April
2007
Jump Station: Services; President's Column; Reflections from the Reverend; Music Notes; Clara Barton Spring Conference; Installation Planning; B&G Work Day Planned; Women's Alliance Annual Meeting; Voices of Stewardship; Year End Date Open; Education Grant Available; Save date for Annual Meeting; How does the First Service Sound; Spike Lee's Film; Thanks to Drivers; Officers - Staff- Office Hours; Current Calendar; Attachments Services at 9 & 11 AM, children’s programming and nursery 1 April - Palm Sunday and Accessibility Issues - The Comfort and the Challenge of our Faith - The high drama of the final week in the life of Jesus offers a liberal religious perspective regarding support of persons who experience accessibility issues. 8 April - Extreme Unction and Easter -The Easter Story shimmers with promise that we can experience resurrection in many ways and realms of life, so long as we are willing to pass through the tomb. 15 April - Being Faithful to our Work: the story of Mary and Martha - Debbie Humphries 22 April - What’s a pulpit for? - UUs are proud of our ‘free pulpit’ and ‘free pew.” What do these terms mean? 29 April - American Indian Religions and Ecology – Speaker John Grim is a historian of religion who does field studies with Crow people in Montana and Salish people in Washington State. He is also co-founder of the Forum on Religion and Ecology. I was first attracted to Unitarian-Universalism because it valued intellectual pursuit and because it kept intellectual growth and spiritual growth on the same track. The intellectualism of Unitarian-Universalism resonated with my role as a medical school faculty member and the high regard that scientific method is given in that world. The supreme skill is finding the words to articulate complex concepts and crafting those words so that others might also understand. But I have also come to understand that my attraction to intellectualism has a deeper and darker side. The normal emotional turmoil of growing up was not afforded much accommodation in my family. Emotions were better denied. Thoughts and words became my refuge. Fast forward several decades and I find myself once again preoccupied with trying to understand the spiritual meaning of things. In particular, the educator, Parker Palmer’s reflections on the spiritual dimensions of teaching keep running through my mind. Palmer portrays the process of teaching as an attempt to come to terms with life’s conflicting truths and he finds in this practice many spiritual dimensions. As a Unitarian-Universalist, I suspect that life’s conflicting truths may actually define spiritual practice. In teaching my medical students how to collect the information they need to help manage health care of their patients, I am ever more impressed with how little information is contained in words that they exchange and how much information is communicated non-verbally. By non-verbal communication, I don’t just mean a patient’s appearance and body language. I also mean the students’ emotional responses to their patients, which they must monitor and add to the mix of information that forms the picture they develop of the patient’s life. Added to this is the emerging evidence from brain imaging studies, which shows the widespread activity in the brain during the simplest of tasks, only a small portion of which occurs in the areas of the brain devoted to cognition and words. Within Unitarian-Universalism we hold in high regard the ability to conceptualize and to articulate with some degree of scientific certainty. We are also devoted to supporting each other in our spiritual journeys, which appear to be fundamentally non-verbal pursuits. Talk about conflicting truths! Life, it seems, is so much more than that which meets the eye, or the ear, or any of the other senses. Simply becoming aware of a tiny bit more than what superficially hits my senses has been a struggle, but not nearly the struggle entailed in trying to find the words with which to conceptualize this new awareness that most of what goes on does not entail cognition or words. It seems like words are necessary in order to process, but words are hard to find, imprecise, and subject to variable interpretation (thereby adding yet another layer of processing). Perhaps this dizzying array of emotion, thought, proprioception, and whatever else feeds into our brains can be processed or is processed at a non-verbal level, and maybe finding the words only represents the very last step in the process, once everything has been distilled down to the level of mere thought. And, maybe it is possible to gain access to these non-verbal processing centers the way people learn to control their body temperature, or heart rate, or brain waves. I do know that a walk in the woods, a long ride on the bicycle, and sitting in the Sanctuary seem to bring about some ordering, some notions of clarity about things that did not enter my conscious thought or conversation, and those moments seem like magic. Increasingly I'd just assume to remain steeped in the magic of those moments. I often feel like life is lived on the edge of tears, some of great joy, some of great sadness, and some I cannot fathom. Perhaps I am making up for many years of numbness. I once thought it enough to acknowledge that more is going on than meets the eye. I am now beginning to understand that more is going than meets the words. – Charles Huntington 1 April: our own Dr. Bill Willett brings his Woodwind Quintet to the Meeting House. The flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn will enliven the service with their unique blend of lyricism. 8 April: for our Easter service both the children’s and adults’ choirs will sing selections from Handel’s oratorio ‘Judas Maccabeus.’ Although “See the conq’ring hero” was written about the triumphant Judah the Maccabee, it applies as well to the triumphant spirit of renewal at this springtime season. Our bass soloist David Kennedy sings “The Trumpet Shall Sound” from Handel’s Messiah. In a lighter vein, the Chalice Choir sings “every little star must shine, shine, shine” in the “Rabbit Song.” 15 April: “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need” in Virgil Thomson’s setting is an old American hymn expressing the comfort and security found in some early American sects. 22 April: Music for Earth Day includes a preview of the Installation music: David L. Brunner’s beautiful “Song of the Earth Spirit” and a most unusual selection from our hymnal. “The Earth Is Home” by William Albright is not your usual hymn, but it has a haunting effect with chord clusters in the organ under a chant-like melody. It’s Hymn #310 – try humming along! 29 April: TBA; the Choir is off. And looking ahead: May 6th will be Spring Music Sunday. The musical offerings will all be by women composers, including one or two selected from the Women Composers’ Concert held at the Meeting House at 7:30 on Sunday evening, March 25th. The Clara Barton District Rally occurring on March 3rd was the 11th annual Middle School UU Youth Rally, a gathering of UU Children from all around the Clara Barton District at the Meeting House. How many came? Imagine the Sanctuary so filled with kids and chaperones that they could hold hands around the inner wall and pass a hand squeeze around those gathered, 130 people! The place was jumping and as lively as only ‘tweens can be. Workshops ran in morning and afternoon sessions. Balloon animals, drumming, new games and storytelling were some of the activities. The balloon group made a balloon hat that towered three feet high and wide. The young man who wore it said, “The hat feels at light as air.” Showing off the Meeting House was one of the pleasures of the day. Kids new to the building said it really did look like a space ship. The adult planners were so impressed by our space that they began thinking of our location again for next year. For those of us familiar with the Meeting House and its quirks, the comments were refreshing as people exclaimed over the kitchen and the ease of setting up Fellowship Hall to feed 130 hungry bodies at a sit-down luncheon. Who else do we want to come to our Meeting House so we can showcase our unique building? Hiring a new RE Professional: Nina Binin-Berg is the embodiment of generosity and selfless commitment to the USH Religious Education program. In October, our congregation found itself in abrupt need of a leader for the RE year. Nina volunteered to take on the program, which serves the religious education needs for the children and families of USH. While the congregation sits in meditative contemplation in the Sanctuary, the rest of the Meeting House is a beehive of activity with as many as 72 children at once in classes. Keeping such a program fully staffed and prepared with teaching materials Sunday after Sunday is a monumental task and one met by Nina and her volunteer spirit. And now her release is upon us. A Hiring Committee has been formed and will be led by Kelly Lyman, who brings a breadth of experience as a school principal coupled with her own willing donation of time to bring a new RE professional to the Meeting House. Be alert to fliers announcing the job description, which will appear shortly. The usual avenues of hiring will be used, but it may be that someone in the congregation is aware of the perfect candidate---a friend, neighbor, colleague, who would bring a special set of skills to our very special children. RE Talkback: The next Religious Education talkback will take place April 1 at 12:30 PM. It will be an open forum, but areas of interest will include the hiring of a new RE Administrator, creating a new 2nd – 3rd grade class and teacher recruiting. – Laurie Kelliher The Clara Barton District of UU Congregations Spring Conference Saturday, April 14, 2007. The Keynote Speaker is Kathleen (Kay) Montogomery, Executive Vice President of the Unitarian-Universalist Association and the topic is, The Future of Unitarian Universalism: Five Paths to Growth. The Conference will be held a Nichols College – David Hall, familiar to those of you who attended the Conference last fall. Further details are available from the Clara Barton Website, linked from our home page. For those who do not have computer resources, call the office and we will arrange for you to receive a brochure about the Conference. A Word From the Installation Planning Team Mark
you calendars for the official Installation
of Reverend BJ as our Minister at USH at 4:00
PM on May 20th. As a living example of
the generosity Reverend BJ urges us to practice
every day, she's asked that we take the bulk
of funds we would have spent on a fancy party
and donate them to a deserving group, Hartford's
own Ebony Horsewomen. We invite every family to help by contributing a finger food that can be served at room temperature. Please bring your favorite hors d'oeuvre: veggies, crackers & cheese, canapé; or special dessert: cookies, bars, candies, cut fruit, etc. If you have questions or ideas about how to make this installation special, talk with any of us. Look for sign up sheets at coffee hour later this month. – Carol Sexton on behalf of Mary-Anne Mulholland, Janice & David Newton, Rosie Rindfleisch and Rev. BJ. A spring clean up day is scheduled for Saturday Morning 9 AM to 12 Noon on April 7th. It is a time to clean up the debris left from winter storms on the grounds and otherwise clean up the Meeting House before the Easter Sunday Service and warmer season. Yes, this is yard work and you can do it! Volunteers should watch the USH-Enews and/or contact Ed Sax during the preceding week so he will know you will be available and can schedule tasks and tools as necessary. Women’s Alliance Sets Annual Meeting April 22 Members of the USH Women’s Alliance will hold their annual meeting on Sunday April 22 in the Meeting House library following a cold potluck luncheon. Members will be voting on a reorganization plan to align its program under the Council on Community Within (COCW). On March 13 the Board of Directors accepted the proposal written by the reorganization committee. A vote by Alliance members is needed to put the new plan into effect. Details of the meeting and a reservation form will be mailed to all current members. Please join us to be part of this important decision. Non-members are invited to sign up for lunch if they would like to learn more about this new direction for ministering to women. Watch the Alliance bulletin board for details. For those of you who have not been members of the USH since 1976 (unlike your reporter), Sunday’s service on stewardship might not have seemed that unusual. True, Rev. BJ announced that “You may have noticed that the Order of Service is not standard today,” but she didn’t announce that, during the service she and four members of the congregation would be telling the world exactly how much money they would be pledging for the 2007-2008 USH pledge drive. (Back in the “old days,” we didn’t even take a collection on Sundays, and money was something one discussed discretely, behind closed doors!) The theme began during, A Time for All Ages, as three little munchkins of the Chalice Choir reprised their earlier “Magic Penny” song with its “You end up having more” by “giving it away.” Then Rev. BJ explained the “law of reciprocity” to the large number of children crowded around her on the Chancel floor. “If you give someone something, they feel like paying it back, or forward,” she said, and “this starts a gift chain.” Rev. BJ’s example involved giving and getting cookies. When, at the end of her talk, she asked if any of the children had any questions, a loud and clear kid’s voice asked, “Does it have to be cookies?” and the congregation broke up. During the meditation, Rev. BJ suggested, “Imagine the cupboard of you being full,” and our eyes went to the Chancel display. Last week’s empty shopping bags were now filled to overflowing and were topped with bright purple, red and yellow tissue paper and garlands. This week’s Begging Bowl was given to Laurie Rollins who, with her daughter, will be living on $4 a day per person this week. Laurie said her daughter had gone shopping for the week and was pleased that she had $3.79 left—but had forgotten to buy tea and coffee. During her own Stewardship Reflection, Rev. BJ said, “I have always gone to church, and am at home with the word stewardship.” She remarked that life gives each of us the chance to be a good steward of some talent, but today we would be talking about stewardship in relation to the Meeting House finances. Rev. BJ explained that she is increasing her current pledge by 20%, for a total gift of $4,800 per year, “because there are more things we want to do” and she asked her congregation to “consider the stewardship path that is uniquely yours.” Four USH members, speaking in the order they became USH members, gave heartfelt and moving stories of their own lives and described their personal pledge amounts—in dollars: Nancy Nelson, an elementary school teacher, has been a member for 14 years. Her life choices included career, motherhood and becoming a UU because she needed a place where her “kids could make their own choices.” A divorce forced her to look at money in a way she never had before. For many years, she explained, her pledge was small and she gave through being involved in many volunteer projects at the church. Now she is pleased that she is in a place where she can give $100 a month. Susan Huntington was happy to explain that her “family is now in good times” and that she and her husband Charles (current president of the Society) will be increasing their pledge from $12,000 to $15,000 this year. Many years ago, she said, they decided to concentrate their spending, stop giving many groups small amounts, and make the USH their primary donation because it was “something dear to our hearts…and we could see the money going to work.” John Bengtson, a member for two years, told us he is “fascinated by the idea of transparency” and considers giving time and money to the USH “a privilege rather than a responsibility.” One of the main reasons he joined, he said, was because of the religious education for children; his children “are learning to ask the right questions.” But he also likes USH’s social justice positions and is “hungry for spiritual action.” The household budget of John’s family is around $60,000 and their pledge has grown in recent years from $500 to $800 to $1,000 for the coming year. Helen David, the newest member to offer a Voice of Stewardship, felt that “pledging and giving is such a personal thing.” When her husband died last year, she lost his social security income, and his military pension was halved. Her life changed drastically, she admitted, and she had to deal with the “strange trinity” of mind, heart and pocketbook. For the coming USH year, she has settled on the “slightly uncomfortable figure” of $2,000 by cutting back on spending so she has more money to donate. “I have much to be joyous for,” she said of her discovery of the USH. - Kayla Costenoble (Editor’s note: if your pledge is still not recorded for next year, please arrange to complete your pledge form ASAP.) With their chair in Australia and their members actively pursuing other projects at the Meeting House, our terrific Hospitality team needs a break. The year-end slot is available to any sub-council, class or group that would like to plan a year-end celebration event in June. If you're interested, talk with your Council chair and coordinate the date with the office. Marking the beginning of summer, and traditionally called 'Celebration' Sunday, the June 10 service will be our annual flower festival ritual. Some food-based celebration afterward could also occur. - Carol Sexton, COCW Chair Educational Grant Available in April The USH Women’s Alliance is proud to announce that applications will be available beginning April 1 for the Women’s Alliance Educational Grants. Applicants should be pursuing study at a post high school level, with priority given to those with minimal scholarship aid or loan sources. Grants are small (generally under $500), but may be used for expenses such as tuition, books, childcare and transportation. Affiliation with USH is not required, but will be considered. Applications will be in the pocket on the Educational Grant poster found on the Alliance bulletin board in Fellowship Hall and are due Sunday, April 29. Questions? Call 693-4269 and leave a message. Two young women enrolled in college were awarded small grants last year. Wrote one, “Thank you for your gift toward my educational expenses. It was wonderful to receive the help.” And, from another recipient, “Thank you for awarding me the Women’s Alliance Scholarship. It was much appreciated, especially at the bookstore.” June 3, 2007 is scheduled for the Annual Meeting of Unitarian Society of Hartford following the 11 o’clock service. How Does the First Service Sound to You? Since we moved the 9:00 AM worship service to the chapel, the Building and Grounds and Disabilities Sub-Councils have been working with the staff and the Welcome Team to make sure that the service is accessible for everyone who wants to come. By using the former chancel sound system and two Pocketalker Pro personal hearing assistance devices, which belong to the church, we now hope that everyone can easily hear everything. The Pocketalker Pro’s are available at the first service Welcome Table just inside the side door from the parking lot. However, if you’re having trouble hearing during the first service, let Peter Magistri, Bill Willett or Bill LaPorte-Bryan know, and we’ll try to correct the situation. Spike Lee's film – When Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts The film will be shown on Sunday, April 29 at 12:30 PM in Fellowship Hall. We will break for popcorn, pizza and for dessert. Bring comfortable chairs, if you wish, for the 4 hour saga. The acts deal with different aspects of the events that preceded and followed Katrina's catastrophic passage through New Orleans. According to the New Yorker, "the most magnificent and large-souled record of a great American tragedy ever put on film." Please make reservations through the office; $5 fee for food and beverage. A Tip of the Hat to Little Ministries Adding Quality to the USH Experience In our time when cars are ubiquitous, transportation is largely in personally owned vehicles, and public transportation is limited, it is easy to forget those who have no means of reaching the Meeting House for Sunday services, various meetings and need an assist to reach various locations for medical appointments. BJ has introduced us to the concept of ministries, voluntary jobs of various sorts done for the common good. Among the USH ministries, providing rides when possible for those who need them is a little job a person can do; a job of limited duration that frequently only involves a slight deviation from the normal path to and from the Meeting House. At this time, we recognize those who have (or plan to) provided a few or many rides to those who need them either through requests coordinated by the Caring Network or through individual arrangements. We are sure there are others providing rides unknown to us. You too are thanked and appreciated for your ministry. Our thanks and appreciation are extended to: Betty Arnold, John Barlow, Joy Barnett, Ginny & Skip Berrien, Diane Cadrain, Jane Christensen, Katie Doyle, Barbara Fraher, Ron Friedman, Milly Geeter, Nita Hansen, Ginny Hedrick, Diana Heymann, Al & Kathy Herzog, Amy Hines, Charles Huntington, Joan & Tom Kemble, Susan Kinney, Bill & Ann Laporte-Bryan, Chris McClurg, Deb & Peter Meny, Janice & David Newton, Betty Palmer, Tom & Nancy Reed, Rosie Rindfleisch, Laurie Rollins, Mike Roy, Richard Roznoy, Louise Schmoll, Bill Shoemaker, Bev Spence, Marilyn and Ed Stockton, Ed Stubbs, Gail Syring, Barbara Thornburg, Bill & Louise Willett, and Jane Willitts. - DCN **** Officers: Charles Huntington, President; Bill Young, President Elect; Margaret Leicach, Treasurer; Sue Kinney, Secretary; Nancy Mandly, At-Large Community Within; Marye Gail Harrison, At-Large, Spiritual Life; Peg Otto, At-Large Social Justice. Council Chairs: Hugh Schweitzer, Administration; Carol Sexton, Community Within; Fred Louis, Social Justice; Nina Elgo, Spiritual Life STAFF: Rev. Barbara Jamestone, Minister; Nina Binin RE Administrator; Denise Ackeifi, Youth Advisor; Brian Mullen, Business Manager; Rosie Rindfleisch, Administrative Asst; Mattie Banzhaf, Music Director; Vaughn Mauren, Organist: Peter Magistri, Sexton; Robert Gavin, Custodian. Office hours: M-F 9-3 (excluding W 10 -11);Rev. Jamestone: Phone: 860 233-9897; Email: RevBJ@USHartford.com Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday - Available by appointment. Articles for the Meetinghouse Messenger should be directed to messengernews@ushartford.com by the 15th of the month prior to publication. This issue was edited by D & J Newton, Brian Mullen and Rosie Rindfleisch. Word from Rev BJ – Celebration! The word calls up images of costumes, laughter, music, friends, and family! During March we celebrated our ongoing financial commitment to USH with costumes and laughter of a zany St. Patrick’s Day, “Bringin’ in the Green,” party. During the prior Sunday service on March 11, we celebrated with the voices of four of our friends at USH telling you why they are committed to our lovely life together. (If you missed that service, you may receive a CD.) Now you have the opportunity to join me in further celebration of our beloved community through music and family. Music - On April 22, at around 12: 45 PM, join us for, Making Melody in our Hearts, a public gathering for all friends of Sunday music at USH. We will speak our appreciation for all our musicians, and we will begin visioning all kinds of Sunday service music for the coming church year. In planning our church year calendar, I have asked all sub-councils to answer these questions about their area of influence: What would you miss, if we stopped doing it? What would you add to our repertoire, as reflecting and enhancing our diverse faith? Though it may be good, what would you omit in order to free resources for something else? At our “Making Melody” gathering we will be answering these same questions about our Sunday music. If you cannot attend, do feel free to write and give me your answers to these questions, as we would like to have a clear articulation of our music-related congregational joys and yearnings. It’s especially important that you attend, if you are someone who, regularly or occasionally, makes a presentation offering of music in worship through singing or instrumentation. Family: Having heard requests for some continuity or theme running through our entire church program, Spiritual Life Council (COS) and I have determined that 2007-2008 will be the year of the family. The word ‘family’ conjures up many images and meanings, and at it’s best, the idea of ‘family’ shimmers with fundamental values and core attributes, which are cherished by UUs because they undergird fullness of life for humanity and the entire web of being. Sub-Councils, I hope you will begin imagining events and programs for next year that lift up the core value of ‘family.’ In the coming year we will celebrate our individual families, offering spiritual nurture whatever your unique ‘family’ looks like. We will celebrate our church family, strengthening ties through honesty and commitment, through focused intention to provide both comfort and challenge as we grow together at USH in spirit and in service. We will begin imagining what we, as a church family, are called to do in service to the larger community—a process out of which will emerge our spiritual life theme for the year after next! For 2008-2009 I’m thinking of something like “Daylight’s wasting!” as we joyfully gather and focus resources to reach out to help others beyond our tent. - Best, Rev. BJ Attachments: Torch and Tango & Body Burden
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