Newsletter September 04 USH

Messenger News Content September 2004

September Services

September 5, 2004 “Poetry Sunday” Leaders: Worship Committee - In this Labor Day weekend services, members of the Worship Committee will be sharing their favorite poetry, as well as leading us in the fall ritual of the Water Communion. Please bring a sample of water as a symbol from your travels this summer.

September 12, 2004 - Ingathering Sunday - September 2004: Coming Home - An Intergenerational Ingathering Service led by the Rev. Arline Conan Sutherland and the Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley.

September 19, 2004 - “Group Think or Group Wisdom?” - Service Leader: Rev. Terasa G. Cooley - The new bestseller, The Wisdom of Crowds, has many rethinking our suspicion of decisions made by groups. Unitarian Universalists have been especially concerned about “group think” and Terasa will reflect upon whether there is something for us to “rethink” here.

September 26, 2004 “Choices, Choices” - Service Leader: Rev. Terasa G. Cooley - Another book with rave reviews, The Paradox of Choice, has Terasa thinking about the difficulty of choosing among the plethora of options in our materially glutted world. Are there social justice implications, as well as day-to-day decisions to be made here?

President’s Message

USH – Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

As I was driving over Avon Mountain one Saturday morning, I had an epiphany. I finally understood what the concept of “seeing the forest through the trees” meant. This is one of those phrases that I never fully understood. It never quite made sense to me until this past Saturday morning.

I was going to take my morning run (a sacred time) and I pondered (for the hundredth time) over what I was going to write about in my first President’s column for the Meetinghouse Messenger. This was, as you might imagine, a big decision for me.

As I was driving it came to me. The forest and the trees thing. I realized for the first time what that really meant to me, particularly as it pertains to my relationship with USH. I had been President for only a month and already it was tough. We are facing some serious budgetary issues, my email mail box is full just when I think I have emptied it, and the governance transition is not easy. I was getting lost in the trees.

Then a few “miracles” happened. A friend of mine asked if I would go to another church with her just to “check it out.” That Sunday morning I was panicked. What if I really liked this other church???

During the service at the other church, I found myself longing to go home to the Meeting House. To the place that is my spiritual home. The other church sounded good. The words looked good. But it wasn’t home.

The second miracle occurred when Diane Cadrain sent me a draft of an advertisement that we are considering submitting to the Hartford Courant. I read the draft from the perspective of a non member and I found myself thinking – “WOW! What a great place. I would definitely want to go check them out!”

We are an amazing, unique and very special spiritual community. I have known that since the first day that I set foot in our doors over eleven years ago. We have much to offer the world around us and to each other.

My suggestion to us all is to get involved enough that we see the significance of each tree, but always remember to acknowledge the beauty of the forest that our community makes up.

Rebecca Judd

A List of Your Leaders

It’s a new church year with a new governance structure, new names, new leaders. Here’s a who’s who.

Board of Directors

Rebecca Judd, President
Charles Huntington, President-Elect
Nancy Mandly, Secretary
William Young, Treasurer

Members At Large on Board

Shai Cassell, Social Justice
Kelly Lyman, Spiritual Life
Steve Oppenheim, Community Within

Council Chairs

Margaret Leicach, Community Within
David Newton, Administration
John Stowe, Spiritual Life
Michael Winterfield, Social Justice

Like the New Look?

Those of you who have been enjoying the new small white tables in Fellowship Hall during coffee hour should know they have come to you as a joint project of Caring Network and Membership. The two groups pooled ideas and funds to, hopefully, add comfort and convenience during the times we gather together there.

Welcome Committee Seeks New Chair

The position of Chair of the Welcome Committee is now available. This committee, through a variety of activities, reaches outside the Meeting House walls to attract and engage visitors and to support new and prospective members.

Are you a member with a desire to build the membership of our congregation?

Can you recruit, train and motivate team leaders; coordinate with other committees; and manage projects through the development of measurable goals and objectives?

Can you offer an average of ten volunteer hours per month to our congregation?

If this seems to interest and/or describe you, please contact Margaret Leicach, Chair of the Council on the Community Within (phone 674-8282; email mbleicach@comcast.net).

The Vineyard in October:

A Vacation from Summer - The UU Society of Martha’s Vineyard is offering its fourth annual bird-watching fund-raiser on Columbus Day weekend. You stay in the homes of members; all meals, transportation and entertainment are provided for $250 per person. A wine and cheese reception on Friday, Oct. 8 begins the events; church service and lunch on Sunday conclude it.

Bird watchers will visit Aquinnah (the former Gay Head) on Saturday,where more than 300 species of birds flock.

Contact the church (phone 508-693-8982; email uusmv@juno.com; web www.uusmv.info) and/or talk to Ellie and Peter Revill, who are returning this year for a second visit.

Wes Christensen wants to thank the Caring Committee members and the many friends who have sent cards, visited him, provided tempting food, and given help and support to him in so many different ways.

He was surprised and touched by the shower of birthday cards in July. He was able to attend a family reunion to celebrate his 73rd year.

Wes continues to enjoy visits, but please call first.

Jane Christensen

Care for the Caring

A Caregivers’ Support Group has been started by the Caring Network to offer support, information and resources to those providing long-term direct or indirect care to family and friends.

The next meeting will be on Saturday, September 18 from 10:30 am to noon at the Meeting House. Anyone interested in sharing experiences and resources in a confidential and supportive setting is invited. To participate and/or get more information, contact the minister or call or email co-facilitators Carolyn Cartland (phone 243-8052; email CRCartland1@comcast.net) or Katie Doyle (phone 521-9467; email doyle1564@aol.com).

In other Caring Network news, members have begun restocking the freezer for those who need food items. If you would like to contribute, please wrap and label your item as CN food, include contents and put in the USH freezer.

Over the summer, the Caring Network produced an updated, peach-colored brochure. As always, we continue to be here to provide help and support where we can…but we need you to tell us when we are needed. Please contact Janice Newton (phone 677-1121; email dcnewton@comcast.net).

Kathy Herzog

To Cut Costs, the Items Below will Not be Mailed

2004-2005 Directory of names, addresses, phones and emails. Pick up yours in the USH office.

2004-2005 Adult Programs Brochure.

Pick up yours at the adult programs table in Fellowship Hall after Sunday services.

Comfort Shawl Knitters

The time has come
     The knitters said,
     To talk of purple things,
     Of comfort shawls and
      Meeting House walls and
      Cabbages and kings.

(with apologies to Lewis Carroll)

Sunday, September 12 is truly an ingathering – for fall services and for the first monthly meeting of the Comfort Shawl Ministry at 9 am in the Meeting House library.

Do you knit? Would you like to learn to knit? Could you help attach fringe to finished shawls? Do you want to join a warm and welcoming group who enjoy being together knitting warm and comfortable purple shawls to give to those who need comfort?

If so, please contact head knitter Vicki Carey (phone 726-1989; email vickidon@aol.com).

Fall District Meeting /Rally Will Take Place at USH Meeting House October 23

The Clara Barton District Meeting and Fall Rally is scheduled for Saturday, October 23 at the Meeting House.

A wide variety of interesting and inspirational workshops is planned: How to UU: Seeing Things Whole; Leadership Development…Take One Step Forward; Global Warming; Interfaith Coalition Building; Camp for Youth Advisors; and many others.

Workshop leaders are considered to be experts in their individual fields. This District meeting will be an opportunity to commune with fellow District members on issues of common interest, and will give us a chance to display our beautiful Meeting House and grounds.

Virginia Hedrick

Small Group Ministry: Grand Re-Opening

Free! Free! Free! Free!

Now that we’ve got your attention, let us tell you about the exciting opportunities in Small Group Ministry this fall.

On Monday nights we’ve got two groups available for you. One meets at the Meeting House, is facilitated by Liz Whitty and hosted by Janice Newton and David Newton. This location is handicap accessible. The second meets in Hartford’s West End, with Carol Davidson as facilitator and Bruce Robbins as host.

We’ve got a Tuesday night group meeting in Simsbury, chaired by Kent Jamison and hosted by Stu Spence. Back by popular demand, this is a year-long group with 16 sessions. We’ve got a Wednesday night group meeting in Bloomfield, chaired by Marye Gail Harrison and hosted by Vicki and Don Carey.

We’ve got a Thursday night group meeting in West Hartford, with Heather Ferguson-Hull as facilitator and Mike Winterfield as host.

Also meeting on Thursday nights is a LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer*, intersexed) group facilitated by Lisa Gabrielle and hosted by Mike Radice. This group will meet in West Hartford.

If you’ve already participated in SGM, you know the benefits. Your own spiritual growth and development can be enhanced within the context of a small, accepting group of good listeners. You have plenty of opportunities to share your life experiences during the check-in time at the start as well as during the period of responding to topic-related questions. (Past topics have included Beginnings, Endings, Transitions, Music, Grief, Solitude, Faith, Prayer, and many more.) Our minister provides topics and group members often volunteer to bring readings (and refreshments!). It’s time for you to sign up again.

For those of you who haven’t had a Small Group Ministry experience, we invite you, we encourage you to choose one this fall. If you want to know more, you can e-mail Kent Jamison at KentofCT@AOL.com or Bev Spence at BevSp21@AOL.com.

Register through the church office (860-233-9897), during the Adult Program Fair on September 12, or at the Adult Program table on other weeks. Groups will start in October, so hurry.

Bev Spence
*Lisa explains that “Queer used to be a pejorative term. (But) among queer folk, it has been reclaimed as an inclusive term that many diverse groups fall into.”

More Common Cents

I hope you’ve noticed a lot more communication the last few months about the congregation’s financial matters. There are several reasons.

First, we as a congregation don’t exactly have a stellar track record of having open discussions about money. I think we’ve been better at open discussions about lots of other topics, but I would like money to be one of them now.

Second, summer has traditionally seen a lag in pledge payments, even though expenses keep coming due, especially the payroll every other week.

Third, we have an important budget problem, and need to address it well and soon. The quick version of the problem is that expenses are outpacing revenue; the 2004-2005 budget is currently a deficit even with the Trust subsidy, and last spring’s pledges did not meet the need.

Our expenses are overwhelmingly dominated by the cost of professional ministry and other staff – salaries, health benefits, pensions and taxes. They are three quarters of the total annual expenses. Most of the rest are in fixed or only slightly variable expenses such as heat, utilities, insurance, snow plowing, denominational contributions, etc. The largest single item, by far, in this category is Meeting House heat, which was up to $23,000 last year with increased natural gas prices.

While a number of efforts are now underway to control or reduce expenses, including heating, it is clear that we have a serious expense problem, given our income. On the horizon, as well, are the issues of compensation adjustments for the staff and the health insurance renewal in October.

These issues were the focus of the August Board of Directors meeting, and a number of follow-up actions and recommendations will occur. It is fair to say that a combination of things will be required, including additional revenue and some expense deferments or reductions.

Some of these choices won’t be easy. However, I am energized and optimistic about what’s been happening so far, and how much help and support many have provided. We’ll keep communicating about financial matters, and your questions and suggestions are always welcome.

Bill Young, Treasurer

Eat, Drink & Raise $s

They’ve done it again! The Funraising folk, not content to rest after their very successful May live/silent auction, are back with a large variety of meals for your dining pleasure.

Meal descriptions will be posted starting on Ingathering Sunday, September 12. Descriptions will include theme, date, location, price, maximum guests and availability. Groups will vary in size from six to more than 20.

Offerings range from mid-week dinners to weekend meals, from brunches to nighttime soirees, from kid-riffic picnics to four-course Italian dinners.

Bring your calendars and check books on September 12 so you can reserve a seat at the meal of your choice. Prices range from $5 to $30 per attendee. All proceeds will go straight to the social outreach growth of the Unitarian Society of Hartford.

Contact Diane Cadrain for more information (phone 233-8766; email diane.cadrain@snet.net).

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