The spiritual theme for the month of January is Imagination. In The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life, Thomas Moore said, “We tend to consider imagination too lightly, forgetting that the life we make, for ourselves individually and for the world as a whole, is shaped and limited only by the perimeters of our imagination.” This Sunday we will explore the notion of Using Our Imagination to Free Ourselves.
For Sunday’s worship, we are using the Zoom conferencing platform. It is easy to Zoom from a computer, tablet, or phone! Here is how you do it: With a computer, smartphone or tablet, click on this link to participate: uuberks.org/zoom-worship (If it’s the first time you’re using zoom you may be prompted to download a launcher app).
To connect by phone (audio only):
1) Dial the phone number: 1-646-558-8656
2) When prompted for the “Meeting ID”, enter: 999-805-145-23#
3) When prompted for the “Participant ID”, enter: #
Please plan to log on by 10:20 or 10:25 am so that you can establish a connection before worship is scheduled to begin. Please note that your mic will be muted and will remain muted for the service. Our service concludes with “virtual coffee hour” when members and friends are unmuted.
Tonight – FRIDAY 7:00 PM:
For this week’s story – we listen to a profound and funny story about a little kid whose brother tells them the future of the world is doomed, we follow her to find out what she has courage to imagine and find… “There Must Be More Than That” by Shinsuke Yoshitake
SUNDAY
9:45 AM
Seeds, Sprouts and Saplings (elementary ages): in RE Hangout Zoom Room
Imagine A Better World – Each month we are dedicating at least one session to a different aspect of anti-racism work, with our theme guiding us toward which aspect to focus on. In this two part class – this week we’re going to hear Dr. King’s dream. Then we’ll dream up what the speech would sound like if it was delivered today.
Activity: Use a printed or hand labyrinth to find renewal as you attend worship this morning. Here’s a labyrinth you can print out and trace. Labyrinth Printable
10:45 – 11:30
Youth Group (7th grade & up): Meeting this weekend, a place for sharing and a game or two – look for an email from your advisors on log in information. If you are a visitor – email director.religious.education@uuberks.org for more information.
Martin Luther King called on us “to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.” On the next Second Sunday Listening Café on January 10, we will consider the assertion that capitalism is a root cause of racism. Friends and members are invited to participate in this ADORE discussion beginning at noon and encouraged to invite others to join in the dialog.
Topic: ADORE Group Meeting
Time: Jan 10, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 936 1106 9747
To join from your desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone, click on this link:
To join from a smartphone with audio only, click on this link: +13126266799,,93611069747# US (Chicago)
To connect by phone: 1) Dial the phone number: 1-312-626-6799 2) When prompted for the “Meeting ID”, enter: 936-110-697-47# 3) When prompted for the “Participant ID”, enter: 1#
Did you catch the presentation at the December 2020 Congregational meeting on our new private Member Info website: member-info.uuberks.org ? Do you still have questions or need some help accessing it? Use the link below to register for either a 1-on-1 help session and/or an introduction to the website via Zoom. You can also use the form to just post a question about the private Member Info website. https://uuberks.org/member-info-signup
Here are a few common questions and answers:
Why do I have to login to access this site? This site is private and the information on it is for members only. By having a login, we can restrict access to those individuals that are FUUBC members.
I attend services all the time but I am not a member. How do I become a member? We have a page on our public website with all of the details. See https://uuberks.org/connect/become-a-member/
I have a Google account, but I don’t remember my password. (1) Go to the Google login page at accounts.google.com, (2) enter your email address, (3) click on the “next” button and (4) click on the “Forgot password” link.
Mark your calendars: Our FUUBC 2021 Service Auction is on Saturday, February 6th @ 6 PM. This auction is not the same as other years, our primary motivation in this isolating time: Come together as a community, hence our theme “UU Heart to UU Heart”. Following social distancing recommendations during COVID-19, our auction will be conducted fully online. We will be using an online auction website to host the silent auction for two weeks (Jan. 31 – Feb. 14) and Zoom to conduct the live auction on Saturday night in the middle of the two weeks.
We are currently taking donations for the auction: service auctions only work if there are items to bid on and people participate. If you click on the link above, you will be taken to our auction website. Once the home page loads, you will see a menu across the top of the page (look for the line with “Home”, “Register”, “Catalog”,…). To make a donation, click on the “Donate” link on the menu and a new page will open.
The top of the page has a list of people that have made a donation. If you scroll down the page a bit, you will see the donation form. On the first page of the form, you can enter the title for your donation (example: “1 hour of weeding”), a short description and some other details about the donation. Notice the red asterisks next to the title entry field: the asterisks signifies that the field cannot be empty. On the first page, this is the only required field.
When you click on the “Continue to item images” button at the bottom of the form, you will be taken to a page where you can upload a picture of your donation. Click on the “select files to upload” link in the middle of the page to add a photo from your computer. We will use the photo in the catalog to help advertise your item. Photos are optional: you do not have to perform this step.
When you are ready to move onto the next page, click on the “Continue to donor details” button on the bottom of the page and the donor detail page will open. There are only 2 required fields on this page: your name and your email address. You may want to also include your home address information just in case you purchase something at the auction that will be delivered.
Click on the “submit donation” button at the bottom of the page to submit your complete donation. A short time later a member of the Service Auction Committee will review your donation and send you a confirmation email. If you would like to donate an additional item, click on the “Donate another item” button on the bottom of this page: you will be taken back to the first page of the donation form.
You can also submit donations by making a phone call to 484-925-1684 or sending an email with your donation details to us at service.auction@uuberks.org. Finally, if you would like to volunteer to help with the auction or have a question/suggestion, send us an email at g.service.auction@uuberks.org. Many thanks from the Service Auction Committee.
Did you know that we record every church service that we host on Zoom? We use our UUBerks YouTube account to host those recordings.
To find the recordings…
1) Open up a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari,…) and navigate to our home page at uuberks.org
2) Once the page opens, click on the (2) Service Archive button. It is in the green box on the right side of the screen
3) The Past Worship Services page will open in the browser window. The services are sorted from “newest” to “oldest”. Click on the title of a service to find the video.
4) A dedicated web page for the service will open. At the bottom of the page, there is a video widget that you can use to view the recording. Click on the play button in the middle of the video widget to watch the video.
5) Once the video starts to play, you will see some buttons in the bottom of the video if you move your mouse cursor over the video widget. Click on the (1) CC button to turn on closed captioning, and click on the (2) Expand button to make the video full screen . There is also a pause button (not shown in the image below) , in the lower left-hand corner that you can use to pause the video so that you can refill your coffee cup.
If you have any questions about this hint or other technology issues, contact UUBerks IT Services at g.it.services@uuberks.org
Closed captioning is now available for Sunday service. Please note that not all Zoom virtual meeting rooms/meeting IDs have closed captioning. You will need to be using a current version of the Zoom Client App (the latest version is 5.4.1).
Each participant will be able to toggle closed captioning on/off if the Zoom meeting room has it enabled.
To turn on closed captions, click on the “Closed Caption” button in the Zoom menu bar and then select “Show Subtitles.” Once it is turned on, you can adjust the font size by clicking on the “Closed Caption” button again and selecting “subtitle settings”. Note: if the button doesn’t show up on your Zoom menu bar, most likely closed captioning is not available in your current Zoom virtual meeting room.
We have created a short YouTube video to demonstrate how to use Zoom closed captioning. Here is the link to the video: https://uuberks.org/zoom-cc
We have established a Zoom service tech line if you are having trouble logging into our Sunday service. If you do not get an immediate answer, leave a message and your call will be returned momentarily.Dial 484-925-1684.
If you are in need of a church directory, would like to update your pledge, sign up for Egiving or just have general questions? Please contact our office administrator at office@uuberks.org
Giving Options in a time of coronavirus
We know that these are uncertain times and that some of our members and friends are being impacted financially as well as in so many other ways. For those who are able to make a gift or continue to contribute to their pledge, we have added some options. In addition to accepting checks and signing up for electronic giving, you can also now make your gifts from the website and via text. Here are the details:
You can now give online on our website UUberks.org by clicking on the online giving tab or clicking here
You can also give by downloading the GivePlus app on google play and the App store below. You can easily locate our church by zip code 19602
From Sandra’s Study
January 2021 – Rev. Dr. Sandra Fees
As we begin 2021, I’ll be on sabbatical. It’s an interesting time to take a sabbatical. I’ve been spending time thinking about these coming months and how to spend this time in ways that provide spiritual, emotional, and intellectual renewal.
I’m looking forward to some simple pleasures – like cooking more, putting together puzzles, and playing cribbage. I expect to read more novels and write more poetry, as well as take an online writing class. However, I do expect to spend far fewer hours on zoom! I hope to paint my home study, but first I’ll need to settle on a color, which is part of the fun and a project in and of itself. And while I won’t be doing any international travel, I do expect to have a few adventures locally and regionally, including spending some time at an ashram in the Catskills. So much, of course, depends on the pandemic and the weather. The truth is I’m content to live in the now, finding my way in the months ahead, putting the pieces together as I go.
As I begin this sabbatical, I do so knowing that the congregation is in capable hands. We have incredible leadership in our Board, M&O, committees, and staff. Rev. Sage Olnick, our part-time sabbatical minister, will provide a trusted ministerial presence. This will be a time of growth and learning for the congregation, a time when you all come together even more than ever to engage the ministries of the church.
I’m truly grateful for this time to catch my breath and to be. I’ll miss you. And I’m hopeful that upon my return – or soon after – there will be ways for us to gather in person once again either in small groups or even possibly larger ones.
This month we get to go on a journey. This journey will be one with infinite possibilities! Where we’ll go is only limited to the limits of our imaginations. Will you go on this journey with me?
I wonder what the journey will look like. Where will we go? What will we do? What will our world look like? – sound like? – taste like? – smell like? – feel like?
I’m so excited to go on this journey with you! Each Monday I invite you to light your chalice with the “Month of Imagination” chalice lighting words from Robin Slaw and use a time afterwards to dream, to travel to a place in the future where something is different – then make a representation of it.
Craft. Draw. Write. Move.
Where will our imaginations take us? Let’s find out.
January Soul Matters Chalice Lighting written by Robin Slaw
[picture is of night sky with a wooden ladder propped against a crescent moon. Chalice lighting words on top of image by Robin Slaw read: In our imaginations we can become anyone, anything, anywhere. In our imaginations, we can dance with fairies, ride dragons, make friends with unicorns, and breach with whales. In our imaginations, we can help everyone, be strong and brave, make sure the world is fair. In our imaginations, we can build the world of our dreams, with no pollution, no wars, nothing going extinct. As we light this chalice, may our imaginations inspire us to dream big, bring change, heal the world. Amen, Blessed Be.
