October at UUCSJS

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Email admin@uucsjs.org or call Jess at 609-965-9400 if you need assistance

Gratitude to the team of organizers that set up and cleaned up the Picnic on Sept. 6. It was a fantastic community event.

Building Improvements: The Board of Trustees has authorized two significant building improvements in the last two months.

• Repair to our solar inverters is completed. Vince from Supreme Solar Services to restore full function to our solar electrical system. The reduction in our electrical bills will offset the cost of the repair in two or three years. Thanks to Richard Schurig and the Building & Grounds Committee for their persistence in finding a way forward!
• Repair to eliminate the leaks in the geothermal system in the mechanical room. We have contracted with Broadley's and that work should begin soon.

This fall, we plan to enter into search for a 75% minister for 2027-2028. This process is guided by the work of the ministerial search team. If you are interested in being on the search team or want to nominate someone (with their permission), please let Karen York know. You do not need to be a Board member to be on the search team. Current search team volunteers include: Karen York, Heather Swenson Brilla, David Weesner, Jack Nemez, Theresa McReynolds, Deb Dagavarian Bonar, and Jessica Dunn Safonof.

Make your contributions to the upcoming UUCSJS Annual Auction now:

• Saturday Nov. 21 will be the UUCSJS Annual Auction. Now is the time to submit descriptions of what you will contribute to the fall auction fundraiser. Everyone can contribute something. The information about what Events, Services, Hand crafted items and more you will offer will be compiled into the AUCTION CATALOG. Descriptions are due before Nov. 7. USE THIS FORM to describe your auction contributions. If you have any questions, talk to Deb Bonar.

In faith from your Board of Trustees,

Karen York, President; David Weesner, Vice President;

Jack Nemez, Treasurer; Heather Swenson Brilla, Secretary;

Members at Large: Paul Utts, Theresa McReynolds, Angela Wexler

See you on Sunday!

“Courage doesn’t always roar.”

- Mary Anne Radmacher

Courageous people change the world. So many names fall easily from our lips: Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sojourner Truth, Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson. The list goes on and on.

We rightly honor such giants. But the problem is most of us aren’t that tall.

Or are we?

Here’s what we have to help each other remember: In addition to the heroic acts that alter history, there are also the daily choices that prevent history from altering us! Bending the arc of the universe toward justice deserves praise, but so does the ordinary work of integrity and not allowing yourself to be bent.

We need to make room on the stage for these common acts of courage. The bravery of embracing your beauty even when it doesn’t fit the air-brushed images surrounding us. The courage of calling out microaggressions that occur daily for many of us. And what about resisting the persistent seduction of status and stuff? Simply put, the list is long: Turning down that drink one day at a time. Making yourself get out of bed when depression tells you to stay. Holding your partner’s hand in public. Make no mistake, there are dozens of ordinary acts of bravery we embody every day!

Or maybe we should say there are dozens of ordinary acts of bravery we help each other embody every day. This we need to remember as well. Courage is not only noble; it’s contagious! The bravery that makes it into the history books may save the world, but it’s our ordinary courage that keeps each other going. Watching someone else make it through another day helps us endure. Witnessing someone else confront bigotry allows us to bravely be more open about who we are. They say that courage is found by digging deep, but most often it is passed on. It doesn’t arise from within as much as it arises from the connections between us.

So don’t worry so much if you haven’t changed the world yet. And certainly let’s stop comparing ourselves with those giants. Our work rests less in looking up to them and more in looking over at each other. And in remembering that others are also looking over at us. (Soul Matters)

Videos & Podcasts

• Don’t Run Away From Fear. ‘Agree’ With It
• On the Courage to Love Life in the Face of Losing It

Articles

• On Needing Courage that is Stamina, not Spectacle, Rev. Cameron Trimble
• The Physics of Vulnerability and What it Really Means to be Brave, Brene Brown

Books

• On Courage: How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear
• Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion
• Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
• So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Movies

• Come See Me in the Good Light
• The Lives of Others
• Good Night, Good Luck
• Small Things Like These
• Shut Up and Sing
• Defending Your Life
• Project Hail Mary

Music

Our thematic playlists - on Spotify and YouTube - are organized as a journey, so consider listening from beginning to end and using them as a personal musical meditation.

• Click here for the Spotify playlist on Courage
• Click here for the YouTube playlist on Courage

What Can I Donate?

Our 21 st annual Auction is a very important fundraiser for UUCSJS. It’s a fun evening of fellowship and winning, so mark your calendars now. You’re probably asking yourself at this very moment what you can donate. The possibilities are almost endless. Here are some examples.

Events

The most popular category of donation is Events. You can host a themed dinner either at your home or in the UU Center. Luau anyone? Aloha! French dinner? Mais oui! Sushi and chopsticks? Domo arigato! Fondue party? No double dipping!

Or you can take people on a nature experience. White-water rafting? Whoaaaa, yeah! A birding morning? Tweet-tweet! A Pine Barrens tour? Look out for the Jersey Devil!

Or come up with any other adventure you can think up. A field trip to the Wildwood Boardwalk, Watch the tramcar please! A British high tea? Tut-tut – and please pass the lemon curd! A make-your-own-pizza party? Ciao, baby!

Items

If you’re like the little old lady who drove her ’98 Chevy only on Sundays to go to church and it’s still in pristine condition, then donate some of your gently-used stuff. No large furniture, please. Or if you’re like me and have a kitchen full of never-used appliances and gadgets – what was I thinking when I bought that mandoline! – then let some other lucky person feast on your misfortune.

Remember that lovely kitchen towel set you bought for Aunt Thelma? Well, Aunt Thelma is now in assisted living and can’t use it. What about the unworn slim jeans you bought for yourself last summer? Hmmm, that was before you started inhaling Dunkin every morning.

Perfect to donate!

Handmade Items

Handmade items can include earrings (my motto is that you can never have too many pairs of earrings) or necklaces (ditto the earrings motto). If you make your own pottery, take heed – donate your originals. I’m the proud owner of many beautiful Marie Taylor pieces. If you’re a knitter or crocheter, donate your scarves, bags, sweaters, baby clothes, and other cute stuff. If you’re an artist, whatever you do well, donate your lovely creations!

Baked Goods

This is the yummy category. If you’re a fair hand at baking, why not donate a pie or two? Or cookies . . . or scones . . . or brownies . . . excuse me, I have to get a snack.

Ok, I’m back. What if you can create a delicious vegan pesto? Or have a winemaking operation that any speakeasy during Prohibition would have coveted? Or make the best pumpkin pies on the planet? Donate! Donate! Donate!

Services

Once the mainstay of our auction, services of many types are valued. Housecleaning services? Guitar lessons? Surfing lessons? Back massages? Resume writing? Repair work around the house? Babysitting? Limo service to and from the airport? Raking leaves? Our congregation offers a plethora of generous services, yours for a reasonable bid.

Another Way to Donate—Sponsorships!

If you really don’t have anything to donate – don’t tell me you’re still keeping that old guitar on which you used to play Kumbaya – you can buy a Sponsorship. If you have a business and want to advertise, you can buy an ad for your business. Easy! A sponsorship also can be a message you want to announce to the congregation. A sponsorship gets you a quarter, half or whole page to get your message out. Do you want to thank someone for something? Do you want to share your joyful news with the congregation? Or do you just want to share a lovely poem with others? Sponsorship forms will be on the table in the sanctuary with the donation forms.

Here’s your chance! Donate! Donate! Donate!

Find Your Group!

• UU United Writers Group - TBD
• Buddhist Sangha - Tuesdays on Zoom
• Scout Meetings - Wednesdays
• Women's Group - 1st Wednesday of each month
• Men's Group - 3rd Wednesday of each month
• Margaret Circle Women's Group- 1st Thursday of each month
• Social Justice meeting - 2nd Thursday of each month
• Book Club - 3rd Friday on Zoom
• Everyday Spirituality - 2nd Saturday of each month
• Adult Religious Education - 3rd Sunday
• Soul Matters small groups - 4th Sunday
• Vocal Toning - 4th Sunday
• Grief for Our Democracy - varies once a month

Email religiouseducation@uucsjs.org for more information

The Committee on Ministry (COM) invites you—members, non-members, and visitors alike—to share with one or more of us what’s on your mind about the weekly services and other aspects of UUCSJS’s ministry. What ideas do you have? What would you want to change, or see less of? What do you like and maybe want to see more of? Think of us COM members as walking, talking suggestion boxes! We now sport fancy new name tags featuring the image of our Center, so if you don’t recognize any of us by name, look for these tags.

Whatever you share, we promise to keep it confidential if you’d prefer, combining your input with other comments which we’ll discuss and eventually pass on to the Board for possible action. We can’t promise all suggestions will result in change, at least not immediately, but we can promise to listen to what you have to say and take it seriously. Your comments and suggestions will keep us in touch with the wisdom of the congregation.

The Committee on Ministry

Dennis Bohn

David Fenimore

Miriam Pappas-Nemez

Julie Spradlin

Nick Bonar

Contact a member of the Caring Team

Team members can provide you with support during/after an illness, a death in the family, or other loss or hardship. They can find you resources, run errands, or provide meals in time of need.

Email caringteam@uucsjs.org or reach out to:

Tracey Catino, Helen Utts, Tony Zitelli, Barbara Morell, Denise O'Meara, or Marcy Cyter.

Caring Team is looking for members who are willing to attend monthly Zoom meetings and help out when congregants are sick or suffering from hardships. Please contact Tracey Catino if you can join our confidential group.

Sunday Service: 10:30am

Email: admin@uucsjs.org

Website: uucsjs.org

Location: 75 S. Pomona Rd. Galloway NJ

Phone: 609-965-9400