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Unity Church of North Easton News
(Unitarian Universalist)
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"Welcoming people into community to grow in thought, spirit, and service to others."
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Volume 4, No. 10, January 23, 2015
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 We are a Welcoming Congregation
by Jason Gold, President
Do you remember when you went to a new church for the first time? Maybe you snuck in, sat in the back, and felt a bit out of place? Were you brave enough to follow the crowd down to coffee hour? I know I wasn't. Years ago my wife Jenn and I went to a UU church in Harvard (the town not the school!). As we tried to sneak out, a very friendly woman approached us and started a conversation. She walked us to coffee hour, showed us around and introduced us to more lovely people. We haven't stopped going to church since.
I encourage you to show that Unity Church truly is a welcoming congregation by introducing yourself to a guest, starting a conversation, and inviting them to coffee hour. People come to our church looking for something. It's your duty as a UU to help them find it. I know this isn't an easy task for those of us who are introverts. But it's a challenge worth taking. You just have to ask a few questions and really listen to the answers. You could ask why they came, how they found us, what they thought of the service, and...would they like a cup of coffee or hot cocoa?
I've noticed a lot of new faces in the sanctuary lately. If we all make an extra effort to seek out and welcome guests we'll see a lot of new faces downstairs too. And that will lead to more names in the membership book and a bigger church family!
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Did you know that there are close to 300 families experiencing homelessness and living in hotels and motels across the South Shore region?
School on Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA) is hosting Family Game Nights for them during the February school vacation week. These families are invited to come and play a variety of educational games, and at the end of the night each child will be given a new game to take back to their room.
Here's How WE Can Help
- Donate new games. Here's a list of suggested games. You can bring them to church and leave them in any of the SOWMA school bus boxes in Holly House and the sanctuary, or you can take them directly to SOWMA at 790 West Chestnut Street in Brockton.
Brockton
Rodeway Inn, 1005 Belmont St.
Monday, February 16
5:30-7:30
Super 8, 385 Westgate Drive
Thursday, February 19
5:30-7:30
Westgate Motel, 391 Westgate Drive
Thursday, February 19
5:30-7:30
Weymouth
Super 8, 655 Washington St.
Tuesday, February 17
5:30-7:30
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 Fellowship News
Circle Dinner on January 31st
What is a Circle Dinner?One or more groups of ten people who want an excuse to share a potluck meal and some conversation at someone's home.
How does it work?The Fellowship Committee finds one or more people willing to host the meal. Hosts offer their homes but are not responsible for providing the meal.
The host receives the names and contact information of the people who will attend from the Fellowship Committee, and then tells everyone what to bring to the potluck. Hosts usually provide beverages and/or snacks, but this is really the host's decision.
These dinners have always been a popular way for small groups of new and veteran Unity friends and members to share some low key, non-committee work... time together.
Do I have to travel from house to house?No! Contrary to popular myth, you do NOT go from house to house. Groups of ten or fewer people go to one home and spend their entire time there :-)
Please RSVP by January 27th!
Register to let us know if you'd like to come;
once we know how many people are interested,
we can choose locations.
Parish Hall Kitchen Update
We have gone to great lengths to insure that the utensils, dishes, and paper products we use at Unity are kept clean for everyone's safety. Please, put all paper products and utensils into plastic bags before you put them into the cabinets. All of the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen are labeled and you should have no trouble finding the plastic bags. Thank you for helping.
Lost and Found
Are you looking frantically for your favorite bowl or dish? Have you looked in the Unity Church Parish Hall Kitchen? There are several pieces that are looking for their owners. (More than in this photo.)
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 Want to be a Unity Foodie?
As many of you already know, Unity Church is big on food! Pot lucks, social hours, holiday parties, impromptu meeting noshing, etc.
What you might not know is that if we ever have an event where we invite and offer food to the public that's made in our kitchen, we have to meet the Easton Board of Health (BOH) regulations to ensure everyone's safety.
Cathy Adler is currently our certified ServSafe person - she reports that the online course is really easy for anyone who cooks, but even she learned a few important details when she took it.
Cathy is working on renewing the Easton BOH kitchen certification, but would like a couple more people to become ServSafe Food Handlers so there are more reference contacts for the congregation, and so that going forward we can continue to hold public events that include food prepared in our kitchen.
Here's the ServSafe site where you can find more information. The online course and assessment takes about a 1 1/2 hours (at the most), and costs $15, for which you can get reimbursed by Unity.
Feel free to contact Cathy if you're interested in becoming an official "Unity Foodie", or have any questions about taking the course.
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Our New England Region Staff Team
from the Ballou Channing, Clara Barton, and Massachusetts Bay Districts web site We can call anyone on our regional staff team to think through organizational challenges.
We can call them for:
- support on questions related to ministerial transitions,
- help with congregational conflicts, and
- consultation on congregational staffing, mission, and stewardship processes.
They offer:
- facilitation of board retreats and ministerial startup workshops,
- collegial conversations and master classes for religious professionals, and
- learning opportunities for congregational lay leaders on a wide variety of topics.
And on July 1, 2015, with the official addition of Northern New England District, they will become the regional team.
read more...
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Looking for Executive Committee and Church Meeting Minutes, or Member Contact information?
You can find it all on our web site under the Member Access menu, after you log in as a member.
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When the Weather Outside is Frightful
For the safety of our friends and members, in case of extreme weather conditions, please call the church office (508-238-6373) after 8:00 a.m. on the day of the Service or church event for a message about whether the Service or event has been canceled.
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New to Unity Church?
New to Unity Church or want to Join Our Mailing List?
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Photo/Graphics/Video Credits for this Issue of the Unity News
Cathy Adler, Cheryl Brigante, Ellen Dehm
Unity News Contact Info
For questions or comments regarding this message, please contact Cathy Adler, Unity News Managing Editor & Web Administrator,
at welcome2ucne@gmail.com . |
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