UPCOMING SERVICES
June
The theme for the month of June is Freedom.
1 A Spiritual Toolkit - Rev. Bruce T. Marshall, guest speaker
8 Service on the theme - Katy Boyd
15 Freedom through Connection - Gena Wade
22 Service on the theme - TBD
29 Flower Communion - Jackie Triplett |
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| CONGREGATIONAL NEWS | Annual congregational meeting on June 29
After our Flower Communion service, we will hold UUFSM's Annual Meeting. We will hear reflections from Board Chair Katy Boyd on the state of our Fellowship and receive a summary financial report on FY 24-25 from Treasurer Gena Wade. Members will vote on a slate of nominees for the Board and for the Nominating Committee and make suggestions for activities and commitments in the next year. Plus, Gena is bringing cake... Please plan on staying after the service to live out a core UU value by participating in our democratic process. |
| |  | | Are you ready to serve?
The Board requires some new membership! We will have at least one vacancy, and other Board members are happy to rotate positions to allow other members to take on interesting leadership roles. We also need to establish a Nominating Committee for the next year's Board.
If you are willing to serve in some capacity, please contact Rick Boyd. Your Fellowship needs you! | | Who do we appreciate?
A periodic feature written by Joyce Judd to highlight the members who contribute to the good of our fellowship.
In the 1950s-60s, most women who went to college took education courses--but Judy Osborn didn’t want to teach. Her goal was to do ecology research. Through Catholic parochial and high schools in Brooklyn, NY, Judy had been a very good student. She received a full scholarship to Long Island University, earning a BS in Biology. She continued with a fellowship at the University of Rhode Island. She earned a Masters and a Ph.D in Physiological Ecology, meaning that she studied animals and how they adapt to changing environments. And during graduate school, she taught undergrad classes, which gave her a taste of what she believed she had never wanted to do. Judy then taught at several four-year and two-year MD colleges, including St. Mary’s College, Salisbury State, and Wor-Wic Tech in Salisbury, as well as others in PA and NJ after her divorce.
In 1994, Judy returned to St. Mary’s County with her younger son Ari. She joined the faculty at the College of Southern Maryland and taught biology courses over many years. She comments that community college students are favorites because they are often more motivated and more mature. She enjoyed student interaction and often stayed late in her office to help them achieve a better understanding of the material. Like others in the teaching field, she didn’t enjoy committee meetings, writing reports with no impact, and unmotivated students.
Judy was introduced to Unitarianism by her husband, Steve, while they were in Rhode Island, actively participating in UU churches as they moved from place to place. She was happy to find UUFSM when she moved back to St. Mary’s County. Judy says, “I am a UU because I can explore my values with others whose insights expand my understanding of the complexities of the world and the varied people in it. Other UUs remind me of the importance of differences and of the effect of humans on the living things of the world. UUs honor diversity and keep me aware of it.”
Judy has served on the Board of Trustees and was Chair for two years. She was most active in Adult Religious Education. She has been a teacher most of her life, ironically what she imagined as a young woman that she would never do.
Judy’s sons Ben and Ari both work in technology fields, and she is blessed with her 2-year-old grandson, Ezra. Both of her sons live in Montgomery County. |
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Fellowship reminders
June 8 is scheduled as our Brown Bag lunch after the service, so remember to bring something to snack on! There is always something brought to share. Brown Bags are scheduled for the second Sunday of each month.
The Fellowship Committee has established a method for signing up for more formal provision of coffee hour treats. June's coffee hours are hosted by the following members and friends:
1 - Austin
8 - Brown Bag, no host
15 - Marianna
22 - Joyce
29 - Gena
To sign up for July, put your name on the calendar at the welcome table! |
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| SOCIAL JUSTICE OPPORTUNITIES |
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UUFSM charity of the month: Farming4Hunger
This spring, UUFSM established a slate of organizations to receive our charitable plate collections. We share the plate with charities whose values reflect our own.
For the month of June, all charitable donations go to Farming4Hunger. Farming4Hunger is a non-profit organization that feeds people both physically and mentally through locally grown and distributed food and Life Sharing initiatives, helping to build a better Southern Maryland community. |
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| UUA NEWS |  | | Blog launched to foster greater awareness
Around the country, UUA staff members are working hard to support congregations to address their needs, provide spiritual and moral guidance to UUs and other people of good will, and grow Unitarian Universalism.
To make sure we know about this work, UUA staff have created a new blog: In Good Faith: Stories from the Association. It will provide news from the Association’s various staff groups, quick hits, and more about what is happening at the UUA.
Find the blog here: Welcome to In Good Faith: Stories from the Association | | CONNECTION OPPORTUNITIES |  | | The Gathering by Side With Love
The Gathering is a monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:
Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.
Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.
Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.
The next session is on June 9, 8 pm ET. |
| |  | | Social opportunity for greater fellowship
Interested members may get together to attend this local event. St. Mary's College is the alma mater of several of our members and friends, and it has welcomed UU participation in its religions fair each year for incoming students.
This year's festival is dedicated to President Tuajuanda C. Jordan, founder of the Mulberry Music Festival, who is retiring in June 2025. |
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