Messenger News September 04 Continued..

Musings . . . Reverend Arline C. Sutherland

The French have a word for this time of year, La Rentrée (return, reentry, reopening). Even tout Paris (everyone who is anyone in Paris) doesn’t really go on vacation every August any more. But our own lives are profoundly affected by the change of seasons and September is the time of reentering, of returning home. No matter our vacation schedules, we are all returning from summer. We come back changed, wondering what will be next.

Transitions are bittersweet. One moment crystallized this summer for me. We had a large family party at the Cape late in the season. Our noisy clan gathered to celebrate birthdays, new jobs, a book being delivered to the publisher, starting college, going back to graduate school.

The next afternoon, feeling overwhelmed by all the excitement and rubbed just a little by strong personalities, three of us decided not to join the crew going out for lobster. We lingered at the beach, each in our own reverie. Backlit by the setting sun, a young girl, in middle school by now, danced in the waves.

She talked about how she just doesn’t want anything to change. She liked being in elementary school and doesn’t want to grow up – or, at least, not just yet. Next summer she will be in the Rockies with her mother’s family. She likes the mountains, but she loves the beach. A moment of acute sensibility: nothing will ever be the same again.

We all know that. Every once in a while though, the knowledge pierces our defenses and goes deep. Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what’s next or how, writes Agnes de Mille. Just as space vehicles reenter the atmosphere and are drawn home by the gravitational field of earth; so we reenter our September lives drawn by love that calls us home.

As we go forth into September 2004, not knowing what’s next or how, may we take the time to look, to notice, to see what is there – that which is passing, that which approaches, the awesome and the edifying, the dreadful and the good, the beautiful and the terrible – the Mystery that brings us to our knees in wonder.

Blessings, Arline

Members Urged to Attend Sept. 30 ICEJ Annual Meeting

The second annual meeting of the Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice (ICEJ) will take place on Thursday, September 30 at First Cathedral in Bloomfield. According to USH members active in the group, 100 members and friends from the Meeting House attended last year’s meeting. This year, they would like to see at least 150 among the thousands expected to attend.

Registration begins at 6 pm; a music program will begin at 6:30 pm; the meeting itself will start promptly at 7 pm.

According to ICEJ spokesman Rev. Dr. Alvan N. Johnson, Jr., “It will be an evening of celebration, visioning and action for equity and justice in our communities, region and state. Your presence, and those from your congregation, will make a huge contribution to this event.”

Last year, ICEJ won commitments from state legislators on public education, health and taxes. The results? $8.5 million in additional pre-kindergarten funds were allocated to school readiness councils; 87,000 people retained their health care coverage through the HUSKY program; $40 million in additional state funding for public education was secured, and the closing of Hartford public schools was averted.

Rev. Johnson affirmed that “the thousands of people in attendance at our public meeting helped to secure these victories.”

This year, ICEJ will be calling on legislators, educators, mayors and our U.S. representatives to commit to specific solutions on the group’s four issues agenda, They are:

Pre-School Education. 45% of Hartford’s children are still without access to quality pre-school programs. East Hartford and Manchester also need additional funding. ICEJ will urge the

State Department of Education to continue their pre-kindergarten expansion commitments.

Tax Equity. Public officials will be urged to support a more equitable tax structure for towns and residents to avoid the impossible choices of raising taxes or cutting basic school programming.

Health Care. ICEJ will be organizing a first-of-its-kind health care summit to analyze and propose systemic changes to this broken system.

Immigration Reform. ICEJ is part of a coordinated state and national effort to provide a path to legalization, greater workers’ rights and vehicles for family reunification for the thousands of immigrants who are being denied access to basic rights and opportunities.

If you have any questions, please see Mike Winterfield, Carol Shoemaker or Shai Cassell.

There’s So Much to Do

You should get the impression, after reading this newsletter, that there are a great many ways to participate in classes, social and political activities, Councils, meetings, and discussions at the Meeting House.

Most of these activities need and want more participants. It’s a wonderful way, especially if you’re new to the USH, to meet new people and to feel connected and involved in the life of the USH.

So join something!

Come to the Fall Programs Fair September 12

The Fall Programs Fair scheduled for Sunday, September 12 during coffee hour will highlight the many new adult programs being offered, along with old favorites.

Beginning in September

The Artist's Way, Mondays, September 13 - November 29, 7- 8:30 pm in Servetus. (Please see specific details below.)

Tai Chi Demo, Monday, September 20, 6:30-7:30 pm. Have you wondered what the art of Tai Chi is all about? Come to this free promotional demo to find out what a class is like.

Unitarian Universalist Denominational History, Sunday, September 26, 12 noon-2 pm. Learn more about the broad history of Unitarianism and Universalism - what stirred the early beginnings of these movements and when and why these faiths merged.

Tai Chi. Beginner Form starts September 27, 6:30-7:30 pm for 16 Mondays. Advanced Form begins September 29, 7-8 pm for 16 Wednesdays. This gentle martial art can help to improve your flexibility, balance, endurance, concentration, and inner peace. Movements are slow, rhythmic, and gentle.

Coming in October

Special Event! This special two-day event will feature guest John A Buehrens, author of Understanding the Bible.

Lecture and Book-signing, Friday, October 15, 7:30 pm. Workshop, Saturday, October 16, 9 am - noon.

Humanism, Sundays, October 3,10,24,31, 12 noon-2 pm.

What Should I Do With My Life?, Wednesdays, October 6,13, 20,27, 7-9 pm.

Friday Dinner and Movie (Dr. Strangelove), October 8, 5:30-10:30 pm. Beverages and snacks at 5:30, white tablecloth/candlelit catered meal, movie on large screen TV followed by optional discussion. Survey results show attendees want no change in format.

The Spectrum of Unitarian Universalist Theology, Sunday, October 17, 12 noon-2 pm.

Short Fiction on Faith, Tuesdays, October 26, November 2,9,16, 12 noon-1:30 pm.

A Vision of Harmony: the Hindu Perspective, Thursdays, October 28, November 4,11, 7-9 pm. Nancy Reed

The Artist’s Way Offers Participants Insight into the Creative Process

Release your inner artist. Sign up for the 12-week adult education program that begins Monday, September 13 at the Meeting House. Based on the widely-praised book of the same name by Julia Cameron, the course has been described as a provocative and inspiring work by which participants, reading and following one chapter per week, gain insight into the creative process – and the tools to bring out the artist in themselves. If you are interested, please register at the office by phone or mail as soon as possible, so that enough books can be ordered.

We Can Make a Difference in the Social Justice Arena

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as the first Chair of the new Council on Social Justice (COSJ). My fellow team members are Shai Cassell (Board of Directors Member at Large), John Clapp, Paul Hansen, Peg Horne and Carol Shoemaker.

My last 12 months “immersion” into ICEJ activities has shown me the power of faith-based organizing for economic and social justice. Very good things can happen when we align our underlying spiritual values with our economic and social justice goals.

Our initial efforts have centered around defining the scope of COSJ, defining and restructuring the sub-councils, and establishing the way in which COSJ will interact with the sub-councils.

The sub-councils will cover both “service related” and “advocacy” work through either internal (USH only) or external coalition efforts. Internal sub-councils will include the Welcoming Congregation; a new disabilities sub-council (to be chaired by Carolyn Cartland); and a (to be renamed and restructured) successor to the Social Responsibility Committee. External sub-councils will include ICEJ (Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice) and CUREJ (Congregations United for Racial Equality).

We are committed to a highly interactive and proactive process with broad-based participation from all USH constituencies. We must speak out clearly and passionately for what we believe is right. For example, the Welcoming Congregation will actively support Love Makes a Family in its drive for a same sex marriage bill.

We need to get far more USH members involved in the social justice process. Please contact any of the COSJ members to discuss your specific interests. You can make a meaningful contribution if you can commit to just one hour of social justice work per week. Thanks for your help.

Michael Winterfield

Sept. Music Sundays

The Choir will begin the new season on Wednesday, Sept. 8 with our annual potluck dinner at 6:30 pm, followed by our first rehearsal at 7:30. This is a great chance to visit, meet new members and get musically inspired by singing through some anthems coming up this year. If you’ve been considering joining the Choir, now’s the time.

Sept. 5: No choir but Worship Committee members will prepare music for the poetry and water communion service.

Sept. 12: Anthem for Ingathering service is Clif Hardin’s “Welcome, Welcome.” Other music will enhance Arline’s theme of enjoying and receiving light.

Sept. 19: Kurt Weill’s “Kiddush” honors the Jewish High Holy Days. Led by a tenor singing the Cantor’s part, the bluesy harmonies and rhythms put a new spin on the timeless Biblical text.

Sept. 26: “The Last Words of David,” composed by Randall Thompson, stirringly reminds us that our leaders “must be just.” We’ll follow this piece later in October with a justly famous work by the same composer, “The Road Not Taken.”

Mattie Banzhaf, Music Director

CONNECTIONS

Reverend Doctor Terasa G. Cooley

As nice as the slower pace of summer has been (though around the Meeting House it seems like summer just gets busier and busier!) I anticipate with pleasure the hubbub and excitement of the beginning of the church year. The comfort of seeing so many familiar faces, and the stimulation of greeting new ones always warms my heart. As Arline will share with you, the Religious Education program will be off to an engaging start, and we’ve got some wonderful Adult Education offerings for the fall as well.

The Worship Committee and I will be tinkering with some changes to our order of worship in order to make our services ever more meaningful for you, and our new leadership is working as hard as they can to make our governance changes work for us. As usual, a lot is cooking at the Meeting House!

All this activity is stimulated by our expressed desire to grow in depth as a congregation. Unfortunately, with growth often comes growing pains. As you’ll see in our Treasurer’s column, we’ve recently begun to confront some difficult financial issues and may have to make some painful decisions in the next few months.

While this is a frustrating occurrence, I see it as a natural part of our evolution as a dynamic institution, in which we mature into an ability to make choices and solidify our vision. I hope you’ll support the leadership as they guide us through this process.

On a personal note, it is with great happiness that I can tell you about a new beginning in my life: I have become engaged to the Reverend Stephen Cook, who is a UU minister in Hudson, Massachusetts. Steve is moving to be with me in Connecticut, and we will be married in a small ceremony on New Year’s Eve. He’ll be commuting from here to Massachusetts, and I hope you’ll all have a chance to meet him soon.

My schedule will remain the same for the coming year: I’ll continue to take Monday as my day off, be in the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the day and available for meetings on those evenings. Friday will be my study day. If you need to reach me out of the office, please call (860) 212-4514. My email address will change as of September 1 to RevTGCool@ushartford.com.

I can’t wait to see you all at Ingathering! Here’s to a wonderful new year together. Terasa

Current Calendar

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