Weekly News – June 2, 2022

Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek
We are a community that invites you to awaken to love.
IN THIS ISSUE
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** Congregational Life
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** Upcoming events, meetings and news to know
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** Worship Service Information for
Sunday, June 5th, 2022
10:00 am
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Join us on Sunday morning when our guest speaker Rev. Keith Goheen shares his message:

“Temenos” is a chaplain’s reflection on Holy Ground and the blessings of religious community.

The Rev. Keith Goheen has been a member of Mill Creek since 2006. He serves as a staff chaplain at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, Delaware, and resides with his spouse Margaret in Rehoboth Beach.

Music will be performed by Rachel Sabella, with Brian Hanson leading the hymns.

** Annual Meeting this Sunday After Church Service
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Everyone is welcome to attend.
On the agenda:
* Various committee reports will be presented
* Acknowledgement of outgoing board and nominating committee members
* Elect a new slate of incoming board members, including president
* Discussion and vote on the proposed 2022-23 budget

A more detailed agenda plus other information, including the proposed budget, can be found in the annual report; use the link below to view. Copies of the report will be available in the gathering space on Sunday.
Annual Report – click here to view (https://www.uusmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-Mill-Creek-Annual-Report-and-Budget.pdf)

** A Word About Voting at the Annual Meeting
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Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting, however our By-Laws give voting privileges to Members who have made a contribution of record in the 12-month period prior to the meeting. Our By-Laws do not allow for proxy voting, so only those eligible members who attend the Annual Meeting on June 5th either in-person or via livestream will receive ballots. Voting will be handled via Election Buddy; ballots will be emailed to eligible members.
Connect With Us In-Person
We are pleased to welcome all to our sanctuary for gathering in-person this Sunday!
* No registration required – bring your whole self and be welcome!
* Service time remains at 10:00 am
* Wearing N95 masks is mandatory (a supply is available in the gathering space)
* Full vaccination is expected
* Increased COVID new case rates and contagious new variants require all attending the in-person Sunday Service to be extra careful regarding potential exposures
* Feeling sick, been exposed or having symptoms? Join us Livestream on Zoom!
* Children’s RE is on hiatus throughout the summer months and will resume in the fall
* Service will be livestreamed
* 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) and bookmark it on your preferred device, OR
* Get the link by accessing the church calendar (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar/) (https://www.uusmc.org/news/calendar/)
* Remember: the Zoom link remains the same from week to week

Click here for Sunday LIVESTREAM (https://zoom.us/j/97806427419)

** Children’s Religious Exploration Classes
Now on Hiatus
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Reminder – there will be NO Children’s RE classes on Sundays throughout the summer months. Classes will resume in the fall.

** Earth-Centered Spirituality 101 – this Saturday
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June 4th
10:30 am – 12 noon
Have you wondered about the ‘Earth-centered’ spirituality included in our UU Sources? Are you interested in learning how to add more embodiment or nature-awareness to your personal spiritual practices?
In this interactive Zoom workshop, our Ministerial Intern Heather Petit will help us start exploring this source, and how to apply it. We will end the workshop with materials to guide further discovery and practice.

No registration required. Refer back to this email and use the link below to join the workshop; or you may access the church calendar where the link is published. Contact Heather by email with questions by clicking here. (mailto:heatherapetit@gmail.com?subject=Earth-centered%20spirituality%20workshop)
Join the Workshop here (https://zoom.us/j/92101634635)

**
Wednesdays are for Meadow Maintenance!
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Join our Natural Lands Stewards when they gather every Wednesday around 5:30 pm for some fresh air, sunshine, and a little weed pulling. The meadows need tending and our young trees need attention. The crew works for just about an hour or so and could really use a few more hands. Do as much or as little as you want – any help is greatly appreciated.

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone to reap the benefits of a little bending and stretching, and particularly for young adults, teens and children to learn why the work we do is so important. Join us next Wednesday, June 8th!

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.
— Alfred Austin (1835-1913) English poet

A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.
— Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954) American horticulturist & botanist

** Lost & Found
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Found after the Service Auction: Wide-brimmed women’s straw hat. It has been placed on a shelf in the cloakroom.

Join the Revolution!

**
Share Our Plate:
May & June
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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 May and June we have selected the following charitable organization to receive these funds:

Urban Bike Project

Located on North Walnut Street in Wilmington, Urban Bike Project (UBP) supports Wilmington communities by providing access to bicycling as a healthy, affordable, and practical means of transportation and recreation. Bicycles provide reliable, healthy, and emissions-free transportation. UBP’s work is guided by three core principles: open access for all Wilmington residents, opportunities for residents to build self-sufficiency, and community-driven programming that is responsive to resident needs. UBP offers a wide array of services: open-shop hours for repairs; retail-only hours; youth-only shop hours; a free bike program; several youth programs including build-a-bike summer camp; instruction classes; and a variety of other services, events, and networking opportunities.
LEARN MORE about Urban Bike Project HERE (http://www.urbanbikeproject.com/)
Support this organization with your online donation today!**
DONATE to Share Our Plate HERE (https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/-/give/now)
**Be sure to select ‘Share Our Plate’ as the giving fund**
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChRFPbSookb9m3PV6DMtbHg

** Missed a sermon? Here’s how to get caught up!
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If you’ve missed a sermon, or you’d just like to hear a particular one again, check out our You Tube channel! Click the button below to access. Fun fact: you can subscribe to the channel and get sermons delivered directly to your inbox automatically!
View our You Tube channel here (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChRFPbSookb9m3PV6DMtbHg)

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!

How to make pledge payments, donations, and other contributions:

1. Mail a check: 579 Polly Drummond Hill Road, Newark DE 19711 (staff is present in the office and the mailbox is checked daily). Please indicate on the subject line if this is a pledge payment, a general contribution, or a contribution to a specific giving fund.
2. Give electronically through REALM using your credit card or bank account (checking, savings, etc.): https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/Give or use the link below (remember to select a giving fund).
3. Text-to-Give: text MillCreek and the amount [e.g. MillCreek 50] to 73256.

We sincerely appreciate your support of Mill Creek. We are committed to offering a high-quality and stimulating Sunday worship experience while reestablishing our connections with one another. We gratefully acknowledge that there would be no Mill Creek without YOU.
**Click here to GIVE NOW** (https://onrealm.org/MillCreek/-/give/now)

Follow us on Instagram!

@millcreekuu

Mill Creek Staff

Rev. Gregory S. Pelley, Minister
Rev. Greg is away on sabbatical now through June 30.
He will not be available by phone or email throughout the duration of his absence. We offer assurance that all church operations will continue as usual, and have prepared a guide which contains a list of guest speakers, contact information for those in leadership positions, and other information. Use the link below to access the guide.
Sabbatical Guide – view it here (https://www.uusmc.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Guide-to-Rev-Gregs-Sabbatical.pdf)
Rev. Robert Broesler (Ret.), Minister On-Call
Rev. Bob is available to Mill Creek members and friends on an on-call basis.
rjbroesler@gmail.com (mailto:rjbroesler@gmail.com )
302-584-2218

Debra Damiani, Congregational Administrator
Monday 8 am to 1 pm, Monday-Thursday
administrator@uusmc.org (mailto:administrator@uusmc.org)
302-369-2712

Rachel Sabella, Music Director
Hours by Appointment
music@uusmc.org (mailto:music@uusmc.org)
302-369-2712

** Happening in Our Local Community
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** Delaware Pride Festival this Saturday
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Join your fellow Unitarians from the UU Delmarva Cluster at the 25th Annual Delaware Pride Festival at Legislative Mall in Dover (DE) on Saturday, June 4. This event is indented as a time of celebration and visibility for the LGBT community and those that support and love them. UUs of Delmarva will have a booth and are looking for a few volunteers to help in a variety of ways. Click the link below to sign-up.
Click here for more information (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca5ad2faaffc52-uudelaware)

** News from the UUA, the Central East Region, and the Delmarva Cluster
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Exploring Class. Addressing Classism.

** UUA Statement
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We All Deserve to Live in Our Communities Without Fear

UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray responds to the horrific violence at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
Read the statement here (https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/live-without-fear)

https://www.uua.org/central-east

**
Opportunities for Connection: Central East Region Update
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JUNE 2022
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=5be278a9e02bed9248a4674ff62fea2c.5758&s=8983449a6b0e04757c2c9729fa49f044)
UU Class Conversations helps congregations and organizations better understand the strengths and challenges of class differences and of each class background. In workshops and through other learning opportunities, participants develop language, concepts, and strategies to bridge class differences and issues, while considering the intersection between class and race and other issues of oppression.
Click here to read the group’s monthly newsletter. (https://mailchi.mp/7abddd769e35/oct-8661967?e=685e428753)

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