USH-Enews for July 12, 2007 Print Only Edition

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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 line, or past issues of the weekly USH-Enews click here.

Office hours: M-F 9-3 (excluding W 10 -11); Rev. Jamestone: Phone: 860 233-9897; Email: RevBJ@USHartford.com - Rev. BJ office hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday by appointment.

Sunday - 15 July - Learning the Principles By Heart -The UUA awarded this sermon by seminarian Leslie Becknell first place in the 2007 Richard Borden and Paul Holton Sermon Award for Sermonic Excellence. The award recognizes sermons describing ways in which Unitarian Universalists apply the Association's principles to better our world, country, communities, and the lives of family, friends, and others. The award also recognizes sermons that demonstrate how Unitarian Universalists, individually or collectively, can take leadership roles in efforts to solve problems and move our world to a better place.

Katie Robbins, a new member of our congregation and a Worship Associate, will present the sermon. She will be assisted by USH member and Worship Associate John Bengtson.

Music - Mattie, back from world travel replacing John who is away, will play a bit of Bach.

REflections - What was happening outside last Sunday? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's our own Jesse Richter flying hot air balloons over the Meeting House with the help of our talented RE children!

Please join us this week for Yarn & Beading Crafts. We are particularly pleased to announce that on July 22nd, special guest and black belt Wendy Woodworth will be offering a Martial Arts Lesson for our kids during the 10 AM service. Come join us to experience the connection between martial arts and our seven principles in daily living.

Deeper REflections on Family - My maternal grandparents and great-grandparents lived in the same house for much of their adult lives. Together, they created a space where my mother, her three brothers, and their many cousins could travel in a world of their own making; exploring, learning, and growing under many loving eyes. Today the word family provokes a profound diversity of images, as truly all of our families are comprised of members born, chosen, blended, and sometimes inexplicably bound together. Regardless of how we have found each other, we stay together because of our profound commitment, connection, and love for one another.

As we consider our congregational theme of family for the coming year, we have the opportunity to create the kind of sanctuary among us that my grandparents did. We can offer the children of the Unitarian Society of Hartford, our children, a place to explore, learn and grow in spirit, but to do so, we must all work together.

Each member of this congregation has a gift to offer our children. What will your gift be?

Perhaps you can spend an afternoon painting the nursery ceiling, or bake something marvelous for our youth to sell during coffee hour. An hour spent in the nursery, a commitment to assist in a classroom for a term, a weekend skiing, regardless of your skill, each of these efforts would profoundly impact the life of a young person in our congregation.

Whatever your personal ministry might be, there is a place for you in our RE program. Help introduce our Spirit Play kids to the concept of social justice. Offer to host a family friendly event. Find a way to make a personal connection to the youngest members of our community. USH has a long and honorable heritage. Together we can create an equally meaningful legacy.

If you don’t see how you might fit into the lives of our children, come sit with me for a moment. Tell me the stories that mean the most to you from your childhood. I promise to help you make those memories live again.

From the Editor: Like the summer itself, this issue of the USH-Enews offers a wide spectrum of items of interest to our diverse members and friends. Graze the issue. - DCN

This Week’s Feature Articles

Bill took office July 1, 2007 as President and, as he says, has previously served at USH in a bunch of different roles. He has been a member since 1994 when he moved to Hartford. Prior to that, he was a member of UUS: E in Manchester since 1980 when he lived in Vernon. He first visited a UU congregation in 1977 when living in Chicago where he grew up. He has also been involved in a variety of denominational activities and positions.

Bill is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (1976) BA Philosophy; and CCSU 2003 MS Professional Counseling. He worked at Aetna in management from 1976 to 2000. Currently Bill serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Alcohol and Drug Recovery Centers, Inc. (ADRC) in Hartford.

Bill, as many of you know, is married to Martha Page residing in Hartford with his youngest son Johathan (18), Bonnie the dog and Raleigh the cat. His oldest son lives in Vancouver, B.C. and his daughter and her family live in Manchester. Martha’s daughter lives in northern CA. They have three grandchildren ages 1, 3 and 7.

Looking forward to the coming year, Bill says, “I am very excited about 2007/8. I think we have the opportunity to build on much good work done these last few years, and it shows in many of our activities, programs and our finances. I think, though, that progress in congregational life is often fragile. We also have some important directional decisions to make over the coming period.

I look forward to the discussions about those. In my mind, some of the most significant relate to the congregation’s evolving primary identities and character. I’m also very excited about our newest members and working with them to become solidly engaged in the congregation’s life and leadership.”

In the hobby department, Bill notes he and Martha bicycle a lot locally and on trips, He is likely to tell you far more than you expect if asked about it.

Asked, about Unitarianism, Bill says, “Being a UU has been a very important part of my adult life, and a huge influence on our family life and children. I think UU’s have a lot to offer to many who have not yet found our denomination, and I look to finding ways to make UU congregations more accessible to them. I am especially interested in finding ways to begin to move beyond historic patterns related to race and culture in UU congregations, both at USH and in the denomination overall. It is a leadership opportunity for us, which I think can benefit both us and the larger community.” - DCN

The Joy of Music - Summer services at USH are both very nice and very different.

This was never better illustrated than when the July 8th service got underway with the musical call to worship. It was "Summertime" by George Gershwin being played on the piano by Sid Garvais, and along with the notes of that familiar melody, the sound of a wonderful male voice drifted out over the Sanctuary from somewhere behind the podium in the vicinity of the piano. Who knew Sid would sing? Soon everyone joined in the singing.

Later as the service progressed under the able Worship Associate, Tom Kemble, Sid at age 82 described his life with music - of music - beginning in the one room school in Stafford, Connecticut where he discovered he could read notes and hear them in his mind, memorize them and, to the astonishment of family members, play them at home on the clunker piano.

This beginning, in time, lead to a few music lessons before calcellation when his father lost his job in the Great Depression; the role of Hansel in a school musical; various gigs with musical groups and more lessons, and later when transferred to New York City as part of a Hartford-based insurance company job reassignment; selection through successful audition to sing in the Collegiate Chorale, something he did for 18 years while rising to serve on the Governing Board as Treasurer and later as Chairman. It was there that he met and married Betty Olesen.

These days Sid and Betty live at Seabury, where he participates in many music programs playing 30s and 40s standards as well as Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Grieg or Bartok at tea time every Friday. Sid plays every Tuesday for the "wheelchair brigade" in the skilled nursing facility.

As many of you know, Sid plays for us and has for years. The service was delightful and uplifting.

Thank you and play on, Sid! - DCN

Star Island is one of the Isles of Shoals, located seven miles off the coast of New Hampshire in the Atlantic Ocean. It is owned and operated by the Star Island Corporation as a religious and educational conference center, with close ties to the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ.

However, Star Island is currently closed until the beginning of August due to electrical updates therefore losing valuable revenue that helps support the island and make it available to our organization.

Please help inform our UU community of this heartbreaking situation and brainstorm ideas to help save Star Island.

Star Island has been closed for the majority of the 2007 conference season due to mandatory upgrades and repairs. The cost of these repairs, coupled with the loss of revenue from canceled conferences, has put a serious financial strain on our beloved island.

Please visit our events page to see all of our fundraising efforts. We welcome additions and suggestions to this list and look forward to banding together in the spirit of Star Island. Email Events to sos@saveourstar.org.

A website has been created by Star Island conferees as a central location to help organize fund raisers for the island. Please visit www.saveourstar.org and spread this information.

Men's Group Picnic July 17th - The Men's Luncheon Group will have a picnic at USH on Tuesday, July 17th at 4 PM. Please contact Chris McClurg for additional information. Chris can be reached at wchrismc(at symbol)cox.net or 860-563-9776.

SGM - Want Yo Beat The Heat? Try Small Group Ministry! In summer we run shortened Small Group Ministry, with only four weekly meetings. It will convene at the Meeting House in air-conditioned space. We still have openings for August. Margaret Leicach will facilitate the group, starting on Thursday, August 2. If you haven't tried SGM before, the summer session is a great way to test the waters. You may sign up by contacting the church office.

Healing the Planet - Please join us for a one-hour meditation to offer the gift of healing and regeneration to our wounded Earth. 7:11 AM – 8:11 AM Tuesday, July 17, 2007 (Please note: the doors will open at 7:05, and we will begin promptly at 7:11in the Meditation Sanctuary at the Meetinghouse.

The meditation is inspired by the story of Shelley Yates’ and her son’s miraculous return to life after a tragic accident caused them to drown. Their inspiring story can be found at this website. The intention is to bring many people around the world together in meditation at the same time with the intention of peace and healing for the planet. - Leona Mae Page

Caring Network -Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do. ~ Kahlil Gibran - You are the ears of the Caring Network. Diana Heymann is the Chair of the Caring Network. Please tell Diana (heydiana(at symbol)comcast.net) 860.461.0908, or call the office when you learn of any of our members enduring the stresses of life so we can reach out to those in need. - Offer your services. A wide range of community services are available to help you. Call InfoLine at 211.

Thursday, July 12
7:30 pm Rental, Chapel

Friday, July 13
5:00 pm Wedding rehearsal, Sanctuary

Saturday, July 14
9:30 am Rental, Chapel
4:00 pm Wedding, Sanctuary

Sunday, July 15
8:30 am Spiritual Life, Library
9:00 am Music Rehearsal, Chapel
10:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
11:00 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

Monday, July 16
6:30 pm Survivors of Incest Anonymous, Murray
7:00 pm Small Group Ministry, Library

Tuesday, July 17
9:45 am ICEJ, Library
12:00 noon ICEJ Clergy, Library
4:00 pm Men’s Luncheon Group Picnic, Memorial Garden/Fellowship Hall
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, July 18
6:00 pm Dharma Gathering, Emerson
6:30 pm Tai Chi, Fellowship Hall

Sunday, July 22
9:00 am Music Rehearsal, Chapel
10:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
11:00 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
11:00 am Council on Social Justice, Library
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

Italicized entries are non-USH events.
Please notify Brian Mullen (233.9897) of all additions or changes to the calendar. More general calendar information covering several months may be found here.

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)

External Events and Educational Notes

Unitarian Universalists Find Their Ranks Aren't Universal - This is (was) an article appearing in the Oregonian. You may find it thought provoking as well as interesting. The reference will go dead after a week or so. Here is the link

Announcing a new event for The Humanist Association of Connecticut Meetup Group!

What: Truth: The New Agenda for Peace and Security? - Humanist Society meeting -- PEACE strategy

When: Monday, July 16, 7:30 PM

Where: Unitarian Society of New Haven, Hartford Tnpke, Hamden, CT

Event Description: At the Humanist Association of Connecticut's monthly meeting for July we will welcome Eugene B. Kogan. He will discuss why and how truth is vital

Eugene is a Senior Political Analyst at Americans for Informed Democracy. (aidemocracy.org).

We'll start with coffee and conversation at 7:30 PM. The main program will follow brief announcements at 8:00 PM.

For further details and car-pooling, contact Ed Savage at ESavage1(at symbol)Gmail.com or phone 860-232-5603

Did You Know? - Marye Gail Harrison and Amy Hines wondered if we could include the Live Earth Pledge Form applicable to global warming concerns and illustrative of things we all can do to act as better stewards of our Earth. Fits right in under our Unitarian Principles - respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part - Here is the link