During the week of March 28, enjoy the YouTube video, What Gift Can We Bring? Our hymn is #404, performed by Les Tacy, Music Director. [Read hymn introduction…]
UU Hymn of the Week: “What Gift Can We Bring?”
Week of March 28, 2021
Hymn #404, “What Gift Can We Bring” is by Methodist composer Jane Marshall. It is intended to be a hymn of pure gratitude, as her lyrics show. There is even an additional verse, which is omitted from our hymnal, that reinforces this idea:
Give thanks for tomorrow, full of surprises,
for knowing whatever tomorrow may bring,
we’re given God’s word that always, forever,
we rest in God’s keeping and live in God’s love.
Gratitude. This is set to a lovely tune, also by Jane Marshall.
This hymn is played and sung for us by Les Tacy, Music Director of Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church.
Enjoy the YouTube video, What Gift Can We Bring?
UU Hymn of the Week: “Where Do We Come From?”
Week of March 21, 2021.
Our Hymn of the Week this week is #1003, Where Do We Come From,” performed by Les Tacy, Music Director at Heritage UU Church, and Michael Tacy, Music Director at The Gathering at Northern Hills.
On the UUA’s Song Information page, it states:
The lyrics of this song come from the French title of a famous oil painting by Paul Gauguin created in Tahiti in 1897 and 1898. It is currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. The three groups of women, read from the right to left, represent the three questions posed in the title of the painting. The women with the child represent the beginning of life “Where Do We Come From?” The middle group, represent the daily existence of adulthood “What Are We?” The old woman facing death is asking, “Where Are We Going?”
During the week of March 21, enjoy the YouTube video: Where Do We Come From?
In-Person Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt
Sunday, March 28, 2021, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Join the RE Committee for an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt on Sunday, March 28. Drop by the church any time from 2 to 4 p.m. and hunt the HUUC grounds for Easter eggs. This is a touchless, COVID-friendly event. An Easter craft and individually wrapped snacks and drinks will also be provided.
Activities are best suited for kids 3 to 10, but all ages are welcome! Masks and social distancing required.
Please note that the HUUC building remains closed, but the playground will be open for congregants and restrooms can be accessed at the trailhead behind the parking lot.
If you have any questions, please contact Karen Hager at:
Vespers Service in the Taizé Style: Nourishing Our Souls
Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Join us for our monthly Vespers service as we begin to emerge from the cold darkness of winter. Let us come together to let the light shine upon us, and feel inner warmth and balance while in community. We will celebrate the returning light of the Spring Equinox, and its lessons of balance in our lives with inspirational readings, music and silence. We encourage you to bring your own candle to light as we light the chalice, and a drum or shaker to play as we chant during the service.
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If you have any questions, please contact Mimi Sinclair and Steph Tacy at:
A Zoom link will appear on the Heritage Church homepage prior to the service.
UU Hymn of the Week: “Sing and Rejoice”
Week of March 14, 2021.
This week our hymn is “Sing and Rejoice,” #395. The origin of this song is unknown. Now that spring is here, and we have more daylight to enjoy, singing and rejoicing seems like a really good idea! Enjoy singing along. The sheet music is included on the slide, and you can pick when you want to come in since it is sung in a round.
Join Les Tacy, Music Director of Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church, as he sings this hymn. Visit the YouTube video for Sing and Rejoice.
UU Hymn of the Week: “Filled with Loving Kindness”
Week of March 7, 2021.
This week our hymn is “Filled with Loving Kindness”, #1031. Written by Rev. Ian Riddell, this hymn encourages us to feel peaceful and at ease. As such, it is part of a graceful, musical setting for a Buddhist meditation.
Kimberley Debus, author of the blog “Notes from the Far Fringe,” states: “I have used this in so many different settings and for so many topics. Between this and Sarah Dan’s Meditation on Breathing (#1009), we have the makings of a chant cycle to get us through all of these hard times – times when we need to be brought back to ourselves and reminded of our interconnectedness.”
Join Les Tacy, Music Director of Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church, as he plays and sings this hymn. Visit the YouTube video for Filled with Loving Kindness.
Online Performance: “Songs & Stories from Texas”
Friday, March 5, 2021, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Via Zoom.
Acoustic Livestream Show
Rev. Erin Walter, UU musician and community minister, will hold a free acoustic “Songs & Stories from Texas” show over Zoom, to benefit systems change work in the wake of the deadly Texas storms and power/water outages.
While the show is free, Rev. Erin will be donating all proceeds from Parker Woodland music/merch sales and performance tips to the Texas Freedom Network, a statewide non-partisan, grassroots organization with UU roots whose work includes progressive legislative advocacy and organizing young people of color as leaders and voters.
You can go to the Everbrite site for free tickets to Friday’s livestream show. It’s going to be fun for a good cause! Rev. Erin hopes to see you dancing and singing along in your Zoom square! Kids and pets welcome.
UU Hymn of the Week: “Gather the Spirit”
Week of February 28, 2021.
This week we feature guest musician Michael Tacy, Music Director at the Gathering at Northern Hills, and his harmonized version of Jim Scott’s hymn “Gather the Spirit”, #347. This is an immensely popular UU hymn and fits thematically with a variety of worship services. The video to this song includes the lyrics. So, as you listen and sing along, you can allow the precious lyrics to sink into your soul.
Jim Scott is a composer, guitarist, and singer, and has a website that features his many musical contributions and recordings: jimscottmusic.com. Enjoy “Gather the Spirit.”
Find this hymn on the Heritage Church homepage.
Religious Exploration for Children and Youth
Heritage UU Church families are invited to join Blacksburg children and youth in these programs:
Story Time with Rev. Pam
Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m.
Blacksburg’s minister, Rev. Pam Philips, joins children of all ages for weekly story time. All ages are welcome, including those of nursery age.
PreK: Sunday Funday
Sundays, 9:00-9:20 a.m.
A fun storybook, silly songs, coloring sheets, activity pages and a simple craft for our youngest friends to do after class. This month:
- March 7: Gruffalo
- March 14: Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
- March 21: Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party
- March 28: Big Bunny
Grades K-5: CARTUUNS
Sundays, 9:30-10:00 a.m.
The animated shorts of Pixar and Disney are used as a way to explore Unitarian Universalist values. We watch and discuss a short together as a class, then do activities on our own. This month:
- March 7: Boundin’
- March 14: BURN-E
- March 21: Riley’s First Date?
- March 28: Day & Night
Grades 6-8: D’Oh, God! and MSYG
Sundays, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Middle schoolers alternate weekly between RE classes with D’Oh, God!, watching an episode of The Simpsons, and discussing a religious topic; and Middle School Youth Group, our social arm of middle school RE, with games and fun activities. This month:
- March 7: Middle School Youth Group
- March 14: The Simpsons episode “Thank God It’s Doomsday”
- March 21: Middle School Youth Group
- March 28: The Simpsons episode “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star”
For those in grades 6-8 who are already registered, Crossing Paths will continue on Sundays at 12:30 p.m. You are welcome to join the Blacksburg congregation, too.
Only those on the class list will receive the Zoom links.
Monthly supply boxes for the PreK and K-5 classes will be sent to all interested families. If you are not on the list to receive a box and would like to, email Karen at:
March 2021
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