SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, SCHEDULE • 9 a.m., The Executive Board will meet in the dining room. • 9:30 a.m., The choir will practice in the sanctuary. • 10:25 a.m., Announcements will be read in the sanctuary. • 10:30 a.m., The Rev. David Weissbard will lead the service. He has written, “There is a down-side for a preacher who is only in the pulpit once a month: how to decide. There was the tragic death of the brilliant Robin Williams; the killing of 1,600 Palestinian civilians (men, women and children) by the Israeli government while 3 Israeli civilians have died; and the police killing of Mike Brown and the initial use of militarized police (with Israeli-trained leadership) to try to shut down the demonstrations. Each of these has religious ramifications that scream to be addressed. I’m going to ‘bite the bullet’, as it were, and stick with the first for my next sermon. More than twice as many people in America die from suicide each year as from homicide. We don’t know what to make of it. While I certainly do not have ‘the answer’, I have had some experience and done a lot of thinking about ‘The Permanent Answer to (Sometimes) Transient Challenges’. I’ll share what I have learned.” Random Acts of Kindness Sunday will also be observed. • 10:50 a.m., The religious education program will begin. Ronna Schindler, Religious Education Committee chairperson and older children’s teacher, reports, “Our main curriculum, ‘Faithful Journeys’, will include our Unitarian Universalist principles and their connection with social action in the community and around the world and how we even as a small congregation can make a big difference. This month we will be taking part in a worldwide project called ‘Pinwheels for Peace’. We hope to get the entire congregation involved. Each month will include a different principle and project to be part of. Let us help our children find their way to a more loving future for themselves and others.” 11:45 a.m., Social time in the dining room. This is also the once-a-month Sunday on which the Social Justice Committee asks everyone to bring magazines to the church dining room to exchange them for others. The committee will continue the recycling process by passing on any magazines that are left to the Public Safety Building Jail in Syracuse every two or three months. OFFICE HOURS Andrea Abbott will hold office hours at the church from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 4. Anyone meeting with Andrea is asked to park in the handicapped parking area on the west side of the church. If you need to speak to Andrea at other times, please contact her to make an appointment via phone at 315-635-7122 or 315-857-1086 or via e-mail at [email protected]. CHOIR TO PRACTICE The choir will have its regular once-a-month rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 4. The choir meets on the first Thursday of each month and at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays before the regular service. Leigh Parry-Benedict, music coordinator , reminds everyone “that the choir is open to anyone who enjoys singing; no previous experience is necessary! I can work with all skill levels. The more voices we have, the merrier. So come on out and give it a try!” INCOMING SUNDAY Andrea Abbott will lead the congregation in a Water Communion observance during the service at 10:30 a.m. on Incoming Sunday, September 14. Andrea writes, “All are asked to bring water that is from a place where they have spent some time this summer or represents a place where they have spent some time this summer.” As the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) reports, “There are two holidays that many Unitarian Universalist congregations celebrate that are unique to our faith: the Water Communion and the Flower Communion. Both holidays are ceremonies that celebrate our Unitarian Universalist community and the importance of each individuals unique contributions to that community. “The Water Communion, also sometimes called Water Ceremony, was first used at a Unitarian Universalist worship service in the 1980s. Many UU congregations now hold a Water Communion once a year, often at the beginning of the new church year (September). “Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources. It is often then blessed by the congregation, and sometimes is later boiled and used as the congregations ‘holy water’ in child dedication ceremonies and similar events.” Thus, each person in our congregation is asked to collect a small vial of water (a film canister is a good size) during the summer, and to pour the water into a common vessel, while speaking briefly about the water’s significance, during the Water Communion. DON’T FORGET TO WRITE ON THAT MEMO LINE! When you are writing a check for the church, please write on the memo line the purpose for which the check is being written. For example: Pledge, Fair Share, Random Acts of Kindness, Window Fund. Such action makes it easier to record the check in its proper place. Thank you. A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters on Sunday mornings. Anyone with any questions is invited to contact Chet Perkins via e-mail at [email protected] or via telephone at 315-668-6719. Volunteers are also needed to host the social time on Sunday mornings. Anyone with any questions is invited to contact Judy Tennant via e-mail at [email protected] or via telephone at 315-638-5357. The Spiritual Committee invites anyone who wishes to place flowers near the pulpit for the morning service on Sundays to do so. There is a sign-up sheet in the dining room. CHANTING AND MEDITATION Anyone who is interested in chanting and meditation is invited to contact Tim Hart via e-mail at timhart@a-znet or via telephone at 315-439-2541. IN CASE YOU MISSED A SERMON We have audio CDs of most of the current Sunday sermons. These may be borrowed for your listening enjoyment. HOW TO SPREAD THE WORD If you have an announcement you would like to have included in the church’s weekly e-mail announcements next week, please give it to Bob Haskell by 1 p.m. on Sunday. Earlier submissions would be greatly appreciated. Also, please help spread the word to anyone without e-mail.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 20:42:00 +0000
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