South Nassau

Unitarian Universalist Congregation

SNUUC

News You Can Use

December 18, 2024

Join Us at SNUUC on Tuesday, December 24 at 5:30 pm

for a Special Christmas Eve Candlelight Service,

with Lessons and Carols of Christmas.

Invite Your Family and Friends and Come Join Us in Singing!

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Rev. Karen Hutt is Preaching at SNUUC

this Sunday, December 22 at 10:30 am



read the...

December Weekly Reflections from Rev. Karen Hutt

Please remember our SNUUC Community Food Pantry

when you are grocery shopping

Scroll Down to Learn More

Invite your Friends and Family to this Festive Event!

JOIN SNUUC FRIENDS FOR DINNER ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Don’t cook for Christmas Eve! Join your SNUUC family and friends on Christmas Eve, immediately following our 5:30 service, at Flaming Grill & Supreme Buffet, 1773 Grand Ave, Baldwin, NY 11510.  

A reservation has been made for 30 people. Please get your name on the list by Wednesday, December 18, today!, to be sure we have a spot for you! Contact Ilene Corina, icorina@aol.com or text or call her 516.650.2421. With a wide variety of food, the cost is just $18.99, plus tax and drink. Pay at the door and ask to be seated with SNUUC.

Flaming Grill & Supreme Buffet has over 250 different items plus a Hibachi section where you can make up your own menu and they will cook it on the Hibachi. They offer steak, salmon, shrimp, crabmeat, cheese, General's Chicken, sushi and a large selection of salads, fruits and desserts. Click here for more info about the restaurant.

DECEMBER WEEKLY REFLECTIONS FROM REV. KAREN HUTT

FOR HER LAST WEEKS AT SNUUC, REV. KAREN WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE SOME COMMENTARY TO SUPPORT THE CONGREGATION ON ITS JOURNEY

   There Would Be No Christmas in America Without Unitarians

Once upon a time Unitarians believed the fight for the soul of the American Christmas was a battle worth fighting.

It was Unitarians who wove together Santa Claus, Christmas trees, gift giving around the tree, a focus on charity, and peace and goodwill toward all to create the Christmas that the majority of Americans celebrate today. And while the story of the baby Jesus was not left out, what was central to this holiday was not the coming of God in a human form for the atonement of human sins, as it was for conservative Christians, but Unitarian values and theology.

But how did Unitarians take over Christmas? Let me tell you the story.

Long ago, when the Puritans came to this country, they banned Christmas. At that time in England, Christmas was nothing like the Christmas we celebrate today. It was a wild public party, much like Mardi Gras. People drank. They got crazy. They shot off guns and fireworks. They made a nuisance of themselves. This partying way of celebrating had an old, old history. When Roman rulers were trying to convince their people to be Christian and not pagan, they announced Christ’s birthday would be celebrated in December, the time when Romans celebrated Saturn with over a week of wild partying. Later, as Christianity moved north, the celebration of Christ’s birthday got mixed up with other winter celebrations like the Celtic Yule. These holidays also had an emphasis on a party. We still celebrate this Christmas in some ways, and the famous Welsh carol “Deck the Hall,” is an example of the enduring celebration of Yule traditions.

The Puritans understood the pagan roots of Christmas, noted that the Bible never mentioned celebrating Christ’s birthday and insisted that everyone should simply ignore it. In 1621, when some of the colonies’ newer residents tried to take Christmas day off, the governor ordered them back to work. Thirty years later the General Court of Massachusetts declared the celebration of Christmas to be a criminal offense.  The Puritans did win that Christmas war for a long time. For nearly 150 years, celebrating Christmas was illegal in New England. But by the 1800s, things had changed. In the southern parts of the new United States people had been celebrating Christmas with public partying and so had the new Irish immigrants who were settling in New England. Christmas was a great day for all the local bars. Additionally, by the early 1800s Puritans no longer had the moral and political authority to hold off Christmas. They were no longer a unified group and had divided into conservative and liberal factions. And the liberal Puritans, who were on the verge of becoming Unitarians, began to call for the public observance of Christmas.

Christmas, the Unitarians believed, could be a holiday to promote their values of generosity and charity and social good, and would be a wonderful way to build these values, particularly in children. Unitarians at that time were obsessed with how to raise generous children with good characters. Tradition said the evil must be beaten from a child, but Unitarians did not believe it. Still, how did you raise a child who was kind, generous, and good? This was brand new ground and Unitarian parents were understandably anxious about it. Celebrating Christmas, many felt, had the potential to help.

In the 1800s, the Unitarians were trendsetters. They were well-educated, often wealthy, and had access to and control of the media. Unitarian thinkers began to write about Christmas, bringing their values and theology to the forefront of the conversation.

One of the most influential moments in this transformation of Christmas was the publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1823 by Clement Moore, a Unitarian. Moore invented the Santa Claus we all know and love. Before that there was no unified tradition of a Christmas visitor bringing gifts to all. “He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,” wrote Moore, “And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself! A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.” He had, with a single poem, transformed St. Nicholas, a bishop known for acts of charity, into the myth of Santa Claus.

Aaron Wolf, in “A Tender Unitarian Christmas,” writes sadly, “what once was a real person who performed acts of charity as a response to the redemptive work of Christ, became an unreal, mythic figure, who inspires us to be nice to one another.” Yes, Moore transformed St. Nicholas from a Catholic bishop to a Unitarian. Moore’s Santa Claus believed in the worth and dignity of every child, and that all deserved some kindness and pleasure. He reminds us of our responsibility to be kind and generous to one another. Later it was another Unitarian, Thomas Nast, a cartoonist, who placed Santa on the North Pole as a message that he existed for all the children of the world.

The Unitarians also brought us the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree had become a symbol of the holiday in Germany in the 1700s. One Christmas Charles Follen, a German immigrant, a Unitarian and the first German professor at Harvard, invited several colleagues to his home where he had put up a tree lit with candles and covered with ornaments as he remembered from his childhood. One of the guests later wrote, “It really looked beautiful. The room seemed in a blaze, and the ornaments were so well hung on, that no accident happened, except that one doll’s petticoat caught fire.” Two of his Unitarian guests wrote about the experience and in a short time, middle-class Americans were celebrating Christmas by putting up Christmas trees.

Unitarians also brought us family gift giving, especially the tradition of children giving to parents. Again, the tradition came from Germany. Samuel Coleridge, the Unitarian poet famous for “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” traveled to Germany one winter, and there he saw a ritual around a fir tree, where not only did the children receive gifts from their parents, but they also gave their parents gifts. He wrote: “There were eight or nine children, and the eldest daughter and the mother wept aloud for joy and tenderness; and the tears ran down the face of the father, and he clasped his children so tight to his breast it seemed as if he did it to stifle the sob that was rising within him. I was very much affected.”

Coleridge loved how this tradition taught children about generosity and unselfishness, and his story about it was published in The Christian Register, the official Unitarian magazine of the time. This was one of the great answers to the Unitarian question—how do we teach generosity? This gift exchange among parents and children became part of the Christmas tradition, not only in Unitarian homes, but also in homes across the country.

Unitarians also brought us Christmas charity. They believed our responsibility as a religious people was to follow the teachings of Christ, and an important part of those teachings was care for the poor. The publication of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a British Unitarian, brought charity to the forefront of Christmas. A Christmas Carol is steeped in the Unitarian theology of the spirit of Jesus and that how we treat each other matters deeply. In that story, the nephew of Scrooge says:

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round… as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

And we believe it: not just modern-day Unitarian Universalists, but most people who celebrate the season. At Christmas we make sure, like Santa in “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” that all children receive gifts, that the food banks are full of food, and that at least for these few weeks people everywhere are cared for.

I love all the Christmas traditions brought to us by our Unitarian ancestors. I love how they remind us to be giving, generous, and kind to the people we know and the people we don’t. This for me is the spirit of Christmas. I’m proud to say that the spirit of giving is itself a gift from our religious tradition.

Rev. Karen - December 8, 2024

Many thanks to organizer JoAnn Fassman and all the SNUUC Carolers for the holiday caroling at the South Shore Rehab and Nursing Center in Freeport. Some residents sang along, and others actively listened. All appreciated hearing the familiar songs and the gift bags of toiletries, (thank you to those who donated!). Special thanks to Mark Bennett who played the trumpet and led the singing. The staff and residents alike all appreciated this annual cheer from SNUUC. Thank you JoAnn! 

CHECK-IN WITH FELLOW SNUUCers AT THE NEXT CONNECTORS CALL,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 6:30 pm on ZOOM!

Hosted by the Caring Team, the monthly Connectors Zoom meeting is an opportunity for us to check-in with each other, talk about what’s new in our lives, how are things going, etc., within a what’s-said-here-stays-here hour. After check-in, time permitting, the Caring Team will offer a topic of discussion. You can either stay with the topic or choose one of your own.

We look forward to seeing you Friday, December 27 at 6:30 pm!

Click the link below to join:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83448325670?pwd=QU9PVnM3bUFyaTB0bkYvVk1sT1Z6dz09

Meeting ID: 834 4832 5670

Passcode: SNUUC2024

The Connectors gathering is hosted by SNUUC's Caring Team -- Doris Brass, Ilene Corina, Sharon Kennelty-Cohen, Sharon Pataky, Ellen Zaehringer-Gach. It is a confidential call, which means that what is said and heard in the call stays in the call unless you say otherwise. The Connectors gathering is the last Friday of the month from 6:30-7:30 pm Please email Ilene (icorina@aol.com) if you have questions or would like additional information. 

CALL FOR SUNDAY SERVICE VOLUNTEERS!

SNUUC is looking for individuals to join our team of Worship Associates. As a Worship Associate, you'll play an important role in supporting our Sunday speakers and ministers during the service, ensuring everything runs smoothly and making a meaningful contribution to our community. Interested? Contact Harriet for more info and to get involved and trained, arnoldharriet00@gmail.com.

Let's make a difference together.

Thank you for your support!

JOIN US AT OUR SERVICE

THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2024

at 10:30 am

THE SERVICE IS LIVE AT SNUUC

and ON ZOOM, USE THE LINK BELOW

+ Sunday, December 22 at 10:30 am +

This Sunday's Preacher is Rev. Karen Hutt

Is Not Knowing Really OK? 

We tend to follow the same script. Rather than taking the chance to interact with the moment as it is, we interact with the fixed ideas that live in our heads.

“Not knowing” is the dropping of all of this; instead, we can get curious and completely enter the moment in front of us. In Zen it is called beginner’s mind.

Have you had a beginner's mind about anything in your life lately? 

Rev. Karen Hutt is a longtime UU minister and chaplain who loves to preach and teach. She is partial to provoking UUs to do better and be better because we have too much to give the world to keep quiet. This year she is serving as our consulting minister. While she is based in Minnesota, she is an East Coaster and is raising her children to pronounce coffee and water properly.  

Bill Bryson-Brockmann is the Worship Associate. Jojo Granoff is the Board Member on Duty. If you have an announcement you would like to be made at the service, please contact Jojo at JGranoff1853@yahoo.com by this Saturday morning, December 21.

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Greeters are needed for our services! If you can be a Greeter, please arrive on Sunday morning at 10:15 and say hello to people at one of the foyer doors. Thanks!

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On Sundays, the virtual room will open at 10:20 am, the service begins at 10:30 am.

 Join us in the SNUUC Sanctuary or

find a comfortable spot, light a candle and join us from home!

To join the virtual Sunday Service, you'll need to install an application from a company called Zoom. If you haven't installed it already, please install this application before Sunday morning.

It's Easy & Free for you to join!

 Join directly from this email...

Use this link to join all the Sunday Service Zoom Meetings

https://zoom.us/j/503143243?pwd=SGdEZjRFQjRJNDhOenNDbytDWUNtdz09

The meeting ID for Sunday’s service is: 503 143 243

The password: 003006

Zoom provides a dial-in feature for those who want to listen in.

The call in phone number for New York is: +16465588656,,503143243#

PLEASE SIGN-UP FOR COFFEE HOUR

Coffee Hour is an essential part of the service for UUs. We need to make this a community affair. We ask you to please continue to bring snacks for coffee hour. Here's Ellen showing how easy it is for you to bring a Coffee Hour Snack! We are asking people to take a turn doing set up and clean-up, there is a sign-up sheet on the Welcome Table. If all those who are able take a turn do so, this will not be a burden on any one person. As usual you will not be doing it alone. Others will help.

Thank you for helping at our Coffee Hour!

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ALL UPCOMING SERVICES are

AT SNUUC and ON ZOOM, UNLESS NOTED

Dec 22 - Rev. Karen Hutt

Dec 24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 5:30 pm

Dec 29 - Rev. Karen Hutt

Thank You to our SNUUC Board Members!

Mark Bennett, President * Amy Norris Wenzel, Vice President * Jojo Granoff, Treasurer * Ilene Corina, Secretary * Barbara Behrens, Trustee *

Sharon Kennelty-Cohen, Trustee

OUR BIANNUAL MEETING IS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26,

FOLLOWING THE SUNDAY SERVICE CHECK-IN

ALL MEMBERS ARE ASKED TO ATTEND,

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS

TALENT AUCTION: TIME TO PARTY AND PAY UP!

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE PAID!

All donors and bidders have been emailed their event/donation winners list as well as their Invoices. Please pay yours ASAP! Check your Junk folder if you haven't seen yours. If you can't find yours, please email snuucauction@gmail.com to request a resend. You can pay by check or cash or click DONATE on SNUUC.org, and select Talent Auction. Thank You to all who have already paid!

And keep an eye out for open Talent Auction events, available for sign-up at SNUUC. The sign-up sheet for the upcoming Jazz Quartet performance on February 2 is on the welcome table!

Thank you to everyone who supported this year's Talent Auction!

NEWS & FUN AMONG OURSELVES

A delicious and fun time was had by all at the Board's recent

Talent Auction event Breakfast with the Board.

Thank you to the Board's Chefs and Servers and

to all those who supported this SNUUC Talent Auction Fundraiser!

Just for fun, let’s read a book together!

The Brown Bag Lunch and Book Club meets monthly in the foyer to discuss a good book. The next book selection is another book by James Mc Bride, Deacon King Kong, published in 2020, and available in public libraries. From the NY Times Book Review: “Deacon King Kong is many things: a mystery novel, a crime novel, an urban farce, a portrait of a project community. There’s even some western in here. The novel is, in other words, a lot. Fortunately, it is also deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane" 

The group will meet on Thursday, February 6, at 12 noon in the Foyer. Bring your lunch and join the discussion! Any questions contact Martha Chamberlain, martha.chamberlain22@gmail.com

The music was original and entertaining at the recent Songwriters in the Round event at SNUUC. Thank you to Phil Kennelty for gathering the musicians and organizing another fun musical happening and SNUUC fundraiser.

Phil Kennelty and Sharon Kennelty-Cohen announce the upcoming release of their song (It’s Going To Be) A Merry XMAS, written by Phil and Sharon, sung by Pat Hunter, and produced by Phil.

It was released on Friday, November 29. It is being released under Pat Hunter’s name. Those interested in listening or purchasing the download can access it on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Facebook, You Tube, Spotify and most other platforms by Title and/or Artist (Pat Hunter). Here’s a link (It's Going To Be) A Merry XMAS by Pat Hunter - DistroKid

A captivated group had a lovely afternoon at storyteller Jim Hawkins' Traditional Irish Christmas Talent Auction Event on Sunday, December 1 at SNUUC. In addition to Jim's excellent Stories, Songs, Hymns and Poetry, the group enjoyed a light lunch and a raffle with a $75 gift card! Thanks to all who contributed to this entertaining fundraiser!

UU Housing

Have you thought about moving? Why not think about living in the vibrant community of Port Washington on Long Island! How about considering living at Hadley House, a 40-unit apartment building for UU member Independent Seniors, 62+ and their families? Hadley House is a Senior Residence operated by UUCSR, Hadley House, LLC. If you have any questions about the availability of units or how to apply, they can be answered by the Social Worker in the building, Susan Bagnini, 516-944-8457, 464 Main St., Port Washington. Or go to this UUCSR/Hadley House link for more information.

WHAT IS HAPPENING with SNUUC THIS WEEK?

Wednesdays + GATHERING Join the next Gathering at SNUUC on Wednesday from 1 to 2 pm.

Saturdays + MEDITATION The Mindfulness Meditation 9 am, Foyer & Zoom

Tuesday, Dec 24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 5:30 pm

Friday, Dec 27 - Connectors on Zoom 6:30 pm

Scroll for more information about these and other meetings

CHECK OUR ONLINE CALENDAR

You can view SNUUC's monthly calendar online.

Go to www.SNUUC.org.

Click on ABOUT at the top of the page.

Click on EVENTS CALENDAR.

OR click on this link... SNUUC Calendar

UPCOMING BI-MONTHLY, MONTHLY and SPECIAL EVENTS

Wednesday, Jan 8 - Women's Journaling 1:00 pm Zoom

Thursday, Jan 9 - Board Meeting on Zoom 7 pm

Monday, Jan 13 - Lectio Divina 7:15 pm

Sunday, Jan 26 - BiAnnual Meeting after the service



Scroll thru this email for more information about these and other happenings

TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THAT IS HAPPENING WITH SNUUC!

ONGOING SNUUC WEEKLY EVENTS and MEETINGS

   Contact information for events and meetings is below.

WEEKLY:

Tuesdays + WORSHIP The team works with the preacher, worship associate, board member on duty and the production team to plan and provide meaningful worship experiences to the congregation. For questions about the Worship Team please contact Jean Smyth-Crocetto, jmsmyth@verizon.net. 

Wednesdays + GATHERING Gathering at SNUUC, 1 to 2 pm. Join SNUUC friends in the foyer, or on the front lawn when the weather is nice and enjoy each other’s company. Questions? Meet with them at SNUUC on a Wednesday afternoon or contact Joel Gershen, jojomatt@aol.com

Saturdays + MEDITATION The Mindfulness Meditation group (aka South Ocean Sangha) - Join a regular, weekly meditation practice at SNUUC and on Zoom on Saturdays at 9 am. The practice is open to meditators at all levels. All you need to do is show up and take your seat. If you would like more information or to receive the Zoom link to join the class. Please contact Brian Larkin, bolarkin@optonline.net.



Sundays + IMPROV Long Island Improv offers fun improvisation classes many Sunday afternoons in the SNUUC foyer. Many SNUUC members have enjoyed them and found them useful for developing creativity and communication skills. Go to longislandimprov.com for all the details.

BI-MONTHLY and MONTHLY:

2nd and 4th Mondays + LECTIO DIVINA Lectio Divina meets at 7:15 pm on Zoom. Join SNUUC friends for a Lectio Divina practice. This is a contemplative practice in which we listen to a short reading and get in touch with where it resonates in our bodies, our feelings, the images that speak to us and any message or meaning it has for our lives. Contact Barbara Singer for more information, barbara.singer@gmail.com

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87865036675?pwd=anNqdzRxZ2FHWDY2dUVwWlVSWDFQZz09

Meeting ID: 878 6503 6675

Passcode: 189400

One tap mobile

+16469313860,,87865036675# US

+16465588656,,87865036675# US (New York)

1st Wednesdays + WOMEN’S JOURNALING - Women's Journaling meets from 1 to 2:30 pm on the 1st Wednesday of the month on Zoom. The women choose a book of a spiritual nature to read and during the group they speak and write on parts of the readings that hold meaning for them. For more info and Zoom link contact Anne Olsen, afleming528@gmail.com. 

2nd Wednesday + LA LECHE The La Leche League of Baldwin Freeport meets in the SNUUC RE wing on the 2nd Wednesday at 10 am. For more information go to their Facebook page, La Leche League of Baldwin Freeport.

1st Thursdays + CARING TEAM - The purpose of the Caring Team is to keep us connected and offer support and help as appropriate. For more info contact Ilene Corina ICorina@aol.com

2nd Thursdays + BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING – The Board meets at 7 pm on the 2nd Thursday on Zoom. All are welcome. Please contact Mark Bennett for the Zoom link, MarkBenn731@gmail.com

NEWS FROM LIAC

the LONG ISLAND AREA COUNCIL

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LIAC serves as a beacon for liberal religion with a focus on education, advocacy, service, and spirituality for Long Island Unitarian Universalists. Click here to read the current issue of The Beacon, December News from LIAC..

The Long Island Area Council of Unitarian Universalist Congregations, LIAC,

offers opportunities for fellowship

and connection.

LIAC aims to “serve as a catalyst to promote denominational awareness and effectiveness through communication, leadership and educational programs.”

Go to LIACUU.org for more information.

Phil Kennelty is the SNUUC LIAC Representative.

Contact Phil for more LIAC information, philkennelty@gmail.com

UU Community Resilience Hub

As part of the UUA's commitment to building resilient, safe, and thriving communities, they encourage you to visit the UU Community Resilience Hub a comprehensive resource offering tools, training, and support to help protect our communities and democracy. The hub contains everything from conflict de-escalation to leveraging spiritual and physical assets during critical times.

OUR UU COMMUNITY

WhaleCoast Alaska - "A More Authentic Travel Experience"

Two unique, exciting fundraising tours organized by 4 Alaska UU congregations are being offered again next summer by WhaleCoast Alaska. Experience majestic scenery, wildlife, Denali National Park, Alaska Native culture, glaciers, and UU homestays. For 31 years, WhaleCoast Alaska tours have been the BEST way to visit Alaska. Register now for this amazing experience! Details: www.WhaleCoastAK.org Questions: info@whalecoastak.org 

The Central East Region (CER) of the UUA helps congregations of all shapes and sizes connect with each other and with resources that help them best express their Unitarian Universalist faith in a changing and hurting world. "We believe that we’re at our best when we work together–and we Central East Region staff work together to help your congregation be its best". SNUUC’s primary contact person for CER is Rev. Alia Shinbrough (they/them), ashinbrough@uua.org

"Our job as UUA Congregational Life staff is to support your congregation through what we call ‘the Four Cs’: Coaching, Companioning, Connecting and Challenging. We have resources at hand and a wealth of experience to coach you through whatever your current situation. We walk with you in times of joy and sorrow, so you know that you aren’t alone, and so we can help you celebrate and learn from you. We connect you to other congregations, to the wider UUA and to the work of our faith so we can be better together. And we challenge you, just like you challenge us, to be the most faithful partners we can be in this joint adventure of Unitarian Universalism." Click here to find out more about the UUA Central East Region.

"The Rowe UU Camp and Conference Center is more than a camp or conference center, it is a place where souls come to connect, where families come to celebrate and thought leaders come to increase awareness and heighten senses." Their retreat center is located in the East Berkshires in the town of Rowe, Massachusetts, a community founded in 1785. Rowecenter.org

As we plan our fall activities, the Rowe Center encourage us to support their organization by attending their enriching programs. Your participation is essential to continuing their mission of fostering community and growth at Rowe. They have returned to a sliding scale pricing structure for most programs to align more closely with their values of equity and inclusion. They hope to see you there in person or online soon!

REMINDER TO HELP KEEP OUR LIVES GREEN

SNUUC Environmentalist Sharon Kennelty-Cohen reminds us to use washable plates instead of single-use paper ones for Coffee Hour and other fun food events at SNUUC and at home. We have a dishwasher, soap, a double sink in the kitchen and a single one in the pantry. Five minutes washing a few dishes makes it more likely that our great-grandchildren will have trees to climb.

Please consider this before you grab a plastic or paper plate or cup. Thank You!

SNUUC STUFF

There have been reports that SNUUC members received scam emails and texts that use our names to make requests. Some have requested PDF files of our directory, some allude to an errand needed and some are asking for cash. Please disregard anything that looks like this. Do not click to open or reply to anything like this. This happened to us in the past and it is happening to other churches as well. Mark Bennett and the Board 

REMEMBER OUR

SNUUC FREE FOOD PANTRY...



PLEASE HELP! DONATIONS OF

CANNED FOOD ARE NEEDED!

With food donations to our neighbors right on our property, we have a busy food pantry located at the northwest corner of the building in the parking lot at the end of the driveway. The next time you are grocery shopping please pick up a few cans of beans or tuna or hearty soup and bring them to SNUUC for the Freeport community. You can put the items in the kitchen, thanks!

Please bring canned food donations, no fresh food please,

or you can donate money to purchase food!

Our Little Free Library on the front lawn needs books to share with the neighborhood. Novels, gardening and cook books, children's books are all good choices.

Do you have any good books you can share? Please put them in our Little Free Library. You will probably find a book there for you to enjoy!

DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS OR SERVICE YOU WANT TO ADVERTISE?

or DO YOU KNOW OF A BUSINESS THAT WANTS TO ADVERTISE?

YOUR AD CAN BE HERE EACH WEEK!

For a small fee you can advertise each week in this SNUUC News You Can Use. Cost is just $100 per month or $250 for 6 months.

Music lessons? Legal services? Electrician?

For an additional $100 per year, you can be listed on the SNUUC website.

Details: Send your business card size artwork to SNUUC@optonline.net Please include your name and contact information with your artwork. Once approved, it will go in to the News You Can Use and/or on the SNUUC website. Please send or bring your payment to SNUUC.  Questions? Contact Ilene Corina, icorina@aol.com

A few more details... The South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation (SNUUC) assumes no responsibility and shall in no event be liable for errors or omissions in the contents of the information provided by the businesses advertised or for any claims that may arise directly or indirectly from any such services. This information does not constitute any affiliation, endorsement, or promotion by SNUUC.

And click here for a little more important info about your advertisement.

You may have heard of the Caring Committee at SNUUC but wonder what we do. The Caring Team has two functions: to keep members and friends connected to SNUUC and to offer you help and support when your life is disrupted out of its usual routines. Having a place to “land” concerns that can get acknowledged and acted upon is helpful. 

What kind of help? We can offer a listening ear and maybe help you find resources in the community. We can offer practical help. Someone needed snow shoveling and we found someone at SNUUC to shovel. Someone needed meals, we put together a team of support to make and deliver meals. Someone needed a ride to the doctor; we found the ride. What else? Visits, errand running, help with tasks like shopping, and more. 

But, just as important, if we don’t see you or hear from you, we may check in with you to be sure you are OK. This may be a card, an email, a text or a phone call. Don’t feel obligated to reply, though if we don’t hear back, we will try again in a month or so. We want you to know we are thinking of you.

The Caring Team is Doris Brass, Ilene Corina, Sharon Pataky, Sharon Kennelty-Cohen and Ellen Zaehringer-Gach. For more information contact Ilene Corina, ICorina@aol.com.

DO YOU HAVE A KEY TO OUR BUILDING THAT YOU DO NOT USE?

PLEASE RETURN IT TO THE OFFICE, THEY ARE EXPENSIVE.

YOU CAN LEAVE IT ON THE DESK or SLIP IT IN THE MAIL SLOT

UNDER THE FRONT WINDOWS IF THAT'S EASIEST. THANK YOU!

BOARD PRESIDENT DISCRETIONARY FUND

What is the SNUUC Board President Discretionary Fund?

This is a separate fund to be disbursed by the Board President to SNUUC members and friends to help with unanticipated expenses for which they have no other funding source.



How is it funded? It is funded through contributions made by SNUUC members and friends. It is a separate fund and not part of the operating fund.

How do I gain access to the funds. To receive help from the discretionary fund simply speak with Board President Mark Bennett. While a record is kept of all monies disbursed, the names of the recipients will remain confidential. This is a small fund, but Mark will try to help you as much as possible.

How can I contribute to the fund?

Yes, please contribute if you can! You will be helping other SNUUC members and friends. Write a check, made payable to SNUUC, write in the memo line Board President Discretionary Fund, and mail to 228 So. Ocean Av, Freeport 11520. You can also donate by clicking the Donate Button on our website, SNUUC.org. You will see the Discretionary Fund option in addition to the Donate and Pledge options. When you send a donation you will be sent a donation letter for your taxes.

Thank you!

Questions? Contact Mark Bennett, MarkBenn731@gmail.com

SNUUC is offering an opportunity to advertise in the weekly

News You Can Use and on the SNUUC website.

Look for more information in this email, above,

with the advertisement for PULSE services.

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Did you know that members of the SNUUC community who offer their business services can donate a portion of their profits from doing business with other SNUUC members?

It's a win-win situation. You gain business and SNUUC gains a contribution.

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Do You have a

Fundraising Idea

for SNUUC?

Talk with a Board Member

Good News! Our building is protected by a security system!

An alarm will go off when you enter the building!

You need a code to disarm the alarm.

If you have a key to SNUUC & do not have your code,

contact Jean Smyth-Crocetto by text to set up your own personal code. 

Text Jean at 516-359-6954

You will not need to disarm the system if someone else is already in the building

when you arrive, or if the system is not armed.

An Opportunity for Young Adults

YARN is a project to rebuild the continental UU young adult network! This includes growing identity groups, worship services, leadership calls, online conferences and more. There are several ways your congregations and organizations can help UU young adults, friends and future folx find our community.

We made a short video that explains what YARN is. Watch and see what we are all about!

• An Introduction to the Young Adult Revival Network – YouTube

Sign Up For Our Newsletter: We send out a bi-monthly newsletter, The Sweet Potato, containing all the young adult ministry opportunities that YARN and other UU organizations offer.

• Register Here: https://forms.gle/XBQjuSK3k1bNjfCT8

In Faith and Service, 

Roddy Biggs & Kamila Jacob, YARN Worship Chairs

rbiggs@uuma.org 

kamilajacob15@gmail.com 

The Unitarian Universalist Association website, UUA.org,

offers this for people who want to learn more about Unitarian Universalism:

We are Unitarian Universalists, people of many backgrounds

who have different beliefs, but shared values.

Together, we offer a guided path towards a better you and a better world.

Get to know us in this short animated video.

https://www.uua.org/beliefs/who-we-are/video  

Our denomination is unique because every Unitarian Universalist has the right to develop a personal philosophy of life, without being told what to believe. We can learn from all philosophies and religions, and also from science and the arts. We explore important life issues in a caring community, united by shared values rather than by shared theological opinions. And no matter what we do believe about theology or philosophy, we try to live a good life and leave the world better than we found it. —Rev. Chris Schriner 

Small groups of SNUUC Committees and Spiritual Arts

that would like to connect can meet at SNUUC or via Zoom.

Please contact Office Manager Lisa at least 3 days before your Zoom or space request to get set up, SNUUC@optonline.net

Make a phone call, send an email, text,

 join in the service and activities.

Let's keep connected.