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From the Minister – September 2023

Our spiritual theme for September is Welcome. Every year when the church’s program year begins again, the energy shifts. This year is no different, although the energy is different. On the other side of sinkholes and the worst parts of the pandemic, this congregation is digging into who it is and what it loves. It’s a kind of blossoming and a delight to witness.

Movie Night

Get Back In Action with a Movie Night! We will be showing the PG movie, “Captain Underpants, The First Epic Movie” to bring to light censorship in the Florida school systems. Come enjoy the movie and learn more about what the new school year can hold.

From the Minister – August 2023

August 1 begins our fourth year together in ministry. It’s wild to think about all that has happened in these last three years, both within the congregation and in the wider world. I’ve spent lots of time resting and cross-stitching. I have also been reading. Here are my thoughts this month.

The Pineapple Scruffs

Enjoy some great music and connection! All are invited to this special benefit concert with The Pineapple Scruffs for the UU Tarpon Springs Church. Featuring music from the Flower Power and Woodstock eras DATE: Sunday, August 13 – TIME: 11:45 Potluck Lunch 1:00 Pineapple Scruffs

From the Minister – July 2023

As always, General Assembly was a lot of hard work, with the joy of being together and the challenges of being together. Because I was working it, I didn’t get to enjoy all of the workshops and events, but the ones I was able to be present for were wonderful. I am looking forward to sharing some parts of it with you when I return! There’s one workshop I’d love for you to see, and there’s the time with author Brian Broome (whose memoir, Punch Me Up to the Gods, our Rainbow Welcome Circle has chosen as a common read), and this year’s Berry Street lecture is a must-watch for those of us in Florida.

UUCTS Welcomes Rainbow Wellness Family Wellness Center

UUCTS is excited to announce the Rainbow Wellness Family Wellness Center now occupies the first floor of our building on 57 Read Street. This practice provides accessible and affirming mental health care for individuals and non-traditional families in support of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Florida UU Clergy speak up!

Our Unitarian Universalist faith has a long history of justice seeking in this country. Its influence can be found in our nation’s founding documents, in President Lincoln’s speeches, and in every civil rights movement in this nation. We as a people of faith are proud of this country’s aspiration to be that beacon city on a hill. It is what makes this country different from many other countries where freedom to be who we are is criminalized. It is the diversity of its people that makes the potential of this nation great.

Baroque Concert at UUCTS

St Pete Baroque is coming to North Pinellas for the first time! All are invited to this special concert May 26th at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Tarpon Springs.

From the Minister – May 2023

The spiritual theme for May is creativity, and I’ve been joking about the irony of that after having planned services for nine months already, the creativity well is getting a little dry over here! A colleague suggested leaning into what I do when creativity starts to feel low, and I have been trying to do this.

From the Minister – June 2023

The spiritual theme for June is delight, and I notice with this theme something I have noticed many times before since moving to Florida. It is harder to choose hymns here than it was in NE Ohio — some hymns refer to the turning of the seasons. Winter and Christmas hymns seem so odd in a place where there is no snow. Florida is so full of color year-round that its delight is in some ways less striking than it would be elsewhere.