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< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > Ladies at Lunch Ladies at Lunch Friday, February 13 at 110 Grill Join us for lunch on Friday, February 13th at the 110 Grill, 1127 Tolland Turnpike in the Plaza at Burr Corners in Manchester. We meet at noon. Everyone is welcome. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Sharon Huber by Thursday afternoon, February 12: uuseoffice@uuse.org or 860-646-5151. #eBlast -01-21

The monthly C&YM column holds a trove of interesting ideas for your kids. Director's Corner Emmy's Update For Sunday December 14th Greetings CYM Families & Friends! Our lovely choir director, Jenn Richard, has prepared a phenomenal array of musical pieces perfect for kicking off the holiday season! Do not miss this Sunday’s annual Holiday Music Service for all ages. Children & Youth Ministry (CYM) classes will not be held this Sunday, and we hope that families will enjoy this festive service together in the Sanctuary. The exceptions are that the Nursery will be open and our High School Youth Group programming will run, including Affirmation after the program hour. (Don’t forget to pack a lunch Affirmation youth!) And everyone don’t forget to bring cash or card to purchase some goods at the HSYG Bake Sale being offered after both the 9 and 11am services this Sunday! Proceeds will be split between the HSYG activity fund and UUSE. Children’s Chapel will resume in January. Nursery : Childcare will be available in our nursery at 11 AM for children age 3 and under. Sunday Service : “Where the Light Begins” - This Sunday, we celebrate the holidays with our annual, all-congregational music service. Let us welcome the solstice; let us welcome Hanukkah; let us welcome Christmas in this season where the light begins. Coordinators: Mary Bopp, Rev. Josh Pawelek, Emmy Galbraith Next High School Youth Group Meeting: Saturday, December 13th 1-3pm at UUSE for baking and Sunday, December 14th for regular HSYG meeting and Bake Sale Next Affirmation Meeting: December 14th at 1pm (pack a lunch) See you Sunday! Seasonal Happenings : Sun, Dec 14: Holiday Music Service @ 9&11am Sun, Dec 21: CYM Winter Holiday Party @ 12pm (outdoors!) Wed, Dec 24: Christmas Eve Service @ 5pm Sun, Dec 28: No CYM Programming - Winter Break Sat, Jan 3: 6PM Talent Show for children and youth in collaboration with the monthly Coffee House. Bring dinner for the family and enjoy the many talents of our community! Children and youth are invited to perform a song, poem, skit, magic tricks, trivia, or any other talent! RSVP to Emmy or Dan Thompson Sat, Jan 24 - Sun, Jan 25: Overnight Con for 7th-12th graders! Located at USH (Unitarian Society of Hartford) with UUSE support. Arrive at 6pm on Saturday and stay for games, movies, video games, foosball, and zoom with other youth! Rise and shine Sunday morning to participate in USH’s long standing tradition of “Soup Sunday!” Sat, Jan 31: UUSE Annual Cook-off and Live Auction Event - fun for the whole family! Sat, Feb 21: 8AM Mount Southington Ski Trip in partnership with USH (Unitarian Society of Hartford) Open to skiers of all ages! Sun, Feb 22: 3pm Kirtan at UUSE Sat, Mar 28: Nightlight Mission in partnership with USH (Unitarian Society of Hartford): Families with children/youth meet @ 2PM to sort clothes & prepare soup, coffee and sandwiches; @8PM distribute clothing and food to the unhoused. With Gratitude, Emmy Galbraith Director of Children & Youth Ministry dcym@uuse.org Office: (860)646-5151 Cell: (860)576-7889 CYM Committee Members: Sudha, co-chair Michelle Spadaccini, co-chair Desiree Holian-Borgnis Paula Baker Kaitlyn Guilmette Committee email: uusecym@uuse.org Angela Attardo, CYM Program Assistant CYMAsst@uuse.org Molly Vigeant, Nursery Coordinator Director of Children and Youth Ministry's Monthly Column for ${month}

Every year we have ten to twelve ministry themes, usually one a month. These ministry themes guide us and provide a framework for services held that month. 2025/2026 Ministry Themes September : Building Belonging October : Cultivating Compassion November: Nurturing Gratitude December : Choosing Hope January : Practicing Resistance February : Embodying Resilience March : Paying Attention April : Embracing Possibility May : Awakening Curiosity June : Flourishing Together #JanuaryNewsletter

The Pastoral Friends are a caring group of individuals that can help in times of need. Pastoral Friends The Pastoral Friends Committee offers help for those in need and gives support in times of stress. Whether it's providing transportation, visiting to offer comfort and encouragement, delivering meals, helping obtain medical equipment, or organizing help with pets or other household responsibilities in times of crisis, Pastoral Friends is here to help. Pastoral Friends Rotating Chair 2024-25 Use this email address to contact the current chairperson - pastoralfriends@uuse.org January/February: Sid Soderholm. PastoralFriends@uuse.org. #JanuaryNewsletter

< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > GHIAA Winter 2026 Organizing Leadership Training GHIAA Winter 2026 Organizing Leadership Training In Person - Tuesday evenings 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - 2/10/26 - 3/10/26 at Temple Sinai in Newington Join us to explore the fundamentals of faith-based organizing, practice the tools of relational culture (individual meetings and house meetings), consider how we build and wield power, share our process of identifying issues and developing campaigns, and build our skills for action. For more detailed info and to register, click here . #eBlast -01-21

Social Justice is a central point of any liberal religion. Social Justice UUSE is committed to social justice in all its forms. Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA) UUSE fully supports GHIAA is all its endeavors. To find out more check the GHIAA website Conversation on CT’s Fiscal Roadblocks w/ Speaker Ritter April 8 A Conversation on CT's Fiscal Roadblocks with House Speaker Matt Ritter, joined by members of the Hartford Legislative Delegation A GHIAA and CT For All event to compel policy change on CT's path to passing a budget that invests in community needs. Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-7:30 pm Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland St., Hartford ASL & Spanish interpretation provided Please register here We are grateful for the collaboration between Immanuel Congregational Church, Asylum Hill Congregational Church, GHIAA, and CT for All in organizing this event

< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > Weekly News Weekly News January 21, 2026 #eBlast -01-21

< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > Our Mission 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. #eBlast -01-21

< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > UUSE Choir coming back UUSE Choir coming back Rehearsals start on Wednesday, January 21st at 7:00 P.M. Do you love to sing? You don't have to audition. Whether you sing in your car or with the Metropolitan Opera, if you like to have fun, you can sing in the UUSE Choir! Weekly rehearsals start on Wednesday, January 21st in the Meeting Room at 7:00 P.M. in preparation for the Holiday Music Services on April 5th. For more information, contact Jenn Richard at uuseoffice@uuse.org . #eBlast -01-21

Reverend Josh Pawelek's monthly column, a message of meaning and hope. Minister's Column for January Rev. Josh Pawelek Minister I am a theistic Unitarian Universalist; an aspiring antiracist, feminist, queer ally; a liberal, suburban American minister practicing a modern version of New England’s old “congregational way;” a loving husband and father; and a spiritual leader dedicated to transformative preaching, teaching, healing and social justice ministries. Serving as the parish minister of UUSE has blessed my life in many ways. Most importantly, UUSE has allowed me—and continues to allow me—to serve as a spiritual leader striving to provide excellence in ministry. I am deeply grateful. Dear Ones: Our ministry theme for January is practicing resistance. I’m not surprised that our friends at Soul Matters (the independent UU resource hub that provides materials for our monthly themes) have landed on this theme at this time. Unitarian Universalists across the United States have been considering this theme in earnest since the 2024 national elections. As I have discussed elsewhere, the current administration in Washington, DC has engaged in many authoritarian actions (e.g., abducting and deporting people without due process, deploying federal troops to US cities, cutting the social safety net to pay for tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest residents, freezing funds Congress has already appropriated, defunding universities, criticizing judges, firing federal employees without cause, using the Department of Justice to harass and attack political opponents, etc.). People of liberal faith abhor such actions. We recognize a profound threat to our time-honored democratic institutions, practices, and assumptions. We feel called to resist. So, I welcome practicing resistance as our theme for the month. Again, I am not surprised. Of course, Unitarian Universalists inherit a long tradition of practicing resistance to injustice. I intend to address pieces of that tradition—especially our tradition of resisting racism—in my January 18th service prior to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. But before that, at our January 4th service, I want to address a way of practicing resistance that isn’t as familiar to me, what I call “direct aid.” The bottom line for me is that there is an increasing number of victims of the current federal administration’s policies, and they need help. Two victim groups that stand out to me are: 1) the families of immigrants who’ve experienced the abduction and deportation of a primary bread-winner; and 2) transgender people (or families with a transgender child) who are relocating from states with anti-trans laws to states whose laws are more supportive and protective of transgender people. There are certainly other victim groups. I am keenly aware of middle-income people and families who are losing access to affordable health insurance; and lower income people and families who are finding it increasingly difficult to make financial ends meet due to chaos in the economy. But given the kinds of requests I am getting on a fairly regular basis to support immigrant families; and given what I know is a long pipeline of transgender people who are seeking aid in relocating to Connecticut, I am increasingly led to the conclusion that our congregation has a role to play in providing direct aid. This is not quite intuitive for me. During my seminary years, I received training in how to work for social change—to not simply “give to the poor,” but to dismantle the root causes of poverty. While I’ve always seen the value in providing direct aid to people in need, I’ve nevertheless focused my energy and much of our congregation’s energy on the work of social change. That work certainly continues, but the victims of the current administration’s policies can’t wait for social change. They need direct aid now. Learning as a congregation to offer such aid feels to me like one of the salient ways we can practice resistance. More to come…. With love, care, and hope, Rev. Josh #JanuaryNewsletter

< To Upcoming Services Jan 25, 2026 I Am Today "I Am Today" Being a changemaker can start today, which causes close to our heart and thoughtful advocacy. UUSE members will speak about actions they've taken to instigate positive change in our communities. Coordinators : Sam Taylor & Martha Larson Services at 9:00 and 11:00 A.M. #eBlast-01-21 "I Am Today" Being a changemaker can start today, which causes close to our heart and thoughtful advocacy. UUSE members will speak about actions they've taken to instigate positive change in our communities. Coordinators : Sam Taylor & Martha Larson Services at 9:00 and 11:00 A.M. Sunday, January 25, 2026 #eBlast -01-21 OOS Sermon YouTube

< Back < Latest eBlast eBlast Article < Previous Article Next Article > Welcome to Unitarian Universalist Society East Welcome to Unitarian Universalist Society East Email our office t o receive a visitor packet or to find out more. We schedule several newcomer events throughout the year after Sunday services. #eBlast -01-21