and Sue Ellen Bordwell, Jeanette March Newton, and Raj Vinnakota

click here to watch the service LIVE on YouTube on Sunday morning

To join the Zoom meeting click here and enter password: YUM. To join via phone, dial: 1-646-558-8656, enter the meeting ID: 917 0538 2202, and pass code: 075311.

Junior and senior youth groups are invited to launch their youth group year with apple picking at Thompson's Orchards in New Gloucester. This outing will allow our groups to have fun, get to know each other, and bond.

Dear First Universalist Friends,

Happy October. Despite time feeling a little loopy during this age of the pandemic, it still is moving right along, isn’t it?

Our Soul Matters theme this month is “Deep Listening.” And, to be frank, I guffawed when I remembered deep listening was the practice we’d be reflecting upon during our services and conversations this month. I’ve been hearing from some of you lately that you are working hard to stop listening - stop listening to the news, stop listening to the people who make you feel bad, stop listening to those nagging parts of ourselves that tell us we’re wrong - or everything’s wrong. 

And sure! Yes - take a break from listening to all that noise, ayuh! But, my friends, don’t stop listening - rather, listen more deeply. 

Though we hadn’t officially crossed over into our “Deep Listening” themed month, this past Sunday, through the wisdom of Lama Rod Owens, I welcomed you to practice this deeper listening. Lama Rod invites us to listen deeply to our anger, because it’s more than just anger, it’s the result of pain and desire that we haven’t acknowledged. As he puts it, anger is a feeling that left unexplored, will only cause us to “contract” and shut out the possibilities for healing, love, and connection - possibilities that always are present.

I know, I know. It’s not easy - nor is it very fun. Deep listening is tough work! Please take to it at your own pace, but to remain steady and of loving use right now, we have to loosen the grip of our anger. This is where “developing that attitude of needing to love everything” comes into play. To remain resilient in these times, we must always be able to return to love - the love we have inside and the love we have to give.

We’ll keep working on it!

Yours taking a moment to just love what I love, phew,

Rev. Hillary 

Community Supported Congregation is…

In January 2020, during our Annual Campaign to fund the church year ahead, we had no idea how the pandemic would disrupt our lives. Now we must face this reality.

This VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER seeks to raise $30,000 in pledges between 9/27/20 and 11/20/20. We are replacing the loss of income from previously planned fundraisers now cancelled due to Covid-19.

We see this project as a 2nd FY21 pledge which replaces the usual digging into our own pockets for the cookies, pies, dinners, auctions and traditional festivities... that just can’t happen this year.

What is the value to you of NOT working 8 hours (or more) each to produce our 4 major events (Clam Fest, Holiday Fair, Maine Farm Supper, and Gala) and deliver on your donations to the Auctions?

•    One may purchase a full SHARE ($500) or a partial share (half = $250 or quarter = $125). BUT no gift is too small or too large!

•    Support of 60 full shares will meet our budget requirements.

•    One may purchase for one’s own family, and/or buy one as a gift to a friend, and/or in memory of a loved one.

•    We will pay for our shares by Thanksgiving 2020, for an abundant harvest in year ahead.

For your share, please email your commitment to Marge Titcomb at mjtbean@aol.com, and contribute online, via a check, or by bank transfer.

Join us on Wednesday evenings for a Vespers service led by Rev. Hillary. During this short service, we will gather together on Zoom to contemplate a reading, hold a time of quiet, share joys and sorrows, and offer our presence and prayer. To join the Zoom meeting click here and enter password: PEACE. To join via phone, dial: 1-646-558-8656, enter the meeting ID: 967 3935 7220, and pass code: 211161.

First Universalist will now be using the platform "GiveButter" for donations. It is simple to use and you can pay via credit card, PayPal, or Venmo. To use, simply click on the link or button on the website or in an email (like this one here), indicate the amount you would like to contribute and then click "continue." This will bring you to the options to pay with a credit card, PayPal, or Venmo, where you would use one of those to complete the payment. Please note that as with all online payments, there is a transaction fee. This fee can either be paid by you, the individual, or by the church.

As always, you can still mail checks or use "bill pay" from your bank. Thank you for your generosity!

Please note the adjusted time: 9:45 - 10:15 am. Join Anna and Gwen for this week's Children's Chapel where we introduce the month's theme of "Deep Listening." How do we listen with our hearts? Can a heart be an ear?

Please note the adjusted time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm. This Sunday there will be the option to discuss the morning's sermon facilitated by the RE Council or to participate in a new to UU/new to First U discussion facilitated by Congregation Connections.

Please note the timing: 2:00 - 3:30 pm. Youth group members and families are invited to join in for apple picking! Please see the flyer and announcement above for more details.

For youth in grades 8 - 12, the Coming of Age program is a UU rite of passage for youth who are moving away from childhood and toward young adulthood. It is a special, sacred way that UU youth work to develop their faith identity. Please save the date for the parent and youth introductory meeting on October 18th, 4 - 5 pm. To find out more, please email Gwen at gwenatfirstu@gmail.com.

Please note: the Coming of Age program is separate from both the senior and junior youth groups. Senior youth groups (for 9th - 12th graders) will be happening opposite Coming of Age sessions, approx. two Sundays per month. Junior youth groups (for 5th - 8th graders) will be happening most Sunday mornings each month from 11:15 am - 12:00 pm.

Dinner: Chef John is still on pandemi-vacation, but consider the source “Native Recipes with Natural Ingredients" for some enticing menu ideas to try at home. These come from the Tribal College Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3.

Documentary: Our film this time is “Urban Rez,” a documentary about the cultural resiliency of modern Native Americans. This 56 minute film is available free on Youtube. We suggest watching it at 6:00 so that it’ll be fresh in our minds for the discussion at 7:00. In the 3D tradition, enjoy dessert while watching?

Discussion: Please join us at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Email Mariana for the link at catalpa.girl@gmail.com.

The Fifth Principle of Unitarian Universalism is: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. Today our half plate is for the League of Women Voters of Maine. The League believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation in government, that every citizen should be protected in the right to vote and that responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people. The League is a critical partner with First U and MUUSAN’s UUtheVOTE efforts.

If you applied for an absentee ballot you should receive it during the first week of October. You can complete it and mail it, OR, drop it off at your town hall. Find below the drop boxes for North Yarmouth and Pownal.

Ballots must be returned to your Town Clerk by 8:00PM on Election Day. Be sure to sign the envelope on the back flap before dropping it off. If mailing, be sure to mail it at least 1 week before November 3rd – preferably earlier.

You can still apply for an absentee ballot: Request Absentee Ballot. Don’t wait! You must apply by October 29th. On the same page to request an absentee ballot, you will find a link to track your ballot (see below).

Furniture Friends is hosting a Virtual Slumber Party on October 3rd to raise money to purchase beds for people in need. Last year alone, Furniture Friends provided furniture essentials to over 550 families in the Greater Portland area. Many of these families did not have beds to sleep on until Furniture Friends provided them.

Grab your pillow, sleeping bag, your favorite stuffed animal and anything else you might need to get ready for Furniture Friends' Virtual Slumber Party on Sat., October 3rd. They're trying to raise $15,000 that night so that we can continue to provide people with essential household furniture who aren't able to afford it on their own. They're asking you -- along with your family, friends, neighbors, fellow students and colleagues -- to sleep on the floor for just one night so others don't have to.