Greetings, Beloved People,
The cold days of midwinter are here and I find myself frequently the center of attention from heat-seeking pets in my house. It seems I cannot sit down without some number of them attempting to occupy prime real estate on the blanket I keep in my favorite chair. I hope you all are warm as well. Please reach out to me if things in your life are complicated or difficult and you need some help staying warm. I may be able to offer some assistance.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to live with intention.
If I am not careful, I can spend so much energy focusing very hard and, like I talked about in my sermon last week, I can find myself setting my “intentions” into something that feels very rigid and unforgiving, like a resolution. I find it interesting that sometimes I need to be intentional about intention-setting.
There are a lot of ways to unpack that idea. For example, what is it that causes me to automatically set unachievable goals, to make lists that no three people could accomplish? Where di I learn that behavior? What was the reason I was taught to behave this way?
We live in a society that has a conflicted relationship with ambition. Ambition in the workplace is encouraged. Ambition in home life has been encouraged, certainly since the end of WWII when the great race to keep up with the Joneses became the goal. We must keep up, of course, and surpass, if possible, others in our peer group or community. This has led us to become a society of human DOings instead of human BEings.
This culture is fueled and driven by violent, exploitative, extractive capitalism that values product over process, production over development or creation.
Don’t get me wrong, seeking better and more effective tools to promote health is vital. Just think what progress in human health and longevity has been made since the creation of antibiotics and insulin and the polio vaccine.
Ambition is good. But it need not always be about over-achieving or competing for status. What might it look like if we were able to focus our ambition on creating a community that cares for each other and helps each other overcome hardships instead of competing to get more than our neighbor?
Ambition is what can drive us to keep practicing at our art, to keep exercising to reach new personal best milestones. That ambition is good. But when ambition causes us to separate ourselves from others our of fear of losing in some way, it can become unhealthy, and fast.
Intention is a fascinating tool to temper the rigid feel of naked ambition. Intention makes room for exploration, I think. It allows us to make choices along the way, to be wrong, to correct, and return to the work before us.
Today, I need to be mindful of my impulse to strive for perfection in ways that set me up for failure. The idea is intention, not checking a thousand boxes on a list or getting an A+.
I hope that you are all well and warm this week. Please reach out if you need to chat.
Peace,
Rev. Dawn
Rev. Dawn is available for pastoral care appointment Wednesday through Friday 10am to 3pm. Email minister@uucsjs.org to schedule an appointment.
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
- Denise O'Meara at (610) 316-7495 email: denome53@gmail.com
- Helen Utts at (609) 338-3391 email: HelenUtts@aol.com
- MaryLou DeMaria-Berhang at (201) 247-5635 email: MLberhang@gmail.com
- Tony Zitelli at (201) 463-2800 email: happy85a@aol.com
Winter Road Cleanup on Sunday, January 16th
More willing workers needed. Can you help?
Our participation in “Adopt-a-Road” is in jeopardy…
To participate in the Adopt-a-Road program, UUCSJS does at least four (4) road cleanups every “Earth Day Year” (before April 22) while earning a modest stipend from Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA). The cleanups involve walking up & down Pomona Road for about one mile to bag up trash and recyclables.
You’re invited to join the cleanup crew on Sunday, January 16 at 8:15 AM at the UU Center. If it works the way it’s supposed to, you will team up with a partner as you put on a safety vest and gloves and choose your grabber.
Although it might be unexpected, volunteers often report feeling gratified they got out so early and had some exercise and time for reflection along with doing something useful.
We need eight (8) volunteers to accomplish the task in a reasonable amount of time, yet for our first cleanup in July we had five and in October, only four. That’s not enough to do the job and sustain our participation in the program.
Further, the present coordinator plans to step down as of Earth Day 2022 and someone new will be needed to schedule cleanups and report them to ACUA. Will you be the one to take on this straightforward job that improves our environment and helps the church at the same time?
We hope it’s been the pandemic that has discouraged more participation; we shall see. Please don’t hesitate because you’ve never come before – it’s that easy!
Snow/rain date is Sunday, January 23 at 8:15 AM.
Thank you and see you there,
Judy Pereira
January Book Club
Book Club will be meeting on Friday, January 21 at 7:00 pm on ZOOM (www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom).
BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue
A “compulsively readable debut novel” about marriage, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream – the “unforgettable story” of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession of 2008 upends the economy.
Judy Pereira will lead the discussion. All are welcome to join the meeting on ZOOM.
February selection is ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman
Questions: morellb@msn.com
Maple Tapping, Ambiguity and Making Whole
Guest speaker Jethro Heiko
The annual ritual of turning sap from maple trees into rich, sweet, maple syrup goes back centuries. In his work with Stockton University and Oak Lane Maple, Jethro Heiko regularly taps trees in LaMott, the historic neighborhood named for Lucretia Mott - 120 year old sugar maples. He brings a connection with nature to the public in very real ways. Join us to learn about how sustainable practices, done with intention, deepen our connections with each other and the earth.
To Join ZOOM Meeting ON COMPUTER:
Go to Zoom link
(Meeting ID: 224 677 6604)
To Join ZOOM Meeting BY PHONE (you do NOT need to have a Zoom account or app):
Dial:
1-929-436-2866 and wait for the prompt. Then dial 224-677-6604#
When prompted, enter password 306591
PLEASE NOTE: Sunday service will be livestreamed on Zoom only. There is no in person gathering.
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