January, 2020

January 5, 2020
“New Beginnings”
Worship Committee

On the first Sunday of the new year, we will reflect on the transition from old to new. The Worship Committee will lead us in a Fire Communion ceremony, in which we will write, on scraps of paper, phrases that represent the year behind us.

January 12, 2020
“Finding Me And Coming Home to Us”
Rev. Erin Dajka Holley

If we seek to live lives of integrity, we must also be true to our selves. In what ways have we allowed our sense of who we are to be chipped away, preventing us from being whole? Maybe, our community provides the opportunity to find out and live into who we are.

January 19, 2020
“Building Bridges by Creating Inclusive Spaces”
Troy Little

As you move from group to group in your day, have you ever asked how the minorities in those groups feel? Today’s service will discuss some of these possibilities and ways that you can make your spaces more inclusive to everybody.

Troy Little assumed the position of Director of Law Enforcement Programs at MVCC after a 22 year career with the New York State Police. he has a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Albany and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in sociology with areas of specialization in race & ethnicity and political sociology. At MVCC, he administers the pre-employment police training program, teaches criminal justice and sociology, and is a member of the Diversity Council.

January 26, 2020
“You Are Special”

UU Utica invites the other Unitarian Universalist congregations of the Mohawk Valley to worship with us for this special Cluster Service. Nineteenth Century Unitarians shifted the focus on Jesus as God to that of Jesus as human, uplifted as the greatest exemplar of right living. Today, we shall uplift an exemplar of the Twentieth Century, Mr. Fred Rogers.

Service Descriptions for February 2020

Theme of the Month: Resilience

Hymn of the Month: #1015 I Know I Can

Chalice Lighting of the Month:

by Charles A Howe

We light this chalice to affirm that new light is ever waiting to break through to enlighten our ways:
That new truth is ever waiting to break through to illumine our minds:
And that new love is ever waiting to break through to warm our hearts.
May we be open to this light, and to the rich possibilities that it brings us.

Descriptions:
February 2, 2020
“From Refugee to Community Activist”
Hanka Grabovica
Hanka Grabovica was born in Bosnia, but came to Utica in Dec. 2001 when she was 16 with her parents for a better life and educational opportunities, and in August 2007 became a US citizen. She was 23 years old when she was standing on her own two feet with a college degree, teaching job, house, car, and partner. However, she knew no one in Utica, no family connection, only a few friends. This hasn’t stopped or slowed her down from being extremely active in the community including being on the Boards at WCNY and the United Way and running for Utica School Board and Utica City council at Large. She will talk about her journey and her resilience along the way.
Hanka is married with two children and works at Utica Academy of Science Public Charter School as a Student Affairs Officer. Previously, Hanka worked as an English as a second language (ELL) teacher in the Utica School District. Hanka has a BS from Utica College in Childhood Education and MS in Education Administration from Grand Canyon University, AZ. She is bilingual, has a black belt in Karate, and loves to travel the world, including once traveling to Japan to represent the USA National Karate team.

February 9, 2020

“Bounce”

Rev. Erin Dajka Holley

Let’s celebrate the experience of bouncing – of the fall that does not land hard, but that launches.

February 16, 2020

TBD

(A guest preacher cancelled recently. We’re on it.)

February 23, 2020

“Never Broken, Always Changed”

Rev. Erin Dajka Holley
When things don’t go as we might want, it is easy to see things as broken and unrepairable. Instead, let us consider how we can tell the story of being malleable and changing to remain whole.