The Jewish traditions of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur encourage us to make a new beginning in our lives during these early autumn days. What might that mean for you? Are you ready to loosen your grip on old stories and wounds, in order to embrace what’s possible and right in front of you?
We hope many of you will join the service – either in person in the Sanctuary, or online. Find the livestream link at uusociety.org or on our YouTube channel. While inside the Meeting House, masks are strongly encouraged.
Following the service, all are welcome to Outdoor Coffee Hour.
Children's Faith Development Classes Starting!
Erika Reif, Director of Lifespan Faith Development
Sunday, October 2,10:15 a.m., Downstairs classrooms
After 15 minutes of worship together in the Sanctuary, children are invited to leave for the first sessions of Nursery/preschool, Spirit Play-making, and Bible Stories. Parents whose children are not yet registered will be asked to accompany them to their classrooms, though you can make it simpler by registering now. Infants and toddlers can be signed into the Nursery from 9:45 onwards. For more information, contact erika@uusociety.org
Memorial Service for Roddy O'Neil Cleary
The memorial service for Roddy O'Neil Cleary, our minister emerita, will be held on Saturday, October 1 at 2 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington. All are welcome. The service will also be livestreamed. Please click here for the link, or visit uusociety.org.
Abolish Slavery - Just 42 Days Until Election Day!
Zoe Hart, FUUSB Racial Justice Team
Election Day is just 6 weeks away and the Abolish Slavery campaign is kicking into high gear. Ballots are arriving in people's mailboxes and early voting is starting. The success of the Abolish Slavery campaign hinges on people being aware of the constitutional amendment and knowing that a Yes vote is the way to abolish slavery.
There are somereally easy ways that you can help.
1. If you haven't already, go to https://bit.ly/AbolishSlaveryVT and take the pledge to Vote Yes on Proposal 2 and abolish slavery in Vermont, once and for all, no exceptions!
2. Talk to people you know and make sure they know that
abolishing slavery is on the ballot this November,
our current constitution abolishes slavery with exceptions that allow slavery for people under 21, people in debt, or people who consent to being enslaved, and
voting Yes on Proposal 2 is the way to abolish slavery once and for all, no exceptions.
Sunday Morning Breakfast - Meeting House Grounds Group - 8 to 9 a.m. - starting October 2
The Meeting House Grounds Group is starting to have “Sunday Morning Breakfast” every Sunday at 8 a.m. in front of the Meeting House. The idea came from our community which noticed that there is no place for people to get a meal on Sunday, since the Food Pantry is not open and other organizations do not serve that day. Starting October 2 we will serve “Sunday Morning Breakfast” from 8-9 a.m. We will be looking to involve the whole congregation in this. Look for more news for ways you can get involved. You can email RadicalWelcoming@uusociety.org for ways to get involved. It takes a village.
Deep Listening Circle: Radical Welcome on the Meeting House Grounds
What do you think it could look like to welcome the wider community to the Meeting House grounds? The Healthy Congregation Team and Meeting House Grounds Group invite you to join a Deep Listening Circle with attention to Radical Welcome on the Meeting House Grounds: an intentional gathering to share how you are and to listen deeply to others. We will center the circle on the following questions:
What are you thinking/feeling about the wider community use of the Meeting House grounds?
What might our UU Society's Radical Welcome on the Meeting House grounds look like?
How do you see yourself engaging in this Radical Welcome?
There will be a short update on the present situation on the grounds before the circle. We can support one another to ask and answer these kinds of questions. The practice of coming together in our faith-based community in this way is one way for us to be in covenant.
Sunday, October 2, 8:45-9:45 a.m. in the Memorial Garden
Would you like to help out keeping our grounds cleaned up? It takes a village! We are looking for a pool of individuals (two per Sunday) to walk around the grounds and pick up trash. What this entails is to arrive early on Sunday morning and help our staff get the outside grounds ready for our worship service and social hour. The training will be very simple; you will take direction from staff and basically provide another pair of hands. Email radicalwelcoming@uusociety.org if you would like to join the pool of volunteers to help clean up on Sunday mornings.
Online Coffee Hour - NEW TIME!
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
We are trying to find the best way to increase participation in Online Coffee Hour. Let me explain why. We have several people in our Online Coffee Hour who can only participate online because they live far away, are unable to come to the Meeting House on Sundays because they are ill or elderly, or for any number of reasons. Even though we are now having in-person services and therefore in-person coffee hours, these folks still really want to have a connection with us. Don't you want to keep up your connection with them?
So beginning on Monday, October 3, at 7 p.m. we will begin having our Online Coffee Hour on Monday evenings! We will give this day and time a try for the month of October to see how it goes. So even if you attend in-person coffee hour on Sundays, I hope you can visit Monday Evening Online Coffee Hour and help our online members stay connected. Join us at this link: us02web.zoom.us/j/86177146171
Memorial Service for Tony Redington
A memorial service for Tony Redington, First UU Society member, will be held on Saturday, October 8 at 4:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington.
News from the Ministerial Search Team
Tom Hyde
Rev. Tricia joined the Search Team meeting on Monday to plan the October 9th Sunday service that will focus on the search for a new minister.
The team members will tell you a little bit about themselves, and about why they allowed themselves to be recruited to do a project that basically absorbs your whole life for 8 months.
Also, a big part of our job is selling our congregation to potential applicant ministers, so we were glad to get a chance to ask a real minister what types of things they might be looking for. Of course, we want a lot of applicants. I believe we have quite a bit going for us, but we (and you) still need to do our work.
So shower us with survey responses (coming out next week)! And see you at a listening session.
NEW: 2nd Sunday Circles!
Sharing Circles Coordinating Team
Meet at 11:15 a.m. with a small group to discuss the Sermon, Readings and Benediction as a group. Looking forward to seeing you! The first meeting, on October 9, will be in the Whitney Young, Jr. Room.
We're Inviting YOU to the MAG Meeting!
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
Are you new to our congregation? Have you been around for quite a while? Have you been a member for ages? If you said "yes" to any of these questions, this October's MAG (Ministry Area Gathering) meeting is for YOU!
At this meeting, you will have the opportunity to find out what is happening all over our community and how you might get involved. Are you thinking, oh no, I don't want to get too involved? Well, believe me, there is something for everyone. Everything from small one-time tasks, to joining a team that meets once a month, to helping feed the homeless on Sunday mornings. The pandemic has changed everything and you don't want to miss out!
So please join us for this amazing opportunity. Let's rejoice in being back together and recommitting to our community.
Contact Christina Fulton at xina@uusociety.org if you have any questions!
Parking at the Meeting House
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
It's been a while since we've had a full house at the Meeting House, and many things have changed since the pandemic began, like no more parking on Elmwood Avenue. So here is a reminder to both new visitors and longtime members of where to park at the Meeting House. Please plan ahead as finding parking may take longer than it has in the past.
Sunday Mornings: The row of parking directly behind the Meeting House is reserved for people who need handicapped parking, whether or not you have a sticker. Please leave the oval parking on the east side of the building available for visitors who may not know where to find other parking spaces. Others may park in the lots behind the building (both the paved area and the gravel area.) If there are no available parking spots in the lots behind the building, you will need to seek parking on the street, or in one of the city parking structures on Cherry Street. City parking is free on Sundays...
Each fall, FUUSB members may renew or purchase parking tags, which allow you to park along the oval driveway next to the Meeting House for non-FUUSB business (shopping, etc.) for up to 3 hours. Parking guidelines can be found here.
In your message, please provide: your name; car make, model, color, and plate number; parking tag number if possible; and whether you need a new tag.
Pay for your tag ($40 per tag). You can pay online using the Make a Gift button on the Donate page of our website (select Member Parking Tag). Or you can mail a check to FUUSB, 152 Pearl St, Burlington, VT 05401, or drop off a check or cash in a labeled envelope and place it in the FUUSB mailbox by the east entrance. Note "Oval Parking" on the check memo and envelope.
If purchasing a new tag, Mary will mail that to you.
We can sell or renew up to 50 parking tags this year. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Thank you!
Office Hours
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
One gift that we got from the pandemic is the knowledge that we can work from home, and quite effectively at that. Most of the staff are working a combination of hours from home and hours from the Meeting House. Our schedules can be different each day and each week. There are, however, a few things you can count on. We are all working hard to support you, the FUUSB congregation, in any way that we can. Unless we are taking some paid time off, you can reach us via email and expect to get an answer within a few days. You can also still call us on the phone and leave us a message.
The Core Staff (Rev. Tricia, Christina, David, Mary, Erika, and James) meet weekly on Tuesday mornings via Zoom. Most of us are doing this from home, so the Meeting House is not usually open on Tuesdays until the afternoon. If you need to meet with a staff member in person, it's best to first set up an appointment. We would hate for you to come all the way into the Meeting House only to find that we're working from home that day.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Christina at xina@uusociety.org.
Reserving Space
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
Folks are beginning to return to the Meeting House for Sunday Services and for Choir Rehearsal, and Youth Group, and Chalice Circles, and lots more stuff. This is truly exciting! If your group would like to begin meeting in person again at the Meeting House, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Reserve your space - All groups must reserve their space in advance with Mary by using this form. Mary will send you a confirmation when your meeting has been added to the calendar. Please plan ahead as space is filling up quickly.
Room Requests - Please be aware that due to Covid restrictions/air exchange issues we are limiting the number of people allowed in certain rooms. We are doing our best to match the size of the room to the number of people meeting in it. This means that even though your group has been meeting in the same room for years, you may very well be asked to move to a different room this year...
Christina Fulton, Director of Operations & Finance
Help! I unsubscribed to a Realm email and now I don't get any announcements from Realm! We actually are hearing this a lot. If you unsubscribe to emails sent to you through Realm, you will no longer receive ANY emails sent through Realm. AND, you cannot resubscribe to emails yourself. If you think this may have happened to you, and you would like to resubscribe, you will need to contact Mary. Once Mary is aware, she will need to contact Realm and they need to reset your email settings. If you have not unsubscribed from Realm emails, but you'd like to just receive one email a day that includes all emails that were sent that day, the instructions can be found on the Realm Quick Tips page on our website.
Upcoming Worship Services
October 9 at 10 am
In-Person & Livestreamed Sunday Worship Service
Rev. Patricia Hart, with the Ministerial Search Team