Visitor Info Form We are excited to have you visit and would love to get to know you better. Click the link to complete a form to tell us about yourself. 

9:30 am - Sunday, August 27, 2023

Cinnamon Sticks and a Prayer: The Practice of Radical Acceptance

Presented by Minister Jill Braithwaite

Radical acceptance, as defined by Buddhist teacher Tara Brach, is the spiritual practice of accepting reality exactly as it is, without trying to control or pull away. When we're feeling stuck and unable to make a change, radical acceptance can help us move forward.

Join our new minister, Jill Braithwaite, as she invites us to reflect on what can happen when we step into radical acceptance and let go.

Zoom is back!

To join on your computer or smartphone click Zoom or enter Meeting ID: 997 7632 6093 then passcode: 597392. To join via your phone only: dial 1-646-568-7788 and enter Meeting ID 997 7632 6093, then passcode: 597392. If you are from another region, find your local number.

Masks are optional at all times, including while singing. 

To support our congregation's mission, please contribute to the operating fund and Woven Basket via Give. The Woven Basket recipient is Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank.

Childcare: As long as staffing allows, childcare will be available during summer worship services for children ages 6 months to 7 years.

Updates on Staff Transitions

• As you may have heard, we have a new Minister! Many of us got to meet her at the Congregational picnic earlier this month. For more introduction to Jill Braithwaite, see the September newsletter (to be posted soon).  

• The Board and Minister Jill Braithwaite are pleased to share that we’re moving ahead with efforts to fill two open positions identified earlier this year: a Religious Education Coordinator and a Music Director. These positions have been posted on the UUCD website (scroll to the bottom) and will be posted in a variety of other outlets over the coming days. Feel free to share the postings with qualified applicants you may know.

• In addition, Katie Kline has agreed to take on a contract role as Congregational Life Consultant, at 10 hours per week. Working closely with the Minister, Katie will provide a selected set of adult education opportunities; social justice leadership consulting; a worship service once a month; and transitional consulting for staff, including onboarding of new staff.

• If you have children in our RE program, or would like to, they will be welcomed by our dedicated RE teachers. Programming will begin September 10th with our Water Communion service, as well as a Blessing of the Backpacks.

Looking forward to seeing everyone as we meet this new season together!

-- Sarah Monahan, Co-President

OWL (Our Whole Lives) Registration Now Open

Sunday Evenings from October - May

For Youth Entering Grades 8 or 9

Our Whole Lives is a nationally known, positive, and comprehensive human sexuality education program that helps participants gain knowledge, values, and skills in order to lead healthy, responsible lives. The OWL curriculum is abstinence-based yet comprehensive in its informative approach to low-risk and high-risk behaviors, sexually transmitted infections, reproductive options, and emotional and psychological aspects of becoming sexually active. OWL is taught by a team of trained lay-leaders who care deeply about the well-being of our youth. This program is offered collaboratively between UUCD, Peace, and Pilgrim congregations. For more information, or to register, email Ellen Hamel at ellenhamel14@gmail.com .

Read the July newsletter or check our online calendar.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

> August 28, Restoring Peatlands event. 6:00 pm

> August 31–September 4, Duluth-Superior Pride, several events

> September 5, Racial Justice Book Club, 6:30 pm

If you'd like to have your meeting included in this listing, please send details to Naomi.

Deaths in the UUCD Community

Mac McCutcheon died peacefully on August 15. Ruth says, "We are so grateful for this beloved community and the support they have given to us these past couple of months." A service will be held at a later date.

David Kortier, husband of Penny Schwarze, died on Aug. 4 as the result of a stroke. David was an internationally acclaimed maker of harps, as well as a participant in the local fiber arts and music scenes. He will be missed by many.

Share Your Thoughts on the Interior Garden

The folks that care for the interior garden would like to hear your thoughts.   

1. What is your opinion about the new driftwood presentation along the west wall of the interior garden?

2. The circle in the garden is meant to provide space for contemplation and irreverence. We have thought of creating some kind of seating (driftwood is an idea) for such purposes. What ideas would you suggest?  

Please send your thoughts to sparkle@gmail.com.  

NOTE: Please do not bring any plants into UUCD. We are extremely cautious about importing diseases. We've had to destroy most of the trees due to scale and mealybug infestations that we have been fighting off for over 10 years.

Restoring Peatlands:

Lessons from Finland and Minnesota

Monday, August 28, 2023

With Tero Mustonen, PhD, 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner, and Kristen Blann, PhD, Freshwater ecologist with the Nature Conservancy

6:00 pm: Social

6:30: Presentations

7:30: Q&A

Coffee and dessert will follow the event

The event will be held at UUCD. A PDF poster is also available.

Duluth-Superior Pride August 31st - September 4, 2023

Celebrating 37 Years of Pride in the Twin Ports

For the full schedule of events, click here.

UUCD is actively participating in several Pride weekend events:

We are co-sponsoring an Interfaith booth at the Pride Festival (Bayfront Park) on Saturday, September 2^nd. Please stop by and chat with us and members from other welcoming congregations.

The Interfaith Pride Service will be held at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 2310 E 4th St, Duluth on Sunday, September 3^rd at 10:30 am. Beforehand, at 9:30 am, they will serve a light breakfast. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Member(s) of UUCD’s Affirming & Welcoming Committee will be there! From Rev. Carla Jean Bailey at Pilgrim: “We will have cello music, trombone music, singing, and rainbows everywhere! If you have a rainbow flag, please bring it to the service to drape over a pew as we extend some radical hospitality as part of Duluth/Superior Pride weekend.”

Pride Parade, Tower Ave. in Superior, Noon on Sunday, September 3^rd. UUCD will be marching, along with other welcoming congregations. It is a very fun and uplifting time! You can march with us or cheer us on as a parade observer. Very family friendly!

Racial Justice Book Club

The Racial Justice book club meets at 6:30 pm, September 5th, via Zoom: https://umn.zoom.us/j/93158354426?pwd=WlliQVVxWWZqcnhMRS83amRmeUZpUT09

The club will discuss "See No Stranger" by Valerie Kaur. Please contact Therese Presley if you need a copy of the book. She has 4 available.

Partners in Peanut Butter

Another congregation is joining UUCD as a "Staple Supplier" of peanut butter for the Chum food shelf (announcement soon). Let's keep bringing it, and also keep our eyes open for bargains on cereal, another food in short supply right now!

Gardeners Market

Have too much zucchini or extra green beans? Looking for a variety of fresh, local produce? Then the UUCD Gardeners Market is the place for you!

Bring your donations to the market or drop them off in the UUCD kitchen ahead of time. Just mark them clearly as meant for the market. Consider contributing "value-added" foods like zucchini bread, pickles, or raspberry jam, too--they are popular. Please also identify any produce or products that might not be immediately known to all.

Then come and shop! Proceeds from the free-will donations are split between UUCD and the Chum Food Shelf.

If you have questions or want to be added to the market email list, contact Naomi Ruff at nlruff@charter.net,

Doing the Work of Beloved Community:

Iron Lotus Meditation and Buddhist Study Group

This UUCD group has been around for about 20 years and studies the Vipassana (insight meditation) school of Buddhism, to look deeply at, and see clearly, the factors which the Buddha outlined as causes of ‘suffering.’ Suffering can include states such as dissatisfaction, frustration, impatience, unreliability, and depression. The point is to realize these factors within us in order to understand the conditions that set us up to ‘suffer,’ to see the way to become more skillful in relating and living, and to have more compassion for ourselves and others.

The group currently meets both in person at UUCD and by Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm. We meditate silently from 7:00 to 7:30, followed by a 55-minute discussion of a chapter from the current book that we are reading, and ending with a 5-minute meditation. Members leading or facilitate the evening's meditation and discussion on a volunteer basis, rotating weekly.

We welcome visitors who want to check us out, regardless of their previous experience with Buddhist practice, desire to participate in the discussion, or completion of the chapter of the week.



Please contact Bev Berntson (bev.berntson@gmail.com) for more information or the Zoom link.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth

218-724-0308

Board of Trustees