UUFSM is a religion of both reverence and reason.  In support of that, we award the Joseph Priestley Award to the students whose science fair project has the best potential to improve quality of life or shows great promise.

Joseph Priestley was born in England in 1733. He was a Unitarian minister and a noted teacher, and wrote articles on a wide variety of subjects. He stressed the importance of education and of independent inquiry. “Through [science]," he wrote, "the security and happiness of mankind are daily improved.” A friend of Benjamin Franklin, Priestley moved to the United States of America in 1794. His sermons in Philadelphia did much to spread Unitarianism before he settled in Northumberland, PA, where he died ten years later. (See http://www.josephpriestleyhouse.org/ for more information.) The UU Joseph Priestley District encompasses southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and northern Virginia.

 Hello UUFSM,

So far, UUFSM has 5-6 people that directly help children.  Of course, they are mostly parents themselves and do this already through the week.  It would best reflect our mission and vision statements if people outside what is normally "kid space," i.e. the RE classrooms, would visit with our children, help us... grow. 

I start this year hoping we can fulfill our vision.  I hope to help everyone grow.  Since we are a cooperative sort of church--a true fellowship--such growth happens when we offer it directly to each other.  No one gets left out.  Everyone is welcome.  Here is how we fulfill this vision.

I need four of us to help me and our other teachers lead our children in learning about world religions.  We will use simple and beautiful storybooks to do this.  

I need two of us to help our new nursery attendant, Evilla Dennis, feel at home in our congregation by spending time with her and our littlest ones.

I look forward to hearing from you.  Feel free to contact me (minister [at] uufsm [dot] org) to offer your help.

Michael Relland