September 4 “Grade Level Reading”

Beth Duda will speak to us on the topic of grade level reading. Organizations and individuals in Manatee and Sarasota counties are coming together to share a vision for success - from ideas and information to strategies and learning opportunities. This is a communitywide effort to help all children succeed in school and in life. Music: Eleanora Lvov

September 11

“Honoring the Work Ethic”

Skip McAfee will be our speaker and his topic will be “Honoring the Work Ethic”. On the Sunday after Labor Day we will pay tribute to the labor movement and the American worker and the ideals of economic and political democracy. Music: Andrew Hudson

September 18

The Rev. Dee Graham will lead our service and her sermon title will be Yom Kipper: A Fresh Start. At this time of Jewish New Year, we’ll look at the role of the congregation in religious community and where we might go from here. Music: Robin Skinner

September 25 “Compassion and Lovingkindness”

Nels Gullerud, leader of the Thursday night meditation group, will be our speaker and his topic will be Compassion and Lovingkindness. This service will incorporate a singing bowls meditation and share the message of love and light demonstrated by the Thursday meditation group. Music: Walter Hodgdon

Fellowship Office Hours: 8 am – 1pm Mon – Fri OFFICE: 941-746-0067

muufoffice@manateeuuf.org www.manateeuuf.org

Rev. Dee Graham Office Hours: Tuesday 9 am-Noon or by appt.

MINISTER: 941-264-5929 muufminister@manateeuuf.org

The UPDATE Update Content Editor – Lorraine Berry

Update Production Editor – Karen Salzinger

MUUF’S MISSION STATEMENT “A friendly beacon for religious freedom, supporting lifelong spiritual growth and

working for social justice with compassion and love.”

UPDATE

September 2016 Volume 47 Number 9

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September 2016 MUUF Calendar SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 12:00pm Al-Anon 7:30pm Meditation

2 2:00 Play Reading Group

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4 10:30am Speaker- Beth Duda Music- Eleanora Lvov 12:00 RE Meeting

5 LABOR DAY Office Closed

6 6:30pm Zen Meditation

7 6:00pm Toastmasters 6:30pm Women’s Spirituality Class

8 12:00pm Al-Anon 7:30pm Meditation

9 6:00pm Share-A-Dish Talent Show

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11 10:30am Speaker-Skip McAfee Music-Andrew Hudson 12:00 Social Justice

12 2:00pm Book Group

13 10:00am Chalice Circle 6:30pm Zen Meditation

14 3:00 Men’s Group 6:00pm Toastmasters 6:30pm Women’s Spirituality Class

15 12:00pm Al-Anon 7:30pm Meditation

16 2:00 Play Reading Group

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18 10:30am Speakers Rev. Dee Graham Music- Robin Skinner 12:00 What is UU to you?

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20 UPDATE Articles Due 6:30pm Board Mtg 6:30pm Zen Meditation

21 6:00pm Toastmasters 6:30pm Women’s Spirituality Class

22 12:00pm Al-Anon 7:30pm Meditation

23 24 6:00pm In-Home Dinner-offsite

25 10:30am Speaker- Nels Gullerud Music- Walter Hodgdon 2:00pm Pagan Perspectives; Bus Mtg 4:00 Pagan Perspectives; Open Meeting

26 2:00pm Book Group

27 10:00am Chalice Circle 6:30pm Zen Meditation

28 6:00pm Toastmasters 6:30pm Women’s Spirituality Class

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12:00pm Al-Anon 7:30pm Meditation

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President’s Message Carol Bartz At our board meeting in July we approved adding a Black Lives

Matter flag out in front of our building as per a request made by our Social Justice Committee. Unitarian Universalists nationally are showing support to the movement and last year at the 2015 General Assembly it was chosen as the 2015 Action of Immediate Witness. (The statement is available on the Social Justice table or you can look it up online.) Some people may ask why anyone would even need to say “black lives matter” as obviously “all lives matter.” As UU’s we state in our Seven Principles that we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Over the past couple of years, the unfair treatment of African Americans has become more visible through the media as people have used their phones to video what is happening and the media is now giving coverage to events that have been occurring for a long time in the U.S. I don’t need to list all the cases beginning with Trevon Martin and yet it’s important to know that these atrocities date back to slavery days in our country. Many of us just were/are not aware of the extent of unfairness or were/are afraid to accept how extensive it is. Though it’s probably too late to rename the movement it would, perhaps, be better to say “Black lives matter too.”

African Americans are treated differently. Sometimes we have to see it happening to someone we know or experience it ourselves before it’s real. If you talk to African American parents or to mixed race couples you will hear the real life stories. There a number of books written on the subject as well, one of which our book discussion group read, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson (2 copies available in our library). Mr. Stevenson is a lawyer who dedicates his lifework to those on death row or with life sentences, the majority of whom are African American. I keep thinking of the Racism class I took at Northern Illinois University in which one of the books we were assigned to read was The Autobiography of Malcom X. I left it at home after reading it and lo and behold, my father (Italian foreman in a factory and somewhat racist), read it and said it made him understand where the Black

Power movement was coming from and it changed his point of view. It meant so much to my instructor in our end of year evaluations that he read my comment about it to the class of 300. At our August board meeting we had some lively discussions about leadership training, finishing the exterior of the building by improving the deck, and the status of the improvements being made by our audio visual committee. Members are encouraged to attend the meetings, and if you wish to present an opinion there is time in the beginning of the meeting. Committee chairs are encouraged to write written reports and submit them by the Sunday before the meeting so that they can be included in the agenda. If you would like to see the minutes of board meetings, they are available in the binder on the west wall of the social room just behind the computer. MUUF exists because of and for all of you! Let’s keep nourishing it and the end result is that you will be nourished by our gathering of mostly like-minded people!

Religious Education Lisa Bohn, DRE Welcome Families, to another program-year in the Religious Exploration (RE) Program of this

UU Fellowship. We are excited to have you become part of our program and we are hoping to work with you to meet the needs of the adults and children in your family. A few things about our Program, make it special: *We have a family-style Sunday morning program, often including children of all ages in one group. *We learn about our Fellowship by 'doing' more than by 'sitting'. *We learn from each other. *We like to sing and make music with, and for, each other. *We are so much more numerous than our Sunday morning group. *We rally around a good cause for our Fellowship or for our community. Our RE classes officially start on September 11th with an open house. Members of the congregation are encouraged to come upstairs and check out the RE area.

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We hope to see you all soon! RE Calendar Sept. 4 Labor Day weekend, no RE Sept. 11 RE open house and registration Sept. 18 RE activities- getting to know you Sept.25 Last Sunday of the month, community-

building activities on the playground.

Chalice Circles

Ed Kobee/Al Usack Chalice Circles are MUUF’s version of the popular concept of “small group ministry.” Ideally, six or eight members meeting twice a month work well. Following a ‘check-in’ time when we share any happenings in our lives since the previous meeting, all who feel so inclined share their thoughts and feelings on an issue that has been chosen for that meeting. Those who are willing take turns finding a suitable issue from the UUA web site, which offers ‘session suggestions.’ The issues might be things such as courage, duty, fear, spirituality, decision making, patience, human relations issues, etc. Usually these include brief ‘readings’ and a few ‘questions,’ to help get us thinking. These are not discussion groups. Each person who shares his or her feelings is not interrupted while speaking,

questioned, or given advice, but listened to with acceptance and respect. It is also acceptable to sit

quietly. The group members agree to confidentiality, thus one can be assured that one’s comments will not become the subject of gossip. The groups are not therapy groups, but may prove therapeutic; they are not support groups, but may prove supportive; they are not educational groups, but we may learn a lot. An important reward of being a member is that we feel closer to each other. Someone said that we sit together in church each week, but we frequently don’t “know each other’s stories.” By listening, we gain understanding and respect for each other; by sharing we strengthen the bonds of friendship and caring within our Fellowship. We have been meeting at 10 AM on the

second and fourth Tuesday of the month, but would be open to change. We have suspended meetings during August, but will resume in September. Any interested persons please put your name and phone number on a list in the social room or talk to Doris Sutliff or Al Usack with questions.

SocialJustice BernitaFranzel

The members of the Social Justice Committee are engaged in community organizations and bring back to the committee concerns to discuss and take action when appropriate. Bill Hayes organizes the monthly Special Collections for local groups needing our financial support. Walter Pascal is our seasonal contact with Turning Points. Zada Merrill is our liaison with Occupy. Carol Bearfield is the capable facilitator of MUUF volunteers at Our Daily Bread. GLBTQ and Welcoming activities are brought forward by Gary Chanco. Chris MacCormack keeps us current with UU Service Corps. Tiki Smith and Carol Bearfield confer with us on NAACP activities. Randy Coleman lets us know the political issues from his caucus meetings. Chuck Wolfe is raring to go on Green Sanctuary as soon as his internet connection comes through. Ed Kobee is our staunchest supporter of Move to Amend. Al Usack writes the thoughtful Issues of the Quarter. Don Thompson has been our representative at Peace and Non-Violent meetings and we wish him good health where he continues discussions of these topics where he now lives. Notices about these and other programs at Fogartyville and the Peace and Justice Center are sent to us by Arlene Sweeting. Jo Williams supplies us with info from Sierra Club and elsewhere on Climate Change and sustainable energy. Ed and Lisa Janz put ideas into action in such creative expressions as our play on Inequality. When her work permits, Melissa Kinder has been supportive throughout and as ad hoc secretary. Bernita Franzel, chair, relays information from UUJustice Florida. A new position starting September will be Administrative Assistant: AJ Wolff will take the responsibility of email notices to members as well as continue her interest in Climate Change and other issues. New members and guests are always welcome at meetings the second Sunday of the month after the service.

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Book Discussion Group Bill Hayes & Mary Lou Thompson

The Group has finished it’s discussion of Zealot by Reza Aslan. This book puts forth the argument that the historically accurate Jesus is a Hebrew Zealot and not the divine Christ as invented by Christianity. Our next book is Acts of Faith by the 2013 GA Ware lecturer Eboo Patel. We will use the study guide developed by UUA and will start 8/29 and continue on 9/12 and 9/26. These are Mondays and we begin at 2:00 pm. The Patel book describes his growing up as a Muslim in interfaith America. Information about Patel and his Ware lecture can be found under uua.org, then click on social justice and search Ware lecture. On 8/29 we will decide on the successor to the Patel book. The ones under consideration are : 1) Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People by Dennis Henigan. This is a Beacon Press book which debunks the mythology and misguided thinking at the core of the NRA’s pro-gun catchphrases and charts a new path toward ending the American nightmare of gun violence. 2) Black Flags and the Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick. The author depicts how the zeal of one man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the mistakes of two US Presidents led to the banner of ISIS being raised over large swaths of Iraq, Syria and other countries. 3) The Third Reconstruction by Rev Dr William J. Barber with Jonathon Wilson-Hartgrove. This is a UUA Common Read and relates the building and sustaining of a movement for justice for all people. Other books include a biography of Theodore Roosevelt and the development of the US National Parks system and a new biography of Robert Kennedy. All Book Club members are urged to research these books prior to our 8/29 meeting.

NewWomen'sSpiritualityClassStarting

Lisa Bohn Women of all ages are invited to participate in aclassofglobalgoddessspiritualitylearningstartingonSeptember14thandlasting for10weeks. Thisclass is a woman-honoring journey into globalearth-based spiritualties. Rise Up presents atexturedspiritualinquirymissingfromexclusivelymale imaged, monotheistic belief systems. Ethical

principlescentraltoavarietyofearthandwoman-honoring traditions around the globe andthroughouthistory form the core of each session.WewillmeeteveryWednesday,from6:30-8:30inthesocialroomofMUUF.TherewillbenomonthlyWomen'sgroupmeetingsduringtheseweeks. Email Lisa Bohn, ottersbend@verizon.net withquestions.

Welcoming Committee Gary Chanco

The MUUF Welcoming Congregation Committee will be offering the Welcoming Congregation education and empowerment workshops beginning in October and continuing until March. The workshops will be held on the second Saturday of the month from 10:00 AM until noon. I presented these workshops 20 years ago at which time transgender issues were not addressed. These workshops are open to Straight, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered persons both from the fellowship and the community. Some of the topics will be:

What we know and how we learned it Common elements of oppression Experiences of GLBT people, and Religion and homosexuality.

We need at least 8 people for a viable discussion group. There will be a signup sheet on the table in the social room. The first workshop will be on Saturday October 8th at ten AM. Please support this important step so we will be able to get the latest plaque.

Our GLBT movie series will be on the 4th Saturday of each month (October through May), at 10:00am. Pizza and spirited discussion will follow. Donations gladly accepted. Tentatively our first movie will be "Mysterious Skin," a multiple award-winning independent film.

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Play Reading Group

Through mid-October, the Play Reading group will meet the first and third Fridays at 2 pm in the Social Room. (Watch for possible date and time change beginning Thursday, October 20.) Beginning September 16 a new play will be selected. "Death of a Salesman" has been suggested. A comedy has been suggested. Join us and let loose the Barrymore ghost that lives within us all!

Special Collections

Bill Hayes A Special Collection will be held on Sunday, September

18, to benefit the local branch of Planned Parenthood. MUUF has been a longtime supporter of this organization which provides health services to women. Services include affordable birth control, gynecological exams, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and abortion services. Often, Planned Parenthood is the only organization providing these services at an affordable level. Al Usack will be the point person.

Library News and Book Sale

Carol Bartz There will be a work session for

members of the Library Committee and interested book lovers on Friday, September 2 at 11:00 to look through our shelves to determine which books will be removed and made available for a book sale. The book sale will begin Sunday, Sept. 4 and continue throughout the week until Sep. 11. If you feel inspired to cull your own bookshelves at home, you may wish to donate: (A) books that are suitable for our library, and/or (B) books that you want to add to the sale. The proceeds will go towards purchase of new books for MUUF. (Our Social Justice Committee will find a home for unsold books.)

We have recently added over 80 books to our library that were donated by Lorraine Berry, Ann & Frank Dellert, Bernita Franzel, Bill Hayes, Ed Kobee & Al Usack, Richard LaBrecque, Don Thompson, and Jo Williams. You may pick up a list of these newly added books on the table in the social room. Dewey Decimal numbers are included so that you can look them up and check out these books that range in subject from UUism to social justice to the environment to psychology to health to the economy, and etc. Reading a good book is like taking a journey. —Emma Guillford Contact Carol Bartz if you have questions. cdbartz1@verizon.net

We Welcome New Members We would like to welcome our newest members who joined us in May and June: Tiki Smith, Ginger Rechlin, Skip McAfee and John Isham.. When you see them in Sunday services or at a MUUF event, make sure to welcome them in person. The office apologizes for the lateness of this announcement.

Life Crisis Form

Many of us have no family here in Bradenton, whether we’re year-round residents or seasonal. If something were to happen—for example, an automobile accident, a hospital stay, a death—your MUUF “family” would be able to contact your family, close friends, doctors, lawyers, anyone whose name/phone number you have placed on your Life Crisis Form (LCF). These forms are available in the Office and also on the table in the social room. Feel free to take one, fill it out, make copies for yourself, and return it to Karen in the office (M-F, 8am-1pm), or Lorraine Berry, to deliver it to Karen, for filing in a secure location. If/when the information on your LCF needs updating, you can call the Office with that information, or you can submit an updated form to be filed. If you have any questions or concerns, you can direct them to Lorraine Berry.

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Men’s Group John Isham

I have been fortunate to belong to UU Men’s groups in Santa

Barbara, CA and West Palm Beach, FL. These experiences were both positive and rewarding. I miss the friendships and camaraderie which developed there from sharing our life stories. I would like to start a similar group here at MUUF. There will be an organizational meeting Wednesday September 14th at 3:00pm in the social room at MUUF. All MUUF men are invited to attend. Please contact me if the meeting time is not convenient for you. John Isham 561-445-1229 Jpisham27@gmail.com

Updates for Your

Directory

*The correct email address for Mary Bristol is marybristol02@gmail.com *The correct phone number for Valerie Fisher & Melissa Rhodes is 941-753-8866 *The correct phone number for Linda Marshall is 941-726-1974

Please notify the MUUF office of any phone, address or email changes. Thanks!

Ben DeBarros 9/2 George Craven 9/5 Dee Graham 9/8 Charles McLeod 9/22 Liam Al-Raabi 9/24 Howard Fisher 9/28

NEW

Update Deadline The Update deadline is the 20th of every

month! Anything that you would like published in the October Edition of the Update needs to be into the office no later than 9:00am September 20th unless other arrangements have been made prior to the deadline.

Thank you so much to everyone who provides items for each month’s Update. Your prompt consideration is greatly appreciated.

Sept. 20

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The October Share-A-Dish Will be on Friday, October 9th. The after program will focus on the upcoming general election in November.

Board Of Directors

President Carol Bartz Vice President Becky Smith Secretary Peggy Dickson Treasurer Mary Lou Thompson Asst. Treasurer Bob Yavis Directors Geri Pasquarella Jim Heaton Ricki Cunninghis Linda Myers Pres. Emeritus Bill Peruzzi Martha Pelletier Board Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm in the Social Room. All members of the Congregation are invited to attend.

MUUF 2016 Pictorial Directories are ready for pick up on the social room table.

PLEASE HELP!! We are in need of volunteers to be greeters, chalice lighters and hospitality hosts. Please sign up on the gold colored sheets on the social room table. All the remaining Sundays of 2016 are available.

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GOT TALENT???

WE NEED YOU!!!

MUUF Talent Show

following September 9 Share a Dish Dinner

Sign up TODAY!!

Sign Up forms are on the Table in the social room

Or contact Ed Janz

Phone: 941 224 5066 E-mail: edjanz@verizon.net

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Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 322 15th Street West Bradenton, FL 34205

September Share-A-Dish Friday, September 9, 2016

6:00PM Gathering/Appetizers 6:30PM Dinner

Let’s join together for this special evening! Bring a dish to share and come join us.

Sign up in Social Room.