Let music help you get into this month's theme with a playlist on Spotify (free to listen) all about imagination. Click the link below.

Join Rev. Dawn this week in a moment of imagination as they share a reading from Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.

A playlist of Rev. Dawn's Midweek Meditations can be found HERE. Videos on YouTube include closed captioning.

Rev. Dawn is available for pastoral care appointments Wednesday through Friday 10am to 3pm. Please email minister@uucsjs.org to schedule an appointment.

-Rev. Dawn Fortune

We sit at the cusp of a new presidential administration and imagine what 2021 might offer us individually, as a congregation, and as a larger community. Our nation was founded on promises and dreams. If we were to start over today, what might those promises and dreams include? Individual freedom? Community accountability? Personal liberty? Collective responsibility? The struggle to find balance between freedom and responsibility is eternal. Let's imagine what it might look like if we created a new world today with the wisdom gained from nearly 250 years of democracy.

Join us Sunday at 10 am at www.tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom or call in to (929)436-2866 then enter: 2246776604#, 0#, 306591#. Make sure to update your Zoom software before Sunday morning so you aren't late to church!

Information on upcoming services can be found HERE.

For those hearing-impaired, pdf copies of Rev. Dawn's sermons are available on our website at the link above. Also, entire services are uploaded to our YouTube channel each Sunday afternoon where Closed Captioning is available.

In case you weren't able to join us last Sunday, here is what you missed.

Click on the graphic below or visit the calendar at uucsjs.org for more information on events and meetings.

To have your announcement placed in the Midweek Message, please send an email to uucsjsadmin@gmail.com by Noon on Wednesday.

With our services streaming online, we know that mailing a check is not always the most convenient way to give to UUCSJS. Since March, we have experimented with a number of different ways to donate from Paypal to Zelle transfers, to requesting electronic bank checks. We think we have finally found the best, most convenient, and safest way for you to support UUCSJS.

We now have the ability to accept your donations right on our website! Through our online giving form, you can easily give one time, or set up automatic recurring giving. You can access our online giving form HERE or on our website at http://uucsjs.org/online-giving.

You can also use our new text to give option! Just dial (609) 293-4495 on your cell phone and follow the prompts to sign up. Then all you need to do is enter a donation amount, decide if it is a one-time or recurring gift and you are all set.

Our church does pay a small transaction fee to process online payments, but we feel the fee is well worth the convenience. If you choose to, you are able to cover that fee for the church at the same time you give.

We want you to know we greatly appreciate you and your heart of generosity as you continue to support UUCSJS and our mission.

January's Book Club Pick is Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck.

Pavilion of Women is a thought-provoking combination of Old China, unorthodox Christianity, and liberation, written by Pearl S Buck, a Nobel Prize winner born and raised in China. Few stories raise so many questions about the nature and roles of men and women, about self-discipline and happiness. Deb Dagavarian will lead discussion.

Book Club will meet on ZOOM on Friday, January 15 at 7:00. Click HERE for Zoom link.

All are welcome to join meeting. Questions? Please contact Barbara Morell or email uucsjsadmin@gmail.com.

Happy New Year to all UUCSJS’ers!

2020 is finally behind us, and we are all looking forward to 2021! One of the biggest changes in 2021 for UUCSJS is that we will be hiring a new Director of Music & Arts, as Barbara Miller is finally taking her well earned retirement.

The UUCSJS Board of Trustees has authorized the formation of a search committee, and we will be seeking input from all of our congregants as to what we want in our next Director of Music & Arts.

The search committee is comprised of the following members:

Melissa Hutchison, Chair

Cynthia Grzywinski, member

Nick Bonar, member

Betsy Erbaugh, Board Liaison

Barbara Miller, consulting

Jess Dunn Safonof, consulting and secretary

Rev Dawn Fortune, consulting

We are honored to represent the congregation in this endeavor, and will be seeking member input as we pursue this important process. In the next several weeks, you will have opportunities as to what you would like to see in our next Director of Music and Arts, so stay tuned to your midweek announcements, after service announcements, and the UUCSJS website.

Your first opportunity to participate in the search process will be in an after service coffee hour forum on Sunday, January 17th, 2021 (around 11:00 AM, zoom time!), where members of the search committee will be asking for your feedback in what you are looking for in our next Director of Music & Arts.

We understand that launching a search in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, with the challenges of Zoom meetings and worship, may present special challenges, so we encourage anyone with questions or feedback to send an email to UUCSJS.DMAsearch@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

Melissa Hutchison

Here you will find opportunities to connect with our larger faith and other UU's from outside our congregation.

Friday, March 5, 2021, 7 to 8:30 PM

UU FaithAction NJ’s (UUFANJ) UU Justice Gala 2021 will be our fun annual fundraiser. We started out expecting to hold a gala dinner in Princeton, expanding on the first gala held in Summit. With the pandemic, we have shifted to a virtual event that will be presented via Zoom on Friday, March 5, from 7:00 – 8:30pm. Racial Justice has been chosen as the theme to highlight the overarching goal of the dismantling racism work across all our Task Forces.

The gala is a great chance to celebrate what we have accomplished through Faith Action and where we are going. You will be hearing about the work of UUFANJ from Task Force Leaders, and the new UUFANJ Youth Caucus will have a segment.

We will be honoring Rev. Craig Hirshberg and Ms. Kim Gaddy at the gala. Rev. Hirshberg is our early Executive Director who led us in establishing UUFaithActionNJ (then called the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey). Ms. Gaddy is a coalition partner and longstanding activist with Clean Water Action, the Department of Environmental Protection, and her hometown of Newark.

The gala will also have music, a breakout activity to get people moving, and bidding via the UUFANJ website before the event for Task Force themed gift and food baskets, delivered to the winners’ doorsteps. There will be a drawing for a door prize from among event attendees.

Money to run UUFANJ comes from congregations, from grants, and a significant portion from individuals. There will be a sliding scale registration fee for the gala - youth and friends of UUFANJ are warmly invited too! Please save the date and look for details and the registration link by the end of January at https://www.uufaithaction.org/.

Participating in the gala is a great opportunity to support UUFANJ and its important social justice work, as well as join together for an evening of fun and friendship. We look forward to seeing you at the UU Justice Gala 2021!

In faith,

Elaine Nigam and Lynne Quinto, Co-Chairs

UU Justice Gala 2021 Planning Committee

Saturday, January 30, at First Unitarian Portland.

This year’s spiritual theme is entitled, Success, Failure, and Everything In Between.

Our keynote speaker is the Rev. Meg Riley, co-moderator of the UUA, the highest volunteer office of our movement. Rev. Riley spent 37 years as a UU religious professional, including stints as the UUA’s Director of (then) LBG Concerns, Director of the UUA Washington Office, and Head of the Advocacy and Witness Staff Group.

At Seminary for a Day Rev. Riley is eager to share what she has learned and reflect on how our faith’s past weaknesses, successes and failures can help us now in our pursuits of equality and justice. She will explore the topic through the lens of our work in welcoming LGBTQ+ people and the lessons that have come from that work.

Details: Saturday, January 30, 2021

12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Registration is open until 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 29th. You will receive a Zoom link via email before the event.

https://www.firstunitarianportland.org/events/seminary-for-a-day-all-are-welcome/

ALL ARE WELCOME! So please do share this event with your congregation. If you have any questions or would like any additional descriptions please contact Kerry at kheintze@firstunitarianportland.org.

Sunday Services 10 am on Zoom at tinyurl.com/uucsjszoom

Email: uucsjsadmin@gmail.com
Website: www.uucsjs.org
Location: 75 S Pomona Rd, Egg Harbor City, NJ, USA
Phone: (609) 965-9400
Facebook: facebook.com/uucsjs
Twitter: @UUCSJS