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“Lupine Field”    (photo by Dave)The first weeks of June bring lupine to the fields of Northern Maine. Their purple and pink spikes poke out of the tall grass and reach to the skies. They are a prolific (invasive perhaps) plant species that accompany me this time of year as I walk down the farm road and I welcome their company.  A few lupine typically make an appearance in our Flower Communion basket at Flower Communion, and this year was no exception. If you take a close look, you will notice lupine in several of today’s Support Page photos. This Sunday we have an open pulpit service. We invite you to bring a reading, poem, a show and tell object or a personal observation to share with the group. There is no specific theme or topic for the service, but since it is Father’s Day, please keep that in mind. If you would like to bring in a photograph of your father or grandfather there will be a special table provided. YouTube Channel content for this week is our annual Flower Communion Service. 

This Unitarian tradition originated in 1923 in Prague, Czechoslovakia when Dr. Norbert Capek asked his parishioners to bring and receive flowers as a symbol of their shared life as a spiritual community. It is a beautiful service of many flowers, special music and we also welcomed five new members to UUHoulton with a special ceremony.

We hope you can join us for one of the services online or in-person.

In Ministry,

Dave

Houlton Rally & Walk

No Kings Day!

June 14     Saturday 1PM @ The Peace Pole 

This Saturday there will be a walk in Houlton to protest the big military parade in Washington, DC.  Our walk will start at the peace pole and go from there down Military Street to Court Street, across to Market Square and around the square.  We’ll stop somewhere along the way to stand for a bit, then walk on back to the peace pole.  People who don’t want to walk can keep a steady presence at the peace pole as we usually do.  We have a permit for all of this and police protection. 

Our action is in solidarity with people protesting the parade right there in Washington and around the country. Here are some sign ideas from the NO KINGS.org website.  You’ll find other good ideas and graphics there.  If you click on the map, you’ll see our event listed.

• NO KINGS IN AMERICA!
• Stop the Shakedown!
• We are Not For Sale!

HOULTON COFFEEHOUSE
June 14,  Saturday Evening             7-9 PM

The Cup Cafe,   61 Military Street 
Open-Mic Night

It’s open-mic night this Saturday night at the Houlton Coffeehouse. If you are an aspiring musician, poet, stand-up comedian or writer you won’t find a better stage (or more supportive audience) to try out your material. On the menu at the cafe we have homemade chili and creamy herb tomato soup. Frank is our barista on Saturday night and he can take care of your coffee drink and espresso needs. 

Come early for supper and hang out before the show. Cafe doors open at 5:30PM.

See you at the Cup!

Feel the buzz…MenuHomemade Chili (beef)Creamy Herb Tomato SoupSalted Caramel Latte
In Celebration of Music, Poetry and the Arts…

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 zoom coffee hour & check-inTime: Jun 15, 2025 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)       Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/86124829981?pwd=Qjcj4CwqxrDO7ecH6qVkeYoBFBLfl9.1
Meeting ID: 861 2482 9981Passcode: 760323

Calendar of Events @UUHoulton

June 14   No LGBTQ+ Luncheon in Houlton this month 

June 14   “No Kings” Rally by the Peace Pole in Monument Park   1PM

June 14   “Restore” meeting after the rally in The Cup Cafe    2PM

June 14   Houlton Coffeehouse  7PM

June 15   Sunday Service:  Open Pulpit Service

June 22 Sunday Service:  Kathryn Harnish

June 24   Meditation Group   4PM (online) 

June 29   Sunday Service: David Hutchinson

July 3 Midnight Madness     4-8PM 

On the Church Front Lawn Chicken Curry, drink specials and more!

July 6 Sunday Service:  TBA

July 11-13 Houlton County Agricultural Fair at the Millar Center and Fairgrounds

July 13 Sunday Service:  David Hutchinson

July 14 UUHoulton Board Meeting   4PM in the parlor

July 19 LGBTQ+ Luncheon   12 Noon

July 19 Houlton Coffeehouse   7PM

July 20 Sunday Service:  David Hutchinson

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 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

Poetry Corner

Praise the Rain

BY JOY HARJOPraise the rain; the seagull dive
The curl of plant, the raven talk—
Praise the hurt, the house slack
The stand of trees, the dignity—
Praise the dark, the moon cradle
The sky fall, the bear sleep—
Praise the mist, the warrior name
The earth eclipse, the fired leap—
Praise the backwards, upward sky
The baby cry, the spirit food—
Praise canoe, the fish rush
The hole for frog, the upside-down—
Praise the day, the cloud cup
The mind flat, forget it all—

Praise crazy. Praise sad.
Praise the path on which we’re led.
Praise the roads on earth and water.
Praise the eater and the eaten.
Praise beginnings; praise the end.
Praise the song and praise the singer.

Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.

Solidarity Now

We may disagree on many things, but we stand together on the fundamentals.

ROBERT REICHJUN 12, 2025

We are relearning the meaning of “solidarity.”

This week, across America, people have been coming together. 

We may disagree on immigration policy, but we don’t want a president deploying federal troops in our cities when governors and mayors say they’re not needed. 

We may disagree on how laws should be enforced, but we don’t want federal agents to arbitrarily abduct people off our streets or at places of business or in courthouses and detain them without any process to determine if such detention is justified. Or target hardworking members of our community. Or arrest judges. Or ship people off to brutal prisons in foreign lands. We may disagree on freedom of speech, but we don’t think people should be penalized for peacefully expressing their views. We may disagree on the federal budget, but we don’t believe a president should spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on a giant military parade designed in part to celebrate himself. As we resist Trump’s tyranny, America gains in solidarity. As we gain solidarity, we feel more courageous. As we feel courageous and stand up to Trump, we weaken him and his regime. As we weaken Trump and his regime, we have less to fear.

In downtown Kansas City, Missouri, this week, protesters holding signs reading “solidarity” marched from the underpass toward the north lawn of Kansas City’s World War I Museum and Memorial. The demonstration was peaceful. “I felt it was my right and my duty to come here as what I had to go through to come here and yell,” one of them told KSHB. 

In Denver, a peaceful crowd gathered outside the Colorado state capitol to speak out against Trump’s immigration policies and march in solidarity with Los Angeles protesters. They carried flags and signs with slogans like “Abolish ICE,” “No human is illegal,” and “Keep the immigrants. Deport the fascists!”

In downtown Tucson, hundreds gathered at the Garces Footbridge, over Congress and Broadway, to show their solidarity. Later, reminders of the protest remained written in chalk on sidewalks: “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “Love over Hate,” and “Free Our Families.”

In Boston, many gathered outside of the Massachusetts State House to express solidarity, saying it’s time to speak up against what they call Trump’s “reign of terror over the immigrant community.” Protesters cited the cases of two local students whom they said ICE abducted and detained for no reason, Rümeysa Öztürk and Marcelo Gomes de Silva.

In Sioux City, Iowa, protesters marched along Singing Hills Boulevard, outside the ICE office, to peacefully protest. One of them, Zayden Reffitt, said, “We’re showing people that we’re not going to be silent and we’re not just going to let all this go through without us saying something about it.”

In Chicago, thousands marched through the Loop, shutting down CTA bus service and creating a standstill on DuSable Lake Shore Drive near Grant Park. When police tried to detain a man in a bicycle helmet, protesters could be heard yelling “no violence” and “let him go.” As Ivanna Vidal explained, “I’m a first-generation citizen, my parents were born in Mexico. It’s something I’m super-passionate about. My family is safe, but there are many who aren’t. This is impacting our community, and we need to stand up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.”

In Des Moines, protesters at Cowles Commons rallied against Trump and in solidarity with others. “We’re here to stand up for members of our community. For immigrants. For migrants. For refugees. For people with disabilities. For people on Medicaid. For seniors. For all the working class, because we are all under attack right now,” said Jake Grobe. “And Trump is trying to scapegoat immigrants and make them the enemy, calling them criminals.”

In Austin, Texas, some five hundred people gathered in front of the Texas Capitol and began marching down Congress Avenue and advancing down 7th and 8th Streets before stopping in front of the J.J. Pickle Federal Building. Demonstrators held flags and signs while chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets.” Local and state law enforcement deployed pepper spray and flash bang grenades against the protesters, arresting more than a dozen people, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

In San Antonio, hundreds gathered outside City Hall, chanting, “People united will never be divided!” and holding signs that read, “No human is illegal” and “I’m speaking for those who can’t.”

In Sacramento, they gathered in Cesar Chavez Plaza before marching to the ICE federal building on Capitol Mall. “The country is going in the wrong direction,” one named Chris (who would go only by her first name) said. “We need people to get out there. It’s all about the numbers, getting people on the streets peacefully.”

It was much the same in Raleigh, N.C., in St. Louis, and in hundreds of other cities. 

***

All across America, people who have never before participated in a demonstration are feeling compelled to show their solidarity — with immigrants who are being targeted by Trump, with people who are determined to preserve due process and the rule of law, with Americans who don’t want to live in a dictatorship. Peaceful protests don’t get covered by the national media. Most of the people who come together in places like Des Moines and Kansas City to express their outrage at what Trump is doing aren’t heard or seen by the rest of us. Yet such solidarity is to be celebrated. It is the foundation of the common good. And although the number of people expressing it is still relatively small, it is growing across the land. 

This is the silver lining on the dark Trumpian cloud.

Robert Reich is an American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was the United States Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.

The Flower Communion basket at last Sunday’s service.  (photo by Regan)

The Flower Communion Altar 

Photos from the cookout at Randi and Ira’sThere was so much food!!

Prayer List

For those working for social justice and societal change

Pray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nation

The war in Ukraine continues

Prayers for the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Prayers for those affected by recent governmental (and policy) changes in DC

Concern over the increasing tension between India and Pakistan

Prayers for those affected by the recent tornadoes and storms in the American Midwest and South

Prayers for those affected by the Canadian wildfires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Prayers for our friend Joe Hogan who is at Eastern Maine Medical Center

Prayers for those affected by the tragic airliner crash in India this week

Prayers for Peace in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates

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 delusion.