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Dear beloveds,
So, this is my last newsletter article. This is the last time I will get increasingly aggravated notes from Pam reminding me that she needs it now, no really Aija, now. In eight years I have written almost 100 of these, of, let’s say varying relevance to the life of the church and the lives of all of you in it. I have tried to be interesting, or at least offer a word of hope and possibility. I’m going to assume that I sometimes succeeded. And now it comes down to the last one, and I’m not sure what to say.
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I feel like I should cram every thought I’ve ever had in here and I also know that you’ve been listening for the past eight years, and that you’ve probably already heard just about everything I have to say.
You know I want you to take care of each other and be gentle with yourselves. You know that you are stronger together and you need each other. You know that every single one of you matters to the life of this beloved community and that you are so, so welcome in this community. And if right now is a time when believing that is hard, go ahead and reread this paragraph to yourself a couple of times.
In the past few months, I’ve heard a lot of worry about what will happen when I am gone. And I get it. We’ve spent a lot of time getting to know each other and how we work together. We’ve celebrated and mourned and fought together and come out stronger for it. The idea of having to do all of that with someone new is daunting. But here is the thing: it is also exciting.
There are so many possibilities in new relationships and new ways of being. I believe that there are amazing changes waiting for UUCV that we can’t yet imagine but are on the horizon, waiting for you to meet them. I know some of you are sceptical. That’s ok. For eight years I have had the pleasure of believing things for y’all until you could believe them. Let’s call this the last one: y’all aren’t just going to be ok, you’re going to be great. I believe it in my bones. And I’ll carry that belief for you until you're ready to carry it yourselves.
I am so proud of having been your minister. Proud of everything we did together and proud of the amazing congregation you are. I know you will continue to make me proud. You’ve got this.
I have faith in all of you,
Aija
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June Worship
June 6 - "Opting In" What does it mean to choose a faith community? Rev. Aija Simpson preaches with worship associate Ben Ramirez.
June 13 - "RE Sunday" Despite everything, how has our community grown and thrived this year? Rev. Aija Siimpson, along with various families and members of the RE Committee lead this service.
June 20 - "Letting Go" Time to say good bye. What's next? Join us for this very special service as we say good-bye to our beloved Rev. Aija. There will be many new and old faces helping to lead this service and a few surprises as well.
June 27- General Assembly
Join us for worship on ZOOM. or “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID 942 810 6896
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Transitional Minister Search News |
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Transitional Minister Search Update
After several months of hard work and preparation, the transitional search task force is pleased to announce that Rev. Craig Schwalenberg has been hired as the UUCV interim minister. Rev Craig will be with us for a period of two years beginning in August.
Over the next several weeks we will be working to introduce Rev. Craig to the staff and congregation. Most recently he served as Interim Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Stamford, Connecticut, and he brings with him lots of good ideas, warmth, and desire to help us in this time of transition. He is really looking forward to meeting all of us, and we have no doubt you are both curious and excited to meet him! We appreciate your patience while we work to make this a smooth transition. We will provide lots more information and updates as the summer moves forward.
The members of the transitional search task force are your best points of contact for questions about the search.
- Gail Black
- Amy Farrell
- Cindy Good
- Kristen Wycha (chair)
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"The UUCV Book Discussion group meets via Zoom on the 4th Sunday of each month at 6:30 pm. Dates and titles can be found on our website: https://uucv.org/fellowship/book-group/ Please join us for a lively discussion, newcomers are always welcome!
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UUCV Grocery Cards for Sale
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We are still available for you to purchase grocery card sales for Weis, Karns and Giant...and remember you can use your Giant card for gas also.
Send an email to Pam with your order and the cards will be mailed to your home. You can pay by sending a check to UUCV, PO Box 207, Boiling Springs, PA 17007 or you can pay by credit card directly to Pam...indicate in your email if you want to pay by credit card and Pam will arrange the payment with you.
Thanks for continuing to support UUCV.
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Capital Campaign
Demolition and Beyond...
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There will be some big changes to see when we can get back into the church building again! Demolition of the downstairs bathrooms and the downstairs hallway lighting is almost complete. Also, work has begun on replacement soffits and gutters around the high sanctuary roof. All this means there is a construction dumpster in the parking lot, a large lift in the yard, and workers in the building. |
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As you know, we have already replaced the roof and done major work on the exterior masonry, both crucial to maintaining the structural integrity of our building. We have also replaced the windows, and it’s wonderful to be able to see outside, open the windows easily, and clean the windows easily!
The construction currently underway is focused on making the building more useful to the congregation. We are adding two new handicapped bathrooms upstairs and retrofitting one of the downstairs bathrooms into a handicapped-accessible/family bathroom. The old upstairs bathrooms will be repurposed into one refreshment preparation room and one janitor’s closet.
Reread that last line again… “refreshment preparation room”. For everyone who has lugged coffee canisters and food trays up from the downstairs kitchen – time to start dancing in the halls! We are moving forward with an economical way to retrofit existing plumbing and electrical into a small area for making coffee and storing refreshment supplies… just outside the social hall.
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June Social Justice Opportunities
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Change For The World - April through June
Safe Harbour
Safe Harbour has been providing secure housing for homeless and nearly homeless children and adults for more than three decades, having served thousands of people since opening its doors in a historic former hotel in downtown Carlisle in 1986.
Their mission is to provide housing, support services and basic life skills for individuals and families, while helping them achieve independent living. Safe Harbour provides a home base for otherwise homeless families. The programs within are designed to increase "the inherent self-worth and dignity" of each individual entering their doors. For more specifics on the organization, please visit www.safeharbour.org
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CARES dinner for 30
A huge "Thank You" to all who continue to contribute and allow us to provide these meals. Email Pam if you are able to donate. |
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The June 27th meal will be a BBQ Chicken Dinner.
Food Donations Needed:
Barbecued, Grilled, Baked or Fried Chicken Pieces
12 pieces- 4 donations needed
Salads – 5 or 6 needed – Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Bean Salad, Veggie Salad
Biscuits or Rolls & Butter – 4 dozen needed & 2 lb butter
Fresh Fruit- Sliced Melons – Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew – 5 dozen slices needed
Berry Desserts – Pies or Cakes – 5 or 6 needed
Drinks – 2 gal of milk, 2 gal of lemonade, 2 gal of iced tea
Drop your items off at the UUCV Parking Lot between 3:00 - 3:30 on Sunday, June 27. If you need someone to pick up your item, or if you have any questions, please email Carol Riesmeyer or call 724/822-6423.
If you mark your food containers with your name, Dee Lauderbaugh will pick up your containers and take them to her house for you to pick up at your convenience.
A huge thank you to all who make the effort to contribute food!
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Social Justice Committee
Invites You...
June 16th at 6:30 pm via Zoom, the Reproductive Justice Team of UUJusticePA will join the UUCV SJC to discuss their work.
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Welcome to our New AV Technician
We are happy to announce that we have hired a part-time Audio-Visual Technician, Jonathan Boldosser. You will begin seeing Jonathan Sundays on ZOOM as he takes over the ZOOM producing duties during worship and when we are back in the Sanctuary, you will find him at the soundboard.
A little about Jonathan...
Hello everyone My Name is Jonathan and I grew up in the Carlisle area and am currently residing in Dillsburg with my beautiful wife Alicia and my three awesome kids, Vay, Cole, and Maddox.
I'm obsessed with music and when i'm not doing live sound or video editing I'm usually looking for weird samples to make beats with.
Looking forward to meeting all of you! |
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Congregational Meeting
We will hold our Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 13 following worship. Join us on ZOOM. or “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID 942 810 6896 |
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We'll be voting on the proposed budget for next year. There will be an update on the Transitional Minister search (if all goes well we will be sharing info about the person who will be our Transitional Minister!) and we'll have an update on the Capital Campaign and the building construction project.
The 2020 - 2021 Annual Report and 2021 - 2022 Budget is available to view here
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Farewell Picnic for Rev. Aija
Reserve June 20 on your calendar for an outdoor picnic at the South Middleton Park, pavillion #2 at 3:00 PM.
A boxed meal will be served or you can bring your own meal. You will receive an official invitation in early June asking for your menu selection. If you don't receive it, please contact Pam pam@uucv.net
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If you want to send a card to Rev. Aija, please send it to UUCV, PO Box 207,
% Rev. Aija, Boiling Springs, PA 17007 and they will be saved to give to her at the picnic.
And, if you want to donate toward her gift, send your donation to UUCV, PO Box 207, % Pam, Boiling Springs, PA 17007 Please mark your check with Aija Donation in the memo line.
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UUCV Yard Sale
We will hold our Yard Sale on Saturday, August 14 in conjunction with "Day at the Lake" which South Middleton Township is holding at the Boiling Springs Lake
- Start gathering items to donate...drop offs will be around August 2
- Volunteers will be needed to help on the 14th
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ZOOM Worship
Most of our activities will be held in our main Zoom channel, which is accessible in any of the following ways:
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- point your browser to uuma.zoom.us/j/9428106896 , OR
- “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID 942 810 6896
If you don’t already have Zoom installed on your computer, clicking any Zoom link will prompt you to begin the installation. There is no charge to you for the software or its use.
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UUCV Fundraising Opportunities
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https://smile.amazon.com/
Do you shop on Amazon? Go instead to https://smile.amazon.com/
AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support UUCV every time you shop, at no cost to you. Select Unitarian Universalist of Cumberland Valley as your charitable organization and everytime you make a purchase Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to UUCV. Same great producs, same prices as Amazon, but https://smile.amazon.com/ makes money for UUCV. |
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