Calendar of upcoming events:

            Sunday, 11/4
                        Youth Leadership Team launch! (see announcement below)
            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: “The Chalice Cookie” 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):  “A Goat Too Many” This week our 1st-2nd graders will begin to explore November’s theme of Gratitude with a story about a man who learned to appreciate the good aspects of his life rather than focusing on the negative.  Meets in the SE room of the cottage.

·         3rd-5th Grade:  “Seeing is Believing” This week, we’ll set some background for our exploration of the Big Bang, with activities that help explain the apparent motion of planets and visits with Galileo and Copernicus.  Meets in the mural room at the end of the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         6th-7th Grade (Compass Points): “Images of the Divine” This week we’ll explore many different concepts of what is holy or divine. 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 make life-size representation of our “spiritual selves.”  Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

·         9th-12th Grade (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) – 9:00: This Sunday a former carwash worker will be talking to us about what it's like to work in a Southern California carwash and why carwash owners fire workers who they believe are involved in the union organizing campaign. He'll also answer questions about his life in general. This is timely, because the CLEAN Carwash Campaign is preparing to picket a local carwash to demand that Anselmo Leyva, another carwash worker who was recently fired for organizing activity, be rehired. (Youth Leadership Team) – 11:00: This Sunday the new Youth Leadership Team will meet for the first time and begin with an exploration of the special strengths each of our youth bring to their work as leaders in our youth community. Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.

Announcements:

NEW 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.

Youth Leadership Team Launches November 4:  Starting on November 4, the Youth Leadership Team will meet during the 11:00 service on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.  All youth who would like to participate are invited to join us!  Catherine Farmer Loya, Ernie Pipes and Jacki Weber will be working with youth to development their skills for leadership of their own programs as they help plan special youth events for this year, including our “big trip” for the year (UU Heritage trip to Boston?  Service trip to New Orleans?  General Assembly?  The youth get to decide!) as well as social justice projects, social events and other elements of our youth programs. Contact catherinedre@yahoo.com or 310-829-5436 x105 for more information or to let us know that your youth would like to take part.

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 Class Snack Signups:  Parents, please sign up to provide a snack for your child’s RE class this year.  If each family signs up for 2-3 Sundays during the year, we will be covered!  Younger children’s classes have signup charts posted next to the classroom doorway.  Parents for grades 6-12 are invited to sign up via email; contact Catherinedre@yahoo.com to volunteer to help.

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 4:
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us have cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
        -- Albert Schweitzer

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:

Possible Activities:

·         Begin a practice at bedtime or dinnertime of having every person in the family name one thing they are grateful for that day. Try to come up with something different every day.

·         Keep a gratitude Journal in which you write down all the things you are grateful for.

·         Make a gratitude collage, cutting out pictures from old magazines that remind you of things you’re thankful for and gluing them onto a piece of paper or poster board. Put it somewhere you can see it frequently.

·         Send thank you notes to family or friends letting them know what you appreciate about who they are or what they do.

·         Light a candle of gratitude. You can light a candle virtually by going to  www.gratefulness.org where the candle will burn on their website for 48 hours.

·         Collect newspaper and magazine articles that show examples of generosity.  Discuss with friends and family how these acts show a spirit of generosity.

·         Create a collage or draw a picture of gratitude. What does it look like? How does it make you feel?

·         Consider how you, your family, or friends can perform an act of generosity within our church community. Contact the Practical Care Network to see how you might be able to help.

·         Keep a list of acts of generosity you witness throughout the month.

·         Focus on how you have been a recipient of generosity. Discuss it with someone else.

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

November 4, 1563:  The Synod at Pinczow, Poland, granted all preachers the right to interpret the Helvetic Confession, the statement of faith of the Reformed (Calvinist) churches, as their consciences dictated, paving the way for the spread of Unitarianism for several decades.

November 4, 1807:  A group of Unitarian ministers in Worchester and Middlesex counties organized the Evangelical Missionary Society in Lancaster, Massachusetts, to counter Jedediah Morse’s diatribe against their growing liberalism.  Its constitution said, “The great object of this society is to furnish the means of Christian knowledge and moral improvement to those inhabitants of our own country who are destitute or poorly provided.”  It distributed Bibles and other publications.

November 5, 1872: Susan B. Anthony, the famous Unitarian suffragist, cast a ballot in the presidential election, though women at the time were prohibited from doing so. Two weeks later, she was arrested, and the following year, she was found guilty of illegal voting. It would take another 50 years until the Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, would grant women nationwide the right to vote.

November 6, 1654:  The British House of Commons, under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, began debate on liberty of conscience, which resulted in general tolerance for religious views but was overturned when Charles II was restored to the monarchy in 1660.  Cromwell, although not Unitarian, defended the rights of Unitarians and all Dissenters to worship according to their own preference as long as they kept the peace.  Although he disagreed with the beliefs of the Unitarian John Biddle, he protected him against persecution by Parlaiment.

November 8, 1586:  John Evertson Geisteranus was born in Alkmaar, Holland.  He became pastor there but was dismissed for his Unitarian beliefs in 1619.  After a trial, Geisteranus was banished to the Leyden area, but fearing deportation to England for execution, he abandoned preaching and supported his family as a weaver.  Hoever, an anonymous book supporting noncreedal religion was subsequently attributed to him.  Geisteranus died on October 14, 1622.

November 8, 1638:  First Church and Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, was organized on this date.  This church, now Unitarian Universalist, was the focus of the Dedham Decision, a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1820 that gave property rights to parishes rather than churches and, in the process, influenced every Congregational church in Massachusetts.  The decision arose from a division within the Dedham church between the more conservative Trinitarian church members (those who had assented to the church covenant) and the more liberal parish churchgoers.  The Trinitarian members withdrew from the church, taking some of the church property with them, and the parish sued for the return of the property.  The resulting decision in favor of the parish changed a long-standing tradition whereby church members held the right to church property.  This cleared the way for the new liberal Unitarianism that was emerging in America in the 1820s, and within 20 years one quarter of the Congregational churches in Massachusetts were Unitarian.

November 8, 1674:  John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost, died at age 65.  His posthumously-published papers declared his Unitarian beliefs.

November 9, 1721:  Mark Akenside, a great English philosophical poet and devoted Unitarian, was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne.  He was principle physician to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London.  Akenside died at age 48 on June 23, 1770, after a life dedicated to liberty, wisdom, poetry, and religion.

November 9, 1805:  Harriot Kezia Hunt, a life-long Universalist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  She was a pioneer in medical practice and a strong advocate of abolition, women’s rights, and public health education.  In 1827 she opened a school.  She stressed strong family life as a key to health and well-being and mental health as a strong factor in physical health.  She published her autobiography, Glances and Glimpses, in 1856.

November 9, 1940:  Arthur Neville Chamberlain, a Unitarian and the prime minister of England, died at the age of 71.