USH-Enews for November 13, 2008 Print Only Edition

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Link to various "normal" newsletters.

Green Christmas Offerings for your purchase from the folks of the Green Sub-Council (see story)

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.

Special note to contributors - Next week we will have a double issue as no USH-Enews will be issued on November 27th.

Sunday 16 November - Veterans’ Day Celebration - Knowing that no person loves war, we remember and honor those who have courageously served the United States military, while recognizing the military service of all nations.

Music - On this Veterans' Day observance the music honors our country and its branches of service, and holds out peace as the goal for all. Peace has inspired all kinds of music. Our new Moms & Kids Choir debuts with two anthems, and invites more singers to join them in the future. The well-known round "Dona Nobis Pacem" is at least 250 years old, though Mozart probably didn't write it. More recently, in 1971 Carl Strommen composed a "jazz prayer" using rock beats popular at the time. And just last year in 2007 Ken Langer was moved to compose a new anthem for peace. Currently a Professor of Music at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA, Langer was the Director of Music and Arts at the Eno River UU Fellowship (ERUUF) in Durham, North Carolina, where he directed several choirs. He writes,

"This work was written on the 4th anniversary of the Iraq War (March 2007). In it, I wanted to express the sorrow of all countries involved in the war who have lost children and relatives. The piece includes some unusual performance ideas. At the beginning the choir sings three notes freely, at their own pace, emerging from silence to sound. At the end, voices slowly drop out in the same way, moving back to silence."

REflections on Children's Programming -

Religious Education Classes

Spirit Play: The Two Sisters: A Thanksgiving Story
Second & Third Grade: A Wampanoag Thanksgiving
Fourth & Fifth Grade: David and Goliath
Sixth, Seventh & Eighth Grade: Mask Making: You Can Shape Yourself
Youth Group Activities: Sleeping Out in Boxes/Soup Making

Musical Rehearsal for the Thanksgiving Service

Our children have been singing in their Religious Education classes, and will bless us with their song on Sunday, November 23rd. All families are invited to a rehearsal on the chancel steps at 9:15 AM on 11/23. Children who cannot attend the rehearsal are still invited to sing with the group.

Multigenerational Service/Guest at Your Table

Both services on Sunday, November 23rd will be multigenerational Thanksgiving services. There will be childcare available, but no individual classes. The annual Guest at Your Table program will begin at this service, and end on Christmas Eve. - Gail M. Syring, DRE

rom the Editor: Special note to contributors - Next week we will have a double issue as no USH-Enews will be issued on November 27th.

Purple Dot Season: Thanks to Giving - I’m tickled to announce the USH communal spiritual discipline of expressing gratitude with purple dots will continue in the 2008 holiday season, between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

You may pick up dots on Sundays, beginning at November 23 services, when we’ll share multigenerational worship and ritual.

Times are tough and it can feel like dissipation and entropy are abounding. The only lasting antidote for falling spirits is gratitude, so join us this season in popping purple “I have attitude of gratitude” dots on all the things you are thankful for!

I’m guessing that by mid December, you’ll have popped dots on so many things that you’ll be brimming over with a desire to ‘give’ in response to having been ‘given’ so much. Do send me an email during the season as you begin to experience this purple dot transformation! Let me know what you’ve covered with dots, and what kind of non-material ‘gifts’ you are feeling moved to give during the winter holidays! (Does anybody want to lead a brigade in making cupcakes with purple icing or cookies with purple sprinkles for coffee hour on 12/21, for example??)

On December 21, we’ll conclude this season of communal spiritual discipline with a focus on “gifting as we have been gifted.”

Yours in mixing things up, - Rev BJ

7 December - Music Sunday

14 December - World Winter Holiday Traditions - In the darkest time of year, animals hibernate and, around the world, people celebrate. Why is that?

21 December - A Child Shall Lead Them - Infant dedications (at both services!) will set us contemplating on the power of innocence as seen in the story of the birth of Jesus.

24 December 4 PM - A Family Christmas - 10PM Traditional Late Service

28 December Fuzzy Slippers, Hot Cocoa, and the NYTimes - The New Year is a time for letting go and for renewing oneself for the year ahead. On Star Island during the youth conference's bonfire we would bring words and letters that we would like to let go, names we had been called, names we called ourselves, items from jobs we did not like, hurts we needed to let go. We threw these into the fire.

Since the Hartford Fire Marshal frowns upon bonfires inside wooden buildings, we shall use a modern bonfire, the shredder. For both services we shall have a short ceremony in the Sanctuary with a shredder. Then we will retire to the couches in Fellowship Hall and toast our new selves with hot cocoa, coffee, tea, and enough Sunday NYTimes for all. Getting out of one's jammies and into "grown up clothes" is optional for this service, comfy lounge wear is encouraged.

There are Guests at Our Table, and We are Serving Soup! - Each Thanksgiving, my family gathered around my grandmother’s table, usually with a collection of neighbors, friends, and people she had noticed buying t.v. dinners at the supermarket that morning. A rag tag group that Norman Rockwell would never paint; we bowed our grateful heads and thanked God for… “Turnips! Are we having turnips again?” My great-grandmother, known to everyone as Nana, hated turnips. She had eaten them every day in Germany during WWI, and swore never to eat them again. The fact that her daughter loved the vegetable mashed with butter was an affront to all that was good in the world. “Turnips, acsch, I hate turnips!”

Despite the offensive side dish, Nana always made sure that everyone at the table had more than they could possibly eat. No matter who stopped by unannounced, there was always a plate and a place for them. Hospitality, generosity and service were not words that Nana would have used to describe the nature of her home or her spirit, but they were always evident.

This Thanksgiving, we are asking everyone to participate in the annual Guest At Your Table project, supported by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. The UUSC spearheads this effort not only to educate and to assist those in need, but to offer everyone the opportunity to become a member of this organization and its honorable mission. More information will be available at our multigenerational worship service on November 23, 2008.

In this same spirit, our Youth Group members gather on the third Sunday of the month to make soup to share with our congregation and with the local soup kitchen. This activity provides an opportunity for our youth to put their faith in action, while considering the larger questions in community. In the last few years, our Youth Group has grown from sending one gallon of soup to the soup kitchen each month to sending close to ten gallons.

“Music and December!” In the holiday season, music is everywhere, and the Meeting House will be ringing with music this year. (See the Festival of the Season article for a description of Coffeehouse entertainment and an invitation to join the Caroling around the Ambulatory.) For Music Sunday we’re bringing in the brass – trumpets and trombones will accompany the choir in some gloriously exciting anthems for the season.

December 7th – Music Sunday (note the CHANGE of DATE!) - Daniel Pinkham was the Music Director and resident composer at King’s Chapel, the pre-eminent UU church in Boston. His “Christmas Cantata” tells the story of the shepherds and the chorus of angels witnessing the holy birth in the humble stable surrounded by animals. Pinkham composed this well-known piece in 1957 yet it still sounds fresh, both rhythmically and harmonically experimental. The brass ensemble and organ echo and amplify the choir in exciting and emotional passages.

Pinkham didn’t invent the brass-choir-organ combination. He had many models for this, particularly among the Venetian composers of the Renaissance. The 17th century German composer Michael Praetorius studied the Venetian style and created brilliant examples of his own. “In dulci jubilo” (“In sweetest jubilation”) combines trumpets and trombones with the voices in this familiar Christmas carol.

One of the sections of Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata sets the words “O magnum mysterium,” “O great mystery, that the animals saw the birth of the baby, lying in the manger.” This same text inspired the popular California composer Morten Lauridsen, who used the words without any instrumental accompaniment. Our choir sings this difficult and transcendently beautiful anthem at both the December 7th and December 14th services, as a contrast to the brass works of Music Sunday and also by itself in an Advent service.

Dec. 14th – In addition to the Choir’s exquisite anthem, “O magnum mysterium” by Morten Lauridsen, we’ll have some very special instrumental music. Our own Professor Emeritus Bill Willett brings a friend or two to play woodwind music at both services.

Dec. 21st – for our December holiday service we’ll have more variety of music. The Choir sings “Carol for All Children” by the Unitarian composer Adolphus Hailstork. Our Children’s Choir will sing at the early service.

Dec. 28th – come sing seasonal carols, revel in the warmth of the service with friends and make music together.

Can you Help? - The Spencer Memorial Service Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11:00 AM will be followed by a reception at noon. Can you donate sandwiches, cookies, quick breads or cheese/crackers for the reception? And might you help with the set-up, serving or clean-up. The Alliance is coordinating with the help of the Caring Network so contact Louise Schmoll, 242-2953 or rdschmoll@comcast.net or Diana Heymann, 461 0908 or heydiana@comcast.net.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Meeting House - It's almost a tradition - Thanksgiving Dinner at the Meeting House. If you can't get to family and friends, or the idea of cooking a big turkey is too daunting, join us at the Meeting House. We supply the turkey and beverages. What can you bring? Bring that special dish that has always meant Thanksgiving to you - sweet potatoes prepared from an old family recipe, creamed onions the way your mother made them, that special cranberry sauce, green beans, mashed potatoes, squash, etc. Just remember to double your recipe so others can enjoy your favorite holiday food. Or bring desserts. Remember there are never too many desserts on Thanksgiving.

Sign up at the programs table this Sunday after service, or contact Nita or Ron Friedman at 523-1105 ronfriedman1(at symbol)comcast.net.

Remembering Our Neighbors - Large bins in our front lobby hold our ongoing collections for the HORACE BUSHNELL CHILDREN’S FOOD PANTRY and SOUTH PARK INN. For the Food Pantry, our goal is for each person to bring one nutritious non-perishable food item each week to help alleviate the growing disparity in Connecticut between the wealthy and the poor.

Suggested items are canned goods (vegetables, fish, meats, soups), cereal, pasta, granola bars, etc. For South Park Inn, a shelter for homeless men, women, and families, suggested donations include linens, toiletries, personal care items including feminine hygiene products, and basic clothing items such as underwear, socks, and T-shirts for both adults and children. Other items welcomed by the shelter are laundry detergent, cereal, coffee, sugar, adult diapers, copy paper, duffel bags, umbrellas, phone cards, gift certificates (Stop & Shop, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, etc.). Help carry on our giving tradition by remembering our Hartford neighbors during this Thanksgiving holiday time.

New Art Show Underway in the Ambulatory and Fellowship Hall – USH Member and Artistically talented Diane Cadrain’s work is featured in the Meeting House for the next several weeks. When Diane grew up on Hamden in the 50s, there was scant money for arts and that sort of activity. However, her grandmother modeled creativity in making afghan squares. After college, grad school and law school, when Diane’s daughters were born, she found the time to express her joy in fabric, her favorite method or artistic expression, which she refers to as fiber work. Her artistic interests were furthered by The Artist’s Way, one of our most successful adult programs based on the book of that name and now in its fifth year. Diane’s exhibit features her work in collage, drawing pastels and fiber work.

She is joined in the exhibition by David Newton’s who has done work in watercolors.

Come One, Come All! - Are you between the ages of 1 and 105? If so, there’s something for you … at the 31st Annual Festival of the Season at the Meeting House on Saturday, December 6th (see poster ).

Take a look at this schedule of Festival activities, decide when you want to join the party and then please, if you plan to attend the dinner, purchase dinner tickets ($5/individual - $15/family) and sign up for your potluck dish on the next three Sundays before the services and during the Coffee Hours.

3:00 to 5:00 - Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to greet you as you come in.

3:00 to 5:00 – Play the dreidel game in the lobby.

3:00 to 5:30 - Crafts in the rooms off of the upstairs hallway. Next week’s Enews will tell you what specific crafts this year’s Festival will offer

3:00 to 5:00 - Coffee House with live entertainment in the chapel. See next week’s Enews to find out who will be performing and the times of the performances.

5:00 to 5:30 - Carols will be sung in the hallway. (Mattie asks that if you want to join the joyful carolers, please sign up on the sheet outside of Bellows, the music room. She says there will be no rehearsals!)

5:30 to 6:00 - Worship Moment in the Sanctuary.

6:00 to 7:30 – Potluck Dinner in Fellowship Hall...
Accompanied by Sid Garvais at the piano, Followed by our hilarious “The 12 Days of Christmas” by the diners led by John Stowe.

Our live USH Holiday Tree, decorated by the Youth Group, will be up in the lobby. There will be an opportunity for you to spread Holiday Cheer to those children and youth in need this Holiday Season when you bring your donations of hats and mittens to the tree when you come to enjoy the Festival’s many Holiday treats.

Gail Syring, our RE Director, is arranging for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students to make hat and mitten ornaments out of paper to hang on the tree. When you hang up your warm hats or mittens to be given to children who need them, you will be rewarded when you pluck one of those little paper beauties to take home with you as a thank you gift!

And for those of you who won’t be coming to the Festival with children (or adults who want to make a craft), don’t forget that there will be good music, food and friends at the Coffee House which will open in the Chapel at 3:00. So why don’t you join the festivities earlier this year?

Nicaragua service project - The Information and Advocacy Sub-council listens to a presentation from Jonathan Raye, a graduate of our RE - youth program and co-coordinator of Bard College's Nicaragua service project. Next January Jon will give us more details on how we can help his team build a wall of a home for a poor, rural family.

Maybe we could even help them run a pipeline from two new water wells into a section of the village that cannot get potable water ... yet. More to come next time! - Ed Savage

Affiliation stickers – What are these? You may have noticed many folks with nametags that have small labels listing the sub-councils and/or positions in which they are involved at USH. These labels are available as removable stickers that can be placed (and later removed) on your nametag, if you wish to have one (or even two or possibly three, if there’s room) request one. Small rainbow stickers are available as well.

In an effort to keep these up-to-date, we are adding a new column to the Nametag Request sheet kept at the upstairs Welcome Table. As well as signing up for a newcomer (green) or replacement (ivory) nametag, you can now also sign up for an “affiliation sticker”. If you already have a nametag in the racks, the sticker will be placed on it for you.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Do your holiday Shopping at the Meeting House

Do we have a deal for you! Buy your holiday gifts, beautiful and environmentally friendly/organic, totally packaged and wrapped, from the Green Sanctuary Sub-council. Starting on Sunday, November 16 and for the following three Sundays, we shall have samples of our gift packages at coffee hours for your viewing and ordering pleasure. The gift packages fall in the categories of: Food, Body Care and “Green”, Clean , Environmentally Friendly Products. There will be gifts for kids, teens, Moms, Dads, family members and friends. There will be gifts bags and stocking stuffers, too.

The process will be simple. View the gifts at coffee hour. Fill out an order form at coffee hour or at home. All orders must be paid for at the time of the order. You may order at coffee hours or by phoning the USH office, 233-9897 and paying by credit card. Orders will be taken from November 16 through December 7 and will be available for pick-up by December 14.

All proceeds from this sale will go toward supporting the greening of the Meeting House and offering education in living green to USH members and friends. If you have any questions, call or email: Bev Prager, 860-651-9689, bev_prager(at Symbol)hotmail.com or Edith Savage, 860-232-5603, esavage(at symbol)snet.net.

Two Year Calendars - will be available for purchase in mid November. These handy pocket sized calendars are still just $2 each or 3 for
$5. Look for the sales table in Fellowship Hall beginning November 9.

It's not too early to think about possible programs to offer in the winter/spring term. Perhaps you or someone you know has an idea for a course, workshop, or Sunday afternoon program that you would like to see included. Program Proposal forms will be available at the Registration Table on Sunday during coffee in Fellowship Hall. The forms are also available in the office or at the USH Website under Spiritual Life - Adult Programs.

We just might have the book you're looking for to give during holiday time. Stop by and look at the offerings in the Book Cart located next to the Registration Table.

Respectful Parents Respect for Kids by Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hudson.
Dancing with the Sacred by Karl Peters.
Old School by Tobias Wolff.
The Gift of Faith by J. H. Nieuweharr.

Caring Network - We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. -- Norman MacFinan - 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)

January 4th is Justice Sunday at USH … Save the Date - More

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 -

On the Calendar

Thursday, November 13
7:00 pm Rental, Ballou

Friday, November 14
1:00 pm Transitions Group, David
5:00 pm Wedding Rehearsal, Sanctuary/Library
5:30 pm Dinner & Movie, Fellowship Hall

Saturday, November 15
11:00 am Lisa Spencer Memorial
3:00 pm Wedding, Sanctuary

Sunday, November 16
9:00 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:45 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
10:45 am Coffee, Fellowship Hall
10:45 am Music rehearsal, Chapel
11:15 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm Coffee, Fellowship Hall
1:00 pm Welcome Team Training, Chapel
1:00 pm Board of Directors, Library
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
4:00 pm Thirty Somethings, Fellowship Hall

Monday, November 17
7:00 pm Artist’s Way, Servetus
7:00 pm Rental, Ballou

Tuesday, November 18
6:00 pm Worship Associates, Ballou
6:45 pm Caring Network, Servetus
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, November 19
5:45 pm Meditation & Dharma Gathering, Emerson
6:30 pm Tai Chi, Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm Nominating Committee, Library
7:15 pm NVC Practice Group, Emerson
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary

Thursday, November 20
9:30 am International Women’s Circle, Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm BTWWDA Facilitators, Library
7:00 pm NVC Gathering, Servetus
7:00 pm SGM Steering Committee, Murray

Friday, November 21
5:30 pm Family SGM, Fellowship Hall

Saturday, November 22
10:30 am Rental, Chapel
5:00 pm PACE, Fellowship Hall

Sunday, November 23
8:30 am Welcome Team Training, Chapel
9:00 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:45 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
10:45 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
10:45 am Coffee, Fellowship Hall
11:15 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm Coffee, Fellowship Hall
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

Monday, November 24
7:00 pm Artist’s Way, Servetus

Tuesday, November 25
7:00 pm Religious Education, Servetus
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, November 26
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary

Thursday, November 27, THANKSGIVING
Office and Building CLOSED

Friday, November 28
Office and Building CLOSED

Sunday, November 30
9:00 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
9:45 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
10:45 am Music rehearsal, Sanctuary
10:45 am Coffee, Fellowship Hall
11:15 am WORSHIP SERVICE, SANCTUARY
12:15 pm Coffee, Fellowship Hall
1:00 pm Council on Social Justice, Library
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel

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!

External Events and Educational Notes

Hartford Seminary is offering a January intersession class that may be of interest -

Traditions of Change: American Literature of Reform (HI-676)
Monday, Jan. 12 through Friday, Jan. 16 - 9 AM. to 4 PM (Make-up day: Jan. 17) More

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Did You Know? - Green Sanctuary Sub-Council -

Let's go green! Linked is a flyer for a green company that USH has signed on with to receive 25% of every on-line purchase individuals make. Print your copy of the brochure and order now!

Check out the new products at the Green Table

Recycle Electronic Equipment - Saturday November 15th 9AM - 1 P CRRA Mid-Connecticut Project regional recycling center, 211 Murphy Road, Hartford for residents of Mid Connecticut Project cities and towns for recycling of Home electronics, including: computers, monitors, cell phones, TVs, VCRs, copiers, fax machines, printers, radios, stereos. (Electronics from businesses and institutions are not acceptable sponsored by Participating municipalities and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA)

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