Sunday, March 7, 2021

The Other Cheek Speaker: Emily Quarles-Mowrer — In Matthew 5:39 the Berean translation of the Bible tells us, “But I tell you not to resist the evil person. Instead, whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” As UUs, we believe in Justice, Equity and Compassion in Human Relations. We are called to resist the evil person. Does turning the other cheek mean going along to get along? Are we, too, entitled to the dignity with which we try to treat others?

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Sunday, March 14, 2021

Heaven: A Closer LookRev. Dave Hunter — Many of our friends and neighbors and relatives–-and probably some (most?) of us as well-–expect to go immediately to heaven when they die. Do you know what they’ll find there?  Neither do I. But let’s look at the possibilities.

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Sunday, March 21, 2021

Climate Change: What We Can DoSpeaker: Mary Ryan — This is the second part of Mary’s talk on Climate Change. It will cover what can/needs to be done and the cost or not doing anything.

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Sunday, March 28, 2021

A Century and a Half of Progress?Rev. Kerry Mueller — Many women have accomplished great things despite enormous personal and social hindrances. One was Unitarian Dorothea Dix who worked to improve the lives of people with mental illness.

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Sunday Service, February 7, 2021

Unexhausted Kindliness
Speaker: Rev. Kerry Mueller
As we approach Valentine’s Day, when everyone will celebrate romantic love, let’s have a look at another kind of deep and noble human relationship – friendship.

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Sunday Service, February 14, 2021

Side with Love
Presented by the UUFP Sunday Service Committee
through the UUA Worshipweb

Rev. Kerry Mueller recommended this very special and unique Sunday Service program to our Sunday Service Committee. Participating in this event will be one of the few times that many UU congregations and fellowships will be attending the same service on the same day.
Side with Love has at least two meanings. 1) Recently, it is the new name of the UUA’s public advocacy campaign formerly known as Standing on the Side with Love. The name change was the result of resolutions from several groups (including EQUUAL) representing people with disabilities, to remove the word “standing.” 2) It is the sponsor of the UUA “30 Days of Love” effort, which supports community projects from MLK Day to Valentine’s Day. For lots more information, please visit the UUA website or simply type “UUA Side with Love” into your browser.

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Sunday Service, February 21, 2021

Was Confucius a Unitarian Universalist? Speaker: Rev. Dave Hunter

You could probably make a stronger argument that Jesus was
a UU, but still there’s much we can learn from this ancient
Chinese sage, who died 2500 years ago.

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Sunday Service, February 28, 2021

Revelations: Guest Speaker: Rev. Cindy Terlazzo, Consulting Minister, Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley
Lay Leader: Allan Pallay

UU Theologian, Rebecca Parker says “Revelation comes to those who are radically hospitable to what they don’t know.” The question is – what bit of the unknown are you willing to welcome, fully welcome into your life? Every day – every moment, holds the potential for a new revelation.

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From the Minister’s Desk — March 2021

If it’s March you know that spring will be here by the end of the month, though this may be a winter that grandchildren will hear about in fifty years. The impeachment trial is over, and anyone with a half open mind (that includes Senators) will have to agree that the former guy was guilty. Texas has had a wake-up call. Perhaps government regulation isn’t so bad after all. Perhaps a little of what some people call socialism should be considered. The federal government should and did come to the rescue, but who should pay the bill?

This could be the year that capital punishment in the U.S. becomes a thing of the past. In the past 60 years, the federal government has executed 17 people, 13 of those in the last half year of the recently departed administration. The death penalty is in decline in the states: 23 states and D.C. no longer have capital punishment; 12 other states haven’t executed anyone in the last 10 years. It serves no useful purpose, and it’s racially discriminatory. Let’s put it to an end. (My first experience in civil rights law, in 1965, was doing research for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on the use of capital punishment in rape cases in three southern states.)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted more than 55 years ago. You would think that in that much time Blacks in the U.S. could have been permitted to become fully enfranchised, and discrimination in voting could by now be found only in history books. But look at what they’re trying to do in Georgia: Restrict early voting on weekends to one Saturday before the election (thus eliminating Sunday early voting altogether – a popular time for Black voters), add a voter-ID requirement for mail-in ballots, give voters less time to request mail-in ballots and election officials less time to send them out, throw out ballots that are cast in the wrong precinct, restrict the use of mail-in ballot drop boxes. And let’s not forget legislative and judicial districts right here in Pennsylvania. (My 33-year career as a civil rights lawyer was focused primarily on voting rights.) Reinstating full voting rights to all citizens should be a priority in the new administration. Democracy depends on it.

Love, Dave

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President’s Message — March 2021

“What a difference a year makes…”

Anniversaries are interesting things. In the course of living day to day, we tend to not see big differences. For the most part, one day tends to look a lot like the day before with some minor changes. Even if a major change occurs one day, humans tend to achieve a new equilibrium quickly and maintain that until the next big change comes. And that new equilibrium become routine and, over time, doesn’t seem like that much of a big deal. It is only when we look at a larger time frame that we see the big changes that occurred and their impact.

One year ago, the Board of Directors of the UUFP decided to stop in-person meetings to help to do our part to “flatten the curve” of the Covid-19 pandemic. While we did not know how long this would last, no one would have imagined that over a year later, we would still not be meeting in-person. At the onset, the Board of Directors set two goals to ensure the UUFP would get through the quarantine intact: Maintain financial stability and to protect the bonds of community that define us as a fellowship. So how did we do?

Maintain financial stability – While not meeting in person has definitely had a negative impact on our overall income, we made some changes that enabled us to meet our goal:

  • Held a “Virtual” Congregational Annual Meeting to approve a new budget for the year.
  • Through the generosity of members and friends, we were able to raise some additional funds to pay for the roof repair and update out technological capabilities.
  • People are starting to take advantage of our “virtual passing of the basket” during Sunday services to make smaller, weekly donations.
  • Members and friends who can afford to continue with meeting their pledges, do so.
  • The good news is that we still have money in our savings account and are able to pay our monthly bills. (I need to state here that I participate in monthly meetings with other UU Leaders and there are some churches that needed to take out loans just to meet monthly expenses).

Protect the bonds of community – Delivering on this goal required shifting our way of interacting:

  • We started to use Zoom as a platform of interacting with each other — Coffee Hour, Vespers during the summer, Sunday Services, Book Club and now Monday Meditation.
  • Sunday Services are recorded and posted to our own YouTube channel for those who want to view them at a different time.
  • Streaming capability will start shortly which will enable a better virtual experience.
  • A walking club has started and meets the first Saturday of every month.
  • Two outdoor bonfires were held in the fall that were very well attended (masks and social distancing was maintained).
  • Many friends and members came out to participate in both the spring and fall clean-up sessions, even though they had to wear masks.

One year ago, many members and friends of the UUFP felt that we should just enter a “holding pattern” until we could meet in-person again. Hopefully you will see that in order to deliver on our goals, the UUFP had to make some big changes over the course of the year. Yet to those who have “made the big changes” along with us and participate regularly in our current offerings, things such as “Virtual Sunday Services and Coffee Hour” are now routine and not seen as a big deal. If you’ve not made the change yet, please come join us. It has been a year and we miss you.

Linda

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