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The UUFP Blast 

Live our UU Principles 

A weekly reminder of Fellowship & related activities

Issue 8/17/2023 

 Monthly Theme: The Path of Belonging

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Service Begins at 10:30am

"TBD"

TBD

Join us for Sunday Service via Zoom only.

You can join this meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone:

https://zoom.us/j/327711271 | Password: 792394

You can also dial in using your phone: +1 646 558 8656 

When asked, enter: 327 711 271# | Password: 792394

Summer Soul Matters Session

Rachael & Bruce Epstein will be leading a Soul Matters Small Group session this summer on Sunday, August 20 at 7 pm on Zoom. This is an opportunity for deep sharing in a Covenant Group setting.

Everyone is invited, whether you have participated in Soul Matters this year or not. Please email Bruce Epstein for more information and to be added to the participant list to receive the materials and Zoom link.

August 21st is the Deadline for September Newsletter

As we welcome a new minister and new year, let's bring some new energy to our newsletter!!!

Let's make the September Newsletter and each one that follows, informative, action-packed and relevant. How do we do this? By participation.

Here are some suggestions:

• Let the Fellowship know of all the great things your committee or group is doing
• Submit a short poem or words of encouragement
• Submit a "shout out" to a fellow UU who is doing extraordinary things
• Research a little-known UU fact and share it with the Fellowship
• Share your favorite recipe
• Did you go on vacation? Let's see the pics!
• Submit a riddle or brain teaser and provide the answer in the next issue
• Share information about a community event

These are just a few ways to make the newsletter more exciting, but ultimately it comes down to submitting great content. And that is where you come in.

Please send your newsletter content to uupoknewsletter@uupok.org BEFORE August 21, 2023. Anything received after this date may not make it into the September Newsletter.

As a reminder, here is the publishing schedule for UUFP publications:

The Blast (weekly)

The Blast is published every Thursday, except the last Thursday of the month.

The deadline for the Blast is the Monday @ noon preceding the publication date.

The Newsletter (monthly)

The Newsletter is published on the last Thursday of the month.

The deadline for the Newsletter is usually ten days preceding the publication date.

If there are any changes to the publication schedule, this will be communicated in the Blast.

If you have any questions, please email me at office@uupok.org.

Thanks - Donna (Office Administrator)

New Adult RE Class Beginning in September

Rev. Dan will be leading a joint Adult RE class with UUCEL and the UU Fellowship of Poughkeepsie this fall. The curriculum is titled, “What we Choose: Ethics for Unitarian Universalists”. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 via Zoom.

Please contact Rev. Dan at either uudjm@yahoo.com or revdan@uupok.org if you would like to participate.

This class consists of 10 90-minute sessions on the following topics:

• September 21: THE LOCUS OF MORAL AUTHORITY
• September 28: UNCHANGING TRUTHS
• October 5: THE COLLECTIVE GOOD
• October 12: CULTIVATING A VIRTUOUS CHARACTER
• October 19: NATURAL, LEGAL, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
• October 26: THE STORY OF OUR LIVES: NARRATIVE ETHICS
• November 9: RELATIONAL ETHICS
• November 30: UNDERSTANDING ETHICS FROM THE MARGINS
• December 7: AN ETHIC OF RISK
• December 14: LOCUS OF MORAL AUTHORITY REVISITED

The Preface to the class materials states:

We are regularly faced with moral choices, big and small. How should we respond to a tricky family or relationship situation? What is the right thing to do when faced with a dilemma at work? What is the most ethical course for a community, state, or nation to follow, and how much am I prepared to invest in advocating for that course? How does morality or ethics enter my food and eating choices? How should morality or ethics enter my consumer decisions? How do we treat others? What must I do to follow the values of my Unitarian Universalist faith tradition?

Unitarian Universalism is a faith of deeds, not creeds. We believe our choices and actions matter. We believe the measure of our religion is the way we live our faith in our day-to-day lives. But how do we decide what course of action to follow when a situation is complex and the moral course is unclear? Where do we turn for guidance that will help us fulfill our own wish to live a moral life? This program invites participants to focus attention on the moral and ethical questions that arise or have arisen in their lives, including challenges not yet perceived or acknowledged, and explore the ethical frameworks that can help in sorting through a dilemma.

The goals of this class are:

• Introduce different philosophical frameworks for ethics
• Engage participants to work with ethical dilemmas as presented in scenarios and stories
• Guide participants to examine their own ethical and moral frameworks and clarify and expand them after reflecting on different perspectives
• Deeply ground participants in their faith through exploration of Unitarian Universalist values and ethical ideas
• Build participants' capacity to live more fully as Unitarian Universalists by enhancing their understanding and skills for applying ethical frameworks to their lives.

UUFP Food Ministry

Thanks to all who have contributed to the UUFP’s Food Ministry. Throughout the Covid pandemic and beyond, our Fellowship has continued to provide monthly meals to the unhoused population of Dutchess County.

Despite our commitment to this ministry, our “food teams” have lost members through attrition. We had to consolidate these teams so that each one has enough members to prepare meals for 75 – 90 people. As a result, we are now left with three teams versus the six we had before the pandemic. With each team taking two months in the calendar year, we can now provide only six months of meals. Fortunately, members of the Quaker Meeting and the B’hais have agreed to assume responsibility for three months of meals.

We are trying to partner with other churches in the area to complete a year of monthly meals. If you know of any churches or groups who might be interested in sharing our food ministry, please ask them to contact Anne Lancellotti or Kathy Boone. Or, if you have friends who might want to form a group with YOU, please let Kathy and Anne know! For example, an Ad Hoc group made up of Fran Sunderland, Geri Wilmot and family, Pat Lamanna, Laura Bracken, Ellen Waggener, Paul Hirsch, Carol Miyake and Jeanne Woods provided the June meals. (Thank you!)

Below are the new teams and their months of service, for your information. Kathy and Anne welcome any comments you wish to offer.

Team 1 July/November

Leader – Julie Colacchio

Cathy Augello

Robyn Wood

Jolanda Jansen

Sue Sciacca

Betsy and Paul Silverstein

Roseanne Ashby

Barbara Corona

Jim Weissman

Team 2 August/December

Leaders - Kathy and Anne

Reed Asher

Paul Hirsch

Ellen Waggener

Jane Bartik

Roy Bartels

Fran Sunderland

Michael Philips

Gonul Wilson

Jeanne Woods

Team 3 October/May 2024

Leaders - Duncan Duncan/John Way

Laura Bracken

Rachael and Bruce Epstein

Paula Greenspan

Joyce Marra

Jill Barasch

Carolyn and Tom Ferrara

Pat Lamanna

Amy Strom

Geri Wilmott

Committee on Ministry

The Committee on Ministry (COM) supports healthy connections between the congregation, the minister, other professional staff, and lay leadership. One of COM’s functions is to evaluate how well or not the congregation’s needs are being met and to provide evaluation and feedback when necessary. When improvement is needed suggestions are offered. COM also assists when conflicts arise and the involved individuals are unable to resolve the issues on their own. One of COM’s functions is to facilitate the development of right relationship communication and conflict avoidance skills with the goal of assisting members in resolving issues as they arise.

Current COM members are:

Paula Greenspan (COM Chair), Rick Foster, Ellen Waggener, Jim Weissman

The Committee on Ministry can be reached at com@uupok.org with any question or concerns.

Membership Committee News

The Membership Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie (UUFP) is focused on the people of the Fellowship--its visitors, friends, and members. Our job as committee members is to find ways to help people feel welcome and serve their needs in whatever capacity.

We are the committee to contact if you have any questions or concerns about:

  * The history and background of Unitarian Universalism in general and/or the UUFP in particular.

  * How to become a “friend” of the Fellowship and what are the benefits.

  * How to become a “member” of the Fellowship and what are the benefits and obligations.

If you are interested in helping people feel welcome, then this may very well be the committee for you. You do not have to be a member of the UUFP in order to join our committee. In particular, we welcome people of all ages and backgrounds to represent the congregation at large. 

We usually meet the first Thursdays of the month at 7:00 p.m.

There has been a lot of talk lately about voting at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie (UUFP), and there are many important issues to vote for! However, only members in good standing are eligible to vote at corporate meetings.

 Are you a member? Did you at one time become a member, but perhaps have forgotten to pledge lately? Perhaps financial or personal issues have made it difficult to think about the financial issues of the UUFP. Nevertheless, it’s not too late.

 All people, whether they are members or friends, are welcome here at the Fellowship and can participate in activities. However, only members can vote at corporate meetings. Our fifth principle, “the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large” is a core belief of our UU Faith.

 Would you like to know how to become a member and join us in our democratic process of self-governance? Contact Laura A.G. Bracken to learn more about how you can become a member or reinstate your membership.

Submitted by Carol Miyake and Laura A.G. Bracken

The Caring Circle

If you need caring, please send an email to: caringcircle@uupok.org  

Or contact either Betsy Silverstein or Kathy Boone directly.

Pat Lamanna Sighting

Saturday, August 19, 7:30 p.m., UU Congregation at Rock Tavern, 9 Vance Road, Rock Tavern -- I will be part of a multi-media presentation called "Pete and Woody." Through pictures, songs and narration (by Richard Mattocks), folksinger Steve Suffet and I will tell the story of the decades-long friendship between Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Following intermission, there will be a song circle with local folk musicians. This is a fundraiser for the congregation. Tickets are $20. For more information, contact Mike Landrum at mikelandrum1@icloud.com.

Viola Hathaway Memorial Service

Viola Hathaway was a longtime member of the Poughkeepsie Friends Meeting and a community activist. Some of our UUFP members may remember her and her late husband, Dick Hathaway, as they both spoke at the Fellowship at various times and joined us in social action projects. 

Viola passed away last June 3 in Clare, MI, at the age of 93. There will be a memorial service for her on Saturday, August 26, at 1:00 p.m. It will be both in person at Oakwood School, 22 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, main building meeting room; and online at https://zoom.us/j/99119876371#success. (If you have trouble accessing this link, go to https://poughkeepsiequakers.org/ and click on "join us," then "virtually.")

The weekly Blast is published on Thursdays.  

Please send input to TheBlast@uupok.org by Monday @ noon.