Newsletter February 03 USH

February 2003 Newsletter
(content with minor corrections)

Upcoming Services:

February 2, 2003 “Churches With Souls”

Service Leader: Rev. Cooley; Guest Speaker: Mike Durall - New York Times writer Paul Wilkes, author of the book, “Excellent Protestant Congregations,” often discusses churches that have souls. What could that mean? What kind of people go to these churches? Are they any different from us? We'll take a look at churches that have souls, some that do not, and what this means for us as individual congregants. Along the way, we'll throw in a heresy or two, just to keep things interesting.

February 9, 2003 “The Nature of Leadership”

Service Leader: Rev. Cooley - Terasa will offer her thoughts on what makes true leadership, as opposed to true leaders. This also serves as an introduction to the two-session adult education offering she will lead on February 11^th and 18^th.

February 16, 2003 “The Power of Submission”

Service Leader: Rev. Cooley - As part of a once-a-month sermon series, Terasa will be offering reflections about the religion of Islam, some of its core concepts as well as its diverse expressions.

February 23, 2003 “The Healing Power of Forgiveness”

Guest Speaker: Rev. Walter Everett - Rev. Walt Everett, minister of our neighboring congregation of the United Methodist Church of Hartford, will tell us of his intensely personal experience with the power of forgiveness, and its call to preserve life.

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Writing a monthly column is always a challenge. I am not sure what you want to read or know from me. Typically, I vacillate between addressing internal versus external issues, opting almost exclusively to write about internal issues. This month's article addresses a couple of important internal issues, but I also have added my thoughts on an external issue, the Bush Administration's foreign policy agenda, that I feel compelled to discuss.

The first and very important internal issue is our governance structure. We need to ensure that our new governance structure is efficient, accountable, and representative. Charles Huntington and fellow members of his task force are moving forward in developing a proposal for restructuring our governance structure that adheres to these principles. We hope to have a final proposal this spring and bring it to the Congregation for a vote before the summer. Due to the timing, it will not be possible to implement a new governance structure before our fiscal year 2003-04 begins on July 1. Therefore, we will continue with our existing structure through the next fiscal year with the intent of implementing the new structure on July 1, 2004.

The second internal issue relates to the transition to our new fiscal year. I realize that this has been confusing and at times frustrating to you. We are currently in a six- month budgetary cycle. Once completed, we will begin our annual cycle on a fiscal year basis from July 1 to June 30. As you will recall, our last canvass was for an 18 month period covering the 2002 calendar year and this current 6 month time period. You should be receiving your pledge statements soon. These statements will identify your pledge for an 18 month period and what you paid through the end of 2002. Also, because of this transition, we have changed the canvass to this spring. Finally, under our Constitution and By Laws, we are required to hold an annual meeting in February. We will hold this meeting on February 16 after the service. We will be doing it differently this year. Rather than putting together a detailed report, we will present a much slimmed down and more focused version of the Annual Report. The meeting is important and I encourage you to attend.

Finally, I feel compelled to speak out in opposition to the Bush Administration's approach to dealing with Iraq, North Korea, and other foreign policy issues. My humble opinion is that the Administration pursued an aggressive and arrogant foreign policy agenda that failed to achieve its goals and, in many cases (e.g., Venezuela and North Korea) backfired. We are negotiating ourselves into a corner forcing us to rely on demagoguery and bullying as our only solutions. This negotiating posture will exacerbate, not eliminate, the threats we face including terrorism. We need to raise our voices and let the Administration know that diplomatic solutions, while slow, compromising, and frustrating, remain our best solutions. I encourage you to speak out in whatever form you feel most comfortable.

Faithfully and in peace,

Bart Bracken

REflections

Wow, when we make a News Year's resolution, we mean it!

January has been remarkable. After the first six months of getting to know where things were and what to expect on Sunday, the January flurry of new energy and activity has left me breathless with joy! I am so thrilled with the dedication and energy that so many in this congregation put into the lifespan religious education programs. It is truly a reflection of our hope and commitment to our future.

January showed the fruits of much planning as the committees embarked on the implementation of the long-range plan. The Adult Programs Fair was a feast of opportunities for mind, body and spirit. So many individuals put their heart, time and energy into making such a diverse and inviting curriculum available that it is astounding.

The children's religious education program has experienced a burst of new energy as the winter session began with a snowstorm of enthusiasm. The Religious Education committee has leaped forward into a phase of functioning that makes me excited to come to work. The youth group is also spreading their wings as, on top of their already exciting programming, they are on their way to a UU ski trip with the UU Youth of the UU church in Worcester and fundraising for GA begins.

Match that with the list of more than 40 volunteer facilitator/teachers and classroom helpers and that is a lot of excitement. It takes many people to make such a large and vibrant program flourish. I am so grateful.

This is so cool!
Reverend Cheryl Leshay

ADULT PROGRAM COMMITTEE SIGN-UPS

Hopefully, you have taken advantage of the Adult Program Committee brochure that came with the January newsletter and have registered for the classes and activities that interest you.

Registration continues at the APC registration table in Fellowship Hall. We welcome questions or suggestions, particularly if you are interested in facilitating a program yourself for the next term.

Updates on classes and scheduling can be found in David Newton's Thursday USH email communication.

Books in the library are available on a sign-out/sign-in honor system arrangement. Come and see what is available We welcome any contributions to the shelves as long as they are of a spiritual nature.

COMFORT SHAWL MINISTRY WELCOMES NEW KNITTERS

There is nothing to lose (except, perhaps, a stitch or two) and everything to gain as a knitter of a purple comfort shawl. The 16 knitters who knit from 9 - 10:30 AM on a recent Sunday morning shared tales, tips and the good feelings that this new project brought about.

Six shawls have been knitted; two have been given out; 16 more are in various stages of completion.

If you don't knit, but like the concept, here's an idea: SPONSOR A KNITTER! DONATE $15 AND A NEW SHAWL WILL BE CREATED.

(Contact Caring Network head knitter Vicki Carey at 726-1989)

These days, knitters are seen in many places – at meetings, in small group ministries and at social gatherings. “Formal” group meetings are the second Sunday of the month, from 9-10:30. (Call Vicki to join the group.)

Some haven't knitted since college argyle sock days. One learned to comfort herself and her sister as the sister was dying. Asked how she was doing, a first-time knitter admitted, “I'm not sure, but I'm loving it!”

If you know someone in the congregation who needs a shawl to comfort her/him, please contact Rev. Cooley (233-9897) or the Caring Committee (Janice and David Newton 677-1121 ).

February 15 is the deadline for the March newsletter. And a very special thank you to Betty Arnold and her band of volunteer elves and fairies who fold, label, sort, stamp, mail and work hard to get the newsletter to you by the first Sunday of each month.

WOMEN'S ALLIANCE SETS FEB. NINE FOR SPECIAL WINTER POETRY PARTY

All women in the society are invited to come to the Winter Poetry Fest scheduled for a Sunday, February 9 at 12:15 pm in the Meeting House library. Attendees will share their favorite sandwiches (bring a couple to put on a sandwich tray) and their favorite poetry.

This party is sponsored by the Women's Alliance, which will provide dessert and beverages to accompany the food and poetry.

* * * * * *

If you are thinking about joining the Alliance women for their annual R&R retreat at Clara Barton Camp this spring, please note that the dates are Friday evening – Sunday morning, April 25-27 (not May). Watch for details.

Alliance Contact: Ellie Revill - 529-9254

USH COUPLE MAKES NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Have you heard about Mary Lovelock and Bob Chapman?

Next time you're in New Zealand, go to the Timaru Boys' School to see the life-sized bronze statue of Mary's father, Dr. Jack Lovelock, who set world records in his running career.

We hope you caught Bob Chapman portraying a state senator in the History Channel's new biography of Theodore Roosevelt: TR: An American Lion. It ran on January 20 and 21.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING ON FEBRUARY 16.

“IN-REACH” TO SEEK VIEWS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE NEEDS

Between now and May, the 31 member congregations of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice will take the pulse of its members on regional social justice issues of concern. The “in-reach” process here in our own congregation will be accomplished by individual conversations between a trained listener and those who agree to participate. To get a valid picture of the social justice issues that our members feel most passionate about, the Social Responsibility Committee would like to interview 100 of our parishioners.

In April there will be an open forum to reveal the results of the interviews and to provide a chance for the whole congregation to comment on the issues that emerge from the process.

In May, each of the 31 member congregations will bring their three top social justice issues back to the Coalition for a larger issues forum. At this forum, Coalition members will vote on three issues to pursue for action. After research and strategy planning over the summer, the Coalition hopes to make a public announcement of its regional social justice initiatives in October.

Ann Pratt, a staff member of the Coalition, told those attending her after-service presentation at the Meeting House last month that the group's aim is to involve 2000 persons and 50 congregations. The Coalition hopes to meet with Connecticut's governor and legislators this fall to suggest a “better way to run this region.”

The Hartford and Manchester social justice committees have become members of this interfaith group.

The USH Social Responsibility Committee urges you to participate in the process, and feels our UU voices need to be heard. There are 14 trained interviewers eager to talk to you, so please say “Yes” if contacted for an interview.

Social Responsibility Committee

OPPORTUNITIES TO DISCUSS GA STUDY/ACTION ISSUE USH Society members will soon have an opportunity to discuss the Study/Action issue chosen at last June's General Assembly (GA) in Quebec City: Threats to Civil Liberties.

Each Study/Action statement is studied for two years; we are in the second year of the 2001 issue: Globalization.

Study/Action statements guide future UUA policy and action. According to UUA President William Sinkford, “Unitarian Universalists have always stepped forward to defend civil liberties in times of challenge...now it is our turn.” He further advises, “It's easy to assume that the first step is action, but we will act more wisely if our first step is reflection.”

Our Social Responsibility and Denominational Concerns committees are working together to define and provide chances for members of this Society to study this issue. Listen for Sunday morning announcements about how our congregation can provide feedback to the UUA by the March 3 deadline.

Denomination Concerns contact: Sue Smolski (793-0785)

RE VIEWS Festival of Lights: Tradition and Change

Rock star glasses, gingerbread houses, caroling, turkeys and a partridge in a pear tree-these are the delights of the Festival of Lights, the event that holds the place in our society's calendar to kick off the holiday season. This year found 200 celebrants sitting elbow to elbow for dinner following a winter afternoon of crafts, caroling and thecoffee corner.

That is our tradition; what's the change?

The Religious Education committee is seeking a new organizer for this favorite event. RE begins focusing on FOL planning in the late fall with the result that all other RE tasks are on hold until the beginning of the new year.

Under the leadership of Reverend Cheryl Leshay, RE is heading in multiple new directions and needs all energies focused on continuing a strong program for the children of our fellowship while creating new opportunities as well.

This space in the newsletter will introduce many of the ideas and programs that RE hopes to implement, so look for columns on team teaching, new curriculum, social activism for children, intergenerational activities, children's worship and teacher training and support.

In the meantime, Festival of Lights is calling out for people who enjoy organizing, keeping lists of details, making phone calls, preparing food, choosing and ordering crafts and above all, creating a joyful all-society celebration. The task is a huge one, but manageable with the tremendous cast of volunteers who make all good things happen. Contact a member of RE or Cheryl Leshay for more information.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE WANTS AND NEEDS YOU

The Membership Committee welcomes new comers to join the USH. Orientation sessions for the spring will be on Sunday, March 2 and Sunday April 13. They are at the Meeting House from 1230-2:30. Anyone interested can sign up at the hello table or at the visitors' corner or by calling the office at 233-9897. Childcare is available with advance notice.

If you're looking for a way to fill a New Year's resolution about becoming more involved with the Meeting House, this committee may be the place for you. Contact: Rebecca Judd - 561-8439

A COUPLE OF NEWS BRIEFS

On Sunday, February 23, there will be a brief after-service discussion on the death penalty. Six death penalty resolutions have been passed by the UUA.

On Saturday, March 1, the CT chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association will hold its End of War gathering at the Meeting House. Great food, produce, gifts and a chance to learn about the benefits of natural farming and gardening

Filaments – a look at small group ministries

“Calling,” was the Small Group Ministry topic that fascinated me. I had a very limited sense of what it meant, thinking of it primarily in a vocational sense. Yet the only person who had expressed to me a feeling of being called – by God, of course – was a Catholic nun with whom I worked at Saint Joseph College. Even writing for her own funeral service, she expressed her luck at being called to be a Sister of Mercy. “How did I get to be so lucky?” she asked.

In my own life of many mini-careers, I had never felt such a calling. Even as director of religious education for a Unitarian Meeting House, I had felt more “willing” than “called.” Even in the field where my passion lies, teaching, my sense of belonging had come after I started to do it, not before.

Clearly, to facilitate personal reflections on this topic, I would need to do some research. Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Gregg Levoy proved to be the perfect information provider. “In many traditions,” he writes, “calls – in the form of sounds – precede prayer, rites of initiation, spiritual healings, and major life events. The purpose of calls is to summon adherents away from their daily grinds to a new level of awareness, into a sacred frame of mind, into communion with that which is bigger than themselves. It simply doesn't matter whether we call it God, the Patterning Intelligence, the Design Mind, the Unconscious, the Soul, the Force of Completion, the Center Court, or simply `life's longing for itself,' as Kahil Gibran envisioned.”

One especially helpful passage taught me that callings may refer to work, to relationships, to lifestyle, to service. “They may be calls to do something (become self-employed, go back to school, leave or start a relationship, move to the country, change careers, have a child) or calls to be something (more creative, less judgmental, more loving, less fearful). They may be calls toward something or away from something; calls to change something, renew our commitment to it, or come back to it in an entirely new way; calls toward whatever we've dared and double-dared ourselves to do for as long as we can remember.”

If you want to know the forms calls may take or what may happen to you if you don't heed them, I invite you to read Callings. If you want to be involved in reflecting upon equally engaging topics, I invite you to join us for the spring sessions of Small Group Ministry. Practicing listening to yourself and to others tunes the ears and the mind so that you won't miss your own callings when they come.

Beverly Spence

JAN. COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

Roy Cook and Ed Sax presented Building and Grounds priorities.

Financial consultant Mike Durall will be here January 31-February 2. He will meet with Council, committees and will deliver the February 2 sermon.

Doug Christie, Social Justice Committee, received Council approval to collect congregational input on social justice priorities in the Hartford area.

Selection criteria for GA delegates presented by Denominational Concerns Committee approved.

Ministers report: much activity on children's and adult education committees, district activities and work with “larger” congregations.

Treasurer's report: Year-end 2002 income below plan while expenses essentially on plan. Expense plan for six-month period January-June 2003 being reviewed.

Our Graphic Timeline – an in-depth focus on congregational life

This is about the graphic timeline in our church lobby. It began several years ago in my head as a dialogue. This was prompted by questions and comments by friends, relatives, neighbors and some fellow members (including myself) who knew little about our beginning and history. Either locally or nationally. There were tales repeated over the one hundred plus years of our existence in Hartford. Some turned out to be accurate and some not. But most challenging was whether or not Unitarian/Universalism was even a religion. It could be a sect with no significant history. No creed and no apparent discipline. The church architecture was likened to a larger tent, adding to a sense of the temporary.

I hoped the pictures in the timeline (the graphics) would catch the eye of busy people (including children) and stimulate a desire to read and learn more. Among other sources to read and immediately available to us was Freeman Meyer's book Hartford Unitarianism 1844-1944.”

Happily we had a wealth of archival material due to the saving habits of the Rev. Nat Lauriat. Entering our archives (as they were then) and being exposed to that material had all the excitement of an archeological dig. It was “as left in action,” held on to by category so that there were highlights and surprises that surfaced, outstanding events and patterns one might have missed if the material had already been historicized. There were photographs, formal printed sermons by earlier ministers, Council minutes and years of treasurer's reports, scrapbooks with newspaper clippings as well as bound copies of Council records. There were pictures and records of the congregation's four churches including much information and architectural drawings of our present church and the theological symbolism that went into the design. The individual qualities and interests of our ten ministers stood out and could be tracked.

Dr. Samuel May, for example, befriended Prudence Crandall when she was threatened by the community in Brooklyn, CT for including black girls as students in her boarding school. In a sermon, the Rev. John Kimball spoke about the Haymarket Riots in Chicago and compared the situation and experience of the so-called anarchists who were hanged to the situation of Jesus when the crowd demanded that he be crucified. The Rev. Charles Graves used a sermon to clarify issues in the Scopes trial pointing out that there are two stories of creation in the Bible, which weakened the case for the prosecution. Rev. Graves, in a newspaper article, recalled the earliest years in Connecticut before disestablishment when it was illegal to profess a lack of belief in trinitarianism. That could have meant jail for Unitarians. Do our children know that?

It seemed important, in the first panel, to show the early beginnings of concepts leading to Unitarian/Universalism. It was at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD where the Trinity was made church law over the objections of those led by Arius and others. So our history and presence are at least as old as that of the churches around us.

As consultants, the project had a theologian in Rev. Jon Luopa, an historian in Freeman Meyer, a librarian/archivist in Margaret Sax and a graphic artist in Carolyn Soutter. I saw myself as Everywoman.

Dorothy Fowler

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
26 12:30 PM Pizza Party, Coming of age Servetus	27 6 PM Tai Chi Fellowship Hall 7 Civil Liberties Library	28 7 PM AA Fellowship	29 9:30 AM Intern'l Women's Circle Fellowship Hall 7:30 Choir Sanctuary	30	31 6-9 PM Stewardship Library	February 1 Odus Youth Grp Offsite 9-6 PM Stewardship Library
2 8-10 AM 12-2 PM Stewardship Library 9-10:15 AM Great Decisions Servetus 7-9 PM Recital Chapel	3 6-8 PM Social Responsibility 6:30-7:30 PM Tai Chi 7-9 PM Fellowship Civil Liberties	4 7-9 PM RE Committee Servetus 7-9 PM Simplicity Murray 7-9 PM Governance	5 6:20-8 PM Worship Committee Library 7-8 PM Tai Chi Fellowship 7:30 9 PM Choir Sanctuary	6 7-9 PM Caring Network Servetus	7 6:30-9 PM CUREJ Fellowship	8 8:30-5:30 PM CUREJ Fellowship
9 9-10:15 AM Confort Shawl Min. Library 9-10:15 Great Decisions Servetus 9:30-10:30 B&G Archives	10 6:30-7:30 PM Tai Chi Fellowship 7-9 PM Civil Liberties Library	11 7-9 PM Leadership Library	12 1-3 PM Lessons in Loss David 7-8 PM Tai Chi Fellowship 7:30 -9 PM Choir Sanctuary	13 9:30-12 noon Int. Women's Circle Chinese Cooking Fellowship	14 5:30 -10:30 PM Dinner & Movie Fellowship	15
16 9-10:30 AMWelcoming Cong. Library 9-10:15 AM Great Decisions Servetus	17 6:30-7:30 PM Tai Chi Fellowship	18 7-9 PM Leadership Library	19 7-8 PM Tai Chi Fellowship 7:30 9 PM Choir Sanctuary	20	21	22
23 9-10:15 AM Great Decisions Servetus	24 6:30-7:30 PM Tai Chi Fellowship	25 7-9 PM Leadership Library	26 1-3 PM Lessons in Loss David 7-8 PM Tai Chi Fellowship 7:30-9 PM Choir Sanctuary	27 9:30-12 noon Int. Women's Circle Glass Cutting Fellowship 6-8 PM Adult Program Servetus 7-9:30 PM Membership Library	28

CONNECTIONS

Reverend Terasa G. Cooley

We will be privileged to have Mike Durall come and work with us on how to bring into fruition our ambitious strategic plan. He will be with us the first weekend of February, and everyone is invited to join us on February 2 for an after service lunch and discussion with this provocative author and consultant.

I have already learned a lot from Mike by reading his book, hearing him talk to a District gathering, and just from conversations on the phone. One of the things that he says quite often is that “The purpose of the church is to transform people's lives. If this is not what we are about we should question what we are doing.” This resonates quite deeply with what I believe as well.

Each of us is perhaps seeking different levels of transformation. Some are more eager for changes in their lives than others. And it is a scary and difficult process to engage in. We may know that we are not perfect, and perhaps need to make some changes, but we may also be unsure of how to go about it, or even what we're seeking. Yet I sense a pervading unhappiness with life in this materialistic culture, and I hear frequently from you of your desire to find a greater sense of purpose and meaning.

This is why we need this congregation to support us in our ongoing quest for that which will bring us peace and happiness. For what are we doing, indeed, if not helping one another to deepen our spirits, to challenge ourselves to bring our actions in line with our beliefs, to find meaning when we feel hopeless, to find the courage to live up to our inner dreams and ideals? This is the work of transformation, a deeper, more meaningful kind of change.

Mike Durall will challenge us to look at how well we as a congregation are succeeding in being an agent for transformation. I am eager to hear what he has to teach us, and I will also be eager to hear your responses to his message. I believe there is a great desire to build on the strengths of this wonderful congregation and deepen our lives together, and I look forward to seeing what we can build together.

WNPR AIRS LIUZZO STORY

“Uncommon Courage: the Viola Liuzzo Story,” will be aired on Friday, February 14 from 7-8 pm on WNPR. Viola Liuzzo was a Detroit housewife who became a civil rights icon and martyr. A Unitarian Universalist church member, she was committed to the ideals of equity and justice. This special program profiles her life and story.

WHO'S WHO IN THE SOCIETYAND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Please visit our wonderful web site for a continually updated list of committees, groups, descriptions, and names and phone numbers of contact persons. Getting involved is good for you!

Webmaster: David Newton www.ushartford.com

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Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 2/21/05)

February 2003 Newsletter (content with minor corrections)