Read our latest announcement.
http://eepurl.com/ikc2sj
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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** Last Day for Food Drive: this Sunday
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Help us replenish the shelves at the Food Bank of Delaware by participating in our Souper Bowl Sunday Food Drive. Look for the collection box in the gathering space.
Items needed by the food bank include all varieties of canned food – like soup, fruit, vegetables, beans & tuna; plus other non-perishable foods like boxed pasta; peanut butter; spaghetti sauce; dry cereal & oatmeal; dried (bagged) beans; rice; and personal care items.
Last chance to bring in your donations: this Sunday, February 12th.
Or, you may bring to the church during regular office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 am to 2 pm. Feel free to contact the church office at administrator@uusmc.org (mailto:administrator@uusmc.org?subject=Souper%20Bowl%20Food%20Drive) to coordinate.
During the 12 months of 2022, we paid $809.92 for trash and recycling pick up.
** Shared Pulpit Workshop – Last Chance to Sign Up
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We invite you to join Rev. Greg for a Shared Pulpit Workshop, which will guide you in developing your story into a sermon and worship experience. It is a series of small group meetings designed to guide you through the process of discovering, writing, and sharing your story in a sermon format to be shared with the congregation at a later date. Classes begin next Saturday, February 18th.
Contact Rev. Greg HERE for questions or to sign up today! (mailto:minister@uusmc.org?subject=Shared%20Pulpit%20Workshop)
** Charm City Junction to Perform at Mill Creek
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Friday, February 24
8:00 pm
Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music continues their concert series at Mill Creek with the next event featuring Charm City Junction. Mark your calendar for Friday, February 24, 8 pm.
From dance-inducing Old Time rhythms and foot-stomping Irish Melodies to hard-driving Bluegrass, Baltimore-based acoustic roots quartet Charm City Junction creates a fresh soundscape that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats wondering where they’ll go next. Featuring fiddle, claw-hammer banjo, button accordion and upright bass, this quartet isn’t afraid to take roots music to new places – but always with an eye on tradition. Lean more about the band here: www.charmcityjunction.com
Tickets sold at the door!
General Public, $25; Seniors, $20; Students with ID, $15;
Ages 17 & under, free.
TAKE A LISTEN to Charm City Junction’s music HERE! (https://youtu.be/LAN2EXzQbKU)
** Mobile Food Pantry Coming to Mill Creek
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The Food Bank of Delaware will be on-site on Saturday, February 25th from 11 am to 1 pm to distribute food to local residents. This will be a drive-thru event and is being advertised to several large apartment complexes near our church.
If you would like to help with this event by volunteering your time to assist with food distribution, please arrive at 10:30 am.
Thank you to Frank Burns (mailto:cynwydb@aol.com) for coordinating this effort.
** Thinking about membership?
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We invite all who have been considering officially joining the church to take part in Rev. Greg’s series of virtual classes designed to introduce visitors, friends, and anyone interested in learning more about the UU faith and the Mill Creek congregation.
Introduction to UUism
Wednesday, March 22 @ 6:30 pm on Zoom
Rev. Greg will lead a brief, terribly incomplete, kinda cheeky, but mostly true introduction to Unitarian Universalism history, theology, and polity (with a minor tangent to decoding all those abbreviations).
Intro to Mill Creek
Wednesday, March 29 @ 6:30 pm on Zoom
This session is an introduction about the Values, Beliefs, and Mission of Mill Creek with the intention of helping new folks get to know who we are as a religious community.
The Meaning of Membership
Wednesday, April 5 @ 6:30 pm on Zoom
This session is a conversation about what it means to be a member of Mill Creek. It will provide information and establish our shared expectations for membership.
These classes will prepare you to participate in our New Member Ceremony on Sunday, April 16. Contact Rev. Greg (minister@uusmc.org (mailto:minister@uusmc.org) ) with questions or interest.
** Save the Date: Mill Creek Annual Service Auction
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Saturday, May 6th
It’ll be here before you know it!
This year’s Service Auction is being held a bit earlier than last year (May 22, 2022) and will be an INDOOR event (yay!). More details will be forthcoming. In the meantime, the planning process has begun. If you’d like to help out in any capacity, please see Janice Buckwalter, or send an email to the church office (mailto:administrator@uusmc.org?subject=Service%20Auction) and let us know how you can help.
In case you were wondering…
What exactly is a Service Auction?
It is a fun and entertaining event when Mill Creek members and friends gather for a delicious meal, enjoy some social time, and bid on donated items and services in live and online auctions. The event serves as Mill Creek’s largest fundraiser.
How does that work?
It all starts with donated items. They typically fall under three categories:
SERVICES: music or cooking lessons, tutoring, lawn care, house cleaning/organizing, personal IT consultation, therapy/medical or airport transportation, ballroom or country line dancing lessons, window washing, baby or pet sitting, auto repair/tune-up, etc.
EXPERIENCES: themed dinners, picnics & BBQ’s, garden tours, guided hikes, musical performances, museum trips, beach weekends, wine tastings, vacation packages, etc.
ITEMS: retail gift cards, food-of-the-month offerings, gift baskets of all sorts, hand sewn, knitted or crafted items, that fabulous cake or dessert that only you can bake, a pot of your famous chili, fresh vegetables from your garden, etc.
The majority of items will be available on our online auction portal about a week prior to the event, while most services and experiences are offered during the live auction. The winning bidder receives the item, experience or service, and the church keeps the proceeds.
What if I’m unable to attend the Auction … can I still donate something?
Absolutely! The Auction won’t be successful without fun, interesting and creative items and services to bid on. Information about how to make your donations will be forthcoming. In the meantime, we offer this early checklist of things you can do NOW:
1. Schedule the Service Auction on your calendar: Saturday, May 6
2. Begin thinking about your donations (yes, you can donate one or multiple items!). Be creative, use your imagination, and have fun!
Don’t miss next week’s email, when we will provide more information about the Service Auction.
https://youngmomschestercounty.org/
**
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 January & February we are supporting the following charitable organization:
YoungMoms
Serving Southern Chester County
This non-profit organization, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, provides the academic, employment, parenting and relational support pregnant and parenting young mothers need to achieve their life goals and improve their lives and those of their children. Many of the individuals they serve face huge challenges as they navigate adolescence and parenthood simultaneously, including incomplete education, poverty, language barriers, isolation, and a general lack of options and opportunities. YoungMoms offers individualized, comprehensive, and long-term support to these young women who remain in the program between two and four years, allowing the program to assist them in overcoming obstacles which might normally derail their progress in achieving goals. This long-term investment makes YoungMoms unique and life changing.
LEARN MORE about YoungMoms HERE (https://youngmomschestercounty.org/)
Support this organization with your online donation HERE. Be sure to select ‘Share Our Plate’ as the giving fund. (https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/-/give/now)
** Worship Service Information
Sunday, February 12, 2023
10:30 am
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What stories do we tell ourselves to make sense of the ever-uncertain world? What saviors do we search for in calamity? And how might we be better served as people of covenantal faith if we ground ourselves in questioning wonder and connecting love?
Guest speaker Beth Monhollen, ministerial intern at WellSprings UU in Chester County, Pennsylvania, helps answer these questions with her sermon, Waiting for Jesus and Superman.
Music for this service will be performed by returning musician Paul Boris.
Connect With Us In-Person
10:30 am
* Service begins at 10:30 am
* Masking protocol will be posted at each entrance
* Children’s RE programming is available for ages 4 and up
* We are currently unable to offer Child Care (infant/toddler, ages 0 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 & easy access on Sunday morning), OR
* Get the link by accessing the church calendar (https://uusmc.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8c80a09d53a8aec43de675d26&id=a404d3fb3e&e=9e32ea5753) (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar/ (https://uusmc.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8c80a09d53a8aec43de675d26&id=3386b49cce&e=9e32ea5753) )
Sunday Livestream – CLICK HERE (https://zoom.us/j/97806427419)
** Potluck Lunch Follows this Sunday’s Worship Service
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Plan to stay with us after the service on February 12th for our Second Sunday Potluck Luncheon. Everyone is welcome to bring a main or side dish, or beverages to share. Unable to bring something? No worries – you’re still welcome to join us for good food and warm fellowship!
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. Gregory S. Pelley, Minister
minister@uusmc.org (mailto:minister@uusmc.org)
302-369-2712
To request an in-person, teleconference or Zoom meeting with Rev. Greg, use the link below to schedule:
Request a meeting with Rev. Greg – click HERE (http://calendly.com/gpelley)
Debra Damiani, Congregational Administrator
Monday 9 am to 2 pm, Monday-Thursday
administrator@uusmc.org (mailto:administrator@uusmc.org)
302-369-2712
** Happening in Our Local Community
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** Donating Blood: A Lifesaving Gift
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Blood Bank of Delmarva is a non-profit community service organization that provides blood and blood products to 19 hospitals on the Delmarva Peninsula. More than 79,000 blood donations are needed in this area each year for about 20,000 patients across the Delmarva Peninsula. Blood donations are used in the treatment for cancers and other chronic illnesses, are needed for organ transplant procedures, and are essential for accident victims and general surgery patients. According to the American Red Cross, one blood donation can potentially save up to three lives. And it only takes an hour from start to finish.
Use the link below to find out how and where you can donate blood today.
Blood Bank of Delmarva – Find Out More Here (https://www.delmarvablood.org/)
Fun Fact!
It certainly can’t take the place of a gym workout, but did you know that donating one pint of blood can burn up to 650 calories? And all while reclining in a lounge chair!
** Community Climate Conversation
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Energize Delaware, in cooperation with Creation Care of Newark UMC and Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, will be hosting a Community Climate Conversation at Newark United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 19, from 3 to 5:00 pm. Join us for an open and respectful discussion of issues related to climate change; to share individual beliefs, confusions, observations, fears and hopes; and to explore ideas and available resources for creating a healthier planet that are less divisive and political and more unifying and practical.
Topics to be explored related to climate change include: Where does it rank among your issues of concern? Where do you turn for information? Whose voices do you trust? Have you experienced the impacts? What capacity do we have as individuals, communities, states, or nations to affect the outcome – for better or for worse?
All are welcome to attend and contribute to this important community discussion. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be provided.
Click here for more information and to reserve your spot at the roundtable! (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-climate-conversation-tickets-537485673117)
Newark United Methodist Church (https://newark-umc.org/numc/)
69 East Main Street
Heritage Hall
Newark, DE 19711
302-368-8774
** News from the UUA, the Central East Region, and the Delmarva Cluster
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** Braver/Wiser: A Weekly Message of Courage and Compassion
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Food is nourishment and cultura; it carries the love, wisdom, and stories of survival of a people. When I cook the meals I learned from my mother, I am in communion with life and with my ancestors and I receive sustenance for the body and the spirit.
In this issue of Braver/Wiser, Rev. Tania Yadira Márquez (https://www.uua.org/offices/people/tania-marquez) , an ordained UU minister, Spiritual Director, and Hospital Chaplain, shares her experiences with the spiritual aspect of preparing a meal.
Read Rev. Tania’s story, “Communion and Sustenance” HERE (https://www.uua.org/braverwiser/communion-and-sustenance)
Did you know?
Braver/Wiser (https://www.uua.org/braverwiser) is a weekly message of courage and compassion for life as it is. Every Wednesday an original written reflection and brief prayer, grounded in Unitarian Universalism, can be delivered to your inbox.
Subscribe to Braver/Wiser HERE (https://www.uua.org/braverwiser/subscribe)
https://www.uua.org/central-east
**
Opportunities for Connection: Central East Region Update
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FEBRUARY 2023
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 to learn more (https://uua874.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=1b79b52d1bf6f71b2b1eb7ca08ed0776.5978&s=8983449a6b0e04757c2c9729fa49f044)
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** Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/UUSMC)
** Website (https://www.uusmc.org)
** Instagram (http://instagram.com/millcreekuu)
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