Fall Garden Clean-Up — Saturday, October 7, 2023

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President’s Message — October 2023

“Autumn teaches us the beauty of letting go. Growth requires release – it’s what the trees do.” ~Ka’ala

The UUFP is continuing to evolve and grow. With the addition of new friends and members come many new ideas on how to strengthen our community and ensure its existence. Moving forward often requires us to let go of “how we do things.” One of the exciting things that UUFP will be moving forward on is to hire a teacher to manage Religious Education for our children. While “the Moms” have done a great job with their volunteering as RE Teacher, many Sundays, we found ourselves scrambling at the last minute to provide coverage for RE. We need to provide a consistency to the children as they are on their own UU journey. The good news is that Megan Mickle, the woman who is currently providing care in the nursery has a Master’s in Education and is very willing to step in. Now we just need to find someone to provide nursery coverage. If you know of anyone who would like to spend time with the youngest members of the fellowship, please let a member of the board know.

However, sometimes growth requires financing. The RE situation is no different. While this expense was not planned for, we will hopefully be able to cover it without tapping into our savings account. Even if we have to use some of savings, remember, this is an important investment in our future. All members can help to minimize what we draw out of savings by doing two things:

  1. If you shop at Giant, please consider buying Giant Gift cards through the UUFP. We get 5% of the value of each card sold. These cards can be used to purchase anything that you might buy at Giant: food, wine, beer, and gas. The holidays are coming up and many of us will be baking, hosting parties and family get togethers. Why not shop at Giant and help the UUFP? If interested, please contact me.
  2. And speaking of parties, if you or someone you know is looking to host a holiday party or need a larger space for family get-togethers, why not rent the UUFP. The number of rentals is increasing. Spread the word!

Unfortunately, something else is spreading – COVID. The “good” news is that the medical community knows a lot more about this virus than they did before and there are now updated booster shots available. In addition, it’s the time of year we also need to worry about influenza and RSV. Our UUFP community is precious, and we all need to chip in and do our part to keep ourselves and others healthy. Please, if eligible, consider vaccinations and booster shots. However, the most important (and easiest) thing that any of us can do is that if you do not feel well, please stay home. Enjoy our services either via Zoom or watch it later on our YouTube channel. We all benefit when each of us takes accountability for our own health.

With Gratitude, Linda K.

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Sunday Service — October 22, 2023

Lay Leader: Jon Dreazen

We often forget that the UUA was formed by two coequal liberal religious faiths— Unitarians and Universalists. I feel that we tend to think of Unitarians as the large U in the name of our faith and the Universalists as the small U. The Unitarian message tends to be one of complex humanism whereas the Universalist message is simple and straightforward—a loving God would never consign anyone to a terrible place called hell. Or even simpler still—God is love. I will discuss the earliest incarnations of Universalism which date back to the beginnings of Christianity and came to the New World and set up shop just down the road from us in Oley, PA.

Coffee Hour follows the Service

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Sunday Service — October 29, 2023

The Day of the Dead — Lay Speaker: Mary Ryan

We celebrate Halloween in a couple of days. It’s one of many celebrations around the world at this time of the year. In the past we’ve learned about some of these. Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead this week, too. This morning we’ll learn about this holiday and share amusing stories of some of those who have left our lives.

Coffee Hour follows the Service.

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Sunday Service — October 15, 2023

Who Rescued Who? Lay Leader: Emily Quarles-Mowrer

Recently there was a news story about a stray dog who adopted a nursing home. Touching stories like these lead us to struggle to recognize that dogs have their own thoughts and motivations, without anthropomorphizing their behaviors. Join us as we think about why dogs are drawn to humans and why humans are drawn to dogs.

Third Sunday Potluck follows the Service Please bring something tasty to share.

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Sunday Service – October 8, 2023

“This Is Not My Beautiful House!”
Speaker: JD Stillwater

One of our culture’s foundational myths is about ownership, security, and permanence. In the natural world and indigenous cultures, these are aberrations! In this service, we dig deep into what ownership means, and how it plays out in the natural world and throughout history. Can we try on a new, more stewardship-based relationship with our “stuff ”? JD offers a bit of science, some personal experiences, and a Talking Heads song as puzzle pieces toward a new, more vulnerable humility.

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Sunday Service – October 1, 2023

“The Trade-off of Freedom”
Speaker: Reverend Kim Wilson

One of the foundational elements of Unitarian Universalism is our commitment to the individual freedom of belief. Being a UU gives each of us the opportunity to participate in developing a faith that is personally meaningful. Yet it is not always an easy path. In making the choice to embrace this freedom, what are we sacrificing or giving up? And what responsibilities are we taking on?

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Goddess Gatherings:

All women in mind, body, and spirit are welcome to attend our Goddess Gathering meet-up where we share, laugh, and learn together in the sisterhood of the female experience. Please join us!

SEPTEMBER 2023:

8 SEPTEMBER (FRI)- 12-1:00 PM.  
22 SEPTEMBER (FRI)- 12-1:00 PM.  

JULY 2023:

7 JULY (FRI)- 12-1:00 PM.  
13 JULY (TH)- 7:30-8:30 PM.  
21 JULY (FRI)- 12-1:00 PM.  
27 JULY (TH)- 7:30-8:30 PM.  
Join us!

AprilL 2023:

UUFP Goddess Gatherings in April: Thursday, April 6, 7:30-8:30 PM; Frida, April 14, 12:00-1:00 PM; Thursday, April 20, 7:30-8:30 PM; Friday, April 28, 12:00-1:00 PM

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Appreciation from Building & Grounds

A shoutout goes to Chad, Justine, and family for their hard work in helping to beautify and maintain our grounds. Chad has taken on the task of mowing and weed whacking the property on alternate weeks with Jon. He has also cleaned out and organized the shed! It’s now possible to walk into the shed and find what you are looking for without tripping on mower parts or the garden rake!

Chad ordered a huge pile of free organic mulch, which is now located next to the shed. Justine, Henry, and Finn spent a Saturday morning moving mulch from the pile to the playground. They made at least 40 trips back and forth, making a substantial dent in the mulch mountain. That takes dedication and endurance! We are also thankful for Chad’s honey bees on our property. The bees have been busy pollinating our garden plants and flowers, as they make honey. They are a useful educational tool and a demonstration of “the interdependent web… of which we are a part.” Speaking of pollinating plants, Justine has added pollinator-friendly native plants to our Monarch Garden and helped with weeding the plot around the Peace Pole.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work. It shows!

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Garden News!

Our gardens are thriving, with all the sun and rain we have been getting! We are harvesting pounds of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. The kale this year has been remarkably free of the cabbage moth caterpillar, which had been a problem in the past. (I am hoping that the birds have been feeding them to their nestlings.) After having been eaten back by the groundhog, the beans have recovered and are bearing nicely. The pepper plants are doing well; we just have to be patient and wait until they turn from green to yellow. Recently we planted collard seeds and we’re looking forward to garnering a nice fall crop. A full bed of potatoes has been harvested as well as a bed of garlic. Both have been delivered to the Cluster.

When the weather gets a little cooler we plan on weed whacking the garden paths, covering them with landscaping fabric and topping it all off with a thick layer of mulch. This will make the garden area neater and a lot less weedy. We would also like to clear the weeds and grasses out of the compost bin area and get back to creating our own compost. If anyone would like to help out with this effort please let me know. Since the garden committee meets only once a week (every Wednesday from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm), there is always so much more we could do with one or two extra helping hands. As always, thanks so much to my gardening partners, Sam and Mary. Your help is much appreciated!

Kay

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