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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** Holiday Potluck Party THIS SATURDAY – join us!
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Join us this Saturday for a holiday potluck party!
December 14 at 5:00 pm
Are the holidays stressing you out? Come and have fun this Saturday with your Mill Creek family. Here’s what the evening will look like:
*You, wearing your best holiday gear (even if it is just pajamas!)
*Dinner and Dessert
*Trivia contest – your table could win a prize!
*Optional White Elephant Gift Exchange –no more than $20:
* It doesn’t have to be new (think somebody else’s trash = somebody else’s treasure)
* It doesn’t have to be store-bought (think homemade)
* It doesn’t have to be $20… that’s the absolute limit
* This is a chance to regift some of the “interesting” things that you have received in the past!
We look forward to celebrating food, fellowship and fun with you – everyone is welcome!
** Sunday Worship Service Information
December 15, 2024
10:30 am
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Being present is about more than just showing up, it’s also about making sure you’re fully there; not distracted, not too busy, not too tired. Being present means taking care of yourself, too, so you can be there for others. During this holiday season, that can be especially challenging. Join us for Rev. Christian Schmidt’s sermon, “Real Presence.”
Music for this service will include jolly sounds of the season performed by the Clarion Brass, featuring Gordon Roth & Kristen Tosh-Morelli, trumpets; Steve Getty, horn; Tom Hartline, trombone; and Brian Hanson, tuba.
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)
** 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.
Come to church this Sunday to see our worship and gathering spaces dressed up for the holidays! The beautiful decorations and poinsettia plants make for a very festive atmosphere thanks to the combined efforts of Diane Hofer, Lauri Rickard, Ann Draper, Laura Bonner, Janice Buckwalter, Russell Palmer, and Stephen Janick. Bring cash or check with you so you can take home a poinsettia to deck your own halls!
** Winter Solstice Celebration
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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.
** 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
** Pink Haven Coalition: helping transgender people relocate and access gender-affirming care
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The Pink Haven Coalition is a joint project between frontline trans organizers, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), other progressive faith groups, and mutual aid networks across the country.
In early 2023, the main organizers of this work approached UUSC and the UUA when they saw the increase in anti-trans laws being proposed and passed. Through the Pink Haven Coalition, the UUA and UUSC are a part of creating a network to organize housing and transportation for these “passengers,” the name the coalition has given to the people it is helping.
Fin Leary’s article, Pink Haven Coalition Helps Transgender People Relocate and Access Gender-Affirming Care was featured in uuworld.org in March of this year and includes useful information and resources. You can read it HERE (https://www.uuworld.org/articles/relocation-help-trans-people-pink-haven-support-resources-how-it-works) .
To keep up with the increase in requests for potentially life-saving aid, Pink Haven has launched a Faithify Campaign with the goal of raising as much funding as possible for grants to support the safety and well-being of trans, two-spirit, and gender-expansive people living under hostile governments in the United States.
Here’s how you can help:
Learn more about the Pink Haven Coalition HERE (https://www.pinkhaven.org/)
Donate to the Coalition’s Faithify Campaign HERE (https://www.faithify.org/campaign/402/pink-haven-coalition)
Contact the Coalition HERE if you can offer housing or other aid to a passenger (https://www.pinkhaven.org/contact/)
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