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We will now stream our worship service inside the Sanctuary at 10:30am Sunday. There will no longer be an outdoor streaming. We will follow all CDC guidelines. Please see our Temporary Reopening Policy.
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Pastor Jack's Weekly Message |
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Dear Friends,
Got awe?
UC Berkeley psychology Professor Dacher Keltner researches biological and evolutionary origins of emotion— particularly, prosocial states such as compassion, awe, love, and beauty.
He reports that awe – sensing something vast that challenges your understanding of the world –diminishes bounded self-focus and expands sense of connection to life. Awe promotes sociality, strong community and, thus, survival. And it’s available! - felt 2-2.5 times a week on average.
Keltner reports awe’s most frequent source is other people’s kindness, wisdom, creativity, heroism, virtuosity. Second most frequent is nature, then spirituality, then arts, music and architecture.
In short, awe enhances well-being. You can get some at your local UU gathering or by paying attention to oceans, forests, wildlife, art, people, and your own consciousness.
Meet you there,
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*Please do not respond to emails stating that they are from the Minister
requesting help. Report the email as spam immediately.*
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June 2nd at 10am
Religious Studies on The Rituals of Our Lives: Session #8 - “BORN: On celebrating the welcoming of a child into the life of a neighborhood and of a neighborhood into the life of a child. Robert Fulghum’s From Beginning to End (pp 161-188) is our prompt and guide.
All welcome. Please sign up with Pastor Jack to receive the weekly discussion quotes.
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In this next session, students will be given an introduction and discussion on the topic of the week.
The last in person lesson is this Sunday, May 30th 10- 11am. We will keep you posted when our church doors open to resume normal service with social distancing protocols.
Our theme this month is “What does it mean to be a people of “Story?”
“Let us be the nation that we know we can be. A nation united. A nation strengthened. A nation healed. This is a great nation. And we are a good people. This is the United States of America. And there has never been anything we haven’t been able to do when we’ve done it together…”
Memorial day reminds us of people who were courageous by protecting our country and working for a safer world. This inspires us to be courageous. And there are many ways to be courageous, in addition to serving in the military. so let's use our meditation today to think of ways we can be more courageous in our lives.
Spaces are limited so click the link below to register!!
Parents are welcome to stay! Virtual service will air in the sanctuary at 10:30.
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Our last session
May 30th - Stories Remind Us of Who We Are
Children will wear masks with the sign-in/sign-out sheet for parents. Parents are welcome to stay!
This is also open to high school students for volunteer hours!
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Covenant Groups
Don’t forget our covenant groups continue to meet monthly, these days mainly on Zoom. We currently have eleven covenant groups in the congregation with over 100 people participating!!
A Covenant Group is a group of 10 or so people who gather regularly (at least monthly) to share and converse about how life is going for the individuals in the group and often for our wider circles of life.
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Sunday May 30 - 9:15am - Conversations on Religious Words We Question – Our word of the week is, “SIN.” Some of our possible questions:
(1) What does the word mean to you? Is it useful?
(2) Is a concept of sin important to a concept of morality?
(3) Do you see the UUA and the UUSP covenant statements dealing with sin or wrong-doing?
UU Rev. Jeanne Nieuwejaar’s Fluent in Faith offers prompts to think about “Sin” on pages 127-130.
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Check out our Calendar on our website to check out what's going on here at our
UU St Pete!
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Women's Discussion Group 9:15am: Beginning June 13 - We are Opening up for the summer to invite any interested members to join us in a monthly book discussion on ZOOM. Book Discussion -- OPEN TO ALL -- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. Email Cynthia Patterson cp3860@gmail.com for details and the Zoom link.
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Tuesday Check-In & Café: June 8 12noon.
Our opportunity to check in with one another and, time allowing, checking on the news. We will be meeting every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. Zoom Meeting Link
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Celebrating Pastor Jack
As we've all heard, Pastor Jack will leave UUSP and St. Petersburg for what he calls "trial retirement" at the end of June. We want to celebrate his almost-seven-year ministry here in fine fashion! If you would like to join a small "Steering Committee" to work on these plans, or if you just have some ideas you'd like to pass along, please let Dani Skryzpek know.
Email is best. Thank You!
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Wow!! What a haul!! You all deserve a huge pat on the back. We delivered a wonderful load of high protein non-perishable food, water and other needed items to Carla and her Southside programs in May, and she was thrilled.
Along with the generous items, we were recipients of generosity of Sue LD and other non UUSP members. This week Cal and I met Carla at the SP (St. Pete) Urban Youth Farm and Rebecca Wilson thrilled Carla with a very generous check!
Here’s an article about Carla’s work to bring nutritional food to her neighbors.
The farm is gaining Tampa Bay recognition beyond St Pete and becoming a model for other communities. Check out SP Urban Youth Farm on FB if you want more info. Carla loved meeting our team and you are encouraged to attend her events (there are many!!!)
Future: SP Urban Farm community resource for Hurricane Prep
Carla is working out details of her newest plan to collect items for community residents to equip themselves and be “Hurricane Ready.” She’ll give us lists, but usual recommendations like Batteries, canned non-perishable food, large bottles water, flashlights, etc... are necessities during this time of year and always appreciated when donated.
Next Drive: Tuesday June 8 - pick up by 1.30p
Gay/ Billy: 6220 14th Ave S, Gulfport
Dani/Deb: 6051 3rd Ave. S, St Pete
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Voluntary Pre-K Info!
At FAST's Joshua Assembly last week, we were honored to have the CEO of the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) with us. Back in 2005, we asked the ELC to provide an extra 3 hours of VPK every day since the state only funds 3 hours/day. We knew working parents needed a full day of VPK so they could go to work. The ELC listened to our concerns and created a program for full-day VPK that has since helped over 15,000 4-year-olds! This is an ongoing program, so there are spots available! If you're interested in registering a child for all-day VPK, please click here to go to the ELC website with info on registering!
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UU St. Pete Annual Campaign
Have you made your pledge?
Now is the time to get your Annual Pledge in! Please click the links below to learn how.
You can also pledge on the UU St. Pete website. Look for the "Celebrating Our UU Family" image among the rotating photos on the home page.
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Members and friends set up a plan to make a gift from their estate to the Endowment Fund of UU St. Pete. Leaving a portion of the assets one has accumulated over the course of a lifetime ensures the continuation of the spiritual home that they have come to cherish and perpetuates our UU values.
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Click here for the latest updates with UUA General Assembly 2021.
Click here for the May Newsletter.
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Thank you for your interest in
Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg!
Stay Safe and Stay Well!
Kelli DeGraw,
part of your Communications Team.
Feedback and suggestions are welcome
(reply to this email). For technical support, click the button below.
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Thank you to our UU St Pete contributors, Jeanay, Jon, and James and many volunteers!
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Our mission is to be an inclusive, evolving religious community
that inspires spiritual and intellectual growth to make our world a better place.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg
727.898.3294
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