Channing Channel. President s Corner MISSION IMPOSSIBLE OR POSSIBLE? Special Program. Potluck Sunday

Transcription

1 Aug ust Channing Unitarian Universalist Church President s Corner MISSION IMPOSSIBLE OR POSSIBLE? What s the mission of our church? Do you know it by heart? I don t, and yet it s printed every week in the Order of Service. A friend told me recently she had heard that a mission statement should be brief enough to print on a tee shirt! That appeals to me a lot. If it were succinct, we could keep it in the forefront of what we do. You might wonder what brought this up. At General Assembly, I attended a session on church governance, and we were reminded that the Board should let our mission be the guide to our decisions. There I was in Salt Lake City, and I didn t even know our mission! I have a copy of it in my Board handbook, but that was at home. I wondered if I could say our Board is guided by our mission. What is a mission statement? Google gave me more answers than we need. Here are a few: 1. The Mission Statement of an Organization is a short but complete description of the overall purpose and intentions of that Organization. It states what is to be achieved, but not how this should be done. 2. A Special Program Heather Yocum, Hal Yocum s daughter, will share photos and stories of her experiences over the summer in Malawi, in southern Africa. Heather is a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University and spent the summer conducting research on climate change and environmental policies. Her research centers on environmental policies and programs in Malawi, particularly in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and carbon sequestration. The program is on Sunday, August 23 rd, 2009 at 12:15 PM at Channing following the service. President: Pat Hervey President-elect: Dana Spears Secretary: Linda Gray Treasurer: Liz Duncan Trustees: Lucy Almitra, Melody Joyce, Katherine Williams, Val Zemke brief description of your company s purpose, answering the basic question Why do we exist? 3. A declaration of the general objectives and principles of the operation of an organization. If you could write our mission, what would it be? Could it fit on a tee shirt? Do you think we need to improve ours? Send me your ideas. I want to know what you think. them to pathervey@sbcglobal.net. Meanwhile, I m going to work on my own personal mission statement. By the way, our mission is printed elsewhere in this newsletter. Enjoy the search! Pat Hervey, President Channing UU Church Potluck Sunday August 2 nd is Potluck Sunday. Please plan to stay after the service and join us. The food is varied and delicious; the company is excellent and the conversation delightful and stimulating.

2 Page 2 News from the Membership Crew The Membership Crew (we ve changed our name since there s sooo many committees) met in June to get our homework assignments (see below) and met again in July to peruse the data and discuss the results. We re not going to survey the congregation (this time) but we may in the future. This is just to let you know that membership is foremost on our minds as we answer these questions about Channing Church: Does my congregation get enough visitors to grow? Melody Joyce How many visitors do we need to meet our growth targets? Dasha Benson Are we repelling too many visitors? Katherine Williams Is our path to membership effective Virginia Daniel Are our new members likely to stay? Harriette Porter Are we losing too many members? Sharon Huey As we promised at the Congregational meeting in May, the next step is to have an OPEN meeting of those who want to discuss membership, recruitment and retention and what that means to Channing. We will present our findings and we count on you to provide feedback that will help us develop a plan to meet our membership goals. Remember, the future of Channing depends upon its membership. Stay tuned. There s more to come. Virginia Daniel, aka Membership Crew Chief Green Tip of the Month Sophie Uliano s Gorgeously Green All Purpose Spray 32 ounce opaque sprayer bottle 2 cups water 1 cup hydrogen peroxide 1 cup white vinegar 20 drops tea-tree essential oil (from health food store) Simply pour all ingredients into the sprayer and use for everything from kitchen counters and tables to fridges and walls. If you want to experiment with scents, you can try adding 10 drops of lavender essential oil. (Use an opaque sprayer because hydrogen peroxide is light sensitive.) Courtesy of Gorgeously Green All Purpose Spray How To Live Lean and Great: by Sophie Uliano, Dutton by Penguin Groups (USA) Inc. Community Action Committee CROP Walk Kick-Off/Orientation Pizza Party is Sunday, August 16 th at First Christian Church, 2 nd and Boulevard at 6:00 PM. Those who are able to help set up tables, sign-in guests, set up pizza and drinks, hand out materials and t-shirts etc., please plan to come and let me know. We could use about 6 people to be sure all goes smoothly. Free pizza and cookies! The CROP Walk itself is Sunday, October 4 th, so start planning, get out your walking or running shoes and get ready to Help CROP STOP Hunger, in Edmond and around the world. The Walk is at Mitch Park at 2:00 PM., with a 6 mile run, 3 and 1 mile walks, and our now famous Rock Away Hunger event in the pavilion as the walkers walk. Music again by the Oklahoma City Traditional Music Players with our own MaryLee Welch and Eve Atkinson. Other Fall events coming up include: Arcadia Lake Clean-up Day which is August 8 th 9 AM-12PM, check the Edmond Parks Department for more details. Koeman Walk for the Cure (of breast cancer) at the Bricktown Ballpark 10/10/09. If you have any interest in forming a Channing team, let Harriette Porter know. We have many people in the congregation who themselves or relatives have had breast cancer. Oklahoma City AIDS Walk is presenting two events this year, both on Sunday, October 11 th. First is the new 5K Run from the corner of Reno and Joe Carter Drive in Bricktown. Registration is at 7:00 AM. Run at 8:30 AM. This run is officially sanctioned by the USA Track & Field. On Sunday afternoon at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, register at 12:30 PM for the 1 Mile Fun Walk which starts at 2:00 PM and winds through Bricktown and back to the Botanical Gardens. Multiple Sclerosis Walk this fall, date to be announced. If you become aware of other charity events that support our UU Principles, talk them up, this is what it means to live your Principles.

3 Page 3 Groups Channing Women s Luncheon: Meets the second Tuesday, August 11 th, 11:30 AM at Mimi s Restaurant on Memorial. All are Welcome! Contact Lucy Almitra lalmitra@cox.net Spiral Circle CUUPS: Meets Saturday evening, August 1 st at 7:00 PM at Channing to celebrate Mabon, the sabat of early harvest with a light finger food supper and program which will be facilitated by Sharon Huey. Stitchers: Will not meet in August. The next meeting will be Saturday, September 12 th at 2:00 PM at Kathleen Joslin s home. Contact her at for information. Choir: Meets at Channing on Thursday nights at 7:30 PM-8:30 PM Hope Center Remember to bring your non-perishable food items, especially protein-containing foods (canned meats, tuna, beans, grains), and household needs such as TP and paper towels, for the Basket of Hope for the Hope Center. The basket is on the hearth in the foyer and Elouise Bell is our delivering angel. The folks at Hope really need our help right now as the requests for food are going up dramatically at a time when donations to all the food banks in the city are shrinking. So grab an extra can of something good next time you re at the store and bring it Sunday. Movie Night Our movie night will be Friday, August 7 th at 7:15 PM. The Movie will be A Fish Called Wanda with John Cleese, Jamie Le Curtis and Kevin Kline. Remember it is BYOB and BYO Snacks! Lunch Bunch: Meets at 12:30. Location TBA. Info: Gene Writer s Group: Polly Gamble will host Channing Writers Covenant Group at Channing on August 3 rd at 7:00 PM. Bring your work to share. Contact Dorothy Labyrinth Group: Monday, August 17 th, First Methodist Church, 305 E. Hurd, Edmond, 6:00 PM-8:00PM. If you ve never experienced this quiet calming form of walking meditation, you ve missed something special. The walk is inside the Christian Ed Bldg. behind the church with air conditioning, quiet Native American Flute or Gregorian Chant music, and there are always people to explain the walk to you if you re a novice. Please join us. Harvest Health: For information contact Angela Brown at Literary Group: Will not meet in August. Contact Liz Duncan for information duncanee@cox.net. Mission Statement Through individual efforts and by encouraging collaboration throughout our community, Channing Church provides opportunities for individuals and groups to achieve their fullest potentials. In addition, Channing offers a loving, accepting and supportive place for all those seeking truth and meaning in their lives. Adopted by the congregation in Spring 1999

4 Page 4 August Sermon Topics and Guest Speaker Bios--Mercy August 2 nd : Elouise Bell Sermon Title: Mercy and the Waking Soul Unitarian Universalists affirm a belief in the interconnected web of being. In this sermon, Elouise suggests (drawing examples from an elephant at the Berlin Zoo and a 4000 year old tree in the Nevada mountains) that experiencing that interconnection can serve as a merciful intervention, bringing our etherized souls more joyously awake. The poems of Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver informs a large part of this message. Elouise Bell: Elouise Bell received an M.A. from Brigham Young University and taught on the English and Honors faculty there for thirty-five years. On sabbaticals, she taught at the University of Arizona, the University of Massachusetts, Berzenyi College in Hungary and, after retirement at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. She and Nancy moved to Oklahoma in She enjoys reading books onto tape for the Oklahoma Library for the Blind. Other interests include travel, music, theater, dogs, old movies, and Sooners women s basketball. August 9 th : Scot Harvey Sermon Topic: Cloaked in Multi-Color Mercy Scot Harvey will examine the tangible and spiritual benefits of mercy with an eye toward the story of Joseph and his brothers in the Book of Genesis. Scot Harvey: Scot earned his Master of Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary in During the week he works as an engineering supervisor and on weekends he preaches at several congregations across the state. August 16 th : Donna Compton Sermon Topic: Mercy Donna Compton: Donna holds a Masters of Divinity from Phillips University. She provided regular pulpit supply for Channing Church from 1996 to 1999, and has been an occasional speaker since then. She served on the Executive Committee of Disciples Peace Fellowship for 10 years. She is currently serving as a chaplain at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. August 23 rd : Anna Holloway Sermon Title: Mercy Flows Like Water: Kuan-yin meets the Neva im Ideas of mercy cross many cultural boundaries. Anna will deal with mercy as an aspect of justice seen from Eastern and Western perspectives. Anna Holloway: Anna has earned a Master of Divinity degree from Phillips Theological Seminary, with awards in Scriptural Interpretation and Practical Theology. Her ordination is from a non-denominational church tradition and she is currently pursuing ordination in the United Churches of Christ. She preaches from time to time at UU churches in Stillwater and Lawton as well as here at Channing; she is currently a member of the Norman United Church of Christ, a church plant from Mayflower. Anna is a practitioner of several religious and spiritual traditions and a student of many others. August 30 th : Dave Pasto Sermon Topic: The Quality of Mercy Dave will explore the modern Unitarian implications of Portia s famous speech about mercy from Shakespeare s The Merchant of Venice. Dave Pasto: Dave Pasto comes from upstate New York where he was an alter boy at a Catholic Church. He became a Unitarian while living in Northampton, Massachusetts. He has a doctorate form the University of Michigan and is a professor of theatre at Oklahoma City University. Adult Forum Adult RE will start again September 13 th, the Sunday after Labor Day. Nelson Daniel, Glenda Purscell, and Harriette Porter will be planning the discussions and programs. If you have a topic you would like to discuss or learn about, please let one of these people know, and if you know of a speaker or representative of an organization who might come to talk some Sunday, let us know this also. We d like to present a variety of types of sessions so put in your ideas. Harriette Porter

5 Page 5 Attend the CROP H UNGER WALK Kick-Off/Orientation Party!!! FREE PIZZA! INFORMATION AND MATERIALS T-SHIRTS FOR THE WALK SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 TH, 6PM FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 2ND AND BOULEVARD, EDMOND SEND ONE REPRESENTATIVE OR A FEW GET THE SCOOP FOR YOUR CH URCH OR ORGANIZATION JOIN US TO HELP END HUNGER IN EDMOND & AROUND THE WORLD PLEASE RSVP SO WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH PIZZA HARRIETTE PORTER OR SHARON HUEY

6 Channing UU Church 2800 West 15 th Street Edmond, OK Phone: The Church of the Open Mind and Open Heart Care and Concern Committee As Chair of the Care and Concern Committee, I am concerned that there may be more that we can do to be of service to the congregation and the community. One of the thoughts that I have had is that there may be people who need transportation assistance to medical appointments. If anyone is willing to help in this area, please let me know. Also, we have the Minister s Discretionary Fund available for some financial assistance in the current troubled economic times. If you have additional ideas, please contact me at kjoslin@ix.netcom.com, or my home phone is and my mobile is Thank you, We re on the Web! Visit us at: Kathleen Joslin Channing UU Church P.O. Box 2382 Edmond, OK