Messenger Newsletter Content January 2005

January Worship Services

Sunday, January 2, 2005 Winter Poetry Service - Service Leaders: Patrice Fitzgerald and Donna Ferber - Join us for this peaceful and inspirational service in which we share our favorite poems about winter and the new year, and also participate in a New Year’s Ritual in which we reflect upon something from the past year we need to let go of to be able to move into a new place.

Sunday, January 9, 2005 “God Talk, Continued” - Service Leader: Rev. Terasa Cooley - There have been a number of articles recently pointing to a physiological basis for people believing in God. Terasa will look at some of this science and see what it might have to say about our spiritual lives.

Sunday, January 16, 2005 “The Undivided Life” - Service Leader: Rev. Terasa Cooley - This service was originally scheduled for December, but delayed for a number of reasons. Terasa will reflect upon Parker Palmer’s new book: A Hidden Wholeness, and ask what keeps us from feeling like our lives are connected, whole, and complete.

Sunday, January 23, 2005 - Service Leader: Rev. Arline Conan Sutherland Sunday, January 23, 2005 - Beginning Again - Service Leader: Rev. Arline Conan Sutherland - As we enter a new year and the beginning of Bush’s second term, what are our hopes and dreams? Our fears and concerns? Arline will reflect on our need to keep on keeping on.

Sunday, January 30, 2005 “What Does it Mean to be a Unitarian Universalist?” - Service Leader: Rev. Terasa G. Cooley - As we welcome new members into our community, Terasa will ask what it means to us to belong to this community and to this denomination. What is expected of us? What can we expect of it?

President’s Message : The Interdependent Web

I don’t know about you, but in my life lately there are a lot of “big things” happening. Many of these things are out of my control, although how I handle them is not. When I look around the world, there are also a lot of “big things” happening. Things that make me feel at times afraid, angry and sad. Most of these things are out of my control. When I sit with these things both in my life and in the world around me, I am often moved to tears. What can I do? What is the best use of my time and my energies? How can I make the biggest difference in the lives of those that I love and care about and in the world? These are difficult questions.

Ironically, as much as things seem to be “out of my control,” at the same time I am having a deeper experience of connecting to the people and things I care most about. I have found amazing strength and energy from being as fully present as I can be to the moment and to the things that really matter to me. Some of the smallest gestures have had the biggest impact:

A phone call from a church member saying; “If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”
A poem that a friend shares with me.
An insight that comes when I least expect it as I wash the dishes after dinner.
The humility that I experience when I go into my children’s bedrooms before I tuck them into bed and say, “I’m sorry for losing my temper. I’m sorry that I got so angry. It’s not really about you.”
The great humility I feel when they look at me with trust and love and say, “We understand, Mommy, sometimes we get cranky too.”

This is a time when paying attention to the little things is getting me through the big things. It is a time where I am ever more grateful and aware of our Unitarian Universalist principles, especially the principle that we respect the interdependent web of life. It is this interdependence that empowers us all to find our way and to thrive even in the face of the “big things.”

Warmest wishes for a very happy New Year! I look forward to seeing you throughout the year. I particularly encourage you to come to the benefit concert for Love Makes A Family at the Meeting House on Sunday, February 5 at 2 pm.

Rebecca Judd

Brass and Organ Concert At USH on February 5

A concert featuring Thomas Schmutzler on the newly upgraded Austin/Walker organ and the Emerson Brass quintet will take place at 2 pm Saturday February 5 at the Meeting House. Sponsored by the USH and Love Makes a Family, proceeds from this benefit event and free-will offering will go to Love Makes a Family, a group “working for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Connecticut.”

This concert is one of the goals and objectives (supporting political initiatives) of the Welcoming Congregation Sub-Council. Other goals for 2004-2005, presented at a public meeting after services last month, include community outreach, youth program development, educational forums, reaching out to transgender people and family support.

Peg Horne, new chair of the Welcoming Congregation Sub-Council, led the meeting. The group is searching for a co-chair and for new volunteers on the sub-council. Ms. Horne stressed the need to “create environments where openconversations can take place.”

Heart Warming Words

“I’m 11 years old and I’ve been coming here all my life,” said Ginger Furey, beginning her pulpit testimonial during a Sunday service last month.

Ginger said that her 91 year-old grandmother is a knitter, so perhaps that led her to become the youngest member of the USH Comfort Shawl Ministry. Not only has Ginger learned to knit from Head Knitter Vickie Carey during the group’s monthly meetings, but, she announced, she is also “teaching other kids in school to knit.”

Ginger held up her partially-completed purple shawl and told the congregation that more than 60 of the lovingly knitted shawls had already been given to members and friends needing comfort.

Members of the Comfort Shawl Ministry welcome anyone who knits or would like to learn to knit. For those who don’t want to knit but do want to help, the task of tying fringe to each end of a completed shawl is available. The group will meet in the Meeting House Library at 9 am Sunday January 9.

***

Turn to Page 42 in the Dec. Hartford Magazine to Find an article and pictures of six religious leaders in the local area among whom is our own Reverend Terasa Cooley.

Reverend Cooley, pictured holding a chalice, shares the space with Monsignor Robert Bergin, Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford; Rabbi Jeffrey Bennett, Temple Sinai in Newington; Mam Qasim Sharief, Muhammad Islamic Center of Hartford; Reverend Sandra Benjamin, Wapping Community Church in South Windsor; and Reverend Cornell Lewis, North End Church of Christ in Hartford.

Comments on each of the religious leaders were written by our own Teresa Pelham, staff writer for the monthly magazine. Of Reverend Cooley, she writes, “Growing up a Unitarian Universalist in conservative Texas, Terasa Cooley was constantly asked to explain her religion, which ultimately helped her to better understand it. After working in politics during and after college (as a legislative liaison for liberal populist Jim Hightower) she began divinity school at the age of 23 and was ordained at 27.”

***

Now’s The Time to Sign Up for Spring SGM

Tired of sitting in front of your television these winter nights? How about sitting in someone else's living room, a mug of hot coffee (probably decaf) in your hand, refreshments nearby, with a group of people genuinely interested in the stories you tell? After a brief check-in, you will be invited to discuss a challenging topic.

Among the fall-winter Small Group Ministry (SGM) topics were TrueCommunity (When have you felt that you have an “inner teacher” to guide you?), Humility (What makes it difficult for you to practice an attitude of humility?), Money (What does money represent to you?) and Personal Power (In what ways do you experience yourself as powerful?)

The focus in SGM is on how we experience the world, not on what experts say about the topics. Since no one knows our experiences better than we do, we always come well prepared.

Small Group Ministry sessions for spring will start in late February or early March with five groups available. Monday nights will be at the meeting house, to assure handicapped accessibility. Ginny Berrien will facilitate; Janice and David Newton will serve as hosts.

The GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) group will also meet on Monday nights in West Hartford, with Lisa Gabrielle facilitating.

There will be three Wednesday groups. Wednesday afternoons Marye Gail Harrison will facilitate at the home of Dorothy Fowler in West Hartford. Wednesdayevenings in Bloomfield, Bill Shoemaker will facilitate at the home of Vicki and Don Carey. Wednesdayevenings in West Hartford,

Liz Whitty will facilitate at the home of Peg Van Dyke.

To register, call the Meeting House office or stop by the Adult Programs table. Questions can be answered by Kent Jamison (693-4708, or BevSpence (658-9557) .

Bev Spence

Learn About Social Justice Issues at January Fair

Want to get involved in social justice issues? Come to the Social Justice Fair sponsored by the Council on Social Justice (COSJ) on Sunday January 9 after services.

Here you can meet USH members from each of the social justice sub councils, find out what they do and how you can get involved in an area that interests you.

Last fall, COSJ asked Society members to complete a survey on specific areas of social justice interests and issues. Responses were received from 45 persons. Information from the survey has been used to develop a data base for each of the sub councils to help them plan and organize.

The greatest number of responses centered on issues relating to children. Areas of interest included the needs and rights of children, education and tutoring for children, health care, GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) civil rights, food pantry/basic needs, affordable housing and building interfaith coalitions.

Peg Horne

Sign Up for Adult Programs at January 9 Fair

Learn about new programs, discover those back by popular demand, and register for some great groups at the Winter-Spring Programs Fair on Sunday January 9 in Fellowship Hall following the service. January and February offerings are listed below. Copies of the Program Catalog describing these offerings in more detail are available at the Meeting House.

January

Friday Dinner and Movie (The Station Agent), January 14, 5:30-10:30 pm.

Living In Troubled Times*, Rev. Arline Sutherland, 2 Mondays, 7-9 pm, Jan. 24-31.

Tai Chi, (Advanced), Ginny Hedrick, 16 Wednesdays, 7-9 pm, beginning January 26.

February

Small Group Ministry, various days and locations beginning in February.

Tai Chi, (Beginners), Margaret Leicach, Mondays, 6:30-7:30 pm, begins in February.

Talking Across Differences*, Rev. Terasa Cooley, 4 Wednesdays, 7-9 pm, Feb. 9-23.

Friday Dinner and Movie (Hiroshima Mon Amour), February 11, 5:30-10:30 pm.

Great Decisions, Flo Grieb, 8 Sundays, 9-10:15 am, February 13-April 10.

Humanism*, Ed Savage, 4 Sundays, 2-4 pm, February 27-March 20.

*New programs Nancy Reed

Music to Listen to During The Month of January

January 2. Patrice Fitzgerald and Friends singing music related to the day’s Poetry Service.

January 9. “Hark I Hear the Angel Voices”-- a rousing hymn set by Alice Parker marks the return of the choir after two well-deserved weeks off.

January 16. “Dissatisfied” by Jeff Fuller, setting the inspirational words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for baritone solo and choir.

January 23. To be announced.

January 30. A spectacularly different musical group, the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra (FVSO) Trombone Quartet, will enhance this service, in anticipation of the Brass and Organ concert on February 5. John Currie and his trombone quartet will play sacred music with a unique brass sound. They will include music from Haydn’s “The Creation,” Handel’s “Messiah” and a Beethoven “Equale.” They will also join organist Tom Schmutzler in Ives’ “Let There Be Light,” Reger’s transcription of the Richard Strauss “Feierlicher Einsug” and “Sonata in D Minor” by Daniel Speer. Three of the trombonists have played together for 24 years as the trombone section of the FVSO.

February 5. John Currie returns with more brass in a benefit concert with a dual purpose: supporting Love Makes a Family and inaugurating our wonderfully renovated organ. Don’t miss this Saturday event.

Mattie Banzhaf

Musings . . . Reverend Arline C. Sutherland

About six weeks ago as I was leafing through The New York Times, I noticed an article about Manhattanville College. I attended Manhattanville for three years before I married Jeff and moved to Tempe, Arizona, and graduated from Arizona State University. So, the name caught my attention. The article told of a Manhattanville student, Sergeant Juan Salas, who had just returned from a 14-month tour in Iraq.

Upon his return, Salas talked about his experiences with his fellow students, the faculty, and administration at the college. “I was there for 14 months. It was long. But the thing that kept me going was getting letters -- from kids, Boy Scouts, students. A letter was like a piece of gold. Something you will keep for the rest of your life,” said Salas. The college community responded and together they launched the “My Soldier” campaign.

I now proudly sport a red rubber bracelet embossed with the words “My Soldier” and “Manhattanville.” With my bracelet came instructions for contacting a soldier in Iraq and a My Soldier baseball cap to include in the first package.

I’ve been sending care packages to soldiers serving their country for at least 38 years. When my husband Jeff was in Vietnam, I sent cookies, paperbacks and audiotapes of our one-year-old son taking a bath. As most of you know, our younger son JJ recently returned from a six-week stint in Baghdad as a producer for National Public Radio. We sent him care packages that included fudge (it melted but then re-solidified) and copies of People magazine – JJ wrote that he was relieved to read that Ben Affleck had a new relationship post J Lo.

Now I have a soldier in Iraq to correspond with. I’ve sent off my first care package – I don’t know yet a specific name or even gender; I’ll get that information when someone responds – so the selection of items is somewhat eclectic. Magazines, I think, are a good bet, but which ones? Field and Stream or Cosmo? I played it safe and went with People again. Christmas cookies, candy canes and a Santa hat completed the package.

It occurred to me that some of you might like to do this too. No matter how we feel about the war, we care about the men and women who are serving. Too often Support our Troops magnets seem to imply supporting the war. These red bracelets feel more reminiscent of the POW-MIA bracelets many of us wore during Vietnam.

For more information or to sign up, visit www.mville.edu.

Blessings to you all in this new year!

Arline

Center for Conflict Resolution Founder Speaks at USH

“The journey to peace never ends,” said Margaret Steinegger-Keyser, pulpit guest at the USH during services Thanksgiving weekend. A South African national, Ms. Steinegger-Keyser founded the Center for Conflict Transformation in Hartford several years ago as part of her “journey to understand what I can do to bring about peace.” An engaging and dynamic speaker, she is also an adjunct professor at Hartford Seminary.

She has been in the U.S. for six years, and has traveled extensively helping to educate communities on issues of conflict, peace, truth and reconciliation. She has worked with the Hartford police department, community organizations and is currently working with Palestinians and Israelis. Ms. Steinegger-Keyser’s talk touched on living in South Africa; how to “do theology” in divided societies; the work of the Center for Conflict Transformation; and how to build peace in a world far from being united. As a late teenager and young adult, Ms. Steinegger-Keyser chose to actively participate in the struggle against apartheid. “National liberation before everything else was the slogan that became part of you,” she said. She spoke of the hot summer day when she was part of the huge crowd that gathered, not far from her home, to witness Nelson Mendella’s release from prison. People were dancing an African freedom dance, and, in a “moment I’ll never forget,” she saw farmers open their water taps--for the first time--to give water to Africans. She praised jailed African leaders who, united behind bars, planned for a new society while in prison. Ms. Steinegger-Keyser described an ancient African metaphor for community, which is the spiritual foundation of a “unifying force that can be applied anywhere.” This metaphor insists that “we rely on each other to make change,” and the oppressed and the oppressor have to live in a mutual relationship. She called Africa’s “mother church,” the Dutch Reform church, “heretical” because it wrote and supported apartheid. Those South African nationals in the Dutch Reform “Mission” church in which she worked for ten years would no longer accept the theology of the oppressor and created a theology to unite. Ms. Steinegger-Keyser created the Center for Conflict Transformation in Hartford after the shocking shooting of an African American teenager in 1999. The Center is a place where it is okay to show anger, build new relationships and alliances, and work for peace in divided communities. It is important, she concluded, for us to recognize how divided this area (Hartford and surrounding communities) really is. Kayla Costenoble Getting Involved is Good Even a perfunctory reading of this month’s Meetinghouse Messenger reveals a great many opportunities to become an active part of the Unitarian Society of Hartford. Join some classes, knit, be a member of a Small Group Ministry, spend Sunday mornings listening to great sermons and great music (and enjoy talk over coffee after).

RE Corner: A Look at the Fourth Grade

The fourth grade curriculum is called A Stepping Stone Year. The students started off by asking the “big questions” with the hope of getting some sort of answer, or at least a better understanding of all that is around them.

These, of course, are the questions that we all ask at different times in our lives. They are the questions that form our beliefs and help to shape our spirituality.

The answers, or our understanding of the answers, change as we grow older and learn the lessons life has to teach. The fourth graders are encouraged to ask and then to explore and share different ideas. Answers are gathered by learning about scientific facts, theories, and legends and beliefs of other cultures. I visited the fourth grade and was greeted with tremendous enthusiasm and a sincere desire to learn about life around them. They described the theme of the year as “learning about the beginning of life and the earth.” The following questions are posted on a large sheet of paper hanging up for all to see and add to at any time.How many solar systems are there?Is there life out there?When is life going to end?What made people?Is there an end to the world?What happens when people die?Why can’t people get along better?How are minerals made?Do animals talk to each other?What kind of life is under the ocean?Did dinosaurs have a way to communicate with each other? I hope that we all share a sense of appreciation for the questions themselves and may we continue to ask the big questions. Maybe you can get some of your questions answered by talking with a fourth grader.

Kat Becker-St. Germain

Reports From a Participant in Adult Program Courses

Margaret Leicach reviews two of the adult program courses she took part in.

Hindu Perspective

Dr. Suresh Shenoytaught an information-packed three-week session. Participants received an overview of the very, very long history of Hinduism and the world view which stems from Hinduism. Hindus believe there is only one divine force that manifests itself in innumerable equally valid ways and forms, leading to a wide variety of honored spiritual practices. Displays of icons, slides, a video-tape on Yogic practice and excellent printed handouts enriched the learning experience.

Short Fiction on Faith

Reverend Arline Sutherland led this moving and thought-provoking four-session seminar built around short stories by Reynolds Price, Flannery O’Conner, Andre Dubus and Alice Walker. Participants reflected on the ways that mystery, doubt, evil and reconciliation might impact on a person’s faith, on their own understandings of and struggles with faith, and on what “faith” might mean to a Unitarian Universalist. We also enjoyed the short story format, which leaves unanswered questions on characters’ lives. Margaret Leicach

CONNECTIONS

Reverend Dr. Terasa G. Cooley A number of people asked me for copies of my December 12 sermon about “The Once and Future Church.” I preach mostly from notes, so a full script isn’t possible, but I have excerpted the following passage which seemed core to the message: We live in incredibly confusing times in which many different perspectives compete with one another. The larger culture tells us we need to deal with that confusion by choosing one or another perspective. Choose self over community; choose good over evil; choose God over self. But what UUism tells us, the perspective that we offer that I think is so essential to our spirits and to the world right now, is the recognition that it’s just not that simple. And that it is possible to point a way toward understanding these things as related continuums, not either/or. For example. Religious experience ought to be about helping us understand the deepest parts of ourselves--our loves and longings, our callings and our gifts, our limitations and our potential. And religious experience ought to be about helping us live in community--reminding us that we are who we are because of the influences upon us, that we are not self-sufficient nor in complete control, that other people both known and unknown help complete our true selves by affirming and challenging us. And religious experience ought to be about helping us see ourselves as a part of a larger whole that both holds us and bewilders us, that points to the great gift of creation and acknowledges our subservience to powers beyond our control, that affirms that good and love exist where reason would dictate them not, and recognizes that all of us are capable of evil and destruction. There is a precarious balance here that I believe only liberalism helps provide, a mosaical quality of understanding that resists totalitarian impulses and perspectives. At our best, Unitarian Universalist congregations can provide a joyful embrace of this understanding, for we can provide sustenance for living in a confusing, unstable, and pluralistic world. If Unitarian Universalist congregations found this balance I believe we would grow beyond our wildest dreams and expectations. In other words, our purpose as liberal religious communities is to help people understand what it is about them, what it is about others, what it is about God that is meaningful and worth pursuing in their lives--and seeing all these things as a complex whole, not a series of either/ors. It’s not about “UUs” in the sense of promoting how wonderful and right and unique we are, but about what we provide to the world that helps bring meaning and balance to people’s lives. And I hope this is what we bring to your lives by being a part of this congregation. Happy New Year! Terasa

Current Calendar of Events

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