UUCSC News and Updates
Weekly on Fridays
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, RI
All are welcome!
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Reverend Denis Letourneau Paul, Minister
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This Sunday, May 22, 2022 |
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Worship
In Person 10:00 am Zoom 11:30
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"A Clenched Fist"
Rev. Joe Cherry
May 22, 2022
Hands are complicated things, though we often take them for granted. What can hands symbolize and actualize? Join Rev. Joe Cherry, minister of our sibling congregation in Falmouth, as he and our minister exchange pulpits for a day!
Rev. Joe Cherry is married to our minister, Rev. Denis Paul. Together they live in Easton, Mass, with their dog, Toulouse, who some of you may know. Rev. Joe went to Meadville Lombard Theological School.
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Religious Exploration
In-person
10am-noon
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Our amazing hands
I'm excited to meet Rev. Denis' husband Joe on Sunday during our Time for all Ages. We will be talking about all the things our hands can do and even play a fun game with the whole congregation!
Then we will continue with the theme of hands by planting in our garden and building a trellis for our peas.
I hope you can join us!
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Lee Cowan, Director of Religious Exploration |
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Note: Last week's stories and homily were recorded and can now be viewed from the front page of our website and on our YouTube Channel. It took a village to make it happen! Thanks for cooperating, everyone!
Submitted by Etta Zasloff
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The notice of the UUCSC Annual Meeting and Packet will arrive in your inbox later TODAY in a separate email. Don't miss it! |
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In the last week there have been two mass shootings in the United States.
They were similar in that they were motivated by hatred, and both perpetrators attacked communities far from home.
A grocery store in Buffalo NY, was targeted for being in a mostly-black neighborhood. The shooter is a proud racist obsessed with the false conspiracy theory called “the great replacement.”
A Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods CA was targeted for being a congregation of Taiwanese immigrants. The shooter is a Chinese American man upset about the political tensions between China and Taiwan.
What I find interesting about the California event is that the assailant, was apprehended and detained by members of the congregation. The pastor threw a chair at him, then Dr. John Cheng, the visiting son of a member and an expert martial artist, struck the shooter from behind, allowing other congregants to tie up the shooter with extension cords until authorities arrived. Dr. Cheng was the only person to lose his life, though four others were injured.
The shooter was unknown by anyone in the congregation, yet they welcomed him in to their celebratory luncheon. After an hour, when he started shooting, the people of the church also sprung into action. Not everyone took the risks Dr. Cheng and the pastor took, but enough people fought that they were able to minimize the casualties.
A lot of people who don’t belong to any kind of religious community seem surprised by the actions of the pastor and the doctor. But if you’ve been around a congregation, you’re probably less likely to be surprised, because you know that members of a congregation step up when we need to, putting aside our fears and acting on our commitment to care for one another and our community.
I have no doubt that if something like that were to happen here, it would probably go similarly, as it did when a UU congregation was attacked in 2010. We’d welcome the would-be assailant because we welcome everyone. We’d invite them to eat with us. Many among us would tackle and hog tie a shooter to protect the people we love.
With the rise in white nationalism and male supremacy in the United States, hate-motivated shootings are on the rise, but the chances of it happening here are incredibly slim. I’m no statistician, but I know there are somewhere around 350,000 houses of worship in the United States, and fewer than two church shootings per year over the last decade.
While it breaks my heart every time a religious community is attacked, it heals my heart to learn afterward how bravely worshipers responded, motivated by love and commitment.
In Peace,
Rev Denis
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Lorna Knost shares that the celebration of life honoring Jan Knost, our very dear interim minister for several years, will take place today, May 20th at 2PM at the First Church and Parish, Unitarian Universalist, 670 High Street in Dedham, MA. which is also the Town Green. The parsonage is where the Knosts lived for ten years. Lorna suggests that those interested in attending might carpool, but also this celebration of life will be either live streaming or recorded for sharing afterward. As Lorna shared with me, “Jan was a good guy.” I totally agree.
Submitted by Betsy Dalton
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Memorial Service at UUCSC Sanctuary and
Saturday, May 21, 2022
1:00 pm
for
Nina Collier
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The UUCSC garden has fresh herbs! Help yourself to a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage to add to your cooking this week or take a sprig of mint for iced tea. Basil is coming soon. The blueberries are ripening fast but you will have to beat the birds to them! Weeding is an ancient form of meditation. Meet me in the garden at 5:00 on Mondays to practice.
Submitted by Barbara Nowicki
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Facilities and Clean Team Notes |
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Organizer Needed
Are you good at organizing people for a particular task and not afraid to get your hands dirty? The Facilities Committee needs someone to organize very occasional work parties to do things like cleaning out a storage area, washing windows or doing an end of summer spruce up of the interior of the building. A list of potential helpers is available, direction on the specific task will be provided. A job for someone who can’t commit to regular volunteer hours.
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Cleaning Products
Please don’t leave donated cleaning products at the church without first speaking with Nancy Dean, head of the Clean Team. Your generosity is always appreciated, but as part of our commitment to protecting the environment we only use natural and environmentally safe products in our aging building.
Temporary Summer Gig
If you want to see how you can help on the Clean Team sign up for a fill-in position. You likely will have to come in only three times over the course of the summer for an hour or two to clean a specific area of the building. This allows a regular cleaner to take a vacation. You might find that cleaning is a great way to contribute without a huge investment of time.
Submitted by Nancy Dean and Jean Burke
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The Next Step in the Work of Antiracism |
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The Next Step in the Work of Anti-racism
Barbara Beckwith, Penny Hall, Barbara Holtzman, and Etta Zasloff
Most Unitarian Universalists profess to NOT be racist, but is that enough? On Sunday, May 29, 2022 some members of the UUCSC Antiracism Group will present a thought provoking service about the concept of being anti-racist. Inspired by the story of a church in Brookline, MA where they pay it forward when singing Negro Spirituals, we will honor the creative spirituals in song and story and collect a royalty offering - all of which will be donated to Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket, RI. It will be a joyous outside service, weather permitting.
Submitted by Etta Zasloff
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The Mixed Magic Choir, to whom we are donating our collection from the Negro Spirituals service on May 29, are performing TONIGHT, May 20, in Mystic along with poet Tim Seibles at The Arts Cafe. Let’s support them! DETAILS. Submitted by Cathy Solomon, Social Justice Chair
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Fundraiser for Rhode Island
Community Food Bank
Saturday, May 21 Outdoors
$25 Donation
More info at:
Submitted by Susan Strakosch
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Fri, May 27, 2022
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Tomaquag Museum
390A Summit Road
Exeter, RI 02822
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Indigenous Art of Communication
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Come gather (in-person! outdoors!) and explore how Indigenous communities use their art to communicate and practice activism. What does it mean to live in today’s world and what does it mean to honor our ancestors while walking in a modern world?
Free, but space is limited. Register HERE.
Submitted by Johnnie Rodriguez
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Have you submitted your Social Justice Survey?
Thanks to all who have. Deadline is today. HERE is the link again, in case you missed it on Monday.
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Thursday, May 26, 2022, 6:30-8:30 PM
The Pell Center at Salve Regina University partners with the Rhode Island Center for the Book for An Evening with Angline Boulley, the New York Times bestselling author of "Firekeeper's Daughter," the 2022 selection for Reading Across Rhode Island's all-state read. Learn more and register HERE.
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If you'd rather not leave the comfort of your own home, please join the Antiracism Group on Monday, May 23, 2022, at 7pm on Zoom. We will be discussing Firekeeper's Daughter. We highly recommend reading it, but if you do not read the book feel free to join us and listen in on the conversation.
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D4$+ Coming on June 1!
Our Dining for Dollars PLUS auction will be filled with wonderful events and gatherings, and will take place from June 1 through June 5.
Betsy Dalton and Trish Hindley
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The UUCSC Share the Plate committee recommends one of these four organizations that are providing support to Ukrainians in crisis. |
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Bethany Sorrentino, Helping Hands Coordinator
Don't be afraid to ask for help - helping hands are here!
Helping hand volunteers are also needed.
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Find where you might contribute and join a committee today!
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List of Black owned businesses from RI Monthly magazine. Patronize these businesses all year long. This small effort can help undo racism. Please send pics and reviews to Etta for sharing here and on website.
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June 22 - 26, 2022
View the most recent
Ibram X. Kendi is the 2022 Ware Lecturer
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Includes lists of Black-Owned Businesses
Your search for truth and meaning begins here.
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How to Submit Info to This Newsletter |
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Send announcements and news with Newsletter Item in the subject line to Etta Zasloff, Editor, at zasloff.etta@gmail.com and Sara Kaplow, Congregational Administrator, at uucscri@gmail.com by Tuesday Noon
to assure publication by Friday of that week.
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