UUCSJS Midweek Message
December 7, 2022
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Email admin@uucsjs.org or call Jess at 609-965-9400 if you need assistance
Contents
- Upcoming Sunday Services
- Connect to Our Monthly Theme
- Events This Week
- Announcements
- Call to Action
- Caring Team
- Last Sunday
- Connect to Our Faith
God Practice: Choosing The Path of Evolving Process
with Guest Speaker Alan Oliver
Do you believe in God or are you an Atheist? This talk will invite you to consider an alternative, an evolving and an open path of god practice. Whether you do this alone and/or with a group, the pathway is continuous and can lead (at times) to a oneness with the universe.
PLEASE NOTE: This service will be in person at UUCSJS and streamed live on our Facebook page. A recording will be available later in the day on our YouTube Channel.
*Masks are currently optional at UUCSJS.
Connect to Our Monthly Theme
Take an Awe Walk
An “awe walk” is a stroll in which you intentionally shift your attention outward instead of inward. So, instead of thinking about your to-do list or worrying about a conflict with your co-worker, you contemplate the world around you.
There is no one right way to do this. Your walk can be in a familiar place or somewhere brand new. It can happen in nature or in the middle of a city. It can be about seeking out a stunning mountain view or just strolling by your neighbors’ flower beds. Do it once or do it daily for a week. Keep it general or structure the walk by focusing on sounds, then colors, then the new, then the curious.
Journal after your walk is over or process it with a friend over a cup of coffee. The point is not to seek out the extra-ordinary but to notice the ordinary in a new way. It’s about cultivating a particular type of mindfulness that allows us to pay attention to the things right in front of our noses that we usually overlook or take for granted.
Here are some resources to help you on your way.
- Turn Your Daily Walk Into an Awe Walk and Boost Your Mental Health (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-4FDRVbSk
- An Awe Walk How To https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/awe_walk (article)
- Awe Walks: How To Start https://www.diygenius.com/awe-walks/ (article)
- Finding Happiness Through Awe Walks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nVx6SriWPM&t=117s (video)
Events This Week
CLICK HERE to reserve the Zoom Room or to add your event to the calendar.
Margaret Circle
The Margaret Circle holiday party honoring milestone birthdays will be held from 1 to 3 at the UU Center on Thurs., December 8—note that this is one week later than we usually meet… Please bring a treat to share, which can be either sweet or savory. The program should have us all chuckling as well as somber at times as we remember what was happening in the world when our birthday honorees were born—and listen as they answer some intriguing questions about their long lives. There may also be some gag gifts involved. Barb Morell and Judy Pereira will host.
While it’s true that Margaret Circle women are mostly of a certain age, ALL women of the congregation are cordially invited to come to Margaret Circle.
Announcements
Christmas Eve Service
Readers and poets wanted for our Christmas Eve service! Do you have a special poem or a short prose piece you'd like to read at our Christmas Eve service? Or, would you like to read something that we find for you?
This special service will be held on December 24 at 4:30 pm. Please email Deb Dagavarian if interested: dagbonar4@gmail.com.
Book Club for December
Book Club will be meeting Friday, December 16th at 7:00 pm on ZOOM (www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom).
THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP by Jenny Colgan
This Edinburgh-set Christmas novel is full of references to books, descriptions of the twisty Insides of a bookshop, and fun details about Scotland, Quakerism, and the centuries-old Great Yew Tree of Ormiston.
Join us if you can! All Welcome!
Info: morellb@msn.com
Time Change Survey - LAST CHANCE!
All members, friends, and visitors of UUCSJS were emailed a survey to take the temperature of the board on changing the start time of our Sunday services.
We are providing three options.
- The first option is to change the start time of our Sunday service on a temporary basis beginning in January through the end of April to 10:30AM.
- The second option is to change the time of our Sunday service on a temporary basis to 11:00 AM.
- The third option is to leave the Sunday service start time at 10:00 AM.
We have been approached by several congregants who think that the later start time might increase attendance and membership. I want to stress that if the congregation is willing to change the start time, that this would be on a temporary basis from January through April. We then would evaluate the results and begin a congregation discussion.
The survey will last for four weeks.
You can complete a paper ballot on Sunday at our services in the back of the sanctuary or follow the link below to complete the survey online.
Call to Action
Dishwasher 101
This Sunday 12-11-2011 at 1130.
Anyone wishing to learn how to operate the dishwasher please meet in the kitchen after service. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.
Thanks,
Richard S.
Minister of Coffee
T O Y S ! Bring them THIS Sunday!
Each year ESWA collects new, unwrapped toys for all ages up to 17 years old to be distributed to their parents to help bridge their holiday's financial shortages.
Please drop off your kind donations to the bin in our foyer until Dec 11th.
fyi Teen aged boy toys or sports items are most frequently in shortage.
Batteries are needed.
No gift cards.
No clothing.
Flowers for the chalice table
Please speak with Colby if you wish to bring an arrangement of your choosing to our chalice table for a Sunday Service. Use your creativity!
Contact Colby Tippins call/text: 609-442-0967.
Caring Team
Need Help?
Team members can provide you with support during/after an illness, a death in the family, or other loss or hardship. They can find you resources, run errands, or provide meals in time of need.
Reach out to:
- Tracey Catino at (609) 674-8721 email: Traceysnaps@msn.com
- Helen Utts at (609) 338-3391 email: HelenUtts@aol.com
- Tony Zitelli at (201) 463-2800 email: happy85a@aol.com
- Barbara Morell at (215) 805-7599 email: morellb@msn.com
- Janet Longo at (609) 748-8608 email: jilportnj@comcast.net
Caring Team is looking for members who are willing to attend monthly Zoom meetings and help out when congregants are sick or suffering from hardships. Please contact Tracey Catino if you can join our confidential group.
Last Sunday
Connect to Our Larger Faith
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Jersey Shore
Email: admin@uucsjs.org
Website: www.uucsjs.org
Location: 75 S Pomona Rd, Egg Harbor City, NJ, USA
Phone: (609) 965-9400
Facebook: facebook.com/uucsjs
Twitter: @UUCSJS