The Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance (EBWA) at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady is an informal organization open to those who identify as women. Since its beginning in the winter of 1981, the EBWA Steering Committee has set up monthly meetings, usually on the last Thursday of the month. More than 300 women have participated in one, some or many of these get togethers.

Programs are held in the dining room at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady on Wendell Ave., unless otherwise indicated. Enter through the rear door of the church; disabled access is available. During the winter months, January and February, the program is available via Zoom. Please reserve prior to the program to receive the correct Zoom link by email.

As we have done the last few years, we plan to fund our speakers’ honoraria through subscriptions by supporters.  If you wish to support our efforts, you may send a check made out to EBWA for $30 to Carol Furman (contact Carol for her mailing address at cfurm13@gmail.com). (We need at least 25 subscriptions to cover our costs for the year.) The charge to subscribers for in-person meetings will be waived, and non-subscribers will be asked to pay $5 to cover the speaker’s honorarium and refreshments for each in-person program.

EBWA Programs are set up by the steering committee and deal with subjects identified in periodic surveys of the group.

EBWA Calendar 2024-2025

Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance
Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady
1221 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady, NY

All Who Identify as Women are Welcome!

Sept. 26  “Two Revolutions in Iran” with Elahe Gol Pari, Multimedia Cross-cultural Documentarian.

Oct. 24   “No More Monsters” with Rayn Boncie, Owner of Things of My Very Own, Inc., a non-profit which provides crisis intervention services to children impacted by abuse and/or neglect. 

Nov. 21  “All You Never Knew You Wanted to Know About Tarot Readings” with Lois Porter, member of UUSS whose interest in Tarot developed during Covid and led her to take numerous courses, offer two worship services on the topic and conduct many readings.  

Dec. 5  Joint Holiday Lunch with Women’s Alliance, 11:45 am-2:00 pm.  Sycamore (formerly SiCM) Holiday Stocking Stuffer event and luncheon, with a speaker from Sycamore. 

Jan. 23  “Welcome to the Arkell Museum” with Mary Alexander, Curator of Education and Public Engagement, Arkell Museum and Canajoharie Library (on Zoom).

Feb. 27  “On the Edge: The Perilous Lives of Birds” with Denise Hackert-Stoner, Owner and founder, Naturelogues (on Zoom).

Mar. 27  Lunch Meeting with Women’s Alliance, 11:45-2:00, with Christie Keegan, story teller.

Apr. 24  “CHIME: Creating Harmony, Inspiring Musical Excellence” with  Zoe Auerbach, Director of CHIME and Young Leaders, Empire State Youth Orchestra.

May 15  “100 Things to Do in Albany Before You Die” with Sandra Foyt, local author and photographer.

June 12  “Field Trip to Pine Bush Discovery Center” with Jackie Citriniti, Lead Educator, Albany Pine Bush Preserve. 

This year we plan to meet in-person at the church most months (offering coffee and dessert), but we will use Zoom for our meetings in January and February.  While our evening programs will begin promptly at 7 pm (and end no later than 9), when in-person, we will gather at 6:30 pm for coffee and dessert.  If you plan to attend the in-person meetings, please let Gabrielle Reals know by emailing her at ellegr3 @ gmail .com by Tuesday evening before each meeting.  

New this year are two luncheon meetings at the church.  We will join The Daytime Alliance on December 5 for a Holiday Luncheon, and EBWA will host a lunch meeting on March 27 and invite Daytime Alliance members to join us.  These meetings will take place from 11:45 am to 2:00 pm. – Details about ALL programs will appear in the UUSS weekly newsletter, Circuits, at the beginning of each month: https://uuschenectady.org/blog/newsletter/ and on the UUSS Facebook page a week before each meeting: https://www.facebook.com/UUSSchenectady/. 

As we have done the last few years, we plan to fund our speakers’ honoraria through subscriptions by supporters.  Subscribers will not be charged for our evening programs; there will be a cost for the two luncheon programs. If you wish to support our efforts, you may send a check made out to EBWA for $30 to Carol Furman (contact Carol for her mailing address at cfurm13 @ gmail .com).  We need at least 25 subscriptions to cover our costs for the year. Non-subscribers will be asked to pay $5 for each in-person evening program to cover the speaker’s honorarium and refreshments. 

A further word or two —

About the program: the schedule is usually:

6:30 dessert and coffee or tea,
7:00 program,
8:00 networking,
9:00 adjourn

Volunteers provide the dessert and coffee or tea and also clean up following the program. Consider assisting others to make the evening go smoothly.

About Reservations: the fee covers costs — sometimes a bit over, sometimes a bit under. If you plan to attend the meeting, please email Gabrielle at ellegr3 @ gmail .com by the Tuesday night prior to the meeting. (If you forget, drop in anyway.)

About Transportation: if you need a ride to an EBWA meeting, please ask if anyone from your area is attending when making your reservation.

About Contacting Us: For more information or questions, contact Carol Furman at cfurm13 @ gmail .com or 518-232-9062.