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
• Connect to the Monthly Theme
• Notes From the Board
• Events This Week
• Announcements
• Call to Action
• Caring Team
• Last Sunday
• Connect to Our Faith

Practicing your Presence: East Coast Meditation

Presented by Guest SpeakerTeddy Costa

East Coast Meditation is all about the practice of being present in our own individual lives. The various forms and understanding of meditation are derived from Yoga, Buddhism, Kabbalah, and other spiritual traditions. The idea of utilizing an assortment of practices is to best find what is right for you, the individual practitioner, in working within the present moment. Some practices will resonate with one individual, such as a mindfulness exercise, while other persons may resonate with physical and/or emotional insight practices. You find what best serves you, and leave the rest for another day, if ever.

It is a great privilege, honor, and joy to be in the position of sharing these methods for being present for the purpose of living meaningful, integrated lives - all while being the hard working, peace loving individuals that we all have the power to be in this lifetime.

Bio: Ted Costa has been involved with mind-body-spirit integration work since 2017. He's a Nondual Healer by way of training in a 500 hour nondual Kabbalistic healing school, and a meditation teacher by way of training in a 200 hour yoga teacher training program. Ted is still involved with ongoing healer education and yogic studies, and now teaches dozens of individuals throughout the week in personal meditation classes and other outlets. Where he practices his own personal presence can be found within his family with his wife, dog, and baby boy on the way, his co-owned coffee company "Keep It Real Coffee Company," and also within his personal meditation circles. You can find him online at East Coast Meditation.com and on instagram with the same name.

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.

My favorite yoga teacher (Yoga with Adrienne) is doing her usual 30 days of yoga for the new year series but this year the theme is - CENTER! Can you believe it? We are spending this month focusing on "Finding Our Center" and here are 30 beautiful yoga classes that can help you do the same thing. You should totally check it out, even, or maybe especially, if you've never done yoga before.

From Adrienne: Some days will be easier than others. Some will feel hard. All are designed to help you feel really really good. The most valuable part of a centering practice is the courageous act of showing up.

This series may look like a lot of core strengthening exercises, moves for a healthy spine, good lymphatic flow, releasing tension and decreasing chronic pain. But, it is truly about learning and knowing who you are.

And perhaps you will never know the power of this 30 days of centering unless

You

Show

Up.

Join here: https://do.yogawithadriene.com/center

Check out the YouTube playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLui6Eyny-Uzx-IzGg48K4aHGyBwtPh7Sw

At the center of your being

you have the answer;

you know who you are

and you know what you want.

LAO TZU

We wanted to give the congregation an update on Boy Scout Troop 77B.

Wendy Stewart who is the troop committee chair for Boy Scout Troop 78 advised us that the troop would be signing a charter with another church in town. She said originally, they reached out to two churches in town when it became clear that the Emmaus UMC would not renew their charter for the coming year. She said neither church responded. After they both didn’t respond to a follow up email, the troop committee became worried and issued an “all points bulletin” to see if they could find a sponsor. Wendy said that’s when we stepped up and expressed interest. She then said that both churches also responded that they would be willing to sponsor the troop. Wendy said they went with the church that has the charter for their pack troop which is the feeder for the boy scout troop. Now the pack and boy scout troop will be sponsored by the same church. She thanked us for stepping up and said there was nothing we did that made them go with the other church. She said once that church finally said yes it became apparent that was the best option for them.

Naturally, we are very disappointed that this did not work out. This could have been a great opportunity for both of our organizations.

We can only be positive in looking to the future. First the school went another route, now the boy scout troop is going another route. We can only hope that the third opportunity will be the charm!

Marty 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.

Next meeting - Thursday, Jan 12, 1:00 pm

Margaret circle is going to have an interesting time at their monthly meeting. Each member is being asked to think of a song that has significance in their lives. They will tell Katy Cardwell of their choice before Jan 10, and Katy, who is in charge of this program, will provide this music. The person choosing this piece will tell us what the meaning of this song has been in their life and will have a chance a chance to sing it karaoke style if they wish. This should be a fun way to get to know each other in a unique way and enjoy some music!

Margaret Circle is open to all women of the congregation. If you are not a regular, and wish to come, contact Betsy Searight.

Calling all helpers willing to do road cleanup. UU has been doing road cleanup along Pomona Rd. right by our UU sanctuary for several years. The area always has lots of debris to pick up and I think our world is better for us doing this. Next cleanup is Jan. 15th at 9am with Jan. 29 the raincheck day. I'll put a sign up sheet at the back of the sanctuary on Jan. 8th for those who would like to participate. Gloves, bags, and grabbers are supplied. Thank you Nancy Watson

There will be a Faith Action Meeting on Monday, January 16 at 6:30 PM on zoom.

Contact Janet Longo for more information.

The Men’s Group will meet on Wednesday January 18th at 6:30 PM at the Center. We will share some social time and the actual meeting will start at 7 PM.

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

Soup sale will be returning Sunday, January 29th.

It has been a while since we have had this fund raising event and this time proceeds will benefit our own UUCSJS !!!!!!!!

We need your help.

We need you to make your delicious homemade soup, and using the containers provided by the front entrance, to fill and return by January 29th. Soup can be frozen.

Soup will be for sale before and after service on the 29th. If making soup is not for you, we welcome bread or other baked goods to add to the sale. This has been a fun way to share our culinary skills in the past and hopefully will be again.

Questions? Text:

Barb Morell 215-805-7599

Janet Longo 609-226-6596

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Towles spins a beguiling and rollicking historical adventure set in the 1950s, brilliantly imaginative, and with an unforgettable cast of characters, ostensibly about a Lincoln Highway trip to California that keeps getting derailed. This novel follows 18-year-old Emmet Watson who is a surprisingly composed and mature young man.

Book Club will be meeting Friday, January 20 at 7:00 pm on ZOOM (www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom).

Everyone is welcome to join the meeting.

February 17 – The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Questions: morellb@msn.com

Everyone is invited to bring their own version/vision of flowers, branches, weeds and leaves to the chalice table!

Sign up ahead of time thru Colby @ 609 442 0967.

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

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.

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.

Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2023! Our annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16) through Valentine’s Day (February 14).

This year’s 30 Days of Love is a gift to our whole community: a love letter, a warm hug, a spiritual balm for all of the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round.

Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we'll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation.

WEEK 1 (January 16-22): Interdependence :: Democracy & Electoral Justice

WEEK 2 (January 23-29): Embodiment :: LGBTQIA+, Gender & Reproductive Justice

WEEK 3 (January 30 - February 5): Resilience :: Climate Justice

WEEK 4 (February 6-12): Healing :: Decriminalization

BONUS DAYS (February 13-14): Blessings :: Liberatory Intersections

Each week, you can expect to receive several different kinds of offerings, each from a different voice within Unitarian Universalism. Each week’s resources will be published by 12pm ET every Monday:

• A weekly Side With Love message, grounded in personal story and offered on our blog and via email and socials, reflecting on the week’s spiritual and justice issue themes
• A Time for All Ages grounded in the week’s theme, presented in video and written form, available for free use in your congregation this week or any week it works for you
• A video of Body Practice, suitable for all ages and with attention paid to accessibility for people of varying abilities
• A thematic Prayer, available for use in both video and text formats
• A thematic Blessing, available for use in both video and text formats
• A Grounding Practice to offer at the beginning of gatherings or meetings from our Side With Love Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad, available for use in video and facilitator guide formats

Click HERE or on the graphic below for more information or to sign up.

Please note: you may need to refresh your browser to subscribe to the 30 Days of Love emails. If the form does not load after clicking "subscribe," click the refresh icon (usually a bent arrow) in your browser. If you still have difficulty subscribing to their email list, you can visit www.sidewithlove.org/30daysoflove every Monday to see what materials have been released.

Central East Region Information- Updated for January!

Click on the image below for more information and to view more events in our area.

Sunday Services 10 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
Phone: (609) 965-9400
Facebook: facebook.com/uucsjs
Twitter: @UUCSJS