Calendar of upcoming events:

Sunday, 3/3
     8th-9th O.W.L. meets
     Parent Orientation for 10th-12th O.W.L., 11am-4pm
Friday, 3/8
     OWL LGBTQ Guest Panel and potluck– all high school youth invited – 6-9:30pm
Sunday, 3/10
     Daylight Savings Time begins!
     Coming of Age parent meeting, 10:15-11:00am
     8th-9th O.W.L. meets
     10th-12th O.W.L. – first class!
Sunday, 3/17
     COA parent meeting, 10-11
     8th-9th O.W.L. meets
     10th-12th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 3/24
     RE Faith in Action Sunday – details coming soon
     8th-9th O.W.L. meets
     10th-12th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 3/31
      Easter Sunday Intergenerational Service, followed by RE Egg Hunt

Volunteer Opportunities:

NEW Easter Volunteers Needed: Easter is on March 31st this year, and I’m looking for some volunteers to help with the day’s festivities.  Would you enjoy hiding eggs and/or helping to supervise the after-service eggs hunts for our kids?  If you’d like to help out, contact Catherinedre@yahoo.com or call me at 310-829-5436 x105.

NEW Nursery Assistants Needed 1x per month: As our nursery program has grown this year (in leaps and bounds!), so has our need for assistants on Sunday morning.  Would you enjoy spending one morning per month playing in the nursery with our younglings?  We are particularly in need of volunteers for the 11:00 program, but need at least one more volunteer for 9:00, too.  This is a GREAT opportunity for adults – or teens – to get to know our wonderful babies and toddlers.  It is such fun, and such a service to our UUCCSM parents.  Can you help?  Please contact catherinedre@yahoo.com or 310-829-5436 x105 for more information or to volunteer.

This Week in RE:

·         Preschool-Kindergarten: “The Wonder of Snow” This week our preschool class will explore a natural phenomenon pretty foreign to us here on the SoCal beach – snow!  Meets in the NW room of the cottage.

·         1st-2nd Grade (Spirit Seekers):  “The Evil Wizard” This Sunday we’ll begin our exploration of March’s theme of EVIL with a story about a girl who grapples with what she can do to counter the evil she encounters in her life. Meets in the SE room of the cottage.

·         3rd-5th Grade:  “The Scientific Method” This week our UUniverse Story classes will be visited by a special guest, “real scientist” and class parent Doug Fudge, who will engage participants in a demonstration of the scientific method.  Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         6th-7th Grade (Compass Points): “Honoring Our Martyrs” This week we’ll learn about some important people in our UU past, which will help participants gain a sense of the courage and sacrifice that led to our religious freedom and help them ponder their own sense of courage.  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 Liza will assist as we explore the topic: Death & Immortality.  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 YRUU will discuss the “wall of humanity” event held at SaMoHi earlier in the week and attended by YRUU advisor Rick Rhoads, to oppose members of the Westboro Baptist Church who were protesting.  Rick writes: Under the leadership of the Samohi Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), the students were well organized and in control of the situation, although they certainly appreciated our being there. There were about 9 WBCers and 500 of us, including a contingent of about 175 students from New Roads. Rev. Rebecca was there, along with a few others from UUCCSM. I had hoped for more, as Rebecca announced it from the pulpit at both Sunday services.  A number of other ministers and rabbis were there, as were 10 workers from nearby hotels, mobilized by CLUE-LA, the same organization that we work with to support the efforts of the carwash workers.  The Westboro Baptists had signs such as GOD H8S GAYS, GOD H8S MEDIA, and, most bizarre of all, YOU EAT YOUR CHILDREN.  The GSA students had a chant, "2, 4, 6, 8, "Teach our children not to hate," which was inspiring and, I thought, funny, given that the students were speaking as though they were their own parents and teachers. There is a Santa Monica Daily Press article about the event at http://www.smdp.com/hundreds-join-counter-anti-gay-protest-at-samohi/118756 and a video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1mhPVs0llI&feature=youtu.be. Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.

Announcements:

NEW DRE Leave Planning  Now that we’re only three months out from the arrival of the newest member of the Famer Loya household, you may be wondering about what my leave will mean for the RE programs at UUCCSM.  I have been working with Rebecca, the Lifespan RE Committee and the Personnel Committee to make plans for this time, and I am confident that all will go smoothly during my time away.  My final Sunday at UUCCSM, unless the baby arrives earlier, will be May 19th, which is Coming of Age Sunday as well as the Annual Meeting.  My leave will begin on May 23rd and I’ll be away for 12 weeks, returning to UUCCSM on August 15th.  We are in the process of searching for a part-time Acting DRE to provide staff support for our programs while I’m away, and the Lifespan RE Committee will be working with me between now and then to make sure we’re fully prepared.  We need your help too!  We will begin our recruiting for RE volunteers for the summer programs as well as the new program year which launches in September sooner than usual, so we can have as much as possible in place before my leave begins.  So be on the lookout for information coming soon about opportunities to help, particularly in the summer program.  I am so grateful for the care and support shown to my family by UUCCSM members of all ages – thank you.  It is lovely to share this joyful time with all of you, and to know that our child has such a loving community ready and waiting.

Please sign up to bring snack for your child’s RE Class:  Most of our RE classes still 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/1gPziJCMxNoRq4-0griRoMOrkjZZ5jMqfEzieCUTWpFs/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

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 (March’s Theme – EVIL):

March 3:

May nothing evil cross this door,
and may ill fortune never
pry about these windows; may the
roar and rain go by.

--Louis Untermeyer, from #1 in Singing the Living Tradition

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 March our theme is EVIL, a challenging concept for many Unitarian Universalists!  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 EVIL:

Possible Activities:

·         Read the books aloud, or watch the movies of the Harry Potter series and discuss what forms evil takes in this series and how it is handled by the characters.

·         Invite family or friends to looks through the media for examples of what they feel is evil. Bring your examples together and discuss this evil and how it can be addressed.

·         The Sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith include the following: “Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.”  Share with your family or friends examples from our Unitarian Universalist History, your life, and the world around you where you have seen this being lived out. (A Children’s version of this source reads: “We learn from people who are kind and fair.”)

·         Play a reverse Pandora game. With your family or friends, first share the Greek myth about Pandora.  Then set a time limit and in that time quickly write out all the evils you can think of and stuff them back into a jar of box. At the end of the time, read out all the evils that have been listed. Were there any things that surprised any of you? Did you all name the same things? Brainstorm how you could work to give hope to people facing these evils.

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

March 3, 1568:  The second religious debate between Unitarian Francis David and Calvinist bishop Peter Melius opened at Gyulafehervar, Transylvania.  It lasted 10 days.  Tradition has it that after returning home from that debate, Francis David preached standing on the “round rock” at the corner of Torda street in Kolozsvar and converted all who heard him to Unitarianism.  The stone is now in the narthex of the First Unitarian Church in Kolozsvar.  The series of debates began at the Diet of Torda and ultimately resulted in the conversion of Prince John Sigismund of Transylvania to Unitarianism.

March 4, 1864:  Thomas Starr King, a Universalist and Unitarian minister and missionary on the West Coast, died at age 39 of diphtheria.  When he died, President Lincoln ordered guns to be fired from U.S. forts in recognition of his service to the country.

March 5, 1761:  John Taylor died at age 67.  A minister in Norwich, England, his religious studies emphasized Hebrew languages and Jewish scriptures.  To accommodate those wishing to enjoy his simple form of Christian worship, the Nonconformist congregation of Norwich built the Octagon Chapel and became Unitarian.  Taylor was the author of several theological works and principal and tutor in theology at Warrington Academy, England.

March 6, 1582:  The debate between Simon Budny and the Catholics began at the Synod of Iwie in Poland.  A native of Lithuania and a Calvinist priest, Budny had met disciples of Faustus Socinus, George Blandrata, and other Unitarians and joined their ranks.  He founded the sect called Budneans in Poland.  His view was that Jesus was born naturally and was not an appropriate object of worship; he also rejected infant baptism.  A biblical scholar, Budny translated the entire Bible from Hebrew, Greek and Latin into Polish (1572).  He gained a large following in Lithuania and Poland, where he was denounced at the Synod of Luclavice, Poland, and excommunicated.  He was told the excommunication would be lifted if he would renounce his “obnoxious opinions,” but he refused.

March 6, 1888: The beloved American writer Louisa May Alcott died at age 55 in Boston.  Louisa’s father was Bronson Alcott, a founder of the Transcendentalist Club who ran a school in Concord, Massachusetts, and educated Louisa and her sisters at home.  She worked as a teacher and a domestic worker and eventually began to write poems and short stories for children.  Alcott was an ardent abolitionist and served as a nurse during the Civil War.  This experience provided material for Hospital Sketches (1863), which established her literary reputation.  She also wrote various stories for children, of which Little Women (1868) is the best known.  It was largely autobiographical and a great financial success.  Alcott wrote numerous other stories, including Gothic tales published under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard.  She devoted her later life to reforms, including temperance and women’s rights.  Alcott did not like formal church connections, but her beliefs were Unitarian and she moved among such prominent Unitarians as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Samuel Gridley Howe, and Julia Ward Howe.

March 7, 1601: A Socinian conference opened at Rakow, Poland, to discuss the nature of Christ, his relation to God, and whether he should be worshipped.   

March 7, 1844:  The Dissenters’ Chapels Act was introduced in English Parliament, aimed at giving Unitarians legal rights to their church property.  It was an important step in religious freedom in England.  It passed by a vote of 202 to 41 and Queen Victoria gave it the royal seal on July 15, 1844.

March 7, 1920:  Seven people met with Egbert Ethelred Brown, and African-American Unitarian minister, in Harlem to form the Harlem Community Church of New York City, the first African-American Unitarian congregation in the United States.  Maurice Dawkins, an African-American, became the minister of education there in 1948.

March 7, 1965:  Six hundred civil rights marchers who set out from Selma, Alabama, on their way to Montgomery to urge passage of the Voting Rights Act, were attacked by local law enforcement officials at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  Known as “Bloody Sunday,” this event led Martin Luther King to call on clergy of all faiths to join him in Selma.  More than 125 Unitarian Universalist ministers answered the call, including UUCCSM minister Rev. Ernie Pipes.  On March 21, 1965, more than 3,000 marchers left Selma for Montgomery and by March 25, 1965, 25,000 marchers entered Montgomery.  On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.  Three people were killed during the Selma marches – James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister; Jimmy Lee Jackson, an African-American laborer and church deacon; and Viola Liuzzo, a Unitarian Universalist layperson from Detroit.