• Board Game Sunday – January 12

• Committee Sunday – January 26

• Installation of Rev. John – Saturday, March 29

On average, New Year’s resolutions have a lifespan of 18-30 days. Instead of starting something new, why not kick off our new year with contemplation on what we need to let go of in the months to come?

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 Month’s Theme is “Story” – 

• This month’s bedtime story is “The Day You Begin” by Jacqueline Woodson. 

There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Everyone has their own story

• Purchase it for your home library

• Find it at the Library 

9:30 AM Adult RE

• Meets in Person in the back of Chalice House

• This week we will be discussing Teens and Technology

• email Ginny Chudgar for more info (see directory for address)

9:30 AM Elementary kids please gather in the Gerber room to head up to Kidspace 

9:30 Lower Elementary

• Meeting in the kidspace cozy spot

• This week’s lesson is Bluey’s Seesaw episode exploring Teamwork

9:30 Upper Elementary

• This week’s lesson is – Ms Marvel: Be Sure to Stretch – Superhero Yoga

• Please bring a mat some will be available for kids to use. A great opportunity to wake up your mind and body before church.

No Youth Group this week

Next week we will have our Welcome to the New Year Pancake Breakfast! Please check out our sign up and come eat pancakes with us!

Pancake Breakfast Sign Ups – https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4EADA62DA1FD0-pancake

Our OWL program begins again starting in January 2025 – OWL will be geared to kids in grades 4-6. Covering a range of topics, including sexual health, gender identity, and relationships. The program is based on the principles of inclusivity, justice, responsibility, sexual health, and self-worth. 

If you are interested in learning more please sign up!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4EADA62DA1FD0-53158707-owlinterest

Please check our Facebook Page for events and activities to continue your Religious Exploration at home 

Weekly posts on our covenanted RE Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UUBerks.RE.page/?ref=share

Please check out our Remind classroom.
If you need to signup link here: remind.com/join/refuucbc

Register for 2024-2025 learning year: each year we need a new registration – fill yours out today www.uuberks.org/registration

Join us on Monday 1/6/2025 @ 7:00pm, via zoom for Contemplative Companions when we will explore and share about ‘where we come from.’ Advanced reflection on the question of ‘where do I come from?’ is optional – sometimes the surprise of spontaneous arising is the most meaningful. For further information or to receive the zoom link,  contact Nadine.

Do you enjoy board and card games? Join us after coffee hour on Sunday, January 12th. We hope to start at 12:30 and finish up by 5PM.  The plan is to have multiple tables set up with a different game at each table. Please bring a few of your favorite games and a snack to share, I plan to bring popcorn and the game Catan. Feel free to invite friends who enjoy board games as well.

I hope to see you there

Meditation and mindfulness practices offer an excellent opportunity to explore presence, deepen self-awareness, and connect as a community. With this month’s theme of “The Practice of Presence,” Martin Smith invites anyone interested in meditation—whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or completely new—to join in creating a supportive group. Martin is a trained Buddhist meditation instructor with nearly 15 years of experience. In the new year, he envisions forming a group that meets regularly and fosters practices that can transform how we engage with ourselves, our family, our community, and the world. If this resonates with you, please reach out! We can co-create a meditation group within the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and the larger Reading community. Share your interest, and we’ll work together to identify meeting times and collective goals.

Please use this Google Form to let us know your interest.

19 GRIP Greater Reading Immigration Project scholarship fund
19 Opportunity House
18 Spotlight PA
15 Lenape Nation
14 Habitat for Humanity
12 Cafe Esperanza

Our roster of recipients for 2025-2027 and the respective Champion will be:

1. GRIP (Katy Bodenhorn)
2. Opportunity House
3. Family Promise of Berks County (Cyndi Dimovitz)
4. Reading Public Library (Felix Pena)
5. South Of Penn
6. LGBT Center
7. Berks Stands Up
8. Helping Harvest
9. Safe Berks
10. Planned Parenthood

If you would like to Champion one these causes, please email g.social.justice@uuberks.org. The schedule of Special Plate collections will be announced in January. We look forward to building communities of love with these hard-working organizations.

It takes a village to run FUUBC, and our committees are the heart of that village. Join us during Coffee hour on January 26th, to explore the different committees and find your place! We’ll have a table with information and sign-up sheets.

The Building Keepers are excited to announce a new, streamlined way to submit maintenance requests! Now, you can easily report any issues using a convenient Google Form accessible from your smartphone or laptop. This digital system will help us track and resolve projects more efficiently.

Here’s how to submit a request:

1. Look for QR Codes: Scan the QR codes posted around the building using your smartphone’s camera app.
2. Direct Link: Alternatively, you can access the form directly by visiting this link on your laptop or phone’s browser:  https://uuberks.org/bk-ticket

We appreciate your cooperation in using this new system. It will allow us to better serve you and maintain our facilities effectively.

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

The practice of story.  That’s our theme for the month of January.  Good stories have a beginning, middle and an end.  Great stories don’t get old when you repeat them.  As I return to you from parental leave and we begin this month of practicing stories – I’m thinking of the lullabies that have been echoing in my house as of late and how they fit the form of a story.  They’ve got a beginning, middle, and an end.  Lullabies are often shared on repeat.  One in particular goes like this:

Tender Shepherd

Tender Shepherd

Let me help you

count your sheep

One in the meadow,

Two in the garden,

Three in the nursery

fast asleep.

Somedays the words get old so we hum it, or make up new words to the melody.  The point of the story though is to tell our child that we’re here, that her dad and I love her, and that she can rest.  It’s a story we repeat until our little one is slumbering once again.

What stories do you repeat in your life?  What stories do you reach for?  Do they work for you?  Do you need new ones?  What do your stories sound like? Are they quiet and steady or are they roaring and halting?   Before we end the month of January – I’d love to hear what stories bring you comfort.

Looking forward to making and sharing music with you once again,

Your director of music,

Ebee

by nadine j. smet-weiss

spiritual director

how we tell

our life story

to ourselves

or to others

depends upon

the lens

we choose to

view it through

reflect

for a moment

upon any few

of the lenses

you have chosen

over time

then

look at your life

through the

lens of love

for full clarity