​Join us on Sunday, Nov. 12th immediately after worship for our November Congregational Meeting. The meeting will be held in the sanctuary and you can attend remotely via Zoom by staying in the same Zoom room that we use for worship (http://www.uccmanhattan.org/online). All are welcome to attend and members will also be invited to vote. We will be previewing the 2024 budget and approving the slate of officers for 2024. 

Hard copies of the draft budget and slate of officers will be available in the church building. If you need a digital copy, please contact the church office so we can email you a link.

​On Nov. 5th, we join with Christians around the globe in remembering our saints on All Saints’ Day. We will name those who have died in the past year who we hold dear to our hearts. Please join us for worship as we remember our saints together. 

​Since the late 1990’s, our faith community has held a Thursday night worship service of prayer and song, inspired by the worship tradition in the community of Taize, in southern France.  During the Covid-19 pandemic, we moved this worship experience online, meeting over Zoom on Thursday evenings.  We have been on a summer vacation since May, however, and as we resume, we will be making some changes.  Beginning on October 19, we will resume worshipping together in person only, in Pioneer Hall.  We will meet once a month, at 7:00, for prayer and song, on the third Thursday of each month thereafter.  We have missed the communal aspect of our songs and prayer, and look forward to being together again.  We extend a loving invitation to all of our church family to join us for this quiet, approximately 30-minute time together.

Sunday, Oct. 15 is our celebration of Second Helping volunteers. Join us as we give thanks for the hard work of the many volunteers who make Second Helping possible. Linda Thurston will present a history and current state of Second Helping as the sermon. The Mission Board is organizing a reception to follow during the Fellowship Hour. We would love to have you join us!

1. Craft and Chat (interactive)
Hang out with others in the Zoom room to discuss how air sustains life. While you talk about the suggested questions below you can keep your hands busy with one (or both!) of these crafty activities. 

Crafty option A: Make your own paper fan. Using any piece of paper you have handy, fold it back and forth, accordion-style, to make a simple paper fan. You might decorate it with simple drawings or doodles or write down some of the responses to the questions as you discuss the questions below with friends. Never made a fan like this? Here are some easy instructions. 

Crafty option B: If you have a printer at home you can print this week's coloring book. Fold it into quarters and color away while sharing conversation with others on Zoom. 

Discussion Questions for All:

• Air sustains life everywhere. When do you notice air the most?
• Breath is life and makes things calm. When do you use your breathing to calm yourself?
• Wind whistles in the trees and rustles our hair. What have you seen float in the wind?
• With your breath, you can sing a grateful song. What songs do you like to sing?

2. Breath Prayer (solo, contemplative)
Breath prayer is a practice that utilizes the rhythm of our breath for prayer. Choose a short sentence or mantra for your prayer today. As you breathe in, you silently pray the first part of your prayer. And as you breathe out, you silently pray the second part of your prayer. 

For example: 

• Inhale: “God, in your mercy...” 
• Exhale: “Hear our prayer today.” 

You might open a Bible and use a favorite Psalm or other passage of scripture as a starting place for your breath prayer. Or you can use one of these samples to spark your creativity: 

• When you send forth your breath...Fresh life begins. 
• May the glory of God...Endure forever. 
• I will sing praise to my God...While I have being. 
• Every living thing needs air...Air sustains life. 

You will want to either log out of Zoom or mute your speakers so you're not distracted by the other people talking in the Zoom room. Set a timer to return at the designated time. 

1. "That Goes Where?" interactive game for all ages led by Patti Watson (Pioneer-Blachly Hall) 
​We might not always think about it, but we use air all day, every day. The Earth is covered in air and has a sort of air-filled bubble around it called the atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth does many jobs, and one of the most important is that it helps keep our planet warm enough to live on. The process of keeping it warm is known as the greenhouse effect. Have you ever been in a greenhouse for plants before? What was it like? One thing you may have noticed is how warm it was. The greenhouse traps the sun’s rays and keeps everything inside it warm, which is the ideal climate for plants to grow.

This is exactly how our atmosphere works for us. It traps the sun’s rays and keeps our planet at a temperature at which we can survive. Unfortunately, one issue our world is facing is that too many gasses are being released into our atmosphere, which is causing our planet to get too warm too quickly. Thankfully, there are many things we can do to help slow this down. Today, we’re going play a game and explore one of those things— composting—and how it can help improve the air quality on Earth.

2. Breath Prayer (Sanctuary)
Breath prayer is a practice that utilizes the rhythm of our breath for prayer. Choose a short sentence or mantra for your prayer today. As you breathe in, you silently pray the first part of your prayer. And as you breathe out, you silently pray the second part of your prayer. 

For example: 

• Inhale: “God, in your mercy...” 
• Exhale: “Hear our prayer today.” 

You might open a Bible and use a favorite Psalm or other passage of scripture as a starting place for your breath prayer. Or you can use one of these samples to spark your creativity: 

• When you send forth your breath...Fresh life begins. 
• May the glory of God...Endure forever. 
• I will sing praise to my God...While I have being. 
• Every living thing needs air...Air sustains life. 

3. Quiet Meditation in the Sanctuary
Each week we'll reserve the Sanctuary as a quiet place for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Consider moving around the room to a different place - the chancel, balcony, and floor are all options! You may want to sit with your eyes closed or open. You're welcome to walk quietly, stretch, or lay down. You may choose to journal or draw. ​

1. Movement: Gentle Chair Yoga with Heather McCornack
Sign out of the Zoom room and click the button below to access a brief chair yoga practice led by Heather McCornack. You may want to turn on the captions (look at the bottom of the video for the CC symbol) since the room Heather is in is a little echoey. Heather graciously volunteered her services to create the recording for us today. If you'd like to practice yoga with Heather in person she teaches adult chair yoga at Meadowlark on Tuesdays and Thursdays (11:15am-noon) and the cost is only $10 a month. This class is open to the public. 

When you've completed the yoga practice, just log back into the Zoom room to rejoin us for the rest of today's worship service. 

​1. Compassion in Action: Floating Prayers
Join Brandy in Pioneer-Blachly for this interactive group prayer using water and candles. 

2. Language of Water
During Compassion Camp, we are exploring the relationship between humans and creation, particularly in that we all share basic needs such as shelter, food, and now water. All of creation has its own way of communicating, whether through sound or movement or even hormones emitted. Water, too, has its own communication style. 

You're invited to listen to the various types of water sounds linked below. Listen to each one in silence for at least one full minute. What do you hear the water communicating to you? You can listen on your own and then reflect in a journal OR you can gather together with 2-3 other people and discuss your reflections. There are no right or wrong answers. This is a poetic exercise in practicing compassion and empathy for creation.

We recommend finding a quiet space to listen on your own or join others for this activity. Possibilities: outside, basement, conference room, Sunday School rooms or theater upstairs, lobby. 

• Brook
• Ocean
• Rain
• Waterfall
• Rainforest  
• River 

3. Quiet Meditation in the Sanctuary
Each week we'll reserve the Sanctuary as a quiet place for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Consider moving around the room to a different place - the chancel, balcony, and floor are all options! You may want to sit with your eyes closed or open. You're welcome to walk quietly, stretch, or lay down. You may choose to journal or draw. ​

1. Enter the Story: Mindfully Prepare Your Communion Elements
Mute the Zoom room so you aren't distracted by other's conversation. Step into your kitchen and take time to mindfully prepare your communion elements. Perhaps you'd like to brew a cup of coffee or tea. Maybe you want to take a moment to carefully arrange your food on a plate. If you have a special plate, you may want to use it. Take a moment to create space at your table. How would you prepare the table if a special guest were coming to dine?  Clear away any other items. Consider lighting a candle. Even if you are worshiping by yourself today, take a moment and set another place-setting to remind you that you are gathering at Christ's table with many other people. 

If you've finished preparing the table and still have time to spare, consider reflecting with words or art:
Poetry: And the Table Will be Wide by Jan Richardson
Poetry: Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo
Visual Art: farming photography, scroll and reflect or choose 1-2 to contemplate
Visual Art: 3.5 minute short film with the text of Matthew 26:17-35 (the Last Supper)
​Scripture: read the story of the Last Supper in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

2. Compassion in Action: Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address
From Earth to Tables nonprofit:
"The Haudenosaunee (known as the Iroquois Confederacy in French or as Six Nations in English) begin every gathering by offering greetings and thanks to all the elements of life that sustain us. This ritual brings everyone into the space with a good mind, ready to listen and learn.

You can view an 11 minute video that features the thanksgiving in Mohawk and English with art by Tuscarora artist Rick Hill on the Earth to Table website. You will need to either disconnect the sound on the Zoom meeting or log out (and back in again later) to view the video so the other Zoomers don't interrupt you with their conversation. Click the button below to access the video and art. 

3. Conversation Around Tables: Head into a breakout room to reflect with friends on one or more of the prompt below:

• Discuss a time you grew, hunted, or foraged food.
• Share a favorite recipe. Why is it important to you? Where did you learn it?
• Every living thing need food for our bodies and, for many, food also connects to our spirits. How does food bring you into deeper connection with the Holy?
• Share a favorite table prayer. 
• Share about a time when gathering for Communion was particularly memorable for you. 

1. Create and Play: Food Chain
Join Brandy in Pioneer-Blachly for an interactive and crafty activity for all ages. 

2. Create and Play: Make Your Own Seed Paper
Join Deane in the kitchen for an interactive and crafty activity for all ages. 

3. Movement: Neighborhood Food Walk
Take a brief walk in our neighborhood solo or with friends. Where do you find a connection to FOOD for all living things? You'll find restaurants on Poyntz, of course, but what else might you find? Be creative and think outside the box. Berries, bugs, and more may await! If you have a camera, take photos of what you find and post them in the church's Facebook group so we can all enjoy your adventure. 

4. Quiet Meditation in the Sanctuary
Each week we'll reserve the Sanctuary as a quiet place for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Consider moving around the room to a different place - the chancel, balcony, and floor are all options! You may want to sit with your eyes closed or open. You're welcome to walk quietly, stretch, or lay down. You may choose to journal or draw. ​

or click here for a written transcript of the meditation. 

Once you finish, you may want to spend time in silent prayer, find a friend to discuss your experience, or journal/draw about your experience. 

Enjoying your time with trees? Check out (and maybe bookmark!) TreeFM, where you can listen to audio recordings of forests around the world at any time. 

3.  Poetry Activities
Solo options:
a) If you have access to a printer you can print this foldable booklet and write your own poem. 
b) Click to view the "Tree's First Day" poem. Fill in the blanks to write your own poem. Consider transferring the completed poem from the screen to a piece of paper, using the action of handwriting as a meditation.
c) Do you have a poem or poems about trees that you love? Share the text or a link to them in the Zoom chat or in the church's Facebook group  so others can enjoy.
d) Enjoy listening to or reading Wendell Berry's poem again. Draw or journal the feelings you have when you experience this poem. Consider re-writing it in your own words. 

Interactive options:
Join one of the available breakout rooms on Zoom or talk with people in your own household.
a) Click to view the "Tree's First Day" poem.  Read the poem together and fill in the blanks individually or as a large group. When all the blanks are filled in, read the poem again and have participants share their answers as they go along.
b) Do you have a poem or poems about trees that you love? Share them aloud with each other or share in the church's Facebook group  so others can enjoy.
d) Enjoy listening to or reading Wendell Berry's poem again. Share a conversation about the feelings you have when you experience this poem. ​

1. Create and Play: Nests as Shelter
Join Brandy in Pioneer-Blachly for an interactive and crafty activity for all ages. 

2. Compassion in Action: Guided Forest Bathing
You're invited to step outside or wander to find a quiet spot in the building. It's ideal if you can be near a tree. Using this pre-recorded audio file created by Pastor Caela, enjoy a guided meditation. 

or click here for a written transcript of the meditation. 

Once you finish, you may want to spend time in silent prayer, find a friend to discuss your experience, or journal/draw about your experience. 

Enjoying your time with trees? Check out (and maybe bookmark!) TreeFM, where you can listen to audio recordings of forests around the world at any time. ​

3. Compassion in Action: Nature Scavenger Hunt
Step outside for a neighborhood adventure. (Please travel AWAY from the building so those doing the meditation activity near the building won't be distracted). Using this handout as your guide, go on a nature scavenger hunt. If you have a camera, take photos of what you find and post them in the church's Facebook group so we can all enjoy your adventure. 

4. Quiet Meditation in the Sanctuary
Each week we'll reserve the Sanctuary as a quiet place for contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Consider moving around the room to a different place - the chancel, balcony, and floor are all options! You may want to sit with your eyes closed or open. You're welcome to walk quietly, stretch, or lay down. You may choose to journal or draw.