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Our ministry theme for February is embodying resilience. Last week Stacy, Paula and Heather offered insights into what creates resilience in the natural world. Their message: diverse, connected, interdependent communities are resilient. We learned about mycelium, the vast fungal networks that carry nutrients and water, break down decaying matter, and even aid in tree-to-tree communication in the midst of threats. We learned about the role seed banks play in sustaining forest health, how they function as a “reserve of all the generations before, dormant in the forest floor,” waiting for the right opportunity, the right mix of sunlight, water and space to emerge. A further message: “There is always hope and opportunity.” [1]  I agree, hopeful people are resilient. People who can discern opportunity in the midst of crisis are resilient.           This morning I want to talk about the role our inner lives play in keeping us resilient. I am drawing directly on insights from the 20 th -century American minister, university chaplain, theologian, educator, civil rights leader and Christian mystic, Howard Thurman. It is difficult to fully appreciate and understand not only liberal Christianity, but liberal religion in general today—2026—without knowledge of Thurman’s contributions from the mid-twentieth century. He was born in Florida in 1899 and raised in a Baptist household. He served as dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944. In 1944 he co-founded the interracial, interfaith and intercultural Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. And from 1953 to 1965 he served as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, where he famously mentored Martin Luther King, Jr. He died in 1981. [2] I note that when we identify the sources of King’s philosophy of nonviolence, we name Henry David Thoreau and Mahatma Ghandi. Thurman also taught King nonviolence. Rumor has it that King carried a copy of Thurman’s book, Jesus and the Disinherited, with him when he travelled.           There are three reasons I invite Thurman into our midst this morning. First, it is Black History month. Thurman is African American. Yes, we refer to Thurman all year long—you may remember we shared his meditation, “The Work of Christmas” at our epiphany service in January—but it certainly makes sense to explore his work during Black History Month.           Second, Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited , published in 1949, is a biblically-grounded survival guide for people living under an authoritarian regime. I am tired of repeating what needs to be repeated every week, but it must be said: the federal government in Washington, DC is governing in an anti-democratic, authoritarian manner. I have named multiple times from this pulpit and in other public settings why I make that claim. The military surge into Los Angeles in June which, among many atrocities, witnessed the murder of American citizen Keith Porter, Jr., was the moment I started calling it authoritarianism. Thurman wrote Jesus and the Disinherited  because, in his experience, though there were many “interpretations dealing with the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth … few of [them] deal with what the teachings and the life of Jesus have to say to those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.” [3]           He was writing specifically to and for black people. He said “the striking similarity between the social position of Jesus in Palestine and that of the vast majority of [African] Americans … is obvious to anyone who tarries long over the facts.” African Americans “assume that there are no basic citizenship rights, no fundamental protection, guaranteed to them by the state.” [4]  The book is a helpful reminder that though what we are witnessing today is horrifying, enraging, immoral and un-American, it is not new. There are people in our midst who have lived through authoritarianism in the United States, or who inherit family and community memories of living through authoritarianism in the United States. We can and should learn from them. Their experience and wisdom are invaluable.           For Thurman, a strong inner life is essential for living with resilience under an authoritarian regime. He was deeply committed to identifying, nurturing and growing the inner life, the inner attitude, the inner spirit. Without it, all is lost. With it, surviving and thriving are possible. Jesus’ message, he wrote, “focused on the urgency of a radical change in the inner attitude of the people. He recognized fully that out of the heart are the issues of life and that no external force, however great and overwhelming, can at long last destroy a people if it does not first win the victory of the spirit against them.” [5]  More simply put, Jesus “recognized with authentic realism that anyone who permits another to determine the quality of his inner life gives into the hands of the other the key to his destiny.” [6]           Thurman names three ways authoritarians win the victory of spirit and kill the inner life of the people. First, they instill fear. While fear is a legitimate response and important for survival, it ultimately becomes toxic to the inner life. To cultivate a resilient inner life, he advises his readers to discern positive, life-giving answers to the questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I?” His answer to the question: I am beloved child of God. Such an awareness “tends to stabilize the ego and results in a new courage, fearlessness, and power. I have seen it happen again and again.” [7]  For nurturing your own resilience, I invite you to ponder and answer these questions: “Who am I?” and “What am I?” What answers give you courage?           Second, he names that surviving when one’s back is against the wall often requires taking a posture of deception. He says “deception is perhaps the oldest of all the techniques by which the weak have protected themselves against the strong. Through the ages, at all stages of sentient activity, the weak have survived by fooling the strong.” [8]  But, like fear, deception ultimately becomes toxic to the inner life. To counteract this toxicity, he calls for “a complete and devastating sincerity.” He writes that ultimately, we must “be simply, directly truthful, whatever may be the cost in life, limb, and security.” And, “if the number increases and the movement spreads, the vindication of the truth [will] follow in the wake. There must always be the confidence that the effect of truthfulness can be realized in the mind of the oppressor as well as the oppressed. There is no substitute for such faith.” [9]  Sincerity, honesty and truth-telling are keys to resilience.           Third, he writes about hate, which he calls one of the “hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the disinherited in season and out of season.” [10] Hate is entirely understandable. It meets many psychological needs. It often feels good. It binds people together. It generates creativity, even moral justification. But for Thurman, “hatred finally destroys the core of the life of the hater.” He argues that “Jesus rejected hatred because he saw that hatred meant death to the mind, death to the spirit, death to communion with [the divine]. He affirmed life; and hatred was the great denial.” [11]           In place of hate, what feeds, nurtures and sustains the resilient inner life? Love. Thurman analyzes Jesus’ admonition to love our enemies as ourselves. He writes about the different kinds of enemies that impact the lives of the disinherited, and in each case, though he recognizes it is no easy task, he calls for humanizing the enemy. “Love of the enemy,” he says, “means that a fundamental attack must first be made on the enemy status.” He says a lot about how this might be achieved. He says, essentially, that perpetrators of injustice must be held accountable, but this can still be achieved with love at the center. Again, he does not underestimate the challenge. But making the attempt is a key to strengthening and freeing one’s inner life. He asks, “Can this attitude … become characteristic of one’s behavior…?” He answers: “I think so.” He cautions that “merely preaching love of one’s enemies…—however high and holy—cannot, in the last analysis, accomplish the result.” Instead, “at the center of the attitude is a core of painstaking discipline.” [12]  It takes intentional, daily practice to love one’s enemies as oneself. Painstaking discipline. His point: the person who engages in such discipline, this monumental human effort to love one’s enemies as oneself, is on the path to a resilient inner life.           The third and final reason I want to bring Thurman into our midst is a quote attributed to him, though, full disclosure, I have yet to find where he wrote or said it. I share it as a prompt for cultivating resilience. “Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”           In this authoritarian moment, it is easy to spiral down and out into fear, into hatred, perhaps into deception, including self-deception, which seems to be so common among corporate and political elites who want to curry favor with authoritarian Washington. It is so easy to spiral down and out, mind and heart racing, ruminating, worrying into anxiety, into helplessness, into hopelessness, into despair. To spiral into resilience, name to yourself and to anyone else who will listen what makes you come alive.           On Tuesday our Pastoral Friends committee held a conversation on “Hope in Hard Times.” About thirty of you attended. We asked people to share what practices cultivate resilience in them. We heard listening to music, meditating, moving our bodies—stretching, yoga, exercise. We heard about taking walks outside, and about a practice of attaching intentions to a stone and then walking with the stone. We heard about interactions with animals, wild and domestic, watching birds at the feeder. We heard about humor, and talked about which comedians are helping us stay sane. Nobody mentioned prayer, but I know some of us have rich prayer lives that ground and center us. We heard about creativity. One participant shared about teaching herself to paint with her non-dominant hand due to an injury. We heard about participation in rallies and finding community there. And, oh yes, community—friends, family, and the community of this UU Society East congregation. And I want to share a quote from Jeannette Lesure, because she responded to my request in the newsletter to share with me what makes you come alive and I threatened to quote her. She wrote: “When I think of why I love folks, it’s about the ways we blend—-not necessarily in unity, but in the ways our differences harmonize. We help bring out the beauty… carry one another forward.  When I sing, I listen to the other voices and try to make the sound richer through BLENDING, not taking over. I feel more whole that way, too.” Thanks Jetty.           All of these are answers to the question, “what makes you come alive?” I commend the question to you. Take it with you into this week, into this month. Answer it, and then go do the things that make you come alive. Authoritarianism will not prevail if the people have come alive. Authoritarianism will never win the victory of the spirit against the people if they have come alive. Authoritarianism cannot determine the quality of the inner life of people who have come alive.           Go do it, because the world needs people who have come alive. Go do it, because the world needs resilient people.           Amen and blessed be. [1]  View our 2/1/26 Sunday service on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1PKBzmU8M0&t=10s . [2]  I am grabbing some of this bio from the entry for Howard Thurman at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Thurman . I also recommend Fluker, Walter Earl and Tumber, Catherine, eds., A Strange Freedom: The Best of Haward Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998). [3]  Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976) p. 11. [4]  Ibid., p. 34. [5]  Ibid., p. 21. [6]  Ibid., p. 28. [7]  Ibid., p. 50.  [8]  Ibid., p. 58. [9]  Ibid., p. 70. [10]  Ibid. p. 74.  [11]  Ibid., p. 88. [12]  Ibid., p. 106.

Dean Howard Thurman Assison N. Scurlock, photographer Smithsonian Online Archives NMAH AC 0618.S04.01 Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Prelude Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Excerpt from "Waiting to Grow Again" by Jennifer Johnson Opening Hymn "Winter Takes its Time" Music by Mary Bopp Words by Rev. Josh Pawelek and Mary Bopp Drone: Winter takes its time. Winter takes its time. Verses: Let us all heed winter's teaching. Let us not pass quickly by. Let us honor winter's wisdom. Let the darkness hold us close. Let us rest in winter's stillness. Let us rest the long night through. Welcoming New Members Introductions (Membership Committee co-chairs) The Charge (Minister) As you take up membership in the Unitarian Universalist Society East, I charge you to share with us who you are. Share your creativity, your experiences, your questions, your doubts, your beliefs, and all your discoveries of life's meaning. I charge you to shake us up with your ideas, to stir us up with your conscience, to inspire us with your actions, and to stimulate our hopes with your dreams of what life can be. Congregational Welcome (Congregation) We welcome you as companions in the search for truth and meaning. We invite you to share in our mission of caring for one another, encouraging each other in spiritual growth, working for justice and peace in the wider community, and living in harmony with the earth. We join our gifts with yours, trusting in the power of community to bring freedom, healing, and love. New Member Affirmation (New members) We join the Unitarian Universalist Society East out of a desire and willingness to participate in a liberal religious congregation. We pledge to share our time, energy and gifts; to diligently seek our spiritual truths; and to strengthen the bonds of community Responsive Hymn "This Meetinghouse" words adapted from Eugene Sander by Josh Pawelek This meetinghouse, A place of love and gladness. Where all may meet, to seek the common good. A source of strength, to face each doubt and sadness. Where every dream, is known and understood. This meetinghouse, ask those who came before, And found themselves, by crossing through its door. Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offering We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community. Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people in Manchester through advocacy, education, the arts and community events. Offering Music "The Sound of Music" By Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein Gerald Dillenbeck, vocals Mary Bopp, piano Sermon "What Makes You Come Alive?" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Hymn #123 "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade Extinguishing the Chalice The flame in our hearts, never ceases 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 .

Gathering Music Welcome Centering "The Strength of Water" https://www.uua.org/worship/words/meditation/strength-water Prelude "Wellspring" Composed & performed by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Opening Hymn #169 "We Shall Overcome" African American spiritual adapt. by William Farley Smith Mary Bopp, piano We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome someday! We'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we'll walk hand in hand someday! We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace, we shall live in peace someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we shall live in peace someday! Time for All Ages "The Hugging Tree" by Jill Neimark Read by Stacey Musulin Musical Interlude Announcements Introduction to the Service - Paula Baker Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Prayer and Reflection - Stacey Musulin "Prayer for Resilience" by Rev. Dr. Michelle Collins Source of Love, Spirit of Interdependence, we give thanks for the web that holds us, the hands that have steadied us, the voices that remind us we are not alone, the presence of those who have leaned on us just as we have leaned on them. Resilience is not a solitary triumph. It is woven through community: shared meals, gentle questions, laughter that breaks through grief, courage borrowed from one another when our own runs thin. In this moment, let us remember that we are stronger together than apart. May we continue to offer and receive care, trusting that our connections sustain us even when we cannot behold the whole picture. Blessed be the bonds that hold and that keep holding. Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council. Offering Music "Stairway to Heaven" Music by Jimmy Page Lyrics by Robert Plant Performed by Will Alexson, guitar Reflection from Heather Alexson "Sacred Defiance" Seeds of Hope: A Poem of Sacred Defiance" https://1drea.com/seeds-of-hope-a-poem-of-sacred-defiance-by-daeess-1drea/ Closing Hymn #100 "I've Got Peace Like a River" Words & Music: Marvin V. Frey I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. (sing 2x) I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain in my soul. (sing 2x) I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean in my soul. (sing 2x) Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words 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.

Music plays a key role in our services and in our congregational life. Worship "The Nature of Resilience" As the light returns and the natural world begins to stir, we reflect on nature's many lessons in resilience. Coordinators : Paula Baker & Stacey Musulin. Services at 9:00 and 11:00 A.M. - Updated #eBlast -01-28 "What Makes You Come Alive?" Rev. Josh draws on insights from the 20th-century Christian mystic, Howard Thurman, to reflect on our monthly ministry theme of resilience. In challenging times, what are our sources of resilience? Coordinator : Rev. Josh Pawelek. Services at 9:00 and 11:00 A.M. Sunday, February 8, 2026 - Updated #eBlast -02-04 Sunday, February 15th: Strategic Planning: A Discipline of Resilience. Hear and be heard to form our UUSE vision, mission, and planning statements. Coordinator: Kate Kimmerle. Sunday, February 22nd: The Fires of Generosity. As we approach our 2026 Annual Appeal, Rev. Josh explores the many ways we manifest generosity and why it matters that we continually cultivate generous spirits. Kate Kimmerle purchased this service at the 2025 UUSE Goods and Services Auction. Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek. Sunday, March 1st: Belonging and Thriving -- Together! 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. 2/15/26 Strategic Planning: A Discipline of Resilience. Sunday, February 15th: Strategic Planning: A Discipline of Resilience. Hear and be heard to form our UUSE vision, mission, and planning statements. Coordinator: Kate Kimmerle. 2/22/26 The Fires of Generosity. Sunday, February 22nd: The Fires of Generosity. As we approach our 2026 Annual Appeal, Rev. Josh explores the many ways we manifest generosity and why it matters that we continually cultivate generous spirits. Kate Kimmerle purchased this service at the 2025 UUSE Goods and Services Auction. Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek. 3/1/26 Belonging and Thriving -- Together! Sunday, March 1st: Belonging and Thriving -- Together! 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.

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 Sunday 2/22/26 Read More Music + Mantra: Kirtan at UUSE 3:00PM Sunday Feb 22nd 2026 Music + Mantra: Kirtan at UUSE 3:00PM Sunday Feb 22nd 2026 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...