USH-Enews July 10, 2008

USH-Enews For July 10, 2008

Jump to: Calendar; What's happening; A matter of opinion; External events; Further Down the Road; Did You Know?

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) Female, Young & Male (Insets) - That such rare species continue to exist in our world encourages us in our efforts to care for our environment and planet, for our offspring. - Photos by Carol Cooper

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.

Foxglove (Digitalis Scrophulariaceae) - Photo by Carol Cooper
Worshipping Together Since 1830
Summer Services at 10 AM

Sunday - July 13 - Unitarian Universalism’s 5th Principle: Right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations - Cedric Woods will address democracy, citizenship, rights and responsibilities from an indigenous perspective.

About the Speaker: Cedric and his wife Meredith joined USH three years ago. Cedric is a Lumbee Indian from North Carolina.

Music -

REflections on Children's Programming

The mission of Unitarian Universalist religious education is to create and sustain an intergenerational community of truthfulness and service, holiness and love." ~Rev. Tom Owen Towle

Perennial Wisdom

Science is the theme of this Sunday's lesson, including some creative projects! - Gail Syring - DRE

What Else is Happening & Announcements

The June-August Meetinghouse Messenger is available.

Blog Subject for the Week - How do you maintain spirituality in your life when the Meeting House is not an option?

Many of us enjoy the dynamic and soulful worship of summer worship at the Meeting House. With topics like: Awakenings, Science and Doing the right thing, Songs of the Spirit, Change and the Human Spirit and each of the principles. One can't go wrong. But most of us go on vacation for at least part of the summer. How do you maintain the Sabbath while away from home? What rituals are part of your soul in summer? What meditations bring meaning to heat and humidity? Where do you turn for inspiration and intellect? What reflections bring insight and peace.

This week's blog topic from Denise Ackeifi. For this to be interesting, we need to hear from you!

New Opportunities for USH Business Manager & Society - I have found a part-time opening outside of USH that will greatly enhance and broaden my professional skills. In consultation with BJ, we have come up with a new 30 hour work schedule that will enable me to take advantage of this opportunity. This new schedule would include a combination of full and partial days and is set to begin the second week of August.

I am so very excited about being able to pursue this opportunity and humbled by the willingness of USH to allow me to do so. As we move forward, I see this as a chance to more clearly define the most cost effective way for me to apply my skills and expertise with USH. - Brian Mullen

July 15th Men’s Luncheon Group Picnic - The Men’s Luncheon Group will have a July 15th luncheon picnic.

Each person (or couple) brings their own food (e.g., sandwich), drink and lawn chair. The location is the USH Memorial Garden area and the start time will be noon.

Caring Network -

Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow. -- Swedish 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.

Further Down The Road (About 30 Days)

Painters Needed - In August a team of painters, not necessarily the artistic type, will enhance the appearance of another classroom. More

Alerting ALL Women-Folk at USH - Save the Date: October 24-26. More

External Events and Educational Notes

7/22 Rental in the Sanctuary. A Musical Program 7:30 PM. If interested, see this link .

From the Editor:

This Week’s Feature Articles

The Quantum, the Cosmos, and Doing the Right Thing

Thou Canst Not Stir A Flower, Without Troubling of A Star - Francis Thompson

Last Sunday, Ron Mallett, theoretical physicist from the University of Connecticut, delivered a well reasoned cosmically based sermon on doing the right thing. Professor Mallett has pursued a life-long quest to create a time machine basing his work on Einstein’s theory of relativity, and reasoning, if gravity, light and time are related then it follows that manipulation of light may make it possible to alter or reverse time, and, therefore, perhaps make time travel possible.

On this day he told of the recent development in modern physics of the concept, quantum entanglement, a concept that suggests if matter is split into parts, no matter how far apart the separate bodies may be, they still related to one another i.e., if something were to happen to one part, the other would immediately “feel” the disturbance.

This means the cosmos is a kind of unity of interrelated parts, in fact, we observers of the cosmos are part of the unity and what happens to us, according to quantum entanglement theory, matters to the universe even as it matters to us.

Thus, what happens to us matters everywhere. Professor Mallett likened the quantum entanglement theory as applied to the cosmos to the brain where gigantic numbers of neurons are present and capable of astounding numbers of interconnections. These interconnections make possible the attributes and capabilities of our minds, which are diminished by loss of neurons. In this connection, you may remember the fate of Hal, the malevolent Computer, in the Movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, as Dave systematically removed his computer "reasoning" modules.

Applying this outlook to our society, Professor Mallett noted some had ignored drug problems in minority areas of society presuming their problem somehow was unrelated to majority concerns, after all only they were suffering the consequences of the drug mess somewhere in the inner cities far far from us. Now, as the drug problem penetrates all levels of society, minority and majority alike, we can see indeed everything is related and what happens to our fellow travelers in our country and on our planet does indeed matter to all of us, now and later.

He closed with this quote from the DJ in the movie, Do the Right Thing.

"Are we going to live together?
Together are we going to live?"

After the sermon, a splendid audience gathered during coffee hour to view a video segment of Professor Malletts’s work and ask questions. The day was rewarding by any measure - DCN

Ron’s talk was a credit to the craft of theoretical physics. It is one that you may have heard, but will find very rewarding through a careful reading. It is now available on the website. Also, an interview with Professor Mallett may be published in the Courant Thursday 10 July, depending on availability of space.

On the Calendar

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!

A Matter of Opinion: (space for comment on USH issues from members and friends) - Editor retains the right to make minor changes – letters should be issue oriented

Did You Know? - MAKING AN ECO MOVE

Each year 15% of Americans move and use more than 55 cardboard boxes for each move. Cut moving waste with these tips.
· Use eco-friendly boxes from companies such as EarthFriendlyMoving.com and Rentacrate or at least reuse the boxes. U-Haul locations have box drop-off sites, where you can discard or pick up old boxes or go to (uhaul.com/boxexchange) a message board for trading, buying or selling moving supplies.
o Hire a local mover, who won’t have to drive 80 miles to get to your home.
o Print out good directions so the mover won’t waste gas getting lost.

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 07/10/08 9:18 AM)