Weekly News - July 10, 2025 - Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek

Posted on July 10, 2025 Posted By: Office Administrator Categories: News

** Congregational Life
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** Upcoming events, meetings and news to know
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** Sunday Worship Service Information
July 13, 2025
10:30 am
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Join us this Sunday for the second of our “Poolside Theology” sessions featuring two church members in conversation. While Kathie Stamm interviews Jamie Kegerise, we’ll relax “poolside” to learn more about Jamie, his insights, his spiritual journey, his membership at Mill Creek, and how his life’s activities reflect his UU values.

Jamie Kegerise has been an active member of our congregation since 2004. As an old, straight, cisgender male, he believes in the richness, joy, and possibility of building a diverse and welcoming community. He is married to Claire, and they have two great kids, Blaire and Katie, and a one-year-old grand baby named Marissa. A semi-retired business owner, his senior projects include working with the Land Stewardship Committee to restore the native plant habitat of the 5 acres of land owned by the church. He is also working with a small group of citizens to build the first cohousing community in northern Delaware.

Music for this service will be performed by Mindy Bowman and Paula Nelson. Mindy Bowman holds two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Delaware, where she was a two-time recipient of the Presser Scholarship. She has been a flute instructor at the Music School of Delaware since 1993 and now serves as the wind, brass and percussion department head. Mindy plays in various settings throughout the Delaware valley; she recently performed in a flute quartet at the National Flute Convention in Salt Lake City. Paula Nelson is Master Faculty at the Music School of Delaware, where she instructs flute students of all ages and teaches adult Musicianship courses. She is also Adjunct Instructor of Flute at Elizabethtown College and has served on the faculties of Immaculata University and West Chester University. She received the D.M.A. and M.M. degrees in Flute Performance from the University of North Texas, and a B.A. in Music from the University of Maryland. Ms. Nelson has appeared as a
soloist with the Immaculata Symphony Orchestra, Lansdowne Community Orchestra, and Wilmington Community Orchestra. She has presented many solo and chamber music recitals in the greater Philadelphia area.

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

** Special Activities Planned for this Sunday, July 13
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Food Bank Sunday
This Sunday is Food Bank Sunday — a day we’ve set aside to give everyone an easy opportunity to support this much needed local resource. You are encouraged to participate by bringing one or more of the following items with you to church this Sunday: canned foods like tuna, vegetables, beans, fruits & soups; pasta & rice; peanut butter; and dry cereals & oatmeal.

Thank you for your generous support.

A note from the Social Justice Committee:
Food Bank Sunday will be our FINAL COLLECTION for non-perishable food donations — but you can still support the Food Bank in the following ways:
* Monetary donations – In this time of uncertain funding, we ask that you keep in mind the constant and ongoing needs of the Food Bank and consider making periodic monetary donations – you can do that easily HERE (https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form/?svcid=renxt&formId=87744157-d8f4-45df-978a-aa60f6122750&envid=p-Mzccmo_I9k6-XON820mgZQ&zone=usa) .
* Food drives – You can coordinate your own food drive within your circle of friends, family, and neighbors.
* Share Our Plate – the Food Bank will be the SOP recipient later this year.
* Benefit Concert – attend the Lower Brandywine Choral Festival on Sunday, July 20 @ 4pm – benefits the Food Bank of Delaware! Learn more about it HERE (https://www.uusmc.org/wp-content/uploads/Lower-Brandywine-Presby-Church-concert-2025.jpg) .

… and Potluck Sunday

It is also Potluck Sunday! Plan to remain with us after the service for good food and fellowship at our potluck lunch. You are welcome to bring a main or side dish, salad, appetizer, dessert, and/or beverages to share if you wish.

** Music Survey
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In preparation for Rev. Christe Lunsford’s arrival next month, the Music Committee would like to find out what kinds of music our congregation prefers. A brief survey has been created for this purpose – and we want your opinion!

Please take a moment to complete the survey using the button below. It will take less than a minute.
Your input is critical to help the Music Committee support the Sunday worship experience with music genres that reflect the taste and style of the entire congregation – thank you for your participation!

Questions? Ask the Music Committee (mailto:music@uusmc.org) .
Complete the survey – click HERE (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexA0Y6EEZ1C-gmXEj5B0nfXA3VyecBLQzOgSshgDatqMxPow/viewform?pli=1)

** 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, July 16 around 5:30 pm.
* Monthly Meeting Everyone is welcome to learn about the work that is both planned and ongoing for the acres we manage by attending the meeting on Sunday, July 20 after coffee hour.

What’s the Best Kind of Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies?

We have two varieties of Milkweed in our meadow at Mill Creek. We have Common Milkweed, and we also have Butterfly Milkweed. Remember that Monarch butterflies will ONLY lay their eggs on Milkweed plants, and Monarch caterpillars will ONLY eat Milkweed leaves, and they will ONLY build their chrysalis near a Milkweed plant. It’s a pretty easy formula: If there is no Milkweed there will be no Monarch Butterflies. We are blessed to have several hundred Milkweed plants in our meadow (many planted and maintained by our tireless Land Stewards). As you may have guessed, populations of Monarch Butterflies are struggling as there is less and less Milkweed to sustain them. Look for Monarch butterflies in our meadow, their caterpillars, and their chrysalises.
Pictured clockwise from top left: Butterfly Milkweed plant; Monarch Butterfly emerging from a chrysalis; Common Milkweed plant in Mill Creek meadow; Monarch caterpillar eating Milkweed.
Photos courtesy of Jamie Kegerise

** 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 July and August we are supporting:

Unitarian Universalist Delaware Advocacy Network (UUDAN)

This organization supports Delaware state legislation that aligns with UU principles. This includes affordable housing, criminal justice, protection for marginalized groups, environmental protection, climate justice, and more. UUDAN’s operating budget of approximately $1000 per year is shared by the 5 UU congregations in the state of Delaware in a rotating cycle. This is Mill Creek’s year to offer support.
Learn more about UUDAN HERE (https://www.uudeladvo.org/wp/sample-page/)
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)

** Don’t Do It !!
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Don’t throw old socks away!!

56 pounds of socks
have been collected so far, hitting the halfway point of our goal to collect 100+ pounds of material by the end of the year. Clean out your sock drawer and bring in clean, unwanted socks: any type, condition, any material.

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.

** 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, July 20 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

** UUA Responds to U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security
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The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) responds to an inquiry received from the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security by asserting that as a moral and religious commitment, UUs reject any violations of the human rights and dignity of immigrants, regardless of citizenship status.

Learn more about the House Committee Letter and the UUA’s response by clicking the button below.
Read all about it HERE (https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/house-committee-letter-response)

** 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 – July 10, 2025

Weekly News – July 10, 2025