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Dear First U Friends,

Happy almost summer. 

Anyone else feel like you’re looking at the world with new eyes these days?

Perhaps it’s something about the superbly beautiful string of recent days - that golden sunshine and deep blue sky! Those soft breezes tossing those emerald leaves! The sweet warbles of song birds playing in the liminal hours! Oh, hail to thee, blithe spirits!

Or maybe it’s the time of year- the wrap up of our first church year together - and the time we naturally set aside for reflection, evaluation, goal-setting, and listing all the gratitudes we have for one another and our collective accomplishments.

You know, these new eyes could very well be the result of our ongoing anti-racist learning process, a process I’ve come to understand more than anything as a mindfulness practice - one in which I strive to lift my awareness to my ingrained perspectives, try to let go of these notions (noticing my attachment to them in the process!), and let in all the alternatives. I don’t know about you all, but the more I engage with anti-racism, the more I see the world around me - and all of its operating systems - in new light. 

Or, really, I’m sure the lifting of many covid restrictions has something to do with how captivating and eye catching everything feels and seems these days. Have you, like me, found yourself enthralled with the activity of people watching? The faces! The whole faces! The smiles and quietly mouthed, “hellos” of passers by! The hugs! My lord, the hugs! The feeling that something is both right and wrong at once while you’re eating dinner out with a friend. 

Friends, as we head into our collective and respective summer times, I encourage you to take nothing for granted. Enjoy as much as you can, be as fully present as you can, and remind yourself often that although it isn’t perfect out there, it sure isn’t bad.

Happy almost summer, First U. 

Yours in peace, friendship, PYO strawberries, and sun tea,

Rev. Hillary 

There will be no LUUnch today as Rev. Hillary is taking a day of study leave to meet with colleagues in Maine.

BYO picnic lunch and BYO blanket to Royal River Park in Yarmouth for an end of the church year picnic. Come to celebrate Father's Day, Juneteenth, Pride month, end of the school year, the Summer Solstice, or just to be in community together. All are welcome and invited! (Weather permitting.)

We'll be meeting near the East Elm Street entrance in the large field, near to the small pavilion and picnic area. Copies of the new church directory will be available to take home.

A few notes about using Royal River Park for our picnic:

This policy will be updated again in August 2021 in preparation for the new church year. Additionally, as the summer progresses, we may need to offer updates to this policy based on current state or local guidelines, new science, or other factors.

Our goal in this simplified and revised policy is threefold. We wish to update our policy to:

Masks

Physical Distancing

Food/Drinks

Singing

The church building will remain closed for events and worship services over the summer. Reopening plans are in process for September 2021.

Masks

Bathrooms

With plans for reopening underway, this coming September, we'll need some folks to sign up as greeters/ushers to welcome everyone back into the church building. This involves a brief training on welcoming (about 30 minutes) and the commitment is minimal: show up on a Sunday morning that you've signed up for just about 15 minutes before the service begins and assist in passing around the collection plates during the service. Ready to sign up now? Just use this link!

If you have empty jam jars from last year’s harvest, and don’t need them for yourselves, I would welcome any of them to return to command center for “Joy's Jams”, so that they can be used for this year’s jam production. Strawberries are already picked (first round!), as is rhubarb, and lots more to come I hope. It seems that stores are still very short of all sorts of canning supplies, and I’m not sure what summer will offer.

I am putting a box near the side entrance to the office area, and if you leave any jars there, I can collect them. Many thanks, and I look forward to seeing what crops are good this year.

Please fill out this nine question reopening survey on or before Sunday, June 20th. Thank you! Please note that this is a new survey link for those who have yet to complete the survey.

This newsletter will be on summer vacation starting the week of June 28th and returning the week of August 2nd. Wednesday emails with details of how to access online Vespers services will continue throughout the summer. Some notes about deadlines:

General Assembly (GA), the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists from around the country, is virtual again this year, making it easier and more affordable to participate. You can still register right up until it begins.

Click here to learn more or to register.

There are several events that are open to the public including Sunday Worship on June 27. We will share the link in Channels on June 25th.

Looking for a few (used, but in good condition!) books for children or grandchildren? We have some free picture books you can browse that are not needed for our new children's lending library. Contact Gwen Matthews (gwenatfirstu@gmail.com) or Anne Turner (annelewisturner@gmail.com) to schedule a time to pick out some free books!

The day is bright, there's a light breeze, and you feel comfortable in your body and peaceful in your soul. In the distance, you can hear people chatting, enjoying the day. More present is the sound of gentle, moving water. You pick up the book you were starting to read and while you feel present in this moment, you can still look forward to discussing it this fall amongst friends.

What book, you ask? Why, a First U summer read! This summer, you'll have the opportunity to read one (or both!) suggested books and then be able to participate in a book discussion when we gather together again in the fall.

Our two books, chosen by your RE Council, are:

The deadline has passed for ordering a copy of these books for a discount through Royal River Books, but you can still purchase your own copy or find a copy at a local library, if you're interested in reading either or both of these books this summer.

Happy summer one and all! A big THANK YOU from MUUSAN (Maine UU State Advocacy Network) for any calls or letters you have sent to your legislators in response to news here in Channels about important pending legislation. Your participation really matters.

This legislative session is expected to adjourn very soon. If the Consumer Owned Utility passes both houses, there is a good chance that the Governor will VETO it. If you care about this issue, please contact the Governor’s office ASAP.

The most ground-breaking information about North America’s history of slavery, and the experiences of individuals who were enslaved Africans can be found in the regular webinars, talks and community research projects which are described by the Atlantic Black Box Project.

The Atlantic Black Box Project was developed by four individuals interested in slavery and the history of enslaving Africans and transporting them to North America

The four individuals include a History Professor from Brown University, a researcher of Slavery for the National Museum History and Culture (Smithsonian), a history Professor at the Maine College of Art, a history buff who studied for the priesthood and is now devoting his time to teaching history and researching for the project plus a teacher who taught history for 40 years.

These four individuals have encouraged students and others to do crowd sourcing history research to understand local history regarding slavery.

I would encourage readers of Channels to check out Atlantic Black Box, subscribe and participate in the online webinars, history lectures and fascinating programs of the Black Box Project.

When Channels resumes regular dissemination I will resume suggesting anti-oppression and anti-racist topics to become familiar with.

In honor of our 4th Principle for free and responsible search for truth, this month’s half plate recipient is Maine Public CONNECT. Partnering with Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) and Amjambo Africa (the inclusive immigrant-led publication) CONNECT will provide access for New Mainers about their immediate world around them in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Somali, even as they work hard to master English.

Please offer your gift by clicking the "Make Your Offering" button below (to contribute via GiveButter), dropping a check or cash in the mail, or sending via your bank's bill pay feature.

Criminal Justice * Truth in Education * Local History. YCARE invites all to come together, share what they've been learning and the work they've been doing, and explore their visions of where they want to be a year from now!

Spend time in each of three small facilitated groups discussing issues, work currently being done, and how you can become involved. So far, three groups have been formed around 1) criminal justice reform, 2) truth in education and 3) local land acknowledgement and history projects. Please reach out to Mary Lou Michael at marylou.michael@gmail.com if the work you are doing does not fit into these broad topics and you would like to start another small group.

Other notes:

* All children and young adults are welcome! 

* YCARE will follow CDC guidelines for meeting outdoors. Please wear a mask if you haven't been vaccinated or it makes you feel more comfortable.

* Bring your own chair, bug spray & refreshments.

* YCARE welcomes you to come for as much of the meeting as possible and we understand that parents may have to leave early. 

Please RSVP as soon as you can so YCARE has a sense of who is coming! In case of rain, they will meet on Zoom.

One of our church members is in search of somewhere to rent in Yarmouth, ideally offering one floor living. If you or someone you know has space for rent, please call or text Nancy Austin at (207) 650-0025.