UUCSC News and Updates
Weekly on Fridays
Volume II * Issue 16* September 24, 2021
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, RI
All are welcome!
UUCSC does not presently have a minister. If you are in need of pastoral services please contact any member of the Pastoral Care Committee. Rev. Betty Kornitzer, UUCSC Minister Emerita, is working with the committee and if professional ministerial support is needed, she will be called in.  Please do not contact the Minister directly.
This Sunday, September 24, 2021
"SACRED TALES"
10:00 AM In-person or STREAM LIVE ON FACEBOOK

Lawn chair
This service will be held outside on the back lawn, with a strong mic and speaker amplification. Please bring your own chairs or blankets to sit on. Service will be held inside, if weather is rainy.
Worship
As familiarity has grown with “Spoken Word” performers, so too have storytellers who present stories for all ages become more widely known. “Sacred Tales” will be told by Rhode Island storytellers Jeanne Bent, Joan Bailey, Anne-Marie Forer and Cindy Killavey, Sunday, Sept. 26th. Their stories and songs come from many traditions, including Aesop’s Fables and Appalachian and Celtic folk tales, plus original stories. They are each seasoned tellers, having performed at numerous local and regional festivals and schools. 
Religious Exploration
This week, worship is a multi-generational service outside! So please join us for these captivating storytellers who intersperse music between stories for a lively, engaging performance.

  • RE Newsletter: Wondering what happens in RE? Click the link above for pictures from last week's Autumn Equinox celebration! Plus a song and a calendar of upcoming Sundays.
From the President...
Love is the Spirit of this Congregation… 
 
Rev. Betty Kornitzer, our Minister Emerita, delivered a heart-felt sermon last Sunday that touched on several things that I think rang true for many of us at UUCSC and were just what we needed to hear. I would like to elaborate on her first point. 
 
I found it very powerful to acknowledge, as a group, how very unsettling all our changes have been. Transitions are hard. Dealing with the ever-changing Pandemic is hard. Reopening to in-person services is hard. Worrying about safety is hard. For all of us. And not to mention all our other worries and our deep concerns for those less fortunate than us.  
 
We need to find ways to live in this new landscape. Seeing your faces on Sunday mornings these past two weeks affirms for me that this gathering is important to us. The Board has worked to come up with guidelines for how we will congregate in the sanctuary. Our Covid Safety Plan is attached so it is clear for everyone. We acknowledge that it is not perfect and may not be enough for some people to feel comfortable returning to in-person services. Risk management, of course, remains your own personal responsibility. We’d also like to remind everyone to be mindful of the comfort of those around them. If someone seems uncomfortable when you are speaking with them, offer more space by backing up. 
 
Additionally, we are creating a phone tree so if the need arises to contact members of the congregation directly, we will be prepared. Be sure your info is updated in the directory. And it bears repeating: This is all subject to change! 
 
Seeking balance as I write this on the Autumn Equinox, 
Elizabeth Donovan, President 
Fundraising Chairperson Needed


UUCSC is in need of a person to oversee Fundraising. Do you have some innovative ideas to share? Are you the person that can take on this task? Please email me at elizdn@hotmail.com. 
Submitted by Elizabeth Donovan
Coordinating Council

The Coordinating Council will reconvene on September 29, 2021, 7:00 PM by Zoom. If you are a chair of a committee and have not yet been contacted, please email me elizdn@hotmail.com. 
Submitted by Elizabeth Donovan
Living the 8th Principle
Joining the UUCSC Anti-racism Group is a good place to start your journey toward living the 8th Principle. There is much work to be done, and it starts with the first step. If you would like to join the group, contact Jean Bowen jeannbowen@gmail.com to receive the link.

Anti-racism Group meets Monday, September 27, 2021, at 7:00 PM by Zoom. The discussion this week will focus on understanding CRT and the backlash against it in our schools. Some background resources:


  • "Combating CRT" by Citizens Renewing America Background on why we need to know what it is... What we are up against! A Right Wing Website that is helping to spur the national mobilization against teaching historical truths in K-12 education. Explore at your own comfort level. 

Submitted by Etta Zasloff
Our Stories
Update from Carol Layne and David Ruede
Here's a short summary of our journey so far. More to follow as life happens.

In friendship, Carol and Dave
350 Perkins Street Apt 108
Oakland, CA 94610


The Ballad of Carol and Dave
Sung to tune of Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song,
(Words by Carol Layne and Dave Ruede)


Come and listen to my story about Carol and Dave
A Midwest farmer's daughter and a Yankee to the grave
They met in Austin Texas and they moved and moved and moved
And landed in New England where they couldn’t find their grove

Cold winters, long nights, icy roads

So they sold most their stuff and then packed up all the rest
Put Bodhi in the Hatchback and headed back out West
Said “Californy is the place we ought to be”
And they drove and drove and drove ‘till they hit the sea

Pacific that is, Golden Gate, Redwood Trees

Now they settled down in Oakland in a condo by the lake
Bought a bed on Facebook Marketplace and chest they had to make
With pelicans and hipsters and diversity galore
Now Bodhi is a city dog with new friends by the score

Big dogs, little dogs, but people are the best

Now there’s earthquakes, Covid, wildfires and more
A drought and homelessness we need to help restore
But when it feels safer and some friends you’d like to see 
Come taste a heapin’ helpin’ of our hospitality

Sourdough that is, Sidewalk Cafes, Fish Tacos
Printed with permission from Carol and Dave
Community Connections
Important Links
How to Submit Info to This Newsletter
Send announcements and news with Newsletter Item in the subject line to Etta Zasloff, Editor, at zasloff.etta@gmail.com by Tuesday Noon
to assure publication by Friday of that week.