Gathering with UUs near and far helps us remember we are not alone. You have heard both of us preach this message and now also Rev. Ashley Horan in March and Rev. Cathy Rion-Starr this past Sunday for our cluster service.

It is a lot of work to bring 5 congregations together and we are grateful to the planning team, the music professionals, the religious education and member professionals, the ministers, childcare providers, maintenance and administrative staff, and ALLLLL the volunteers who helped with prep, set-up, worship, tech, beverage and snacks social hour, workshop, and clean-up. It takes a lot of people and a lot of hours to prepare for this joint service. Thank you to those of you who lightened the load.

We turn our attention now to preparing for MayFest! Last August, the Board gave us an Annual Focus of Ministry ‘to make courageous decisions with Love at the center, and take collective action to meet this moment together.’ The AFoM is a way to guide our focus on the church’s broad mission for the year. As we serve the mission (the church has ONE mission and each Ministry Team, and thus program, needs to have some purpose in serving that One Mission)-Connecting in spiritual community, we celebrate life with joy, grow in compassion, and create justice- the MayFest Planning Team has been doing both beautifully!! And so have others!

Many thanks to those of you who have already been helping with the Grounds clean-up, with pop-tents and safety vests, with contributions to the 125th Celebration (if you haven’t, now is a GREAT TIME to do so for $125 or $1,250, or $12,500 or some multiple of any of these or any amount you can afford). We’re also grateful to William Kleinhandler for his bequest for music and cultural events as his legacy will be supporting the music stage.

We hope to see you this weekend and again the following weekend for the MayFest if you are in town! Bring your friends and neighbors!

With gratitude,

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn

Have you felt any change this week?

The days are (a little) longer, the air is (sometimes) warmer, and bright yellow forsythia, meadows of blue-violet scilla, and so many bulbs are beginning to bloom. On a walk this morning, we saw our first flowering plum of the year, a harbinger of hope with soft pink blossoms.

And, there is a lot that is blooming at UUSS, too!

This Sunday, UUSS will gather for worship and a workshop with Unitarian Universalists from congregations in Albany, Glens Falls, Kingston, and Saratoga Springs. We are so grateful to our colleagues, Rev. Cathy Rion-Starr from Side With Love, and Rev. Lyn Cox from the Central East Region staff who will be with us for this special Sunday.

And, in just a short while, on May 2, we have the MayFest CommUUnity Celebration!! Please see the announcements below. We need lots of volunteers and help with spreading the word. Can’t be with us that day? We can still use your help! Stop by the table on Sunday or click on the volunteer link and let us know.

With all the planning and preparation, we also know that it is important to pause… to enjoy the flowers and sunshine; to check in on folks who are ill, or grieving, or recovering from surgery; to contact our elected officials and keep learning how to resist fascism and protect those who are most at risk from unconstitutional and immoral attacks. (That’s why we had a spectacular Seed Feast last week and why there will be a workshop this Sunday!)

It’s so important to be part of a community and congregation that values both pluralism and interdependence, that leans into justice and equity, that practices generosity and welcomes transformation! We hope to see you soon!

 

With love at the center,

Rev. Lynn and Rev. Wendy

In this month of April, we are exploring For All We Cherish. It can take courage to name what matters to us. We can feel a little vulnerable when we name it. So when someone reveals to us what they cherish, let us offer the respect and tender listening our covenantal faith invites us into. Our Program Staff will be sharing reflections this month to share a bit about what they cherish. We hope to hear from you, as well, about what you cherish.

Each year the Board considers what they have heard and learned from the congregation in the past year’s Open Question events, and then creates an Annual Focus of Ministry to guide the work of the Ministers, Staff Team, and each of the Ministry Teams. As the name implies, it encourages us to focus our efforts in a particular way.

This year’s Annual Focus of Ministry is to make courageous decisions with love at the center, and take collective action to meet this moment together.

Sometimes courage with love at the center means trying something new. Sometimes it means setting healthy boundaries. Sometimes it means trying on a fresh idea or someone else’s perspective.

On May 2nd, UUSS will continue to celebrate our 125 years with a Mayfest CommUUnity Block Party! The planning team has been working since the fall, and their ideas and vision for the day are courageous, loving, and will definitely take many hands and hearts to be a success!

This is the first time this congregation has had such a big event for the wider community. There will be a stage with fabulous music, food trucks, activities for kids, and booths with local artists and community organizations. We hope that you invite folks to attend and also to be vendors (selling good, services, crafts) and that you will also volunteer. Please stop by the table on a Sunday morning to sign up.

With anticipation,

Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

Happy Transgender Visibility Day! Whether you are transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, genderqueer, or some other permutation of gender fabulousness, Unitarian Universalism affirms YOU!

This is a year in which we are teaching OWL (age-specific health and sexuality religious education). Over the years, so much has changed about gender, identity, expression, pronouns, and labels. Gender identity is different from one’s sexual orientation but they are often conflated. You can learn more here.

In the past year or so, we’ve officiated several weddings for folks who live beyond the gender binary. It is always an honor to celebrate love and we are particularly grateful when folks who are often marginalized by religion, trust us enough with creating a ceremony to celebrate and honor their love, partnership, and life commitments.

Since the inauguration, transgender folks have received cruel harassment and been targeted for despicable legislation and executive orders by this woefully ignorant regime. Those of us who identify as transgender are only about 1% of the population (estimates vary in part because not everyone feels safe enough to come out and because we creative humans keep expanding definitions and expressions and science keeps finding more chromosomal combos) and can be found in all races, ethnicities, times, and places.

Our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has long been at the forefront of inclusion and affirmation even when not all UUs have been and certainly not all other religions. Thankfully, more and more people of faith are moving through their biases, through their miseducation, and working towards more faithful ways of being. Back in the fall, the UUA and several other faiths, joined a statement.

After millions marched, chanted, drummed, and showed up to say NO KINGS!, there is more to do to make sure to stop this regime from destroying our democracy, our religious values, and the civil rights and freedoms that have been so hard fought for and won. And it gets easier for transgender folks to be public about who we are when cisgender people use their power and privilege to amplify inclusion and to denounce ignorance, hatred, exclusion, and cruelty.

We are also living in a time of dangerous rhetoric, complicated warring factions, and centuries old conflicts. Just a couple of weeks ago, Muslims ended their month-long fasting as Ramadan came to an end. Pagans celebrated Ostara welcoming Spring. This week Jews will celebrate Passover. Christians will acknowledge Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Living into our UU value of pluralism invites us to be mindful of nuance, explore the(*)logical teachings, and be willing to hold complexities instead of falling for either/or perspectives. This is not easy when we are faced with so much bigotry, hatred, and fear. And yet it is what our faith calls us to do. There are UU Muslims, UU Pagans, UU Jews, UU Christians, and more combos and also many of us who are simply and unapologetically UU. Our faith invites us into curiosity rather than judgment; how might the teachings of these faiths inspire and shape our religious journey? What parts do we hold and what do we let go? You can learn more here at our UUA’s list of resources.

In this holy time of visibility, who can you affirm today? How might you use your social media (if you use it) or your email or texting to bring more joy and less suffering today? How might you live your UU values today? Little things can make a big difference.

In solidarity with Love at the Center,

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn

Huzzah!!! What a spectacular Sunday! Sharing a worship service together that included beautiful music (thank you Choir and Maria), a stewardship ritual (thank you Stewardship Team and a couple of Board members), a congratulations from our UUA President the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, thoughts from our young ones and a few ‘used to be young’ ones (thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts/memories), a powerful message from our guest Rev. Ashley Horan. You can view excerpts of this worship service (as well as others) on our youu-tuube channel.

Then, folks visited and had warm beverages accompanied by a fun DJ segment of songs from each decade!

And then the fabulous Launch Lunch with incredible decor, a toast and food blessing, a message from our own President Robyn Salvin, delicious food, table talk and trivia, a logo covered cake and other delicious treats!

HUMONGOUS THANKS to all the volunteers who helped worship happen, the transition, and the Launch Lunch Planning Team (Roz and Eric Dahl, Tom Comparin, Bridget Almas, Susan Moore, Rachel Sterne-Marr, Jon Marr, Nancy Bogdanowicz, Kristina Klingbeil, Margie Allen, and the two of us) plus all the additional volunteers who helped with set-up, clean-up, serving, and lending a hand where needed!

We announced at the lunch that Gigi Gabriel-Dillman and her Joyful Girl Art & Design Studio created the wonderful 125th logo above!

If you took photos, we’d love to see them-either by email or if you upload them to an online storage, to send us the link.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the MayFest CommUUnity Celebration Block Party, Sat. May 2, 1-4:30pm (rain date is May 3)!

With gratitude,
Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn

Since last summer, we have been anticipating this coming Sunday when the congregation will turn 125! In the past few weeks, there have been lots of folks preparing for a celebration…. a celebration with you, our UUSS congregation and community!

 

The worship services the past few weeks have been posted if you want to see one you missed, or a stewardship testimonial, or this past Sunday’s homily that ended with a UUSS poem. Our special guest worship leader is preparing to travel. The choir has been rehearsing. The Launch Lunch Planning Team has planned a delicious menu and the dining room set up has been carefully mapped out and decorations procured. The building and grounds got some special attention during a work party. Staff and volunteers and we ourselves have been tending to lots of details. We are so excited to celebrate that UUSS has been making a difference since 1901!

And, though we are getting a tiny dose of spring, temps will drop again and we all know this winter has been an adventure. So, please give yourself a little extra travel time Sunday morning. Drive carefully. Park mindfully to not block neighbors’ driveways and sightlines. Enjoy time connecting with folks before and after the service. Pick up your pre-paid Side with Love hat if you didn’t get it last week. Bring your pledge card with you. Stay for some time to connect with others, to strengthen community, and then enjoy the celebratory lunch after worship.

We hope to see you there!
~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

Some days being human feels extra tender.

On Sunday, along with lighting the chalice we lit a candle for peace with hopes that world leaders might imagine a better way to co–exist together rather than turn to weaponry, force, and violence over their own people and against other nations. We could make different choices as a species…if only we would. Knowing that each of us can make choices every day about how we show up, we share a poem from poet and UU minister, Nancy Shaffer.

Blessing for Bodies 

May we creatures of bone and tissue
know our bodies well:
the fourth rib, and how it rises
higher than third, not so high as fifth;
how it feels to the thumb, slowly traced,
and under it, how the heart rests.

May we know that space where
no ribs lie, and unshielded, we bend.
May we know the bottom of each
toe, and that tender arch where
no skin touches ground;
also skin smoothed soft by clothing.

May we know the quick curve of the head
before it sits on the spine,
and the tiny hollow just behind the ear;
the length of the forearm,
lifting food to lips, and how lips become
a circle, waiting—and knowing this,
cease our study of war.

With care, and in faith
~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

As your co-ministers, we are sometimes invited to accompany people in their journeys of life and love, and it is an honour. We get to hear or witness how love shapes your relationships, your commitments, who you are, and who you are becoming.

We are grateful for the ways that you choose to put Love at the center, by tending to relationships. We have seen you put Love at the center through actions to create justice, which, as Cornel West reminds us, is what love looks like in public.

And, we have experienced your love for this congregation, in the rapt attention in worship during word, song, and quiet, in the buzz and murmur of social hour after, in the creative exchange of ideas at a planning meeting for a 125th event, in your presence and participation, in the tearful sharing and trust in a grief group gathering, and in the ways that care is offered in person, in email, on social media, and through the mail. These large and small ways that we make love manifest matters, especially when so much is at stake.

UUSS member, Juliana Post-Good, shared this link with us after attending worship. We thought you might enjoy it, too! Let’s do all the good we can do!

What’s love got to do with it? Everything.

in faith~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

As we look at so much in the world that seems broken, chaotic, and harsh, it can feel overwhelming. Being aware of the brokenness can help us practice compassion-for those who are suffering and for ourselves as we bear witness.

And, there are ways to also view the world and notice what is beautiful, whole, maybe even holy, caring, and loving. People are still making art-including art to resist cruelty. People are still falling in love. Folks are still protecting and caring for their neighbors like the good folks of MN. People are still building beloved community like here at UUSS. Being aware of the wholeness can help us practice joy-for the many gifts this life has to offer.

It was so good to sing at worship on Sunday, letting so many of our voices weave together in new songs of hope and affirmation. In this broken and beautiful world, may we find our way to wholeness together.

Still we will love,
Rev. Lynn and Rev. Wendy

Feel like hiding under the covers? in a blanket fort? numbed by chocolate or tv? Ok. Do that. Give yourself permission to reset your nervous system.

First, stop scrolling social media and/or news at random times. Choose a time when you will catch up on the news or with posts and then set the device aside.

Second, keep sending out love-to yourself, to family and friends, to UUSS, to the UUA, to the people of Minnesota, to neighbors you know and those you don’t but you imagine might be in harm’s way, to elected officials, to mail carriers, to grocery workers and farmers, and everyone else in our society who helps make life easier, better, kinder.

Third, choose one thing this week that feels really nourishing and give yourself permission to do it. Maybe it is sleeping-in one day. Or building a blanket fort with your kids, grandkids, niece-phews, etc. and reading a really great kid’s book. Choose 1 day to have your favorite food item. Or maybe you select an afternoon or evening to watch your favorite movie or a couple of episodes of your favorite show uninterrupted, complete with heathy snacks. Maybe it is starting each day with 3 people/places/things you are grateful for. Or doing a little stretching before bed.

Fourth-come to UUSS for worship either in-person or online. Connect with others who care about what is happening, who put love at the center, who affirm pluralism, diversity, equity, and justice, who want to increase compassion in the world by being more compassionate.

And if you need more support because you are really struggling, consider making an appointment with one of us for pastoral care.

See you soon!

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn