The third weekend of September in Maine is the annual date of the Common Ground Country Fair; a Celebration of Rural Living. For over 50 years MOFGA  (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) has hosted the event now located in Unity, Maine.

This year’s poster and artwork is by Rebekah Lowell titled “Monarchs and Milkweed.”

An often asked question to Mainers is “How many Common Ground Fair T-shirts do you have?” which usually translates as “How many times have you attended the fair?” If you would like to wear one of your fair T-shirts or bring one along to show at the Sunday service, please do.

Rev. Dale Holden leads this week’s Sunday Service titled “Rites, Rituals, Routines and Ruts.” Rosalind Morgan supplies special music. 

YouTube Channel content for this week is service titled “What Am I Harvesting?” led by MaryAlice Mowry. The topic is a followup to the Ingathering Service where we looked at our shared values as a UU religious community and MaryAlice will reflect on those values from her Sufi path by asking the question, “How do I till my precious ground?” Our UU Principles and Sources were included in the service bulletin and we have included them here as well.  

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. As Rev. Barbara Wells ten Hove explains, “The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.”

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. These are the six sources our congregations affirm and promote:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
• Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
• Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

You will find the link for YouTube listed below. Please join us for one of the services.

Have a good weekend!

In Ministry,Dave
Here is the official poster from this year’s Common Ground Country Fair. 

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:

Topic: UUHoulton coffee hour & check-in

Time: Sep 24, 2023 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/87513206672?pwd=eUh4VzZ4SUhkbU8vaXFXejFudTltdz09

Meeting ID: 875 1320 6672

Passcode: 732312

Calendar of Events @UUHoulton

Sept 24  Sunday Service:  Rev. Dale Holden

Sept 26    Meditation Group   4PM    (online)

Oct 1  Sunday Service: David Hutchinson

Oct 8  Sunday Service: Linda Rowe

Oct 10  Meditation Group  4PM   (online)

Oct 14  Houlton Coffeehouse    7PM

Oct 15  Sunday Service: Rev. Mary Blocher

Oct 21  LGBTQ+ Luncheon   12 noon

Oct 22  Sunday Service: David Hutchinson

Oct 24  Meditation Group  4PM    (online)

Oct 29  Sunday Service: Fred & Leigh Griffith 

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 Houlton61 Military Street

Last weekend on September 17th there was a major march and climate event in New York City “The March to End fossil Fuels.” I’ve included a couple of articles related to the event in this week’s support page. Next Sunday we begin our theme for the year on EarthCare in the Midst of Environmental Change. 

Why I March: The Importance of Climate Movement Unity

by student activist Sebastian Lemberger 

This push to end the reign of fossil fuels has allowed the climate movement to act as one giant machine in a burst of collective action.It had never struck me until recently how many environmental activist groups there are. Within the U.S. alone, there are around 28,000different environmental groups currently operating, from small grassroots organizations to giants of the climate movement like 350.org, Greenpeace, and Sunrise. Among these groups, there is also a huge array of sometimes conflicting opinions that reflect the sense of uncertainty that often goes hand in hand with the fight against climate change. As someone who would consider himself an environmentalist, the sheer amount of people, groups, and perspectives that circulate around the matter of climate change can make it feel like I am not part of a movement with a coherent goal, but rather a highly competitive sector of an “activism industry.” As climate change bears down upon us, the environmental movement needs to fight as one. People uniting as one to drive world leaders forward is essential to stopping climate change; it is also what makes the March to End Fossil Fuels special.
Anybody who follows a climate-related Instagram account probably knows that today, September 17, the March to End Fossil Fuels is taking place in the middle of New York City in order to persuade the Biden Administration and the U.N. to initiate phaseout plans for fossil fuels. This is for good reason; the event is the biggest climate protest that has occurred since the pandemic, with a turnout goal of over 50,000 people. When the decision-making power required to save the planet from climate change lies in the hands of very few people, the only way forward is with the strength of overwhelming numbers.The protest is an impressive display of unity within the climate movement when taken in a vacuum. It was organized as a joint effort by a variety of New York grassroots organizations as well as larger U.S.-based coalitions such as People vs. Fossil Fuels. The planning team for the march spans generations and regions, drawing in all manner of people. What is perhaps more impressive is that the actions taking place during the week of the march are not limited to New York alone. There will be over 400 different actions taking place around the same few days across the world. This push to end the reign of fossil fuels has allowed the climate movement to act as one giant machine in a burst of collective action.I became involved in environmental causes because I wanted to be a part of something greater than myself. Frightened by the future that might come to pass if climate change ran its course, I started joining climate lobbying groups when I started high school in the hopes that I would be helping bring a larger movement forward. In the time since then, I haven’t necessarily found this to be the case. In fact, I have noticed that there is a surprising amount of discord between climate advocacy groups, to the extent that people often refuse potentially advantageous collaboration on the basis of minor differences in opinion or specialization. I find that the refusal of many environmentalists to work with people who do not share their exact beliefs to run contrary to the need for collaboration that is so necessary to stop the climate crisis. As such, I am overjoyed to see people coming together on a scale like that of the march in order to fight the fossil fuel industry. The climate movement has been shaped by the sluggishness and weakness of world leaders in responding to its concerns. When the decision-making power required to save the planet from climate change lies in the hands of very few people, the only way forward is with the strength of overwhelming numbers. This is not something that the climate movement can achieve as a group of independent actors; to stop climate change, everyone must move together as they are doing now.The necessity of collective action in relation to climate change does not stop when the March to End Fossil Fuels and its companion actions end. In the aftermath of the event, there will inevitably be considerable momentum left over; people will be angrier than ever at how world leaders and global capitalism aid and abet the destruction of the planet. My hope for the activist community surrounding climate change is that this momentum is used to keep people together to push for newer, bolder action. Coalitions like the one that planned the March to End Fossil Fuels are powerful political tools that could potentially be used to even greater effect in relation to specific issues such as climate education, regenerative agriculture, or corporate accountability. Climate change has many facets, all of which need to be brought into the light for the crisis to be solved. The climate movement has proven on many occasions that it has the ability to unify around a cause, and, as the climate crisis gets worse and worse, it must continue to do so. The March to End Fossil Fuels is a call for people to unite against the biggest threat to our planet that we as a species have faced, and it is one that I suggest we all answer.Sebastian LembergerSebastian Lemberger is a high school climate activist working with Our Climate MA, Fossil Free Research, and 350 MA. He attends school in Andover Massachusetts, and is from Boulder, Colorado.

Catholic groups join sea of protesters in New York march against fossil fuels

National Catholic ReporterSeptember 19, 2023

In what is thought to have been the largest climate change rally since 2019, an estimated crowd of as many as 75,000 demonstrators from some 700 organizations and activist groups paraded through the streets of New York City Sept. 17 in the “March to End Fossil Fuels.”

Colorful banners, flags and placards — some professionally printed, some handmade, but all urging immediate change — accompanied the sea of protesters as they processed through midtown Manhattan.

Among them were numerous Catholic groups — including Catholic Climate Covenant; Laudato Si’ Movement; Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement; Altagracia; Pax Christi; Franciscan Action Network; Sisters of Charity; Sisters of Mercy; and Iona University students — contributing their voices to a growing chorus of global alarm that has been energized by the witness of Pope Francis’ outspoken climate declarations.

On Oct. 4 — the feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology — the pontiff publishes a follow-up to his landmark 2015 environmental encyclical, “Laudato Si’.”

Scheduled to closely coincide with the United Nations’ Sept. 20 “Climate Ambition Summit,” the March to End Fossil Fuels aimed to capture the attention not just of American politicians — and in particular, President Joe Biden — but also world leaders descending upon the U.N.’s New York headquarters for the summit.

The “Climate Ambition” gathering — convened by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres — is designed “to accelerate action by governments, business, finance, local authorities and civil society, and to hear from ‘first movers and doers,'” according to a U.N. statement.

“(Guterres) put that word ‘ambition’ in there because he has said — looking at what’s happening around the world and how we’re already experiencing climate change — that if countries are not coming with a plan to reduce their emissions, they shouldn’t come to the summit,” said Nancy Lorence, chapter coordinator for Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement. “So that was a pretty strong statement.”

Lorence explained, “The whole idea of the rally is to also raise up the voice of civil society and say to the leaders that are coming to the summit, ‘Yes — get going. We need you to act on this crisis — and we need you to consider it a crisis.”

Marchers also called upon Biden to halt fossil fuel expansion and extraction, including the Willow Project in the Arctic, leases in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia.

Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are considered key contributors to global warming.

The U.N. has stated that “the world needs immediate and deep reductions in emissions now, and over the course of the next three decades, to limit global warming to 1.5°C degrees above pre-industrial levels and prevent the worst impacts.”

The summer of 2023 repeatedly grabbed news headlines with a succession of climate disasters, including historic heatwaves in the U.S., Europe and Middle East; ravaging wildfires in Canada and Maui; and devastating flooding in China, Brazil and Libya.

Prior to the march — and following morning Mass at St. Paul the Apostle Church on West 59th Street — Catholic Climate Covenant’s Youth Mobilization program, led by Kayla Jacobs, held a press conference on the steps of St. Paul featuring six young Catholics who shared their concerns with a gathered crowd of supporters.

“I believe it is our collective responsibility — especially as young people — to engage in conversations and bring awareness about the environmental issues that affect not only our generation, but generations to come,” said Zoe George, a high school senior at New York’s Dominican Academy.

“While climate change is a complex issue, what is not complex is its impact on vulnerable communities. The poor are often the hardest hit by climate-related disasters, including the risk of extreme weather patterns, food scarcity and health issues,” George commented. “These communities often lack the resources and infrastructure to protect themselves. Therefore, climate change is not just an environmental challenge, but a humanitarian crisis.”

Daniel Bajada — a uniformed Scout and class of 2024 Regis High School student — echoed George’s concerns for the poor.

“While these recent wildfires kept us New Yorkers inside for a few days, climate tragedies in the Global South force people out of their homes, displacing millions and forcing the most vulnerable to suffer,” Bajada said. “As the youth, this world will soon be ours to live in — we must spearhead the movement to defend our planet.”

One march participant — Luke Henkel, 33, North American programs coordinator for Laudato Si’ Movement — biked almost 1,100 miles to New York City from his Chicago hometown.

The trip — which Henkel said he viewed as a pilgrimage — took 18 days.

“Looking at a map, I’m just like, ‘Wait — I did that, on a bike?,'” Henkel told OSV News. “It feels unreal.

Henkel set up an Instagram page for his journey — “Pedal for the Planet” — which was flooded with messages from well-wishers.

“I just wanted to do a zero-pollution bike trip,” said Henkel, who at one point found himself biking on an abandoned New York City street — only moments later to realize it had been emptied of traffic to accommodate Biden’s motorcade, which soon swept by.

“This is my way of saying, ‘This is how we can transform our culture.’ I would love for us to be able to get around without polluting,” Henkel added. “For me, I was just trying to impress on people that you should not go to this march expecting all these problems to go away tomorrow. … Just find what’s in your heart, and go do that. Don’t worry about the rest; don’t try to save the world. Just pay attention to what God is saying.”

“That’s what gives me hope,” said Lorence. “When I see young people that are coming out very concerned about this, and willing to do something about it; willing to invest some time and energy into calling for a new kind of reality.”

After the press conference, the assembled crowd joined the larger contingent of marchers on 53rd Street for interfaith prayer.

“We are subsidizing what is destroying us,” Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and now an active climate campaigner, told the pre-march press multitude, as she denounced the estimated $7 trillion the International Monetary Fund reports governments worldwide spent in the previous year to drill for oil and gas.

When the march concluded at First Avenue and 49th Street, a rally stirred the protesters to continued action. Speakers included U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who told the crowd “the way we create urgency is to have people around the world in the streets.”

Millions more also marched in other countries and cities, including Austin, Texas.

“This is a moral issue,” said Linda Sandish, a Laudato Si’ Movement Creation Care Team Leader at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Austin who helped organize “Rally for the Climate Emergency!” on the steps of the Texas Capitol.

Over a hundred activists turned out in punishing heat to hear speakers including U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.

Sandish cautioned against partisan interpretations of the climate crisis.

“It’s not a political issue, other than our politicians need to do something about it,” Sandish emphasized. “It’s wrong to be killing our earth.”

Stephen Kinney circulated during coffee hour and 

got some great shots of shiny happy people. 

MaryAlice is in several photos as we celebrated

the marvelous service she just led.

(Bow ties were also a popular theme.)

Thank you Stephen!

Prayer List
For those working for social justice and societal changePray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nationThe war in Ukraine continues

Prayers to ease the political unrest in the Middle EastPrayers for those affected by the heat dome in the American southPrayers for the Hawaiian island of Maui after the recent wildfiresPrayers for those affected by Hurricane Idalia along the eastern coastCovid cases are reported at Madigan EstatesPlease pray for Sylvia Williams, Vera Hutchinson and others who are residents at Madigan.Prayers for those affected by the recent earthquake in Morocco Prayers for those affected by the recent dam failure in Libya Prayers for a safe and bountiful fall harvest

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.