In This Issue x x x

October’s Theme: Journey x Oct. 2: Sonora Service

w/Richard Close x Oct. 2: Green Bags

picked up at Service x Oct. 8: Social Justice Mtg.

3:30 @ Schnoogs x Oct. 9: Douglas Flat

Service x Oct. 14: Skyline

Discussion Journey x Oct. 14: Movie Night-

Defying the Nazis: The

Sharp's War x Oct. 15: Listening Hearts

Adult Covenant Group w/Rev. Sonya & Pam Taylor, 11:30-1:30

x Oct. 16: Sonora Service w/Rev. Sukalski – Journey

x Oct. 16: Inventing

Creative Languages of

Solidarity w/Rev. Sukalski

x Oct. 25: No Guilt Book Club

x Oct. 30: Save the date for UU Adventurers in Calaveras Big Trees Park

Back to The Library – Sonora Service Oct. 2nd 10:00 a.m.- 480 Greenley, Sonora

We will resume our winter meetings at the Main Sonora

Library, on Oct. 2nd.

UUFTC member Richard Close explores the theme of Justice:

Justice and Truth, Persuasion and Ethics. Are these Really Big Words too hot for the hands of mere mortals? Richard Close was an English teacher, Yoga teacher, and just

about anything else that could make him a living while asking

questions and dodging answers.

Douglas Flat Service – Oct. 9th 10:30 a.m. Douglas Flat Schoolhouse, 1358 Main St.

Election Initiatives review - members will bring details about the voter initiatives to review and discuss. Assignments will be made at the last September meeting. Selection of special readings by Ann Leonard.

the Catalyst 1 October 2016 Vol. 1

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours—it is an amazing journey—and you

alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins. Bob Moawad

A Path with a Heart - Carlos Castaneda

Each path is only one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any condition. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.

This question is… Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could

say I have traversed long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn’t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. …A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.

Source: The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of

Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

Moving Meditation - Tuesdays, 9:00- 10:00 a.m. Fellowship House Marilyn Waggoner and Hoyt Cory lead the Moving Meditation, or Hei Gung (a Cantonese form of Qi Gong)

class. It consists of very gentle quiet movements done standing mostly in one place. No special equipment required, wear comfortable clothing and shoes. All ages are welcome. No experience is

necessary. No fee required.

UUFTC Calendar – This newsletter lists events and happenings around the Fellowship each month, if you want to view it in calendar format check it out at our website: http://www.uuftc.org/calendar .

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Social Justice Committee Information x Monthly meetings are on every second Thursday (next one Oct. 8th), 3:30 at

Schnoogs in Sonora Timberhills shopping center. Come join us for fellowship and lively discussion as we plan our next project(s).

x Contact Teri Olsson for information: 586-5017 – annastina1983@hotmail.com

Skyline Discussion Group - Journey October 14, 3:30 - Skyline Place – 12877 Sylva Lane, Sonora

Skyline residents, visitors and UUFTC members and friends are invited to a discussion of the Touchstones Journal essays and quotes on the topic of Journey. Sandy Banzet can make hard copies of the Touchstones Journal for Skyline residents, and Rev. Sonya Sukalski can electronically forward this resource from the First Universalist Church in Denver for all who would like to join in sharing the wisdom of our elders on the topic. Sonya.sukalski@comcast.net

Movie Night – Friday, October 14, Fellowship House, 5:30 Potluck, 6:00 Movie

Defying the Nazis: The Sharp’s WarA film by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky and narrarated by Tom Hanks

In 1939, the Reverend Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: they were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the

mounting refugee crisis. Seventeen ministers had been asked to undertake this mission and had declined; Rev. Sharp was the first to accept the call for volunteers in Europe. A fascinating portrait of resistance as told through the story of one courageous couple, Defying the

Nazis offers a rare glimpse at high-stakes international relief efforts during WWII and tells the remarkable true story of a couple whose faith and commitment to social justice inspired them to risk their lives to save countless others.

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MOTHER LODE FOOD PROJECT FILL THE BAG Our next collection day for MLFP green bags will be Sunday Service October 2nd. Replacement bags will be available then and at every service. Most needed food items are: Cereal; Hearty Soups; Canned Meat; Canned Fruit; Cooking Oil; Canned Tuna; Canned Beans; Dried Beans; Pinto Beans; Canned Corn; Brown Rice; Long Grain White Rice; Plain Stewed Tomatoes.

The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can’t be organized or regulated. It isn’t true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth. Ram Dass

No Guilt Book Club

Tuesday, October 25 - 7:00 p.m. Fellowship House

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

A New York Times Notable Book, One of the Best Books of the Year: San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star

At the center: a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger. Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths. And finally, Bride’s mother herself, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.” A fiery and provocative novel, God Help the Child—the first book by Toni Morrison to be set in our current moment—weaves a tale about the way the sufferings of childhood can shape, and misshape, the life of the adult.

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Journey: Inventing Creative Languages of Solidarity With Rev. Sonya and Mike Strange Sunday Service, October 16, 10 am Sonora Library, 480 Greenley, Sonora

Rev. Sonya Sukalski shares insights gleaned from plunging in to studies of depth psychology at

Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara. Her first class, taught by Helene

Shulman-Lorenz, speaks of the many cultures we negotiate in today’s world where we follow jobs and then retirement into new places and cultures where we must figure out “creative

languages of solidarity.” Many in Sonora speak of the divide between our liberal religion and

our surrounding conservative culture in the foothills. Rev. Sukalski will share lessons from her Pacifica studies and her lifelong interest in languages.

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

Diana Willey * Carol Arechiga * Dave Schroeter * Joe Haritani

UUFTC PHOTO GALLERY Before-the-Call Dinner at the Fellowship House

Saturday, September 18th

UUFTC: 19518 Hess Ave Sonora, CA 95370 / (209) 533-8883

Quick links: UU Fellowship of Tuolumne County/ www.uuftc.org ; Pacific Central District/ www.pcd-uua.org

UU World Magazine/ www.uuworld.org ; UUFTC Calendar/ www.uuftc.org/calendar UU Service Committee/ www.uusc.org UU Association of Congregations/ www.uua.org

the Catalyst appears on our website each month. When each new issue is posted, notification of its availability is sent to all

subscribers via email. We do not share our list of addresses. Linda DuTemple, Editor 209/928-4364 lindaldu@comcast.net

Laurie Livingston, Web Design ______________________________________

Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Minister / Rev. Craig Scott, Minister Emeritus 209/533-8883 Church Office

the Catalyst 5 October 2016 Vol. 1

In This Issue

October’s Theme: Journey

Oct. 15: Listening Hearts

Adult Covenant Group

w/Rev. Sonya & Pam Taylor,

11:30-1:30

Oct. 16: Sonora Service

Journey w/Rev. Sukalski

Oct. 20: Ladies Lunch Bunch

@ Sonora Thai Cuisine

Oct. 23: Douglas Flat Service:

Ballot Initiatives

Oct. 25: No Guilt Book Club

– God Help the Child by Toni

Morrison

Oct. 28: TGIP

Oct. 30: UU Adventurers in

Calaveras Big Trees Park

Journey

Rev. Sonya Sukalski

The metaphor of a journey is one

of the most fertile in human

experience. Most of us know many

things about moving through

space, taking the first step, setting a goal about where to

go, negotiating obstacles, taking breaks, and crossing the

finish line. When any of these elements of a journey get

invoked in conversation or even in a photo or film, our

experience can quickly fill in details about what will

happen next and what some of the context might be. It is

fitting that part of our common journey as Unitarian

Universalists across the country is to select a “common

read” once a year so that UUs can take a journey together

on a topic that challenges us to go deeper. You can find

the titles below, and more information is available at

http://www.uua.org/re/adults/read. I look forward to the

announcement each year, and usually find myself

ordering extra copies to share with friends and family.

Sometimes I have even given the books as presents. I

will bring some of my used copies to share at the

Fellowship House, though be warned, I mark my books

up copiously so I can find the quotes I like when crafting sermons.

Anyone can propose a common read using the form on the UUA’s website. Here are the criteria

used:

Does it offer an engaging, accessible read?

How relevant is its theme to Unitarian Universalism at this particular time?

Have Unitarian Universalist congregations and groups expressed interest in this book?

the Catalyst 1 October 2016 Vol. 2

Will engagement with the book strengthen Unitarian Universalist identity and practice?

Will it deepen and develop Unitarian Universalist faith?

How well does the book lend itself to follow-up action after reading and discussing?

Is it available in paperback at a reasonable price?

Is the book of a length that makes it possible for people to finish it easily?

While viewing publications by Skinner House or Beacon Press or a Unitarian Universalist author as

desirable, the selection committee believes that the ultimate success of the Common Read program

depends on offering the most compelling book selection possible.”

2016-2017: The Third Reconstruction * 2015-16: Just Mercy * 2014-15: Reclaiming Prophetic Witness

2013-14: Behind the Kitchen Door * 2012-13: The New Jim Crow

Sonora Service – October 16th

Sonora Main Library - 10:00 a.m. - 480 Greenley, Sonora

Inventing Creative Languages of Solidarity - with Rev. Sonya and Mike Strange

Rev. Sonya Sukalski shares insights gleaned from plunging into studies of depth psychology at

Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County. Her first class, taught by Helene

Shulman-Lorenz, speaks of the many cultures we negotiate in today’s world where we follow jobs

and then retirement into new places and cultures where we must figure out “creative languages of

solidarity.” Many in Sonora speak of the divide between our liberal religion and our surrounding

conservative culture in the foothills. Rev. Sukalski will share lessons from her Pacifica studies and

her lifelong interest in languages.

Douglas Flat Service – October 23rd

10:30 a.m. Douglas Flat Schoolhouse, 1358 Main St.

Review of Ballot Initiatives, moderated by John Kramer

Unitarians are inclined to rely on rational reasoning in their search for life's meaning, and

Universalists are more focused on enhancing our world today than looking forward to a better

afterlife. UUs have a long tradition of social engagement as abolitionists, suffragists, civil libertarians,

anti-war demonstrators and LGBT advocates. This stems from our denominational conviction that

each individual is free to decide for themselves what is right and good. The result is that UUs often

lead on the evolving moral issues of their day.

At this meeting, the members of the fellowship will pool our rational resources to evaluate the many

important issues on the 2016 ballot. Members will study the pro and con arguments of the ballot

items and summarize them to the group.

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UUFTC Calendar – This newsletter lists events and happenings around the Fellowship

each month, if you want to view it in calendar format check it out at our website:

http://www.uuftc.org/calendar

Ladies Lunch Bunch

Will meet Thursday, October 20, 11:30 at

Sonora Thai Cuisine – 51 So. Washington St., Sonora

UU women, their guests and friends will gather together for this monthly luncheon. Please call Peg Sheldon,

586-9182, by Tuesday, Oct. 18th, for a reservation.

October 30, UU Adventurers, Calaveras Big Trees 8:30-5:30ish

UU Adventurers unite from Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties for hiking at Calaveras Big Trees and

socializing after at Joanne and Steve Rovno’s place 5 minutes up the road at Camp Connell. Joanne

will provide hot liquids, appropriate to the weather and hopefully some of the Fall color will grace

our time there. Carpools from Sonora will meet at the Fellowship House at 8:30 or you can join in at

the park at Calaveras Big Trees Visitor Center at 10 am for hiking. Carpools are encouraged as there

is a $9 entrance fee. There is a gentle and well-marked loop through the North Grove that is 1 and

6/7th miles that Joanne and Steve can lead. Dave Jenkins can lead a longer hike, perhaps to the South

Grove (3.5-5 miles), leaving from a different trailhead, so different levels of hikes are possible. Bring

what you need to hike; hat, sunscreen (though it is mostly shaded), and a dish to share at the

Rovno’s after. Rev. Sonya hopes to have participation from as many corners of our Fellowship as

possible so we can enjoy some social time in nature and get to know each other better. Please RSVP

to Joanne Rovno at 209-890-7197 so she knows how many to expect and to Dave Jenkins at 209-533-

1903. The Rovno’s address is: 1542 Karock Road, Big Trees Village. In case of inclement weather, we

may just meet at the Rovno’s for hot liquids and some 5th Sunday UU cheer.

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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well

preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out,

and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow what a ride!” Marjorie Pay Hinckley

UU Justice Ministry of California

Please check out the UU Justice Ministry of California’s advocacy portal at http://action.uujmca.org to

find out how you can make a meaningful impact on important legislation. There is information on

legislation as well as ways you can take action to advance justice today.

No Guilt Book Club

Tuesday, October 25 - 7:00 p.m. Fellowship House

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

A New York Times Notable Book, One of the Best Books of the Year: San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis

Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star

UUFTC: 19518 Hess Ave Sonora, CA 95370 / (209) 533-8883

Quick links: UU Fellowship of Tuolumne County/ www.uuftc.org ; Pacific Central District/ www.pcd-uua.org

UU World Magazine/ www.uuworld.org ; UUFTC Calendar/ www.uuftc.org/calendar

UU Service Committee/ www.uusc.org UU Association of Congregations/ www.uua.org

the Catalyst appears on our website each month. When each new issue is posted, notification of its availability is sent to all

subscribers via email. We do not share our list of addresses.

Linda DuTemple, Editor 209/928-4364 lindaldu@comcast.net

Laurie Livingston, Web Design

______________________________________

Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Minister / Rev. Craig Scott, Minister Emeritus

209/533-8883 Church Office

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TGIP Evening Gathering – Friday, October 28 -5:30

Fellowship House – 19518 Hess Ave, Sonora

Join us for post-work week fun and fellowship. Everyone is welcome. Bring a favorite dish

and/or beverage to share. No RSVP needed, just show up. For more information contact

Dave Ingram at 928-1306 or dave4dessert@gmail.com

As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort

stops. The places you’re going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you

won’t be able to re-fold it no matter how smart you are. So forget the map, roll down the

windows, and whenever you can pull over and have a picnic with a pig. Jim Henson