Unitarian Universalists of
the
Online
Newsletter for December
2006
January Newsletter
Deadline is Tuesday, December 26. Submit
items to kivana“at”comcast.net
Adult Religious Education Classes Coming on
Sunday Mornings
Letter from the President of your Board of
Trustees
Third Tri-Annual Evaluation of the Ministry of
UUCV
Holiday Fair Trade Sales After Services December
10, 17 and 24
Congregational Happenings and Committee Meetings
in December
Sunday Morning Services begin at 10:30AM; Christmas Eve Service begins at 7:30PM. Please invite a friend to one of our wonderful holiday services!
December 3 "Small Miracles"
Karen and Bill Butt and the Rev. Duane Fickeisen; Music will be offered by Pat SPader,
the
Karen and Bill Butt work in
December 10 “Letters from God”
The Rev. Judy Welles; Bev Motich, Worship Associate; Carole Knisely,
musician.
In his poem Song of Myself, Walt Whitman wrote “I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign’d by God’s name.” What are you finding in your mailbox or on the street these days? Do you recognize the signature? What would a letter from God say to you?
December 17
"Tipping Towards the Light"
Dot Everhart and Bev Motich, Worship Associates
The Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, is also the time when the earth tips back towards the sun and days begin to lengthen as the northen hemisphere moves from winter to spring. We celebrate this day by honoring the darkness of winter and anticipating the return of brighter days.
December 24 "What Gift Will You Bring?"
The Revs. Duane Fickeisen and Judy Welles; Music will
be offered by the Recorder Trio and the choir.
On this last Sunday of Advent,
let us consider what gift we will each bring to celebrate the birth of hope.
Come join us for a respite from the preparations for Christmas and in the quiet
to reflect on how you choose to bless the world and contribute to manifesting
the
7:30PM December 24 “Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols”
The
Revs. Judy
Welles and Duane Fickeisen; Sally Beaver, musician.
Our traditional Christmas Eve service is family friendly and includes singing familiar carols, readings from the gospels, and modern stories. We will end in candlelight singing “Silent Night.” Come and share spiced cider and cookies after the service before heading home to hang the stockings by the chimney with care.
December 31 "Tolling of the Bells"
The Revs. Duane Fickeisen and Judy Welles; Musician
Julie Moffit
We will honor the memory of those who have died in the past year by tolling the bell for friends and family members whose lives have ended. We will remember some of the public figures who died in 2006 in brief eulogies. And we will mark the New Year by burning away that which we wish to leave behind and stepping into new possibilities through our intentions for transformation.
You Are Invited! Judy and Duane will host their annual Holiday
Open House on Sunday afternoon, December 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at
UUCV’s Monthly
Minister’s Column, this month from Rev. Duane Fickeisen
We’ll very likely sing “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” in our morning service on Christmas Eve. The carol is based on a Civil War poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was a Unitarian.
The Civil War years were tragic for Henry’s family. His wife died after her clothing caught fire from a candle as she was attempting to melt wax to seal a lock of her daughter’s hair in the summer of 1861. Henry himself was severely burned trying to put out his wife’s flaming clothing and was unable to shave afterward due to his injuries— hence the full beard usually seen in portraits of him. He wrote in his diary at Christmas in 1862, “’Merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”
His oldest son, Charley, ran away from home in
March of 1863 to join the Union Army. He was not yet 19. Malaria and typhoid
kept him from the Battle of Gettysburg, but he rejoined his company after
recuperating at home and was injured in the battle of
On Christmas Day that year, Henry wrote the poem on which our hymn is based. In it he expressed his despair at the incongruence between the war and the message of peace, goodwill to all that is the essence of Christmas. But still he found hope in the peals of the Christmas bells. The last two stanzas of the poem are:
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud
and deep;
God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!
Again this year we are at war. We’ve now been at
war in
Civilian deaths are not officially tallied, but
estimates vary from 10,000 to 100,000. About 50,000 civilian deaths have been
reported in the press, 3700 in October alone. Many of the bodies show evidence
of torture. Over 100,000 civilians are fleeing
“Staying the course” has failed. The question before us is whether there is a better alternative that would at least minimize the losses. None of the arguments for any of the proposed exit strategies that I’ve seen offer a clear and compelling case that they are superior. But we can’t possibly afford to continue doing what isn’t working and expect a different outcome. All of the alternatives involve high risk and inevitable additional bloodshed. But doing nothing—or rather continuing to do what we have been doing—is risky and costly, too.
Despair seems to be the only reasonable response to this morass. But we can’t afford to get stuck there and thus abandon our power and agency or squander it ineffectively out of misdirected anger.
These next three weeks of Advent call us to expectancy—we enter the darkest time of the year, as the days grow even shorter, the winds grow chill, the nights longer. And yet we know that the sunlight—and hope—will return.
The Hanukkah candles remind us of the miracle of
the temple lamps burning for eight days on but a single day’s supply of
consecrated oil after the temple had been captured and desecrated. The
Christmas celebrates the spirit of the infant child of God manifest in the miracle of every birth. For it is only though human agency that the covenant might be kept, that the dream of the Kingdom might be realized, that healing and reconciliation might take place.
Even in the midst of despair, there is hope. The bells’ signal, the festive lights, the ancient story remind us that God is indeed not dead, nor even asleep. God is actively calling us yet again to set aside hate and to embrace the path of compassion and love.
That hope lies in human action. We can do something. We are not powerless. We can make a difference; we can give gifts that honor the manifestation of the spirit of life and love among us. We can bring treasures to the manger, offerings of peace on earth, goodwill to all. We can bring the peace of dedication to our own transformation, the goodwill of care for our neighbors and the earth.
When the bells peal on Christmas Day, may your despair be dimmed by the glimmer of that bright star of hope, rising in the East, marking the possibility of a new beginning. We are, above all, deciders. Make a choice for peace. And make it live in your heart, manifest in your actions, beaming forth with radiance clear.
See you on Sunday! Duane
UUCV is introducing in 2007 Sunday morning religious education classes for adults who want to explore spiritual issues from a liberal religious perspective. Wake up your mind, stretch your soul and kick-start your karma before the Sunday service even starts! These small-group classes, held from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Sundays, will delve into the deeper questions of life—the ones most of us don’t have nearly enough time to consider during the rest of week. Expect enlightened teaching from experts and thoughtful discussions on the Bible, the nature of the cosmos and other topics of interest to UUs. Revisit the wisdom of the ages and learn something new. Bring an open mind and heart. We’ll supply the coffee and child care.
The first course on “Bible
Stories in Their Context and Ours: A UU Approach to the Bible” will be offered
by Dan Bechtel on four Sunday mornings in January. Dan taught Bible studies at
Jan. 7: The Jahwist’s story of creation:
relationships to the earth, animals and other humans.
Jan. 14: The Priestly stories: Legalism and religious intolerance, especially in times of threat.
Jan. 21: Ruth and Jonah: two tales of universalism in response to religious exclusivism.
Jan. 28: Luke’s story of Jesus: caring for the poor and outsiders.
The second course on “Science Views the Universe -- Mysteries or Just
Unknowns?” will be offered by Alan Franklin on Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Alan is a
retired physicist who will take us on a guided tour of the universe, with
particular attention to the evolution of things and how we know what we think
we know. He’ll start with the Big Bang and follow the expansion of the universe
as it cools and becomes home to stars, galaxies, solar systems, planets,
continents, rocks and finally life as we know it.
We’ll announce more classes in upcoming issues of the newsletter. Registration
is not necessary but if you will need child care please e-mail us at
office@uucv.net or leave a message at 249-8944 by the Thursday before the first
class. We’ll see you on Sunday mornings!
From UUCV Board
President Kit Franklin
I’m just getting off the high from our annual UUCV Auction. Not only does
it raise much needed funds for our congregation, it’s just plain fun!
This year our Jungle Safari has earned us nearly $16,500, with more expected to
come in via post-auction sales. Many thanks to Bev Movich
for her strong leadership, and to all the rest of us who helped with the work,
kept track of the finances, made and served food, donated items, and especially
to those who came and purchased all those good things!
But our financial situation, though improved, is not as strong as we want it to be, and for that reason we are delaying two big projects which you approved at the Congregational Meeting in May and which we had hoped to move on: installing some sort of elevator to make us handicap accessible, and applying for a Chalice Lighter’s Grant to hire a part-time Music Director. I really want to stress that these projects have only been delayed. Your Board considers them important to our growth and long-term strength, but we feel we must become fiscally sustainable before we make such financial commitments. With your help, we can do that.
At the end of September your Board and ministers spent a weekend retreat talking and thinking about UUCV and how we can help it to grow and spread the of message of liberal religion more widely through out the Cumberland Valley. We focused on the “M&Ms”: Membership and Money. It was clear that we could not continue to operate in the red. After we informed you of the problem at a Congregational Town Meeting, you stepped forward and helped us over our cash flow problem. But we also recognize that for solvency in the long run we must look to the other “M”: Membership. Why? Because our current members and friends have been quite generous, and we cannot, and do not want to, push them beyond the possible.
Our membership has been hovering around 155 to 165 for several years, and in order to sustain and expand our programs and maintain and improve our building, we need the congregation to grow. At our Board Retreat we developed some ideas, and you added to the list during the Town Meeting. We are moving on some of those ideas, and will be inviting you to volunteer as we move forward on them. For instance, we are organizing a Communications Council not only to publicize events and improve the flow of information within our congregation, but to work on ways to spread our message beyond our walls to all those UUs that don’t yet know that’s what they are. (If you’re interested in joining such an effort, speak to Judy Wells, and look for further news in the Newsletter and PrE-Views.)
But in any case, each of you can be a messenger - tell your friends about us, and bring them to UUCV. Talk to newcomers after the Sunday Service. Let’s share our Vision of “transforming lives and caring for the world” with others. We need them, and I truly believe they need Unitarian/Universalism, too.
The Committee on Ministry needs your help in evaluating the Ministry of our congregation. Now that the “Planning our Future” is completed and the results worked into our Five Year Plan 2006-2011, we need to focus specifically on how we are doing in fulfilling the central reason for membership in UUCV which is to transform lives and care for the world. Our Letter of Agreement with the ministers states that the Committee on Ministry is to “evaluate the ministry of the congregation holistically in consultation with the Ministers and recommend actions based on this evaluation. A formal evaluation shall be done at least every three years.” The last such evaluation was completed in 2003 and, consequently, we need to plan now for a careful look at all aspects of our ministry early in 2007.
The Committee on Ministry plans to carry out the evaluation during January and February of 2007 with a goal of having the final report in your hands by the end of March. We will begin with three informal group meetings to share reflections on the aspects of ministry within the following categories: Membership; Stewardship; Spiritual Growth which includes worship, music, Adult Religious Education, and Small Group Ministries; Social Action; children’s Religious Education; and Pastoral Care including all aspects of our care for each other, as well as the pastoral care provided by our ministers.
The plan is to invite each UUCV member to a specific group meeting based on when you joined UUCV. The “Elders” will consist of the Charter members and a few others, all of whom joined UUCV in 1998. The second group will be the “Middle Agers” consisting of those who joined in 1999 through 2002 and the third group will be the newer members, all those who joined in 2003 through 2006. (Conveniently, and interestingly, this grouping divides into roughly three equal sized groups for discussion.) Admittedly, this is a very arbitrary grouping, but one that we hope will be more random than our selecting groups and one that might make for good conversation. We have scheduled two of the groups to meet at a Brown Bag Lunch in the Meeting House after services on January 7th and 14th. The third will meet on the evening of Monday, January 22nd at the home of Dan and Joan Bechtel. All members will, therefore, receive an invitation to a specific meeting with your membership cohorts. However, if it works better for you to attend one of the other meetings, please feel free to do so. What is most important is for you to attend and participate in this significant effort.
We will make available to everyone a questionnaire that will be used to stimulate conversation in the group meetings. In addition we invite telephone or e-mail comments to the committee members and, finally, we will call a Town Meeting after a service in February to share with you the results to date and to invite any further comments you may have.
In the meantime please begin to think about the ways in which we all care for each other, support each other, and take that sharing and caring beyond the Meeting House walls to the local community and beyond. How do you participate in this effort? What are we doing well and how can we improve out efforts? We look forward to our conversations with you beginning in January and to hearing your comments on how you think we are doing in fulfilling our obligations to minister to each other and the world. David Bateman, dfbateman@yahoo.com, Liz Hoffman, hoffpsych@mindspring.com, and Joan Bechtel, Bechteljo@aol.com.
From the DRE, Kevin Snow
My column this month is about one thing: giving. Part of the many functions that make up my job as DRE is the annual managing of the Guest at Your Table (GAYT) collection sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Each year I order the boxes and posters in mid-October and produce a nice display and oversee a brief introduction or skit to inform the church that GAYT collection has begun. This little object lesson always begins the Sunday before Thanksgiving, a fitting time to begin exploring giving, and ends with the collection of the boxes after Christmas. Ok, it doesn’t really end until I count all the money and ask our treasurer to issue a check to the UUSC.
This year’s GAYT focuses on four very different but needy causes. We will be raising money to help needy people around the world develop resources for clean water, protect civil rights, expand protections for workers and helping people in natural disasters. Please give to the GAYT box generously and bring them back to church after Christmas. Timeliness is important when returning the boxes, so all the money goes towards this year’s causes. Please return them to me in person or place them on the RE Table in the Social Hall throughout the month of January.
Giving is an important concept that I hope you will examine in your lives at this time of year beyond the GAYT program. When I was a youth growing up in my evangelical Christian family, the motto around winter holidays was always “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Over the years I started to develop my own ideas about what the season meant and earlier on I became known amongst my family and friends as a scrooge. I got that moniker, which I proudly still wear, because I was opposed to the commercialization of my Christian faith. I have had to temper my activist and boycotting tendencies of the Christmas holiday in order to make family peace over the years, but I still hold to my beliefs. For me, giving is the reason for the season and not the kind of wanton spending that millions of people worldwide do these days buying up the latest electronics or some other frivolous purchase.
I am not writing this column to criticize your family’s buying at the department stores or the number of presents under your tree this year. I must give into the pressures myself, albeit reluctantly, and head off to the stores to do some holiday gift shopping myself. What I am suggesting is that you sit back and reflect upon the plenty that you have and give beyond your home to people who need things more than yourself. There are plenty of great charities that need your money and plenty of special programs, like Toys for Tots, that pop up only at this time of year. Please take time this season to reflect upon giving and your personal giving practice and see if you can’t give in a more meaningful way, however small, than you did the year before. If we all followed this ideal the world would be just a little bit better each year. See you on Sunday!
By Kathy Ellis
December is a busy time for us
all. The holidays approach. College and high school semesters come to an end.
Students have term papers and final exams. Teachers have all that grading to
finish. Can we go caroling? Help decorate the church? Bake cookies?
This December, I will be packing
for my second January in
I am also reflecting on nearly a year as your student minister. It has been a busy and exciting time. It was a great experience facilitating the OWL program with Jim Freeman. There are some wonderful young people at UUCV. I have been privileged to get to know many of you more deeply. We cut up strawberries together. We laughed and we were very serious as we practiced articulating our Unitarian Universalist faith. We sang and we made art. We played silly games and we read serious stuff. Some of us carried rainbow umbrellas together. We confronted questions of diversity. We dreamed dreams for our congregation and for our world. We worshipped together.
I am grateful for the time spent
with you. I am grateful for what I have learned with you and from you. I will take my experience of our religious
community with me to
By Priscilla Laws, Chairperson
For most of this calendar year,
the Social Action Council has been working on three special initiatives: (1) A Criminal Justice Initiative under the
direction of Kathy Bell; (2) The GLBT
Initiative seeking local protection against discrimination under the
direction of Alan Franklin; and (3) The
Bursary Project aimed at providing education for girls from rural villages
in
Enabling
“...there
is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls.”
Kofi A. Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations
One out
of every three sexually active adults in
At UUCV
we partnered with the United Church of
Canada and the Christian Council of
Mozambique by providing “bursaries” that support schooling for 48 girls
from rural villages in northern
The
retention rate for the bursary girls is remarkable, especially because these
students have had to leave their families to live in government residences
while they attend school. One of the major reasons why these young Mozambican
villagers are doing so well in school is that they have been identified as
being good students who have completed the top grade in their villages and are
also active participants in a PEDRA group -- one of the after school AIDS
prevention clubs initiated by Karen Butt of the Christian Council of Mozambique
(CCM) for girls who are between 10 and 14 years old. The work done with the CCM
by Karen and her husband Bill, a communications specialist, is supported by the
United Church of Canada (UCC). UCC is a
liberal Christian church that shares many values with Unitarian Universalism,
and UUCV is proud to have a small part in helping UUC with the outstanding
sustainable development work it has undertaken in
We are very excited about the fact that Karen and Bill Butt will be visiting UUCV and leading our service on December 3rd. In addition, on Dec 2nd we will recognize World AIDS day by viewing a 50-minute video production about AIDS entitled Sonho Nocturno performed by a talented troupe of exciting young African dancers. The event will start at 7pm in our Meetinghouse and co-producers, Bill are Karen, will lead a discussion after the showing.
We hope you will be able to support one or more girls at $300 each, but SAC members will appreciate any amount you can afford to give. Questions? Contact campaign coordinators Priscilla Laws (243-9525 or lawsp@dickinson.edu) or Terri Smiley (486-4503 or tallterri09@yahoo.com)
From the Social Action Committee
The fair trade sales listed above
are being coordinated by Kay Elco, who has ordered a
large selection of handicrafts and foods including fabrics, jewelry, ornaments,
toys, musical instruments, African baskets, chocolate, coffee and tea. Most of
the items are supplied by ‘A Greater Gift’, a non-profit organization that
partners with small-scale artisans and farmers all over the world to promote
living wages, women’s rights and eco-friendly production. In addition to the UUCV sales, there will be
a sale at
Proceeds from the sale will go to SAC’s 2007 Bursary Fund established to enable 54 girls from rural villages in Northern Mozambique attend school during the coming year.
Volunteers Needed: Kay is seeking help with setting up and tearing down the sale table, so if you are able to be a sales clerk for a couple of hours or help setting out or putting goods away on any of the sale days, please contact her at 691-0212 or <elcokp@aol.com>.
December 1 Salsa Dance 7:00PM Small Group Ministry and other UUCV invite everyone to celebrate the union/marriages of three couples in our congregation—Sonny Hetteschuller and Cindi Butzer; Laurel Belding and Will Guilliams; and Jane Freeman and Ralph Watts—with a SALSA with dance lessons from Jose Ricardo. 7 p.m. in the Social Hall of UUCV. We would ask for everyone to bring a finger food and a refreshment (wine, beer / soft drinks).
December 2
December 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 "KidsSing" (Children's Choir) rehearsal every Sunday 11:50 AM to 12:30 PM in a downstairs classroom.
December 4 Membership Committee 7:00PM The next Membership Committee meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00pm in the Board Room. We would love to have anyone interested in joining our committee visit to consider whether participation in its activities is a way you would like to contribute to UUCV. Our mission “is to welcome new people, and to help new members and friends put down roots.” Please consider a visit, or talk to any Committee member (Jane Freeman Watts, Jill Kachmar, John Kallmann, Gisela Roethke, Rachel Teates, Keith Bittinger and Doug Spencer, Chair) if you have questions or ideas about the specific activities by which we carry out our mission.
December 7, 14, 21, 28 Adult Choir 7:00PM Adult choir rehearsal every Thursday evening 7:00 to 8:30 in the sanctuary OR in the downstairs dining hall.
December 8 Friday Potluck 6:30PM Join old and new friends
alike as we gather in the dining room at 6:30 for our monthly pot luck supper.
We'll be celebrating the holidays with Russian folk music and decorating the
dining room after dinner. Bring a dish to share and join us. Contact: Tom Vernon
December 12 Social Action Council Meeting 7:00PM @ Priscilla Laws’ Home
The Social Action Council meets
at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Prescilla
Laws’ home,
December 16 Writer’s Group The Writer's Group will meet on
Saturday, December 16 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the home of Susan Helm,
December 17 Ministers’
December Change for the World is designated for UUCV’s Thirty Dollars for Thirty Women—a monetary gifting for indigent women at SCI Muncy, the state's maximum security prison for women. Many here at UUCV have adopted Muncy for their own community service ministry. Kathy Bell is, and Jim Freeman is soon to be, a PA Prison Society Official Visitors. Carol Hocker creates greeting cards and you may be a pen pal to one of the women. Thirty Dollars for Thirty Women is UUCV’s signature ministry to the women at Muncy. Though it touches just a small number of the 1,100 women there, it is like the starfish story—it means a great deal to the women it touches. Thank you for your commitment to this initiative.
October's change for the world
went to the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and
From Sylvia Hardman
Project S.H.A.R.E. had a very successful Thanksgiving thanks to generous donations from the community including UUCV. The Giant receipts drive in October reached its goal of 5,000 of which 51 came from UUCV, meaning $5,000 from Giant for S.H.A.R.E. Thanksgiving distribution saw 1,050 clients served. UUCV contributed 10 Thanksgiving bags totaling a weight of 117 pounds in addition to 31 pounds of miscellaneous groceries and at least 6 turkeys! Thank you so much.
However, the Food Bank continues
to be very low in funds and continues to try to raise money. On Sunday, December 8 at 7:30PM the annual Eaken Trio Piano Concert will be held at
For December, the Food Bank is in need of canned hams and baby formula. Of course, all donations are gratefully accepted. Ingathering this month is Sunday, December 17.
In December, the initial meeting of the Communications Council resulted in some wonderful initiatives, including plans for greater publicity of UUCV events and services, the development of an exciting and interactive website featuring digital pictures of UUCV in action, and lots of ideas for ways to publicize UUCV to the larger community and to enhance our communication within the congregation. Our next meeting will be on Sunday, January 7, at 9:30AM at the Meetinghouse. Kim van Alkemade will serve as chair of the council.
Lots of people are recovering from surgeries this month: Ken Laws, Terry Wise, Katie McFarland and Michael Politzer are all feeling better, thank you. Michael is delighted with his custom-made shoe, which will increase the possibility of him walking again once his strength is built up. At press time, we are also anticipating Becky Pettit’s November 30 surgery. Congratulaions to Jeb Boyd, who recently quit smoking.
Many
thanks to Drew Lynch, who shepherded us through the Chalice Lighter Campaign
and recruited TWENTY-FIVE new chalice lighters!
Thank you Drew, and thank you to the 25 new Chalice Lighters for your
support of the growth of Unitarian Universalism in the Joseph Priestley
District.
Marilyn
Durr has stepped down from her assignment as Meals
Coordinator for the
MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE who helped make this year’s Jungle Safari Auction such a
success! Too many people helped in too
many ways to us to even list all of their names, but you know who you are and
please know that we couldn’t have done it without you. Whether you served tirelessly on the
committee or just dropped off some cookies, we appreciate everyone who has a
part in making the Auction our most important and fun fundraiser each and every
year.
This is the wonderful served at the Communion Service on November 24.
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
½ tsp red curry paste or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger root
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
14 oz. can coconut milk
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
fresh lime juice, to taste
Blend the first five ingredients in a blender or food processor with about ½ cup of water and set aside. In a soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the oil. Add the ginger and continue to saute until the onions are translucent. Add the stock and the ground spice mixture to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and the squash and gently simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, until the squash is tender. Puree the mixture in a blender in small batches and return to the pot. Add lime juice, stir, and serve.