The UUCWC church building will be closed until further notice;
essential staff and Sunday service leaders only.

Although the church building is closed, we are still doing church, continuing to seek to Create Community, Celebrate Life, Change the World. Staff are working from home but they are in to check on the building and provide Sunday service as needed. They are keeping a watchful eye on our building and grounds, including making minor repairs, scheduling regular inspects, etc., to ensure that everything will be in good condition for our return.

Guidelines Put in Place to Open Church Grounds

In response to a number of requests, the UUCWC Board of Trustees asked our Task Force on Reopening to recommend how we might safely permit groups of members and friends to meet on church grounds. This would not include meetings in the church building, as we are not yet ready to consider that possibility.

The task force reviewed New Jersey and Pennsylvania requirements and CDC guidelines and decided it would be safe to open the grounds only, including the Memorial Garden and Meditation Trail, as long as we adhere to the current published standards. The Board has approved these requirements for use of the church grounds.

Welcome to CrossCurrents!  Your comments are welcome at crosscurrents@uucwc.org

In this issue:

You are Invited to Participate in Doing Church Simply by Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski

A Letter to the President Elect by Rev. Kim Wildszewski

Engagning in Small Groups by Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Faith Engagement

Simplifying Church by Sue Saddlemire, Trustee, Board of Trustees

Capital Campaign/Project Update by Jayme Trott and Susan Vigilante, Co-Chairs, Capital Campaign/Project

Living Our Values Through Restorative Justice by Michelle Hunt, Right Relations Committee

UU the Vote Phonebanking and Textbanking

Staying Connected: Social Justice – Faith in Action Facebook Page and Email List

The Path to Membership in Virtual Times

You are Invited to Participate in Doing Church Simply
Rev. Kim Wildszewski

We are a mission driven congregation and faith. UUCWC’s mission is to Celebrate Life, Create Community and Change the World. We Celebrate Life by attending worship; Create Community by engaging in small groups, and Change the World by serving in ways that reflect our UU values and through UUCWC partnerships.

In an effort to drill down to the very most essential ways we believe congregational life and Unitarian Universalism can partner each of us in this time, you are invited into three areas of congregational life – Celebrate, Create, and Serve – right off our mission statement but a little mixed around. All virtually, so no matter your location or ability, you are invited to participate in this way of doing church differently and simply.  Read more…

A Letter to the President Elect
Four years ago ministers all over the country and from every denomination wondered how they would speak a word of wisdom or hope. In preparation for the uncertainty of these next weeks, I found the sermon I offered you in November, 2016, in the form of a letter to the President Elect. I offer it again as an invitation for reflection, four years later and on the eve of another contentious election in America. Read, or listen, to this sermon

Engaging in Small Groups
Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Faith Engagement

This church year, the invitation is to deepen your Unitarian Universalist faith by living our congregation’s mission.  As mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, UUCWC’s mission is to Celebrate Life, Create Community and Change the World.  We Celebrate Life by attending worship; Create Community by engaging in small groups, and Change the World by serving in ways that reflect our UU values and through UUCWC partnerships.

As Director of Lifespan Faith Engagement, I want to help everyone engage in a small group. What is a small group in this context?  Read more…

Robin can be reached at dre@uucwc.org.

Simplifying Church

Sue Saddlemire, Trustee, UUCWC Board of Trustees

In preparation for the fall board retreat that took place on September 26, we were asked to read the book Simple Church, by Thom Ranier and Eric Geiger.  The purpose of this book, as the title indicates, is to simplify the process of “doing church” so that all of the many pieces can productively work together to help accomplish church goals and objectives.  As I worked my way through this book, there were many thoughts swirling through my mind and I was unsure how to precisely articulate what I agreed with and what caused me concern and discomfort. Read more…

UUCWC’s Board of Trustees

The Board’s goals for 2020-2021 were shared at the recent Church Council meeting.

Find out more about the UUCWC Board of Trustees, and minutes of past Board meetings, on the Board page.

Capital Project Update
Jayme Trott and Susan Vigilante, Co-Chairs, Capital Campaign/Project

The Capital Project Steering Committee (Jayme Trott, Susan Vigilante, George Faulkner, Mary Acciani, Steve Saddlemire, Farzad Shadzik, and Susan Irgang) has spent the past month working closely with the new MEP (Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing) engineer to modify the building plans to better meet our needs.

Members of the Steering Committee, along with Rev. Kim, Robin Pugh, Mike Muccioli and our architect, David Singer, met with our design consultant, Shila Griffith, to select finishes for the new construction. For those who worried that the new stone entrance in the architectural renderings was too dark, you will be happy to know that the stone selected coordinates beautifully with our bright white exterior. If you want to take a peek at it, check out “Whitecap Ledgecut“.

We are on track to meet the following deadlines: Read more…

Thank you so very much to all who have pledged and are continuing to pay their Capital Campaign pledges! If you have not yet had a chance to contribute, please reach out to us at capitalcampaign@uucwc.org.

Living Our Values Through Restorative Justice
by Michelle Hunt, Right Relations Committee

Our UU principles are a straightforward articulation of our shared values. In turn, our Principles inspire our covenants, which guide how we will live and relate to all existence. Covenants focus specifically on promises we make to each other. In our humanness, sometimes we fall short of our commitments. When we fall short, it can be minor, or it could be deeply disheartening. Restoring covenantal relationships is fundamental to our vision of creating a Beloved Community, our congregation being healthy, and feeling connected.

Restorative justice is an ideology that focuses on healing and understanding rather than identifying right or wrong.  Read more…

Information on joining Sunday’s 10:00am virtual service will be emailed to you on Saturday.

Virtual Events

Racial Justice Ministry Forum Awareness to Activism: Handling Exhaustion,
Theirs & Ours

October 27, 7pm

The Case for Reparations to the Descendants of Enslaved People. Sponsored by UU Princeton
October 29, 7pm

UU FaithAction NJ
Fall Issues Conference

Youth and Justice

November 7
Help decide what justice issues NJ UUs will focus on this year. Breakout sessions for each Justice Task Force.

Read the Fall Issues Conference edition of the UUFANJ newsletter

Bridges to Peace
Learn about the programs of the Peace Center (Langhorne, PA). Sponsored by Faith Action Ministry.
November 18, 7pm

Annual Multifaith Service and Peace Conference

Coalition for Peace Action (UUCWC is a co-sponsor)
November 15

Service at 8am
Conference at 1:30pm

Racial Justice Ministry Forum
Follow Up to Election: Specific Topic TBD
November 24, 7pm

UUCWC: The Path to Membership in Virtual Times

UU the Vote Phonebanking & Textbanking Calendar

UUCWC’s Faith Action Ministry has compiled a calendar of non-partisan phone/text-banking events organized by UU the Vote, UU Justice PA (formerly UUPLAN), our postcarding partner Reclaim Our Vote, and Human Rights Campaign-PA. Click on a listing to see a description of the event and to sign up!

Many members of the UUCWC community are very interested and active in social justice issues. Here are two ways to stay connected:

UUCWC’s Faith in Action Facebook page, is a closed group (only members can see who’s in the group and what they post) for those interested in being an ally to fight against oppression and injustice.

UUCWC’s social justice listserv allows members to share news and events with each other. Contact fam@uucwc.org to join the list.

Path to Membership in Virtual Times

Curious about UUCWC?
Faith Forward is a great way to discover more about the UUCWC community. Held virtually every Tuesday night at 7pm, visitors have an opportunity to connect with our lay leaders about social justice, pastoral care, faith exploration, and more. For the link, email FaithForward@uucwc.orgRead more about the path to membership…

Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing

268 Washington Crossing Pennington Road, Titusville NJ  08560

609-737-0515  |  uucwc@uucwc.org  |  www.uucwc.org