Dec.21, 2010-Jan. 1, 2021 - 10 Lyons Plains Road Westport, CT 06880 - Phone: 203.227.7205

visit us at uuwestport.org

CLICK HERE for 3 week calendar PDF. .CLICK HERE for past issues of SOUNDINGS.

Note: Your communications team is taking a break. We will NOT be publishing the week between Christmas and New Year's. After next week, your next SOUNDINGS (WeekEnd and WeekDay editions) will be in your inboxes January 1 and 3. Enjoy the season!

Please consider a year end gift to help us meet the needs of our community. TUCW has been able to lean into our mission of transforming lives. Your financial support has made a real difference. Please consider making a special and generous year end gift.

You can contribute using our vop.tucw.org or writing a check and sending it to the church. Add “Holiday” to the memo line.

We will have a Blue Holiday Service Monday, December 21 at 8:00 PM. The service will be broadcast from the sanctuary; we will participate via ZOOM. Details to follow.

ZOOM HERE - Meeting ID: 835 7626 8353 Code: 665894 Landline: +1 646 876 9923

It's that wonderful time of year again when we get to see our children perform and sing in a time-honored celebration. This year we will hear the musical selections from the annual Pageant, virtually.  Individual soloists will sing their songs in the context of the narrated story line. These young singers are eager to keep our tradition alive.

ZOOM HERE - Meeting ID: 818 0043 8185 CODE: 470092 Landline: +1 646 876 9923

Our traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be a virtual event this year, and promises to be as exquisite as last week's Music Concert. We will hear small ensembles and soloists offer musical selections, and there will be readings, poems and a Homily from Rev. John. As always, towards the end of the service we will sing Silent Night: we invite you to join us with your candles and singing.

ZOOM HERE - Meeting ID: 841 1821 3590 CODE: 060085 Landline: +1 646 876 9923

PLEASE HELP US! WE NEED A PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES BY THIS MONDAY, DECEMBER 21!

We are collecting pictures of ALL of TUCW friends and families for a montage that will be part of our December 27 service.

Please see instructions sent out earlier, HERE. And don't worry about the details too much: we just want to see YOU!

Send your pic(s) to events@uuwestport.org by Monday Dec 21. Subject line: LIGHT

STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

It has been a difficult year for all of us, and the Beardsley students and families have been challenged too. Classes via ZOOM, missing friends and fun at school and on the playgrounds, parents' work lives upended.

Thanks to donations from many of our TUCW friends, we were able to provide some holiday cheer. Each of the 42 first graders in the school will receive a gift-wrapped hard-cover book, inscribed to her/him, personally from us. And 11 families will be supported with much needed gift cards for groceries and holiday needs as part of Felicity Medinger's annual "holiday elves" program.

It's great to put smiles on people's faces and to make a difference in their lives!

The next #BLM movie will be LOVING, available on Netflix. Watch the movie on your own and then ZOOM HERE Wednesday night for an informal, open discussion and conversation. Newcomers are always welcome.

Questions? Contact Beth Cliff or Sudha Sankar.

We are launching our Engagement Census to give us the information we need to plan and support important church work moving forward, especially in our Post-COVID world.

Now is the time to clean-up our records, and to add to them so we have a full understanding of who we are and what we do. In addition, we'd love for you to share thoughts on your church life.

This survey should take 15-20 minutes to complete. Like the US Census currently going on, it's critical that ALL people in our community fill this out: we need a complete picture! Please CLICK HERE for the survey.

Please complete by Sunday, January 3, 2021. Questions? Contact Carol Seiple at carol.seiple@gmail.com or call 1.203.682.4584.

Rev. John will be offering the next four sessions of the Starting Point program in January on Saturdays beginning January 2 at noon. Space is limited; let us know if you can join us. Contact Linda Lubin. Next session will be in March if you can't make January.

After Starting Point, you can then choose to be placed in a Sharing Circle. Each Circle meets once a month for two hours on Zoom led by a trained facilitator. They follow a structured format, with a monthly theme that deepens our connections. Says TUCWer Brian Connelly about his Circle: “I really look forward to our ... sessions, listening to my new group of friends and sharing some reactions that touch me.”

UUtheVote focuses this December on helping underrepresented voters in Georgia vote on Jan 5th in the runoff election for two U.S. Senate seats. Please volunteer and donate to super organizations on the ground:

Join the conversation and our TUCW group: TUCWUUthevote+subscribe@groups.io. Get updates on individual democracy actions by contacting Janet Luongo.

I often hear this from folks new to our congregation. You may have said it when you first found The Unitarian Church in Westport. I know I did. In fact, one of my favorite cousins is a member of a UU Fellowship in New Hampshire and he never said a word about it to me. Some cousin!

So, who would you like to share the “secret” of The Unitarian Church in Westport with?

Invite them to the Bring A Friend Sunday Service on ZOOM at 10:00 on Sunday, January 10. No secret handshake required.

The only problem is they might ask you, “Why didn’t you tell me about this before!”

Suggestions or questions? Contact David Vita, Director of Membership.

•ONGOING PROGRAMMING THIS WEEK •

Mondays 6:30-8 PM via ZOOM Buddhist Practice Group Nina Nagy Let Nina know you are attending.Teachings offered on a donation basis.

Wednesdays: 7-8:15 PM The Power of Now Jim Francek; 7-9 PM Is Mysticism Where Science and Religion Meet? Bart Stuck and 7-8:30 PM (Every other Wed; check calendar) #BLM Movie Night. ZOOM HERE. Beth Cliff Sudha Sankar

Thursdays, 4-5 PM Talking Circles. ZOOM HERE. Jim Francek

Fridays 12-1 PM Awakenings ZOOM HERE.  Kathy Roberts

Saturdays in January 12-2 PM. Starting Point. Linda Lubin

Sundays 9:00-9:45. Meditation Janet Luongo

1st Saturday and 3rd Wednesday of the month 9:30 AM. TUCW Hiking Group Gian Morresi Jamie Forbes

Our complete calendar is always on our website. Click HERE for quick access.

All women welcome at all events; visit our website for complete info.

ZOOM Information for All TUCWomen Gatherings: Meeting room: HERE ID: 457 957 6089

Password: 998419. Landline: 1.646.558.8656 Questions? Contact TUCWomen@gmail.com

• Tapping Circles with Carol Hamilton All Mondays in December - 7:00–8:30 PM

• Sacred Circles with Grandmother Nancy 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month: December 22 and January 12 - 7:30-9:00 PM

Save the date: Friday, Jan. 22 - 7:00-8:30 PM

Join us for our Potluck on ZOOM; our January getting to know you event! Cohosts will be Eileen Belmont and Nancy McKeever.

The new Women, Spirit and Imagination Series ("WSI") begins in January. WSI provides a rich set of opportunities for women to connect more deeply with themselves and other women in our community. Full details HERE.

Intensive Journaling offered by Carol Hamilton - Wednesday, January 6th, 7:00-8:30 pm

A biweekly workshop. When regularly practiced, journaling can connect us to our creativity and inner resources for dealing with life’s stressors.

Discussion of the non-fiction book: CASTE: the Origin of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson. Parts 6 and 7. All are welcome.

We are stepping out to act in three specific areas: police accountability, education reform and a women’s conference intended to inspire, connect and create further action.

Find us on digital and social media: website: uuwestport.org, Facebook public page (Unitarian Church in Westport) private group (uuwestport), and Instagram (uuwestportct).

 WE INSPIRE and support individual spiritual growth. 

 WE CONNECT through worship, music, learning, and caring ministries. 

 WE ACT in the service of peace and justice.