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

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Congregational Conversations - Notes Taken At the Time   Friday 1/16/09 Saturday 1/17/09 Sunday 1/18/09 Handouts Friday 1/16/09 Diversity: Not always the same Not talking to the same people all the time People understanding at different levels and experiences “Outside the comfort zone”---challenge to personal expectations Diverse does not mean being all things to all people…subscribe to not being judgmental, but not needing to try everything   Broaden experience Know things we didn’t know before Provide different ideas of what church means Opportunity to learn more about a person Enhance spiritual growth Be moved to appreciate there are different ways to worship Reach different parts of one’s emotions Religion is people’s attempt to confront that they will die Church/worship helps us understand where we are going and how we make meaning of our lives Touching people in heart and mind Effects of the candle lighting:          Meditative          Reflection on memory          Feeling part of community Looking at familiar things differently   Cultures How did becoming a Welcoming congregation and inviting the GLBT community change how we think of ourselves? What other cultures do we represent?          Age…multigenerational          Educational level          Income                   GLBT          Religious background          Theist, deist, humanist How do we speak to all these cultures    Spirituality [Interesting discussion…spirituality was the topic for this section, but people focused on more questions] How accessible is our worship? What is a new person’s perspective? What works for both the “insider” and people trying to get to know us? How do we become aware of “insider communication? What makes us comfortable in our service/worship?   UU tradition Intellectually vigorous sermon Cohesive service Democracy Social change/action The unknown is unknowable We carry previous religious backgrounds but we are not bound by them This church is built from our own spiritual search We all understand this differently   Music A goal is to create seamless integration of sermon and music for a total service More involvement of youth and children in music Underused talent of youth Kids performing music is not integrated as part of the service…it is performed at the congregation Congregational response (clapping) engenders “performance” attitude   Hymns Participation of the congregation makes them part of the service, not an audience We all make a joyful noise New tunes are tough Learning and repeating hymns helps people participate in singing as a community There is great pleasure in singing with the choir.  The “descant” is like going into warp drive The congregation does not need to be polished…we want to be able to belt it out Love the organ Hate the organ   Two different services: RE at only one service is a loss Paths only cross with one part of congregation More time between services is needed so 2 groups might have the opportunity to meet Can coffee be between services to increase interface of the two services Consider family friendly service and a meditative service Can we have RE between services   ETC How do we create more simple services with broader experiences If too many things compete for our time we lose focus and meaning We need uncluttered worship For our senior members of the congregation the constantly changing worship style is confusing and frustrating     Saturday 1/17/09   Diversity Does a diverse congregation want a worship that is more experiential than intellectual Theological diversity must be addressed.  Teresa spoke of the concept of god in Islam and explored that relationship of the individual to god. We need to look back on traditional Christianity so we can know how to speak with the Moral Majority. The Order of Service gives the structure to the diverse sermon topics and music we want to experience   Broaden experience The nuance of novelty can be positive Intentional change is needed rather than change for change’s sake It is a tricky balance to maintain the familiar while adding unfamiliar elements. We need to create centering events in our worship so we can ease into diversity.   UU Tradition UU churches are all different Our tradition is non-tradition   Spiritual The repeated practice of coming to church can be our way to transformation Transformation can occur on different levels…individual, congregational, global The congregation uniformly wants a good sermon and solid preaching Short sermons do not fulfill everyone Testimonials do not work for everyone. Conversation on Yoga practice:          Jnana…scholar          Bhati…devotional          Hatha…senses Karma…action/service People should come in to the sanctuary more quietly If the candles were at the side of the entry could the lighting be done outside of service time   Music Music can be diverse, but so can who is producing it. Music, familiar and unfamiliar is welcome, but we need the help of the choir when it is new. World music Humming and chanting can create meditative experiences There is a sense that the choir is separate from the congregation   ETC The chancel art is very busy and elements cannot be seen from the back Simplify the chancel art. If we have two different types of service, how do the children learn the variety of ways we worship Consider a longer service where the children might be dismissed later into the service. Do not assume that when we make changes or introduce new ways of worship that everyone understands why.   Sunday 1/18/09 Diversity Music could be beyond the hymnal Increased attention to everything around, using all the senses Multiple resources enhances the richness of experience Diverse forms come from spiritual motivation (as opposed to expressing diversity without gain in understanding) Does diversity lead to a path or is it an offering of different experiences…i.e. we are not looking for a smorgasbord of worship opportunities   Spiritual Being in touch with the moment Being in tune with every sense may be spiritual We can be spiritual but not religious Many paths to the truth Spiritual is overall while religion adds a creed To accept others with warmth helps lead our spirituality Why do we cry when we feel spiritual---overwhelming connections Transcendent…lifting the spirit higher          For some it is the arts           …the action/service          Being at one with the universe or the universe of people          Sense of the soul being touched by                   Nature                   People                   The arts Wholeness becomes the holy Sense of being integrated as a human being…the integrated self feels holy Full of the sense of life Can we substitute wholeness for spirituality? Silence and meditation are important for some members to experience worship in personal intimacy   Culture How do we make others feel comfortable here How does our traditional form of worship lead to discomfort We respect “otherness”…our congregation values diversity If we embrace traditions new to us, do we estrange our current members We are proud of our GLBT heritage.   Music Strong appreciation for the selection f music being “integrated with the sermon/service The Musical Dedication and Spirit of Life ground us in music and allow for the pleasure of appreciating the other music in the service Does the repetition of new ideas broaden the experience over time.   Etc: Returning to the “traditional service is difficult to identify because each person identifies the “traditional” service by the first experience at USH Some people need a chunk of time to become deeply involved in the sermon and yearn for the intellectual depth of the longer sermon Thematically consistent service is appreciated Aesthetic integrity is recognized We hang the elements of the worship on a structure so sit must be solid Handouts Notes from congregational conversations Friday 1/16 and Sat 1/17   Hand out 1 page 2             How can we bring understanding and respect to these equally important qualities…..             Like youth in the service – we get to know them             Children perform at us             Lift up what has ultimate worth (BJ might have said this but it sounded good!) Diverse:             Different             Talk to different people             Outside of comfort zone   Broaden experience:             Different idea of what church means             Get to know someone new             Enhance spiritual growth             Visit other cultures             Reach different parts of emotions             Deal with big questions differently             Looking at familiar things differently             Accessibility for those who are not here             Different types of services             Agree that the unknown is unknowable     Diversity in order of service:             We should do unfamiliar hymns with the choir present.  “Ease into diversity”             Tricky balance – keep the sense of the familiar while introducing new things.             No change for the sake of change.             We already have diversity – why would we want more?             Intentional change, with a reason – not disjointed.             Predictability             We need to take “Other Person 101.”   Congregational Conversations 1/16/09  Note from Carol Davidson Diverse means:  Different sounds, words, music, people.                           Speaking to all kinds of people and experiences                           Outside our comfort zone                           Clean and uncluttered; we're not everything to all people                           Two different services Broader experience means: Learn new                                               New definition of church                                               Know another person                                               Enhance spiritual growth                                               Visit other cultures for other spiritualities                                               Reach different parts of emotion                                               Worship - dealing with big questions, what on earth am I do do with my life                                               Touch heart and mind in different ways                                               See familiar things differently Cultures:  black, ages, education levels, income levels, celebrations/holidays and seasons, music Sunday, poetry Sunday, religious backgrounds                                             and new directions, how accessible are we to 'outsiders", atmosphere-comfort. UU Traditions:  Retain respect for our UU traditions                          Intellectually rigorous sermon                          UU congregations, all are different                          Democracy and the need to discuss                          Social change, social action                          Freedom for our own spiritual search, acknowledge the unknown as unknowable                          Aesthetics in music, quality                                                      FENG SHUI - GOOD ORDERLY DESIGN? Question #2 - How can we bring understanding and respect to these equally important 'qualities' of music in worship and points (a) and (b) following:                        One service; youth, families, kids, RE.  Second service: music, sermon, reflection                        Discomfort with 'performance'                        Hymns and participation by congregation                        Matty leading chants is dynamic                        Traditional hymns with choir; descant is moving                        Loss of connection with members Question #3 - Can we find resources such that we have one 'traditional' service that does not reflect this restructuring?                        Not enough time between our two services                        RE in the middle maybe?                        John's Joyful Noise celebration choir

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 03/19/09)