Windows Weekly November 27, 2019
Albany UU Windows Weekly
Greetings,
Welcome to Windows Weekly, Albany UU's central source for news and updates. You're receiving your news a day early this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Make sure you're reading all the way to the end where we welcome our newest members! Be safe and have a wonderful holiday weekend. Enjoy!

-Blessings
W e welcome everyone. Our Unitarian Universalist community seeks truth and deeper meaning, pursues justice through inspired action, and cultivates compassion and love for all connected by the web of life .
Sunday Service 10:00 AM
December 1, “If the Shoe Fits…,” Dan Miyake

As UUs, we often find religious language uncomfortable. Because many of us have rejected the theology and religious dogma of our youth and early adulthood, we have a tendency to squirm when someone mentions “prayer”, the G word, and words like "holy" and "sacred". Are we able to reclaim a "language of reverence"? 
 
Music: Alyssa Yeager

Hymn 389:  Gathered Here
Hymn 23:   Bring Many Names
Hymn 354:   We Laugh, We Cry
Hymn 343:   A Firemist and a Planet

Here is a place you might find the words to our hymns.










SUNDAY SERVICES
10:00 am


December 8, “Graceful Delight,” Rev. Sam Trumbore

Many of us begin the December holidays feeling harried and rushed. This year is especially difficult with Thanksgiving so late. Yet when we least expect it, the delight of the season can be upon us. We can’t plan for those moments, but we can pause to receive them when they happen.

Music: Albany UU Choir, Ann Brandon, piano

December 15, “Blue Christmas,” Rev. Sam Trumbore

This time of year is a very hard time to be feeling sad. With shopping, putting up a tree, decorating one’s home and holiday events and parties, everyone is expected to be of good cheer. Sometimes that just isn’t possible if we’ve experienced a major loss, have health problems, or just aren’t “feeling it.” Maybe “The Blues” can help.

Music: Ann Brandon

December 22, “An Awesome Story,” Leah Purcell, Dan Miyake, Rev. Sam Trumbore
Multigenerational Service and Pageant, Community Hall

Each year we have a pageant for our children to reenact the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth. This year we’ve got a new version Rev. Sam, Leah and Dan hope you enjoy. We’ll sing familiar Christmas Carols during the service and enjoy Albany UU musicians holiday jam during coffee hour. This is a great service to charge up your Christmas Spirit.

Music: Albany UU Choir, Ann Brandon, piano
 
( Tuesday ) December 24, “An Awesome Night,” Rev. Sam Trumbore, Dan Miyake
Candlelight Christmas Eve Services (6:00 and 8:00 PM, in the Sanctuary)

This is the night the Christian world pauses in anticipation of a holy birth. Somehow the story told two thousand times doesn’t get old or lose its power. The magic of candlelight and the sound of the beautiful song, Silent Night, can still bring tears to the eyes. Hope for new light and love arises eternally in the human heart. When it does, awe will not be far away.

Music: Albany UU Choir, Ann Brandon, piano
 
December 29, TBA

Music: Ann Brandon

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS


Holiday Office Hours
The Albany UU Office will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29. Thank you!

No Yoga on Friday, Nov. 29!
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Lesley will not have yoga at Albany UU on Friday, Nov. 29.

Focus Food Pantry
Please consider a contribution to the Focus Food Pantry this Sunday. There will be an envelope in the order of service for your check or cash. We ask that envelopes remain unsealed for reuse. Thank you for your help.

Crafters, please bring in your completed crafts
There is a box on the top right shelf of the coatroom where you can leave what you’ve made. Please be sure to put your name on it. Contact Sigrin Newell at 518-439-6705 or  sigrin.newell@gmail.com for further information.

Terry Way Memorial Service
A memorial service will be held for Terry Way on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 4:00 pm in Community Hall, followed by a reception in Channing Hall. Contributions of finger foods for the reception are welcomed. We do have permission to park in the UAlbany Hawley Lot for this event. 

Community Breakfast
Saturday, Dec. 21, 9-11AM . Volunteers are always needed to make this a good experience for our neighbors and community members. Sign up in Channing Hall or contact Carol Butt for more details: 518-439-6629 or catzen1944@gmail.com . There is now a contribution box is in the coat room for gloves, mittens, hats, scarves and socks to share with our Community Breakfast guests. Some folks come in with minimal outerwear and would be grateful for some additional items to keep warm.

Endowment Trust Grants
The Endowment Trust has about $8,000 available for special project grants in 2019. Submit grant requests online by December 8 for projects that complement or enhance Albany UU programs and initiatives. It is also the time of year to think about making commemorative contributions to the Endowment. And you can now choose to support either special projects or future congregational operating expenses with your gift.. 

Warmth for the Homeless
Please gather blankets, sleeping bags, warm coats, etc. for those experiencing homelessness and put them in the bin in the coatroom. Thanks you!
Sunday Schedule

9:00 AM
- Mindfulness Meditation, Sanctuary

9:45 AM
- Nursery/Toddler Rooms open

10:00 AM
- Service, Community Hall
- Family Chapel for all grades, Sanctuary

11:00 AM
- Coffee Hour, Channing Hall





Quick Links



Denominational Affairs Links



Helpful Local Links



Sign up for a class or event

- Send and email to: registration@albanyuu.org
- Sign up at the Sign Up Site in Channing Hall
OR
- Call the church office, 518.463.7135
If childcare is offered for the event, please let us know you need it when you register, including names and ages of children.






Offering envelopes
We appreciate donations of cash during the offering that occurs as part of our Sunday service. If you would like to have cash contributions recorded and acknowledged in writing for tax purposes at the end of the calendar year, please use and write your name on one of the envelopes that are available on the table in the Community Hall lobby. Thank you very much for your generosity.


Albany UU Safety
A reminder that the West St. door will remain locked on Sunday mornings. Though it will be locked from the outside, the West St. door may still be used to exit the building at any time. The Washington Ave. lobby doors will be locked 15 minutes after service begins and reopened again from 11-noon. A Welcome Table or Greeter volunteer will remain in the Lobby for the duration of the morning to monitor doors. We continue to appreciate your patience as we make this transition. If you have questions, please call the church office .

Planning for weather emergencies
In the event of severe weather, a decision to cancel Sunday morning RE classes will be publicized by 9:00 PM Saturday.

A decision to cancel Sunday meditation and the service will be publicized by 8:00 AM Sunday.

The cancellation of all other classes, programs and meetings depends on a decision by the chairperson. We hope to receive information enabling a cancellation announcement two hours before the event start time.

Notice of all cancellations will be posted on our website and Facebook and by email sent through Constant Contact. Sunday service and programs will also be announced on local TV and radio stations through the “School Closing Network”.
 
SEXTON POSITION
The Sexton works on Sunday (4-6 hours) and Monday (4-6 hours, flexible days possible) and is responsible for Sunday morning operations and taking care of the church property.

Sunday tasks include preparation and clean up for the service, coffee hour, and other scheduled activities, and for taking care of the church property.

Maintenance entails responsibility for performing tasks on the monthly maintenance schedule, minor repairs and replacements, reporting larger repair and replacement needs, keeping the building tidy by returning items to storage locations, and yard work. 
Read full job description  here .
Pay: $15/hr.
Contact Church Administrator, Tammy Hathaway for more information or to express interest: 518.463.7135 or admin@albanyuu.org
CALENDAR OF HOLIDAY EVENTS
Sunday, Dec. 8
11:00 am  Holiday Bazaar/Soup & Pie Sale , Channing Hall
11:30 am  Pageant Part Selection ,
Community Hall

Sunday, Dec. 15
11:00 am  Holiday Bazaar , Channing Hall
  Tree Decorating , Channing Hall
11:30 am  Pageant Rehearsal ,
Community Hall

Saturday, Dec. 21
4:00 pm  Winter Solstice Celebration , Channing Hall

Sunday, Dec. 22
10:00 am  Christmas Service w/Pageant , Community Hall
11:00 am  Music Jam at Coffee Hour
*1:00 pm  Caroling (*time may change)

Tuesday, Dec. 24
6:00 pm  Candlelight Christmas Eve service , Sanctuary
7:00 pm  Cookie Reception Hosted by Amie Jamieson & Rick Piet , Channing Hall
8:00 pm  Candlelight Christmas Eve service, Sanctuary


ALL CAN PARTICIPATE - DON'T MISS OUT!
Transforming Hearts: Transgender Inclusion in Congregations
 
Options for participating in the Transforming Hearts class.

The authors of the Transforming Hearts class invite everyone in our congregation to participate! Albany UU purchased the full congregation package and all the materials and lectures are available online to members and friends.

This course is for those who want to increase their knowledge and skills to help our congregation become fully inclusive and affirming of the full breadth of gender diversity Though the class that Rev. Sam and Dan are leading will have the opportunity for rich discussion and exchange that will be very valuable, we recognized that not everyone is able to attend when the class is being offered.

If you can’t attend the class in person on Tuesdays: 12/3 & 17, 1/14 at 7:00 pm and would like to take it on your own, please call the church office for information on how to do that.
SAM'S OUTLOOK
An Awesome Time of Year

The December Holidays are honed to evoke wonder and awe of the child in us. When I think of my childhood and the words, “wonder and awe,” I think of trains. Most of my childhood, I lived close enough to railroad tracks to hear the blasts of train horns as they approached the section of tracks near our family home and hear our windows rattle as they whizzed past.

Newark, Delaware, my hometown, had two major rail lines running through the middle of it: the B & O Railroad and the Penn Central. The B & O freight trains rumbled by one block from our first home in Newark when I was a preschooler. The Penn Central, the major Amtrak rail corridor from New York to Washington D.C., ran less than a quarter mile from our second home where I lived from the age of six to twenty.

At the tender age of six years old, I remember sneaking back to walk beside the tracks hoping the light of an oncoming train would appear in the distance. One direction I would look down the tracks until they merged into a dot on the blue hazy horizon. The other direction the tracks curved into green overgrowth. As I looked around that bend, a light would silently appear. Seeing the circulating light get closer, hearing the singing of the rails, feeling the vibration in the ground, plugging my ears against the penetrating sting of the horn, stepping back overwhelmed by the size and the power of the engine, feeling the blast of air as the train screamed past, all these experiences left me with a tremendous sense of wonder and awe of these iron horses.

During my teen-age years, I would walk to the old abandoned train station near my house, sit and watch for the trains to come and wonder about my life, my future and what it all means. That station became a religious shrine for me when I was lonely or troubled. And when it came time for me to leave home and set off to seek my way in the world, I left on one of those trains that past by that station on to a larger world than I had known.

I have regularly encountered experiences of wonder and awe throughout my life. What distinguishes the experience of wonder is an element of surprise or astonishment. Wonder has a dimension of rapt or questioning attention toward the extraordinary or mysterious. Not knowing when the next train would appear out of the hazy horizon or around the bend added an element of surprise to the train’s approach. The immensity and speed of the train made it both extraordinary and mysterious at the same time.

Awe is slightly different than wonder. Awe unlike wonder contains a component of fear and reverence, a reverent wonder with a touch of fear inspired by the grand and the sublime. For me the awesome dimension of the trains was their danger. My mother constantly warned me to stay away from the tracks and never to cross them. As a train passed by, part of me was frightened by it and its power to destroy. Yet that power also inspired a curiosity, an interest and an attraction.

Wonder and awe are the daily experiences of young children encountering the world for the first time. Everything is fresh and fascinating. Watching a child blow their first bubble, chase their first rabbit, meet nose to nose with their first cow, master a computer game console, fly their first kite, and swim their first strokes, all these childhood passages can be awe inspiring and wonder-full. Keeping in regular contact with wonder and awe are tremendously helpful in the child’s development into adulthood.

Sadly, as we get older, less and less is new and surprising. We have all seen so much in our lifetimes. It is the curse of a good education, broad experience and a sharp, perceptive mind that by middle age, you know a great deal and by old age, you have seen it all. Sure, there is more for us to know than we can ever take in, but the experience of surprise comes less and less. One becomes more inclined to see a sunset, rank it against all the others seen over the years. “Oh,” as a friend commented to me on Summer day at the beach watching the sun dip over the horizon illuminating a delicate lattice of cloud wisps with a light pink, “I’d rate that one no more than a 3 out of 10.”

It is almost as if we defend ourselves against the wonder and awe opportunities in daily living. The experience of surprise that comes with wonder can also be a little disturbing since our expectations about reality might be challenged. In a moment of wonder we are confronted with something that is new or perhaps out of our mind’s control. One troubling aspect of awe is the experience of fear. An awesome experience can diminish our sense of ourselves. That enormous train rushing by carrying important people going important places to do important things made the younger me feel small, like a bystander to life. Beholding the stars in the sky at night, has made me feel tiny and insignificant.

Maybe we need holidays in gloomy times like December to counter the forces that constrict us and narrow our experience of wonder and awe. The colored lights, the sound of familiar music, the special cookies and treats, the first citrus of the season from Florida, come together to soften us up a little bit, and make us more ready to engage the senses anew, ready to broaden and deepen our experience of being alive.

So as we enter this holiday season, may we welcome wonder and awe into our lives and find the sustaining joy which is their origin. These experiences are not a long way off. They shine every day out of the eyes of children.

                                                                                                       ~ Rev. Sam


More from our Blogs:



JOYS and CARING CORNER
To share your Joy or Sorrow with our Albany UU community, you may submit it on a yellow card during the service or by using our online form.  

Join us in keeping our members and friends in your thoughts as they share their joys and concerns.

Member Thomas Hotalen is at home recovering from pneumonia, on antibiotic and feeling much better.

After 38.25 years working for the state of NY, member Elizabeth Berberian will be retiring on November 29. Looking forward to connecting with other UU retirees!

At a SUNY Albany history conference at the NYS Museum, member Julie Lomoe gave a PowerPoint presentation about paintings she showed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Member and Church Administrator Tammy Hathaway’s 18 year old son Quinn will be having knee surgery on December 4 to repair a torn ALC.

Member John Sherman’s mother died peacefully on Nov. 25. Cards may be sent to: 1583 New Scotland Road, Slingerlands, NY 12159

Need to Talk? Albany UU Pastoral Care Associates are here to listen!
Our Pastoral Care Associates have been trained in compassionate listening skills and are available to all members and friends of our congregation. To contact a Pastoral Care Associate, email: listeners@albanyuu.org , contact Rev. Sam Trumbore , the Albany UU office at 518.463.7135, or one of them personally. They are: Sharon Babala, Chuck Manning, Donna Meixner, Dan Miyake, Phil Rich, Randy Rosette, Dee VanRiper and Erik F. vonHausen.

Albany UU Caring Network
The Caring Network (CN) reflects the words of the Albany UU chalice lighting - “to sustain a vital and nurturing religious community.” The CN provide encouragement and short term support to Albany UU members who, due to hospitalization, sickness, loss, or isolation, need assistance. Services typically include transportation to medical appointments, meals and shopping during recovery, and friendly visits and “check in’s” from Caring Network members. Please reach out to the Caring Network if you need.
UPCOMING EVENTS
East of Hudson Potluck
If you live east of the Hudson River, join us Friday, Dec. 6 at 6pm at Sharon and Mike Babala's. Let's gather to keep each other in warm friendship as we enter the cold together. Learn more here .

Getting to Know UU
Join us on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 8:45 am if you're thinking of membership, or wondering just what Unitarian Universalism can bring to your life. Learn more here.

Holiday Bazaar and Soup and Pie Sale—December 8!
Come to Channing Hall during Coffee Hour to shop for one of kind hand crafted items, perfect for holiday giving! This will also be your last chance to stock up on your favorite homemade soups and pies for those cold winter nights or holiday entertaining. See you then! Lear more here .

Walker Book Group 
Join the Walker Book Group for a potluck and discussion on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 pm in Channing Hall. We will discuss The Friend: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez . Learn more here .

Holiday Tree decorating
Join us Sunday, Dec. 15 during Coffee Hour to make simple ornaments and decorations to decorate the tree in Channing Hall. You can also bring an ornament to donate to the tree.

Solstice Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 21, 4:00 pm, Channing Hall
All are welcome on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4:00 pm in Channing Hall - this is an event that children can join in. Bring drums and noisemakers if you have them. Bring finger food, if you're able, for our gathering afterwards.

Join us for the Holiday Music Jam!
The annual Albany UU Holiday Music Jam will take place on  Sunday, Dec. 22  during coffee hour. Learn more here .
RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION
-Leah Purcell, Director of Religious Education and Family Ministry (DREFM), lpurcell@albanyuu.org



For the Faith Development of children and youth this Sunday

The Nursery/Toddler  Room opens at 9:45

All the children and youth - Pre-K through 12th grade  will start the morning with Family Chapel in the Sanctuary at 10:00; Younger children attend with their families or an adult they know. Older children might enjoy attending without their parents or caretakers. The 7th/8th grade group and High School Youth Group are attending the first 10 - 15 minutes. During Joys and Sorrows we'll honor the life of Terry Way, a beloved RE teacher. The rest of Family Chapel runs until about 10:25; then the RE guides take the younger children to their Sunday school groups. Parents/caretakers may join the regular service in Community Hall at that time (the ushers will have reserved seats) or they can join our religious educator, Leah Purcell for our Parent/Caretaker Support Group in room 21 upstairs until 11:15.

7th/8th Grade OWL will finish the morning in their room (B-3/4)
High School YoUUth Group will finish their morning in room B-8

Children and youth are welcome to attend the service with their families instead of RE groups.

The Rite of Passage youth and mentors will meet with Leah Purcell and Dan Miyake from 12:00 to 2:00 in Room B-8. The homework is pages 52-71 in your To This I Give My Heart journal.

Many thanks to the family of Judy Gallagher for donating 2 gently used sofa’s for Room B-8. We have been making due with one couch there for many years; the room can be used for informal gatherings, and there is still room to set up chairs for classes. Thanks also to Robin Tell-Drake and his teens for moving the furniture from Judy’s house to B-8.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES COUNCIL (SRC)
-Matt Lesniak, SRC Chair, email


SRC Recommends:

Potluck and Forum  
The Green Sanctuary Committee will sponsor a multigenerational potluck dinner and forum, Friday, Dec. 6 , with dinner starting at 6:00pm and the presentation at 7:00pm. Bring a dish to share, or contribute at the door (suggested contribution $5/person). The topic will be "Our Election Systems". Chris Bystroff will present with special guest John Oliver via YouTube (Parental discretion advised!) You’re welcome to come to just the potluck, just the presentation or both!


A reminder of SRC's focus on Social Justice:
 

Making a difference in the lives of children and families in the city of Albany
 
Becoming a leader in sustainable environmental practices
 
Advocating for public policies that are in line with our UU values and principles. These include but are not limited to:
· Economic and Racial Justice
· Environmental Justice
· Gender and Sexual Justice
· International Justice and Peacemaking
· Civil Rights and Religious Liberty
· Health and Family Justice
 
Direct aid and volunteer activities (Sheridan Prep, homeless shelter, food pantries, Give Away the Plate collections)
 
SRC informs the congregation on social issues through:
· Informational forums at Albany UU
· Information in Windows Weekly and Order of Service and on the Albany UU website and Facebook page
· Distribution of materials at the SRC table in Channing Hall
 
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Ushers needed
Are you looking for a way to be more involved in what happens on Sunday mornings? Now is your chance! We are looking to deepen our Usher pool and would love for YOU to join. It’s a very simple but very necessary volunteer opportunity. If you’re interested in learning more about being an Usher on Sunday mornings, please contact Dawn Dana: ddana1@nycap.rr.com . Thank you!

Sunday Volunteers
Would you like to be involved in the Sunday service in a more meaningful way?
Visit Sunday Hospitality Sign Up to find out about the ways you can volunteer on Sunday morning. We thank you and could not do what we do without YOU!

YOU can make a difference!
We at Albany UU are making an effort to increase our visibility and connectivity online. YOU can help, and it's quick and easy! Simply like, follow and share pages and posts on any of our social media platforms, or leave a positive Facebook or Google review. Google Albany UU or find us here:
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!!
Anne & Carlos de Noronha have lived in the Capitol Region for 15 years after moving from San Francisco. They are parents to Matthew, 17 and Ava, 13, who are active in the RE program. They were previously members of the Schenectady congregation until relocating to Rensselaer County. Landing on the same road as Jan McCraken and Tammy Hathaway was a lucky coincidence that also helped inspire them to start attending Albany UU.

Anne grew up in the Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, CO and is a lifelong UU. She has tried to maintain a connection to a UU community in each of the many places life has brought her. Anne works as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Wildwood Programs.

Carlos is an Associate Professor and researcher at Albany Medical College. He has come to value the opportunities provided to both focus inwardly and to connect in the Albany UU community. Anne & Carlos have enjoyed the process of becoming part of Albany UU and look forward to continuing to deepen relationships here.
Liz Richards Hart grew up in Delaware, but has embraced Albany as her home for nearly a decade. Prior to Albany, Liz lived in cities throughout the Northeast while pursuing a variety of degrees and working in the arts, film, and theatre, including working at PBS for the history series American Experience, and a short stint as a mushroom farmer in rural New Hampshire. She is now a professor of Communications at The College of Saint Rose, where she teaches film and audio production, film history, and theory. Her academic and creative focus centers on creating access to anti-racist pedagogy in all levels of education. Outside of work, Liz loves her family time with her daughter Octavia and her wife Alison. Liz was not looking for a spiritual home when she first began attending FUUSA. Raised a Quaker and now religiously agnostic, she was primarily interested in filling a scheduling void left by the closing of a nearby trampoline park that featured Sunday morning toddler time. But she has come to deeply appreciate the values of this community and the people she has discovered here, and now is all in for Albany UU.
Alison Hart has lived many places in the U.S. including Appalachia, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Texas, and she is now happy to call Albany’s Mansion neighborhood home. Alison enjoys reading bedtime stories with Octavia and Liz, cooking, plogging (which is a cross between jogging and picking up trash), yoga, cleaning out closets, caring for house plants, listening to podcasts, and imagining what a more consensus-oriented America could be like. Alison works as a fundraiser for Skidmore College, where she enjoys connecting with interesting and generous people all over the country. Prior to that, she raised money for Jacob’s Pillow, and other dance organizations. Alison wanted to join FUUCA in order to form more meaningful relationships with people in the Albany community, to carve out weekly time for reflection, and to figure out her role in making our world more beautiful and more just.

Octavia Hart , daughter to Liz and Alison, is three-years old and attends the EPK program at the Children’s Place at State Ed. Octavia, also known as “Ocho,” loves to play with her neighborhood friends, Hazel, Vera, and Patsy, and give pets to her somewhat grumpy old cat, Kingsley. At home with her moms, she enjoys practicing ballet to gay anthems in the dining room (Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn is a particular favorite), and sorting through her chapstick collection. Octavia also loves to visit her uncles in the Berkshires, pick her Opa’s lima beans in Delaware, listen to her Grandpa’s old-time tunes in West Virginia, and swim in her Bubbe and Papa’s pool in Florida.
J. Ari Kane – DeMaios is a retired professional with training and experience in several major categories. These include:

Teaching mathematics & physical science

Clinical research with folks who got TBI (Traumatic Brain Injuries)

Design and lead groups who want a travel experience in remote parts of the world.

Consulting and counseling services in the fields of sexuality and gender diversity.

Born, raised and lived in New York City with serious time periods in Boston, MA, Berkely, CA, Augusta, ME & Albany, NY. He also taught and lived in Italy, Greece, and Switzerland for 5 years.   Current interests include cooking and culinary arts, outdoor activities (Hiking, canoeing, technical climbing, gardening), wine tasting & reading; travel to little known areas of various countries. (S)he has been connected with UU centers in many parts of the United States and Canada.  



Leigh Wedenoja is a lifelong UU from Detroit, MI with stops in Ann Arbor, Ithaca, and Providence along the way. She holds a PhD in economics and moved to Albany over the summer to take a dream job in education policy research.

When not at work you are most likely to find Leigh at a farmers market, record store, playing volleyball, or, as winter descends, cross-country skiing and snowboarding.

Leigh’s parents are still in Detroit where they are members of the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church; her twin sisters and their husbands (who are not twins) live in Boston and D.C.

Leigh is a proud union member has spent the last 15 years committed to social justice and labor rights, working with organizations in both the US and Latin America. 
EVENT SPONSORED BY ALBANY UU

Dances of Universal Peace
Join us on Saturday, Dec. 14 to celebrate the season of returning light by combining sacred phrases and chants from many different spiritual traditions with live music, simple melodies, and guided movement. Learn more here .
Regular events and meetings
Many of these events and meetings take a hiatus in the summer, check with the church office before coming in.

Sundays        
11:45 AM      Inclusivity Team (2nd)
5:30 PM       Walker Book Group (2nd)
11:45 AM      Social Responsibilities Council (3rd)
11:45 AM      Green Sanctuary Committee (4th)
Mondays        
6:15 PM        Religious Education Council
                               (1st, Nov., Feb., May)
Tuesdays       
10:00 AM      Philosophy Discussion (weekly)
1:00 PM        Bridge (weekly)
Wednesdays
10:00 AM      Projects & Quilts (weekly)
7:00 PM        Choir Rehearsal (almost weekly)
Thursdays     
1:00 PM       All Sides Considered (1st & 3rd)
6:30 PM       Board of Trustees (4th)
Going to miss a Sunday?

You can listen to the entire Albany UU Sunday service at home or on your mobile device. The two most recent services are available as MP3 files on the Albany UU member resource website. Here is how to access:

username: AlbanyUU
password: EEthelredBrown405

Our sermon archive (select Ministry/Sermon Archive on the left website menu) has pdf files of sermons texts (when available) and audio files of sermons. You can also request the office put a service on a CD.
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
Parking: Parking is available on the street. On Sundays (and for some special events) Albany UU has permission to use the University at Albany’s Hawley Parking Lot on Robin Street at Washington Avenue.

Office hours (unless otherwise posted)
September-June: Monday-Friday, 9:00-3:00
July-August: Monday–Thursday 9:00-1:00

Websites
General: www.AlbanyUU.org

Building use
To reserve a room for an Albany UU activity or to rent a hall or classroom space , for a personal or non-Albany UU activity, contact Administrative Assistant Sapphire Correa (518.463.7135 or office@albanyuu.org ).

Photo credit: Kathy Hodges
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany | 518.463.7135| 518.463.1429 | Admin@AlbanyUU.org | AlbanyUU.org