Unitarian Universalists of
the
Online
Newsletter for January
2006
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here to open the January Calendar in PDF
February Newsletter
Deadline is Monday, January 23
Submit items to
kivana@comcast.net
Congregational Meeting on Sunday January 29
January Congregational Happenings
Project S.H.A.R.E. In the News
Our monthly minister’s column, this month by the Rev. Duane Fickeisen
A week or two ago I cleaned out
the freezer and tossed out a box of Popsicles that had languished there since
the summer before last or maybe even the one before that. No one in our
household recalls how they got there or who we thought would eat them. They had
taken prime space in the overcrowded freezer for too long, and I needed room to
put other things in, so out they went.
I also discovered some ancient
cranberries, three zip-lock bags of unlabelled ground coffee — regular or decaf?, a year-old roast, several unidentified leftovers and two
freezer-burned hamburger patties. And some lovely pesto from last summer’s
harvest; a whole bunch of the wonderful mushroom-and-fontina-filled
buckwheat crepes I made for Thanksgiving from a cook book that always way, way
over estimates the number of servings its recipes make; several packages of
vegetables from last summer’s garden; and a bag of Maine spruce cones chilling
out in an artificial winter before I plant their seeds.
The New Year is a good time to
take stock. To chuck out the old, unusable stuff, to remember
the good things, and to make plans to bring them back into our lives.
We make time to pause and examine
our lives as we contemplate making commitments for the next 12 months in the
annual ritual of resolutions. Sales of new gym memberships peak this month as
many of us suddenly discover a new—or renewed—commitment to exercise as we seek
to burn off the extra calories we took in during the holidays and reshape our
bodies. Office supply and home improvement stores report increased sales of
equipment and materials meant to help us get organized. Watch for their sales
if your papers or your garage and basement have gotten out of hand. Church
growth experts note an upturn in visits by seekers looking for a religious
community to support renewed commitment to spirituality. Keep an eye out for
newcomers to your congregation and give them a warm welcome. Consider inviting
anyone who might benefit from what UUCV has to offer to “come to my church with
me.”
For us gardeners, it’s a time
when bright seed catalogs arrive in the mail, holding out promises of abundant
vegetable production and new plant cultivar introductions to brighten the
summer garden. We drool over the enhanced color photos and professionally
written descriptions, and begin to assemble orders for far more seeds than we
could possibly accommodate. Our dreams are big, especially in the long hours of
darkness and the chill that makes stiff joints ache as we wrap our hands around
a mug of hot chocolate and draw our collars up against the draft.
Those seed catalogs provide a
diversion from the gloomy news of the day. I’ve been following the story of Ken
Marlow, the Harrisburg man whose gas had been turned off for nonpayment, until
an anonymous benefactor—said to be a West Shore heating contractor—paid his
several-hundred-dollar outstanding bill—but whose furnace and hot water heater
were then discovered to lack proper venting and thus to pose a danger from
carbon monoxide. The gas was turned off again until his chimney could be
repaired, amidst finger-pointing and apparent miscommunication between the gas
company and the benefactor over who would fix the chimney while the rest of us
read about it over our breakfast in warm kitchens.
But Ken is not alone. More than
21,000 households in our Commonwealth are without heat this winter—and that
only counts those who rely on gas or electricity, not those who can’t afford to
buy heating oil or propane, which are not regulated in the same way as the
public utilities and thus not as amenable to statistical reporting. Many of
those whose fuel has been turned off are relying on relatively unsafe space
heaters and ovens—a frequent cause of house fires and carbon monoxide
poisoning. There have been over 260,000 gas and electric shutoffs so far this
year in
Poverty is complex, and the
solutions seem never to be easy. But why, oh why is our government not more
focused on these real homeland problems? Why do we tolerate the suffering that
poverty and hunger, unavailable decent housing, and the lack of access to
adequate health care bring on in our own community, right next door to us,
while we spend a billion dollars a week on an unjust and probably unwinnable war in
Where does real security lie?
Isn’t it in taking better care of our neighbors? In practicing compassion and
charity instead of playing the international arrogant bully and giving big tax
breaks to corporate interests? What might happen if we demonstrated real
concern for the lives of others through helping combat hunger, poverty, and
disease?
Maybe it’s time to clean out more
than our freezers and attics, time to toss out more than Popsicles, time to
revitalize our government with more effective leadership that reflects our
values. Maybe your resolutions will include a commitment to help elect leaders
who reflect your values this year. Maybe you’ll even consider running for
office. Our mission calls for us to transform lives and care for the world. You
can do that in the public square and at the ballot box.
See you on Sunday!
Duane
January 1 “Resolutions and Intentions as We Begin the New Year”
Presented
by The Revs. Duane Fickeisen and Judy Welles with
Musician Julie Moffitt
We’ll celebrate the beginning of the New Year and the call from Janus to reflect on the year just ended and also to cast our
gaze ahead to the year just beginning. Come and share hopes and aspirations as
we consider making resolutions for the days that lie ahead. We’ll have a
burning bowl to ritualize letting go of the past and embracing your intentions
for the future.
January 8 “The Tolling of the Bells”
Presented by the Revs. Judy Welles
and Duane Fickeisen with Musicians Ken Laws and Julie
Moffit.
As is our custom, we will welcome
the new year by looking back as well as forward, naming our own loved ones who
have died in the previous year and commemorating public figures who also died
in 2005, especially those whose lives have made a significant difference.
January 15 “Cosmology, Truth and Meaning”
Presented by Dan Bechtel and Priscilla Laws with Musician Julie Moffitt
Dan and Priscilla will discuss
differences in the nature of scientific and mythological truth and describe
recent scientific discoveries about the origin, evolution and fate of the
universe. They will then explore the impact of these discoveries on the human
quest for truth and meaning.
January 22 “Reincarnation or Oblivion?”
Presented by Kim van Alkemade and Dan Cozart,
Worship Associates; Musician Pat Spader.
If you believe there is no life
after death, does that make it true? If you believe that consciousness
outlives the body, does that mean you can contact the dead? These
questions are explored through the story of a daughter's three encounters with
her father's soul.
January 29 “Likeness to God”
Presented by the Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Dan
Cozort, Worship Associate with Musicians Carole Knisely and Ken Laws
William Ellery Channing, who is credited with laying
the groundwork for the foundation of Unitarianism as an organized religious
body, was particularly interested in how people might develop their inherent
nature through self-culture and thus manifest the divinity that is a part of
each of us. In his 1828 sermon, Likeness to God, Channing
urged the congregation to aspire to become more God-like out of the spirit and
hope of beloved children. We’ll explore what that might mean in the 21st
Century.
There will be an important
congregational meeting after the service on the last Sunday in January. The
agenda includes approval of mid-year adjustments to our current 2005-2006 budget. Reduced
income this fall and high fuel costs are straining our budget. We need an extra
$3500. We will also discuss plans for launching our 5-Year Long Range Plan
approved on Oct 23. Finally we will consider strategies for the upcoming 06-07 Pledge Campaign being coordinated by Dot Everhart.
From Kevin Snow, UUCV’s Director of Religious
Education
. . . And so, once again, a new year has solemnly rolled into place. Do you have your New Year's Resolutions at hand? For several years now my resolution has been to not have any resolutions, but that seems to fail as often as having unrealistic ones in the first place!!! If you haven't already made your resolutions or you have room for one or two more, permit me to propose some New Year's Religious Education resolutions. Maybe these will come to pass and if they do I guarantee RE at UUCV will be better for them. So, add these to your lists for 2006:
1. I resolve to
sign up as a helper or teacher for RE for the second half of the RE season,
maybe even for multiple Sundays and a Summer date too!
2. I
resolve to consider sharing my personal religious journey or my special
religious interest with the Coming of Age class.
3. I
resolve to take a more active role in my children's religious life.
4. I
resolve to chaperone an RE event or party.
5. I
resolve to donate snacks or special supplies for an RE classroom.
I could go on, but I bet you
could come up with some of your own RE resolutions. Maybe, you could
volunteer to mentor a growing UU or join the committee in the future or .
. . . I have a thousand ideas. We always need your participation and I
will always be ringing the bell to get attention for RE.
Please don't forget to bring back
your Guest at Your Table Boxes this month as well. It is important to
collect and send off the money to the UUSC in a timely fashion so people in
need can get help when they need it. I hope you had a wonderful holiday
season. See you in the New Year!!!
Be sure to pick up the new
brochure for the Winter Quarter Adult Religious Education offerings, which is
on the Sign-Ups table in the Social Hall.
Of particular and timely interest are a three-session class on “Western
Religious Traditions on War” offered by Dan Bechtel on Monday evenings, January
2-16, and a workshop/support group starting in February for people involved
with the care of aging parents and family members.
Submit Your Group’s February Happening to the Newsletter Editor, Kim
van Alkemade, by Monday, January 23, to kivana”at”comcast”dot”net,
write to 212 N. Prince St., Shippensburg, PA 17257, or call 717-860-6641.
January 6 Pot Luck Supper Bring a dish to share and join us at
January 22 Serious Stuff Serious Stuff Book Club's next meeting
will be Sunday, January 22. The selection for discussion at the
Succeeding titles are: February
26 - The End of Faith by Sam Harris; March 26 - Regarding
the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag;
April 23 - The Kite Runner by Kahled
Hosseini; May 21 (not our usual meeting date): Kitchen
Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen; June 25
- The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs; July 23 - Process
Theology: Basic Introduction by Mesle and
Cobb; August 27 - Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen
Batchelor; September 24 - The Family Silver by Sharon O'Brien;
October 22: The Tulip and The Pope by Deborah Larsen; and
November 26 - Snow by Orhan Pamuk. Questions? Contact
Leslie Carr at lgcarr@yahoo.com.
January 28 Writer’s Group The Writer's Group will meet on Saturday,
January 28 from
In November you donated $216
worth of change for the
January's charity for Change for
the World will be the Good Samaritan Fellowship. This is a Crisis
Intervention service giving financial assistance for fuel, utilities, rent,
furniture, medical care, short term shelter and other emergency services based
on need. Payments are made directly to landlords and vendors on the the donee's behalf.
Assistance with those heating bills will sure come in handy as the temperatures
plummet this winter. Twenty-eight local churches are also assisting this
worthy cause.
In November the Social Action
Committee committed to raising at least $12,000 to provide school funding in
2006 for 48 girls from rural villages in northern
Good news! Intense efforts to
raise funds in November and December have paid off. Thanks to 55 individual
donors and our Change for the World collections in April and November, we have
raised $14,000. Thirty seven percent of the donors who contributed directly are
UUCV congregants.
Since we exceeded our minimum
goal of $12,000, some of the extra funds will be used to help the girls
purchase other needed items such as bedding and underwear. Also, we plan to
start a travel fund using $1000 of the additional money and any additional
funds that come in during December. Hopefully we can add to the fund next year
and send a UUCV representative to
The girls, known locally as bolseiras, are on break now and will return to school in Namarroi town in early January. We are getting regular
messages about preparations from Karen Butt, our liaison from the Christian
Council of
As this is being written, it is
snowing heavily and it is bitter cold outside.
Do you have enough money to heat your home, pay the rent and other
bills, and still have enough left over to feed your family? If you do, consider yourself
blessed. In November, 2,436 local
folks had to rely on the generosity of strangers to provide them with food for
Thanksgiving dinner and other meals. Through project SHARE.
None were turned away. As
reported, UUCV gave 171 pounds of food plus several turkeys toward this end.
UUCV contributions for December
totaled 42.5 pounds. During the year of
2005, our community donated a total of 681 pounds of food plus a few turnkeys
and nonfood items to this very worth cause.
Truly a great tribute to your benevolence.
Unfortunately, the need continues
to grow. Please keep Project SHARE on
your must-do list in 2006. The next in-gathering
will be January 15. Immediate needs
include tuna, peanut butter, oatmeal, and Spam.
Welcome home to Janet
Folsom after a stay in Holy Spirit Hospital; and welcome also to Jack,
the Folsom family’s new puppy. We are
holding the Stolley family in our hearts as son
Many thanks to Betty Whitlock,
who was the organizer of the altar flowers for two years, and has now turned that responsibility over to Mary Lynn Lynch. This is one of those important but invisible
tasks that would go unrecognized and un-thanked if we didn’t remember to say
thank you – so… thank you to Betty and to Mary Lynn! From Judy Welles
Thanks also to Sylvia Hardman,
who is such a conscientious administrator of our Caring Circle, and who can be
counted on to be sure that needs are met as they arise among us. From Judy Welles