Performance, Fri May 3, 7:00pm, ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains
We explore the history and significance of chosen family to LGBTQ communities, including a documentary screening and performance by the
LOFT's
Pride Chorus. Tickets and info at
artsw.org/onestride.
Flyer
HERE.
8th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep, Sat May 4
Come clean your river! help You can join UUCHV Croton cleaning the Annsville Preserve Park in Peekskill (sign up HERE). Or choose one of the many other Westchester locations listed on the Riverkeeper website HERE.
Parents' Night Out, Sat May 4, 6:00-8:30pm, First Unitarian Society, 25 Old Jackson Ave, Hastings
Drop off your kids (age 5-12) for
dinner and a movie, and enjoy a night out for yourself! Open to families registered in RE. $20/child, $15/sibling. Contact: Erica Jong (
ijongfusw@outlook.com). Flyer
HERE.
"Performing Families: The Art of Runway and Step," Sat May 4, 7:30pm,
ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains
An evening of dance and conversation with two families of choice: the Legendary House of
Comme des Garçons
who will demonstrate the art of runway walking, and Prestige, a competitive step team. Tickets and info at
artsw.org/perffamilies2.
Flyer
HERE.
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Share
the Plate for April: Furniture Sharehouse
We share half our non-pledge collection this month with Furniture Sharehouse, an organization that provides free furniture to economically disadvantaged individuals and families living in Westchester, giving them basic household furnishings to enable them to rebuild their lives and live with dignity. Learn more at furnituresharehouse.org.
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Caring & Sharing Circle
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This Week at CUUC
The full calendar can be found
HERE.
Room numbers subject to change; please check the board on Sunday morning. To reserve a room or Zoom online meeting, contact the CUUC office (914-946-1660 x2,
admin@cucwp.org).
Sat Apr 20 - 9:00am Rental: Exercise; 10:00am Zen
Sun Apr 21 - 8:45am Choir Rehearsal; 9:30am Nursery Care; 10:00am Worship; 11:15am Coffee Hour; 11:40am Sunday Journey Groups; 5:00pm Journey Group - Leahy
Mon Apr 22 - 5:00pm Rental: Exercise
Tue Apr 23 - 10:00am Rental: Exercise; 7:00pm Rental: WCSPP; 7:30pm Choir Rehearsal
Wed Apr 24 - 7:30pm Worship Committee
Thu Apr 25 - 10:00am Journey Group - Kung; 11:30am Science & Spirituality
Fri Apr 26 - 9:00am Rental: Exercise; 5:00pm Rental: WCSPP
Sat Apr 27 - 9:00am Rental: Exercise; 10:00am Food Prep for Community Meal; 10:00am Zen; 11:00am Choir Dress Rehearsal
Sun Apr 28 - 8:45am Choir Rehearsal; 9:30am Nursery Care; 10:00am Worship; 11:00am Choir Rehearsal; 11:15am Community Meal; 11:20am Newcomers' Conversation; 12:30pm Spring Choral and Chamber Music Concert
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Director of Faith Development: Perry Montrose,
RE@cucwp.org, 914-946-1660 x4
Coordinator of Religious Education: Michele Rinaldi,
RE@cucwp.org, 914-946-1660 x4
Congregational & Communications Administrator: Pamela Parker,
admin@cucwp.org, 914-946-1660 x2
Board of Trustees
Social Justice Coordinators
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Somewhere along the line, you probably learned a certain interpretation of Easter - an interpretation that theologians call "substitutionary atonement." It goes roughly like this: "Jesus' suffering on the cross is redemptive. He suffered and died that we might have life (i.e., he substituted for us in order to atone for us). Real love manifests as complete submission and self-sacrifice. God required of Jesus -- and may sometimes require of us -- passive acceptance of violence."
As widespread as this interpretation is, I don't think this is really the message of Easter. The Easter message is to be risen, to be resurrected, to be transformed - to become more fully who you are. This is no easy thing because we carry shame. We are afraid. We have, in various ways and in varying degrees, been silenced from the full expression of who we are.
The Easter story, as I read it, is about making the courageous choice to break the silence, tell your truth, rise up out of shame, bear witness to the stories of others as they seek to break silence imposed by perhaps greater fear and shame. The death from which we may rise, from which we can help others rise, is specifically an entombment in fear and shame.
Crucifixion was the most cruel, violent, humiliating, and shameful punishment the Roman imagination could conceive. It was designed to instill fear, and to make anyone associated with the victim feel ashamed of themselves. For some of Jesus' followers, it worked. Many of them abandoned Jesus and scattered after the crucifixion. The humiliation was too much for them. In their fear and their shame, they fell silent about the promise Jesus had made them believe in: a new social order, a Kin-dom of God.
Others, though - women, at first - broke silence. They broke silence first to simply lament what had happened. Giving voice to our lamentation begins to reclaim our own dignity and worthiness in the face of our loss. They broke silence to remember, to say a name, against all the shaming, fear, and humiliation that would bury it in silence. They broke silence to begin to tell stories that represented that the hope found in this man lived on. They broke silence to transcend fear and affirm community, to overcome violence by sustaining hope. They transformed humiliation into the strength of connection and in so doing resurrected life from death.
Against all violence to body or to spirit, against all fear and shame endured by us and by others, against all the protective strategies we ourselves devise to be safe, may we rise to accept and affirm and speak who we are. There is yet the possibility of transformation into who we are, unobscured by fear or shame. There is yet the possibility of justice, an end to violence, a new social order, a Kin-dom of God. This, I believe, is the message and the hope of Easter.
Yours in faith,
Meredith |
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Your Moment of Zen: Honor One evening Porcupine asked, "What is the place of honor in the practice?" Raven said, "To be truly Porcupine takes practice." Porcupine asked, "Come on, Roshi, you don't mean just to be true to myself!" Raven said, "To everybody else." |
The
e
-Communitarian
newsletter is e-mailed each week.
Please send submissions to admin@cucwp.org by noon on Tuesday.
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