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50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105
Tel: (860) 233-9897 / FAX 233-1333
Email: firstunitarian@ushartford.com
Reverend Barbara Jamestone, PhD
USH-Enews December 10, 2009
Jump to: Sunday Service; Calendar; What's Happening; Feature Articles; External Events; Further Down the Road; Social Justice Journeys; Green Topics ; A Matter of Opinion;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 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.
Bethlehem Scene
Created by Ser Seskevich
It can be seen from the Ambulatory outside the Payson Miller Chapel - Go see it!
We Did It!
or Unpaid Staff Furloughs Furloughed!During Sunday Service, December 6th, President Carolyn Cartland made a very special announcement. You will recall anonymous donations of $5,000 were pledged for the purpose of eliminating staff unpaid furloughs if the congregation raised $5,000 in matching money from 100 or more donors by December 30th. Carolyn proudly announced the effort had reached $5,113 (now $6,765) and only 14 additional donors of whatever amounts were necessary to reach the prescribed total of 100 donors (we now have 114). Twenty-six hands were quickly raised from those who had not yet donated assuring total success in this effort well before the deadline. Along with the previous successful effort to complete funding of the music program, this means uninterrupted services and employment of all staff as contemplated before the fiscal year began through the end of the fiscal year.
In an emotional voice, Carolyn told everyone how proud she was of this difficult accomplishment, one attained by working together. “We are a loving, strong, and generous community”, she told us. Because of this success, the annual fundraising holiday letter will be omitted this year.
Relieved of the budgetary pain of recent months, the congregation can fully concentrate on producing a planned balanced budget for next year, a continuing effort underway after the service when 35 people stayed into the afternoon for the second scheduled economic conversation.
Congratulations to all of us!
Worshipping Together Since 1830
One Service 10:30 AM
(Please note, the next USH- Enews issue on the 17th will be a two week issue, so submit items for next week and the following week on or before Wednesday 16 December at 4:30 PM)
Sunday 13 December - Music Sunday - For So the Children Come - is the theme of this year’s Music Sunday, December 13th, 2009. The service centers around music of the season, both vocal and instrumental, but it also includes funny and poignant and evocative memories of Christmases past by members of our choir. The choir and keyboard instruments will be joined by violins and cello, thanks to the talents and generosity of members of our congregation. Details
The sermon, Local Peace (11/29), by Greg Nickett is now available on the web.
Music - (See above)-
REflections on Children's Programming
Religious Education Classes
Spirit Play: Festivals of Light
Second & Third Grade: Heart Talk: Observations in Nature
Fourth & Fifth Grade: Toolbox of Faith: Spirit of Life
Sixth, Seventh & Eighth Grade: Coin Collection
Youth Group Activities: Soup Making
Gail M. Syring, DRE
Regifting Sale to Continue More
USH Reusable Bags Available - We promise this week our new reusable USH bags will be sold at coffee hour for $5 each. They will also be offered with a sampling of green products. A great present for others and our Earth. Here is what it looks like.
Last chance to bring in your items (before the service) and shop afterwards. Check out Skoy. - 100% biodegradable reusable cloth (the equivalent of 15 paper towel rolls) - A great stocking stuffer.
Holiday Bake Sale, Sunday, December 13 - The Women’s Alliance is sponsoring a bake sale after the Special Music Service on Dec. 13. Pumpkin bread, Cranberry bread, Christmas biscotti and Chocolate biscotti lovingly baked in the Meeting House Kitchen will be offered along with a variety of donated items. Bakers please bring your home made goodies to Fellowship Hall before the service.
Tai Chi Class for Beginners Contemplated - Options for times are Wed. evenings from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. or Mon. or Tues. afternoons at a time to be determined. If you are interested please call Ginny Hedrick at 860.677. 9272. If possible classes could start in Jan. 2010.
Winter Ember Days 12/16 12/19 More
Adult Programs - The fall programs are winding down and 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.
To obtain a Program Proposal Form, you may go here. From the Spiritual Life pull down menu (on the left side of the home page), click on Adult Programs. In the first paragraph, click on download the form in Microsoft Word. The form is also available at the USH office. Please attach a detailed paragraph in Microsoft Word (if possible) about the program to the completed Proposal Form that can be used for promotion. Please email the completed Proposal to Janice Newton or Nancy Reed no later than Monday, January 4 so that your proposed program can be reviewed and included with the other 2010 Winter/Spring Programs for Adults and Families..
Dec 20—Hilaritas! - On the Sunday before Christmas it is our tradition to, “Don we now our gay apparel,” of holiday fun or finery. Come dressed as one of the 12 days of Christmas, a caroler, Santa, reindeer, elf, winter fairy, snow ball, a sleeper in pajamas having dreams of sugar plums, decked as a tree or menorah or anything you've ever seen on a holiday card! Let our garments reflect the greens, reds, sparkle and childlike wonder of Christmas on this day, and help to build a lovely memory in the hearts of our children of "Hilaritas" (living with joy) as something magical that happens at the Meeting House on the Sunday before Christmas!
We’ll give passing notice to most of the secular stories of Christmas—Santa, Charlie Brown, The Little Drummer Boy. Guest musicians and singers abound!Evan and Alec Ferguson-Hull treat us with their alto saxophones. Patrice Fitzgerald, who truly embodies the spirit of the Hilaritas goddess, sings with her husband Richard Leslie. And of course there will be carols for the congregation to sing as well. - Rev. BJ
December 24 - At 4 PM the Sanctuary:
Bring the children and all family visitors to the multigenerational service celebrating the birth of Jesus, which will close with a "passing the candle flame from person to person" which many of us associate with Christmas Eve, as our cantor Melissa Paul sings “Oh Holy Night.” Guest musicians include Conor Lyman on saxophone and Caroline Kriesen, soprano soloist. Rev Jamestone is the officiant.
At 10 p.m., in the Chapel: We commemorate the arrival of the holiday with a more contemplative service, accented with passing the candle flame as a fitting symbol of the first silent night, as our associate music director Mark Child sings “Oh Holy Night.” Guest singers include Julia and Lean Rubin-Cadrain, Kim McClain and Celeste Smith, plus a small group of our Chancel Choir Singers. Rev Jamestone is the celebrant.
Caring Network See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With Joy and Love triumphing. John Milton 1667 - 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)
Social Justice Journeys (From the UUA) And from USH
Green Topics - Did You Know? - Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year.
Approximately 60 - 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the world’s plastic bags each year.
Most plastic bags take over 400 years to biodegrade.
Regifting Sale! - It's not too late to bring in those new gifts that don't quite suit you but others might like. Drop them off before the service in fellowship hall.
CHICO BAGS ARE BACK! However some of the bigger bags with designs on them and/or made from recycled material are $7.50 instead of the incredibly low price of $5. Both are available at the Regifting Sale and Green Table and very convenient for keeping in the car/purse for those unexpected trips to the store.
We will also have green stocking stuffers and green cleaning bags (bags full of stuff from the green table) including our very own USH bags for sale. Holiday shopping CAN help the planet and USH.
Friday, December 11
3:00 pm Seabury UU Gathering, Seabury, Bloomfield
(5:00 pm Univ Hartford parking lot usage)
5:30 pm Friday Dinner & Movie, Bagdad Café, Fellowship Hall
Saturday, December 12
11:00 am Doug Christie Memorial, Sanctuary; Reception, Fellowship Hall
2:00 pm Holiday Piano Concert, Sanctuary
Sunday, December 13
9:00 am Building & Grounds Sub-council, Murray
9:00 am Comfort Shawl Knitters, Lower Lobby
10:30 am Worship, Sanctuary
11:30 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
12:00 pm Callings Support Group, Servetus
2:00 pm Small Group Ministry, David
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
Monday, December 14
4:30 pm Menu for the Future, Library
7:00 pm Artist’s Way, Servetus
7:00 pm Rental, Ballou
Tuesday, December 15
12:00 pm Men’s Luncheon Group Holiday Party, Fellowship Hall
6:30 pm Worship Associates, Jamestone Home
6:45 pm Caring Network, Servetus
8:00 pm AA, Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, December 16
12:00 pm Ember Days, Emerson
12:00 pm Unitarian Alliance Ministry to Women Holiday Luncheon, Library
5:45 pm Meditation and Dharma Gathering, Emerson
6:30 pm Tai Chi, Fellowship Hall
7:15 pm NVC Practice Group w/ Jan Bennett, Emerson
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Thursday, December 17
5:00 pm NVC Gathering, Minister’s Study
Saturday, December 19
6:00 pm Ember Days, Jamestone Home
Sunday, December 20
10:30 am Worship, Sanctuary
11:30 am Coffee Hour, Fellowship Hall
12:00 pm Chapel Sing, Chapel
3:00 pm Rental, Chapel
5:00 pm Rental, Fellowship Hall
Please notify Brian Mullen of all additions or changes to the calendar. Follow this link to all our scheduled eventsA Matter of OpinionSurviving the Holidays: Navigating Family Conflict 12/12 and 13 (more)
Our own Maggie Greene and her daughter Nora Pasco, both superb poets, will be the featured readers at the Wintonbury Branch Poetry Series and Open Mike this month.
This event is on December 17, 2009 (Thurs) 7:00 P.M. at the Wintonbury Public Library, 1015 Blue Hills Ave (rte 187), just north of Cottage Grove Rd (rte 218), Bloomfield, CT.
Light refreshments are served and the open mike follows the featured poets. Stir your heart, soul and your creativity! For more information, call the Wintonbury Branch Library at 860- 242-0041.Rally and Vigil Planned December 21 More
The Hillstead at Christmastime - We've been offered a tour by one of the lovely docents, Patricia Carr.
The date is December 30th, the time, 1PM
The cost to seniors is $9 , for adults, $12.
Please call the office with your reservation.
From the Editor: Suggestions for Contributors.
(Please note, the next USH- Enews issue on the 17th will be a two week issue, so submit items for next week and the following week on or before Wednesday 16 December at 4:30 PM)
Save our Staff Effort Succeeds
Season’s Greetings: Our Winter Holiday Worship Services, 2009 Click here to learn what’s happening for Hilaritas and our Christmas Eve Services!
Creativity and Love
Bright Copper Kettles and Warm Woolen Mittens
Highlights from the December Board Meeting
Economic Conversation #2 Held
IRA Rollover Opportunities
Bright Copper Kettles and Warm Woolen Mittens - This week we will be given the lovely holiday gift of our annual Winter Music Sunday, focusing on some of our earliest holiday memories. While I have ample memories of brightly wrapped presents and multicolored twinkle lights, the holidays tend to rush through my mind faster than the proverbial one horse open sleigh.
The most powerful memories of my childhood are the quiet ones, the ones wrapped in plain brown paper rather than glitter. The texture of the cool, Ivory Snow-scented pillow case under my flushed face stands out in my mind, my mother having put clean sheets on my bed when I was sick. I must have listened to my Great Grandmother singing “Somewhere My Love” in a thick German accent a hundred times as we watched the beginning of Dr. Zhivago. Somehow we never watched the ending; I think it made Nana too sad.
The taste of sausage and pepper sandwiches eaten on the edge of Lake Winnipesaukee was a traditional summer picnic favorite of mine.
Like the simple pleasures that Fraulein Maria sings in “My Favorite Things,” these memories make up the part of my heart and soul where grace and gratitude reside. They are part of the foundation of my being, and will last as long as I do. What small sensory memories created who you are today?
May we all have the courage to create miracles like that for others. - Gail M. Syring
Highlights from the December Board Meeting - The Board met on December 8 and discussed the following:
- The outstanding success of our two recent fundraising events due to the overwhelming generosity of our congregation. Current totals for “Save Our Staff! Save Our Worship Services” are $6,765.00 from 114 people…wow!
- The good time had by all at the very festive Festival of the Seasons. Holiday spirits were high in spite of poor weather. Many thanks to all who gave of their energy and time to make it so much fun.
- The impressive turnout and informative exercises held on Sunday, December 6 at our second economic conversation.
- The role of the Council Chair and At-large Board member and how best to utilize these positions to make our organizational structure most effective. In light of our discussion, Joe Rubin, Chair of the Council on Administration, has generously agreed to attend Board meetings through the end of the church year to help us address this issue.
- The update to the strategic plan created in 2001 has been completed. Look for more information in an upcoming USH-Enews.
- Initial plans for a congregational conversation in February regarding our future and who, how, and where we see ourselves in 2015. Stay tuned for more details!
Many wishes for a loving and peaceful holiday season to all of our friends and members. - Carolyn Cartland
Creativity and Love - Reverend BJ asked a number of thought-provoking questions during the service on Sunday, December 6. Such as—What would our congregation look like if all its needs were met? What does this congregation need to fulfill its purpose? How would we know if the congregation’s needs are met? How do we tend to the core needs of the congregation?
Her list of congregational needs included protection, security, safety, subsistence, creativity, identity. “But,” she reminded her congregation, “the process always starts here, in worship.”
These remarks followed an announcement by Board of Directors President Carolyn Cartland: “We have achieved a feat that seemed out of reach six months ago.” USH members have given more than the $6,000 needed for the music program. And as of Friday night, 86 persons had given $5,113 to prevent a two-week total shutdown of the Meeting House in February. This partially fulfilled the requirements of anonymous donors who promised $5,000 if 100 persons pledged another $5,000. From the pulpit, Reverend BJ asked for 14 more pledges to meet the 100 needed—and 20 hands were raised. So the Meeting House will remain open and the glorious music will continue.
In her sermon, Reverend BJ suggested that the early Trinitarians were really the first Unitarians, that the idea of the trinity was a way to protect the oneness and unity of God. She spoke of the controversial Arius of Alexandria who dealt mainly with the nature of Jesus and proclaimed he was not divine, but a created being, who went through the cycle of a human being, including birth and death. This breaks the divine link of Father and Son. Arianism rejected the undivided unity of Jesus and God as well as the divine nature of Jesus.
Reverend BJ said the trinity equaled stability and was the very best expression its creators could come up with to capture the ultimately powerful force. The trinity is the expression and understanding of religion and the impulse to believe. It is a very powerful story, which can be measured by how many people it upsets.
We all have core needs to create ideas, stories, beauty, art, music. These needs are “deeper inside than our digestive systems,” Reverend BJ said, and they fulfill our need for creativity. “Love,” she said, “is probably the ultimate concern, but is mighty hard to define.” Love needs to have a face, Reverend BJ concluded, and “I am glad to belong to a religion that honors our need to put a face on love.” - Kayla CostenobleEconomic Conversation #2 Held - Following our worship service on December 6, 37 members and friends gather to discuss our current financial results and identify some areas of priority for the upcoming budget cycle. Treasurer Martha Page reported that two areas of financial concern have been eliminated through additional donations; the first was the music program/sectional leads and the other was the closing of the building/furlough of the staff planned for February. We are pleased to announce that at the end of November we met both challenges and can now eliminate this year’s holiday letter!
Martha also presented highlights from Brian’s report; the complete report (through October, 2009) is available on the USH website. Cash flow continues to be good and prepaid pledges are collecting interest. Potentially troublesome news is that 14% ($42,885.00) of this fiscal year’s pledgers have not begun to contribute to their 2009-2010 pledge. Still, we are assuming that we will hit the typical 95 % of pledge fulfillment that we usually receive. The good news is that expenses continue on track as expected. Complete details of the budget update will be on the web shortly.
In late January the Stewardship sub-council will begin our annual canvas. A calendar will be published and available which will provide more information.
The Board will hold another congregational conversation during the winter which will focus on longer-term strategic and systemic issues.
The focus of the rest of the meeting was on the next budget period, July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011. Bill Young, former President and Treasurer and current Board member for Social Justice, led folks through two exercises. The first exercise asked attendees to identify “core” expenses, which are expenses to be funded at some level, and without them the basic mission, character or functioning of the congregation is significantly compromised or threatened.
We asked folks to think of “core expenses” as if we were starting a church from scratch, i.e. if we were brand new, what do we really need? “Core” expenses are different from “discretionary” expenses in that a reduction of discretionary expenses would not threaten the core services or activities of the congregation. The top four areas of identified “core expenses” were: building expenses, ministry, staff health insurance, and liability/workers compensation/property insurance.
Folks were then asked to identify what are the most important for us, need the most discussion, need attention, need collective discussion, things that are the most important priorities to for the next budget year. The top four vote getters were: the building, UUA denominational dues/membership, ministry, and music.
Folks were then asked to break into three groups and were asked to identify issues which surfaced when they were given a flat budget, one which assumed a 10% decrease, and one which assumed a 10% increase over this year. Complete results from this exercise are contained in the minutes which will be posted on the web shortly.
All these issues will be discussed by the Finance Sub-Council and the Board as the budget process begins. As with all areas of congregational life, everyone is invited to attend each Finance Sub-Council (meets the second Tuesday on the month at 5:30 PM in the Library) and Board (meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7 PM in the Library) meeting to share their questions and perspectives.
Many thanks to all who helped create, organize, and facilitate this important congregational meeting, especially Martha Page, Bill Young, Paul Quin, Josh Schreier, and Jan Bennett. - Carolyn Cartland
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 HartfordLet us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 12/10/09 6:12 PM)
