USH-Enews for August 14, 2008 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 the web or to find past issues of the weekly USH-Enews click here.

Sunday - Aug. 17th Unitarian Universalism’s 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part: we are the weaver, we are the web.

About the Speaker: Gail M. Syring is the Director of Religious Education at the Unitarian Society of Hartford and a student at Hartford Seminary where she is studying to become a UU Minister. She will explore the relationship between interdependence and the sacred, and our responsibility to minister to each other.

Music -

REflections on Children's Programming -
We become free men and women through education not because we have privileged information but because tyranny in any form can be overcome only by invoking the grace of great things." ~The Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer

Classroom Assistance
Teachers and classroom assistants are needed for our Religious Education program. Will you offer one hour a month to our children? If you will, please contact the Director of Religious Education at: dre@ushartford.com.

Perennial Wisdom
This week we welcome Dick Edwards to share his story, and will make our own watercolors in the Spirit Play classroom.

Webster School Update
A Tale of Two Plants

Noah Webster Tutors/Friends Update - Here is your invitation to another year of making a difference in Hartford, getting to know the enchanting children of Noah Webster School, and being on a team of volunteers that raises volunteerism to a new level!

Here are the important details:

The tutoring team will be divided between grades, so that tutors for each grade work with a coordinator for that grade. Bette Marafino will be coordinating tutors for second grade, Bill Laporte-Bryan for third grade, and I will be coordinating tutors for first grade, kindergarten if there is a need, and recruiting helpers for the pre-K classroom.

Here is an overview of the program.

The tutoring schedule will be as follows: you tutor for one and one-half hours each week on the day of your choice, from 8:30 AM until just after 10 AM., reaching three children in that time, and you tutor the same children each week. We work at desks in the hallways outside the classrooms; it is not ideal but the job gets done. Materials are provided for you and there is lots of support. In the beginning we will have two meetings, one organizational where you will meet all the tutors in the program and we go over things we need to know in order to partner safely with the school, and another meeting with just the tutors for the grade you work with, for more precise information on how to tutor.

These meetings will be in mid-September, most likely a Wednesday or Thursday morning at 10 AM., times and dates to be arranged when Robin Otis, the Literacy Coordinator, is back to school.

Do not worry if you can not attend these meetings. We can orient you to everything personally.

What should you do now.

Below are three emails and contact telephones. You may email or call Bill for third grade tutoring, Bette for second grade, and me for first grade and pre-K. Note that working with pre-K means working with four year olds, and this would be afternoons after twelve noon until about 2 PM.. In this situation you would be supportive hands in a busy classroom, and might be called upon to do a number of things, either working individually with a child or with a small group.

Annelieke Schauer 233-8978 annigje22@yahoo.com

Bill Laporte-Bryan 953-0192 BillLB@ushartford.com

Bette Marafino 233-1989 bettemarafino@sbcglobal.net

So call or email us, and let us know which day you are interested in, and which age group you want to work with. I know there is a spot for everyone. Please also share this email with friends whom you believe would add to the success of this program. Word of mouth recruiting has brought us wonderful tutors!

This is a very exciting time to be at Noah Webster Microsociety Magnet School. The Greater Hartford Coalition for Equity and Justice, GHICEJ, is partner with Noah Webster School to bring more resources and programs to raise this wonderful place to a community-based school.

Reading scores tell us the tutoring is working and making a real difference in the lives of children and families. Tutoring team members come from GHICEJ congregations, or are members of Town and County Club, an integral player at Webster as well, or from communities surrounding Hartford because they have heard of this work.

The bottom line is that although this is serious business, it's great fun, incredibly rewarding, and you really really matter. For those children to whom you listen carefully as they read, you may be the only person that week with the time to listen so carefully that nothing or no one matters for those twenty-five minutes but that one child sitting next to you.

So call, email, and we look forward to hearing from you all, as well as the friends with whom you share this email.

Happy August - Annelieke Schauer

A Tale of Two Plants, or Small Mysteries at the Meeting House - In April, UPA presented Sankofa Kuumba, a local group of talented performers of African and African-American music, dance and storytelling.

Their production opened with an invocation to the Spirit. During rehearsal the director, a tiny intense woman named Sistah Nandi, demanded there be actual green growing plants to receive the water for the ceremony. No one had thought to bring along any plants, so someone raced out to go shopping for them.

The performance was beautiful, and very powerful. Children from The Village next door joined families from our Society, dancing and drumming upon invitation from the performers.

After the cleanup, a final look-around revealed the two little plants, still with their price labels from the grocery store. They sat on a railing in the lobby for a few weeks, waiting to be retrieved by the purchaser, but nobody came by. They got watered sporadically, when someone noticed them, and occasionally were moved closer to the windows, but it was clear they were ultimately doomed.

Then they disappeared. Nobody seemed to know anything about them, so this was a small mystery. Lo and behold, just outside the parking lot entrance the huge flower pot, long empty, now sprouts two little green plants. Who replanted them? The gardener is probably just as mystified about where they came from, but the plants are happy. They seem to thrive in their new location, with loads of room for roots to expand.

The Unitarian Meeting House, a place for community, green and growing
each week. - Mattie Banzhaf

Looking forward to 8/31 - Plan to Join Edith Savage and Maggie Greene for a service of poetry, readings, hymns and song as they explore the theme of change as a constant in life. Immerse yourself in writings that are reflective, profound, and humorous, while you contemplate their relevance to your own humanity.

Nonviolent Communication Events:
Kickoff Potluck and new ongoing NVC Gatherings - On Monday, August 25 at 5:30PM our USH NVC community will gather at BJ's house for a potluck to start the year.

We'll each bring our own separate sandwich or main course, and one dish (salad/veggie/desert) to share.
We have exciting news to share about our Noah Webster School project, and Rev BJ will have news about our Fall NVC programming at the Meeting House!

Beginning in October, Rev BJ will lead an all community NVC gathering on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7-9 PM . Each evening we will view some videos of Marshall Rosenberg's work and hear from Rev BJ about her training with Marshall. Then we'll break into smaller groups for empathy and practice. It will be a great way to get to know each other better, to polish our skills, and to share NVC!

These meetings will be open to everyone, whether they have NVC training of any kind or not.

Basses - Tenors - Altos - Sopranos -- Join the Choir! Come sing with the liveliest group of music-makers in town. We have fun encountering, learning and polishing a wide variety of choral pieces to deepen and enrich our Sunday services. If you were once in Madrigals, if your high school chorus was the highlight of your day, if you went on tour with your college glee club -- or if you simply enjoy singing -- join us and share your musical gifts with the congregation.

This year I'd like to make fuller use of our two services by expanding the concept of "Choir." Our regular Chancel Choir will continue as always, rehearsing every Wednesday evening, singing the finest anthems whether composed 400 years ago or yesterday. In addition, with *your* participation we can put together less-formal anthems with far less preparation. Sometimes these will be "congregational anthems," with everyone joining the singing. Other times we will invite you to rehearse in the morning right before the service. (You may have more ideas too - please share them! Find Mattie on a Sunday, speak to any Choir member, or email me at banz(at symbol)hartford.edu.)

Please watch the E-News and Messenger for invitations to SING! - Mattie Banzhaf

Calling all Chalice Lighters! - Have you ever wondered how the people who light the chalice on Sunday mornings are selected? It starts with volunteering and if we don’t have volunteers, then we “put the touch” on some unsuspecting souls. Liz Garmise and Joy Barnett have volunteered to take on the task of recruiting and scheduling chalice lighters for the upcoming church year. It is simple, we have instruction before the service, and you don’t even have to speak! It is a wonderful way for you, your family, your spouse, partner or significant other to connect with the service and the community as a whole. Please contact either of us if you are interested in participating in the service in this way. The first date available is September 7. Liz can be reached at 860-295-8849 or llizzzard(at symbol)comcast.net Joy can be reached at 860-653-3145 or joyjoywb(at symbol)cox.net. Thanks!

Caring Network - “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” Shirley Chisholm - 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.

Singles Potluck Planned - The UU Singles group will have a potluck supper on Sunday Sept 28 at 5:30 PM. It will be held at the UUSE Meeting House in Manchester. Let's get the year off to a fun start. Bring your good ideas for programs for the coming year. Meet your old friends and tell tall tails of summer adventures. RSVP to Larry, bigcheese636 at yahoo dot com. At least three people must RSVP for this to be held.

On the Calendar
Thursday, August 14
7:00 pm Rental, Ballou

Sunday, August 17
9:00 am Peace Cranes workshop, Emerson
10:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
11:00 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
11:00 am Peace Cranes workshop, Emerson
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

Monday, August 18
6:30 pm UPA, Library

Tuesday, August 19
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, August 20
5:00 pm Parking Lot Usage
6:00 pm Dharma Gathering, Emerson

Thursday, August 21
5:00 pm Peace Cranes Workshop, Emerson

Friday, August 22
1:00 pm Transitions Group, David’s Den

Saturday, August 23
10:30 am Rental, Chapel
4:30 pm Terra Mezista Concert, Sanctuary

Sunday, August 24
10:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
11:00 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
11:30 am Congregational Conversation on Fall Sunday Programming
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

External Events and Educational Notes
Clara Barton District leadership conference planned for Sept. 20th. A number of USH folks are already planning on going (and carpooling) so you are encouraged to join us. The registration deadline is Sept 10th, so hopefully people will get back to us soon! - Heather Ferguson-Hull

Sing, Virgie, Sing - by Anne Pie′
August 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, and 24 (A local theme with shocking results!—and it’s not a musical!!!)

Directed by our own Sara Logan!

Come enjoy the Connecticut premiere of our favorite local playwright’s original romantic comedy. You’ll laugh and then you’ll laugh harder as we follow the Bellacastelvetti family’s consternation and bafflement after their son, Virgilio has been electrocuted, thus confining him to a life of song! The long-suffering mother, her Americanized daughter Ella, and the superstitious father Frank, are all part of this wonderful Italian family. The play is set in 1945 and the family is directly impacted by World War II. Everyone associated with the colorful Bellcastelvetti family faces endings and new beginnings.

Stellar cast include: Stacey Hartley, Patricia Urso, Marge Patefield, Dave Walton, Jim Power, Sal Uccello and Matt Kenney as Virgie.

Call the box office for tickets and more info: 860-647-9824

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 -

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Did You Know? - Green Sanctuary Sub-Council - will be meeting the first Wednesday of the month beginning Sept 3 at 5:00 PM. Also October 1st. All are encouraged to come to add their ideas and help create a greener USH and community.

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.

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