We’re looking forward to kicking off our month celebrating The Gift of Gratitude with a time to share breakfast together as a faith community.  Our Pancake breakfast will be morning of Nov 5th from 9 am to 10 am.   Please visit the signup genius link to RSVP and share what you’ll contribute (your presence is more than enough).

The Park-Martinez family again invites us to share in this traditional Mexican observance of the Day of the Dead. At this time of year, the veil between our world and the next is at its thinnest, and so we visit with our ancestors and dearly departed.

Full vaccination recommended: FUUBC encourages all those who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated, including boosters, as appropriate.

Take action to protect yourself from Covid-19 based on local risk conditions.

Feel free to wear a mask anytime.

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:

• This month’s story is The Circles All Around Us, words by Brad Montague and illustrations also by Kristi Montague  from SoulMatters resource subscription.

• Soul Matters Shares “Our theme this month is The Gift of Generosity and so we are exploring that theme by reading a story about how we can create bigger and bigger circles of community and connections as we grow. ”

Jenni Papp’s telling of the story at her UU congregation 

Find the book at your local library. 

SATURDAY

6:00 PM: Share a Scare With Us

Spooky Movie Night – visit uuberks.org/movie-night for details

SUNDAY

9:00 AM: Adults and Kids – Pancake Breakfast

This morning for Religious Exploration Kids and Adults are invited to our Pancake Breakfast!

Sign UP to let us know you’re attending at uuberks.org/pancake

10:30- Worship Service- All Ages

We meet together to sing, to reflect, and to explore our world. 

How to make visual art directed by breath 

• Coloring Sheet: How Could Anyone – coloring pages set

• 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 A Challenge to get from one heart to the other Maze
  

10:30 – 12 Youth Group:  

Grades 7th – 12: meets to add to their Spiritual Toolkit!  This morning we learn and practice the art of crochet!

Monday – Thursday 

Weekly posts on our covenanted RE Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UUBerks.RE.page/?ref=share
check out our Remind classroom.
If you need to signup link here: remind.com/join/refuucbc

November 4 we will be holding a Spooky Sanctuary Movie Night! Please join us in the Sanctuary from 6pm- 9pm. To celebrate both Halloween and Day of the Dead we will be viewing “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and “Coco”. The church will be providing pizza, we ask that everyone please bring some drinks or snacks to share. Sign up below and more information to come as the evening draws closer.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090B4DAEAE23A5FB6-44789653-spooky

As a community, we have been thinking and talking about what we hope and expect our next called minister will do. Now it is time for us to begin asking who our next called minister might be – and who are we ready for them to be?

To help us recognize our own biases in answering

this question, we need everyone’s input on this anonymous survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm47Hu9QG1uLK9npoTSBU83RH9RrTvj8wMcMK82ELkODXxtw/viewform

We also strongly encourage you to register and join us for a two part Breaking Barriers, Building Beliefs Workshop

• Friday December 1^st 7-8:30pm (via zoom or in person)
• Saturday December 2^nd, 9:30-11am (via zoom)

If you can attend some, but not all, please attend what you can! Please sign up at the link below

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F45A5A92DA5FA7-45822914-breaking

Family Promise of Berks County helps families in a housing crisis by providing a ‘shelter house’ and intense case worker support for up to 90 days. Families are able to maintain some normalcy, learn homeownership skills, and save money until they found more permanent housing. They now operate three shelter homes.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4BAEAA2CA13-2023

Our congregation is one of eighteen around Berks County that provides meals or groceries to the families during our two host weeks from Nov. 5 -18.

We need volunteers to drop off a meal or groceries on Mondays directly at the selected house at 6:00pm.

You can also mail gift cards for food and/or supplies directly to the Family Promise Office (325 N. Fifth Street, Reading, PA 19601) on Mon-Thurs before 4:30PM. Call (610) 373-3323 to make sure someone is available.

If you have any questions, please call Carla at 610-301-4522.

Join us on Monday 11/6 @ 7:00pm via zoom for our Contemplative Companions. With all that is happening in the world – and especially all that has been stirred in recent weeks – we are fortunate to have this month’s gathering inspired by a retreat that Jane recently attended. Together we will wonder and share how it is we find love and hope in and through the darkness. For further information or to receive the zoom link, contact Nadine S.

With all that is happening in the world – and especially all that has been stirred in recent weeks – we are fortunate to have this month’s gathering inspired by a retreat that Jane recently attended. Together we will wonder and share how it is we find love and hope in and through the darkness.

We will be holding a considering membership class on 11/12 following service. Come learn more about what our church community has to offer and how you can become a part of it. Contact g.membership@uuberks.org  to register or sign up on the gerber room bulletin board

November 22, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Gather with us the night before Thanksgiving as we host our community ministry partners The Islamic Center of Reading, Immanuel United Church of Christ, Oheb Sholom & Wyomissing Church of the Brethren in a service of gratitude.

We are also in need of coffee crew help for this evening. If you are available to help with setup and clean up or able to bring a snack please sign up below. We would love to impress our community neighbors with a bountiful spread.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F45A5A92DA5FA7-45829316-interfaith

In today’s world, cultivating loving connection and friendship is a courageous response to acts of hate and inhumanity. Join us today as we celebrate and strengthen our ability to be a good friend .Feel heartened in the bonds of friendship we create, both within and beyond our own community.

Best of all, join us after service for our Friendsgiving Potluck Feast! November 26th following service,

Sign Up here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F45A5A92DA5FA7-45448692-friendsgiving

This year, our Blessing Bags donation will benefit the LGBT Center of Reading. Rather than a full event to assemble bags, we will have a deadline of November 19th for collecting these items to help restock their pantry, and will ask that we have a few people volunteer to deliver the donation to the to the LGBT Center.

These are the items we’re looking to collect-  body wash, shampoo, hand sanitizer, can openers (I know this isn’t a personal hygiene item, but is in high demand!), nail clippers, tooth brushes, tooth paste, floss, mouth wash, condoms, personal lubricant, menstrual pads, tampons, incontinence pads, diapers, baby wipes, etc. As we are entering winter, we can also use hats, gloves, scarves and socks.

Donations can be placed in the boxes/bins in the Gerber Room, or contact Corinne H. to coordinate.

Nov 19th – Bring your instrument, a song you’d like to share and your openness to join in to songs others share.  We’ll play a few all together to start off our hour and then trade songs as we go. Signup at uuberks.org/Jam Or email Félix Peña.

Hello UU Berks Our community will once again be participating in the Berks Connection Pretrial Services (BCPS) holiday gift tree event. We have been given 25 names of children whose parent or guardian is currently incarcerated at the Berks County Prison. For some of these children this may be the only gift they receive. BCPS hosts a big family event and hands out the gifts. My wife, Rachel, and I have been coordinating this event for 19 years and are always amazed at the generosity of our church members. If you want to participate, contact me and I will provide you with the child’s name, age, gift ideas, and clothing size. I suggest a budget of about $40, but smaller monetary gift  donations can be made and I will combine them to purchase gifts. Additionally, if you want to participate, but can not get out to shop, I will be happy to shop for you.

***Please remember to include your child’s name and family number on the gift bags. I would really appreciate the gifts be returned by Nov. 19th.

Please Drop Off With Melissa at Church or Contact Kent G. to arrange drop off

– “To Sing Is To Pray Twice.” – however you pray, however you find your center and connect with something larger than yourself.  Let UUBerks, be a place where we connect through song.

The next few months have some really wonderful singing scheduled ahead!  Let us know you’re interested in sharing your voice

Email director.music@uuberks.org with any questions you have Visit

https://uuberks.org/Sing

FUUBC is part of the Giant charitable grocery scrip program that gives 10% of all gift cards sold back to our church. You can purchase cards as needed or sign up for a monthly gift card order that will be sent directly to your home the first week of each month.

When you receive your order you will also receive a return envelope to mail your check to the church. Checks can also be dropped in the Gerber room drop box or in the plate collection. Checks should be made out to FUUBC with giant card in the memo line.

If you would like to purchase Giant cards please return the form below to Melissa at office@uuberks.org. One time cards can also be purchased from Melissa at coffee hour twice a month.

Giant cards are available in $50 and $100 increments.

Giant Card Form

Happy Autumn, friends!

The very first Sunday of November is when we experience a time change. (Fall
back) At least with this kind of change that we all experience together, we know it
is coming. So many changes that occur in our lives (like the Pandemic) happen
suddenly, without our permission, or even a friendly heads up.

Being a pastor and not a therapist, I give advice rather than clinical suggestion. No
matter what the issue is, I almost always incorporate into my advice that an attitude
of gratitude moves us to healthier places. I stand by this advice. It is like when
Mr. Rogers says that in an emergency or tragedy, look for the helpers and be
grateful for them. It is simple but it works.

Now, generosity has entered my rotation of helpful advice, along with gratitude,
since the pandemic. Holding and cultivating a spirit, habit, or theology of
generosity will lead us to healthier places than the ones we are stuck in. It, too, is
very simple. As a whole group (family, church, country, world) we had to live
through being isolated in ways we could not imagine, very suddenly, without our
permission, or even a friendly heads up warning.

It helped us to look upon other people with gratitude as it was displayed on news
shows, toward health care workers and teachers and such, and being generally
grateful for science and masks and vaccines and Zoom. But only being grateful is
not enough to get us to the next phase of health—we need to think about that for
which we are grateful, and then extend generosity to others as a balancing act.

Being generous starts with the impetus to give something that somebody else could
really use. Can you be generous with your time to help a kid with homework, or a
neighbor with a ride? Maybe your charitable financial giving has shifted. When
we are grateful for people and things around us, extending generosity, not
necessarily directly or in kind, is the healthy way forward. What might you offer
in this new season?

In peace,

Rev Amy

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

Simone Weil

When making music, Attention to what’s going on around us, is possibly the most unspoken but necessary ability.  Attention can allow us to be generous with our fellow music makers and with ourselves.

Attention allows us to notice.  Notice who is playing, who isn’t.  And by noticing we can invite our own selves, in a generous way, to join in on the song.

In this month, where we at UUBerks focus on what is the gift of generosity, what of your musical life can you share with others and yourself more deeply?

Is there a song that when you hear it reminds you of someone?

This week – Share it with them!

Might there be a piece of music that you’ve been starting to play again?

This month – Can we hear it?!

Do you join in on hymns at church?  Can you hear your voice mix with the voice across the room or across the zoom connection?

Next time – Listen for it!

May we all be generous music lovers and music makers this month

One way you can do just this – Join us for our second Jam session of the year on Nov 19th after worship.

Your’s in Song,

Ebee Bromley

every given day

bring your best self

and release that

into the world

the world needs

the gift of you

being true

to you