UUCSC News and Updates
Weekly on Fridays
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, RI
All are welcome!
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UUCSC does not presently have a minister. If you are in need of pastoral services please contact any member of the Pastoral Care Committee. Rev. Betty Kornitzer, UUCSC Minister Emerita, is working with the committee and if professional ministerial support is needed, she will be called in. Please do not contact the Minister directly.
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This Sunday, October 31, 2021 |
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10:00 AM In-person
"Dia de los Muertos * Day of the Dead"
You are invited to bring photos or special objects for our ancestor altar
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Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead
with Jesús de la Torre
Many Americans observe Halloween on October 31, with costumes, parades and trick-or-treating. Halloween is also the “hallowed eve" before the solemn Christian holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day on Nov. 1 and 2. In a mixture of European and Indigenous traditions, Mexicans celebrate those November dates as Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead by remembering loved ones who have passed away.
Jesús de la Torre’s parents immigrated from Mexico to San Antonio, Texas, where he grew up and where they held onto the customs that are connected to Dia de los Muertos. De la Torre, a teacher in the DLI ( Dual Language Immersion) program in the South Kingstown School District, will tell us about the sacred and the celebratory aspects of this holiday — still observed by many Mexican immigrants living in the U.S.
As an honoring of our loved ones who have passed on, we are asking adults and children to bring photos of those persons or pets, to be placed on an ofrenda (offering) table with fruit and flowers.
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Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead, All Hallow's Eve
This is a sacred day in many traditions around the world. The day when many believe the veil between worlds is thinnest, when we can connect with the spirit world and honor our ancestors.
Families are invited to begin upstairs where we will be creating a community ancestor altar. Jesus de la Torre will then teach us to fold paper flowers during the Time for All Ages. And everyone is invited to come in costume!
We will then go outside and decorate candles to bring home and light for those loved ones in our lives who have passed and the ancestors who came before.
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In looking at the results of our recent survey I realize it is true: We want our minister to be good at everything! From the answers of our 73 respondents, I can see that the MOST important characteristic of a minister (to us) is that he/she/they give a good sermon. But it is likely that we each define a good sermon in varying ways. Almost as important is that the minister be a thoughtful and compassionate pastoral caregiver. RE is very important. Somewhat less important is that the minister be “involved in the community and active in social justice.” This perhaps reflects a few things—the Social Justice Committee has proven themselves to be very good at bringing our attention and work to these issues and maybe some in the congregation are feeling that we need to strengthen ourselves right now. (Obviously, this is conjecture on my part.) The one thing we are willing to be a little less discerning about is “good at administrative tasks.” Our preferred level of ministry averages out to 72%. And 53 (72.6%) people would be interested in exploring a shared ministry with another congregation. One person pointed out that “the devil is in the details.”
Thank you for participating in this survey. Your additional comments offered further insight. The conversations and meetings about targeted, interim, contract, developmental and shared ministry continue and we are hoping to have more to report on soon.
Unfortunately, our tent was a victim of this week’s windstorm. The tenant in the yellow house reported that the whole thing flew up in the air twice, the second time clearing the fence and landing in the RE yard. Fortunately, this twisted, mangled mass of metal and plasticized canvass did not harm anything or anyone. The metal parts have been safely transported to the recycling bin at Rose Hill. And in case you are wondering, the RE rooms did not flood—that really was a most unusual circumstance.
I repeat this from last week…As always please feel free to reach out to anyone on the Board with any questions or concerns. If you are not comfortable with attending services during this time and feel a need for more connection let us know that too. Maybe one of you is willing to lead Zoom chats or start a phone call or letter writing group. Reimagine how we can connect!
Elizabeth Donovan
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The Pastoral Care Committee is working to re-start the old "Caring Connections Committee." This will now be known as "UUCSC Helping Hands." We need your help updating our list of people who can offer an occasional meal, and people who can help congregants in need with rides. Please contact Barb Beckwith, or any Pastoral Care Committee member, if we can include you on one or both of these lists.
Submitted by Sally Barney
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UBUNTU
"How can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?"
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Submitted by Johnnie Rodriguez |
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Book Discussion Group to Start |
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Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
by Suzanne Simard
Starting Jan 11 or 18, 2022 the group will meet weekly on Tuesdays,
at 7:30 PM at the church, facilitated by Larry Kelland.
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“Finding the Mother Tree reminds us that the world is a web of stories, connecting us to one another. Her vivid manuscript carries the stories of trees, fungi, soil and bears--and of a human being listening in on the conversation. The interplay of personal narrative, scientific insights and the amazing revelations about the life of the forest make a compelling story. Dr. Simard’s journey as a scientist embodies the power of curiosity coupled to commitment to listen to the natural world and the courage to share what she has learned, against the resistance of scientific establishment. I have great admiration for her science and her storytelling alike. These are stories that the world needs to hear.”—Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass
Submitted by Larry Kelland
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Tuesday, November 2, 2021
6 PM
Potluck In Person
The Village at Wordens’s Pond Club House
14 Little Pond Rd, South Kingstown
Bring your own drink, plates & utensils and a POT LUCK dish to share.
Together Women Rise is a powerful community of women and allies dedicated to achieving global gender equality. We have hundreds of local chapters across the U.S. where members learn about and advocate for gender equality issues, give grants to organizations that empower women and girls in low-income countries, and build community to forge meaningful connections that increase our strength and collective impact. All are welcome.
Submitted by Gail Burchard
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Submitted by Barbara Holtzman |
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Submitted by Sally Barney |
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Your search for truth and meaning begins here.
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How to Submit Info to This Newsletter |
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Send announcements and news with Newsletter Item in the subject line to Etta Zasloff, Editor, at zasloff.etta@gmail.com by Tuesday Noon
to assure publication by Friday of that week.
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