Picture above: The siding is complete on the building expansion, and the outbuilding is up!

Construction Updates: Notes on worshipping at "The Barn"

We are currently worshiping at the Barn at Stratford while our building is under construction. You can read all about our Building Expansion project here.

The Barn at Stratford is operated by the Delaware County Historical Society. It is located just nine minutes from our church building, just South of Delaware in the community of Stratford. It is immediately north from the junction of routes 315 and 23. The address of the barn is 2690 Stratford Road, Delaware, OH 43015.

While we will miss our beautiful building, the Barn provides a comfortable, historic temporary space that supports all of our regular Sunday morning activities. Please join us! Worship begins at 10:30 AM. Virtual Access to worship will continue to be offered via Zoom. 

Some notes about our new space: the parking lot looks small, but it isn't! The entire grassy area North of the barn is available for parking. We recommend that most folks park on the grassy, reserving the paved lot for person with mobility issues. We'll serve coffee and water as usual, but as we will not have our own cups, we'll need to use disposable. So if you can, please bring your own reusable coffee mug and/or water bottle to reduce the amount of our waste.

Ingathering on September 10!

On Ingathering Sunday, we will celebrate the start of the new church year by noting the importance of “third places”—places (like churches!) where people gather that are not home or work. Third places provide a home for the important work of civic engagement, and also establish for themselves an others an important sense of place. No water celebration this year as we are in our transitional space away from our building, but please look forward to a massive building dedication/homecoming worship our first Sunday in our new building in early November.

Ways to Connect

Mindful Writing will not meet during September due to vacation plans, but we will return, ready to share our written thoughts, on Oct. 16 via Zoom at 7:00 pm. Please let Marty Keith know if you are interested so she can send you the Zoom information you will need for our session. martykeith@zoho.com

Brown Bag Books discussion group plans to meet on Sept. 19 at noon at the Orange Branch of the Delaware Public Library, Study Room #2. September's book is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Questions to rutharusk@gmail.com

Wednesday Noon Check In

Join us using the regular NUUC zoom connection at noon everyday Wednesday for informal check- ins and chat with your fellow members. Write revritchie@aol.com for a direct link.

Life has a way of rushing by. Sometimes we feel the need to pause or to reflect more deeply. Join me for a virtual half hour of mindful contemplation that is inclusive, non-judgmental and expectation free. I’ll bring a mix of poetry, music, breathwork, silence, or meditation to create a space for you to relax. Participants are muted. Feel free to turn your video off. Please engage in whatever way feels most meaningful to you. A Space for Reflection is freely offered the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm on Zoom. Registration is required (link here).

As for me, Karen McGuire, the facilitator, I’m a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, a retired educator, and a trained Interspiritual Companion who finds it necessary to stop every once in a while, and pay attention.