Greetings Friends,
Welcome to Windows Weekly, Albany UU's central source for news and updates. Please stay safe and stay connected to your Albany UU Community during this uncertain time in the many ways provided online - all described below.
Enjoy some lovely photos sprinkled throughout this publication, of Albany UU in springtime that Rev. Sam took this week.
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Learn more about what's happening with UU Kids and Families by reading the Religious Education publication, RE Roundup.
-Blessings and Be Well
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VIRTUAL SUNDAY SERVICE
LIVE on ZOOM
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Main Service at 10:00 AM, Children's Service at 11:30 AM
Begin your Sunday morning with Rev. Sam guiding an 8:30 Virtual Meditation session until 9:15. We then have Virtual Service beginning at 10:00 each Sunday and a chance to stay online for virtual
"Coffee Hour" followed by RE for ALL, at 11:30.
Use this link to join Sunday service:
To dial in by phone: 1-929-436-2866:
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
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April 18, “Dirty Earth Day,” Rev. Sam Trumbore, with the Green Sanctuary Committee
What could be better to focus on for an Earth Day celebration than dirt! Could dirt be one way to help us dig our way out of increasing carbon in the atmosphere? All that fossil carbon came out of the ground. It needs to find its way back there!
Music provided by Elena Karpoff
Those wishing to access closed captioning/live transcript can turn on the function in their Zoom toolbar. To update to the latest version of Zoom, please do that within the software by finding the menu link and “check for updates”.
Stay with us after service for a Virtual Ministries and Operations Team (MOT) Open House. This will be an opportunity for informal discussion and Q&As about our ministries and operations or specific topics that the MOT is working on.
Use this link to join Sunday service:
To dial in by phone: 1-929-436-2866:
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
Join us for Family Chapel for Children and Families at 11:30 AM
We’ll continue the theme of the month – Becoming– and celebrate Earth Day with the story “Creekfinding: A True Story”. Family Chapel is a short worship for children, youth, their parents/caretakers and the RE guides that includes the story for the week. Then we have break out rooms for each group in 8th grade and younger for their sessions.
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April 25, “Becoming Wise,” Rev. Sam Trumbore
Wisdom is different than knowledge, skills or understanding. Wisdom is knowing when to use knowledge and skills. That wisdom isn’t as easy to learn. Maybe it takes a lifetime to become wise. We’ll reflect together on the process of becoming wise.
Music provided by special guest: Tanya Hotalen, recorder;
Elena Karpoff
The Albany UU Service year continues through June 13
Summer Services begin Sunday, June 20, 10:00 AM
Lighting Our Chalice
Lighting and extinguishing the chalice during our Sunday services is a meaningful and important ritual in our UU tradition. We would like to make this ritual more personal and special for our congregation by featuring congregants, i.e. you and your family!
You are invited to record videos of lighting and extinguishing a chalice and saying a few words about what the ritual means to you. Then we can use these videos in future Zoom services.
Leah Purcell posted a lovely blog piece about chalice lighting, which you can find here. Leah writes eloquently about both the meaning and significance of the ritual – and the logistics of making/getting a chalice and recording yourself.
Check out Leah’s blog, and please consider creating a personal contribution for our Sunday services. Assistance with the logistics will gladly be provided. Thank you so much!
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Joys and Concerns for Online Services
Need to Talk? Albany UU Pastoral Care Associates are here to listen!
Adult RE for ALL, Sunday Offering and other Information
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REV. SAM NOMINATED for UUA BOARD
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Why am I Running for UUA Board
When I got the call from the UUA Nominating Committee to see if I was willing to run for UUA Board, I got an immediate inner “yes.” Then I started to think about taking on the responsibilities and time commitments of the role. And I thought about making room in my schedule. “What projects and activities would I have to give up?” I considered as my life is already quite full of activity. The Nominating Committee representative mentioned they had had trouble filling the slot because of the time commitment needed … or so they said.
That immediate “yes” didn’t fade. I knew intuitively there was something about this invitation that was drawing me in. I completed the application process and shared lots of information with them about my previous leadership positions and my work on UUA Committees. The one that was particularly relevant was serving on the Open UUA Committee. This was a watchdog committee monitoring the Board for openness and transparency. I joined in 2011 and at the time the UUA Board wasn’t good about posting agendas and minutes of their meetings. Our committee was able to stimulate the Board to post agendas and minutes as well as audio recordings of their meetings. I had learned a lot about the UUA Board during those years.
After the Nominating Committee was done interviewing me and checking my references (thanks to those who said supportive things about me) I got a call from the chair. He said (paraphrased), “I’ve got good news for you and bad news. First, we are going to select your name to send to the Board along with two other candidates. That’s the good news. The bad news is you’ll have an opponent who is running by petition for your Board seat.”
I was delighted to know I’d have an opponent. That would mean I could run a campaign for the position. It also meant creating a web page for my campaign, a page to request endorsements ,display them (not done yet),and a donation page for campaign costs. I posted this to Facebook and immediately started getting support, endorsements, and donations. I’ll have a “virtual booth” at UUA General Assembly in June and probably be doing a postcard mailing to all the congregations in the UUA asking for support (I just got the entire mailing list of UU congregations).
My opponent, Jay Kiskel from Georgia, says his attention was drawn to national UUA politics in 2017 when we had a high profile UUA hiring controversy. That controversy precipitated the resignation of the UUA President, Peter Morales, and his executive team. Kiskel is in the region where the hiring controversy happened. Then came a book distribution controversy at the 2019 UUA General Assembly in Spokane, Washington by their congregation’s minister, the Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof. The book, called the Gadfly Papers (important response links: One, Two, and especially Three), criticized how the hiring controversy was handled and criticized the UUA’s anti-racism and inclusion response. Kiskel is also critical of some of the governance changes during that same period as the UUA Board has gotten smaller and begun using the Carver Policy Governance model.
I thought the controversy had died down over the last two years. Entering this campaign has identified to me people for whom it has not. A small group of ministers have resigned their UU Ministers Association membership over it. It continues to fester in the background though 90% plus of UU ministers and the vast majority of our congregations do not support them.
My hope is my campaign can be a healing influence that builds bridges rather than walls. While the UUA Board and UUA Staff have been forward thinking and visionary in the last 25 years, often ahead of many congregations, these critics are resisting these changes as the UUA moves in directions they do not appreciate or understand. Yet the UUA Board is not out of step with most of our congregations. When the call went out to do a white supremacy teach-in, over 700 congregations responded. When the UUA Board asked about our priorities during the 2018 UUA General Assembly, 90% put anti-racism work at the top of our agenda.
While I anticipate the Gadfly issue will be part of my campaign it isn’t my primary focus and not why I accepted the nomination. I know I don’t have all the answers, far from it. What I do know something about is processes to work out solutions. Here is what I wrote in my application describing my vision of board work:
In governance, I have a sense of the spirit moving when a group of people meet. What effective and creative group process techniques do is facilitate that energy to move in us and between us. It is common that I go into a meeting not knowing where we are going but knowing a process we can follow to get there. What happens in the meeting as we share our thoughts and feelings allows that spirit to take shape and become real. For me this is a deeply meaningful, spiritually uplifting process. Well run meetings are an absolute joy. I strive to be a leader who can effectively use them.
I hope I can count on your support for my campaign! I promise to come back from the wider view of our association with new ideas and best practices from around our association.
-Rev. Sam
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UPCOMING WAYS to CONNECT
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Virtual Circle Dinner
Sign up for the next Virtual Circle Dinner, Saturday April 17 from 6-7:30 PM! Join other UUs for friendly conversation in a small group, dinner optional. Email johnssherman@gmail.com by Thursday April 15 - THAT'S TODAY, and we'll send you the zoom details.
Start your Sunday Morning with Meditation - 8:30 - 9:15 AM
Sunday morning meditation, led by Rev. Sam, begins with a ten-minute talk by Sharon Salzberg or Joseph Goldstein from their course on Insight Meditation. We will sit together for twenty minutes then have some conversation about the talk, meditation methods or experiences followed by a live loving kindness meditation.
Use this link to join:
By phone: 1-929-436-2866
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
Virtual MOT Open House
Join your Ministries and Operations Team this Sunday, April 18 following service. This will be an opportunity for informal discussion and Q&As about our ministries and operations or specific topics that the MOT is working on.
Use the Service link to join:
To dial in by phone: 1-929-436-2866:
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
Philosophy Group
At 10:15 AM every Tuesday, the Albany UU Philosophy Group will meet via zoom and discuss their topic of the day.
All are welcome.
Use this link to join:
By phone: 1-929-436-2866
Meeting ID: 987 7102 4708
Password: 0000
Ps and Qs
Projects and Quilts (Ps and Qs) will zoom next on Wednesday, April 21 at 10:00 AM.
Use this link to join:
By phone: 929-436-2866
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
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Albany UU Sings
Join your friends and sing your heart out in Virtual Community! We will supply the music and the lyrics.
Save these Wednesday dates at 7:00 PM for the rest of the the service year:
April 21; May 12, 26; June 9
Hope to see you there.
Use this link to join:
By phone: 1-929-436-2866
Meeting ID: 979 5961 1765
Passcode: 0000
Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, April 22, 6:30 PM the Board of Trustees holds their monthly meeting. Board meetings are open to all Albany UU members.
Use the service link to join:
To dial in by phone: 1-929-436-2866:
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
A Virtual Orientation for Newcomers on Zoom
Getting to Know UU
Saturday, May 8 (note date change), is a great chance for some of us at Albany UU to get to know YOU. Learn more here.
Use this link to join:
To dial in by phone: 1-929-436-2866:
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
Walker Book Group
Join the Walker Book Group for a Zoom discussion on Sunday, May 9 at 6:30 pm. Join at 6:15 for additional time to socialize. We will discuss The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Learn more here.
Use this link to join:
By phone: 929-436-2866
Meeting ID: 299 018 7785
Password: 0000
My Grandmother’s Hands Book group/workshop
Trauma therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. Facilitated by Philomena Moriarty LCSW, a trauma therapist. May 11 - June 29, Tuesdays 7:30pm - 9pm. Learn more here.
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!
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Annual reports due April 26!
It's been a challenging year for all of us, but we have adapted and done wonderful things this year despite the crazy. Let's celebrate those. Bring on your reports! If your team did not meet due to the pandemic, that's ok, just let Tammy know.
Our Annual Meeting will be online, May 16. The Annual Report will also be online only again this year.
The deadline for reports is Monday, April 26. If you have any questions about the annual report process, contact Church Administrator Tammy Hathaway: admin@albanyuu.org.
Endowment Trust Annual Granting Capacity
Each calendar year the endowment trustees use a prescribed formula based on income from its investments to calculate the amount of money available for special project grants. The 2021 granting capacity is $20,000.
If you have an idea for a special project consistent with the congregation’s mission please apply. Applications may be submitted through the Albany UU website:
Albany UU Library Chair and members needed
Sadly, our Albany UU Librarians, Melanie and Paul Axel-Lute, have had to retire after many years of faithful service building and organizing our wonderful library.
If you are interested in becoming a steward of these resources, please check out the volunteer job descriptions HERE and HERE, and contact Church Administrator, Tammy Hathaway to express your interest: admin@albanyuu.org
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Taking Steps for a
Better World
The CROP Hunger Walk raises funds for local food pantries and feeding programs, and for hunger and disaster relief programs around the world. Although the May 2 CROP Walk must again be a virtual “non-event” – the needs it supports are real and continuing. Find out more here.
Young Adults
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Albany UU joins Interfaith Power and Light
As part of our Earth Month activities, Albany UU is joining the New York State Chapter of Interfaith Power and Light (IFPL). The mission of IFPL is to inspire and engage people of faith and religious communities to actively steward and sustain our natural environment. IPFL provides resources for congregations to address environmental issues and it builds collaborations with other organizations to advocate for environmental legislation. The Green Sanctuary Committee has found many of the resources available from the IFPL to be helpful as we plan our Earth Month activities. The Board has approved Albany UU joining the IFPL.
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This just in...
There will likely be a Protest and March for the killing of Duante Wright on Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 in Townsend Park, Albany. Please watch your Daily Reminders for more information as this evolves and takes shape.
The Albany UU Social Responsibilities Council (SRC) and Inclusivity Team recommend a Black Lives Matter vigil in Troy:
When: Saturdays,10:30-11:15 am (Note end time change)
Where: Troy - corner of River Street at the intersection of Fulton and Third Streets, 12180
- physical distance, masks
- signs only, no chanting (except for meditative religious practice)
- the vigil will automatically be canceled if the temperature is 20 or below OR if the wind chill is below 10 degrees Fahrenheit
Raise Your Voice for End of Life Choice
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Progress: This month New Mexico became the 10th state to authorize medical aid in dying after more than a quarter century of effort.
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April 22, 2-3 pm: Join Diane Rehm, NPR talk-show host and author of the book and PBS documentary, When My Time Comes, and the film's director Joe Fabiszewski, for a Q&A about the film and the movement to expand and protect end-of-life options. Register here.
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April 29, 12:30-2 pm: View Life, Death, Compassion: A Conversation about Medical Aid in Dying in New York featuring Compassion and Choices, SAGE USA and Union Theological Seminary. Register here.
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Contact your lawmakers about medical aid in dying. As a member of the Assembly Health Committee, local Assembly Member John MacDonald’s vote on the Medical Aid in Dying Act is critical. Urge him to vote “yes” using contact information here. Contact other lawmakers using this easy-to-use tool. Even if you have asked for their support before, please do it again this month.
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Volunteer for advocacy this spring. From the comfort of home, attend Zoom meetings with lawmakers and help with phone banking and text banking to constituents of target lawmakers. No experience or special knowledge is required, as you will get all the support you need. Offer to volunteer in an email to ny@compassionandchoices.org.
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Our Inclusivity Team Recommends the following book:
Light for the World to See: A thousand words on race and hope, by Kwame Alexander. (2020). Here, we're offered three poems.
1) American Bullet Points: after the killing of George Floyd
2) Take a Knee: after Colin Kaepernick's protest
3) The Undefeated: after the birth of the author's second child and after the election of Barack Obama
This book is a little treasure to grieve losses and inspire action. Available in hardcopy from the Upper Hudson Library System and available for purchase from Audible.
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Family Chapel this Sunday, April 18 at 11:30 AM
We’ll continue the theme of the month – Becoming– and celebrate Earth Day with the story “Creekfinding: A True Story”. Family Chapel is a short worship for children, youth, their parents/caretakers and the RE guides that includes the story for the week. Then we have break out rooms for each group in 8th grade and younger for their sessions.
The Treehouse is our own multigenerational community for Religious Education for Children and Youth. Families can find resources to practice UU-ism at home and supplementary materials for RE groups. Everyone - parents/caretakers, children and youth can share their written thoughts, pictures, videos they make. Click here to join: https://tinyurl.com/Albany-Treehouse
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UU WEEKEND AT SILVER BAY
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Join us at a Cozy Autumn UU Weekend on Silver Bay
I love being in a beautiful place interacting with many UUs from different places.
-Andrea Ricard
Comradery, colorful fall scenery, campfires, creative and cultural activities and culinary pleasures await you at a coveted setting on Lake George. Please join us at the UU Weekend at Silver Bay on Lake George from October 15-17, 2021.
In addition to enjoying a full array of activities and workshops and seven delicious meals, participants will enjoy culinary delights prepared by students from the Culinary Institute of America. Learn more here.
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Essential Building Use Guidelines:
Learn about submitting announcements to for our virtual Sunday service and how to reserve a Zoom room for meetings and events here.
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Quick Links
Denominational Affairs Links
Helpful Local Links
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Publication deadlines
This is an important reminder that the news and article deadline for Windows Weekly is 9:00 AM on Monday. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sign up for an online class
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MISSION STATEMENT
We welcome everyone. Our Unitarian Universalist community seeks truth and deeper meaning, pursues justice through inspired action, and cultivates compassion and love for all connected by the web of life.
VISION STATEMENT
Albany UU will be an inclusive, welcoming congregation. Our sacred work is to lift hearts, broaden minds and do justice in the world, in service of building beloved community.
CONGREGATIONAL COVENANT
As a congregation with respect for our past and commitment to the future, we draw from the depth and power of our hearts and minds, guided by our Unitarian Universalist principles, to serve our mission and vision. We celebrate the diversity of our identities and experiences, and foster a culture of appreciation, inspiration, and kindness. We honor both the strength of the collective and uniqueness of the individual, willing to support and challenge each other with love and compassion. We entrust ourselves to each other in beloved community, to embolden personal and congregational growth and transformation.
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First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
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Office hours:
The Albany UU Office is closed during this time of physical distancing. Sam, Leah and Tammy have their messages forwarded to their personal cell phones and are available by email.
Our Website:
Zoom use
To reserve Zoom for an Albany UU online meeting, contact the virtual church office (518.463.7135 or admin@albanyuu.org).
Photo credit: Rev. Sam Trumbore
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First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany | 518.463.7135| 518.463.1429 | Admin@AlbanyUU.org | AlbanyUU.org
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