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USH-Enews March 19, 2009

Photo

Smith College Spring Bulb Show

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 AM

Sunday - 22 March - Affecting Change/Achieving Peace - Rev.BJ

Music - Our wonderful soprano Katie LaPorta leads the choir in a touchingly beautiful solo and chorus. Felix Mendelssohn was a child prodigy who had a sterling career as composer, pianist, organist, conductor and all-around brilliant musician…until his untimely death at the age of 38. This musical prayer speaks for the aching wishes of many: O for the wings of a dove! Far away would I rove. In the wilderness build me a nest and remain there for ever at rest.

REflections on Children's Programming -

Religious Education Classes

Spirit Play: The Great Pearl
Second & Third Grade: St. Patrick's Day
Fourth & Fifth Grade: We Believe: A Very Short Rule
Sixth, Seventh & Eighth Grade: The Simpsons: The Tell Tale Head
Youth Group Activities: Discussion

Gail M. Syring, DRE

From the Editor: Suggestions for Contributors.

This Week’s Feature Articles

Congregational Conversations

Growing in Spirit and Growing in Service
Issues Surrounding Support of Various Groups

What do I Say Now?

We Are Never Broken

Partner Church Program

April Services

April Music

Supporting Each Other One Favor at a Time – Pay it Forward Groceries - Members of our congregation are not immune to the current economic crisis.  As part of our Great Covenant to help one another, please purchase a grocery gift card in any amount at your local grocery store and bring it to the Meeting House.  
 
You may drop gift cards in the offering plate on Sunday or drop them off in the office.  If you would like a record of your contribution, please include the cash register receipt with your name and address clearly written on it.

With the support of the Board of Directors, the Council on Community Within requests that as many of us as possible purchase gift cards when we shop – as many times as possible between now and June 30.  We will make the gift cards available to members who may need them and encourage them to return the favor when their circumstances improve in the future.
 
Thank You!
 
P. S.  If you are in financial crisis, please reach out to get help (see Need Help? below).

Need Help? - Part of our basic affirmation as a community is “to help one another.”  Please let us know if you are experiencing special challenges as a result of the current economic turmoil.  We want to do what is possible to help and there may be a need for economic support groups as well.
 
USH’s volunteer and staff leadership is meeting over the next week to identify additional ways our community can “help one another.”  We don’t yet know exactly what this means, but we anticipate that individuals and families may have both material and spiritual needs, ranging from moderate to extreme circumstances.  This is a special appeal to ask you to reach out if you are experiencing a change in circumstances that might cause you hardship.  Confidential inquiries and outreach are fully respected.  Please help us respond by letting us know the type of situation you may have.
 
Please call or email: Council on Community Within [COCW] Chairperson Becky Pardoe or Board Liaison to COCW Amy Hines. Contact information is available in the USH Directory or by calling Rosie or Brian in the church office at: 233-9897.

Congregational Conversations - I’ve been struggling for weeks to write a synopsis of the meetings we had in January, which we called the Congregational Conversations on Worship.  I told myself I didn’t have the time, that I was looking for the best way to organize it all, that I was waiting for inspiration.  Finally, I’ve realized that there is no way to know, no way to be sure or right – there is only the leap over the cliff into the unknown with the faith that something will come of it.
 
This past January more than 60 members of our congregation came together in three separate meetings to have a congregational conversation about worship.  As background, we remembered our vision and strategic initiatives regarding worship from the strategic plan written in 2002.  They are as follows:
 
 Vision: Our worship service and music fosters:
Spiritual renewal and development and a strong sense of community for our diverse and growing congregation.

We feel challenged to grow spiritually through the exploration of many different cultures and world religions.

We are comforted by the thematic congruence with our Unitarian-Universalist traditions.

Our worship services are thematically consistent, with a high degree of professionalism, and reflect our increased diversity.

Our sanctuary enhances our communal spiritual experience.

Strategic Initiatives:

1. Develop and run a program to increase lay involvement by training members in worship theory and how to plan, conduct, and participate in worship services.

2. Incorporate more diverse forms of worship and music that broaden our experiences, reaching out to incorporate styles and content that speak to many different cultures, while retaining respect for our Unitarian-Universalist traditions and the overarching spiritual purpose of the worship service.

With this as our backdrop, we explored what diversity in worship means to us, what cultures are there even now within our own community in addition to other cultures who have not yet come through our doors, what are our Unitarian- Universalist traditions (someone suggested this might mean “whatever we experienced the first year we came to the Meeting House”) and what do we mean by spiritual purpose.  

After that, we talked about how we might expand our experiences in worship to encompass both the familiar and the new, so that over the course of a worship month or year, all might feel that they had been moved to experience the transcendent.  For some this would come through the utter joy of a moving organ postlude.  For others, the experience might be felt while swaying to a traditional spiritual or singing out a chant accompanied by hands acting as drums on the pew.  Embodied rituals such as the lighting of candles brings a sense of bodily feeling of being held in community for some, while for others it brings up feelings of resentment and anger from the past.  And, so, the ultimate question becomes “How do we live in community and find the spiritual nurture we crave and need to survive, while honoring the needs of others that feel so opposite to what we yearn for?”

In the end, we recognized that the transcendent will come for us all when we not only experience our own bit of ecstasy in that form we love and feel as true, but when we experience it as knowing and feeling our neighbor’s joy and uplifting in that which does not speak to us on a personal level.  

I’ve been reading Gregg Levoy’s book Callings in anticipation of his visit here in June.  Chapter 3 is entitled “Braving Conflict.”  He says that heroism can be “redefined for our age as the ability to tolerate paradox, to embrace seemingly opposing forces without rejecting one or the other just for the sheer relief of it.”   He goes on to cite the work of Robert Johnson in his book Transformations where he calls “the ground between conflicting forces as a holy place.  The struggle to hold paradox is ultimately a “religious” experience, in the sense that re-ligare means to re-join, to bind together opposites, to restore them to each other.”  
 
My hope for these conversations before they took place was that many more of us would come to understand the complexity of worship-making and to see the depth of thought that goes into the crafting of every Sunday and to hear from you how this translates into the filling up of your spiritual needs.  What came out of it, for me, was a profound sense of the universal – that which we are seeking in coming here to worship is so basic to our sense of self in the world, even though we might access it in different ways. If we can trust that the abundance of forms does not impede our progress, but rather brings us closer to that which we are seeking, we will all find that there is more than enough.
 
Levoy talks about thinking too much as a danger on the path of pursuing one’s calling.  He says a “call is a missive from the province of mystery.  . . Beyond a certain point, faith is the magic lamp and humility the abracadabra.”  After leaving these conversations, I could hear the abracadabras just a bit louder and see that the light from the lamp shining on our path was just a bit brighter.
 
P.S.  For those of you who crave more concrete information, feel free to read the notes taken by scribes during the three sessions here. They represent snippets of conversation, which cannot be recreated from notes alone. - Sue Kinney

What do I say now? - It’s tough, when you really care, to figure out how to say "the right thing"  how to honor the other person while honoring your own need for honestly, or clarity, or self respect. And it’s especially tough when you’re dealing with subjects which have impact beyond yourself and the other person.

That’s why we keep telling you about NVC!  

It’s a method which we have experienced as very helpful, and because it requires lots of practice, we’d like to be able to practice with you!   I feel badly when I have a tool but am not yet skilled enough with it to use it easily, which in this case means that I keep putting my foot  in my mouth and NOT helping bring peace and connection through things I say.

So,  April 25, Saturday,  1-5 PM, we are doing an in house training in NVC for YOU, and me. Paul Quin will be leading the event, with planning and participatory assistance from the NVC steering team. If you are currently in a leadership position, or if you’d like to become more involved in leadership, this is a rare opportunity for you to be able to interact with others in our USH community around issues of communication.

Following the training, we will establish an ongoing practice group for those of you who want to continue with this work, which can make a huge difference in every relationship in your life.  If you, like me, ponder over less than successful conversations with others, and if you, like me, wish to be  more curious, open, accepting, and loving  with yourself and with other people at the same time, please come.  Especially if you have things you want to share about our life together at the MH, this will be invaluable for you.
Contact the office to say you are coming! - Rev. BJ
 
We are Never Broken - If you were in service last Sunday you heard a wonderful sharing of song which  tells why it is true that we are never broken. Several youth  joined Joyfuul Noise in a moment of ministry to many of us in the Sanctuary who are in fact, feeling very broken at this moment.  
 
What do I mean by "broken?"  The Lay Listeners gathered recently and explored the question, “What am I facing and how am I feeling?” We shared personal stories of how we and those we love are being affected by our current economic crisis.  We shared how our other  ongoing stresses and hardships are exaggerated by the current climate, even though they aren’t related to money.  We shared fear, hopelessness, helplessness, anger, worry, and we shared hope and optimism as well. Our lay listeners are imagining how you are feeling and what you are going through. They would like to be with you in these days, and hope you will seek a visit, if you are feeling "broken."
 
Coming to worship service can be helpful in hard times too. I received several comments from you after church last Sunday, saying that the Joyfuul Noise song had encouraged you, that seeing our elders and our youngsters together singing some good news with joy( if not perfect pitch!)  was meaningful, that seeing people who want to make a gift to others be willing to do so with humility and trust was touching. Most often I was told how life affirming it was to be reminded that in fact we are not now and we will never be broken, as individuals or as a people, so long as we remember that WE are God’s eyes, that we are God’s hands, and that we are God’s mind.
 
We’d love to have you join us for Joyfuul Noise in April.  We’ll get to know each other better, will have a chance to sing together, and will surely bring more gifts to our congregation.  April 5 at 1 PM, we have a brown bag lunch, along with a lesson on JAZZ from John, and some singing together. On Thursday evening the   23rd from 7:30-8:30 we gather to sing and fine tune our Sunday song.  We sing at both services on Sunday April  26, and  then gather for lunch at my house at 1 PM. (Those who were a part of Joyfuul Noise in March are also invited to lunch!) - Rev. BJ

April Services

5 April -  We Recognize Passover - and are led by our Equual Access (formerly "disabilities") Sub-Council, and Rev BJ  in the pulpit,  in exploring the question, “Do you hear?”
 
12 April -  Easter Sunday, Living Life, Seeking Stability - one service 9:45 AM We continue our intergenerational  “Hilaritas” (Live joyfully and be proud of who we are) tradition with Jazz, dress for the occasion (think Spring, bunnies, colored eggs!), and an opportunity to roll away the stone from some tomb space in your own heart.

19 April - Connecting with the Natural World - Rev. BJ and Our Green Sanctuary Sub-Council help us celebrate Earth Day.
 
26 April - A Celebration of Commitment and Community - Our membership Sub-Council helps us name and claim some of the joys of serving and being served in our USH community, and we welcome new members.

April Music - The most dramatic thing happening musically is our look towards the future as the search team for a new Music Associate starts actively organizing the search.  The team hopes to attract candidates who will help the Society branch out in new musical directions and encourage joyful singing from all....while still maintaining the musical excellence for which we are known.

Music for April:

5 April - The Chancel Choir recognizes the High Holy Days of Passover with an anthem by Cantor Charles Heller, "Oseh Shalom" (Creator of Peace). The Hebrew text comes from a Jewish prayer -- the lines that close out the kaddish. Oseh shalom bimromav: may He who makes peace in the heavens make peace for us. It is suggested that we need to take the first steps toward the peace we want God to give us. If we build bridges and coalitions, if we make peace as we can, then we can ask God to bless us with peace.

The service this day is designated as Equual Access Sunday and also features music by the famously deaf composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

12 April - Jazz fills the air on Easter Sunday this year with swinging saxophone and captivating keyboards.  All the choirs of the church join together in Greg Gilpin's rousing "Plenty Good Room."  Yes, there certainly is "plenty good room" for all singers to raise the roof on Hilaritas Sunday.

19 April - Earth Day Sunday is the occasion for a reprise of Rev. BJ's favorite anthem, one that the choir sang for her Installation: the beautiful "Song of the Earth Spirit" by David Brunner.

26 April - Our own multi-instrumentalist Bill Willett brings the Nutmeg Woodwind Quintet to our chancel with music from 3 centuries beginning with the sprightly and popular Water Music of Handel and including Mozart and Tchaikovsky. In addition, Joyfuul Noise invites the congregation to sing along with them.
 
3 May – Advance notice of our annual Spring Music Sunday:  Two major pieces bring us “Choral Ecstasy.”  Several movements from Francis Poulenc’s transcendent “Gloria” let us hear our own brilliant soprano Katie LaPorta before she moves on to a major musical career.  “Rejoice in the Lamb” is Benjamin Britten’s interpretation of the ecstatically deranged religious visions of the 17th century poet Christopher Smart.  Both of these 20th century masterpieces bring us new visions of how music can transport our spirit.

About the Healing Power of Music

What Else is Happening  & Announcements

SUNDAY MARCH 22 WEEKLY  (aka “the Bulletin” or “the Order of Service insert”)  For the Sunday March 22 issue of “The Meeting House Weekly”, please send all announcements to Brian Mullen:  bmullen@ushartford.com.  

New Board Minutes and February Financials have been posted. 

New Art Show scheduled for Sunday 22 March - More

Clara Barton District Spring Conference and Annual Meeting - The Clara Barton District Annual Meeting will be held at Nichols College in Dudley, MA on Saturday, April 4th.

Our congregation is eligible to send up to five voting delegates.  If anyone is interested in attending, please contact Heather Ferguson-Hull.  Our forms would need to be returned to the District Office by March 26th. 

The agenda will include:

*Presentation of the annual report
*Election of the Directors to the District Board and Nominating Committee Members 
*Discussion and vote on the Annual Budget of the District 
*Other business as may be brought before the meeting

The meeting is part of a larger Spring Conference, which runs from 8-4.  It includes a worship service, a keynote speaker and afternoon workshops.  The conference fee is $40 per person with advanced registration.  If you didn't receive the flyer and would like more information, it is available at www.cbd.uua.org.  

Pro Femina Concert Saturday March 28th 7:30 PM (More)

B&G Plans Grounds and Building Cleanup - Saturday morning April 4th, mark you calendars. Weather permitting, all hands will clean up the debris of winter on the Meeting House grounds and finish various internal building projects. Please give Ed Sax a call and tell him you plan to attend (860-286-9688)

As you know from the story of the wishing mirror ..."The crowd cheered and congratulated the ladies again.  As the Buildings and Grounds Sub-council was carrying the mirror out of the room to be properly disposed of, the ladies turned to the group again.  “So, who is going to help us clean this storage room?"

Advance notice to all USH members who have joined in the past 5 years: Save the date: Friday April 24 - for a Potluck evening. The Membership Sub-Council wants to gather together you folks who have joined in recent years for an opportunity to share your ideas and interests with us and each other. An invitation with more details will be coming later this month. Childcare will be available and we hope as many of you as possible will join us!

Partner Church Program - Although our formal membership in the Partner Church program has ended, some of you have expressed interest in the program via the COSJ survey or by other means.

While we do not have enough members to sustain the program at this point, some of you might like to contribute to our former partners in Lupeny, or to the Partner Church program in general.  The following information was forwarded to us by Cathy Cordes, the UUPCC Executive Director:

 I understand that there are people in your congregation who might wish to continue their relationship with individuals and/or the minister of Lupeny.  The UUPCC offers a money transfer service to our members.  The form they need is available on our website at www.uupcc.org  It explains the process and also explains that checks are made out to UUPCC.  The check and the form is then sent to our office at PO Box 88, Bedford MA 01730.

They also might consider individual or small group partnerships through our PATHS programs.  They could become student sponsors and build a relationship with one child while helping to pay education costs for that child.  Information about that program is also on our website at www.uupcc.orgClick on PATHS for more details.

Adult Programs - We will not have a Registration Table at the Coffee Hours on March 22.  Please call the Office to register.

Only one more day until Spring is officially here! In April, why not consider registering for Tai Chi, Fabric Painting,or Photo Alteration. These programs do require prior registration and payment. You can reserve your place by phoning the office (860 233-9897) and paying with a credit card. Also, in April, a Sunday afternoon workshop Hunger 101 will be offered and a Mini Retreat  has been planned by The Unitarian Alliance Ministry to Women (UAMW).  You can read more about these programs and others in the Winter/Spring Programs Catalog available at the Meeting House or go to the USH website home page and click on New Pages.
 
Tai Chi, Session 2 begins Wednesday, April 1, 6:30-7:30 PM. An ancient Chinese martial art that medical studies have shown to be a complete healing art consisting of slow, relaxed movements  for total self development. Anyone can do Tai Chi regardless of age or physical ability.
Hunger 101, Sunday, April 5, 1 PM. Foodshare offers this workshop to help us learn more about the hunger problems which continue within our own community. The presentation will utilize role-play and discussion for the whole family, age 10 years and up, allowing individuals to experience the challenges of feeding a family on a limited budget.
Fabric Painting, 3 Saturdays, April 11, 18, May 2, 10 AM -1 PM. USH member Diane Cadrain will share her expertise in painting on fabric. Participants will learn how to apply Shiva Paintstiks and  Setacolor watercolor paints to fabric in the first two classes. In the third class, a simple log cabin quilt will be assembled by using pieces of fabric created in the first two classes.
Photo Alteration, Saturday, April 25, 10 AM - 1 PM. Lori Barker, a regionally well known studio artist, will introduce students to altering photos through experimentation. Techniques using common household products, crayons, inks, and tools will be explored. Stamping, rubbing, and coloring will be used to alter the photo images and to bring them to life in new imaginative ways.
Mini Retreat, Saturday, April 25, 11 AM - 5 PM. A day retreat in beautiful rural New Hartford. Enjoy walks in the country, a potluck luncheon, and discussions on various topics of feminine interest

Caring Network - If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together."- Ghanaian proverb - 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.

External Events and Educational Note

Sharon Salzberg
Lovingkindness Meditation
Saturday, March 21, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
WHY - West Hartford Yoga
phone: 860-953-YOGA (9642)
website: www.westhartfordyoga.com

Lovingkindness is a meditation that cultivates our natural capacity for an open and loving heart. These practices lead to the development of concentration, connection, fearlessness, and genuine happiness. This workshop is suitable for both new and experienced meditators.

One of America's leading meditation teachers and authors, Sharon Salzberg has been a student of Buddhism since 1971, and has led meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. She teaches both intensive awareness practice (vipassana or insight meditation) and the profound cultivation of lovingkindness and compassion (the Brahma Viharas). She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. $50, registration required.

On the Calendar
Thursday, March 19
5:30 pm  NVC Gathering, Minister’s Study

Friday, March 20
5:30 pm  Family Friendly SGM, Fellowship Hall

Sunday, March 22
9:00 am  Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:30 am  Great Decisions, David’s Den
9:45 am  WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
9:45 am  Coming of Age, Fuller
10:45 am  Coffee, Fellowship Hall
10:45 am  Music rehearsal, Chapel
11:15 am  WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm  Coffee, Fellowship Hall
1:00 pm  Music Associate Search, Library
3:00 pm  Rental, Chapel
 
Monday, March 23
7:00 pm Rental, Ballou

Tuesday, March 24
7:00 pm  Religious Education, Servetus
8:00 pm  AA, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, March 25
5:45 pm  Meditation and Dharma Gathering, Emerson
6:30 pm  Tai Chi, Fellowship Hall
7:30 pm  Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary

Thursday, March 26
9:30 am  International Women’s Circle, Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm  Music and Poetry Concert, Sanctuary

Friday, March 27
6:00 pm  Concert Pro-Femina Rehearsal, Sanctuary
 
Saturday, March 28
10:30 am Rental, Chapel
7:30 pm  Concert Pro-Femina, Sanctuary
 
Sunday, March 29
9:00 am  Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:30 am  Great Decisions, Library
9:45 am  WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
9:45 am  Coming of Age, Fuller
10:45 am  Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
10:45 am  Coffee, Fellowship Hall
11:00 am  Youth Group serving at soup kitchen, offsite
11:15 am  WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm  Coffee, Fellowship Hall
1:00 pm  Council on Social Justice, Library
3:00 pm  Rental, Chapel

italicized 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!

Social Justice Journeys (From the UUA) And from USH

Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary at Rowe Camp Conference Center in Rowe MA Fri. thru Sun. April 3-5.  Nationally known economists and authors David Korten, Nancy Folbre, Robert Pollin, Ward Morehouse and Chuck Collins will help us understand the causes of the current economic collapse.  We will re-envision economics and economic justice pointing to an earth centered, humane and sustainable economic system.  Go to rowecenter.org or call organizer Marcia Meyers 503-665-3957 or Tom Kemble 633-4503 for details. - Tom Kemble

HUNGER 101 - April 5 at 1:00 PM - On Sunday, April 5, FOODSHARE will facilitate this role-play and discussion activity designed to increase awareness and understanding of hunger in our community. (More)

photo

Did You Know? - Green Sanctuary Sub-Council -

Turn out. Take action.
Be part of this historic event.
March 28, 2009, 8:30 PM local time
World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions. Click on www.earthhourus.org to register. - Bev Prager

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