Dear Friends:

Join Us for This Month's Virtual (Online) Pop-Up FUUSB Coffeehouse!

This Saturday, May 9, at 7:00 p.m.

Join us by Zoom this Saturday night

To play and hear music, and share smiles bright

Eat, tell stories, chat, laugh and sing

At a pop-up Zoom coffeehouse fling!

Who: Everyone! Friends and family welcome

How: via Zoom, on your computer, tablet, or phone (see invitation below)

When: Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m.

Bring: a song, a short story or poem, magic trick, yourself

To sign up for open mic: email Todd Schlossberg at: [email protected]

Meeting ID: 864 2116 1457

Password: 025230

On Sunday, May 10 at 12 p.m. the Membership Team will be again holding a virtual "Staying Connected" gathering. Conceived just before this time of physical separation began in March, "Staying Connected" is primarily intended for "newish" folks to get acquainted and learn a bit more about First UU Society. It is a very informal gathering; we simply go around the "room" introducing ourselves, collecting and answering questions.

We've hosted two of these gatherings so far; the first was held back in the days when we could meet face to face and April's was a Zoom meeting. Both were well-attended with positive feedback. We warmly invite you to join us via Zoom on May 10 at noon. We look forward to seeing you then!

Zoom link: zoom.us/j/586369862  or join by phone at 1-646-558-8656 (meeting ID: 586 369 862)

Are you a 7th-12th grader? Yuuth Group is having expanded meetings every Sunday from 12:00-1:30 p.m. We're using that time to teach and learn new skills, play games, watch videos, visit a virtual zoo, cook together, support our community, perform for each other and much more. We hope you can drop by!

For more information on registering for our regular high school youth group which meets every Thursday from 6-8 p.m., contact Gabriel, Youth Ministry Coordinator, at [email protected].

In these new and uncharted times when physical distancing can be so difficult for so many of us, a group of congregants, inspired by their love for this congregation and the Society's mission to care for each other and our community, announces the launching of a weekly guided meditation that will soon be available via a link from the opening page of our website, uusociety.org.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on May 12 and each Tuesday thereafter, a link to the weekly meditation will be posted on the opening page of the First UU Society website. Gradually these meditations will be archived so that it will be possible for you to hear any of them as many times as you wish and at any time. The meditations will be approximately 10 to 15 minutes long. There is a plan in place to provide meditations for approximately 12 weeks.

Our hope is that these meditations provide a sense of well-being, connection and comfort. Feedback is welcome: Linda Graves, [email protected].

You Can Help Members During These Uncertain Times:

Many members of our Society are unable to make a pledge for the 2020/2021 fiscal year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have lost their jobs and some are just too unsure of their financial situation to make that type of commitment. These are members who are active in our community, have supported FUUSB financially in the past, and fully intend to support the Society in the future. They just don't feel that they can make a pledge for this coming fiscal year at this time.

We also know that there are other members of our Society that are more financially secure right now and might be able to make a gift in addition to their pledge. A gift that might help cover the loss of pledge income we're seeing in these uncertain times. So with a starter gift from a very generous member, we have created the Angel Fund. The Angel Fund is designed to accept one-time gifts (separate from your pledge) that will help replace lost pledge income due to the pandemic. Our hope is that members who are unable to pledge for the next fiscal year will feel some sense of relief knowing that the Society will not be negatively affected by their inability to pledge at this particular time.

We hope you will consider making a gift to the Angel Fund. Gifts can be made by sending a check to the Society with "Angel" in the memo line or by giving online from our website: uusociety.org/donate. Make sure to mark your gift as going to the Angel Fund. Please contact Christina at [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your generosity!