USH-Enews March 11, 2010

USH-Enews March 11, 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;

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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.

A Stewardship Testimonial

Cirlce of Care Good morning! My name is Karl Peters and I’ve been a member at the Unitarian Society of Hartford for about twelve years. Currently I’m serving on the Board of Directors and am Chair of the Council on Spiritual Life.

I’ve been asked to share with you what this place means to me, and why I am an enthusiastic supporter of what we do here. Each of us has his or her own reasons for being a part of this community. As I share some of mine, you might reflect on why this place is important to you, what comes alive for you.

I’d like to start with telling you why I come here on Sunday morning. It’s to cry! To feel deep connections that often bring tears to my eyes! For me the core of religion is to be connected, not only to think that I’m connected to others present here, to others from my past, and to the wider world—but to feel connected. I’ve never been to another church where I experience deep connections like I do here—where I’m moved to tears. I treasure that.

Feeling connected happens for me in many ways. One Sunday it was the opening chords of the organ that evoked deep feelings. At other times it’s the choir. Usually it is when we sing the children out. Often it’s during the lighting candles of joy and concern, and often it is the words of BJ’s sermons.

A couple of weeks ago, we had an intergenerational service with the children’s story “The Velveteen Rabbit.” The story is about how love makes us real. At its climax, the Velveteen Rabbit is abandoned—in a bag—in the night. In the morning the bag will be burned. The Rabbit is alone—and scared. I think the rest of us have felt what that is like. I know I have.

At that point the story was stopped and we sang hymn, No. 131 “Love will guide us, peace has tried us, hope inside us will lead the way . . . through the hard night.” I choked up, and the tears came.

Connectedness! Love! A way through hard nights! That is what I see and experience here over and over again. In worship. Small group ministry. Caring network. Religious education. Men’s Group. Green concerns. Tutoring children in Hartford in reading and math. Participating in the Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice, and the Connecticut Committee for Interreligious Understanding. These are some of a variety of ways we can experience connectedness and express love.

Throughout most of my seventy years, I have been going to church. In no other place have I found the kind of deep caring community that this community is. In no other place have I felt the deep connections that move me to tears!

This is the kind of community I want to support with my good will, my time, and my money—because it represents what to me is the most important thing in life—the kind of love that is present in our circle of care.

I’ve already been asked for my pledge. What have I done? As I realized what a treasure this place is—it’s my spiritual home—I’ve increased my pledge by over 50%. Some may wonder, How much does that make? And I must say that I’ve been struggling in my own mind whether to say how much. I usually like to keep my charitable giving to myself. Yet, in the end I think it may be helpful to let you know. So I’ll tell you that my 50% increase makes my pledge $5,000.

That’s a stretch for me. It might make me cry for other reasons. But I think our Unitarian Society of Hartford is worth it.

Each of us lives in different circumstances. Regardless of what you are able to do, I hope you will join me and do all you can to help our community grow and flourish. - Karl Peters

Worshipping Together Since 1830
One Service 10:30 AM

Remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night!

Sunday - 14, and 21 March -The Joy of Participation: Pocket Gardens for Perennial WITS - Religious community nurtures WITS, whether WITS is the "Wise Inner Teacher" of children, the “Workable Internal Training Story” of adults, or some other acronym pointing toward an inner foundation of guiding principles guiding our words and deeds. The March worship theme is our human need for participation -- as an essential nutrient for the spiritual formation of our maturing WITS. Join our second week of exploration of "The Joy of Pocket Gardens" for the care and nurture of our perennial WITS.

Music - Two choral pieces honor a 20th century African American new choral tradition. Paul Halley wrote “Sound Over All Waters” in honor of Coretta Scott King; our choir backs up soprano Melissa Paul in this beautiful anthem. “Wanting Memories” is part of a choral set called “Crossings” that composer Ysaye Barnwell wrote for her women’s a cappella group Sweet Honey In the Rock. It’s remarkable to note that the line our basses sing was composed by Ms. Barnwell for herself, as she sings “bass” with Sweet Honey.

REflections on Children's Programming

Religious Education Classes

Spirit Play: Blue Promise: Hey Little Ant
Second & Third Grade: UU Super heroes: Lydia Maria Child
Fourth & Fifth Grade: Spirit of Adventure: Henry Bergh, ASPCA
Sixth & Seventh Grade: Mandalas
Eighth Grade: Coming of Age
Youth Group Activities: Discussion

Easter "Egg" Hunt Contributions Needed

On Easter Sunday, the Religious Education program will sponsor a unique Easter hunt. Rather than searching for eggs, our kids will search for canned goods. The cans will then be exchanged for Easter treats, and the cans will be donated to the Horace Bushnell Food Pantry. We are in need of contributions and volunteers. Please contact Gail at: dre@ushartford.com if you can offer to:

Donate canned goods, both standard size and small single servings;
Prepare the Easter treats;
Hide the canned goods before the service;
Collect the canned goods after the hunt.

Gail M. Syring, DRE

Things You Can Do For USH

Each of us lives in different circumstances. Regardless of what you are able to do, I hope you will join me and do all you can to help our community grow and flourish. - Karl Peters

What Else is Happening

Save the Date for the Annual Stewardship Community Event March 20th 7-10 PM Fellowship Hall More

The USH Men's Luncheon Group meets at noon on the third Tuesday of the month, at Carmen Anthony's Restaurant, located on Route 44 in Avon.

The speaker for the meeting on Tuesday, March 17 will be Tom Kemble whose topic will be "Solving the Connecticut Budget Crisis."

Family Potluck Supper and Games Night

Baloons Come along and enjoy a meal and a game with us.

It’s March 26, 2010 in our Fellowship Hall. Arrive 5:30-ish. Dinner 6:00-7:00

Games to begin around 7:00 after clean-up.

Bring a dish to share, a beverage, and your favorite game.

All this for $5 for families and $2 for an individual. You can sign up and pay at the Programs Table during Coffee Hour; or call Janice Newton 860-677-1121 or email at dcnewton(at symbol)snet.net That will help us with set-up. Or just come with potluck… we’ll make room at the table for you.

Date:   Friday, March 26, 2010
Time:   6:00 PM
Fee:    $2.00 individual/ $5.00 family

Kingian Non-Violence Training at USH - To be held Saturdays April 17 and 24 at USH. More

Collage with Paper and Found Objects.
Saturdays, April 10 and 17.
Time: 10 AM - 2 PM.
Fee: $30.00 per class or $55.00 for the two classes. More

Adult Programs
catalog At the Programs table this Sunday during coffee hour, you can register for a NEW; fun Family Potluck and Games Night planned for Friday, March 26.

Looking ahead to Spring, a two class Collage course with instructor Hannah Libman will be offered in April. If you've wanted to learn how to paint using watercolors, Painting In The Park With Watercolors is scheduled for May. You may refer to the complete description of classes, programs, and events on the web.

Coming Events:

Family Potluck Supper and Games Night, Friday, March 26. (More)

Collage with Paper and Found Objects, Saturdays, April 10 and 17, 10 AM - 2 PM. (More)

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. Your cooperation is deeply appreciated.

Social Justice Journeys (From the UUA) And from USH

Further Down The Road (About 30 Days)

logo Green Topics - Did You Know? Using recycled aluminum instead of new aluminum reduces air and water pollution by 95%.

Turn out. Take Action. - Earth Hour. March 27, 8:30-9:30 PM., local time.

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

External Events and Educational Notes

Member Jacques Lamarre's New Comedy to be Read - On Tuesday, March 16th at 7 PM, the Little Theatre of Manchester will be presenting a reading of Jacques Lamarre's new comedy, "Gray Matters" at Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road in Manchester. It's free and open to the public. There is some naughty language, so don't bring the young'ns! More info about Cheney Hall, LTM and the play can be found here - Feel free to spread the word!

From the Editor: Suggestions for Contributors.

This Week’s Feature Articles

A Stewardship Testimonial
Stewardship Tree Comes Alive
Collage, an Example
Reserve the Date Stewardship Event
Get Behind the Can Hunt!
Highlights March 9 Board Meeting
New Comedy by Jacques Lamarre

The Tree Comes Alive - If you were in church last Sunday, you know that we now have a “tree” in the lobby as a reminder that we are working together to keep our USH community growing and green with our tender care during this Stewardship season.

We invite everyone to help adorn the tree with paper leaves on which you can express what comes alive for you when you come here and what you receive that you get nowhere else in your life. This is a good reminder that all that comes to us from this place is so special and necessary in our lives and that we must do everything we can to keep it alive and strong.

Our annual stewardship party will be held on March 20th in Fellowship Hall from 7-10 PM. Please RSVP this week by calling the office or signing up after church on Sunday – even if you cannot come.

This will save us the time of calling you next week to ask if you are coming. We anticipate a great time together – eating, drinking and enjoying some entertainment sure to make you laugh.

Come prepared to make your pledge for the upcoming fiscal year and be a gardener of spirit and community along with fellow members and friends who support the work of this Society. - Sue Kinney

Highlights from the March 9 Board Meeting - At our meeting on Tuesday, March 9, the Board conducted the following business:

The sidewalk going down the hill towards the front door must be repaired as soon as possible as its current condition poses a potential hazard for our members, friends, and guests. Building and Grounds is obtaining competitive bids to make the repairs in a cost-effective and timely way. The expenses associated with the repairs will be funded by the endowment fund as this will constitute a capital expense. The Board is asking B&G to take interim steps to decrease the risk while bids are collected.
The Nominating Committee, headed by former USH President Heather Ferguson-Hull, is beginning to work on identifying candidates for next year’s Board. The slate of candidates will be voted on at the annual meeting in May.
Financial results remain a challenge; because of the additional $16,000 fundraising done October-December, by year end we hope to have a balanced budget and be able to restore the reductions made to Rev. Jamestone’s salary, the Endowment Fund, and pay District Dues.
The budget planning process for 2010-11 has begun. The Finance Sub-Council will draft the process we will follow, providing opportunities for lots of input and participation from the congregation and staff, including Economic Conversation #3 on May 2. The final budget will be dependent upon the success of the Stewardship Campaign so please give generously as you consider all the gifts you receive from your USH community. Every dollar counts.
The Board will continue to work with Rev. Jamestone and our staff on defining and reporting categories of membership and friends so that we are consistent and accurate regarding the size of our community.
The Board “experiment” to merge the Council Chair position with the Board position, as well as potentially adding a position to represent the Council on Administration (other than the Treasurer) has revealed a number of advantages which the Board will address this spring.
The Councils are active and robust: the Green Sanctuary folks are implementing the “green covenant”; the “sound squad” is working hard to improve the sound system during our worship services; and Community Within folks are always thinking about ways to welcome new members and care for our community.

Thank you all for all of the ways you tend to our community. Because of you, we are living our faith now and for future generations. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, March 20 at our annual Stewardship party to celebrate our community and our faith in our future. - Carolyn Cartland

Creating a Tree - Back in the “old days” at the Unitarian-Universalist (that’s what we used to be) Society of Hartford, God and money were two words rarely—if ever—heard from a minister from the pulpit during a service.

Times have changed. We sang We Worship Thee, God during the March 7 service and seem to have survived the experience. Reverend BJ pointed out that composer Vaughan Williams set the anthem Lord, Come Away to music using the 1655 words of Bishop Jeremy Taylor. This was the offertory music presented by Mark Child, tenor; Ginny Allen, viola and Martha Child, piano. These “old words” describe universal feelings about the richness of life and our willingness to be “gardeners of the spirit,” Reverend BJ said. During the service, Come Lord was also on the musical menu.

As for money, long-time USH member Karl Peters spoke of the many things that bring him here and make him “feel deep connections that bring tears to my eyes” — the organ, choir, children’s stories, candles, words in the sermons (and none of these come free). Here, he said, he has found “a deep, caring community…and a kind of love present in our circle of caring.” Reverend BJ introduced Karl as a scholar of religion, author, speaker and “enthusiastic supporter of what we do here.”

Although Karl usually keeps his contributions private, he told us that his pledge this year will be increased by 50 percent, and he decided to tell us that this will amount to $5000.

We spend much of our life, Reverend BJ said, in the work of making a garden of our essential nutrients. And then we, the congregation, were asked to create a tree, writing “something that comes alive to you when you are here” on bare green paper leaves we were given. We hung our completed leaves on the bare branches of a “tree” after the service. We will celebrate the full tree on March 20, when we gather for our annual Stewardship Party, where we will eat, drink, be entertained and make our annual pledges.

Reverend BJ said that language changes in relation to our “guiding principles and core values” and we should “listen to that which is human in all our stories of faith.” She quoted Albert Einstein who said that “mystical is the source of all science” as we encounter the “yearnings, struggles and battles in the human heart.”

We are learning that Reverend BJ likes acronyms. Recently, we learned about WAGAT, the language of love (Words, Action, Gifts, Attention and Touch). During Sunday’s service we heard about WITS, variously translated as Wise Inner Teacher and/or Workable Internal Training Story. This refers to “something invisible inside us that, if we listen, can give us wisdom.” We cloak this mystery in some form that makes it accessible to us, she said. Our life stories have plots, characters, actions and themes. “What helps you shape your story?” she asked us. For her, “religious places are the safest places…I found my soul in all the holy places I’ve seen.”

Reverend BJ asked us what “economic justice” means. The question almost always brings money to mind, and its earlier meaning was “tending to the household.” Economic justice is about thriving. She reminded us that “We have to talk about money once a year. We exist here to nurture a way of being in this world.” Participating in community affairs is important, she said, which is why the Sunday offering will go to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, an organization that works for us to promote economic justice, advance environmental justice, defend civil liberties and preserve the rights of people during humanitarian crises.

If enough of us are together, Reverend BJ concluded, “We might be able to make a change.”
- Kayla Costenoble

Caring Network - Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so. Lord Chesterfield - 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.- before 10:30 on Sunday. 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.

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

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 03/10/10 5:56 PM)