Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware (UUSD)

30486 Lewes Georgetown Highway, Lewes DE 19958 302-313-5838 uussd.org

UUSD Newsletter Beacon at the Beach March 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from Rev. Michelle.………………..… 2 Lifespan Faith Development.…..…….………. 3 President’s Message………………………………… 3 Board Highlights……………………………………… 4 Did You Know?………………………………………… 5

Leadership Development Committee……. 6 Committee Updates………………………………… 6 Photo Highlights of Jazz SeaDUCTION…… 11 Contacts…………………………………………………… 12

IT’S PLEDGE TIME AT UUSD It Takes a Village

Sunday, March 1 is the official kick-off of the annual pledge campaign to develop financial support for next year’s operating budget. It is no longer called Stewardship Month because caring for our beloved congregation is a year-round activity with many moving parts. Our pledge team this year is Chris Leslie, Marj Shannon, Pat Murdock, Ron Schaeffer, and me. And before I go any further, endless thanks to Jean Charles who for many years took on this task mostly on her own.

The year’s theme is “It Takes a Village,” and nothing better describes the pledges needed to financially support our congregation. It takes all of us, every last member and friend, to make a promise (a pledge) to keep UUSD flourishing. Our congregation has a wonderful history of supporting the work and growth of UUSD by making and honoring their pledges. Our preliminary budget is the sum of all the budget requests from administration and the committees. Our Budget Team did a great job working with everyone using a new process. To fund all the requests we will need to raise almost $330,000 for the year starting July 1; that is almost $902 per day to operate UUSD. Pledge income represents 81% of our total expected revenue and are the dependable dollars that anchor the budget you will be asked to approve. The rest of the income will come from FUNdraising providing 11%, with the remaining 8% from plate donations, rentals, and other gifts. Our pledge goal for the year is $267,409, which is 4% over last year’s commitment. Highlights of the budget include hiring some maintenance help so our volunteers can be kept off high ladders and the like, an increase in compensation for our staff, and meeting the program requests from all our committees. If we exceed our goal by a modest amount, we may even be able to fund some “stretch” projects that the committees want to take on.

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We impact the community, we bring joy to the lives of many people including our own, and we are a liberal voice in Southern Delaware. Your financial pledge makes all this possible. Be part of the village — make your pledge to support next year’s operating budget and keep UUSD thriving. This is one of the most important things members can do to help UUSD live its mission and sustain its progress. The pledge information will be sent to you by email on March 1, and the service that Sunday will be devoted to inspiring you to continue or begin your financial support. Please reach out to any member of the Pledge Team if you have questions and especially if pledging is new to you. Thank you so much for your generosity. With warm regards, Joanne Saltzberg, Pledge Campaign Team Leader

REV. MICHELLE COLLINS, MINISTER

JOURNEYING TOGETHER

What a great time we’ve had in our worship services this past month! We’ve been doing what I call an experimental worship series, which is a few different things. First, it’s not exactly our “normal” type of worship service (although “normal” is a pretty wide net). We might change around some of the ways that we do things or try out something new. We also had some elements that were common throughout the worship series, such as the fantastic videos by Lutheran rock-star pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. They are on YouTube, and you can find links to the entire series of her videos at: https://www.facebook.com/MAKERShavealittlefaith. In addition to these types of elements, we also had a variety of perspectives presented on the theme of the Sunday, which was one of four sacred words. We heard from some of our worship associates, from a notable UU voice, and

then I shared some different perspectives too. The response that I’ve heard from folks for the overall series has been incredible, and while I thought it would be well-received, it surprised me how much it touched folks. It surprised me but I guess it didn’t, not really. I’ve always believed that humans deeply crave engagement with spiritual vocabulary and theological reflection. No matter what our current beliefs may be, we crave the engagement and the ways to talk about our spiritual selves and our spiritual longings. But even with that, it’s still not something that we do very often in our daily lives. How often do you go around talking about surrender? Or about grace? Or about reverence? It is not only deeply refreshing when we actually do talk about them, like we have during this past month, but it also can be a reminder of how much we do really need that kind of reflection on a regular basis. And that doesn’t mean just once a week on Sundays, or occasionally when we get around to it. It means as a regular practice in each of our lives. The thought that I’d like to leave you with this month is how to make that happen for yourself. What are some ways that you can remind yourself to touch on these deep sacred and spiritual topics regularly? What are some ways that faith and surrender and grace and reverence can touch your life and activities every day? May we continue this deepening work as we go about our time each and every day. Blessings, Rev. Michelle

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AMBER PETERSON, DIRECTOR, LIFESPAN FAITH DEVELOPMENT

Some of you may know that the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington has often given us various grants to support our congregation and help us grow. In March of 2017, in connection with their Grants for Growth program, First U Wilmington took their first collection for UUSD to support expenses connected with Religious Education Credentialing. This was a grant of $4500 to be fulfilled over three years. However, they met that commitment in the first two years. Credentialing has required me to complete a reading program and several other trainings to demonstrate my understanding and proficiency in topics including RE program administration, volunteer management, multi-age worship, UU history, professional ethics, and conflict management. Completion of the program concludes with an extensive portfolio completed

and interview with a panel of experts in religious education, pastoral ministry, and congregational lay leadership. The final portion of my portfolio will be turned in on March 1, and my final interview will be toward the end of April in Florida. As I wrap up my final requirements and prepare for my interview, I want to thank you all for your support and commitment to this endeavor. As long as the work I have presented and my interview are well received by the interviewing committee, I will be recognized as a Credentialed Religious Educator at GA this year. Being recognized as a Credentialed Religious Educator is a testimony to our strength and continued growth. Going through the credentialing process also adds validity to my personal professional identity. Many peers and fellow UUs understand that the process of credentialing is time-consuming, in depth, and challenging. Thank you for valuing the spiritual growth of our children, as well as our adults, and supporting me through this journey. Namaste, Amber Peterson, Director, Lifespan Faith Development

JOANNE SALTZBERG, BOARD PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

What a topic competition went on in my head for this month’s President’s Message! March is Women’s History Month, and my feminist sensibilities rebelled at the thought of not raising up this increasingly unobserved time to honor and celebrate the contributions of women. The National Women’s History Museum’s 2020 Women’s History Month theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote.” The theme honors "the brave women who fought to win suffrage rights for women, and for the women who continue to fight for the voting rights of others." What could be more important this year than the free and unfettered right to vote? We are living with the effects of unpunished voter fraud and interference. “Never Again” must be a call to action this year.

On March 8 the world celebrates, as it has since 1911, International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme is “An equal world is an enabled world.” That feels like a prayer to me.

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March is also nominating month for members of UUSD’s Board of Trustees and Leadership Development Committee Members. There are several trusted leaders resigning after giving wonderful service and a few good people are needed to step up. And last, March is Pledge Month at UUSD. It is no longer Stewardship Month because stewardship is a 24/7 collaboration of caring for this beloved congregation. Pledge month is when we are called to commit our dollars towards the operating budget of UUSD starting July 1. I hope you see your pledge as not simply an obligation but as a source of personal well-being and happiness. UUSD’s theme in 2020 is, “It Takes a Village” because we know that to be true for the continued sustainability and growth of this congregation. And we also know it to be true whenever and wherever we want our world’s people and planet to be enabled by equality. We know that the struggle for equality is ongoing because what we see as rights must be fought for when there are differing visions that drive their manifestation. And we sadly know that rights are fragile and transient. What better lesson than the fact that in 1770 in New Jersey some women and African Americans could vote! By 1801 that “right” was denied. In the end, I guess, there really was no competition at all for a topic. March calls us to both celebrate and support the justice seekers of this world in all the ways that we can. This weaving of our Seven Principles provides us with a clear vision for an equal world, and UUSD gives us the community to sustain and comfort us as we move towards it. With warmest wishes, Joanne

HIGHLIGHTS: BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ FEBRUARY 17, 2020 MEETING LEN BOWMAN, BOARD SECRETARY

On Saturday, February 15, the Board, the Executive Team, and the Committee on Congregational Life joined in a day-long (well, almost: 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) retreat. We shared insights and questions about the respective roles and responsibilities of these groups in serving the Congregation. Remember, the ET and CCL are quite new to UUSD, and so we’re still defining these roles and responsibilities, seeing what’s working well and what maybe not so much, bolstering the former and working to fix the latter. This is UUSD’s senior leadership team. The retreat was fruitful, even invigorating. One thing we realized was how beneficial it is for the senior leadership team to meet together periodically. So, we plan to do so—half-day retreats together every couple of months. We’re scheduled for one in April. In contrast to January’s Board meeting, this month’s meeting addressed a compact agenda. The principal concern this month was addressing Safety Issues. UUSD had an ad-hoc Safety Team that put together a thorough UUSD Emergency Response Manual in 2018. UUSD’s Executive Team is now assuming responsibility for safety. A sub-team for safety will be formed shortly. Under consideration are an after-service session on managing disrupters (seeking advice from the State Police and from MCC, who has unfortunately had experience with disrupters), and an April fire drill. A key issue regarding safety is whether to lock doors during worship. There are good reasons to keep the doors of a welcoming congregation open, of course. Safety, especially during this volatile election year, is an overriding concern. So, the Board voted to establish this policy: UUSD will adopt a locked-door policy at the beginning of Sunday services and of other significant events as appropriate. Implementing this policy, which will require some preparation and training, rests with the Executive Team.

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Preparations for the Pledge Drive are in place, and several pledges have already come in. Ron Schaeffer is stepping down as Pledge Team Coordinator after completing the planning and preparation stage. Joanne Saltzberg will take on that role for implementing the campaign. The dollar goal will be announced March 1, once FY21 budget projections are complete. Then two “thermometers” will illustrate for the Congregation our progress toward the dollar goal and toward full involvement of pledging households. UUSD’s financial condition continues to be very healthy. Good News about Refinancing UUSD’s Mortgage: Mortgage documents are to be signed February 21 with Tidemark Federal Credit Union. Payments will be $71.37/month less than our current payment, and our rate of principal payoff will be faster than it is currently. Congratulations and thanks to Pat Murdock and Dan Payne for making this happen.

DID YOU KNOW? — RON SCHAEFFER

BUDDHIST AND UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST VOICES TOGETHER

After several UUSD members approached me about the recent article on Christian Voices in Unitarian Universalism, I thought I’d again provide the earlier article on Buddhists in the UU Faith. The book, Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism came out in 2013. I was also inspired by an article by Rev. James Ishmael Ford, a retired UU minister, who is also a (Soto) Zen Buddhist priest. Rev. Ford provides some useful history by taking us back to 1844 with the publication of the Lotus Sutra, a highly regarded Buddhist scripture, in the Dial magazine, a Transcendentalist journal at the time. By all accounts, this was the first Buddhist text to be rendered in the English language in the United States. The Dial editor at the time was Margaret Fuller (Unitarian),

and the person who translated the Sanskrit text to English was Elizabeth Peabody (Unitarian). The UU minister, Sam Trumbore, points out in the “The Buddhist Voices” book that it would be over one hundred years from that publication before any significant interplay between Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism would develop. In the mid 1960s, interest in Buddhism began to grow in UU circles. Initially, it was academic, but by the 1980s, it grew into UU Buddhist practitioners bringing practices, such as meditation and retreats into congregations. It also became clear that Buddhism and UUism had mutual areas of interest such as ecological and economic justice. Another measure of the interaction between the two religions is the number of UU ministers involved deeply in both. Rev. Ford points out the following examples: • Former Meadville Lombard Dean, Gene Reeves, and UU Jeff Wilson at the University of Waterloo are making

important scholarly contributions to this subject. • Also, increasing numbers of UUs are becoming spiritual directors within Buddhist disciplines. Rev. Doug

Kraft is one of many longtime Buddhist meditation teachers within our Association. Birthright UU Tara Brach is one of the most prominent Vipassana meditation teachers in the country. Rev. Robert Schaibly was designated an associate teacher by Thich Nhat Hanh.

• UUs David Rynick, Melissa Blacker, Rev. Florence Caplow, and Rev. James Ford received Dharma transmission, full authorization as Zen teachers.

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Other UU ministers and lay persons, who do not have official Dharma transmission at this time, but still have a strong connection to Buddhism and are involved in the UU Buddhist Fellowship leadership are: Wayne Arnason, Sam Trumbore, Meg Riley, Judith Wright, Catherine Senghas, Marni Harmony, Ren Brumfield, Alex Holt, Joyce Reeves, Kim Crawford Harvie, Meredith Garman, and Thandeka. They were all contributors to the Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism book. There are probably more by now. A recent survey (not fully scientific) suggests that about ten thousand UUs consider themselves Buddhists. That number more than triples if you include UUs who consider Buddhism a major influence on their spiritual practices. Finally, Rev. Ford argues that Buddhism along with feminism are the two most important spiritual currents informing UUism today. Although I have no hard data to support this, I would think the various Pagan disciplines would be up there in importance, too. So where is all this going? The overlap, small and large in some key theological doctrines such as loving-kindness, no soul, karma, letting-go, free choice, and compassion will keep the conversation going. Who knows, perhaps a future merger of sorts develops down the road?

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION…OUR UU FUTURE IS UP TO YOU!

The congregation will elect four Board trustees and three Leadership Development Committee (LDC) members at the annual meeting in June. Elected members will serve two-year terms starting July 1, 2020. The guidelines and self-nomination forms are available on the UUSD website on the Leadership Development page. Please note: Self-nominations will not be accepted after March 31.

Thank you for all your hard work to support our loving UUSD community. If you have questions, contact LeadershipDevelopment@uussd.org or Penny Lee Dean, Pat Schaeffer — Chair, Peter Schott, or Lee Wheeler.

BOARD COMMITTEE NEWS

COMMUNICATIONS UUSD HAS A NEW WEBSITE CALENDAR

Great news! UUSD has a wonderful new calendar to keep you up to date on all UUSD activities, events, and meetings. The new one will be much easier to read and navigate so we are pleased to add it to the many ways you can stay in touch at UUSD. Here are some of the exciting new calendar features you can use:

• Choose any month you want to see from a menu or choose a range of months. Moving from month to month will be much easier.

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• See basic information about an event by simply putting your cursor on the date. To see all the details, click on the event name.

• Click on an event to see details and then choose to send a reminder to yourself about the event or invite a friend.

• In List View, you can sort and print calendars for any selected set of consecutive Months, Weeks, or Days.

• In Calendar View, you can sort and print calendars for any selected set of consecutive Months or Weeks.

• In either View, you can see and print one or more years’ worth of Months. • Print the calendar in weekly, monthly, or list mode. For example, you could select Adult Religious

Education in the Interest Groups tab, March 2020 to December 2020 as the dates, and List mode, and you will see all the classes offered during that time period. Print the list for future reference.

• See all the events sponsored by an Interest Group—Social Justice, Choir, Adult Religious Education, Fundraising, etc.

• See all the events held in a specific room or section of the church—Large RE Room, Gathering Area, East Wing, all of UUSD, etc.

• Save a link to the calendar in your Favorites and access it without going on the UUSD website.

Here are the things that will stay the same:

• You will still use the Calendar & Space Request form to request space at UUSD, but we have consolidated the two old forms so all event space will be requested from just one form.

• You will still check the calendar before requesting space. • For large events, you will still check in with Gwen and Jean before requesting space. Contact Gwen and

Jean at Rental@uussd.org. • You can still check the Ongoing Activities page (found under the News button on the website Homepage)

to see a list of all the activities/events for the next 30 days. • You will still work with Nancy Cordes, our Administrator, if you have any questions or concerns about

reserving space. Contact Nancy at Admin@uussd.org.

As always, we welcome feedback from users. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please contact WebsiteAdmin@uussd.org.

DENOMINATIONAL AFFAIRS UPDATE ON GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2020 IN PROVIDENCE, RI ON JUNE 24–28

— Ron and Pat Schaeffer, Co-Chairs Denominational Affairs held an information forum on the upcoming 2020 UUA General Assembly (GA) that will be held June 24–28 in Providence, Rhode Island. Please contact DenomAffairs@uussd.org if you are thinking about attending GA this year. The UUA is continuing to release updates on programming information at GA. Here are the key highlights: UUA Announces Naomi Klein as Ware Lecturer: The UUA has announced that Naomi Klein will deliver this year’s Ware Lecture at General Assembly. Klein is the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers

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University, and an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist, and international and New York Times bestselling author. Service of the Living Tradition: Rev. Danielle Di Bona has been selected to deliver the sermon at this year’s Service of the Living Tradition, a special service that honors ministers and UU credentialed educators in all phases of their ministry. Rev. Paula Maiorano, former UUSD Interim Minister, will be recognized during the Service of the Living Tradition for her retirement from ministry. Sunday Morning Worship: Joan Javier-Duval, Minister of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, VT, will deliver this year’s sermon at the Sunday Morning Service. This service is open to the public. Public Witness at GA: Each year, interfaith and community partners participate with GA participants in a public witness for justice. The public witness at GA in 2019 was “Demand Smart Justice for Spokane!” The UUA has not yet announced the public witness at this year’s GA. Considering Attending GA? Important Reminders! 1. UUA Releases Housing Options — Book Your Room Starting March 2: The UUA has released its housing

options for GA 2020 on their website at https://www.uua.org/ga/travel/general-assembly-hotels. The General Assembly Housing Reservation System will open on Monday, March 2, at 9 a.m. EST.

2. Early Bird Registration Ends March 15: Early Bird registration is open until March 15. Registration rates will increase beginning March 16. The Early Bird rate for full time adults (Wednesday through Sunday) is $400. This rate will increase to $500 on March 16. The link to register is https://www.uua.org/ga/registration.

Don’t delay…register now for General Assembly 2020 in Providence, Rhode Island. You will be glad you did! Got questions? Contact Ron or Pat Schaeffer at DenomAffairs@uussd.org.

FINANCE FINANCIAL UPDATE AT UUSD

— Ron Schaeffer, Chair

I believe you all know that the Finance Committee is dedicated to keeping our members and friends informed about our financial situation. We are now almost 60% through our fiscal year (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020), and we have already collected 71% of our budgeted operating income, which includes 70% of our pledge commitments for the entire year. Some members pay their entire pledge early, so it is important that everyone please keep your pledge payments current as we come to the end of the year. Our expenses paid to date are 58% of the budget.

• Total income through January 31: $226,008 (71% of the total budget) • Total expenses paid through January 31: $182,021 (58% of the total budget) • Surplus in operating budget as of January 31: $43,987

In addition, our Finance Officer, Pat Murdock, reports that, overall, UUSD is in a very healthy financial position with substantial cash in reserve for a rainy day. In fact, we have the equivalent of five months of cash available in our bank account to cover any crisis demand or unexpected costs. The recommended reserve by the UUA and other non-profit associations is three months, so we are well ahead of the required level. We hope this information is helpful to you. We welcome your questions and comments and thank all our members and friends for their continued financial support.

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LIFESPAN FAITH DEVELOPMENT A FEW WORDS FROM THE LIBRARIAN

— Joyce Fitch

I love reading books that take place during World War II, and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a good one. The two main characters are a blind young girl from Paris and a teenage German boy, who has become a whiz at repairing radios. The story follows these two people and all the things that happen to them during the war. Then in 1945, their paths cross. What leads up to this is part of the fascinating tale. Other things include hiding a precious stone from the Nazis and how the girl got a superb education. For my non-fiction title of the month, I have chosen Work and the Human Spirit by John Scherer and Larry Shook. It is about creating a new formula for success and personal transformation in the workplace, which shows that the human spirit has a much to do with success as the bottom line. When someone asked me if they could donate a book about the Krishna religion, I said, “Great! I don’t think I have a book about this in our extensive religious section.” (Remember the Hare Krishna monks who wore saffron robes and chanted endlessly on streets many years ago?). I recently attended a funeral where the service was done in this Hindu religion, and I found the chanting very beautiful. The name of the book is Bhagavad-Gita as it is. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, is the author.

PASTORAL CARE CAREGIVING

— Sue O’Brien, Co-Chair

There are various types of caregiving that one person may provide to another. This article will focus on family/friend caregiving and self-care for the caregiver. Caregiving is a broad term that takes on many forms. Caregivers may be a friend or family member, parent, child, spouse or sibling. Medical advances and innovations, as well as pharmaceuticals, have improved treatment for many chronic and acute diseases, and people, in general, are living longer lives. These are only two of several factors that can explain why more and more people are finding themselves caring for a loved one at home. Most family caregivers were neither trained in caregiving nor did they expect to be in such a situation. The need to assume the role of caregiver may develop gradually over a long period of time or appear suddenly as in the case of an emergency or acute illness. Caregiving presents no definite parameters since our family member’s needs may vary and change. Rarely can a timeframe for caregiving be determined. The monetary and hidden costs of caregiving are enormous and stress producing. Household, medical, travel, personal expenses, and periodic paid help (if there’s money to pay for it) certainly add up to a large sum, which can be a financial burden for many and a financial catastrophe for others. There’s no greater gift that one can give another than providing care for their body, mind, and/or spirit. The challenges for caregivers comprise a long list, not the least of which is caring for one’s self and another person at the same time. Caregivers can often feel isolated, alone, exhausted, overwhelmed, and unprepared for the tasks they are required to perform. Hopefully there is someone in the caregiver’s life that will offer them thanks and

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appreciation. It’s helpful if caregivers know basic self-care such as recognizing signs and symptoms of illness or depression in themselves. A trusted person to talk with or “keep an eye on” the caregiver is helpful. If one is confined at home with a loved one, the computer or tablet can be a helpful resource offering online support groups and assistance via AARP, National Institute on Aging, Jewish Family Services, local respite services, etc. UUSD Pastoral Care Associates are available for assistance and support. Time is precious to caregivers, and they may feel there’s not a moment to reach out. This is where their own friends and families need to be vigilant about the status and needs of the caregiver. An offer of a few hours respite from a friend can be a bright spot in the life of a caregiver. As UU members, we have much to offer our fellows who are in a caregiving situation.

SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

— Susan and Mac Goekler, Co-Chairs Making a Difference Delaware’s legislative session has begun. And, working with and through the UUs of Delaware Advocacy Network (UUDAN) and Network Delaware, the UUSD Social and Environment Justice Committee is tracking important pending legislation that the Delaware legislature will consider. Watch for opportunities to contact your legislators about issues that address our UU values. If you are interested in being on the UUDAN email list or UUSD’s Social & Environmental Justice list, send a request to socialjustice@uussd.org. Opportunities to Share: Share the Plate: In February, the congregation donated $837 to Habitat for Humanity Sussex. It is one of the most successful Habitat affiliates in the U.S. Habitat will begin construction on a new home in Milton early in March. If you are interested in helping with this project – either with the actual building or by providing sustenance to those doing the manual labor, please talk to Chris Leslie, or send an e-mail to socialjustice@uussd.org and explain how you are interested in getting involved. To support the annual Pledge Campaign, there will be no Share the Plate in March. UU Service Committee’s Guest at Your Table: Sixty (60) UUSD members are now also members of UUSC. Together, UUSD members contributed $1,219.79 to UUSC through the Guest at Your Table program.

GREEN TEAM TIPS FOR MARCH CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY ON APRIL 22

— Pat Williams

We're coming up on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22. This year's theme is Climate Action. For a half century, people in the know have been calling attention to our world's environment in jeopardy. We know there is no Planet B. Now, this year, our efforts to ramp up changes, personally, locally, nationally, and internationally are challenging us. So, visit http://www.earthday.org for tips to get started. Earth Day encourages you to join their campaigns to Protect Our Species and End Plastic Pollution, plant a tree or donate a tree through the Canopy Project, or join the campaign to create Foodprints for the Future.

Many UU congregations have participated in the Green Sanctuary program. It took over two years for UUSD to qualify back in 2011. We moved to this venue in 2015, carrying with us the determination to do even better. And we have! Our venue is 97% off the energy grid with solar collectors, insulation, and state-of-the-art heat pumps. We've received the National Interfaith Power & Light Cool Congregations award. Note that ours was the founding congregation for the Delaware Interfaith Power & Light. Our property is also a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

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UUSD Green Team members are joining with Green Team members from two other local congregations to provide Windows of Hope for low income families to build economical storm windows.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS FROM WAVES OF LOVE CABARET WITH JAZZ SEADUCTION Many thanks go to our FUNdraising Committee and Valerie McNickol and Dave Kemper with Jazz SeaDUCTION for presenting the Waves of Love Cabaret on Friday, February 21, 2020. A wonderful time was had by all.

(Photos Courtesy of Randy Davidson)

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CONTACTS

STAFF & OFFICERS Minister: Rev. Dr. Michelle Collins, Minister@uussd.org Director of Lifespan Faith Development:

Amber Peterson, DLFD@uussd.org Director of Music Ministries:

Julie Keefer, DirMusicMin@uussd.org Administrative Assistant:

Nancy Cordes, Admin@uussd.org Bookkeeper: Leah Ann Thompson (Direct all bookkeeping, pledge data requests, and related financial matters to Pat Murdock, Finance Officer.) Nursery Teacher: Rebecca Taylor Board of Trustees: 2018 – 2019

President: Joanne Saltzberg, BOTPresident@uussd.org Vice-President: Gwen Johnson, BOTVicePres@uussd.org Finance Officer: Pat Murdock, BOTFinanceOfficer@uussd.org Secretary: Len Bowman, BOTSecretary@uussd.org Members: Barbara Barnette, Mac Goekler, & Rick Welk

COMMITTEES/GROUPS/TEAMS

Executive Team: ExecTeam@uussd.org Rev. Michelle Collins, Jean Charles, Donna Dolce, Deanna Duby, & Lew Maurer

Communications: Pat Schaeffer, Communications@uussd.org

Photo Team: Sue Brown & Pat Schaeffer, PhotoTeam@uussd.org

Congregational Life: Marj Shannon, CongregationalLife@uussd.org Denominational Affairs: Ron & Pat Schaeffer,

DenomAffairs@uussd.org Finance: Ron Schaeffer, Finance@uussd.org Cloud Society: Ron Schaeffer,

CloudSociety@uussd.org Pledge Campaign Team Leader: Joanne Saltzberg, BOTPresident@uussd.org

Fundraising: Kris Acker, Fundraising@uussd.org Leadership Development: Pat Schaeffer,

LeadershipDevelopment@uussd.org Lifespan Faith Development: Valerie Andrews,

LifespanFaithDev@uussd.org Adult Education: Betty Kirk & Len Bowman AdultEd@uussd.org Librarian: Joyce Fitch, Librarian@uussd.org Membership: Linda Marsden, Membership@uussd.org Music: Dianne Conine, Music@uussd.org Partner Church: Ceil Toth, PartnerChurch@uussd.org Pastoral Care: Carol Huckabee and Sue O’Brien, PastoralCare@uussd.org Personnel: Jean Charles, Personnel@uussd.org Planning: Allan Cairncross, Planning@uussd.org

Property Management: Gary Schmidt, PropMgmt@uussd.org

AV: Dianne Conine and Gary Schmidt, AVTeam@uussd.org

Energy Team: Alan Cairncross, et al., Energy@uussd.org

Kitchen Team: Anne Pikolas, KitchenTeam@uussd.org

Landscape Management: Linda DeFeo, Margaret Keefe, & Kay Creech, LandscapeTeam@uussd.org Rental & Usage: Jean Charles, RentalUsage@uussd.org

Usage Facilitators: Gwen Johnson & Jean Charles, Usage@uussd.org Small Group Ministry (Ad Hoc): Bobbi Dunham, SmallGrpMin@uussd.org Men’s Covenant Group: Ron Schaeffer, MensCovGrp@uussd.org Social & Environmental Justice: Susan & Mac Goekler, SocialJustice@uussd.org ESL: Betty Kirk, ESL@uussd.org ESL Childcare: Kris Acker, ESLChildcare@uussd.org Green Team: John Sykes, GreenTeam@uussd.org Worship: Jean Charles, Worship@uussd.org Ushers: Chuck Herbert, Ushers@uussd.org

COMMUNICATIONS

UUSD Website uussd.org Website Administrators: Alleane Taylor, Lead; Margaret Keefe WebsiteAdmin@uussd.org Website Content Administrator: Pat Schaeffer, Communications@uussd.org

Facebook Administrator: Pat Schaeffer Editor: Alleane Taylor

Newsletter Editor at Large: Pat Schaeffer Copy Editors: Sue Brown & Alleane Taylor

Directory changes for contact information to DirectoryUpdates@uussd.org

Beacon at the Beach Newsletter Articles due the 20th of each month to Pat Schaeffer

Publicity requests to Pat Schaeffer OOS Announcement Insert notices by Tuesday Noon

to Pat Schaeffer Order of Service (OOS) notices by Tuesday Noon to

Admin@uussd.org Community Updates by Thursday to Jean Charles Website Calendar Updates to Admin@uussd.org