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 24, 2016 A Movement of Resistance with Rev. Dr. Tracy Sprowls At its core, Unitarian Universalism is a heretical religion. Does our history serve us well today and are we still a movement of resistance?

Post Worship Today 11 am Coffee Hour and Fellowship Parish Hall Kickoff to Stewardship Campaign Supermarket Cards, Book Table, Home made Jam Sales

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.

SAVE THE DATE FEB. 7, :30 am FIRST SUNDAY EXPLORERS: FILM AT FUSP RED Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai Introduced by Pam Morgan, Executive Director Women in Media-Newark

TO SERVE Stewardship Campaign 2016 TODAY 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 Food Pantry CRITICAL NEED: The Food Pantry is in need of a driver with a van or a covered truck to assist in the pick-up of food from the Food Bank in Hillside We really your help with this. We usually do the pickup on the third Thursday of the month 8:30- 11:30 am. Please contact JoAnne Macaluso if you are available to help this important mission project. JANUARY 30, :30-1:30 pm Volunteers Welcome !

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 and Thursdays at 10:30-Stevens Room Food Pantry: Sat. January 30-8:30- 1:30 Soup Sunday, January 31, 11:30 am ffffffff Youth Event: February 5, 6 pm First Sunday Explorers: Feb. 7, 11:30 am

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!

TO SERVE Sandy Kaplan’s Homemade Jam Sandy Kaplan will be selling his home made jams during the month of January. There is Rhubarb- Strawberry jam and Rhubarb-Citrus marmalade. Then rhubarb is from his garden, the strawberries from a Jersey farmers’ market and the citrus imported from Florida. The cost is $5 for an 8- ounce jar. The jams contain no pectin or preservatives. Look for him at the Gift card table in the Parish Hall after services. Supplies are, limited due to adverse weather and grower intransigence.

To Inspire Chili Cookoff-February 21, 2016 All you can eat Chili (veggie included), the trimmings, cole slaw and drinks, all for $5/ person, $ 15 for a family of up to four! Please join the fun and volunteer to make Chili, help with set up or clean up. Sandy Kaplan is doing the food and Julie Wealth is taking care of logistics. Speak to either of us soon, please, and let’s get set up for a tasty afternoon.

NEXT SUNDAY’S WORSHIP January 31, am Still a UU with Ethan Anderson Ethan Anderson is a lifelong UU having attended services at the East Brunswick Congregation since the age of 3. Ethan went through affirmation at that congregation as well and now sits on the Board for the UULMNJ. Ethan is a field organizer and lobbyist for Compassion & Choices, the nation’s leading end-of-life choice organization and the owner of Anderson Political Services LLC. He will speak on growing up UU and how his faith has shaped and guided his life’s decisions.

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