UUCSJS Midweek Message

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Email admin@uucsjs.org or call Jess at 609-965-9400 if you need assistance

• Upcoming Sunday Services
• Faith Development
• 2023 Service Auction
• Announcements
• Notes From the Board
• Events This Week
• Last Sunday
• Connect to Our Larger Faith
• Caring Team

Being Jesus

Presented by Theresa McReynolds

Jesus Christ has influenced the world more than any other person in human history. Though his feet trod the green hills of Galilee two millennia ago, to this day, countless devotees recount his teachings, pray to him, heal by his power, emulate his life, build churches to his glory, sacrifice for him, and kill in his name. Others revile, deny, and mock him. if ever a person has rocked the world and redirected the course of life on Earth, it is the lone Nazarene.

BIO: Rev. Dr. Theresa McReynolds, D.C., has spent the last 50 years of her life in the healing profession as a chiropractor, energy healer, wellness coach, crystal healer, spiritual counselor, ritual facilitator, and motivational speaker. She has dedicated her life to uplifting others. After many years of study, she was ordained a New Thought Christian minister in California at the Home of Truth Spiritual Center. She then went on to study with several teachers in the Goddess Tradition and was initiated as a High Priestess. Theresa has spent most of her life as an activist. She was one of the founding mothers of the Atlantic County Women’s Center, now named Avansar, as well as the Rape Crisis Center. She was inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018 for social service and volunteerism. She is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, gardener, farmer, a lover of this mother earth, and a forever student of the mysteries.

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.

This month I invite you to not just be more generous, but to notice how generosity is bigger than you might think. Words like: transform, connect, challenge. These may not be the usual words we pair with generosity. And maybe that’s the point.

Check out these books and movies for a deep dive into this month's theme:

Books

• Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving by Jill Neimark, Stephen Post
• Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better by Rob Reich

Movies

• Somebody, Somewhere
• Millions
• The Blue Umbrella (short film)
• I, Daniel Blake
• The Way We Get By
• Please Give

And some music to lead you into this month's theme as well

• On Spotify
• On YouTube

We will explore how being generous with others connects them and us more deeply. In other words, being generous helps moves us from isolation (“I am alone”) to community (“I belong.”) By being generous we receive and give the gift of connection.

We will learn a new song in sign language, play games that "widen the circle," and create art together.

Kenneth Jones and Thema Okum lift to the surface the expectation in white supremacy culture of the “right to comfort” for white people, especially those who are middle or upper class. She offers compassionate antidotes for this habit: “Understand that discomfort is at the root of all growth and learning; welcome it as much as you can; deepen your political analysis of racism and oppression so you have a strong understanding of how your personal experience and feelings fit into a larger picture; don’t take everything personally.” (page 64, Mistakes and Miracle)

Don’t forget our common read, Mistakes and Miracles, to be discussed this December.

Copies are available to borrow. See Janet Longo or Jessica Dunn Safonof.

To have your announcement placed in the Midweek Message, please send an email to admin@uucsjs.org by Noon on Wednesday.

Set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed this Saturday, November 4th!

Book Club will be meeting Friday, November 17 at 7:00 pm on ZOOM (www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom).

All are welcome !

DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead is a 2022 novel. It was co-recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and won the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Kingsolver was inspired by the Charles Dickins novel David Copperfield and while the novel is similarly about a boy born into poverty, Demon Copperhead is set in Appalachia and explores contemporary issues.

December book is THIS YEAR IT WILL BE DIFFERENT by Maeve Binchy

One of the roles of the Committee on Ministry is to monitor the health and functioning of the congregation. The congregation has changed since the pandemic and the ways that people engage with the congregation have also changed. You are invited to participate in this engagement survey. Your responses will help us in understanding how members and friends of the congregation are currently engaging with UUCSJS; where you see yourselves in relation to the congregation at this point. We also want to provide an opportunity to communicate other thoughts you may have about the congregation in an open-ended format.

A response before Nov. 15th will be most useful, we are looking forward to your responses.

Click here to access survey: UUC South Jersey Shore's 2023 Engagement Survey

The Fall, with its cooler weather and lessened chance of insect problems, is a great time to walk our Woodland Memorial Path or spend a quiet moment on one of the benches in our Memorial Circle. Our woods are especially beautiful at this time of the year. The shrub layer made up of three species of huckleberry is in the process of turning peach, orange, and scarlet. And interesting types of mushrooms can be found along the path along with an evergreen groundcover of sweet smelling wintergreen.

Jesse Connor

Our first Green Light Coffee House occurred on Friday October 13th, and it was a success! We had at least six acts perform music, the spoken word and poetry. Audience attendance was sparse, but we hope to grow this in the coming months.

I would like to thank Katy Cardwell and her committee who worked so hard to make this vision a reality. The next Coffee House will take place on Friday November 10th. I would like to encourage more people come out and enjoy this memorable evening.

A congregational survey was sent out a few weeks ago. Responses have been slow coming back. If you could please take the time and respond to this survey, we would appreciate it.

The UUA common read is Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism. We have been advertising this in the mid weeks for several weeks now. I encourage you to read the book and join us for a congregational discussion of the book on zoom in early December.

We are also looking to start a Speakers Bureau. A group of people that can go on the road to talk about our faith and man a table at community events. Please reach out to Jess or me if interested.

We continue to look for people to be a Sentry on Sunday mornings during service. We lock our doors 15 minutes after the service starts and the Sentry stays in the foyer until the service ends. We have a small tablet there which streams our service, so you don’t miss a thing. A calendar in the kitchen is where you can sign up to be a Sentry. A big thank you to Jeff Taylor, Helen Utts, Jack Nemez, Diane Dreby, Richard Schurig, and anyone else that has stepped up to handle these duties.

Mart Quish

President, UUCSJS Board of Trustees

Click on the graphic below or visit the calendar at uucsjs.org for more information on events and meetings.

CLICK HERE to reserve the Zoom Room or to add your event to the calendar.

Margaret Circle will meet Thursday, Nov 2, at 1:00. Katy Cardwell has the program, and it will be "Conversation Starters" A group of pre-written questions will be provided, and we will take turns drawing them from a hat. These questions are meant to stimulate interesting conversation. We will go around the circle and allow everyone to answer each question. These questions should promote some interesting conversation and, hopefully, allow us to get to know each other more deeply, and even provide some laughs. Hope you'll join us!

Here you will find ways to learn about and connect with our faith and opportunities to connect with other UU's from outside our congregation.

Click on the images for more information.

Contact a member of the Caring Team

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
• Denise O'Meara at (610) 316-7495 denome53@gmail.com

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.

Sunday Services 10:30 am in person and livestreamed on Facebook.

Email: admin@uucsjs.org
Website: www.uucsjs.org
Location: 75 S Pomona Rd, Egg Harbor City, NJ, USA

Mailing Address: PO Box 853, Pomona NJ 08240
Phone: (609) 965-9400
Facebook: facebook.com/uucsjs
Twitter: @UUCSJS