Our Ingathering service this year will happen 'live,' with Rev. Hillary and Sam streaming from the Sanctuary. A link will be available next week for you to access the service. Please also note that there will be no Vespers service this coming Sunday, August 6.

Dear First U Friends,

It has been good to see so many of you during our Sunday evening Vespers services these past few weeks. This Sunday there will not be a Vespers service, but I ask you all to take a minute of silence with me at 7pm wherever you are, whomever you are with, whatever your state of mind or level of activity. 

During this minute I invite you to breathe as we have been breathing during our Vespers meditations, refreshing your body with an inhalation, and exhaling the stale air that might be making you feel stuffy inside. Take these breaths to free yourself and make space in your body, heart, and mind.

Close out your time of silence by practicing a shortened version of the Loving-Kindness, or Metta, prayer we have been saying together Sunday evenings:

Breathe in love - love you need. Pause and feel it, 

And then breathe out love - love the world needs. Pause and feel it.

Breathe in health - health you need. Pause and feel it.

And breathe out health - health the world needs. Pause and feel it.

Breathe in strength - strength you need. Pause and feel it. 

Breathing out strength - strength the world needs. Pause and feel it. 

Breathing in peace. Pause and feel it. 

Breathe out peace - peace the world needs. Pause and feel it. 

If it takes a little longer than a minute...that’s ok! You might get into the zone and go for 60 minutes! Know that though we won’t be live on zoom for this time of quiet, I will be taking these breaths with you. Despite being apart, we will still all be together. 

I know there is worry about how we will feel connected during this physically distant time. At First Universalist, staff and lay leaders are working hard to plan a year ahead wherein our community will not only remain intact, but will deepen and widen in new and unexpected ways.

Our Ingathering service on Sunday, September 13th will commence a new weekly schedule of spiritual and communal programming. On Sunday mornings we will have our worship service, on Wednesday evenings we will have a Vespers service, and on Fridays at noon we will have a time of fellowship. All of these programs will be virtual and all are invited to join on a regular, sporadic, and/or “when you feel like it,” basis. More details and information will be provided to you very soon on each of these events.

In the meantime save the date for Saturday, September 12th from 3:30-5:15 pm - when we will have a socially distant, closely monitored, in person(!!), outside, masks required kick off event to officially start the church year. Folks will be invited in waves, so numbers of those gathered will be limited, and there will be a virtual option for those uncomfortable meeting in person. Sam, Gwen, and I will be there to greet you and welcome the beginning of this new, weird, but wonderful year. Look for more information regarding this event coming your way very soon.

Yours in Love, Health, Strength, Peace - and Breath,

Rev. Hillary 

Real, old fashioned USPS snail mail is heading to your mailbox soon - be on the lookout for a letter from First Universalist!

Our senior youth group will be engaging on a year-long, in-depth, faith-filled journey known as Coming of Age, facilitated by myself, Rev. Hillary, and Joanna Landsman. What helps to make this meaningful and expansive is the role of mentors for our youth. Please email me (gwenatfirstu@gmail.com) if you would like to know more about being a mentor for this program.

Our vision of Adult RE this year are session-based discussions, workshops, or book groups that allow for a wide breadth of enriching topics. While some of these sessions will be led by Rev. Hillary, we are seeking you - your knowledge, your wisdom, your insight - and asking you to lead three or four sessions. Perhaps you can share a grounding meditation practice, facilitate discussions on death and dying, lead workshops on spiritual journaling, or host a book discussion on social justice movements. Please email me (gwenatfirstu@gmail.com) to discuss your ideas and possible scheduling.

First Universalist Church’s Anti-Racism Working Group, (AWG) has been established as a sub-group of the Faith in Action Council, with the goal of our adopting and implementing the draft “8th Principle” of the UUA:

In the first and second weeks of each month we will let you know what we are working on and offer opportunities for involvement in education and action. In the third and fourth weeks, we will suggest a book, a video, and an action for your consideration. The AWG will look for ways for these selections to be aligned with worship and RE content as well. Stay tuned!

The AWG looks forward to your reactions to what you have discovered and may pass your suggestions on to church members.

The members of the AWG are Marge Titcomb, Andrew Tonks, Jane Makela, Sarah Witte and Steve Thomas, five of the 25 members of First Universalist and St. Bart’s church members plus others who have read and discussed Ibram X. Kendi’s, How to be an Anti Racist. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions. Our telephone numbers and email addresses are in the church directory.

The Anti-Racism Working Group have purchased, for the use of First Universalist members, friends, and attendees:

Recommended donations for bumper stickers are $5 each, yard signs with a metal stake are $12, and copies of AntiRacist Baby are $12. Checks should be made out to the First Universalist Church and sent to the church with a note on the line for bumper sticker, yard sign, or book - or some combination of the three.

Anyone interested should contact Sarah at sarahcoffinwitte@gmail.com and she can arrange with you to pick up or drop off the bumper sticker, yard sign, or book. If we run out of bumper sticker or yard signs we will order more.

Would you like to help boost turnout this Election Day among voters of color in voter suppression states? Can you print legibly? Then join Rev. Hillary and friends from Faith in Action for a postcard-writing party on Saturday, September 19 from 10:00-noon outdoors at the church. Tables and chairs (socially distanced!) and snacks provided—or you can bring your own. (Special arrangements possible for those who want to participate but cannot stay for the party.) To enable us to order supplies, please let us know if we can expect you by emailing janemakela@gmail.com.

You can now submit your online request for an Absentee Ballot for the November election! Don't wait, put in your request now: Request Absentee Ballot - NEW fixed link!

Ballots will be mailed out about 30 days before the election; but putting in your request now helps your town clerk’s office anticipate the absentee ballot volume they will face in the month before the election.

Worried about the Mail? Those of you in Yarmouth or Falmouth can drop yours off at your Town Hall. (Information on more towns to follow in coming weeks.)

Because of this new Coronavirus, our long standing relationship with Preble Street has changed. For years we have had a dedicated slot on the first Tuesday of each month providing several volunteers, usually between 5 and 7 people. Many of our regular volunteers are in their seventies or eighties and felt unable to continue volunteering for health reasons. We have had two wonderful new volunteers step up recently but they have young families and are not always available on our specific Tuesday.

We are no longer able to promise even two volunteers on our specific day so we no longer have a “dedicated spots” just for First U. I urge anyone able to volunteer to sign up to volunteer for any shift on any day at Preble Street if they are able. There are breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts available each day, every day of the week. Volunteers are greatly needed. Please check out their website. Three volunteers prepare bag meals each shift and have no contact with the public. While volunteering at Preble Street, social distancing and masks are required.

If you are interested in volunteering and have any questions, please contact me (Ruth White - rwhite7@maine.rr.com) and I can put you in touch with a current volunteer who can tell you all about how it works. When things return to our new normal we will reevaluate our relationship with Preble Street and hopefully be able to again volunteer wholeheartedly with them.

Join the ACLU of Maine on Thursday, September 17, at 3 p.m. for their annual event, We the People: Democracy Depends on Us. They are celebrating our power to make our voices heard through the cornerstone of our democracy – voting. RSVP here.