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The Grand Harmony, a Look at Our 7th Principle
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Guest Speaker: Kate Dahlstedt, UUSA Member
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Meeting ID: 995 3467 6532
Passcode: 203614
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Or call in: 646 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID 995 3467 6532 when prompted.
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Our Dedicated Offering recipient for October is Doctors without Borders.
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Tuesday, October 5th @ 4:00 PM | Sunday Services Committee
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Thursday, October 7th @ 7:30 PM | Religious Education Ministry
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Thursday, October 14th @ 7 PM (via Zoom)
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Congregational Conversation to answer questions re: new UUSA Covid-19 Building Use Policy
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Sunday, October 17 @ 1:30 outside of the UUSA
Blessing of the Animals: bring a live animal, a picture, or your favorite stuffy for a blessing and stay for some music and fall fun!
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Wednesday, October 27th @ 7 PM
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Chair (or 'lead') of Committees and other UUSA groups
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NOTE: The Wednesday morning Men's Breakfast held at Kelly's is postponed until future notice due to the prevalence of the highly contagious Covid-19 Delta variant.
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Join us this Sunday at Wildwood School Playground from 9 AM to 10 AM. Our theme for the morning will be will be finding ways to calm our minds and bodies. (Ages 3-13)
Parents - Please take this quick survey from Rev. Rachael so she can figure out how to better serve you: https://forms.gle/iFFyKHKo5SPFfjcq7
Please follow our rules when attending RE:
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- Do NOT come if you have any symptoms of illness or if you have been in close contact with someone who has. Be safe, not sorry.
- Masks must be worn at all times by ages 2 and up. (Exceptions will be made for non-verbal children).
- Adults and children will sanitize hands upon arrival.
- Social distance will be maintained during activities. (Adults should bring chairs for the small group session).
- At this time, for the safety of all, we can only provide programming to children 3 and up who can separate from their family.
- Rebecca will send out an email by 8 AM if RE is cancelled due to rain.
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In the very near future we will have an RE zoom option for those families who can not make it to our in-person sessions.
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RE Registration is Open! Please understand that we are all going to have to be flexible in order to take care of ourselves. Here is the Registration Form: https://forms.gle/scrLZ6wRWdt6d6C7A
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Contact Rebecca Fricke, Director of Religious Education for more information
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Youth Group (high school aged)
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Youth Group will be meeting on Sunday, Oct 3rd from 2 - 4 PM at Mt. Pollux in Amherst. We are trying out 2 - 4 PM as our new meeting time, if you have any feedback to share regarding this, please let Johnny know at youthfulusnf@gmail.com. Be on the lookout for an email with more details and with a link to the calendar for the year.
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The Young Adult program (ages 18-30)
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Johnny will be sending out an email soon with a poll to find a time for us to meet outside in-person for October.
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The theme for October is Many Roads, the idea that there is more than one way to arrive at the same destination, more than one way to do things. Knowing that this theme was coming up was and is very helpful for me to remember as I worked with the Reopening Task Force on drafting our Building Use and Gathering Policy, as we learn the tech to have services that meet on Zoom and in person at the same time, as we make all the decisions for our next new normal.
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In times of stress, it’s easy to reach for absolutes. I’m trying to watch in myself and in the workings of the congregation for a default to One Right Way thinking. There are times when a commonly-understood right way is helpful--this is why we have ServSafe practices in our kitchen--but there are times when insisting that the way we do things is the only way or the best way closes doors to relationships.
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What’s right for me might not be right for someone else, and what’s right for an individual might not be right for a group of people. What’s right for the UUSA will probably be a little different from what’s right for other faith communities in Amherst or the Northampton UU congregation. What’s right for 2019 was not right for 2020, and what’s right for 2021 and 2022 will probably include some things from 2019, some things from 2020, and some things we haven’t known to look for until now.
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There are many roads to the future, beloveds, and it is a pleasure to journey with you.
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Please see the rest of the announcements for invitations to in-person and online events coming up this month, including a Blessing of the Animals on our Pleasant Street sidewalk.
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The UUSA board met on September 23, with our newest member John Gerber attending his first meeting. We are currently working on an agreement with Craig's Doors to rent the use of the kitchen to them for four hours a day Monday through Friday. We have also approved a Covid-19 Building Use Policy. Thank you to the Reopening Task Force for taking time during the summer to develop this policy and for their leadership in creating and implementing hybrid worship services. This group accomplished so much during a very short period of time. Special thanks to Anne Louise White for her leadership in steering this committee in a healthy and productive way.
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The board held a half-day retreat on Saturday, September 25, led by Erica Baron, Congregational Consultant for the New England Region of the UUA. This was a wonderful way to start our year together!
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Anne Moore & Susan Rice, UUSA Board Co-Presidents
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PS: A reminder that all Board Meeting minutes are available here (if you need a reminder how to log-on, reach out to Lea). For, the draft of our September meeting's minutes, please click here.
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Firstly, a tremendous thank you to the Reopening Task Force which, over the course of the late-spring and summer, accomplished so much:
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They introduced themselves to the congregation and shared their mission emphasizing that:
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It is likely that re-opening will not be a one-time event, but rather an iterative process over a period of time with steps taken, evaluated, and decisions made for the next iteration or step.
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They developed a thorough and thoughtful survey of our community and facilitated cottage meetings where all of us were given opportunities to express our concerns and summarized those as well; the results of these efforts were summarized and publicized.
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And, they have worked to lay the groundwork for multi-platform worship from within the Sanctuary.
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As you will read, it is based on the following principles outlined by the UUA:
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As a faith community, we root our decisions in the values of inclusion and consent.
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● We will go slow and be flexible.
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● We remain humane and realistic with expectations of ourselves and others.
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This policy aims to balance the need to be together with the need to take care of one another.
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We hope you will take the time to read this policy and to join a Congregational Conversation on Thursday, October 14th @ 7 PM (via Zoom) in which Board Members and members of the Reopening Task Force will be available to answer any questions you may have at this time.
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Looking to get more involved at the UUSA?
Many UUSA committees/groups are seeking new membership; if you are interested in learning more or becoming involved with committee and/or ministry-level efforts at the UUSA, please email Lea
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Please follow the link to see a summary of our finances for the last fiscal year ending on June 30th. Feel free to reach out to the Finance committee with any questions: UUSA Financial Dashboard.
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We know some UUSA members are set to start Beloved Conversations this September. They and alums are wondering who signed up so we can all continue to stay in touch. If you are registered for Fall 2021, please contact Ellen Pile.
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Thank you!
The UUSA Board of Trustees would like to acknowledge and deeply thank Lisa Harvey and Kelly Aiken for many years of service on the Personnel Committee. Their tenure covered the last 4 ministers; they leave the committee much improved. Establishing effective “behind the scenes” procedures, and creating a user-friendly Personnel Policy Manual are gifts they leave us. Kelly and Lisa’s work was not “glitzy” or even noticed by most of us, but it was foundational to our community. Please join me in recognizing Kelly Aiken’s and Lisa Harvey’s service to our congregation!
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Submitted by Susan Rice, Co-President, Board of Trustees
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Assistance for Afghan refugees
At this point, we're thinking of forming a circle of care. If you're interested in being part of this effort, please contact Gabriela Horvay: elgabrielah@gmail.com; at this point we're just taking names.
In the meantime, donations of kitchen items, toiletries, linens and baby clothes and diapers are welcome; drop-offs can be made by the Kellogg St door of the UUSA.
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If you need the code to that door, please contact Lea.
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10/10 Indigenous Peoples' Day: Sacred Footprints | Rev Rachael Hayes
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10/17 Worthy Now Prison Ministry with the Church of the Larger Fellowship's | Rev. Michael Tino
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10/24 Many Roads | Rev Rachael Hayes
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10/31 Gathering at the Village Well | John Pastor
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