The Channing Connection

The Channing Connection Channing Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist Volume 24, Issue 10 October 2017 Inside: Condolences... 2 Soul Matters... 2 President s Column. 3 Special Congregational Meeting... 4 Board Bits... 4 Religious Education Classes Have Begun 4 Channing, a Home Where Everyone is Welcome... 5 Membership News... 5 Fall Fundraising Bazaar... 6 Thanks From the Fitzer Family... 6 Special Thanks!... 6 Stewardship Corner 7 Communications at Channing... 8 Thank You from Channing Preservation Fund... 8 October Calendar... 9 We are a Welcoming Congregation Channing Wayside Pulpit Never lose a holy curiosity. --Albert Einstein Interim Minister s Column The time in-between settled ministers is unsettling to folks. It takes a bit of courage to show up even as you know we may be experimenting (yet again!), or knowing that the investment is in the community itself regardless of who is in the pulpit now (compared to before, or next). If you are a newcomer you did not experience the time with Rev. Susan LaMar, but you get the message quickly that a Search Committee is in place and you are asked (through survey and cottage meetings) to imagine a future ministry even as you are trying to figure out this whole religion and the Interim Minister temporarily showing up here. Courage is no stranger in this congregation. We listen and come to know the stories of those who faced challenges in their personal lives, and we have heard the institutional history (and will hear more during this 25th Anniversary year) of the founding of this church as a bold new adventure. We Stand on the Side of Love when we open our eyes to the courage of people who are challenged by the ingrained and intersecting isms (such as racism), or who grew up gay in homophobic cultural conditions. Our Soul Matters theme, Courage, will help us explore in sermon and discussion what it means to be a people of courage, a community of courage, and a person of courage. For example, you may come from religious roots which made it a matter of courage to find your way to our doors - my first sermon of the month will lift up a Universalist miracle story with courageous people who helped get our religion going in this country about 250 years ago. The service on October 8 (the Sunday before national Coming Out Day ) will have input and involvement from our youth group. Then we ll have the evening Soul Matters discussion session on Wednesday evening, Oct. 11 to go deeper into our own experiences. I ll see you at church! The Rev. Robert F. Renjilian Interim Minister

Volume 24 Issue 10 Interim Minister: Rev. Robert Renjilian 410-203-0474 (office) minister@channingmc.org President: Evelyn Grim ( 18) Vice President: Maureen Hayes ( 18) Condolences to Rev. Susan LaMar We are sad to hear that Rev. Susan LaMar s mother has passed away. The memorial service will be held at Riderwood Village Chapel in Silver Spring on Monday, October 9, 11:00 a.m. If you have notes of sympathy you d like passed along to Rev. Susan, please give them to Rev. Bob Renjilian as he can get them to her. Treasurer: Ostara Hollyoak ( 19) Secretary: Jodi Davidson ( 18) Trustees: Julie Fitzer ( 19) Anne Hart ( 18) Jason Grabelle ( 19) * * * * Newsletter Staff Co-Editors: Ken Grim Lorraine Hughes Soul Matters Our Soul Matters discussion circle will take place on Wednesday Evening, Oct. 11 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. (no afternoon session this month). To some extent we each end up with the courage of our convictions drawing us from the old to the new in religion. We may have gained our true self, but at a cost: The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself. - Rita Mae Brown. All are welcome. Packets of resources and questions are in the lobby, or can be provided via e- mail in advance. Rev. Bob Renjilian, Interim Minister Send submittals for the November 2017 issue to: newsshare@channingmc.org by Sunday, October 22, 7:00 p.m. 2

The Channing Connection President s Column After a relatively quiet summer, Channing Memorial Church got off to a rousing start in September. Some of our toddlers outgrew the need for nursery care and are ready to begin their religious education and exploration. Our elementary classroom has been transformed into a colorful and comfortable pre-school classroom. It is a delight to see so many new young faces. Our Search Committee is rapidly moving forward in our quest to find a settled minister. They have held two Cottage meetings and are assembling the all-church survey to provide a picture to potential candidates of who we are and what we seek in a minister. If you haven't already done so, please complete the survey. It is one of the most important documents that the Search Committee uses in finding the best match for the congregation. October also promises to be an active month. The Board has unanimously approved a proposal to recommend that the congregation confer Minister Emerita status to the Rev. Susan G. LaMar, who served Channing Memorial Church for 13 years before her retirement last year. There will be an information session after the worship service on October 8 to explain what the Minister Emerita designation means and to answer questions. Thank you to Maureen Hayes and Paul Grabelle for researching the UUA requirements and exploring how other churches have gone about bestowing this honor. Maureen and Anne Hart are drafting a formal resolution for the congregation to vote on at a special Congregational Meeting on October 15. The notice of the special meeting is included elsewhere in this newsletter. Mark your calendars and save the date of November 4 for our Fall Fundraising Bazaar and Crafting Fair, which is being coordinated by Julie Fitzer, Ostara Hollyoak and Deanna Grabelle. There is additional information in this newsletter and in Sunday announcements, but I would like to add a word of explanation. Early last year, the Board agreed to change the timing of our annual auction from February to Fall (late October or early November) beginning in 2018. The February date fell just before our annual pledge drive in March and was subject to the whims of nature, such as snow or ice storms. The change makes sense in the long run, but in planning this year's budget, we realized that this left us without an auction during our current fiscal year, which extends from July 1 to June 30. Since the auction is a major source of income for the support of our mission and programs, we hope the November fund raiser will help to fill the gap and will be a fun raiser as we enter the holiday season. Looking further ahead, January will mark our 25 th anniversary. As a founding member, I still tend to think of us as a new congregation, but we are really entering a phase of young adulthood. If you have ideas for a Silver Anniversary celebration or would like to volunteer to help plan, please let any of our Board members know. It will be a busy and exciting year. I didn't even mention a bylaws review, updating our church policies and procedures and beginning the process of renewing our commitment to being a Welcoming Congregation. Let us move forward together as we transition into our next 25 years. Faithfully yours, Evelyn 3

Volume 24 Issue 10 Special Congregational Meeting The Board of Trustees is calling a special meeting of the congregation on October 15 th at 11:30 AM. The purpose of the meeting is to vote on the Board s recommendation to confer the Minister Emerita status on Rev. Susan LaMar. The UUA Policies and Procedures for Minister Emeritus or Minister Emerita designation state that The title Minister Emerita is granted to honor long and meritorious service to a congregation where the minister has given devoted and competent ministerial leadership. Only the congregation where the minister has served can bestow this title. For more information, please see a member of the Board. Board Bits The Board met on September 19th, and the following actions were taken: Welcoming Congregation Renewal - Kathleen Razmus and Ken Hart proposed a roadmap for the Welcoming Congregation Renewal process approved Policies & Procedures - Pam El- Dinary and Evelyn Grim received guidance from David Pyle, Channing s contact person with the Central East Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association, for organizing Channing documents, including policies ( what we do, but not how we do it documents requiring Board approval) and procedures ( how we do it documents developed by individuals/ committees carrying out tasks), as well as other documents. The Board recognizes Pam El-Dinary for taking the lead on this effort. Minister Emerita Status - Motion approved to bring forward this special designation for the Reverend Susan LaMar for a congregational vote to take place in October; more information forthcoming. The Board recog- nizes Maureen Hayes and Paul Grabelle for researching this designation and process. Outreach and Growth - Motion approved to secure annual license to show movies at Channing Memorial Church; to be pursued upon date being established for movie night event. --Jodie Davidson Secretary Religious Education Classes Have Begun! Channing Memorial Church offers religious education (RE) classes for children and youth during the weekly worship service. The children begin on Sunday morning with their parents in the worship service, and the congregation then sings them out when it is time for the classes to begin. Classes are currently being offered for Preschool ages 2-6, Middle School and High School. Additionally, once a month, all the children and youth participate in Loving Hearts, Helping Hands (LH3) social responsibility projects which give kids direct experience in putting their faith into action. For more information, contact Deanna Grabelle or Lynn Schaefer. 4

The Channing Connection Channing, a home where everyone is welcome to bring our whole self! As we wrap up the Soul Matters Month of Welcome, now is a perfect time to clarify our intention to renew Channing s Welcoming Congregation status within the next few years. To further clarify, Ken Hart and Kathleen Razmus presented a roadmap to the Board which laid out what we are currently doing and future actions we will take. The continued activity of the LGBTQIA+ social action team is essential for continuing and expanding Channing s work in this area. In addition, during 2018 a small workgroup, including our youth, will be established to begin the specific steps prescribed by the Unitarian Universalist Association, some of which are already in progress. We will engage our settled Minister in this process. Collectively, we already are a welcoming congregation, and these efforts will serve to further reinforce and evolve our status as such. Questions: Contact Ken Hart or Kathleen Razmus Membership News: New UU class and Church Directory New UU class this fall! Interested in joining the church, or just want to know more about this thing we call "UU"? Sign up for New UU this fall. The class will cover some UU history and info about our church, and is a great way to explore spiritual issues while eating free food. The class will likely run after church from 12-2 p.m. on October 29, November 5 & 12, reserving November 19 in case another class is canceled due to weather, etc. A light lunch will be provided, and childcare can be requested. Join us! Contact Rev. Bob minister@channingmc.org or Cathy Fu cadet5@comcast.net for more information. Updated church directory Yes, the turning of the leaves means it's time for an updated church directory. Look for an email soon so we can make sure your contact information looks spiffy. I am working with the Communications Team to offer an electronic form of the directory in addition to the usual paper version-- stay tuned. --- Cathy Fu 5

Volume 24 Issue 10 Fall Fundraising Bazaar Do you secretly doodle on your order of service during the worship service? Do you wish you could drum beats with your pen during a Board meeting to enliven the Treasurer's Report? (Or, even better, use two pens, if you steal the minister's pen?) Do you fold this newsletter into origami? If so... celebrate creativity with us at the Fall Fundraising Bazaar, on Saturday, November 4, from 1 to 4 pm at Channing Memorial Church! First, stop at the Faith in Action Crafting Fair and channel your inner Martha Stewart into making items for charities. Then, mosey over to the Events and Services Marketplace and check out the events, services, and parties offered by fellow Channing members for a fixed price or a sliding scale. Finally, shop the Handicrafts Marketplace for items made by our talented artists and crafters. Don't forget to waltz over to the kitchen for refreshments by our culinary artists! Got the crafting bug? See Deanna Grabelle to help with a table at the Faith in Action Crafting Fair. Email Julie Fitzer to sell craft items (minimum 20 percent of sales go to the church) at the Handicrafts Marketplace or donate to the Events and Services Marketplace (fixed price or sliding scale options available). Thanks From the Fitzer Family The Fitzer family thanks everyone at Channing for all of the love and support after Julie's grandmother passed away. The care team is phenomenal. Special Thanks! We often see busy volunteers contributing on Sunday mornings, but don t see the many hours spent planning and working together to build our church in community. This month, we would like to recognize several volunteers for work they have done, as they move on from roles they have held for years: David Fu started his humble career as a Channing Worship Associate in 2010. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he often made references to the hit Broadway musical Cats. We will miss you in the pulpit and want to thank you for your time and talent spent as a Worship Associate. The Children s Religious Education Committee has been blessed with a very dedicated and talented group of volunteers: Kris Tyssowski has been part of the RE Committee since 2005 and early on was the sole member. Her work with the Middle School socials and Game Day is legendary. Lynne Schaefer joined the RE Committee in 2010, became the Chair in 2011 and has been instrumental ever since. Lynne continues to run the High School youth group. Carla Stocksdale joined as Co-Chair in 2012, then sole Chair in 2013 and has continued with planning and teaching into 2017. (continued on p. 8) 6

The Channing Connection Stewardship Corner This will be the first in a series of monthly newsletter columns about stewardship. The October, November and December columns will focus on themes suggested by the UUA Central East Region's Money Matters monthly webinar. Some will focus on stewardship as a spiritual practice. Others will focus on the more practical side of stewardship; i.e., how do we provide the resources to carry out our covenant, mission and vision? Coincidentally, this month's Money Matters theme is Generosity, which was also the topic of our September Quest discussion. Generosity was one of the founding principles of Channing Memorial Church. And although we struggle to find the financial resources and volunteers to do all that we would like to do, the truth is that our members and friends have been very generous with both time and money over the years. The Quest discussion invited us to share our own definitions of generosity. As always, we ended up with more questions than answers. What is meant by a generous spirit? Is a generous spirit different from a generous act? There was general agreement that it is more difficult to be generous to ourselves and to graciously receive offers of assistance from others than it is for us to offer assistance to others. Thank you to Jodi for sharing the resources that she found in leading the discussion and for providing the following quote, which summarizes our discussion and which I use to close this column. Evelyn 7

Volume 24 Issue 10 (Special Thanks - continued from p. 6) Colleen Rathbun joined the RE Committee in 2015 and continued into 2017. Colleen designed and ran the successful LH3 Loving Hearts Helping Hands program which engaged our kids in social responsibility and community outreach. Leadership Development and Nominating Committee calendars. How far in advance should the reader know of your event? Church folks consult the calendar to help with planning meeting time and dates. If your event isn t on the calendar, we can end up with conflicts in scheduling. The earlier the Communications team gets the information for your event, the better. It's a pleasure working with all of you, and we love being in community with you. We are always open to discussing ways to revamp how we do communications, so if you have suggestions, let us hear from you. Warmly, Kathleen Razmus, Ken Grim, and Ken Hart Communications at Channing Memorial Church To place an event on the calendar, in the Order of Service announcements, in the newsletter or in an allchanning email, send an email to newsshare@channingmc.org. This forwarder goes to Kathleen Razmus, Ken Hart and Ken Grim. Kathleen handles the calendar, Order of Service announcements and the This Week at Channing email. Ken Hart manages the website, Meetup and the all@channing emails. Ken Grim is responsible for the newsletter. This ensures that we all see it in case we see a need for a communication that perhaps the requester did not identify. It further allows us to provide backup as needed. Timeliness is important. Think of your audiences who are planning their own Thank You From Channing Preservation Fund A few months ago, Channing Memorial Church dedicated a special collection to help preserve William Ellery Channing s burial place at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Arlington, MA. We received the following thank-you note from the Channing Preservation Fund: Thank you for your congregation s support in funding the Channing Preservation Fund. This is especially moving since the church bears the name of our venerable ancestor. We especially want to thank you for the congregation s bold concept of matching institutional funds for individual gifts. If you would like to read the entire note, it is posted to the church bulletin board. 8

The Channing Connection Worship Service and Children s RE 10:00-11:00 a.m. Men s Group 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. at Bagel Bin Worship Service and Children s RE 10:00-11:00 a.m. Minister Emerita Information Session after service Money Matters Online Webinar 7:00-8:30 p.m. COLUMBUS DAY Transition Team Meeting 6:30-8:00 p.m. Strategic Board Workshop at Silver Spring UU Church 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Worship Service and Children s RE 10:00-11:00 A Board Meeting 7:00-9:00 p.m. Men s Group 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. at Bagel Bin Special Congregational Meeting 11:30 a.m. Worship Service and Children s RE 10:00-11:00 a.m. Mom s Group 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Presidents and Leaders Roundtable 7:30 p.m. Groceries to Westside Shelter 6:00-7:30 p.m. Worship Service and Children s RE 10:00-11:00 a.m. Halloween 9

Channing Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist 3220 Corporate Ct. Suite C Ellicott City, MD 21042 Channing Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist Our mission is to invite seekers into spiritual community, connect souls in mystery and wonder, and ignite compassion into action. We are a church of liberal religious worship that inspires its members on their spiritual journeys. We derive inspiration from other world religions; promote religious education for all ages; create a welcoming, supporting, and caring community; and work together to build a better world. Directions to 3220 Corporate Court: From Catonsville and east: Rt.40 West. Right on Pine Orchard Lane (one light after Bethany Lane). Turn right at first driveway. Suite C is in middle of building on right. Parking is available in front or at end of building and in back of building. From Carroll County and west: Go east on I-70 to Rt 40 east; at 2nd light (Pine Orchard Lane), turn left. Take 4th right onto Corporate Court; Suite C is in middle of building on right. Parking is available in front or at ends of building and in back of building.. On the web: www.channingmc.org