Spiritually Open, Intentionally Inclusive since 1958
510 N Leroux
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
928-779-4492e
E-News for August 5 - August 12, 2021
- Sundays at Beacon -

WE’RE BACK IN THE SANCTUARY FOR WORSHIP! JOIN US.
Masks required.
10AM Sunday in the Sanctuary
Worship for August 8, 2021 - An Intergenerational Service of Kindness, Back to School Kick-Off, and Popsicle Social Come join us for a day of sharing stories of kindness. Instead of a sermon we invite everyone to bring one of their school yearbooks or a picture from school and those who wish can share a story of kindness they experienced at school or a time when they witnessed an act of kindness by someone else at school. And remember no laughing at anyone's old hairstyles or bell bottoms, a little giggling is o.k. though.

We will also have a children's message, activities for kids in the sanctuary, and kids and youth are invited to bring their school backpacks for a backpack blessing and to receive some special treats in them.

Following worship we will have a popsicle social. If anyone would like to contribute to the social please bring a box of wrapped popsicles or ice cream bars to put in the freezer before worship. Linda Ochi, Worship Leader.
 Beacon UU – YouTube sensation! 15 months, 63 recorded and edited worship services that you can tune into anytime you’d like for a first viewing or a re-viewing. Share our channel with friends you’d like to introduce to Beacon. See our virtual service history on the "Beacon UUC" Youtube Channel.

Come to the Post-Service Gatherings at 11!
Come to the Post-Service Gatherings at 11 am to connect, share joys and sorrows, and reflect on the service. These will be held in person, in the backyard of the church so that we may remove our masks. There is a virtual gathering for those staying home at the Zoom link below.

~ Please join us after the service ~
Stick around after the service or join our post gathering discussion
by clicking the link below
Passcode: 968647
Or call +1 669 900 6833 and enter Meeting ID: 733 037 203
Religious Exploration

The 2020-2021 year Religious Exploration classes were a great success. We are so grateful for the dedication and creativity of our Beacon teachers, Dru Monroe and Stephanie Van Belle and their counterparts at Granite Peak UU in Prescott. Click "Check it out!" to learn more about what we just completed.
Kids at Beacon- All are welcome!
Our Summer/Early Fall plan 
for Family Ministry:  

Children and youth are always welcome in worship! We are not providing childcare or religious education currently at this time on Sunday mornings, but we would love to see young people at the worship service. We do ask that children over 3 years old wear a face mask while in the church building. There will also be activity packets available for children during the service.
 
August 8th will be an intergenerational service on Kindness with some fun activities and an ice cream social afterwards with individually wrapped treats. 

On August 15th, 22nd, and 29th there will be an outdoor religious education program centered on kindness, featuring a lesson and a fun activity for the kids.

Sunday, September 5 is an all church bring-your-own picnic at Bushmaster Park. 

Sunday, September 12 will be an intergenerational homecoming with a water communion. Childcare for the youngest (under 5) 

Religious Exploration will begin its Fall season on Sunday September 19 at 10 AM with a combined in person/Zoom format …stay tuned for details. 

In addition, we will be inviting the youth to come by on September 9th and 23rd for pizza, studying, tutoring, and just to hang out and meet with fellow kids!

We will need volunteers to help in the classroom! Please volunteer your time on Sunday or during one of our weekday events for our youngest congregants and evolving UUs. Lindaochi31@gmail.com

You can check out the Beacon Calendar for more detailed descriptions of these events!
Religious Exploration for Adults
New Programs Coming Soon

“Daring Greatly” was a success and a meaningful experience for participants. Thanks to all who attended. Rev. Robin is working on choosing a new resource for a similar type of reading and reflection format to begin in the Fall. Details and dates to come. 

Phishing Alert!!

Emails have been received from a false address pretending to be Rev. Robin. These are not from her! The emails received have requested you to purchase gif cards for an event. Do not respond to or act on these emails. Rev. Robin will not email you from an email outside minister@beaconuu.com or rzflowingforce@gmail.com. Avoid this scam!
Rev. Robin will be out of town from July 28th - August 13th. She is available for contact for timely matters.

Our Office Manager, Alexei Besser-Gilbert, will be out of town from August 11th - August 18th. He will be available during his normal office hours by email.
Share Your Joys and Sorrows- Chime In!

One way we can sustain connection during this time apart is by sharing our personal joys and sorrows. These can be small things or large things that effect your life. Please send these to Rev. Robin by Saturday night each week at minister@beaconuu.com The Joys and Sorrows you send will be included in our first in-sanctuary service on June 27th.
Joys and Sorrows
August 1st

Please keep Lore M Dickey in your thoughts as they continue to struggle with significant health issues.

Linda O's kids are returning to school! A joy and a concern about the virus continuing to be an issue.
Please note: We recommend that you donate to Vanco directly from a bank account to save us the fees associated with credit card donations. More for us to sustain our congregation.

Porch Visits with Rev. Robin
(Weather Permitting)
Who is that minister in her "Soul" mobile? It's Rev. Robin! - ready to
come by for a visit on your porch, patio, or deck. She can be masked or unmasked, based on your vaccination status and personal comfort. Trailhead meet-ups and easy hikes, we could even meet at a park, or walk in your neighborhood. You decide! Just give a shout-minister@beaconuu.com 
or 978-505-7245
Help us Celebrate a Month of Kindness in Religious Education

What can you do to help you ask? Well...
August 8th at 10:00 a.m - Bring your yearbook to the service and/or come prepared to share a story of kindness you experienced during your school years

August 8th at 11:00 a.m - Bring some wrapped ice cream bars or popsicles to our Back to School Popsicle Social celebration in the backyard

August 8th and 15th - Bring magazines to donate for our mural project on August 22nd

August 22nd and 29th - Bring non-perishable snacks for our service project on August 29th, will be putting together snack packs for local schools

Donate your time for the month of August and September as a classroom volunteer from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m on Sunday. August classes will be outside, September outside, possibly inside depending on weather. It is vitally important as we restart in person classes and youth activities with almost all volunteers leading them that we have enough wonderful people to work with and nurture the children and youth of this congregation.

Dates we Need People are ... August 22nd, September 12th, 19th, and 26th
If those dates don't work feel free to volunteer for October, November, or December, we'll need people then also!

To sign-up to volunteer please email Linda Ochi at Lindaochi31@gmail.com or catch her on Sunday mornings and sign-up. She'll be the one with the clipboard and a big thank you smile for those who sign-up to help!
~ Monthly Touchstone Theme: ~ Communion
Touchstone Chalice
Circle
August Theme - Communion
Chalice Circle Meeting
 Tuesday, August 24th at 7 Pm
Meeting ID: 756 535 1859
Password: beacon510
Touchstones Chalice Circles are designed to meet our needs for belonging (intimacy) and meaning (ultimacy) by building friendships and providing opportunities to ponder life's questions, small and large, with others who share the common values of our UU Principles. All are welcome.

Discussion examines subjects as provided in the monthly journal of Unitarian Universalism, Touchstones. To meet the needs of the congregation, we have made attendance open.
~ Beacon Connections ~
Volunteer At Flagstaff Food Center With Beacon!
The Flagstaff Food Center is doing small group volunteers for their dinner service! Beacon is looking for a group of 5 volunteers to help out!

Volunteers are needed the 4th & 5th Wednesdays of every month, from 3pm-5pm. The dinner service is at the FFFC Kitchen (1903 N 2nd Street)

The dinner service is different during the pandemic. There is no indoor dining as we hand all the dinners out in to-go containers through a walk-up window. We need help from volunteers to portion meals into to-go containers, hand food out through our walk-up window, and wash serving pans.

Volunteer Safety: Volunteers are required to wear a mask, closed-toe shoes, and long pants, and to regularly wash or sanitize their hands and practice six feet of social distancing whenever possible. Gloves for food preparation and distribution will be provided to you at the kitchen. We have plexiglass installed at our walk-up window as a safeguard against COVID-19. We provide hand sanitizer and handwashing facilities and encourage regular use. We have enhanced cleaning protocols at our facilities and sanitize surfaces daily.

Sue Strobel will be organizing teams monthly, she can be contacted at 928 522-3284 (cell) or 928-526-5156 (home) if interested in volunteering!

More summer volunteer opportunities can be found here.

Navajo Nation
continues to need our support

In the midst of snow and really cold temperatures, a heaping pickup truckload of food, cleaning, and health supplies arrived in Holbrook for our Navajo Nation neighbors at the beginning of February, thanks to the generosity and efforts of our UUCP congregation. Gratitude abounds in a situation of continuing COVID infections, lingering long-term effects, difficult infrastructure, long distances, scarcity of supplies, long lines. Many thanks to all those who were able to contribute cash, supplies, shopping to this effort. We look forward to hearing about a new effort they have begun in response to a need to improve nutrition: baking their own bread, for which we sent up ingredients. Don't we wish we could help test the results!
Many thanks for your assistance – spreading care and concern is a small way we can help provide an antidote to a spreading virus.
UUJAZ Upcoming Events
Keep Phoenix Together DACA Clinic A court ruling recently reinstated the DACA immigration policy, and the UUJAZ is partnering with Keep Phoenix Together to assist Dreamers with their applications. Anyone who can spare a few hours down in Phoenix on a Saturday is welcome to sign up to volunteer and help out with what can be a life-saving application for many! No special language or legal skills necessary. Held on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 12-4pm at First Church UCC Phoenix. Update: Between January and May, 19 clients have completed DACA applications!
Book GroUUp is back! The third Friday of every month, come to a virtual meeting to discuss a new piece of justice-centered literature from the viewpoint Unitarian Universalist thinking. The book for the August 20th, 2021 meeting will be  This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. Climate by Naomi KleinRegister here to join in!
The Hearth: September Social
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Let’s celebrate the changing seasons with an Equinox Craft Party. Have a favorite art medium? Bring it! Need some ideas? We’ll have them! Not into crafting? Come anyway! We will gather to create art together and to celebrate being in a virtual space together.  

The Hearth Socials are for Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color. We are centering everyone who identifies as a Person of Color, for example, People of African Descent, Caribbean, Native/American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latina/o and Hispanic, Middle Eastern/Arab, and Multiracial. Please feel free to invite friends and family who are UU - adjacent, even if they don’t identify as Unitarian Universalist.
Trans Inclusion in Congregations from Transforming Hearts Collective

Do you want to be part of the most impactful UU adult education we've ever experienced? You can learn more about how to create a more welcoming congregation, delve into our shared faith, connect with each other, and discover things you didn't know about yourself.
UUJAZ is thrilled to provide access to this online course on radical welcoming for all AZ UUs, thanks to a generous grant from the UU Funding panel. As a plus, this course on transformational culture shift counts towards your annual Welcoming Congregation renewal. Transforming Hearts is coming to PUUF and Surprise! More dates and information to come.

If you’re interested in scheduling a course for your congregation, email uujaz.director@gmail.com.
Other Events in Arizona
LOVE & JUSTICE: Abolition and Alternatives to Policing UUs proclaim that no one is outside the circle of love, therefore, our goals are also abolitionist goals. Join UUJAZ team member Thoi every first Wednesday of the month in actively resisting the systems of policing and incarceration while building relationships and community with other passionate UUs in Arizona. Email Thoi to register for the next meeting.
UU Events Nationwide
Dream Group Are you interested in learning more about what your dreams can reveal about you and your life? The UUCM Dream Group meets on the second Monday of the month from 4:30 to 6:00 PM via Zoom. Bring a brief written description of a recent or past dream to share. Feel free to bring in a snack as well (which is optional). Instructions for new members will be provided. Please email admin@uumontclair.org for Zoom link.
A Special Message from Rev. Robin about BIPOC Allyship
Dear Beloved Community,

America is on fire with rage, weary from a pandemic, and aching with despair. Along with the rest of our country, we've read and heard so many devastating accounts over the past week, the most heart-rending from people of color coping with another case of murderous systemic racism in our country. I do not need to (nor, am I entitled to) add anything to their experiences or parse what they have to say about racism. They live it. 

...To read the full message on our website, please click here

Lifespan Religious Exploration Resources for Learning About and Responding to Racism

This painful moment in time calls us to focus our learning and reflection on allyship to people of color, understanding white privilege, and reflecting on how we can part of a systemic sea change and solution in our society. 

Beacon has provided resources for all ages addressing how we as individuals and as communities can learn about and respond to racism. For the full list of resources, activities and community meetings, visit Beacon's Religious Exploration pages.
Healing Racism and Murdoch Center Programs and Events
Healing Racism Arizona and the Murdoch Community Center in Flagstaff have several events in the next few weeks that might be of interest to the Beacon community. Healing Racism Arizona is accessible through Facebook. The live events for the Murdoch Community Center are also through Facebook
And can be watched afterwards on their YouTube channel Tune in here.
~ Wider Community ~
This Week at Beacon ~
Worship
Sunday, August 8, 2021
10am-11am

"Intergenerational Service of Kindness"

In-Person At Beacon!
Post-Service Gathering
Sunday, August 8, 2021
11:00 am
Passcode: 968647
OR
In-Person Popsicle Social at Beacon
Finance Committee Meeting
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
6:30pm
Meeting ID: 756 535 1859
Passcode: beacon510


You can keep up with future Beacon events by checking out the Beacon calendar!
money_piggybank_money.jpg
Everyday Ways to Support Beacon UU 
1. When you go to Fry's grocery store, use the Beacon phone number (928 779 4492) as the Alternate ID when it asks for it at the beginning of checkout, and you will get shopping discounts for Fry's members, as well as donating a percentage of your expenditure to Beacon. You can also sign up for an individual account if you prefer that, or want to take advantage of the gasoline discounts. You have to pick Beacon as your beneficiary when you set up your own account.
2. If you shop on Amazon, please use "Amazon Smile" and choose Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation (do not abbreviate UU) as your recipient. We will receive a 0.5% for every purchase and that can add up! Remember that you have to start each shopping session at smile.amazon.com for us to receive the donation. 

3. Another online fundraiser is igive.comOnce again, create your own account with a user name and password, then select settings, my cause, and type in Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation (do not abbreviate UU). Then you can order from any of the hundreds of organizations listed under igive. There are also coupons listed online you can use when ordering from some organizations.

4. Basha's has a special debit card that you can charge up before shopping, and a portion of what goes through the debit card gets donated to Beacon because that card is tied to Beacon. Ask Anne Wittke for further information.

Have other ideas for our income incubator? leave them on a card in the bin in the lobby, or send them to Rev. Robin. 
Beacon Office Hours & Contacts ~
Office Phone (928) 779-4492
Minister,
Rev. Robin Zucker

Mon: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wed: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Thurs: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Or by appointment:
978-505-7245 - talk and text (confidential line) 
Get to know Rev. Robin at www.uurobinzucker.com
Director of RE 

Our engaging programs for all ages continue while we search for a new Religious Exploration Director.

Rev. Robin can answer your RE questions.
Office Manager,
Alexei Besser-Gilbert
 
Mon: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wed: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Thurs: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles ~

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a "living tradition" of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. Learn more at beaconuu.com!
You no longer need to forward your spam emails to spam@uce.gov, because the Federal Trade Commission is now collecting spam through a honeypot, which is an online trap. This change makes it more efficient for the FTC to collect spam that is deceptive or violates the CAN-SPAM Act. This change saves tax dollars, your time, and helps the FTC collect deceptive and illegal spam. If you lost money to a scam that started with an email, please report it at ftc.gov/complaint. There, you can also report spam you receive. Read more about how to limit spam, phone calls, and mail. 

~ Beacon Google Group ~
If you are not on Beacon's dedicated Google group, you are missing out on an important communications link within our congregation. It is useful for spreading information about something going on in Flagstaff, informing others of social action activities, offering an item for sale or to give away, sharing enthusiasm about a book or movie, requesting information or recommendations -- and more! It's simple to sign up!
Contribute to Beacon's Weekly News

Newsletter submissions must be submitted by Wednesday at 4:00 pm 
to office@beaconuu.com in order to be included in the newsletter.