Unitarian Universalists of
the
Online
Newsletter for November
2006
November Newsletter
Deadline is Monday, November 27. Submit items
to kivana“at”comcast.net
November
Sunday Service Topics
Town-Hall Meeting of Oct 8, 2006: Useful Suggestions
Enthusiastically Given
B&G Thanks Our Summer Yard Volunteers
Congregational Happenings in November
A Note to Committees from your Newsletter Editor
Sunday
services begin at 10:30am. Please look
over these upcoming service topics and consider which ones would be especially
suitable for you to invite a friend to come to UUCV with you.
November
5 “Ten Good Years of Ministry”
The Rev. Duane Fickeisen and John Kallmann, Worship Associate; music provided by Sally Beaver and the UUCV Choir.
Duane will reflect on ten years of ministry on this decade anniversary of making his ordination vows and being charged by the members of the Unitarian Church of Palo Alto.
November 12 “Everything Looks Like a Nail”
The Rev. Judy Welles; Dot Everhart, Worship
Associate; Carole Knisely, musician.
Last summer the
General Assembly of the UUA adopted “Peacemaking” as its study-action item for
2006-2010. In this first of a two-part
series, we will look at the human history of war and its cost to cultures, to
countries, and to the human spirit.
November
19 “With Abundant Thanks”
The
Rev. Duane Fickeisen and John Kallmann;
music will be provided by Pat Spader and the UUCV
Choir.
We will celebrate Thanksgiving by reflection on gratitude. What is it that we are thankful for, and how can we ever express our thanks? Our children will demonstrate what they have been learning about our second principle (justice, equity, and compassion in human relations). Guest at Your Table boxes will be distributed (to support the work of the UU Service Committee).
November
26 “You Are What You Eat”
Virginia Jackson and Kim Van Alkemade, Worship Associates; Julie Moffitt,
Accompanist.
How can Unitarian Universalism inform our food choices and eating habits? Children will join us for this service in which we will address this question and introduce the third principle being addressed in RE, acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth. The children's choir and the adult choir will both perform.
Our
monthly minister’s column, this month from Rev. Duane Fickeisen
One of the projects of fall is the annual rite of bringing-in-the-tender-plants-on-the-eve-of-the-first-frost. It usually takes place on a blustery day, and often extends well after dusk. It is a bittersweet task that forces me to admit the end of the active growing season. At the same time, it invites a letting go, a much needed pause for renewal.
This rite is an opportunity to take stock, to reflect on the abundance and fecundity of the natural world, to admit the shortfallings of inattention and the defeats of once again not quite living up to intentions for garden maintenance. And to marvel in the fact that, despite all that, things grew, bloomed, produced fruits, and enriched our backyard. There’s not much point in dwelling on the coulda’s, shoulda’s, or woulda’s — the never-quite-enough’s. I did what I did and the results are what they are. It’s just going to have to be good enough for this year.
Oh, sure, I look for excuses for crop failures and disappointments. Too much shade, too many black walnut roots, unusual weather, bunnies munching on stuff. But the truth is that I didn’t do all that I might have done to care for my backyard gardens.
Got plenty of garlic this year, a fair onion crop, lots of shallots. Enjoyed the rhubarb and asparagus for long seasons. Had raspberries for months. The peas, as they always do, disappointed when June turned suddenly hot. (Why do I keep planting them?) Tomatoes produced poorly. Beans petered out too early. But there are still leeks and Brussels sprouts that will be even tastier after a few light freezes. And a bunch of chard waiting for harvest in the bed near the carrots and beets. And a basket full of chilies in the kitchen along with jars of dried basil (four kinds this year).
November somehow wipes the slate clean. Into the compost heap with the to-do list, along with the sunflower stalks, the eggplants, and the frost-bitten basils. Let them all be recycled into compost to feed next year’s crops.
The lemon tree has been brought back upstairs to my office, with 16! green lemons on it. They’ll ripen over the next couple of months while the tree produces a new flush of blossoms and a new batch of lemons. And the basement and upstairs hallway are stuffed with plants in containers, waiting to have cuttings taken to root under the basement grow lights. One unfinished to-do list is exchanged for another, both overly optimistic about how much I might get done.
But that’s November — an in-between month that invites us to pause between fall and winter and to double-check the arrangements we’ve made for the coldest part of the year.
It’s also an invitation to renewal — to take some time for reflection, to express gratitude for what is and what has been, to imagine the future, and to build up reserves for December.
November invites us to let go of the unrealistic expectations, to reset the todo list, and to breathe deeply. The trick is to fend off the December holidays and not let them encroach until after Thanksgiving. May you fully enjoy Thanksgiving as a time for feasting, for gathering with your family of choice, and for giving thanks.
See you on Sunday.
By
Kevin Snow, UUCV’s Director of Religious Education
Wow, October is nearly over as I write this column, and I can hardly believe it. So much has been going on at UUCV the past two months that it is hard to imagine that summer was just around the bend. I have been attending meeting after meeting so far this year and it is exciting to discover all the energy and ideas that have been explored within our congregation. I can only hope that all this energy carries over into the rest of the year, especially with regards to RE.
I suppose it is a good time to reflect upon the programs we have running for all the kids that call UUCV their religious home. The Coming of Age program has a record number of kids in it this year, nine at last count, and with some new visitors we may expand again. I am thrilled that the young adults in this class have the opportunity to connect with some older members in our congregation in a mentoring relationship. I just want to remind mentors to be assertive in your interactions from your mentees. If you haven’t heard from them recently, why not call them up or invite their family to dinner out or at your house. It is my wish that strong bonds are formed with this group and I think the groundwork has been laid well so far.
The multi-age class has been roaring along as well. I want to especially thank Priscilla Laws and Ann Berger-Knorr for piloting the new teaching model and doing such a great job too! Priscilla deserves a special thank you for her work on behalf of recruiting for the teaching schedule this year. We now have a full roster of co-teachers for the first time since I took on this job!! Thank you to everyone who said yes to teaching this year, you have permitted the RE Committee the opportunity to explore exciting new ideas for RE into the future. Amy Farrell and Darlene Smith will be teaching principle two this month and I am sure they have exciting things in store for the kids as well.
In the interest of expanding communications at UUCV and to serve the congregation better, I have reinstated weekly office hours on Tuesdays from 5-8pm. Pending any big event or emergency, I will be at UUCV every week, so stop in to chat or share your ideas on RE. Additionally, I have placed a DRE suggestion box on the RE table in the Social Hall, for those of you who would prefer to leave me messages at other times. Please take advantage of these new tools to stay in contact with me and provide me with feedback on the RE program. You can always call or email me too.
I hope that you all enjoy the fall colors and holidays as soon snow will be on the ground and we will be longing for warmer days. I love the coolness and change of fall and winter and I look forward to the cool changes that we have made for this year’s RE program in the never ending quest to provide a better program. Jump on board RE for something fun and educational. See you on Sunday!
From
Leslie Carr, Clerk, Board of Trustees
After the service on October 8th, a UUCV town-hall style meeting was held to discuss recent issues that have arisen related to membership and money. These issues relate directly to the larger question: are we sustainable in our current state? The entire congregation was invited to this meeting for information and brainstorming. Attendees were given a letter upon arrival. That letter is reproduced here:
Dear Members and Friends of
UUCV: 10/03/06
The Board of Trustees has been facing some difficult realities concerning our
congregation’s financial situation, and we want to share that information with
the UUCV community. Each spring, when we draft the budget for the coming fiscal
year, we calculate the amount of money pledged and make an educated guess about
what is likely to come from those who had not pledged yet. In most years we
have been accurate in these estimates. However, this year the remaining
anticipated pledges did not materialize. As a result our budget is in deficit
by about $10,000. This is why we have had to establish a moratorium on all
discretionary spending. Unfortunately, most of our budget is allocated to
non-discretionary items such as staff salaries, the mortgage, utilities, upkeep
of the building, and denominational dues. In addition, we ended our last fiscal
year (as of June 30) with expenses exceeding income by more than $5000,
primarily due to under-payment of pledges and slow membership growth.
This is not a sustainable situation.
The congregation adopted an ambitious strategic plan that involves needed
changes to our building for handicapped access and other improvements,
enhancing the music program, expanding our outreach, and other exciting goals.
Much of this will have to be put on hold until we can bring our income in line
with expenses.
The Board of Trustees has come up with several strategies to meet this
challenge. First of all we want to establish better congregational
communication so that everyone knows where we stand. Second, to the degree possible,
we want to try to increase income rather than cut expenses in ways that might
alter the life of our religious community.
Listed below are some of the ideas that we came up with at our recent retreat
to increase our revenue, though the first two are only temporary solutions to
help with cash flow right now:
1. asking those who are able
to make early payment of their pledges
2. using money in the
Building Fund, from our capital campaign of 2002, rather than our Operating
fund as usual, to pay the mortgage with the intention of replenishing it later
3. concentrating on recruiting
and retaining more members eliciting better participation in our fundraising
efforts, such as the grocery cards, iGive.com, concerts, etc.
4. canvassing households
that have not been able to pledge thus far asking for extra contributions
5. asking those buying auction items to round up their
purchases by a few extra dollars sending more frequent reminders by e-mail concerning
pledge payments
Larry Berger-Knorr, our treasurer, points out that
the primary problem is a lack of membership growth. Although we have many
visitors and have been taking in quite a few new members, some of our former
members have moved, or left UUCV for various reasons. Thus, our total
membership has not been increasing. Our revitalized Membership Committee has
been working hard to turn this around. Our financial history clearly shows that
we have been asking for – and getting – more and more from our current members
each year. Pledge receipts per member are actually up and have been growing for
some time
We are interested in the ideas that others have about how to meet our fiscal
challenge. In this regard we are planning a town-hall-type congregational
meeting after the service on Sunday, October 8. The budget situation will be
explained more fully at that time and suggestions will be solicited for
maintaining a financially viable religious community. Please plan to attend. In
the meantime, feel free to talk with any member of the Board of Trustees or the
Finance and Fundraising Committee about these issues.
Sincerely, Kit Franklin, President
At the Town-hall meeting, Duane Fickeisen and Larry Berger-Knorr made power- point presentations elucidating the trends related to membership and money that have been of recent concern—the same trends mentioned in the above letter. Following is a list of suggestions that were garnered in the course of the meeting. These are things that we should DO or things that we NEED in order to meet our goals of increased income and increased membership. The cutting of costs is not something anyone present felt strongly about doing, noting that we have a bare-bones budget to start with.
Articulate our faith; Bring friends to the auction; Have a volunteer fair; Improve auction organization; Advertising in local papers; Get articles on the Sentinel church page; Get more publicity; Bring students from Ship & Dickinson; Have more wallet cards available; Rent our space for concerts; Explicitly invite wider community to Auction; Reach out to congregants who are not at this meeting; Figure out how to evangelize graciously when inviting folks to services; Have a spring fundraiser that is open to the community; Get free publicity via press releases to both Sentinel & Patriot; Use email to send out monthly pledge reminders; Set up electronic bill pay system with auto withdrawal; Committees should submit articles to the newsletter with committee news; Revitalize the annual dinner; Visit other UU Congregations to garner ideas about membership growth; Get all of us signed up for iGive.com; Find places to put up posters throughout the community; Re-recruit our former active members; Participate in the Shippensburg Fair; Promote the tax benefits of stock and bond transfers; Hold a semi-annual coffee house; Have 1 or 2 services a year designed for our friends.
Duane concluded
the meeting with these reminders: increase your pledges if possible; catch up
on pledges if that’s your situation; use grocery gift cards and I Give.com
(sign ups at coffee hour).
The list of
suggestions will now go to the Committees of UUCV and to the Board of Trustees
to consider what can be done under what time table and what the impact might be
of enacting the various suggestions.
Thank you to all who attended the meeting, offered your ideas, and/or
read and absorbed the letter reproduced above.
From
our Treasurer, Larry Berger-Knorr
Since our presentation to the congregation regarding our financial situation, things have taken a turn for the better. We have received most of the matching pledges, some sizeable gifts, and an increase in the frequency of pledge payments. Regarding cash flow, we are now $28k to the positive as opposed to $7k in the hole. This has positively impacted our bank balance. In all, this is a dramatic turn-around, thanks to a very caring and responsive congregation.
What
does this mean?
We will begin replenishing the building fund to compensate for the mortgage payments that had been made from it.
We will return to normal spending within the constraints of the budget. The various committees can move ahead with our planned expenditures for this year.
The elevette project remains on hold. We need more time before feeling comfortable about this from a financial perspective.
We continue to delay seeking a grant for the part-time music director position until we achieve sustainability. While we could apply for the grant – and our financial statements would look favorable at this time –we are not ready to follow through on this from an ongoing perspective.
In summary, the wonderful response from the congregation has put us back on track to continue our operations as planned this year. However, we realize we cannot take for granted that each fiscal year we will be able to draw upon our congregation to this degree. As shown during the presentation a few weeks ago, we have been asking more and more of fewer people. Ultimately, we need to seek sustainability and break out of this cycle of stagnation. It is important that we do not lose sight of the work necessary to continue to grow the congregation. It is growth in members that will lead to sustainability and our ability to see our plans fulfilled.
From
Paula Terry (former B&G co-chair)
Did you wonder who pulled all the weeds after weeks of rain; or who was sweating in the summer heat to mow the grass; or where did those beautiful flowers around the sign or by the parking lot come from? The answer: VOLUNTEERS!!
It takes a small army to properly care for our yard during the summer months. The task is far larger then the handful of regular B&G members could possibly manage. This summer we initiated a new program asking people to just take care of one small flower bed area. The hope was everyone would have a small enough area they would only need to spend a few hours every now and then. B&G was also grateful to have more mowing volunteers, thus each person only needed to mow 3 times all summer. The result of everyone’s hard work was a beautifully maintained yard! Thank you… you did a wonderful job!
If you are feeling sorry you forgot to sign-up and missed out on the fun…look for next year’s B&G sign-up sheets when the spring flowers start to bloom!!
SAC's 2007
From
Priscilla Laws,
By early January we raised enough funds to
allow 48 girls to attend school in
We are very excited about the fact that
Karen and Bill Butt will be visiting UUCV leading our service on December 3rd.
As part of their visit they will be sharing stories, photos, and films
describing their educational efforts to prevent the spread of AIDS in
Change For The World
November's Change
for the World recipient is the Cumberland County CASA (Court
Appointed Special Advocates) Association.
This organization is made up of volunteers who are trained to be
advocates for dependent, abused and/or neglected children of the county.
Qualified CASA volunteers are appointed by the judge to insure quality
services, timely decisions and a safe, permanent, nurturing home for such
children. Last year CASA circulated over 100,000 placemats to some area
restaurants to promote the opportunity to become a CASA volunteer and the
difference it can make for an at-risk child. The campaign was very
successful resulting in 23 new CASA volunteers. Our change that is collected
in November will go toward the printing and distribution of this placemat
project.
The recipient of
our September's Change for the World was the Carlisle Area Religious
Council. We collected a whopping $250!
From Sylvia Hardman
October donations
to Project S.H.A.R.E. totaled 27 pounds. However, this total does not reflect
the many items designated for the Thanksgiving dinner bags. These items will be included in November’s
total. The R.E. children are decorating
these bags. This project is well on its
way to completion but a few items are still needed. Please check the sign up sheet on the S.A.C.
table. Donations are due Sunday,
November 12. Of course all donations,
not just items for Thanksgiving dinner, are most welcome as the regular monthly
distribution will also take place. Thank
you for your generosity.
Thanks also to
those of you who gave Giant receipts.
Each receipt equals a dollar donation to S.H.A.R.E. This project wraps up Sunday, October 29 as
the receipts must be dated in October.
They will be mailed to Project S.H.A.R.E. October 30. Look for a final report on this project in
the December newsletter.
November 3 First Friday Potluck Meet at 6:30PM to share fellowship, conversation, and wonderful food!
November 5 Path to Membership Meeting following the service.
November 12 & 19 Newcomers' Orientations following the service.
November
18 The Writer's Group will meet on Saturday, November 18 from 1:00 to 3:00
p.m. at the home of Joan Campbell,
November 26 Serious Stuff Bookclub Please note: A) We will not be reading or discussing SNOW as originally scheduled for November. We will consider this book again for 2007. Our November 26th, 2006 meeting, 6:30PM in the UUCV library, will be devoted to choosing our books for next year. If you have any interesting titles in mind for the bookclub -- any author, any topic, any genre-- please bring those ideas to our next meeting. You may bring 0-3 suggestions per person. Feel free to come (and offer a title if you wish) even if you have never attended before. At the end of the meeting we vote for our choices and formulate next year's line-up. This meeting is usually loads of fun. B) There is no Bookclub meeting in December.
By Kim van Alkemade, UUCV’s newsletter editor since the turn of the century.
To facilitate communication and participation, I would very much like to include dates, times and locations for ALL committee meetings and choir rehearsals in EVERY newsletter. I can not assume that your committee is meeting at the same time or on the same day every month, so please, make it a routine that EACH AND EVERY MONTH one person on EACH AND EVERY committee sends a short email to me, kivana”at”Comcast.net, giving the date, place and time of your meetings for the month. You will also make it easier for new friends and members to get involved if you include contact information (even though we have a list at the end of the newsletter) and a little invitation to new people. Don’t feel as if you need to write a whole article, just a quick email will do.
But please, DO NOT simply add my email address to your committee email communications and assume I will read all of your committee’s emails and figure out on my own what information is appropriate for the newsletter. I only beg for ONE email each month from EACH AND EVERY committee with a simple who, what, where and when. Newsletter deadlines shift a little each month, so just check the masthead of the printed or online version for the next deadline.
Congratulations to
Char and Tom Klein, whose oldest son
was married on September 30. That’s also
the day that Jane Freeman and RalphWatts were married (by Judy) in a back yard ceremony . Laurel Belding and Will Guilliams
were also married that day! Michael Politzer’s
surgery is over! Other recent exciting events in his life were
flying a plane (himself!) over Niagara
Falls and getting his junior Pilot’s License, and receiving the 8th
Grade Student of the Year Award at Boiling Springs Middle School. Bev Motich is celebrating the birth of her second
grandchild, Aaron Jacob Motich, born to her stepson
Nate and wife Patty on September 29. Melissa and Brian Stolley
are thrilled that their son, Lance Corporal Brandon Stolley
USMC, is home from
Many thanks to The
Towel Fairy, who gave sixteen brand new dish towels and eight brand new dish
cloths to the UUCV kitchen. This simple
gesture of generosity makes our hearts sing!
Many, many thanks to Joanne Storch, for four years of faithful service preparing the gift bags every Sunday and for enlisting and coordinating the corps of volunteers who contribute goodies for the bags. Jill Kachmar has volunteered to take on the gift bag preparation duties. Thank you also to all those providers of cookies, mini-loaves of bread and other goodies.
Dear congregation, please take a moment to thank our wonderful yard volunteers:
Flower Bed Caretakers: Cozort family, Lynch family, Joyce Lukima, Dave Mooney, Geneva Politzer and Terri Smiley.
Mowing Crew: Keith Bittinger, Jon Tarrant, Harold Peity, June Hoch, Max Lara, Dan Fancher, John Kallmann, Carey Garland, Jim Kohler and Sunny Hettenschuller.
Ministers Rev. Duane Fickeisen & Rev. Judy Welles Email ministersATuucv.net.
Home study telephone: 241-0410
Office Assistant Elena Yarlett Hours: Thursdays from
Dir. of Religious Ed. Kevin Snow,
249-8104, dreATuucv.net
UUCV Board of Trustees
Kit Franklin (president), akfrankATepix.net
Ed Glasgow (vice-president), edwinglasgowATaol.com
Leslie Carr (clerk), lgcarr22ATyahoo.com
Larry Berger-Knorr (treasurer), bergerknorrATgmail.com
Priscilla Laws, lawspATdickinson.edu
Tom DeWall, thdewallATpapsy.org
Carol McAnulty, paulandcarol913ATearthlink.net
Jon Tarrant, jwtarrantATcomcast.net
Sue Roberts, b.s.roberts.ivjlATstatefarm.com
Committee Chairs and Other Leaders
Building and Grounds Committee: Letty Kress, kresswolfATpaonlineDTOcom.
Music Committee: Ken Laws, lawsATdickinson.edu
Finance & Fundraising Committee: Bob & Wendy Hankes, galt1627ATcs.com
Membership Committee: Doug Spencer, jbsandmsATepix.net
Committee on Ministry: Liz Hoffman, hoffpsychATmindspring.com & Joan Bechtel, bechteljoATaol.com
Religious Education Committee: Ann Berger-Knorr, annabellejATcomcast.net
Social Action Council: Priscilla Laws, lawspATdickinson.edu
Caring Circle: Sylvia Hardman
Coffee Coordinator Jeb Boyd, jeb101904ATearthlink.net
Sunday Music Coordinator Nancy Bittinger, nbittingerATcomcast.net
Newsletter Editor: Kim van Alkemade, kivanaATcomcast.net
Flowers Coordinator: Mary Lynn Lynch, marylynn_lynchATyahoo.com
Potluck Coordinator: Tom Vernon, tlvernonATblazenet.net
Small Group Ministry: Ed Glasgow, edwinglasgowATaol.com