Upcoming Sunday Services
Sunday Services at begin at 10:30am and end around 11:45am. You can join us in person or on Zoom.
In person, at 67 South Randolph Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.
On Zoom, using your computer, tablet or smartphone: https://zoom.us/j/327711271. On your phone, dial in at +1 646 558 8656. If asked, enter Meeting ID: 327 711 271. The password is 12601.
Upcoming Sunday Services
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
The Program Committee is responsible for coordinating Sunday morning worship services. Our pastoral care minister, Reverend Diane Diachishin, conducts at least one service a month. Other services can take many forms: guest ministers or speakers, panel discussions, multigenerational, musical, poetical, theatrical, meditative, experiential. We hope to enrich, enliven and expand perspectives and spirits.
We welcome feedback and suggestions! Please feel free to contact us at programs@uupok.org
JANUARY'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: PRACTICING RESISTANCE
Resistance is the first step to change.
Louise Hay
FEBRUARY'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: EMBODYING RESILIENCE
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
FEBRUARY 1, 2026: IF AT FIRST
Please join us as we celebrate the holiday of Imbolc/Brigid, considered to be the beginning of spring in some circles, with a closer look at Ground Hog Day through the lens of the popular movie "Groundhog Day," where the main character is forced to relive the same day over and over, developing resilience on his journey toward personal growth. It might be fun to watch the film before Sunday morning. It is currently streaming on Netflix through January 31, and available for rent or purchase on Prime.
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FEBRUARY 8, 2026:
EMBODYING RESILIENCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES: THE PRACTICE OF FAITH IN ACTION
MARY BETH DAVIS-STEYER
Join us as we explore what embodying resilience looks like for people of an action-oriented faith in times like these.
Mary Beth is a licensed clinical social worker LCSW, a pyschotherapist-counselor, a bereavement specialist and an ordained Interfaith Minister.
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FEBRUARY 15, 2025: WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT "LOVE" IS AT THE CENTER OF OUR UU VALUES?
REVEREND DIANE DIACHISHIN
WITH JOE COSENTINO
Love can be viewed as a conversion to humanity—a willingness to participate with others in the healing of a broken world and broken lives. As the Indian Canadian poet Rupi Kaur wrote, "Your degree, your job, your money, nothing matters, except for love and human connection... and how you touch the people around you".
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FEBRUARY 22, 2026
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MARCH'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: PAYING ATTENTION
The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.
Keanu Reeves
MARCH 1, 2026: THE COLONIZER'S PLAYBOOK
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MARCH 8, 2026: REUNITING MIGRANT FAMILIES
VALERIE CARLISLE
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MARCH 15, 2025: REVEREND DIANE DIACHISHIN
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MARCH 22, 2026: SPRING EQUINOX AND ST. PATRICK
Multigenerational
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MARCH 29, 2026
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APRIL'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: EMBRACING POSSIBILITY
We should open ourselves to the impossible and embrace a psychology of possibility.
Ellen Langer
APRIL 5, 2026
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APRIL 12, 2026
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APRIL 19, 2026: REVEREND DIANE DIACHISHIN
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APRIL 26, 2026
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MAY'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: AWAKENING CURIOSITY
The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.
Anatole France
MAY 3, 2026
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MAY 10, 2026
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MAY 17, 2025: REVEREND DIANE DIACHISHIN
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MAY 24, 2026
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MAY 26-MAY 31, 2026: COMING TO THE TABLE 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Details are being worked out, but Reverend Alexa will be returning for a week with her friend Anthony Cohen of Coming to the Table.
Stay tuned for more information!
https://comingtothetable.org/#
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JUNE'S SOUL MATTERS THEME: FLOURISHING TOGETHER
Time, effort and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.
Jim Rohn
JUNE 7, 2026
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JUNE 14, 2026
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JUNE 21, 2025: REVEREND DIANE DIACHISHIN
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JUNE 28, 2026: Rabbi Adam Cerino-Jones, Jewish Congregation of New Paltz
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What to Expect on Sunday Mornings
During the pandemic, we met exclusively on Zoom. Since we resumed meeting in-person, our services have been hybrid, with some of us in person and some on Zoom. Very occasionally, due to weather or other events, we meet just on Zoom, but we try to let people know as soon as possible when that is going to happen.
Sunday services typically include opening words, welcome & announcements, the chalice lighting, an opening song, "Words For All Ages," the singing of the children to their classes, the sharing of joys & concerns, the passing of the collection plate (accompanied by a hymn), the sermon or activity, an opportunity for congregational reflection, a closing song, and closing words.
On two Sundays a month, children and youth stay in the sanctuary for the first twenty minutes of the service. "Words for All Ages," usually in the form of a story, often told by the Minister, concludes their time in the sanctuary, and they are then released to go to Sunday School. Once or twice a month, there will be a multi- generational service when the children and youth remain in the room and we all worship together.
From time to time, we actually have an activity and even make things during a service. These services are a real opportunity to engage with the world around us in a tangible way, whether it is making meals for those experiencing food insecurity, connecting with the environment more directly. Such services also serve to forge interpersonal bonds between congregants. Below is a photograph of birds happily feasting on all-natural bird feeders made during our March 17, 2024 service, A Host of Sparrows.
Following the worship service is the Fellowship Hour, a social hour during which refreshments, including Fair Trade coffee and tea, are served. On the third Sunday of every month, we also host Third Sunday Lunch. Every other month, this lunch takes place at a local restaurant, while on the other Sundays it's pot-luck or something simple at the Fellowship.
Hospitality Hour
Since 2002, we have been participating in the Interfaith Program of a very special fair trade coffee company called Equal Exchange. It is the only coffee we serve during hospitality hour following the Sunday service.
Equal Exchange is a for-profit Fairtrade worker-owned, cooperative headquartered in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Equal Exchange distributes organic, gourmet coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars produced by farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Founded in 1986, it is the oldest and largest Fair Trade coffee company in the United States. Dedicated to concepts of economic justice, the highest paid employee of Equal Exchange may not make more than four times what the lowest paid employee receives.
Essentially, Equal Exchange brings together the producer and the consumer in an equitable and meaningful way. The middleman (in the case of coffee, called Coyotes), and establishes a more direct connection between the producer and consumer.
