Unitarian Universalists of
the
Online
Newsletter for September
2006
October Newsletter Deadline is Monday, September
18. Submit items to kivana“at”comcast.net
Auction 2006 Kick-Off Set for September 10th
A Word from Your New Board President
September 3 “Work and Spirit”
The Rev. Duane Fickeisen
and Bev Motich, Worship
Associate.
Work can be soul-deadening drudgery or it can be a sustaining source of fulfillment. Part of the difference lies with the approach and attitude we bring to it. On this Labor Day weekend, we'll look for ways to make work work better. Perhaps you can change your job for the better without changing jobs.
September 10 “There’s a River Flowing…”
Revs. Judy Welles
and Duane Fickeisen.
We celebrate
the return to community with our annual Water Ceremony, gathering water from
places that were important to you this past summer. Today marks the first of seven
intergenerational services throughout the year, one to introduce each of the
seven principles our children will be learning about. This service will describe our respect for
the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
Children will remain with their parents throughout the service; nursery child
care will be provided as usual.
September 17 “Global Climate Change: What Can We Do and Why Should We?”
The Rev. Duane Fickeisen
and Ellen Buller, Worship Associate.
More than two decades ago I told my colleagues at one of the Department of Energy's National Laboratories that I thought we should consider how climate change would require us to change behavior and how it might impact communities and lifestyles. We had gathered to consider what research might be needed. A senior manager nearly ejected me from the meeting for 'fuzzy-headed thinking.' I'm still raising the questions.
September 24 “The True New Year.”
Kim van Alkemade and Dot Everhart, Worship
Associates.
As summer
turns to fall this year, we think not of a season coming to a close but of a new year beginning.
From back to school to Rosh Hashanah, from Ramadan to the Autumnal
Equinox, as the air cools in September it is the time to start anew. Join us as we share stories of new beginnings
from various religious perspectives.
Our monthly minister’s column, this month from Rev. Duane Fickeisen
Grace, who will start grade
school this month, came into the kitchen in her pajamas rubbing the sleep from
her eyes one morning in July while we were visiting her grandparents, Judy’s
brother and his wife. She looked at me from across the room—we had not seen
each other for a full year—and she asked, “Can you still read?”
“Let me see,” I said, as I looked
down at the newspaper. “Why, yes, I can!”
“Then will you read me a story?”
She fetched a book and asked me to look at the back of the jacket and the
inside flap to see if it had won any awards. It had. We read the story
together. Her younger sister joined us as we read another and one more before
her father was able to drag them away to have breakfast and get ready for day
camp.
Her parents are educators and
have taught in international schools for several years—first in
In this family, it’s the men who
arise early, and there have been several gatherings of Grandpa, Dad/Son-in-Law,
Uncle/Brother-in-Law, and kids in the kitchen of the house that Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s Unitarian minister built. Since those kids were infants in arms, we
have been gathering around strong black coffee with the girls at center stage.
And thus it has become tradition
with its own rituals and fond memories. We mark late July and the spiral of
time—returning each year to something familiar and yet always different.
And so it is with our
congregation. Time spirals forward as we return to familiar traditions, made
fresh and new each time we experience them. A new program year begins. We mark
the startup by mingling the waters of the world on the Sunday after Labor Day.
The water communion tradition is the beginning of our uniquely UU liturgical
year.
It is a fresh beginning and we are deeply rooted in traditions
that go back at least 2000 years. Our story has a strong and fascinating past
marked by heresy, justice-making, and dynamic transformation. But it is not yet
finished—revelation is not sealed. The story is still unfolding on the blank
pages of the future.
We begin a new chapter, drawing
on all that has gone before. No one knows where the plot will take us in the
coming months, how the characters will develop, or who will enter the story
with a fresh voice and view.
We have some ideas, to be sure,
and a vision to transform lives and care for our world, and a plan—but we know
from experience that plots take unexpected twists and turns. One distinctive
quality of UUCV has been the ability to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
Sometimes they have required us to make a leap of faith, stretching resources
and trusting that wit, skill, and good fortune would carry us through, which
they have. Part of what has helped us is a vision of what might be and
flexibility to adapt opportunities to help us move toward the vision.
One of my mentors, the Rev. Annie
Foerster, writes “every beginning is an opportunity
to create a better ending.” As we begin again, I urge you to imagine the
future, the opportunities that lie ahead for UUCV, and the way you’d like the
next chapter to unfold. Everyone who is a part of the congregation is a co-author
of the current chapter—what role do you imagine yourself to have in giving
shape to what lies ahead? How will you engage, what gifts will you bring, what legacy do you hope to create? What role will UUCV have
in your own life story?
See you on Sunday! Duane
UUCV’s Director of Religious Education, Kevin Snow
I told you it would happen! The summer has
whizzed right on past us and now the fall is knocking gently at our doors with
cooler evenings and duller colors on the trees. This only means one thing
. . . a new season of religious education is about to begin. I hope you
and your children are prepared to join us for another educational and exciting
year of UU principles. We need all hands on deck to keep our program
running smoothly, whether you are a parent or non-parent, older or younger,
single or married . . . you catch my drift, we need you to say YES to RE and
join us in raising the next generation of UUs.
Please plan on attending the RE
Parents'/Teachers'/Helpers' Meeting directly following the Water Service on
Sept. 10th. All the materials you need for your RE experience to begin
will be available that day. Registrations, letters from the DRE and a new
brochure will be available as will childcare. Please join your RE
Committee in the Dining Hall and please, please bring your calendars along and
be thinking about how you would like to join us. We need teachers who are
willing to commit to more than one Sunday and helpers who love jumping in on
the fun. The RE Committee and DRE can not run the program without your
volunteer assistance, so please search your heart for how you can fit into our
system.
For all you parents of Coming of Age kids, which
would be grades of 6, 7 and 8 we will be holding a meeting very soon to discuss
all things COA too. As I write this column the final date has not been
set, but we are looking at an evening meeting, perhaps Sept. 13 or 14. I
will contact all of you ASAP about the date. Your kids will be expected
to do more this year and we want the opportunity to explain it all to you in
person before you commit to joining us. As part of the COA program this
year, we will once again be looking for mentors from within the larger UUCV
group. While we are not taking an open solicitation for anyone interested
in being a mentor, we are hoping that you will be open to exploring the option
of guiding a young UU mind along their spiritual path if you are approached by
us. Talk to the mentors from our last COA cycle and I think you will find
they had a wonderful experience with the kids.
With regards to RE Teaching this year, your RE
Committee is hoping that some of you who have been hiding in the background for
several years will be willing to come forward and that some of you who have
never taken a trip down the RE way will stand up and join us. RE is an
integral function of UUCV and we need everyone in the congregation to help us
grow quality young UUs, not just parents and
committee members. I know that many of you come to UUCV for your own
spiritual renewal on a weekly basis and missing a service does not sound like
fun. Perhaps, through giving of yourself to our children you will discover
another type of spiritual renewal, as many of us who work in RE have
discovered. We need you. I can not say it any other way.
Please consider joining us for our RE meeting on Sept. 10th and
plugging yourself into our outlet or speak to the DRE or a committee member
to learn how you can help. See you on Sunday!
Roots and Branches
This
two-session workshop led by the ministers is offered regularly for people
considering membership in UUCV or for recently-joined members. We will gather on Tuesdays, September 12 and
19 at
The first
session looks at the “roots” of Unitarians and Universalists
in history, and people’s individual religious roots. The second session focuses on branching out
within Unitarian Universalism, with information about how things work at UUCV,
regional and denominational activities, and where people’s individual needs and
interests might mesh with UUCV’s. To register, sign up on the sheet in the
Social Hall or send a message to “ministersATuucvDOTnet”.
Fall Adult Religious Education Classes to Start
Look for the
brochure describing our Adult Religious Education classes on and after
September 10. Sign-up sheets will be
available on the Sign-Ups Table right inside the Social Hall. This is a good way to develop personal
relationships with other UUCV’ers while learning more
about Unitarian Universalism and how to have a religious life in its context. Teaser: A four-session class on prayer will be
offered on the first four Wednesday evenings in October.
The date of the Ninth Annual UUCV
Auction is
Your kids will go ape over the
lineup planned for them at this year's Jungle Safari Auction. Child care
begins at
Early Bird Deadline for donations is September 10 and we will have a drawing for a GRRRReat prize. Forms have already been mailed out and are also available at the auction table in the social hall. Please begin thinking of what YOU can donate. Scour not only your closets but also your skill set to see what you can offer for the benefit of UUCV. Great auctions items in the past have included hand-knitted sweaters and hats, original art work, glass vases, sets of dinnerware, DVDs, small appliances and electronics…and the stuff that’s too wonderful for a yard sale but that just isn’t being used or appreciated at your house any longer.
Some of the best auction items
are the events, gatherings that bring together UUCVers
all year long to listen to music, ride bikes, enjoy a
meal. Whether you can accommodate four
or forty, invite some fun and friendship into your life this coming year by
offering to host an event. You could
also donate use of a vacation cabin or camper van or kayak…the possibilities
are really endless! And remember, you
can also donate your contribution to attract someone to your “wishing well.”
For example, last year Kim van Alkemade offered to donate $100 for each person
with a pickup truck who would help her to move from Shippensburg to
In case you’re new to our
congregation or have never attended our auction, here’s your primer: The centerpiece of all of this food and music
and conviviality is a blockbuster fundraising auction to benefit UUCV. The auction consists of three parts – a
silent auction of items on display in the social hall, “sign-ups” for social
events sponsored by members and friends of UUCV, and a live auction of donated
household goods, artwork, services, vacation retreats, and you-name-it. An auction catalog will be available in
advance so that you can plan your strategy.
On your mark, get set, GO APE!
From Kit Franklin
Many of you already know me fairly well. I have been on UUCV’s Board of Trustees for four years, and you’ve seen me jump up to the pulpit now and then to welcome newcomers to the service and to ask you to be generous when the offering baskets come around. I know a few of you well, some of you a little, and too many of you hardly at all. That is one thing I will be working on, but please forgive me my frequent “senior moments” when it come to names. The members I know least include our growing group of young families with children. They are the future of UUCV.
How can we think about our children without thinking about community? Building our UUCV Beloved Community is one of our highest priorities, requiring input from all of us. Whether we make coffee or cookies for Sunday coffee hour, serve on a committee to raise much-needed funds, help keep our building in repair, or fill our hearts with music, whenever we interact with each other with love and care, or join together to reach out into the larger community, we are building our community. There are dozens of ways to become involved. It takes all of us working together to build a strong community.
As Judy and Duane said in the
Annual Report of the Ministers for 2005-6, “Your leadership continues to be
stretched thin.” I have always thought of myself as a good follower, but
when asked to accept a leadership role here, I had to ask myself how important
Unitarian/Universalism in the
I have been a Unitarian since before it merged with the Universalists, and am a charter member of this congregation. But the real motivating factor in accepting this position was my belief that Central PA, indeed the whole world, needs the message of reason, sanity, justice, fairness, morality, and most of all of love, that UUs bring. So, when asked to serve as Board president, the only possible answer was, “I’ll try.”
My heart is deeply rooted in action for social justice, and I truly believe that it is through our projects in the greater community that we will become known in the Valley and will grow as a congregation. But as Judy frequently reminds us, we are a church and worship (worth shape) is what we are about. Indeed, our responses to social issues, and everything else in life, must be shaped and tailored to our basic morals and principles. We need to be moved by Love, whether we call it that, or God, or The Divine, or simply basic Humanity. And I find that the Sunday services and the support of our Beloved Community give me the courage to step forward and try to be the best person I can be. Worship and justice go hand in hand for me. Love for my fellows and for this planet I call “home”, and the actions I take in their behalf, are both created by, and an expression of, worship.
So please join us in worship on Sunday. Kit
September 1 Pot Luck Say goodbye to
summer and hello to autumn as we gather Friday, September 1 in the dining room
for pot luck supper. Bring a dish to share and join us at
September 16 Writer’s Group The Writer's Group will meet on
Saturday, September 16 from
September 24 Serious Stuff Book Group Sharon O'Brien, professor of
English and American Studies at
Functioning
as a caregiver is a challenging and sometimes a very stressful role.
Perhaps the stress comes from our loss of sense of choices in our personal
lives, or perhaps it is our sense of loss of self--as the role may seem all
consuming. Often caregivers become isolated and can benefit from
connecting with others who understand and have information and wisdom to
lighten the load.
I
will be facilitating a caregivers support group which
will meet twice a month (on the 2nd & 4th Thursday) at our meeting
house. We will meet from 1-2:30.
Please note that the focus of the group is broader than first announced.
Where it began as a eldercare support group, it now is
a caregivers support group. Some people approached me and pointed out
that they needed this kind of structure but their caregiving was with a spouse, a child, or a disabled
person. Although there are obvious differences among those who are being
cared for, there are many issues of common
grounds for the caregivers. Therefore, I
have broadened the focus of the group to be open to any caregivers who want to
join.
Our
first session will be on Thursday
September 14th at
If
you wish to enroll, please e-mail me at annegero@mac.com or call at 249-4262 after
Sept. 4th. I'm looking forward to working together.
S.H.A.R.E. in the News
Another busy month at Project
SHARE saw many volunteers gleaning farmers’ crops, packing pirogues and produce
for distribution, sorting and staging donations, and welcoming, registering, or
otherwise assisting our clients. In
August the food bank served 750 families during four distribution days. In addition, a big back to school party with
distribution of school supplies was held August 27th. UUCV contributed 31 pounds of food, at least
two bags of school supplies, and many household items contributed by Dot
Everhart and Kay Eaton. Thank you.
If you’ve never seen Project
SHARE in action, you are welcome to come look us over. Distributions are held the week of the 3rd
Thursday, with distributions held Tuesday from
September’s ingather will be
Sunday, September 17, for distribution beginning Tuesday, September 19th. Mark your calendar!
Change for the World
July was a great month for Change
for the World as we collected $236 for PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays). Excellent job everyone, especially in the summer
months. In September, the recipient of our change will be The Carlisle
Area Religious Council (CARC) an interfaith
organization of representatives from a number of local congregations.
CARC is best known for its oversight of Project
Share; its sponsorship of interfaith community Thanksgiving and
Baccalaureate services, as well as co-sponsorship of Holocaust Memorial
services with
CARC also oversees the Chaplain
Ministry which serves both the Cumberland County Nursing Home and the
Cumberland County Prison, and has worked with other local organizations for
other events and projects, including the Unity
celebrations and helping a
Ask Anne Gero
about her experience as a civilian guest at the National Security Seminar at
the
To help this fractured and
hurting world, we must change one heart at a time. Oneness
– Rev. Forrest Gilmore: minister at the UU Congregation of
Plus a special Friday night program with musician Jim Scott: MAKING ART
OUT OF OUR VISION September 29,
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:
Rick Heckman, heckmanrATcomcast.net & Paula Terry, loonsATpa.net
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