Unitarian Universalists of
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Newsletter for May
2006
June Newsletter
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Our monthly minister’s column, this month by The
Rev. Duane Fickiensen
Doors are on my mind. Old doors. We have a long list of household projects to
complete before the Old Neighborhoods League house tour in
The doors are 100-year old,
five-panel cypress. And there are plenty of them. Well over a dozen. A few have
been stripped and refinished, but not very well, and they really should be
redone. Some have been painted without proper preparation, resulting in the
paint not adhering well and peeling. Some have ancient paint that has cracked
and crazed. Some are finished with very dark brown opaque stain. Most of them
are warped or twisted a bit, and nearly all bear scars of 100 years of family
living — which has left gouges, dents, and scratches as well as just plain wear
and tear.
It takes almost a full day of
work to strip and sand each door. Then they get a coat of primer and two coats
of enamel. The hardware gets cleaned up and polished as much as it can be, then
reinstalled. One is finished. Two more have been sanded and primed, and will be
finished and reinstalled about the time you’re reading this if all goes well.
The dozen-plus remaining are daunting. And that’s only the start of the long list of
things to do, and not the highest priority. So they won’t all get done. It will
be a “work in progress.”
The hardware — good solid Corbin mortise locksets and brass hinges — is functional and
suitable to the working-class style of the house. The brass–plated
pressed-steel backplates and knobs were very thinly
plated and the brass has mostly worn off or been tarnished away to nothing from
decades of burning coal for heat, releasing sulfur oxides and other gases. (A
wealthier first owner would have likely used solid brass hardware rather than
plated steel.)
The backplates
are simple ovals, and so far I haven’t been able to find replacements that
match. They could be refinished, but the cost is high. Or they could be
replaced with rectangular backplates, but I’m
reluctant to spoil the character and history of the house by replacing the
ovals with rectangles.
Working on the doors has caused
me to wonder at what they have witnessed over the last century. The bathroom
doors have probably been closed and opened several times a day — the previous
two owners of the house were large families — so figure at least 20 times a day
— that would make 730,000 times over 100 years. No wonder a spring broke in one
of the latches and needed to be replaced. The real wonder is that’s all the
maintenance I’ve needed to do to the latches. Are modern locksets designed for
million-use lifecycles?
No doubt these doors have been
shut to keep a pesky younger sibling out or to keep a crabby child in. Some
have been closed to keep guests from seeing the mess behind the door, some to
shut out the world while the occupant daydreamed, finished homework, or dressed
for work or school or church. Maybe they were closed by a teen whose team just
lost an important game, or whose relationship just ended, or who was reveling
in a first kiss. Or maybe they were closed against parental observation while
chums told jokes or looked at forbidden magazines. Maybe they were closed as
adults worried about mortgage payments and buying food or coal during The
Depression.
Were they closed to help someone
who was ill get needed rest? To contain a disease? To
offer solitude as death approached or to keep a father out during childbirth? To protect the parent’s marriage bed? Were they opened in
surprise, to greet an unexpected visitor, to welcome a friend? How many times
did bad news come through one of these doors, bearing sorrow and grief? Or joyful news?
Were they closed gently or
slammed in anger? How often did a dog stand on the wrong side and scratch or
whine to be let through? Were notes slipped underneath? Did prying eyes peek
through keyholes? Were ears held close to listen for gossip or secrets? Signs
posted to warn someone away or announce something?
The refinishing process will
leave some of the scars as mementos of the lives lived here. Fresh and clean
paint will brighten up the house, but the history and its mysteries will
remain. As they should.
See you on Sunday! Duane
May 7 “The Nature of Human Nature”
Worship Associates Carla Claycomb and Dan Cozort, Music by Sally Beaver
Discussions of human nature in Western thought often come down to debates between the "good" and the "evil" sides of people. This language is infused throughout much of Western religion and our popular culture. Our faith tradition, however, asks us to see the nature of all people as infused with worth and dignity. How do we reconcile the more troubling elements of human nature with our calling to see the worth and dignity of every person?
May 14 (Mother’s Day) “The Lion’s Whisker”
The Rev. Duane Fickeisen and Bev Motich, Worship Associate, Music
provided by Carole Knisely and The
Recorder Trio.
“The Lion’s Whisker” is an African tale of patience, told in several contextual
variations. Our focus will be on the patience needed to become an effective
stepparent as we explore the challenges of being or having a stepmother. Bring
a white flower if your own mother has died and one of another color if she is
living. You may include an adoptive mother or stepmother. Bring your flower to
the Social Hall a few minutes before the service, where Mary Lynn Lynch will
create an arrangement for our altar from your flowers.
May 21 “Making a Joyful Noise”
Rev. Judy Welles;
Virginia Jackson, Worship Associate; Pat Spader,
pianist. The choir will sing as well.
There is a mystery to music, a
mystery that we may intuit without being able to explain it. Today we will make music, listen to music,
and think about music.
May 28 “Just and
Unjust Wars”
Worship Associates Dan
Cozort and Kim van Alkemade, Music by Julie Moffitt,
with Ken Laws playing the Music For
Gathering
War…what is it good for? The religions of the world
mostly abhor war; but some say it is justified under certain conditions.
This service will consider the religious response to war especially as we see
it today, when the President can define “self-defense” in such a way as to wage
pre-emptive war thousands of miles from American shores, and when many Muslims
can define it in such a way as to justify jihad against targets anywhere in the
world.
The Annual Congregational Meeting
will be held
Please come and participate in
this important meeting.
Larry Berger-Knorr, Sue Roberts, and Jon Tarrant are the UUCV Nominating Committee's recommendations for three-year terms on our Board of Trustees. Elections will be held at UUCV's annual meeting later this month. Our bylaws require advance notice of the Nominating Committee's recommendations.
Larry Berger-Knorr
is a business consultant with a masters' degree in public administration and
additional certifications as a project management professional and computer
professional. He will begin work in the fall at
Sue Roberts is an officer manager for an insurance agency. The mother of two children, her experience at UUCV includes work on the social action committee's welcoming congregation initiatives and participation in building and grounds projects.
Jon Tarrant is a retired teacher of English who has continued his work as a consultant on college selection to parents and students. He has served on UUCV's board in the past.
UUCV's Bylaws also state that "Additional
nominations of candidates for trustees may be made at or prior to the Annual
Meeting by delivering a letter signed by at least three members to the
President, Clerk, or any member of the Nominating Committee. The letter shall
include the name of the candidate and the term of office. In all cases, consent
of the nominee must be obtained before a name is placed in nomination."
The Nominating Committee has also
recommended that its own membership in 2006-2007 consist of Janet Folsom (who
also served this year), Susan Walker (currently a member of UUCV's
board, she is retiring from that position), and Dan Cozort
(one of the founding members of the congregation, he has also served on the
nominating committee in the past). In
addition to Janet Folsom, the current members of the committee include John
Bloom and Richard Ellis.
From UUCV’s Director of Religious Education, Kevin Snow
May is a strange month here in RE at UUCV.
It is a month in which much planning is going on for the summer and fall
curriculum and it is a time of transition, as we soon move into the summer
months with its lazy days and season of vacations. For those of you who
may be new to UUCV, things look a bit different around here over the
summer. Many of our congregants and their families disappear for large
stretches of time as they enjoy the good weather and fun of vacations.
But back at the home front, RE is still diligently moving forward. Our
classes may shrink in size, but with warm weather we now have the opportunities
for outside lessons and fun.
UUCV is committed to providing your children with
quality Religious Education year round. That is one of the things that makes UUCV a unique institution in the liberal religious
community. Many of our fellow UU churches in the area only hold RE in the
Spring and Fall and then take a rest as everyone
scatters for the summer. We at UUCV want to give you reasons to stay
closer to home for spiritual nourishment and reflection and connection to your
local community of UUs. We strive to provide a
fun and enlightening religious experience for your children, but we really need
your help to pull all this off.
Please consider volunteering to teach over the
summer. If you can do one or two Sundays, we will fill up our schedule
fast. The lessons are available for you to explore ahead of time and RE
Committee members and the DRE are always on hand to assist with last minute
issues that might arise. We try to make being a teacher at UUCV as
painless as possible. We need you in order to provide a quality program
for your kids . . . . but you don't have to be a
parent to teach!!! In fact many of our best teachers have not had kids of their
own, so don't let this be a reason to keep you out of RE. Grandparents,
we need you too!
Please stop by the RE table and sign up for a Sunday
this Summer. Talk to me for more information
about anything RE this Summer or to preview curriculum
selections. The RE Committee will be finalizing curriculum at this
month's meeting May 7th at
First Friday Potluck Bring your seeds, cuttings and potted plants
to the First Friday Potluck so they can find new homes with UUCV friends and
neighbors. We will also be saying farewell to Diane Reed and Bruce Henrickson as they leave our congregation and depart for
the West Coast. Plan to gather at
UUCV Bike Ride & Picnic If you signed up for this auction item,
please confirm with Kim van Alkemade that you plan to meet at
The Writer's Group will meet on Saturday, May 20 from
Serious Stuff Book Group's book for Sunday, May 21st, will be Kitchen
Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen, who is a
physician, a professor of medicine, and one of the earliest pioneers in
the mind/body health field. Subtitled "Stories That Heal," Remen's book is a collection of real-life parables that
reads like a late-night kitchen session with a best friend, according to an Amazon.com
review. "Every story guides us like a life compass, showing us what's good
and lasting about ourselves as well as humanity." The group will
meet in the church library from
In just a few more weeks, we'll
be having the first UUCV Yard Sale of the season. May 27 is the big day,
and the place is the DeWall home in
Bring your items
pre-priced and ready to sell. Carole, who heads the sale committee,
will see that copies of a Pricing Guide will be available on the sign-up
table in the Social Hall between now and Sale Day.
Don't bring
broken items, stuffed furniture, or any clothing items other than those for
young children. Anything electrical must be in working order. Save
things of greater value for the auction. And contact Carol McAnulty, who handles E-Bay sales, if you have collectibles
to part with.
Where and When: Items
ready to sell should be brought to the DeWall home at
330 Acre Drive on Wednesday, May 24, or Thursday, May 25, after 6:30, or on
Friday, the 26th, by noon. (For directions, call the DeWalls
at 249-3900.) Also, "early birds" can
bring them on Sunday, the 21st, after
Unsold items
will be taken to the next sale, to be hosted by Bob and Wendy Hankes (more about that one later).
Help Still Needed: Folks
to sort and set up before the sale, sellers, and folks to clean up
afterward. And people to transport unsold items to the next sale. And
after the last of the sales is over, we'll need people to dispose of the
leftovers, either to a charity, or to a dumpster (for the “unloveables”). Look
for the sheet on the sign-up table in the Social Hall, next to the Pricing
Guide. (Or e-mail Carole at the address below).
Portable Tables Needed: We've abandoned our original idea of transporting the heavy tables from the church. Instead, we'd like to use portable tables---the kind that are about 60 inches long and 30 wide, and that fold up. (Some even have a carrying handle. ) We'd bet some of you have at least one. Please call (at 249-3900) or e-mail Carole (at carolesdw@paonline.com) if you'd be willing to lend it. Or just put a sticker or something with your name on it on the underside, and bring it to the church anytime from now on, leaving it at the rear of the stage.
Finally, if you
haven't already done so, search your attic, your basement, and all of
your closets for saleable items that can bring in $$$ for UUCV. Do
your bit for the good of the congregation!
You can all pat yourself on the back for the month of March. We collected $287 worth of change for Parent Works. Parent Works provides both a group program and an in-home program for adult and preschool instruction to avoid abusive reactions. The kids in the RE picked this terrific charity to receive our collection. I'm sure our donation will be well used.
May's recipient of Change
for the World will be the newly formed Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania
(CAB). Alarmed by deteriorating air quality in
From UUCV’s Social
Action Committee
In our region
of Pennsylvania in general, and even in Carlisle in particular, people who are
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender (GLBT) must live lives of some secrecy
because their jobs, and even their housing, can be in jeopardy if they reveal themselves
as who they really are. This is a major injustice that effects
perhaps 10% of the population, but can be remedied by anti-discrimination
statutes, if only State and local governments would be willing to adopt them
with wide enough coverage.
To this end,
our GLBT Justice Initiative in the Social Action Council is embarking on a
program of education and persuasion to try to bring the Carlisle Borough
Council to take this action. We are not trying to do this alone, but are
cooperating with the Dickinson School of Law and other like-minded
organizations. Our first move is to bring
here a lawyer, experienced in these matters, to tell us about the status of
these statutes and give us some guidance in their content and how best to bring
them to the attention of our local governments. She is Katie Eyer, of the Center for Civil Rights in
The talk is
scheduled for
Liz Hoffman’s book “Staying Focused in the Age of Distraction” has
been published by New Harbinger Publications; it has many UU and UUCV
connections, including a recommendation by Duane on the back jacket. We continue to send loving thoughts to Bobbi Bassett, whose father is slowly
recovering from a serious health crisis, no small thanks to Bobbi and Art’s loving
interventions. We share Birthe Miller’s delight in the marriage of her
daughter. With heavy hearts we say
goodbye to Diane Reed and Bruce Henrickson, who are moving to
A handy list of dates
for you to mark on your calendars!
5 First Friday Potluck and Diane
Reed & Brice Henrickson farewell
20 See Duane & Judy’s house
on the Old Neighborhoods League house tour in
20 Writer’s Group @ Charlotte
Klein’s
21 Congregational Meeting after Sunday service
21 Serious Stuff Book Group
24 GLBT Justice Initiative talk @
27 UUCV Yard Sale @ DeWall’s
Strawberry Shortcake Sale
at Boiling Springs Foundry Day will be Saturday June 3rd. Strawberry prepartion night will be Friday evening June 2nd. Look for
volunteer sign-up sheets. We need shortcake bakers, strawberry slicers and booth volunteers. Sign up for one or all three!
It's fun to work together! Questions? Contact Kathy
Ellis: elliskl@comcast.net or
245-9525.
Save the Date!! Our annual
UUCV All-Family Picnic will be held on June 4 after the service. Stay tuned for more details about where it
will be and what to bring, but please write it on your calendar NOW and plan on
an afternoon of food, fun and games (all ages are invited to participate) and
the usual good fellowship of your UUCV friends.