Creating Space For Our Joys and Sorrows

Rev. Kim Wildszewski

At the end of August, we turned the service over to the ritual of Joys & Sorrows, something we hadn’t done in full since March of 2020. You can find the homily I shared to reintroduce us to this beloved tradition here.

Since that service I have heard from so many of you about how meaningful that hour was. Thank you for reaching out in the ways you have. I am so grateful that you felt connected and reconnected because of that time. Going forward, you can expect a similar service (a very brief homily in place of the meditation, then joys and sorrows in place of the sermon) about every 3 weeks. The next Joys and Sorrows Sunday will be September 25th.

At this time, we will not do Joys and Sorrows every other week like we once had, in part because of the volume of sharing during one multiplatform service, but also so that we can create a time of meaningful sharing. If we find that we don’t need that entire time, or that it would be more meaningful to have more brief opportunities to share, we will make that change. Making such a decision requires that continued conversation between you and me, so please keep the feedback coming.

With gratitude and care,
Rev. Kim

Adult Faith Engagement Fall Schedule

Robin Pugh, Director of Congregational Life

We are pleased to announce the Adult Faith Engagement Fall Schedule of classes.  Please email rpugh@uucwc.org to register for any of these classes. For the most up to date information about upcoming classes, see UUCWC’s Wednesday’s Announcements email.

Below are short descriptions of the classes.  More detailed information can be found here.  

Pathways
3 Tuesdays: 9/27, 10/11, 10/25, 11/8 (hold) from 7:30-9:00 pm on zoom
Facilitator: Rev. Kim Wildszewski

Learning to Pray:
Monday, November 7th, 7:30-9:00 PM on zoom
Facilitator: Rev. Kim Wildszewski

Chalice Circles
All groups have open rolling enrollment, People join or leave a chalice circle throughout the year. Most chalice circles meet in the evening once per month on zoom.

Creativity Matters Studio
3rd Mondays, 7:30-9:30pm on zoom
Facilitator: Susan Colket
Limited to 9 participants

Wellspring: Spiritual Practices
1st and 3rd Tuesday mornings, 10:00 am-12:00 pm in person
Prerequisite: Wellspring 1: Sources
Facilitators: Kathy Frey and Jackie Thomas
 

Wellspring: Spiritual Ancestors
2nd and 4th Tuesday mornings, 10:00 am-12:00 pm in person
Facilitated by Kathy Frey and Michelle Hunt
Prerequisite: Wellspring 1: Sources

Coming Into Connection
Coming in November, from 11:30-12:30pm plus six one-on-one sessions to be determined by you and your partner.
Facilitated by Rev. Kim Wildszewski and Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
 

Rainbow Principles of Multigenerational Ministry

Sarah Ahrens, Director of Family Ministry

First, I would like to thank UUCWC for such a warm welcome this summer as I began in the role of Director of Family Ministry. It’s been a busy few months preparing for a return to programming for all of our children and youth. As we embark on a new year, you may see some changes…such as updated classrooms and communication platforms. We are also looking to enhance the ways in which we worship, to be more welcoming and inclusive to our members of all ages.

To that end, we are introducing the Rainbow Principles of Multigenerational Ministry, which have been based on our UU Principles. Over the next few months, we will be talking about this during Sunday services, and we’ll be rolling out some exciting new initiatives that will deepen worship engagement for all. In the meantime, we invite you to explore what it means to welcome and worship in a beloved, multigenerational community! 

Read more here…

What Does Leadership Look Like To You?

Maria Baratta, President, UUCWC Board of Trustees

What does leadership look like to you? Maybe you envision something formal like a group photo of members of the G7 summit looking stern and ready to tackle the world’s economic problems. Or, you think of a tour guide processioning with all their travelers falling in-line like a flock of baby ducks. Perhaps your idea of a leader is an orchestra conductor using their baton to coax beautiful sounds from a group of musicians.

Leadership comes in all forms and fashions in our school, home and work life. Simply deciding what to make for dinner is an act of leadership. Standing up to a bully on the playground shows an amazing level of leadership. Being the first person to raise your hand when someone asks for volunteers is another type of leadership.

Throughout our daily life we choose times to lead and we choose times to follow. Every time we choose to follow someone we are endorsing them as a leader and using followership as a different form of leadership. A great example can be seen in this fun video about a guy dancing at an outdoor concert.

There are so many different ways to lead and to follow. This dance (and it does often feel like a dance) allows people to develop a sense of trust and security. Think of ballroom dancing—partners twirling around a ballroom floor with one person leading and another following. To lead the dance means you have to get your partner safely through the steps; to follow your partner’s lead you have to trust them through each move.  Read more here…

Guest Musicians and Concert Series at UUCWC

Erin Busch (she/her), Director of Music Ministry

It has been a joy to begin my tenure as your new Transitional Director of Music Ministry! It has been a busy start, and I can’t wait to share what I’ve been working on with all of you.

Firstly, I am excited to announce that I have started a new guest musician series for our Sunday services. Each month, we will welcome a professional musician into our sanctuary to provide special music for our service. It is my hope that these Sundays will allow us to stretch outside of our auditory comfort zones, enhancing the meaning-making that we strive to do each time we step into the sanctuary. For our fall season, we will feature trumpet player Fareed Simpson-Hankins on September 25, violist Lorenzo Raval on October 30, violinist Carlos Santiago on November 20, and vocalist Megnot Toggia on December 18. This guest musician series is made possible by a generous grant from our Endowment Committee to provide funding for BIPOC musicians. The grant was awarded to my predecessor Caryl Tipton back in 2019 and has been extended due to the pandemic.

Secondly, I am thrilled to announce that the UUCWC concert series is back! We have three concerts booked for this fall.  Read more here…

Treasurer’s Report – September 2022

Joe Schenk, Treasurer

We closed the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year with a $10K surplus (income exceeding expenses).

Recorded Pledge income lagged the amount recorded as pledges by over $40K – a concerning result that we are investigating.

Expenses for the year were below budget, largely attributable to the reduced COVID-related staffing and facilities charges.  Read more here.

Facilitators Needed For More Adult Faith Engagement Classes

We need facilitators for a few adult Faith engagement classes that we hope to offer this year. Facilitators are trained by Robin Pugh. These offerings are created to be led by UU volunteers. Each class comes with a detailed script of each session. Facilitators decide when the class meets: once a month, twice a month, every week and whether it meets in person or on zoom.

If you are interested in taking one of these classes, consider facilitating it! Please contact Robin Pugh at rpugh@uucwc.org for more information.

We hope to offer some of these classes:  Transgender inclusion in Congregations;
Bible literacy for Unitarian Universalists; and The Wi$dom Path, Adults: Money, Spirit, and Life.

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HomeFront Halloween 2022 Donation Appeal

HomeFront has had a long-standing history of support from UUCWC. Since the start of the COVID pandemic and the increased cost of living over the last two years, the HomeFront client base has dramatically increased. Providing food items for these families continues to be a significant challenge. The UUCWC Food Ministry (FM) is again asking for donations of shelf stable food items for those families to help ease their circumstances as we approach the Thanksgiving season.

The donation appeal will coincide with Halloween weekend. FM members will collect your treats at the church at the dates and times noted below. Costumes are optional but encouraged for the fun of it!

Drop off dates and times are:
October 26 (Wednesday) – 6:00 to 8:00 pm; October 29 (Saturday) – 1:00 to 3:00 pm; and October 30 (Sunday) – 9:30 am to 1:00 pm.

Sign up to donate one of six specific non-perishable food items at this SignUpGenius link.

As always, the FM is grateful for the generous donations that help UUCWC fulfill our commitment to social action and have a positive impact on our community.

Two community Social Justice opportunities are happening on Saturday, September 17th in  Princeton. First, the Coalition for Peace Action will hold a Save Our Democracy rally at Hinds Plaza in Princeton at 2:00 pm.  Later, the Rev. Dr. William Barber, Co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign,  will be speaking at the Princeton University Chapel at 3:30 pm.  Look here for more information.

Don’t forget about the new  RaiseRight fundraising program. Easily purchase gift cards for use at many of your usual shopping venues and receive the full card value, while UUCWC receives a donation of anywhere from 4% to 12% of the card’s value.  Look here to review the details.

Read UU World, the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Connect with UU Faith Action, New Jersey’s issues and social justice advocacy voice, connecting New Jersey UU congregations.  Pennsylvania’s counterpart is UUJusticePA.