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Upcoming Worship Services!
Sunday, December 4, 9 & 11 a.m.
"Advent 1: Finding Faith" Rev. Roberta will use the writings of contemporary spiritual commentator Anne Lamott to explore the meaning of faith for Unitarian Universalists. We will welcome our newest members at both services.
Wednesday, December 7, 5 p.m. Music Meditation & 5:30 p.m. Reflection Service
This week's "Reflections" will be led by Ken Swearingen. The music meditation will be by Segovia and the theme of the service is "Reflecting on December 7".
Sunday, December 11th, 9 & 11 a.m.
"Advent 2: Finding Hope" The poetry of Robert Frost will take us into an exploration of how we Unitarian Universalists can find hope. |
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Board Forums This Sunday!
This Sunday, the Board of Trustees will be holding their 3rd in a series of board forums with discussions about our Society as we transition towards a new called minister. You are cordially invited to join us after each service in the Sanctuary this Sunday starting at 10:20 and 12:20, following collections for Socially Responsible Santa.
We will be addressing questions about leadership and explore the ways the board, committees and ministries work together with the congregration to fulfill our mission. The board is presently studying chapter 4 of Dan Hotchkiss' book, Governance & Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership. Interested members are invited to borrow a copy of spare books located in the copier room and read Chapter 4. Please return the book once you have read the chapter. - Bill West, Board President
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Socially Responsible Santa - This Sunday!
Just a reminder that Sunday, Dec. 4 is Socially Responsible Santa
Sunday. This is our society's opportunity to give to those in our community
who are in need. The elves will be in various areas of the church after both services to gratfuly accept your donations. If you will not be at the the service, you may mail your contribution to the church and mark the memo line for SR Santa.
Socieally Responsible Santa was started by the late Michael Farrell in 1986.
The original idea was that Santa would hand out "good" snacks while the
elves collected donations for those in need. That first year we handed out
raisins(not the most successful idea) and collected enough money to serve 3
families. That first year we also made the decision to give cash gifts
which would allow people to make their own choices in keeping with our first
UU principle. For the next several years, we were able to have treats from
Ben and Jerry's and also increased the number of families we were able to
serve. At that time, we were working with local agencies to find the
families and also w/ our ministerial staff. Sometime in between 1998 and
2003 , we were aksed by the RE committee to dispense w/ the Santa outfit and
help decommercialize the holidays. We did this and then added more elves.
Also since that time, we have worked w/ guidance counselors in 3 area
schools and continue to work w/ our staff to find our families. Last year
we were able to provide cash gifts to 33 families - a new record, and I'm
hoping for more this year. Maggi Hayes, Head Elf |
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Community Carol Sing!
Come and add your voices to the Community Carol Sing on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7pm. This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this great event that welcomes the holiday season! The downtown churches each present a special carol and then everyone gets to sing traditional music of the season. It's a fun and very family friendly event and I hope to see you there. Maggi Hayes, event coordinator |
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Holiday Grief Support Group
Linda Ayer and Daniel Wilds of the Care Network Ministry will facilitate a bereavement support group on Monday evenings, December 5th, 12th and 19th from 7:00-8:30PM. For those who have experienced the loss of a loved one, this group will offer an opportunity to tell stories, share memories and find companions on the journey to healing.
Please email carenetwork@uusociety.org or contact Daniel by phone at 802-338-1252 if you would like to attend.
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 Religious Education News! Upcoming Sundays for children and youth:
Dec. 4... Regular RE Sunday Dec. 11... Regular RE Sunday. Double session in OWL. Evening Yuuth Group meeting. Dec 18... Regular RE Sunday Support the Sixth Graders' Boston Trip: BUY TOYS ... at the Bazaar Toy Sale THIS Sunday from 9-2 here at the Meetinghouse. Don't miss Yuuth Group News! For a weekly email with upcoming events and reminders, contact Kristin Cadwalader, Youth Programs Coordinator: |
Office Hours!
Our offices will be open Monday, December 5th through Thursday, December 8th from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. If you come during these hours and the door is locked, please ring the doorbell! |
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 Giving Tree
The season of giving, receiving, and gratitude is here! The Yuuth Group has collected lists of needed items for three local agencies - Spectrum, COTS, and the Humane Society - that are in great need of receiving so that they can do some giving this holiday season. Ornaments on the tree will indicate what is needed, please take one or two this Sunday! The Giving Tree will be in the sanctuary until Sunday December 18th so please have your gifts returned by the 11:00 service that day. The Yuuth Group, agencies, and recipients of your gifts will be very grateful for your generosity!
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Enews Blast Now Available on the Website!
The latest issue of the Enews Blast and the Newsletter are available on the homepage of our website. Older issues are available on the Newsletter & Enews Blast Archive Page. www.uusociety.org |
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Yuuth Group Updates!
December 3rd
**Holiday Bazaar Clean-Up**
2:00 pm Saturday
As has become Yuuth Group tradition, we'll be helping to clean up after the Holiday Bazaar. Griffin and Dan will be there, and have told me it should only take a couple of hours so we will be ready to rock for the overnight at 6:00. Thank you to Dan Hellen for remembering to bring this up!
December 3rd - 4th
**OVERNIGHT!!!!!!!!**
6:00 pm Saturday - noon Sunday Focus: fun, Fun, FUN!!!!!!
What we'll be doing: make our own pizza, Messages in Music, putting up the Giving Tree/finishing ornaments, fun, games, sleep?
What to bring: Sleeping bag/pillow, SNACKS, $5 (ish) for breakfast, meaningful song, PERMISSION SLIP (an electronic version will be emailed tomorrow and we will have extras on Saturday), movies, toothbrush et al, journal, etc.
December 11th
10:45 am - 12:15 pm Sunday Focus: YSOP (service project) & GT
We'll go over YSOP dates and details and finalize who will be responsible for distributing the gifts collected from the Giving Tree. I will also be asking for volunteers and nominations of youth who are interested in taking the lead various Yuuth Group responsibilities (Treasurer, Fundraising, Communication, etc) - details to follow!
December 18th
**Weird Timing!!**
12:15 - 2:15 pm Sunday Focus: Giving Tree
December 18th is the last day for gifts to be brought back for the Giving Tree! It is also the day the tree needs to be removed from the Sanctuary. After the second service we'll organize everything, bag it up, take the tree down, then...go to Shalimar for the Sunday buffet? If we want to do this it might be after 2:15 when we're done, but we can decide later :-)
Contact Kristin Cadwalader
youth@uusociety.org or 908-399-5084
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Facilities Manager We are a liberal religious organization looking for someone to care for our historic Meeting House and surrounding buildings. This is a full time position that requires someone who is skilled in building maintenance, can supervise staff and is dedicated to energy efficiency and using green products. Knowledge of IT management is a plus! For a complete job description please go to our website www.uusociety.org. Please send your resume and letter of interest to career@uusociety.org |
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 A Message to Those of You Who Shop On-line
If you are one of the many people who avoid the malls by doing their holiday shopping on-line, you can help the First UU Society at the same time. Before going directly to your favorite on-line store, go first to www.goodshop.com. Where it asks you to type in the name of your cause, type in First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, then just start shopping. Many of your favorite stores participate by donating a percentage of your purchase to the Society. Each year in November, we receive a check for that amount. And you can do this all year long; every time you purchase something on-line just go to www.goodshop.com first. Just imagine how much money we could raise if we all participated in this way! |
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 We're Nuts for the Holiday Bazaar!
Our Holiday Bazaar is THIS Saturday from 9 - 2 and we'll be taking orders for Fair Trade Pecans from SAAC
-- an African-American woman-run pecan coop in Georgia. Their pecan halves and treats will be available for sampling at the bazaar and we'll be placing a bulk order that will arrive before Christmas for gift giving and baking.
We are still accepting donations for the Bazaar on Friday Dec. 2 from 10 - 6.
We are still needing a few cookie bakers for the luncheon -- just bring a couple dozen of your best cookies on Saturday morning.
We also have a last minute need for another batch of Pea Soup -- contact Wendy ASAP if you can make it!
wendycoe@burlingtontelecom.net |
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Our Neighbors Need Not Go Hungry!
Your contributions of protein-rich casseroles and homemade brownies or cookies allow us to use our purchase order to buy more vitamin and nutrient packed fresh veggies & fruit. Bring your donations to the UU downstairs kitchen (clearly labeled "food shelf") and we will transport them, or drop directly at the Food Shelf by 4:30. Dates: 12/11, 12/18, 12/25, 1/1, 1/8, 1/15. Many thanks! Suzie DeBrosse,
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever does." - Margaret Mead |
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Minister's Forum
Sunday December 4th at 3 pm the Minister's Forum will focus on Sources of Hope for Unitarian Universalists. The Forum is an opportunity to consider theological and spiritual topics in depth. The Forums tend to be lively and participatory. All are welcome. |
 Christmas Breakfast-yes it's that time of year-the shopping list is ready, the strata recipes are being hunted up and the posters are being printed! So bring your apron and your family to our annual Christmas Breakfast: we share food, conversation and ourselves with each other and with neighbors who need a welcoming place for a holiday meal. Just like at home-we all pitch in to make it work!
Please contact Lynn Douglas to volunteer, donate food or if you have questions (yes, it really is on Christmas morning!) herbalwoman@gmail.com, 802.318.2663 (there is NO sign-up sheet at the Meetinghouse). |
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 Thank you everyone for all your food donations. I just dropped off another 64 lbs. of pet food at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. That brings the total to 105 lbs. collected so far. The volunteers at the Food Shelf told me that the pet food goes really quickly, so....keep on bringing in food and placing it in the bin at the bottom of the stairwell that leads to RE.
Our committee would like to offer to lead a RE class at 11am. We would make pet and cat toys that would be donated to "Lucy's House". This is a local organization that provides pet food and toys to elderly and disabled pet owners. Depending on the age of the class, we would structure the material and project accordingly. We will provide all necessary materials! Please contact Gail Beck beckfamilyvt@gmail.com or call her at 802.862.3540.
Our next meeting is scheduled for 12:15pm on December 11. Everyone is welcome, please feel free to bring your children!Contact Gail Beck with any questions, ideas, concerns, etc.... Woof Woof, Meow Meow! Gail Beck |
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One of the tasks of this year's First UU Board of Trustees is to look at the governing structure of our Society. This is an open-ended exploration of the best way to structure ourselves. This process includes discussions among Board members, Society Council members, and the congregation at large. The word "governance" is interpreted many ways, and it is important that all members of our congregation have the opportunity to discuss and participate in the decisions that will lead to an effective governing structure. To that end, First UU Board members are reading Dan Hotchkiss's book Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership.
We have set aside time at each board meeting to discuss aspects of organizational structure. Copies of this book are available in our Society library. Here is a link to an article by Dan Hotchkiss that discusses the key points in his book:
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 Volunteer for First Night Burlington 2011 and receive a free First Night button!
Our Meetinghouse has been a long time host site for First Night Burlington. For First Night 2012 we are hosting Wilhem Lange, the Starline Rythym Boys, the MMU Chorus, , Banjo Dan & the Midnite Plowboys, Twist of the Wrist and the Woods Tea Company.
We have 20 two hour time slots available for folks who would like to volunteer and receive a free First Night button. The starting times are 12:40, 2:40, 4:40, 6:40 and 8:40 PM. The last shift will be shorter.
There is a now sign-up-sheet on the First UU Society bulletin board. After December 17th you can call me at 862-5630 x23 or send an e-mail to david@uusociety.org to sign up or ask questions. Volunteers can pick up their buttons beginning at 11:00 AM on Friday, December 31st.
Volunteering is great fun and a wonderful opportunity to support this valuable Burlington event.
David McFeeters Facilities Manager |
 Celebrate the Guest at Your Table! Our Guest at Your Table program is going strong! So many families and friends have brought human rights home and welcomed our "guests" into their lives. Thanks to your support, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is working throughout the United States and around the world to advance human rights. Your beautiful Guest at Your Table box and Stories of Hope booklet introduce you to people whose efforts in partnership with UUSC have helped change people's lives. Each week, with family and friends, we can focus on a different story of hope as we sit down to meals together and consider our many blessings. This week, meet Dalia Ziada, who is shattering barriers to empower a generation of Egyptians who are experiencing democracy for the first time. Dalia started as a youth organizer by winning an essay contest and now helps other youth find their voice and advocate for their rights. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Dalia worked with UUSC to translate a comic book about the Montgomery bus boycott into Arabic. She handed out the comic and also trained youth activists about nonviolent protest leading up to the democratic revolution, and today helps educate about voter rights and encouraging civic participation. You can learn more about UUSC's work to defend civil liberties at home and abroad online at www.uusc.org/civilliberties. If you have not yet picked up your Guest at Your Table box and Stories of Hope (or an envelope, if you prefer), you can do so at a table in back of the sanctuary or in the parlor, or by talking with Dave Conrad, chair of Denominational Affairs. Your gift to Guest at Your Table is tax deductible - be sure to complete the form on your box. And remember, gifts of $100 or more are eligible to be matched by the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, to double the impact of your support! |
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ALERT TO MORE ARTISTS
If you missed submitting your work for this show please contact memanock@mac.com or 863-6627 for the next exhibit running mid Dec- Feb. We already have one artist !On Nov 17, 2011, at 6:10 PM, First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont wrote: |
 A BIG THANK YOU to the YUUTH for helping get the JUMP Thanksgiving bags organized for delivery to JUMP headquarters! Because of their advance help, it only took a little over an hour to get everything moved and put away at JUMP a few days later. THANK YOU, too, to the many volunteers who came a few days later who drove cars to JUMP, hauled bags up elevators, stowed food in bins and made a human chain up two flights of stairs to make sure that everything got where it needed to go!! Many, many hands made light work this year! |
 POTLUCK ALERT
There are now two 2nd Saturday Potluck Dinners. In the parlors we will have the traditional adult dinner with free babysitting offered. The adult potluck starts at 6:00.
Downstairs in the community room we will have a new family oriented dinner where the children can eat with the adults or parents can utilize the free babysitting. The family potluck starts at 5:30pm.
There will be separate announcements for each dinner. Please make your choice to attend the early or later potluck and make a reservation with the correct contact person.
Shirley McLane (Adult), Sarah Forbes (Family) |
 The Adult Programs Committee is seeking ideas for the Winter 2012 program flyer. Do you have a burning desire to teach something others might want to learn? Or is there a topic you think we should include in our listing? Please contact Jean Palmer by Dec. 10 with your ideas and suggestions jeanpa813@gmail.com |
You are invited to the 2nd Saturday Adult Potluck Supper on December 10. Come at 6:00 for conversation, singing, friendship, and a good dinner. Please contact Shirley McLane at 862-0543 or shirleymclane@myfairpoint.net to let us know you are coming and whether you are bringing an appetizer, main dish, salad, or dessert. Also include how many people and if you need childcare (it's free, but we need a few days notice). We ask for a $2 per person donation to cover the costs of wine, cider, soft drinks, and supplies. I hope to see you there.
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