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50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105
Tel: (860) 233-9897 / FAX 233-1333
Email: firstunitarian@ushartford.com
Reverend Barbara Jamestone, PhD
USH-Enews January 8, 2009
Jump to: Calendar; What's happening; A matter of opinion; External events; Further down the road; Did you know?
For Moments, A World of Crystal and Silence.
The USH-Enews is a weekly email newsletter produced for members and friends of the Unitarian Society of Hartford. The USH web address is: http://www.ushartford.com/ Check at the end of this USH-Enews for information on submissions, subscriptions and escape from the mailing list. And, to read the monthly Meetinghouse Messenger (newsletter) on the web or to find past issues of the weekly USH-Enews click here.
Office hours: Rev. Jamestone: Phone: 860 233-9897; Email: RevBJ@USHartford.com - Rev. BJ office hours by appointment.
Worshipping Together Since 1830
Sunday, 9:45 AM and 11:15 AMSunday - Services Cancelled because of Snow Storm
11 January - Epiphany: What made the Wise Men Set Out? John Jesensky will convey the story of the Magi in the whimsical lyrics of James Taylor’s "Home by Another Way’"and we’ll reflect on those intuitions, instincts, and surprising ideas that spring to our minds on occasion.
Music - Our own John Jesensky reprises his captivating styling of James Taylor’s song “Home By Another Way.” Later this year John will be singing such songs in concert with his rock band, to benefit USH. Be sure to put February 28th on your calendar!
REflections on Children's Programming -
Religious Education Classes
Check this out.
- Gail M. Syring, DRE
What Else is Happening & Announcements
Let's Eat Together (in small groups) - The Circle Dinner registrations are early this year, January 18th is the deadline! Register in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday coffee hours.
The dinners are a pleasant way to enjoy being with old friends and meeting new ones. Six to 10 adults are randomly assigned in different groupings for each Saturday evening dinner. The dates are: February 7, March 14, and April 18.
Guests bring appetizers, salad, side dish, or dessert. Host furnishes the entree, beverage, and bread.
We understand that some can't host, but we do need hosts, so if your home can seat six, please host one dinner. Fanciness isn't required--paper plates are fine if more convenient. Getting together is what's important!
Registration: $2.00 per household. - Marion Kelliher
Social Justice survey of the Congregation - The Council on Social Justice (COSJ) is conducting a very important survey of the congregation that started this past Sunday at the Social Justice Fair. Members of COSJ will have a table set up in Fellowship Hall the next two Sundays, during coffee hour, and request that you please stop by and fill it out! This information will be very helpful to us as we plan our goals for the next year and beyond. For those who took one home to fill out, we ask that you drop it off in the office or bring it to the COSJ table in Fellowship Hall this Sunday or next Sunday. Thanks.
New recycling opportunity! Bring cookie wrappers and juice pouches to the Green Table during coffee hour for recycling into products. USH will get some $ for them as well. What a deal!
Teaching Peace in Time of War - Celebrate Martin Luther King Day on January 18 More
Applications Sought for Projects Under the Jean Petty for Social Responsibility - More
Adult Programs - Plan to attend the January 25 FAIR for the 2009 Winter/Spring Programs for Adults and Families in Fellowship Hall following both services. You'll be able to meet some of the presenters, ask questions about the programs, and register.
Along with your favorites - Great Decisions starting Sunday, Feb. 8, Friday Dinner and Movie, Tai Chi beginning Wednesday, Feb. 4 and SGM,. - there are many new offerings. Some of those in February will be:
Living a Sustainable Life, a discussion facilitated by Bev Prager, Tuesdays, 4:30-6:00 PM .Hartford Courant Speaker-(to be announced), Sunday, Feb.1 at 1 PM, sponsored by the Unitarian Alliance Ministry to Women.
Spiral Beaded Necklace Workshop with Irene Dizes, Saturday, Feb. 7 and 14.
Potluck Supper and Game Night, Friday, Feb. 20.
"Improv of Integrity" facilitated by Lindy Ackman, Saturday, Feb. 28. Designed for young adults (12-17).
However, before then, plan to attend the Sunday afternoon program, January 18, in Fellowship Hall at 1:00 pm. The film Teaching Peace in the Time of War, sponsored by the Information and Advocacy Sub-council, will be shown. Soup will be available to purchase before the film. MoreLet’s all remember to “CARE and SHARE” Every Week - with our neighbors, whose hunger and challenges continue to grow. Large bins in our front lobby hold our ongoing collections for the HORACE BUSHNELL CHILDREN’S FOOD PANTRY and SOUTH PARK INN. For the Food Pantry, our goal is for each person to bring one nutritious non-perishable food item each week.
On the CalendarSunday, January 11 (Services Cancelled)
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
Monday, Januery 12
6:30 pm Artist’s Way, Cadrain Home
Tuesday, January 13
5:30 pm Finance, Servetus
6:00 pm IASC, Library
7:00 pm Board of Directors, Servetus
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, January 14
5:00 pm Green Sanctuary, Library
5:45 pm Meditation and Dharma Gathering, Emerson
7:00 pm Pathways, Library
7:15 pm NVC Practice Group, Emerson
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Thursday, January 15
9:30 am International Women’s Circle, Fellowship Hall
6:00 pm NVC Gathering, Minister’s Study
Friday, January 16
5:30 pm Family Friendly SGM, Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, Chapel
Saturday, January 17
10:00 am Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, Chapel
Sunday, January 18
9:00 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:45 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
10:45 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
10:45 am Coffee, Fellowship Hall
11:15 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm Coffee, Fellowship Hall
12:15 pm Youth Choir Rehearsal, Chapel
1:00 pm Teaching Peace film, Fellowship Hall
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
4:00 pm Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, Chapel
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
Monday, Januery 12
6:30 pm Artist’s Way, Cadrain Home
Tuesday, January 13
5:30 pm Finance, Servetus
6:00 pm IASC, Library
7:00 pm Board of Directors, Servetus
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, January 14
5:00 pm Green Sanctuary, Library
5:45 pm Meditation and Dharma Gathering, Emerson
7:00 pm Pathways, Library
7:15 pm NVC Practice Group, Emerson
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Thursday, January 15
9:30 am International Women’s Circle, Fellowship Hall
6:00 pm NVC Gathering, Minister’s Study
Friday, January 16
5:30 pm Family Friendly SGM, Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, Chapel
Saturday, January 17
10:00 am Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, Chapel
Sunday, January 18
9:00 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:45 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
10:45 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
10:45 am Coffee, Fellowship Hall
11:15 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm Coffee, Fellowship Hall
12:15 pm Youth Choir Rehearsal, Chapel
1:00 pm Teaching Peace film, Fellowship Hall
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
4:00 pm Review & Renewal of USH Worship & Music Vision, ChapelItalicized entries are non-USH events.
Please notify Brian Mullen of all additions or changes to the calendar. Follow this Link to all our scheduled events!Caring Network - Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. If you know of any member experiencing some difficulty, please contact Diana Heymann, Chair of the Caring Network (heydiana(at symbol)comcast.net) 860.461.0908 or call the office so we can provide some assistance. A wide range of community services is also available to those in need by calling InfoLine at 211. Please contact Diana if you are able to volunteer your services.
- Unitarian Universalists believe:
That under the sky all people are one family
It is important to understand other peoples' religions.
In forgiving others and trying to right the wrongs we have done.
That each of us should think through our religious beliefs.
In the power of love and hope and that if you act as if good thing will happen, they often do.
In gentleness and compassion for all living things.
People should have the right to choose their religion.
That no people should force their religion on others.
These notes were found hanging on the bulletin board in the 2-3rd grade classroom off Fellowship Hall.
Any questions? - DCN
From the Editor:
This Week’s Feature Articles
Barack Obama at Unitarian Service
Input On Worship Practices Sought
President's Column
What Makes the Magic of Worship?
Cranes in Transit
Why Are We Here?President's Column: 2009 is here, and the holidays are behind us. I am rather relieved they’re over, but I have been thinking about Christmas, and how I used to feel about it. When I was much younger, I found December quite thrilling, and the possibilities of what I might receive seemed almost limitless. I remember one year, when I most desperately wanted Ernie and Bert puppets (from “Sesame Street.”) I was overjoyed to receive Ernie, but I never did get Bert.
As an adult, my wish lists at Christmas have been pretty modest, and certainly never as specific as they used to be. But I realize that I miss that feeling: the feeling that almost anything could happen at Christmas. And then, when I think about it further, it occurs to me that magic is actually possible with the coming of the New Year.
Any thing really could happen in 2009! The economy might actually get better. People I love might be given new opportunities in their careers. There might be new breakthroughs in medicine, and health care funding, and people might have improved health this year. Perhaps the end of the Iraq war is truly in sight, as well. I have high hopes for the coming year, and not just because I am excited about the new administration. I also have high hopes for our congregation. The Board is in the process of reviewing our Strategic Plan, and I believe that we will become a healthier organization because of this work, and it will help guide us in the future.
And the hard work and visioning isn’t just happening at the board level. There is incredible work being done by so many of you, and our congregation becomes richer by the day because of your efforts. It is fun for me to imagine what delights, unknown to me right now, might await me, and our congregation, in the coming year. And even if 2009 brings me “Ernie,” but no “Bert,” I will be so very happy. - Heather Ferguson-Hull
What makes the Magic in Worship? Now THAT is a topic for study! You can read BJ’s thoughts on this subject in her blog for this week, and give her YOUR thoughts by attending a session of our January weekend of congregational conversation about worship. Read about the logistics,
13 Pounds 3 Ounces: Our Flock of 1,000, Cranes Weighs in at UPS! They were packaged up and shipped off this week. They traveled from Connecticut, to Maryland, to Virginia, and are due to arrive at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, sometime before 2 PM on Thursday, January 8.
TVUUC has been told to expect the packages but nothing about what's in them. May they be filled to overflowing with all the love that went in to each & every fold. May our wish for their peace come true.
An Early Influence in the Life of Barack Obama
- Reverend Mike Young, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, wrote the following for a UU newsletter:
Many years ago Madelyn Dunham brought a small boy to the First Unitarian Church for Sunday School. On December 23rd 2008, he came back to celebrate her memorial service. She had died two days before he was elected President of the United States.
This time he came with his family, his sister's family and a few close friends; and a huge contingent of Secret Service Agents, bomb sniffing dogs, and snipers. The whole property was locked down. Every nook and cranny of the church was searched. The event was successfully kept a secret for two weeks ahead of time to protect the privacy of the family.
The service was a simple one, with music by Dion Hangtree. Barack and his sister, Maya, spoke warmly remembering their grandmother, "Toot," (The Hawaiian word for grandmother is Tutu.) She had been a local bank executive. The president mentioned that she was the sort of bright, strong woman who, if she had been born 20 years later, would have been president of the bank.
Her ashes were later scattered in the ocean off Lanai Point, South Oahu. This is from the opening I wrote for the service:
Madelyn Dunham chose this land of gentle and violent beauty for her final resting place. We stand now in the leeward shadow of the majestic Ko'olaus, in the distance the rich and fecund Pacific. Along this coast, Punchbowl, Diamond Head, Koko, Hanauma, craters of the ancient birthing of this land in fire. Wrapped in moist trade winds scented and spiced with pikaki and ginger. Mauka, the verdant mist washed valleys watering a fertile garden of the human spirit. From the most ancient Kanaka Maoli to today's rich diversity of peoples whose spirits are rooted in this land, here have you come. Here will her ashes and the good wishes of those who loved her be joined with the elements of this place.We come here today to seek the blessings of this land upon her repose. Once, she admired this beauty as she moved through its spaces. Now she will be a part of it; greeting the dawn and the sunset, storm and calm, from within the very heart of that beauty.
I was honored to have shared this moment with the family of President-elect, Barack Obama.Congregational Conversation on Worship - The Worship Arts Sub-Council and BJ invite you to attend a congregational conversation on worship the weekend of January 16-18th. Friday night January 16th at 7 PM, Saturday morning the 17th at 10 AM or Sunday afternoon the 18th at 4 PM. BJ and members of the Worship Sub-Council will be present at all meetings. More
External Events and Educational Notes
"Turn Pain Into Action, Tears Into Growth" - Turning Tragedy Into Life's Strongest Building Blocks - an evening with Rabbi Yisroel and Vivi Deren. Today, Thursday, January 8, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Chabad of Greater Hartford, 2352 Albany Ave, Hartford, $5. www.chabad.org
Hartt Students to Perform at King Tribute Concert - Two Hartt School students will be among the performers when the Hartford Symphony Orchestra presents its 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert on Saturday, Jan. 17. The concert will take place at 4 PM at the Hopewell Baptist Church in Windsor, Conn . More
Hartford Seminary is offering a January intersession class that may be of interest -
Traditions of Change: American Literature of Reform (HI-676)
Monday, Jan. 12 through Friday, Jan. 16 - 9 AM. to 4 PM (Make-up day: Jan. 17) More
Did You Know? - Green Sanctuary Sub-Council -
We are setting up a listserv for Green Sanctuary supporters (distinct from the formal sub-council workers). If you wish to be part of it and have not been subscribed already, send your email address and name to dcnewton@ushartford.com requesting inclusion
Nuts and Bolts: The member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth in our congregations; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process, within our congregations and in society at large; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part.
Generally, USH-Enews will be posted on Thursday. Send email related to the USH-Enews to dcnewton at ushartford.com If you have announcements or articles you wish to be published, send them along with the subject line USH-Enews by 4:30 PM Wednesday evening. Comments are always welcome. If you wish to have your name removed from the distribution list or have learned of the electronic publication and wish to have your email address added, just ask. © Unitarian Society of HartfordLet us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 01/10/09 8:30 PM)
