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 May 21, 2009 Jump to: Calendar; What's happening; A matter of opinion; External events; Further down the road; Social justice journeys; Did you know? Text only Printer Friendly Format
	Allium, a member of the onion family 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 Summer Schedule one Service 10 AM Sunday - 24 May - Memorial Day Service - Rev BJ Summer Schedule Begins - One Service 10 AM John (redacted name) who passed away on (redacted date), will be remembered at a short Memorial Service to honor his memory in the Chapel after the coffee hour. His career included military service. Music - Joyfuul Noise warms our hearts this Memorial Day Sunday with "Danny Boy," a poignant ballad to the old Irish tune "Londonderry Air." One of our youngest talents, Caroline Kriesen, has a more contemporary sound as she sings "Shepherd of My Heart" by Sandi Patty. REflections on Children's Programming -   Coming of Age Celebration Our eighth grade students have been participating in the Coming of Age program since January, and will celebrate their rite of passage in a Chapel service at 2 PM on Saturday, May 30th.  Everyone is welcome to celebrate with them on that special day!   Registration for 2009-2010 In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, the Religious Education registration process will be electronic this year!  In the next few weeks, families will receive an email document to be filled out and returned electronically to register their children for classes next year.  If you are concerned that the office does not have your most updated email address, please email Gail at: DRE@ushartford.com.   Memorial Day Activities After the Time for All Ages, we will have field day activities to celebrate the end of the church school year.  Come join us in Fellowship Hall and we will all go outside together.  In case of inclement weather, we will begin the Summer Program a week early in Classroom D.   ***** Harry Potter Summer Program  ***** Beginning on Sunday, May 31st, we will be moving to our summer class schedule.  Worship will begin at 10 AM, and after the Time for All Ages, all children will be invited downstairs to Classroom D for Mythology of Muggles class!  Each week of the summer we will explore a new Harry Potter character and the connection of their mythology to Unitarian Universalism.  Come experience the magic! - Gail M. Syring, DRE What Else is Happening  & Announcements Prints Available - Full size prints of four of Joe Sam's extraordinary paintings are in the USH office for viewing and purchase. These are on loan for several weeks. A percentage of any sales will go to USH. - Sara Sturges Annual Meeting to be held after the service on May 31st - The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the Nominating Committee has proposed the following slate of candidates for the 2009-2010 Board.  The names marked with an asterisk will be voted on at the Annual Meeting.  In keeping with our Bylaws, the meeting will be held in May this year. The Nominating Committee was diligent in completing its work by the end of April.  There was an oversight in getting the slate published 25 days in advance of the Annual Meeting, as required by our Constitution.  If you have concerns about this technical error, please do let a member of the Board know. We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.  Refreshments will be served!  President - Carolyn Cartland * President-Elect - Sue Kinney * Treasurer - Martha Page Secretary - Fran Carnevale * At-Large Community Within - Amy Hines At-Large Spiritual Life- Jim Venneman* At-Large Social Justice - Bill LaPorte-Bryan * A Congregational Opportunity, June 7: “Callings” Worship Service and Workshop with author Gregg Levoy - Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life (pdf flyer), MORE Employment Support Network News - June 10 -7:00 - 9:00 PM Network Potluck Supper - Meet to eat and talk about careers, jobs, and your experiences. Help design a small support group to continue through the summer months. Contact Esther McKone for information and the "green meal" suggestions. 860-677-6682   May Ember Days - Looking for a serene and reflective break, for some space to sanctify time and community, for moments of soul healing and vision bearing?  Join Rev BJ at ember days on Weds May 27 from 12-2 PM, or  May 29th or 30th from 6-8 PM, in the Meditation Sanctuary. The theme is “Wailing for a Vision” and the native spirituality of vision quest is the method.    A Chosen Faith - May 20, 27, and June 3, from 7 to 8:30 PM Rev BJ continues the study of the classic UU text, “A Chosen Faith.” You are very welcome to purchase the book from Rosie ($16) and to join us in progress at the Meeting House. Special Service Planned for June 14th The June 14th worship service with have a special focus on welcoming GLBT folks at Unitarian Society Hartford. Our special collection will benefit True Colors (www.ourtruecolors.org) True Colors works to create a world where youth, adults and families of all sexual orientations and gender identities are valued and affirmed. They challenge all forms of oppression through education, training, advocacy, youth leadership development, mentoring and direct services to youth and those responsible for their well-being. - Greg Nicket Budget Information Session Scheduled - Under the Constitution the budget is voted on by the Board after considering a draft budget submitted by the Finance Sub-Council. An informational session is scheduled for Thursday June 18th when those present will be happy to discuss budgetary issues and proposed solutions to be considered by the Board as it faces the economic difficulties associated with FY 09-10. New NVC Practice Group Forming - Sign up by May 31st. More Interweave - (formerly called the Welcoming Congregation) will host a USH booth at CT Pride 2009.  Pride will be on June 6th from 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM. at Bushnell Park.  If you'd like to help staff the booth, and haven't already signed up, please join us at our planning meeting on May 3 at 1:00, or call Ann Carnevale at 860-651-0369 or email to: annmarycarnevale(at symbol)gmail.com. Adult Programs - Stop by the Programs Table in Fellowship Hall after the service this Sunday. In addition to the offerings in the Book Cart, there will be copies of Greg Levoy's book Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life ($15) and  A Chosen Faith by John Buehrens and Forrest Church ($16) available to purchase. Proposal forms for possible programs to offer in 2009 - 2010 will  also be available. Ember Days, Wednesday, May 27, 12:00 - 2:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday, May 29, 30, 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Led by Rev. Jamestone, these contemplative gatherings to celebrate the wondrous cycles of nature include spiritual exercises and time for personal introspection in silence. Come to any or all of the sessions. No registration needed. Friday Night Dinner and Movie, June 12. The featured movie for the final 2008-2009 dinner and movie evening will be Field of Dreams 9 (See below). We welcome comments or suggestions about the programs that have been offered during the 2008 fall and 2009 winter/spring terms - timing, content, etc. Please send them to Janice Newton: or Nancy Reed. Looking ahead to programming for this fall, perhaps you or someone you know has a special interest and would like to offer a class or workshop. We'd be happy to talk with you about your ideas. Proposal forms are available in the office or you can go to the USH website Home page and click on Programs and Activities - Adult Programs -  Proposal Form. The form can be left in the Adult Programs mailbox in the office or or can be emailed to Nancy Reed or Janice Newton. Please do not leave completed proposal forms with Brian or Rosie as we need to review and schedule them before they are submitted for publication in the catalog. USH Dinner & Movie Friday, June 12 - Feature has been changed, since “Life of Reilly” has still not been released. “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.” 1989 hit celebrating the love of baseball, starring Kevin Costner, based on W. P. Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe. Caring Network - And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T. S. Eliot - 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 Notes A Celebration of the Human Spirit, Sunday May 31st, 7 PM Beth El Temple - the final concert of the 2008-09 Music Series at Beth El Temple, promises to be a memorable community event. "A German Requiem" by Johannes Brahms will be performed by the Beth El Orchestra, Community Chorale, and soloists. Additionally, George Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F" will be performed by Hartt School Of Music pianist, Corbin Beisner. Cantor Joseph Ness, Conductor/Artistic Director would like to provide you and your Unitarian Society Of Hartford choir members with concert tickets. Flyers available at USH Further Down The Road (About 30 Days) A Matter of Opinion: Social Justice Journeys (From the UUA) And from USH Did You Know? - Green Sanctuary Sub-Council - What chemicals are in your baby shampoo? Was sweatshop labor used to make your t-shirt? What products are the best, and what products should you avoid? Increasingly, you want to know about the impacts of the products you buy. GoodGuide provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home. Check out goodguide.com	From the Editor: Suggestions for Contributors. This Week’s Feature Articles Slate of Officers Ready for Annual Meeting Mother's Day - A Time for Flowers and.. June Music Announced Congregational Conversation Mother’s Day -  A Time for Flowers and Reflection - “Things that make me happy and things that make me sad are often the same thing,” Reverend BJ mused during last Sunday’s service—a potpourri of flowers, music, poetry, ceremony, reflections and farewells.   And what a sweet-smelling service it was.  Sitting close to the front of the Sanctuary, I feasted my eyes on the dozens of vases filled with every spring flower imaginable while my nose inhaled their wonderful perfumes.  This magnificent collection was brought in by members and friends to celebrate Mother’s Day and for our annual Flower Festival.   Reverend BJ reminded us of how our Unitarian Flower Festival came to be. She said it is a uniquely UU religious ritual, that “we did not borrow or adapt it from any other religion.”  It was begun by Dr. Norbert Capek who founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia and who felt the need for new hymns and new rituals for this new church. The Flower Festival was first used in  Prague in 1923 and in the U.S. for the first time in 1940. During World War II, Dr. Capek, a courageous teacher of Unitarianism, was seized by the Nazis, charged with preaching freedom and killed.  His Flower Festival, unlike ours today, was considered a daring act of defiance. Today, we came forward to take a flower other than the one we brought, to remind ourselves that together, “as in a bouquet, we create something more enduring and beautiful than any individual could  alone, and in this place, each person gives and each person receives.”   Activist Julia Ward Howe and poet Billy Collins were also part of Sunday’s service.  We did responsive reading 583 from our hymn book—Ms. Howe’s 1870 “Mother’s Day Peace Proclamation,” written after her twelve-year struggle for recognition of the role of mothers in the public sphere. During the pastoral prayer part of the service, Reverend BJ asked us to join her in saying aloud the names of our mothers and of others, female or male, who had acted as mothers to us.    Reverend BJ read Billy Collin’s “Field Guide” in which the poet tells of his frustration at not being able to find anyone who could identify a flower he sees by the side of the road and describes as a “purple madness.”  (Note:  This was an ah-ha moment for me, as  I recalled the two hours I spent standing in the hot sun last summer to get Billy Collins to autograph the two books of his poetry I had just bought,)   Reverend BJ said that there is “not that much difference between a poem about a) Wisteria blossom (which was what the unknown flower turned out to be) and a worship service.”  Putting together poems and worship services demands a conceptual design that uses skills such as repetition, complexity, analogy, evaluation, creativity and interpersonal skills.   When Dr. Capek began his Unitarian church, he rejected all things from his earlier faiths—candles, robes, banners, hymns, offerings, prayers—so there were no rituals to remind his followers of what they had left.  But this did not satisfy the congregation. They  needed something more; they needed a rebirth of religion and reverence and humility.  So he wrote new prayers and new songs and the Unitarian Church in Prague now has a membership of 8,000 and is one of the largest UU church, with a dynamic, humanistic, theocentric faith.     The congregation surprised (at least we hope we did)) retiring sexton Peter Magistri, who has held this post at the USH since 2000 with gifts, many words of thanks and a standing ovation.  Reverend BJ said that Peter’s response, when asked whether he would be attending the Flower Festival—was “Am I needed?”  Which just about says it all. David Newton, representing the Building and Grounds Committee, read a kind of free verse tribute listing the incredible number and variety of things Peter had been asked to do over the years. Carolyn Cartland, President-Elect of the Society, said, “Peter, you have kept us safe, warm, comfortable and accessible.”  And welcome to John Bengtson, the USH’s new Sexton. - Kayla Costenoble Music for June - June 7 - "Drink Your Tea Slowly" is a setting by UU composer Wally Kleucker of a text by Thich Nhat Hahn: Drink your tea slowly slowly and reverently as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves. slowly, evenly without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment, Only this moment is life. Also, the choir sings an unusual version of "If there is to be peace," a text by Lao-Tse which we've seen as Reading #602. The composer is Alan Kramer, a multi-talented member of our bass section. 14 June – "Everything Possible" is a beautiful song, a lullaby, about fully accepting our children and offering them complete freedom to become themselves. You can be anybody you want to be - You can love whomever you will - You can travel any country where your heart leads - And know I will love you still Fred Small, a folk singer and songwriter who is now a UU minister, composed this song which has become an unofficial anthem for the GLBTQ community. 21 June - The Chancel Choir welcomes the summer season with a madrigal or two, lighthearted music to link our musical traditions with our dancing hearts. Evolving in Italy and England during the Renaissance, madrigals are a favorite of small choirs everywhere. 28 June - Rounds and chants combine the vocal dedication of the Joyfuul Noise choir and the willing spirit of our musical congregation, led by our Music Associate John Jesensky. Congregational Conversation Two Services- “A declining population and a divided congregation is a recipe for disaster,” was a telling comment by one of our members at the Congregational Conversation after the second service on May 17. Board of Directors President Heather Ferguson-Hull chaired the well-attended event.  She confessed her surprise at the large number there; “I was expecting maybe a dozen.”  She emphasized that the conversation was to be strictly about the number and timing of Sunday services; there are now two each Sunday, at 9:45 and11:15 AM. Heather explained that the original reason for going to two services was not to grow the membership but was to “build the capacity for growth.” Attendees suggested rules for conducting the conversation:  one person at a time, short comments, respect for all points of view and using the Small Group Ministry covenant (familiar to many there and including those already mentioned).  Once the mike was in working order and after we had watched Heather crawl under a table to plug it in, those wanting to make a comment lined up to offer comments about the current two services—what was working and what was not. Your  reporter’s informal count showed about 15 persons explaining why two Sunday services did not work for them and about four saying why two services did work for them.   Why Two Services Work: o Members can both teach and attend service. o Room for all people (speaker remembered when, in the past, extra chairs had to be brought into the Sanctuary). o Flexibility in choosing which service to attend. o Parking (see more on this later in this report).   Why Two Services Do Not Work: o Two many empty spaces in the Sanctuary. o  Miss seeing the children (they’re not at second service). o First service people do not return for 1 PM special programs. o Scheduling committee meetings becomes a major problem. o Feels chaotic. o At times, seems as if choir outnumbers congregation. o New visitors at second service seeing only small group of gray heads might get wrong impression of USH membership. o Loss of sense of community. o Two coffee hours chaotic. o Logistics of getting kids and parents together make it impossible to attend services as a family. o Costs of two services higher.   A new USH member who has been coming only since we changed to two services every Sunday said he was startled and delighted by the energy, activity and level of participation he saw at the one-service-only on Easter and Mother’s Day.   Although President Heather had announced that parking was not to be part of the conversation because a short-term solution was available, several persons did bring it up. It was said that even with two services, there are times in the parking lot when first service people have not left and second service people are arriving, and this does not create a problem.  Others suggested that more members should use the rear parking lot.  Roy Cook, long-time member of the USH and of the Building and Grounds Committee, reminded us that parking may be a future problem involving Hartford zoning rules, the church’s neighbors and costs, but “it is not at this time.”   Because the conversation took place after the second service, representation from first service participants was sparse. Religious Education Director Gail Syring, speaking for the missing parents (many of whom she has spoken to about this), said she feels the majority would support going to one service.   The Board of Directors will decide and vote on any change in number and time of services at its June meeting. -Kayla Costenoble On the Calendar Thursday, May 21 1:00 pm  Job Seeking Workshop, Library 5:30 pm  NVC Gathering, Minister’s Study 7:30 pm  Joyfuul Noise, Sanctuary Saturday, May 23 2:00 pm  Water Color Workshop, Servetus Sunday, May 24~ ONE SERVICE ONLY through SEPTEMBER 6! 9:00 am  Music rehearsal, Sanctuary 9:30 am  Joyfuul Noise, Sanctuary 9:45 am  Coming of Age, Fuller 10:00 am  WORSHIP, SANCTUARY ~ NOTE TIME!! 11:00 am  Coffee and (redacted) Reception, Fellowship Hall 11:45 (Redacted) Memorial, Chapel 3:00 pm  Rental, Chapel   Monday May 25 - Memorial Day observance OFFICE CLOSED   Tuesday, May 26 7:00 pm  Religious Education, Sementilli Home 8:00 pm  AA, Fellowship Hall Wednesday, May 27 12:00 pm  Ember Days, Meditation Space (Emerson) 5:45 pm  Meditation and Dharma Gathering, Emerson 6:30 pm  Tai Chi, Fellowship Hall 7:00 pm  Small Group Ministry, David 7:00 pm  UU and You Book Study, A Chosen Faith, Servetus 7:15 pm  NVC Practice Group, Emerson 7:30 pm  Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary Thursday, May 28 6:00 pm  09-10 Calendar Planning, Fellowship Hall Friday, May 29 6:00 pm  Ember Days, Meditation Space Saturday, May 30 2:00 pm  Coming of Age Ceremony, Chapel 2:00 pm  Watercolor Class, Elizabeth Park/or Servetus 3:00 pm  Coming of Age Reception, Lyman Home 6:00 pm  Ember Days, Meditation Space Sunday, May 31 9:00 am  Music rehearsal, Sanctuary 10:00 am  WORSHIP, SANCTUARY 11:00 am  Annual Meeting, Sanctuary 11:00 am  Coffee, Fellowship Hall 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!
	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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