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

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

Saturday, December 24, 2022 – 4:30pm

Led by Gina Roche, Deb Dagavarian, and Jess Dunn Safonof

This service will be light and fun and uplifting! We will have music, lots of singing, and several readings by different people. Come experience the warmth and love of Christmas with your Unitarian Universalist friends! Gina Roche, Jessica Dunn-Safonof, and Deb Dagavarian are preparing this service for families of all types! Come alone or bring the gang!

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.

We most often talk about the giant, single-moment spiritual transformations that awe ignites in us. For instance, witnessing a solar eclipse, after which our entire view of God and ourselves was transformed.

These once-in-a-lifetime infusions of wonder are great, but most of us wouldn’t mind a little daily shot of wonder too. Every single day we get stuck in our heads. Every afternoon we feel more numb than we’d like. And every evening it’s hard to put our petty, self-centered worries into wider perspective. In the midst of all this, who doesn’t long for a bit of daily wonder to wake us up?!

So this month, let’s give ourselves the gift of a daily dose of wonder. Think of it as taking a regular “Awe Break.” Every day, put everything down for just a few minutes and let wonder soak in.

To make it easy for you, we’ve put together 31 online doses of wonder. One wonder-filled YouTube video for each of the 31 days of December. It’s a lot like those advent calendars some of us had as kids. We’d peel back the cardboard door, discover some magical new gift and our entire day would be transformed.

The link to the YouTube playlist that contains all 31 of the videos is below.

If you’re having a particularly hard day, feel free to cheat and watch a couple of them.

The goal is to see if these daily doses really change your days. We bet they do!

Recently I was asked to reflect on what we as a church have learned from the pandemic. I had to reflect and take some time to put my thoughts together but I came up with the following.

We have learned a lot in the last couple of years. In some cases, we have simply been reminded of what we have intuitively always known. We learned to be together while apart. Then, we learned to be apart while together. Now, we continue to learn ways to be together and to deepen our connections. We learned the depth and strength of our resolve. We learned that we are resilient. We learned the value of being flexible. We learned how to focus on what matters most. We learned what this church truly means to us…. We learned “church” is a building in which we feel uniquely at home. We learned “church” is this community of people and co-creators of moments and memories. We learned we are stronger together, and we learned how much we value being together even when we can’t be. We learned that the bonds that connect us are strong and are getting stronger … every day. Thank you for being part of our community. Together we can make UUCSJS all that it is. I would like to wish you and your extended families the warmest holiday wishes and good health and much happiness in the new year.

In fellowship,

Marty Quish

President, UUCSJS Board of Trustees

1. The Board will have a special board meeting tomorrow night, December 22, to discuss and finalize whether to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop in the congregation. The meeting will begin a 7 pm on Zoom using the board link on our calendar. The troop is looking to utilize our building on Monday nights. They currently have thirty two boys in the program. The board meeting is open to the congregation.
2. Beginning January 8th, our Sunday service start time will change to 11am. This will be on a temporary basis until the end of April. We are doing this to see if the new time might attract new members.
3. Stockton Day of Service- Stockton students will be on our grounds Monday January 17th to help us with a list of tasks that the Building & Grounds Committee will provide. We would like to thank Heather Swenson-Brilla for bringing this opportunity to our attention.

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.

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

We invite and encourage you to make a donation to the Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center just a few minutes up the shore from us in Lacey Township. Murray Grove is the birthplace of Universalism in this country, and therefore has great significance in our denomination.

Please donate a check or cash to UUCSJS and drop it in our collection basket, indicating that it’s for Murray Grove. And, if you donate before December 31, the congregation will match the donation up to $250! So please get those donations in, either next Sunday or at our Christmas Eve service. See link below if you prefer to donate online. Your small contribution will enable a match that could make our donation worth $500! Any questions, ask Deb Dagavarian or Karen York.

The Building and Grounds committee requests your help on Monday, January 2 to prepare the sanctuary for floor cleaning and polishing. This is a big job made smaller with more hands. Richard Schurig will guide us through removing all chairs to the foyer. He will clean and polish the bamboo floors, and then we will assist with moving the chairs back into place. Starting time will be 9AM. After the floors have dried, we will set up the chairs on Wednesday, January 4 at 9AM. Please rsvp to Barbara Miller.

(A little elf tells me there may be some tasty treats for helpers!)

Jessica is looking for a few volunteers to help out with the all ages worship service scheduled for January 8, 2023. If you would like to help, please email Jess Dunn Safonof.

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.

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.

Central East Region Information- Updated for December!

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