Calendar of upcoming events:

            Sunday, 11/11
                        Jr./Sr. High O.W.L. Parent Information Session between services
Bring donations of travel-sized toiletries and warm clothing for Common Ground!
            Saturday, 11/17
                        Thanksgiving Feast
            Sunday, 11/18
                        Youth Leadership Team meets. Bring donations of travel-sized toiletries and warm clothing for Common Ground!
            Sunday, 11/25
                         Faith in Action Sunday in RE – Donation drive for homeless youth served by Common Ground
            Sunday, 12/2
                         Youth Leadership Team meets. 
                         Mandatory Parent Orientation (Part 1) for Jr. High O.W.L., 1:00-4:30
            Sunday, 12/16
                         Mandatory Parent Orientation (Part 2) for Jr. High O.W.L., 1:00-4:30
            Saturday, 12/22
                         Friendly Beasts Pageant Rehearsal
            Sunday, 12/23
                        Winter Holiday Pageant

This Week in RE:

·         Preschool-Kindergarten: “Chalice Flannel Board” This week our preschool class will continue learning about our UU flaming chalice symbol.  Meets in the NW room of the cottage.

·         1st-2nd Grade (Spirit Seekers):  “Uncle Harry’s Thanksgiving Bread” This week our 1st-2nd graders will begin to explore November’s theme of Gratitude with a story about appreciating the many, many people who have a hand in making a single loaf of bread.  Meets in the SE room of the cottage.

·         3rd-5th Grade:  “Things that Go Bang in the Night” This week, as we continue our exploration of the universe and the development of the Big Bang Theory, we’ll learn why the sky looks dark at night, and how Edwin Hubble proved that our universe is expanding.  Meets in the mural room at the end of the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         6th-7th Grade (Compass Points): “Our Living Tradition” This week we’ll focus on the authority for our religious beliefs and the Living Tradition which informs that authority. Meets in Room 3, the third room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         8th Grade (Coming of Age) – 9:00 only:  This Sunday in Coming of Age we’ll think about how we “Live Our Religion,” by exploring a number of ethical dilemmas as well as developing our own personal “Ethical Ten Commandments.”  Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         9th-12th Grade (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) – 9:00 only: This Sunday we’ll follow up on last week’s visit from the car wash workers by making signs to be carried at a protest at the car wash on the 14th. Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.

Announcements:

THIS SUNDAY Jr./Sr. High Our Whole Lives Parent Info Session November 11:  Short intro and overview of the 8th - 12th grade Our Whole Lives Programs, from 10:15-11:00 am in Room 2, upstairs above Forbes Hall.  If you aren’t familiar with the O.W.L. sexuality education program or aren't sure whether you're planning to enroll your teen(s) in the 2012-13 program please meet with Beth Rendeiro, OWL Coordinator, to learn more.

NEW Children & Youth Readers Needed for 11/17 Thanksgiving Feast:  Peggy Rhoads is looking for a number of children and youth who will be attending the Thanksgiving Feast next Saturday to be readers for the program portion of the evening.  There are 7 “Reader” parts which are well-suited for COA or YRUU youth – about a paragraph of text to read.  And there are 6 “Child” parts, with very short one-sentence questions to be read, suitable for any child old enough to read (or younger children can be helped by parents).  If your child or youth would enjoy participating in this special annual tradition, please contact catherinedre@yahoo.com to let us know – we’d like to get all of the parts assigned ahead of the Feast!

NEW Faith in Action Project - Donation Drive to Benefit Common Ground’s Homeless Teen Program:  On November 25th, children and youth in RE will be putting together “hygiene kits” and organizing other donated items for our November Social Justice Project.  Common Ground is a nonprofit organization that provides services to people living with HIV-AIDS, and one arm of their program is a drop-in center for homeless youth in Santa Monica.  (To learn more about Common Ground, visit http://www.commongroundhiv.org/prevention.php.)  Please, take a look at the list of items below and bring some things in for our donation drive.  Undergarments, socks and personal care items should be new.  Other items can be gently used or new.  Please bring donations beginning this Sunday, November 11th, to the “Common Ground Donations” basket at the Lifespan RE table in Forbes Hall during coffee hour.  We will collect through the 25th, when we’ll organize all of the donations during the services in RE.

Personal Care items needed for “hygiene kits”:

- Travel- or hotel-sized  shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, soap
- Toothbrushes
- Shaving razors
- Feminine hygiene products

Common Ground’s homeless youth always have a more difficult time living on the streets during the colder, wetter months. They will greatly appreciate any items- I had a youth tell me last year when we were handing out socks that it is “nice to feel like someone cares”.  The kids need warm things for the winter. Often socks and clothes get wet and they show up at our place soaked to the bone with no other clothes to change into.  They are always in need of the following specifically:

- Sweatshirts/Hoodies (L, XL, XXL) (In the winter they generally wear as many layers as possible to try to stay warm and dry so they need the bigger sizes of sweatshirts)
- Socks
- Warm hats/ beanies
- Underwear- (boxers, women’s underwear)- most youth only have one pair to their name
- Bras

Although the Westside has a cold weather shelter for adults that opens for a few months each year in early December, many of the youth will not access it. Often, this is due to fear. Many of the youth have told me about horrible experiences at various LA shelters. There is no “youth” shelter on the Westside. In the cold months ahead, many of the kids will need other non clothing items to support them on the street including:

- Sleeping bags
- Blankets
- Backpacks

I just provided a long list! Sorry for that! This time of year is always so hard. I wonder how we can let any of our young people sleep out on the cold streets for months on end. It is so difficult to have to shut our doors at the end of a night and send those kids back out to the cold and wet.  Any help that you can provide is wonderful and much appreciated!

The Return of the Friendly Beasts! Once again, our pre-K through 5th-grade children will sing “The Friendly Beasts” song at our holiday pageant on Sunday, Dec. 23, at both services.  Kris Langabeer will begin rehearsing the kids Nov. 4 for about 10 minutes in each classroom.  She’ll begin with the preschoolers and then move from classroom to classroom rehearsing the older kids.  Please mark your calendars: a dress rehearsal for all Beasts will occur Saturday, Dec. 22, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary.  We’ll need parent/teacher help in supervising/entertaining/feeding kids on Pageant day.  For more info, see the November church newsletter or contact Kris.

Jr. High & Sr. High Youth Camps at de Benneville Pines – Registration Open:  Youth are encouraged to head to Camp de Benneville Pines this winter for a camp experience like no other!

·         Jr. High Camp is Nov.30-Dec.2, and this year’s theme is “Our Amazing Race!”  Teams of youth will move through the weekend travelling to different countries “around the world”, completing quests, puzzles, challenges and races that emphasize community building and teamwork. There will be road blocks, of course, bonus opportunities and UU fun along the way.  All regular camp activities (raps, workshops and snow play) will be folded into this amazing adventure. This weekend is sure to be a new experience for all and a way to explore the world at beautiful de Benneville Pines!  For more information and to register online, visit http://www.uucamp.org/camps/2012/PSWD/jrhigh_fall/JrHFall2012.html.

·         Sr. High Camp is Dec. 27-Jen. 2, and the theme for this year is “Camp ApUUcalypse.”  Live like you're dying at Camp ApUUcalypse, a winter weekend of survival and growth!  Master the art of zombie fighting. Finish off your bucket list. Come for new friends, laughter and an awesome UU experience! And even if the world does end, then what could be a better send-off than a weekend with our fabulous district-wide youth community? All the traditional workshops will be available during the week, as well as new activities, so we will have fun up until the moment of doom!  For registration online and more info, visit http://www.uucamp.org/camps/2013/PSWD/srhigh_winter/SrHWinter2013.html.

RE Registration & Parent Commitment Form for 2012-13:  Every child and youth who participates in our RE classes needs to have a registration form and parent commitment form filled out and signed each year.  The registration form helps us make sure we have current contact information for your family as well as information about your children’s needs, your dreams for their experience in our RE program, and the areas in which you’d like to help support our church’s educational ministry.  The parent commitment form asks for parents of children in our RE program to help out as volunteers during the year to ensure that our program is fully supported and of the highest quality we can make it.  We’ll have plenty of blank forms at the LRE table in the courtyard before and after the services on Sunday mornings in September, and they are also posted on the UUSM website at http://uusm.org/sundays-and-services/lifespan-RE/registration-permission-forms. Please bring yours on Sunday, or stop by the table to fill them out.  It is very helpful for us to have our registrations right away, so we can begin to build our class rosters and update our church records for this year.

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 (November’s Theme – LETTING GO):

November 11:
We drink from wells we did not dig.
We have been warmed by fires we did not build.
We light this chalice in thanksgiving
for those who passed their light to us.
-- Robert Schaibly

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 November our theme is GRATITUDE.  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 GRATITUDE:

Resources:

Books for Children:
·         The Secret of Saying Thanks, by Douglas Wood, Simon & Schuster, 2005
·         Under the Lemon Moon, by Edith Hope Fine, Lee and Low Books, 2002
·         Brother Juniper, by Diane Gibfried, Clarion books, 2006
·         Franklin’s Christmas Gift, by Paulette Bourgeois, Kids Can Press, 1998
·         The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau, Scholastic Press, 2001

Resources for Adults:
·         Explore the following readings in Singing the Living Tradition published by the Unitarian Universalist Association. (Our hymnal)
o   # 445 by Joy Atkinson
o   #457 by Edward Everett Hale
o   #479 by Denise Levertov
o   #512 by O. Eugene Picket
o   #515 by Richard M. Fewkes
o   #656 by Percival Chubb
·         A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meal from Buddha to the Beatles, edited by M. J. Ryan, Conari Press, 1994
·         Check out the Web Site http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features.php?id=15783 for an article by Frederick and Mary Ann Brussat called “The Spiritual Practice of Generosity.”

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

November 10, 1801:  Samuel Gridley Howe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1824 and served as a combat officer and surgeon in the Greek Revolution (1824-1830).  Howe founded the New England Asylum for the Blind in 1832 (renamed the Perkins Institution) and the Massachusetts Asylum in 1839, where he remained as head until his death in 1876.  He also wrote textbooks for teaching the blind, and the principles he drew up for the Massachusetts Board of State Charities became a national model.  Charles Dickens wrote of Howe’s experiments with blind, deaf and mute Laura Bridgman.  Howe also worked for prison reform and aid to discharged convicts, was an active abolitionist, and founded the abolitionist journal Commonwealth with his wife, Julie Ward Howe.  Howe serves in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1846.  He admired William Ellery Channing and was a member of the Church of the Disciples, a free church in Boston founded by Unitarian minister James Freeman Clarke.  Known as “the Massachusetts philanthropist,” Howe died on January 9, 1876.

November 10, 1914:  Carolina Seymour Severance died at the age of 94.  She was a champion of women’s rights and a co-founder of Unity Church (now First Church LA), the first Unitarian congregation in Los Angeles.

November 11, 1620:  Having landed in Massachusetts after their failed attempt to reach the English colony at Virginia, Pilgrim leaders on the ship Mayflower signed a covenant for self-government known as the Mayflower Compact.  They established a church in Plymouth, Massachusetts, now Unitarian Universalist.

November 11, 1744: Abigail Smith Adams was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts.  She was the wife of John Adams, second president of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.  She was the chief figure in the social life of her husband’s administration and one of the most distinguished and influential first ladies in U.S. history.  A lively, intelligent woman who enjoyed the challenge of domestic organization and skills, Adams advised her husband on many issues and her letters are a vivid source of social history.  She worked for social justice and abolition of slavery.  A devoted Unitarian, Adams was noted for a serene religiosity, which sustained her good nature during both adventures and adversities.  She died on October 28, 1818.

November 11, 1893:  Lewis Allen McGee was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  The son of a slave, he held several pastorates in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  He served as chaplain in the infantry in both World War I and World War II.  Late in life, McGee announced that he had become Unitarian and received encouragement and help from the American Unitarian Association and Wallace Robbins, the president of Meadville Theological School, to found the interracial Free Religious Fellowship of Chicago.  He later worked with Edwin Wilson at the American Humanist Association headquarters in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  McGee died on November 10, 1979.

November 13, 1599:  John Saieninius, the ruler of Krakow, Poland, converted from Calvinism to Socinianism during debate at Rakow and became a patron of Socinian churches and an important benefactor of the movement.  A wealthy Polish nobleman, he established a Unitarian congregation.  His son James established a Unitarian seminary and printing office to aid the growth of Unitarianism.  Rakow became the center of the Polish Unitarian community, and its members became known as Rakovians.

November 13, 1618:  The Diet of Dort (Socinian) opened in Holland.  It was convened to discuss major issues relating to the Unitarian belief about the nature of Jesus, whether he was to be worshipped, and his relation to God.

November 15, 1579:  Francis David, a Unitarian leader in Transylvania, died in prison for his Unitarian beliefs.  Transylvanian Unitarians consider him the founder of their religion.  He was first Lutheran, then Calvinist, before George Blandrata converted him to Unitarianism.  After his conversion, David began to dispute the nature of Christ and rejected the Trinity.  The Calvinists challenged him and a diet was held at Torda in 1568, at which Prince John Sigismund presided over a debate between David and the Calvinist bishop Peter Melius.  Sigismund declared David the victor and issued the Edict of Torda, providing tolerance for other religions.  Sigismund also converted to Unitarianism and appointed David his advisor.  After Sigismund’s death in 1571, his successor preferred Jesuit advisors.  David’s standing at court ended, and he was arrested and thrown in prison, where he died.  The place of his burial is unknown, and the date is not certain.  This is the date assigned by tradition and celebrated by the Transylvanians.  The year of his birth is also now known, though generally 1510 or 1520 is assigned.