Happy Fall Equinox First Unitarian Church – First Unitarian Church of Honolulu

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CUUPS 2025 Fall Equinox

It’s a Wrap for General Assembly ’25

CUUPS Goings On! • Volunteering

Reigniting CUUPS Convo in 2026

New Book • Interfaith Networking

CUUPS Annual Meeting

Tending Our Hearts, Spirits, and Communities

These days carry a weight that many of us feel deeply. Life can seem unsettled, swirling with change and uncertainty. The constant stream of news—public events, political shifts—can leave the spirit feeling overwhelmed.

Yet in the midst of it all, I’ve found solace in the quiet places. Stepping into the woods, letting cool water lap at my feet, watching hummingbirds dance on a friend’s porch, and listening to the gentle chorus of night creatures—all of it brings a deep sense of rest to my soul. Sometimes, I drive to the Atlantic shore just to hear the waves speak their timeless rhythm. Even a few minutes there reminds me of something steady and enduring.

When time allows, I turn to prayer and ritual. Often, it’s as simple as opening my arms to the harbor winds or placing my hands on the earth to release what I’ve been carrying. These small gestures renew me. Lighting a candle in the evening. Placing fresh flowers on my desk. Offering a quiet smile to someone at the market. Splashing in a puddle. Talking to the crows in the yard or sharing a moment with the masked visitors who wander through. And most tender of all—holding the hand of a beloved sister as she walks her path with Alzheimer’s.

My hope for all of us is to keep returning to our center. To find the stillness where clarity lives, where we can listen to what we need and what our communities ask of us. After a week alone in the woods, I feel certain: we are never truly alone. The spirit of the Earth surrounds us, holds us gently, and whispers peace.

Blessings to all,

Jerrie Hildebrand

It’s a Wrap on GA 2025!

The UUA General Assembly in Baltimore was productive and very busy! Many members and chapter leaders stopped by the booth to chat and get coaching, as well as congregations interested in creating earth-centered CUUPS groups in their churches.

Many thanks to board members Susan Foster, Om Prakash, Victoria Yanovich, and Jerrie Hildebrand, and our fabulous local volunteers, Elizabeth Parker, Dawn Morales, and Charlie Hildebrand, for volunteering their time at the booth. It was a great team overall, with a wealth of expertise to share with visitors.

Our online on-demand workshop, “Grounding Our Heart’s Ties to the Earth,” has been attended by approximately 375 participants so far. It is a panel discussion with Byron Ballard, Lilith Dorsey, and Jack Montgomery, moderated by Jerrie Hildebrand. The workshop was a discussion about the diversity in earth-centered spirituality and traditions outside of Wicca. Discussion also centered around nurturing people from many of the earth’s spiritual traditions and how we welcome them into our congregations.

The in-person ritual surprised us all! We were scheduled for early morning on Saturday, and reinforced our heart connection and UU values as stewards and caretakers of our planet. Through meditation, song, prayer, and play-filled participation, we gather to honor and anchor our spirits to the healing of our sacred Earth in the community. Nervously, the board monitored the number of people interested in attending and worked to determine if we had enough supplies. Jerrie reworked the ritual to make it effective.

All in all, there were approximately 325 people in attendance. The ritual itself is on the CUUPS website. Many thanks to Liz Parker for helping with the chants! She has a fantastic voice! It was the most significant ritual we have had in many years at GA.

More great ideas were shared, and we look forward to sharing more with you.

Blessed Be, Namaste,

The CUUPS Board

CUUPS Annual Meeting – October 19, 2025

7 pm Eastern | 6 pm Central | 4 pm Pacific | 1 pm HST | 1 am CEST

The annual meeting is a time to hear reports from the board and this year from the Bylaws Committee discuss potential edits to the current bylaws.

To vote at this meeting, you need to be a paid member of the national organization. Non-members are welcome but will not be able to vote.

We apologize for the glitch in the email sent to the paid members of CUUPS. The meeting will be on Zoom.

To register for the meeting to click here.

Honoring the Past,
Celebrating the Now,
Crafting the Future

Reigniting CUUPS Convocation
July 23-26, 2026 – Salem, MA

YES!!! We are very excited! It has been ten years since our last convocation!

We listened to many of you at the General Assembly, and one of the things we heard repeatedly was the desire to connect face-to-face again. Board members, Victoria Yanovich and Jerrie Hildebrand, are collaborating with the board to organize a gathering in Salem, MA, in July 2026. We are working on the details and exact dates, and more information will be available soon.

Interestingly, next year is not only the 250th birthday of the United States, which started in Massachusetts. It is also the 400th Anniversary of the founding of the city of Salem in 1626. Aside from our convocation, there are lots of things going on in the city to celebrate all summer.

We have reserved the First Church in Salem, MA, Unitarian Universalist, as the site of convocation. This congregation was the home of the first Puritans who landed in the city. The church was also the congregation whose members were at the forefront of the Salem Witch Trials. Today, the congregation is a welcoming community of many theological and philosophical thinkers.

If you or your chapter are interested in volunteering and joining the team, please reach out at info@cuups.org. Victoria and Jerrie have planned a meeting on October 16, 2025, at 7 pm on Zoom. We will send the link to those of you who are interested.

Networking with Others!

It is essential, in times like today in our world, to network with groups that are in alignment with our UU, Pagan, and Earth-centered values. As the CUUPS board has been learning and observing, however, we need to be mindful of our choices.

Earlier this year, we initiated networking efforts with secular, interfaith, and intrafaith collectives, organizations, and coalitions to develop resources for our collective communities.

Meetings and workshops hosted by the UUA, Parliament of the World’s Religions, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and The Interfaith Alliance have been filled with valuable information and partnership.

Efforts in the earth-centered, Pagan, and nature-centered worlds have been very mixed. We are collaborating with an interfaith group comprised of nationally recognized earth-centered elders and organizations that have been working together for years and have completed projects together in the past.

There have been, however, some collectives and groups that lack a clear vision and mission and are not where the CUUPS board believes we should focus. The results of working with one of these groups resulted in inappropriate treatment and doxxing of board members and participants. Most of the time, meetings felt like speakers were not heard or pushed aside for different views. We suggest that members and chapters be mindful. Check in with us for suggestions. Our key piece of input is to start local. Work within your congregation to build community and then stretch from there.

We would love to hear your thoughts on what we might focus on learning in these meetings to bring back to our membership.

Please email us at info@cuups.org with your suggestions.

New Book by Board Member Susan Foster!

Congratulations to Susan on the release of her book, Righteous Rage, Why Feminism Needs the Fierce Goddesses. With the current backlash against reproductive rights and other rights under attack, this book aims to inspire women and their male allies for the struggles ahead. It can energize the women’s movement by drawing on the fierce energy of the dark, or ferocious, goddesses of ancient times. These goddesses embody an archetype of female rage against injustice.

To order search on Amazon or Chiron Publications.

Supporting Chapters & Members with Online Gatherings!

Does your chapter hold online rituals, book readings, or classes?

Let us know, and we can post it on the CUUPS social media. Members in remote areas or without nearby chapters are seeking online opportunities to connect with others in sacred space.

Connect with the CUUPS Facebook page, share your event, and once it is approved, we will post it. We love sharing chapter happenings, which is a great benefit of being part of a chapter. Let’s leverage our strong network to support one another.

Invitation to Volunteer!

Contact info@cuups.org with information about yourself for us! Please let us know if you’re interested.

Image Credits: GA Article – Kishgraphics/J.Hildebrand & Imari Kariotis; Harvest Basket, Networking and Online Ritual Articles – Vecteezy; Book Cover – Susan Foster; Church: First Church in Salem, MA

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