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Gathering Music "Canzona Bergamasca by Samuel Scheidt Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Ricercard Del 12 Tono" by Andrea Gabrieli Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "This Faith, This Place, These People" by Rev. Josh Pawelek (based on "This Place, These People" by Paul Dalzell) Opening Hymn #128 "For All That is Our Life" Words by Bruce Findlow; music by Patrick L. Rickey For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise; for all life is a gift which we are called to use to build the common good and make our own days glad. For needs which others serve, for services we give, for work and its rewards, for hours of rest and love; we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life. For sorrow we must bear, for failures, pain, and loss, for each new thing we learn, for fearful hours that pass: we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life. For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise; for all life is a gift which we are called to use to build the common good and make our own days glad. Time for All Ages "What Things Cost" Musical Interlude Joys and Concerns Music "Prayer for Connection" Words by Cyndi Krupa Music by Mary Bopp May peace, love and light Infuse all living beings With a feeling of connection And knowing we are one. Offering Mindful that March is Women's History Month, the recipient of our community outreach offering is the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Their mission is to create communities free of sexual violence and to provide culturally affirming, trauma-informed advocacy, prevention and intervention services centered on the voices of survivors. Offering Music "The Four Seasons -- Spring" by Antonio Vivaldi Sermon and Dialogue What do you love about Unitarian Universalism? What do you love about UUSE? Closing Music "Allegro Maestoso from Water Music" by George Frideric Handel Extinguishing the Chalice The flame in our hearts never cease burning Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Our November ministry theme is nurturing gratitude , which aligns very obviously with the Thanksgiving holiday later this month; though for me, it’s not the holiday that gives us the theme. For me it’s all the features of autumn—changing, falling leaves, dropping temperatures, decreasing daylight hours, increasing darkness—and perhaps most importantly, the conclusion of the growing season in these northern latitudes—the harvest, the reaping, the preparations for winter—all of it ancient, all of it familiar to human beings for millennia. All of it gives rise to feelings of gratitude, if we let it. All of it gives rise to our collective instinct to acknowledge and celebrate the blessings of our lives, to give thanks.             Over the years I’ve come back again and again to a meditation entitled “Thanksgiving” by my colleague, the Rev. Lynn Ungar, originally published in 1996 in her Skinner House book entitled Blessing the Bread . I shared it in my newsletter column this month. I love how, for her, seasonal changes in the land speak to gratitude deeply ingrained in our hearts: I have been trying to read / the script cut in these hills— / a language carved in the shimmer of stubble / and the solid lines of soil, spoken / in the thud of apples falling and the rasp of corn stalks finally bare. / The pheasants shout it with a rusty creak / as they gather in the fallen grain, / the blackbirds sing it / over their shoulders in parting, / and gold leaf illuminates the manuscript / where it is written in the trees. / Transcribed onto my human tongue / I believe it might sound like a lullaby, / or the simplest grace at table. / Across the gathering stillness / simply this: “For all that we have received, / dear God, make us truly grateful.”             In the end, the patterns of this autumn season give rise to a very simply prayer: May I be grateful. ****             I assume that feeling gratitude is good for us. I assume the practice of rituals that center our gratitude is good for us. I assume expressing our gratitude out loud to others is good for us psychologically, emotionally, physically, spiritually. There’s solid data to support these assumptions, including a landmark 2003 study entitled “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life,” published in the  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . [1] The authors are Robert A Emmons at the University of California Davis (also editor in chief at the Journal of Positive Psychology) and Michael E McCullough at the University of California San Diego. The study’s abstract explains how participants in three separate studies were randomly assigned to various experimental conditions and asked to keep records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. Participants in what they called the “gratitude-outlook” groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures relative to the comparison groups. “The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.” [2]             I found a 2023 New York Times article entitled “Gratitude Really is Good for You: Here’s What the Science Shows,” by the journalist Christina Caron. She mentions the Emmons-McCullough study and sums up the results of numerous other studies over the past two decades. She finds substantial evidence that gratitude practices have a positive impact on mental health, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, increasing self-esteem and improving satisfaction with daily life. Gratitude is also known to improve sleep and lower blood pressure. “Multiple studies have shown,” she writes, quoting Sara Algoe, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “that expressing gratitude to acquaintances, co-workers, friends or romantic partners can offer a relationship ‘ boost ’ and ‘helps bind us more closely.’” [3]               If you’re skeptical or weary of all the talk about gratitude in this season or at any time of year, I’m simply pointing out that scientists have run peer-reviewed experiments on the ways gratitude practices impact our lives; these studies have been repeated and expanded upon over the years; and there is solid data to support the claim that gratitude is good for us.             And yes, in addition to the science, there is a lot of talk about gratitude and, at least for some, it is wearying. I used to get annoyed at how ubiquitous the admonition to be grateful is in our wider culture. Of the tens of millions of self-help and personal wellness books on brick-and-mortar and virtual shelves, I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them either have the words “gratitude,” “thankfulness,” or “blessings” in the title or subtitle or, minimally, feature a chapter about gratitude, thankfulness or blessings. I notice Dr. Emmons has published many books in this genre: The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a Life of Happiness and Well-Being by Giving Thanks , Thanks: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier , Gratitude Works , and Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body and Soul , with an introduction by the Benedictine monk, Br. David Steindl-Rast, who has a wonderful website, “Grateful Living,” [4]  and an excellent Ted Talk, “Want to be Happy? Be Grateful,” which has been viewed over 10 million times. [5]  Which reminds me that in addition to all the books, the virtual and online worlds are overflowing with articles, blogs, podcasts, day-time talk shows, Pinterest Boards and Ted Talks. Some of it is really good. Some of it less so. Some of it comes from multi-millionaire pop psychologists and pseudo-spiritual gurus just trying to cash in. I used to roll my eyes, smugly—not only because so much of this content—like so much of the self-help genre in general—seems so corny—platitudes with no real substance—but also because it always made me feel, as an ordained clergy-person, that anytime I wanted to talk about gratitude, I couldn’t do it without sounding like a self-help book. Nurturing gratitude is one of the purposes of religion. Nurturing gratitude requires deep spiritual engagement. Get out of our lane you self-help hucksters! Leave gratitude to the clergy and the psychologists!             I don’t roll my eyes anymore. I’m no longer annoyed. The prayer is really very simple: May I be grateful. If any message ought to be ubiquitous, the message that there are benefits to nurturing gratitude in ourselves and our communities is certainly one of them regardless of where it comes from. How better to counter in our own lives the many negative health and wellness impacts of the daily authoritarian onslaught emanating from our nation’s capitol? How better to fortify ourselves, to build up our resilience, to stay calm and focused, to stay hopeful? It really doesn’t matter where the message comes from, as long as we learn to say our version of the prayer: May I be grateful. ****             Last weekend a number of you forwarded me a link to a piece published in “The Morning” newsletter of the New York Times  titled “Personal History,” subtitled “The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites.” [6]  The author, Melissa Kirsch, who writes “The Morning” newsletter and describes her beat as “broadly about how to live a meaningful life,” is also a bit skeptical and weary of all the talk of gratitude. She’s sharing her gratitude practice, but she says “I get a little uncomfortable talking about it because I’ve seen the same hashtags and semi-smug social media posts that you have, the same living-room art with cursive script on distressed wood about the ‘attitude of gratitude.’ The concept has been so commodified, overprocessed, merched-up, that it seems as if there’s little else to say about it — call it the platitude of gratitude.” So, she rolls her eyes too! But I really like her practice and I want to commend it to you.             She describes her practice as more ornate than the typical gratitude journal or jar. She says “I will think of something small — say, this weird little deck of “wisdom cards” that I draw from each morning as a sort of daily fortune cookie. Then I think about how my friend Melanie gave me the deck and how generous and playful she is, and how lucky I am to know her. But I wouldn’t know her if I hadn’t taught creative writing with her in a summer program in the 1990s. I wouldn’t have had that job if my friend Alden hadn’t recommended me for it, and I wouldn’t know Alden if I hadn’t gone to graduate school with her, and I wouldn’t have gone to graduate school without the encouragement of my undergraduate writing professor, and I wouldn’t have taken her class if not for … you get the picture." She continues: "It’s almost a game, tracing the present-day gratitude back through all the causes and conditions that gave rise to it. It’s also immensely satisfying, and mystifying — look how many things had to transpire in order to bring this deck of cards into my life. Simple gratitude is focused on a one-to-one relationship: These cards make me happy. Thinking through this circuit of prerequisites amplifies the gratitude, scales it, brings me into contact with the multiple interdependent factors necessary to bring these cards into my life.” I invite you to take a moment and contemplate something in your life that offers a simple pleasure. For Kirsch it was her deck of wisdom cards. Maybe it’s a favorite coffee mug, a bird feeder, a particular song or piece of music you love to listen to, a special recipe, a neighbor you spend time with, a lamp in the corner, a favorite book—a simple pleasure. How did it come into your life? What was the source? And then ask again, what was the source of the source? And then ask again. Follow the path back as far as you can. Notice the connections, the relationships, the dependencies. Notice the precariousness of it all: If I hadn’t gone on my walk that day, I never would have met that person…. If I hadn’t been in that accident, I never would have gotten that gift…. If that total stranger didn’t track me down to return my wallet…. Kirsch says “We’re all connected, related, dependent on one another, but of course we forget this all the time. We forget that every action we take has a whole cascade of unintended consequences. We forget that we’re a factor in someone else’s circuit of gratitude, a link in innumerable chains. And so often we feel separate, lonely, disconnected. One way to challenge that feeling is to start with one small thing you’re grateful for. Then trace the gorgeous, improbable but very real sequence of variables that brought you the object of your gratitude. It may seem a little corny at first, but it works.” [7] Again, I commend this practice to you. I suspect, if you can trace back far enough, you’ll come eventually to the script cut into the hills, the thud of falling apples, the pheasants’ rusty creak, the departing blackbirds’ song, the trees’ gold-leaf illuminated manuscript. I suspect you’ll come in time to that ancient human insight that it is good and right to acknowledge and celebrate the blessings of our lives. If you can trace back far enough, I suspect you’ll come in time to the plainest of utterances: a lullaby or a simple grace at table . And across the gathering stillness, I suspect you’ll come to Rev. Ungar’s prayer: “For all that we have received, dear God, make us truly grateful.” Amen and blessed be.   [1] Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (2), 377–389.  https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377   [2]  Read the abstract at https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-01140-012 . [3]  Caron, Christina, “Gratitude Really Is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows,” New York Times , June 8, 2023. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/well/mind/gratitude-health-benefits.html . [4]  Visit Grateful Living at https://grateful.org/brother-david/ . [5]  View Brother Steindl-Rast’s Ted Talk at https://grateful.org/resource/want-to-be-happy-be-grateful/ . [6]  Kirsch, Melissa, “Personal History: The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites,” New York Times, The Morning Newsletter, October 25, 2025. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/briefing/personal-history.html . [7]  Kirsch, Melissa, “Personal History: The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites,” New York Times, The Morning Newsletter, October 25, 2025. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/briefing/personal-history.html .

This sermon is about generosity. Just to be clear, this is not my Annual Appeal kick-off sermon. That sermon happens next Sunday when we launch our 2026 Annual Appeal. Of course, that sermon is also about generosity, specifically your generous financial giving to this congregation for the coming fiscal year. This morning I want to talk broadly about generosity as a religious value and practice. I also want to name some of the forms generosity takes here at UUSE. And I want to invite you to participate in two new efforts we’re rolling out to meet the needs of some longstanding neighbors, as well as some potentially new neighbors here in central-east Connecticut. I should also point out that Kate Kimmerle purchased a sermon at last year’s goods and services auction. For her auction sermon, Kate asked that I preach on generosity. This is that sermon.             The Muslim holy month of Ramadan commenced this past week. Last Sunday, a few of us took some of our Affirmation youth to the Ramadan  Bazaar at the Windsor Community Center. The Bazaar offers local Muslims an opportunity to come together in community in preparation for Ramadan , though anyone can attend. There’s shopping, food, family activities. The two youth who were stuck in the car with me on our drive to Windsor had to endure me lecturing on the five pillars of Islam: The confession of faith or shahada  ("There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"); prayer five times daily, salat; fasting during the daylight hours of Ramadan, sawm ; the pilgrimage to Mecca, hajj ; and the giving of alms, charity, zakat, which many Muslims engage in during Ramadan . In short, Islamic law dictates that Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. [1]  [ Check out this recent guide to zakat from Aljazeera .]The theme of charity is prominent in the Muslim holy book, the Quran . The divine call to generosity is prominent in the Quran . One of the more well-known passages appears in the second sura  or chapter, known as The Cow , verse 267, often translated into English as “O believers! Give from the best of what you have earned and of what We have produced for you from the earth.” [2]             This foundational call to generosity is certainly not unique to Islam. I asked UUSE’s resident expert on Buddhism, Nancy Thompson, to identify Buddhist teachings on generosity. She said, “In Buddhism, generosity is considered an essential part of a happy life. The Buddha placed generosity first on his list of 10 paramitas, qualities known as ‘perfections of the heart.’ He told his monks, ‘If people knew as I know the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given nor would the stain of stinginess overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there was someone to share it with.’ He taught that there are three main types of giving: the gift of material things; the gift of fearlessness or protection, and the gift of wisdom, through sharing his teachings.” [3]  Thank you Nancy. [For further reading on generosity in Buddhism, I recommend these articles here and here .] Though I haven’t had a chance to explore this further, I understand generosity in Buddhism, as well as the Jain and Sikh traditions, has its roots in earlier Hindu teaching . The ancient Sanskrit word dāna, which appears in some of the earliest Vedic texts, refers to cultivating the virtue of generosity or practicing generosity, or the guilt one feels in not being generous to those in need. [4]             Similarly, generosity figures prominently in both the Hebrew and Christians scriptures. Deuteronomy 15: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.” [5]  And in the words of Jesus, Matthew 25: “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come … inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,   for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” [6]               Strip away the institutional structures and histories of any of the world’s great religions. Strip away the centuries of compromise and collaboration with earthly rulers, with kings and queens, with imperialism, with colonialism; strip away all the religious justifications for violence and war-making: strip it all away: a spirit of generosity lies at the foundation. “I was hungry and you gave me food.”             That spirit of generosity lies at the heart of Unitarian Universalism. The actual word ‘generosity’ (or something akin to it like charity or munificence) does not appear in the Unitarian Universalist principles. However, I’ve always felt that pursuing our second principle, ‘justice, equity and compassion in human relations,’ requires that we draw from deep wells of generosity in our engagement with the wider world; and that pursuing our third principle, ‘acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations,’ requires us to draw from those same wells in our engagement with each other. The new statement of Unitarian Universalism’s shared values (passed at the 2024 General Assembly) explicitly identifies generosity as a foundation of our faith. About generosity, the new statement says: “We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.” [7] Earlier I read a passage on generosity from the Unitarian Universalist theologian, the Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme. She writes: “In a theological framework which understands that this world is the locus of the holy, that struggle and salvation are present here and now, and that all life is sacred and interconnected, generosity, gratitude, and hope are ways we honor these truths and the blessings of our lives.” [8]  That is, in our this-worldly, here-and-now Unitarian Universalist faith, our generosity enables us to carry out our mission, to keep our promises, to fulfill our vision.             I’ve said it many times from this pulpit; I will say some version of it next week when we launch our Annual Appeal; and I will say it now: you are generous people. I know this about you. You are financially generous to this congregation. You are generous with your time and participation. Many of you take on leadership roles when asked—on the Policy Board, or the Program Council or as committee chairs, or on task forces—and there have been a lot of task forces in recent years! When we need volunteers for the holiday fair, you appear. When we need volunteers for the goods and services auction, you appear. When we need volunteers for Mayfair, you appear. When we need volunteers for the Buildings and Grounds committee work parties, you appear. When we need volunteers in the Children and Youth Ministry programs, you appear. When we need volunteers for the tutoring program at Verplanck Elementary School, or when we’re raising special funds for Verplanck’s gift drive or their book fair, you appear. In recent years, as we’ve been inviting people to show up at vigils and rallies, at the legislative office building to testify on important bills, or for various trainings on accompanying immigrants to court hearings, or mental health first aid, or bystander training, you appear. A spirit of generosity underlies your engagement both here among ourselves, and as part of our witness and activism in the wider world. Years ago, when we voted as a congregation on a resolution to support the Black Lives Matter movement, that spirit of generosity was alive and well and still moves through these halls.  Later, when we voted in support of a resolution to become a sanctuary congregation, that spirit of generosity was alive and well and still moves through these halls. You are generous people. It means the world to me as your minister. I hope and trust it means the world to you. Finally, I said earlier that I want to invite you to participate in two new efforts we’re rolling out to meet the needs of some longstanding neighbors, as well as some potentially new neighbors here in central-east Connecticut. Both efforts originate with our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee in dialogue with me. I’ve been hinting at both for a while. First, in response to the slowly increasing number of immigrant neighbors who are being detained and deported, we’re proposing to create what we call Good Neighbor Teams. Imagine that 150 of you decide to participate. We divide you into fifteen teams—ten people per team. Then, one of our partners organizations in the immigrants rights movement contacts us to say there’s a family in East Hartford or Manchester who has had their primary breadwinner detained. They need financial support for the next two weeks. Can we raise $500? We activate Team 1. Some people can give $100, some can give $50, some can give $10. But in a few days Team 1 has raised the money. Or it may be that Team 1 goes grocery shopping for a family that is fearful of leaving their home. Or it may be that the family’s primary need is diapers, so Team 1 does a diaper drive. There are any number of ways this could work. These are short-term commitments. The team meets the goal, and then they are done. If the need is longer-term, maybe another group at another church raises money for the next two weeks, and so on. Next month, we get a call from a different partner. Can we contribute $300 for legal fees? We activate Team 2. They raise $300 and they are done. A week later, another call, we activate Team 3. A month later, another call. We activate Team 4. If you’re on a team, you’d likely be activated twice a year at most. The UUSE Policy Board supports this project, and the chair of our Stewardship Committee gave it her blessing. We also recognize that next year, when the Medicaid and Snap cuts specified in last summer’s HR1 go through, the financial need in our larger community will likely go through the roof. It will be good to have this kind of infrastructure in place at that time. “I was hungry and you gave me food.” Second, there is an increasing movement of transgender people, or families with transgender children, leaving states with anti-trans laws and relocating to more friendly states. While governmental attacks on trans people have been less visible in recent months due to the focus on immigration enforcement, those attacks are ongoing. People are fleeing, and many of them need support. In partnership with Unitarian Universalist congregations and others across Connecticut, we are proposing to develop the infrastructure to receive what are essentially internally displaced refugees. We would not be the first to do this. There are models from other parts of the country for us to follow. We will be looking for people who have space in their homes to host these “travellers” for up to six months as they look for work and housing. We know that helping a person resettle in this way requires fundraising. We know that we will eventually put teams together to help people with housing and job searches, perhaps with helping place children in schools, find doctors, etc. As I said, we’re engaging in partnership with other congregations across the state, and will share more information as it becomes available. Members of our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee will be at a table in the lobby following the service. If you would like to participate on a Good Neighbor Team or with our trans relocation efforts, or both, please visit them, get more information, sign up. If you’re joining us online and want to add your name, please do so in the chat and we’ll add you to the list. These are two new opportunities, designed to be as accessible as possible, so that as many of you as possible have avenues for putting generosity into action, for living out the promise of our Unitarian Universalist faith. Amen and blessed be. [1]  Ali, Marium, “A simple illustrated guide to zakat, answers to 7 common questions,” Aljazeera, 23 Mar 2025. See: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/23/a-simple-illustrated-guide-to-zakat-answers-to-7-common-questions . [2]  The Quran, 2: 267. In addition to “give,” I also see English translations that use the word “donate” or “expend.” [3] I also found these two articles very helpful in understanding generosity from the Buddhist perspective. Fronsdal, Gil, “The Practice of Generosity” at the Insight Meditation Center. See: https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/the-practice-of-generosity/#:~:text=The%20Buddha%20emphasized%20the%20joy,without%20expecting%20anything%20in%20return ; and Ambrosia, Gloria Taraniya, “There’s More to Giving Than We Think” at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, winter 2006. See: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/theres-more-to-giving-than-we-think/ . [4]  Acharya, Kaushik, “ Impact of Vedic Culture on Society ,” Wisdom Library, 2020. See: https://www.wisdomlib.org/history/essay/impact-of-vedic-culture-on-society/d/doc1121346.html . [5]  Deuteronomy 15: 7-8 (New Revised Standard Version). [6]  Matthew 25: 34-37 (New Revised Standard Version). [7]  See the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Article 2, lines 54-57. https://www.uua.org/files/2025-07/uua_bylaws_12082025.pdf [8]  Prud’homme, Rev. Dr., Sheri, excerpt from section on “Generosity” in “Theological Reflection on the Proposed Revision to Article II,” (2024), p. 8. See: https://www.uua.org/files/2024-01/articleII_theo_reflection.pdf .

Music plays a key role in our services and in our congregational life. Worship March Ministry Theme: Paying Attention Join us at 9 or 11 AM. The 11 AM Zoom service login and call-in information is shared through the congregational eblasts on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Subscribe to the eblast by sending a message to uuseoffice@uuse.org or call the UUSE office at 860-646-5151. #MarchNewsletter 3/1/26 Sunday, March 1st: Belonging and Thriving -- Together! Sunday, March 1st: Belonging and Thriving -- Together! All Congregation service featuring beautiful music by the Atrium Brass Quintet! This morning we launch our 2026 Annual Appeal. Rev. Josh will discuss the goals for this year’s appeal. What needs are we trying to meet? What programs are we hoping to grow? What vision are we trying to fulfill? Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek. 3/8/26 Sunday, March 8th: Caring for Parents, Children, and Their Families in These Times. Sunday, March 8th: Caring for Parents, Children, and Their Families in These Times. The Surgeon General states that parents are more stressed than perhaps ever before; our young people experience unprecedented mental health challenges; and the rights of our beloveds are at grave risk. Yet, many families with children show up at our doors, seeking community and care. What can we do as a congregation to best respond to the needs of our families? Coordinators: Emmy Galbraith and Vivian Carlson. 3/15/26 Sunday, March 15th: Paying Attention. Sunday, March 15th: Paying Attention. Our ministry theme for March is paying attention. How do you pay attention? With your eyes, your body, your heart, your soul? What grabs and holds your attention? Most importantly, are you attending to what matters? Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek. 3/22/26 Sunday, March 22nd: Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center. Sunday, March 22nd: Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center. What’s it all about? Participants in this service will provide information about Ferry Beach and share thoughts about experiences they have had there. Coordinators: Nancy Madar and David Klotz 3/29/26 Sunday, March 29th: Transgender Day of Visibility Sunday, March 29th: Transgender Day of Visibility. Mindful that March 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility, we will lift up transgender lives in our morning service. We will also explore the work of recertifying UUSE as a Welcoming Congregation. Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek. 4/5/26 Sunday, April 5th: Easter Service. Sunday, April 5th: Easter Service. Coordinators: Rev. Josh Pawelek, Emmy Galbraith, and Mary Bopp.

Child programs, kids, toddlers, sunday school, youth programs, adult education. Children & Youth Ministry The Children & Youth Ministry (CYM) at UUSE offers a thriving program for all young people from infancy through senior high and more! Classes are held on the Garden Level at UUSE, concurrently with the second (11am) service from September through June. In the summer months, we offer a lighter schedule which runs concurrent with the 10am service. About Children & Youth Ministry Our Children and Youth Ministry (CYM) offers a thriving program for all young people from infancy through senior high and more! The CYM program is a cooperative effort; we utilize a team approach, with one adult from each family volunteering in some capacity in CYM. We urge families to become informed about UUSE philosophy, themes, and activities by attending services, participating in parent meetings, engaging in discussions with the Director of Children and Youth Ministry, Minister, CYM committee members, classroom volunteers, and other families. The CYM Committee also sponsors many multi-generational events, including winter holiday celebrations, Trunk-or-Treat, game nights, movie nights and more. UU Principles, Children’s Version: • Every person is important. • Be kind in all you do. • We’re free to learn together. • We can search for what is true. • All people need a voice. • Build a fair and peaceful world. • We care for the earth. Sources We Draw From: The living tradition we share draws from many sources, including: • Direct experience of mystery and wonder; • Words and deeds of prophetic women and men; • Wisdom from the world’s religions; • Jewish and Christian teachings; • Humanist teachings using reason and science; • Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions. Program Goals: • Continue to make community and connection the primary focus of our ministry, in order to build a strong support system for our children, youth, and families. • Foster UU identity formation by providing opportunities for children and adults of all ages to engage in fun and meaningful activities together. • Strengthen our commitment to dismantling systemic racism by selecting curricula, books, music, and movies with an anti-racist lens. • Build a community that cultivates pre-emptive radical inclusivity. New or Visiting? Be sure to let a greeter know if you’re visiting a service and would like to know more about our program. They will be happy to put you in touch with our Director of Children and Youth Ministry, Emmy Galbraith, on the Garden Level. We are happy to welcome you into our program at any time! If you are able, we strongly encourage that you connect with Emmy prior to a first visit so your child can know what to expect. Her direct email is dcym@uuse.org . Additionally, the CYM Committee is always available for questions or comments at our dedicated email: uusecym@uuse.org . Contact Us Emmy, the Director of CYM, can be reached by email at dcym@uuse.org And the CYM Committee is available for questions or comments at uusecym@uuse.org

Music plays a key role in our services and in our congregational life. Upcoming Concerts & Musical Events Contact the office for details - email: info@uuse.org phone: 860.646.5151 Saturday 3/21/26 Read More Gender-Free Contra Dance Gender-Free Contra Dance Save the Date - March 21 at UUSE Mark your calendars for March 21, 4:00 to 7:00 PM. (with a 3:45 PM beginner lesson). There are no "ladies" or "gents" in a ... More...