Leaders from Moral Monday CT will be at UUS:E on Saturday afternoon, June 11th from 3:30 to 5:00 to discuss the latest news from the Poor People’s Campaign and the June 18th mass action in Washington, DC. Questions? Contact Rev. Josh Pawelek at [email protected]

A Workshop with CB Beal
Saturday, June 4th, 9 am to noon

Who and What: CB Beal will lead participants in a grounded, thoughtful experience with humor and a light touch about the complex reality of engaging in community care during difficult times. (Sponsored by the Adult Religious Education Committee and Rev. Josh Pawelek)

When and Where: Saturday, June 4^th, 9:00 to Noon in the UUS:E sanctuary

Register

Why: Human physiology—our brains and bodies—reacts to the damaging and dangerous events in our lives such as pandemic, police violence, personal injury, or loss of bodily autonomy in our legal system. Humans can regulate our emotions together, whether by accident of circumstance or with intention. Humans often get upset together and we can ground and calm together.  Intentionally co-regulating is a community skill many of us were never taught in families that prioritized pretense or image over emotional presence, or in a culture based on white supremacy and patriarchy that prioritized denial and compliance over emotional processing.

How:  CB will facilitate an experience that invites us to engage one another, bear witness, and enjoy fun learning activities. Community Care means that we mindfully tell the truth about what is difficult, and that we listen carefully to others and affirm their experiences. We will breathe together, practice slowing down, choose to prioritize need over preference, and then slow down more when needs appear to be in conflict.

Note: This will be the first in-person congregational workshop CB has done since before the pandemic. Being in-person will enable us to be present with one another, to be reflective and curious, to move our bodies together in space and learn together, present and grounded — practicing community care.

For the Sake of Inclusion:

• Childcare will be provided upon request. Please contact Rev. Josh Pawelek by Tuesday, May 31st to request childcare.
• Please come to this workshop wearing no fragrances (other than the natural scents of some body products such as coconut or jojoba oils.)
• Please come to this workshop wearing a well-fitted N95 quality mask to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect those most vulnerable to Covid. (Two-way high quality masking increases the safety for vulnerable people between 10-100 times—depending on how well fitted they are—over that of a single vulnerable person wearing an N95 quality mask.)
• There is a $10 fee to attend this workshop. If you are not in a position to pay for the workshop, please contact Rev. Josh Pawelek. Nobody will be turned away for lack of fund!

Register

YEHYUN KIM / CTMIRROR.ORG

UUS:E is featured in a recent CT Mirror / Hartford Courant article by the “economic development” reporter Erica Phillips. Phillips interviewed UUS:E staff-members and UUS:E Personnel Committee chair, Vivian Carlson, in mid-March. She uses our experience purchasing health insurance for our staff as a starting place for an in-depth analysis of why it is so difficult for non-profits and small businesses to continue offering insurance to their employees.

Read the May 1st CT Mirror version of the article (with pictures) here.

Read the May 4th, Hartford Courant version of the article here.

Congregants made pledges at our 2022 Earth Day service.

Sunday, May 1st at 12:30 PM
UUS:E Sanctuary and online

Join Rev. Josh and members of the UUS:E Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee for a viewing of portions of Paula Cole Jones’ March 20^th workshop, “Creating a Culture of Inclusion.” This will be an opportunity for members and friends of UUS:E to learn about and discuss the 8^th Unitarian Universalist principle. Please contact the UUS:E office at (860) 646-5151 or [email protected] to let us know you are planning to attend, and whether you will join us in person or online.

The UUS:E Sunday Services, Membership, and Communications & Technology Committees are jointly seeking 5-6 people to serve as Zoom hosts for our 11:00 Sunday services.

What is a Zoom host? It’s a very simple, though very important position. The Zoom host welcomes all the online guests to the service; shares important links, such as the link to the visitor welcome card, or to any upcoming events; monitors the Zoom participants for disruptive behavior (Zoom-bombing), which has yet to happen, but is always a possibility; communicates with the tech people at UUS:E if there is a problem online they may not know about; and sets up breakout rooms at the end of the service. The Zoom host may eventually share the online joys and concerns with the congregation in the sanctuary. Best of all – this job can be done from home, or from one of the offices at UUS:E. Each Zoom host will be assigned to work one Sunday a month. Questions? Interested? Contact Rev. Josh at [email protected] or (860) 646-5151.

Donating to UUSC’s Emergency Response Fund ensures UUSC is always ready to provide relief, including their developing work to protect the rights of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

In response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, UUSC’s first step is to send emergency relief funding to groups who are working on the ground in Eastern Europe. This will happen quickly as UUSC has existing partners in the area from their Syrian Refugee work. This includes partners such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee who are already responding to the current crisis by providing free legal assistance, counseling, and representation so that Ukrainian asylum seekers receive temporary protection immediately. Following the relief grants, UUSC’s team will develop a strategy for longer-term recovery alongside these same partners.

An Online, All-Congregational workshop
Sunday afternoon, March 20^th, 1:00 to 4:30

Register Here

Background:

At its February meeting, at the request of UUS:E’s Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee, the UUS:E Policy Board agreed to place a vote to adopt the 8^th Unitarian Universalist principle on the agenda for our May 15^th Annual Meeting. In order to prepare for that vote, we have invited Paula Cole Jones, one of the principal architects of the 8^th Principle movement, to lead us in this compelling workshop.

We Unitarian Universalists are called to build the Beloved Community. The UU Principles guide us in this our pursuit of this calling, but do they go far enough, and are they deep enough, to create such a community? Is it time for an 8^th principle that directs us to attend to the unfinished business of dismantling racism and oppression in our congregations, our Association, and in our wider community? With a positive vote in May, UUS:E would be joining more than 140 UU congregations around the country who have answered “yes” to this question and have adopted the 8^th principle.

The 8th Principle affirms and promotes journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

The Workshop:

Ms. Cole Jones’ workshop will introduce the 8^th principle and offer new insights for creating  a congregational culture of inclusion. The workshop will:

• introduce strategies to achieve long term cultural change;
• share a framework for how collaboration and accountability shape the racial and social justice history of institutions in the United States;
• engage participants in an interactive experience of the transformative power of the 8^th

The workshop will take place in Zoom over two 90-minute blocks, separated by a 30 minute break. We are asking people to pre-register and pay a workshop fee of $20. Please note: nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. Please contact Rev. Josh at [email protected] if you would like financial assistance.

Register Here

Sunday, February 27^th at 4:00 PM, UUS:E hosts filmmaker Maribeth Abrams for a sneak preview into her documentary on Medical Aid in Dying–an option for terminally-ill people of sound mind who wish to end their lives peacefully, on their own terms. This moving and emotional preview features Kim Hoffman, a terminally-ill CT resident who fought vehemently for this option all the way to her deathbed. Ten states in the US and Washington, DC (including neighboring Maine, Vermont and New Jersey) allow their residents the option of Medical Aid in Dying, but CT has rejected every bill related to the subject for the past ten years, despite the fact that 75% of CT residents say they want the choice.

Ms. Abrams will be joined by Compassion & Choices Senior Campaign Director Tim Appleton. Mr. Appleton will discuss the status of the Medical Aid in Dying bill currently under consideration at the CT General Assembly’s Public Health Committee.  We look forward to a lively and thoughtful discussion and welcome your input.

This event is co-sponsored by the UUS:E’s Pastoral Friends and Adult Religious Education Committees.  Watch our regular eblasts for Zoom login information. Questions? Contact Rev. Josh Pawelek at [email protected] or (860) 652-8961.