Unitarian Fellowship of Sarnia & Port Huron 180 College Ave. N. Sarnia, Ontario

Transcription

1 The Flaming Chalice December 2015 Unitarian Fellowship of Sarnia & Port Huron 180 College Ave. N. Sarnia, Ontario a refreshing alternative for religious explorers I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 1 December Services 2 President s Message 3 News from Burundi 4 Refugee Sponsorship Update 5 Letter from Allan 6 Regular Events December Services Sunday services begin at 11:00 a.m. followed by refreshments at Noon or shortly after. We meet in the Kiwanis Room of the Lochiel Kiwanis Community Centre (LKCC) at 180 College Ave. N. (enter at Forsyth St. main door). Dress is casual and religious dogma is hard to find, although spirituality abounds. A warm welcome awaits you! December 6: Xenophobia and the Fear of Others As we acknowledge the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, let us try to learn from the past and address our fears. Many of us have friends and family who are voicing concerns over Syrian refugees right now. When we look at our own fears, we may find ways to help others deal with theirs. Wendy Starr will lead this service. Anybody can create community with people who believe just like they do. The true test of community rests in the ability to create it with people who disagree with us. - Lee Barker, Unitarian Universalist Minister December 13: December 20: December 27: Pat s Labour of Love in Uganda Pat McGill Pat McGill s post-retirement boredom ended when he travelled to Uganda and discovered a way to help build better schools for the children of rural villages. Then an accidental interaction with a women s cooperative led to Pat selling their beautiful handmade bags in Canada (and returning 100% of the proceeds to the women). Examples will be available for purchase and would make wonderful seasonal gifts. Seasonal Sing Along Steve Lane Steve will not only lead us in singing some of our seasonal favourites but will also provide some history about some of our favourite carols. Leftover Potluck & Fellowship Instead of a service and soup, we have opted for a less formal Sunday morning. Bring some holiday leftovers to share and we ll have some lively discussion. We ll try not to ruffle any nose feathers. The stained glass chalice in the header hangs in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, OR.

2 Page 2 The Flaming Chalice President s Message By Ann Steadman Executive Team Update from November 2015 Do not dwell in the past, Do not dream of the future, Concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha R.E./Unitarian Room Lease: Memorandums of Agreement have been signed with both St. Clair Child & Youth Services (SCC&YS) and the Lochiel Kiwanis Centre. As of December 1, 2015 our basement room will be turned over to SCC&YS. We will have free use of SCC&YS s facilities in the Lochiel Kiwanis Centre on weekends and evenings and free storage of our UU materials. This arrangement will save the Fellowship $ per month. Sponsoring a Syrian Refugee Family: Now that the International Food Bazaar project has been successfully completed, our Joint Steering Committee s attention will focus on: 1) populating the various Settlement Task Teams and 2) acquiring the required household furnishings and goods. Are you interested in volunteering on a Settlement Team? Do you have any gently used home furnishings that you would be willing to donate? If so, please contact Dwayne or Ann. For more information please see Dwayne s report. 60 th Anniversary Celebration: The celebration of our Fellowship s 60 th year has been tentatively scheduled for June Religious Exploration: We continue to appreciate that Christy Plommer is acting as our interim R.E. Teacher. A new potential teacher has attended the Fellowship on several occasions and has shadowed Christy.. Finance: As of the end of October 2015, we continue to be operating in a surplus position. The donations from our Soup Sundays over 2015 will be given to the Inn of the Good Shepherd. It was agreed that the 2016 proceeds from Soup Sundays will also be ear-marked for the Inn. Many thanks for all those who have so generously supplied soups each month and to Joanne Alexander for buying the bread and butter. Some money is flowing back from the KIVA loans and, as agreed, this will be re-invested in KIVA. Membership: An orientation session for recent and potential members will be scheduled early in Program: Many thanks to the Program Team for the November services and for creating a line-up of services for December. Lay Chaplaincy: Sarnia City Hall has announced that it will be offering civil marriage services one Friday afternoon per month. It is not anticipated that, at least initially, there will be an impact on our Lay Chaplains. Allan McKeown has announced his intention to step-down as a Lay Chaplain at the end of 2016 (see letter on Page 5). Two Fellowship members are considering Lay Chaplaincy and have joined the 2015 Lay Chaplaincy committee.

3 The Flaming Chalice Page 3 Update about Fulgence Ndagijimana in Burundi: From Vyda Ng at the CUC on Monday, November 23 rd : Rev. Diane Rollert has been in contact with a member on the ground in Burundi and shares this information: Thank you all for what you are doing. As of this moment, Fulgence is still in jail. One member of the congregation has spent the day at the police station advocating. He tells me that Fulgence continues to be brave, though he fears for his safety. We know that his family is in touch with him and that there are many aid organizations who have pledged their support, and contact has been made with Amnesty International. ICUU, CUC and UUA are all working together to do what they can. Please continue to do all you can do to help get Fulgence released. Background information for those who are unaware of the situation in Burundi: Within the context of extreme civil unrest in Burundi, recently the Unitarian Church of Burundi (the Assemble Unitarien Chretian de Burundi) was attacked and ransacked, with bullets fired into walls and doors and money stolen. Members of the church were questioned by government officials who visited on a Sunday. The minister of the church, the Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana, was arrested from the church at gunpoint, taken into police custody and interrogated severely, regarding the activities of his church. He was threatened with physical harm and death. Update November 28, 2015: At the moment Fulgence has been released from custody and is safe in another country. Inquisitions continue in Burundi. For more information, visit: logs.uua.org/burundi /releaserevfulgenceminister-of-unitarianchurch-in-burundiarrested/

4 Page 4 The Flaming Chalice Syrian Refugee Sponsorship and Settlement As you know, our Fellowship has been partnering with the Sarnia Muslim Association to sponsor and settle a Syrian refugee family and we expect a family to arrive in Sarnia early in the New Year. The offers of financial support and assistance have been almost overwhelming. We would like to thank everyone for their support. Individual donations and pledges within the Fellowship have, so far, totalled more than $6,000. Pledge forms will continue to be made available at Sunday services. The Executive team (based upon the endorsement from the membership at the special meeting) has formally confirmed a total budget of $14,000 (which includes the individual donations) towards our refugee efforts. The Food Bazaar hosted by the Sarnia Muslim Association in late November was a special event. Thanks go out to all of the volunteers that made this joint initial project such an overwhelming success. We are working closely with the Sarnia Muslim Association in pulling together a settlement plan for a family of 5 and teams of volunteers are being set up for various aspects (e.g. housing, food, schooling, etc.). Thank you again. Please contact Ann or Dwayne for further information. Joint Steering Committee Aruba & Ann

5 The Flaming Chalice Page 5 Letter from Lay Chaplain Allan McKeown: Dear Friends: It is said that all good things must come to an end and so it will be for me as I step down as one of this congregation s lay-chaplains at the end of It has been an incredible privilege to serve in this capacity since I have helped hundreds of couples celebrate their marriages with customized ceremonies and families bury their loved ones with ceremonies that honour the life and which let those left behind begin their journeys of grief in a dignified and gentle way. In addition I have also had the great pleasure to perform a small number of ceremonies of naming and dedication for the newborn children of friends and couples I have officiated for. Two ceremonies with very personal meaning to me were officiating at our son Kevin s wedding in Alberta and performing a marriage blessing ceremony for my niece Caroline and her husband Sean in N. Ireland in Over the years I have shared many moments of deep intimacy with those I have served profound joy and also profound sorrow: joy and sorrow representing the extremes of human emotion. There were times of significant challenge along the way but challenge breeds character and I have learned much over the years. In some ways, lay-chaplaincy has been an important part of my spiritual growth, teaching me compassion, patience and empathy. At some point before the end of 2016 I will plan to speak in greater detail about some of my experiences. In the meantime I profess a deep and abiding gratitude for what has been one of the best experiences of my life! I look forward to handing over the reins to my successor and to offer encouragement and support. Allan McKeown The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

6 Page 6 The Flaming Chalice Regular Events Book Club: Continues to meet on the 3 rd Sunday of every month at 9:15 am at Parkside Perk on Front St. In December, we will be reviewing the book Torch, by Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, which we reviewed earlier this year. Future book choices will be discussed at the December meeting. Everyone is welcome to come out and join the discussion, whether you ve read the book or not. Men s Group: The Men s Group has no plans for a December meeting and will resume in January Women s Circle: The annual Christmas dinner and a visit to the Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery to view the touring Masterworks from the Beaverbrook Art Gallery was held on November 26 th and no other plans are in place. Activities will resume in January 2016 Small Group Ministry: Members meet every other Thursday afternoon at chosen locations. All are welcome. Contact Betty Learn for info at: Because of the role that religion has historically played in denying gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people their full humanity, I believe that we now have a special calling to reach out to our GLBT sisters and brothers. We need to offer an explicit welcome, because the world can still be a very unwelcoming place. We need to offer radical acceptance, because neither family nor society can always be counted on to be accepting. We need to offer unconditional love, because Love is at the heart of religious community. Allison Barrett, Canadian UU Minister

7 The Flaming Chalice Page 7 Please consider sharing this newsletter with a friend and invite them to a service. Every Sunday is Bring a Guest Sunday! Each issue of the Flaming Chalice newsletter is printed by the Organization for Literacy Lambton (OLL): helping every person acquire the gift of literacy. Newsletter Editor: Wendy Cornelis To unsubscribe to this newsletter at any time, please send your request by to: wendycornelis55@outlook.com We Are A Green Sanctuary Congregation (certified by the Unitarian Universalist Association) The Green Sanctuary Program: Invites congregations to embark on an exploration of what it means to live today within a religious community on an imperiled Earth. Is a way for all Unitarian Universalists to join our efforts, both symbolically and explicitly, in becoming stewards of the Earth. Learn more about the Green Sanctuary program.