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Minister Musings -
Greetings and Salutations! |
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Hello, UUCV!
I'm your new Interim Minister, the Rev. Craig David Schwalenberg. As I write this, I'm on my way back to my home in Oneonta, NY after a 10 day visit with my father-in-law in WI. Due to the pandemic, we hadn't seen him in person since 2019. I suspect many of you can relate and probably have or had your own travel
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plans and joyful reunions this summer. Later this week, I'll be moving into my new apartment in Mechanicsburg, PA. My first day as your Interim Minister is Sunday, August 1st. And, well, since it's a Sunday, and I follow a practice of year-round ministry, I'll be leading worship with you all on Sunday morning. (Nothing like jumping right in, eh?)
Tomorrow night, when I arrive home, I'll be meeting by Zoom with the Interim Team: Bev Motich, Dan Cozort, Mary Lynn Lynch, and Ben Ramirez. They have all agreed to serve on the Interim Team (a.k.a. the Transition Team) and help me better address and communicate the interim ministry goals for our next two years together. The first steps are easy ones-- get me acclimated and connected to the UUCV culture and community. So, be on the lookout for ways we can get together in the coming months and don't be surprised if I or a member of the Interim team contact you with an invitation to meet with me. I've got a lot of learning to do and I'm really excited to get to know every one of you.
My wife, Cheryl DeDecker, and I have been together for almost 26 years. Together, we made the decision to take this next step in my ministry even though we knew it would necessitate us living apart for a while. I'll be staying down here in PA most weeks Saturday night through Wednesday night. I'll be traveling back to Oneonta most weeks spending Thursday through Saturday morning at home with Cheryl. Considering the demands of ministry and life, this schedule will likely have to change some weeks, so we will all have to be a bit flexible and understanding. I thank you in advance for that. I will not be alone while in PA. My dog, Spirit, will be traveling with me and practicing her own form of pooch pastoral care. Spirit is a trained, certified therapy dog and visits hospitals, nursing homes, and schools with me. She loves meeting new people, loves attending worship services, and loves taking care of me-- so don't be surprised if you see her around the church. (If you are uncomfortable around dogs, do let me know. Spirit can be leashed or left in a room by herself if that is required.)
I believe this is going to be a great two years for all of us--- filled with learning, growing, experimenting, healing, connecting, building, and becoming. I look forward to this shared ministry with you.
Cooperatively,
Rev. Craig
P.S. I'm also looking forward to getting to know the area and getting outside. After the last year we've had, I really need to get out and get active again. I'll be looking for folks to join me for some of my hobbies: walking, geocaching, disc golf, and gaming. Lunch and dinner at your favorite place is also a great way to get together.
P.S.S. My phone number is 607/287-7906. After August 1st, feel free to call me as needed. My email address will be minister@uucv.net
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August Worship
August 1 - "Hello" Life is all "hello's" and "goodbye's" and mastering the art of both. Today, we get to practice the "hello" part -- and whatever comes after that. Join us as we welcome Rev. Craig Schwalenberg to our UU Family as our preacher with worship associate Dot Everhart.
August 8 - "In the Interim" There are liminal spaces and liminal times and even liminal positions and people. There is a special magic in the In-Between. We are in the interim together, sharing this special ministry. What does that mean? Rev. Craig Schwalenberg preaches with worship associate Michele Burton.
August 15 - "Resilience" What does it mean to be resilient? How do we create communities and people of resilience? Fortunately, it isn't hard and we are ideally suited for it. Fortunately, it isn't hard and we are ideally suited for it. Rev. Craig Schwalenberg preaches with worship associate Chris Bilger.
August 22 - "Grace & Humor" Life has been WEIRD for the last couple of years. Sometimes, it feels like if we don't laugh, we'll lose it. Our congregation has chosen to embrace this season with Grace and Humor. What have we learned from our years of grace and humor? Chris Kapp preaches with worship associate Bev Motich.
August 29 - "Repair, Restore & Reimagine" Our Unitarian Universalists Service Committee has chosen these words as their current motto. Considering the past year and looking to the year ahead, they seem like a good mantry for UUCV too. Rev. Craig Schwalenberg preaches with worship associate Riley Johnson.
NOTE: NEW ZOOM channel and Meeting ID Join us for worship on ZOOM. or “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID 550 751 6685
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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!
The selection for August 22nd is "Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth" by Sarah Smarsh. The daughter of wheat farmers and teen moms, Smarsh's frank recollection of a chaotic upbringing sheds light on the experiences of those who have little in a land proud of its excesses.
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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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Alter Flowers Volunteer Needed
We are in need of a Volunteer to coordinate Alter flowers for Sundays when we get back in church.
It's not hard...just create a sign-up sheet and put announcements out from time to time to get volunteers to sign up.
Interested? Contact Pam pam@uucv.net
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T-Shirt Fundraiser - Open to ALL |
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Shirts are 100% cotton, manufactured in the US and printed locally. Please click here for further details and size chart. If you cannot come to UUCV on August 7 there will be other opportunities to purchase shirts, but if we run out of your size we may need time to re-order.
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UUCV Auction News
Some exciting things are in our church’s future! We will be reopening soon and our building has many upgrades. We will be hosting a live auction once again! But it’s a secret when it’s happening. Stay tuned to this channel as this breaking news develops!
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August Social Justice Opportunities
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Change For The World - July throughSeptember
RECYCLE BICYCLE HARRISBURG (RBH)
RBH repairs older donated bicycles, making them safe to ride, and gives them away to lower income kids and adults. The kids get healthful recreation; oftentimes the bikes enable the adults to commute to their jobs. It is a 501(c)3 with no paid staff. Volunteers teach bike repair; in fact, learning safety and basic maintenance is frequently a prerequisite to receiving a free bike. Volunteers also keep all functioning and organized, do the grant writing, provide pro bono legal services, track data, and maintain the space. Our money will help Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg buy tools and replacement parts. In 2019 a new trailer was purchased -- to be their bike shop on wheels which RBH takes to community events to reach people where they (and their bikes) are. Even with Covid in 2020 their volunteers put in over 3,500 hours repairing over 1,300 bikes; in 2019 it was over 7,000 volunteer hours. Be inspired at https://rbhburg.org
Recycle Bicycle promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person -- including economically disadvantaged children and adults; justice, equity and compassion in human relations -- kids should be able to have a bike of their own; adults without cars should be able to get to and from their workplace; and respect for the interdependent web of all existence -- plus it promotes healthy exercise and socialization -- in the out-of-doors.
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CARES MEAL
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22
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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Carnitas are Mexican spiced pulled pork, eaten with small taco-sized tortillas and
several condiments. The Carnitas meat is easily prepared in a crockpot and recipes for the meat are easy to find. A Boston butt or pork shoulder works great.
If we have two crocks/ casseroles of meat, that should easily feed 30+ people.
CARNITAS PORK - 1 casserole needed
CONDIMENTS - 2 of each needed: taco sauce, sour cream, salsa, pickled jalapeños jar, sliced limes(4)
MEXICAN RICE- Similar to Spanish Rice- 2 casseroles needed
REFRIED BEANS - 2 casseroles needed
RAW VEGGIES - 35 sandwich sized bags of veggies, such as celery, carrots,
Cucumber slices, pepper slices.
DESSERT- Brownies, 3 or 4 dozen needed.
FRESH FRUIT- Apples, Pears, Bananas
DRINKS - 2 gal of Milk, 2 gal of Limeade, 2 gal of Iced Tea
Thank-you so much for your donations!!
Drop your items off at the UUCV Parking Lot between 3:00 - 3:30 on Sunday, August 22. 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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Welcome Picnic
for Rev. Craig Schwalenberg
Reserve August 29 on your calendar for an outdoor picnic at the South Middleton Park, pavilion #2 at 3:00 PM.
Come and say hello to our Interim Minister, and visit with others in a safe, outdoor location.
Details will follow, but reserve the date now! |
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UUCV OPEN for Committee and Small Group Meetings |
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We are happy to announce that the UUCV building is now open for you to meet in person.
Please contact Pam pam@uucv.net to reserve a room if you plan to meet at the church. And just to make you aware, the only working bathroom right now is upstairs in the corner behind the Ministers office. |
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For any meeting held at the church, you must plan to make Zoom an accessible option for anyone who isn't comfortable meeting in person yet, and as an option if someone is sick and needs to participate remotely. You can bring your own tablet or laptop to use Zoom, or we are working on getting a tablet available for you to use.
And...we do have 3 Adult Adirondack chairs and picnic tables at the side of the church where the Propane Tanks are located. Feel free to bring a chair and meet outside as well....again, please reserve the space through Pam.
We're excited to have people back in the church and are working toward a September full opening.
If anyone has an ipad they would like to donate to UUCV please contact Pam. We want to make sure meetings held at the church can still be accessible by ZOOM for anyone not comfortable or able to attend in person.
Opening Procedure Committee - Emily Crutcher, Gail Black, Courtney Wiley, Jim Burton, Joe Osborne, Chris Kapp, Pam Martin |
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UUCV Yard Sale - Now Collecting Items
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.
- Drop Offs - Please contact Pam pam@uucv.net to set up a time between August 2 and August 12
- We are asking this year for you to put your items on the tables (will be labeled) when you drop off your items....No Need to price anything.
- Volunteers are needed to help on the 14th
- Set-up 7:00 AM
- 8 am - 10 am
- Noon - 2:00 pm
- 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm with tear-down begining at 3:00 PM
- If you know of charities that could use what we have left after the sale, please let Pam pam@uucv.net know and provide a volunteer to take the items to the charity.
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HELP US ADVERTISE....
print the flyer and post near your home |
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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 https://zoom.us/my/uucvpa , OR
- “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID550 751 6685
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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