Worship This Week
10 a.m. December 14th, 2025
The Hannukah Light
Led by Rev. Lori with Hayley
Music by the Pick-Up Choir
For our Sunday security, we lock the doors at 10:05. Ushers will monitor the doors until 10:15.
Church Activities This Week
Unless indicated otherwise, these activities welcome all members and friends.
Full calendar below with links to these & other upcoming events.
Sunday, Dec. 14th @ 10:00 AM - Worship (Click Here to Live Stream)
Sunday, Dec. 14th @ 11:15 AM - Futures Meeting - “Rather than a futures salon on Sunday, we are seizing the time to have a conversation about what our role is in this local very present need regarding the woman on our porch. Rather than a theoretical futures think tank, the universe has presented us with a community need that requires a response. We will use our meeting time to discuss "what is love calling us to do right now.?" We are having Rebecca Lyons, community resource officer, present to share what it looks like on the ground and offer insight into local unmet needs. We can then discuss now/soon what we are able and prepared to do to meet those needs. If they are not available to meet Sunday, we can at least get our own conversation started with whatever intelligence we can gather between now and then.”
Sunday, Dec. 14th @ 11:20 AM - MOFA: Ministry of Faith in Action Meeting
Sunday, Dec. 14th @ 6:30 PM - School Street Coffee House Holiday Sing-Along
Wednesday, Dec. 17th @ 5:00 PM - Harbour Singers
Thursday, Dec. 18th @ 7:00 PM - SBGM
Office Hours
Administrator
Brian Dustin
Mon/Wed/Fri 8-10 AM
Caring Needs
Message from Rev. Lori
Hello Good People,
Not your standard Friday Flier this week.
For those who have been by the church or have otherwise heard, our porch guest has returned to the front steps. This summer we had a women who was temporarily unhoused sleep on our porch and store her things in our bushes. To me it feels very sad that someone is navigating this cold weather out there. We are offering her access to the building during office hours, cold weather gear and supplies, and help getting connected with the resources available. She doesn’t like attention or to be approached, so please grant her privacy and space if you see her in front. There is shelter, food and other case management resources that are available. It is hard when someone resists taking advantage of those. Especially in this particular season, when those of us with Christian roots subscribe to a story that involves a wandering couple without shelter seeking refuge during a vulnerable time. It feels important to me to address this tangibly. As a church we have identified homelessness as a mission we want to engage in. I know the city of Saco wants there to be conversations about serving the Saco unhoused population independent of what is happening in Biddeford. We have successfully provided a warming service in the past. Perhaps 2026 is the year to move this mission forward. If you are interested and able to participate in even a conversation, please let me know.
In this month of hope with our advent candles of joy, love, peace, community and hope, this is a reminder that not all stories have readily available happy endings. There is sadness and brokenness that is highlighted and that may not ever have resolution. In this instance, it is not our place or character as a community to look away. We are obligated as UUs and people of faith to provide compassion, seek justice, and care for people. We are obligated to be a people of hope. We are also obligated to be in constant conversation about what our chalice and beacon is calling us to do. What is love calling us to do in this moment? I don’t have answers, but our polity (the way we organize ourselves) calls us to be in conversation about these matters. So let’s start there. I have also been approached by some folks who want to make soft food kits for the unhoused in the Saco/Biddeford area in the spirit of what the Hope Squad does. We are working on setting up a project of the sort for next Wednesday or Thursday evening at the church to assemble something. More to come on that.
Jesus lived a life of wandering ministry without a permanent home, often staying with followers, staying outdoors. He famously said “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” Yet he had a family home in Nazareth and based on interpretation of other text, a house in Capernauem. He was supported by others, making his situation a complex mix of temporary homelessness and reliance on hospitality rather than a permanent destitute state. My Christian theology has always been that Jesus came into the world to show us how to live Love. This volunteer lifestyle was a way to highlight what it means to not have. So even if he wasn’t permanently homeless in the modern sense, he chose a life without a fixed dwelling for his mission. He embraced poverty and relying on community support, a choice that reflects a deeper spiritual homelessness from worldly ties rather than a lack of shelter. That is a practice and a choice that is reflected in all faith traditions at a level of higher spiritual commitment.
Stay tuned for an upcoming response. And again let me know if you would like to be involved in this conversation at any level at all!
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford
Just in time for the holidays!
School Street Coffeehouse Membership Mugs Are In!
Our brand-new membership mugs are now available - perfect as a gift or to treat yourself.
$25 each
Pick one up at our next event:
December 14 • 6:30pm
Open Mic • Christmas SingAlong
Wear your best or worst holiday attire!
Or grab one at Coffee Hour every Sunday!
Thank you for supporting the Coffeehouse and helping keep music, community, and UU values flowing.
Maine Needs Winter Gear – A Collection Drive
We need warm coats, warm hats, waterproof boots & Gloves, snow pants, warm socks for adults and kids. Gently used or new welcome. A drop box will be available at the church.
Ongoing activities
Share the Plate: December
We will share the plate in December with Hope Squad. Their mission is to see those that are invisible; to hear those that have no voice, and to reinforce the infinite value and worth of each person we meet by providing a loving, compassionate and consistent presence, needed resources and hope to those living in the shelters and on the streets of Maine through our mobile peer outreach. We made over 400 sandwiches for their outreach in November while we shared the plate with the saco food pantry that was hard at work to support people iduring the SNAP crisis and the holiday. We are sharing the December plate with the HOPE Squad.
School Street Coffeehouse Fundraiser
School Street Coffeehouse is pleased to offer special edition stickers, donated by Thomas Clukey, as part of a $1 fundraiser.
Stickers will be available at Coffeehouse events, open mikes, and during Social Hour on Sundays. For those of you at a distance, stickers can be obtained by mail with a $1 donation and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Every sticker purchased will support and give visability to the Coffeehouse, helping sustain this brand new tradition at UUCSB.
Hannaford Gift Cards
Would you like to donate to the church in a way that doesn’t cost you anything? If you buy your weekly groceries with a Hannaford gift card purchased from UUCSB, the church gets 5%. Our church depends on this fundraiser to contribute to its operating budget. Cards are available in $100 or $50 denominations. Gift cards are for sale in the Parish Hall every Sunday after the worship service. If you are worshiping virtually, just call or email Jane P. and make arrangements to pick them up at another time. Thank you for participating in this fundraiser in support of our church.
Save the Date! Upcoming Events
These UUCSB meetings, community events, and important deadlines are just around the corner.
Learn more by clicking on a square or check out our full calendar over here!
