Calendar of upcoming events:

Friday, 1/25
            Youth Dinner & Movie Night (sponsored by the 8th-9th O.W.L. program) for 8th-12th graders, 6-9:45
Sunday, 1/27
            RE Faith in Acton Sunday – trip to Turning Point shelter for K-7th grades
            8th-9th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 2/3
            8th-9th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 2/10
            8th-9th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 2/17
            8th-9th O.W.L. meets
Thursday, 2/21
            Faith Live a River: UU History Adult RE class begins

This Week in RE:

·         Preschool-Kindergarten: “Weddings and Other Services of Love and Union” This week our preschool class will learn about celebrations of marriage and love in our UU community.  Meets in the NW room of the cottage.

·         1st-2nd Grade (Spirit Seekers):  “UU Sources” This Sunday we’ll examine the six sources of our UU faith tradition and will create special banners & pennants to hang in our classroom. Meets in the SE room of the cottage.

·         3rd-5th Grade:  “Our Planets” This week our UUniverse Story classes will learn about the eight planets in our solar system and will explore the scientific meaning of “days” and “years.”  Note room change: Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         6th-7th Grade (Compass Points): “Life is What We Make of It” This week we’ll explore the idea that heaven and hell are what we make for ourselves and others here on earth, and will examine ideas of what it means to live a “full” life  Meets in Room 3, the third room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         8th Grade (Coming of Age) – 9:00 only:  This Sunday, Nalani will lead and Larry will assist as we explore the topic: Spirit & Media - screening. We will be watching a movie this week and wrapping it up with a discussion lead by Rev. Silvio Nardoni on Feb 3rd. Please be on time this week, as weʻll need to start the movie right away, due to its length. Please NOTE: Parents - the movie runs 101 minutes; please expect your kids to meet you in Forbes Hall around 10:45 AM. Additionally, CoA will be meeting in the Mural Room (Rm 1) for the remainder of the year.  Note room change: Meets in the mural room at the end of the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         9th-12th Grade (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) – 9:00 only: This Sunday, in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, we'll discuss different ways Unitarian Universalism connected with his work.  If you want, here is an article you can read beforehand: http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/2527.shtml. Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.

Announcements:

NEW RE Field Trip on Sunday, 1/27: Young people in 1st-7th grades are invited to take part in our first Faith in Action field trip for the 2012-13 year, a visit to the Turning Point transitional housing shelter for a tour and to prepare lunches for the residents.  Be aware: we will make one full-morning trip, leaving after the story in the first service at 9:20 am, and returning at 11:30.  If you would like for your child to participate in the trip, please make sure to come to the first service, or meet us in the cottage at 9:20 for the walk to the shelter, located about four blocks from UUCCSM at 1446 16th street.  There will be alternate activities offered during each service for children who choose not to participate in the trip.  Note: Volunteers are needed to accompany us on the trip, and families will be invited to contribute ingredients for sack lunches.  A separate email with information about what is needed will be sent out soon to K-7th parents.

NEW Please sign up to bring snack for your child’s RE Class:  Now that we’ve made it to January, most of our RE classes have lots of open spots for parents to sign up to bring a snack to class.  Children and youth value snack highly as part of their RE experience; parents, please take part in making sure it’s available every Sunday!  Here are links to online signup pages for each class; just fill in your last name for the Sundays you’re willing to help out, and you’ll get a reminder email midweek leading up to the Sundays you’ve signed up for.

·         9:00 Preschool-K: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ufVuIEr6mprU7qJoBIB5zLLa_3jE9N7fr3A4zTaWhMk/edit#
·         9:00 1st-2nd Grades: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AF3KpLXhQQ3VjhG6iUoJ_pnLty_UXzI9ZeitbBd0H8M/edit#
·         9:00 3rd-5th Grades: https://docs.google.com/document/d/110AaDJ89pZT_ZjO9lVreQ27fKGmKOFOho7AKExSyLRI/edit#
·         9:00 6th-7th Grades:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EKU4mbGqhw44nPj9LdfW27-csnLDHW5QmxOrejIam74/edit
·         9:00 8th Grade (COA): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FB5jHL7YoaH108ssr5IJGlnhiK8jg20s0Koj11Lm3ps/edit
·         9:00 9th-12th YRUU:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oqqIus8jaWyxtJYmWcNpmbsosVpi1TfA-F11_sSAwnU/edit
·         11:00 Preschool-K:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gPziJCMxNoRq40griRoMOrkjZZ5jMqfEzieCUTWpFs/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs
·         11:00 1st-2nd Grades:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UnitBIIPUViUOH-hIAYZD4eMoNSv_Tbpd8pFyCs-q34/edit#
·         11:00 3rd-5th Grades: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zMN3zUu13da4GFt8xgIBQbnoRP1PLh_kA3qr_IYx_xE/edit#
·         11:00 6th-7th Grades: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12d_JtawEjyetDi1mFIKU_Ds8v0KqpCcVEiTGhHEIJZE/edit

NEW Time to Register for Elementary Winter Camp:  The Pacific Southwest District’s Elementary Winter Camp at de Benneville Pines, is over President's Day Weekend next month, Saturday February 16 - Monday February 18.

Family and Elementary Winter Camp – A Winter of Wonder! 
February 16-18, 2013
Register at http://www.uucamp.org/camps/2013/PSWD/elem_winter/ElemWinter2013.html
Dean: Melinda Merkel Iyer
Pricing - Child Camper or Adult: $145.00; Accompanying child under kindergarten: $85.00

Join us for a weekend of wonder and beauty as we wander in de Benneville’s wintry landscape.  The spirit of curiosity, community, and amazement surrounds us up at camp, sparking our warm thoughts and offering countless opportunities to have a wonder-full camping experience!  Come ready for snow play, outdoor activities, indoor excitement, and a weekend of riddles, puzzles, and lots of time to ask those questions, big & small.  This is a wonderful chance for family members to participate in their camper’s experience, whether they share a cabin with their youth, or allow them to go solo with other unaccompanied campers in the counselor cabins.  This camp is sponsored by the Pacific Southwest Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association and is for children who are attending grades K through 6 at the time of the camp. Children in grades K-2 require a parent to accompany them to camp.  You must make a non-refundable deposit of $75 per camper to reserve a space at this camp. You can make additional partial payments but the balance must be paid by 2/11/2013.

RE Books Wish List on Amazon:  Another arm of the “master wish list” for the RE program, is an Amazon Wishlist of books and supplies that will be useful in RE classes this year or that will be valuable resources for teachers & families in our church.  We do have some money earmarked for purchases, but we are running on a tight RE budget, and donations are happily accepted.  If you’d like to help out by donating to the program, check out the Amazon list at http://tinyurl.com/rewishlist.  (Used books in “good” condition are just fine!)  THANK YOU to the members who have already sent books or other supplies our way – they are so appreciated!

UU Everyday (resources and ideas for practicing your UU values at home):

Chalice Lighting Words of the Week (January’s Theme – TRUTH):

January 20:
Cherish your doubts, or doubt is the attendant of truth.
Doubt is the key to the door of knowledge; it is the servant of discovery.
-- Robert T. Weston

For the 2012-13 church year we’re trying out a new way of living as one lifespan religious community: congregation-wide ministry themes.  Each month we’ll explore a new theme, and in January our theme is TRUTH.  The chalice lightings shared here will be used in all of our RE classes, and I hope that your family will also share it at home during the week.  I’m tickled by the idea of all of our UUCCSM families sharing a reflection in common each week as we go about our daily lives.

At-Home Activities to Reinforce this month’s theme of TRUTH:

Possible “TRUTH” Activities:

·         Read the story “Fire, Water, Truth and Falsehood” that is part of the UUA’s Tapestry of Faith curriculum found at http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/toolboxfaith/session3/sessionplan/stories/109499.shtml. Discuss the story with family and/or friends. What meaning does the story have for you?

·         Read the Aesop’s Fable “The Wolf and the Boy” and discuss with family and/or friends the issue of truth and perspective. The story may be found at http://www.happychild.org.uk/nvs/cont/stories/aesopsfables/page0144.htm.

Resources:

Books for Children:
·         Old Turtle and the Broken Truth, Douglas Wood, Scholastic Press, 2003
·         Fish King’s Power of Truth, Lama Mipham, Dharma Publishing, 1990
·         A Big Fat Enormous Lie, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Puffin, 1993
·         The Boy Who Cried Wolf, B. G. Hennessey, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2006

Resources for Parents:
·         10-Minute Life Lessons for Kids: 52 Fun and Simple Games and Activities to Teach Your Child
·         Honesty, Trust, Love, and Other Important Values, Jamie C. Miller, Harper Paperbacks, 1998

Resources for Adults:
·         Explore the following readings in Singing the Living Tradition published by the Unitarian Universalist Association. (Our hymnal)
o   # 460 by Sara Alden Ripley
o   # 500 by Denise Levertov
o   #592 by William Ellery Channing
o   #650 by Robert T. Weston
o   #655 by Heraklietos of Ephesos
o   #671 by John Milton
o   #690 The Bible, John 8
·         “Fire, Water Truth and Falsehood” a story about Truth found in the UUA’s new Tapestry of Faith curriculum can be found at http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/toolboxfaith/session3/sessionplan/stories/109499.shtml.
·         “The Truth About Santa,” an on-line article from uuworld.org. You can find this story at http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/6569.shtml.
·         An additional Aesop’s Fable about truth is called “The Wolf and the Boy” and can be found at http://www.happychild.org.uk/nvs/cont/stories/aesopsfables/page0144.htm.
·         The Story “The Abandoned City” in One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf, The Pilgrim Press, 2003.
·         The Story “The Honest Woodman” found in The Book of Virtues, edited by William J. Bennett, Simon and Schuster, 1993

This Week in UU History: (From This Day in Unitarian Universalist History, by Frank Schulman)

January 19, 1561: At the 19th Synod of Pinczow, Poland, Peter Statorius formally accused Socinian George Blandrata of heresy.  Blandrata was forced to sign a confession of faith, disavowing his heresy.  He left Poland for Transylvania, where he served as court physician to Prince John Sigismund.  There he used his influence over the prince and the court to support Unitarianism.

January 20, 1566:  Francis David, who later converted Prince John Sigismund of Transylvania to Unitarianism, gave his first Unitarian oration in the main church of Koloscar, Transylvania.

January 20, 1839: The Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson preached his last sermon, “The Miracle of Our Being,” in Concord, Massachusetts.

January 21, 1825:  George Blaurock received the first adult congregational baptism in Zurich, Switzerland, thus establishing congregational Anabaptism, which later merged with Socinianism to enlarge and strengthen the Unitarian movement.

January 22, 1556:  Peter Giezek declared his Unitarianism at the Calvinist Synod in Secemin, Poland.  He went on to form the first Unitarain organization in Europe, the Minor Church, later called the Minor Reformed Church.

January 23, 1830:  The first Brahmo Samaj Temple opened in India.  Brahmo Samaj is a Unitarian form of Hinduism.  (Visit http://dcwi.com/~uuf/Sermons/012305.html for the text of a sermon that explores the relationship between Unitarianism and Brahmo Samaj.)

January 24, 1556:  The second Synod of the Reformed Brethren (Socinians) in Poland at Secemin adopted Unitarian positions and rejected the Nicene and Athanasian creeds.  Gregory Pauli, the pastor of Pelsnick, Poland, avowed his anti-Trinitarianism.

January 25, 1759:  Robert Burns was born in Ayershire, Scotland.  He is the national poet of Scotland and a beloved figure in Scottish history and literature.  His birthday is the annual occasion of Burns Night festivities.  Though he had no formal connection with Unitarianism, Burn published several satires of orthodox revivalism, for which he is celebrated by the Unitarians of Scotland as a religious forbear, and there is no doubt of his Unitarian beliefs.  Such Unitarians as Joseph Priestley and Theophilius Lindsey influenced him.  His heretical views were notorious, as were his irregular romantic alliances.  Some of his contemporaries shunned him, but his poetry and songs are now familiar everywhere.  He wrote and adapted many Scottish songs, including “Auld Lang Syne” and “John Anderson, My Jo.”  Known as “Rob the Ranter,” Burns was concerned about the repressive measures against reformers and founded a debating society.  He died on July 21, 1796.