Think about a time when making a new friend meant that something changed in your outlook, or your schedule, or a habit or two, simply because of this one person’s presence. When we widen our circle at church, as in our lives, we are open to all the scary new changes, and the unexpected joys.
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:
Tonight’s Story is Henry And Mudge In The Sparkle Days by Cynthia Rylant and Sucie Stevenson
Have you heard of a “Sparkle Day”? What would your sparkle day feel like and look like? In the winter Henry and his big dog Mudge play in the snow, share a family Christmas dinner, and gather around a crackling winter fireplace.
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
10:30 AM: Youth Group
Grades 7th – 12: Onsite
On site: back chalice house. Gathering by name tags cart before start.
ALL 8 third session: this year we dive into all 8 principles through art making and brain storming.
Our Semi annual Congregational Meeting will be held on December 11th following service. These meetings help us to exercise our 5th principle by giving members an opportunity to vote on important issues. Please plan to attend.
The Caring Bags Project
The Caring Bags Project is a church-wide initiative that we will be collecting for throughout November. We are joining the RE program in making Caring Bags for our homeless brothers and sisters. Donations can be dropped off at a designated area in the Gerber Room throughout November. On Sunday, December 4th, we will create a church-wide assembly line after service to put the Caring Bags together. They will then be dispersed to the community.
We are still in need of the following items:
Deodorant
feminine products
hats
socks
gloves
If you have questions, please contact Lauren Fritz or Ginny Chudgar.
Join us on Monday 12/5 @ 7:00pm for our final Contemplative Companion session of 2022. Our time together will be a time of reflection and sharing on “gifts we have received from our ancestors” be they “ancestors” by blood or by chosen connection. Contact Nadine to obtain the link for this zoom gathering
We are in need of cookie donations and coffee hour help for our Christmas Eve service. If you would like to donate a plate of cookies contact Melissa in the office at office@uuberks.org If you are able to help with coffee hour setup or clean up please contact Bonnie Sirott- Arleth
The Food Bank team has been handing out gently used jackets and winter coats at our monthly Food Bank days. Our next Food Bank day is on Saturday, Dec. 17th. If you have a jacket, coat or winter gloves at home that you are not using any more, please consider donating them to the Food Bank We have a collection box just outside the Food Bank storage room. If you have any questions, please contact Frank Wilder. Thank you.
Do you like to throw parties? Sample food from caterers? Select wines and party decorations? You should volunteer to chair the 2023 Service Auction.
Frank Wilder is stepping down from the Service Auction chair and is only interested in being in charge of the service auction tech: donations, the auction catalog, the auction and bid winner billing.
We need someone else to step in as the Service Auction chair and work on the “entertainment” part for the event. You will be in charge of a team of volunteers that will choose a theme for the event , decorate the church for the event, manage the food & drink, and help clean up after the event. If you are interested in helping, contact Melissa at office@uuberks.org
The food bank will be moving back indoors starting this October 15th (inside the church) at 8:30am and yes it will take place on the 3rd Saturday of the month. So come out and help out with a great cause. We will be having an optional training session this Sunday (October 2nd) at noon if you want to learn more and get a better idea of what we do at the food bank. Here are the dates for the rest of the year.
Saturday December 17th
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer but cannot me here on 10/2, please contact Mark Burton
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.
In the Interim: Wondering about Wonder
Being a wordsmith, I think about those subtleties of word choice often. This
month’s theme is “wonder,” and so I have been, well, wondering about it.
Wonder, like, I wonder what will happen or I wonder what is in there…..Certainly,
wonder is about curiosity or thinking about the unknown. But it seems to hold
positivity for expectation of a good discovery, more than fear of the outcome.
There is a double-meaning wish that people share, with the potential for good or
bad intention, “May you live in interesting times.” The word “awesome” is like
that, too. Although we usually exclaim “Awesome!” when we see something very
pleasing, it does have another connotation, too. The awesome power of nature is
what propels mud down a mountain in a mudslide, destroying everything in its
path. “Awesome” and “Interesting” could mean good or bad.
Wonder has a vast feel to it. The wonder of it all when the air is crisp and
snowflakes are falling, or at the beach with the sun shining and the waves crashing.
Everything feels huge and we feel so small, but we are so happy to be
there…..wonder is how we relate to the vastness of the universe.
A medical wonder is somebody who beat the bad odds to have a positive outcome.
A sense of wonder is what we feel at the inexplicable hugeness of our world.
When we wonder about something, it has a hopefulness to it. For instance, fretting
is not full of wonder, we do not typically worry and wonder, we worry and fret.
But when we encounter something or somebody or a thought we have not
encountered before, it might be with a sense of wonder that we marvel at this thing.
Wonder has a little bit of magic to it. I approach worship services with a sense of
wonder. Even though it is ritual. And many people have carefully planned what to
say and do and sing. The overall collective result of assembling people together
for a moment, so that we may think about something larger than ourselves, is
always a wonder. There is a specialness of us being together, but it is also bigger
than us, too.
This December, may you experience wonder frequently. Interesting is fine, and
some things are truly awesome. But when you encounter new ideas or things, may
you approach them with a sense of wonder, aware of the vastness of this life, and
the wonder-full expectations for good outcomes.
In peace with love,
Rev. Amy
An Opener for Wonder
If you’re having a hard time tapping into your wonder place this month, try singing to yourself this tune, turning to something ordinary nearby and ask a question about it.
The melody is a Transylvanian folk tune, the lyrics are by Carl Seaburg, long time UU minister, scholar, writer, and long-serving staff member at the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Find a stillness, hold a stillness, let the stillness carry me.
Find the silence, hold the silence, let the silence carry me.
In the spirit, by the spirit, with the spirit giving power,
I will find true harmony.
Seek the essence, hold the essence, let the essence carry me.
Let me flower, help me flower, watch me flower, carry me.
In the spirit, by the spirit, with the spirit giving power,
I will find true harmony.
