News

Online bidding runs through Nov. 16 and ends at 8pm! Don’t miss the 3 raffles for tickets to two events and a North Carolina basket of goodies!

Live Auction Night is next Saturday—doors open 6pm. Enjoy a $10 BBQ dinner (buy tickets online or outside the Library after service). Live bidding is in-person only—if you can’t attend, appoint a proxy to bid for you.

Visit the auction website for dessert contest sign-ups, volunteer slots, and free childcare!

Reflections From 11/2/2025 ~ All Souls Sunday

This past Sunday, we honored all who died, with particular attention to those who died within the past year and had been a part of our Fellowship Community. We read their names, and sang songs of honoring our ancestors.

We also heard the story Popi’s All Souls Song*, the choir sing the gorgeous song In Remembrance by Eleanor Daley, and gleaned some wisdom from Robin Wall Kimerer’s essay Becoming Earth: Experimental Theology (it’s well worth the read!).

*a reminder that just like at a library, you can “check out” this and other stories we read together at the end of the RE hallway, across from the single stall bathroom!

Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) presents Rev. Dr. Bill Sinkford (UUA President 2001-2009) as he shares his Elder Spiritual Odyssey online on November 13, from 8:00-9:30pm.

This special online event has a registration cost of $25 and is now open for all DRUUMM Members, BIPOC friends, and White allies.

This gathering is more than a storytelling session; it is a sacred space created to uplift the journeys of our elders who have shaped and strengthened Unitarian Universalism through their wisdom, activism, and leadership.

This Elder Spiritual Odyssey aligns with DRUUMM’s vision of building a multigenerational, multicultural community where we honor and learn from the experiences of those who have paved the way. The purpose of this gathering is to deepen our connections, recognize the spiritual discipline of reconciliation, and inspire future leaders by connecting the struggles of the past with the hopes for tomorrow. As Bill reflects on his life’s work, participants will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, drawing lessons and inspiration that resonate with their own journeys.

Our next Child Dedication is scheduled for Sunday, November 30th during the 11:00 am Worship Service.

Please sign up by November 21st if you would like your family to participate.


If you have questions, please email Pam to schedule a phone call or in-person meeting.

We have resumed the Wednesday afternoon walks on Bethabara’s lower trails. We meet at 4:00 pm in the parking lot behind the Bethabara Moravian Church. The trail is paved and flat and in the shade, and all are welcome. If it’s raining, this event is canceled.

Questions? Please contact Don.

Reflections From 10/12/2025 ~ Our Muddy, Middle World

Want to hear our story from this Sunday, The First Fire, a Cherokee creation story told by the storyteller herself? You’re in luck – here’s Gayle Ross at the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas.

This Week’s Wonderings:

  • Where’s the fun (for me; for us) in living in a muddy world? Where’s the struggle (for me; for us) in living in a muddy world?
  • What do I/we need to do to find more joy in the fun, and more ease in the struggle?

…and where does spiritual practice/ritual/routine fit into these answers for you? How might these help you meet the moments?

Reflections From 10/5/2025 ~ The Hardest Word

This past Sunday we began our month exploring to Stories of Messy Humans by looking at the wisdom from the Jewish High Holy Day of Yom Kippur. We heard a story of the Ziz through the children’s book The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story. We then reflected on what we can learn from the Jewish atonement process of t’shuvah, which is often translated as repentance, and more literally means returning. We discussed the five stages of t’shuvah, from middle ages Jewish Rabbi, philosopher and Torah scholar Maimonides, as explored by Rabbi Danya Ruttenburg in her book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World.

For a summary of these five stages of t’shuvah, you can read Rabbi Ruttenburg’s blog The Heroic Work of Repentance for the Union of Reform Judaism.

Wondering words for our week:

  • To whom do I need to say “I’m sorry”?
  • What relationships in my life need repair and reconciliation?

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As humans, we each have a deep need for intimacy, friendship and community. As Unitarian Universalists, we fulfill these needs as we give and receive from one another. Contact care@uufws.org if you are in need of a kindness, or would like to be with another as they are facing their storm.

This Sunday, we kicked off our year’s worship theme of Stories of Bread and Roses, by hearing the story of the origin of the phrase “Bread and Roses”.

We learned that it likely came from Helen Todd, factory inspector turned Suffragette due to her heartbreak over seeing children working in factories. We also learned that it was likely written down by Helen because of Maggie, the hired help of an older woman hosting the Suffragettes on their tour across Illinois. Maggie shared with the Suffragettes that their reflection on how we needed “bread, and roses, too” was her favorite part. The phrase then went on to become a rally cry and song for workers and so many other fighting for justice.

To read Helen’s full article in American Illustrated Magazine, Volume 72, you can go to the Google books link here, and then search for “Helen Todd”. This will take you to her article “Getting Out the Vote” on page 611.

If you play a musical instrument we would love to have you join us! If you are interested in joining a UUFWS House Band, please complete the interest form

Next Rehearsals at 2:00 – 4:00 pm on:

October 19 • November 9 • November 16

 

First Performance: November 23

Second Performance: January 25

The Clothes Closet remains closed on a permanent basis. All of the remaining donations have been given to other community helping organizations. We are not able to accept or process any further donations.

Please share your future donations with either The Shalom Project, at 631 South Green St. or Sunnyside Ministries, at 319 Haled Drive.

If you have questions, contact pam@uufws.org