Join Dan Matz this morning for a musical and story filled meditation.  We’ll explore how his views of life after death have changed following his experience in 2020 with a two month long hospital and rehab stay fighting covid.  Leave the service after practicing living in the present moment through listening to original music by Dan Matz written within the past two years.

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:

• For the Summer we’re revisiting stories from the past year: 

• For this week’s story, as we consider what might our future hold, we hear “Maybe Yes, Maybe No” told by Lea Morris.

SUNDAY

• In Person: in back of chalice house

• Summer RE our Principle and Sources series – this week break from our series to look ahead towards fall. What’s next?

• What are the questions you have in the areas you have that you need conversation partners about? What is it that I would really like to do more of? What are you curious about right now? What are you craving?  Are there topics that you would like to lead on?

• [soulful home packet]

• Onsite Only 

9:45 AM: Children’s RE  

Elementary Ages:  Onsite, email Erin Connolly by Saturday noon if you’ll be attending online

• On site: in office meeting room (room off Gerber room) * teens may help, let us know you’ll be coming

• RE Hangout – move and groove with Ms Erin & Ms Cookie  

10:30- Worship Service- All Ages

We’ll use original music, meditation and a member’s story of fighting covid to practice living in the present.  

• How to make visual art directed by breath 

• Coloring Sheet: Labyrinth Walk Coloring Page

• 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

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

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.

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 note that our Contemplative Companions group will be gathering on Monday August 12 th (due to the first Monday holiday) via zoom @ our regular 7:00pm time. During this September gathering we will be sharing about our spiritual practices and how they touch our lives. For further information, including the zoom link, contact Nadine at njw1258@hotmail.com or (484) 333-4015.

1) The FUUBC Social Justice Coordinating Committee is willing to support the $80 ticket price of a congregant/or congregants who would like to go to “Prom”.If you would like to attend with financial assistance, please email your interest to g.social.justice@uuberks.org. On Saturday, September 10, 2022 from 5-10PM the LGBT Center of Greater Reading is hosting our signature event,  Dance Through the Decades Gala at the DoubleTree in Reading. Our theme for this year is PROM and the event is OPEN TO ALL adults! This is significant because many individuals that we serve were unable to attend prom without hiding their true selves.

We will have silent and live auctions, brief acknowledgements, and provide a short opportunity to pledge your support, should you choose. In addition, we will honor Tim Greusel, Edward Babiarz, Susan Denaro, and Franki Aitken for their unwavering support of our mission.

Proceeds from this event support our ever-evolving urgent and critical support services, such as counseling, crisis intervention, and support groups.  Your support provides urgent, critical care to people like “John.” John’s father cried while hearing his child laugh for the first time since John’s pediatrician told him that being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community was wrong.

Be ready to dance and celebrate PROM the way it deserves to be celebrated:  with a red carpet, rainbow balloon arch, three course meal, DJ, photo booth and much more!

To join us for the event, please click the link to purchase tickets.

If you are interested in being a Sponsor the event, please email Aaron Rineer at  lgbtcenterofreadingdevelopment@gmail.com

2) 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 volunteer coordinator.  Booth set up time is 11am-12pm. If you are willing to coordinate or staff the booth for a shift, please email g.social.justice@uuberks.org with your preferred times.

We will only commit if we have enough volunteers signed up by Aug. 28th.  Thank you for checking your schedules and joining in the effort.

Last year we used 37,640 cubic feet of natural gas to heat our buildings.  According to the epa.gov website that equates to 20.6 metric tons of CO2.  I believe that we can do better. Solar power has been an ongoing interest of the Building Keepers for a few years.

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!

Do you know anything about solar panels? How about HVAC heat pump systems? Have you heard about the UUA’s Green Sanctuary 2030 program? From their website: The climate-change crisis with Global Warming is the existential threat to the human species and the web of life. It is the urgent, overarching survival and justice issue of our time, calling  us to impactful action now. In an era in which the call to dismantle racism could not be more clear, and when the COVID 19 pandemic stunningly highlights that systemic racism is inextricably bound (PDF) to climate degradation and injustice, Unitarian Universalist

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 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.

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.

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

THE FOLLOWING GROUND RULES* WILL GUIDE CHURCH GATHERINGS

In gathering together, we promise to:

1. Wear masks when recommended by CDC guidelines.
2. Do not attend in person gatherings if you are not feeling well or if you have been directly exposed to Covid-19.
3. Gain consent before touching or hugging others. Be mindful of varying levels of comfort and safety with social distancing when approaching others.
4. Find ways to be inclusive of individuals who cannot be vaccinated, who may be immunocompromised, or who have hearing impairments.
5. Prioritize the safety of the whole community over our own individual sense of what is safe for ourselves.
6. Give and accept reminders of these ground rules gracefully.
7. Assume good intentions, but also accept that policies and these ground rules will guide our actions.
8. Respect the authority of the people making policies.

* adapted from Ground Rules by Carol Gay, UU Congregation of Cleveland

• 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.

Last week, I attended the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries Conference and Song leaders Convergence. It was restorative, regenerative, and reinvigorating. There will be many ways I’ll be sharing what I learned and relearned over the course of those six days with you this year. For now, I’m going to share three poems and song texts that were sung into the shared spaces of the conference. Do you know their melodies? Do ones of your own making spring up for you?

What We Need Is Here (x2)

• Music That Makes Community

A Dedication

As for me and my house,

You will find us serving *truth,

*truth for all right now

* truth, peace, love, justice …..

• By Lea Morris

Wanderer (english translation, dedicated to Mark Freundt, retired music director from UU Church of Greensboro)

Wanderer

There is no road

We make the road

as we go

• Antonio Machado

I’m Not Alone

I’m not alone (x8)

I forgot for a minute who I belonged to

The mama earth, the wind + rain, the beauty + pain

I’m not alone

For me the world was created

I’m not alone

To dust I will return

• Aly Halpert from album Loosen & Anat Hochberg

by nadine j. smet- weiss

spiritual director 

we are here now

on the threshold

of a new beginning

who we have been

informing our future

yet not determining

who we become

if we can

meet each moment

with this wisdom

and awake to

our deepest desires

we will become

the change

we imagine