The ancient sages of India conceived of the soul as an independent entity that not only survives the death of the body but also reincarnates into new bodies. Modern science dismisses the idea of the soul and explains consciousness as the product of brain activity. But if modern science is right, why is there so much evidence pointing back to the ancient belief? Could it be . . . ?

May 8 “Mothers and Children”

The Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Diane Reed, Worship Associate

We will celebrate Mother's Day with reflections on the role of Mother and the complex relationships between mothers and their children, including adoptive mothers and step-mothers. The choir will sing. We will create a communal bouquet from flowers you bring: a white one if your mother has died, another color if she is still living. There will be a child dedication during the service today.

May 15 “The Future of Our Faith”

The members of our Coming of Age class will conduct today’s service, in which they will share their experiences and their talents as they celebrate the completion of their two-year program in Unitarian Universalist identity. Rev. Judy Welles, assisting

May 22 “Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth and Hunger For a Faith”

Presented by Kathy Ellis and Judy Marti, Worship Associates

Today, the UUCV Players will perform a drama based on the work of Studs Terkel.

May 29 “Eight Wild Boars for Breakfast: The Sin of Gluttony”

The Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Richard Ellis, Worship Associate

Gluttony is, of course, an individual act, and yet the combined gluttony of our culture is a threat to the Earth and her ecosystems and may be the biggest mortal sin of all. We'll explore the dangers of excess consumption, both by and to the individual and by and to society.

What’s This?

Our monthly minister’s column, this month by the Rev. Duane Fickeisen

The things that look like band-aids spanning some of the cracks in the Sanctuary walls an ceiling are actually strain gauges, installed because the trusses that support the roof had shifted at some time in the history of our building. They are there to help us monitor the building for further movement.

A recent re-examination of the trusses by a structural engineer determined that they are sound. The strain gauges show that your building has not shifted since you bought it and that the bones are in good condition, strong and sturdy. Laser measurements show the exterior walls are not bowed out. That’s good news!

Had the results been otherwise, we would have faced an expensive project to strengthen the truss joints. We may never know what caused the past movement, but it might have been simple settling and contraction of the wood as it cured. It may have been a particularly heavy snow load in some winter long ago. Or it may have happened when the previous stewards of the building added the dining room and kitchen in the 1930s. The basement was dug out by hand. Just imagine that project and the vision behind it!

Speaking of vision and sound structure, the recent canvass for pledges of support for the operating fund is closing out as I write this, and the amount pledged has very nearly reached the ambitious goal of $132,900, with the real potential to exceed the goal! The canvass team has done a terrific job of offering you the opportunity to pledge your support, and many of you have responded generously, which means we expect to enter the next fiscal year in a sound financial position. And did you know that donors who pledged to our last capital campaign have paid down half of the mortgage on your building in the last three years, reducing the debt to $100,000? Our balance sheet shows a growing net equity as the loan debt declines. That translates to long-term fiscal health and a modest resiliency. It’s still not enough to do everything our building needs nor to fund all the good programs you long to have or to make the impact in our communities that we want, but it is worthy of celebration.

Your trustees have begun planning to implement the new mission and vision statement that you adopted this year. Creating it was the most important priority of the Building Our Future planning effort two years ago. The other goals from Building Our Future will be factored into the current planning, along with the aspirations you have been asked to provide each week through May 8 on how we might accomplish the elements of our vision. The process will involve setting priorities and planning for a multi-year implementation.

You’ve expressed some wonderful ideas and ambitious hopes for the future. The challenge ahead will be to create a plan that makes sense and has goals that are specific, measurable, and achievable within the resources available. Your board will work on this at its June retreat. One of the most important of those resources is your involvement in implementing the goals — your staff and volunteer leaders can’t possibly do it all alone.

UUCV is poised for growth. We offer a sound theology, support in the quest for meaning and the answers to life’s biggest questions, and a transforming message that salves wounds and helps people realize their potential. The bones of our building are sound, our finances are in better shape than they have ever been, and we have a clear and compelling mission to transform lives and care for the world. We’re actively engaged in progressive social action projects. We are building the beloved community — which is a countercultural and radical act.

There are many more people in the Cumberland Valley and just beyond who long for the salvation we offer, who thirst for religious freedom, and whose lives would be transformed by becoming a part of this congregation. You know some of them. They have been guests in your home, co-workers, neighbors, or parents of your kids’ friends. Invite them to come with you to your church next Sunday. The roof won’t fall in. The message just might save a life.

That rumble you may have noticed is an exciting energy about to break out as your congregation breaks through to make its vision reality. And you are an important part of it. See you on Sunday!

Annual Meeting May 15th

Sunday May 15th is a big day for UUCV! We have a service, a congregational meeting in the Sanctuary almost immediately after the service. Major items on the Agenda include: approval of the 2005-2006 UUCV Budget, election of new members of the Board of Trustees and Nominating Committee, a report on the Vision Poll highlights, and a discussion of the long range planning process the Board plans to launch. Although only members are allowed to vote, all congregants are welcome to come. And plan to stay after the meeting to frolic at our annual spring picnic at South Middleton Park.

Your Nominees

The Nominating Committee is pleased to announce our full slate for three-year terms on the Board of Trustees: Ed Glasgow, Kit Franklin and Carol McAnulty. Our slate for next year’s Nominating Committee is John Bloom, Ellis, and Janet Lutz-Folsom.

Additional nominations for the board positions may not be made from the floor of the meeting, but can be made by petition signed by three members and delivered to the President, Clerk, or a member of the Nominating Committee prior to the meeting. Additional nominations for the Nominating Committee may be made from the floor.

Adult Religious Education Class -- U, U, and UU History

Duane will offer a four-week adult class on the history of our traditions. Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage will be offered on four Wednesday evenings, from 7:30 to 9:30 at the Meetinghouse, starting on May 4.

The class will examine the pre-19th Century roots of our two faith traditions in Europe and its migration to North America, and particularly to Pennsylvania. We'll study the emergence of Unitarianism and Universalism in the United States and its spread as well as the changes within both denominations over their lifetimes, and we'll consider the consolidation of the two denominations and the implications our traditions have for us today.

Please pre-register by May 1 as the class has a minimum enrollment of eight. You can sign up in the Social Hall or call the office at 249-8944 or e-mail uucv@pa.net to register.

Celebrating “Changing Lives: Inside and Out”

In the midst of a pledge campaign, the financial goal and the push to reach it dominate our thinking. The Campaign committee is pleased to report that as of the deadline for this newsletter (April 18, 2005), we together have guaranteed the future of UUCV by pledging $130,569.00 for the next fiscal year. This is more than 98% of our goal, and we are confident that we will reach it before the budget is finalized.

This great news is clearly worth celebrating, and we will do just that after the services on Sunday, May 1^st. However, the most important reason for celebrating is that our ministry to each other and to the world around us will continue to be enriched and enlarged. Financial support means stirring music at our services; enjoyable and poignant stories for our children and the child in all of us; thoughtful, intelligent, principled and impassioned sermons and religious education; a building and grounds that we can all be proud of; and the chance to reach out to our surrounding communities and to the world. As we move beyond our walls, we will support the work of UUA worldwide, support education for young girls and sustainable agriculture in Mozambique, provide aid to our immediate neighbors in need, and create an expanded awareness of all that UUCV has to offer to residents of the Cumberland Valley. We can thank each other for this precious gift of a community where we are loved and helped to grow and change, and where together we can manifest a love and concern that can change the world. Thank you to everyone for your generosity. Together, we can make a difference.

The Spirituality of Art

From our Director of Religious Education, Kevin Snow

Last month I had an experience that opened my eyes to something I had been slightly blind to for sometime, or at least something that I had been taking for granted greatly. Thanks to a friend of mine who is taking an art class in college, I took a trip to the National Gallery of Art for the first time in over twelve years. Not since I was a senior in high school, had I been to this wonderful repository of art that belongs to all citizens of the United States. My friend had never been to an art museum in her life, a fact that somewhat shocked my cultural capitalistic lifestyle. Knowing that I had some background in art and art history, she asked me to be her tour guide.

You see, once upon a time, I had plans to study art professionally. Among the many lives I have lived in my brief 30 years on this planet, I was an Advanced Placement art student my final year in high school. I grew up in an artistic family. My father has been a freelance artist and illustrator at various points in his career and my sister makes her living as a graphic designer for an advertising agency. If you wear Max Factor makeup, chances are my sister designed the packaging. Growing up I was surrounded by art, mostly my father's, and many of my closest friends were artists. A few of those old high school buddies went on to live their art dream in prestigious art colleges or transform their talent into the musical spectrum, every much an art form, but I found solace in social sciences and humanities.

While wandering around the National Gallery, all my memories of art and its spiritual connections to my life came crashing back to me. The family ties combined with the euphoric experiences I have had enjoying great art and the joy, pain, triumph and failures of creating my own art all came tumbling back as if I was still in high school, goofing off with my friends in the Gallery cafeteria. Art had been a connective tissue to broader experiences in life and spirituality that I let grow stale.

I got inspired after this visit and decided to teach a RE lesson on art and spirituality based on the temporary, environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy. To my great surprise, my small collection of students really got into the work and we had a very fruitful experience. Art can still connect and spark exciting conversations about life, love, death and anything else that effects our lives. Take a moment today and ponder the art that is important in your life. Share some art with children and use it as a teaching tool. Visit an art museum and don't let the spiritual connections of art grow stale as I had done. Look through the eyes of a child at a fantastic piece of art and see something new. See you on Sunday!!!

Strawberry Shortcake Season is Back!

UUCV's annual Strawberry Shortcake Sale will take place on Saturday June 4th this year at Foundry Day in downtown Boiling Springs. Mark your calendars! Volunteers are needed to slice strawberries (before or after Friday's potluck), bake cakes (bisquick recipe provided), and man the table for the actual sale (2 hour shifts). Watch for sign-up sheets in the social hall. Contact Virginia Jackson at 249-7937 or virginialaws@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Congregational Events, Classes and Happenings

May 6 First Friday Potluck, all are welcome at 6:30PM in the downstairs dining hall, bring a dish to share!

May 7 & 8 The Annual Plant Sale will be held at the meeting house on May 7 from 8am-12 noon and May 8th after the service until 3 pm. We will be taking donations of extra seedlings, over productive perennials, or any extra plants you may wish to part with for the sale. Please have these plants to the meeting house about a week before the sale (May 1st). We will have a table set up in the social hall. We also need volunteers to help set up, work the sale, and tear down. Any and all help would be much appreciated. Pre-order forms will be available at the meeting house for those interested in having plants set aside specifically for their needs. This year we will also give people the opportunity to donate the price of one plant to help the Building and Grounds committee beautify the church grounds. This would save the committee the cost of purchasing plants for around the meeting house. Don't miss this chance to fill your yard with color or get mom a terrific Mother's day gift. Foil wrapping and ribbon will be available to dress up your plant. Any questions, please call Carol McAnulty 249-4433 or Devonna Jonsson at uucvplantsale@mindspring.com

May 7 FUN WORKSHOP FOR SINGERS On Saturday morning from 10:00 to noon, everyone who enjoys singing is invited to participate in a singing workshop with Tom Benjamin, well-known UU musician/composer, and choir director at the UU Church of Columbia, Maryland. This event is for the benefit of the choir, but you don’t have to be a choir member to participate. Tom will work with the singers on ear training and various voice techniques, and will also conduct the choir at the Sunday service on May 8. Please join in for two hours of joyful singing in the meeting house sanctuary.

Sunday, May 8, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. Leadership Academy: Volunteers Volunteers are the most important and valuable resource in many organizations. It this session, we'll focus on stewardship of volunteers: how to find, recruit, train, nurture, and thank the people who get things done. UUCV's Leadership Academy is open to anyone who wishes to increase competence and confidence as a leader. Bring a bag lunch and join us in the Board Room downstairs in the Meetinghouse for our monthly leadership training session. This session was rescheduled from the planned April session due to illness.

May 15 The annual Spring Picnic will be Sunday May 15th at South Middleton Municipal Park. People should head on over after the congregational meeting (or at about 12:30 p.m.). Paper plates, cups, forks, napkins, and charcoal will be provided. Please bring your own burger, hot dog, or whatever to grill and a dish or drink to share with others. Contact Virginia Jackson at 249-7937 or virginialaws@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

May 21 or 22 ATTENTION ALL BICYCLING ENTHUSIASTS! UUCV is planning a Family Bike Ride on Saturday, 5/21 or Sunday, 5/22 on the Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails path starting at 1 p.m. We will start the trip at the new Newville trailhead which is near the Dollar Store in town. The trail is 11 miles long and currently ends in Shippensburg. Bikers may ride the entire trail or stop for a picnic lunch at Oakville, some 5 miles from Newville, turn around and ride back. Please contact Sunny at 263-9409 or Dee at 249-6964 to let us know which date you would prefer. Further information will appear in the Sunday bulletin in May.

May 22 UNWRAPPING YOUR GIFTS This one-session workshop will be offered for the last time this year on Sunday, May 22 from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m., led by Liz Hoffman and Judy Welles. Participating in this workshop can help you to discern the personal gifts you already have that can bring you joy and satisfaction, and help you determine how to use your gifts in the world. Registration deadline is May 19; sign up on the sign-ups table or call/e-mail the office at 249-8944/uucv@pa.net. Minimum enrollment is six participants.

Building & Grounds News

The next monthly meeting/work session will be held Wednesday, May 4th^th at 7:00pm. Due to summer obligations we will be missing some members for several months… this would be a wonderful time for new faces to join the B&G committee.

Closet Restoration Completed! – After 6 months of work B& G is proud to say the project is complete. The 60 watt dark, damp, moldy “cave” (closet in the rear of the dining room) has been converted into a bright, water resistant storage area. The project involved removing the crumbling plaster walls and ceiling, masonry work and seal coating on the stone foundation, a new dry wall ceiling, new lighting, painted floor and new shelving units. While every B&G member contributed evenings and/or Saturdays on some part of the project, special recognition goes to Rick Heckman for days of labor and keeping “the crew” organized.

No, The Sky Is Not Falling – and neither is the sanctuary ceiling! This month Ed Glasgow and a structural engineer did a thorough inspection of the roof truss system, walls, and crack monitors to determine if things were shifting. The great news is everything is fine. We can all quit wondering about those crack monitors over our heads. In Ed’s words, “That roof will be standing long after we are all gone”.

Lawn Mowing – Thank you to everyone who volunteered to mow. A rotation schedule and information will be distributed to those who signed-up. If anyone missed the sign-up sheet… it is never to late to help. We will just work you in with the next rotation. Contact: Paula Terry ( #258-1928 or loons@pa.net)

Change for the World

Change for the World for May will go to the YWCA's "Young Wonders Day Camp". Every week for eleven weeks in the summer, 60 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have an entertaining and safe experience at the Young Wonders Day Camp. Every week, the children go on a field trip, complete arts & crafts and have the opportunity to go swimming. Various activities are used to increase diversity awareness as well as self-esteem and anger management skills. There are 10 children per week that receive scholarships or partial scholarships to attend. All of these children are from low-income and/or family housing. The Young Wonders Day Camp was suggested by UUCV's Coming of Age group.

There have recently been some questions about appropriate suggestions for the Change for the World program. Allow me to clarify some general guidelines about the program: 1) The organization or project should be small enough that our monthly change collection (which averages about $200) can make a noticeable difference. 2) We prefer to give to organizations or projects that congregants are involved with (which is why we choose recipients from congregation suggestions.)

Suggestions are not limited to any local, regional, or international recipients. Most often recipients tend to be local, because in many cases that is where our funds can make the most difference. We want to inform the congregation about where needs exist and what volunteer opportunities exist. Please note that when a project or organization is approved by SAC and put on the schedule, it takes several months before the actual collection takes place.

If you’re not sure whether an organization is appropriate, please suggest it! If for some reason the Social Action Committee doesn’t feel we can choose your suggestion as a recipient, we will let you know. And if you ever have any questions, please search out a committee member & ask. Committee members include Cindi Butzer, Dan Fancher, Alan Franklin, Julie Ham, Priscilla Laws, Darlene Smith, Gene & Susan Walker, and Tania Werry. We welcome your interaction and input!

All in the UUCV Family

David Politzer-Ahles will attend California University of Pennsylvania in the Fall, where he hopes to specialize in computer science. Because of his good grades and high SAT scores, he can opt out of placement tests and get first dibs on classes of his choice. Zach Stolley has been included in Who’s Who Among American High School Students after being nominated by Cumberland Valley High School, where he began attending in January. We send loving condolences to Kathy Schatzer, whose father died in mid-April ( remembering also that it was just this past January when Kathy’s mother died). Pat Dietz’s mother died in late March; Pat, we send our love to you as well. Congratulations to Susan Helm on the birth of her granddaughter; at press time, Susan is visiting this new family member in Arizona. Mariel Martin is scheduled to undergo a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal surgery) on May 6 at the University of Chicago Hospital. She’d appreciate cards sent to her at 5118 S. Dorchester Ave. Apt. #614, Chicago, IL 60615. Congratulations to John Bloom, whose new book is out--Barry Bonds: A Biography, published by Greenwood Press, Dec. 2004 (available on Amazon, Powell Books, etc.) Also, the University of Minnesota Press just reissued John’s other book, To Show What an An Indian Can Do: Sports at Native American Boarding Schools, in paperback.

New Address: Geneva Politzer (and David and Michael): 42 Kenwood Avenue, Carlisle 17013. Phone number remains 258-8715

Mozambique Project Update

Priscilla Laws and Tania Werry

There are several new developments. We have sent a news release to the local media about the bursary project and you might have already seen some local news about this. Also, plans are afoot to for a collaboration between the newly formed Dickinson College Portuguese Club and a UUCV group to send children’s books that have been translated into Portuguese to the Namorroi District primary school in Zambezia, Mozambique. Stand by for more details.

According to a report published on the Web, when we provided funds in early January to sponsor 25 girls, we sent people in Mozambique scrambling. Karena and Bill Butt, our Christian Council of Mozambique (or CCM) contacts, wrote in their January 31st Webletter:

“. . . In many Mozambican villages there's a posted sign that says: To educate a girl is to educate the country. This year 25 fortunate girls have moved from their outlying villages to a Ministry of Education boarding school in Namorroi, their district town. Their small former schools ended at grade 7. PEDRA (a special CCM after school program for girls who are attending upper primary schools) aims to keep a girl in school as long as she is interested and able. By a little miracle of global connectivity, a professor from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania USA and Unitarian colleagues raised money for 25 Mozambican bursaries— $150 US per girl per school year, all-inclusive. Not much really, considering the enormous difference another year of school can make in a rural girl's life. But the girls' subsistence-farm families can't afford it.

So, as anyone with children who's been through "back-to-school" will know, the PEDRA folk have been busy.

Visit each girl's family - 25 rural farms spread across an area 100 km wide, farms unreachable except by off-road motorbike.
Convince each family of the benefits. Many might rather their girl stayed home cooking, pounding, hauling firewood and water, producing children who in turn become farm workers.
Get them registered at school and in the residence. Paper-work, long lineups but no photocopier, printer, photography, computer filing, telephone, and often no electricity.
Buy uniforms. Orlando Fumane, the CCM worker in Namarroi, had each girl measured, penned an outline of her foot, and fed that information to CCM in the provincial capital of Quelimane, some of it by radio (no telephones in Namorroi). In Quelimane Adelia Raul of PEDRA scoured the outdoor markets, setting shoes down on each of a sheaf of drawings to test for size, choosing well-made just-slightly-used shoes for each girl, haggling with market dealers, buying bolts of fabric, negotiating with teams of tailors to sew up uniforms for 25 girls - blue skirt and white blouse, shorts and white T-shirt for phys ed.
Buy notebooks, pencils, ruler, sharpener and knapsack for school, cup and plate and towel for the residence - more scanning and haggling in more stores and markets.
Give emotional support for girls in a strange new environment. They've come from simpler village schools. There they sat on straw mats (see the photo). There they knew everyone in class. CCM will start a new PEDRA centre for them. A chance for wise counseling with a PEDRA educator. A chance to get together with their home-village peers. For sewing, reading, embroidery, art. Learning about AIDS and how to avoid it in a town far from home.

Keep in touch with each girl's family, tell how she's doing, get her home to family each term-end. In their villages these girls can be role models but too often the fortunate ones who leave for school never come back. The more their visibility continues back home the more their influence for good. . . .”

The full letter and a photograph can be seen at http://www.uccanlonconf.org/divisions/DWO/Mozambique/letter%20126.htm:

More information about the Christian Council of Mozambique and its PEDRA program for girls can be found at http://www.churchworldservice.org/Development/project_description/descriptions/84.html

For more information about Karena and Bill see http://www.kentpres.org/MP-Butts.htm

Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg

UUG holds weekly Sunday services at 3:00 PM at Trinity UCC, Stratton & High Sts., Gettysburg, PA. Religious education for our young people is a top priority. "In Our Hands," a peace and social justice program will be the focal point for our K--6th graders; the older youth group will explore what they believe they stand for. Nursery care. Everyone welcome. For more information, call 717-334-5141, or visit www.uugettysburg.org.

May 1: A Flower Communion: An intergenerational service of celebration for religious liberals. Refreshments follow.

May 8: Rev. John T. Morehouse, Minister of the UU Congregation of Frederick; His topic is “Mother Spirit, Child Spirit.” On this Mother's Day Rev. John Morehouse explores the connection between the spirit of the child and the power of parenting in us all. Potluck follows service.

May 15: S. William Fleiss, Student Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York. Refreshments follow service.

May 22: Rev. Ron Crawford, Pastoral Minister of theUnitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. Annual Meeting of the Congregation. Refreshments follow service.

May 29: Rev. Joan Sabatino, Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Indiana, PA. Refreshments follow service.

Mayhem 2005: A Riotous Social Justice Journey!

For the first time ever, the annual spring retreat of the JPD UU Young Adult Network will focus on faith-based social justice, featuring inspirational workshops and speakers, powerful worship, excellent food and great company! May 6-8, 2005 Held at the Midpoint of the Appalachian Trail at the Ironmaster's Mansion, Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Confirmed speakers include: Rob Keithan, Director, UUA Washington Office for Advocacy; Rev. Louise Green, Director of Social Justice Ministries, All Souls Church; Morgan McLean, Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, Amnesty International. Registration options include keynote/lunch only, day trip rate and full retreat. Childcare provided by reservation. Please visit www.jpd-uuyan.org for more information and registration.