Mar 7, 2021
Livestreamed at 10:30 am (prelude begins at 10:25) 

"Social Distancing"
For nearly a year, we’ve been living in a socially distanced world.  We’ve been sequestered, with or without others in our household or "pod," from the rest of the world.  Depending on the demands of work or other obligations, we've limited our contact with others.  It’s been a difficult year, more so for some than for others.  For myself, I’ve been trying to think of this as a time of cloistering: social distance as a spiritual practice.  How are we faring?  Homily by Rev. Connie Grant.  Music by Ellen Gozion, Director of Instrumental Music, with guest singer-songwriter Joe Jencks.

Fight to get fair legislative
Wondering where we are in the fight to get fair legislative district boundaries in PA? Check out this memo from Fair Districts PA: We need YOU to help ensure fair maps for the next decade of PA elections.
The transparency bills, House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 222, also called the Legislative and Congressional Redistricting Act (LACRA), are now officially introduced with co-sponsors from both parties. It’s time to invite more co-sponsors and ask for support for a vote.
Mar. 3 starts March toward Transparency: a campaign to talk with every PA state legislator about the need to pass LACRA quickly. PA needs plans in place NOW for a fair, transparent redistricting process.

You’re invited to be part of a constituent advocacy team to meet with your PA senator or representative. You’ll be asking for co-sponsorship of the bill OR saying thank you and asking for further support if your legislator has already co-sponsored.
A volunteer captain will help arrange the meeting, put you in touch with others in your district. and make sure you have materials and anything you need to have a successful Zoom meeting with your legislator.
Sign up HERE to be part of a constituent team

During a time of ministerial transition, one of the interim minister’s functions is to help the congregation recognize its unique identity and its strengths, needs, and challenges. Just over a year ago, more than fifty congregants responded to the invitation to participate in a “heart-storming experience” called “Getting to the Heart of the Matter,” created by your Interim Minister, Transition Team, and VIM (Vision, Identity, Mission) Team. The objectives of this congregational gathering were two-fold:

1) To offer an opportunity for congregants to articulate and share their thoughts and feelings about what this congregation is and can be, for themselves, for each other, and for the larger community.

2) To generate a congregational covenant that can become part of Sunday morning liturgy, expressing the foundational and aspirational identity of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.

Congregants were invited to explore their experiences with and hopes for the church, and to respond in six-word increments to prompts intended to elicit their understanding of these aspects of congregational identity: This is who we are; This is why we are a congregation; This what we (try to) do together.

Prompts including the following: What brings me to church on Sunday morning 
A hope I have for the Church’s role in the larger community
What makes this community special?
What more can this community be?
What is the guiding principle of this congregation?
What is the most important thing this congregation does?
Why does this congregation exist?
Who are we at our best?
What unites us?
I hope we can become
My highest aspiration for this congregation

There was a high level of consistency among the responses that were given to the questions that were asked. Your Interim Minister distilled the congregation’s written responses into this covenantal statement, and reviewed it with the Transition Team, the Worship Team, the Bylaws Task Force, and program staff members:

We gather as the congregation of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh
to discern, explore, and reflect on our responses to the questions life asks of us;
to celebrate our life passages in shared sorrow and shared joy;
and to live and act according to our deepest and highest values.
We challenge ourselves and each other to create ever-widening circles
of compassion and connection within our congregation and in the larger community.

A covenant grounds and unites the congregation in a relationship. In a covenantal relationship, the demands and requirements of the day or the year are not necessarily known in advance, but the covenant sets the parameters for the kinds of responses that can be expected. Hopefully, the covenant itself is timeless--and could have been written in 1820 or 2020 (and maybe even in 2120!) to describe the reasons that members of the church gather together. The parts about responding to the questions life asks of us and living and acting according to our deepest and highest values are directly applicable to the challenges of these times.

As an expression of the foundational and aspirational identity of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, the statement is intended to be a clear and concise articulation of your reasons for existing as a church and the promises you make to each other as a congregation. “The practice of promising to walk together is the precious core of our creedless faith,” as a document from the UUA Congregational Life Staff Group notes. Many UU congregations have such covenantal statements and many express similar sentiments, but this one is unique to this congregation, based on ideas you expressed and phrasings you used in the “heartstorming” workshop.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together at many levels:

Member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association are bound in a covenant of “mutual trust and support,” which is Section C-2.1. of Article II of the UUA Bylaws. This is the statement known as the “Seven Principles.”

Many individual congregations have their own covenants of the relationship among congregants. In many congregations, their covenant is read/recited weekly in Sunday morning worship.

Other covenants within congregations often include covenants between new members and existing members of a congregation; covenants among members of covenant groups; behavioral covenants; and covenants among members of a Board of Trustees.

When the draft covenant was being presented to the congregation for consideration last November at the time Bylaws revisions were being made, some questions were raised about the process by which the covenant was drafted and about the potential role of the covenant, that made it appear that insufficient information had been provided to the congregation, and it was withdrawn from consideration at that time. It’s important not to just drop this matter, since that would not be a good model of how to deal with disagreement.

Now, the Board of Trustees has scheduled a congregational meeting on Sunday, March 21 at noon for the sole purpose of deciding whether to adopt this draft covenant. An informational/Q&A meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 14 at 3:00 pm. Both these meetings will be held by Zoom, and links will be provided to members of the congregation the day before each meeting.

The fundamental question before the congregation is whether or not you believe that this statement expresses the foundational and aspirational identity of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.

It’s up to you!

Rev. Connie Grant

Mar 14, 2021

Livestreamed at 10:30 am (prelude begins at 10:25) 

“Ways to Grow”

How and why do congregations grow?  It’s not just about numbers!  Homily by Rev. Connie Grant.  Music by Ellen Gozion, Director of Instrumental Music, with Maddy Izzo, flute.

Mar 21, 2021

Livestreamed at 10:30 am (prelude begins at 10:25) 

“Living the Stories of our Lives”

How do we live the stories of our lives, and how do we tell them to ourselves and others?
Homily by Rev. Connie Grant.  Music by Deanna Witkowski, guest pianist.
 

Mar 28, 2021

Livestreamed at 10:30 am (prelude begins at 10:25)

“Seed Corn and Tomorrow” When I was young, I would go with my grandfather when he went to visit his farmer friends. Instead of saying "goodbye," many of them would say, "Don't eat your seed corn!" It was an acknowledgment that, though times might be bad, there is hope if we hang on.  Homily by Rev. Dr. David Breeden, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis.  Welcome by Rev. Connie Grant.  Music by Ellen Gozion, Director of Instrumental Music.

Introduction to Unitarian Universalism
Fourth Sundays of the Month, 11:30 – 12:15
Find out more about the history, varied theologies, and organization of Unitarian Universalism. Led by church staff and representatives of the Membership Team, March 28. Start out in Zoom social time following the service, and you’ll be directed to a breakout room for “Intro to UU.” If you’d like to attend a meeting to learn more about the history, varied theologies, and organization of Unitarian Universalism, please complete this Intro to UU registration form and check out the path to membership.

Sharing the Plate!
Is there an organization you’d like to nominate to be the recipient of our third-Sunday Share the Plate offering? Please use this form or send your nomination to Tony Rutigliano (arutigl@comcast.net) on behalf of the Serve Council. Please include the following information:
Name of organization, Website address, or other sources of information, Is this a 501 (c) (3) organization (required)? What is your involvement with this organization? Why do you consider this an appropriate recipient for our Share the Plate offering? Preferred month (if any)

Helping Each Other
During these trying times, members of the church may occasionally need a helping hand. The Pastoral Care Team asks you to identify ways you may be able to assist. We expect you would be called only a few times during the year. Please contact a member of the team if you are able to help. 
You’ll be asked to indicate which of these you may be able to help with from time to time:
□ Transportation   □ Providing a meal for an individual or family   □ Shopping
In the event of a need in the congregation, you may be contacted to see whether you are available to help at that time. Your help will be appreciated!