This Week at a Glance:
Tuesday: August 4
Zoom Lunchtime Check-in/Chat 12:pm
(
Summer Schedule
).
Wednesday: July 29 (10am & 7pm) *
Zoom Discussion Adult Religious Studies:
Camus', the Plague, translated by Stuart Gilbert
Summer Schedule
Thursday:
Zoom* Citizen's Cafe' 12:00pm
(Summer Schedule - will meet July 30 & August 27)
.
August 26 - Wednesday Zoom Discussion
(10am & 7pm): Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility (for those unable to join Rebecca Wilson’s & Cynthia Patterson’s three sets of discussions on this important book.
Many covenant groups and committees
are meeting virtually; contact your group leader for details.
*Zoom links will be sent to all regularly and on the website.
Email
Pastor Jack
directly to be added or removed from the distribution list.
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Building a Community in a Pandemic E-vents
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- July 24: 6:40pm Calling all Rays Fans! Baseball is finally here! We can't meet up at the stadium, but we can get together on Zoom while we watch the game on TV or listen on the radio from home. If you don't have a TV or don't have access to Fox Sports Sun, we'll have one laptop aimed at a TV - don't know how well that will work, but we'll try it! We'll discuss during the game what other games we might want to watch together.
- Zoom to Meeting ID 770 480 0200 Go Rays!
- July 27: 5:30p The Next "What are you Watching" Group - Join Dave Mapp and Amy Putkonen
Join
Zoom Meeting with Meeting ID
884 0129 0685 & Passcode: 580019
- Aug 1: 8:30pm Walk/Ride/Drive and Wave: Connect with your UUSP neighbors on walk/ride/drive and wave tour any time on Saturday. Then at 8:30pm, connect with other wavers, share your experiences and pictures if you have them. It's fun and brings a lot of smiles!
- Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/91847963915 Meeting ID: 918 4796 3915
- August 3: 7pm: Lughnasadh Ritual with Ayliah Cannon and Sabine von Aulock. Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas, meaning “loaf mass.” A northern European and Celtic tradition, the holiday celebrate the first harvest in preparation of oncoming winter. Join us on this virtual journey exploring the harvesting of a personal season of growth.
- Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94320916252 Meeting ID: 943 2091 6252
We are adding virtual E-vents to our UUSP calendar. Please reach out to
Sabine
(973-768-3256) if you need help accessing events OR if you have ideas for an event.
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At our recent
"What are you Watching"
Zoom gathering, Dave Mapp and Amy Putkonen led a lively discussion on tv shows and movies, rendering a thumbs up or thumbs down. For these cinephiles' recommendations, follow this link:
What are you watching?
Join
Zoom Meeting with Meeting ID
884 0129 0685 & Passcode: 580019
cc image by Kevin Simpson on Flickr
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Pastor Jack's Weekly Message
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Dear Friends,
I don’t think the purpose of our religion is justice. I think it’s about helping people grow to spiritual fulfillment, the end point of which seems to be helping all things flourish. From psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s perspective, caring is justice in helping all things flourish. From his colleague Carol Gilligan’s perspective, justice is caring in helping all things flourish. I believe they have agreed to agree – it’s the same, though it can play out differently depending on culture. Their remaining question was, How do you get to that end point of flourishing? The third principle of the UUA covenant defines the way as “encouragement to spiritual growth.” What is the way of encouragement? I think that’s the question I’ll ask for this Sunday’s sermon, titled “Appreciation.” Hope to see you.
Pastor Jack
P.S. On the matter of sharing Joys and Concerns in the Sunday Service, you can email them to me for inclusion, or you can type them into the “Comment” bar on the right of the Youtube screen.
A new option.
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Wednesday Zoom Adult Religious Studies
Fall & Winter
are now being planned
Plans to start September 8
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Children's Religious Education:
July 26, 2020
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July's theme for Religious Education is
Family:
Sabbath Space
To build a place that helps us remember what is important, nourishing and sacred in our lives.
If you missed any lesson,
click here
for Week 1 and a Play list for all 5 weeks
and more.
What? - you aren't receiving it?
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Contemplative Meditation Readings
(Moving to Tuesday)
**How to do Mindful Meditation
- Set your alarm for 5 to 40 minutes;
- Sit erect, breathe deeply once or twice to relax;
- Watch your breathing ease to normal, observing breath come and go;
- Count in cycles of ten breaths if it helps you keep observing – or repeat a “sacred” word for focus (e.g., peace, grace, life, thanks, care, see, being);
- If deep focus is lost to extraneous thought, feeling, or sensation, note it simply as “thought” or “feeling” or “sensation” and return to your breath or word;
- Sometimes, for deeper peace, try shifting attention to consciousness itself or to your sense of being.
- When your timer goes off, remain awake.
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What Can I Do in the Middle of a Pandemic?
A LOT!
- Join a White Fragility UUSP discussion group to explore and reflect on personal and our collective racism.
- Actively support FAST, where you will have the opportunity to work with congregations of color and address some aspects of systemic racism in Pinellas County. See article below to sign-up to attend the virtual Rally for Mental Health on Tuesday July 28th at 7:00pm.
- Become a protest observer. Working with the St Pete protesters, the ACLU has developed a program for observing the protests. Observers take notes, pictures and turn in their reports daily. An hour long virtual training session is required. To sign up for the training contact Llani O’Connor at 312.952.9379 or lsaunders1612@me.com
- Register to VOTE. Deadline for August 18th Primary has passed, but you can register to vote by mail for the November election.
- Be an empowered VOTER on August 18th. Local elections have a significant impact on the residents of Pinellas County, e.g. mask ordinances, back to school plans, sentencing of Black youth.
- Refer to the League of Women Voters’ guide to get ready to Vote in Pinellas County
- Watch the recorded Judicial Forum about the 6th Judicial Circuit Candidates!
- Give a helping hand to our two refugee families. Contribute to this Sunday’s Share the Plate.
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Rally for Mental Health
From 2015-2018, overdose deaths increased by 78% in Pinellas County. Suicide deaths increased by 10% in that same time period. Last year alone there were 423 overdose deaths and 189 suicides. Tens of thousands of people in our County struggle with mental illnesses and addictions and can’t get access to the help they need!
Our County has the power to fix this problem by funding a central pathway for accessing services, yet they don’t have ANY money for this central pathway in the budget for next year! They want to push it off another year, while thousands of people struggle with anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, addictions, and more.
Join us as we Rally for easy access to mental health and addiction services in Pinellas County! The Rally will be on
Tuesday, July 28th at 7pm
. Please use this Zoom link
here
to register.
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Click here
to read the latest issue of our Renew-Restore-Rejuvenate e-newsletter which includes information about and links to :
- the June 6th virtual information session outlining plans for our Kitchen Remodel Project
- our just-delivered Master Plan Report and schematic illustrations - which bring the plan to life
- details on the August 2nd Zoom presentation by architect Martin Gold “Master Plan Report: Alternative Comprehensive Designs for the Future”
for the Communications Team
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Is your will or trust keeping up with you and your values? Consider naming UUSP's Endowment Fund as a final beneficiary.
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The UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Sunday Worship Service RemainsOnline at
UUA.ORG/GA/2020
.
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UU St Pete Read:
White Fragility*
Let’s read this book as a congregation and discuss in small groups of 8 to 12 people. Cynthia Patterson will lead a Wednesday morning group via Zoom August 5, 12, and 19 from 10 to 11:30. To sign up, email or call
Rebecca Wilson
or 202 549-6040.
If we have enough interest, we can add a group on Wednesday evenings and form additional groups at other times - maybe Covenant Groups will want to take up this study.
*
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
, by Robin DiAngelo, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson (2018). $16 paperback at
beacon.org
(Beacon Press) or locally at Tombolo Books, 2153 1st Ave S, St Petersburg, FL 33712 Phone: 727.755.9456.
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Staying Connected With Pastor Jack & Staff
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Pastor’s Open-Air Office Hours:
:
For those experiencing a serious sense of isolation, you are welcome to contact
Pastor Jack
(352-327-6166) to arrange a visit online or in the open air at the church.
For members with mobility limitations
, upon request, he will be glad to visit with you at any open-air location (eg, backyards, porches, local parks).
Our UUSP staff members
will continue their duties in a safe, cautious manner to the fullest degree possible. Our Church Office Administrator is now working from home and can be reached at
officeuustpete.org@gmail.com
.
During this challenging time, may we remember that we need to pay close attention to how everybody is doing and how we can help.
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Joys/Concerns & Helping One Another:
Share those
joys
you are having during this time of separation, as they will help us all feel the light. You may also have
concerns.
Just reach out to
Pastor Jack
or
Patti Hanks,
Care Committee
so we can help lift you up or lift those that may need it through a message at Sunday Service or just to talk to them.
For some of our services prior to the COVID-19 changes, Click the Spirituality tab, click Worship Services and Sermons. Scroll down the services and you will see "Sermons and Readings" and Audio Icon (small speaker). All Services from mid-March - current will now be on our
UUSP YouTube Channel
.
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Thank you for your interest in UU St. Petersburg!
From me to you and to those around you Stay Safe and Stay Well!
Kelli DeGraw, part of your Communications Team.
Feedback and suggestions are welcome (pubs@uustpete.org).
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Our mission is to be an
inclusive
,
evolving
religious community that inspires
spiritual
and
intellectual
growth to make our world a
better place
.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg
727.898.3294
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