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From your Board of Trustees
In March, when we told you that we had decided to terminate Craig’s contract, we also said that the Board was completely confident that in the months ahead we could rely upon our staff and worship associates to continue all UUCV’s basic functions such as worship services, religious education programming and pastoral care. We were right about that! Everyone stepped up and went above and beyond our expectations!
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We were especially fortunate to have three seminary trained ministers – not all UUs but all wonderful – in our congregation who took over planning and conducting of worship without losing a beat. Kathy Ellis, Dot Everheart and Chris Kapp divided up the ministerial tasks and have been getting them done beautifully! They planned worship through the summer and now are going to do a little unplanning so that our new minister, who begins serving at UUCV on August 1st, can take the helm.
The tide has turned, the winds have shifted and we are back on course – oh, that was last year – this year we’ve been blazing new trails. So – we’ve discovered that we took the right turn and that the trail we’re on is better than we’d ever even hoped! The climb was rough at the start and there is still one section of the path that needs a bit more attention. Yes, the budget – we had to prune that section too harshly, but we have a plan to replant the area – we’ll tell you about it at the Annual Meeting.
The wonderful news is that the trail led us to Rev. Meg Mathieson. Actually, Rev. Meg found us! She had heard about our trek and emailed about the possibility of joining us to help lead the way. The search committee met with Rev. Meg and very quickly realized that we had found our leader. References were checked – and this included talking with members of her current congregation!
Rev. Meg has served as minister of SouthWest UU Church in North Royalton Ohio since 2019. She also works as a Worship Consultant for East Shore UU Church in Kirtland, OH. Meg is currently working toward a Doctor of Ministry, writing a dissertation titled, "Unitarian Mindfulness" about the place of Mindfulness Meditation in the future of the UU denomination. If you’ve been at UUCV for a while you may remember Meg. She served a short internship with us in 2017.
Meg, her wife Nicky and their dog Cricket, live in Parma Heights, OH now but will soon visit the Carlisle area to look for a house to buy here. They will be visiting the area in mid-June and while Nicky and Cricket hang out – maybe by Children’s Lake? - Meg will join us for our service and Annual Meeting on June 19th. The newly reactivated Hospitality Committee is planning a Big Deal Social Hour for after the meeting so plan to come for the service, meeting and social hour that day
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UU Principles is the theme for June Worship
3rd Principle - Accept one another and encourage spiritual growth
June 5 – “Wild and Precious Lives” We celebrate the diversity of our lives in flowers and in stories. Rev. Dr. Kathy Ellis preaches with worship associate Nikki Fry. Bring a flower to share...place in the vases in the front of the church when you arrive.
4th Principle - Search Freely and Responsibly for Truth and Meaning
June 12 – “Searching for Meaning” This service will celebrate the arts. UUCV poets, writers, musicians and artists will share their creativity with us inspiring us to join them as we search for truth and meaning. Dot Everhart leads the service with worship associate Bev Motich.
June 19 - “Here Comes the Sun” We'll celebrate the turning of the year as we recognize the Summer Solstice and remind ourselves of the 4th Principle, encouraging us to continue our lifelong "search for truth and meaning." Wheel of the Year Small Group will lead the service.
Please plan to stay following worship for our Congregational meeting....AND we will have a "Big Deal" Coffee Hour where we can meet and talk with our new Minister Meg Mathieson who will be starting with UUCV on August 1.
June 26 – “Bigger than You...Bigger than Me” General Assembly is happening this week. While we may not be able to be there in person, we can join in celebrating the great WE that is unitarian universalism. Rev. Chris Kapp leads the service with worship associate Ben Ramirez.
We are meeting in person again (masked in the Sanctuary) and have opened our Social Hall for coffee and visitation with masks optional.
Our Religious Education for children are also meeting in person back in their Religious Education classrooms. Children and their families should enter through the main door and will participate in the beginning of worship and then will move to their Religious Education Classrooms. Masks will be required over nose and mouth.
Join us for in-person worship in our Sanctuary or 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 June 26th is “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century” by Jessica Bruder. Now a critically acclaimed film, this peek behind the dark curtain of American capitalism shows us an entire community of people living in RV’s and vans, traveling the country in search of a better life. Bruder’s exploration also hints at the unsettling future that could be ahead for more people as the effects of the Great Recession continue to ripple.
Please email Pam at UUCV (pmartin@uucv.org) or the Book Discussion coordinator, Riley Johnson (riles1806@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
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Save the Date
Community Building with a “UU Revival”
Saturday, August 13th from 11 – 7ish
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WHO: Members and friends of the York, Harrisburg, Boiling Springs, Gettysburg and possibly Lancaster UU congregations
WHAT: Day long multi-congregational, multi-generational gathering
WHERE: Rocky Ridge Park in York County
WHY: Ministers from York, Gettysburg, Harrisburg and Boiling Springs have been in discussion regarding ways we can create more regional connections between our UU congregations AND to (hopefully) celebrate a light at the end of (or learning to live with) Covid.
MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!
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2021 - 2022 Annual Reports and 2022 - 2023
Budget Ready for Review
Please take a moment to look over the Annual Report and Proposed Budget before our Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 19. At the meeting, members will have the opportunity (and responsibility) to vote on the 2022-2023 budget and our Board of Trustees.
You can view the Annual Report online here
There are also hard copies you can pick up at church.
Please plan to attend. Childcare will be provided.
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We Found Paradise at UUCV!
On Saturday May 14, our social hall was transformed into a tropical paradise, complete with merpeople and palm trees. Our annual Auction, forced to be held online last year due to COVID, was back as a live event!
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There was dancing to a live band led by Brian McPherson, continued bidding on the auction sign-up events, lots of eats and desserts, and a night to relax and socialize. Many of us wore themed costumes, or at least donned a brightly colored shirt for the occasion. And we raised over $6100 to benefit UUCV! Added to our $2800 total for the online auction in November, our auction total for this year is $8900.
The Auction Committee wants to thank everyone who participated and is already planning future events.
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April Social Justice Opportunities |
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Programs under the umbrella of the Social justice Committee include the monthly CARES dinner, Change for the World (CFTW), the Mozambique Bursary project and the UUCV Antiracism Initiative. Other events we regularly participate in include Project Share’s Farm Stand, the annual Pride Festival in Harrisburg, National Public Lands Day, and United Way’s One Day of Caring, among other community social justice activities. We anchor our efforts around UUCV’s mission to transform lives and care for the world. Thank you to all who serve on the committee and for all the support we receive from the congregation.
All are welcome to our meetings. The next Social Justice Committee meeting is Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 6:30 pm on Zoom. https://zoom.us/my/uucvpa
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Change for the World
2nd Quarter April - June
Leadership, Education And Farming --
LEAF Project |
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For the second quarter of 2022, April - June, our Change for the World recipient is LEAF - Leadership, Education And Farming
LEAF cultivates South Central PA youth leaders from diverse backgrounds through meaningful work in the food system. Youth 14-17 may apply for first year summer paid work including working on a 3-4 acre farm outside of Landisburg where they learn how to raise crops and prepare food while building their own leadership skills. The farm includes sustainably managed vegetable gardens with 40 varieties of crops, a commercial teaching kitchen, produce handling and storage facilities, a greenhouse and propagation house, and a three season outdoor classroom space. LEAF has a growing season farm share program with some donated to families in need.
Entry-year youth in a 7-week summer program plant, grow, & harvest vegetables for area restaurants, for sale at Farmers On The Square (FOTS) in Carlisle, and for hunger relief donations. They also develop culinary skills and explore leadership and food systems topics. In 2021 92 % said they had grown in communicating with people from different backgrounds and 77% advanced to the school year program with higher levels of responsibility.
School Field Trips: In addition LEAF provides hands-on, experiential learning opportunities to students in grades 3 - 12 through on-farm visits and/or workshops in classrooms.
LEAF is the brain-child of Heidi Witmer who began it 2013. The project envisions a community in which our youth, as well as all members of our region, are connected to the food that nourishes them, the land on which it grows, and to each other.
LEAF furthers our mission and principles LEAF stresses the worth and dignity of every person. Participants include male and female teens, including persons of color, and some youth from families with modest incomes.
LEAF promotes justice, equity and compassion in working with the teenagers -- and some food shares go free to families without the wherewithal to pay for them.
LEAF’s agricultural practices respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Check out their website LEAF leafprojectpa.org And articles below are interesting: Inspire: LEAF grows leaders through work in agriculture | The Sentinel: News | cumberlink.com (may require Sentinel subscription to see) Learning From the Land | Haverford College
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The 8th Principle
“Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” www.8thprincipleuu.org
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The month of May has been quite busy at UUCV with the return of the
in person Auction, a big Yard Sale, and looking ahead to the return of Foundry Day with our Strawberry Shortcake Booth. During these busy weeks I have backed away from providing information about The 8th Principle in Announcements and PreViews as our energies needed to be focused on these important fundraising events for UUCV. It turns out that, due to a technical glitch, only the opening paragraphs of the newsletter article written for May were published. Believing this article contained important information for our consideration of The 8th Principle that article is being reprinted in the June newsletter with a few updates inserted.
During the months of April and May Small Group Ministry groups have been exploring the 8th Principle. The feedback coming in from these sessions is mixed. So far, everyone has voiced their support of antiracism being a value worthy of inclusion in our Principles. Many have expressed they are prepared to vote in favor of UUCV adopting the 8th Principle. Others have expressed concerns about the wording stating that it is too long and tries to cover too much territory. That is doesn’t fit well with the style of the 7 Principles which are shorter more concise statements. That the wording reads more like a call to action than a Principle. And yet all of our 7 Principles call us to the active challenge of trying to live them fully.
While as UU’s we hold antiracism as a value, throughout the course of the UUA there have been episodes where we have not lived into that value. One such episode in the late 1960’s known as the Black Empowerment Controversy led to many African Americans leaving UU congregations and
never returning. Another episode was the hiring crisis in 2017 after which the UUA formed the Commission on Institutional Change to assess structural racism and white supremacy culture within the UUA.
Currently our country is in a period of backlash toward the Racial Reckoning that swept the country following the murder of George Floyd. We are being confronted with ideology and legislation that would prevent the teaching of the full and accurate history of our country, and rights are being stripped from other consistently oppressed groups. This is all too clearly demonstrated in the leaked Supreme Court draft about Roe v. Wade, the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, and the results of the primary elections in PA and across the country.
According to the authors of the 8th Principle, these historical and current challenges demonstrate the need for a Principle that both states a value and calls us to accountable action. A statement that we are willing to commit to doing better by:
“Journeying Towards Spiritual Wholeness” – The work of anti-racism and anti-oppression is spiritual work This phrase expresses the spiritual nature of the work and a recognition that there is a brokenness caused by racism.
“Building Diverse Multicultural Beloved Community” – Based on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Beloved Community is when people of diverse racial, ethnic, educational, class, gender and sexual orientation backgrounds and identities come together. What emerges is an interdependent relationship of love, mutual respect and care that seeks to realize justice within the community and in the broader world.
“Actions that Accountably Dismantle Racism and Other Oppressions” – Without accountability our best intentions often do not result in meaningful action. It is important for us to be accountable to People of Color and other oppressed members of our faith because we believe in their inherent worth and dignity. Dismantling racism and other oppressions and decentering whiteness demonstrates our commitment to building a diverse multicultural Beloved Community.
With these concepts in mind the authors of the 8th Principle request that congregations accept the wording as it is written. The current wording has been approved by leading BIPOC UU organizations. If the wording is to be
changed it will happen as the 8th Principle works its way through the formal adoption process at the UUA.
What do you think? This time when UUCV is considering adopting the 8th Principle is a time for us to come together, listen deeply to each other, and explore how we do and want to express our values. The 8th Principle learning opportunities provided in April and May were very minimally attended. Those who did attend found the discussion and information provided to be helpful in the understanding of the history and intent of The 8th Principle. Please stay tuned for more learning opportunities and, in the meantime, you are encouraged to check out the websites listed below for more information. You can also find a handout about the 8th Principle on the table in the Social Hall.
Information in this article comes from www.8thprinciple.org , www.uua.org and from the Social Justice web page of University Unitarian Church www.uuchurch.org. Please contact Wendy Gebb @ wendywinter@comcast.net with any questions or comments. |
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Support Carlisle Hope Station
Carlisle Hope Station is celebrating Juneteenth at Memorial Park, on June 18, from 1 pm to 3 pm.
There will be Food trucks, vendors, music, and entertainment.
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UUCV Common Read for 2022
The Antiracism Initiative and the Social Justice Committee invite you to join us in the 2022 UUCV Common Read. The book is Justice on Earth - People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom (Skinner House Books, 2018). The book is available at www.uua.org, Amazon, and other online book sellers.
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Fourteen activist ministers and lay leaders apply a keen intersectional analysis to the environmental crisis, revealing ways that capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression intersect with and contribute to ecological devastation. They also explore how spiritual practices, congregational organizing, and progressive theology can inform faith-based justice work in the 21st century.
We are encouraging reading one chapter of the book each month and then attending a quarterly discussion. The next discussion group will cover
chapters 4, 5, and 6. Discussion groups on this section of the book will be held on Saturday, July 23 at 10 am on Zoom and Sunday, July 24 at 9:15 in the Board Room at church prior to the Sunday service.
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CARES MEAL -- SUNDAY, JUNE 19
The CARES Dinner we will provide is a
BBQ CHICKEN DINNER.
We will provide a meal that will serve 30 - 35 people.
Email Pam if you are able to donate any of the items needed.
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We need the following items donated that day.
BBQ CHICKEN PIECES - The chicken pieces can be grilled, baked, or fried.
A total of 4 DOZEN PIECES are needed.
A large bottle of Barbeque Sauce is needed also.
SALADS - 2 needed A variety of potato salad, pasta salad, or any type of fresh
Vegetable Salads
BISCUITS or ROLLS- At least 3 dozen are needed, plus 2 lb of butter
FRESH FRUIT - 3 Dozen slices of melon (any kind). 1 Dozen Bananas
DESSERTS - 5 Berry Pies
DRINKS - 1 gal milk, 3 gal Iced Tea,
Thank you so much for your help with providing this meal to those who really need & appreciate a wholesome, nutritious meal!!
You can drop your items off on Sunday, June 19 in the UUCV parking lot between 3:00 - 3:30 pm. or bring them into the church kitchen the week of the meal.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Join us on June 19 for a Special Sunday.
Following worship, we will hold our annual Congregational Meeting.
Then move to the Social Hall with us for a "Big Deal" Coffee Hour with heavy appetizers. You will also have an opportunity to meet and talk with our new minister, Rev. Meg Mathieson, who will begin at UUCV on August 1.
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UUCV OFFICE CLOSED
The UUCV office will be closed from Thursday, June 2 until Tuesday, June 14. Please make note that emails and phone calls will not be addressed during this time.
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PARKING UNAVAILABLE AT UUCV JUNE 1-11 -- PAVING WORK IN PROGRESS
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Our next CapCam project will get underway beginning June 1 with the prep and paving of our front entrance and parking lot.
There will be no parking permitted, or entrance to doors off the parking lot from June 1 - June 11. Please park in the school parking lot on Sunday and across the street during the week and Sundays as well.
Unfortunately we will not be able to provide accessibility for those with mobility issues during this timeframe.
All Parking and entryways should be open again for worship on Sunday, June 12. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding while we complete this next project.
If you have questions before June 1, contact Pam in our office pam@uucv.net or 717/249-8944.
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UUCV New Member Class
Are you interested in becoming a UUCV member?
Or just learning more about Unitarian Universalism?
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We are taking names for our next class to be held this summer. The class will consist of 3 Sundays (after church) for about 1.5 hours each.
If you're interested, contact Pam pam@uucv.net to get signed up.
More details to follow!
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Coffee Makers Needed...
We are happy to be back in our social hall following worship on Sundays (masks optional) We need coffee makers to be able to continue with this important time together where we can share with our community.
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Please sign up on the Volunteer table in the Social Hall for a Sunday (or two). If it's your first time making coffee, Max Lara will help you out.
And....everyone can bring snacks in to share during Social Hour...everything is welcome...except nuts! |
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Mozambique suffered from destructive cyclones from February through April 2022. In spite of this the students at the Molumbo and Namarroi Boarding Centers are doing well. The girls are attending to their academic studies, learning how to focus on their life’s goals, and developing social skills as they work and live together. In April Sonia Assune Sauale, Project Officer, distributed food, uniforms, school materials, and hygiene kits to the girls. Below you see a photo of the Molumbo students after they received their supplies.
Your donations to the UUCV Mozambique Bursary Project makes secondary education possible for the 110 girls currently in the program. Many Mozambique parents are too poor to afford the room and board, uniforms, and supplies necessary for their daughters to attend school. Thank you for your generosity in providing the forever gift of education to these young women. $350 supports one girl for one year.
Susan Rimby for the Mozambique Bursary Committee
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Religious Education Activities
Happy Summer, UUCV! Be sure to keep an eye out for a calendar of family fellowship events! In the meantime, here’s what we’ve got on deck for June…
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Summer Kick-Off - June 11-12
Saturday June 11th at 7pm, we’re hosting a Youuth Lock-in! Breakfast for the teens will be at 9am on Sunday, June 12th. After service that Sunday, everyone’s welcome to join us at 1pm for our rescheduled Tie-Dye Party, followed by a Family Movie evening at 4pm (be sure to wear your PJ’s!) It’ll be a weekend packed with fun, food, and excitement, so be sure to mark your calendars!
Annual Meeting - June 19th
Childcare will be provided, so please join us for this important event!
Picnic in the Park - June 22nd
Bring a picnic to the South Middleton Park from 6-8 pm to eat, play, and hang out with other UUCV families! This will be a recurring event, so stay tuned for more dates.
Please consider submitting your clearances and helping out on Sundays. You’re needed, welcome, and wanted! |
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In Search: Free. Responsible. True. Meaningful. Musical.
The worship calendar for June will largely focus on the 4th UU Principle, which calls us into “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” |
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To me, this is one of the hardest UU principles. It’s because there’s a lot at stake when our spiritual searching rests upon and wrestles with ways of being in the world that promote freedom, responsibility, truthfulness, and meaningfulness. It’s not an “anything goes” kind of spiritual searching we’re asked to engage in. Nor is it the kind that is aimless or directionless, even though there may be a certain amount of wandering entailed in gaining our orientation within this principle.
It is precisely the need to orient my spiritual searching toward freedom, responsibility, truthfulness, and meaningfulness that leads me to make music. I am most spiritually free when I’ve got one self in the world as it is now and other selves in the worlds that songs create. I’m going to rephrase that last part, because it gets away from “music as appreciation” or “music as embellishment/entertainment.” Songs are worlds. They are living worlds, though they are invisible worlds.
And if making music is an act of world-building, then it’s paramount to handle songs responsibly. Songs-as-worlds tell truths that sometimes can’t be fully articulated in words. That means, as a music-maker, I’m responsible to the ineffable. Songs-as-worlds contain depth and breadth of meaning that may not sync with my own lived experiences. That means I let the song teach me what I don’t have any personal relationship to. Alternatively, I sometimes leave a song if I can’t get into right relationship with it or the world it asks me to live in. Not every song is for me to hold. Knowing when to stay, when to go, and when to ask for someone else to hold a song is another part of what it looks like for me to responsibly engage music-making as world-building.
Finally, I’ll share that the act of making music gives me energy to keep searching. It’s work to keep seeking, to keep questioning, to keep tuning, to keep connected to multiple, possible worlds. With music, I can keep going when I otherwise would’ve lost momentum (maybe even will and desire) long ago.
In gratitude,
Devon
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UUCV Fundraising Opportunities
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STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BOOTH - HELPERS STILL NEEDED |
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On Saturday, June 4 we will be raising funds for UUCV by selling strawberry shortcake at Boiling Springs Foundry Day.
Contact Lynn Michels lynnisue57@gmail.com if you are able to help
Sign up at the Strawberry Station in the social hall to help with the following jobs:
- Booth set up Saturday 7:00am
- Staff booth in 2 hour shifts 11am - 1pm
- Staff booth in 2 hour shifts 12pm - 2pm
- Staff booth in 2 hour shifts 2pm - 4pm
- Tear down booth Saturday ~ 4 PM
HELP US MAKE THIS YEAR'S SALE A SUCCESS BY VOLUNTEERING TODAY!
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Purchase a Grocery Card
from UUCV at
NO EXTRA CHARGE to you and make money for UUCV |
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Do you buys groceries? Gas? Alcohol? Purchase a grocery card for $100...worth $100...and make money for UUCV. Cards can be purchased in the Social Hall before and after service OR send an email to Pam pam@uucv.net and mail in your check to the office. Your cards will be mailed right to your home.
Giant gift cards return 10% back to UUCV when purchased with cash or check.
1 Giant card/week = $520/year for UUCV
10 Giant cards/week = $5200/year for UUCV
40 Giant cards/week = $10,400/year for UUCV
40 Giant cards/week = $20,800/year for UUCV
Credit and PayPal purchases add a bank fee and return less to UUCV.
Weis cards return 5% and Karns 3% when purchased with cash or check. |
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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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