Weekly e-nUUs – February 19,2014

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Worship & Music

Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.

 

February 23 – Harmony at What Cost?

Led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, and Worship Associate Sophie Smith

Is there a shadow side to the pursuit of harmony? Are there times when seeking harmony isn’t necessarily the best goal?  Come join us as we continue our exploration of what harmony is and is not.

 

The Unitarian-Universalist church of Kent and the Cuyahoga River Concert Series announce a “March Music Weekend.– March 15-16, 2014.

 Saturday, March 15, 8:00 pm:  WILD CARROT in Concert

 Pam Temple and Spencer Funk are Wild Carrot. This Cincinnati-based, award-winning group has what it takes to please all types of folk music fans. Rooted in traditional American music, their repertoire branches in diverse directions: from original tunes to swing, blues and traditional songs, using guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, concertina and vocals.  Their performances have often been described as “honest, soothing, uplifting and fun all at the same time”, moving an audience from laughter to tears and back again in a way that makes the listener feel like they’re in a conversation with old friends. All of this adds up to a performance that’s been described as “seamless”“life-sized complex, subtle and powerful” and “a joy.”  $10 donation at the door.

 Sunday, Mar 16, 2:00- 3:30pm:  Matt Meyer workshop: Drumming and Spirituality

Matt’s “Drumming and Spirituality” workshop is a chance for people of all skill levels to participate in hands on rhythm-making. The workshop includes instruction on basic technique, as well as information on the origins of percussion instruments from around the world. Participants will also experience the spirituality of community music-making through stories, games and discussions as well as look at how rhythm and music intersect with Unitarian Universalist values. Bring your own drum if you have one, for those who don’t, enough will provided.  $10 donation at the door.

 

Lifespan Learning

RADIOLAB AND PANCAKES

RadioLab and Pancakes will meet this Sunday, Feb.23 during 2nd service; our short will be “Ally’s Choice.”  This short is about a girl who lives in a very racist environment.  How will her friends and family respond when she decides that she is not “African-American” but “White”, and is accepted as such by the racist leaders in her school?  “Ally’s Choice” challenges all our preconceptions about race and identity. If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Spoehr.

 

What We Choose: Ethics for Unitarian Universalists

We are regularly faced with moral choices, big and small.  How should we respond to a tricky family or relationship situation?  What is the right thing to do when faced with a dilemma at work? What is the most ethical course for a community, state, or nation to follow, and how much are we prepared to invest in advocating for that course? How should morality or ethics enter our consumer decisions? How do we treat others?  How can we follow the values of our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition?

Rev. Melissa is leading this course using curricula from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Tapestry of Faith resources.  The course meets from 7-9 pm on the following Thursdays in Fessenden Hall:  2/20, 2/27, 3/6, 3/20, 4/3 and 4/10.  Participants will be invited to consider frameworks from various schools of ethical thought.  Those who attend regularly will derive the most benefit, but each session can stand on its own for those who prefer to drop in.

 

Are you raising a little UU? Come and join the Parents of Young Children group!

Starting in February we will meet once a month. We’ll begin by sharing a meal all together (adults and kids). Childcare will be provided during a our meeting. The Parents of Young Children (PYC) group will resemble our small group ministry but would focus specifically on the issues, concerns, joys and challenges of raising children and creating balance in our spiritual life and parenting roles. This group is for parents and caregivers of kids in kindergarten and under.

For more details, please see Colleen Thoele or Karen Lapidus

 

Community Within

The Library committee holds its final Symposium this Tuesday evening, Feb.25th at 7:00 P.M. in Fessenden Hall. We will view the Bill Moyers interview with Margaret Atwood, noted Canadian author, on the subject of fundamentalism as an alternative to rational, scientific inquiry in forming belief systems. Ms. Atwood speaks to the use and advantages of fundamentalism in her writing. Refreshments provided by the committee members will be served after the viewing. The discussion will be moderated by Joel Slater. Fundamentalism has contemporary political implications in addition to its use in literature. This promises to be a lively and stimulating evening. Please plan to join us; we look forward to seeing you there.

 

The references Rev. Melissa used in last Sunday’s sermon, “Harmony” are the Tao Te Ching,  and Harmony: A Treasure of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents,  by Sarah Conover and Chen Hui. Rev. Melissa adds, “Though this is marketed as a children’s book, I believe it has broader appeal and includes good basic information on Taoism, Buddhist and Confucian influence on China.”

 

The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 pm in the home of Chris Hurlbut.. This month we are reading The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. Spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the Whittaker family as led by Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s daughter, Alma becomes a botanist. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life. In April, we will be reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel by Rachel Joyce. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper.  All are welcome.

 

Book Review by Martha Kluth

 The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Weddings, by Tess Ayers and Paul Brown, Los Angeles, Alyson Books, c1999.

This complete guide includes an historical look at gay and lesbian unions and practical advice such as breaking the news to your family and the straight world. It describes planning the event and negotiating vendor contracts. There are witty anecdotes, proper etiquette and unexpected trivia. It is sprinkled with true stories of same-sex couples who have married.  This book was donated to the church Library and is located in the BGLT category.

 

Stop by the Caring Cards Table on Sunday

Our Care Team is trying an experiment.  For the next several Sundays we will have a table in Fessenden Hall where you can start or sign a card to another member or friend of the congregation to let them know that you are thinking about them and wishing them well.  A member of our Care Team will be at a table in Fessenden Hall during coffee hour with a variety of cards.  You can stop by and ask that a card be started for someone in particular or just stop by and sign the cards that others have started.  The cards will remain on the table after the second service so that those who attend that service can sign as well.  The cards will be collected and mailed at the beginning of each week.  This experiment is designed to help us widen the caring net of our congregation.  Give it a try and let us know what you think about the effort.

 

With winter weather arriving, we are aware that there may be occasions when we need to cancel programming at the church.  Though we are unlikely to need to cancel Sunday services entirely (Rev. Melissa, our minister, and Hal Walker, our music director, live within walking distance), we may choose to have only the first service if the weather or the roads indicate limiting programming.  It is more likely that we may need to cancel our religious education program in inclement weather as our Director of Religious Education, Karen Lapidus, and many of our volunteer teachers and advisors drive some distance to get to church.

If the weather or the condition of the roads cause you to wonder whether we are proceeding with our programming as scheduled, please check for cancellations before you head out.

You can check in one of three places:

  • our church’s Facebook page,
  • call the church number and listen to the message on voicemail
  • tune in to any television or radio station connected with iAlert.  (WKYC-TV, Channel 3)

 

We’d like to remind our members and friends of the online tool we are using to help schedule volunteers for Sundays.   It would be really helpful to the Sunday Volunteer Coordinators if you would be willing to use this tool.  Please see the link below.  Thank you.

All the members and friends of this church are needed to extend hospitality to our visitors. We need a large team of people who volunteer to help greet and usher on Sunday mornings, to prepare an inviting coffee hour or to donate flowers to add a focal point of beauty to our services.  In order to make it easier to participate, we are using a new tool that will allow you to see what Sunday morning hospitality positions are available and to decide when and how frequently you might be able to help.

Sign up at:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/904054FA9A62BA57-sunday

 

Outreach and Social Justice

Kent Social Services is looking for a used camper that can sleep six (6) people.  However, it doesn’t need have to have six beds or even be in running order (it can be towed).  If you know anyone who has a used camper that they can donate, please contact Christie Anderson or Marquice Seward at 330.673.6963.

 

Green Sanctuary Presents:  Chasing Ice

Join us Friday, February 21 at 7:00 PM for the free screening and discussion of the acclaimed film Chasing Ice.

All friends of the earth are invited to this event! Environmentally friendly refreshments included. For further information contact Mary Lou Holly.

 

The Unitarian Universalist Allies for Racial Equity conference is going to be in our backyard this March!  Well, technically, it is going to be at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River.  This is an excellent opportunity to connect with Unitarian Universalists from across the country as we explore ways to grow in our journey toward wholeness.  The complete conference brochure is attached to this email.

 

My fellow Unitarian Universalist,  

I am pleased to share with you the news that the UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) is expanding!

The College has added new experiential learning trips and new youth justice trainings. These programs will allow you and UUs of all ages, from all over the country, to be immersed in real hands-on experiences. Go on a trip. Make it a priority. It will deepen your commitment to our faith and transform how you do justice work in your community. You will become part of a larger team of dedicated spiritual activists who will make a difference in the world. I’ve personally witnessed this transformation time and time again. I invite you to learn more about these programs

The UUCSJ is a formal collaboration of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). Its mission is to increase the capacity of UUs to catalyze justice. Building on several years of successful UUA-UUSC partnership, especially in the area of disaster relief, the UUCSJ combines the resources of both organizations to offer a broader and more effective portfolio of service learning and justice education experiences.

Take the first step, if you haven’t already. I encourage you to sign up for the UUSCJ monthly newsletter  and stay up-to-date with all the new opportunities and latest news.

In Faith,

Rev. Peter Morales

President, Unitarian Universalist Association

 

WALK TO PREVENT SUICIDE – March 29, 2014   10 AM – 12 PM

This walk is important so that we as a community acknowledge that depression is a problem many of us face, and that we can support each other.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY TO REGISTER OR TO WALK!  However, if you raise $100 by Feb. 22, you will get a T-shirt at the walk!  And you can raise $100 up until the walk to earn a T-shirt!  So ask your family and friends to support you in this important cause!

Please walk with us on March 29th!  Click here to register as an individual or form a team:  http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=2558

 

UU and Interfaith Connections

Come join us at the UU Church of Akron for Fun Family Theatre Night!

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron will host Magical Theatre’s professional touring production of Bunnicula!  The Vampire Bunny.  Thursday, February 20 at 7 pm.

Based on the beloved children’s book by Deborah and James Howe, Bunnicula is fun for the whole family. BEWARE THE HARE! Is he or isn’t he a vampire? Before it’s too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household — a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs!

The performance is open to the public, all are welcome!  $5 suggested donation at the door.  To let us know you are coming or if you have questions contact [email protected] or call the church office at 330-836-2206.

Performance is Thursday, February 20, 7 pm, UU Church of Akron, 3300 Morewood Rd, Akron, OH  (across from Summit Mall).

 

Income Generation

Stewardship Canvasser Training Dates Set

The annual Stewardship Drive is fast upon us.  We have two dates set for canvasser orientation:  Wednesday, February 26, 7:00 pm in Fessenden Hall,  and Sunday, March 2, 1:00 pm in Fessenden Hall.  If you are interested in serving in this important ministry, please contact Meg Milko or Kathie Slater.

 

This is the Last Sunday to turn in your Acme Register Tapes!

The Acme Community Cash Back Program ended Saturday, February 8, 2014.  Please submit your register receipts to the box located on the Grocery Card Table in Fessenden Hall.  The deadline to submit receipts is February 23.  The Church receives 5% of the Community Cash Back total located at the bottom of each receipt. Many thanks to everyone who has supported this fundraiser.

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