​Jamestown, N.Y. – June is LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Pride Month.

Pride Month is celebrated to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan that was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. 

The weekend-long 2023 Jamestown Pride Festival is June 9 – 11. For information, visit MHAChautauqua.org/JamestownPride. 

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) will recognize Pride Month at its 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, June 4 when Verdis LeVar Robinson preaches on “Born This Way.”

As anti-queer bills, laws, and policies are on the rise across the country, this affirming service will reach into Unitarian Universalist ancestry to seek guidance, hope, and inspiration. 

The message relates to the first and seventh of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm, promote and hold as strong values and moral guides: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Robinson speaks from Vermont, where he serves as the ministerial coordinator of worship arts production and adult religious education at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. He was the National Director for The Democracy Commitment, the Director for Community College Engagement at Campus Compact, and is currently an Associate of the Kettering Foundation specializing in deliberative democracy in community colleges and interfaith institutions. 

Prior to leading community college civic engagement nationally, Robinson was a tenured Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York, for ten years.

With a B.M. in Voice Performance from Boston University, a B.S. cum laude and M.A. in History from SUNY College at Brockport, and an M.A. in African-American Studies from SUNY University at Buffalo, Robinson received his Master of Divinity from Chicago’s Meadville Lombard Theological School this May. 

Emily Garrick is the service leader, and Julie Anderson the pianist.

A social time follows the service.

All are welcome. Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

Jamestown, N.Y. –  Shatriya Smith is a married Black queer handicapable spiritualist, born and raised in Springfield, Illinois.

The community advocate will perform original poetry and ebonic renditions of favorite poets at the Sunday, May 28, 10:30 a.m. service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown.  The work of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first influential Black poets in American literature and internationally acclaimed for his dialectic verse, will be included in her presentation.

“As the poet laureate of Springfield, Illinois,” Smith says, “I stand with activists, allies and advocates of humanity, from BLM to women's rights, housing equality and racial equity, voting rights and LGBTQIA+. I speak for those who are too afraid to speak for themselves, and I bring my specific activities with poetic pose.” 

Smith has worked with Action Illinois, Resistor Sisters, Illinois Indivisible, Pantsuit Nation, Planned Parenthood, Poor People's Campaign, Illinois Trans Radical Activist Network, Phoenix Center and many more. This past year she was tasked to recite Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Amanda Gorman to K – 6 graders and led a team to produce The Underground Railroad Poetry Program that hosted a monthly workshop, open mic and field trip.

Smith adds, “I am also a mother to the first openly transitioning young person in my family. I am blessed to be the bearer of that responsibility, to showcase how to break generational curses while teaching each family member outwardly about individual rights to dignity and respect.” 

Shatriya Smith is executive director of Springfield’s Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts and Research Center. The Center provides services for low income families and young people ages 5-13 for music classes and to teach them to become young entrepreneurs. She is a member of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Springfield.

The presentation relates primarily to the first two of the seven principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm, promote and hold as strong values and moral guides: The inherent worth and dignity of every person, and justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

Pat Brininger is the service leader. A social time follows.

All are welcome. Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. – The New Neighbors Coalition works with Buffalo’s Journey’s End Refugee Services to settle refugee families in Jamestown. 

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) supports New Neighbors’ efforts by providing space for furniture and household items as they are collected. Apartments were furnished for the two refugee families from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have made their way here to date. 

Theresa DeLuca is the chief advancement officer of Journey’s End in Buffalo. On Sunday, May 21, 2023, UUCJ looks forward to welcoming her to speak at their 10:30 a.m. hybrid service. 

DeLuca’s message is “Welcoming Refugees.” Anticipating her visit, she said, “Journey’s End Refugee Services is grateful to be welcoming refugees in Jamestown. Have you wondered who is eligible to be a refugee? What is the resettlement process? What programs does Journey’s End offer for refugees?” DeLuca will speak on these topics as well as how to get more involved. “I look forward to talking with the congregation about refugee resettlement and answering any questions.”

Journey's End Refugee Services, Inc. is a Christian community-based organization with the mission of welcoming refugees without regard to ethnic origin or creed and to assist them to become healthy, independent, contributing members of the community. Its purpose is to provide refugees with the resources and support they need to become successful, active and contributing members of the Western New York Community.

DeLuca’s message relates to the first two of the seven principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm, promote and hold as strong values and moral guides: The inherent worth and dignity of every person, and justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

Congregant Janet Forbes, who serves on the New Neighbors Coalition’s Home Education Committee, is the service leader. Julie Anderson is pianist.

A graduate of the University of Buffalo with a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University, DeLuca worked as a journalist and multimedia producer. Later she was Hands Across Buffalo project manager for the Homeless Alliance of Western New York and then worked for Child & Family Service of Erie County, ultimately as donor and public relations manager. She joined Journey’s End Refugee Services last July.

A potluck follows the service. All are welcome. 

Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. – On Sunday, May 14, congregant David Winner leads the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) in considering “Love Your Mother” at the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service. 

Winner’s discussion focuses on how we have two mothers, our own mother who gave us life, and the greater mother, our planet Earth that gives all of us life. The question to consider is: How can we individually show love and respect to both?

The presentation relates most closely to the final of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

A former Pennsylvania State Master Gardener, Winner and his wife, Barbara, are part of the Jamestown Public Market and have been active UUCJ members for more than a decade. He has served on UUCJ’s board as co-president and president, chaired the Building and Grounds Committee, and currently serves on the nominating committee. 

A social time follows the service.

All are welcome. Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

Jamestown, N.Y. – Since last September, Verdis LeVar Robinson has served as the regular first Sunday preacher for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ). 

A native of Rochester, New York, and former tenured assistant professor of history and African American studies at Monroe Community College, Robinson is a newly fellowshipped Unitarian Universalist minister. He speaks from Vermont, where he serves as the ministerial coordinator of worship arts production and adult religious education at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. 

Sunday, May 7, 2023, is Robinson’s next-to-last regular appearance with the UUCJ. His message at the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service is “The Sound of the Genuine.” 

You are invited to participate as Robinson reflects on the Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman’s famous address “Sing Your Own Song” and how it resonates, especially now in these times of turbulence and uncertainty.

The sermon relates to the fourth as well as the first of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm, promote and hold as strong values and moral guides: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Robinson holds a B.M. in Voice Performance from Boston University, a B.S. cum laude and M.A. in History from SUNY College at Brockport, and an M.A. in African-American Studies from SUNY University at Buffalo. On May 21, 2023, he receives his Master of Divinity from Chicago’s Meadville Lombard Theological School. 

Emily Garrick is the service leader, and Julie Anderson the pianist.

A social time follows the service.

All are welcome. Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. –  “Our Revered and Awful Ancestors” is the message at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, April 30, 2023.

The sermon recognizes that in their denominational history, just like one’s own family, there are ancestors they would sooner forget, and ancestors who did both remarkable and awful things. The question is: How to make sense of that reality without avoiding it or distorting it?

Rev. David Schwartz, lead minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado, offers this virtual sermon. Swartz did his BA at Tufts and MDiv at Harvard. Before full-time ministry, he spent a decade in corporate HR with Target. He is adjunct professor of preaching at Meadville Lombard Theological School.

SUNY Fredonia Professor Emeritus Len Faulk is the service leader. A social time follows.

All are welcome. Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. – From noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, 2023, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) is having a community collection of items for the Pick of the Litter animal shelter in Falconer, New York.

High need items are clean, new or gently used towels, blankets (with no stuffing), and sheets. Other items needed are bleach, Milk Bones dog treats, cat litter, and paper towels. Cash donations are welcome as well.

UUCJ Social Justice Committee Chair Alyssa Raimondo-Swanson, who is organizing the collection, says, “The local community has been very generous when we have asked for donations of books, food items or school needs. We look forward to that same generosity for our four-legged friends!”  

Pick of the Litter is a pet boarding, grooming, and Jamestown stray and adoption center. The no kill shelter is located in the former Humane Society building on the corner of Quaint Road and Elmwood Avenue in Falconer. 

All strays picked up by the Jamestown police or dog warden are brought to Pick of the Litter. If you or someone you know has lost your dog in Jamestown, contact the shelter at 1805 E. Elmwood Avenue, Falconer, (716) 661-9707.  

Pick of the Litter has as many as 360 or more dogs in a year. Approximately 60% are returned to their homes. After being held for 10 days, others are given rabies and distemper shots, spayed and neutered, and put up for adoption. They stay until they are adopted or fostered out or go to another stray center.

If you are interested in adopting or fostering a dog, you can stop in at Pick of the Litter any time 12 – 2 p.m. and 6 – 8 p.m., seven days a week. 

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

Photo caption: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown Social Justice Committee member Janet Forbes (left) and chair Alyssa Raimondo-Swanson look forward to receiving donations of supplies for the Pick of the Litter animal shelter in Falconer on Saturday, April 29, noon – 2 p.m. Items will be accepted at the entrance off the parking lot behind their building at 1255 Prendergast Avenue. 

​Jamestown, N.Y. –  On the day after Earth Day 2023 the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) learns about the positive benefits of taking our yards back to a more natural state. All are welcome.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC) Special Projects Coordinator John Jablonski III will present “Rewilding Our Landscapes For Water Quality Protection” at the UUCJ’s 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, April 23, 2023. 

Taking our yards back to a more natural state can add beauty to your property, provide beneficial wildlife habitat, and even help restore and protect the water quality of our region’s streams, wetlands and lakes. Jablonski will discuss these benefits and how you can rewild your own yard. 

You will also learn about some of the initiatives and projects the CWC is working on to help implement rewilding on properties throughout the Chautauqua region. 

The message relates most significantly to the seventh of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: The interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

A graduate of Cornell University, Jablonski has a master’s degree in urban and regional planning with a concentration in water resources from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After seven years as planning coordinator for the city of Jamestown, Jablonski served as executive director of the CWC for 30 years. 

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy owns and manages 31 nature preserves throughout Chautauqua County which permanently protect over 1,100 acres of wild lands. The conservation of natural areas provides benefits to health, happiness and the economy. CWC nature preserves offer diverse opportunities for education and passive recreational activities and help protect important conservation values such as water and air quality, forest health, scenic beauty and plant and animal biodiversity and habitat. 

Barbara Winner is the service leader. A social time follows.

Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. –  “The Blessed Congregation: There When We Need It” is the title of the sermon Rev. Alex Holt will deliver at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, April 16.

Holt, who currently serves as the interim minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Meadville, Pennsylvania, says, “We know that religious communities of all types are facing the challenges of welcoming along with being a safe haven for the seeker. How many people does it take to become a blessed congregation?”

The message most closely relates to the first and seventh of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: The inherent worth and dignity of every person, and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Holt is an Accredited Interim Minister with training through the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Interim Ministry Network. Before coming to Meadville, he most recently was interim minister in Seattle, Washington; Fort Worth, Texas; Bend, Oregon; and Clemson, South Carolina. He grew up on a farm in rural Maine and attended University of Southern Maine, Penn State and University of California, Berkeley in his academic work. He has a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry as well as an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Penn State. A long term Buddhist student, Holt has focused on dharma work in addictions ministry. 

A potluck luncheon follows the service.

Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

​Jamestown, N.Y. –  Racist, religious extremism: Why should we worry about it?

That is the question that retired Jamestown Community College sociology professor Dr. Jeffrey Victor will explore in his message at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s (UUCJ) 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, April 9.

Victor will discuss why racist and religious extremism is a serious threat to religious pluralism and democracy in our country. He will explain how such extremism has given rise to increasing hate crimes, such as the mass shootings of Black people in Buffalo and Jewish people in Pittsburgh; and to political violence, as in the January 6, 2020 attack on the Capitol.

The message most closely relates to the first and fifth of the seven Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: The inherent worth and dignity of every person, and the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.

A member of the UUCJ since 1966, Victor taught at Jamestown Community College for 52 years. He received the New York State University’s Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence and has been an invited speaker at conferences in Canada, France, Scotland, and the Netherlands. He has appeared on national television programs including Larry King Live, The Maury Povich Show and The View. His many publications include the book Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend, a sociological research study of rumors and claims about secret criminal satanic cults and false accusations of such crimes.

A social time follows the service.

Participation can be either in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.