Greetings to you all.
Please note there is no Sunday Morning Service of Mindful Mediation, Music and Conversation this week due to the service celebrating the 90th birthday of our minister emeritus, Frank Walker. Details below. Our regular Sunday Morning Service of Mindful Meditation, Music and Conversation will resume on Sunday 8th June.
This newsletter contains:
- A link for the special Sunday Morning service at 10.30am on Sunday, June 2nd to celebrate the 90th birthday of the minister emeritus, Frank Walker. After the service, there will be a celebration lunch/buffet in the hall, to which all are invited.
- Links to the current minister’s address/podcast.
- A link for the Thursday morning/evening Zoom “Kiitsu Kyōkai” Seiza Meditation & Conversation Meeting.
- A note of members’ activities & also any outside events in the church.
- A note about events during Refugee Week
- Links to two national Unitarian events, “An Introduction to The Decelerator” and “Youth Leader Training” and also links to additional national Unitarian news.
A reminder of, and a Zoom link for, the special Sunday morning service on Sunday, June 2nd at 10.30am to celebrate the 90th birthday of the minister emeritus, Frank Walker.
Join Sunday Morning Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86882949446?pwd=kliXbdABEfbU8FjDMtNRNJ4Lr2lb5z.1
Meeting ID: 868 8294 9446
Passcode: 612407
This special service, consisting of readings from Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield, music (played on the organ by John Dillistone), hymns and prayers, is to be conducted by Frank Walker himself. The special collection will be for Médecins sans frontières, MSF (Doctors Without Borders), who work in conditions of greatest need and danger throughout the world. Following the service, all are invited to share a multitude of refreshments in the church hall.
Because of this special service, there will be no music group this Sunday, but we look forward to singing together on 7th July, hopefully to prepare one song for the service on 14th July.
Links to the current minister’s address/podcast:
In written form at:
https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com
Or as podcast episodes at:
A link for the Thursday morning/evening Zoom “Kiitsu Kyōkai” Seiza Meditation & Conversation Meetings:
“Kiitsu Kyōkai” Seiza Meditation and Conversation Meetings on Zoom
1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month: 7.30-9 pm
2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month: 10.30 am-12 noon
No meetings on any 5th Thursday
For more information, please visit:
https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/p/kiitsu-kyokai.html
https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/evening-service/
Join on Thursday Zooms at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85775868333?pwd=LEuyKnfbRJORbqsuzkhsonHui4ttwA.1
Meeting ID: 857 7586 8333
Passcode: 970614
Join on Thursday Zooms at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85775868333?pwd=LEuyKnfbRJORbqsuzkhsonHui4ttwA.1
Meeting ID: 857 7586 8333
Passcode: 970614
A note of members’ activities & any other outside events in the church:
Jerry Carr-Brion writes: “We’re having a fundraising tea party for Oxfam on Saturday 8th June, 3pm. £5 per person. Tea, biscuits and cakes provided. Our address is 17B Mill Lane, Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9HW.”
Georgie Billings (who, along with her husband, James helped set up our live-streaming kit) has been in touch to say hello and asked whether I could bring the following request for help to your attention Georgie writes:
“There are a lot of grim things going on in the world, and I’m sorry to add to it. Sadly, every time a new disaster hits, there are fewer resources going to those still suffering from previous catastrophes. The Rohingya have spent decades being persecuted in Myanmar, stripped of their citizenship and subjected to violence. Nearly seven years ago, this escalated to a genocide. Those who could fled across the border to Bangladesh. Seven years on, nearly a million of them (half of them children) are still living in refugee camps in terrible conditions. I work on a project that is trying to improve educational opportunities for the children in the camps. I really want them to have some access to hands-on classroom resources. If you can, please consider buying something from the wishlist. If you can’t, please consider sharing this or talking to others about their plight, so they aren’t forgotten.” https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3JTA87WIFR5LA?ref_=wl_share
A note about events during Refugee Week
Refugee Week this year celebrates Our Home, 17-23rd June and June 20 is World Refugee Day. For some of the ways you can take part, you can visit the website and check out the resources (include those for youngsters and social media). One of the “Simple Acts” you can do is watch a film. Here are some you can watch for free: <https://refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/watch-a-film/>
In Cambridge, The Refugee Hub are co-ordinating 2 FREE events at Alison Richard Building (Sidgwick Site):
- Thursday 20 June – an academic conference: an engaging programme of research and public events
- Saturday 22 June – a family day with CamCRAG
These events are free and open to all, whether academics, students, activists or community members. More here:
<https://www.humanmovement.cam.ac.uk/events/cambridge-refugee-week-2024>
Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign are looking for volunteers, and especially a Treasurer:
<https://www.cambridgerefugees.org/volunteer.html>
Links to two national events + additional national Unitarian news
Join us for An introduction to The Decelerator
Dear friends,
Please circulate this invitation widely amongst your congregations:
Are you going through a time of change and transition in your Unitarian and Free Christian community?
I am writing to invite you to a free webinar with Linda Craig and Iona Lawrence from The Decelerator, hosted by Lizzie Kingston Harrison, our Congregational Connections Lead here at the GA.
Monday 3rd June, 7pm- 8.30pm
Zoom link
Iona and Linda work for the Decelerator – an organisation that gives support to civil society organisations. They offer information, tools, and hand-on support to help organisations work with endings, closures, change, transformation, and transition. They are working with us to help support you and your community and offer bespoke advice, tailored to your needs.
The Decelerator exists because change involves endings. While endings are inevitable, bad endings do not have to be. They work with organisations to ensure that change happens well.
Come along to this webinar to find out about Iona and Linda’s work and how they can help you and your congregation implement change, steward endings, and find new beginnings.
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Lizzie Kingston.
Youth leader training
Who in your network is ready to take part in free training to strengthen their youth and family ministry skills? Find out more about the training on offer at a Zoom call on 6th June at 7pm, hosted by Helen Mason, Director of Unitarian College, and Gav Howell, GA Youth Coordinator.
Thursday 6th June, 7pm
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83026529700?pwd=x1qVP870JFi7FdUqUlAbmZJ2FrPyUb.1
Meeting ID: 830 2652 9700
Passcode: 422829
For additional national Unitarian news, please click on the following links:
Unitarian Webpage
https://www.unitarian.org.uk/news/
Uni-news
https://us20.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=1590ea5f53cdc6fb8a17c311c&id=7bce4a21b7
Every best wish as always,
Andrew
Andrew James Brown
Minister
Cambridge Unitarian Church
Emmanuel Road
Cambridge
CB1 1JW
07477 462 110 (Mobile)
http://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/
____________________________
Other stuff . . .
Blog—Caute
<http://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com>
Podcast—Making Footprints Not Blueprints
<https://footprints.buzzsprout.com>
Jiyū Shūkyō / Free Religion
<https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/p/free-religion.html>
Kiitsu Kyōkai
<https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/p/kiitsu-kyokai.html>
Seiza Meditation (Quiet Sitting)
<https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/p/seiza-meditation.html>