This Week, May 12, 2013  

This Sunday - Worship 10:30 a.m.

This Sunday - Adult Forum  

9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. in Room 25

This Sunday - Faithful Dialogues     

9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. in Brunner Chapel

Children & Youth Religious Exploration 

To find out what interesting and inspiring things our children and youth are up to, please click here for CYRE News and Notes!     

Next Week, May 19, 2013    

Next Sunday's Service - 10:30 a.m.       

Day of Mindfulness Retreat

On Saturday, May 11, 2013 the First U's Open Heart Zen Sangha will celebrate spring with a wonderful day of meditation practices. A delicious vegetarian potluck lunch will be served. All are welcome regardless of experience. The retreat will be held in the Brunner Chapel from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and costs $25 (Cash or check made payable to First Unitarian Church of Wilmington). If you plan to attend, please contact Ben Fleury-Steiner by cell phone 302-379-6918 or email openheartzen@gmail.com.

May 12 Special Collection

A Center for Relational Living 

This Sunday May 12 our collection plate offering will benefit the work of A Center for Relational Living (ACRL) and their Second Chances Program which helps formerly incarcerated people to reenter society and avoid recidivism. Last year ACRL helped 20 former prisoners to find jobs, and provided pre-release training and resources for 35 inmates to help them successfully transition back into society.  

Our own community minister, Rev. Paula Maiorano, is the full-time volunteer Executive Director. Members of our congregation also volunteer and support their work. Our gifts will help to reduce the pattern of recidivism that plagues Delaware and will help save taxpayers many thousands of dollars.  

For more information about ACRL, Second Chances, and the Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow, please contact:Rev. Paula Maiorano, ACRL,100 W. 10th St., Wilmington, DE 19801, 302-428-3850

Forum this Sunday on Proposed Development in Brandywine Valley

For Mother's Day this Sunday let's give First Unitarian Church's mothers the gift of seeing our community in action. New Castle County Congregations of  Delaware Interfaith Power and Light will be sponsoring a forum to discuss a development proposal which would convert land currently used for recreation - biking, hiking - to a mixture of big box retail, retirement home and single family development. For the development to proceed, current zoning will have to be changed. The hearing before The Township of Concord Board of Supervisors is this Tuesday, May 14th at 7 p.m. Please visit savethevalley.org for the Township's meeting location and proposal details. For a history on the Woodlawn Company and Woodlawn Trustees, the company interested in selling the land to developers, please click here.  

While this land is just across the border in Pennsylvania, The Woodlawn Trustees also own the contiguous land in Delaware, basically all the open space that exists between Silverside Road, Concord Pike, Smith Bridge Road and the New National Monument.

Preventing the destruction of open space may seem like a clear goal, but a full evaluation of this particular issue requires historical perspective

forum will be to help our community explore the issue in some of its complexity and see what a plan of action would look like were we to take on this issue as a group or as individuals. We are particularly hoping our church youth will participate. The forum will be structured to engage all ages, middle school and up. We will be meeting at noon, this Sunday in Brunner Chapel. Child care will be provided. 

Children & Youth Religious Exploration

2013-2014 Registration &
Volunteer Recruitment

How great would it be to have all current children registered and all teaching teams and other important volunteer jobs filled for next year by the time Catherine returns from sabbatical? What a gift we could give to her!  

Please think about how you would like to help and click here to register your children and/or volunteer to help with CYRE programming.

More Graduates (Yippee!)
Means ILYA Needs You

Both nationally and here in Delaware, the graduation rate of youth in foster care is significantly below the rate of non-foster care youth. For a number of years, our church's ILYA (Independent Living for Young Adults) program, that helps to support youth aging out of foster care, has sponsored a pizza party for foster care youth to celebrate their graduations and provide them with a backpack filled with helpful household items.

Two years ago, we recognized 12 youths and last year, there were 18 - a nice increase, we thought. We have just received the list of youth involved in independent living services who are graduating this year and are thrilled to count 30 names - yes, 30 - including two college graduates.

We are delighted that so many foster care youth are reaching the important educational goal of graduation but the increase means that we need extra help from our church members. Contact Barbara Perry at perryba@hotmail.com or (302) 475-7929 or stop by the ILYA table on Sunday morning to offer to shop or stuff backpacks, donate money or help hostess the pizza party. It's a great short-term way to become involved with and spiritually moved by brave young people with no supportive family as they transition to the next phase of their lives.

SPOILER ALERT: More graduates will likely mean an increase in the number of church members we will need next fall to send college care packages.

New from Pastoral Care!

Do You Love your Pet?

The next art show in the Upstairs Gallery will feature beloved pets of members and friends of this church. Submit a picture of your pet, with a short (no more than a half page) description of your pet, its name and why you love him/her. Not limited to cats and dogs!

The picture either needs to be a framed 8 x 10 or a standard letter sheet mounted on either foam board or card stock. Do not submit your only copy of the picture! We will try to return them intact, but can't guarantee it.

If you have an electronic picture only, and don't have a color printer at home, you can give it to us on a thumb drive or disc in a standard format and we will print it.

Please submit photos and bios at the church office by May 15. These pictures will be up through mid-August.  

Don't miss the picture of Scott Ward's God-Dog Kirby! He even has a story about him printed in one of his books! To learn more, contact Scott. Let's celebrate the ones who accept us unconditionally!

First Unitarian Church of Wilmington

Sunday, May 19, 2013 at Noon in the Sanctuary

Vote on our 2013-14 church budget

(available on our website and in the church office)

Vote on our Nominees for   

Board of Trustees and Nominating Committee   

(Please click here to read biographies)

Vote on First U Delegates to General Assembly   

Childcare is available!

Please feel free to bring a lunch  

for your child to eat in the Youth Center.

Get to Know...    

Cornell Waters joined our church staff as Night Custodian in August 2012. He is working at the church most weekday evenings and occasional Sunday mornings. Cornell is married and has two children and four grandchildren. In addition to working, he enjoys racing cars and fishing.