Screenshot
Are you Worried about Our Democracy?
Wider UU World
Earth Day Wrap-up at 1U – EV’s, The Garden, and Goodfills
1U’s Electric Vehicle Show – Sun, April 28, 2024 and Helping our Planet
To wrap up Earth Month 2024, the Green Team hosted an electric vehicle (EV) show with eight owners/vehicles and Goodfills, a refillery store, during coffee hour after worship in 1U’s garden.
The 1U Hospitality Team provided refreshments and the Garden Team provided garden tours and fresh vegetables to take home.
To learn more about the owners and their EVs, read their comments below.
To learn more about Goodfills, go to https://goodfills.co/ See their portable store that came to 1U to share their vision and offer their products.
Electric Vehicles at 1U-Hearing from the Owners
1..Why did you decide to buy or lease an EV? For environmental reasons.
2. Why did you buy/lease this particular model? Good size and excellent reviews.
Debbie Reinhart, Owner of Hyundai Ionic 5
3.Did you buy or lease – which one did you choose and why? We bought because we never lease cars.4. What is your EV’s range? 330 miles
5. EV charging – where do you do it? How long does it take? Level 2 takes about 7 hours to go from 20 to 80 %, level 3 takes 18 minutes.6.What challenges have you faced? None so far, but we’ve only had it a month.
7. What are the benefits of your EV? Charge at home, no gas stations. Smooth ride. Nice car. Great for in town driving.8.Will your next car be an EV? I think so. So far, so good. What else? Thanks!
Continue readingCelebrating the Sacred Web with Food and Information – Sunday, April 14
The Green Mini-Fair after The Sacred Web service was bountiful. Tables sharing information: Go Solar, Gardener’s Corner, GO Energy Efficient, Zero Waste Lifestyle,Mystic Grove Corner and the Right Place, Right Plant table (with plants to take home). Furthering the message of green, no paper products and vegetarian foods. Thank you Green Team. And, remember Earth Day at Lake Eola on April 20.
“We’re All Squatters — An Earth Day Reflection” Worship Service
Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 10:30am
Worship Leaders: Rabbi David Kay / Judith Stein-Farrall / Aubrey Connelly-Candelario / Linnea Nelson
“We humans like to think of ourselves as stewards of the natural world, and those who count the Hebrew Bible as part of their faith tradition like to point to Genesis 1 as proof. But a closer — and perhaps more accurate — reading of the Creation narrative tells a surprisingly different story, and it gives us a very different perspective on our obligation to the earth and all it contains.”
The Green Team guided the service with Lisa- Marie S. contributing a poem honoring the beauty of the world, Jackie S offering a Action Promise for Our World and Debra R. and Mary D. at the helm . Rev. Margalie ended the Worship with a Call to Action to sign THE PLEDGE of Central Florida after service at the Mini-Fair online here and in Gore Hall on our Pledge.
The following is part of the Responsive Reading that gave us all hope as we spoke the words:
We will take up the needs of the generations to come: clean water to drink, sweet air to breathe.
Acknowledging the earth most basically as our home, we must set about the task of restoration.
In this our congregational home, we will find small and large ways to remember the environment in our worshiping, our learning, our celebrating, and our justice-making.
Aware of the urgency and complexity of our environmental crisis, we end by promising simply this:
As people of faith, we pledge ourselves to work toward a planet transformed by our care.
International Transgender Day of Visibility
Each year on March 31, the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) honors International Transgender Day of Visibility! The following is taken from the HRC website:
We celebrate the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary people everywhere by elevating voices and experiences from these communities.
There are over 1.6 million trans, non-binary and gender-expansive youth (age 13+) and adults across the United States. We are parents and family members. We are your coworkers, your neighbors and your friends. We are a diverse community, representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as all faith traditions.
UUA Southern Region March Newsletter
Catch the March 2024 of the UUA Southern Region March 2024 Newsletter
Highlights include:
- Southern Region Blog and UUA Communications – Sabbatical Announcement, by Natalie Briscoe; UUA Condemns Violence Against Gaza, Urges Immediate and Total Ceasefire
- Southern Region Events – Building Beloved Community: Beyond the Binary; Gathering for Religious Educators; Presidents’ Gathering; Mailing Address Update for the Southern Region
- News & Resources – “Amplifying the Charge” Article II Small Group Ministry Resource; Scholarship Opportunity for First Year Seminarians; UU the Vote 2024 Launch; Taproot: A National BIPOC Space; Tips & Tactics for Completing Your Pledge Drive; Mosaic Virtual Spring Gathering; New “Path to Membership” Training; Side with Love Events; Worship and Small Group Content Curation Opportunity Available; Spiritual Deepening through Worship and Small Groups; Chalice Lighters Update; Faithify Updates; General Assembly 2024 Updates; News from The Mountain; SOUUL Summit
- Calendar, Connections, and Quick Links – Upcoming Events; UU Camp, Conference, and Retreat Centers in SR; Quick Links; Southern Region Staff
“Journeying for Justice with UUSC” Worship Service
Sunday, February 11, 2024, at 10:30am
Worship Leaders: Rev. Mary Katherine Morn / Aubrey Connelly-Candelario / Judith Stein-Farrall / Linnea Nelson /
In the face of challenges and forces that undermine justice and equity, UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) has, for more than eight decades, been resisting cynicism and refusing complacency. Through a model that embraces radical trust, UUSC advances human rights in partnership with communities impacted by oppression. The stories of faithful imagination and always-emerging learning create the journey of justice that we share in our work together.
Rev. Morn and team inspired us to think and feel the need by listing goals and needs and asking us to be “Be Bold” regarding the goals for our world. Rev. Morn, president of the UUSC team, joined UUSC as President and Lead Executive Officer in 2018 after 30 years in faith-based leadership. Post COVID, she and her team are trying to “catch-up” in their work to assist UUSC’s partners around the world. Sign up for their emails and learn about their intiatives here.
Thirty Days of Love January 15,2024- Feb. 15
Imagining an Interdependent Future
Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2024! Our annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 15) through Valentine’s Day (February 14).
This year’s 30 Days of Love is a gift to our whole community: a love letter, a warm hug, a spiritual balm for all of the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners
and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round. Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we’ll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation.
- WEEK 1 (January 15-21) Safety :: Decriminalization
- WEEK 2 (January 22-28) Re-Imagining :: Climate Justice
- WEEK 3 (January 29 – February 4) Possibility :: Bodily Autonomy (LGBTQIA+, reproductive, gender, and disability justice)
- WEEK 4 (February 5-11) Resilience :: Democracy & Electoral Justice
- BONUS DAYS (February 12-14) Interdependence :: Liberatory Intersections
If you sign up via the SWL emails, each week, you can expect to receive several different kinds of offerings, each from a different voice within Unitarian Universalism. Each week’s resources will be published by 12pm ET every Monday. If you wish to learn more on your own and select offerings for each week, link here.
Orlando Landfill Field Trip scenic and overwhelming
As we looked out over the Landfill’s huge hills, now covered with grass, it really brought it home to us how much we need to recycle. Our planet should support as few as possible of these enormous trash dumps. It was helpful to me to have the information on recycling provided by our guide, as I am even more motivated to use products that can be recycled.
17 people attended and all seemed to enjoy themselves. Two facts that stuck with Shana were:
- A large area of their property is dedicated to conservation land which provides habitat for numerous wildlife species including bald eagles, wood storks, sandhill cranes, gators (see picture!), tortoises, and wild boars.
- The landfill will be filled to capacity in only 20 years.
All attending, including the children, left the Landfill understanding the huge need to reduce waste, recycle and reduce our forever wastes. Thank you Gaye and Shana for photos and comments.
New Pastoral Care for Emerging Adults!
The UUA has hired two wonderful contractors to provide pastoral Care to our Emerging Adults – nationally!
Please meet Martha Durkee Neuman and Rev Natalie Malter.
You can connect directly to these incredible Chaplains by emailing or calling our helpline at eapastoralcare@uua.org / 617- 948-6418.
You can learn all about these amazing care providers here.
If you are a 18-24 yr old UU, you can go to https://www.uua.org/emerging-adults/pastoralcare to get help or to simply find a listening ear.
Happy New Year!
1U Blog 