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Our November ministry theme is nurturing gratitude , which aligns very obviously with the Thanksgiving holiday later this month; though for me, it’s not the holiday that gives us the theme. For me it’s all the features of autumn—changing, falling leaves, dropping temperatures, decreasing daylight hours, increasing darkness—and perhaps most importantly, the conclusion of the growing season in these northern latitudes—the harvest, the reaping, the preparations for winter—all of it ancient, all of it familiar to human beings for millennia. All of it gives rise to feelings of gratitude, if we let it. All of it gives rise to our collective instinct to acknowledge and celebrate the blessings of our lives, to give thanks.             Over the years I’ve come back again and again to a meditation entitled “Thanksgiving” by my colleague, the Rev. Lynn Ungar, originally published in 1996 in her Skinner House book entitled Blessing the Bread . I shared it in my newsletter column this month. I love how, for her, seasonal changes in the land speak to gratitude deeply ingrained in our hearts: I have been trying to read / the script cut in these hills— / a language carved in the shimmer of stubble / and the solid lines of soil, spoken / in the thud of apples falling and the rasp of corn stalks finally bare. / The pheasants shout it with a rusty creak / as they gather in the fallen grain, / the blackbirds sing it / over their shoulders in parting, / and gold leaf illuminates the manuscript / where it is written in the trees. / Transcribed onto my human tongue / I believe it might sound like a lullaby, / or the simplest grace at table. / Across the gathering stillness / simply this: “For all that we have received, / dear God, make us truly grateful.”             In the end, the patterns of this autumn season give rise to a very simply prayer: May I be grateful. ****             I assume that feeling gratitude is good for us. I assume the practice of rituals that center our gratitude is good for us. I assume expressing our gratitude out loud to others is good for us psychologically, emotionally, physically, spiritually. There’s solid data to support these assumptions, including a landmark 2003 study entitled “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life,” published in the  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . [1] The authors are Robert A Emmons at the University of California Davis (also editor in chief at the Journal of Positive Psychology) and Michael E McCullough at the University of California San Diego. The study’s abstract explains how participants in three separate studies were randomly assigned to various experimental conditions and asked to keep records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. Participants in what they called the “gratitude-outlook” groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures relative to the comparison groups. “The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.” [2]             I found a 2023 New York Times article entitled “Gratitude Really is Good for You: Here’s What the Science Shows,” by the journalist Christina Caron. She mentions the Emmons-McCullough study and sums up the results of numerous other studies over the past two decades. She finds substantial evidence that gratitude practices have a positive impact on mental health, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, increasing self-esteem and improving satisfaction with daily life. Gratitude is also known to improve sleep and lower blood pressure. “Multiple studies have shown,” she writes, quoting Sara Algoe, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “that expressing gratitude to acquaintances, co-workers, friends or romantic partners can offer a relationship ‘ boost ’ and ‘helps bind us more closely.’” [3]               If you’re skeptical or weary of all the talk about gratitude in this season or at any time of year, I’m simply pointing out that scientists have run peer-reviewed experiments on the ways gratitude practices impact our lives; these studies have been repeated and expanded upon over the years; and there is solid data to support the claim that gratitude is good for us.             And yes, in addition to the science, there is a lot of talk about gratitude and, at least for some, it is wearying. I used to get annoyed at how ubiquitous the admonition to be grateful is in our wider culture. Of the tens of millions of self-help and personal wellness books on brick-and-mortar and virtual shelves, I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them either have the words “gratitude,” “thankfulness,” or “blessings” in the title or subtitle or, minimally, feature a chapter about gratitude, thankfulness or blessings. I notice Dr. Emmons has published many books in this genre: The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a Life of Happiness and Well-Being by Giving Thanks , Thanks: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier , Gratitude Works , and Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body and Soul , with an introduction by the Benedictine monk, Br. David Steindl-Rast, who has a wonderful website, “Grateful Living,” [4]  and an excellent Ted Talk, “Want to be Happy? Be Grateful,” which has been viewed over 10 million times. [5]  Which reminds me that in addition to all the books, the virtual and online worlds are overflowing with articles, blogs, podcasts, day-time talk shows, Pinterest Boards and Ted Talks. Some of it is really good. Some of it less so. Some of it comes from multi-millionaire pop psychologists and pseudo-spiritual gurus just trying to cash in. I used to roll my eyes, smugly—not only because so much of this content—like so much of the self-help genre in general—seems so corny—platitudes with no real substance—but also because it always made me feel, as an ordained clergy-person, that anytime I wanted to talk about gratitude, I couldn’t do it without sounding like a self-help book. Nurturing gratitude is one of the purposes of religion. Nurturing gratitude requires deep spiritual engagement. Get out of our lane you self-help hucksters! Leave gratitude to the clergy and the psychologists!             I don’t roll my eyes anymore. I’m no longer annoyed. The prayer is really very simple: May I be grateful. If any message ought to be ubiquitous, the message that there are benefits to nurturing gratitude in ourselves and our communities is certainly one of them regardless of where it comes from. How better to counter in our own lives the many negative health and wellness impacts of the daily authoritarian onslaught emanating from our nation’s capitol? How better to fortify ourselves, to build up our resilience, to stay calm and focused, to stay hopeful? It really doesn’t matter where the message comes from, as long as we learn to say our version of the prayer: May I be grateful. ****             Last weekend a number of you forwarded me a link to a piece published in “The Morning” newsletter of the New York Times  titled “Personal History,” subtitled “The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites.” [6]  The author, Melissa Kirsch, who writes “The Morning” newsletter and describes her beat as “broadly about how to live a meaningful life,” is also a bit skeptical and weary of all the talk of gratitude. She’s sharing her gratitude practice, but she says “I get a little uncomfortable talking about it because I’ve seen the same hashtags and semi-smug social media posts that you have, the same living-room art with cursive script on distressed wood about the ‘attitude of gratitude.’ The concept has been so commodified, overprocessed, merched-up, that it seems as if there’s little else to say about it — call it the platitude of gratitude.” So, she rolls her eyes too! But I really like her practice and I want to commend it to you.             She describes her practice as more ornate than the typical gratitude journal or jar. She says “I will think of something small — say, this weird little deck of “wisdom cards” that I draw from each morning as a sort of daily fortune cookie. Then I think about how my friend Melanie gave me the deck and how generous and playful she is, and how lucky I am to know her. But I wouldn’t know her if I hadn’t taught creative writing with her in a summer program in the 1990s. I wouldn’t have had that job if my friend Alden hadn’t recommended me for it, and I wouldn’t know Alden if I hadn’t gone to graduate school with her, and I wouldn’t have gone to graduate school without the encouragement of my undergraduate writing professor, and I wouldn’t have taken her class if not for … you get the picture." She continues: "It’s almost a game, tracing the present-day gratitude back through all the causes and conditions that gave rise to it. It’s also immensely satisfying, and mystifying — look how many things had to transpire in order to bring this deck of cards into my life. Simple gratitude is focused on a one-to-one relationship: These cards make me happy. Thinking through this circuit of prerequisites amplifies the gratitude, scales it, brings me into contact with the multiple interdependent factors necessary to bring these cards into my life.” I invite you to take a moment and contemplate something in your life that offers a simple pleasure. For Kirsch it was her deck of wisdom cards. Maybe it’s a favorite coffee mug, a bird feeder, a particular song or piece of music you love to listen to, a special recipe, a neighbor you spend time with, a lamp in the corner, a favorite book—a simple pleasure. How did it come into your life? What was the source? And then ask again, what was the source of the source? And then ask again. Follow the path back as far as you can. Notice the connections, the relationships, the dependencies. Notice the precariousness of it all: If I hadn’t gone on my walk that day, I never would have met that person…. If I hadn’t been in that accident, I never would have gotten that gift…. If that total stranger didn’t track me down to return my wallet…. Kirsch says “We’re all connected, related, dependent on one another, but of course we forget this all the time. We forget that every action we take has a whole cascade of unintended consequences. We forget that we’re a factor in someone else’s circuit of gratitude, a link in innumerable chains. And so often we feel separate, lonely, disconnected. One way to challenge that feeling is to start with one small thing you’re grateful for. Then trace the gorgeous, improbable but very real sequence of variables that brought you the object of your gratitude. It may seem a little corny at first, but it works.” [7] Again, I commend this practice to you. I suspect, if you can trace back far enough, you’ll come eventually to the script cut into the hills, the thud of falling apples, the pheasants’ rusty creak, the departing blackbirds’ song, the trees’ gold-leaf illuminated manuscript. I suspect you’ll come in time to that ancient human insight that it is good and right to acknowledge and celebrate the blessings of our lives. If you can trace back far enough, I suspect you’ll come in time to the plainest of utterances: a lullaby or a simple grace at table . And across the gathering stillness, I suspect you’ll come to Rev. Ungar’s prayer: “For all that we have received, dear God, make us truly grateful.” Amen and blessed be.   [1] Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (2), 377–389.  https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377   [2]  Read the abstract at https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-01140-012 . [3]  Caron, Christina, “Gratitude Really Is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows,” New York Times , June 8, 2023. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/well/mind/gratitude-health-benefits.html . [4]  Visit Grateful Living at https://grateful.org/brother-david/ . [5]  View Brother Steindl-Rast’s Ted Talk at https://grateful.org/resource/want-to-be-happy-be-grateful/ . [6]  Kirsch, Melissa, “Personal History: The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites,” New York Times, The Morning Newsletter, October 25, 2025. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/briefing/personal-history.html . [7]  Kirsch, Melissa, “Personal History: The good things in our lives are the result of fantastic webs of interconnected prerequisites,” New York Times, The Morning Newsletter, October 25, 2025. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/briefing/personal-history.html .

This sermon is about generosity. Just to be clear, this is not my Annual Appeal kick-off sermon. That sermon happens next Sunday when we launch our 2026 Annual Appeal. Of course, that sermon is also about generosity, specifically your generous financial giving to this congregation for the coming fiscal year. This morning I want to talk broadly about generosity as a religious value and practice. I also want to name some of the forms generosity takes here at UUSE. And I want to invite you to participate in two new efforts we’re rolling out to meet the needs of some longstanding neighbors, as well as some potentially new neighbors here in central-east Connecticut. I should also point out that Kate Kimmerle purchased a sermon at last year’s goods and services auction. For her auction sermon, Kate asked that I preach on generosity. This is that sermon.             The Muslim holy month of Ramadan commenced this past week. Last Sunday, a few of us took some of our Affirmation youth to the Ramadan  Bazaar at the Windsor Community Center. The Bazaar offers local Muslims an opportunity to come together in community in preparation for Ramadan , though anyone can attend. There’s shopping, food, family activities. The two youth who were stuck in the car with me on our drive to Windsor had to endure me lecturing on the five pillars of Islam: The confession of faith or shahada  ("There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"); prayer five times daily, salat; fasting during the daylight hours of Ramadan, sawm ; the pilgrimage to Mecca, hajj ; and the giving of alms, charity, zakat, which many Muslims engage in during Ramadan . In short, Islamic law dictates that Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. [1]  [ Check out this recent guide to zakat from Aljazeera .]The theme of charity is prominent in the Muslim holy book, the Quran . The divine call to generosity is prominent in the Quran . One of the more well-known passages appears in the second sura  or chapter, known as The Cow , verse 267, often translated into English as “O believers! Give from the best of what you have earned and of what We have produced for you from the earth.” [2]             This foundational call to generosity is certainly not unique to Islam. I asked UUSE’s resident expert on Buddhism, Nancy Thompson, to identify Buddhist teachings on generosity. She said, “In Buddhism, generosity is considered an essential part of a happy life. The Buddha placed generosity first on his list of 10 paramitas, qualities known as ‘perfections of the heart.’ He told his monks, ‘If people knew as I know the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given nor would the stain of stinginess overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there was someone to share it with.’ He taught that there are three main types of giving: the gift of material things; the gift of fearlessness or protection, and the gift of wisdom, through sharing his teachings.” [3]  Thank you Nancy. [For further reading on generosity in Buddhism, I recommend these articles here and here .] Though I haven’t had a chance to explore this further, I understand generosity in Buddhism, as well as the Jain and Sikh traditions, has its roots in earlier Hindu teaching . The ancient Sanskrit word dāna, which appears in some of the earliest Vedic texts, refers to cultivating the virtue of generosity or practicing generosity, or the guilt one feels in not being generous to those in need. [4]             Similarly, generosity figures prominently in both the Hebrew and Christians scriptures. Deuteronomy 15: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.” [5]  And in the words of Jesus, Matthew 25: “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come … inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,   for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” [6]               Strip away the institutional structures and histories of any of the world’s great religions. Strip away the centuries of compromise and collaboration with earthly rulers, with kings and queens, with imperialism, with colonialism; strip away all the religious justifications for violence and war-making: strip it all away: a spirit of generosity lies at the foundation. “I was hungry and you gave me food.”             That spirit of generosity lies at the heart of Unitarian Universalism. The actual word ‘generosity’ (or something akin to it like charity or munificence) does not appear in the Unitarian Universalist principles. However, I’ve always felt that pursuing our second principle, ‘justice, equity and compassion in human relations,’ requires that we draw from deep wells of generosity in our engagement with the wider world; and that pursuing our third principle, ‘acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations,’ requires us to draw from those same wells in our engagement with each other. The new statement of Unitarian Universalism’s shared values (passed at the 2024 General Assembly) explicitly identifies generosity as a foundation of our faith. About generosity, the new statement says: “We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.” [7] Earlier I read a passage on generosity from the Unitarian Universalist theologian, the Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme. She writes: “In a theological framework which understands that this world is the locus of the holy, that struggle and salvation are present here and now, and that all life is sacred and interconnected, generosity, gratitude, and hope are ways we honor these truths and the blessings of our lives.” [8]  That is, in our this-worldly, here-and-now Unitarian Universalist faith, our generosity enables us to carry out our mission, to keep our promises, to fulfill our vision.             I’ve said it many times from this pulpit; I will say some version of it next week when we launch our Annual Appeal; and I will say it now: you are generous people. I know this about you. You are financially generous to this congregation. You are generous with your time and participation. Many of you take on leadership roles when asked—on the Policy Board, or the Program Council or as committee chairs, or on task forces—and there have been a lot of task forces in recent years! When we need volunteers for the holiday fair, you appear. When we need volunteers for the goods and services auction, you appear. When we need volunteers for Mayfair, you appear. When we need volunteers for the Buildings and Grounds committee work parties, you appear. When we need volunteers in the Children and Youth Ministry programs, you appear. When we need volunteers for the tutoring program at Verplanck Elementary School, or when we’re raising special funds for Verplanck’s gift drive or their book fair, you appear. In recent years, as we’ve been inviting people to show up at vigils and rallies, at the legislative office building to testify on important bills, or for various trainings on accompanying immigrants to court hearings, or mental health first aid, or bystander training, you appear. A spirit of generosity underlies your engagement both here among ourselves, and as part of our witness and activism in the wider world. Years ago, when we voted as a congregation on a resolution to support the Black Lives Matter movement, that spirit of generosity was alive and well and still moves through these halls.  Later, when we voted in support of a resolution to become a sanctuary congregation, that spirit of generosity was alive and well and still moves through these halls. You are generous people. It means the world to me as your minister. I hope and trust it means the world to you. Finally, I said earlier that I want to invite you to participate in two new efforts we’re rolling out to meet the needs of some longstanding neighbors, as well as some potentially new neighbors here in central-east Connecticut. Both efforts originate with our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee in dialogue with me. I’ve been hinting at both for a while. First, in response to the slowly increasing number of immigrant neighbors who are being detained and deported, we’re proposing to create what we call Good Neighbor Teams. Imagine that 150 of you decide to participate. We divide you into fifteen teams—ten people per team. Then, one of our partners organizations in the immigrants rights movement contacts us to say there’s a family in East Hartford or Manchester who has had their primary breadwinner detained. They need financial support for the next two weeks. Can we raise $500? We activate Team 1. Some people can give $100, some can give $50, some can give $10. But in a few days Team 1 has raised the money. Or it may be that Team 1 goes grocery shopping for a family that is fearful of leaving their home. Or it may be that the family’s primary need is diapers, so Team 1 does a diaper drive. There are any number of ways this could work. These are short-term commitments. The team meets the goal, and then they are done. If the need is longer-term, maybe another group at another church raises money for the next two weeks, and so on. Next month, we get a call from a different partner. Can we contribute $300 for legal fees? We activate Team 2. They raise $300 and they are done. A week later, another call, we activate Team 3. A month later, another call. We activate Team 4. If you’re on a team, you’d likely be activated twice a year at most. The UUSE Policy Board supports this project, and the chair of our Stewardship Committee gave it her blessing. We also recognize that next year, when the Medicaid and Snap cuts specified in last summer’s HR1 go through, the financial need in our larger community will likely go through the roof. It will be good to have this kind of infrastructure in place at that time. “I was hungry and you gave me food.” Second, there is an increasing movement of transgender people, or families with transgender children, leaving states with anti-trans laws and relocating to more friendly states. While governmental attacks on trans people have been less visible in recent months due to the focus on immigration enforcement, those attacks are ongoing. People are fleeing, and many of them need support. In partnership with Unitarian Universalist congregations and others across Connecticut, we are proposing to develop the infrastructure to receive what are essentially internally displaced refugees. We would not be the first to do this. There are models from other parts of the country for us to follow. We will be looking for people who have space in their homes to host these “travellers” for up to six months as they look for work and housing. We know that helping a person resettle in this way requires fundraising. We know that we will eventually put teams together to help people with housing and job searches, perhaps with helping place children in schools, find doctors, etc. As I said, we’re engaging in partnership with other congregations across the state, and will share more information as it becomes available. Members of our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee will be at a table in the lobby following the service. If you would like to participate on a Good Neighbor Team or with our trans relocation efforts, or both, please visit them, get more information, sign up. If you’re joining us online and want to add your name, please do so in the chat and we’ll add you to the list. These are two new opportunities, designed to be as accessible as possible, so that as many of you as possible have avenues for putting generosity into action, for living out the promise of our Unitarian Universalist faith. Amen and blessed be. [1]  Ali, Marium, “A simple illustrated guide to zakat, answers to 7 common questions,” Aljazeera, 23 Mar 2025. See: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/23/a-simple-illustrated-guide-to-zakat-answers-to-7-common-questions . [2]  The Quran, 2: 267. In addition to “give,” I also see English translations that use the word “donate” or “expend.” [3] I also found these two articles very helpful in understanding generosity from the Buddhist perspective. Fronsdal, Gil, “The Practice of Generosity” at the Insight Meditation Center. See: https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/the-practice-of-generosity/#:~:text=The%20Buddha%20emphasized%20the%20joy,without%20expecting%20anything%20in%20return ; and Ambrosia, Gloria Taraniya, “There’s More to Giving Than We Think” at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, winter 2006. See: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/theres-more-to-giving-than-we-think/ . [4]  Acharya, Kaushik, “ Impact of Vedic Culture on Society ,” Wisdom Library, 2020. See: https://www.wisdomlib.org/history/essay/impact-of-vedic-culture-on-society/d/doc1121346.html . [5]  Deuteronomy 15: 7-8 (New Revised Standard Version). [6]  Matthew 25: 34-37 (New Revised Standard Version). [7]  See the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Article 2, lines 54-57. https://www.uua.org/files/2025-07/uua_bylaws_12082025.pdf [8]  Prud’homme, Rev. Dr., Sheri, excerpt from section on “Generosity” in “Theological Reflection on the Proposed Revision to Article II,” (2024), p. 8. See: https://www.uua.org/files/2024-01/articleII_theo_reflection.pdf .

Greetings CYM Families & Friends! I have a few things to share!  First, please note a change to the CYM program schedule: Sunday, March 1st will be an All Ages Sunday service, instead of a classroom day .  Classroom teachers: I will be updating the curriculum schedule to account for this. The nursery will be open as usual on this day, but all other classrooms will be closed and families are invited to attend Sunday service in its entirety together. Next, I wanted to give more information about the upcoming Nightlight Mission than many are excited about, myself included!  This is an event I have previously communicated about with a “mark your calendars” date of Saturday, March 28th from 2pm-9pm.  (But you do not have to stay the whole time to participate.)  This event is being planned and sponsored by our sister congregation, the Unitarian Society of Hartford.  It is modeled after NYC’s successful program“Midnight Run”, and USH has done their own local Nightlight Mission before.  I am so grateful to be invited to engage with this activity! Beginning this coming Sunday, you will see collection bins in the Lobby for donations to the Nightlight Mission.  Needed items include warm socks, gloves, boots, small fleece blankets, hand warmers, snack packs, sweaters and other good quality clothing.  The three area UU congregations are collecting items over the coming weeks, and we will bring what we’ve gathered over to USH on March 28th at 2pm.  At USH, all of the donation items will be sorted and organized by the group of volunteers gathered there.  During this timeframe folks will also be working in the kitchen, cooking up soup, sandwiches, and coffee.  Once all the work is done, we will load up into USH vans and family vehicles and caravan to an area inhabited by unhoused people in Hartford.  A Hartford police officer who specializes in working with the unhoused will accompany us there.  With his assistance we will distribute the goods directly to the unhoused people there.  They are familiar with this process, and it is always appreciated.  And that is the plan!  Families can choose to participate in whatever parts they would like, and its open to all ages.  If any older children or youth would like to attend but need an adult chaperone, I would be happy to bring them with me in my car.  Just let me know! And now, here’s some news from the CYM Committee : General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), where participants gather to worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy decisions for the Association through a democratic process. UUSE is looking for people to attend virtually or at a satellite location. The 2026 GA will be held virtually June 14th-21st.  Check out https://www.uua.org/ga for some info. Are you interested in representing UUSE at this year's General Assembly? Would you be interested in supporting a group of children of youth to attend virtually together from UUSE? Questions? Email Desiree at desiree.holian@gmail.com Stewardship : The CYM steward, Desirée Holian-Borgnis, will be holding "office hours" on Sunday March 15th and 22th from 12-12:30 in the Garden Level Lobby to collect pledges, answer questions and help in any other way. If you have questions or need to meet at a different time please reach out to Desirée at desiree.holian@gmail.com or text 203-206-3605 And now onto this coming Sunday: Here's What's Happening in CYM this Sunday, February 22nd: Children’s Chapel will *NOT* be held this Sunday Nursery : Childcare will be available in our nursery at 11 AM for children age 3 and under.  Sunday Service : “The Generous Spirit” - Rev Josh explores the many ways we manifest generosity and why it matters that we continually cultivate generous spirits.  Kate Kimmerle purchased this service at the 2025 Goods and Services Auction. Coordinator: Rev. Josh Pawelek Time For All Ages : Children and youth in grades 2-12 will attend the beginning of the Sunday service in the Sanctuary on the Main Level. The first two rows on the right are reserved for children and youth to sit together, and families are welcome to join them. After the “Time For All Ages” segment of Sunday service, children and youth will be dismissed to the Garden Level to attend further programming. Spirit Play : “Jetpig Comes to Spirit Play” - Spirit Play children will go directly to their classroom at 11 AM for the day’s lesson, a story about new UU character “Jetpig”.  You may have seen a crocheted pig hanging around the Garden Level, wearing a rainbow jetpack!  Jetpig introduces children to the new UU values language, and a handy tool to remember them!  (JETPIG stands for: J=justice, E=equity, T=transformation, P=pluralism, I=interdependence, G=generosity) Young UUs: "Signs of Welcome: Part 2" - Welcoming others is a sign of our Unitarian Universalist faith. In this session, the children hear a story based on a Hawaiian tale in which Pele, the goddess of fire, visits two families in disguise to teach a lesson of welcoming.  They will also start some of their own art pieces featuring signs of welcome! Jr Youth Group : “Hoot" - O ur Junior Youth will watch a film in two parts, based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel “Hoot” - a tale about a group of middle school children trying to save a burrowing owl habitat from destruction by a developer.  Junior youth are invited to wear their comfiest clothes and hunker down with popcorn and friends in the junior youth classroom this Sunday for part one of the film screening. High School Youth Group: Meets this Sunday, February 22 in the couch room after attending TFAA in the Sanctuary. Bring your imaginations and creativity for a group vision board activity!  Next Affirmation Meeting: Sunday, March 8th will be a full group class in the couch room from 12:30-2. Bring a lunch!  Tentative group outing scheduled for March 21st at 10am. Next OWL Teacher Team Meeting: Sunday, March 8th at 12:45 in classroom #7! See you Sunday! Seasonal Happenings : FEBRUARY Sun, Feb 22: Annual PFLAG "Love is Love" Roller-skate at Ron-A-Roll located at 85 S Frontage Rd, in Vernon, CT. For all ages! "Get ready for our annual LOVE IS LOVE roller skating event! This year’s theme is K-POP DEMON HUNTERS! We will be hosting an auction for everything from themed banners, standees and more! Get your tickets today at the QR Code and message us with any questions." PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is a longstanding civil rights organization and this family and kid-friendly event is always a fun and fabulous time. See the graphic at the top of this email for the QR code for more info and to buy tickets for the event. MARCH Sun, March 8, 2026: Interfaith Film Series: Soul Co-presented with the Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding. Location: Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art at 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher, finally gets his big break playing jazz in New York City, only to find himself unexpectedly separated from his body and transported to the realm where souls develop before birth. There, he teams up with a reluctant soul named 22 to rediscover what it means to live a full and purposeful life. Soul offers a moving reflection on creativity, destiny, and what truly makes life worth living. Free. Museum admission not included. Registration encouraged. 1 hour, 40 minutes. Rated PG. 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. Be on the lookout for an announcement of an upcoming zoom call with CYM for initial talks about logistics for this event.

Gathering Music (Jenn Richard) "Call it Dreaming" by Iron & Wine "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears "Today and Every Day" by Dar Williams   Welcome and Announcements   Centering   Prelude “All Will Be Well” Words and music by Meg Barnhouse Song leader: Jenn Richard Chorus: And all will be well And all will be well. All manner of things Will be well.   Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Excerpt from “Generosity” By the Rev. Dr. Sherri Prud-homme Adapted by Rev. Josh Pawelek   Opening Hymn #18 “What Wondrous Love” American Folk Hymn with words by Connie Campbell Hart What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul, what wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this that brings my heart such bliss, and takes away the pain of my soul, of my soul, and takes away the pain of my soul.   When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, when I was sinking down, sinking down, when I was sinking down beneath my sorrows ground, friends to me gather’d round, O my soul, O my soul, friends to me gather’d round, O my soul.   To love and to all friends I will sing, I will sing, to love and to all friends I will sing. To love and to all friends who pain and sorrow mend, with thanks unto the end I will sing, I will sing, with thanks unto the end I will sing. Time for All Ages    Musical Interlude   Joys and Concerns   Musical Interlude   Offering We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community. Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester’s African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people in Manchester through advocacy, education, the arts and community events.   Offering Music “Kind and Generous” By Natalie Merchant Jenn Richard, guitar and vocals   Sermon “The Generous Spirit” Rev. Josh Pawelek   Closing Song “Sanctuary” (adapted) By Randy Scruggs and John Thompson   Love prepare me, to be a sanctuary sure and steady, tried and true With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.   Extinguishing the Chalice   Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Welcome to our Annual Appeal for Fiscal Year 27!  Our theme this year is “ Belonging and Thriving - Together .”  As we are confronted with national uncertainty and discord,  it is vitally important that we build and strengthen our connection to one another and to other supportive communities.  Our shared dedication to community outreach and social justice is essential. Here are the key dates for this year’s Annual Appeal: 03/01 Sunday Service kickoff & signup table for pledging potlucks 03/06 & 13 Pledging potluck weekends 03/17 Pledges due to Annie in the church office 03/19 Stewarding outreach begins 04/06 Annual Appeal ends You can submit your pledge forms by mail, by dropping off into Annie’s inbox, by attending a pledge potluck, or through a steward visit. We are encouraging in-person visits this year!   If you would like to have an in-person visit to discuss your pledge and/or your ideas about the church, you can contact Phil Sawyer at Psawyer215@gmail.com  or 860-633-8655 Our financial goals for the FY27 fiscal year include contracting professional bookkeeping services and restoring some of the financial cuts that were made last year.  The targeted goal is to restore the salary “bump” increases; restore professional expense budgets to 90% of the typical amount; fund the B&G reserve at $10,000 (request was $25,000); and fund the emergency response  equipment at $1500 (request was $3000).  Achieving the FY27 budget rests on an increase in pledge income of 5% with a pledge rate increase of  5-7%.  Here are some examples of the monthly  increase amount: Annual Pledge 5% 7% $500 $2 $3 $1000 $4 $6 $3000 $13 $18 It is with gratitude and joy that we share that we have received a $15,000 grant to encourage us to participate in the increase pledge rate of 5–7% for this year!    Pledge increases of 5% or more will be matched 100%. Please join this challenge grant if you can and if you are not able to meet this rate, please know that your pledges add up to a powerful contribution.  If you would like to establish another pledge match grant for this year, you can contact Louisa Graver at lgraver163@gmail.com  or 860-645-1377. We appreciate your patience and understanding as our church works through the process of balancing our aspirations and our available resources.  Later this year, Trisha Corey-Lisle will lead us in a “ reimagined method of budgeting” to help us achieve this balance.  If you have any questions, you can contact any one of us on the Stewardship Committee. Yours in Spirit, Patricia Wildes (chair), Louisa Graver, Larry Lunden, Stan McMillen, Jerry Myers, and Phil Sawyer

Gathering Music Welcome Centering Prelude "Winter Morning Meditation" by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting & Opening Words #429 in Singing the Living Tradition by William F. Schultz Come into this place of peace And let its silence heal your spirit; Come into this place of memory And let its history warm your soul; Come into this place of prophecy and power And let its vision change your heart. Opening Hymn "Come Sing a Song With Me" #346 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & Music by Carolyn McDade Come, sing a song with me, come, sing a song with me, come, sing a song with me, that I might know your mind. (Chorus) And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find, and I'll bring a song of love and a rose in the wintertime. Come, dream a dream with me, come, dream a dream with me, come, dream a dream with me, that I might know your mind. (Chorus) Come, make a plan with me, come, make a plan with me, come, make a plan with me, that I might know your mind. (Chorus) Come, share a rose with me, come, share a rose with me, come, share a rose with me, that I might know your mind. (Chorus) Time for All Ages "Brave Irene" Written and Illustrated by William Steig Musical Interlude Announcements Joys and Concerns Introduction to the Service Reading "Our Roots of Resilience" by Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson Imagine a Majestic Tree with strong roots Feel the gravity of the earth holding you in place. Wiggle your toes as if they were roots. Roots connect you to the earth lending you strength. Gently sway in the wind, turning your body like a trunk of a tree, Leaning this way and that, bending as the air pushes and pulls. What surrounds you, may sway you, Make you bend and feel unbalanced Wiggle your toes. Know that your roots can hold you as you grow and learn. A tree is nourished by the soil and water. You are nourished by the food the earth grows and the water it provides. You are cared for and loved by many people. Breathe deeply Still yourself Know that your roots are strong. Wiggle your roots. Musical Interlude Reflections from Stan McMillen Musical Interlude Reflections from Jen Edgerton Offering "We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community." Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council. Offering Music "The Majestic Tree" by Mary Bopp Reflections from Trisha Corey-Lisle Closing Hymn "May Nothing Evil Cross This Door" #1 in Singing the Living Tradition Words by Louis Untermeyer, Music by Robert N. Quaile May nothing evil cross this door, and may ill fortune never pry about these windows; may the roar and rain go by. By faith made strong, the rafters will withstand the battering of the storm. This hearth, though all the world grow chill, will keep you warm. Peace shall walk softly through these rooms, touching our lips with holy wine, till every casual corner blooms into a shrine. With laughter drown the raucous shout, and, though these sheltering walls are thin, may they be strong to keep hate out and hold love in. Closing Words #684 in Singing the Living Tradition by Duke T. Gray The blessing of truth be upon us, The power of love direct us and sustain us, And may the peace of this community Preserve our going out and coming in, From this time forth, until we Meet again. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come . INSERTS Vision Statement Unitarian Universalist Society East will be home to a spiritually alive, richly diverse and growing congregation. We will send forth energy, spirit and strength into our beloved communities. We will love, be present to suffering, comfort, heal, bear witness to oppression, and boldly work toward social and environmental justice Adopted by the congregation May 20, 2018 Mission Statement UUSE 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.

Our ministry theme for February is embodying resilience. Last week Stacy, Paula and Heather offered insights into what creates resilience in the natural world. Their message: diverse, connected, interdependent communities are resilient. We learned about mycelium, the vast fungal networks that carry nutrients and water, break down decaying matter, and even aid in tree-to-tree communication in the midst of threats. We learned about the role seed banks play in sustaining forest health, how they function as a “reserve of all the generations before, dormant in the forest floor,” waiting for the right opportunity, the right mix of sunlight, water and space to emerge. A further message: “There is always hope and opportunity.” [1]  I agree, hopeful people are resilient. People who can discern opportunity in the midst of crisis are resilient.           This morning I want to talk about the role our inner lives play in keeping us resilient. I am drawing directly on insights from the 20 th -century American minister, university chaplain, theologian, educator, civil rights leader and Christian mystic, Howard Thurman. It is difficult to fully appreciate and understand not only liberal Christianity, but liberal religion in general today—2026—without knowledge of Thurman’s contributions from the mid-twentieth century. He was born in Florida in 1899 and raised in a Baptist household. He served as dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944. In 1944 he co-founded the interracial, interfaith and intercultural Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. And from 1953 to 1965 he served as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University, where he famously mentored Martin Luther King, Jr. He died in 1981. [2] I note that when we identify the sources of King’s philosophy of nonviolence, we name Henry David Thoreau and Mahatma Ghandi. Thurman also taught King nonviolence. Rumor has it that King carried a copy of Thurman’s book, Jesus and the Disinherited, with him when he travelled.           There are three reasons I invite Thurman into our midst this morning. First, it is Black History month. Thurman is African American. Yes, we refer to Thurman all year long—you may remember we shared his meditation, “The Work of Christmas” at our epiphany service in January—but it certainly makes sense to explore his work during Black History Month.           Second, Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited , published in 1949, is a biblically-grounded survival guide for people living under an authoritarian regime. I am tired of repeating what needs to be repeated every week, but it must be said: the federal government in Washington, DC is governing in an anti-democratic, authoritarian manner. I have named multiple times from this pulpit and in other public settings why I make that claim. The military surge into Los Angeles in June which, among many atrocities, witnessed the murder of American citizen Keith Porter, Jr., was the moment I started calling it authoritarianism. Thurman wrote Jesus and the Disinherited  because, in his experience, though there were many “interpretations dealing with the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth … few of [them] deal with what the teachings and the life of Jesus have to say to those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.” [3]           He was writing specifically to and for black people. He said “the striking similarity between the social position of Jesus in Palestine and that of the vast majority of [African] Americans … is obvious to anyone who tarries long over the facts.” African Americans “assume that there are no basic citizenship rights, no fundamental protection, guaranteed to them by the state.” [4]  The book is a helpful reminder that though what we are witnessing today is horrifying, enraging, immoral and un-American, it is not new. There are people in our midst who have lived through authoritarianism in the United States, or who inherit family and community memories of living through authoritarianism in the United States. We can and should learn from them. Their experience and wisdom are invaluable.           For Thurman, a strong inner life is essential for living with resilience under an authoritarian regime. He was deeply committed to identifying, nurturing and growing the inner life, the inner attitude, the inner spirit. Without it, all is lost. With it, surviving and thriving are possible. Jesus’ message, he wrote, “focused on the urgency of a radical change in the inner attitude of the people. He recognized fully that out of the heart are the issues of life and that no external force, however great and overwhelming, can at long last destroy a people if it does not first win the victory of the spirit against them.” [5]  More simply put, Jesus “recognized with authentic realism that anyone who permits another to determine the quality of his inner life gives into the hands of the other the key to his destiny.” [6]           Thurman names three ways authoritarians win the victory of spirit and kill the inner life of the people. First, they instill fear. While fear is a legitimate response and important for survival, it ultimately becomes toxic to the inner life. To cultivate a resilient inner life, he advises his readers to discern positive, life-giving answers to the questions, “Who am I?” and “What am I?” His answer to the question: I am beloved child of God. Such an awareness “tends to stabilize the ego and results in a new courage, fearlessness, and power. I have seen it happen again and again.” [7]  For nurturing your own resilience, I invite you to ponder and answer these questions: “Who am I?” and “What am I?” What answers give you courage?           Second, he names that surviving when one’s back is against the wall often requires taking a posture of deception. He says “deception is perhaps the oldest of all the techniques by which the weak have protected themselves against the strong. Through the ages, at all stages of sentient activity, the weak have survived by fooling the strong.” [8]  But, like fear, deception ultimately becomes toxic to the inner life. To counteract this toxicity, he calls for “a complete and devastating sincerity.” He writes that ultimately, we must “be simply, directly truthful, whatever may be the cost in life, limb, and security.” And, “if the number increases and the movement spreads, the vindication of the truth [will] follow in the wake. There must always be the confidence that the effect of truthfulness can be realized in the mind of the oppressor as well as the oppressed. There is no substitute for such faith.” [9]  Sincerity, honesty and truth-telling are keys to resilience.           Third, he writes about hate, which he calls one of the “hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the disinherited in season and out of season.” [10] Hate is entirely understandable. It meets many psychological needs. It often feels good. It binds people together. It generates creativity, even moral justification. But for Thurman, “hatred finally destroys the core of the life of the hater.” He argues that “Jesus rejected hatred because he saw that hatred meant death to the mind, death to the spirit, death to communion with [the divine]. He affirmed life; and hatred was the great denial.” [11]           In place of hate, what feeds, nurtures and sustains the resilient inner life? Love. Thurman analyzes Jesus’ admonition to love our enemies as ourselves. He writes about the different kinds of enemies that impact the lives of the disinherited, and in each case, though he recognizes it is no easy task, he calls for humanizing the enemy. “Love of the enemy,” he says, “means that a fundamental attack must first be made on the enemy status.” He says a lot about how this might be achieved. He says, essentially, that perpetrators of injustice must be held accountable, but this can still be achieved with love at the center. Again, he does not underestimate the challenge. But making the attempt is a key to strengthening and freeing one’s inner life. He asks, “Can this attitude … become characteristic of one’s behavior…?” He answers: “I think so.” He cautions that “merely preaching love of one’s enemies…—however high and holy—cannot, in the last analysis, accomplish the result.” Instead, “at the center of the attitude is a core of painstaking discipline.” [12]  It takes intentional, daily practice to love one’s enemies as oneself. Painstaking discipline. His point: the person who engages in such discipline, this monumental human effort to love one’s enemies as oneself, is on the path to a resilient inner life.           The third and final reason I want to bring Thurman into our midst is a quote attributed to him, though, full disclosure, I have yet to find where he wrote or said it. I share it as a prompt for cultivating resilience. “Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”           In this authoritarian moment, it is easy to spiral down and out into fear, into hatred, perhaps into deception, including self-deception, which seems to be so common among corporate and political elites who want to curry favor with authoritarian Washington. It is so easy to spiral down and out, mind and heart racing, ruminating, worrying into anxiety, into helplessness, into hopelessness, into despair. To spiral into resilience, name to yourself and to anyone else who will listen what makes you come alive.           On Tuesday our Pastoral Friends committee held a conversation on “Hope in Hard Times.” About thirty of you attended. We asked people to share what practices cultivate resilience in them. We heard listening to music, meditating, moving our bodies—stretching, yoga, exercise. We heard about taking walks outside, and about a practice of attaching intentions to a stone and then walking with the stone. We heard about interactions with animals, wild and domestic, watching birds at the feeder. We heard about humor, and talked about which comedians are helping us stay sane. Nobody mentioned prayer, but I know some of us have rich prayer lives that ground and center us. We heard about creativity. One participant shared about teaching herself to paint with her non-dominant hand due to an injury. We heard about participation in rallies and finding community there. And, oh yes, community—friends, family, and the community of this UU Society East congregation. And I want to share a quote from Jeannette Lesure, because she responded to my request in the newsletter to share with me what makes you come alive and I threatened to quote her. She wrote: “When I think of why I love folks, it’s about the ways we blend—-not necessarily in unity, but in the ways our differences harmonize. We help bring out the beauty… carry one another forward.  When I sing, I listen to the other voices and try to make the sound richer through BLENDING, not taking over. I feel more whole that way, too.” Thanks Jetty.           All of these are answers to the question, “what makes you come alive?” I commend the question to you. Take it with you into this week, into this month. Answer it, and then go do the things that make you come alive. Authoritarianism will not prevail if the people have come alive. Authoritarianism will never win the victory of the spirit against the people if they have come alive. Authoritarianism cannot determine the quality of the inner life of people who have come alive.           Go do it, because the world needs people who have come alive. Go do it, because the world needs resilient people.           Amen and blessed be. [1]  View our 2/1/26 Sunday service on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1PKBzmU8M0&t=10s . [2]  I am grabbing some of this bio from the entry for Howard Thurman at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Thurman . I also recommend Fluker, Walter Earl and Tumber, Catherine, eds., A Strange Freedom: The Best of Haward Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998). [3]  Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976) p. 11. [4]  Ibid., p. 34. [5]  Ibid., p. 21. [6]  Ibid., p. 28. [7]  Ibid., p. 50.  [8]  Ibid., p. 58. [9]  Ibid., p. 70. [10]  Ibid. p. 74.  [11]  Ibid., p. 88. [12]  Ibid., p. 106.

Dean Howard Thurman Assison N. Scurlock, photographer Smithsonian Online Archives NMAH AC 0618.S04.01 Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Prelude Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Excerpt from "Waiting to Grow Again" by Jennifer Johnson Opening Hymn "Winter Takes its Time" Music by Mary Bopp Words by Rev. Josh Pawelek and Mary Bopp Drone: Winter takes its time. Winter takes its time. Verses: Let us all heed winter's teaching. Let us not pass quickly by. Let us honor winter's wisdom. Let the darkness hold us close. Let us rest in winter's stillness. Let us rest the long night through. Welcoming New Members Introductions (Membership Committee co-chairs) The Charge (Minister) As you take up membership in the Unitarian Universalist Society East, I charge you to share with us who you are. Share your creativity, your experiences, your questions, your doubts, your beliefs, and all your discoveries of life's meaning. I charge you to shake us up with your ideas, to stir us up with your conscience, to inspire us with your actions, and to stimulate our hopes with your dreams of what life can be. Congregational Welcome (Congregation) We welcome you as companions in the search for truth and meaning. We invite you to share in our mission of caring for one another, encouraging each other in spiritual growth, working for justice and peace in the wider community, and living in harmony with the earth. We join our gifts with yours, trusting in the power of community to bring freedom, healing, and love. New Member Affirmation (New members) We join the Unitarian Universalist Society East out of a desire and willingness to participate in a liberal religious congregation. We pledge to share our time, energy and gifts; to diligently seek our spiritual truths; and to strengthen the bonds of community Responsive Hymn "This Meetinghouse" words adapted from Eugene Sander by Josh Pawelek This meetinghouse, A place of love and gladness. Where all may meet, to seek the common good. A source of strength, to face each doubt and sadness. Where every dream, is known and understood. This meetinghouse, ask those who came before, And found themselves, by crossing through its door. Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offering We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community. Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people in Manchester through advocacy, education, the arts and community events. Offering Music "The Sound of Music" By Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein Gerald Dillenbeck, vocals Mary Bopp, piano Sermon "What Makes You Come Alive?" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Hymn #123 "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade Extinguishing the Chalice The flame in our hearts, never ceases burning. Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come .

Gathering Music Welcome Centering "The Strength of Water" https://www.uua.org/worship/words/meditation/strength-water Prelude "Wellspring" Composed & performed by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Opening Hymn #169 "We Shall Overcome" African American spiritual adapt. by William Farley Smith Mary Bopp, piano We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome someday! We'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we'll walk hand in hand someday! We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace, we shall live in peace someday! Oh, deep in my heart I do believe we shall live in peace someday! Time for All Ages "The Hugging Tree" by Jill Neimark Read by Stacey Musulin Musical Interlude Announcements Introduction to the Service - Paula Baker Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Prayer and Reflection - Stacey Musulin "Prayer for Resilience" by Rev. Dr. Michelle Collins Source of Love, Spirit of Interdependence, we give thanks for the web that holds us, the hands that have steadied us, the voices that remind us we are not alone, the presence of those who have leaned on us just as we have leaned on them. Resilience is not a solitary triumph. It is woven through community: shared meals, gentle questions, laughter that breaks through grief, courage borrowed from one another when our own runs thin. In this moment, let us remember that we are stronger together than apart. May we continue to offer and receive care, trusting that our connections sustain us even when we cannot behold the whole picture. Blessed be the bonds that hold and that keep holding. Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council. Offering Music "Stairway to Heaven" Music by Jimmy Page Lyrics by Robert Plant Performed by Will Alexson, guitar Reflection from Heather Alexson "Sacred Defiance" Seeds of Hope: A Poem of Sacred Defiance" https://1drea.com/seeds-of-hope-a-poem-of-sacred-defiance-by-daeess-1drea/ Closing Hymn #100 "I've Got Peace Like a River" Words & Music: Marvin V. Frey I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. (sing 2x) I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain in my soul. (sing 2x) I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean in my soul. (sing 2x) Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

(from Vecteezy.com ) Welcome & Announcements Centering Chalice Lighting Opening Hymn #126 "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" Words: v. 1 Robert Robinson, v. 2-3 Eugene B. Navias Come, thou fount of ev'ry blessing, tune our ears to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. While the hope of life's perfection fills our hearts with joy and love, teach us ever to be faithful, may we still thy goodness prove. Come, thou fount of ev'ry vision, lift our eyes to what may come. See the lion and the young lamb dwell together in thy home. Hear the cries of war fall silent, feel our love glow like the sun. When we all serve one another, then our heaven is begun. Come, thou fount of inspiration, turn our lives to higher ways. Lift our gloom and desperation, show the promise of this day. Help us bind ourselves in union, help our hands tell of our love. With thine aid, O fount of justice, earth be fair as heav'n above. Time for All Ages I Am Today by Matt Forrest Esenwine Read by Sam Taylor Visitors, Joys and Concerns Prayer Introduction to the Service First Reflection (Janet Heller) Offering The recipients of our Community Outreach offering for the month of January are Moral Monday CT and Power Up CT. Both organizations have been leaders in Connecticut's Black Lives Matter movement and a variety of social justice campaigns and initiatives. Second Reflection (Maureen Flanagan) Third Reflection (Sam Taylor) Closing Hymn #108 "My Life Goes On in Endless Song" Words: Traditional, v.3 Doris Plenn Music: Robert Lowry My life flows on in endless song above earth's lamentation. I hear the real though far-off hymn that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing. It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing! What though the tempest 'round me roars, I know the truth, it liveth. What though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth. No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock I'm clinging. Since love prevails in heav'n and earth, how can I keep from singing! When tyrants tremble as they hear the bells of freedom ringing, when friends rejoice both far and near, how can I keep from singing! To prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging; when friends by shame are undefiled, how can I keep from singing! Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words "May We Go Forth" by Rev. Ess Baumberger May we go forth to meet oppression with freeing justice, hatred with healing love, and despair with unfailing faith. May it be so. Amen. Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

An early lyric sheet for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” published by Philadelphia: Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments, c. 1863. We’ve sung through various iterations of the late 18 th -century American camp meeting song “Say, Brothers Will You Meet Us?” Just prior to the Civil War, federal soldiers in Massachusetts set the explicitly abolitionist lyrics of John Brown’s Body” to the same tune. Then, as the story goes the poet, author, abolitionist, prison reformer, women’s rights activist and campaigner for a “Mother’s Day for Peace,” Julia Ward Howe, on a visit to Washington, DC in 1861, heard troops singing “John Brown’s Body.” She found it crass—good for marching, not so good for moving the heart of a nation. A minister accompanying her suggested she write her own version of the song for the abolitionist cause, something more transcendent and scripturally-based to inspire not only the troops but the Union itself. Awakening from a dream the next morning she wrote down the lyrics to what became the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” [1]             It’s a call to arms, a spiritual rallying cry for civil war. The scriptural references come not from Jesus’ sermon on the mount, but from the apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation. They invoke themes of divine justice: “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” In her mind the nation’s great sin was slavery. War would end it. A line from a verse we didn’t sing says, “As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.” Please know I am not invoking Howe to suggest that we are on the verge of civil war today. I don’t believe that. But I recognize that in communities and cities where there has been state-sanctioned violence -- immigrant abductions, tear gas raids on apartment buildings, and the ICE murder of Renee Macklin Good in Minneapolis last week and other recent ICE shootings -- something akin to war is happening. The reason I am invoking Julia Ward Howe is because it has always been my intention in this sermon, on the eve of the national Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration, to reflect on a few figures in our UU history who have worked for racial justice; and then to ask what lesson or wisdom from their lives speaks to our lives. Julia Ward Howe, though raised Episcopalian, became a Unitarian in her early forties. She was friends with a number of Boston-area Unitarian ministers, including Theodor Parker, as well as many of the Boston and Concord, Massachusetts Transcendentalists. She was a member of Boston’s Unitarian Church of the Disciples where, though not a minister herself, she occasionally delivered the Sunday sermon.   While there are many dimensions to Julia Ward Howe’s life and activism I could explore this morning, mindful of last week’s service on art as resistance , I lift up what is perhaps her most enduring contribution to American culture, the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” While I don’t resonate with its apocalyptic Bible references, and while it is certainly not a song designed to de-escalate tension, I do find in her Abolitionist lyrics a kindred spirit, naming injustice with searing moral clarity and reminding us we are called from the depths of our faith to confront it. I proudly claim her as a spiritual ancestor. Next, let's turn to late 18 th -century Philadelphia where, in the fall of 1793, the mosquito-born yellow fever caused the deaths of 10% of the population. After yellow fever subsided, Richard Allen (who at this same time founded the first Black Methodist Church in the nation, and eventually became the first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) and Absalom Jones (who, a few years earlier, had founded the first Black Episcopal Church in the nation, the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas) published an article defending Philadelphia’s free black community for its heroic response to the yellow fever. They wrote the article to counter criticisms white journalists were leveling against the black community. One paragraph in the article has always made me proud.  They wrote: “When the sickness became general, and several of the physicians died, and most of the survivors were exhausted by sickness or fatigue, that good man, Dr. Rush, called us more immediately to attend to the sick.” [2] That "good" man was Dr. Benjamin Rush, perhaps most well-known as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was an avowed abolitionist long before the Abolitionist movement coalesced in the 1830s, and a committed Universalist. Though not trained as a minister, he was an avid reader of Universalist theology; he was close with Philadelphia’s leading Universalist minister, the Rev. Elhanan Winchester; and he was present in 1790 at the founding of the Philadelphia Convention of Universalists, the first attempt at creating a national Universalist denomination. That Convention drafted “Articles of Faith and a “Plan of Government” which, according to the Universalist historian Russell Miller, “were submitted to Dr. Benjamin Rush … for correction and arrangement.” [3] Miller also says that Rush was gifted at translating Universalist ideas into action. “Almost every Universalist social reform impulse,” he writes, “from anti-slavery, temperance, and prison reform in the pre-Civil War era to participation in the Social Gospel movement of the late nineteenth century can be traced to Rush’s influence.” [4] Rush was relentless in his opposition to slavery. In 1773, at age 27, he wrote a tract entitled “ An address to the inhabitants of the British settlements, on the slavery of the Negroes in America, ” in which he systematically dismantled the popular pro-slavery arguments of the day. He called for an end to the slave trade, for the dissolution of the African Committee of Merchants who were chiefly responsible for carrying out the trade, for the shunning of those involved in the trade, for the education of African Americans in reading, writing, business and religion, and for giving to African Americans all the privileges of free-born British subjects. He called on magistrates, legislators and advocates to use their offices to suppress this evil. To clergy he said “Ye who estimate the worth of your fellow creatures by their Immortality and therefore must look upon all [hu]mankind as equal,—let your zeal keep pace with your opportunities to put a stop to slavery.” [5]             I mentioned Rush’s work with Allen and Jones in confronting the yellow fever crisis of 1793 for a very specific reason. They likely didn’t think of it this way, and I don’t want to overstate what was happening between them, but from my vantage point 230 years later, I see a multi-racial, multi-faith effort to organize a public health response to a pandemic. I want to repeat those words: I see a multi-racial, multi-faith effort to organize a public health response to a pandemic. I stress this because, given efforts today to disrupt, disable and create mistrust in the American public health system, and given a multitude of efforts to sow racial and religious discord throughout the United States, I cling to this story. I cling to this story of these relgious leaders--each of them in the midst of founding new chuches--working together to bring healing to a devastated city. As we engage in social justice work in multiracial, interfaith coalitions, especially when we work on health care justice, I proudly claim Benjamin Rush as a spiritual ancestor. [6]             A third person I’d like to hold up is the Rev. Ephraim Nute. There’s actually way too much to his story to adequately tell it in a few paragraphs. He really deserves an entire sermon, or maybe a book group. [7] But briefly, an entry in the online Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography  describes Nute as “an outspoken and aggressive abolitionist [who] was the American Unitarian Association … missionary to the Kansas territory during the “Bleeding Kansas” years prior to the Civil War. A conductor on the Underground Railroad, he was a key figure in the free state cause. He lost family and friends to the violence there and had to fight to save his own life.” [8] He was clearly heroic, clearly passionate about ending slavery. [9] And a number of sources say that because the denomination was divided over how best to address slavery, Nute was also “frustrated at being ignored, denied, and underfunded in his mission” [10] by denominational leaders in Boston. In February of 1859 he wrote a letter to an unidentified friend thanking him for a $10 donation, and describing a recent failed attempt to help eleven escaped slaves and two free blacks travel to Oskaloosa, Iowa. The party was captured. Nute wrote to his friend: “The great trouble was the want of funds. This hindered us from sending them forward as fast as they arrived, as before has been done, & so permitted such a large number to accumulate here.” [11] They had to wait for sufficient funding; when they were finally able to leave, the group was too large and thus too obvious to their pursuers. Nute’s concern about funding resonates with me precisely because, as I’ve named a number of times, I am encountering increasing requests to raise money for people who are directly impacted by authoritarian policies, specifically immigrant families who have seen a primary breadwinner abducted, detained or deported; and transgender people or families with transgender members who are leaving states with anti-trans laws, hoping to resettle in safer states. I am not trying to equate the challenges escaped slaves and their supporters faced with the challenges facing immigrants and transgender people today. But to the extent people working directly with these groups are in touch with me, there is enormous financial need, and there is understandable frustration. I am hopeful we can respond with generous spirits. I won’t say more about this here, except to note that our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee is weighing some proposals for how we can invite the members and friends of this congregation to support specific individuals and families that our partners identify to us. Those conversations will unfold in the coming months. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the ICE murder of Renee Macklin Good in Minneapolis on January 7 th . It was an excessive and unjustified use of force by an officer of the state. The Department of Justice’s decision not to open a civil rights investigation is yet more evidence of authoritarianism. There is a historical echo for Unitarian Universalists in Good's murder. I lift up the name of Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a white woman, mother of five, who was murdered for her involvement in the Civil Rights movement.  In March of 1965, as a relatively new member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit, she heard Martin Luther King, Jr’s call for religious leaders to come to Selma, AL to support the voting rights march. Though not a member of the clergy, as a 2006 article in the UU World  reports it, “Liuzzo took the call to heart. She drove … to Selma, intending t o stay a week. She volunteered at the … Brown [Chapel] African Methodist Episcopal Church and used her car to drive protesters back and forth from Selma and Montgomery. On March 25, Liuzzo was giving a ride to fellow civil rights worker Leroy Moton when four Klansmen pulled their car alongside hers and shot her. Liuzzo was killed instantly while Moton was able to escape.” [12] About her murder, Martin Luther King is reported to have said: “If physical death is the price some must pay to save us and our white brothers from eternal death of the spirit, then no sacrifice could be more redemptive.” [13] [14] [15] I am not trying to draw too close a comparison between these two murders separated by 60 years. The immediate circumstances are not the same. But both happened in the context of a larger struggle for racial justice in the United States. Both remind us, sadly, that there is no way for anyone of any identity to engage in this struggle, or even be simply adjacent to it, with complete safety. These are hard, frightening, enraging times. These are also sad times. So much is being lost. But not our spirits. I turn to people like Benjamin Rush, Ephraim Nute, Julia Ward Howe, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, as well as Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many more, as reminders that though the times are hard, frightening, enraging and sad, we inherit a historical legacy that strengthens and inspires us. We claim Unitarian Universalist principles and values that center us. We work in solidarity with partners in the wider community who guide us. And we have this Unitarian Universalist congregation for support, comfort, care, love and a vision of the beloved community. In all of this, our eyes see the glory and our spirits are renewed. Amen and blessed be. [1]  See “The Battle Hymn of the Republic: The Story Behind the Song” and the Trump ( sic ) Kennedy Center Website: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/story-behind-the-song/the-story-behind-the-song/the-battle-hymn-of-the-republic/#:~:text=Howe's%20new%20words%20also%20angered,was%20on%20the%20North's%20side . For more information on Julia Ward Howe, see: https://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/cambridge-harvard/julia-ward-howe/ . [2]  Allen, Richard and Jones, Absalom, “A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Colored People During the Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793; and a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown Upon Them in Some Publications,” in Miller, Ruth, ed., Blackamerican Literature: 1760 – Present  (New York: Macmillan Publishing co., 1971) p. 65. [3]  Miller, Russell E., The Larger Hope: The First Century of the Universalist Church in America, 1770-1870 (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1979) p. 77. [4]  Ibid., p. 39. [5]  Rush, Benjamin, “An address to the inhabitants of the British settlements, on the slavery of the Negroes in America. To which is added, A vindication of the address, in answer to a pamphlet entitled, "Slavery not forbidden in Scripture; or, A defence of the West India planters." / By a Pennsylvanian. ; [Fifteen lines of verse, signed Proteus] (Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1773) pp. see: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?cc=evans;idno=N10229.0001.001;node=N10229.0001.001:2;rgn=div1;view=text . [6]  In proudly claiming Rush as a spiritual ancestor, I don’t want to suggest that he was free from the racist assumptions of his day despite his belief in the equality of all people. For example, like many white residents of Philadelphia, Rush assumed that people of African descent had greater immunity to the yellow fever virus. This assumption was false. I guess I should also point out that Rush’s approach to treating the virus included bleeding. This treatment had no impact on the virus whatsoever. [7]  Groth, Bobbie, the Incredible Story of Ephraim Nute: Scandal, Bloodshed and Unitarianism on the American Frontier (Boston: Skinner House, 2011). Currently available at: https://www.abebooks.com/9781558966093/Incredible-Story-Ephraim-Nute-Scandal-1558966099/plp . [8]  Groth, Bobbie, “Nute, Ephraim” Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography , 2009. See: https://www.uudb.org/nute-ephraim/ . Also check out “Ephraim Nute, Free State Minister,” in the Unitarian Universalist World , March 17, 2015 at https://www.uuworld.org/articles/ephraim-nute-free-state-minister . [9]  This is yet another instance where proudly claiming someone as a spiritual ancestor shouldn’t prevent us from naming the ways they participated in racism even as they advocated against slavery. While it is beyond the scope of this sermon, I feel it is important to note that the abolitionist New Englanders who travelled to Kansas in the 1850s often framed their activities in the language of settler colonialism, claiming a right to the land that was God-given—a species of Manifest Destiny that ignored the indigenous people of the region. [10]  Groth, “Nute,” Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. [11]  Nute, Ephraim, “Ephraim Nute to unidentified, February 14, 1859” posted at “Slave Stampedes on the Southern Borderlands. See: https://stampedes.dickinson.edu/document/ephraim-nute-unidentified-february-14-1859 . [12]  Greer, Jane, “UU civil rights martyr posthumously honored: Viola Liuzzo inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame,” UU World , November 19, 2006. See: https://www.uuworld.org/articles/uu-civil-rights-martyr-posthumously-hono . [13]  This quote appears in the entry for Viola Gregg Liuzzo at the online Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. See: https://www.uudb.org/liuzzo-viola/ . [14]  A personal note: My father joined the voting rights march for its final leg into Montgomery. He was in the area at the time of Liuzzo’s murder. We once determined he would have been somewhere between downtown Montgomery and the airport at that time, and thus he was no more than 14 miles away from murder when it happened. [15]  Learn more about Liuzzo, including the aftermath of her murder, at the Jim Crow Museum website at https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/witnesses/violaliuzzo.htm#:~:text=He%20eventually%20flagged%20down%20a,The%20murder%20of .

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Mine Eyes Have Seen" by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting and Opening Words excerpt from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s eulogy for the Rev. James Reeb (March 15, 1965) Opening Hymn Mashup "Say, Brothers, Will You Meet Us" and "John Brown's Body" lyrics by various authors, adapted by Rev. Josh Pawelek traditional American hymn tune Say, brothers, will you meet us, Say, brothers, will you meet us, Say, brothers, will you meet us, On Canaan's happy shore? By the grace of God I'll meet you, By the grace of God I'll meet you, By the grace of God I'll meet you, On Canaan's happy shore. Say, sisters, will you meet us, Say, sisters, will you meet us, Say, sisters, will you meet us, On Canaan's happy shore? By the grace of God I'll meet you, By the grace of God I'll meet you, By the grace of God I'll meet you, On Canaan's happy shore. John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave His soul goes marching on. Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! His soul is marching on. John Brown died that the slave might be free John Brown died that the slave might be free John Brown died that the slave might be free But his soul is marching on! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! His soul is marching on. The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down On the grave of old John Brown. Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! His soul is marching on. Time for All Ages Song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe Music: traditional American hymn tune, mid-19th century Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Refrain: Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps; They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read the righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps; His day is marching on. [Refrain] He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of all before His judgement seat; O be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on. [Refrain] Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offering The recipients of our Community Outreach offering for the month of January are Moral Monday CT and Power Up CT. Both organizations have been leaders in Connecticut's Black Lives Matter movement and a variety of social justice campaigns and initiatives. Offering Music "Glory" by Mary Bopp Sermon "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Hymn #201 "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" Words: traditional Music: tradition, arranged by Mary Allen Walden (The tune is named for Sojourner Truth, the 19th century African American evangelist, abolitionist, reformer and women's rights activist.) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Since I laid my burden down. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Since I laid my burden down. Feel like shouting, "Hallelujah!" ... Life is sweeter, so much sweeter ... Feel like dancing, hallelujah!... Love is shining all around me, ... Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.