First Unitarian Society of Plainfield

Welcome Friends! ¡Bienvenidos Amigos!

OUR MISSION A welcoming, inclusive community, to feed the human spirit, to inspire compassionate action, and to serve as a beacon of justice and love.

What’s Happening at the Society?

Today’s Worship January 10, : 30 am Family Worship 10 am Resisting Refuge Rev. Dr. Tracy Sprowls Looking at the refugee crisis in the world and resisting the temptation to lose our humanity to fear.

Post Worship Today 11 am Coffee Hour and Fellowship Parish Hall 11:15 Special Meeting-Sanctuary

Notice of Special Meeting January 10, :15 Sanctuary Members of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, In accordance with the By-laws that govern the Board of Trustees, you are hereby notified of a Special Meeting to be held on Sunday, January 10 th at 11: 15 am. The subject of the meeting will be: congregational support and approval of the first year of a 3- year Strategic Plan. congregational support and approval to withdraw funds from the Endowment Fund to fund portions of the first year of the Strategic Plan. Mark Williams, President Charlie Neiss, Secretary First Unitarian Society of Plainfield Board of Trustees

To Seek To Serve To Inspire

TO SEEK THEME MINISTRY What does it mean to be a People of Resistance?

To Seek THEME EXERCISE FOR JANUARY What does it mean to be a People of Resistance? Our Theme Exercise for January: Give Thanks! Try this exercise this month to go deeper with the theme of resistance. Want to share how you did with the exercise during a Sunday service? Please let Rev. Tracy know and we will make it happen! Please her at Who made resistance possible for you? Who stood beside you as you stood against the status quo? Who helped remind you that the arc really can be bent? Who invited you into a vision of an entirely new day? Who made you feel like a one of a kind rather than a misfit? Who helped you resist the pressures to follow the herd? Someone stood beside you. Someone picked you up for the protests. Someone taught the class that opened your eyes. Someone wrote the poem that inspired you. Someone’s sacrifice moved your heart. Someone’s courage rubbed off on you. Someone told you that you were precious. Someone made you feel like you aren’t in the fight alone. Thank them! That’s it. Your assignment: Find a way to thank them and tell them how they made your resistance possible. Let them know what a gift it was.

Stewardship Campaign 2016 January 24, Kick-off of Stewardship Campaign March 13, Stewardship Sunday

We are Building a New Way with Our 2016 Stewardship Campaign The kickoff of our FUSP 2016 Stewardship Campaign will be January 24 and will culminate with a Stewardship Celebration Sunday on March 13th. Stewardship packets will be distributed on January 24 th. The Theme of our Stewardship campaign this year comes from a social justice hymn in our Hymnal – “We are Building a New Way”. The first verse of this hymn “We are Building a New Way, Growing Stronger Every Day” gave us the inspiration for our campaign. This theme is two-fold. As a community we find spiritual meaning in social justice. The missions and projects we implement at FUSP help us live our values – to “build a new way” in our community and in the world. Our strategic plan will take us into the future – “rebuilding our congregation” - so that our FUSP community is here for future generations.

TO SERVE Soup Sunday-January 31st Our most important mission-feeding the hungry. Please bring soup, salad, bread and individual desserts. Please /call Cass and tell her what you are prepared to bring.

To Seek and Serve FUSP Meetings Integral Yoga: Tuesdays at 10:30- Stevens Room Women’s Alliance Book Group, Thursday, January 14, 2016, 7:30 pm Men’s Breakfast, Saturday, January 16, 2016, 9 AM, Stevens Room.

Sylvia Walker Gifts Fundraiser Sylvia Walker will make gifts for you to order. These include mugs, calendars, T-shirts, puzzles and mouse pads. The following are prices before shipping and handling charges from the producer. The shipping will be divided among the orders received. Twenty percent (20%) of the price before shipping will be donated to FUSP. Gifts can be made with my photos of birds, wild land animals, scenes or flowers or with your own photos that are e- mailed to me provided they are of good resolution. Mugs $16.25, Calendars $ $25, Mouse Pads $ $17.50, T-shirts $ $26.25, Puzzles (8X10, 48 piece) $31.25

TO SERVE It’s Soup Season! Black bean soup, rice, chips and salsa, salad, and wine, beer or cider. A vegan feast delivered. Hey, if you bought this feast, let Melissa know about a week ahead for delivery. If you missed out, and you want a black bean soup feast, Melissa will make you one with a week's notice and a $35 donation to FUSP. Contact Melissa at or (908) DELIVERY OF VEGAN FEAST FOR ONLY A $35 DONATION TO FUSP!

NEXT SUNDAY’S WORSHIP January 17, 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. on Resistance. Readings from Martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolent resistance and moving Spiritual Music with the Beacon Hill Musicians and Carrie Jackson

ROBINSON WINDOW Please consider purchasing flowers for Sunday service, or lighting the Robinson Window for a month. $40.00 for flowers and $50.00 for lighting the Robinson Window. Contact: Rob Weldy (908) or at