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Join in a celebration of Rev. Dr. Sandra Fees’s ministry with us over the past 18 years. Rev. Fees will offer us a “farewell message.” We’ll join in a special ceremony and visual presentation to honor our shared ministry.
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UU BERKS CHURCH GATHERING COVID POLICY
Effective June 1, 2022 until further notice
Given the evolving nature of the pandemic, the FUUBC Board will be making ongoing evaluations on a regular basis. We are using available metrics from:
- “U.S. COVID Risk & Vaccine Tracker,” which provides real-time data: https://www.covidactnow.org/us/pennsylvania-pa/county/berks_county/?s=21621088;
- CDC guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html
FULL VACCINATION STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: FUUBC strongly encourages all those who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated, including boosters as appropriate. The church will be requiring proof of vaccination for the Minister, staff, guest speakers, and all RE volunteers.
MASKING RECOMMENDED: FUUBC strongly encourages attendees at worship services and other large gatherings to wear masks.
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THE FOLLOWING GROUND RULES* WILL GUIDE CHURCH GATHERINGS
In gathering together, we promise to:
- Wear masks when recommended by CDC guidelines.
- Do not attend in person gatherings if you are not feeling well or if you have been directly exposed to Covid-19.
- Gain consent before touching or hugging others. Be mindful of varying levels of comfort and safety with social distancing when approaching others.
- Find ways to be inclusive of individuals who cannot be vaccinated, who may be immunocompromised, or who have hearing impairments.
- Prioritize the safety of the whole community over our own individual sense of what is safe for ourselves.
- Give and accept reminders of these ground rules gracefully.
- Assume good intentions, but also accept that policies and these ground rules will guide our actions.
- Respect the authority of the people making policies.
* adapted from Ground Rules by Carol Gay, UU Congregation of Cleveland
Food Bank Update and Call For Volunteers
We have a new coordinator for the FUUBC monthly food pantry! As previously announced, Brian Kammerer needed to step down from this position, and Mark Burton has stepped up to fill the role! Mark has been volunteering for a few months and has already been preparing to lead May’s distribution day. Thank you Brian for your years of service in this capacity – you will be very missed!
With this change in leadership, we also need more volunteers to help on distribution day, which takes place on the first Thursday morning of every month at the parking lot located on 5th and Cherry streets from approximately 9am-1pm. The next one will take place on Thursday, May 5th (next week).
This is a great opportunity to help in our community and engage with people from diverse backgrounds!
Tasks include:
- food setup
- registration and communication with recipients (Spanish fluency would be helpful)
- distribution of food
- clean up
Training will be provided. Contact Mark Burton at selliott42@comcast.net with questions or to volunteer
CELEBRATING REV. DR. SANDRA FEES RETIREMENT
WORSHIP SERVICE
SUNDAE SUNDAY
Sunday, June 19, 10:30 am
This Sunday will be Rev. Sandra’s last service with us. Join in this fun, interactive service followed by an ice cream social.
FAREWELL MEETINGS WITH REV. SANDRA
by appointment, contact Rev Fees at minister@uuberks.org
Members and friends who would like to meet with Rev. Sandra in person, by phone or on zoom may sign up for one of these times (or contact Rev. Fees to find another time):
Save the Date for Pride Fest
Mark your calendars for the LGBT Center of Greater Reading’s PRIDE FEST on July 17th, 2022. Come out and show your support for our LGBTQ Community with a day full of music, vendors, food and FUN! We will be asking for volunteers to staff the FUUBC table as the date gets closer. Please consider helping out.
- 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.
Are you having trouble connecting to Zoom services?
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.
What is a blessing anyway?
I have no idea how many times I’ve responded to someone’s sneeze or someone has told me after I’ve sneezed with either “bless you” or “gesundheit.”
However, the number probably ranges in at least the thousands if not millions. I’ve said a variation on that blessing more than I can count even after learning the history of why many of our ancestors started saying it. Our soul matters children’s packet reminded me that back “around 590 c.e. Pope Gregory the Great believed that a sneeze was an early warning sign of plague, so he commanded Christians to respond to a sneeze with a blessing.”
To wish someone the blessing of good health while they might be on the verge of not having it is one way we think of blessing.
Blessing has other ways and meanings that we can explore this month.
We bless our flowers during our flower ceremony.
We bless the water we bring for water communion.
Last month the kids attending re hangout made breath blessings for Rev Sandra to take with her when she retires and leaves for a while. We thought of all the good things we wished for her. We let our breath in and out as we drew the shape of breath on special paper.
What are other ways you’ve heard blessings? Have you gone to a child dedication? Have you heard or given words of thanks before you eat? Have you ever told someone or have you ever heard someone say to you that “You are a blessing.”
All of these ways of blessing are ways to take a moment to pause, to give time or give something to be grateful for special moments of all sizes and shapes.
“Many see life’s gifts as blessings from God. Our faith uses the idea of blessing to refer to something good, something that feels like a gift. Celebrating blessings means remembering with gratitude all the good things in our lives.” – Soul Matters
In all times but especially in hard times, it’s important to count our blessings. You. Yes I mean you. Each and every one of you is a blessing to this community of faith.
Have you celebrated the blessing of this day today?
With goodness,
With gratitude,
With blessings,
Your director of religious education,
Ebee Bromley
blessing this time
nadine j. smet-weiss
spiritual director
there are griefs
in letting go
of what has been
along with
gratitudes
for the ways
in which it
formed our being
may we allow space
for these waves
to flow through us
as a blessing
of aliveness and
in time
of our becoming
in time