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Can someone who does not see themself represented in a congregation still find a spiritual home there? The leaders of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism tell us it can be really hard to worship as a Black person in an all or mostly white space. How can BUUF make it easier?

Lisa Fuller will be the service leader and deliver this Sunday’s message. Rev. Jim will be back at BUUF with a Story for All Ages, and Lisa Quinlan-Heibutzki will share a reading from American author and social activist bell hooks.

BUUFers prepare and serve lunch at the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen.

Berrien UU  Fellowship serves lunch at the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen the first Saturday of every even-numbered month (February, April, June, August, October and December). Berrien UU volunteers prepare the meal, greet guests and help clean up the kitchen. This is a terrific opportunity to serve the greater community, support our Social Justice mission and enjoy the company of fellow BUUFers and guests at the kitchen. Rev. Jim McConnell generously leads the group in planning the meal and dessert and he will gladly find a role for all volunteers, whether they’ve helped dozens of times or this is their first time. Please consider coming to the Soup Kitchen to help, even if it’s only for an hour or two.

The Soup Kitchen is located at 233 Michigan Street in Benton Harbor.

The first Sunday in June is set aside for our annual congregational meeting, which takes the place of our Sunday service. During the annual meeting, we elect new members of the board, endowment and nominating committees. We also review and vote on any proposed amendments to the bylaws or any special requests for funds from the endowment.

All BUUF members and friends are welcome to attend the meeting. In addition, anyone who pledged during the 2021/22 pledge campaign (last spring’s campaign) by May 5th of this year will be eligible to vote. Those who newly pledged for the coming year (2022/23 pledge campaign) will be eligible to vote at next year’s annual meeting (June 4, 2023).

A list of eligible voting members, as well as committee or team reports and any proposed amendments or special endowment requests, will be posted to our website within the next two weeks. This will hopefully allow time to review materials prior to the annual meeting. If you are a committee or team chair, please submit an annual summary of committee/team accomplishments, goals for the coming year, and any budget requests by Friday, May 27th. 

This year’s annual meeting will be hybrid. Both virtual and in-person participants may comment, ask questions and vote. Following the meeting, we will hold our usual first-Sunday-of-the-month potluck. Please direct any questions to Harvey Johnson at president@berrienuu.org or Joanne Krettek at office@berrienuu.org. Hope to see you there for our annual exercise in democracy!