Dear Ones:
Hold onto your hats! There’s a lot happening at UUS:E this month. Perhaps the most notable event is our annual Holiday Fair on Friday evening the 16th and Saturday the 17th. Mark your calendars! This event is always fun and there are many wonderful holiday gifts and bargains to be found—not to mention stellar food! As always, we need volunteers for just about everything fair-related, so please feel invited to get involved!
Our November ministry theme is peace. This month I’ll be approaching the theme a little differently than usual. On Sunday morning, November 4th, I will be joined in worship by spoken word artist, Christopher
D. Sims. Chris and I will be exploring what it means to find peace in our hearts and to work for peace in the world. We will use poetry as the vehicle for this exploration. Chris is also the featured artist at our November 3rd coffeehouse and he will be offering a free poetry workshop at 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon following worship.
Tuesday evening, November 20th is the annual observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance. This is a somber occasion when we honor the lives of transgender people around the world who’ve been murdered because of their gender identity. Connecticut’s observance begins at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford, from where we will march to the state Capitol for a ceremony of remembrance. The ceremony will be followed by an interfaith worship service at the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford where our good friend, the Rev. Aaron Miller, is the minister. Please watch for more information. Let’s have a great turn out from UUS:E in support of the transgender community.
Finally, in the beginning of November take a look at the photos on the sanctuary wall. These were taken by new UUS:E member Jodie Arel. This is Jodie’s first art show—a big step for her. We’re hoping to begin showing works of art by UUS:E members and friends as well as artists in the wider community on a regular basis (as we’ve done in the past). We are currently setting up guidelines for art shows, but if you know you’d like to show your art in the future, please feel free to contact me or Cyndi Krupa (contact info in the directory).
With love, Rev. Josh
