Welcome to Unitarian Universalist Society East
Sunday Services at 9:00 and 11:00
Director's Corner
Emmy's Friday Update
For Sunday January 19th
Greetings CYM Families & Friends!
Our mid-year stakeholders meeting last Sunday was very productive. We were able to talk a lot about what is working well, what isn’t working as well, and plans for joining together in creating strategies for the future of our program. We discussed the reality of the lives of parents today, pointing to the Surgeon General’s Advisory that came out 6 months ago regarding parental mental health and well-being. (More info on that may be found here: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/parents/index.html).
I named that our caregivers need a community to plug into and be held by, while acknowledging our Children & Youth Ministry program depends on the support of your volunteer efforts to operate. There is a mutually beneficial way to do this, and that is the path forward. This will continue to be the framework we hold as we develop our plans for the near and extended future. If you are looking for ways to connect to our community, please reach out and let’s have a conversation. Also, did you know that there is a private Facebook group dedicated to CYM? If you’re new here, feel free to friend request me on Facebook and let me know you are interested in being added to that group.
I invite you to think about the spaces that you feel held and supported by in your life. What about those spaces allows you to feel held, provides solace and meaning? Is UUSE one of those places? If not, how could it become one? Let’s continue to think about these things during this late gestation stage of Winter. For now, I invite you to plug into the variety of goings-on at UUSE, because our community would be less beautiful without you.
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” — Mother Teresa
Here’s what’s happening in Children & Youth Ministry on Sunday, January 19, 2024:
@11 AM
All Congregation Worship
All children and youth are invited to join their families in the Sanctuary for the entire worship service this Sunday. The nursery is open and available for children age 3 and younger.
Sunday Service: “The Stories We Inherit, The Stories We Pass Down” - All Congregational service. In honor of the observation of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, we reflect on the stories we inherit from the era of the US Civil Rights movement. And we contemplate the stories we will pass on about our own commitments to justice movements in the 21st century.
Coordinators: Emmy Galbraith and Rev. Josh Pawelek
Nursery (Age 3 and under): Childcare is available in our Nursery on the Garden Level at 11 AM for children 3 and under. Care is provided by two regular childcare staff including our Nursery Coordinator Molly, our Nursery Assistant Lilly-Rose. Our nursery staff have grown up at UUSE, and are equipped with loads of experience, patience, and creativity to keep our youngest UUs safe and engaged. Families are always welcome to tour and stay in the nursery at any time.
High School Youth Group (Grades 9-12): This Sunday the HSYG will start at service for TFAA, and then meet downstairs to start work on the hallway mural and watch a TED talk.
@12:30
CYM Monthly Potluck (All Ages): Please join us for the first monthly potluck of 2025! Open to everyone at UUSE! The purpose is to spend time together and build bonds within our community. Children and youth are invited to help set the community table and decorate. Caregivers are encouraged to take a load off and enjoy a community meal among friends, and hang out while kiddos play with art materials and Legos provided. We all need each other now more than ever. All congregants of UUSE are welcome and encouraged to get in on the fun and fellowship. Junior Youth Group and Intergenerational Affirmation both meet at 1 pm, so this is a great way for those group participants to get some lunch in before they begin. Hope to see you there!
Intergenerational Affirmation: Meets @ 1PM in the Sanctuary! Please review the email Rev Josh sent out earlier this week regarding prep for the meeting.
Junior Youth Group (Grades 6-8): It’s the 3rd Sunday of the month, so that means Junior Youth Group will meet! @ 1PM the Junior Youth will follow a Bob Ross tutorial video to make their own masterpieces.
SAVE THE DATE:
HSYG Caregivers please SAVE THE DATE for these upcoming YG events:
*Saturday, Feb 22 at 4 pm we will make soup for our soup Fundraiser
(Snow date for making soup: Sunday Feb 23 at 1 pm)
*Sunday March 2: 9:30 am We will sell soup between services and after the 11 am service
UUSE Happenings:
Diving/De-vining TOMORROW with Building & Grounds crew!
To the crew that helped with fall clean-up in November: I wanted to give you some more information about B&G's first ever Winter De-vining next Saturday, Jan. 18th, 10 AM - 1 PM (come for any part of this). We will be cutting vines that are damaging trees and other invasives plants that are overtaking native plants. Some examples are bittersweet, burning bush, barberry, multiflor rose. I recommend
Parking: in CYM lot
Entrance: garden level/CYM
Staging: info, tools, and bathrooms on garden level
Snacks: in garden level kitchen (I'm bringing some instant hot chocolate and cookies — bring some snacks if you can, we will break about 11:30 AM)
Tools: bring loppers, pruning shears, hand saw (we have some to lend)
Wear: warm sturdy boots (not sneakers), work gloves, hat, layers for the weather and to shed as activity warms you
Questions? Email Cory Clark or Jane Osborn.
A special note to children and youth: you are welcome here! Bring a grownup who will work with you. There are trees near the wood's trail (marked with snow stakes) that need your care. We will explain how to choose a tree and how to work as a team to help the tree. Safety is really important, so there may be some areas or activities we tell you not to do. We look forward to learning from you, too! I've heard from many of you. No need to RSVP again. See you Saturday! -Cory
The Live Auction and Saucy Competition is on January 25 at 5 PM!
This is a fun multi-generational event and you are more than welcome to bring the whole family! This year we're having a sauce competition so there will be plenty of choices for dinner--from exotic to good ol' pasta with butter.
Kids can join the upstairs activities but there will also be fun, supervised games and crafts and a movie down on the garden level if the grown-ups get to be too much. So that we have enough sitters available, please RSVP to Auction@uuse.org.
There will also be a Kids Bid Table with items for ONLY KIDS to bid on. Bids start at $1 and we'll have buy it now prices set at $3, $5 and $10. Things like crafts, small games, little and fun things. If you have anything to donate to this table, please let Jennifer Klee know at Action@uuse.org. Thanks!
Imbolc Ritual February 2 from 1PM - 2:30 PM
The eclectic pagan group of UUSE is hosting an Imbolc ritual open to the public of all ages and practices. Please join us! This ritual will be inspired by Scottish tradition and folklore. There is a small, natural spring on the property which is where the ritual will begin. (This portion will also be livestreamed to an indoor location for folks who may need to or prefer to stay indoors.)
The water will not be flowing on Imbolc, and we will invite the water to flow again. We will honor the long held Scottish belief that wells are a place of healing and fertility, inviting the water to return through vernal goddess Bride (Brigid) as well as encouraging the Callieach (Scottish winter crone of the woods) to lay down for winter's end. Outdoor participants will then proceed indoors for the second portion of the ritual which will include a time for reflection and music, followed by a casual potluck.
Dress however you are comfortable; symbolic colors include white, green, and firey hues, and tartan or plaid is another option. Foods associated with the festival can include breads, cheeses, blackberries, cold hardy greens, but anything goes. Dress warm if you plan to attend the first portion outdoors, and a camping chair is welcome. (Outdoor portion will be relatively short.) Families of children and youth are welcome to attend! It is open and advertised to the public, you may find the Facebook Event here: https://www.facebook.com/share/19r9RHNLXq/
With Love and Gratitude,
Emmy Galbraith
Cell: (860)576-7889
CYM Committee Members:
Desiree Holian-Borgnis, Chair
Michelle Spadaccini
Paula Baker
Sudha Sevin
Committee email: uusecym@uuse.org
Angela Attardo, CYM Program Assistant
Director of Children and Youth Ministry's Monthly Column for January
Winter
Some years I think a lot about the return of the light, the encouragement gained from added minutes of sunlight day by day. After years of bargaining with seasonal depression and finally making peace with (that part of) my human experience, I’ve been able to get comfortable in the warm, cozy dark - that room inside myself.
When fear is resting I’m able to look around that room and see what’s in there. It’s small and dark with dirt floors and a cast iron cook stove like the one I grew up with. A kettle steams and a rocking chair invites sitting. I’m wearing an apron my mother lovingly picked out for me. The pockets hold herbs planted in the spring, encouraged in the summer, and harvested in the autumn. The herbs have to be held still to be useful now. Intentional hands and a seasoned mind transform them once more, into medicine.
A cold wind whistles across the door and clouds block rays of light trying to reach me in the dark room. A recent storm invites me to pull on my boots and grab my shovel to clear a path, should I need it. I clear it but I don’t plan on going anywhere. I sit in the room adorned with garland and stocked with books. Some to read and some with empty pages to write on. My beloved cat curls up on the rug in front of the stove.
Telltales of Spring and Summer rest in mason jars lining the room. A quilt stitched together by grandmothers lays across a humble bed. I wrap a shawl tighter across my shoulders. A faint smile dances across my face while my eyes are open but out of focus. Daydreams blend with memories and I sit and watch it play.
This is just right, just how it’s supposed to be. Not forced, not rushed out the door, the curtains allowed to keep cover of the windows. I am not missing something out there nor inside me. This room is meant to be lived in. Stillness is a sacred part of being alive. Darkness is the heart of winter’s embrace. May we dwell in peace, in this time of natural rest.
Emmy Galbraith (she/her/hers)
Director of Children and Youth Ministry