Our Share the Plate (STP) recipient for this month will be the Butterfly Effect Project. They have suffered recent harassment, bigotry and threats. Moral support from their community is important at this time. “Thinking of You” cards will be available to sign at the April 6th & 13th services.
As we do a lot of collections during the year for CAST, we are purchasing containers that will be placed under the SAC table in the back lobby for people to deposit their donations of food, seasonal clothing, toys, etc. We will have flyers on the containers as we receive updates from CAST about their drives.
We will also have a container for an “En Mi Camino” (translation “On My Way”) shoe collection. This charitable effort was brought to our attention by Rosario Rodriguez, the speaker at our Sunday, March 23rd worship service. During the service she screened a short documentary about the journey of several people from her home town in Guatemala. One of those people, her brother Marvin, is collecting gently used children’s shoes for their next distribution, scheduled for late 2025. We will be providing a drop-off site for this effort and for our own donations of shoes or money for the purchase of shoes. Though the emphasis is on children’s shoes, shoes for all ages are welcome; shoes for going to school, to job interviews, and to church. The people receiving these shoes walk a lot and live in areas that are hard on shoes AND ankles (think high-tops). We will keep you informed on this grass roots initiative as it unfolds.
SAC of UUs of Southold is supporting meetings of the North Fork Action Center held on the fourth Friday of each month at 4:00pm. Open to the public, the regular monthly meeting on Friday, March 28th, was followed by the first session of their Anti-Fascist Book Club, discussing On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. Further info about the North Fork Action Center is at https://northforkaction.net. If you are interested in protecting the Constitution, working toward justice, civic engagement, evidence-based science, diversity and a free press, check out and join the Action Center.
Join us for the dedication of our Progressive Pride Flag, which was gifted to us by North Fork Women, on Friday April 11 at 5 pm. April 11 is also the 2025 National Day of Silence, which was started in the mid ‘90s by two college students and is now a nationally recognized demonstration for LGBTQ+ students and their allies to protest harassment and discrimination in schools, from university level to elementary schools. Though you don’t have to remain silent ALL day, you might want to use this as a day of mindfulness and remembrance. We are inviting local students, members of North Fork Women, friends and allies for the raising of our Progressive Pride Flag. The short ceremony will be followed by a pizza party for all.
Over three Thursdays, North Fork Environmental Council’s president, Mark Haubner, presented the film Regenerating Life. Post film conversations have resulted in the scheduling of a panel discussion on Earth Day, April 22 (Gardening for Change). Our continuing relationship with NFEC includes our participation in their annual REPAIR CAFÉ. Scheduled for Saturday May 3 from 1-4 at Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport. We will have our usual REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE table giving away YOUR unused paper products: wrapping paper, cards, pads, envelopes, etc. More details to come.
The SAC / 8th Principle Task Force meets on the second Wednesday of each month (April 9 this month) from 4-5pm in person in the small gathering space OR via Zoom link, which will be emailed the day prior. As always, if you have questions, concerns, or ideas contact me at pattemcgoo@yahoo.com or (631)997-9405
Happy Spring,
Patte McManus