World Water Day Concert, Earth Day Worship & More!
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April 11th, 2023
Dear Friends,
I like to say that Earth Day is a Unitarian Universalist “high holy day”! But then again, I like to say, “everyday is Earth Day”. Any way you look at it, this is a special time of year to honor Earth and focus our work for environmental justice. There is a lot going on over the next month to do just that. We hope you will join us for any and all the events described below.
You will see that we create events and offerings, and we amplify the work of our partners. Be sure to check out our social media channels for tidbits of wisdom and inspiration.
Many blessings to each of you as you live our Unitarian Universalist seventh principle: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part”.
Love,
Rev. Kelly Dignan Co-Director, Programs
EARTH DAY SERVICE
There are two ways to worship with UUMFE for Earth Day!
Join us for the live stream of the full service on April 20th, 5pm PT/ 6pm MT/ 7pm CT/ 8pm ET.
Or receive the recordings for use in your congregation. Donations are requested.
We can't wait to celebrate this important day with you all. Thanks to Side with Love for their sponsorship.
Our Monthly Spiritual Gatherings help us ground, recenter, and imagine what is possible in a world in need of repair. This year to draw us more closely into alignment with Earth-based philosophies, we will follow the Lunar Calendar. We will gather each month, via Zoom, on the Full Moon to nourish our spirit. Our next gathering with be on May 5th at 4 pm PT/ 5 pm MT/ 6 pm CT/ 7 pm ET. We hope you join us!
Each month, you and/or your congregation will receive a collection of materials focused on a different theme and filled with ways to help with your EMBODIMENT, EMPOWERMENT, & ENGAGEMENT in the face of environmental injustice. We hope you use these resources for worship, contemplative practice, and religious exploration in your congregation. You can find past issues here.
Shine on Resilient and Beautiful People Is a DRUUMM Virtual Public Worship via Zoom and is open to all
Shine on resilient and beautiful people with DRUUMM for our annual public worship featuring a festival of Black and Brown joy and resilience through original works of music and preaching. Musical director Amanda Thomas and guest minister Rev. Katie Romano Griffin are joined by gifted black and brown colleagues from across UU-verse to help bring some shine to your day including The Rev. Dr. Kristen Harper, Nasreen Khan, and Cassie Montenegro. We will feature original works of music, prayer, and poetry.
From Our Partner, GreenFaith: Singing to Ground Our Spirits and Inspire Our Movement
Thursday, April 20th 3:30pm PT/ 4:30pm MT/ 5:30pm CT/ 6:30pm ET
Singing and chanting together can be a deep source of spiritual grounding and connection to ourselves and each other, to our vision and purpose, to the divine, to the lands, the water, the ancestors and future generations. Many of us experience this transcendent power of music in our religious practices and traditions. It’s time to bring this unique cultural wisdom into our faithful movement building for climate justice!
Join GreenFaith in learning and singing songs together for use at your next community meeting, spiritual gathering or public action. We are blessed to be working with Lu Aya of the Peace Poets to create songs for spiritually grounding and bringing expressions of our faith into action for climate justice.
April 19th and May 17th, 2023 Led by Rev. Kelly Dignan and Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone
April and May Topics: Taking Church Outdoors. We’ll share ideas about holding church outdoors to re-establish our sense of place, belonging and oneness with nature. How do you let the land itself be the teacher and co-leader? What if the sermon is given by nature? How do you invite people to wander and tune in to their more-than-human siblings? How is collective wisdom shared in the circle? What if rituals were built by the group in the moment? How do you make it all accessible? How do we avoid the mindset that connection with nature has to be done only in wilderness? These are some of the questions we’ll ponder together. Rev. Kelly has been part of the Wild Church Network and can tell you more about that, too. We’ll take a break from June through August and resume in September. Zoom link will be sent upon registration.
From Our Partner, UUJEC: Changing Narratives About Growing Food
Thursday, April 13th (Tonight) 5pm PT/ 6pm MT/ 7pm CT/ 8pm ET
The soil that we need to grow food and fiber is in more danger than people realize! The steady degradation of soil worldwide is almost invisible due to widespread practices of tillage that we now understand makes the life of the microbes that support plants very miserable. Who knew? Fortunately, renewal and resilience is possible, necessary, and urgently needed. This discussion with Dr. Jean Eells will focus on action steps everyone can take immediately to work the levers of change.
To celebrate International Biodiversity Day, join us on May 10, 2023 to preview our new curriculum: “May You Survive and Thrive”. It is a multi-generational, arts-based family ministry curriculum designed to cultivate and sustain ecological awareness within and between congregations and communities. This event will be a chance for you to learn more about how to use this resource in your congregation, family, and community.
Interfaith Power and Light Film Series for Earth Week
Free screening: April 14-23, 2023 Webinar with the filmmaker: April 17, 2023
These films show the exciting possibility of a just transition to a clean energy economy where the well-being of workers and frontline community members is valued instead of neglected.
From Our Partner, Side With Love: Solar 101 + IRA Funds
Wednesday, April 19th 4pm PT/ 5pm MT/ 6pm CT/ 7pm ET
Michael Cohen, Solar United Neighbors, will give a quick primer on Solar for congregations and share a little about the process the First Unitarian Church of Orlando is going through to consider installing solar with IRA funds. Join the Green Sanctuary Team meetings for shared learning and mutual support with other UUs working on congregational transformation through climate justice on the third Wednesday of the month at 7 PM ET. Each meeting includes a short presentation on a climate justice topic, followed by an open discussion on pressing needs.
From Our Partner, Side With Love: Skill Up, Facing the Apocalypse With a Smile
Sunday, April 23rd 1pm PT/ 2pm MT/ 3pm CT/ 4 pm ET
Everywhere you look the world is on fire! Sometimes you just want to scream at the top of your lungs, “Everything is bad! Do something! AAUGH!!!!” That urgency is real, and also maybe not the best way to communicate about the issues - or to take care of yourself! Come together to learn some ways to manage yourself and engage others as you effectively advocate for justice and work for a thriving world for all. Our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to be lifelong learners, and organizing traditions teach that we need to share what we know for our movements to grow. Our Squad Skill Ups are a monthly series of trainings on organizing skills to help build our UUtheVote and Side with Love Volunteer Squads and help YOU build stronger teams in your congregation and community. Skill Ups occur the 3rd Sunday of most months. Led by Rachel Myslivy, Side with Love Climate Justice Organizer.
No Faith in Fossil Fuels: A Climate Finance Summit
From May 8-11, people of faith will gather to learn about how banks and asset managers continue to invest in the fossil fuel industries that are destroying communities in the U.S. and around the world – and then find out how to hold these financial institutions accountable. Together, we can commit to taking the bold steps necessary to effect real change.
This summit is for you if you’re just making the connections between faith, finance, and climate, if you’re a money manager rooted in just climate values, or if you are part of a community wrestling with these questions.
I wanted to showcase a simple and nutritious vegan Alfredo sauce this month. Sure, it can accompany any preferred noodle, but it can also be used with leftover cabbage and onion, sautéed well with fresh ground black pepper and parsley. It's fantastic with veggies, such as peas, asparagus, leeks and spring greens. It's a great substitute for hollandaise when making a veggie benedict dish, with spinach and grilled portobellos on top of a toasted english muffin. Enjoy its versatility!
We are grateful for the music of Aly Halpert! If you missed the concert or just want to keep listening, you can find the recording on our Vimeo. May you return to it as a resource for spiritual fulfillment and justice grounding.
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