We are going on an adventure this morning exploring what we have learned so far and what we will learn together going forward.
To attend on site, FULL VACCINATION STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: FUUBC strongly encourages all those who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated, including boosters as appropriate.
MASKING RECOMMENDED: FUUBC strongly encourages attendees at worship services and other large gatherings to wear masks.
To attend by Zoom, click on this link: uuberks.org/zoom-worship. (If this is 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: 921 4271 5512#
3) When prompted for the “Participant ID”, enter: #
Please plan to arrive or log on by 10:20-10:25 am to enjoy the gathering music, and, for those on zoom, to establish a connection before worship is scheduled begins. Zoom participant mics are muted throughout the service.
This Weekend:
From SoulMatters: This story is an example of the way we belong to water. By caring deeply about water, rivers, and pollution, the Ojibway people intend to fight the “black snake” of pollution.
Summer RE our Principle and Sources series – this week we’ll explore our 8th principle in conversation. We also continue to work on schedule of topics for meetings Oct-Jan. [soulful home packet]
8th PrincipleWe, the member congregations of the UUA, covenant to affirm and promote: Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
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
Practice your Searching and Creative skills with Spark Maze
Registration is open now for our program year. We have some exciting things planned and look forward to what will emerge as we seek, nurture and serve together this year! To let us know how you plan to engage with our programs this year please visit. https://uuberks.org/Registration.
Registered families will receive occasional mailings including birthday cards from the church, invitations to events, seasonal updates on what we’re programming together this year.
Our offerings depend on the congregation and on participating families to happen. If you want to be part of shaping programming or can lend a hand to help make them happen, please email Ebee: director.religious.education@uuberks.org.
Please be aware that once again someone is impersonating our Minister by sending fake emails asking you to purchase gift cards. This is not being sent by Rev. Amy. At no time will Rev. Amy or anyone else from the church ask you to purchase gift cards for them. If you have received an email like like this please do not open or respond to it.
Volunteers Needed for Out in the Park
On Saturday, October 8, 2022 from 1-7pm, the LGBT Center is celebrating its 2nd annual“Out in The Park” at First Energy Stadium.
FUUBC would like to set up a booth similar to Pridefest as an outreach. We want to let people know there is a welcoming spiritual community here in downtown Reading.
We need your help. Many of us are out of town that weekend so we need a volunteers. Be on the lookout for a sign up genius coming next week.
Please help give FUUBC a presence at this event.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS LYNN NOTTAGE & LUIS A. MIRANDA, JR. ON JULY 14, 1970, THE YOUNG LORDS MADE THEIR CRIES FOR DECENT HEALTHCARE KNOWN TO THE WORLD.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8
2 PM
FREE PUBL IC SCREENING & TALKBACK
7 PM
TICKETS $35 TALKBACK WITH MEET & GREET RECEPTION POST FILM PANEL DISCUSSION FEATURING:
EMMA FRANCIS-SNYDER – DIRECTOR
TONY GERBER – PRODUCER
CLEO SILVERS – YOUNG LORD
PATTY TORRES – MODERATOR FOR 2 PM
ANTHONY OROZCO – MODERATOR FOR 7 PM
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
DR. MICHAEL BAXTER, LOUISE & JUDGE ARTHUR GRIM, DR. NEI L A. HOFFMAN
TICKETS & MORE INFORMATION
WCR CENTER FOR THE ARTS 140 N F I FTH STREET READING, PA
Solar Team
Have you noticed that your electric bill has gone up? The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) authorized the increase in June and those new rates are set to take effect this month. Our church uses Met-Ed and they raised the cost by 18.4%.
Maybe this is a good time for us to offset our electric usage by adding a solar panel array on the church roof?
Solar power has been an ongoing interest of the Building Keepers for a few years. With our church’s strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility, we at FUUBC want to do our part. The Building Keepers are looking for volunteers to help with a temporary ad hoc Solar Team Subcommittee to evaluate (1) adding solar panels on the church buildings and (2) upgrading our natural gas heating systems to electric heat pumps. To do this, we will have a series of meetings (both in-person and/or virtual) to evaluate the different proposals from solar/HVAC companies and then prepare a final proposal to take to the M&O Team for final acceptance. Contact Frank Wilder at frank.wilder@uuberks.org if you are interested.
Please Consider Attending PA Universalist Meeting!
A perk of FUUBC coming from the Universalist side of the UUA is involvement in the Trustees of the Pennsylvania Universalist Convention, including this fall’s TPUC Annual Membership Meeting, which this year will be hosted by the Unitarian Universalists of Mount Airy in Philadelphia.
The Annual Membership Meeting will be held from Friday evening through Sunday morning, Oct. 7–9, at the Mount Airy congregation’s historic sanctuary, known as the Universalist Church of the Restoration of Philadelphia, 6900 Stenton Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19150.
First UU is entitled to five voting delegates in addition to the minister and with the availability of hybrid—as well as relative closeness of Mount Airy for those attending in-person—this is a great year to consider becoming one of those delegates and network with those from our portion of the denomination.
All should be aware that TPUC distributes grants from its endowment annually that form a significant portion of our congregation’s annual budget. This year, we’re benefiting from an extra grant to help fund the costs of our transition to an interim ministry.
Further information on registration for this year’s meeting will be available shortly!
We are currently looking for anyone who is interested in volunteering to be a Greeter and when the time comes- to be an Usher. This is a great way to get to know your fellow members or get to know them better And of course- being of service can provide comfort to you and others!!
Currently we have a group of approx 10 of us that rotate and fill in when we can but if we can get another 10 volunteers- then this will mean you would be a greeter every 6 -8 weeks and provides back up for our busy summer months.
We like to have two greeters at each service & when RE sessions are occurring on Sunday’s- one greeter arrives at 9:40 to greet those arriving for RE at 9:45 & the 2nd greeter arrives at 10 am to be available for those attending the Sunday service.
Please take time to consider this and please contact me, Joanne Koehler at jkbluesky@icloud.com or my cell 610-914-8827 if you are interested or have any questions.
Free parking is available on Sundays on the street and in the library parking lot.
The parking garage across the street (4th and Cherry streets) has changed to a pay by app system. The app is called ParkMobile. It can be downloaded in the apple store or on the google play app. At this time we are unable to offer discounted parking vouchers.
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.
A Note from Rev. Amy
Since I started serving you last month, you have been so welcoming to this new interim minister; we’re off to a wonderful start! At this point, you may be wondering about more of the specifics of what a two-year interim period is like. After 2 services lead by me, I dropped out of sight to attend the Introduction to UU Ministry class online, with colleagues form around the country, for 40 hours. It will be good to see y’all again on Labor Day weekend.
An interim period is to work toward several things. In general, it is a time for us to examine and attend to any issues or goals that are lingering from the previous ministries. These include what are called “The Five Developmental Tasks of Interim Ministry.” At my first service on August 7, we symbolically unpacked them from a suitcase.
In addition to the normal responsibilities of congregational ministry, including worship and pastoral care, Intentional Interim Ministers are tasked with assisting a congregation in:
• claiming and honoring its past and engaging and honoring its griefs and conflicts;
• recognizing its unique identity and its strengths, needs, and challenges;
• clarifying the appropriate leadership roles of minister(s), church staff, and lay
leaders and navigating the shifts in leadership that may accompany times of
transition;
• making appropriate use of Regional, UUA, and other outside resources; and
• proudly coming into possession of a renewed vision and strong stewardship,
prepared for new growth and new professional leadership, ready to embrace the
future with anticipation and zest.”
To all of you lovely people who make up UU Berks, our journey together is going well, and I look forward to our ongoing process of getting to know each other and the hopes and dreams you have for your congregation.
What does it mean to belong? What belongs to you? And who do you belong to? As I was exploring these questions and reading all about belonging to prepare for our time together in September, a song popped into my head. Can you guess which one?
… Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold. A circle’s round, it has no end. That’s how long I’d like to be your friend…
Where and when did you first hear this song? Did you just learn it now and have to go look it up? Did reading the lyrics bring you back to camp this past year? Or maybe, did those lyrics transport you to a time so long ago you’re not sure how much time it’s been exactly since you heard the song for the first time?
As the lyrics floated through my memory I turned them over and over in my head. Which friendship is silver? Which is gold? The circle is round but how do we become a part of the circle in the first place – where is our beginning?
And that’s just it. My friend and fellow religious educator, Lenore Bejare-Dukes pointed out that “the song doesn’t say which friendship is silver and which one is gold. The implication is there in rhyme and word order but there’s space for us to find our own answer to this song.” As UUs we look for the meaning in the space between.
This year we’re leaning into the space between. The space between “being” and “longing.” What a great word for us to start our year with, “Belonging.” For some of us the space between has felt really really wide these past few years. For some of us that space has been closer than they knew it in past seasons of their lives. For others, you’re coming to our space for the first time.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is created and re-created by the friendships we value and how we choose to connect with each other. Those friendships are what’s guiding our religious education programming choices this year. If you’d like to find out more here’s more on our intentions (link).
In all that we belong to and in all that we do this church year, may we seek with open minds, may we nurture with loving hearts and may we serve with helping hands. Blessed be and Amen.
