JOIN US FOR THESE IMPORTANT SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES!
Contact Lucy Manning at lucymnnng@gmail.com
1. MOVIE NIGHT!
Join us this Sunday, December 15 at 6:30 as we host an interfaith movie night – Keeping the Faith with Ben Stiller and Ed Norton. Share the film and follow up discussion with members from other liberal religious organizations in our
community! https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/10/24/keeping-the-faith
2. Help a refugee family that soon will arrive to our area! The Saratoga Area Welcome Circle is a grassroots group formed to sponsor a refugee family through Welcome Corps, http://www.welcomecorp.org, a program that matches
private groups with refugees waiting to be resettled in the United States. We have a young family of 3 from Afghan just assigned to us! Look here for more details later. Our goal is to make the family self-sufficient in 3-4 months. You may a make a tax-deductible gift by sending a check to UUCSS and mark that it is for the Saratoga Area Welcome Circle or volunteer your time in many other ways. They will need a 1- or 2-bedroom apartment, furnishings and supplies, plus ideas for employment. The father has a degree in electrical engineering and speaks English! Contact Lucy Manning at lucymnnng@gmail.com if you want to help the Circle!
3. SAVE the DATE!
Make plans to join us and carpool to this rally! If your yellow Side With Love UU
shirt is large enough, wear it over your coat!
When: January 8, 2025 at 11AM (Rally/March) + 12PM (Press Conference)
Where: Capitol Building, Albany, NY, exact location TBD
What: New Yorkers United Against Mass Deportation Rally & Presser
Registration:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnQ129dCFomjysGgHKEWuOa0XJUq5l 12qcBmqEhn6cISMeAw/viewform
4. Yes, that’s our own Marian Bigelow holding the “THE” sign making a
difference! Efforts are beginning now to support the Medical Aid in Dying
Act (MAID) and we will do all that we can to see this happen in 2025!
According to NYUUJ and their recent convocation in Albany, this year
really could be it!
We now have the support from the large New York State
Nurses Association for the Medical Aid in Dying Act as well.
This is not an election year, so representatives will be more
willing to address a controversial issue.
5 . 
UU Common Read is here again soon!
Last year those who participated in the
reading and discussions of On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an
Unapologetic World by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg found it very enlightening. The
2024-25 UU Common Read is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and
Nonbinary People and Their Families (Skinner House, 2023). There will be a
series of 4 sessions sometime in the spring. Here’s your chance to get a headstart
on the reading!
In Our Community:
SPONSOR A BACKSTRETCH FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
Race Track Chaplaincy of America, New York Division
Flurry Festival looking for performer hosts!
The Flurry Festival, one of the largest annual traditional dance and music festivals in
North America, will be back at the Saratoga Springs City Center February 14-16, 2025!
The Flurry is looking for community members interested in hosting one or more
performers, instructors, or sound pros during the weekend of the festival.
Homestays allow the Flurry to hire the high-caliber national and global professionals
that make this festival fantastic. As a thank you for your support, hosts will receive one
full festival ticket per person hosted.
Hosts must be able to provide a private room with a door and a bed or futon (no air
mattresses). Hosts can indicate their household preferences and will be matched with a
person/people who meet their specifications, eg. single people only, okay with couples
or families, no smoking, etc. Housing is needed primarily for the nights of Friday, 2/14,
and Saturday, 2/15, but some individuals will be looking for a place that can
accommodate a three-night stay.
Please reach out to Maddy at homestays@flurryfestival.org with interest or any
questions.