Concord UU Calendar - All Church Events

This service offers a time for meditation, reflection, and renewal through music, brief words, and silence. Come sing, light a candle, and nurture your spirit during this nontraditional worship experience - and bring a friend! There will be a rehearsal from 6 to 6:45 pm for singers who would like to learn the harmonies to the chants we will sing.

We are also looking for instrumentalists interested in participating, but would need to know in advance who is able to come. For more information, please contact Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at 603-410-4830 or michael@concorduu.org.

We’ll update each other on our committee’s work and take a look at how Church Windows, our data base, can be useful for many of us. It is truly helpful to have each chair, or a representative of each committee with us. Please let me know if you can join us at cheryl@concorduu.org.

Please send your articles for our monthly newsletter to parishnotes@concorduu.org. If you are planning church event, please remember to schedule the event with the office, and request a room if you need one (www.concorduu.org/thyme or email office@concorduu.org) before submitting your article for the newsletter.

This is open to all.

(snow date: March 12)

Please join us for the Dances of Universal Peace @ Concord UU, held the third Sundays of each month from 7 - 9 PM. This starts our third year of monthly dance circles and the circle is growing!

The practice of the Dances of Universal Peace cultivates harmony in body, mind and spirit. This community practice includes focus on breath, listening, feeling, seeing and silence. An atmosphere of heart centered peace and harmony is created. The Dances of Universal Peace are led by Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb and Jenaabi Finlay with musical support of guitar, harp, flute, recorder and drum. The Chapel will be open a half hour prior to the start of the dance. All are welcome to join us as leaders and musicians connect and create space together.

Come, come, whoever you are! Bring yourself, an open heart and a friend to the dance circle! For more information please contact Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb at 365-0852 or sarah_elizabeth@me.com or Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at michael@concorduu.org or 410-4830.

Keep updated, “like” our facebook page: facebook.com/DUP-ConcordUU.

This on-going Adult Enrichment group meets every week on Tuesday evenings for one hour of meditation including a reading. Come, sit, listen, and meditate with us.

This Adult Enrichment program is led by Beck Anamin, and meets Thursdays, weekly. Yoga is a multipurpose tool for improving a lifetime: the essence of Yoga is nonphysical inner development. To varying degrees for each individual, Yoga brings inner quiet, peace of mind, character strength, and spirituality. We each relate to it and its many physical and inner benefits in ways that suit our individual needs and personalities.

This Mindful Yoga program cultivates the abstract benefits. It encourages a quiet, mindful awareness while doing a full range of classical postures. Postures improve health through strengthening, purifying, and toning of the body, as well as of the nerve, and energy systems. Improved health, self-confidence, and a feeling of well-being, foster the inner results. Although the postures are a valuable tool, their improvement of the body is a byproduct, not the goal of Yoga practice.

Appropriate for a range of students, the approach is sufficiently safe, gentle, and even-paced for new students, while providing depth, variation, and practice options for experienced students.

Adult Enrichment offering

Please note, date is different from earlier publications.

Come and join us for our Imbolc Ritual and Celebration. Newcomers to the path are welcome as always.

Imbolc is the halfway point between Yule, the longest night, and Ostara, the spring equinox. This is a ritual where many celebrate and nurture the growing light.

The winter is cold, and the dark nights have been long. As the sun climbs in the sky, the days grow longer.

Those who are weary of the darkness, the snow, and the ice, begin to feel the hope and promise of the coming spring.

Join the Concord UU Earth Centered Spirituality Group as we celebrate the return of the light, and longer days.

Please bring a candle from your home to bless in the Candle Ritual. Anything from tea light to pillar candle will do (tapers won't work). You can then take that blessing home with you.

Days grow long
Sun grows strong
Magic night
Candles bright
Dance and drums
Springtime comes

We hope to see you there!

Did you know that that our Community Plate, which is passed during each Sunday service, collects an average of $500 each week during the regular church year? That's more than $2000 each month that goes to important projects outside of our church's operating expenses. In addition to collection money, the CSC is involved in Community Outreach projects, collecting food, helping children at the Boys and Girls Club choose and wrap holiday gifts for their parents, buying turkeys for baskets, participating in the Crop Walk and many others.The Community Service Committee (CSC) would love to have you on board, whether it's for one event or the entire year. We also need requests from the congregation for our plate donations (forms available in theoffice.) We should be proud that our church donates to community projects, which include healthy meals for children and adults, community gardens, women rights, peace actions, food banks, summer day camp tuition, animal welfare, environmental programs, hospice and so much more.

You can participate in our work, whether or not you are on the committee or can attend monthly meetings. Here are some of the areas where the CSC needs help:

Collect and deliver food
Souper Bowl Sunday
Wrap gifts at the Girls and Boys club
Take meeting notes
Talk with church members about requesting funds from our Community Plate
Help write a mission statement

You can be any age (think poster making, collecting cans of food, dressing up as a can of food). To learn more, contact Deb Bruss by email: deborahbruss@mac.com. If you don't have email, leave a message at 856-7529.

This is a church-sponsored event lead by LR Berger from Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service of New England

Attention all kids who love music and performing!
We are looking for school age children who are willing to sing a song, play an instrument or create a skit to go with us on February 17^th for an afternoon of performing for elders.
The details:

We’ll rehearse together right after social hour on January 20th, February 3rd and February 10th, assisted by Kristofer Johnson.
On February 17th, it’s show time! We’ll meet after social hour for pizza and then head off to The Birches, where member Fred Gillis is a resident, and then to Presidential Oaks.

If you are interested in having your child participate, look for the sign-up sheet in the parlor starting December 30^th.
You can also go to www.concorduu.org/volunteer.php. On Volunteer Spot, you can indicate how your child would like to participate and you can also sign on as a parent volunteer, helping with driving and supervision, if you’d like to be involved.

private meeting for project team & construction reps

Join us after the service for lunch in Fellowship Hall, featuring traditional Burundi dishes. At 12:30 we will return to the sanctuary for an hour of drumming, dancing and singing. Suggested donation of $10 per person or $20 per family, to benefit and AIDS prevention program in Burundi.

This is the final day the church will accept collection boxes for the Guest At Your Table program. After this point, individuals will be responsible for sending the donations in on their own (information on the side of the collection boxes).

Contrary what was published earlier, Rev. Kate Braestrup, author and UU minister, will not be able to lead the service.

Instead, Intern Minister Lyn Betz will present a sermon entitled "Bodhisattva Shopping."

A worship opportunity for members of the Earth-Centered Spirituality Group.

We'll visit the Community Center at Jennings Drive. With elementary school age kids, we'll create a craft and a treat that they can share with their families. We'll need lots of volunteer help to make this work.

You can sign up at church or by going to Volunteer Spot at www.concorduu.org/volunteer.php

On Sunday February 3rd, we will be having a Celebration of Burundi Culture: Burundi food, crafts & clothing, song, slides & stories, drumming, dancing, and a chance to learn from each other.

Come to the fundraising luncheon, held after the service, to have the opportunity to taste some traditional Burundi dishes, prepared by the women of the community, along with other African dishes that will be made by adventuresome UU cooks. If you’d like to join in the food preparation, we’ll be in our kitchen cooking on Saturday, February 2.

If you’ve been looking for a way to learn more about the refugee experience, this is a great opportunity. UU Friends of Refugees hopes to increase connections between the UU and Burundi communities.

Laughter Yoga combines unconditional Laughter with Yogic breathing. It does not rely on jokes, humor or comedy. Laughter begins as a group exercise and soon becomes real and contagious. Multiple health benefits include increasing the supply of oxygen, boosting the immune system and energizing metabolism.

Everyone is welcome to attend this Adult Enrichment offering. No special attire is required.

Laughter Yoga combines unconditional Laughter with Yogic breathing. It does not rely on jokes, humor or comedy. Laughter begins as a group exercise and soon becomes real and contagious. Multiple health benefits include increasing the supply of oxygen, boosting the immune system and energizing metabolism.

Everyone is welcome to attend this Adult Enrichment offering. No special attire is required.

GREENER SANCTUARY PROJECT RAFFLE

We all know that the furnace and windows cost a lot of money. What we maybe didn’t realize is the hidden costs: lost rental income and a larger electric bill to run the temporary heating. Here’s an easy way to contribute to those costs and maybe win a wonderful night out.

Buy a raffle ticket! First prize is a Sunday through Thursday one night stay at the Centennial Inn with breakfast, a $100 gift card to “O” restaurant, and two tickets to the Gilbert and Sullivan performance at South Church featuring musicians from our church. Second prize is a $50 gift card to Barley House restaurant and two tickets to the Gilbert and Sullivan performance. The performances are March 8-10.

Tickets cost $10 for one or $25 for three. Tickets will be on sale on February 10, 17, 24, and March 3 before and after church with the drawing on March 3 after ticket sales end.

Everybody wins by supporting the Greener Sanctuary Project!

This is the last of the Monday early morning sessions.

If you've had difficulties hearing in the sanctuary, please join us on Sunday, February 10th right after the service for a sound system test session. Our audio consultant, John DeGange, will be with us to help us tweak our loop system (for hearing aids) and any other issues related to you hearing well in our sanctuary. Your input and feedback is critical.

We will have our first discussion of I'd Listen if You Would Just Shut Up. This book is being read by many of the parents of OWL students. Please let Cheryl know if you are interested in joining.

“Belonging,” Rev. Nadagijimana Fulgence
Rev. Fulgence is the minister of the Unitarian Church of Burundi and a member of the executive board of the International Council of Unitarians & Universalists (ICUU). He will explore the concept of belonging and how our “belongings” shape who we are and remind us that we belong to one another, as well. He will draw from his experience of Unitarian Universalism globally and how the experience of belonging to the UU movement has changed his life and how it can change all of our lives.

“The Language of Friendship,” A Service for All Ages, Lyn Betz & Kristin Nelson
The special friendship of Owen & Mzee, a young hippo and an old tortoise, demonstrates the universal need for love and companionship. How can we human beings learn to speak the “language of friendship” with all people, despite our differences?

“Keeping It Real,” Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn.

“To thine own self be true” is easy to say, but what does it really mean to strive for an authentic life? What is authenticity—and how can we see it, be it, and understand it? Rev. Feingold Thoryn has been the Associate Minister at the First Parish in Lincoln, MA, since 2006. A lifelong UU originally from the Washington, DC area, she attended Harvard Divinity School. Claire preached at General Assembly in 2011 and is on the board of the Massachusetts Bay District of UU Congregations (north-eastern Mass). She lives in Medford, MA, with her husband and daughter.

“Spiritual Humility,” Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger.

As we strive for spiritual maturity that enables us to reach out of our embeddedness toward a larger perspective we need to maintain our spiritual humility grounded in the awareness of our own frailty, grounded in awe, and grounded in doubt.

Are thinking of meeting on either Feb 5th or 7th--Linda H to determine and report back.

A meeting of the members of the Earth-Centered Spirituality Group.

An orientation class for folks seeking membership in the Earth-Centered Spirituality Group. Benefits & responsibilities of membership, usual practices, policies, routines...

An open circle for all ability levels.

This on-going Adult Enrichment group meets every week on Tuesday evenings for one hour of meditation including a reading. Come, sit, listen, and meditate with us.

This Adult Enrichment program is led by Beck Anamin, and meets Thursdays, weekly. Yoga is a multipurpose tool for improving a lifetime: the essence of Yoga is nonphysical inner development. To varying degrees for each individual, Yoga brings inner quiet, peace of mind, character strength, and spirituality. We each relate to it and its many physical and inner benefits in ways that suit our individual needs and personalities.

This Mindful Yoga program cultivates the abstract benefits. It encourages a quiet, mindful awareness while doing a full range of classical postures. Postures improve health through strengthening, purifying, and toning of the body, as well as of the nerve, and energy systems. Improved health, self-confidence, and a feeling of well-being, foster the inner results. Although the postures are a valuable tool, their improvement of the body is a byproduct, not the goal of Yoga practice.

Appropriate for a range of students, the approach is sufficiently safe, gentle, and even-paced for new students, while providing depth, variation, and practice options for experienced students.

An open circle for all ability levels.

This Adult Enrichment program is led by Beck Anamin, and meets Thursdays, weekly. Yoga is a multipurpose tool for improving a lifetime: the essence of Yoga is nonphysical inner development. To varying degrees for each individual, Yoga brings inner quiet, peace of mind, character strength, and spirituality. We each relate to it and its many physical and inner benefits in ways that suit our individual needs and personalities.

This Mindful Yoga program cultivates the abstract benefits. It encourages a quiet, mindful awareness while doing a full range of classical postures. Postures improve health through strengthening, purifying, and toning of the body, as well as of the nerve, and energy systems. Improved health, self-confidence, and a feeling of well-being, foster the inner results. Although the postures are a valuable tool, their improvement of the body is a byproduct, not the goal of Yoga practice.

Appropriate for a range of students, the approach is sufficiently safe, gentle, and even-paced for new students, while providing depth, variation, and practice options for experienced students.

postponned from Friday, February 8th due to blizzard conditions

Free to all

Please arrive after 6:45 pm, find on-street parking on Broadway and settle into a comfortable chair for the film which starts promptly at 7 pm.

Co-sponsored by Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service NE, Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, NH UCC Peace with Justice Advocates, Temple Beth Jacob, American Friends Service Commitee NH and NH Peace Action

For more info contact: LR Berger 496-1056

private meeting for project team & construction reps

Time to move the furniture back into the classrooms with their shiny clean floors. The furniture is not heavy and with a small crew it won't take long. Please come help us out! Meet Kathie Martin near the preschool classrooms to help.

In order to prepare classrooms for their annual floor waxing, we need helpers to move furniture. Almost none of it is heavy and with a few helpers, it will be done lickety-split. Facility Manager Kathie Martin will direct the crew. Meet her near the preschool classrooms after the service.

cancelled due to poor driving conditions; next meeting will be on the regularly scheduled date of March 27

Please note time change on this day only--per Kristofer Johnson

This is open to all.

Choir rehearsal will happen tonight eventhough we won't be singing on Sunday, March 10th.