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Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek
We are a community that invites you to awaken to love.
IN THIS ISSUE
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Here’s what’s happening at Mill Creek:
** Congregational Life
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** Upcoming events, meetings and news to know
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** Winter Solstice Celebration Tomorrow Evening
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Join fellow revelers in celebrating the darkness which gives birth to light. All are welcome to take part in our ritual, feasting, drumming and campfire. Contact Regina Guarino (mailto:regina139@msn.com) with any questions.
** Sunday Worship Service Information
December 22, 2024
10:30 am
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This month we’ve explored our theme of presence. This Sunday, with his sermon “The Power of Emptiness,” Rev. Christian Schmidt will talk about the power of absence, of emptiness — which we usually think of as a negative but has a positive power all its own.
Music for this service will be performed by returning guest musician Marty Lassman. Marty graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor in Music Education where he was a trumpet major and percussion minor. He was the first band director hired for HB duPont Middle School and Talley Jr. High School when they opened. After earning his MMEd with a piano emphasis from the University of Iowa in 1974, he worked as the band director at Wilmington Friends School for eighteen years, and then as choir director at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts for 28 years. While there, his choirs performed in Delaware, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts at the request of our Governors, US Senators, and Cabella Calloway Langsom. His choirs also won awards in Disney World competitions. Marty retired from public school teaching in 2019 and is currently the treasurer of Delaware’s American Chorus Directors Association and the Jazz Representative for the Delaware Music Educators
Association. He also directs an adult jazz choir, Keynote Jazz, that rehearses weekly and will perform here at Mill Creek next month.
Connect with Us In-Person
* Service begins at 10:30 am
* Children’s RE programming is available for ages 4 and up
* Child Care available (infant/toddler, ages birth to 3)
Connect with Us Virtually
Here’s how to get the Zoom link for livestreaming the service:
* Click the link below: ‘Sunday Livestream’ (bookmark it on your preferred device for quick and easy access on Sunday morning); OR
* Get the link by accessing the church calendar (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar/) (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar/) )
Sunday Livestream – CLICK HERE (https://zoom.us/j/97806427419)
** Last Chance: Poinsettia Plants Available for Sale this Sunday
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Poinsettia plants are approximately 18″ x 16″ in a 7″ pot with a foil cover. Cash or check only.
** Christmas Eve Service
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All are welcome to join us for a special service on Tuesday, December 24 at 7 pm to hear Rev. Christian’s homily and enjoy carols, candlelight, and all the joys of the season. Please note that there will be no childcare or children’s Faith Exploration class during this service.
** Come to Our Next Land Stewards Meeting
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Our UUSMC property, the traditional land of the Lenni Lenape, has been transformed since our church was built in the early 2000’s. The featured photo shows the eastern corner of the meadow on Earth Day, 2003. Now with more native trees and plants, it’s a friendlier place for insects, birds, and other critters. This land absorbs and filters rainwater much more effectively than the nearby mowed grassy lawns and play fields. You can help us help the Interdependent Web by joining us at the Land Stewardship meeting on Sunday, January 5, right after Coffee Time in the conference room. See Amy White or Jamie Kegerise if you have questions. All are welcome.
** OWL Classes Offered at UUFN
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The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark (UUFN (https://uufn.org/) ) is offering Our Whole Lives (OWL) classes for kids in grades 4 through 6 beginning in February.
The mandatory parent orientation is Sunday, January 19, from 11:45am to 1:15pm; childcare and lunch will be provided. There will be a meeting for the kids that same day from 10:15am to 11:45am; classes will be every other week beginning on Sunday, February 2nd during service from 10:15 to 11:45 at UUFN. Interested parents may contact Andrea, DRE at UUFN, HERE (mailto:dre@uufn.org) with any questions about this program.
Our Whole Lives is a comprehensive lifespan sexuality education curricula that helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health and behavior by providing accurate and developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics. Learn more about this program HERE (https://www.uua.org/re/owl) .
** Current Share Our Plate Recipient
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We regularly donate a portion of our undesignated plate collection to a local charity or non-profit organization. For the months of November & December we are supporting:
Kingswood Community Center
Supporting the Riverside neighborhood in Wilmington since 1946
This organization offers a wide array social services: education programs, food assistance, financial literacy workshops, virtual healthcare, emergency supports, and much more. Their planned state-of-the-art community facility will feature a modern senior center, new health center, fitness and recreational facilities, youth engagement opportunities, community health initiatives, and a world-class Early Learning Academy.
Learn more about Kingswood Community Center HERE (https://kgwcc.org/)
Support this organization with your online donation HERE. Be sure to select ‘Share Our Plate’ as the giving fund. Thank you! (https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/Give)
** Recurring Event
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A fantasy tabletop role-playing game
The Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game is about storytelling in worlds of sword and sorcery. It shares elements with childhood games of make-believe. In the Dungeons & Dragons game, each player creates an adventurer (also called a character) and teams up with other adventurers (played by friends). Working together, the group might explore a dark dungeon, a ruined city, a haunted castle, a lost temple deep in a jungle, or a lava-filled cavern beneath a mysterious mountain. The adventurers can solve puzzles, talk with other characters, battle fantastic monsters, and discover fabulous magic items and other treasure. All are welcome to join the group on Sunday, December 22, and January 5 & 19 at 12 pm in classroom 1. Occurs every 2 weeks on Sundays. Questions? Contact Tom Vincent (mailto:trv302@outlook.com) .
Drum Circles On Hold The monthly rotation of drum circle gatherings has been placed on hold indefinitely. Contact Sara Durham (mailto:saradurham88@gmail.com) with any questions.
** Learn more about the fight for Wind Energy in Delaware
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Everyone is welcome to join us for an update presentation via Zoom by Senator Stephanie Hanson on Tuesday evening, January 7, at 7:00 pm in the church library to learn more about the status of wind energy in Delaware. This program is presented by the Newark Interfaith Green Team and will be attended virtually by other places of worship in our area. To register and receive the Zoom link for this presentation, click the button below.
There will be time for questions and answers during the presentation, and you are invited to stay after to discuss how Mill Creek might become more effective in our involvement with the Climate Justice Movement. This past September, several of us were involved in the UUA’s Climate Justice Revival, and there is interest in the congregation to continue this work and dialogue. Please contact Jamie Kegerise (mailto:jamie.newarkcoho@gmail.com) with any questions.
Register HERE to receive the Zoom link (mailto:newarkinterfaithgreenteam@gmail.com?subject=January%207%20registration)
** Concert Series at Mill Creek
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Friday, January 10, 2025
Two of the most capable and compelling interpreters of old-time music, Joseph Decosimo and Stephanie Coleman, have been making music together for nearly two decades. Joseph cut his musical teeth in East Tennessee with folks like Charlie Acuff and Clyde Davenport. Stephanie spent her youth immersed in the rich fiddle traditions around Chicago and the Midwest. More recently, Joseph has performed in the Bucking Mules while Stephanie has worked with Nora Brown, the Red Squirrel Chasers, and Uncle Earl. In performance, they explore old songs and tunes with voices, fiddles, banjo, and pump organ, crafting immersive, patient renditions. Learn more about these performers here:
https://www.josephdecosimo.com/ (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.josephdecosimo.com/&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3wWijxAPQw538sCaHPFZmD) and https://www.stephaniecoleman.net/ (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.stephaniecoleman.net/&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2ifw2Qo74Y8N-Zb7LhROUn)
Brought to you by Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music
Friday, January 10, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Tickets Sold at the Door:
General Public, $25; Seniors, $20; Students with ID, $15, Children ages 17 & under, FREE
** Benefit Concert Featuring John Flynn
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New Ark United Church of Christ is hosting a concert on Sunday, January 19 at 3 pm featuring singer-songwriter John Flynn, to benefit New Beginnings-Next Step.
This local non-profit organization, led by Flynn, sponsors peer-support groups for returning citizens as they transition from incarceration to freedom. It is run both for, and with, returning citizens, along with a vital and growing group of compassionate volunteer-facilitators, for the purpose of building a community of hope and a culture of accountability and possibility on the streets of Wilmington, Delaware.
New Ark United Church of Christ (https://newarkucc.org/)
300 East Main Street
Newark, Delaware
Learn more about New Beginnings-Next Step HERE (http://www.newbeginnings-nextstep.org)
Learn more about John Flynn HERE (https://johnflynn.net/bio.html)
Realm is our church management software program. We use it exclusively for accounting, pledge data, membership, registration events, and more. Use the button below to access your Realm profile to make sure we have your most recent contact information, and make pledge payments and contributions.
Access your Realm profile HERE (https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/SignIn)
Fun fact: you can use Realm to set up recurring online monthly pledge payments using a credit card or your checking or savings account!
Mill Creek Staff
Rev. Christian Schmidt, Minister
In Office: Sundays & Tuesdays
minister@uusmc.org (mailto:minister@uusmc.org)
979-450-2477 (cell)
To request a teleconference, or an in-person or Zoom meeting with Rev. Christian – CLICK HERE (https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ1ETx17XToDEx3GC5293hfnHTj-VJpBMu_m7SpHkuCcHozb-ceUiT3H-hDGLbziPku9hYBquodp)
Debra Damiani, Congregational Administrator
Monday 9 am to 2 pm, Monday-Thursday
administrator@uusmc.org (mailto:administrator@uusmc.org)
302-369-2712
Connect with the UUA, Delmarva Cluster, and Central East Region
** We Gather With Love:
A Holiday Video Message from UUA President Rev. Sofía Betancourt
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With gratitude for all of the ways that UUs have been living their faith boldly in the past year, may this season be a time for us all to reflect on our renewed commitments to justice and compassion in 2025 together.
Watch the video message HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tNkFXqhAIs)
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