***REMINDER – Sunday Service begins at 10:30am this week!***
“Beginnings” is our September theme
The Journey by Mary Oliver (excerpt)
(Read the whole poem here; it’s really good!)
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting their bad advice…
little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own…
Next Service
September 6 at 10:30 am
“Ingathering and Water Communion”
Led by: Rev. Dan Miyake
This is our annual Ingathering and Water Communion service. It is a joint service with our friends in Elkhart, which means the service will start at 10:30. Rev. Dan will be at East Liberty, and UUFE will Zoom in this time. Note that this service will not be streamed on Facebook. If you plan to watch online, the Zoom link is below.
Please bring a small amount of water from a meaningful place to you – a vacation spot, a lake, the ocean, or even your own kitchen faucet. We will blend these waters during this unique UU ritual.
In person at UUCEL or click here to watch on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84561064956#success
Announcements
Lunch With the Minister: Rev. Dan will be hosting September’s Lunch with the Minister on Friday the 18th at noon at the Bone Island Grill in Vandercook. This is just a casual way to hang out with Rev. Dan, have some good conversation, and eat some good food. All are welcome!
UU Women’s Federation September Community Gathering: UUWF is hosting an online community gathering on Thursday, September 10 from 7:30-9:00pm ET. What would an irresistible feminist future look like to you? UUWF is sharing resources, tools, and programming focused on Building an Irresistible Feminist Future. Join UUWF staff for updates on our upcoming events and to dig deeper into this campaign. We are exploring new ways to use power through a feminist/womanist lens, embrace our political identities, and make activism sustaining and sustainable. The future is ours to create–so let’s get to work! Community Gatherings are open to all women+ individuals regardless of UUWF membership. Click here to register for this event: https://secure.everyaction.com/le6yzNq1fU2uWVrW6SLGdw2
Click here to learn about UUWF’s other upcoming events: https://uuwf.org/events/
Soul Matters Small Group: Rev. Dan will once again be leading a Soul Matters Small Group this year. This group meets once a month, and engages with a monthly themed packet of readings and exercises geared toward deeper spiritual thinking, personal growth and awareness, and building relationships. Though the previous groups have been fairly small, everyone who has participated stated that they enjoyed the group and got a lot out of working with the content of the packets. A new group will be forming in September. If you would like to participate, please contact Rev. Dan. You can also talk to some previous group members, such as Peter and Megan Blackshear, Ann Green, and Tom Triplett about their experiences with the group.
Love at the Center Book Group: Starting in September, Rev. Dan and Ann Green will be leading a congregational reading of the book “Love at the Center”, edited by UUA president Sofia Betancourt. This book is a collection of insightful, short essays by various UU ministers about the centrality of love in our UU values, faith, and identity. The way it works is that everyone will be encouraged to purchase the book, read selected essays, then come together, probably via Zoom, to discuss the readings. The UUA has long suggested congregational reads, and up until now, we have not really engaged with any of them. Both Rev. Dan and Ann agree that this book is especially appropriate in this current environment in which we live, and hope that you all will choose to participate. Please contact Rev. Dan or Ann if you are interested or have questions.
Reminders
Jackson County Immigrant Coalition: Many members of the congregation have expressed interest in joining the JCIC. Due to the nature of the coalition’s work with vulnerable people, the first step to getting involved is to fill out a secure vetting form. Please visit the JCIC linktree to access that form: https://linktr.ee/Jackson_County_For_Immigrants (the form is the second link from the top). Feel free to explore the other helpful links on the page.
A New UU Hymnal! Our two printed hymnals have old favorites, but the UUA has a new hymnal and it’s not printed; it’s online! Sing Out Love is a collection of music for services that includes some old favorites and many new selections, with more being added all the time. And you have access to it. Go to singoutlove.org/song-library, log in with the ID uuliberty@gmail.com and the password Eliberty1856. Make a suggestion for what you’d like to sing at church!
Worship Committee seeks speakers: Do you have an idea for a service, or a willingness to take us on your spiritual journey? Or do you know someone in the community who would? Please contact Darrin Palmer or another member of the Worship Committee. They are happy to help create a Sunday Service!
Social Mission Designee:
The Social Mission Designee for the 1st quarter is the Jackson County Immigrant Coalition (JCIC). JCIC are friends, families, and neighbors united in protecting & supporting our Jackson County immigrant community through allyship, education, and activism. Please give by using the donate button on our website or by contributing with a check with Jackson County Immigrant Coalition in the memo.
Minister’s Schedule:
- September 2 – Off
- September 3-4 – UUCEL
- September 5 – Off
- September 6 – Joint Service at UUCEL
- September 7 – Labor Day Holiday
- September 8 – UUCEL
- September 9 – Off
Rev. Dan is available for 1:1 emergency pastoral care regardless of his days off. If you are in need of immediate pastoral care, please contact him right away. Please refrain from texting Rev. Dan after normal work hours unless it is a critical issue that needs immediate attention; if not, email him the next workday. If you need an immediate response to an email on a day off, type “URGENT’ in the subject line.
Please submit items for this weekly email by Tuesday afternoon at WednesdayChimes@gmail.com. Please include the date(s) you would like the announcement published in the subject line of your email.
Sunday Announcements
Please submit items to be announced on Sunday to the Worship Committee at uuliberty@gmail.com
Joys and Sorrows
Please submit items for inclusion in our Sunday service to the Worship Committee at uuliberty@gmail.com