Ministerial Message for May 15, 2020
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Dear Friends,
Greetings on this two-month milestone of our not being able to be together in person. It's been rough to be apart. I miss you.
Yet I am grateful that it seems that nobody in UUSS is currently sick with Covid-19 and glad for the apparent effectiveness of mitigation efforts in Sacramento County and nearby areas. Thanks to all those who are giving up so much of what we enjoy in order to slow the spread of the virus and keep our neighbors healthy, as well as ourselves and our families. I'm also grateful for all the ways that you reach out to Lucy, me, and one another in leading with love and in sustaining our mission.
We invite you to participate in these various ways as you are able to.
Check out
www.uuss.org
for the link to Zoom services and for recent Ministerial Message emails, sermon texts, and a daily photograph of Light on the Parkway by Dave Dawson and his group of photography friends. Y
ou can
see our Blue Sheet Zoom calendar at this link
See you soon!
Yours in faith,
P.S.--Correction: Congregational Meeting starts at
12:15 pm. this Sunday, after the service and a brief Coffee Hub. This is a correction from the UUSS Message emailed on Monday and snail-mailed to some.
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Virtual Flower Communion
with Real Flowers and Real Faces
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Every June we celebrate the Czech Unitarian ritual of a Flower Communion. Families and individuals bring a stem of fresh flowers to church to give away and then take a flower home from someone else. Will you help us do this online?
Please take a digital picture of yourself or of the whole family offering a flower or a bunch of them to the viewer.
Send it in! Then
Krystal will make a colorful collage of our faces and our blooms to show during the June 7 Sunday Service online. Deadline for submission is Monday, June 1.
If you don't have a camera or can't figure out a way to get a picture taken of yourself, let us know. Somebody from our team of errand-running volunteers can don a mask, drive over, and take your picture from a safe distance as you greet them with your flowers at your door. No flowers? Let us know that, and we'll bring some to you.
All are invited to participate as we come together to
brighten
our lives.
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One of our UUSS rose gardens in blossom!
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At the online church:
By phone or online you can join our
Zoom-based
worship services on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday May 17 at 11 AM- UU for the Future Rev Lucy will reflect on the gifts that UUs bring to our challenged world, and the changes we need to make to realize our potential.
Tuesday May 19th at 7 Creativity! We will explore the creative expression brought on by the sheltering in place. What's alive in you?
We come together for shared song, stories, readings, homily, and the lighting of our flaming chalice. Familiar faces and voices of our ministers, worship associates and musicians.
Virtual coffee time after the
Sunday
service, breaking us into small groups for chatting briefly.
May 17: Please stay for the Congregational Meeting at 12:15! All are welcome to attend but we need a quorum of Members for business.
Tuesday Vespers--we have a simpler and shorter format for our evening services. At the start, you are invited to "Greet Your Neighbors!"--post your greetings in the chat box. At the end, you are invited to open video cameras and wave to one another.
Wednesday evenings we offer
Exploring Unitarian Universalism at 7:00. For newcomers as well as long-term UUs, this engaging series used to take place before church on the third Sunday morning of each month. Now it will happen more frequently in our Zoom room. On Wednesday,
May 20,
Rev. Roger will continue the conversation about Unitarian, Universalist, and UU histories. In the Zoom stream.
Zoom Room streaming open house:
You don't have to sign up for Zoom to participate in our Zoom activities. Drop in to chat with one of your ministers and whoever else drops in. All ages welcome! Every Friday, 10:30 a.m.
Zoom link here
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Zoom Religious Education--Spirit Play, Youth Groups and Coming of Age
are meeting in various ways.
1) Parent Voices on Zoom will take place on the first Sunday evening of the month (after the kids go to bed): next one is June 7. This program is for mutual support among adults who are parenting.
2) We are exploring ideas and options for activities and time slots in order to shape a ministry that reaches, engages and serves more of our families with children at UUSS.
We welcome your suggestions, resources, and offers of help. Be in touch with Miranda or Rev. Roger.
If you haven't received an email for RE families and volunteers, contact Religious Education Coordinator Miranda Massa: re@uuss.org
Theology on Tap every Friday evening by Zoom
Bring a beverage of choice (from your own fridge) in the room of your choice (in your own place) and a community conversation.
Request the Zoom link by emailing theologyontap@uuss.org.
Is your group meeting on ZOOM?
Let us know and we will post it in the next message or on the Zoom Blue Sheet:
office@uuss.org
Does your UUSS group want to meet on Zoom?
The UUSS Zoom is a busy place. Contact Krystal Gollaher, our Administrative and Facilities Coordinator, if you want to set up a meeting for your group.
Sermons to
hear at any time:
Do you miss hearing sermons?
You can find more than 5 years of sermons on our web site.
If you heard a reading, song or other piece of music in an online service and would like to track it down, we will try to post a list of those items the week following the service at this link.
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Religious Education by Zoom
Room to Grow in Spite of the Limitations!
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*Elementary-age children attend Spirit Play by Zoom at 9:30 a.m. May 17--Rev. Roger.
*Coming of Age--Youth and Mentors meet with Janet Lopes and Rev. Roger May 17, 2:30 p.m.
*
JHYG -
-Our junior high youth (grades 6-7-8) gather with adult leaders on Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month at 4:00.
*SHYG--Our high school youth gather EVERY WEEK with volunteer adult leaders by Zoom.
See the RE page of our website: www.uuss.org/re.
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Adult Enrichment Opportunities
We come together to deepen our lives...
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In addition to Exploring UUism on Wednesdays at 7:00 and Interplay on the 2nd and 4th Saturday mornings, our Adult Enrichment Committee is grateful to announce a number of opportunities for you.
 Reading & Responding to Poetry--
starts Monday morning, May 18, 10:00 a.m.
The 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Longtime UUSS member and Sacramento poet JoAnn Anglin facilitates the practice of reading and reflecting on a poem and lines of poetry. With her broad knowledge of all kinds of poets, JoAnn selects a new poem to share each time.
Rev. Roger will be there too. To log in, click here or use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83287570933?pwd=TjZYQ1NMeEUwWm1xdkpnZnlxS0htUT09
Three Conversations About Death--3 Wednesdays:
May  13, 20 & 27 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thinking about your end-of-life
improves your enjoyment of life now, increases the likelihood that you will get what you want at
the end, and clarifies actions for advocates. Bringing her compassion and expertise, Molly Stuart has offered this series to grateful groups on site, and now offers it online for us. She will provide great resources, too!
Email Molly Stuart to
to receive the link to the meeting. Suggested donation $50 to UUSS Adult Enrichment.
Mindfulness Practices--Monday evenings,
6:00 p.m.--the
2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, starting June 8. Longtime UU and credentialed mindfulness instructor Ann Kronser offers meditation and exercises to
invite mindfulness and presence. Each session will be 30 minutes long.
 Tai Chi and Qi Gong--2nd and 4th Sunday mornings before the online service, with John McMillan. Each session will be 30 minutes long. John can give you suggestions about how to position your computer to learn the positions and movements as he instructs the class. Contact adultenrichment@uuss.org.
 How to attend Adult Enrichment programs on Zoom?
Links will be provided the week before the first session. All are welcome! If you have questions, email Adult Enrichment.
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Notice of Congregational Meeting May 17, 2020
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The May Congregational Meeting of UUSS will take place at
12:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 17.
It will happen on Zoom, which includes audio access by any telephone and video access by
www.uuss.org/online.
We will receive reports on the Stewardship campaign as well as the Treasurer's Report, as well as from other Board-related entities, the Program Council, and our Ministers. There is a slate of nominees to vote on. There will not be a proposed budget until there is more clarity about the financial pledges for the coming fiscal year. The Stewardship Campaign has been extended to the end of May. If you have not made a pledge yet for 2020-21, please help to reduce uncertainty and extend our mission by making a pledge soon. Thanks!
Everyone is welcome to attend the Congregational Meeting, but we need a quorum of Members to allow us to conduct business.
If you are new to UUSS and interested in deeper participation, we invite you to read
Thinking about Becoming a Member?
)
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Flaming Chalice at Home
Connecting with Each Other through Ritual
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We invite you to deepen our connections with your own flaming chalice at home!
One is as easy to make as putting a candle, an oil lamp with wick, or a battery-powered light in a vessel such as a goblet, ceramic bowl, saucer, or vase. Kitty litter or sand provides a stable, safe base.
At the Sunday morning service we will ask you to light a chalice at home when one of the ministers lights our UUSS chalice.
You might also enjoy the ritual of kindling the flame of love, justice, commitment and gratitude at home--before a meal, or to start a brief meditation or a time of reading. You will do so in the knowledge that your UU family is doing this in homes around Sacramento and beyond.
Find some readings at www.uua.org/worship
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Our Community Partner for May
Sacramento ACT--Area Congregations Together
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Every month, UUSS gives away half of the offering receipts to an organization doing important work in the larger community.
In May our partner is Sacramento ACT (Area Congregations Together), which acts for structural social change. UUSS is a member organization and the host for ACT's Environmental Justice Committee, which has been active with neighboring congregations in Arden Arcade.
Read more here about ACT
.
Call or
email Michele
to ask her to charge your credit card, or mail a check to UUSS, 2425 Sierra Blvd., Sacramento 95825, with "offering" in the memo.
Now you may donate by text! Just type in the amount of your gift (no dollar sign) to 855-935-2216. There is an initial setup time, but after that the giving is easy.
Thank you for your generosity. It's inspiring!
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UUSS Coffee & Masks UPDATE
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 We are out of regular beans and regular ground Chalice Blend coffee! But we are happy to say that Farley's Coffee, the cafe and roaster in Oakland and San Francisco from which we get our beans, is back in business on a limited scale. Farley's will ship us freshly roasted beans at no extra charge if we order at least six bags. Please let Gary Keill know if you would like to order some ($12). He'll put an order in when he has enough. Let him know: whole beans or ground coffee, and how many bags: coffee@uuss.org.
 Do you like decaf? We still have decaf organic coffee in stock at UUSS--whole beans or ground.
If you buy a 12-ounce bag of organic and fairly-traded coffee for $12, you may pick up a brand new, home-sewn face mask, made by Gary Keill. Let Rev. Roger know when you will pick it up and what you'd prefer (decaf ground or decaf whole bean). It will be outside Rev. Roger's office for your pickup time. There is a growing Little Free Library there too, with books and puzzles to give away.
We have a list of willing volunteers to run errands or bring a meal or a bag of coffee or even chocolate or a bottle of wine. Let Roger or Lucy know of your needs or your ability to help. There are so many ways we care for one another! Thank you, everyone.
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We come together to deepen our lives and be a force for healing in the world.
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