Windows Weekly March 19, 2020
Albany UU Windows Weekly
Greetings,

Welcome to Windows Weekly, Albany UU's central source for news and updates. You may notice that some of the formatting is different than you're used to seeing in the Weekly. Trying some new things to optimize readability on different devices. Hope it works! Please stay safe and stay connected to your Albany UU Community in the many ways we are providing online - all described below.

-Blessings

W e 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 .
Sunday Service 10:00 AM - ONLINE
March 22, "Coping With a Pandemic - How everything has changed in a few weeks," Rev. Sam Trumbore

How much uncertainty lies ahead of us. The mind easily becomes preoccupied with the “what ifs?” and the “it might be…”s. How do we cope with these times we are now in, manage our stress and be there for each other?

Give Away the Plate to UUSC this Sunday in honor of their 50th Anniversay.

Music: Elena Karpoff with Guest Musicians: Chris Bystroff, Viola and Randy Rosette, flute and voice

Access the service using this link: https://zoom.us/j/2991087785









SUNDAY SERVICES
10:00 am - ONLINE

March 29, “Scriptural Wisdom,” Rev. Sam Trumbore

In an age of quantum physics and gene splicing, ancient holy books can still guide our hearts. As Easter approaches on April 12, come hear inspiring Biblical stories that can transmit wisdom across thousands of years. We need not believe them literally to get great metaphorical meaning from them.

Music: Albany UU Choir; Elena Karpoff, accompanist ; Guest Musicians: Ann Brandon, piano and Tanya Hotalen, recorder

Joys and Concerns for Online Services
We have three ways that you can share your joys and concerns.
  • One: Use the online form. If you use this form, you can indicate if you would like to have your joys and concerns shared at the Sunday service, and you can leave contact info if you would like a Pastoral Care Associate to follow up with you.
  • Two: Email your joy or sorrow to joysandsorrows@albanyuu.org before Sunday morning to have them read aloud during the service
  • Three: We will be giving you instructions during the Sunday service about how to share your joys and concerns then.


Here is the information and helpful hints to access the service online via Zoom each Sunday:

Sunday services will be online via Zoom at 10:00 AM EST. There will be no service, religious education or other activities in the church building until further notice.

Our Zoom link for the service is here:


Or perhaps this one will be easier to remember:


You do not need a camera or a microphone on your computer to join.

Another option to access Zoom is by phone. The phone number to dial in is: 1-646-876-9923. You will be asked for a meeting ID. Enter: 2990187785

A couple of helpful hints:

-When you're coming into the meeting and a window comes up with a few options, select "computer audio on".

-If you come into the meeting and see a lot of little squares with people or names in them; look in the upper right hand corner of your screen; you'll see the words "speaker view" - select that. You want to be in "speaker view" and not "gallery view".

-The "Alt H" key stroke will open chat.
ANNOUNCEMENTS



WARNING!
Rev. Sam WILL NOT ask you to buy a gift card for ANY reason at any time. If you get an email message that uses my name and asks for you to buy anything, delete it!  

Congregation Zoom Check Ins
Let's meet together electronically to see how we're doing in these challenging times and offer mutual support. Tuesday, March 24 from 4-5PM, Wednesday, March 25 from 2-3PM, Thursday, March 26 from 11-12PM and Friday, March 27 from 7-8:30PM.

Use this link to join:

The Annual Dinner will be postponed until a time when we can all safely gather to break bread together.

The Auction Committee is busy figuring out how to bring this essential event to each of us in our homes.

Our Breakfast Program will continue thanks to the vision and creativity of the team that has implemented the program each month thus far. We will provide “grab and go” meals just outside the building. What a wonderful testament to our ingenuity in a time of crisis and to our commitment to serving those in need.

The date of the Annual Meeting will remain unchanged, but our “gathering” will be conducted virtually. We will likely use the absentee ballot process for elected positions. And we’re discerning how much of our agenda will be remain intact and how we can accomplish it. But, minimally, we will have new officers and a new budget.

Harvest the wisdom of your life experience! 
Join us for the AGE-ING to SAGE-ING® Workshop series led by Audrey Seidman with Rev. Sam Trumbore, Wednesdays, 2:00pm - 4:30pm, April 22, May 6, 20, June 3 and 17. If we have enough interest, this workshop will be moved online. Learn powerful tools for gathering and giving expression to the wisdom of your own ripening life and find inspiration through the gift of mortality. Based on the teachings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and other spiritual wisdom leaders. 
Albany UU Members: $120
RSVP to admin@albanyuu.org . Learn more here.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR MINISTER
Dear Albany UU members and friends,

If you are like me, you’re currently reading everything you can about the pandemic sweeping across the world. None of us have lived through anything like this before. Our stress and anxiety quickly mount as we reflect on who we’ve been too close to in the last week, what we’ve touched we shouldn’t have, what the other members of our household might be doing to pick up the virus, and how we are going to stay safe and stay home without an enormous amount of emotional stress.

And it isn’t just what is happening to the people around us. It is watching the stock market drop, the economy shut down, and the health care system about to become overwhelmed. I feel for all the workers going home without a job or a paycheck. I feel for all the business owners who may go out of business if they can’t open again for months. So many people are one month without income away from insolvency. How will they cope?

In the midst of the climate of fear, concern and anxiety, let us remember that this too shall pass. The covid-19 virus can be stopped. China did it and they were the first to deal with it. We have learned a great deal about this virus and have so much more to learn. Our Federal Government finally is seeing the threat and taking aggressive action. Governor Cuomo is working very hard to stay ahead of the virus. Our government leaders are pulling together and putting partisan divides aside to get things done. Around the clock scientific research is being done to find ways to slow the virus down and get a vaccine out as soon as possible.

We will stop this virus and return to our daily lives.

And until then we will be living in difficult circumstances.

Our focus needs to be on how we can help each other get through the challenging times ahead. The evolutionary process discovered that social groups survive better than individuals. When we face this together, we are more likely to have a better outcome. More of us will survive and even thrive. When we cooperate with each other and protect each other and help each other, we’ll do much better.

We can’t stop all the problems and difficulties and losses we’re going to experience in the next few months, but we can keep each other sane. Electronic communication by cell phone and Internet will help a lot sharing information and resources, comfort and compassion.

So take very seriously all the precautions needed to keep the virus from getting into your home. Get lots of rest and take in enough healthy nutrition. Practice the renewal methods that work for your spirit. Check in with the Caring Network with a need for or offer of support. (see Joys and Caring Corner below) Drop in at a Congregational Zoom Check in during the week if you’d like, and join us on Sunday to celebrate the spirit of life together.

-Rev. Sam
BUILDING BELOVED COMMUNITY
Our stewardship campaign continues and we need you now more than ever! Many thanks to all those who have already pledged. We are now at 50% of our goal.

We need to get all pledges returned by April 1 so don’t delay. Remember to include your UU Bucks raffle ticket when you return your pledge.
 
To Return Your Pledge by April 1, you can:
-  Pledge online using this link . (A raffle ticket will be filled out for you.)
-  Mail your pledge to the Albany UU office.


LET'S GET GROWING!
INCLUSIVITY RECOMMENDS
One of the goals of the Inclusivity Team is bring awareness to the history, perspectives and concerns of folks who are not in the majority, to “de-center” the views of white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied folks and make room for others’ experiences and voices….

WATCH

“I've lived as a man & a woman -- here's what I learned ” – TEDx talk by Paula Stone Williams.
As a transgender woman, Paula Stone Williams reflects on living on both sides of the gender binary and privilege…“and the differences are massive!” “In this funny and insightful talk, Paula shares her wisdom for all. Reverend Dr. Paula Stone Williams is the president of RLT Pathways, Inc., a non-profit providing counseling and coaching services.” She works with the Center for Progressive Renewal, serves on the board of the Gay Christian Network, has been featured in multiple publications and blogs for The Huffington Post. 15 minutes
DID YOU KNOW?
Josephine Holloway, born in 1898 “worked to ensure African American girls could be a part of Girls Scouts. After graduating from Fisk University Holloway began working with girls at the Bethlehem Center in Nashville, Tennessee. While working at this center Holloway was able to bring Girl Scout inspired activities to more than 300 girls… when Holloway's oldest daughter turned six, in 1933, she applied to start a troop. The Nashville Girl Scout Council would not allow her to start an African American troop, but Holloway did not give up. She continued to fight for her daughters and other African American girls to have an opportunity to join…in 1942 Holloway was able to form an official African American Girl Scout troop. Holloway was then hired in 1944 by the Girl Scouts as a field advisor for black troops. During her time in this position Holloway would supervise thousands of African American girls and adults." – Mighty Girls website
READ
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
“In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.
From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America…With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago…quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem…and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career...Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work... a bold, remarkable, and riveting work...”
50 Inspiring Books on Girls and Women of the Civil Rights Movement
For ages 4 to young adult…and beyond!

Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
“An important book for all ages,  Little Leaders  educates and inspires as it relates true stories of forty trailblazing black women in American history. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history… Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come…the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. NY Times Bestseller. Grades 3-7

Parker Looks Up by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry, illustrated by Brittany Jackson
“When four-year-old Parker Curry came face-to-face with Amy Sherald's transcendent portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery, she didn't just see the First Lady of the United States. She saw a  queen --one with dynamic self-assurance, regality, beauty, and truth…Parker saw the possibility and promise, the hopes and dreams of  herself  in this powerful painting of Michelle Obama. An  everyday  
moment became an extraordinary  one...that continues to resonate its power, inspiration, and indelible impact. Because, as Jessica Curry (mom) said, ‘anything is possible regardless of race, class, or gender’” - a special book for young children of any race. Pre-school – grade 1
FROM OUR BLOGS
JOYS and CARING CORNER
To share your Joy or Sorrow with our Albany UU community, you may submit it on a yellow card during the service or by using our online form.  

Join us in keeping our members and friends in your thoughts as they share their joys and concerns.

Member, Anne Marie Haber expresses gratitude to member, Lea Ryman for her devoted work, spending long hours in the lab, testing samples for covid-19. We appreciate it!

Need to Talk? Albany UU Pastoral Care Associates are here to listen!
Our Pastoral Care Associates have been trained in compassionate listening skills and are available to all members and friends of our congregation. To contact a Pastoral Care Associate, email: listeners@albanyuu.org , contact Rev. Sam Trumbore , the Albany UU office at 518.463.7135, or one of them personally. They are: Sharon Babala, Chuck Manning, Donna Meixner, Dan Miyake, Phil Rich, Randy Rosette, Dee VanRiper and Erik F. vonHausen.

Albany UU Caring Network
The Caring Network (CN) reflects the words of the Albany UU chalice lighting - “to sustain a vital and nurturing religious community.” The CN provides encouragement and short term support to Albany UU members who, due to hospitalization, sickness, loss, or isolation, need assistance. Services typically include transportation to medical appointments, meals and shopping during recovery, and friendsly “check in’s” from Caring Network members. Please reach out to the Caring Network if you need.
RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION
-Leah Purcell, Director of Religious Education and Family Ministry (DREFM), lpurcell@albanyuu.org


Volunteer Tutoring Among Our Albany UU Community
Would your child benefit from someone else helping them with their homework? Or do you have the ability to tutor a child or high school youth? The Caring Network is partnering with RE staff to find volunteer adult and teen tutors to work with children on line and to pair them with interested families. Email Elizabeth at reassist@albanyuu.org if you’re interested in this for your child or if your teen is interested in tutoring. We’ll start with tutors in 7th grade and up and see how that works out.

Update on safety policy: It's recommended that parents/caretakers keep an eye on their children while they are on zoom meetings, much like they do for coffee hour at Albany UU. 

Story Times with Leah - Note updated zoom link: one link for both story hours
At 6:30pm on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays , for about a half hour, Leah reads some picture books from our RE library.

At 7:00 pm every evening - for about half hour, Leah reads from a chapter book. The first one is The One and Only Ivan ; we start that book on Friday, 3/20
All children, teens and adults are welcome.

Use this Zoom link for both. If you come to a 6:30 picture book reading on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday, you can stay for the chapter book reading that night or hop off. Use this every evening for the chapter book reading.
On your computer: https://zoom.us/j/801480305
Or
On your phone: 1 929 436 2866 Meeting ID: 801 480 305
7th/8th Grade Check in after the service this Sunday 3/22
This will be a dedicated Zoom space this Sunday after service for our 7/8th graders to check in with each other, starting at about 11:00 for an hour, facilitated by 2 of their RE volunteers or RE staff. Sunday is the day they are used to seeing each other and that way they still get to watch service.
By computer: https://zoom.us/j/648019944
By phone: +1 929 436 2866 Meeting ID: 648 019 944
A message from our lead youth group advisor, Tracey Hickey : ALBANY YOUTH GROUP VIDEO CHAT will be live around 8pm or 8:30pm tonight (3/19)! If you have a Youth, please ask them to check their GMail and tune in! (Leah will be on the chat too, so no parents need attend)
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
YOU can make a difference!
We at Albany UU are making an effort to increase our visibility and connectivity online. YOU can help, and it's quick and easy! Simply like, follow and share pages and posts on any of our social media platforms, or leave a positive Facebook or Google review. Google Albany UU or find us here:
Connections






Publication deadlines
This is an important reminder that the news and article deadline for Windows Weekly is 9:00 AM on Monday We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Sign up for an online class

- Send an email to: registration@albanyuu.org

Regular events and meetings

Many of these events and meetings will continue online, however dates and times may vary. Please contact the Team or Group Leader or email admin@albanyuu.org if you have questions.

Sundays        
11:45 AM     Inclusivity Team (2nd)
5:30 PM       Walker Book Group (2nd)
11:45 AM      Social Responsibilities Council (3rd)
11:45 AM      Green Sanctuary Committee (4th)

Mondays        
6:15 PM        Religious Education Council
                               (1st, Nov., Feb., May)
Tuesdays       
10:00 AM      Philosophy Discussion (weekly)
1:00 PM        Bridge (weekly)

Thursdays     
1:00 PM       All Sides Considered (1st & 3rd)
6:30 PM       Board of Trustees (4th)

Saturdays     
9:00 AM      Community Breakfast (3rd) - this is now "grab and go"
Going to miss a Sunday?

Online service will be recorded. Watch our first ever online service on You Tube here !

For previous services:
You can listen to the entire Albany UU Sunday service at home or on your mobile device. The two most recent services are available as MP3 files on the Albany UU member resource website. Here is how to access:

username: AlbanyUU
password: EEthelredBrown405

Our sermon archive (select Ministry/Sermon Archive on the left website menu) has pdf files of sermons texts (when available) and audio files of sermons. You can also request the office put a service on a CD.
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
Parking - when the building reopens: Parking is available on the street. On Sundays (and for some special events) Albany UU has permission to use the University at Albany’s Hawley Parking Lot on Robin Street at Washington Avenue.

Office hours:
While the building is closed, office hours will be very irregular. Regular staff have their messages forwarded to their personal cell phones.

Websites
General: www.AlbanyUU.org

Zoom use
To reserve Zoom for an Albany UU online meetings, contact Administrative Assistant Sapphire Correa (518.463.7135 or office@albanyuu.org ).

Photo credit: Jeannie Thompson
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany | 518.463.7135| 518.463.1429 | Admin@AlbanyUU.org | AlbanyUU.org