First Unitarian Church

Transcription

1 First Unitarian Church A Member Congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association Vol. 19 No. 3 March 2013 Rev. Dawn Cooley, Senior Minister, minister@firstulou.org Chris Rothbauer, Intern Minister, intern@firstulou.org Linette Lowe, Director of Religious Exploration, dre@firstulou.org Barbara Creasy, Office Administrator, office@firstulou.org Earl Reynolds, Building Supervisor Claudia Runge, President, Board of Trustees, president@firstulou.org Celebrations of Life Sunday Services begin at 11:00am March 3 March 10 March 17 The Nature of Evil Speaker: The Rev. Dawn Cooley The Power and Tragedy of Our Gun Culture: A UU Perspective Speaker: Katie Snyder Envisioning Our Future Speaker: The Rev. Dawn Cooley March 24 March 31 Tightrope Walking Speaker: The Rev. Dawn Cooley Easter: The Back Story Speaker: The Rev. Dawn Cooley General Assembly Update Page 13 Calendar Highlights for March What's Inside? 2 Message from the Rev. Dawn 3 Intern s Perspective 3 From the Board 4. RE Highlights Linette Lowe 5 Description of RE Classes 7 Ministry Updates 11 First U Happenings 13 GA Updates 14 News from the Groups 16 Ministry Theme March 10 Daylight Savings Time Begins Children s RE classes will not meet March 16 Canvass Dinner March 23 Worship Associate Training March 31 Easter Breakfast 9:15 No RE Classes;Multi-generational Event The complete calendar can be viewed on our website: Love is the spirit of this church... 1

2 Speaking Of... The Rev. Dawn Cooley Just about every Sunday afternoon this Spring, from February through May, either my spouse or I can be found taking our eldest child to OWL. For four hours each week, she is experiencing one of the most amazing resources that I believe Unitarian Universalism offers: our comprehensive sexuality education curriculum. OWL (Our Whole Lives) has ageappropriate curriculum from kindergartners through adult. It teaches much, much more than the plumbing that most of us got in school growing up (if we got anything at all). At age-appropriate levels, OWL helps participants make informed decisions about their bodies, about their sexual health and behaviors, about what makes a healthy or unhealthy relationship. It covers sexual orientation and gender identity, sexually transmitted infections, methods of birth control, what is consent, how to treat your partner in a relationship, the difference between pornography and love-making, and much, much more. In the process, OWL participants learn how to talk openly and honestly about sex and sexuality with their peers. OWL is infused with our Unitarian Universalist values. It's built upon the ideals of self worth, sexual health, responsibility, and justice and inclusivity. I am not overstating it when I say that I believe that one of the most important things we can do for our children to help them grow into sexually healthy teenagers and adults is to enroll them at OWL when it is offered for their age level. And to take it ourselves! So why am I writing about OWL in Steepletalk this month? Because March is when we begin our annual canvass during which we obtain financial pledges to help support the operating expenses and the program & mission for the church for the coming year. When we talk about funding program and mission, one of the question that comes up is In the coming year, how will we best live our mission to witness for progressive faith, nurture our community and transform our world? For some at First U, the answer includes offering all sections of OWL on a regular basis, not just to our congregation but to others in the community who, surrounded by dysfunctional abstinence & heterosexuality only programs, are looking for an inclusive, values-based, loving approach when addressing one of the most important parts of being human. Might OWL be a part of how First U lives our mission in the world? Might a comprehensive OWL offering, at all age levels, be something we bring into existence this Spring? If not OWL, what do you think might be the core spark of our mission that we have to offer the world? What is your passion for our church, and how can First U help make it a reality?...and service is its law. 2

3 An Intern s Perspective Chris Rothbauer Taking Care of Ourselves I am a busy person. Most nights, I have something to attend for church or work or social justice activities. This has often meant that I sacrifice taking care of myself because I just don't think I can fit it in my schedule. The eventual result is stress and burnout. If I'm not careful, it can even affect my health and well-being. I have to remind myself how important this time is to take care of myself, which affects my ability to serve others. As Sri Swami Satchidananda once said, If you do not have peace within yourself, you can never find peace outside. When I'm in Chicago, I have at least two hours every day to myself. I stay with my aunt in Evanston, which is about an hour ride on the L to the Loop during rush hour. I have used this time for various things: reading, journaling, meditating, and even people watching. This past January, I realized how much this time means to me when I'm in Chicago and involved in an otherwise frantic schedule. These times on the train give me the opportunity to recharge and recenter myself. I made the realization that I crave and need this time to myself and, since returning, have been trying to integrate it into my everyday life. I need time to myself to read and write things that aren't related in the slightest to school and work, and time everyday to run and meditate. For other people, these things may vary. Some people might enjoy knitting. Others may enjoy fixing up old cars. Still others may enjoy swimming or canoeing or underwater basket weaving. The important thing is that we find those things that charge and motivate us and integrate them into our very existence. In the midst of our frantic lives, we can create a place of peace for ourselves if we will only stop and listen to what we really need. News from the Board of Trustees Board members: Roger Bradshaw, Bev Daly, Geneva Fry, Claudia Runge, John Scruton, Pat Triplett, Carol Uebelhoer, Kay Woodworth Board Biz by Claudia Runge The Board of Trustees meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Visitors are welcome at our meetings and may speak to items for which they have previously expressed the desire to speak. Items of interest from the February 19th Board meeting: The Capital Improvements Request form was finalized and will be available to congregants by the first Sunday in March. Forms will be available in the volunteer area and on the church website. More information will be provided when the forms become available. The chair of the Stewardship Committee provided an update on the upcoming canvass. The agreement for a loan for up to $250,000 from the Endowment to the church was accepted. The Board made plans for work on the 2013 budget. The Annual Meeting date was set for Sunday, June 2, at 1 p.m. Love is the spirit of this church... 3

4 Religious Exploration Highlights for February Linette Lowe This month we ll kick off our annual Stewardship Campaign. Stewardship means taking care of what we value and enabling it to grow. As stewards, we pledge to take responsibility and to contribute our time, talent, and treasure. And we are not only stewards of our First Unitarian congregation, we are stewards of our larger communities and of the earth. The act of giving of our time, talent and treasure starts a whole cycle of positive events in our lives. We see that we can make a difference. We become more confident, hopeful, and empowered to take the next step. We create new relationships, discover new perspectives, and make more meaningful connections to our surroundings, all of which helps us to grow spiritually. The giving cycle is positive, affirming and joyous. I see our children, youth and adults engaged in stewardship all around us, and it is indeed a joyous thing to witness! Recently our children and youth asked the congregation to bring in donations for the Kentucky Humane Society, and we took a van-load of supplies to help the animals as a result. Our Kindergarten, First and Second Grade class made Valentines that the congregation signed and sent to members who can t make it to church. The children and youth made thank-you cards for their RE teachers which you can see displayed on the bulletin board upstairs. The Senior High Youth Group made fleece hats and donated them to local homeless shelters. The Parenting Class gave the RE hallway upstairs a badly needed coat of fresh paint. We learned what we can do about global climate change from the polar bear Winston of Churchill in the Moment for All Ages. And now that our children are in the Celebration of Life for a longer time each week, we can see the pride in their eyes as they jingle-jangle their coins into the offering plate. We have an amazing tradition of stewardship here at First Unitarian, and we can see it all around us! As we re asked to consider our pledge to the church in the upcoming year, let s remember to talk with our families about why our church community is so important to us. You just might be surprised to discover what good stewards--of all ages--there are among us! RE News and Events: March 10 Special Programming in the Open Classroom for all children and youth; No classes March 13 Religious Exploration Ministry meeting, 6 pm YAC we ll be scheduling a longer meeting to address specific issues this month date TBD Easter Egg goodies We ll be calling for goodies to stuff eggs with this month. Please consider non-edibles if possible, and remember, please, no nuts March 31 Easter Sunday! Annual Pancake Breakfast served by the Senior High Youth Group followed by egg hunts for the children....and service is its law. 4

5 Adult Religious Exploration Adult Religious Exploration. Participants engage in their own faith development and contribute to that of others who are present. Nursery care is available for infants. Grade appropriate Religious Exploration is available for children and youth pre-school-high school. Easter Breakfast March 31, 9:15 a.m, social hall. All ages are invited to gather in the social hall for Easter Sunday Breakfast, provided by the Youth Groups. Many thank yous to our youth and our youth advisors! No Exploration classes today. Fifth Sunday Multigenerational Event. Spring Forward March 10. Daylight Saving Time begins on March 10. Children and Youth Exploration will not meet March 10; an alternative program will be offered in the open classroom. Parenting will not meet March 10. All other Adult Exploration classes are scheduled to meet. Watch for updates in case of schedule changes. Room 101 Parlor 103 Library 214 OWL Social Hall 1 st Sunday March 3 Theologies: Agnosticism Round Table UU Parenting 2 nd Sunday March 10 Theologies: Paganism Sunday Books UU Parenting will not meet Adult RE Programming for March 3 rd Sunday 4 th Sunday March 17 March 24 Theologies: Theologies: Paganism Bible Study Round Round Table Table Coffee & Current Events UU Parenting 206 Silent Meditation is available weekly 5 th Sunday March 31 Fifth Sunday Multigenerational Event Easter Breakfast March 31 Provided by Youth Adult RE Programming: Theologies Theologies. Rotating weekly, theologies classes will explore different faith paths from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. All classes are open to any and all, to believers and nonbelievers, to those of faith and of non-faith traditions. Mar 3 Agnosticism. Explore the significance of religion for an Agnostic. What does it mean to "embrace the mystery?" Mar 10 Paganism Mar 17 Paganism Pagan Perspective on Monthly Ministry Theme: Evil Spring and what does St. Patrick s Day mean to pagans? Mar 24 Bible Study Passions, Part 2 & Resurrections. The Death & Resurrection of Jesus. The Rev. Dawn Cooley, leader. Love is the spirit of this church... 5

6 Adult RE Programming: Round Table Round Table. Religious Themes in Literature. First, third, and fourth Sundays. Kris Barski, program planner. Mar 3 The Simpsons. Kris Alan Barski, leader. Mar 17 Mar 24 Harry Potter. Kris Alan Barski, leader. The Big Lebowski. Kris Alan Barski, leader Adult RE Programming: Sunday Morning Books Sunday Morning Books. Selections focus on science, environment, theology, leadership, history, politics and their connection to Unitarian Universalism and to the life of First Unitarian Church. Second Sundays; Jill Sampson and Kathy Rogers, facilitators. Mar. 10 I Don t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist By Norman Geisler and Frank Turek Additional books are listed on firstulou.org/books Coming up: April 14: Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey by Patricia Harman Adult RE Programming: Every Week UU Parenting. The group will select topics from the blog of UU Religious Educator and author Michelle Richards ( Carol Uebelhoer and Lisa Mascio- Thompson, leaders. No class on March 10. Coffee & Current Events. This group meets in the social hall each week with no formal curriculum for conversation about current events as informed by UUA principles and faith. Meditation Room. Quiet space has been designated on the second floor for silent reflection, prayer, or meditation. A number of meditation aids are available. Future programming: Religious exploration thrives on inquiry, curiosity, and shared perspectives. Will you lead an exploration of a faith path, theology, or other religious exploration topic for a session, a month, or a semester? To find out more, contact Jasmine Walston (jasminegld@aol.com) or Linette Lowe, Director of Religious Exploration (dre@firstulou.org). Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Adults (OWL) will be scheduled based on interest and leadership availability. Please contact Carol Uebelhoer, OWL leader, to indicate your interest and schedule availability for Adult OWL. More Information The First Unitarian website has the latest updates about the curricula described above. To learn more, visit firstulou.org or contact Linette Lowe, Director of Religious Exploration....and service is its law. 6

7 Living What We Believe ` Updates from the Ministries "Everyone needs help from everyone." Bertolt Brecht, German playwright Children s Chapel Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Project - Kentucky Humane Society The children and youth in Children's Chapel decorated donation bags and asked the congregation to donate needed items to the KY Humane Society. The following week, bags of pet food, treats, toys, cleaning supplies, and old towels piled up in the Sanctuary. Here are some photos of what the kids collected and the animals they served. Well done everyone! Love is the spirit of this church... 7

8 A Message from Stewardship Save the Dates! Stewardship Dinner March 16th Wine and Cheese 6:30, Dinner 7 PM Enjoy nourishing food and talented entertainers! Stewardship Sunday, March 17th Celebration of Life - Rev. Dawn Cooley Join your First U church family as we consider together the reasons that we give and the joy that we receive from our generosity. Stewardship Campaign March 17-31st Please welcome a visit from a Steward of First Church to your home. Let us Envision Our Future Together Worship Ministry Have you ever noticed how many people participate in a Sunday morning worship service? It is a goal of this church to make sure that our worship services include lay participation in as many ways possible -- from chalice lighting and chancel decorations to providing the moment for all ages and the sermon. One key position in the worship service is the worship associate, the person Dawn and guest speakers rely in countless ways on to help with morning services. We try to have a long list of trained worship associates, so the same small clique of volunteers is not overworked. We hope you will consider how you can best be of service to the functions of the church and will sign up for Worship Associate Training, to take place on Saturday, March 23, 9am - 3pm (lunch provided). Please contact either Trish Ramey (tramey@alum.bu.edu) or Jane Martin Buckley (jane_buckley@earthlink.net), Worship Ministry co-chairs, or Pat Allison (pallison@igloo.com), Worship Associate coordinator. The Worship Ministry is also working on the task of consolidating information for the Capital Campaign, to present a list of capital items that would improve the worship ministry efforts at First U. We are also very pleased with the excellent lay-led services presented in the last 30 days, Phil Candee and an exploration of the life and works of Martin Luther King Jr. and Jo Ann Dale and an overview of the GA Common Read, "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander. We are so fortunate in the wonderful services that our membership shares with us....and service is its law. 8

9 Mission and Outreach Ministry First U and the Mission and Outreach Ministry continues to reach out into our community in many ways; Here's an update on some of the M&O teams. INTERFAITH: First U hosted the Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers' Darwin Day celebration on February 9, drawing about 80 visitors. We are also exploring the possibility of partnering with a UCC church in West Louisville for book discussions and /or social action. PUBLICITY: An ad has been placed in "The Community Letter", and other local publications that may reach potential UUs are being researched. We're also investigating possibly hosting UU informational meetings to be held in Southern Indiana. DENOMINATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Heartland District Annual Meeting is April in Muncie IN - regionalization and bylaws changes will be discussed. Also, General assembly is coming to Louisville June Interested in serving as a delegate to either? Contact the Board. SOCIAL JUSTICE: The "used book sale" program has generated over half the funds needed to support the Uganda New Life Children's Home for a month. Contact Jo Ann Dale if you have used books in good condition to donate. We supported the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth's "I Love the Mountains" Rally in Frankfort on February 14, and the Fairness Campaign's lobbying/rally on February 20. Our Reproductive Justice team is leading a series of Wednesday night discussions that are advertised to the public, and is monitoring several bills pending in both state legislatures. We are supporting the covenant group serving dinner at The Center For Women and Families once each month - if you'd like to assist, contact Jill Sherman. Discussions and the service about The New Jim Crow (a UUA Common Read) has generated interest on a number of fronts. Most immediately, M&O urges Kentuckians to contact their legislators regarding HB 70, which concerns restoration of voting/jury rights to those convicted of most felonies. We are participating in the prison ministry spearheaded by Clifton UU Church. Congregational interest in the area of gun violence is being assessed, and we anticipate being able to state an M&O position soon. First U sent a financial donation to assist in relief efforts in the devastating Central Market fire in Bujumbura, Burundi. We are exploring how First U might participate in the Mayor's "Give a Day" program. PARTNER CHURCH: The annual Partner Church dance, usually held in the spring, will be deferred to June 30, when we'll be joined by the minister of Lexington's Transylvanian partner church. Rev. Dawn and Chris at the Fairness Rally. Carol Uebelhoer and Jo Ann Dale show their support of a Fairness ordinance during the rally in the Capitol rotunda, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 in Frankfort. Photo by Jonathan Palmer, Special to the C-J Love is the spirit of this church... 9

10 I Love Mountains Rally...and service is its law. 10

11 office area. First U Happenings MONEY COUNTING Pat Triplett is in need of help counting the offering after church. Instructions will be provided. It takes approximately one hour to count the money, make copies of the checks and enter everything into Power Church. If you are interested, please talk to Pat Triplett either before or after service. MESSAGE FROM THE EASTER BUNNY Get all your eggs, candy and "Peeps"from Kroger using your First U gift card. Don't have one? See Gary Drehmel after service most Sundays. Thank you for contributions to the HELP FOOD PANTRY! Thank all of you who have contributed nutritious food for the HELP food pantry - especially much needed items such as beef stew, tuna fish, canned vegetables etc. Keep up the good work! USED INK CARTRIDGES Don t toss those empty ink cartridges in the trash! Instead, why not bring them to church where they can be put to good use? That s right. Your discarded ink cartridges actually have value. Staples will give us a $2 credit for each one turned in. Lois Allen has volunteered to take them to Staples for us. The credits help pay for supplies used by the church for things such as paper. As you ca imagine, we use a lot of paper! The credits from last month paid about 30% of a recent order. You can drop off your ink cartridges in a labeled box in the volunteer WORSHIP ASSOCIATE TRAINING We hope you will consider how you can best be of service to the functions of the church and will sign up for Worship Associate Training, to take place on Saturday, March 23, 9am - 3pm (lunch provided.) See page 8. To sign up, or for more information, contact Worship Ministry co-chairs, Jane Martin Buckley or Trish Ramey, or Pat Allison, Worship Associate coordinator. (jane_buckley@earthlink.net) (tramey@alum.bu.edu) (pallison@igloo.com) BROWNBAGGERS VISIT EUROPE! Come visit with Jim and Carolyn Miller as they take us on a (virtual) trip to Europe! The boat leaves at 12:00 noon on Monday, March 11, 2013; embarking from the church's library - Sorry, you have to bring your own lunch on this cruise. Don t Forget! March 16 STEWARDSHIP DINNER See page 8 for details. TIME FOR A CHANGE Daylight Savings time begins at 2 am Sunday, March 10. Spring Forward! Don t be late! EGG HUNT NEWS Hippety-hoppety, Easter's on it's way! We'll be holding our annual Easter Egg hunts before church on March 31, and we'll need lots of goodies to fill all those eggs! Please leave your donations of small treats, both edible and non-edible, in the box by the DRE's door upstairs. Please, no nuts. Thank you! Love is the spirit of this church... 11

12 First U Happenings DO YOU KNIT OR CROCHET? IF SO, PLEASE JOIN OUR PROJECT A group of First U knitters and crocheters have gotten together a project and we need your help! Knit-A-Square is an organization that takes donated 8x8 knitted and crocheted quares and makes blankets for AIDS orphans in South Africa and Zimbabwe. It gets quite cold in that area in winter, and many of these children are sleeping on bare floors with no mattress, pillow or blanket in freezing weather. The blankets also double as winter coats for the children. It is estimated that there are 1.9 million orphans in South Africa, and this number grows by 500 every day. This year, KAS s campaign is called Knit-A-Squillion because the goal is to collect you guessed it one million blanket squares. It takes 35 squares to make one blanket, so this campaign would make it possible to provide blankets for tens of thousands of vulnerable children. You can learn more at We are willing to make as many squares as we can, but we need help with supplies and with the work itself. We will gladly take any donation of yarn made from any fiber (wool, wool blends, acrylic, etc.) that would reasonably make a WARM blanket no ribbon, eyelash, fun fur or other novelty yarns in bright colors. Yarn comes in different weights, and the most useful would be sizes 3, 4 or 5. Knit-A-Square also collects hats, sweaters, socks and stuffed animals to distribute to the children, and we will happily take those to send, as well. The need is greatest for children ages 3-9, so please size accordingly. We also could use a few boxes of gallon-size zipper bags. We will be collecting and crafting from now until the end of September, at which point we will send our last package overseas for this campaign. We would LOVE the help of any knitters or crocheters who want to participate but haven t been contacted yet. Anyone who wants to learn to knit or crochet in order to help is also welcome and encouraged to participate. If you would like to help, please contact Richelle Johnson, johnsonrichelle@gmail.com. WHEN WE MEET See Rev. Dawn about Covenant Groups Sunday Morning Schedule 9:15 Religious Exploration 10:30 Intermission 11:00 Celebration of Life Sundays 1 st Sun. First Sunday Lunch, 12:30 1 st Sun. Covenant Group, 1:00 in parlor 2 nd Sun.Covenant Group, 1:00 in parlor 2 nd Sun.Covenant Group 1:00 In Meditation Room Tuesdays 2 nd Tues. Finance Committee, 5:30 in library 3 rd Tues. Board Meeting, 6:00 in library 4 th Tues. CG leaders, 6:00 in parlor Wednesdays Weekly: Staff meetings, 10:30 in parlor 1 st /3 rd Wed. CUUPs Class, 7:00 in library 2 nd Wed. RE Meeting, 6:00 in library 4 th Wed. Worship Ministry 6:30 in library Thursdays Weekly: Choir Practice, 7:15 in choir room 1 st Thurs. Ministry Council, 5:30 Mondays 2 nd Mon. Book Club, 6:00 in parlor Saturdays 2 nd Mon. Brown Baggers, 11:30 in library 2 nd Sat. House and Grounds, 8:00 am 2 nd Mon. Missions/Outreach 5:00 library...and service is its 4 th law. Sat. Churchyard Friends, 9:00 am 12

13 GA Update: All the Latest News General Assembly, A Meeting of Congregations June 19-23, Louisville, KY General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Attendees worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process. Anyone may attend; congregations must certify annually to send voting delegates. Most General Assembly events will be held in the Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 Fourth Street, Louisville, KY. There is a great deal of information out there about the exciting upcoming Louisville General Assembly. If you have space to house a visitor, check out the accommodations application on uulouisville.org. If you are interested in serving as a First U delegate, contact our Board of Trustees. If you are interested in volunteering at GA, or seeing the schedule of events, or just about anything you might want to know about General Assembly, check out This is going to be fun! General Assembly in Louisville: THE BASICS Wondering what is going on at GA? Keep an eye on the website! This site gets updated as new information becomes available. You can see information on the Ware Lecture, Service of the Living Tradition, Witness Event, Programming, etc as it becomes available. You can watch old GA videos to get in the mood, too!! Want to get the cheapest rate for your General Assembly registration fees? Sign up March 1st - April 30 to get the best rates. You can sign up for ala carte days or the full package. Want to be a volunteer for 24 hours to get your registration free? Fill out your application and turn it in in March to indicate your interest when you are registering. Need based scholarships also need to be completed in March. Follow the links at financialaid/14930.shtml/ NOTE: To volunteer, you must apply on-line at ialaid/14930.shtml/ in March. You will be notified of acceptance, or not, in April -- at which time you can then register for GA. HOMESTAYS The process of collecting sites for home hospitality for GA, and accepting guests, is in full swing. General Assembly is June in Louisville, and so far, 18 First U hosts have offered their homes to GA visitors. These fellow UU visitors are from all over the country, and pay a set donation "fee" to our church for the homestay. There is no deadline for offering your home, as there will probably always be a last-minute request for lodging, but planning will be much smoother if you apply to be a host NOW. The application is online at under the "homestay host" tab, or you can directly contact Kathy Gapsis , kgapsis@gmail.com. Thanks to 18 very generous First U members/friends who have already decided to be part of this adventure! Love is the spirit of this church... 13

14 CUPPs The Covenant of UU Pagans Spring is Here!! It is the Vernal Equinox when the time of day and night are equal. In the Pagan Wheel of the Year the Spring Equinox may also be called Ostara. Named after the fertility Goddess (of the same name) it is a time of re-birth and return of vegetation & greenery to the land. Please join CUUPs as we celebrate Ostara on Sunday, March 24th, Our Sabbat Celebrations are on Sunday night. The doors open at 5:30pm and the Circle starts at 6pm. A potluck dinner will follow around 7 pm. The Covenant of UU Pagans of First Unitarian Universalist Church or CUUPs offers Sabbat Celebrations and classes in topics relating to earth based traditions or nature spirituality. CUUPs is a free and open community of people who practice earth-based spiritualities. Our classes are a blend of lecture and discussion with seekers, those new to the path and experienced practitioners in attendance. We meet the first and third Wednesday of each month. Our classes start at 7pm and last till about 8:30pm. Our upcoming classes in March are on the 6th and 20 th. If you need additional information, please us at cuups@firstulou.org There is no charge for Circle Celebrations or classes. Green Scene: Climate Change & Water Resources Carol Findling Gordon and Joyce Garner were active members of our church, and remain friends. Gordon directed the Louisville Metro Sewage District for many years and we have one of Joyce s paintings hanging on one of our walls. All of their children spent time in our church Sunday school. Gordon recently was the featured speaker at the February Sustainability meeting. In a nutshell, he told us, It s worse than we thought! To see the report he discussed for yourself, go to ncadac.globalchange.gov. According the long, well-documented draft of the report, U.S. average temperature has increased by about 1.5 degrees since 1895; more than 80% of this increase has occurred since Changes The length of growing season has been increasing since 1980 s, with largest increases occurring in western US. This is expected to continue. Heavy downpours are increasing. The largest increases are in the Midwest and Northeast. Further increases in frequency & intensity of extreme precipitation events are projected for most U.S. areas. Increased intensity of heat waves has been most prevalent in the western parts of country, while intensity of flooding events has been more prevalent over the eastern parts. Droughts in Southwest and heat waves everywhere are projected to become more intense in the future. Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since It is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet by The oceans are absorbing about a quarter of the CO2 emitted annually and are becoming more acidic, leading to concerns about impacts on marine ecosystems....and service is its law. 14

15 10 indicators of a warming world Increasing trends: 1) Water vapor in air, 2) temperatures over oceans, 3) sea levels, 4) ocean heat content, 5) temperatures over land, 6) air temperatures near the surface (troposphere), 7) sea surface temperatures. Decreasing trends: 8) Sea ice, 9) snow cover, 10) glaciers Areas that are closest to poles are projected to receive more precipitation, while the dry belt lying just outside the tropics (greater than 23 degrees latitude) is expected to expand poleward and receives less rain. Increases in tropical precipitation are projected during seasonal monsoons, especially over the tropical Pacific. The western US, especially Southwest, is already dry and expected to become drier. The trend toward more heavy downpours is expected to continue, with precipitation becoming less frequent but more intense. In general, the largest temperature increases will occur over continents, and, generally, wet areas will get wetter and dry areas will get drier. Lower levels of heattrapping gases in scenarios with reduced emissions will lead to noticeably less future warming. Higher emissions levels will result in more warming and thus more severe impacts on many aspects of human society and the natural world. Gordon referred to it as global extremism. He said it would take several generations to ameliorate the impacts if serious efforts aren t begun soon. The biggest impacts will be on water. We can expect up to 10 more inches of rain each year within 20 years, mostly occurring during extreme events. During the past 20 years, Louisville has broken 100 year events, 24-hour storm events, earliest tornadoes, coldest and hottest temperatures. A sea level rise risk assessment was done for Washington, DC. They expect sea levels to rise 3-4 feet by Louisville MSD is currently planning for these types of events now. For those interested in more information, google water footprint to learn how the U.S. among the water hogs. At a previous Sustainability meeting, a Louisville official remarked that the city s highest cost is that of moving water. Gordon had a graphic showing that green energy has the fewest impacts on water use. Gordon also showed a water supply stress index. According to that, the west will have more stress; Louisville is okay, but half the country is under extreme or very extreme conditions long term. The good news is that local adaptation strategies are numerous. They include things like system modification, capacity expansion, flood proofing, green up cities by planting flood reduction plants anywhere we can, and relocating facilities. Look for the Green Infrastructure Design Manual online; it has a huge tool box, and all of it currently exists; we just have to use it. He encouraged us to support forwardlooking leaders (such as Mayor Fischer), support education in the schools, reduce your direct and indirect water use, and to join the Kentucky Waterways Alliance (of which he is a leader). You can contact him: ggarner@ch2m.com. In discussion afterwards, Sustainability host Howard Mason spoke briefly about scenario planning. The future can t be known from now. What are the major unknowns? What are some strategies for each unknown? Strategies that are effective in more than one scenario should be considered. Love is the spirit of this church... 15

16 Ministry Theme for March: Evil from The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty, by Simon Baron-Cohen The standard explanation is that the Holocaust...is an example of the evil that humans are capable of inflicting on one another. Evil is treated as incomprehensible, a topic that cannot be dealt with because the scale of the horror is so great that nothing can convey its enormity. The standard view turns out to be widely held, and indeed the concept of evil is routinely used as an explanation for such awful behaviors: Why did the murderer kill an innocent child? Because he was evil. Why did this terrorist become a suicide bomber? Because she was evil. But when we hold up the concept of evil to examine it, it is no explanation at all. For a scientist this is, of course, wholly inadequate. What the Nazis (and other like them) did was unimaginably terrible. But that doesn't mean we should simply shut down the inquiry into how people are capable of behaving in such ways or use a non-explanation, such as saying people are simply evil. Baron-Cohen then goes on to hypothesize that lack of empathy is a key component in what we generalize as evil. Rev. Dawn will discuss this in more detail in her sermon on March 4. Angela Herrera, After 9/11, can Unitarian Universalists talk about evil? UU World, 9/11/11 A spiritual value closely related to open-mindedness, but deeper and harder to practice, is spiritual humility...if we are spiritually humble, we can call out evil without pretending we don t have to be on guard for it within ourselves... This is where religious liberalism, even though it has underestimated humankind s capacity for evil in the past, has something important to say about evil. We are called to balance the naming of evil in the world with the need to be humble and on guard for it not as the dangerous other that would try to trick us, but mingled right here with the best of ourselves. And we must call it when we see it. If we are in touch with reality, we must be willing to use the word evil. We need the word evil to describe parts of the human experience out of respect for the people who are harmed, and also because only after we name it can we ask the theological question: Where is God or Grace in this? And then, if we listen, we ll hear the answer because it s implicit in the next question: What can we do? Reflection Questions: 1. What does evil mean to you? Is evil primarily an adjective? A noun? A process? 2. Have you experienced evil in your life? 3. Is evil determined by intention or end result? 4. What is the relationship between evil and ignorance? between evil and empathy? 5. How does our culture affect your understanding of evil? 6. How does your belief about the nature of evil affect how you interact with new people and new circumstances? STEEPLETALK Published every month by First Unitarian Church of Louisville 809 South 4 th Street Louisville, KY Editor: Barbara Creasy Next Deadline: April 15 (Covers the month of May)...and service is its law. 16