Weekly News

April 23, 2025

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Welcome to Unitarian Universalist Society East

Email our office to receive a visitor packet or to find out more. We schedule several newcomer events throughout the year after Sunday services.

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Sunday Service: "Earth Day"

In honor of the 55th Earth Day, we welcome Terri Eickel into our pulpit. Ms. Eickel is the Executive Director of Connecticut's Inter-Religious Eco-Justice Network, commonly known as IREJN. Coordinators: Martha Larson and Rev. Josh Pawelek.

Services at 9:00 and 11:00 A.M.

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Gathering music starts at 8:55 and 10:55 A.M.

Join the virtual service at 11:00 A.M. via our Zoom link:

Contact the Office for Zoom Link.

Or join by phone. Call 1-860-646-5151 Meeting ID 357 815 420#.

In Case You Missed It:

Click here for a Youtube link to our 4/20/25 service,

"In the Morning Joy: A Service for Easter."

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General Assembly is ONLY two months away!

UUA General Assembly, the main UU denominational event of 2025, will be held this year in Baltimore from June 18 - 22. The event will be held in a hybrid format, so you can attend online or in-person.

Check out the following links for more information:

For general information about GA 2025: Click here.

To register for GA 2025: Click here

To view the programs and schedule: Click here.

To find delegate information: Click here.

For more information on how you can serve as a delegate from UUSE to GA, please contact Carrie Kocher at uuseoffice@uuse.org.

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Getting to Know You Gathering

NOTE CHANGE OF DATE: Sunday, April 27 at 1:00 P.M.

Due to the weather forecast for this weekend, the UUSE Membership Committee has moved its "getting to know you" gathering to our rain date of Sunday, April 27th at 1:00 P.M. at the Manchester Land Trust property, 330 Bush Hill Road in Manchester. All Welcome, especially newcomers, visitors and new members. Join us for a nature walk and good conversation. Light refreshments will be served, and all are welcome to bring a favorite poem or saying to share. Manchester town historian Susan Barlow will lead our walk and there will be members of various committees to chat with you. Children are welcome. Parking is plentiful. To register please contact Annie Gentile in the church office at uuseoffice@uuse.org no later than Thursday, April 24th.

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Intro to UU

Sunday, April 27, 1:00 - 4:00 P.M. in the UUSE Chapel or Zoom

Would you like to know more about Unitarian Universalism and Unitarian Universalist Society East? Please attend our Intro to UU Session. Rev. Josh Pawelek and the Membership Committee invite you to an informative seminar, which will include a brief history and background of our theology; UUSE's mission, programs and facilities; opportunity to meet others interested in UUism; and a sharing of stories about what brings us together. To register, please contact Annie Gentile at 860-646-5151 or uuseoffice@uuse.org. Please RSVP by Thursday, April 24, and let us know if you need childcare. Questions? Please contact Janet Dauphin or Carole Boster at membership@uuse.org.

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A Concert for Two Pianos

Come hear the two UUSE Steinway grands in a blockbuster program of duo piano works by Mozart, Liszt and Gershwin, performed by virtuosos Paul Bisaccia and Corbin Beisner on Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 P.M. at the UUSE Meetinghouse. The suggested donation is $15 but no one will be turned away.

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Mayfair Tag Sale!

Just a reminder to please gather items to donate to our Mayfair Tag sale on May 3rd. We'll be selling anything related to summer: gardening items and tools, sports equipment, pool and patio items, outdoor games, bird baths, picnic items, etc. Think "outside" and that's what we're looking for.

Drop off will be Thursday, 5/1 or Friday, 5/2 anytime outside at the garden level covered porch or Saturday morning between 7:00 and 9:00 A.M.

Contact Deb Gould or Sandy Karosi if you have questions.

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Help with Bottle and Can Drive Fundraiser

We are looking for help with the Bottle and Can Drive on Saturday, May 3rd from 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. in conjunction with Mayfair. Come for an hour or stay the whole time -- whatever works for you! We will be sorting and counting bottles and cans for placement into large bags to bring to the redemption center. And we have fun meeting people as folks drop off their bottles and cans! Please contact Michelle Spadaccini at uuseoffice@uuse.org to sign up to help or with any questions. Thank you in advance!

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New England PRIDE 247-365 Concert

New England PRIDE 247-365 will perform an eclectic mix of material spanning the decades, celebrating queer composers, lyricists, poets, icons and women. An intergenerational collective of queer performers and allies and based in Hartford, they will be performing at UUSE on Sunday, May 4th at 3:00 P.M. There is a $15 voluntary donation.

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To Love Your Neighbor, Know Your Neighbor

3 Conversations on the Religions of Our Neighbors

The Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding and UU's are providing an opportunity to explore nine different religions at 3 Unitarian Universalist meetinghouses in a lively, candid and highly informative question-and-answer forum:

Sunday, May 4th from 12:00 to 1:30 P.M. at the Universalist Church of West Hartford, 433 Fern Street in West Hartford (Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism).

Sunday, June 1st from 12:00 to 1:30 P.M. at the Unitarian Society of Hartford, 50 Bloomfield Avenue in Hartford (Islam, Jainism, and Sikhism).

Sunday, July 20th from 12:00 to 1:30 P.M. at our own UUSE, 153 Vernon St. West, in Manchester (Bahai Faith, Hinduism, Unitarian Universalism).

For questions or more information, please contact uuseoffice@uuse.org or call 860-646-5151. See also the flyers around the UUSE building.

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GHIAA Training Opportunities

Are you interested in learning more about faith-based organizing? Are you interested in becoming more involved with UUSE's participation in the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance? If so, GHIAA has just announced its Spring 2025 Leadership Training. They invite all interested UUSE members and friends to join them for a workshop on the fundamentals of faith-based organizing, the tools of relational culture, techniques for building and wielding power, and the process for identifying issues and developing campaigns. There are two options for training this spring (each series will cover the same content):

• Wednesdays, 1:00 - 3:00 P.M., via Zoom, May 7, 14, 21, 28
• Tuesdays, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M., in person (location being confirmed in Hartford), June 3, 10, 17, 24

Registration is online. Questions? Contact Monica van Beusekom or Rev. Josh Pawelek.

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Ladies at Lunch

On Thursday, May 8th we'll have lunch at Kobe Asian Bistro, 1155 Tolland Turnpike. We meet at noon. All are welcome, so do join us if you can. Please email Anne Vogel or call her at 860-646-5151 to RSVP by Wednesday afternoon, May 7th.

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Help Us Spread the Word!

Are you on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, etc?) One of the best - and easiest - ways to promote UUSE and its events is by "liking" or sharing our posts on social media. When you do that, the algorithms consider the post is popular and show it to more people. On Facebook, our page is UUSEast and Instagram is uu_society_east. (UUSE Happenings on Facebook is a private page for sharing things among members). You also can share events or posts in other groups on Facebook; this could be helpful if you belong to a special interest group, like classical musicians or lovers of kirtan, or in a town group. The Communications/Technology Committee is always trying to think of ways to get out the word about UUSE. If you have any suggestions for places to publicize events, email uuseoffice@uuse.org.

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Pastoral Friends

The Pastoral Friends Committee has a rotating chair throughout the year. Should you need pastoral care during the month of April, please contact Laurie Semprebon at uuseoffice@uuse.org.

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Ongoing Happenings at UUSE!

There’s Always Something Good Going On

• New! Adult Affirmation, 3rd Sundays at 1 P.M.
• Stop & Shop Gift Card sales after services on 1st Sundays
• Fair Trade Coffee/Tea/Chocolate sales after services on 2nd Sundays
• Yoga, every Wednesday at 10 A.M. All welcome! (9:30 A.M. on 3/26)
• Manchester Women's Singing Circle, every Thursday at 7 P.M.
• Book Lovers, 2nd Tuesdays at 3:30 P.M. in person and on Zoom.
• Women's Circle, 3rd Tuesdays at 7:00 P.M. (Zoom only December through March) Email Nora Alpers-Leon atuuseoffice@uuse.org for the Zoom link.
• Romeos, a monthly lunch for retired men on second Tuesdays - contact the UUSE office to be put on the email list.
• Ladies at Lunch, a monthly women's lunch typically on second Thursdays - advertised in the weekly eblasts.
• Buddhist Group, 1st Tuesdays at 7 P.M.
• God Talk, 4th Tuesdays at 4:30 P.M.
• Humanist Group, 3rd Tuesdays at 4:30 P.M.
• Science and Religion Discussion Group, 4th Thursdays at 4:30 P.M. April 24th - "Overpopulation" led by Heli Roy

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Our Mission

Unitarian Universalist Society East is a welcoming, open-minded spiritual community seeking truth and meaning in its many forms. We share responsibility for building a more equitable, peaceful, and sustainable world.

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UUSE Links and Information

• Monthly Newsletter • Website • Previous Sunday Services

 • Children & Youth Ministry • Facebook •

New England Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association

uuse.org • 860-646-5151

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