Old postcard of the Houlton Unitarian Church
Our Ingathering Service (the UU version of Homecoming) is this Sunday, September 18th in the sanctuary.
As you may have heard, during the course of the summer work has commenced on the historic Unitarian pipe organ. A new electric motor has been installed and the Faucher Organ Company has done restoration and repair work. Rev. Dale Holden will be playing the organ this Sunday showing off the new improvements.
There will be special music, congregational singing and a water ceremony. Please bring a small bottle of water you have collected from special places nearby or far away during your summer adventures. We individually pour waters into our collective basin and reflect upon our life as a spiritual community. The four elements will be represented on the altar as we explore our relatedness to each other and the world around us.
Following the service there will be a lawn party by the meditation garden and green space. Please bring something to share for an outdoor potluck and a comfy lawn chair.
If we get rained out, the lawn party will move indoors to the parlor. (Please note there will be no grill on site.)
Hope to see you there!
This week’s online YouTube Service is the 9/11 Remembrance Service and Recognition of Local First Responders held last Sunday in Monument Park. Four of our local churches sponsored the event (UUHoulton being one of them) and we had a great turnout with over 130 in attendance. You’ll see a few photos from the day’s events later in the support page. Even the weather cooperated, so it was grand day for all.
Please join us for one of the services this weekend.
Have a good week-end everyone.
In Ministry,
Dave
THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE:
HERE IS THE SERVICE LINK FOR THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE
(Please note it won’t be active until 10AM on Sunday morning) The link will go out later in the day.
HERE IS THE ZOOM LINK FOR SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR:
David Hutchinson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: UUHoulton coffee hour & check-inTime: Sep 18, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87231654223?pwd=WFplc29aenZtRHJrVWV2aCsweElIdz09
Meeting ID: 872 3165 4223 Passcode: 226921
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
Ingathering Message from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Hello Unitarian Universalists! I am the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray and I continue to be honored to be President of YOUR Unitarian Universalist Association. It is good to be with you for another season of Ingathering! This time marks the end of summer, when we come together to renew our commitments to each other and to our Unitarian Universalist communities, and begin another year of vital ministry. In the summer months, I hope you and your loved ones found time to rejuvenate your body and spirits, to rest, to pursue hobbies that bring you joy, or to simply take a break. I know the world is all too much and it matters that we make time for rest. Rest is necessary for the quality of our lives, ministry and spirits. We are all living in what I have come to call a liminal time, a time in between. The pandemic has upended so much. After two years of virtual and hybrid gatherings in our congregations, the ways in which people connect to religious community have broadened and new patterns are developing. On so many levels, what comes next is still being imagined. As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to care for each other and create resilient, theologically imaginative spiritual community that sustains and inspires us as we navigate what is to come and what is needed. Your Unitarian Universalist Association is the embodiment of the covenant that all our congregations make to each other. The UUA is here because of the commitment our congregations make to support a broader Association to amplify and strengthen our shared values, to support one another in times of need, and to be more than any of us are alone. At the UUA we are committed to being steadfast partners with you in this liminal time and in all that is ahead. As you gather in this sacred hour and light a chalice, may we each remember the hundreds of thousands of UUs gathered all across our Association celebrating and calling themselves back into the power and possibility of our faithful communities. For we are not alone - and we make each other strong. I send you all my love and blessings as we enter this new congregational year and celebrate Ingathering.
Earth
By Mark Belletini
This is our earth.
It falls through heaven like a pearl
in a glass of plum wine.
There are no other earths that I know of.
There are no other skies that we have mapped.
This is our earth.
The Oneness who gave birth to it
remains nameless.
There was no midwife then
to bring us word of the birth-cry.
We only rejoice that it is.
This is our earth.
Ice caps its head. Glaciers clasp its feet.
Warm wind, like the breath of a lover, breathes around its breast.
Mountains thrust up to the clouds, bringing joy.
Storms blow across its shores, bringing fear.
Silvery fish capture sunlight and bring it down
into the deep, as on shore, valleys spread
with ripening fruit. Cities teem with the
poor and disenfranchised in the shadow of
golden towers. Children live and also die.
Highways throb. Monks sit in silence. Mothers
work. Crickets chirp. Teachers plan. Engineers
design. Fathers write letters.
People marry
with and without the blessings of law.
People cry.
They laugh, and brood, and worry and wait.
This is our earth.
There are no other earths.
Before its wonder, philosophers fall silent.
Before its mystery,
poets admit their words are shadow, not light.
And all the great names religious teachers have left to us—
Ishtar, Shekinah, Terra Mater, Suchness, Wakan
Tanka, Gaia—
suddenly refuse to announce themselves.
And so we too fall silent,
entering the time where words end
and reality begins.
About the Author
The Rev. Mark Belletini is minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio. He served as chair of the Hymnbook Resources Commission, which produced the 1993 UUA hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition….
Here are some photos from last weekend’s 9/11 Service in Monument Park and the cookout. A BIG thank you to everyone who helped out and provided the wonderful desserts.
Prayer List
For those recovering from COVID-19 in the state of MaineLocal emergency personnel and hospital staffFor our state and national leaders as they respond to the current coronavirus crisisFor those working for social justice and societal change
Pray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nation
The war in Ukraine is now in its sixth month
The global heat wave is affecting millions of people world-wide. Prayers for people, crops and animals.
Prayers for the communities in eastern Kentucky that suffered severe flooding recently.
Devastating wildfires are still continuing in the American West and in Europe.
The longest and hottest heat wave of the year is currently in south eastern China
Prayers for those affected by the flooding in Pakistan
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.
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