Rev. Kim is on Bereavement Leave

Rev. Kim is on bereavement leave, following the sudden death of her 2-year-old son Malcolm last month. The Pastoral Care team is responding to Rev. Kim’s desire for meals and lawn cutting and other ways that Rev. Kim and Tara identify, without overwhelming them. Please know there will be many ways for us to show our love for Rev Kim, Tara and Tobias as well as each other in the year ahead.

Susan Irgang, Robin Pugh, and Nathalie Edmond continue to be in contact with Rev. Kim, and she has shared that she hopes to return in some capacity in early July. The Board is working with committees, ministries and staff to continue to do the business of church.

If through this process of grieving you find that you and your family need more support than our pastoral care team and community can provide, Nathalie can help guide you to resources, local therapists and support groups.

Virtual Summer Camps
Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Religious Education

There are two UU summer camps in the region that are offering virtual alternative programming:

• CERSI Summer In Situ (Institute) 2020 the week of July 12-17. Registration is open until June 30 at www.cersiuu.org with a sliding fee scale. Questions: registrar@cersiuu.org.
• UUMAC Goes Virtual. Even better: it’s FREE! Attend some or all of the programs starting July 12. For more information and registration go to UUMAC.org.
• For more programs for all ages, see the listings from our Central East Region.

Robin is leading virtual children’s chapels and parent support groups; email her for details and a meeting link.

Robin can be reached at dre@uucwc.org.

Honoring Our 8th Principle to Racial Justice
Nathalie Edmond, President, Board of Trustees

UUCWC’s Board of Trustees, in consultation with Rev. Kim and our Racial Justice Ministry and supported by other ministries of the Council for Faith in Action, drafted this letter honoring our 8th principle. This letter is posted on our website and was also sent to local media outlets. We encourage you to share this in your circles of influence.

As the names of cis and trans black men and women, as well as non-binary folks who have died at the hands of those who are entrusted to protect and to serve continue to pile up in the streets, we the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing shout from the banks of the Delaware River, Black Lives Matter!

The systemic fear and racism that perpetuates the myth that black lives do not matter has echoed through our country too long, and it must end. We acknowledge it has permeated our own individual and collective lives for too long as well. And we renew our commitment to systematically fight to end the ages old centering of whiteness that permeates our culture, our political discourse, our economic system, and our spiritual lives.

We hold ourselves accountable, through our 8th Principle of faith*, that in order to build the Beloved Community, we commit to dismantle this morally bankrupt system, to open our hearts and minds and arms in the realization that this is the only way forward to spiritual wholeness for ourselves, our congregation, our communities and our country. We create space to listen to the voices and needs of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

Signed,
Rev. Kim Wildszewski, Minister, and
Nathalie Edmond, President, Board of Trustees

*“We, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, covenant to affirm and promote journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
 

Highlights of 2019-2020
Susan Irgang, Congregational Administrator

It seems almost impossible that when looking back on this year, it’s only been one year – a year of many joys and sorrows, comings and goings, challenges and successes.

The following is just a sampling of the work of this community in the past year; our annual report will be issued in late summer cataloging all the successes and challenges of 2019-2020. We as individuals, as a congregation and as a world continue to navigate this challenging new reality, shutting our church doors but not our connection, our work, or our commitment to our mission and to each other.  Read more…

River Friendly: Green and Gold
Barbara Drew, Co-Chair, Earth Ministry Team

After several years of effort and review, the Earth Ministry Team is pleased to announce that UUCWC has been certified as a “River-Friendly Community Partner” by The Watershed Institute of Pennington, NJ. Al Johnson and Barbara Drew, Co-Chairs of Earth Ministry Team, noted that, “Not only is UUCWC the first organization to be certified, but we received the top recognition by achieving Gold status.”

Earth Ministry is also pleased to announce that we are the recipients of two grants to enhance our grounds with native plantings. UUCWC’s Endowment Grant and Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve (New Hope, PA) will fund native plantings that support wildlife habitat and improve the aesthetics of the parking berms. Read more…

Food Ministry Update – June 2020
Bonnie Ruekgauer, Food Ministry

Despite limitations due to coronavirus restrictions, UUCWC’s Food Ministry has continued to fulfill its mission of feeding those in need.

Since we cannot use the church kitchen for cooking, we have decided to use our resources to support other organizations which provide meals. During the month of May, we donated $400 from the Rollie Rahn Memorial Fund to El Centro, an organization which helps to meet basic needs of the Spanish-speaking community in the Trenton area. For June, a similar amount from the Rollie Fund has been donated to TASK (Trenton Area Soup Kitchen). In addition, we assembled 90 nutrition bags (fruit cup, juice box, microwavable meal, granola bar) for Luther Arms, a senior low income housing facility in Trenton for which we would normally be cooking a meal once a month.

We eagerly look forward to the time we can be back in our own church kitchen – probably after the renovation. Many thanks to the members of UUCWC for your ongoing support!!

Participate in UU the Vote!

Jamie Evanini, Faith Action Ministry

The Faith Action Ministry invites you to participate in our 2020 UU the Vote activities. UU the Vote is a project of the Unitarian Universalist Association, designed to get UU congregations around the country involved in non-partisan efforts to register more voters, fight voter suppression, increase voter turnout, and educate voters about ballot initiatives in their state. So many of our eight UU principles are reflected in this work, and the times we are in call us to fight for these principles like never before.  Read more…

Information on joining Sunday’s 10:00am virtual service will be emailed to you on Saturday morning.

When Will We Be Gathering In Person?

Patrick Kahney, UUCWC Board of Trustees

Community Outreach
Steve Saddlemire, Faith Expression and Funding Team

Over the past several stay-at-home months, the Faith Expression and Funding Team (FEFT) has been busy developing a program to identify and organize community outreach opportunities for our UUCWC members. The goal of this effort was to learn more about how we spend our time giving back to the communities where we live and work, and provide a means of communicating these opportunities to others with similar interests.  Read more…
 

UUA General Assembly
June 24-28

General Assembly will be a totally virtual event this year.

Never will GA be more affordable – registration is $150 for the entire family!  Please consider registering and attending.  Tons of programming (including intergenerational programs), guest speakers and events!!  Questions?  Contact Holly at DA@uucwc.org.

Need Help?
Pastoral and Caring Ministry

In the spirit of love our church members are seeking ways in which they can bring help to those in need. If you, or a member of your family is hurting – short of food or in financial straits – please let us help you. You can reach us at caring@uucwc.org, a confidential site that can be read by only four people, each a trusted leader of our church.

Please do not hesitate to reach out. Allow your fellow congregants to experience the blessing and privilege of lightening your burden.