USH-Enews August 24, 2006

Home Page- Link Central Questions and Comments	USH-Enews For August 31, 2006 Jump to: Calendar; What's happening; A matter of opinion; External events; Further down the road; Our roots Text only Printer Friendly Format
	The USH-Enews is a weekly email newsletter sent to 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 USH-Enews click here: http://www.ushartford.com/news.html
	One worship service held this Sunday at 10:00 AM. SUNDAY - September 3 Poetry Sunday - Patrice Fitzgerald - For several years now, we at the Meetinghouse have been holding quiet, contemplative services which bring our spirituality into focus through poetry and music. Words have the power to move and connect us -- to lift the veil on our sometimes chilly solitude and help us to experience a shared humanity. Billy Collins asks us to, “take a poem / and hold it up to the light / like a color slide.” Join us as we hear a variety of moving poems along with music from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ned Rorem, and a familiar little girl from Kansas. The Central Role of Community Service in the Unitarian-Universalist Faith - (a sermon given by Charles Huntington (USH President) - is now available on the web for your reading pleasure. Water "Communion" Service is Coming - September 10th we will have a traditional water communion service where people bring small samples of water from places they have visited over the summer. Heading out on vacation? Bring back a little sample of water for the service representing where you were and your experiences. What Else is Happening & Announcements Paper versus Electronic Delivery - Meetinghouse Messenger By now a good number of you have received the hard copy (paper) of the Meetinghouse Messenger for September. If you think reading the electronic version obtained from the web site (Where you can set the print size and colored pictures illustrate the issues) or downloading the PDF version is fine for your needs, AND you received the paper copy by regular snail mail, THEN please send a note immediately to dcnewton@ushartford.com and say the electronic version will be adequate for you. Please make sure you have your name(s) associated with your email address. While we are at it, if you are a frustrated electronic copy reader and want the paper copy for whatever good reason, just let us know and we will restore your name and address to the paper distribution list. The point is to deliver USH information in a manner you the reader prefer at the lowest possible cost. Your willingness to go electronic will save us about a dollar per paper copy not printed and mailed. We are doing everything we can to make the electronic copies attractive in every respect. Missed the electronic Meetinghouse Messenger, you say. Find it on the newsletter web page B & G Work Day Scheduled - ladies and gentlemen, this is yard work and most everyone can do this sort of thing. On September 9th, from 9AM till about noon, the Building and Grounds Sub-Council can use your help for a general clean up effort. Give Ed Sax a call (860.286.9688) and tell him you will attend. Your phone call will help in the planning. LAST CHANCE! MAKE A CONNECTION WITH OTHERS AT USH - As a supplement to the new USH Directory that will be available in September 2006, members and friends of USH will be able to have their business card printed in a section with other business cards. You must contact the office by next Monday September 4th if you wish to be included. Check last week's enews for further information. From Adult Programs: Are you interested in learning about the always popular Adult Programs? The catalog for the Fall Programs will be available on Ingathering Sunday, September 10th. Come to the Fall Programs Fair on September 17 during coffee hour to find out more about the programs, to meet some of the presenters, and to register! Programs starting in September are: The Artist's Way, begins Monday, September 18. Hartford Immersion, Tuesday, September 19 & Saturday, 30. Ember Days, begins Wednesday, September 20. Credo Conversations, 3 Saturdays, begins September 23. Spiritual Transformations, begins Tuesday, September 26. Tai Chi, begins Wednesday, September 27. Feldenkrais, begins Wednesday, September 27. New Art Show For You - The paintings of two talented members of the West Hartford Art League, Nancy Hollman & Nancy Morell will be on display to greet us on Ingathering Sunday, September 10, 2006. ON THE CALENDAR: *Friday, September 1* 10:30 am Membership, Fellowship Hall 5:00 pm Wedding rehearsal, Sanctuary *Saturday, September 2* 6:00 pm Wedding rental, Sanctuary *Sunday, September 3* 9:00 am Music Rehearsal, Sanctuary 10:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE, Sanctuary 11:00 am Fellowship Hour, Fellowship Hall *Monday, September 4* OFFICE CLOSED for Labor Day holiday 6:30 pm SIA, Library *Tuesday, September 5* 8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall *Wednesday, September 6* 6:00 pm Spirit Play Orientation, Library 6:00 pm Choir Potluck, Fellowship Hall 7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary *Thursday, September 7* 10:00 am Women's Alliance, Library *Friday, September 8* 7:00 pm Folk Concert, Chapel *Saturday, September 9* 9:00 am - 12:00 noon Work Day, throughout building, grounds *Sunday, September 10, Ingathering Sunday* 8:00 am Music Rehearsal, Sanctuary 9:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE I, Sanctuary 10:00 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall 10:00 am Building and Grounds, Murray 10:00 am Comfort Shawl, Library 11:00 am WORSHIP SERVICE II, Sanctuary 12:00 noon Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall 12:00 noon Adult Programs, Fellowship Hall To get your event on the calendar, call 233.9897 Inform the Caring Network of needs - Goethe said, "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." volunteer your services (see above) http://www.ushartford.com/cocw-caring.html Janice Newton, CN Chair, 860-677-1121, USH Office, 860-233-9897 Further Down The Road (About 30 Days Max) TAX RELIEF FOR THE WORKING POOR Please come and join voices to support state legislation to provide tax relief to Connecticut’s hard working residents. First Church of the Living God Thursday, October 5th 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm 70 Whitney Street, Hartford CT (Registration and doors open at 6pm) Featured speakers: Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, Rev. James Walker of the Phillips Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, Jim Horan, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association for Human Services and testimonials from community representatives. Invited Guests: State Senators, Representatives and other public officials from the greater Hartford area and organizations that promote economic opportunity and equity for all our citizens". *Sponsored by* the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice (GHICEJ) *Other sponsors:* Connecticut Association for Human Services, One Connecticut, Connecticut Center for a New Economy, Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, Co-Opportunity, Inc and the Hartford Asset Building Collaborative, Connecticut Citizen Action Group, End Hunger Connecticut!, People of Faith Connecticut, Vecinos Unidos, League of Women Voters Connecticut and Health Care For All Coalition, Middlesex Coalition for Children, Hartford Area Rally Together and Service Employees International Union - Ct *For more information* call GHICEJ at 860-548-1744 and see USH Member Shai Cassell.	From the Editor: This is the time of year when many interfaith couples, or individuals not comfortable with the religious education they endured as children, confront the issue of what kind of religious education, if any, ought to be planned for their children. Many such folks are relieved to discover Unitarian beliefs and curricula for children. If you know those struggling with such issues, recommend our web pages to them http://www.ushartford.com/ In the privacy of their homes they can read about our religious education program(s), something they probably never dreamed could exist. And then, invite them to try us out. * This Week’s Feature Article Each of the rooms around the Ambulatory carries the name of an exemplary person in the history of Unitarianism. One of the rooms is Fuller. Here is what is what we have posted outside the door. Margaret Fuller 1810 - 1850 A contemporary of Emerson and Parker, Margaret Fuller was born at Cambridgeport, MA, in 1810. The daughter of a minister, she was the eldest of nine children. Well educated, she became the companion and confidant of several members of the Harvard class of 1829 and divinity school class of 1833, including William Henry Channing. In 1835 her father died, and Margaret became the breadwinner and head of her family. 1836 marked her first visit to the Emersons in Concord, and the beginning of a lifelong correspondence and friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson and involvement in the Transcendentalist Movement. Like Emerson, she supported the founders of Brook Farm, but prized her individuality too much to join the "Association." A strong believer in equality for women, she not only taught German and Italian, but gave readings to gatherings of women interested in her views. From 1830 to 1840 she edited the Dial, the Transcendalist Magazine. An account of a western trip in 1843 so impressed Horace Greeley that he offered her the job of literary critic for the N.Y. Daily Tribune. Her 1845 Volume, "Women in the 19th Century," was a pioneering feminist work, only now fully appreciated. Traveling to Europe in 1846 as foreign correspondent for the Tribune, she met and married a young Italian nobleman, the Marchese Ossoli, in Rome. The Roman Republic was proclaimed in 1849, and Rome was under siege by the French. Margaret was appointed Director of a Hospital and cared for the wounded. After the fall of the Republic in 1850, she sailed for American with her husband and child on May 17th. All three perished in a shipwreck at Fire Island on July 19th. Margaret was only 40 years of age. In 1853 her devoted friends, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William H. Channing and James Freeman Clarke, published "Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli." A Matter of Opinion: (space for comment on USH issues) - Editor retains the right to make minor changes – letters should be issue oriented) External Events and Educational Notes - From Maggie Greene - Dear Friends, Co-workers, Relatives, Poets, Musicians, Artists, and other Lovers of Life, I am embarking on another cool journey this September! On September 8, I will begin a 50 mile Challenge Walk for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. The walk will take place on Cape Cod and will be over a three day period so it should be a piece of cake (yeah, right!). We will be walking from Hyannis to Brewster the first day, Brewster to Orleans and Eastham then back to Brewster the second day, and then back to Dennis the third day. I will be walking as part of a team called “Hanley’s Hooligans” on behalf of my cousin Catherine Hanley who has bravely battled MS for about 20 years now. She is a delightfully vibrant woman who never wavers in her support of other people and I consider it an honor to be able to support her. Never one to throw her MS back at anyone, she has always used her experiences to be more compassionate toward others who are suffering in any way. To know Catherine is to love her. But even if you are not fortunate enough to know her, you might know someone else who has (or had) this disease. That is why I am asking for your support of the MS Society. My goal for fundraising is fairly modest. I am hoping to personally raise twice the minimum contribution of $1,500.00. Please help me reach my goal of $3,000. If you would care to contribute please send a check to me at 57 City Avenue, New Britain, CT 06051 Please make checks payable to National MS Society with Hanley’s Hooligans in the memo line. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at turtlepoem(at symbol) yahoo.com or call me at 860-223-2407 (I might be out walking, though, so be prepared to only get the answering machine). Thanks and peace, love and good health to all of you. Maggie Greene P. S. Once I figure out how to set up a web page on the site, which may take me a while, you can follow my progress by going to www.msnewengland.org and clicking on walker web sites. 2006 CROP WALK – MARK YOUR CALENDARS Last year’s CROP WALK raised over $3,000 for local and international relief efforts. This year we are doubling our efforts. That means four churches participating, 200 walkers and $6,000 are our goals for the second annual walk. Please participate by pledging a donation, walking (bring friends, neighbors and others), or volunteering to help the day of the walk. So mark your calendars SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2006 1:30 PM at St. Peter Claver Church. CROP WALK is an interfaith event sponsored by Church World Service. Established in 1946 in response to war raved Europe and Asia, its mission is to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, comfort the afflicted and shelter the homeless.” Today over a million walkers in 2,000 events from every religious affiliation come together to help those in need. Twenty-five percent of funds raised through CROP WALK go to local agencies and walkers have the option to designate specific programs. We need a few volunteers to help plan and coordinate this year’s CROP WALK. Please contact Al Bidorini at 860.675.3387 or albidorini (at symbol) sbcglobal.net if interested. (By this time we may have a local coordinator of this effort. Who might that be?) American Lung Association Plans Major Fund Raising Event QUICK FACT SHEET WHO? The American Lung Association of Connecticut WHAT?** A campaign to raise funds for current research initiatives as well as raise awareness of the profound impact lung disease has upon women. The campaign will celebrate its completion with the Catch Your Breath Women’s Conference and Luncheon. The inaugural conference is a daylong event including a variety of breakout educational sessions on various topics of importance to women presented by experts in their fields. In addition, there will be exhibitor booths, the CTS annual meeting, a flu clinic, a fantastic silent auction and a luncheon with keynote speaker, Dr. Maya Angelou. Visit www.alact.org for details and to purchase tickets for this year’s conference! The day will provide an opportunity to meet with others and gain knowledge in the field of women’s health issues while supporting the American Lung Association’s programs and research. Topics to be included are asthma, COPD, healthy homes, fitness, lung cancer in women, sleep, stress management, menopause, financial, anti-aging, nutrition, alternative medicines and an Options in Quitting smoking program. Guest tickets will cost $195 and there are a variety of sponsorship and exhibitions levels in which one could participate. WHEN? Wednesday, October 18, 2006, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. WHERE? Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, CT WHY? The numbers are breathtaking… Lung cancer kills more women than breast, ovarian and cervical cancer combined. More women die from COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) than men. 65% of asthma deaths occur in women. One-half of the monies raised in the Catch Your Breath Campaign will be used to support groundbreaking research into finding better treatments and cures for lung disease. The remaining dollars will be used to support public education and children’s programs and services. The mission of the American Lung Association of Connecticut is to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Your continued support and commitment is needed to further fund this research fundraising initiative. More Information >>> (nice colorful sheet!) *On Saturday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., The uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series presents songs of freedom, peace, and justice by* JUST HARMONY. The concert will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Society Meetinghouse - 245 Porter Lake Drive, Springfield, MA 01106 for Information/Reservations (413) 562-3990 Website: uNiCoffeehouse.org $12 at the door A Few Words About Our Roots From The Book, Hartford Unitarianism 1844 -1994 by Freeman Meyer: The Parson in the Red Vest: The Fourth Meeting House Nathaniel Lauriat:** - Throughout his career, Lauriat divided his sermon themes into four categories: 1) Festival Sundays set by the calendar or by local usage, such as United Nations Day. 2) Personal: the meaning of life, common problems and the courage to live. 3) Speculative: philosophical, scientific and theological ideas that interpret and guide life. 4) Current issues in the public arena, with illumination from the religious vision. In his readings and study, Nat cited first the Bible and Shakespeare, but also favored Eliot, Frost and Yeats. He mentioned two philosophers, William James and Alfred North Whitehead, and one theologian, Paul Tillich. (somewhat edited)
	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. Only announcements for very large events will be issued as single item email distributions. 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. Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 08/31/06)