Sunday, February 26, 2012

Calendar of upcoming events:

Sunday, 2/26
  Peace Sunday in RE 5th-6th
  O.W.L. meets
Saturday, 3/3
  COA/YRUU Event Night – Laser Tag at Ultrazone!
Sunday, 3/4
  5th-6th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 3/11
  Daylight Savings Time begins!
  UUniverse Story class field trip to Natural History Museum
  Neighboring Faiths field trip to Guru Ram Das Gurdwara
  5th-6th O.W.L. meets
Sunday, 3/18
  RE/Pulpit Switch Sunday – Rebecca visits RE classes, Catherine leads adult service
  5th-6th O.W.L. meets – final class
Sunday, 3/25
  YRUU Sunday Service – “Balancing Acts”

This Week in RE:

PRESCHOOL (Ages 3-5 at 9:00 & 11:00): “Everyone is Afraid of Something” This week our preschool classes will discuss feelings and learn how to name their feelings. We’ll share a story about someone who learned how to overcome fear, and will have a special puppet craft. Meets in the NW room of the cottage.

SPIRIT PLAY: (K-1st at 9:00) “The Tailor” This week we’ll continue our focus on science and nature with a story about a man who shares a great example of how to find new uses for things rather than throwing them away when they begin to wear out. (K-2nd at 11:00) “The Great Kapok Tree” This week we’ll continue our focus on science and nature with a story about a logger who falls asleep in the forest and is visited in his dreams by all the creatures who depend on the Kapok Tree. Meets in the SE room of the cottage.

THEME WORKSHOPS (2nd-3rd at 9:00 only): “Peace Workshop” This week we’ll begin our exploration of February’s theme of PEACE with special activities to engage participants in thinking about peace in our hearts, in our communities and in the world . Meets in the NE room of the cottage (formerly known as “the couch room”).

UUNIVERSE STORY (4th-5th at 9:00/3rd-5th at 11:00): “Dem Bones, Dem Bones #1—The Fossil Record” This week in the UUniverse Story program, we’ll begin to learn about bones and fossils and how we know how old they are. Don’t miss it – this week begins our lead-up to a special field trip to the dinosaur exhibit at the LA Natural History museum on March 11! Meets in the mural room at the end of the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

NEIGHBORING FAITHS (6th-7th at 9:00 & 11:00): “Sikhism Introduction” This week our Neighboring Faiths classes will begin their next unit of study with an introduction to the 500-year-old Sikh tradition. Meets in Room 3, the third room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

COMING OF AGE (8th at 9:00 only): This Sunday in Coming of Age we’re tackling some heavy stuff – we’ll explore death and the meaning of life. We’ll also start to think about putting together our COA service in May. Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall.

YRUU (9th-12th alternates 9:00/11:00): Meets during the 11:00 service only this week. This Sunday we’ll be working hard to craft the 3/25 YRUU Sunday service – please make sure to come. We’ll also make sure to have some time for fun – Truth or Dare Jenga & Apples to Apples return! Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.

Announcements:

· NEW Assistants Needed for Peace Sunday Project 2/26: Our next RE Faith in Action Sunday is coming up soon, and we’ll be celebrating Peace Sunday right here at UUCCSM. We’re looking for a couple of adults who’d enjoy assisting during the 9:00 or 11:00 services – would you like to join our RE kids in some special peace-themed projects? Contact catherinedre@yahoo.com to sign up to help.

· NEW COA/YRUU Event Night 3/3 – Laser Tag! Grab your lasers and get ready, set, go to Ultrazone in Sherman Oaks, the ultimate laser tag adventure, on Saturday, March 3 from 8PM until midnight. A futuristic version of Capture the Flag, this game is an adrenaline rush like never before. The cost is $25 for unlimited games all night long! At least 4 games lasting approximately 30 min each are guaranteed but usually more games can be played during this time. We would like to reserve your space but will need to get the fee in advance because they require full payment in order to reserve your space in this very popular event. RSVP and money MUST be received no later than Sunday, 2/26, in order to participate. Bring cash or a check made out to Erika Valore to church on 2/19 or 2/26 and hand to Catherine Farmer Loya, or leave in an envelope in her box in the main office. If you can’t be at church on either of these dates, contact Catherine at catherinedre@yahoo.com or 909-268-8622 to make other arrangements. Participants may meet at Ultrazone, or if you'd like to participate in a carpool, let us know and we'll put you in touch with other folks who want to share rides. Please RSVP by replying ASAP if you can come. 

· NEW Correct Attribution for 2/5 Reading: Thanks to Tom Hamilton for sending in a correction for the authorship of the reading of the week of 2/5. He writes: “The February chalice lighting is a version of what in Chinese is known as the "Da Xue" or "Great Learning". In Chinese tradition it was written by Confucius. That is probably not true, but it is certainly true that for the last thousand years it has been considered the most important Confucian text. Anyone familiar with East Asian culture would instantly recognize it. The fact that the Gray Hymnal attributes it to Lao-Tse is simply bizarre, probably reflecting the general UUA hostility towards Confucius. (The other Lao-Tse quotes in the Gray Hymnal are all legitimate.) The text is also significantly distorted. The hymnal omits the last six lines of the text (readily available in the wikipedia article for "Great Learning"). In the original, "peace in the heart" requires ethical behavior, which in turn requires observation of the real world. The UU version omits the requirement that one's actions work well in the real world. They change the Confucian requirement to consider the effects of one's actions on others to a simple requirement that one feel good about one's self. I think the difference is ethically important. Your Confucian friend, Tom” (Catherine’s note: visit this site for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Learning)

· NEW Resource for UU Parents from the UUA Bookstore: With February school vacation week fast approaching here in Massachusetts, we thought we'd take a moment to highlight one of our favorite Skinner House Books from last year. Chaos, Wonder and the Spiritual Adventure of Parenting is full of poignant and enlightening essays on parenting from several of the biggest names in writing. Barbara Kingsolver, Scott Russell Sanders, Rosemary Bray McNatt, Barry Lopez and others have penned some of the most insightful words on parenting we've encountered - covering all of its joys and all of its frustrations. If you order by March 1st and use discount code CHAOS12 at checkout, you'll save 20% off of the list price! Thank you for shopping at the UUA Bookstore. Your purchase supports the work of the Association on behalf of our congregations. Order at the UUA Bookstore: http://www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1458

· Easter Volunteers Needed: Easter’s on April 8th this year, and I’m looking for some volunteers to help with this year’s festivities. We’re especially in need of coordinators for our special after-service egg hunts for the kids, as well as volunteers to hide eggs and supervise the hunts. I’m also building a small team to help plan the Intergenerational Easter service for all ages in the sanctuary. If you’d like to help out, contact Catherinedre@yahoo.com or call me at 310-829-5436 x105.

· Snack Signups for RE Classes: Parents of each RE class should have received an email request recently that you sign up to bring snack for your child’s class. Snack is a highly valued part of the RE experience – just ask your kids – and we need your help to provide the supplies. If each parents signs up just a few times per year, we can cover all of our classes without placing the burden of bringing snack on the volunteer teachers who are already donating so much of their time to make our RE program happen. Liza Cranis is spearheading the sign-up effort; please make sure to respond to her emails to sign up.

· RE Wish List: I am currently developing a “master wish list” for the RE program, which includes general and lesson-specific RE supply needs for this year’s classes. While the RE operating budget does have some money for supplies, this year’s budget is very tight and donations are happily accepted. The list so far includes:

RE Furniture:
Roll-up-able rug, medium-sized

General Supplies:
Drawing paper
Candle lighters
Chart markers
Flip chart paper (post-it or standard)
Pipe cleaners

Backup snack supply
Cheddar Bunnies (like goldfish crackers but with fewer preservatives, additives)
Graham crackers, goldfish crackers okay as alternative
Granola bars
rice cakes
other non-sugary dry good snacks
Dried fruit (apricots, raisins, apple rings, banana chips, etc.)

RE Books Wish List on Amazon: Another arm of the “master wish list” for the RE program, is an Amazon Wishlist of books that will be used in RE lessons for this year’s program or that will be valuable resources for teachers & families in our church. We do have some money budgeted for book purchases, but we are running on a tight RE budget since the congregation’s budget cutback a couple of years ago, and donations are happily accepted. If you’d like to help out by donating a book or two 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 our way – they are so appreciated!

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

Chalice Lighting Words of the Week (February’s Theme – PEACE):
February 19: To face the world’s coldness, a chalice of warmth. To face the world’s terrors, a chalice of courage. To face the world’s turmoil, a chalice of peace. May its glow fill our spirits, our hearts, and our lives. -- Lindsay Bates

For the 2011-12 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. The chalice lighting shared here will be used on Sunday in all of our RE classes, and I hope that your family will also share it at home during the following 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 Ideas to Explore our Congregational Theme for February - PEACE “Take Time to Relax”: (from Nurturing Spirituality in Children by Peggy Joy Jenkins)

Materials – An average-sized rubber band, one colored band for each child, a box or book that the rubber band will barely stretch around, and a small paper wad.

What to Do – Pull the rubber band to show how much stretch there is in it, and then put it around the large box or book. “Rubber bands are made to stretch to fit around bigger items, and hold things together. But what might happen if the rubber band is stretched out for very long? If a rubber band is kept under tension, if it is stretched out all the time, it will deteriorate rapidly and break. We must allow it to return to its natural state [remove the band from the box] in order for it to last a long time. “People are very much like the rubber band. They also need to relax or they won’t function as well as they are designed to function. Some say that when things get tight, something’s got to give. When people are under tension or strain, two areas that often give way are their health and their relationships.”

Perhaps you have other examples, such as schoolwork or piano practice. Someone once said that real maturity is not growing up so much as it is growing in. Explain to the children that they have an Inner Teacher who can help them with their challenges if they take some time each day to relax and listen within.

Demonstrate with a paper wad that, the farther back we pull the rubber band, the farther forward it will shoot something. Remind the children that the deeper we go into our inner world, the more effective we can be in the outer world. In silence, we draw back into a knowingness of our true identity.

Great works require much time in the silence. Gandhi did “silent sitting” one full day every week. Discuss what time of day would be best for the children to be alone, to relax with closed eyes, and to listen within. Generally, the amount of time should be one minute for each year of age. Give each child a colored rubber band as a reminder to have silent sitting time each day.

This lesson could be especially valuable for overly active children. It could also be slanted to help the children understand why adults need their own quiet time. You may wish to take an extra few minutes and have the children do a relaxation exercise. The simplest is to have them close their eyes, take three or four really deep breaths, and then think about a happy experience.

Another simple but effective technique is to have them get in a very relaxed position, close their eyes, and concentrate on their breathing while they breathe through their noses. Several books are available with centering and meditation exercises for children.

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

February 16, 1691: Sir Isaac Newton wrote to John Locke to request that he not publish Newton’s Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture until after Newton’s death. Newton’s treatise attacked the accuracy of two biblical texts about the Trinity (1 John 5:7 and 1 Timothy 3:16).

February 17, 1698: The English House of Commons petitioned the king to suppress all literature disputing the Trinity and to punish the authors. The Blasphemy Act in 1648 had made Unitarianism a crime punishable by the denial of civil rights.

February 17, 1818: The abolitionist Sallie Holley was born in Canandaigua, New York. She attended Oberlin College and found herself defending her religious views as the only Unitarian there. At Oberlin she met Caroline Putnam, who became her lifelong friend and partner. She worked for the American Anti-Slavery Society and fought for voting rights for freed slaves after the Emancipation Proclamation. With Putnam, she worked to teach black students in Lottsburgh, Virginia, and her school became known as the Holley School. Holley and Putnam built a new school and hired two black women as assistant teachers. Sallie Holley died on January 12, 1893.

February 18, 1719: The English Parliament repealed the Schism Act, which set severe penalties for anti-Trinitarian clergy.

February 19, 1868: Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford was ordained at Hingham, Massachusetts, becoming the first woman Universalist minister in New England.

February 19, 1881: William Adam of Beaconfield, Scotland, died. He was an orthodox Baptist missionary who attempted to convert Rajah Rammohun Roy, the founder of a Unitarian form of Hinduism called Brahmo Samaj. Instead, Adam found himself converted to Unitarianism.

February 20, 1855: Joseph Hume, a member of English Parliament who adopted Universalist views, died. He was the leader of the Radical Party for thirty years, taking special interest in financial oversight of both public and private enterprises.

February 21, 1612: Bartholomew Legate, a cloth merchant of Essex, England, having been convicted of heresy for advocating Unitarian beliefs, was burned to death before a large crowd. He had not been granted a legal trial but had defended his Unitarian views in a series of private conversations with King James I, who condemned him to death.

February 22, 1805: Sarah Flower Adams was born in Harlow, Essex, England. An actress who achieved a dramatic triumph as Lady Macbeth, she became ill suddenly and had to give up the stage. She was a lifelong Unitarian, deeply devoted to her Unitarian church in South Place, London, and the author of many religious works, including Vivia Perpetua (“Eternal Life”). She also composed hymns, the most famous of which is “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” Adams worked with prisons, fought for greater civil and religious liberty, and established Sunday schools and benevolent societies. She died on August 15, 1848.