Join us next Sunday
March 14, 2021
10:30am Sunday Service | It's Been A YEAR...
...a commonly heard phrase throughout the entirety of the past year. We gather this Sunday to honor the one-year anniversary of moving towards an online worshipping community. What have you learned? What are you missing? Please send answers to these questions to minister@uuroc.org and they will be incorporated into the service.

Speaker: Rev. Lane Campbell

Due to COVID-19 we will be holding our worship services online
for the foreseeable future. We will hold on-line services
each Sunday at 10:30am (our regular worship time).
Upcoming Events &
Additional Announcements
Tuesdays | Drop-In Discussion: Hate Groups
What they are, how they gather influence, beliefs they promulgate, and local activity. With references from the Southern Poverty Law Center, we’ll learn more about how people are recruited and, of course, share our own experiences. Donna Anderson and Theo Munson present. Drop-In Discussions are virtual! We meet on Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30pm. Look on the First Universalist homepage for details and a link, or click the Zoom meeting link on the title of this description!

Wednesdays | Midweek Meditation
First Universalist Church will be hosting Midweek Meditation services with Rev. Lane and Rev. Michelle on Wednesdays from 11:30am-noon. A time to connect for deep breathing, meditation, singing, and silence. On second Wednesdays, an extra half hour of sharing will follow the traditional format. Look on the First Universalist homepage for details and a link, or click the Zoom meeting link on the title of this description!

Mar. 10 | RAICA* Virtual Summit
Join us for the next installment of our RAICA Virtual Summit: Words of Spirit: Ways of Action on March 10 at 7pm. We are proud to present Grupo Latino Catolico (The Latinx Catholic Action Team) of the Citizens Climate Lobby and “On Care for Our Common Home; Reaching Out to Engage the Rochester Area LatinX Community in a Discussion about Climate Change”. This is an interfaith discussion open to all people. It will be bilingual, in Spanish with English subtitles. The webinar will engage participants in a personal discussion about Climate Change in the context of their Latinx identity and will include practical solutions that anyone can take, from getting a free home energy audit to supporting the Energy Innovation Act. For info and registration click here!  
*Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action

Mar. 11 | Faith Climate Action Day
Join members of the EcoJustice Group as well as Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action in urging Governor Cuomo to incorporate the funding in the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA) in next year’s NY State budget. The CCIA provides funding for climate measures already passed and also provides good green jobs and benefits communities most affected by climate change, making the biggest polluters pay. To find out more and see how easy this action can be, follow the link: Support the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA) (raica.net)

Mar. 11 | "Kiss the Ground" Screening & Discussion
Please join RAICA for an inspiring and hope-filled movie screening and panel discussion. Narrated by and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is a groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.
  • 5:45-6:00 check-in to Zoom room
  • 6:00-7:30 watch movie
  • 7:30-8:20 panel discussion with Elizabeth Henderson, organic farmer; and Glenn Gall, teacher of permaculture, agroforestry, planned grazing, and biological farming.
Our free screening is sponsored by grant funds and available to registered participants. For more info and registration go to: www.raica.net/events

Mar. 19 at 7pm | Race in a Brave Space (RiBS)
Dialogues with Verdis L. Robinson | Dialogue #4: "Enduring the Long Night: A Meditation"
Mr. Robinson will share an interpretation of Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” What does it take for the joy to come? We will create a collective meditation on enduring the long night of racism to get to that glorious morning together. This series of dialogues creates a brave space to learn, grow, and act toward antiracism, especially concerning the inherent worth and dignity of every person. All sessions will be virtual from 7 to 8:30 pm. Look on the First Universalist homepage for more details and the Zoom link!

Join co-authors Revs. Lane Campbell and Katie Kandarian-Morris at 1pm on March 20 as we launch and celebrate the new Skinner House publication, "This Day in Recovery: 365 Meditations". This book seeks to be a resource for Unitarian Universalists and spiritual seekers whose lives have been touched by addiction. We will share some of the stories as to how this book came about, read some excerpts from the book, and have some time for questions and answers. For folks in Rochester, NY and in Durango, CO there will be opportunities on Sunday, March 21 to order and pick up signed copies of the book. For Rochester folks, sign up for a signed copy here! If you would like to order the book directly from the inSpirit bookstore through the Unitarian Universalist Association, here's the link. So excited to share this book with all of you and to continue honest dialogue in our denomination about recovery!

Mar. 21 at 2pm | The Jim and Eunice Eckberg Racial Justice Memorial Film Series| "Selma"
This unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Please preview the film: It can be found on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Look on the First Universalist homepage for more details and the Zoom link!

Stewardship 2021: Forward Through the Ages
Gifts in differing measure, hearts of one accord. This phrase from the hymn says so much! We each give as we are able, and our hearts are together in support for this church. We will soon be asking each member and friend of the church to make a pledge, a
financial commitment for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. Your pledge is important, no matter the amount! Stewardship Sunday is April 11.

Auction Amnesty update
A number of contributions rolled in after the Auction Amnesty event on January 31… and the total raised is now over $6500! This is amazing, and has exceeded the budgeted amount we hoped that a live Service Auction would raise. Thanks to all who planned, participated, and donated!
Joys & Sorrows
Joys:

  • A Joy from Dorothea Atwell: Marquis Who's Who has featured Dorothea de Zafra Atwell in the "Executive Spotlight" chapter of its publication Who's Who of Distinguished Professionals 2020. The publication aims to "offer profound insight into the lives and legacies of our most distinguished listees." Dee is retired from the U.S. Public Health Service, where she undertook a number of "firsts". Her final position was being the first Science Education Program Manager in the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health. She returned home to Rochester and to First Universalist in 2017.
Sorrows:

  • A Sorrow from Jean Ott: My aunt Mary died last week.

  • A Concern from Lois Baum: who will be having eye surgery tomorrow morning. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Lois!
To submit an item for 'This Week' at First Universalist
please e-mail it to: office@uuroc.org 
(no later than noon on Wednesday of the week prior to publication)

Joys & Sorrows: Please send your Joys and Sorrows to be read at our Sunday Worship service to JoysandSorrows@uuroc.org.
Note: When you email a joy or sorrow to us, you give us permission to read it aloud at Sunday service and possibly publish it in this weekly email.
Thank you!
Staff:

Rev. Lane Campbell,
Minister

Rev. Michelle Yates,
Minister of Life Span Faith Development
(585) 310-2484

Brock Tjosvold,
Director of Music

Emma Barry,
Office Manager
150 S. Clinton Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604
(585) 546-2826 | office@uuroc.org