(781) NOV. 2010

Transcription

1 Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford (UUCM) (781) NOV MOXIE page 2 SUNDAYS AT UUCM page 3 NOV AT A GLANCE pages 4-5 COMMITTEES & GROUPS pages 6-7

2 PAGE 2 Moxie The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage. I often field the phone calls that come into the church, and one day last month I received a call from a woman who wanted to drop off some food for the food pantry. She said she was just around the corner. I found her with a trunk full of canned goods and also with a few young people in tow. It turned out that her eight-year-old son had asked everyone coming to his birthday party to bring for canned goods for the food pantry, rather than gifts. I was amazed at this gift and I told him so. I was amazed in part because I am sure that I wouldn t have thought about doing that for my eighth birthday. In the Christian scriptures (Matthew 26:11) Jesus says The poor will always be with us. That does not mean that we should neglect the poor or that any move to alleviate their suffering is not worthwhile. Jesus, who spoke more of poverty than he did of salvation, was not pointing this out so privileged folks could ignore the problems of the poor. No, it was an acknowledgment that if we are in a position to make a difference we should do so. We should do this and be aware that one day that person who needs assistance may be us, and wouldn t we be grateful that someone is there? I thanked this young boy for his unselfish gift on behalf of everyone who uses the food pantry. I was grateful for his gift, I was grateful that he thought this way, I was grateful that I could be witness to his gift. I am grateful to all of the volunteers who puts so much effort into making sure that the people who need our food pantry can be fed. Upon reflection I remembered the words of a dear colleague the Rev. Meg Riley who pointed out that gratitude was not a feeling, but a commitment. She wrote When we are committed to gratitude, regardless of how we feel inside, we make life choices which offer thanks to what is good in the universe. She is right. Gratitude is more than a feeling. It is the way in which we see the world in which we live our lives. May we live our lives according to the old Unitarian saying of Deeds over Creeds. 2

3 SUNDAYS AT UU MEDFORD PAGE 3 Worship Service Volunteers Acknowledgments Social Hour Hosts: Mark Koenig & Troy Liston, Karen Johnston, Emily Hanna & Omri Schwarz, Liz Ammons, Jenn Vento, Rita Bamford, Chris & Pauline Fiorello, Liza Kitchell. Thank you everyone who contributed to the potluck lunches on September 26 and October 31. Thank you to Russell Tripp for his weekly help with making the coffee for Social Hour. Greeters: Steve Schmidt (multiple times), Bob Stockwell (twice), Dave Concepcion, Liz Ammons, Mark Koenig & Troy Liston, Lourie August, Craig & Martha Sandler, Dal Coger, Michael Glenn & Susan Jhirad, Cathy Collins. Thank you to the Membership Committee team members who make sure each week that newcomers are properly welcomed. Bell Ringers: Sophia Mahoney & David Concepcion, Lila Sandler, Mark Castle, Haille & Carly McMahon, Matt & Philip Haberstroh. Flower Contributors: Miles Fidelman & Karla Hailer in honor of Fay Fidelman and Theresa Hailer, Michael Glenn & Susan Jhirad in honor of all the good work the people in the congregation do each week, Kim Kiefer & Gisele Patry. Thank you Mary Stevenson for her creative and beautiful weekly flower arrangements. SOCIAL HOUR Join us every Sunday for coffee after the service. If you are new to the church, please take a blue mug so people can come meet you. Coffee hour provides an important contribution to parish life by encouraging friendly gatherings and offering attendees a chance to get to know each other and to welcome newcomers. Choir Members: Janice Dallas, Hank Driscoll, Lynn Knight, Nancy Kurtz, Anna Seleny, Helen Silver, Jenn Vento, Geoff Ward Worship service volunteers will be acknowledged ongoing in this newsletter. Please let us know if we missed anyone. Worship Services for November - Sundays 11 a.m. Nov. 7: It Gets Better Rev. Hank Peirce The recent rash of suicides by young people bullied because of their sexuality has caused everyone from TV actors to Pres. Obama, from UU Congregations to Kermit the frog to post videos on-line to share the message that It Gets Better. But the question for us is, does it get better? Nov. 21: Thanksgiving and Harvest Communion Rev. Hank Peirce Today we not only celebrate the bounty of our lives but give thanks for the hard work that has gone into making this bounty. The service will be followed by our annual Thanksgiving potluck meal. Nov. 14: Building Bridges Rev. Hank Peirce What is our relationship as a faith with those who have served in the military? How do those Unitarian Universalists in the military understand their faith. Is the phrase hate the war, love the warrior trite and saying that people don't really live out, and should they? We ll hear stories and reflections from a number of our church members who have served in the military. Nov. 28: Not One, Not Two: Zen, UU, & You David Dayan Rynick Sensei Zen teacher and long-time UU David Dayan Rynick will talk about the similarities and differences between Unitarian Universalism and Zen Buddhism. After the service we will have a Q&A with David along with some introductory meditation instruction. David is the current Abbot of the Boundless Way Zen Community.

4 PAGE 4 EVENTS & ANNOUCEMENTS Monthly Worship Themes We have started using monthly themes as a way of focusing ongoing theological reflection and discussion among church members. Here are the themes for the coming year. November December January February March April May June Gratitude Unity Vocation Vision Forgiveness Transcendence Transformation Truth Choir Practice The choir rehearses at 10:00 most Sunday mornings between September and June. In addition to regular worship, the choir will be singing at the Winter Solstice (12/21) and Christmas Eve (12/24) services. NOVEMBER Week 1: Sun. 11/7, 10 am Tues. 11/9, 7 pm Week 2: Sun. 11/14, 10 am Sun. 11/14, 11 am Sun. 11/14, 11 am Week 3: Sun. 11/21, 10 am Sun. 11/21, 11 am Sun. 11/21, 12 pm Week 4: Sun. 11/28, 10 am Sun. 11/28, 11 am at a glance Worship Service Board Meeting Choir Practice Worship Service Congressional Meeting Choir Practice Worship Service Thanksgiving Potluck Choir Practice Worship Service New members are always welcome (no audition or musicreading skills necessary)! For more information, please contact Music Director Thom Lissey at music@uumedford.org or (617) November 19th: A second fall fundraiser is in the works. Again, please see Jim Kennedy for more information about how you can help. It s Not YOUR Birthday Committee Forming Would you like to help plan our yearly program where we not only ask our church members to cut back on Holiday spending, but also choose the charities where our donations will go? If you are interested please contact Rev. Hank at the church office. 4

5 COMMITTEES & GROUPS PAGE 5 Community Cupboard Food Pantry Liz Ammons, Co-Coordinator Thank you to everyone who gave so generously of their time and labor this past year to make the Food Pantry run smoothly. Volunteers bring in bread every week, deliver dried beans each week, write grants and thank you notes, complete quarterly reports, drive a truckload of food from the Greater Boston Food Bank once a month, deliver food from the Boston Area Gleaners, sort food, stock shelves, and serve clients every Thursday evening. A wonderful group from the church and the community collaborate to make this happen. From the community: Dave Pinckney (co-coordinator), Jim Calorio, Julia Alvarez, Byron Alvarez, Joan Parker, Moriah Tumbleson-Shaw, Marilyn McGrath, Sara Hasselbach, Naomi Schmidt, Susan Gerould, Oakes Plimpton, and Mary Werowinski. From the church: Liz Ammons (co-coordinator), Chris Fiorello, David Grayson, Steve Schmidt, Dal Coger, Jim Kennedy, Geoff Ward, Anna Seleny, Michael Glenn, Helen Silver, Jennifer Vento, Susan Jhirad, Clare Gallup, and Hank Driscoll. The Pantry could not operate without the hard work of these people. MANY thanks to all! This fall is busier than ever at the Pantry with record numbers of clients. But the volunteer team is excellent, so we are managing well. Also, we are happy to announce that Fallon Community Health has again chosen our Food Pantry to receive a generous grant to help us pay for food that we purchase. We are very grateful. Next month is our annual Turkey Basket Distribution. We will welcome the help of extra volunteers from 4:00-6:00 on Tuesday, November 23, when we prepare these Thanksgiving bags for at least 150 people, probably more. Children accompanied by an adult will be welcome, so mark your calendar! If you would like to become a volunteer, please talk with Liz Ammons. There are openings for a volunteer on Thursday evenings who can make an every-other-week commitment.

6 Grounds: COMMITTEES & GROUPS Buildings & Grounds Committee Summer/Early Fall Report PAGE 6 This summer and early fall a lot of weeding, planting, pruning and mulching occurred, both at the church and the Osgood House yard. The largest holes in the back driveway were patched. Gravel borders were laid along the foundation of the east side of the church for aesthetic and drainage purposes. A major effort to rid the church and Osgood House properties of the very invasive and persistent Black Swallow Wort vine has continued. Definite progress has been made; we will be able to better tell what remaining work is needed next spring. We will be having our annual fall leave raking day, after Sunday service sometime in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for the announcement. Buildings: A new energy-efficient refrigerator was purchased for the Osgood House when the old one suddenly stopped working. The Food Pantry generously offered to contribute half of the cost. A new rug was purchased for the seating corner of Benker Hall to make it more inviting. Maria Muller, Building & Grounds Committee chairperson GENTLE YOGA Yoga will no longer be held at the church. As the cold winter months approach, I m moving yoga to a warmer location in a building down High Street towards the Square. It will still be a sliding scale fee, $8-15. Mats can be provided if you don't have one. Please visit rootedheart.com or call Karen at for information on the new location. I wish to thank the UU Medford community for their participation and support through my transition from Canada to the US. When I arrived I knew practically no one, and UU welcomed me and supported me. I have enjoyed getting to know some of you at service or yoga on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It has been a blessing working with every one of you. While I have been unable to attend service for some time because of my work schedule, I continue to keep the UU Church in my heart and look for opportunities to be involved. I started teaching yoga at UU not only as a way to get settled and start teaching in Medford, but I offered the class as pay what you can to make yoga accessible to the community at UU and beyond. Everyone should be able to afford yoga. If you're ever interested in giving it a try, look me up, and mention the UU Church. Namaste and peace, Karen.

7 PAGE 7 NOVEMBER REPORT FROM THE JUUMBO COORDINATING COMMITTEE This report builds on our previous report in last month s newsletter. Our Board is leading a churchwide process to implement the resolution adopted at our last Annual Meeting, directing us to present a balanced budget for the fiscal year or a plan to achieve it in The first series of church-wide small-group discussions ended in October. We are now in the midst of the second series, which end November 13th. These discussions focus around five major topics and are aimed at finding what our congregation feels about some very specific issues and options. The topics are posted in Benker Hall. Future Plans The Board will present results from the first two series of discussions at a congregational meeting after the service on November 14th. Facilitators will present some further information about (1) Buildings and Grounds, (2) Staff, and (3) What it means if, after the yearly canvas, there is still a gap between income and expenses. Following this, participants will be asked to complete a survey, identifying what they feel about some specific possibilities to remedy our problem. Those who do not fill out the survey on paper will be able to do it later on line. In late November and December, the facilitators and Board will take the results of the first two series of talks and the survey and start sketching out different scenarios for solving our problem. Between January and mid-march, the church will go through its yearly pledge drive and stewardship campaign. This campaign has been moved up, so as to give us a clearer sense of how much money we ll have from pledges in , before we have to present the budget. The facilitators and the Board will then fine-tune the different scenarios. Another congregational meeting will mark the end of the pledge drive. We will then discuss where we stand, and will kick off our third and final series of church-wide discussions. These will occur in larger groups, between mid-march and May. They will focus on possible scenarios and options to resolve our financial crisis. The scenarios will be based on what people have expressed through the first two series of talks and through the survey, and will be aimed at creating a balanced budget and addressing whatever shortfall is evident from the results of our pledge drive. Board and facilitators will then craft a final proposal and present it to the church community in June. We encourage all church members who have not already done so to take part in a Second Series discussion group. These discussions will end by November 13 th. The schedule of talks has been distributed by . Michael, Karen and Jim Co-coordinators for the Juumbo process Note: A special Juumbo page has been set up on the church website: Please check that page for the latest news and information from the coordinators.

8 PAGE 8 Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford 147 High Street Medford, MA (781) info@uumedford.org Church Office Hours Tuesday: 9 am - 2 pm Wednesday: 10:30-2 pm at Diesel Cafe Thursday: 9 am - 12 noon Friday: 9 am - 2 pm Rev. Hank Peirce Minister revhank@uumedford.org (781) Kimberly Wootan Director of Religious Education dre@uumedford.org (781) Lynn Battinelli Church Administrator info@uumedford.org (781) Ongoing Events Please check calendar section on website for an updated listing. Wednesdays Al Anon 7:30-9:00 pm, Benker Hall Thursdays Community Cupboard Food Pantry 6:00-7:30 pm, Sanctuary Saturdays Buddhist Meditation 8:30-11:30 am, Moore Room Keep in Touch Announcements List To join the announcements list, a request to webinfo@uumedford.org. You will receive an confirming that you have been added to the list. Newsletter Submissions All articles for the newsletter are due the 20th of each month, for the following month s issue. Please send submissions to Meghan Chan at: newsletter@uumedford.org Thom Lissey Music Director music@uumedford.org (617) OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford is a diverse, welcoming community striving to provide a nurturing environment for the spiritual journeys of people at all stages of life. We foster social engagement among ourselves and seek to make a difference in our community and in the world at large.