the Catalyst - Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Tuolumne County

 the Catalyst
Volume 26/Issue 1 -
OUR 25th YEAR!
January 2016
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
o f Tu o l u m n e C o u n t y
A beacon of liberal religion in the foothills
19518 Hess Ave Sonora, CA 95370
In This Issue
• A New Year’s Resolution!
• Jan 3 – Pauses Save Lives
• Jan 10 – Learning UU History
• Jan 17 – Be Peace/Do Peace
• Jan 24 – MLK Celebration
• Preview of Next Month
• President’s Message
• Rev. Sonya - Sweet Honey
• Board Highlights
• Hospitality Corner
• Polystyrene Collection
• Social Justice - Protest Anyway!
• Feb 6 - Chocolate Lover’s
Hoedown
• The Power of the Green Bag
• Intro to the Theme - Peace
Rev. Kirk Lodeman-Copeland
• Selected Readings for Peace
• UUFTC Calendar
• Balzás Scholar & Quick Links
• Planned Giving Program
• Feb 5 - Homo Naledi
• Jan 2 - Active Hope! Begins
• Jan 3 - Intro to UUFTC
• Jan 8 - Movie Night
with discussion
• Jan 20 - Ladies Lunch Bunch
• Jan 21 - SJC Meeting
• Jan 26 - Book Club
• Jan 29 - TGIP
• Jan 30 - Truffle Party
• Jan 24 - MLK Celebration
• UU People News/Birthdays
/Ride Share
• Submissions/Hei Gung
SAVE THE DATE!
• Mar 6 - UUFTC’s 25th
Anniversary Celebration
• Facilities Use
209/533-8883
www.uuftc.org
A New Year’s Resolution!
President Dusty Taylor says that many of you have told her you want to build a building at Hess Avenue that will be large enough to meet in year round, instead of going
to the Library for the winter. After all, this has been our dream from the time we purchased this property on Hess Avenue in 2008!
To do this, the board reasons we must start now by taking small steps. Recently we
refinanced the property. We paid off the old loan and refinanced it at better terms such
that we will own the 2.6-acre property free and clear by 2022 - that’s only 8 years away!
By that time we hope we will have completed our
new, much larger meeting building.
BUT, before we can construct anything that requires a building permit, the County says we will
need an adequate water supply service to fight
a fire for a commercial assembly building (think
Library meeting room with fire sprinklers). And
our new building must provide more public restroom facilities than our worn-out septic system
can currently accommodate. And these must
be fully accessible to the disabled. So here’s
our first hurdle – the utilities must be changed
from residential size to meet larger commercial
requirements.
The board has determined that the best long-range approach to solving this is to connect our sewer and water lines at Fellowship House to the T.U.D. utilities located down
our long, long driveway on Hess Avenue. This will be rather expensive, because these
lines must extend about 600 feet up our driveway, and continue some 200 feet on Hess
to a connection point mandated by TUD.
Thus the Utilities Connection Project is a necessary first step before we can pursue
any larger-scale building projects such as remodeling or an addition, or building a new
structure. This utility infrastructure will likely cost about $100,000.
A CHALLENGE! A member is challenging us to match their new anonymous donation of
$10,000! This is fantastic news, as we are required to put this money toward jumpstarting the Utilities Connection Project. So we’ll be calling on Fellowship members and
friends to contribute toward this project to match this grant. And, if we can show that
we have raised $20,000, or about 20% of the total cost of this project, we can take the
next step.
CHALICE LIGHTERS Shortly after we purchased this property, one of our members
made an anonymous donation which we combined with a Chalice Lighters grant of about
$6,500. Together these two sources paid for most of the $17,000 cost of the construction of our beautiful concrete patio at Fellowship House. If we have about $20,000 in
hand, and we add a Chalice Lighters Grant (another $10k?), we hope this will give us the
necessary momentum to raise the rest of the money for the Utility Connection Project
over the next few years.
This initial challenge grant is designed to get us excited, move us from a ‘how can we
ever afford this?’ attitude into a ‘can do’ mode, and help us realize our dream of constructing a year-round meeting place as our very own spiritual home on our property!
the Catalyst
page 1 of 10
Jan 2016
Skyline
Discussion Group
RESCHEDULED TO
Jan 3 - Pauses Save Lives
with Rev. Sony Sukalski
10:00 a.m. Sonora, County Library,
Friday, Feb 5
3:30 p.m.
Skyline Place
12877 Sylva Lane, Sonora
Photo: Wikipedia by C. Stringer 9/10/2015
480 Greenley Rd.
As we begin a new year, Worship Associate Teri Olsson and
Rev. Sonya invite you to examine the paths you take to
deeper peace. Do you find it by working for justice? Do you
find it by refining what you know you can trust? This contemplative service is designed to allow the lessons and energy
generated by the holidays be held and mined for deeper joy
and purpose in 2016. Jim Cherry will be drumming.
Photo Credit: Playing Djembe Drums
http://bozemandrumming.weebly.com/
Green Bag Food Project: If you don’t have your Green Bag yet, pick up your’s so you
can return it full of non-perishables at our Feb 6 service. [See story p. 7.]
Everyone is welcome! Stay and socialize, then join us at the Hong Kong restaurant for
lunch. Afterwards, hurry over to Fellowship House for “Intro to UUFTC”! [See sidebar, p. 4.]
Homo Naledi:
Sending Us
Questions From
Time Out of Time
Jan 10 - Learning UU History
with John Kramer
10:30 a.m. Douglas Flat, Schoolhouse,
John Kramer will moderate a historical review of the UU
Movement from the early Coptics through Transylvania and
the American transcendentalists of 19th century, to the UU
union in the 1960’s. Members of the fellowship will each
present summaries of famous people who were UUs.
RESCHEDULED FOR FEB 5!!
Homo Naledi is a new species
recently discovered in South Africa. This discovery brings new
questions about human origins
into focus. Archaeologists found
more skeletons than they could
catalog, buried deep in a cave in
Africa. Who put them there and
why? Did this ancient species
bury it’s dead? Is this an ancestor of today? Did they have beliefs about an afterlife? Did they
have souls? Would they have
anything to say about us digging
them up and studying them?
Join us on New Year’s Day to ask
the timeless questions we share
with all humanity today, and perhaps with other species we are
only beginning to discover.
Please watch one or both of
these TV specials ahead of
time so you’ll be ready for the
discussion: the National Geographic channel at http://
news.nationalgeographic.
com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/ and
the Nova show at http://www.
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/dawn-of-humanity.html.
Rev. Sonya Sukalski meets
monthly with the Unitarian Universalists of Tuolumne County
at Skyline. All who are seekers,
questioners, and people wanting to converse about the deep
mysteries of life are welcome.
Rev. Sonya at [email protected] or 533-8883
1358 Main St.
Sanctuary in the round of the historic 1st
Unitarian Church, San Jose, built 1891
Jan 17 - Be Peace/Do Peace
with Jim Cherry
10:00 a.m. Sonora, County Library,
480 Greenley Rd.
UUFTC Friend Jim Cherry, whose calling is to “be peace/do
peace”, will speak about his transformation from a warrior to
peacemaker. He will discuss some of the peace projects happening in our community and open a discussion about what our
Fellowship may be interested in undertaking for peace and social
justice in our community.
Copyright: <a href=’http://www.
123rf.com/profile_stock shoppe’>
stockshoppe / 123RF Stock
Photo</a>
As a Rotarian, Jim has been working as the chair of the Peace and Conflict
Resolution Committees for both the Sonora Sunrise Rotary Club and the
Rotary District 5220. The main project, “Mentoring Student Mediators” is
a program to resolve conflict utilizing student mediators. It is assisting
to create peace within the schools and within the families of the students
who have learned the skills of peacemaking and nonviolent communication - both at school and at home. More info: www.jimcherrylaw.com/
about-jim-cherry/
Everyone is welcome, UUs and non-UUs! Stay and socialize,
then join us afterwards at the Hong Kong restaurant for lunch.
Jan 24 - The MLK Celebration - Sonora
Meet at 1:00 p.m. Douglas Flat, Schoolhouse,
Jim Hightower - special
1358 Main St.,
to coordinate rides
The Douglas Flat members will be traveling to Sonora for the Martin
Luther King Celebration. Meet at the school house at 1 o’clock to coordinate rides. The program starts at 2:30. For more infor: https://www.
facebook.com/mlmlkcommittee/ [See sidebar p. 7. Come join the
Sonora UUs and others from the area in the 26th year of this event!]
guest speaker at the MLK, Jr.
Celebration 2016
the Catalyst
page 2 of 10
Jan 2016
Active
Hope!
Preview of Next Month’s Theme: Unity/Diversity
Sunday, Feb 7, Sonora: No Fault Harmony
Saturday, Jan 2
Harmony - two different sounds that blend the heart and spirit to a higher plane.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings every note on the scale and creates experiences of
transcendence – thus proving it is possible to sing many notes and still enjoy delicious
harmonies. The metaphor of ‘no fault harmony’ will guide Rev. Sonya and Pam Taylor
in the telling of stories from around the world of Unitarian Universalism.
Fellowship House
“Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you
are, something you do, and something you give away.”
Begins
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
………-- Robert Fulghum
President’s Message
4 Sessions - 1st
Saturday’s of the
month - thru April
Buddhist scholar and sustainability educator, Joanna
Macy says, “The most remarkable feature of this historical
moment on Earth, is not that we
are on the way to destroying the
world — we’ve actually been on
the way for quite a while. It is
that we are beginning to wake
up, as from a millennia-long
sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves
and each other.”
Macy considers how human
beings have previously responded to the major challenges of our past and shows
how we are doing so once
again, in hundreds of ways
both small and large.
In her book, Active Hope:
How to Face the Mess
We’re in Without Going Crazy, there are many
exercises and juicy discussion topics that will energize
your new year and infuse
it with good tidings for our
community and world. Join
us the first Saturday of each
month through April to delve
deeper into making our lives
and this planet more sustainable, using Active Hope as a
guide. This book is available at
Mountain Bookstore in Sonora or
Amazon.
Info: Rev. Sonya, 533-8883 or
[email protected]
Dusty Taylor
Peace to You
As we enter the New Year, your board is doing some important work to
help us grow. Of course, we’re assisting the FUUNdraiser Task Force
with their Chocolate Lover’s Hoedown scheduled for February. [See sidebar on left, p. X.] For this event to be successful, we need every Member and Friend’s help! Volunteer your time, help sell tickets, buy tickets
yourself, and most of all: attend and have a good time! This is UUFTC’s
major fundraising event for the year, to help us balance our operating budget so that our
many programs can continue. Please tell your friends and neighbors!
A second major focus of the board is that of taking the next big step towards constructing a building in which we can hold services at Fellowship House year-round. [See more
on this in the story on p. 1.] It has been the dream since the days of our founders, that
we have such a meeting facility of our own. Purchasing this property was the first major
step. Beginning construction for utilities is the next major step. Help make this dream
come true!
On another note, this month’s topic for discussion is Peace. Peace according to Webster’s dictionary is a noun when we use it to describe freedom from disturbances, as
in peace and tranquility; or as in freedom from war or violence; and as a ceremonial
exchange, as in a handshake or a kiss of peace as exchanged between statesmen and
church members. Peace can also be described as an exclamation as used in a greeting“peace to you “– or as a loud exclamation intended to stop verbal and physical aggression as in, “PEACE!, enough already!” Mostly we use the word peace as a description of
periods of harmony between different social, ethnic, national, and religious groups where
violence or conflict is absent.
World Peace seems to be unattainable so we focus on the more immediate meanings of
peace, i.e., a peaceful environment - for me that’s in the woods listening to the birds
chirp and make themselves known as they bicker over a morsel of worm or seeds, or
listening to a stream trickle over rocks and submerged limbs. Internal peace can be
described as a place where our internal voices are quiet for a time.
Peace seems to be subjective for the individual. My idea of peace may not be your idea
of peace, so we try to meet in the middle with our definitions of peace knowing that the
other individual just does not get it. So tell me, what is your idea of peace from a world
perspective and as an individual; so that I may understand that which is of value to you
and get a glimpse of what clams you and gives you that feeling of peace. As I end this
discussion I wish you great PEACE over the next year, whatever that means to you and
however you allow it to manifest in your lives.
Feedback? Please call me at 484-1110 or use my new email (strictly for UUFTC communications) at [email protected].
“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there.
Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.”
………-- Dalai Lama XIV
the Catalyst
page 3 of 10
Jan 2016
Intro to
UUFTC
Sweet Honey
Rev. Sonya Sukalski
Sweet Honey and the Rock
Sunday, Jan 3
“Where there is peace in the heart there is beauty in the person,
Where there is beauty in the person there is harmony in the home,
Where there is harmony in the home there is honor in the nations,
Where there is honor in the nations there is peace in the world.”
………-- Adapted from an Old Confucian Saying
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Fellowship House
Get all of your questions about
Unitarian Universalism and about
UUFTC answered at this meeting.
This meeting is open to long time
members, as well as new folks
that want to find out more about
us. Rev. Sonya, as well as various others who will present who
we are, our history, our principals, and what we stand for.
Info: Cheryll Giles at 5364258 cell or 840-1941 [email protected]
Movie Night
Friday, Jan 8
5:30 p.m. Food
5:45 p.m. Movie
Fellowship House
The Brain
We will be showing a 3-month
long series of “The Brain” featureing Dr. David Eagleman, for
movie night, showing 2 episodes
each night (1 hour each). This
is the series mentioned by Mike
Strange at the December 6th
service. There was lots of enthusiasm expressed to see this
thoughtful series - pun intended!
Eating starts at 5:30!
First segment starts at 5:45
Discussion after each one!
Neuroscientist Dr. Eagleman
explores the wonders of the
human brain in an epic series
that reveals the story of us, why
we feel and think the things we
do. The Brain blends science
with innovative visual effects
and compelling personal stories,
and addresses big questions. By
understanding the human brain,
we increase our understanding of
what we call ‘humanity’.
Peace is an elusive experience. Though fleeting at best, after many years and types
of meditation, I know it is occasionally possible, and profoundly transformative when
achieved. Peace is something I seek – probably not as often as I can or should however.
During this month of grappling with the idea of peace, perhaps I should aim to start
every day at least inviting peace through the meditation techniques that have worked in
the past.
Imagine if we all were to take 20 minutes out of our day to seek peace to the best of
our abilities. Do you think it would bring you more experiences of beauty, and therefore
more harmony in your home? Could we expect honor in our nation to grow from a small
group of Tuolumne County UU households? Is it worth devoting 20 minutes a day during
the month of January to see what the effect might be?
As I write, I think, yeah! Why didn’t I think of this before? What a great new year’s
effort, and needed so much in the wake of the tragedy in Paris, the enormity of climate
change, the aftermath of the Butte Fire, the horror in San Bernardino. Might my family
notice a difference? Would any of you read this column and join me? Send me a message if you do, and we can compare experiences in February! Perhaps we can have a
little competition, and I will bring prizes for all who aim to join in.
Write down your commitment and give it to me the first weekend in January. Keep track
of your efforts, your insights, and - even when you fall short - how you handle it.
I struggle to sit still (surprised? – probably not) and so I often pray or meditate while
in motion. However, since peace is the goal, I commit to sit 20 minutes a day – preferably in the morning, once I am awake (post-caffeine infusion). I begin by following my
breath for a count of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and then I count back down 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
I try to clear my mind, and when thoughts arise I try to notice the tensions, feelings,
and needs they lead to. I try to love all of it because it is part of the human experience
– by physically opening around my heart and softening, while holding whatever it is that
has arisen. I invite the spirit of life to be present too, and I try to notice if some wisdom about how I can go forward differently arises. All this usually takes only about 20
minutes.
If you join me, I would love to share methods on the topic of meditation and prayer and
how it seems to work best for you!
Feedback? Please contact me at [email protected] or 533-8883.
“Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and
disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then
hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed—but hate these things in yourself, not
in another.”
………-- Thomas Merton
Board Highlights
December Board Meeting
• Chocolate Lovers’ Hoedown: Board reviewed and approved the budget for the
event submitted by the Task Force.
Bring nibblies to share. Info:
Dave Ingram at 928-1306 or
[email protected]
the Catalyst
page 4 of 10
Jan 2016
Ladies Lunch
Bunch
Wednesday, Jan 20
Noon
The Standard Pour
19040 Standard Rd. Sonora
UU ladies, their guests, and
friends will again join together for this monthly lunch.
The Standard Pour requires a
minimum number to reserve their special, quieter,
side room, so PLEASE call
Peg Sheldon, 586-9182 by
Monday, 1/18 to reserve your
seat!
Social
Justice Mtg
Thursday, Jan 21
4:00 p.m.
Schnoog’s Cafe
1005 Mono Way, Sonora
We’ve now set our meetings
to now be the 3rd Thursday
of each month. Come help
us plan future events and
actions.
Teri Olsson for info: 586-5017,
[email protected]
Hospitality Corner
Chef Dave Ingram
A New Year - A New Blend
Starting a new year is often our chance to try new things and make fresh
changes in our lives. In the kitchen, one simple way to do this is to start
revamping your pantry with new ingredients. Following is a recipe for
making a spice blend that is versatile and delicious. If you are not familiar
with using a spice combination like this, simply try it first with a steamed
vegetable or put it in rice, or rub it on a piece of meat before grilling or
frying. Simple really! Grinding your own freshly toasted seeds will make all the difference in making your food flavors off the chain. Next month I will do a recipe that uses
this blend.
Moroccan Spice Blend
1/2 c. Coriander seeds
1/4 c. Caraway seeds
2 Tb. Caraway seeds
Toast seeds in sauté pan until fragrant, cool, and grind fine in batches in a coffee grinder.
Add:
2 Tb. Cinnamon, ground
1 Tb. Cardamom, ground
1 t.
Cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
Store in an airtight container.
More info? Contact Chef Dave Ingram at 928-1306 or [email protected] or
visit Chef Dave’s website at www.ChefDaveCooks.com.
Polystyrene Collection Days
Master Gardeners
Saturday, Jan 16 & 23
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Microtronics Way off Camage
(next to Waste Management)
The Master Gardeners Polystyrene Collection Project will again be accepting:
Polystyrene Board or packing-grade, sheet-like material as used for shipping and
wrapping items such as electronics.
Please put in COLORED plastic bags.
Polystyrene Food Containers, but ONLY if they are CLEAN!
Please put in CLEAR plastic bags.
We are unable to accept “packing peanuts”. Instead, you may recycle these, if they are
clean, the UPS Store next to Safeway, or to our friends at Pac-N-Copy next to PriceCo.
Bubble wrap (clean only) is also accepted at Pac-N-Copy.
Hazardous Waste Disposal
Meanwhile all that nasty stuff hangin’ around your house like insecticide, anti-freeze,
drain cleaner, and “who knows what’s in this container?” that your garbage service won’t
take, may be disposed of by calling the friendly people at the Tuolumne County Solid
Waste Disposal Unit at 533-5633 and making an appointment (required) to take your
‘stuff’ to the landfill. They will help you through the rules.
“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions,
slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on.”
………-- John F. Kennedy
the Catalyst
page 5 of 10
Jan 2016
No Guilt
Book Club
Protest Anyway!
Teri Olsson, Co-Chair of UUFTC’s Social Justice
Last month in this column I lamented the French
Government’s ban on protests at the COP21 UN Climate Conference in Paris, but I knew in my heart
that protests would happen anyway. And happen
they did! From a quiet linking of arms around a city
block on the first day of the conference, to activists
arrested at the Louvre, to a sun painted with ecopaint on the spokes of the Place Charles de Gaulle,
the site of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile.
Tuesday, Jan 26
7:00 p.m.
Fellowship House
The Boys in the
Boat
by Daniel James Brown
This book celebrates the
1936 U.S. men’s Olympic
rowing team - working class
boys who stormed the rowing
world, transfored the sport,
and gavanized the attention
of millsions of Americans.
And finally, in an extraordinary race in Berline they
stunned the Aryan sons of
the Nazi state as they rowed
for gold in front of Hitler.
You can download it on
Kindle, or order it from the library or Mountain Bookshop.
Everyone is welcome! If
you’ve read the book, great;
if not that’s great too since
it’s No Guilt!
Info Laurie Bailie at 5332584 or lasnuffy1@gmail
The eco-philosopher Joanna Macy [also see last month’s issue], in the book she co-wrote
with Chris Johnstone, titled Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going
Crazy**, says that holding protests or other ‘actions’ is only one part of what is necessary to make the change that she calls “The Great Turning”. We also need to rethink
the systems and practices that we have become accustomed to from generations of use.
Whether it be banking or agriculture or transportation, we must be creative in rethinking
and redesigning the systems of our society. And perhaps most importantly, our society
has to have a shift in collective consciousness. We are becoming more and more aware
of our connectedness with the earth, but as a society, we have a long way to go. The
slogan at the Red Line protest in Paris was “We are Nature Defending Itself”.
**Rev. Sonya will be leading a class studying Macy’s Active Hope book. [See announcement in
sidebar at left, p. 3.] Whether you are an activist or just interested in a fascinating book and some
lively discussion, this should get the new year off to a great start. Please join us! Also, we’re now
meeting the first Thursday of every month [see sidebar at left, p. 5.].
Questions about any of this, or what our Social Justice Committee is all about? Contact
me at 586-5017 or [email protected].
A UUFTC FUUNdraiser!
Soon the poster shown at left will be appearing all
over town. This is UUFTC’s blow-out, major fundraising event for the year. So get your tickets early.
But wait, don’t stop there! You can best help UUFTC
raise money by getting your friends, relatives, and
hey - even perfect strangers - to buy tickets!
Your hard-working FUUNdraiser Task Force wants
you to know that they’ve gone ‘all out’ planning this
event, and they hope you do too, by selling lots of
tickets and then having fun at the Hoedown!
TGIP
Friday, Jan 29
5:30 p.m.
Fellowship House
Rachel Phillips will be calling the dances, and
the Buffet Dinner by Chef Dave includes:
TGIP - Thank God It’s a Patio! We still call it this, even
though we’ll meet inside for
a potluck dinner. Its because
we love our patio so much!
Invite a friend and bring a
favorite dish and a beverage to share. New to UUFTC?
Everyone’s welcome!
No need to RSVP – just show
up! Info: Chef Dave Ingram at
928-1306 or dave4dessert@
gmail.com
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe
Actions such as these went on for the entire two weeks of the conference until the French government finally lifted the ban on protests. On the final day
of the conference thousands of activists filled the Champs-Élysées all the way to the
business district known as La Défense, unfurling a blocks-long red cloth line to signify a
stronger commitment to tackle climate change than the solutions proposed in the conference itself. Naomi Klein, [see this column last month] an author and climate activist
reporting on the gathering said, “There’s a tremendous gulf on what politicians are saying and what their policies will deliver.” The hard work is just beginning.
Sufferin’ Succotash Wrangler’s Salad
Roasted Pork Loin and Cowboy Caviar
Double Chocloate Cream Puffs
plus
Chocolate Goodies Auction!
Tickets: $30.00 Avail: Mountain Bookshop
Sonora Joes
Schnoog’s Cafe
Mountain Laurel Florest
Info ONLY: Patti Cherry, 533-8885 or [email protected] (put HOEDOWN in subject line)
“I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.”
………-- Helen Keller
the Catalyst
page 6 of 10
Jan 2016
Truffle
Making Party
Saturday, Jan 30
2:00 p.m.
Ann Leonard’s House
A FUUNdraiser Event!
We will be making chocolate
truffles for the CHOCOLATE
LOVERS’ HOEDOWN - UUFTC’s
big bonanza fundraiser of the
year! [See announcement p. 6]
Don’t know anything about truffle
making? No worries, Chef Dave
(Ingram) will be instructing us!
The first 5 to arrive, get dibs on
licking the bowls!
Your FUUNdraising Task Force
has worked hard these last few
months, but we truly need the
enthusiastic support and help
of all of you to implement our
“Hoedown” event. Please join us
for a few hours to help make our
Hoedown a success for UUFTC!
The Power of the Green Bag!
Chair Linda DuTemple
To all of you wonderful ‘Green Baggers’: Congratulations! On
December 12th the Mother Lode Food Project donations
tipped the scales at 8,037 pounds! That’s close to double
what is typically received in one collection month! It is the
largest delivery to date and we were instrumental in making
that happen. The day’s total helped the Project surpass a major milestone of 100,000
pounds in food donations (105,356 to be exact)! Sincere thanks to each of you for the
extra effort by you represented in these results. You are making a difference in the lives
of our neighbors, one green bag at a time!
When I delivered our bags to the Community Thrift Store, a collection site, the Union
Democrat was there to take pictures, here’s a link to their article http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Food-project-Organization-reaches-big-milestone# so this fight
against hunger is being noticed. [You may notice in the article that Linda appears in two photos, but the Union Democrat did not mention UUFTC - that’s the UD, not Linda!
-- the editors]
The next collection for us will be at the February 6th Sonora Sunday service. I will have
bags and magnets showing the year’s pick-up dates available at each Service prior to
that. If you don’t have your green bag yet, please pick one up and join us in helping
local people.
If you miss a collection date at our service you may drop off your bag at the Community
Thrift Store on Stockton Rd. in Sonora, or at any Umpqua Bank the week before they are
due.
Info: Call me at 928-4634 with any questions regarding this Project.
Directions: Ann at annleon2@
hotmail.com or call 324-0501.
RSVP: to Patti Cherry, (both
acceptance and regrets as we need
to know we have the people power)
[email protected] (put
HOEDOWN in subject line please.)
26th Annual
MLK Celebration
Sunday, Jan 24
2:30 p.m.
Sonora H.S. Auditoriaum
The featured speaker Jim Hightower, known as “the populist’s
populist”, is a national radio
commentator, public speaker and
writer whose rousing newsletter,
The Hightower Lowdown, gives a
populist perspective to the news
of the day. Political columnist,
Molly Ivans put it best when
she said, “If Will Rogers and
Mother Jones had a baby, Jim
Hightower would be that rambunctious child----mad as hell
with a sense of humor.” Don’t
miss this, our 26th annual event!
Info: Laurie Bailie, 533-2584,
or [email protected]
Introduction to the Theme of Peace
Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland
[From the Touchstones Journal, Dec 2013, Vol 2, Issue 4.]
While Unitarian Universalism is not a peace church like the Church of
the Brethren, Quakers, or Mennonites, there has been a historic focus
on peace among Universalists and Unitarians. When the Universalists
gathered at their first general convention in Philadelphia in 1790 they declared “Although
a defensive war may be considered lawful, yet we believe there is a time coming, when
the light and universal love of the gospel shall put an end to all wars.” In 1814, in response to the War of 1812, Unitarian Minister Noah Worcester published the book, A
Solemn Review of the Custom of War. A year later he founded the Massachusetts Peace
Society. One of the organizing meetings was held at the invitation of the Rev. William
Ellery Channing in his study at the Federal Street parsonage. In 1816, Channing in his
Sermon on War commented on the enduring, negative aspects of war noting that “the
principles of justice receive a shock which many years of peace are not able to repair.”
Adin Ballou became a Universalist minister in 1823 and then a Unitarian minister in
1841. In 1846, he published Christian Non-Resistance in All Its Important Bearings. According to historian David Robinson, his “form of pacifism was one of the earliest and
most persuasive versions of that doctrine in the Unitarian Universalist tradition.”
Universalist minister Clarence Russell Skinner, who published The Social Implications of Universalism in 1914, was widely attacked for his pacifist views after the United
States entered the First World War.
Unitarian minister John Haynes Holmes, a founder of the NAACP and ACLU, preached
against all wars in 1915 in his sermon, “Is War Ever Justified?” On April 1, 1917, the
day before President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany,
Holmes in “A Statement to My People on the Eve of War,” declared that war was an
“open and utter violation of Christianity.” The next evening the Board of the Church of
the Messiah (later renamed Community Church), where Holmes served, met to respond
to Holmes’ pacifism. Just one member of the Board agreed with Holmes, but the Board
unanimously supported his freedom of the pulpit. Holmes was fortunate. Of 15 Unitarian
the Catalyst
[Con’t next page]
page 7 of 10
Jan 2016
UU People
News
Please send us information
about your fellow UUs for this
column!
Glad to see our President,
Dusty Taylor up and marching around on her crutches!
Ya’ can’t keep her down! Call
her at 484-1110.
Our favorite soprano, Marguerite Close has been battling that sore throat thingie
for weeks! She says she’s
sooo done with this! Call
her at 352-4303 to see how
she’s doing.
Snuffy Herring has been
slowly recuperating from a
difficult cataract surgery.
Call him at 533-2584.
Former member and longime
Friend, Lois Lamar passed
away last month. The last
few years she and her late
husband Don lived at the
Forest Avenue care facility of
the hospital, yet she always
brought a smile to visitors.
Her ability to find humor in
live will be missed by all,
including staff.
Member
Birthdays
These members celebrate
birthdays this month. Wish
them a happy day!
Jerry Fueslein
Cheryll Giles
Snuffy Herring
Lloyd Kramer
Ride Share?
From time to time, we get
calls from people requesting
a ride to our services. If you
are willing to give rides occasionally contact:
Laurie Bailie, 533-2584, or
[email protected] or
Janet Telford, 928-5874, or
[email protected]
Peace
[Con’t from p. 7]
ministers who were pacifists during World War I, only six were still serving their church
when the War ended.
The editor of the American Unitarian Association’s (AUA) magazine, the Christian Register, called opposition to the war treason. The president of the AUA, Samuel Eliot, expected pacifist ministers to be dismissed. In 1918, the AUA Board
began to deny financial aid to any church whose minister “is not
a willing, earnest, and outspoken supporter of the United States
in a vigorous and resolute prosecution of the war.” Later that
year, Holmes resigned his ministerial fellowship with the AUA.
In 1936, delegates to the AUA’s May meeting renounced the
1918 denial of aid to congregations whose ministers did not
support the War as “contrary to the fundamental Unitarian prinPeace Can be Found, photo by J. ciples of freedom of thought and conscience.” During World War
Brown, 11/4/11, (CC BY-2.0), http://
II, the AUA supported conscientious objectors and made no at
www.flickr.com/photos/jimmybrown/6319861680/
tempt to suppress dissenting pacifists despite the AUA president’s vigorous endorsement of war aims.
The Principles adopted in 1961 when the Unitarian Universalist Association was formed
included a commitment to peace: “To implement our vision of one world by striving for a
world community founded on ideals of brotherhood, justice and peace….” In the revised
principles adopted in 1985, these words replaced the earlier statement: “The goal of
world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all….”
Since 1961, many resolutions supporting peace have been adopted by delegates to the
annual General Assembly. The publication of The Pentagon Papers in 1971 by Beacon
Press exposed the disparity be-tween internal policymaking about the Vietnam War and
the lies that were being spoon-fed to the public. In response, President Nixon and J.
Edgar Hoover approved an FBI subpoena of the UUA’s bank records.
In 2010, delegates at the General Assembly adopted the Statement of Conscience,
Creating Peace, which notes: “Though we have always held di-verse views on the
justification of defensive and humanitarian wars, at our best we have worked together
to end the violence of slavery, to promote international law, to liberate Jews and others
from Nazi tyranny, and to build the United Nations and other institutions of international
cooperation.” The Statement of Conscience calls us to create peace within ourselves, in
our relationships, our congregations, our society, and our world.
“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m
not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
........-- John Lennon
Selected Readings for “Peace”
And here are the book suggestions for January 2016, when our theme is “Peace”.
Real Peace, Real Security: The Challenges of Global Citizenship by Sharon Welch
True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart by Tara Brach
Buddha’s Map: His Original Teachings on Awakening, Ease, and
Insight in the Heart of Meditation by Doug Kraft
Here’s the February book list for our theme of Unity/Diversity.
Acts of Faith; The Story of an American Muslim & the Struggle for
the Soul of a Generation by Eboo Patel
No Land’s Man by Aasif Mandvi
It is also worthwhile to search the offerings of www.uuabookstore.org for any monthly theme!
“The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory
or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its
successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned.”
........-- Dag Hammarskjöld
the Catalyst
page 8 of 10
Jan 2016
Submission
Guidelines
Guidelines for submittals to
our monthly newsletter, the
Catalyst, are as follows:
UUFTC January 2016 Calendar
You’ll find more information about each event on the page numbers listed at the end of
each item. Calling all committee or task force chairs! Want more people to
join you? Let your editor know when your meeting is by the deadline of the 15th. You
might be surprised who shows up! More up to date information can be found on the
calendar page of our website: http://www.uuftc.org/calendar.
[Do you like this calendar? Would you rather just use the one on our website? Please give us feedback. --editor]
Send one paragraph that
includes the:
event title
date
time
locale
contact info
cost
other pertinent info
include web link,
photograph, etc.
to [email protected].
Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on the
15th of each month. Earlier
submissions appreciated!
If you are the chair of a
committee or a task force,
please send in the announcement of your next
meeting following the
guidelines above. If you
include the major topics
you will be discussing,
it will help attract new
people to your group!
Please limit announcements
to 70 words, and notices
of sermons or talks to 700
words. the Catalyst reserves the right to edit all
material submitted.
Hei-Gung
Returns
Tuesdays
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Fellowship House
Marilyn Waggoner & Hoyt
Cory are again leading Hei
Gung, a moving meditation that promotes whole
body awareness and fitness,
building strength and flexibility through simple, gentle
stretching and breathing. All
are welcome, no experience
necessary!
“The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.”
the Catalyst
........-- Carlos Santana
page 9 of 10
Jan 2016
Save the Date!
UUFTC’s
25th
Anniversary
Celebration
Sunday, Mar 6
UUFTC will be holding a Gala Anniversary Celebration on March
6th. Stay tuned for more details
next month.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to help
plan and execute this event, contact Pres. Dusty Taylor, 4841110 or laughingbear_63@
outlook.com
News from The Balázs Scholars Program”
[TEach year the Starr King School for the Ministry brings a Unitarian minister from Transylvania
to Berkeley for advanced studies under the Balázs Scholars Program.]
This year’s scholar, László Major will be attending a winter
intensive in Chicago at Meadville Lombard, then next semester he will continue his studies at Starr King in family pastoral
care, study organizational management and learn about Islam.
Also, he will preach at a number of UU congregations, an important part of his leadership training.
In fact, as we did last year, we are inviting the Balázs Scholar
come for a weekend. László and family will be visiting us here
at UUFTC in June 2016.
Quicklinks
[Here are some ‘URLs’ (website addresses) that provide important additional information about us.
Type them into your browser and check out all things UU! -- the editors]
UU Fellowship of Tuolumne County
www.uuftc.org
UUFTC Calendar
www.uuftc.org/calendar
Pacific Central District
www.pcd-uua.org
UU Association of Congregations
www.uua.org
UU World Magazine
www.uuworld.org
UU Service Committee
www.uusc.org
Facilities Use
Fellowship House
and Grounds
To prevent overlap, keep
our grounds secure, and allow use by outside groups,
all uses of our Fellowship
House, or any facility where
we meet, are to be scheduled with the keeper of our
calendar, Janet Telford at
928-5874 or JTelford829@
gmail.com.
UUFTC’s Planned Giving Program
Leave a Legacy to YOUR Fellowship!
Ensure that the light of liberal religion stays lit!
One of the 5-10 year goals from the visioning session is to
have our own year-round meeting place. We don’t know yet
what this building will look like, but we do know we’ll need your
help to make it a reality. In a few short years we’ll own our
Hess Ave property - this is in large part thanks to the generous bequests of two members who named UUFTC in their wills!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could commence construction
then?
Before calling, check our
Church Calendar at www.
uuftc.org/calendar for
availability.
Our facilities are also used
for weddings, memorial services, and for various meetings by outside groups. If
you or someone you know
would like to use our Fellowship House or grounds for
such an event, please contact
our Facilities Manager, Craig
Mineweaser at 928-5900
or [email protected]
László, wife Orsi & daughter.
photo by Nancy Daugherty
Unitarian Church of Westport, Conn Used with permission.
But we can only get matching funds or a loan if we show our
financial resolve to make this happen! We need to start planning for this now.
What is the vision for UUFTC you want to create? Let us show
For a more thorough look you how your bequest, gift from your trust, gift of stock, or
at the Westport church
some other gift to the Fellowship will help us reach this
and the Hartford, Conn UU church, goal! Please contact our Treasurer to learn how.
which were both designed by the
same architect, Victor Lundy, go to Also remember that we have other opportunities for
http://www.uuworld.org/articles/
ct-churches-share-architectdrama?utm_source=n
The designs are dramatically different, yet both respond to the
needs of the congregation.
offering financial support. Perhaps you want to support
a special program, or to an ongoing operation, or to a
particular piece of equipment at UUFTC?
Let’s talk about what YOU want! To include YOUR Fellowship in your estate plan or for other ways to really
make a difference at YOUR Fellowship, call our Interim
Treasurer Janet Telford, 928-5874.
the Catalyst appears on our website each month. When each new issue is posted, notification of
its availability is sent to all subscribers via email. We do not share our list of addresses.
Craig Mineweaser, Co-Editor 209/928-5874 and Laurie Livingston, Co-Editor
[email protected]
[email protected]
______________________________________
Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Minister 209/533-8883 Church Office
Rev. Craig Scott, Minister Emeritus
the Catalyst
page 10 of 10
Jan 2016