REMINDER: the Board had approved two Share the Plate (STP) collections (one in September and a second in October) to fulfill our member commitment to New York UU Justice (NYUUJ) network. Our dues (1/10th of 1% of our annual operating budget) have increased and become a bit more difficult to reach in one month, though we are close to our goal. STP collections are usually held on the First Sunday of the month but due to our building dedication ceremony taking place on that day, we will be asking for your October STP donation on the following Sunday, October 13th. Thank you, in advance, for your support of our UU advocacy network (NYUUJ), a progressive moral voice on key legislative issues for all new building UU power through rallies, issue education events and letter writing campaigns. Current / ongoing issues include our environment; safe, affordable, housing; criminal justice reform; and medical aid in dying (see http://www.nyuuj.org).
Seven congregants attended the planting of a Peace Pole in front of Southold Town Hall on September 24th, commemorating peace to coincide with the annual opening of the United Nations (UN). BTW – did you know that UU values are represented at the UN through the Unitarian Universalist United Nation Office (UU-UNO)? Additionally, on Friday, September 23, the UUA hosted an in-person event, “UNGA Resolution on Human Right to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment,” as part of the annual Holistic Climate Solutions Summit in alignment with Climate Week NYC (co-organized with 30+ partnering groups including the UUA Office at the UN. Google these groups, events, follow and support their work.
Closer to home, International Coastal Clean Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 21st, was sponsored by our ally, North Fork Environmental Council (NFEC), holding two (2) events at local beaches in Jamesport and Mattituck. At the end of the day, I was personally impressed by how clean the beaches were this year, due to the newly installed “yellow basket system.” I spoke to a lady with a basket at one of the beaches who wasn’t there to participate in the “formal” cleanup but uses a yellow basket every time she goes to the beach and said she sees “other people using them also.” It showed in the lightness of our buckets and the amounts collected. As mentioned at Sunday service on the 22nd, though there were still disintegrating plastic bags, candy wrappers, fast food containers/cups and straws, the lightness of our buckets showed that the system IS working. So kudos to those who visit those beaches and let’s encourage other local beaches / parks to follow suit.
This year we will be participating in meetings and seeking ways to further ally with NFEC, in addition to Coming to the Table (CTTT); North Fork Unity Action Committee (NoFoUAC); the Poor People’s Campaign; and Rural & Migrant Ministry (R&MM). In the short term, join with them / us in Get Out the Vote activities.
Come to the next meeting of your SAC /8th Principle Task Force to see how you can help…
Date & time: 2nd Wednesday of the month
October 9, 2024, from 4-5pm
Place: in-person meeting “on the bend” OR via Zoom. Everyone is welcome.
Watch for your November Free Spirit which will have two (2) new articles:
– news from your 2024-2025 UUA Assembly (GA) Delegates; and
– news from your delegates to the Long Island Area Council of Unitarian Universalist Congregations (LIAC) which focuses on education, advocacy, service and spirituality for Long Island UUs.
Each time I come around “the bend,” I’m reminded of all the individuals whose talent, time, energy and commitment it took to create our beautiful new building. No one of us could have accomplished that feat alone – indeed, it took nine years of support from an entire Beloved Community that reached well beyond even NYS.
On October 6th, we gratefully welcome our larger North Fork community, to dedicate our new building and begin to “make this house a home.” Together let us dedicate ourselves to: always center love in our work for justice and inclusion; ally with the marginalized and most vulnerable among us toward equity for all; and generously live into our shared values of interdependence, pluralism, and transformation.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Patte McManus (she, her, we)
(631)997-9405