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< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled NLDC Annual Recruitment The Nominating and Leadership Development Committee (NLDC) is starting our annual recruitment effort for the July 2025 - June 2026 term. On March 2nd after the 11:00 A.M. service, the NLDC will be recruiting for new chairs and committee members. We will have handouts outlining committee charters and chair responsibilities available for review and posted on the bulletin board in the Program Room. What we have learned from our conversations with chairs and members serving on UUSE committees is that congregants rarely reach out on their own to volunteer. However, when someone takes the initiative to reach out to an individual and discusses committee opportunities, then congregants are more likely to be open to serve. It is our hope that these recruiting sessions will provide an opportunity to reach out to more congregants and extend a personal invitation to serve the UUSE community. Please join us and consider volunteering for a committee. This congregation cannot continue to sustain itself without volunteers. We desperately need more volunteers, and we need them now. Please consider making time in your busy schedules usually just a few hours a month to give back to a community that enriches our lives and community in so many ways. We hope to see you there, but if you can't make it, please reach out to one of the NLDC members. Our contact information will be on the bulletin board in the program room soon. Sincerely, the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee #FebruaryNewsletter The Nominating and Leadership Development Committee (NLDC) is starting our annual recruitment effort for the July 2025 - June 2026 term. On March 2nd after the 11:00 A.M. service, the NLDC will be recruiting for new chairs and committee members. We will have handouts outlining committee charters and chair responsibilities available for review and posted on the bulletin board in the Program Room. What we have learned from our conversations with chairs and members serving on UUSE committees is that congregants rarely reach out on their own to volunteer. However, when someone takes the initiative to reach out to an individual and discusses committee opportunities, then congregants are more likely to be open to serve. It is our hope that these recruiting sessions will provide an opportunity to reach out to more congregants and extend a personal invitation to serve the UUSE community. Please join us and consider volunteering for a committee. This congregation cannot continue to sustain itself without volunteers. We desperately need more volunteers, and we need them now. Please consider making time in your busy schedules usually just a few hours a month to give back to a community that enriches our lives and community in so many ways. We hope to see you there, but if you can't make it, please reach out to one of the NLDC members. Our contact information will be on the bulletin board in the program room soon. Sincerely, the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee #FebruaryNewsletter OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Jul 6, 2025 Summer Solstice and Living Simply Sunday Service: "Summer Solstice and Living Simply" Join us as we celebrate the summer solstice which represents the triumph of light over darkness and the peak of nature's abundance. The solstice also reminds us to celebrate, reflect and use the energy of the sun for personal growth. The wisdom of our ancestors emphasizes finding meaning in our lives by living simply. Coordinators : Vivian Carlson and Ellen Williams. Summer schedule: 10:00 A.M. service #eBlast-07-02 Sunday Service: "Summer Solstice and Living Simply" Join us as we celebrate the summer solstice which represents the triumph of light over darkness and the peak of nature's abundance. The solstice also reminds us to celebrate, reflect and use the energy of the sun for personal growth. The wisdom of our ancestors emphasizes finding meaning in our lives by living simply. Coordinators : Vivian Carlson and Ellen Williams. Summer schedule: 10:00 A.M. service Sunday, July 6, 2025 #eBlast -07-02 OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled UUSE "Summer Suppers" UUSE "Summer Suppers" Would you like to be a host? The Membership Committee wants to keep our seasonal Community suppers going, but we need your help! If you would like to host a "Summer Supper" at your home sometime in late July or August, please contact Sue Myers via email (uuseoffice@uuse.org ) or phone 860-646-5151) by July 10 and let her know the date and time for your event and how many guests you can accommodate. She'll send you back a quick questionnaire to gather further details for the sign-up sheet. Hosts are asked to provide a main dish. Guests will bring all the appetizers, sides, desserts, etc. We'll put your sign up sheet in the lobby after Sunday services on July 13 and 20. Questions? Ask Sue Myers or Carole Boster. #eBlast-07-09 UUSE "Summer Suppers" Would you like to be a host? The Membership Committee wants to keep our seasonal Community suppers going, but we need your help! If you would like to host a "Summer Supper" at your home sometime in late July or August, please contact Sue Myers via email ( uuseoffice@uuse.org ) or phone 860-646-5151) by July 10 and let her know the date and time for your event and how many guests you can accommodate. She'll send you back a quick questionnaire to gather further details for the sign-up sheet. Hosts are asked to provide a main dish. Guests will bring all the appetizers, sides, desserts, etc. We'll put your sign up sheet in the lobby after Sunday services on July 13 and 20. Questions? Ask Sue Myers or Carole Boster. #eBlast -07-09 OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Youth Group Bottle and Can drive Bottle and Can Drive The Youth Group is running a UUS:E Bottle and Can Drive to be held Saturday morning, April 29 in conjunction with the May Fair. All proceeds to benefit UUS:E. So save up your empties and help raise money for our community! OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Attention Artists, Photographers and Poets! Attention Artists, Photographers and Poets! New Sanctuary Exhibit Starting Thursday, December 4 A new sanctuary exhibit will go up on Thursday, December 4th. There is no specific theme for this show. Choose one of your favorites to share with the congregation. Please register your entries with uuseoffice@uuse.org and include title, medium, price (if for sale) and photo (if you wish to have your submission included in the sanctuary slide show). Poets, please send your poems to Carol for mounting by November 30th. If you want to add a photo or a small piece of art, send it as well. INCOMING WORK: Drop-off is December 12/4/25 from 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. (Please note the new times.) If you can't make that window, kindly drop off your entry in Annie's office any time before the deadline. OUTGOING WORK: Pick up your art by the end of the second service on Sunday, November 16th, so that Fair setup can begin. When you pick up your artwork, check your name off the list posted near the entry doors. Artwork not picked up will be in Annie's office. REGISTRATION starts now through Tuesday, 12/2/25. That's not a lot of time so get your entries in. Let's make this a wonderfully eclectic display! The next exhibit will go up in early April. Questions? Contact Carol Marion, 860-646-5151, uuseoffice@uuse.org . #eBlast-11-26 Attention Artists, Photographers and Poets! New Sanctuary Exhibit Starting Thursday, December 4 A new sanctuary exhibit will go up on Thursday, December 4th. There is no specific theme for this show. Choose one of your favorites to share with the congregation. Please register your entries with uuseoffice@uuse.org and include title, medium, price (if for sale) and photo (if you wish to have your submission included in the sanctuary slide show). Poets , please send your poems to Carol for mounting by November 30th. If you want to add a photo or a small piece of art, send it as well. INCOMING WORK : Drop-off is December 12/4/25 from 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. (Please note the new times.) If you can't make that window, kindly drop off your entry in Annie's office any time before the deadline. OUTGOING WORK : Pick up your art by the end of the second service on Sunday, November 16th, so that Fair setup can begin. When you pick up your artwork, check your name off the list posted near the entry doors. Artwork not picked up will be in Annie's office. REGISTRATION starts now through Tuesday, 12/2/25 . That's not a lot of time so get your entries in. Let's make this a wonderfully eclectic display! The next exhibit will go up in early April. Questions? Contact Carol Marion, 860-646-5151, uuseoffice@uuse.org . #eBlast -11-26 OOS Sermon YouTube

Writers Group The UUSE Writers Group is on hiatus. < Previous Check Newsletter Next >

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Join us for Mayfair Join Us for Mayfair! 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 PM., Saturday, May 3 on the UUSE grounds There will be food, fun, community and many other activities, including: • A Beltane ritual in the Memorial Garden - bring a drum if you have one! • Bottle and Can Drive organized by the UUSE youth group • Summer-themed tag sale • Committee activities • Musical performances • Soulfully Vegan food truck • Meet an alpaca • Bike rodeo • Bake sale • An opportunity to hang out with old friends and make some new friends! Hope to see you there! #eBlast-04-30 Join Us for Mayfair! 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 PM., Saturday, May 3 on the UUSE grounds There will be food, fun, community and many other activities, including: A Beltane ritual in the Memorial Garden - bring a drum if you have one! Bottle and Can Drive organized by the UUSE youth group Summer-themed tag sale Committee activities Musical performances Soulfully Vegan food truck Meet an alpaca Bike rodeo Bake sale An opportunity to hang out with old friends and make some new friends! Hope to see you there! #eBlast -04-30 OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled The UUSE Artisan Holiday Market UUSE Artisan Holiday Market 📅 Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 • 6–8:30 PM Friday Night Sneak Peek – $5 admission includes mulled apple cider and dessert. 📅 Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 • 9 AM–3 PM Free Admission! UUSE Artisan Holiday Market 📅 Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 • 6–8:30 PM Friday Night Sneak Peek – $5 admission includes mulled apple cider and dessert. 📅 Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 • 9 AM–3 PM Free Admission! OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Manchester's Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration! Manchester's Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration! Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Don't miss Manchester's Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration to be held on Saturday, September 20th at the Mahoney Center, 110 Cedar Street in Manchester. The event will include live musical and cultural performances, opportunities to shop from a local food and vendor market and enjoy Rec on the Run, free activities and more. For further information, contact Dr. Maria Cruz at 860-646-5151 or email her at uuseoffice@uuse.org . #eBlast-09-17 Manchester's Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration! Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Don't miss Manchester's Hispanic Heritage Day Celebration to be held on Saturday, September 20th at the Mahoney Center, 110 Cedar Street in Manchester. The event will include live musical and cultural performances, opportunities to shop from a local food and vendor market and enjoy Rec on the Run, free activities and more. For further information, contact Dr. Maria Cruz at 860-646-5151 or email her at uuseoffice@uuse.org . #eBlast -09-17 OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Minister's Column Dear Ones: “How do I engage in constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than I do?” Do you recognize this question? Does it resonate? I ask because I hear it frequently. I hear it from members and friends of UUSE. I hear it from family members. I hear it from colleagues. I hear it from neighbors. People often come to me with some form of this question, hoping that as a pastor I might have some insight to impart. It’s a particularly poignant question these days. As I write these words in late September, the nation is reeling from recent political violence, and witnessing a marked uptick in violent rhetoric towards vulnerable communities. Somehow, we have to be able to talk to each other across all that divides us. Confession: I don’t have a lot of experience bridging divides with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me. I understand very clearly that the people who participate in our congregation more or less agree when it comes to politics, society and culture. This is true of my family and friends as well—more or less. This is true of the people I engage with in the wider community and my larger community of UU ministerial colleagues. This is certainly true of my social media community. I live in a bubble. I don’t have significant interaction with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me. With that caveat, I have a few thoughts. First, I am convinced that the vast majority of human beings want the same basic things in life: clean water, healthy food, reliable shelter, affordable health care, decent education, meaningful work, a living wage, freedom, safety, dignity, self-expression, acceptance, belonging, etc. When I encounter polarization, when I encounter vast differences of opinion, when I encounter anger and vague (and not-so-vague) threats of violence, I take a breath and remind myself that somewhere deep inside, the people who seem so far from me in their views, actually want the same things I want for myself and those whom I love. Second, I recently read Liberated to the Bone by the writer, healer and cultural worker, Susan Raffo. I was struck by her chapter on the similarities between love and hate—how they can feel very much the same. I plan to say more about this in my October 19th sermon. For now, let me propose that our bodies (and our collective body) may be confused about what it means to hate and what it means to love. Moving beyond this confusion may aid our attempts at dialogue in the midst of polarization. Maybe. Finally, our October ministry theme is cultivating compassion. I am not sure what it will take to enter into constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than we do, but I am sure that such dialogue is impossible without cultivating compassion. Somehow, we human beings have to find it in ourselves to feel compassion for those who sit across the political, religious and cultural divides from us, even if those who sit across from us don’t seem interested in treating us with the same compassion. I know that for some this is, for good reason—for reasons of safety—a non-starter. I know to some I must sound amazingly naïve. Well, so be it. If there is to be constructive dialogue, it begins with compassion. Amen. Blessed be. Rev. Josh #OctoberNewsletter Dear Ones: “How do I engage in constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than I do?” Do you recognize this question? Does it resonate? I ask because I hear it frequently. I hear it from members and friends of UUSE. I hear it from family members. I hear it from colleagues. I hear it from neighbors. People often come to me with some form of this question, hoping that as a pastor I might have some insight to impart. It’s a particularly poignant question these days. As I write these words in late September, the nation is reeling from recent political violence, and witnessing a marked uptick in violent rhetoric towards vulnerable communities. Somehow, we have to be able to talk to each other across all that divides us. Confession: I don’t have a lot of experience bridging divides with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me. I understand very clearly that the people who participate in our congregation more or less agree when it comes to politics, society and culture. This is true of my family and friends as well—more or less. This is true of the people I engage with in the wider community and my larger community of UU ministerial colleagues. This is certainly true of my social media community. I live in a bubble. I don’t have significant interaction with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me. With that caveat, I have a few thoughts. First, I am convinced that the vast majority of human beings want the same basic things in life: clean water, healthy food, reliable shelter, affordable health care, decent education, meaningful work, a living wage, freedom, safety, dignity, self-expression, acceptance, belonging, etc. When I encounter polarization, when I encounter vast differences of opinion, when I encounter anger and vague (and not-so-vague) threats of violence, I take a breath and remind myself that somewhere deep inside, the people who seem so far from me in their views, actually want the same things I want for myself and those whom I love. Second, I recently read Liberated to the Bone by the writer, healer and cultural worker, Susan Raffo. I was struck by her chapter on the similarities between love and hate—how they can feel very much the same. I plan to say more about this in my October 19th sermon. For now, let me propose that our bodies (and our collective body) may be confused about what it means to hate and what it means to love. Moving beyond this confusion may aid our attempts at dialogue in the midst of polarization. Maybe. Finally, our October ministry theme is cultivating compassion. I am not sure what it will take to enter into constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than we do, but I am sure that such dialogue is impossible without cultivating compassion. Somehow, we human beings have to find it in ourselves to feel compassion for those who sit across the political, religious and cultural divides from us, even if those who sit across from us don’t seem interested in treating us with the same compassion. I know that for some this is, for good reason—for reasons of safety—a non-starter. I know to some I must sound amazingly naïve. Well, so be it. If there is to be constructive dialogue, it begins with compassion. Amen. Blessed be. Rev. Josh #OctoberNewsletter OOS Sermon YouTube

< To Upcoming Services Watch the eBlast for the next scheduled Borderland | The Line Within Special Screening: September 23, 2025, 7:00 PM In Borderland, we journey with immigrants resisting and organizing for their human rights in the shadow of the vast border industrial complex, a multi-billion-dollar business of surveillance, detention, and deportation, effectively embedding the border in every corner of our nation. The interwoven stories of courageous immigrants seeking a way forward shed light on the human cost of the struggle, as the threat to themselves and democracy looms with immigration used as a wedge issue for political gain and a gateway to authoritarian rule. Tickets $5. To benefit: CT Students for a Dream. Q&A with filmmakers Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís following the film. Spanish subtitles. All are welcome. For tickets and additional information, click here. IG: @skylightpix and Pamela @pameladyates. FB: @skylight.is and Pamela @pamela.yates.3133 At Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 Vernon Street West, Manchester, CT. 860-646-5151 - uuse.org #AugustNewsletter Special Screening: September 23, 2025, 7:00 PM In Borderland, we journey with immigrants resisting and organizing for their human rights in the shadow of the vast border industrial complex, a multi-billion-dollar business of surveillance, detention, and deportation, effectively embedding the border in every corner of our nation. The interwoven stories of courageous immigrants seeking a way forward shed light on the human cost of the struggle, as the threat to themselves and democracy looms with immigration used as a wedge issue for political gain and a gateway to authoritarian rule. Tickets $5. To benefit: CT Students for a Dream. Q&A with filmmakers Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís following the film. Spanish subtitles. All are welcome. For tickets and additional information, click here . IG: @skylightpix and Pamela @pameladyates. FB: @skylight.is and Pamela @pamela.yates.3133 At Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 Vernon Street West, Manchester, CT. 860-646-5151 - uuse.org #AugustNewsletter OOS Sermon YouTube

This nationally recognized UU program on human sexuality is designed to help adolescents acquire accurate information, develop positive attitudes, and make healthy decisions about the role of sexuality in their own lives. Advisors are trained by the UUA. Participation requires regular attendance and parental permission. Additional Resources (Coming soon) https://www.uuse.org/cym-resources < Back Our Whole Lives (Gr 7-8) This nationally recognized UU program on human sexuality is designed to help adolescents acquire accurate information, develop positive attitudes, and make healthy decisions about the role of sexuality in their own lives. Advisors are trained by the UUA. Participation requires regular attendance and parental permission. Additional Resources (Coming soon) https://www.uuse.org/cym-resources Previous Next