UUCSJS Midweek Message

Click on the "view in your browser" link at the top of this email. Then find the black and white "person icon" in the bottom right corner of your screen. When you click this icon you can choose to increase the font size or select high contrast mode.

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

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

Abraham and Sarah

Presented by Dr. Marcia Fiedler

Join Marcia Fiedler, Coordinator of Jewish Studies at Stockton University as we discuss the very first episode of "The Real Housewives" starring the patriarch Abram, his first wife Sarai, and his second wife Hagar, also known the first biblical baby momma. How could a relationship that was so right, go so wrong?

Bio: Dr. Marcia Fiedler is Coordinator of Jewish Studies at Stockton University.

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.

One of the best ways to explore our monthly themes is to bring them into the conversations you have with those closest to you. It’s a powerful way to deepen our conversations and our relationships.

Below is a list of “love questions” to help you on your way.

Love Questions:

1. What did love mean to you as a child?
2. How have you changed your mind about love?
3. How has love changed as you’ve gotten older? Is it softer? Quieter? Larger? Tougher? Smaller? Sneakier? More central?
4. Whose love has companioned you the longest?
5. When did love scare you the most?
6. When did love invite you to play?
7. What most helped put you back together after love broke you to bits?
8. What is society’s biggest misunderstanding about love?
9. It’s been argued that “If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” Does that ring true for you?
10. What promise might love be wanting you to make?
11. What do you know of “a love that will not let us go”?
12. What has been your greatest act of love?

March 5 to April 16, 2023

The programs and services we are able to provide each year are made possible through the generous financial support of our members and friends. So, each year we have a season of stewardship to receive advance pledges of support from members and friends to help us in planning our programming budget in advance (planning for July 2023 to June 2024). Our stewardship campaign this year will run from March 5th to April 16th. It is the collective generosity of our community that makes UUCSJS possible! You will be hearing more about stewardship on Sunday mornings and in the mid-week message.

~ Karen York, Stewardship Chair

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.

Margaret circle will be meeting next week, on Thursday, March 2, at 1:00pm in the sanctuary. Following our joys and concerns, Debbi Dagavarian will lead us in a karaoke experience. She will bring the lyrics of many songs from the 1930s through the 1970s and we can sing along to the music that will be provided. The songs will be familiar ones, and the group will choose which songs to sing. All women of the congregation are invited to attend.

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.

The first Circle Dinner will be held on Saturday, March 18th.

Circle dinners are a way for people to get together for the purpose of getting to know each other better over a meal and enjoying each other’s company. There are usually 8 people at each dinner, and there are as many dinners as the sign-ups for them can support. Each couple, or singles grouped as a twosome, are assigned a course. Hosts hold the dinner in their home, or the UU Center, and provide appetizers, water, coffer and tea. Other assignments are Main Course, Salad and Bread, Dessert. Sign-ups will begin this Sunday and continue until March 5th. The hope is that there will be enough interest to schedule two more dinners this Spring.

Sign-up sheets along with a complete description will be available at the back table in the Sanctuary. The schedule with course assignments will go out shortly after the March 5th deadline. You may also sign up my emailing mariet@comcast.net, be sure to include your name, email, address and phone number.

Circle dinners are a great away for newer members and friends to get to know us in a fun,

relaxed atmosphere. Please consider joining us.

PLEASE NOTE: We are looking for any congregants that would be interested in being a part of our Solar Committee. Our solar panels are in need of repair or replacement and we are looking for people that would be interested in being a part of the selection process. Please reach out to Marty mdwquish@outlook.com for more info.

The clothing bin in our foyer is accepting your donations of clean and folded, gently used clothing of all kinds including SHOES!!!

Donations benefit members of ESWA and never sold.

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.

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.

Common Read: The 1619 Project 📖

February 22, March 8, March 22, April 19 and May 3, 7–8:30 PM

Online

The UU FaithAction NJ Reparations Task Force is pleased to announce the common read of The 1619 Project, edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein.

The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book expands that work, weaving together essays, poems and fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle and resistance.

Our schedule will consist of five Wednesday evening meetings, 7:00 to 8:30 PM, via Zoom.

Common read info & registration.

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