Messenger Newsletter Content
September 2005

Sunday Worship Services & Religious Education for Children & Youth: 10:30 AM

September 04 Poetry Sunday - Patrice Fitzgerald - Join us for our traditional Labor Day Weekend service of poetry, song, and reflection.

11 September - Homecoming Sunday - Worship Leader: Rev. Arline Conan Sutherland - An intergenerational celebration of coming together to worship once again. Please bring some water from a place or a time of significance to you over the summer. We will merge the waters as a way of symbolizing our reunion. After the service, plan to stay for the picnic.

18 September – The Spiritual Practice of Welcoming - Worship Leader: Rev. Arline Conan Sutherland - Arline will explore some of the implications and connotations of welcoming, our theme for the year. We also will dedicate our teachers and launch our programs for children and youth.

25 September - Beyond Categorical Thinking?

President’s Message September Song

There is something about September that I have always loved. Without even trying, it gives you the chance to begin again. Somehow we find ourselves rejuvenated and inspired. As we buy new school clothes and notebooks, as the days begin to shorten just a bit and the temperature occasionally offers us a glimpse of the fall days ahead, we find ourselves renewed. This will be the year that I really do exercise every day, or spend more time with those I love or put those photographs into the photo album. Whether or not those things actually happen is not nearly as important as the gift of renewal that we experience.

As a congregation, we have much ahead of us this year. The Search Committee has begun meeting and mapping out the process that lies ahead as we search for our new Senior Minster. There is much work to be done and everyone will need to take part in this process. Your participation in the survey and the community meetings is essential. Your input will help us to call our next Minister who will work with us to manifest our vision for this vibrant community.

At the same time that we welcome our new Director of Religious Education, Ken Silberman-Bunn, we are also saying goodbye to some dear friends. Tom Schmutzler our beloved organist and Gordon Rizza our tireless Sunday sexton are both moving on to new journeys in their lives. We are now searching for their replacements. These changes are important and will affect us for many years to come. The staff members we choose are an essential part of our community.

On a leadership level, this is our second year operating under our new governance structure. The Board and Council Chairs continue to discern the best ways to work together for the good of our congregation. Policies are being discussed concerning fundraising and personnel decisions. And at our June meeting, the Board unanimously approved a covenant on accessibility. This covenant, different from a policy that mandates compliance, is a reflection of our striving to be an inclusive and welcoming congregation for all people.

Our Sub-Councils continue to ensure that the work of our Society happens in the best ways possible. As the strategic growth task force looks at the issue of membership growth, the second service task force contemplates the decision and timing of moving to two services. The members of the welcome team have been dedicated to greeting and meeting visitors with remarkable enthusiasm.

The life of a congregation is no different than our personal lives. . It needs and deserves renewal just as we do. September brings that renewal. May we relish in the renewed strength and energy of the fall and may we be a reflection of our Unitarian Universalist values as we move forward into this year together.

Rebecca Judd

Your Search Committee Wants To Hear From You!

Your Minister Search Committee (MSC) worked on skills for effective inquiry and advocacy in communication with others during a summer retreat facilitated by Robert Sarly, founder of the Dialogue Foundation and author of “Courageous Conversations.”

We will start applying these skills this month through conversations, interviews and meetings with you about the qualities you hope to find in our new minister. We will ask what you consider are our obligations as individuals, congregants and employer to the new minister. This is also your opportunity to offer suggestions about specific ministers you may have heard and would like us to work with UUA to approach for possible candidacy. Your role is to share your opinions and some demographic information this fall, stay in touch with us over the winter, then meet and elect the candidate in the spring.

We, your duly elected Minister Search Committee, will do the rest! Using the information gathered from you this month, we will complete the UUA application forms. Over the holiday season, we will begin reviewing applications from prospects. Winter will be spent conducting screening interviews and determining our short list of candidates. We will check references, hear sermons and meet with our top selections in early spring. By April we will have made our final selection.

While we are busy reporting results to UUA, our candidate will be working with the negotiating team to finalize the employment contract for board approval. Once all that is done, we will present our candidate to you!

Candidating Week in May is a whirlwind of activity. Our selected candidate comes to town to meet you individually or in small groups, survey our Meeting House and find housing. The process culminates with the congregation “extending a call” which the minister accepts. Summer is spent in transition, and the new minister comes on board officially sometime in August.

We expect this to be a one-year process. However, the pool of available candidates is constantly changing. We are extremely fortunate that if this committee is unable to find a suitable candidate, Arline has agreed to stay another year.

A word about confidentiality: In order to do the best job possible for you, with consideration for the sensitivity of possible candidates and their congregations, all search committee discussions, deliberations and considerations must remainconfidential within the committee. If you offer something we think is important to share outside our doors, we will either not use your name or, with your permission, paraphrase or quote you “on the record.” This is a long process, involving many outsiders. You may happen to learn inadvertently of information which is intended to be confidential. If so, we ask that you notify a member of the committee and urge you to refrain from sharing it with others.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Bring your questions and ideas to us at coffee hour or at one of the fall “living room meetings.” Be sure to fill out and return the survey. Or drop us a message on-line. We are: Mike Roy, Chair; Heather Ferguson-Hull, survey coordinator; Greg Berg, packet coordinator; Ginny Berrien, candidate coordinator; Mary-Anne Mulholland, reference check coordinator, Al Herzog , negotiating team; Carol Sexton, congregational communications; Dick Edwards and Karen Humphreys, primary back-up support.

Carol Sexton

Mattie’s Musical Notes

Sept. 11. In keeping with the theme of water communion, guest singer Cat Camerano Sullivan will sing “Sound Over All Waters” accompanied by Tom Schmutzler’s blues piano and the choir singing backup on this beautiful anthem by Paul Halley. Dedicated to Coretta Scott King, the anthem was sung in her honor on the occasion of her preaching at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where Paul Halley was organist and choirmaster. Mrs. King’s steadfast vision and hope embody Whittier’s words, “The dark night is ending and dawn has begun.”

Sept. 18. “Welcome, Welcome” by Unitarian Clif Hardin underlines Arline’s theme of welcome as a spiritual discipline. We’ll take this opportunity to welcome our new soprano soloist/section leader Katie LaPorta. Katie is also our new RE (youth) Music Director; she’ll introduce her plans for a dynamic approach to children’s singing.

Sept. 25 and on into the fall. Music Director Mattie Banzhaf has spent the summer finding new music for the choir.

They’ll unveil some exciting new anthems by composers like Dave Brubeck, Gwyneth Walker and Unitarian Adolphus Hallstork. Aaron Copeland’s beloved “At the River” will be scheduled as well as the energetic “Elijah Rock.”

This summer our organist Tom Schmutzler provided the music for our Sunday services. Who knew this would be the beginning of his swan song? In a few months, Tom and his wife Linda will be retiring to sunny North Carolina. We’ll miss him terribly, but can continue to enjoy his many talents this fall.

An Organist Search Committee has been formed and is seeking someone to fill at least a few of Tom’s many, many organ shoes.

This will be a great choir year. A number of new members are joining, but there’s still room for a few more. If you love to sing, if you’d like to give your gift of music to our services, please join us at 7:30 pm on Wednesday September 7 for our opening choir rehearsal. Contact Mattie at 651-8303 or banz@hartford.edu for more details.

Run, Shai, Run

I will be running in the Greater Hartford Half-Marathon on Saturday October 8. I am running to raise money for the Greater Hartford Interfaith for Equity and Justice (ICEJ) as well as to challenge myself.

ICEJ is the organization I work for and find so rewarding. The work we do in the Greater Hartford area has helped to secure increased funds for pre-school education, raise the issues of inadequate access to healthcare, the need to reform our immigration laws to ensure the civil rights of all people, and movement toward a fairer and more equitable income tax.

We have so much more to do.

This year we are excited about the opportunities to work with other state allies engaged in the same work to increase our power and effectiveness.

If you are interested in sponsoring my Half-Marathon “RUN FOR ICEJ,” please visit the website below--

www.justgiving.com/pfp/shai . Or, if you’d rather not pledge online, mail me your name, contact info and pledge amount, and I will mail you a sponsor sheet.

Shai Cassell

Connecticut Women Exhibit at Meeting House

An exhibit honoring, recognizing and celebrating Connecticut women will grace the halls of the Meeting House from Sunday September 11 through Sunday October 9

The exhibit, proudly sponsored by the Women’s Alliance,. is returning to the Society. It was inaugurated in 1994 at the Wadsworth Athenaeum and shortly thereafter featured at the Meeting House.

The Women’s Alliance invites members and friends to a special reception in the library at noon on Sunday September 18.

Biographies and photographs of Connecticut women, past and present, who have broken new ground or have emerged as leaders in their fields of endeavor, are featured in the show. Among the more than 70 honorees are Prudence Crandall, Annie Dillard, Edythe Gaines, Florence Griswold, Clare Booth Luce and Dollie McLean.

The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame has traveled to schools, universities, public buildings, malls, corporations and galleries throughout the state. It has also hung in the Cannon House of Representatives Office Building in Washington, DC, and has been seen by an estimated 250,000 people.

Members of the Women’s Alliance cabinet will meet on Thursday September 8 from 10 am to 1 pm (bring a sandwich) to plan the reception for the Connecticut women art show. The work will be hung on Tuesday September 18, and members are urged to come and help, if possible.

Donations to Lupeni Church

Attendees at the Sunday June 5 service donated $882 for our sister church in Lupeni, Romania, to continue the work of renovating the parsonage.

USH Board Approves Accessibility Covenant

A “Covenant on the Accessibility of Unitarian Society of Hartford Meetings, Programs and Events” was approved by the USH Board of Directors at its June 14 meeting.

The covenant was drafted by the Disabilities Sub-Council of the Council on Social Justice. It is based, in part, on the first two Unitarian Universalist principles stating belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and belief in treating everyone with justice, equity and compassion.

The covenant affirms that USH meetings, programs and events will be accessible to those who wish to participate, to the best of our ability.

It promotes good faith cooperation and collaboration between all Councils, Sub-Councils and groups with the Disabilities Sub-Council to assess the accessibility of planned events and to create/make recommendations to provide accessibility so that, to the extent reasonably possible, USH members and friends who wish to participate in our programs may do so.

Our goal is to foster an atmosphere of acceptance, respect and welcome to everyone.

The complete “Covenant on Accessibility” can be viewed on the USH website (www.USHartford.com). If you have any questions, please contact any Board member (USH leadership names and positions are listed on the newsletter’s calendar page) or call or email me (243-8052), crcartland1@comcast.net.

Carolyn Cartland
Chair, Disabilities Sub-Council

USH Members Co-Chair Star Island Conference

Hartford USH members Karl Peters and Andrew Millard co-chaired a eight-day conference on “Varieties of Spiritual Transformation: Scientific and Religious Perspectives” at Star Island this summer.

This was the 52nd conference hosted by the Institute of Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS), a group that has been working for a dynamic and positive relationship between religion and science since 1954.

More than 200 adults attended, including USH member Bill Shoemaker. Morning chapel services (led by Karl Peters), lectures, workshops and evening candlelight services were part of the conference. Among the questions discussed were: What is spiritual transformation? What are the social implications of the psychological and behavioral changes that result? What are the theological meanings and significance of experiences of spiritual transformation?

Next year’s IRA conference will be on emergence—the way in which “something else” (such as the pattern of a unique snowflake) can arise from “nothing but” (such as the typical interactions of water molecules), and the impact such understandings have on religious attitudes.

Andrew has attended the IRAS annual conference for the past six years. Of Star Island, one of nine small islands off the New Hampshire and Maine shores, he writes, “Facilities are somewhat spartan, but I think people love the island for the simper lifestyle that is possible there. There are no televisions or internet, and the small island, about half of which is covered by grasses, bushes and small trees, is a haven for those who want some time for quiet contemplation, sitting on the rocks and gazing out at sea.”

Money Matters

We begin the 2005-06 year with a number of important financial achievements:

A balanced budget. We start without prior year debts or advance use of pledges. However, achieving our “balanced” status has required that we push our assumptions somewhat on both income and expense control. In other words, it is very important that we focus on and closely manage our cash flow and prompt payment of pledges (hint, hint).

Institutionalization of our social justice giving as part of our operating finances, under the guidance of the Council on Social Justice. This is an important, historic step for USH in its relationship to the larger community.

Full fair-share givers to both the UUA and the Clara Barton District. This has been a goal for a number of years, and achieving it reflects our support of our denomination and its services.

We have some work to do, as well. Policies are needed on issues such as “earmarked” (for a special purpose) giving, fee-based programming, and the structure and uses of fundraising. There are questions about how to best increase understanding and commitment to the financial aspects of membership. And planned giving and handling of bequests will receive additional attention.

Your questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Call me at 714-3737 (w) or 233-3234 (h) or email at billyoung55@aol.com.

Bill Young, Treasurer

REflections

As the new Director of Religious Education, I’d like to begin by telling people a little about myself. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and lived most of my life n Ohio. That is, until last year when we moved to Connecticut. My wife, Julie-Ann Silberman-Bunn, is a Unitarian Universalist minister for the UU Church of Greater Bridgeport, in Stratford. We have been married for just over five years.

I have two sons. Adam, 16, is very active with district youth functions and became a co-worship coordinator for the district this year. He is also a wrestler for Seymour High School. My other son Ian hasn’t yet gotten the opportunity to work in a specific role for Unitarian Universalism, but give him time. He enjoys helping out with the coffee hour at my wife’s church and is doing very well for an 11-year-old.

I have two bachelor’s degrees, one in social work and the other in elementary education. At my previous church, I was a religious education teacher for the past four years and was on the RE committee. For leisure, I enjoy flat water kayaking, reading and counted cross-stitch.

I am looking forward to this coming year. There are some different curricula as well as some familiar. Spirit Play will again be offered, with the second graders working on it as well as the kindergarteners and first graders. One of the new curricula will be for third grade—What is Unitarian Universalism? This is a culmination of lessons from other curricula that work specifically with the ideas behind Unitarian Universalism and the seven principles.

I appreciate the fact that most of the teaching/leading positions have already been filled. This has made the start of my job a little easier. However, there are a few positions still open, and anyone who would like to lead/teach can contact me at church (233-9897), in person, or by email (ksilbermanbunn@ushartford.com).

If you would like to see me at the office, I am usually available Tuesday through Thursday from 10 am to 4 pm (except for staff meetings on Wednesdays from 10 to 11:30 am). I can also make arrangements for other times. Please feel free to leave me a message and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

I am looking forward to a great year and to meeting as any of you as possible.

Ken Silberman-Bunn Religious Education Director

Comfort Shawl Knitter Takes Part in “Knit-In”

It was absolutely awesome! On July 5, along with 169 other enthusiasts, I sat in the parlor of an old Victorian hotel in Chautauqua, N.Y., and took part in a Knit-In. I was, of course, hard at work on a purple shawl for the USH’s Comfort Shawl Ministry (what else?).

Like to learn to knit or start knitting again? Come be a part of our Comfort Shawl Ministry on Sunday September 11 at 9 am in the library. Members of the group meet the second Sunday of each month to knit together. Head knitter Vicki Carey reports that, as of June 2005, more than 70 purple shawls have been distributed “to provide a measure of comfort for our friends in time of need.”

Meanwhile, in Chautauqua, while we knit, Dr. Perri Klass, a well-known Boston pediatrician and professor who also knits and writes for knitting publications, read aloud to us from her wonderfully philosophical book, “Two sweaters for my father.”

It was a first for her, too. Dr. Klass said she has read aloud on many occasions, but never before to a room full of busy knitters. I felt the same sense of community and purpose on that July day that I feel during the monthly meetings of the Comfort Shawl Ministry in the Meeting House library.

Dr. Klass writes that knitting gives her “a special sense of portable everyday serenity…When I knit, my soul is calmed and, sometimes, exalted. But it’s an every-day exaltation, a calm, domestic serenity, easily transported from place to place in a cloth bag.”

K.C.

Welcome to USH, Again

Eleven new members of the Unitarian Society of Hartford were formally welcomed during Sunday services on June 6. The Messenger also would like to welcome, in print, these new members: Sarah Gilligan, Karen Humphreys, Alan and Carol MacKenzie, Wojciech Pirog, Anne Reif, Richard and Michele Strickland, Meredith Vasta and James Cedric Woods and Robert Wysocki.

UU World Magazine Now On Tape and Internet

Changes have been made to expand the reach of the “UU World” the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Society.

The magazine is now available on tape for those who prefer audio formats over print versions. For information, please contact Devorah Greenstein, UUA Program Associate for Accessibility, at

dgreenstein@uua.org.

The magazine will, starting this month, be published quarterly, instead of bimonthly, with new issues timed to the changes of seasons.

At the same time, a new UU World Internet magazine will be unveiled, “offering fresh content every week,” according to Tom Stites, editor. The web magazine aims to offer fresh inspirational material, timely news of UUs and their congregations and institutions and helpful information for church leaders. Each issue will also feature an exclusive web-only article or an article from the print magazine. In addition, the front page of the web magazine will offer an easy way to sign up for weekly emails of fresh UU news and other material.

Welcome to the 21st century.

The View from Fort Worth: UUism is Alive

“Families” was the theme of this year’s General Assembly of Congregations (GA) in Fort Worth, Texas. Inspirational sermons, music and multimedia presentations invited attendees to reclaim a liberal religious stance on “family values.” Families of differing cultures, races and configurations participated in the traditional GA opening Assembly by receiving blessings from and honoring the Native Americans on whose land we were meeting, As they left the opening ceremony, everyone received a bumper sticker from the UU Family Network (www.uua.org/families) that proclaimed, “We are all family and we all have value.”

The opening ceremony on Thursday evening, the Service of the Living Tradition (honoring our clergy), the Sunday morning worship service (which was open to the public, widely advertised locally and packed), the closing ceremony on Monday evening and many of the workshops all reflected the fact that we were meeting in the heart of the fundamentalist Bible Belt and the state with the largest number of mega churches (those with 2,000 or more attending each Sunday). Worship services were accompanied by organ, piano, band and singers. They invited lively congregational participation, and were (for UUs, at least) unusually upbeat and celebratory.

The (as always) enormous variety of workshops available included several that explored the “Landscape of the Large Congregation” and offered how-to advice on becoming a large congregation. Particularly striking was a UU congregation in Texas that was created out of thin air with the explicit intention of rapidly becoming a large congregation. The UUA and members of UU churches in neighboring communities provided the start-up funds, and strategies were borrowed from Christian ministers who have succeeded in building mega churches in very short periods of time.

After a year of planning and nine months of holding worship services, they average 100 attendees on Sunday mornings, have six to seven Small Group Ministry groups, a vital RE program and are beginning to think about acquiring their own building. Their ministers and staff are convinced that if they can build a UU congregation this rapidly in the Bible Belt, it can be done anywhere. They advise the rest of us to get past our aversion to the word “evangelism” – which, after all, and Well in the Bosom of Fundamentalism only means “spreading the good news.” The feel that if we UUs truly believe we have something that the world sorely needs and don’t spread the good news, we should be ashamed of ourselves!

This article can only offer a faint flavor of the GA experience. Four of our members attended this year – Bill Shoemaker, Andrew Millard, Carolyn Cartland and Margaret Leicach. Carolyn attended as a member of the UUA’s Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee. It was Bill’s first GA, Andrew’s fifth and Margaret’s sixth. Any of us will be happy to share our experiences with you in more detail and you can read more and watch video clips at www.uua.org.

Margaret Leicach

Special Task Force Reviewing Two Sunday Services

A task force to look at the issues related to having two Sunday services was set up by the Board of Directors last March. These issues include the religious education program, music and other Sunday morning activities.

The Sunday Options task force recommended this spring that the next steps be taken toward moving to a two-Sunday services model.

The topic has been under discussion since early 2004 and is related to the USH strategic direction and growth issues.

The Sunday Options task force, made up of both UU members and staff, has been looking at approaches used by other congregations and their experiences, UUA resources, potential transition issues and a timeline.

Following the task force’s recent recommendation, the Board asked that (1) a timeline be developed for further discussion this fall and (2) forums for additional member discussion and input be developed.

Persons interested in becoming involved in this work are asked to contact Reverend Arline Sutherland, Treasurer Bill Young or Board President Rebecca Judd.

Notes on UU Singles

Starting this month, the UU Singles group will be having most of their monthly potluck suppers at the USH Meeting House. Some will also be held at the Manchester UU Church. Last year’s meetings all took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church in West Hartford.

For those who plan ahead, the scheduled potluck dates, all on Sundays and all beginning at 5:30 pm, are: September 11, October 2, November 6, December 4 and, in 2006, January 8, February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7 and June 4.

The UU Singles group also attends concerts, exhibits and movies and goes on hikes and picnics. Contact Larry Lunden, 232-2416, mrnoonions@copper.net.

Come One, Come All - Sign up for Small Group Ministry

Autumn brings us another opportunity to minister to each other through Small Group Ministry. Facilitators and hosts have generously offered to provide the kind of experiences we have enjoyed so much in the past. Five groups await members.

Monday nights we have two offerings. Bev Prager will be facilitating a group at the home of Donna Ferber in Farmington. Ginny Berrien will be facilitating a group in West Hartford with Mike Winterfield as host. Both groups will begin October 24.

Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 4 pm Marye Gail Harrison will be facilitating a group at her home in Bloomfield, with John Passalacqua as host. This location is accessible for those in wheelchairs. The start date is October 19.

Wednesday evenings Carol Davidson will facilitate a group in Hartford, with Bruce Robbins as host. This group also starts October 19.

Thursday nights we will have a group at the Meeting House facilitated by Mike Roy and hosted by Janice and David Newton. This location, too, is accessible to people in wheelchairs. Plan on beginning October 13 if you choose this group.

All groups will meet for eight sessions. Meeting dates, after the first, are selected after consultation with group members. All evening groups meet from 7 to 9 pm.

Small Group Ministry—for those of you unfamiliar with the concept--provides opportunities for small groups of members and friends of the Unitarian Society of Hartford to gather and discuss topics of a spiritual nature. Past topics have included such things as Beginnings, Endings, Rituals, Grief and Community, and passages are provided to spark discussion. Special attention is paid to listening to each other. Members are often invited to contribute readings or refreshments.

We are planning to have ten members in each group, so if you have an interest in Small Group Ministry—and we hope you do—we urge you to sign up quickly. Although groups don’t meet until October, they fill rapidly. You can register by calling the church office or by signing up at the adult program fair. Please let us know any special needs you might have.

Beverly Spence

Hartford Courant Article Features ‘Our’ Judge Nina Elgo

The August 9, 2005 front page of The Hartford Courant, in an article describing the increase of Asians in Connecticut (total number of “Asian residents in the state topping 100,000 for the first time”) paid particular attention to UU member Nina Elgo. The paper noted she “made history last year” as the state’s first Asian judge.

The paper suggested that her May 2004 swearing-in was largely ignored by the news media, blaming that on the fact that, “Unlike blacks and Latinos, Asians have yet to amass any serious political power in Connecticut.” The continuation of the story on page A6 featured a picture of Superior Court Judge Elgo in her judicial robe and quoted her as saying “My goal is really to be the best judge I can be” rather than a symbol of Asian success. (Note: Judge Elgo was featured in the June 2004 Meetinghouse Messenger.)

Musings . . . Reverend Arline C. Sutherland

As the dog days of summer recede, the pace at the Meeting House picks up. You can hear the difference. The sound of laughter echoes through the building, the click of computer keys seems omnipresent, the phones ring more often, and power tools add their energy to the sense of anticipation. These are the days when we prepare for Homecoming Sunday.

All kinds of churches across the country celebrate Homecoming Sunday as a time to welcome everyone home. Children who have grown up and moved away are called as soon as the date is set. People who haven’t been around in awhile are urged to come back. And cooks start planning the covered dish they will bring. In New England, Homecoming is most often a celebration of our coming together again as a community of faith after many of us have dispersed over the summer. Who will you invite to join us?

Wait till you see what we have planned for this year’s Homecoming on September 11! This Sunday service will celebrate the new energy of September with the sharing of water. Water is precious and significant in all cultures. It can be a symbol of purity, or even of life itself. What have you been watering this summer? What is coming to life? Where have you found the living waters of renewal? You are invited to bring a small container of water with you to the service from a place or a time that was significant to you or your family this summer to the service. Perhaps there was a wedding or a birthday or the birth of a child? Maybe there was a perfect summer day at the beach or a family gathering. Or perhaps you might bring tears shed while grieving a loss.

Immediately following the service we will lift our forks together at a traditional homecoming picnic. Have you been waiting for a chance to make your grandmother’s cherry pie or potato salad? Maybe your grandmother was the kind of cook who prided herself on her made-from-scratch church potluck dishes. Or maybe yours was more like mine, who knew where to shop. Whatever! Grills, burgers both vegetarian and non, rolls and drinks will be provided,

This will be a year of opportunity and excitement. Our new Director of Religious Education, Ken Silberman-Bunn, is settling into his office, getting to know people, buying supplies, and setting up the classrooms. It’s great having him around. Tom Schmutzler, our organist of 25 years, has decided to move with his family to North Carolina later this fall. We will miss him more than we can say. A search committee is already hard at work looking not for a replacement, for Tom is not replaceable, but rather for someone new to join Music Director Mattie Banzhaf.

Our theme for the year is the spiritual practice of welcoming. How can we welcome our deepest selves, as well as reach out to others? Please join us on Sunday September 11 as we welcome you all home!

Blessings, Arline

Prof. Landau Urges “Religious Sensitivity” in Holy Land

In Israel and Palestine today, there is a “tremendous weight of grief” that is paralyzing and prevents moving forward, guest speaker Professor Yehezkel Landau told attendees at the May 29 service at the Meeting House. We must transfer our mixed memories of triumph and sorrow in order to change fear to trust, anger to compassion to “transcend these blood-stained memories so we can move forward.” He suggested we have to unite Jews, Christian and Muslims and that there is enough space for everyone. “Our traumatized memories cripple us more than anything else.”

Professor Landau is a Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations at the Hartford Seminary. After earning a BA at Harvard and an MTS at Harvard Divinity School, he immigrated to Israel in 1978 and lived there for 25 years, working on healing and reconciliation.

He told us, as we were celebrating Memorial Day weekend, that Memorial Day is observed in mid-May in Israel, coming right before Israel’s Independence Day and closely followed by Holocaust Day, when the whole country observes silence at the same time. “Meaning and memory go together,” he said. The challenge is what we choose to remember.

In 1991, Professor Landau was co-founder of Open House in Ramie, Israel (outside of Tel Aviv), a Jewish-Arab community. In its 13 years of operation, Open House has developed Jewish-Arabic youth activities, summer peace camps, and leadership training in inter-ethnic relations and reconciliation. (See www.friendsofopenhouse.org).

Nearly 30 persons attended a lunch-talkback with Professor Landau after the service. His experiences in Israel included working with the Israel Interfaith Association, directing the

Religious Zionist Peace Movement, and co-founding Open House.

Asked about his thoughts on peace in the region, he called himself a “pessimist in the short run” but very hopeful in the long run (i.e., a generation and a half). He said it would take time to heal the trauma of the last four years, and suggested that the Oslo Peace Movement lacked a spiritual aspect.

If there is to be a stable reduction of terrorism in Israel, he said, there needs to be a political willingness to shift from violence and terror. In the Holy Land, Professor Landau stated, there must be a religious sensitivity to both sides. There needs to be “lots more truth telling about what’s happening in Israel,” and we need to address and acknowledge the very deep Palestinian national wounds and injustices.

When asked what American policy should be, Professor Landau said we must “reactivate the framework of mutual compromise.” He felt that neither side had done enough homework at Camp David. We need cultural, historical, moral, spiritual and emotional sensitivity, he feels.

Professor Landau said we never hear about what’s really going on in Israel that’s not violent, and suggested we read material published by the U.S. Institute of Peace (see www.USIP.org). An article of his, “Healing the Holy Land: Inter-Religious Peace Building in Israel/Palestine” is available on that web site.

Kayla Costenoble

Humanist Association Lists Sept. Activities

Members of the Connecticut Humanist Association have a busy calendar of meetings and events this month. The list follows.

Satuday, Sept.3, 2:30 pm. Humanist conversations: selections from Terkel’s “Working: People Talk Abut What They Do All Day And How They Feel About What They Do.”

Saturday, Sept. 10, Picnic beginning at 1 pm, followed by a book discussion at 3:30 of Antonio Damasio’s “Looking for Spinoza.” Both will be at Bill and Kathy Lyon’s home in Cornwall.

Monday, Sept.12, 7 pm. Dinner at Pasta Fair, 262 Boston Post Road, Orange. RSVP by email to

humanim.meetup.com and call (203) 799-9601 for directions.

Monday, Sept.19, 7:30 pm. Monthly meeting begins with coffee and conversation at USNH, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden. Panel presentation begins at 8 pm on “What’s Going on in Humanism Today.”

Sunday, Sept.25, 2:30 pm. Board meeting, USNH, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden.

Wednesday, Sept.29, 7 pm. Dinner at Lisboa, 19 Lafayette Street, Waterbury. Call (203) 754-0789 for directions.

More information on the Humanist Association of Connecticut may be obtained from USH member Ed Savage, ESavage1@comcast.net.

And on the Lighter Side…

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible. Anonymous Looking for Something to Do Columbus Day?

The UU Society of Martha’s Vineyard will host its annual Columbus Day week-end Bed and Breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 7, 8 and 9.

Accommodations are in members’ homes. Breakfasts, dinners, island transportation and two evenings of island entertainment are provided.

Choose among a variety of daytime activities: sight-seeing, lighthouse tour, craft show, gallery hopping, golf or fishing (at your expense), or a Drawing from Nature Workshop and Writing Workshop with Reverend Judy.

This annual event is a fundraiser for the tiny church (75 members); the cost is $250 per person. An optional extra day is also available. Children are welcome, Space is limited, so early reservations are advised.

For inquiries or to register, phone Maru Slayman or Bill Shay at (508) 693-8649. To bring your car, book ferry reservations early at (508) 447-8500 or www.islandferry.com. There is also a web site at www.uumv.org. This will be our fourth year attending the Martha Vineyard’s B&B. Please call me with any questions.

Ellie Revill (529-9254)

Break a Leg, Gordon

A special coffee hour to say farewell to Sunday Sexton Gordon Rizza took place after Sunday services on August 14.

Gordon, who has worked at the Meeting House for the past three years, is off to New York City to pursue an acting career.

We wonder: did Gordon make the coffee for his own farewell party?

Volunteers Needed for Center City Churches

An after-service meeting on Sunday September 18 is planned to introduce USH members and friends to the many Center City Churches programs needing volunteers. Those interested in volunteering or who are currently volunteering are urged to attend.

Center City Churches has three main programs:

Center for Youth – A support program for students in Hartford’s schools
MANNA – A basic human needs program serving Hartford residents
Peter’s Retreat – A shared residence for people living with HIV/AIDS

The following volunteer opportunities are available under Center for Youth:

Readers Club Readers: To model English-reading literacy skills to children in K-3 classes. Commitment is once a week for 30 minutes to an hour, during the school day.
Math Mentors: Tutor students in basic math skills. Emphasis is placed on serving 4th-6th grade students. The commitment is once a week for 30 minutes to an hour, during the school day.
After-School Tutors: Commit to academic tutoring and some enrichment activities with one elementary school child, or a small group of elementary school children. The commitment is once a week from 3:30-5:00.
Activities Leaders: Organize a four- or five-week club for the children after school, one day a week or once per month. (Usually Fridays)

The following volunteer opportunities are available for MANNA:

Soup Kitchen: Commit to serving lunch (11:30 – 1:00) on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, etc.).
Senior Community Café: Organize and run a group-involving activity (bingo, crafts, Thanksgiving party, etc.).
Senior Community Café: Help serve lunch and then sit and talk one-on-one with senior participants.

The following volunteer opportunities are available for Peter’s Retreat:

Provide, prepare and serve a weekend buffet-style dinner. (Gives the kitchen staff a break.)
Organize and run a group-involving activity.
Help the maintenance crew with weeding, gardening, mowing, etc.

If you have any questions, please call one of the following people:

Center for Youth: Paul Hansen at 293-0616
MANNA: Bill Bryan at 953-0192
Peter’s Retreat: Janet Hill at 561-4144

Current calendar of events =>>

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 9/1/05)

Messenger Newsletter Content September 2005