“Even So, Rejoice”
The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt
Our theme for December is “Why Do We Rejoice?” and in these times there is good reason to both ask and answer this question. I’ll be preaching about how it is that we are called on to rejoice, even when life circumstances, even the world situation, suggests otherwise. We’ll be joined by Fred Johnson, member of the UU Church of Clearwater, Florida and a fellow at Intersections International, a multi-faith program of the Collegiate Churches of New York. (It is thanks to Intersections International that we’ve been enjoying three panels from the Ribbons of Hope Project.) Fred is a widely respected musician, artist and healer who will help to create a very special worship time for all of us. It’s a wonderful Sunday to invite a friend!
Following worship, at 1 pm, we are privileged to present a performance of “Under the Veil: 9/11 and Beyond.” This deeply moving piece, created by the Te’a Project with musical direction by Fred Johnson, is a powerful accompaniment to our morning service. In words taken from its website, the play “uses theatre, music, and spoken word to dramatize the everyday clash of cares and threats that divide Americans from each other in the wake of 9/11. But beyond dramatizing those barriers, it also functions dramatically to foster the curiosity, insight and compassion that audience members need to transcend them.” I hope you’ll go to the following website to learn more about the Te’a Project and its creative team: http://teaproject.com/projects.html
NO Soulful Sundown This Week
There is NO Soulful Sundown worship service this week, December 4th, to make time for the Te’a Project’s performance of “Under the Veil: 9/11 and Beyond.” Soulful Sundown will resume on December 11th at 5pm, led by the Youth Group.
The Holidays are upon us! What better way to celebrate than at Fourth U’s annual Holiday Party on Saturday, December 17, starting at 6:00 PM. Save the date and tell all your friends and family to do the same. Meanwhile, be a part of the planning committee that will make it a night to remember. Contact Liz Wolfe at lwolfe@wintecgroup.com or 646-334-9427 or Jennifer Zeisler, Membership Coordinator, at membership@4thu.org to volunteer.
A Special Guest Joins Us at 10:45AM Sunday
This Sunday, we continue our monthly theme, “Where Do We Come From?” with a very special guest: The Rev. Nihal Attanayake, the Director of the Faith in Action Department for the UU Church of the Philippines, and member of the Executive Committee of the International Council of Unitarian and Universalists. Rev. Attanayake will tell the story of how Universalism was born in the Philippines, and invite us to contribute to the building of the Quimada Dormitory, the church’s economic justice project. Rev. Rosemary will join us as worship associate, and a special collection for the dormitory project will follow the sermon. Our 5 pm Soulful Sundown will feature our popular Jazz Vespers service. We look forward to seeing you Sunday!
“The Guys on the Wall”
The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt
What a busy Sunday this is! We’re celebrating not only the new members who are joining us today, but the members and ministers of days gone by, and thinking ahead to the future of our ministries. At worship, we’ll be talking about some of the people who helped to create Fourth U. They live with us in tangible ways; in fact, you walk by memorials to them every day you’re here. The bronze plaques we look at without seeing include names of people foundational to our faith. Do you know Edwin and Thomas, Charles and Frank, John and Julia? We’ll introduce you to them, to their work and their witness—and we’ll welcome our newest members too. Our worship begins at 10:45 am.
Later, after you’ve had coffee and cake, join our church leaders for our next Mission Statement Workshop at 12:15 pm. Many of you have written and posted your dreams for our congregation on the mission statement boards. This afternoon, we’ll be refining those dreams into the first draft of mission and vision statements that will guide us in the months and years ahead. Finally, our Soulful Sundown worship ends the day at 5 pm with a hymn sing conducted by our UU seminarians. We look forward to seeing you Sunday!
“Heroes and Martyrs”
The Rev. Joseph Ben-David
Our theme for this month is “Where Do We Come From?” It’s a time to reflect on our heritage as a free religious faith. So we couldn’t have a better worship leader to start us off right than our own Rev. Joe Ben-David. A fearless member of the Czech Resistance to Nazism, Rev. Joe came to Unitarianism in Prague, at a time when the church was the largest Unitarian congregation in the world. For those of you who’ve never had a chance to hear the story of the Unitarian Association in Prague, and those who kept it alive, you’ll want to join us at 10:45 am. Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, our senior minister, will also take part in the service. If you’d like to learn more about Unitarian Universalism, our monthly orientation for newcomers will take place right after the service at the front of the sanctuary. We’ll see you then!
