unitarian universalist fellowship of doorjuly 2013 uu update 2 president’s olumn y ob lindahl july...
TRANSCRIPT
July 7 – Rev. Michael Schuler: A FIERCE UNREST
The title for this Sunday's service is drawn from a hymn by the same name whose text suggests that we humans are designed by nature for discontent. And indeed, contentment does seem to be an elusive sensation. Should we seek or expect it? Is contentment a worthy goal or does it inhibit active participation in the affairs of the world?
Michael A. Schuler has served for 25 years as the Parish Minister of the 1500 member First Unitarian Society of Madison, one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in North America. His essays have appeared in various Skinner House publications as well as Dharma World and The UU World magazines. In May 2009 Berrett-Koehler publishers issued Michael’s book, Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living.
Music: Jodie DeSalvo & Betty Lewis Service Leader: Morris Waxler
July 14 – Rev. Colleen Vahey THE NATURE OF COMPASSION
The Dalai Lama says that, “compassion is the radicalism of our time.” Drawing on the works of Karen Armstrong, interfaith leader Eboo Patel, and our lived experiences, we will explore what it means to live a life of compassion. What are the obstacles that get in our way? How does UU theology call us to practice radical compassion? Join us as we explore together the nature of compassion.
Rev. Colleen Vahey is a UU minister, serving a suburban congregation of Chicago as Assistant Minister for Lifespan Faith Development. A native of Wisconsin, Colleen has also lived in Australia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and France. She enjoys reading and spending time in nature.
Music: Ellen Shahbazi Service Leader: Bob Lindahl
July 21 – Kathleen R. Smythe THE 10,000 YEAR REVOLUTIONARY
Agriculture is approximately 10,000 years old. Thus, it has only been practiced for a very small portion of human existence, yet agriculture is arguably the single most
important development in human history. It is also probably the most ecologically disruptive development in human history. A sustainability visionary has been working on changing human agriculture, undoing 10,000 years of human history, with the hope of ensuring the continued existence of human civilization and our planet’s rich ecosystems. Come hear about his work and the necessity of cultivating a sense of a deep human past.
Kathleen Smythe received her Ph.D. in African History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her study of Africa and her experiences there lead her to the fields of economic development, sustainability, and globalization, as she sought to understand for herself and then explain to her students the dynamics—historical and current—that have led to global apartheid and ecological devastation. Much of her teaching and research currently focus on these issues, including a book manuscript derived from her teaching, Why We Need African History, which explores ideas and institutions that are long-lived and might broaden our economic, political and social responses to the aforementioned crises.
Music: Ellen Shahbazi Service Leader: Marilyn Hansotia
July 28 – Rev. Tony Larsen "LIAR, LUNATIC, LEGEND?"
An exploration of C. S. Lewis' comment about Jesus that "a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the devil of hell. ... (L)et us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher." Evangelical Christians are fond of quoting Lewis in their argument against the view that Jesus was "just" a moral exemplar. Could they be right?
Our guest minister this morning is from Olympia Brown UU Church in Racine, Wisconsin (since 1975) and an annual summer guest at our fellowship.
Music: Tanner Lundquist, piano; the UUFDC Choir, conducted by Cynthia Stiehl and accompanied by Harald Halvorsen Service Leader: Susan Leeder
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF DOOR
COUNTY
July 2013
Volume 17, Issue 7
July Sunday Services
JULY 2013 UU UPDATE 2
President’s Column By Bob Lindahl
July is the official start of a new year for UUFDC, an incredibly vital and active congregation. With the joy of serving can come can come stress if those in leadership are not acting under that same set of “rules.” On June 1, your 2012-13 and 2013-14 board members met for a Covenant Building and Planning Retreat with a UU Midwest Region consultant. A Covenant in itself is not “rocket science,” but in the process of development, we had that rare chance to discuss some basics that will help to assure that the Fellowship leadership operates from a common set of expectations. Here it is in abbreviated form:
The Purpose of the Board is to honor the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, while overseeing the business and envisioning future possibilities of the Fellowship. The Board provides structure through which people contribute to and draw fulfillment from the Life of the Fellowship.
The Format of Board meetings was adjusted slightly, with the most significant change being to gather half an hour before meetings to discuss a pre-assigned common reading. Members and friends of the Fellowship are always invited to these discussions and, of course, to Board meetings.
In order to assure Right Relations in the midst of it all, the Board agreed to: Create a safe and respectful environment in which all members can be valued and heard. Honor alternate or conflicting views without judgment, focusing on content rather than persons. Participate in caring communication by refraining from interrupting others and by indicating ones interest in speaking to the designated discussion moderator. Intervene as needed, redirecting differences of opinion from a
confrontation mode to one of mutuality. Refrain from emails with issues that are best resolved through meetings. Speak directly and individually to a person to clarify misunderstandings or to resolve conflicting positions. Retain the integrity of the Board by keeping discussions and decisions internal until announcements to the broader Fellowship are appropriate. Maintain appropriate confidentiality as agreed upon. Respect members’ time by promptly appearing at meetings, staying focused on the agenda, and accomplishing individual tasks in a timely manner. Provide ways in which future Board and committee members see the value of participating.
Common sense? Yes. Now may we as a united body move ahead with strength and optimism into 2013-14!
Dollars and $ense By Juliana Neuman, Treasurer
Here are my annual reminders about pledge payments: mail your check (marked “pledge” on the memo line) to UUFDC, PO Box 859, Sister Bay 54234, or drop it in the offering basket on any Sunday (no envelope necessary). However, if you are putting cash in the basket, please be sure to use the envelopes which are provided in the lobby so that we can credit your account and thank you for your contribution at calendar year-end.
Contributions can also be made by transferring stock to UUFDC. Instructions are available on request.
As I reported at our Annual Meeting on June 9th, we have met our goal of $104,000 with about 80 pledges from 114 individuals (34 couples). Pledges from newcomers Gloria Dougherty, Donna Johnson, Cindy and Bruce Nelson, and Ann Rifenberg and Barbara
GOVERNING BOARD
Officers
President
Bob Lindahl
920-421-2470
Vice President
Karon Winzenz
920-823-2189
Treasurer
Juliana Neuman
920-839-2710
Secretary
Carrie Link
920-839-9913
Past President
Cynthia Stiehl
920-854-5048
Directors
Building & Grounds
Dave Vermillion
Education and
Enrichment
Val Murre-Schlick
Finance
Juliana Neuman
Social Responsibility
Judy Brodd
Program
Morris Waxler
At Large
Alan Kopischke
Sam Carmen
Our mission is to be a community of faith
committed to the freedom of intellectual and spiritual
inquiry and to the promotion of the worth and
dignity of all persons, through service to its
members, friends and the larger community.
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JULY 2013 UU UPDATE 3
Zahn, helped to make this happen. Thank you all!
Also in response to our pledge drive, one-time contributions were received from Jeff Berger (for Chuck), Nancy Boyd, Beverly and Peter Conroy, Alison Greaves, Elisabeth Lanzl, Craig and Kathy Little, Kay and Jim Smith, Keta Steebs, Shirley Stolley, Shyla Wollman. (Although ill, Keta responded immediately to our letter and mailed her check just before her death on April 26th.) UUFDC is fortunate to have such generous support from so many!
Other Donations In addition to the free jazz concert held in May by the family of founding member Bob Clark, Anne Clark has made a generous memorial donation to UUFDC. We are grateful for all that Anne and Bob have done for this fellowship over the past 17-plus years.
Third Sunday By Juliana Neuman, for the Social Responsibility Committee
This month we will begin a practice followed by many other congregations around the world by dedicating the proceeds of one Sunday’s Offering to a worthy organization. We do this to remind ourselves of the needs of others and to take action, however small, in helping to alleviate those needs.
The Social Responsibility Committee (SRC), which previously made donations on UUFDC’s behalf out of budget funds, will serve as the organizing body for these special collections, but members of the congregation are encouraged to suggest possible recipients.
On July 21st we begin with a collection for The Land Institute, a Kansas-based nonprofit whose agenda is “…to change the way the world grows most of its food.” You will hear more about this interesting organization on Sunday mornings in July, and descriptive flyers will be available as well.
Some logistics: Other than pledge payments, whatever
you put in the Offering Plate on the third Sunday of the month will be donated to the selected recipient. If you happen to be paying your pledge on that Sunday, you must make that clear by marking your payment as a pledge.
UUFDC will act as the agent for these contributions, so checks should be made out to the Fellowship.
Cash is welcome, but must be enclosed in an envelope with your name if you wish the amount to be included in our year-end acknowledgment of your total contributions.
If you would like to contribute but will not be present on the third Sunday, you may drop off or mail a payment no later
than three days after the collection date. Just be sure to mark your payment clearly with the name of the recipient organization.
And, of course, it is entirely your choice whether to contribute or not. Suggestions as to future recipients should be made to the SRC Chairperson, Judy Brodd.
Equanimity Workshop By Marilyn Hansotia
Join Rev. Michael Schuler on July 7 at noon, following a light lunch, to explore ways of incorporating both ancient and modern concepts of equanimity into our daily lives. During this three-hour
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Remembering Chuck
Chuck Berger, the oldest member of our UU family, died on May 31st at the age of 96. He was born in Minneapolis on Feb. 18, 1917. There he attended the Uni-versity of Minnesota where he received a degree in Chemical Engineering, and where he met his late wife, Olga. Chuck and Olga spent most of their lives in Western Springs, IL, where they raised their children, Jeff, Gene and Jill.
Chuck was one of those lucky people who really loved his job. He built a career at Universal Oil Products. A conservationist all of his life, he was very concerned about American depend-ence on oil, and ex-pressed his opinions in frequent letters to the editor. He was also a member of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and was a regular election judge. He cared deeply about inequities in education and in wom-en’s rights.
Chuck and Olga discovered Door County in 1953. They bought a lot and built a summer cottage. Going to “the cottage” was a summer ritual for the growing family. It became the gathering place for grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
When Olga developed ALS, Chuck became her care-giver. She passed away in 1988 at “the cottage”. Chuck and daughter Jill moved permanently to Ellison Bay in 2005. A lifelong skeptic about religion, Chuck found UU to be a place where opinions were shared and diversity was celebrated. He enjoyed the music as much as the sermons. Later in his life, he became our UU Greeter, always glad to see everyone, always ready to warm up cold hands, and always smiling.
A memorial will be held on Sunday, July 14th, at 2 pm at Scandia Village, Sister Bay. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Scandia Vil-lage Building Fund.
JULY 2013 UU UPDATE 4
workshop, participants will be exposed to teachings from a variety of religious and philosophic traditions. We will have an opportunity to practice sitting and movement meditation (Qi Gong), explore the role of art, music and humor in fostering equanimity, engage in small group discussion and watch and comment upon a portion of the PBS program Running Out of Time. Through it all, we hope you will be able to develop some personal strategies for increasing your quota of equanimity in the midst of our stressed out world.
Rev. Michael Schuler comes to us from the First Unitarian Society in Madison, one of the largest UU congregations in North America, where he has served at Parish Minister for 25 years. He is influenced by Buddhist philosophy. He authored Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living.
Sign up in the foyer or contact Pat at the office 854-7559, [email protected] by July 3rd to save your place for this enlightenment! The workshop is free of charge. There will be a $5 donation requested for the meal.
Movies That Matter Presents Arbitrage
The film Arbitrage, a 2012 suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance, will be shown at the UU Fellowship on Tuesday, July 16 at 4:30 pm.
In economics and finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets: striking a combination of matching deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices. In simple terms, it is the possibility of a risk-free profit at zero cost.
When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent
Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller's also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Cote (Laetetia Casta). Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller's past.
More Jazz at the UU
Birch Creek’s Jazz Ambassadors return to the UU on Thursday, July 25 at 7 pm. You will not want to miss this performance of jazz - America’s gift to the world - in a cabaret setting with some tasty refreshments provided to facilitate the improvisation.
Sure, you may be able to catch the Ambassador's gigs elsewhere, but where can you share the experience so intimately with like-minded people? The clapping of hands, tapping of feet, snapping of fingers and dancing will be allowed. Inhibition will be collected at the door, to be returned later if requested. As Jack Redell puts it, “Jazz reeks of freedom.”
The suggested donation at the door is just ten bucks. And students are free.
The UU Gallery will feature watercolor paintings by Karen Shanahan for the month of July. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, July 5 from 4 – 6 pm. The public is invited.
Karen Shanahan’s goal is to emphasize light in her watercolors. Light touches the simplest of objects, illuminating and turning them into magnificence. Karen has been painting seriously since 2003 when she took workshops at the Peninsula Art School. The style of painting in which she so successfully paints is often referred to as negative painting. Her mentor, Bridget Austin, is a nationally acclaimed artist and teacher of transparent watercolor. Karen has traveled to Bridget’s workshops both locally and in foreign settings. She mainly
paints flowers and still life.
Karen states, “painting into negative space is challenging and fascinating. The negative space is usually the area surrounding the positive objects to be painted. By
concentrating on and painting that negative space I find the object(s) and make them suddenly appear! With a value sketch I have an idea of the composition and where I expect to be finding my objects. With subsequent washes and working from light to dark, I paint around the objects, finding details and letting the negative space tell some of the story. I paint some detail on these found objects bringing them to life as a subject”.
Shanahan‘s art affiliations are the Door County Art League and the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild. She lives alternately in Tucson and Ephraim and has exhibited and won awards in both states.
In the UU Gallery: Finding the Positive in the Negative By Jane Delcarson
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JULY 2013 UU UPDATE 5
Caring Committee
Our “caring volunteers” for July are Ellie Kaage and Billie Ryan. Their contact information is: Ellie Kaage 920-421-1546 or [email protected] Billie Ryan 854-3455 pr [email protected] The next Caring Committee meeting will be Tuesday, July 9 at 1:00 pm.
Learn About Suicide Prevention
Northern Door Health & Wellness Ministry continues its Community Health Information Programs with an upcoming program on “Suicide Prevention” to be held on Sunday, July 14, at 4:00 pm at Stella Maris, Sister Bay.
Why talk about suicide? Self-harm outpaces death by heart disease, lung cancer, road injury and drug abuse, to name a few. Join us for an enlightening and engaging conversation with speakers Marcia Wilson and Amy Demete from PREVENT SUICIDE of DOOR COUNTY, who are trained in the ”QPR” Prevention Program (Question-Persuade-Respond)”.
September Book Discussion
Craig Little and Sheila Saperstein are considering a discussion/seminar on "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins this September. Interested? Contact: [email protected].
Bible Study for Pagans
UUFDC member Jami Hanreddy recently edited a book titled Bible Study for Pagans. Available on Amazon, this link will take you to more info: http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Study-for-Pagans-ebook/dp/B00DHLJ1NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372095945&sr=8-1&keywords=bible+study+for+pagans
Bayside Bakery & Café Have you tried our neighborhood bakery? Stop in for a light breakfast, lunch, or coffee and express your UU support for a new local business. They are open at 8 am on Sundays!
UU Book Club We will be discussing People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks on Wednesday, July 10, starting earlier than stated in the June newsletter. Gerri has asked us to come to her home at noon with a brown bag lunch. Respond to her directly if you plan to attend. ([email protected]). See June’s UUUpdate for a summary.
On August 7, starting at 1:30 pm we will discuss Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver hosted and moderated by Toby Mason who will contact you a week before. Following are excerpts from a review by Shawndra Miller at (http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/review-flight-behavior-by-barbara-kingsolver). The novel is “an elegy to the beauty of the familiar world, the world that is soon to be a thing of the past. Kingsolver invites us to begin the process of grieving, embodying that lost beauty in the form of the monarch butterfly, whose
migration traverses the length of North America in waves, each generation taking one turn more in a timeless dance from Canada to Mexico and back again…Kingsolver sets the entirety of the monarch's overwintering colonies in the Appalachian woods behind the house of her main character, Dellarobia, a 28-year-old mother of two young children.”
Goggle this book and you will find a plethora of very positive reviews.
We are still trying to agree on a new name for our group. We will keep you posted.
Dickinson Series Features Gary Jones
One of the first poems that Gary Jones wrote when he was a boy told of watering the roses with hoses. While the lines rhymed beautifully, the subject matter was disingenuous: the only roses growing in their rural lawn were in a wild clump that had never been watered in the history of the farm, and the only hoses were connected to milking machines.
His poetry has improved.
Jones will be the featured poet at the Unitarian Fellowship of Door County’s Dickinson Poetry series on July 10 at 7 pm.
As a poet he sees his work as verbal snapshots of life around him, a record of the ironies and idiosyncrasies that make him and his fellow bipeds human. He enjoys toying with words, images, and sounds the way he played with Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys as a child.
His work is often inspired by what he sees on his morning runs along Waters End Road toward Lake Michigan, or on the bank of the Rountree Branch in Platteville. Sometimes tending his Sister Bay gardens or working on his 1860-era cottage on the edge of the UW-Platteville campus, poems come to him unbidden.
An obsessive writer, Jones is not only a poet, but freelances for the Pulse and Door County Living. Occasionally his plays are performed and his short fiction published.
After many years teaching English at Gibraltar High School, Jones is now a composition instructor at UW-Platteville. He and his wife of many years spend winters in Platteville (going “south,” just not as far south as most people in Door County!) and summers in Sister Bay.
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UU Update
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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County.
10341 Water Street (Hwy 42) Ephraim
Mailing address:
P. O. Box 859, Sister Bay, WI 54234
Phone: 920-854-7559
Email: [email protected]
Submit information to:
Pat Crow [email protected]
Web page: www.uufdc.org
Sunday Services: 10:00 am
July Calendar of Events For the most up-to-date calendar, please go to: www.uufdc.org/calendar
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
1-3 pm Gallery
2 3
1-3 pm Gallery
7 pm U-Night
4
5 1-3 pm Gallery
Artist’s Reception
4 - 6 pm
6
7 10 am SERVICE
Rev. Michael Schuler
11-12:30 Gallery
8
1-3 pm Gallery
9
Governing Board
4:00 pm
10 N. Door Wellness
Ministry - 1 pm
Book Club noon
Dickinson Poetry
7 pm Gary Jones
11
12
1-3 pm Gallery
13
14
10 am SERVICE
Rev. Colleen Vahey
11-12:30 Gallery
15
1-3 pm Gallery
16
Movies That Matter
4:30 pm Arbitrage
17
1-3 pm Gallery
7 pm U-Night
18
19
1-3 pm Gallery
20
21 8:30 Choir Rehr
10 am SERVICE
Kathleen Smythe
11-12:30 Gallery
22
1-3 pm Gallery
23
24 1-3 pm Gallery
25
Jazz
Ambassadors
7 pm
26 1-3 pm Gallery
27
28 8:30 Choir Rehr
10 am SERVICE
Rev. Tony Larsen
11-12:30 Gallery
Noon - SRC Meeting
29
1-3 pm Gallery
30
31
Happy Birthday to Members and Friends
Celebrating in July:
1 - Diane Haldane; 4 - Dottie Klepp,
Dianne Trenchard, and Adam Shahbazi;
5- Dave Hansell; 8 - Rich Delcarson;
11 - Arlene Johnson; 17 - Nelson Whyatt;
18 - Al Stuart; 20 - Joan Shiels;
21 - Diane Daniel; 22 - Peggy Lott;
24 - Jim Johnson; 25 - Jean Crane