“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'” - Fred Rogers
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Dear Members and Friends,
First Universalist Church, using an abundance of caution, has decided to cancel all church sponsored events (Worship Service, Coffee Hour, Youth Groups and other special events) beginning on Sunday, March 15. You will most definitely be notified when we’re able to gather again.
Since we are not able to all be together in our beautiful sanctuary, we are sending you this
WORSHIP AT HOME email today, with heartfelt wishes for your well-being and the safety of our beloved community.
Today, just as we do at church, we offer a Reading, a few Announcements, a Time for All Ages, a Morning Message, a Prayer, and a healing dose of music.
Ready? Let’s all take a deep breath and begin. Welcome.
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This Morning's Order of Worship
- Welcome & Announcements
- Opening Hymn: "Morning Has Come"
- Reading: A Poem by Wendell Berry
- Time for All Ages
- Morning Message: "Aging as a Spiritual Journey" by Rev. Frieda
- Joys & Concerns
- Closing Hymn: "When Our Heart is in a Holy Place"
- Closing Words: "Pandemic" by Lynn Ungar
- All-Church Sing-Along: "What a Wonderful World" by Bob Thiele
- Coffee Hour: Pi/e Sunday
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Announcements
1.
COVID-19 Updates: The church will continue to be available for council and committee meetings, including regular rentals (under 25 participants) until further notice. However, please use discretion and consult with one another to determine if the meetings are essential or if they can be postponed or conducted remotely. Meanwhile, First Universalist has formed a team to address the developing corona virus impact on our congregation and community. We will strive to provide spiritual nourishment during this period in which we need to maintain ‘social distance.’ Please watch your email for updates!
2.
Future WORSHIP AT HOME episodes: We are looking into technologies for future ‘episodes’ of
WORSHIP AT HOME that might include video, live chat, call-ins, and a place for you to share joys and concerns so that we can keep in touch during these complicated days. If you have ideas for other content or ways that the church could be a virtual community, please share them with members of the Board. Our emails are at the bottom of this message.
3.
If you need help of any kind please email a member of the Board or Joy Ahrens who is the contact person for Caring Connections. We can bring you food, or help you connect to resources in the community. If you are in need of someone to talk to, let us know or call Reverend Frieda. (Her hours are posted at the bottom of this email.) We are all in this TOGETHER. We are stronger together.
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"Morning Has Come," by Jason Shelton
Please note that YouTube may play an advertisement prior to the song. You have an option to "skip" forward after a few moments to continue to the music.
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Reading
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
- Wendell Berry
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Time for All Ages
Children may have questions about the coronavirus or may be feeling some of the same big worries adults are having.
Three top tips for helping kids to manage coronavirus worries:
- Be honest and age-appropriate with your explanations. Here is a simple slideshow with helpful language designed for children.
- Continue with routines and structure as much as possible.
- Make space for sharing feelings.
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Morning Message
Please note that this link is an audio file of Rev. Frieda's morning message that she has recorded, hosted by Soundcloud. The link above will direct you to that web page.
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Joys and Concerns
We remain together in spirit. Please send your joys and concerns to us for next week’s episode of WORSHIP AT HOME. Here is what we have in our hearts today:
- Anne Turner shares a candle of great joy for a healthy and very fast birth of a new granddaughter Chloe on March 6th.
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- Anne also shares a candle of concern for her niece Heather, who has stage 3 breast cancer, and is recovering from a double mastectomy this week, going home to two young children who have had school cancelled.
- Marge and Pete Titcomb share sorrow as they prepare to say good bye to their dear Aunt Joann, age 99. Healthy until last week, Aunt Joann has been the star of annual family gatherings at the beach cottage where her birthday has been celebrated for decades. So much love, so many memories.
- We light another candle for all those we hold in our hearts today and every day. We honor those whose concerns are too tender to be spoken.
- We light our last candle for the comfort of human goodness, for kindness under stress, and for moments of beauty in times of great trouble.
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"When Our Heart is in a Holy Place,"
sung by the UU Fellowship of Clemson
Please note that YouTube may play an advertisement prior to the song. You have an option to "skip" forward after a few moments to continue to the music.
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Closing Words
Pandemic
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love--
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
--Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
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Please note that this link is an audio file hosted on our website. This link will send you to the "Choir and Music" page of our website where you can play the mp3 file.
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Pi/e Sunday: As American as apple pie! Apples are a great food to stock up on as they keep well in cool temperatures (refrigerator, garage, fruit cellar, etc.), contain Vitamin C which is important to your immune system, and are a good source of fiber. And, if your apples start to get mushy or brown, they still work well in apple sauce or pie.
Click here for pie recipe!
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Here are the ways you can contact us at First Universalist:
OFFICE
*
You can contact Rev. Frieda at any time in an emergency. Home office hours are 10 am - 2 pm.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CARING CONNECTION
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