**February’s Theme: Embodying Resilience**

**Worship Services Sundays at 10 a.m. EST:**
February 1st: **Imbolc ~ An Intergenerational Service** with Rev. Lori
February 8th: **Celebrating Our Volunteers!** with Rev. Lori & Sam R.
February 15th: **Stand Up Even If Your Voice Shakes** with Rev. Niki & Donna R.
February 22nd: **Finding Strength in Silence ~ Our Quaker Forebears** with Rev. Lori & Teague
If you can’t join us in person, please tune in via our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@uucsb

Hello Good People,

It is February 2026. The theme for our month is Embodying Resilience. I believe that is perfect after the January we have experienced and the calls to resist in the many ways we can and do! Resilience is an ultimate act of resistance and it is our task and our study this month. We will live our resilience by eating together, worshipping together, saging together, singing together, kit making, and working side by side. We will celebrate our volunteering, and each other and we may even squeeze in a game night….Stay tuned for that. There is also an ecumenical/interfaith service in the works for early February. Stay tuned for that as well!

I am so proud and filled with joy to be a part of this community. We opened our doors once again for a warming service. Many of you contributed in many ways. Food, water, time, talent, presence, soup, pancakes, warm clothes, blankets. We had folks come from Kennebunk UU to bring supplies and some to stay overnight. We had a student from York County Community College help out also. We did not have any guests. But we learned more about what we are capable of. The folks who were able to be present enjoyed great company and kinship! We developed more relationships with community organizations and local businesses for future events. I have asked for a meeting with city leaders and other organizations in Saco to establish better communication and collaboration before we commit any additional resources. I am confident that we will develop relationships and discern a path where we can meet community needs in a sustainable, practical way.

These are crazy times. As your minister and spiritual leader, it is often hard to know when to be pastoral and when to call us to action, at least from the pulpit. I know you all have enormous hearts. I have called on you to love and care for one another AND to remain awake and attentive to what is happening around us. Being awake and keeping your heart open is a huge ask. I believe it is our spiritual mandate at this moment in time.

I share these words written by Rev. Gretchen Hayley:

Though you have been warned
And given plenty of explanations
Reasons to do otherwise
You have persisted
To claim a life of joy, and justice
To carve out this time
This space for the renewal
Of your own heart
Despite all the reasons, the resistance
Fighting for your attention, luring you towards fear
You persist
To practice gratitude
For this day, this life
That has been given
This chance to begin again
And so let us gather
That we might
Offer one another courage, strength
Healing, hope,
And this promise to
Persist in kindness
Persevere in compassion
And prevail in a life that is for more than ourselves

Please check on one another, check on your neighbors, and smile at strangers. Please consider taking one of the kits we have made and keeping it in your car to hand to unhoused folks at intersections. Remember that just showing up to community is resilient these days and is enough. Showing up authentically is a gift. And showing up smiling and carrying on is the embodiment of resilience and it is your challenge this February!

With Love and Gratitude!

Peace and Blessings,

Rev. Lori

(She/Her/Hers)

“Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons.

You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body.”

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

This month’s theme is ‘Embodying Resilience’. So many songs come to mind when I think of how music has helped me embody resilience. When I felt my lowest, music would often give me the strength I needed to keep from sinking lower. Sometimes the music would be a soothing balm (e.g. ‘Your Song’ by Elton John). At times I would listen to music that was so depressing it made me realize I didn’t belong there (e.g. ‘Seventeen’ by Janice Ian). Other times, I’ve it’s been music that has me movin’ and groovin’ to the beat or smiling with hope and possibility (e.g. any early Beatles music). There are hymns that remind me of the hope and resilience of a society (e.g. ‘My Life Flows on in Endless Song’; ‘We Would Be One’). Think of what your ‘Resilience Playlist’ might be!

Rehearsals: Pick Up Choir typically rehearses on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month followed by singing in church on that day. We gather in the Parish Hall at 8:45 to start. Want to help with set-up? Arrive at 8:30.

February 8, 22
March 8, 22
April 5* (Easter), 26
May 3*, 24
June 21*

*= Not a 2nd or 4th Sunday.

Participation: ‘Pick up Choir’ means that you do not need to commit to every Sunday that we sing but if I can know in advance that you’ll be there it helps me plan for appropriate music.

Special Music: Do you like to sing solo or play an instrument? Special music is always a welcome addition to a service.

All are welcome who love to sing or who want to be involved with our Music Ministry!

Email Ellie for more information

Special Music for January

February 1st: Elisha Cicio

Elisha is a Maine native and life-long musician and creative artist who is often found creating, volunteering, or performing around Southern Maine in a variety of local businesses, choirs, or community theaters. She finds contentment and joy in service to others and is grateful to have found such a welcoming church community here at UUCSB.

Members of the UUCSB Pick-Up Choir beam at the camera. — February 8th & 22nd: UUCSB Pick-Up Choir

The UUCSB Pick Up Choir – Our choir, directed by Ellie Rolnick, will offer special music and often supports the congregational singing. Make a joyful noise with us!

February 15th: Rev. Trevor Neitz

Trevor grew up in southern New Hampshire to a music-loving family. He spent many hours knelt next to the piano as his grandmother played hymns and nursery rhymes. A lifelong fan of the bagpipes, Trevor was finally able to take lessons after zoom became popular in 2021. He started attending the UUCSB later that year.

February Outreach

Share the Plate: February 2026

Each month, UUCSB chooses an organization to split weekly donations made by congregants during the course of Sunday services. As many of you attend virtually, we are providing an online venue for these donations.
This month, we ask for donations to be split between UUCSB's general fund and IFKA Community Services. From their website, https://ifkacommunity.org/
Our founder recognized the necessity for increased representation of immigrant women. This realization gave birth to our organization: IFKA Community Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Lewiston, Maine. IFKA means Mother Earth in Somali. Since its inception, IFKA has been guided and fueled by the leadership of immigrant mothers. We came together to share our experiences, learn, understand, and make a difference in our community.

Donate Here to February's Share the Plate Campaign

Kits for the Unhoused

Packs are available at the church. Please consider picking one or two up to have on hand to give out as you find need in your neighborhood.

Ministry of Faith in Action (MoFA)

MoFA is the social justice team at UUCSB.

As UU’s we are really all on the social justice team. We have causes we support as individuals or families. MoFA attempts to gather us all together to use our collective strength and vision for meaningful action.

We support the vulnerable! Read on for ways to support immigrants seeking protection from indiscriminate arrest.

FMI: Maine Immigrants Resource Hub and Hotline

If you can volunteer to take a kid to school or a worker to work, please complete this form and we will let you know when we can connect you.

Some Local Protests:

Saco Biddeford Area SURJ:

Saco Transportation Center, 138 Main St
Feb 14 and 28, 10-11am

Weekly at 1st Parish (UU) Kennebunk, Thursdays 3-4pm

Beloved Congregation:

As we each must keep our bodies sound in order to act in the world, your elected Board must attend to the body of the church, keeping it strong enough to act for the greatest good. I write this in the warmth of my house, in the middle of a snowstorm, after a weekend of concern for our unhoused and immigrant neighbors. Although I'm sorely tempted to direct our attention outward to our suffering community, I will tell you about the work of the Board, trusting that how we do things is just as important as what we do.

Cathy V. has stepped down from her position as Member-at-Large. We thank Cathy for her insights in her time on the Board and wish her peace and renewal while she attend to the needs of her family.

Matt H. has graciously agreed to fill that vacancy. Welcome, Matt!

The BoT has completed our 2nd of 6 rich modules on church leadership. The latest is called "Meetings as Ministry". We will explore some of the practices in our Board structures: Consent Agendas to make meetings more efficient; the listening component of Discernment Circles to ensure that all voices are heard; the Sacred Pause where anyone can call for a brief silent pause to resent the tone of the meeting and settle bodily responses. Since this Board formed in July and without knowing its name, we have been following a "consent model" of listening to all voices and forming agreement rather than a simple yay or nay vote. We are confident that this has resulted in us speaking with one voice most of the time and we will continue to hone this practice. We will propose some structures and techniques for our future small or large congregational meetings, all with the purpose of hearing all viewpoints and building stronger community.

Last year's Climate Justice Revival reminded us that Celebration is an essential spiritual practice. With this in mind, we are hosting a "Souper Sunday Celebration of Volunteers" after the service on Feb 8. You are all welcome, volunteer or not. We will enjoy Fellowship in the Parish Hall followed by a 30-minute program to acknowledge the contributions of the hearts and hands that make our church thrive. Please complete this form to RSVP.

As always, you are invited to our meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 am. Please contact any BoT member if you have comments or questions.

Love, Randa Thomas

President, Board of Trustees

Resilience through Technology

My sweetheart, the playful fella hidden in the collage, recently gave me a bird feeder with a camera that sends photos straight to my phone, and I’m completely taken with it. From sun-up to sun-down, these small glimpses of the outside world have been arriving like little notes of comfort—especially welcome during weeks when so much has felt heavy and the air so cold.
It’s reminded me that technology can be playful and life-giving, too. Staying connected doesn’t have to drain us if we’re mindful about what we let in and what we gently filter out. I forget that sometimes, especially when screens feel full of demands and difficult news, making it harder to manage stress or feel mindfully engaged with the world.
I’ve also been thinking about how we can use technology as a tool for resilience and celebration. Sharing good news and good work through Friday Flyers and *The Messenger* has been a real joy for me—especially creating collages of recent intergenerational services and community action events like the Kit Making evening on January 11th (see Lori’s message above). I’d love to keep doing more of this, using our church’s technology not just for the work of the world, but for celebrating it too.
So please feel free to share photos or stories from church-related events whenever it feels right. I’d be glad to help pass along that love and joy through this little online telegraph of ours.
With appreciation,
Rev. Morgan Rowe
UUCSB Web Chaplain

Please send all blurbs or photos for Friday Flyers and Messenger to Morgan at uucsb.webchaplain@gmail.com

Upcoming Dates To Take Notice Of

Open Mic Night: February 15th!

You can sign up now to perform, support, or become a member! Click here!
Read more about the Coffeehouse on our website.

Scroll through to see other upcoming UUCSB meetings and events. Click on an event to learn more about it.

Community Events

Ways to Support Our Vibrant UUCSB Community

Many Hands: *Some* things that need doing:

Hang drapes in Parish Hall
See if the Green Room TV can project from a computer
Bake for Coffeehouse
Review By-laws and church Policies
Declutter the upstairs “Teen Room”
Represent UUCSB at MUUSAN
Research reusable food packaging options
Help folks use Google Docs
Help with Children’s Worship
Please complete this interest survey so we can match your talents with our needs

Ways to Support UUCSB’s Bottom Line

Make a Donation online to our General Operating Fund

By Mail: Send donations and pledge payments to: UU Church of Saco & Biddeford, 60 School Street, Saco, ME 04072

Two Ways to Donate to the General Operating Fund Without Spending an Extra Dime!

Are You Thinking About Becoming a Member of UUCSB?

To learn more about our congregation:

Please speak to any member or someone from the Membership Welcoming Committee. Plan to attend a Sharing Your Spiritual Journey orientation.

To learn more about our faith and practice:

Various aspects of Unitarian Universalism are explained in brochures kept in a rack as you enter the sanctuary. You are welcome to take these home. You can also talk with members of our congregation.

Our Church:

We are a voluntary association of those committed to this special religious community. We share common values, but we do not require or expect conformity to any specific religious beliefs. We welcome each person’s spiritual exploration and expression.