Connecting This Week

Posted on March 30, 2020June 9, 2020 by Suzanne Fast

Online Connections by and for Disabled UUs This Week (June 9-14):

This week, EqUUal Access adopts the theme, “Ready”

This week we take up the final part of this year’s General Assembly theme: Ready. What does it mean to be ready, when life and society are unpredictable? In what ways are we ready to be part of the transformations happening in our faith communities?

Online Connections by and for Disabled UUs

NEW: Tuesday 6/9 @ 1:00 PM Eastern: Pastoral Conversation
Small group and one-to-one conversation with a UU minister. With Rev. Helen McFadyen and Rev. Barbara Meyers (see Note for more information)
Join using Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/ybretotq

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Tuesday 6/9 @ 3:00 PM Eastern: Weekly Theme Chat: Ready
Drop in to the EqUUal Access virtual space to connect and chat. With facilitator, Rev. Suzanne Fast
Join using Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/y7qk3caz

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Thursday 6/11 @ 8:00 PM Eastern: OASIS- a spiritual gathering for disabled UUs
A spiritual gathering space for disabled Unitarian Universalists. EqUUal Access worship team: Revs. Suzanne Fast, Barbara Meyers
Join using Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/y7xanjar

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Friday 6/12 @ 1:00 PM Eastern: Craft & Chat

Bring a project you’re working on and we’ll chat about this week’s theme. With facilitator, Suzanne Fast
Join using Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/yanfgj67

Notes

1) NOW AVAILABLE — EA Pastoral Conversation

Tuesdays at 1 pm Eastern, 10 am Pacific.

These are challenging, often difficult times. Stress, anxiety, worry, fear, difficulty sleeping or eating, and emotions that can overwhelm, these are what many people, including UUs with disabilities, are experiencing in response to immensely hard new realities.

EqUUal Access is piloting a trial online outreach effort for our community folx to access supportive, pastoral conversation with a UU minister. We are going to attempt to make two options available for pastoral conversation; one is going to be a small group (up to 5 individuals) with a UU minister, and the other, one-to-one conversation with a UU minister.

These two different ways of having supportive conversation will hopefully create safe space for individuals who seek an empathetic listener to what’s happening around and to them. Using Zoom’s ‘break out room’ feature, we’ll use two private “pastoral pods” (the small group and meeting one-to-one). This will contain the conversation to those pods, though anonymity will not be possible.

Note: Only those participants who arrive in the Zoom ‘waiting room’ by the start time will be ‘admitted’ to the larger zoom room to enter one of the pastoral conversation options.

Rev. Helen and Rev. Barbara (week one pastors) will welcome all in the zoom room and ask which “pastoral pod” (break out room) each person prefers (one-to-one or group). Up to five individuals may join one of the ministers for a 45 minute talking circle which will begin with forming a simple group covenant for the duration of the sharing time. And, up to three other individuals may opt to have one-to-one conversation (each of 20 minutes duration) with the other minister (some waiting involved for the second and third individuals — so make tea, read, sing….).

Letter from Rev. Suzanne Fast

Dear Ones,There’s so much happening in our EqUUal Access community and in Unitarian Universalism now!

*Next week only, June 18th, instead of our Thursday night Oasis spiritual gathering, we will invite non-disabled folx to join us in our Thursday evening space for our annual EqUUal Access Celebration! In addition to our Q&A with disability activist Judy Heumann, we will celebrate our sermon contest winner, Elizabeth Foster, and the Unitarian Society of Hartford as an AIM certified congregation. There will be a special email invitation with connection details for the Celebration coming soon.

*Our weekly theme activities by and for disabled UUs, including Oasis, will continue during General Assembly, facilitated by Rev. Helen McFadyen.

*EA Pastoral Conversations continue this week with Rev. Helen and Rev. Barbara. See the Note below for a description.

*We will caucus during GA to talk about issues before the Assembly. As an example, the final report of the Commission on Institutional Change has just been released, with exciting implications for our community. And issues will arise during the Assembly. Details about caucusing will be available soon.

In these times of rapid changes, in our UU universe and in the wider world, I hope that you are finding ways to refresh your spirit and to nurture connections.

When we create disabled space together, we make space for sharing our cares, cultivating our inner resources, and creating community. The Facebook Group is findable by searching: Connection Space for and by Disabled UUs.

Wishing you well in these challenging times, and hoping to connect with you soon.

Regards,
Suzanne

Rev. Suzanne Fast
Community Minister

On-line Gatherings This Week

Posted on March 22, 2020March 26, 2020 by Suzanne Fast

EqUUal Access’ theme this week: “Hospitality in Times of Distance”

Tuesday 3/24 @ 3:00 PM Eastern: Weekly Theme Chat: Drop in to the EqUUal Access virtual space to connect and chat. We’ll watch a short music video together and talk about how UUs (who love our pot lucks and coffee hours) give and receive hospitality in these times of ‘social distance’ and isolation. With facilitator, Rev. Helen McFadyen
Join using Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/169464502Thursday 3/26 @ 8:00 PM Eastern: OASIS- a spiritual gathering for disabled UUs
A spiritual gathering space for disabled Unitarian Universalists. EqUUal Access worship team: Revs. Suzanne Fast, Helen McFadyen, Barbara Meyers
Join using Zoom https://zoom.us/j/763653476

Friday 3/27 @ 1:00 PM Eastern: Craft & Chat: Hot Chalice Buns! Join in this creative, lighthearted conversation to explore ideas about the intersecting notions of food, faith, and hospitality. With facilitator, Rev. Helen McFadyen (former naval chef)
Join using Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/157632228

Disabled UUs: Worship & Connect through COVID-19

Posted on March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 by Suzanne Fast

Members and friends of EqUUal Access,

They say it’s an ill wind that blows no good. The COVID-19 pandemic touches everyone, though in different ways; I’m choosing to frame it as an opportunity to enhance our connections as a community. We have advocated together for many years to shift attitudes about disability across the larger UU universe. Now is a time to pay attention to our own community.

We know that lots of us have a lot of experience with creative problem solving, unpredictability, and isolation. In many ways, we are equipped for the current chaotic situation. And, many of us are more susceptible to the virus, have lives that depend on physical contacts, or find our essential supplies are suddenly unavailable. Added to that, society’s ableism is running rampant in the way the virus is talked about, in the media or even among those we know. If you are experiencing extra stress, you are not alone.

However well connected we are to our congregations, families, and friends, sometimes it can be good to have a faith-full space where disability is the norm and there’s a whole lot less to explain.

We invite all Disabled Unitarian Universalists to join EqUUal Access for online Worship and Connection. Here are our initial gatherings:

Craft and chat: Wednesday, March 18, at 3:30pm Eastern, 12:30pm Pacific with Rev. Suzanne Fast. Let’s make a chalice from found objects around the house, or decorate some, while we tell stories about how we think about the chalice. (Then bring your chalice to Thursday night’s online worship!) If you would like, you can download and print a chalice to color thanks to Rev. Cynthia Landrum from her Facebook page RevCyn. Connect at: https://zoom.us/j/370342537

Worship: Thursday, March 19, at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. We invite all Disabled Unitarian Universalists to “Oasis”, a time of worship, intentional connection and reflection. Take a break, come to the well of nurture and spiritual sustenance. Join Rev. Helen McFadyen and Rev. Suzanne Fast via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/706823723

Drop in Connection: Friday, March 20, at 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific, with Rev. Suzanne Fast. Bring a snack, your lunch, a beverage – your choice – as we chat around the zoom table. Question of the day: where do you find strength? Connect at: https://zoom.us/j/343509917

Upcoming gatherings: In the works for next week and beyond:

* Hot Chalice Buns: Bring your lunch or a beverage and gather round the Zoom screen to share favorite recipes, cooking & shopping tips, and special UU- themed food ideas! with Rev. Helen McFadyen (formerly a certified marine industry chef)

*starting a book discussion of Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, new from Beacon Press and available on Kindle.
*and more! Announcements coming soon, or check EA News on our website or our Facebook page.

If you have technical skills (like zoom, WordPress, social media, etc.), accessibility skills (like captioning, ASL, etc), or ideas for more ways we can connect as a community, please let us know. We can’t do everything at once, or respond to every suggestion at once; we also can’t do everything without more help!