Newsletter for November, 2018
To the Glory of Life
THEME OF THE MONTH: MEMORY
Important Info from Stewardship: Pledge Year Redefined
- Make one payment for 18 months before December 31, 2018 (which maximizes the tax deduction for this year). For example, if your annual pledge is $2000, you would make a one-time payment of $3000 that would cover the 18 months from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
- Make two payments that total an 18-month pledge. For example, if your annual pledge is $2000, you could make one $2000 pledge payment before December 31, 2018 and then another $1000 payment before June 30, 2019.
Of course, any manner you choose to meet your generous commitment and support our call to a more loving and just society is warmly welcomed, and deeply appreciated throughout our community. Fulfilling your pledge sooner provides the church with a predictable cash flow to cover our ongoing covenants with staff, along with inspiring worship services, community engagement, faith development for young and old, and a myriad of beloved and vibrant programs. It also helps keep our carefully husbanded financial reserves intact and available for the proverbial rainy day.
On Memory, Growth, and Change as We Come Into Our Covenant
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Young Adults are Back!
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Thanksgiving Feast Saturday, November 17 at 6 pm
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Holiday Office Closing Schedule
Pageant Time!
Garden of Eternity. Donate a brick engraved with your loved one’s name
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D4$ “Beauty and the Beast” Sing-Along Saturday, Nov. 10
FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES
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Faith in Action Phone Bank Supporting Voting Restoration in Florida
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Board Prepares for Annual Retreat
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(If the above video doesn’t play, please view on the www.oprah.com website at http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsessions/brene-brown-the-anatomy-of-trust-video)
Our intern minister, Robin Stillwater, is working toward establishing/reactivating a Young Adults Program and setting up a restricted fund to help with its activities. A discussion of the specifics was delayed until next month, when Robin can attend the board meeting. Meanwhile, if you are in the 18-35 age group and are interested in being involved with this program, please talk with Robin.
Pledge receipts are generally doing well, but reflect a need to have less reliance on large donors. A discussion on the topic also included some clarifications as to how the Sustainability Fund is reflected in the operating budget vs. the balance sheet – available to members in “Board Documents” on the church website.
The board ratified the recommendations of the Nominating Committee for additional members for the Investment Committee: Steve White and Garland Allen. NomComm is looking for an additional Investment member. This committee will be developing an investment plan for submission to the board and finance committee.
There were no new members in September.
Attempts to decrease the amount of paper associated with board meetings are a work in progress. The board is wrestling with how to make all board documents available online to interested parties, and intends to resolve this soon.
From Our DRE:
I Love Where My Journey Has Led Me
African Proverb: “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” which translates as: “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.”
For my credentialing program I am taking an online course through the UUA called UU Identity. UU identity is formed as a process of development across the lifespan which unfolds through a combination of personal heritage, culture, and lived experiences. It also includes our principles, sources and our rich UU history.
My husband Albert used to love the quote from George Santayana… “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” He also loved everything history related, especially the wars. Ironically, he passed away of Alzheimer’s disease about six years ago. I am not a fan of the doom and gloom warning quote. I like to think of the past in a more positive light.
After only two sessions in my class I am already seeing how all the components that make up our identity are related, but in particular, history’s connection to who we are today. Soul Matters puts it this way: “Remembering those who have gone before and the guidance they have for us today helps you reclaim and remember many of your own stories and treasures long forgotten.” When we tell stories of “past heroes” we don’t just honor them, we increase our ability to act like them.”
Here are some important figures from our UU History that I would like to lift up:
James Luther Adams- (Nov. 12, 1901- July 26, 1994) was a Unitarian parish minister and a Meadville Lombard Theological Divinity School professor for more than 40 years. He is recognized as one of the preeminent Christian social ethicists and theologians of the 20th century. He emphasized personal and institutional behavior as the locus of meaning in religious belief. He was also a labor activist and civil rights advocate.
Francis David – (1520 – Nov. 15, 1579) was a Unitarian preacher from Transylvania, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, and the leading figure of the Nontrinitarian movements during the Protestant Reformation. This year (2018) marks the 450th celebration of the Edict of Torda in Transylvania in which David convinced the king to allow the people to have freedom of religion, the beginning of our liberal religion! This month marks the anniversary of the death of David in prison.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper- (September 24, 1825- February 22, 1911) An African American woman who challenged Unitarians and other Christians to practice a form of religion that reflected “a stronger sense of justice and a more Christlike humanity in behalf of those . . . homeless, ignorant, and poor.” She believed the struggles for black Americans and women of all races were connected. “Justice is not fulfilled so long as woman is unequal before the law. We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.” – Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
In my research of these three figures (and many more), I discovered that they became who they were through their life experiences. Many of the figures in UU history were exposed to racism, injustice and devastating losses. They were beaten, robbed of their freedoms and sometimes killed. They witnessed the mistreatment and misfortune of others. This is what made them our UU Heroes. It is what made them stand up and make a difference.
One of the exercises in the class was to create a timeline (which was called a river journey) of my life. It was called this to illustrate the flow and many turns in the formation of our identities. When I was finished with mine, I was actually embarrassed and somewhat ashamed to present it. This is because I am not proud of my abusive childhood or racist upbringing. I am not proud of my failed relationships. But I learned that all of the other students in my class had some similar experiences and some different experiences. Those are what formed our identities AND we are all UUs. We were all brought to this faith! I have always thought that if I could change some of the bad things in my life, that I wouldn’t because they are what made me who I am today. I mentioned I did not like Albert’s favorite quote. I like this one much better: “If memory had a voice, it wouldn’t sing remember me. It would call out, don’t forget who you are.” –soul matters
I love who I am. I love what I do. I love that my journey has led me to a place where I can make a difference in our world. I love how it has allowed me to foster a UU identity in children, youth and adults in the never ending quest to create lifelong UUs.
Adult Programs: Conversations and Connections
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