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
• Events This Week
• Announcements
• Call to Action
• Caring Team
• Last Sunday
• Connect to Our Faith

Let It Be A Dance

Presented by Guest Minister Rev Charlie Dieterich

A wise analyst once noted that there are only three fundamental stories: Someone went on a journey, a stranger came to town, and Godzilla vs. MegaShark. How is "Finding our center" like "Finding our story?" Retired Minister Rev. Charlie Dieterich has some ideas.

Bio: After a first career as a television system designer, Charlie Dieterich changed directions, attended Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley California, and then interned for two years in New Orleans. He was ordained by UUCSJS on September 30, 2012, serving the congregation for three years. He then moved to Norfolk, VA and Erie, PA, then retired home to Kingston in central NJ. Although no longer a parish minister, Charlie remains active in the UU Trauma Response Ministry, uutrm.org.

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.

In our culture of faster, better and never enough, it is easy to live our lives on autopilot. Taking one or two intentional pauses throughout our day allows us to challenge and correct that. It enables us to stay close to our center and be more fully present. It is a practice of mindfulness, that all spiritual traditions embrace in one form or another.

With this in mind, you are invited to take a week and weave in at least one purposeful pause into your day. Don’t overcomplicate it. This can be as simple as taking a walk or pausing for a few minutes of deep breathing. One useful technique is to stop what you are doing, look around and ask yourself, “What do I notice around me?” or “What is going on in my body right now?” (You can also write down what you notice and then look back over it at the end of the week for connections) For those who want to explore a slightly more involved practice, try making time for one of these online guided mindful meditations each day: https://reset.thriveglobal.com/.

During and after the week, note how these purposeful pauses altered or enhanced your emotional state and/or the patterns of your day.

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.

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

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

We will hold an important workshop for all Worship Associates, and people who are considering becoming a Worship Associate, on Sunday, February 19, after the service. Worship Associates who have served for years, as well as newer ones, should attend this session. For anyone who wants to see what is involved, please also attend. This will NOT be a lengthy meeting.

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

Sign up ahead of time through 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 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