You are here: Home » Pages » Sunday March 18 2012

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Submitted by admin on September 12, 2012 - 7:16am
Date: 
Sunday, March 18, 2012

 

Sunday, March 18, 2012
 
Traffic Warning: Sun, Mar 18.  Many roads in Santa Monica and Los Angeles
will be closed for the LA Marathon on Sunday. Please consult
http://www.lamarathon.com/community/street-closures/for road closures and plan an alternate route to UUSM as needed.
 
 
Calendar of upcoming events:
 
Sunday, 3/18
   RE/Pulpit Switch Sunday – Rebecca visits RE classes, Catherine leads adult service
   COA parent meeting, 10-11
   5th-6th O.W.L. meets – final class
Sunday, 3/25
   YRUU Sunday Service – “Balancing Acts”
   K-1st O.W.L. mandatory parent orientation, 12:30-3
Sunday, 4/8
   Easter Intergenerational Service & Egg Hunt
Saturday, 4/14
    8th-12th grade event night – Dodgers game! (see announcement below)
Sunday, 4/22
   RE Faith in Action Sunday – Beach cleanup with Heal the Bay
Saturday, 4/28
   K-1st O.W.L. mandatory parent/child orientation, 2-5
 
This Week in RE:
 
PRESCHOOL (Ages 3-5 at 9:00 & 11:00): “Spring Brings Changes to our Earth” This week our preschool classes will take part in activities that celebrate the beauty of springtime, and the changing of the season, even here in Southern California!  Meets in the NW room of the cottage.
 
SPIRIT PLAY:  (K-1st at 9:00) “Conversation with Rev. Rebecca”  This week Rebecca will visit our K-1st class during the usual story time for conversation and getting-to-know-you activities. (K-2nd at 11:00) “Sacred Spaces” This Sunday we’ll be sharing a story about the many different kinds of sacred spaces there are in our world, where people gather in communities to celebrate the spirit of love and justice and the mystery of life. Meets in the SE room of the cottage.
 
THEME WORKSHOPS (2nd-3rd at 9:00 only): “Brokenness Workshop” This week we’ll begin our exploration of March’s theme of BROKENNESS with special activities to engage participants in thinking about brokenness, healing, and finding new meaning or usefulness despite brokenness.  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): “Why Study Science in Religion Class?”  This week in the UUniverse Story program, we’ll take part in a debrief of last week’s field trip to the LA Natural History museum, and then we’ll discuss why we think it makes sense to learn about science at church!  Meets in Room 4, the last room down the hallways upstairs above Forbes Hall.
 
NEIGHBORING FAITHS (6th-7th at 9:00 & 11:00): “Sikhism Integration” This week our Neighboring Faiths classes will conclude exploration of Sikhism with a debrief of last week’s field trip and a review of what we’ve learned this month.  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 COAwe'll explore our deepest selves with a session on “Who Am I?”Meets in Room 2, the second room down the hallway upstairs above Forbes Hall. And don’t miss the 10-11 COA parent meeting in Room 2 & youth trip to Bagel Nosh!
 
YRUU (9th-12th alternates 9:00/11:00):  Meets during the 11:00 service only this week. 
This Sunday we’ll be working on the 3/25 YRUU Sunday service, and saving some time for games – please make sure to come!Meets in Room 1, the first room at the top of the stairs above Forbes Hall.
 
 
Announcements:
 
·         NEW Children’s Art Submissions Requested for May Art Wall :WHAT A COMBO - Our children’s art on our Art Wall for the month of May. Please submit a framed piece done by your child for the May art wall. One piece per child per family.  Three children=three pieces.  It is such a pleasure to celebrate the creative talent of our RE children.  We do have precise hanging requirements so make sure the art is frames and the backs ready to be placed on hooks.  Beverly Alison can answer questions and she has a large collection of frames in all sizes if your entries aren't yet framed.  The collection place is DRE Catherine Loya's office and Beverly is ready to help if you need some assistance.  We will hang the show following the closing reception for the April exhibit.   If you have questions, contact Beverly.
 
·         NEW COA/YRUU Event Night 4/14 – Dodger Game: Go Dodger Blue! On Saturday, April 14th, 8th-12th grade youth will head out to Chavez Ravine to cheer on the home team as they take on the San Diego Padres. Advance ticket purchase is required. Please RSVP to parent volunteers, Laura and Larry Weiner, with the number of tickets you need by March 31.  Admission is approximately $12 each for seats located in the top deck behind home plate. The Dodgers are looking pretty good this spring and it will be a very exciting season what with new ownership and all.  And we will do our part to say thanks for the memories to Frank McCourt by carpooling from the church as much as possible so to save gas and pay as little for parking as possible. So what do you say...Are you in? For more information or to reserve your spot, call Larry Weiner. 
 
·         HELP NEEDED Help Provide Hospitality for DRE’s at UUCCSM from 3/22-24: A dozen DRE’s from UU churches near and far will be converging on our campus for a training on developing UU Identity in RE programs later this month.  Please help us welcome them by volunteering as you can. We’re in need of a few more people to provide home hospitality, which helps make coming to the training affordable (attendees are coming from as far away as Missouri to attend) – do you have a guest bedroom that you’d be willing to open to a friendly UU for two nights (Thursday 3/22 & Friday 3/23)? We also are looking for a couple of folks who would be willing to do airport drop-offs on Saturday afternoon.  Let’s show our visitors how warm and welcoming we are here at UUCCSM; please contact catherinedre@yahoo.com or call me at 310-829-5436 x105 if you’d like to help out.
 
·         HELP NEEDED 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.comor 310-829-5436 x105 for more information or to volunteer.
 
·         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.  If you’d like to help out, contact Catherinedre@yahoo.com or call me at 310-829-5436 x105. 
 
·         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 (March’s Theme – BROKENNESS):
 
 
March 18:
Earth cure me.
Earth receive my woe.
 
Rock strengthen me.
Rock receive my weakness.
 
Rain wash my sadness away.
Rain receive my doubt.
 
Sun make sweet my song.
Sun receive the anger from my heart.
 
                        --Nancy Wood
 
 
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 March - BROKENNESS
 
  • Sit down with your family or a friend. Each of you takes a piece of paper and folds it in half. On one side of your paper list how you see yourself. What are your gifts? What do you do well? Now fold under the piece you have written on. Exchange papers and on the other side write down how you see the other person. When you are done, give the paper back to the original person. Take a look at the paper you began with. Compare how you see yourself, and how the other person sees you. Have they seen a virtue, skill or value that you had not been able to see?
  • Explore the values and history of organizations such as Goodwill Industries (http://www.goodwill.org/page/guest/about/whatwedo) to explore how these organizations can help people who are often not seen as useful members of a community to become so.
  • This is an opportunity to examine things in your home that may seem useless or broken. Can they be reused in some other way and put to another use? Could someone else use it? Can it be repaired for your use, or the use of another? Can it be recycled into some other form for reuse? Sometimes it just needs being looked at in a different way.
  • Many artists have used their artistic vision to turn broken pottery and ceramics into new works of art. A Google search can turn up numerous artists today who make art from such broken items. Two examples can be found athttp://www.chinamosaics.com/gallery.html, andhttp://www.e-creativeunion.com. Try your hand at turning a broken item at your home into a piece of art.
 
Resources:
 
Books for Children:
The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams Bianco, Harper Collins, 1999
 
The Velveteen Rabbit (Board Book), Margery Williams Bianco, HarperFestival, 2004
 
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1939
 
Further Reading for Adults:
 
The Velveteen Principles: A Guide to Becoming Real, Hidden Wisdom from a Children’s Classic, Toni Raiten-D’Antonio, HCI, 2006
 
In the Simple Morning Light: A Meditation Manual, Barbara Rohde, Skinner House Books, 1994
 
“The Theology School of Hard Knocks” in Roller-skating as a Spiritual Discipline, Christopher Buice, Skinner House Books, 2002
 
“Prayer for Healing” in Glory, Hallelujah! Now Please Pick Up Your Socks, Jane Ellen Mauldin, Skinner House Books, 1998
 
The chapter entitled “The Place of Self Discovery” in the book Women Pray: Voices through the Ages, from Many Faiths, Cultures, and Traditions, edited by Monica Furlong, Skylight Paths Publishing, 2001
 
The Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures
 
“Help and the Human Condition: What can we do to help?” by Victoria Safford, uuworld.org, Fall 2005, http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/1809.shtml.  
 
The film Babette's Feast, Distributor: Festival Films, Story by Isak Dinnesen, film directed by Gabriel Axel
The New Grove Gospel, Blues and Jazz by Paul Oliver, Max Harrison and William Bolcom, W. W. Norton, 1980, 1986
 
 
This Week in UU History: (From This Day in Unitarian Universalist History, by Frank Schulman)
 
March 18, 1568: The Act of Religious Freedom and Conscience (Edict of Torda) was issued by Prince John Sigismund of Transylvania, assuring religious freedom in his principality.    
 
March 18, 1869:  Arthur Neville Chamberlain was born in Birmingham, England.  He came from a Unitarian family and his father, Joseph Chamberlain, was a distinguished statesman.  Neville maintained a loose connection with the Unitarian church.  He served the government as lord mayor of Birmingham, chancellor of the exchequer, and minister for health.  In 1937 he became prime minister and pursued a policy of appeasement toward the new German chancellor, Adolph Hitler.  This policy came under fire when Hitler launched World War II.  Chamberlain’s government fell, and he died within the year. Subsequent thinking has shown him in a more favorable light as England was ill-prepared for war.  Chamberlain died on November 9, 1940.
 
March 19, 1652:  Richard Coppin, a student at Oxford University in England, stood trial for his belief in universal salvation.  He was expelled from the university.
 
March 19, 1899:  Margaret Barr was born in Menston in Warfedale, Yorkshire, England.  She devoted her life to working with the Unitarians in the Khasi Hills, in the state of Meghalaya in northeast India.  Her work stressed education so that poor people could have their own leaders, schoolteachers, midwives, and health care workers.  She opened her first school in Shillong in the 1930s.  Barr’s main support came from the English, but the Canadian Unitarians and the Unitarian Universalist Association offered help as well.  In 1972 the Kong (Sister) Barr Memorial Hospital opened in Kharang, and Khasi Unitarians remember Margaret Barr with affection.  She was greatly inspired by Mohandas Gandhi, whom she met many times.  She died on August 11, 1973.
 
March 20, 1727:  Sir Isaac Newton, a celebrated English mathematician and Unitarian, died at age 84 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.
 
March 21, 1844:  Ezra Abbot, an American Unitarian scholar, died.  He served on the American Bible Revision Committee, which was charged with producing an American edition of the Bible to replace the King James Version.
 
March 21, 1965:  More than 3,000 civil rights marchers left Selma, Alabama, for Montgomery to urge passage of the Voting Rights Act.  Four days later, more than 25,000 people entered Montgomery.  This successful march followed the tragic events surrounding “Bloody Sunday.”  More than 125 Unitarian Universalist ministers participated in the marches (including UUCCSM’s own Rev. Ernie Pipes!).