I From Th e Minister’s Desk

17540 N. Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, AZ 85378-2581
Phone: 623.875.2550 Fax: 623.875.2552  www.uusurprise.org Email: [email protected]
The Newsletter of Unitarian Universalist Church, Surprise, AZ is published monthly except August.
Minister: Rev. Terry Sims
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Dr. Walt F. Wieder
President: Reggie Johnston
November 2014
Newsletter Editor: Charlie Mannino
Email: [email protected]
Printing: Kathryn Pabich
From The Minister’s Desk
I
’ve been carrying our congregation’s
right relations covenant around
with me this week. In part, that is
because of the moving, personal story
Patricia Balfour shared with us during the
Reflections part of the worship service
on October 12. I’ve also been involved in
some conflict situations recently that have
made me wish for a panacea to conflict
and disagreement, not that I think there
is one. I know that in any human effort
or enterprise, both disagreement and some level of
conflict over time are inevitable, but that doesn’t
make me happy about it.
I also don’t think the answer to conflict is
never, or always, to avoid it; or always, or never, to
accommodate the other person, that is to give in on
something we honestly disagree with, provided that
it is important.
So I ask myself what to do with that. I really don’t
have any answer except the covenant I make with
myself and with all of you. I mentioned during the
sermon on October 12 that our right relations covenant
is easy to say and hard to do. Even when we agree on
principles, putting them into practice is considerably
more difficult than just stating what we all agree on in
the abstract and not in the heat of an argument.
How do we disagree with people we care about?
First, I want to ask myself: “Is this really important?”,
lots of disagreements aren’t.
I find the rest of how I want to disagree with
people in the covenant, “we build our church on a
foundation of love and covenant with one another
. . . .” Maybe we could stop at the beginning of a
disagreement to remind ourselves, and tell the
person we disagree with, that we do care about
and appreciate them. Maybe we could follow that
up by telling the other person that we don’t like
November 2014
disagreeing with them; that it hurts. Out
of that bad feeling I had recently, I said
something, as much to myself as to the
person I was in conflict with: that there
has to be a way we can disagree with each
other without hurting ourselves and others
more than the disagreement itself hurts. It
has to be about not whether we disagree,
but how we disagree.
“To accept responsibility for our
individual acts and promote justice and
peace.” How easy it is to talk about peace . . . and then
use verbal violence when in a heated disagreement
with someone. “To communicate with kindness.”
When I find myself in conflict with someone, I wish
I would ask myself more often before speaking,
“What is the kindest way I can communicate my
views?” The covenant leaves no space for bullying, of
course. But there are other ways of communicating
that, at least for the moment when we are not our
best selves, show that we dismiss or devalue the
other person’s idea and perhaps the person. Each of
us ought to strive for grace in communicating with
each other, especially when we may not feel very
inclined to be gracious.
“To search for the divine in all that is.” If I could
just always remember that one, I would see myself,
other people, my own and conflicting ideas, and the
disagreements over them, in a new light.
Our right relations covenant is a spiritual
practice. I want us to practice loving kindness with
each other when we disagree, when loving kindness
is hardest to feel. I have faith that we can all get
better at it. I’ll see you in church.
Faithfully yours,
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
1
President’s Report
UU Church Library Needs Help
Reggie Johnston, President
Marylu Rideout
Our church will turn 40 in 2015! We are thankful for
those who built the UU Church of Surprise physically
and spiritually. In preparation for celebrating this
grand anniversary or birthday party, we are evaluating
where we are in programs, outreach,
physical space, finances, and the
direction we want our congregation
to go. How do we connect with
the greater community? How do
we meet the needs and goals of
our congregation? Our children’s
Religious Education program has
grown so much we’re having a
problem with space. We’re looking
for more members to form a group to look into this --- a
part of our future.
We are also giving thanks at the annual Thanksgiving
dinner here in the Social Hall on Thanksgiving Day and
by participating in the ‘Guest at Your Table’ program
sponsored by UUSC.
Mark your calendars for two other important dates:
Tuesday, November 4th all day - VOTE
Sunday, November 16th, 3:00 p.m. - Concert by
Kent Trostel
With the passing of Jane Eckenberg we have lost the
heart of our Library. Jane and Mary Bond established our
Library, and Jane was very familiar with the authors and
all the books in it. I was a school librarian for many years
so I know the fundamental organization and day to day
workings of a library, but I do not have the knowledge of
the collection that Jane had.
I would like to have a Library Committee of people
who would like to help in the Library. If you would like to
help out, or better yet if you have any library experience,
please contact me. It is not hard work and only a day or
two a month. I would tell the mothers who volunteered
in my school library that if you knew your alphabet and
could count to 1000 with decimals you were in!
Our annual meeting where we evaluate the year,
finalize the budget for 2015, discuss and vote on two
by-law changes, and give thanks to our volunteers is
scheduled for Friday, December 5. Please circle the date
on your calendar.
I am thankful for all of you.
Coffee Volunteers Needed
These are some of the things that need to be done:
Read the shelves:
Using the Shelf List, check that all books are there or
checked out. I do this about every year. (It’s needed now.)
Circulation:
File cards of books that are taken out and return
cards to books that are returned. Put books back on
shelf. Send reminders for books that are out over two
months.
New books:
Choose and process new books. Type catalog cards,
pockets and sign out cards.
Library Policy:
Discuss and update any library policies as needed.
Contact: Marylu Rideout at 623-979-9165 - or see me in
church.
Calling Any And All
Outdoorwalkerphiles
Berta Czeczyk
Jack and Helen Sheehan
The church needs volunteers to make coffee on
Sundays for social hour. Nancy Townsend would like
to volunteer a couple of hours at the beginning of
December to teach the art and science of making coffee.
Questions and/or concerns, please speak with the Coffee
Organizer Berta Czeczyk.
The landscape committee is in need of someone who
would agree to, and very likely enjoy, monitoring our
church’s irrigation system.
Candidate must enjoy walking in the great outdoors
and accomplishing a needed service. The system is
prone to springing leaks and plugging up emitters which
either runs up our water bill or kills the plants. The job
entails an hour, or a little more, every two or three weeks
replacing damaged emitters and reporting any surfacing
underground leaks.
The more of our own landscaping jobs that we do, the
more money we’ll have to support our other endeavors,
and it will have a direct effect on our bottom line.
If you’re able to help, please reply to Jack and Helen
Sheehan at 623-214-8084.
Facebook
We are in the process of reintroducing a Facebook
page for the UU of Surprise. Does anyone have an idea
who may have been involved with the original Facebook
page in 2011? Any leads would be helpful. Please send
information to [email protected].
2
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
November 2014
A Call For Help
John Cline
As we confront our church's serious budgetary
shortfall again this year we must ask ourselves… how
can we build our congregation which hopefully will
result in increased membership support
through tithes and offerings? The
answer must be outreach. In today's
world a professional, good looking
website is so important in getting
the word out to those in quest of a
church home such as ours. Yellow
page advertisements are a thing of the
past. Twelve years ago our church's PR
(public relations) committee operated
on a budget of over $3000. Most of this went toward
paper media advertisement. Later on, a large chunk
went towards Walt's Radio show. Today, the PR budget
is one tenth of that and goes toward our current website
hosting expense. Bottom line is… we need a modern,
professional-looking website. Our church is in desperate
need of an update to our antiquated (15 - year old)
website. Today's families most likely will find us solely
on-line. Doug Nintzel and myself are currently working
together on an update as best we can with do-it-yourself
skills. Anyone with internet website building/maintenance
skills and/or an offer to donate toward a professional
website expense, please contact Doug Nintzel at dnintzel@
yahoo.comor myself at [email protected].
Understanding New Technology
Ann Winsor would like to form a group to get
together to learn and discuss current technology for
the novice. If interested contact her at 623-584-1067.
Volunteers Needed For Church Office
Nancy Flann
Fall brings more activities to so many of us. The same
is true of our church office. Volunteers are needed to
help answer the phone, receive packages, and do some
paper work. Your help provides Kathryn, the church
administrator, time to concentrate on her responsibilities
and assist Rev. Terry as her job requires. The office
is open weekdays 9-12. If you would be able to work
one morning a week, that would be terrific. We also
appreciate people willing to fill in when needed. Please
contact Nancy Flann at 623.583.4636 or 515giles@
hotmail.com if you are able to help.
Training is available and comes complete with a
certificate of completion, (nah, just kidding about the
certificate).
November 2014
UU UNO Sunday at
UU Chruch of Surprise
Envoys Juanita Copeland & Ruth Swank
On September 28, 2014, UU Surprise conducted
UU Sunday. Reverend Terry Sims delivered a related
and meaningful sermon. An audio
of the sermon is available on the
church’s website. Maggi Mahan
read a story to the children about
indigenous people of Australia,
the Aborigines. It was one of the
books recommended by the UU
UNO office in New York. UU UNO
envoy, Ruth Ann Swank provided
the Reflections to explain UU
UNO while the other envoy, Juanita Guidry Copeland
is needlepointing flags of all of the
countries that are members of the UN.
Eventually, the flags will be created
into a United Nations bouquet of
member countries.
Approximately $1,000 was
collected in donations for the UU
UNO and has been forwarded to the
New York UN office.
Thank you to all of you who
made contributions during UU UNO. Your monetary
gifts will be used to continue to support UU UNO
programs. Your compliments and participation in the
UU UNO Fall Service are appreciated as well.
Movie Night At UU
Linda Vitale
Come join us for a showing of an oldie but goodie,
murder-mystery film “Murder on the Orient Express”.
The film’s tag line is: “The greatest cast of suspicious
characters ever involved in murder.” This all-star cast
includes Ingrid Bergman (Oscar winner) Lauren Bacall,
Sean Connery, Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael
York, Tony Perkins, John Gielgud, Richard Widmark,
Martin Balsam and Jacqueline Bisset and directed by
Sidney Lumet. What more can I say? Come watch
how Detective Poirot tries to solve the mystery of who
murdered a fellow passenger on the Orient Express. The
film is based on Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel of the same
name. I hope to see more people attend now that Fall is
here. The film showing is Tuesday, November 18th, at
7 pm. Run time is 128 minutes. Please bring your own
drink and snacks.
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
3
“Cakes For The Queen Of Heaven”
and “Rise Up And Call Her Name”
Pianist Kent Trostel
In Concert
A UU Adult Education Course, Fall 2014
Bonnie Saunders will facilitate an eight-week adult
education course called “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven”
and “Rise Up and Call Her Name,” a woman-honoring
journey into earth-based spiritualities. Subjects include
the ancient goddess religions in Europe, the Fertile
Crescent, Egypt, West Africa, India, China, Japan,
Hawaii, and North America.
Participants will explore intriguing questions. How
did/does the gender of the deity in a society affect the
status of women in that society? What happened to the
Goddess religion?
This course weaves spiritual stories that honor
female divinities around the world. It focuses on artistic
and intellectual tools which facilitate self-development
and personal integration into the interconnected web of
all existence (one of the UU principles). Other activities
will include thinking and talking about the sacred and
the spiritual, listening to music, watching DVDs and
slides, reading rituals, creating visual images, telling
stories, meditating, singing, and dancing.
Schedule: the following Mondays: 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the
Social Hall
11/3/14:
Sub-Saharan African Goddesses
11/10/14: East and South Asian Goddesses
11/17/14: Hawaiian Goddesses
11/24/14: North American Goddesses
Interested women and men should sign up on the
sheet in the Church Social Hall and/or contact Bonnie
by e-mail ([email protected]), telephone (623825-7105), or in person at church. People who are not
members are welcome to attend; however, they should
contact Bonnie ahead of time.
Name Tags
The sale of the magnetic name tags will be
available on Sunday, November 9th. For questions,
please call Ken Pierick 623-214-9366.
Grandmother Clock
For Sale
The church has acquired a
Grandmother clock for sale. It is
running inside the Social Hall see Ken Saunders ($150 delivered,
set up and guaranteed)
4
Pianist Kent Trostel will
return to our congregation
Sunday, November 16, 3
p.m. to present a concert of
original music.
Kent is a graduate of the
Idyllwild School of Music
and the Arts and holds a
degree in Music Performance
from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He is currently
the accompanist for the Arizona Masterworks Chorale
and the Prescott Center for the Arts Singers.
Joining Kent for the program will be: Kristen
Drathman-vocals, Katrina Becker-violin, and Audrey
Miller-clarinet, for an hour of songs and instrumental
themes and variations. A reception with the artists will
follow with light refreshments. Donation of $15; 12 and
under free. Bring your friends! Tickets will be available the
first three Sundays of November. (This concert benefits
our congregation.)
Oh Oh! Tis The Season
Jan Lundstrom and Gail Vosburg
Each year the holidays “sneak up” on me. How that
can be when the retail stores begin displaying Christmas
items before Halloween is a mystery. Put it down to “old
timers”!
Anyway the holiday season is fast approaching. The
pressure we experience must be exponentially increased
by families in need. The UU Food Drive for this quarter
will be Sunday, November 2, 2014.
Gail and Jan ask you to provide canned and nonperishable items that will add to the season’s festive
dinners. Of course cash and checks are gratefully
accepted. We also ask that you watch for turkey
promotions and participate in donating the “free” turkey
to the food bank. They will have trucks at designated
super market parking lots through the season.
Watch the media and participate. Make the season
merrier for those in need.
With THANKS for your participation!
Personals Bulletin Board
Housing & Property Committee
In addition to the sign-up sheets on the tables on Sunday
is now a “UU Personals” bulletin board for posting “Wants”
and “Offers” of a personal nature for use by our UU family.
The bulletin board will only be available for posting and
viewing on Sunday mornings.
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
November 2014
Doree’s Corner
In Memorium
Doree Conner
Phyllis Burnett died
at her home on Monday,
September 8, 2014. Phyllis
had not been well for
some time. Berta Czeczyk
had been helping her. The
last time we saw Phyllis
at church she came to tell
how much help Berta had been and how she
appreciated it. The first time I met Phyllis
was at a bridge party and she told me that
she and Bob were going to Grand Canyon to
scatter their son’s ashes as that was what he
requested.
We lost a friend in Lee H. Voré
when he died on October 3rd. When
Lee joined our church, he felt that he
had been a UU all his life. Marilyn
Kluge was another reason. Lee was
born in Nebraska. The family moved
to California where he graduated from
UC Berkeley. He worked as a real
estate appraiser in Orange County,
California.
C lif i He
H moved to Arizona in 2003 to work at the
Veterans Administration.
Lee had been in hospice care at Royal Oaks
Healthcare facility after hearing that his condition was
terminal.
Lee loved travel, line dancing, ballroom dancing,
photography, reading and taking classes at RISE. We’ll
miss his friendly smile and attitude.

An invitation to all on a talk about
“The History of Voting Rights in
the U.S. and Arizona”
Seven or eight people from Kazakhstan are touring
Arizona in October and November to learn about our
elections. At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 1st,
Bonnie Saunders will talk to them on “The History of
Voting Rights in the U.S. and Arizona.” This is a joint
project of the UU Adult Education Committee and the
LWV/AZ. Members and friends are invited to come to
this talk. We hope to have a good turnout of people who
are interested in politics and who are willing to show this
interest to these visitors - the most interesting part of this
event is likely to be the questions of the Kazakh visitors
themselves.
November 2014
Doree has not been very diligent about gathering
information. Bill has had a couple of trips to the hospital as
a result of falls and is now working on improving balance.
Ellen Atkins gave a lovely arrangement to celebrate
the 58 years she and Charlie had together.
It is nice to have Reggie & Don back from their
vacation.
Ken and Bonnie Saunders had an interesting visit in
the East where they were excavating
an old sailing boat. They proved again
that they are good at seeing that we eat
enough....everyone seemed to enjoy the
Welcome Back Dinner.
Nancy Townsend would like to
encourage people to help make the
coffee for after services. If you would
like to help, see Berta Czeczyk.
UU Church of Surprise Presents
Family Harmony, Efficiency and Cooperation:
The Art of Shaping Family Life
Presented By Jeff Drake, M.A.
How you shape your family’s day, week and year increases your
ability to teach your children important social and emotional
skills. You can increase family cooperation and harmony;
strengthen the bonds between you and your child, all while
making your job of running the family smoother and more
predictable. Come and learn about steps you can take to give
your children real developmental advantages and make your
own job as parent saner and easier. This workshop is designed
to help parents of any age child. Pizza and childcare will be
provided.
Jeff Drake is a long time parent educator who has recently
moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Wickenburg,
Arizona. His background, includes teaching preschool,
elementary and high school, substance abuse counseling,
drug and alcohol prevention programs, and creating and
teaching parenting programs covering all ages and stages of
childhood. His goal is to give parents the benefit of the most
effective and proven ways to help their children succeed.
To register, please email Lisa Lawrence, Director of
Religious Education, at [email protected] with your
name, adults attending and ages of children.
Date:
Time:
Fee:
Location:
Sunday, November 9th, 2014
5:00-7:00 pm
Free
17540 N. Avenue of the Arts Surprise, AZ
*Donations for pizza and childcare are welcome!
Hosted by the adult & children’s RE Departments
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
5
Camp deBenneville Pines
Sally Thomas, Camp Champ
Please check the UUSC table for brochures
describing Winter Youth and Family Camps, one each
for elementary, junior high, and
senior high, Music in the Mountains,
and the Thanksgiving Family
Celebration (one of my favorites),
at the wonderful UU camp in the
San Bernadino Mountains, Angelus
Oaks, CA. They are hoping to have
a Long Distance Driver option for
several youth campers from the
Phoenix area to carpool in one vehicle for the weekend.
For more information about the camp, please call me:
Sally Thomas, 530-258-6543.
Shared Thanksgiving Dinner
Ken and Bonnie Saunders
On Thursday, November 27th, Ken and Bonnie
Saunders will organize the Shared Thanksgiving
Dinner, with the social hour starting at 2:00 p.m. and
dinner starting at 3:00 p.m. They will cook two turkeys
with stuffing and gravy. Members and friends of the
congregation will bring potluck dishes, including other
main dishes and side dishes, appetizers, cranberry and
other sauces, salads, breads, and desserts. Bring your
relatives and friends, including children of all ages; you
will have to cook less and you will enjoy a wider range
of conversation. Sit with people whom you don’t know
well, and get to know new people. Starting no later
than Nov. 1st, the sign-up sheet will be in the Social
Hall so that you can let us know what kind of potluck
goodies you will bring.
Worship Leader Training
November 18 6:30-8:00 pm
Worship leaders have a unique opportunity
to introduce guests and members to the heart of
Unitarian Universalism as well as to create a worshipcentered holding environment. Please join us in the
choir room for a fun evening of learning fresh and
faithful approaches to being the worship leader! Debra Peevey will be leading this training—she
has decades of experience! Please sign up in the social hall.
Call with any questions - 623-398-0574
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Anthem Commissioned For
40th Anniversary Celebration
Liz & Debby
The Music Department is pleased to announce
that an anthem will be written for the congregation
in celebration of
our 40th year.
The piece will
be composed by
Clif Hardin, UU
composer, and will
also honor Jim
Flom. It will be
premiered on Sunday, April 5, when worship will
celebrate our 40th year.
Clif holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, the
Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and the
University of Maryland. He has been Music Director
at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation,
Bethesda, Maryland, since 1983. We invite you to
note in the Sunday Order of Service the times when
Clif ’s wonderful music is sung by the choir or the
congregation, or played by the accompanist.
The commissioned piece will also remember
the work and honor the memory of Jim Flom,
whose musical leadership over the years brought
vitality to the congregation through increased choir
participation, instrumentalists at worship, concerts
for our members’ enjoyment and community
participation.
We invite the congregation to share ideas
for themes they’d like Clif to consider for this
anthem. During November there will be a “themesuggestion box” in the social hall. We encourage
you to submit one word, or a 3-word phrase, that
expresses your experience in the congregation whether that spans 4 months or 40 years – and
your vision for its future! We will pass these
suggestions on to Clif as he
prepares this special music for
this extra-special occasion.
Clif shares our excitement
as we embark on this unique
experience. We can hardly wait
for us to sing it!
Looking back, and forward,
Liz & Debby
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
November 2014
UUSC
RE Update
Jan Lundstrom
Lisa Lawrence, DRE
A new year has started for UUSC.
Our first activity this church year is participation
in the annual Fair Trade Trick or Treat. Look for
your fairly traded chocolate mini
bar on October 26, 2014.
Soon after begins the Guest
at Your Table membership
drive. This effort in the past was
highlighted by the boxes into
which you were all encouraged
to donate your spare change. Last
year the production of the boxes
was discontinued for ecological reasons. A limited
number of boxes exist ordered before the “ban”. If
families with children find this meaningful, please
contact members of the UUSC committee—Jan
Lundstrom, Darnell Kirksey, and Sally Thomas.
Giving is a learned behavior, and if families find that
the boxes aid this learning there are a few available.
We ask that you do not write on the boxes but rather
include a notation in the box of the donor family.
That way we can reuse the boxes.
The best thing that UUSC has done is eliminate
the levels of membership based on amount donated.
Every donor is counted as a UUSC member. The
newsletter articles each month telling about the
work the UUSC is doing world wide and also in
the United States, should reinforce your wish to
join and participate. Your easiest time to donate is
the plate collection on Sunday November 30, 2014.
The envelopes will be available at the door to the
sanctuary.
The Shelter Rock Veatch Foundation will again
match your donations of $125 or more to support
the work of UUSC.
Please consider supporting this important effort
for Justice. The projects UUSC emphasizes are
Workers Rights and the fight for a higher minimum
wage, the human right to potable water, the rights
of often disenfranchised women and children, and
finally economic justice for small farmers.
Thank you for all you do.
Much news to report…
I feel like the luckiest DRE ever. I have a team
of 27 volunteers helping to make our increased
programming possible this year. The teachers and
classroom assistants rotate to volunteer about once per
month. Rotating keeps the volunteer roles manageable
and allows them to catch the
majority of sermons. Thank you
volunteer team!
Our first OWL sexuality
education class has been completed.
I’d like to give a great, big thank
you to our OWL facilitator team of
Sharon Beard and Annie Converse.
Hoot! Hoot! Thank you for your
time, energy and dedication in
teaching this 8 week class.
I’d also like to let you know about the upcoming
parenting workshop being planned for Sunday,
November 9th from 5:00-7:00 pm. The title of the class
is “Family Harmony, Efficiency and Cooperation: The
Art of Shaping Family Life” and will be presented by
Jeff Drake, M.A. Jeff is a long time parent educator
who has recently moved from Boston, Massachusetts
to Wickenburg, Arizona. This event is open to the
public and pizza and childcare will be provided.
Coming up later in November, RE will be
holding their first service project. We will once
again be volunteering at Valley View Community
Food Bank as they allow children under the age of
twelve to volunteer. Opportunities like this help us,
and our children, to develop compassion, empathy
and a sense of stewardship for our own community.
It reinforces the truth that they, too, can make a
difference.
We are opening this service day up to the whole
congregation because philanthropy feels good and the
more the merrier! Please look for a sign-up sheet in
the social hall with detailed event information.
Please have information for the Newsletter
submitted by Noon on the 15th of each month
to the Editor, Charlie Mannino at
[email protected]
November 2014
District Assembly
It’s early, but please mark your calendars now to
attend our Unitarian Universalist Pacific Southwest
District Assembly this church year, April 24 and 25,
2015, at one of our nearby sister congregations, Valley
UU in Chandler, Arizona. Since our District covers
Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada,
it is not often that District Assembly is so close to us.
Come experience this mini-General Assembly, with
interesting workshops, inspiring worship, and the
chance to connect with other UU’s in our District!
Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org
7
17540 N. Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, AZ 85378-2581
Phone: 623.875.2550 Fax: 623.875.2552
www.uusurprise.org Email: [email protected]
First Class Mail
Affirmation
Love is the spirit of this church
And service is its law.
This is our great covenant:
To dwell together in peace,
To seek the truth in freedom,
And to help one another.
Join us for Sunday service at 10:30 am
Sermon Titles For November
11/2 - Rev. Terry Sims....................................................................................................................................................... Speaker for the Dead
How does our relationship to those who have died inform how we should live? That is the question we will explore in
this service honoring the tradition of the “Day of the Dead.”
11/9 - Rev. Terry Sims ........................................................................................ Casting Ourselves into the Future, Part II
Last month, we examined how we cast ourselves into the future through our congregation and in other ways. In this
service, we’ll take an even broader look at the future of the human experiment, how we may all hope to throw ourselves
forward into it, and what part religious principles may play in that effort.
11/16 - Rev. Terry Sims .............................................................................................................................The Widest Circle
St. Augustine said that God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. On this “Bring a
Friend to Church” Sunday, we will consider our liberal religion’s goal to include many diverse people, ideas, and views, not
just for their sake, but for ours. Is that enough to hold Unitarian Universalism together?
Bring a Friend to Church - All of us can spread the good news of Unitarian Universalism and our church. Personally inviting
someone to come to church with you is the single most effective way of doing that. It’s how I became a UU! November 16 is our
“Bring a Friend to Church” Sunday. And we all have friends. Please extend a special invitation to your friends to come to our
church that Sunday. It could well be a blessing for them and for us! Thank you. Rev. Terry
11/23 - Rebecca Riggs .................................................................................................................................. All That Is Not Lost
11/30 - Rev. Terry Sims ................................................................................................................... And Service Is Our Law
That’s a pretty strong statement in the Affirmation we repeat each Sunday. How can we reify our commitment to
service? The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee has good ideas. It’s been living out the UU ideal of service for a
long time.