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

• Upcoming Sunday Services
• Stewardship
• Announcements
• Events This Week
• Connect to the Monthly Theme
• Connect to Our Faith
• Last Sunday
• Caring Team

The Spring Equinox

Led by Guest Speaker Theresa McReynolds

The Earth is coming alive again. The Spring Equinox is a festival of awakening, and rebirth. The dark months are now over & we are moving into the warmth of the light. Now is a time of celebrating the freshness of life and of taking the time to raise our energy to regenerate abundance and manifest our dreams.

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 ordained 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 known as AVANSAR, and the Rape Crisis Center. She is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, gardener, farmer, a lover of this motherearth 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.

*Masks are currently optional at UUCSJS.

March 5 to April 16, 2023

The programs and services provided by UUCSJS each year are made possible through the generous financial support of our members and friends. Each year we have a season of stewardship to receive advance pledges from members and friends to indicate their anticipated level of financial support. This information assists us in planning our program operating budget in advance. We are currently

planning for the budget year beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2024. Our stewardship drive has begun and will run from until April 16th. Our Goal for this year is $135,000 in pledges. We currently have $93,490 in financial commitments from 21 families, or 69% of our goal. You can complete your pledge electronically using this link. Pledge cards and additional information will also be available on Sunday over the next month. If you have any questions about the stewardship process, you may contact me or other members of the Board or Finance committee. Each and every pledge is important because it is the collective generosity of our community that makes UUCSJS possible!

~ Karen York, Stewardship Chair

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

From UU Faith Action NJ:

There are three new conservative School Board Members in Ocean City- "Robin Shaffer said he and two other school board members, Catherine Panico and Liz Nicoletti, plan to seek a vote on a new resolution stating the board “strongly disapproves” of the new state standards, which include standards on sexual education and gender identity that have proven deeply controversial." These folks are pushing the "Parents Rights Act" legislation that has been introduced as well.

There has been a request from colleagues to have a strong show of support for sex ed and LGBTQ youth in the district. Details below and please, if you are geographically close to Ocean City SHOW UP FOR THIS MEETING!

Meeting Details:

7 p.m. March 16 in the Ocean City High School library at 501 Atlantic Ave. Ocean City, NJ

Our second circle dinner of the season is being planned for Saturday, April 22. Signups begin on Sunday, March 19, and will continue through Sunday, April 9.

Circle Dinners are a program where people are assigned to a group of eight, who gather at the home of the person or couple designated as the host. All persons are assigned to bring one of the courses. You may sign up as a couple or as an individual The purpose is to enjoy a good meal in good company, and to get to know each other better. There is more information about these dinners at the signup table. Please come!

UUCSJS will hold a second collection on Sunday, March 26, 2023 to support the Eastern Service Workers Association. The ESWA is an all-volunteer, mutual aid association which provides programs for low income workers in our area including emergency food, clothing, medical and dental care, legal education and information, and advocacy. Your generosity in this second collection is greatly appreciated.

Spring means it will soon be grass cutting time at 75 Pomona Rd.! We have been very fortunate over the years to have volunteers like Steve Merkel, Richard Schurig, Scott Senn and probably others who keep the grass cut around our building. Richard Schurig is once again volunteering to do this. We would also like to enlist at least one more volunteer to spell Richard if needed. Please contact Richard if this is something you would be interested in. It will be much appreciated!

Now is the time to obtain your copy of Defunding Fear by Zach Norris, and possibly start reading. However, the discussion concerning this book will not take place until the third Sunday in June after the service. This is a UU common read. Jess has ordered three copies which can be borrowed. It is an easy short read loaded with facts. For example, a 2019 study in the American Journal of Medicine, found that guns kill more kids than on duty police and active military personnel combined. This book not only includes facts, but recommendations as well. It’s a very worthwhile read.

Do you love the arrangements you see on the chalice table each Sunday? Are you feeling creative? Sign up to bring floral or other arrangement for our chalice table!

Let Colby know ahead of time or text 609-442-0967 to schedule your arrangements.

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.

There will be a Faith Action Committee meeting via zoom March 20th Monday at 6:30. All are welcome to attend.

March's Book: THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI by Akwaeke Emezi

What does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? Propulsively readable, teeming with unforgettable characters, THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI is a novel of family and friendship that challenges expectations – a dramatic story of loss and transcendence that will move every reader.

Book club meets on ZOOM (www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom) at 7:00 pm Friday, March 17th.

All are welcome to join the discussion.

WHAT BEGAN AS A CHANCE CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE…

…has grown into a global network connecting thousands of people in the DeafBlind, blind, and low-vision communities, and connecting non-disabled people to the people and missions of those communities.

After a late-night chance encounter with a DeafBlind man on a New York City street, writer/director Doug Roland wrote the award winning short film, Feeling Through. Doug knew from the start he wanted to cast a DeafBlind actor to star, so he partnered with Helen Keller Services to realize that mission.

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.

You all are so much in my heart. These are heartbreaking and terrifying times. An onslaught of oppressive laws and policies are threatening the well-being of our children, young people and adults, and the very fabric of communities. I know how hard you all are working to care for your people and communities while also organizing for justice. I see you. I love you. And you inspire me in your witness and your depth of pastoral care and commitment.

I am praying especially for all our trans and nonbinary+ kids and adults, their families, and the communities supporting them. Too many trans and nonbinary+ people are living in an environment where policy makers are criminalizing their very existence.

My heart is also with all of you in frontline communities and states. I know you are holding so much – too much. We are in the fight to provide support and safe harbor with you, as we have been so many times throughout our history. We may not win every battle but we are in this work for the long haul. And we are digging deeper to expand our partnerships, find new ways to support people, and organize for a future where everyone can fully be who they are and flourish in their identities.

As Unitarian Universalists, we are clear and unapologetic. Our LGBTQIA+ siblings are sacred, whole, and divine. We understand the full expression of the diversity of gender and sexuality is a gift. As progressive people of faith, we know this is a fight for everyone’s humanity.

As an Association, we have shown up for trans and nonbinary+ youth and individuals through words and actions. I want to make sure you are aware of these resources for your own efforts and as additional support for members of your communities. Please visit Side With Love’s UPLIFT Action webpage to see our ongoing work and ways your congregation can participate. UPLIFT also sponsors monthly gatherings for trans and nonbinary+ people of all ages. You can also stay connected to this work, and receive pastoral messages and opportunities to take action by joining our UPLIFT newsletter and following the blog. Also please visit the UUA’s Five Practices of Welcome Renewal for Welcoming Congregations page for ways to ensure that members of the LGBTQIA+ community can feel fully welcomed, centered, and embraced in your congregation.

I am with you as we confront these devastating challenges – and hold you all close as we work to protect our loved ones, our families, our communities and neighbors.

I pray that each of you, in your own way, is doing something to care for your spirit, to lean into community and love, to tend to your own need for gentleness and care - that we might be nourished for the work that continues.

Yours in love and faith,

Susan

Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray spends her days strengthening the thriving mission of this faith. In her spare time, she enjoys being with her family and playing with their dog, Hercules.

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.

Sunday Services 11 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