Early days of June in Houlton, Maine

This photograph was taken while waiting at the stop light at the Houlton Shopping Plaza (looking east) and these are the early days of June as fresh potato rows recently planted line the fields of the county.

Last week we celebrated a wonderful flower communion service in the sanctuary surrounded by flowers, friends and good energy. It felt great to be together and share beloved community. We even had enough extra food from the luncheon to serve at our board meeting the following evening.

We plan to continue in-person services for the summer in the sanctuary. The space lends itself to better covid-protocols plus it’s a good excuse to enjoy the sanctuary. We have several special speakers (lay-leaders) lined up to share services this summer and I’ll be contributing as well.

Since UUA General Assembly (GA) is June 22-26 in Portland, Oregon this week I’m sharing a story from when I was at GA in Portland years ago. The title of the talk is “Budget-Crunch.” This week’s 

online YouTube Service is our Flower Communion Service titled “Rocks, Weeds and Flowers…”

 Please join us for one of the services this weekend.

I will be out of town for the next ten days on vacation and will return on June 22nd. Fen Carmichael is leading the in-person service next Sunday. If you need to contact me while I’m gone my email dave@backwoodsblog.com

Have a good week-end everyone.

In Ministry,Dave

HERE IS THE SERVICE LINK FOR THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE

 https://youtu.be/rojIdPnULLo
HERE IS THE ZOOM LINK FOR SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR:
David Hutchinson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: UUHoulton zoom coffee hour and check-inTime: Jun 12, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/85394513760?pwd=VmgvZ2Z0c3lVcTJUMEdMd3p3bzZ3QT09
Meeting ID: 853 9451 3760 Passcode: 215771

Virtual Offering Plate
If you would like to send in your pledge or donation simply drop an envelope in the mail. The address is listed below.  You can also send your donation electronically with our new payment system on the church website.  Simply go to uuhoulton.org  and click “Donate” on the menu and it will explain how the system works. You can set up a regular monthly payment plan or donate in single transactions.  

Thank you for your generous support!  
UU Church of Houlton, 61 Military Street, Houlton, ME  04730

Content from UUA  website:

Let Us Worship Barefoot

by Gail Forsyth-Vail 

Let us worship with our eyes and ears and fingertips; let us love the world through heart and mind and body.
—Reverend Kenneth Patton

In May, my daughter was married in an outdoor ceremony in Vermont. She and her new husband walked barefoot over a grassy pathway marked with hyacinth petals to reach the waiting officiant. It was lovely and appropriate; their bare feet symbolized both the solemnity and the playful joy of the occasion.

There is something profoundly spiritual about touching the earth with bare feet. There’s a solidity there, and an unmediated connection with the Spirit of Life, with all that is.

In Hebrew scripture, when Moses approached the burning bush he heard the voice of G-d telling him to put off his shoes. The place where he was standing was holy ground. I AM was present there, the Ground of Being, and Moses, in awe, removed his shoes. When I tell that familiar story in multigenerational worship settings, I ask people of all ages to remove their shoes, to feel their feet against the floor, connecting through it to the earth below. In that act, I ask them to understand that when we are in worship, experiencing the call to be fully present, fully loved and fully loving, that place is holy ground.

Many of us spend a good deal of time barefoot in the summer, enjoying the playfulness and ease of moving across or through grass, sand, smooth rocks, and shallow water. Can you imagine moments of barefoot family worship? Wiggle your toes, the whole family together. Feel the air against your foot, the warmth of the sun, the dampness of the grass or sand or stones. Remember that the air that touches you, that moves around your wiggling toes, is the same air that has been cycling through the breath of animals, plants, and other creatures for millions of years. Feel the ground beneath your feet. Is it smooth or rough, warm or cold, damp or dry? Feel your connection with the whole earth and with all that is. Imagine that through the earth you are connected to all beings and to the Ground of Being, the Spirit of Life, G-d.

Walk, run, or simply remain in one place, the flesh of your feet against the solidity of the earth. Be fully present, fully loved, and fully loving. Enjoy the moment in silence, in awe, and then in playful joy.

Let us worship with our eyes and ears and fingertips – and with bare feet! Happy Summer!

About the Author

Gail Forsyth-Vail is a Credentialed Religious Educator, Master Level, who served congregations for twenty-two years before serving on the UUA Ministries and Faith Development staff from 2008-2019. She is the author of a number of faith development curricula and resources….

The Change by Matthew P. Taylor

I can feel the change coming
Like growing pains
I feel the change in my bones
Pulling me
Stretching me
Forming me
Into the true I am 
Can you feel it?

The change in our bodies
As we adapt
Grow
Change
The weight shifting and molding to fit
This evolving body that we are in
Guided by faith that this too will pass
We can survive this because our ancestors survived
Can you feel them in your DNA?
You, a mixture of their particles that was molded to
fit your spirit
Change and shift
Mold and grow
Yet in some ways
we stay the same

Our church organ recently received a motor transplant.  Here is our buildings and grounds chief (Christoph Leibrecht) unpacking the crate, some directions included…Dale Holden is the head of our newly formed “organ committee” and we are taking initial steps to get the Unitarian organ back up to speed. We’ll keep you posted on our progress as we go along.

Prayer List

For those recovering from COVID-19 in the state of Maine

Local emergency personnel and hospital staff

For our state and national leaders as they respond to the current coronavirus crisis

For those working for social justice and societal change 

Pray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nation

Pray for peace

The war in Ukraine is in its third month 

Prayers for friends and family of Harrison Roper who passed recently

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting in Buffalo, New York

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting in Southern California 

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting in Uvalde , Texas

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting in Racine, Wisconsin 

Prayers for those grieving the recent mass shooting(s) in Chattanooga, Tenn

Prayers for those grieving Friday’s mass shooting in Smithsburg, Maryland

The Four Limitless Ones Prayer

May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.

May we not be separated from the great happiness devoid of suffering.

May we dwell in the great equanimity free from anger, aggression and exclusion.