Weekly News - June 19, 2025 - Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek

Posted on June 19, 2025 Posted By: Office Administrator Categories: News

Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek
We are a community that invites you to awaken to love.

** Congregational Life
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** Upcoming events, meetings and news to know
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Today is Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, Jubilee Day, or Emancipation Day. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.
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Observed on June 19th, it marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and the enslaved people were now free. This announcement came more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed enslaved people in the Southern states. Juneteenth has since evolved into a celebration of African American and Black culture, heritage, and joy.

Learn more about Juneteenth – check out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, click the button below.
Juneteenth – learn more HERE (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/moments/juneteenth)

** Sunday Worship Service Information
June 22, 2025
10:30 am
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Many of us feel pretty burned out on the idea of selfcare, and community care may not always seem accessible. How can we rethink the models we’ve been given, and merge both experience and science to help us sustain ourselves and each other in these times? Join us this Sunday when guest speaker Heather A. Petit explores some additional kinds of sustainable care in a world on fire during their sermon, “Beyond Selfcare: Radical Care for Dangerous Times.”

Heather Petit (she/they) is a Candidate for UU ministry who graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 2020, and interned with both EqUUal Access and here at the UU Society of Mill Creek. Heather is fat, white, queer/genderqueer, disabled, and neurodivergent. Heather’s entrepreneurial ministry is in creating and maintaining sustainable, relationally trustworthy workplaces. They currently employ this ministry in leadership and strategy work at a major data sciences firm. Heather is married and has four adult children and one grandchild. They live in Newark, Delaware.

Music for this service will be performed by Yuxin Liu. Born in Qingdao, China, Yuxin Liu began her musical studies at the age of six. She has been an experienced piano teacher for more than seven years. She recently received her Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Delaware. As a social service advocate, she is passionate about community building and has performed as a soloist as part of the outreach programs at the Newark Free Library. While at UD, she serves on the keyboard faculty for the UD Community Music School (CMS), maintaining a studio for students of all levels and age groups. Additionally, she served as a staff accompanist for the Delaware UBF Church. Yuxin also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from Qingdao University. During her college years, she has won Qingdao University’s second-level scholarship for eight consecutive semesters. She was a selected performer for Qingdao University’s 2020 National Tour. Yuxin has played in masterclasses for
Professor Julan Wang of the Central Conservatory of Music and Professor Qin Zhou of Capital Normal University. She won the bronze medal at the 2019 Euregio International Piano Competition in Germany.

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)

Meeting ID: 978 0642 7419

** Support our Food Drive this Sunday
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…with YOUR DONATION of canned and/or non-perishable food items.
Our support of the Food Bank of Delaware continues with a collection of non-perishable food items. We are collecting their most-needed items, including dry cereals & oatmeal; peanut butter; canned tuna, beans, fruits, vegetables & soups; peanut butter; and rice & pasta.

The Social Justice Committee has provided a donation bin in the gathering space to collect the items mentioned above. Help us to help our less fortunate neighbors – please give generously.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

** Lands Stewards Activities
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* Wednesday Meadow Maintenance Come and see what the gang is doing to improve the biodiversity and natural habitat in the meadow areas. Join them next Wednesday, June 25 around 5:30 pm.
* Pizza & Beverages in the Meadow Join the crew in the meadow on Wednesday, July 9 for relaxation and a communal meal of everyone’s favorite: pizza!

** Current Share Our Plate Recipient
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We regularly donate a half of our undesignated plate collection to a local charity or non-profit organization. For the months of May and June we are supporting:

The Trevor Project
The leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people.

This organization offers crisis services, advocacy, research, peer support, education, and public awareness, with the ultimate goal of preventing suicide – helping to create a world where all LGBTQ+ young people see a bright future for themselves.
Learn more about The Trevor Project HERE (https://www.thetrevorproject.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)

** “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
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(We want your socks.)
The SmartWool company is giving old products new life to eliminate the need for new materials and keep perfectly good materials from being thrown away and destined for a landfill. They have developed Second Cut, a process to refabricate discarded socks into new products they sell on their website. We are collecting clean, unwanted socks of any type, any condition, and any kind of material. We will then send them to the SmartWool company, giving them new life.

So far we have collected 22+ pounds of socks, bypassing the landfill. Please help us reach our year-end goal of 100+ pounds. Look for the collection bin in the gathering space. Your participation in this project is an easy way to help the environment.

** Recurring Events
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Wednesday Evening Meadow Maintenance

The Land Stewards continue their weekly evening work efforts every Wednesday around 5:30pm, weather permitting. You don’t need to be a meadow worker bee to come out and enjoy some social time with us in the meadow. – everyone is welcome to simply walk around and enjoy our natural native habitat.

It’s not all about pulling weeds – there are many opportunities to get involved! We’ve put together a list of suggestions for ways anyone can help – from minimal effort, to moderate activity, to using shovels and pulling weeds. Check it out by clicking the button below.
Learn more – click HERE (https://www.uusmc.org/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Support-Our-Natural-Lands-1.pdf)

The D & D role-playing game is about storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery.
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, June 22 at 12 pm in classroom 1. Occurs every 2 weeks on Sundays. Questions? Contact Tom Vincent (mailto:trv302@outlook.com) .

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 a Zoom or in-person meeting, click the button below:
Connect with Rev. Christian HERE (https://calendar.google.com/calendar/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

Margaret Borror, Faith Exploration Teacher
Sundays, and by appointment
dre@uusmc.org (mailto:dre@uusmc.org)
Connect with the UUA, Delmarva Cluster, and Central East Region

** How to Stay Connected to Your UU Faith During Your Summer Travels
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Pictured: First Unitarian Church of Honolulu (https://uuhonolulu.org/)

If you’re traveling this summer but would still like to attend a UU service, there’s a way to find a UU church anywhere in the country – or the world.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has you covered with a quick and easy way to view all 1000+ UUA member congregations, or you can browse by state, region, or internationally. You can even connect with the Church of the Larger Fellowship, a strictly online church, and also search for young adult and campus ministry. Click the button below to stay connected this summer, no matter where you are.
Find a UU church anywhere – click HERE (https://www.uua.org/find)

** Opportunities for Connection: Central East Region Update
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JUNE 2025

Featured Resource:
Congregational Board Resources
The 1000+ Unitarian Universalist congregations in North America are grouped into 5 regions: Pacific Western, MidAmerica, Southern, Central East, and New England. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek (UUSMC) is part of the Central East Region. To learn more about what’s happening in our region, click the button below.
Opportunities for Connection: click HERE (https://www.uua.org/central-east/blog/opportunities-625)

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Weekly News – June 19, 2025

Weekly News – June 19, 2025