50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105 Tel: (860) 233-9897 / FAX 233-1333 Email: firstunitarian@ushartford.com Reverend Barbara Jamestone, PhD

Home Page- Link Central Questions and Comments	USH-Enews February 18, 2010 Jump to: Sunday Service; Calendar; What's Happening; Feature Articles; External Events; Further Down the Road; Social Justice Journeys; Green Topics ; A Matter of Opinion; USH Stats Text only Printer Friendly Format
	Cold Artistry 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 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 One Service 10:30 AM  Sunday 21 February - It is Love That Makes Us Real - The Religious Education Sub-Council offers our annual multigenerational "Celebration of Children"  service with an exploration of  The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.  Some of the most lasting messages we carry about love come from the stories we heard as children.  Come re-experience this classic tale and remember the genuine and sometimes difficult loves that made you real. - Gail M. Syring Music - Songs from Mr. Rogers accompany the Children's Service on Sunday February 21st. Melissa Paul, our Cantor, leads familiar songs from the friendly Neighborhood of Fred Rogers.  There is also an opportunity to join in singing a remarkable (and easy) song from South Africa. Children and grownups of all ages can join in the singing in this Children's Service - Mattie Banzhaf REflections on Children's Programming Religious Education This Sunday, February 21st, will be our annual Multigenerational Celebration of Children Service.   There will be nursery care, but no individual classes.  The service is based on the story The Velveteen Rabbit, and everyone is invited to bring a beloved stuffed animal, doll or blanket with them to the service.   Join us after the service for soup with the youth group!   Middle School Youth Rally On Saturday, March 6th, the Clara Barton District Middle School Youth Rally will be held at the Meeting House.  If your child is interested in attending, or you are interested in becoming a chaperone, please contact Gail for details at: dre@ushartford.com. Holy Places of Asian Religions or Shifting Sands of Pilgrimage - 12:15 PM Fellowship Hall More Soup will be available. Board Minutes for February 9 are available on the web. Things You Can Do For USH Helping Hands Wanted!   We need a small group of volunteers willing to take turns on Sunday mornings helping to monitor the sound quality of the service. If we can get a group of eight people, assignments would be once every two months or so. Task: sit near the back of the Sanctuary and hold up a small, bright signal sign, if sound quality is too low or too high, accompanied by an appropriate hand signal to indicate which. The “sound manager” sitting in the choir section will keep an eye out for these signals and then be able to make adjustments. Explicit directions will be provided to those who volunteer.   Contact Anne Bailey, annebailey713(at symbol)yahoo.com or 860-379-7740, if willing to serve. Most catalogs use virgin wood, not recycled paper. Make the most of the magazines you love by bringing them to the USH Magazine Rack downstairs on the way into Fellowship Hall. Simply add any magazine (recent copies, within 1 year old please) AND take whatever one you'd like for as long as you'd like. Also, you can reduce unwanted mail, opt-out of catalogs and remove your name from mailing lists by going to www.catalogchoice.org . It's simple and free. Stop the waste, reduce the clutter and save natural resources! Every little bit counts. What Else is Happening Kingian Non-Violence Training at USH - To be held Saturdays April 17 and 24 at USH. More NEW! Eat Better, Feel Better, Live Better: Vegetarianism and its impact on physical health, spiritual health, and planetary health. Mondays, March 8, 15, 22, and 29, 6:30 - 8 PM. Fee $15. Join nutritionist, lifestyle educator, and cookbook author Maribeth Abrams for an inspirational, interactive, and informative course on the power of vegetarianism on personal, planetary and societal evolution. Discover the impact of animal agriculture on natural resources and on living in alignment with one's values, and get inspired to make delicious improvements on your dinner plate. Maribeth Abrams is a certified nutritionist and lifestyle educator, writer, corporate chef for a large natural food company, and spokesperson for the North American Vegetarian Society. She is the author of the cookbook Tofu 1-2-3, the forthcoming 4-ingredient Vegan, and the column "Ask Maribeth" in Vegetarian Voice. Register on Sundays at the Programs Table or by calling Janice Newton at 860.677.1121. Adult Programs Stop by the Programs table during coffee hour for more information about any of  the programs in the Adults and Families 2010 Winter/Spring Notebooks. Please note that time is running out to register for the course Eat Better, Feel Better, Live Better. Looking ahead to Spring, for all of you would be artists, a Collage course with two workshops with Hannah Libman will be offered in April, and in May, Painting in the Park with Watercolors will be offered. You may refer to the complete description of classes, programs, and events on the web. February and March offerings: Small Group Ministry (More) Ember Days, Wednesday February 24, 12 - 2 PM and Friday and Saturday February 26, 27, 6 - 8 PM More Our Chosen Faith, February 24, 7 PM. Join Rev. Jamestone for an introduction and discussion of Chapters 1 and 2 of Our Chosen Faith. If you have the book, please try to read the chapters before the class. This provocative handbook is a dialogue between two great Unitarian Universalist ministers based on the six sources of our living UU tradition. For more information about the program, go to the listing on the web. NEW! Eat Better, 4 Mondays, March 8, 15, 22, 29, 6:30 - 8 PM. (More) Friday Night Dinner and Movie, March 12. The featured movie will be Good Will Hunting. Please, if at all possible, register for programs in person during coffee hours on Sundays. If you cannot register in person, please email Janice Newton dcnewton(at symbol)snet.net and note registration in the subject line, or call 860.677.1121 and leave a message (if we are not home) rather than calling the office. This procedure will be followed for all programs including Small Group Ministry. Caring Network - Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce - 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. Further Down The Road (About 30 Days) Green Topics - Did You Know? -You can bring in candy wrappers, cookie wrappers, energy bar wrappers and Capri Sun drink pouches to be recycled. Drop them off at green table or green sanctuary bulletin board. Besides helping the environment USH also gets $ for them!	From the Editor: Suggestions for Contributors. This Week’s Feature Articles Holy Places of Asian Religions and Shifting Sands of Pilgrimage Spaces Left Small Group Ministry Eat Better The Latest Tweak More Candle Cake Opinion Holy Places of Asian Religions or Shifting Sands of Pilgrimage - There is a special opportunity coming up on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12:15 in Fellowship Hall: Rev BJ will present a slide show: "Shifting Sands of Pilgrimage." BJ has made pilgrimages to many sites holy to the world’s religions and will focus on the holy places of Asian religions. Specifically she will cover the pilgrimage to Western Tibet, to Mt. Kailash (most sacred spot for Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism). Further, she will show slides of important sites in the life of Buddah in Northern India. His birthplace is the site of his enlightenment, his first teaching location, and the site of his Paranirvana, or death. Bring a sandwich or buy soup from the youth group ~ lemonade and popcorn served during the show Sponsored by the Alliance Ministry to Women ALL are welcome! The latest “tweak” in trying to avoid disruptions at the beginning of our service ~ A plea for your cooperation ! First, try to be seated on time! Second, if you’re not, please follow the posted directions. We’d really appreciate your help with this. Read on: As stated last week, concern has been expressed about the number of people arriving late on Sundays for the service, as this is a disruption to those who are already seated and have settled into a reflective or meditative state.     After two Sundays experimenting with new usher procedures, it is apparent that there are latecomers who prefer not to wait to find seats. So here is our latest attempt to meet those folks’ needs and still limit disruptions:   Folks who arrive after the opening welcome from the pulpit has begun, are asked to wait at the back of the sanctuary until after the Invocation and Chalice Lighting, before finding seats – OR to go to one of the side aisles to find seats. Latecomers may also enter, at any time, by one of the side doors. Exceptions to this will be made in individual circumstances. A sign will be displayed, explaining this, as the service begins. The glass doors to the sanctuary will remain open to allow sufficient space for latecomers to stand there, as well as at the back of the sanctuary, so they can still feel part of the service. We would very much appreciate it if all of us would make every effort to be seated by the time the service begins. This shows respect for those speaking or playing music early in the service, as well as enhancing the sanctity of the service and making our volunteer usher’s jobs easier.   Lets ALL try to be aware of the clock and get to our seats on time! With much appreciation from the Membership Sub-Council. Your cooperation is deeply appreciated. Still Some Space Left In Small Group Ministry - Groups are filling up for spring Small Group Ministry, but some space is left if you sign up NOW. SGM is a great way to get to know other members and friends better while discussing spiritual and life topics openly and in depth. If you are a newcomer to SGM or the Meeting House, you can test the waters by participating in the Mini-SGM on Thursday evenings, starting March 18, facilitated by Carol Davidson and hosted by Bruce Robbins in their Hartford home. This Mini-SGM (5 spaces left) is limited to four sessions, with the option for more sessions at the group’s discretion.   We are also offering an LGBT affinity group, with straight and supportive friends welcome. This group (6 spaces left) meets on Wednesday evenings, starting March 10, facilitated by Julie Smith and hosted by Debbie Nardi in their Canton home.   There is limited space available in three other groups: Tuesday evening in West Hartford (1 space left), Wednesday afternoon in West Hartford (2 spaces left), and a family friendly group on Friday evening (1 or 2 spaces left).  For a description of how SGM works, click here. Register on Sunday or by calling Janice Newton at 860.677.1121. - Mike Roy Social Justice Journeys (From the UUA) And from USH On the Calendar - Please notify Brian Mullen of all additions or changes to the calendar. Follow this link to all our scheduled events A Matter of Opinion More on the Candle Cake - For me in the beginning when the candle cakes were raised, my memories of High Church were tweaked; religion in which the priest is the only real connection to 'god'.  And I'm not even Catholic….  After some time the vision of the lifting of the flames came to feel more pagan to me, in that the joys and sorrows expressed in the lighted candles are being lifted to the universe for spiritual completion.  An offering to the gods, if you will.   - Carol Davidson - More Opinion: Sometimes I get more out of a Sunday morning than other times. But I always find my experience enhanced by reading the USH-Enews. If I read about the service in advance it helps, as, for example, I am sure reading Gail Syring’s forecast will increase my appreciation of this Sunday’s drama worship. And if I can’t really remember what BJ meant in her tightly packed message, I will understand it at a much deeper level after reading Kayla’s amazing summary. The articles by members and staff help me clarify my beliefs and values as well as how I want to live based on them. So thanks to all of you who contribute to the “mid week worship form (forum?)” that Enews has become for me. - Marye Gail Harrison External Events and Educational Notes Our USH Community Numbers  * Sustaining:  Members (229)    Friends (9)   ** Supporting:  Members   (58) Friends (11)   *** Ministerial Exemptions:         0 Sub -Total: Members (287)    Friends (20) ****Total USH Community   307   *Sustaining members donate more than $250 per year per person, and are reported to UUA. **Supporting members donate from zero to $249 per year per person. ***Exemptions: those who consult with minister and make a service pledge in lieu of financial donation.   **** The total USH community--those who consider USH to be their religious community when they have need of a religious community or minister.   Attendance for Sunday, February 14, 2010 Worship = 161 Average Attendance for January = 114 Religious Education Attendance = 29 Average RE Attendance for January = 32 Visitor forms completed 2/14 = 2 Visitor forms completed January = 6 Offering for 2/7 = $3,313 Members Joining January: 3 Adults & 3 Children
	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 Hartford
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