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UUCE WEEKLY UUpDate
February 4-14, 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS / LINKS
* Ten-Day Calendar-Lite
* Service Opportunities
* Congregational Notes
* Gatherings, Meetings, Events, Committees, Groups, Socials
* Children's Religious Education
* Religious/Ethics News from Far and Wide - always different
Monthly *Newsletter*: Visit http://www.uueugene.org/Newsletter.html
Weekly *UUpDate* on the Web: http://www.uueugene.org/UUpDate.html <---you are here
WebCalendar (for planning the use of the building): http://www.uueugene.org/webCal.html
Legend: S=Sanctuary, SH=Social Hall, L=Library, B=Breezeway Room, Rm5=Room 5, UU=Unitarian Universalist,
UUA=Unitarian Universalist Association (Boston),
PNWD=Pacific Northwest District,
RE=Religious Education,
List/Listserv=email discussion group,
AGM=Annual General Meeting of the PNWD, GA=Annual General Assembly of the UUA
Links are underlined.
Phone numbers -
Assume "541" before any phone numbers that do not have ten digits.
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Unitarian Universalism is an inclusive metaphysical search party.
- Elevator speech
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TEN-DAY CALENDAR-LITE
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4
*
Thundereggs Social 2-4pm at Tsunami Books (back room) - All women welcome, especially women-of-a-certain-age!
* OFRAH (Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger) - SJUUCE (Social Justice at UUCE) is a member of this group and we are hosting this month's meeting. Anyone from the church who would like to attend is welcome. 4-5:30pm SH
* BPOC (Building Project Oversight Cte) *6:30pm* Rm6
* Children's Religious Education (RE) Cte 6pm Rm2
* Calm Abiding Meditation 6-6:45pm B Drop-ins Welcome
* Executive Committee 7pm SH
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5
* Church Women United hosted by the UUCE Women's Alliance 9:30am—noon S/SH
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6
* * Phone your Joys and Concerns to Jake Walsh's voicemail: 541-342-6184 by noon today to be shared at tomorrow's service.
* Capital Campaign/Annual Budget Drive workshops for Visiting Stewards 10am-noon and 1-3pm S/SH
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 — two services, 9am and 11am
Trees and Forests as a Metaphor
Rev. Bjorn Olson
See the Forest for the Trees as a Metaphor: Think Globally, Act Locally. We should try to see the global picture of everything we do which leads us to taking care that our individual actions have the desired global consequences. Every drop in the pond creates a ripple.... a message to take home and think about.
Personal Reflection: Jason Dedrick
Sanctuary Choir; Tom Sears, director
Lynn Smith, pianist
* Children's Religious Education classes
* Fair Trade Coffee Store - with chocolate, cocoa and coffee
* Social Justice Table - Talk about home energy, transportation, food consumption, with Bill Rodgers, trained Climate Master with the Climate Leadership Initiative
* ADVISE YOUR BOARD - in the Library after each service. Church members meet with the Board to make comments and discuss concerns.
* Please return your check with your Guest at Your Table boxes
* Sign up today for the Newcomer Orientation series in March
* You too can be a ChaliceLighter!
* Purchase tickets for “Ways to the Heart” Valentine Dinner $20 to be held on the 13th
* Capital Campaign/Annual Budget Drive workshop for Visiting Stewards 1-3pm S/SH
* Sign up now for the All-Congregation-Talent-Show (our annual Music Soiree on March 13). Poets, jugglers, dancers, story tellers, magicians, musicians - young and old alike - are encouraged to polish their best and present it at this evening of family fun. We have room for 18 acts of 5 minutes each...
MONDAY FEBRUARY 8
* Sign up for eScrip. We are $597.48 to the good, thanks to eScrip subscribers in Sept-December 2009!
*
Green Sanctuary Committee 7pm in the Breezeway Room
* Chalice Choir 7pm S/SH
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9
* Morning Doves - Birders and Breakfast group meets 8am - details below
* Archives/History Cte 10am SH
* CUUPs (Covenant of UU Pagans) 6:30pm Rm5
* Pastoral Associates meeting
7-9pm B
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10
*
Adult Religious Education Series: "End of Life: Have It Your Way" 4th session, 10am SH. The class is full. Questions to Audrey at afmaslin@comcast.net
* Last day to purchase tickets at church for Feb 13's “Ways to the Heart” Valentine Dinner $20. Contact Joseph at 541-510-4879 or vocalist@earthlink.net
* Notify Judie Hansen by today if you need childcare for February 14 Town Hall -541-338-2959
*
Order of Service deadline 11am to <publications@uueugene.org>
* UUpDate deadline: happenings due by noon to <happenings@uueugene.org>
* Eugene Progreessive Clergy Lunch 12:30-2:30pm SH
* Chamber
Choir 5:15pm S
* Adult Religious Education Team 6:30-7:00pm B. YOU are welcome!
* Men's Group (open) -
Coordinated by Bob Coleman, 541-461-0956, milndoc@msn.com - 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at 7pm in Rm6
* Sanctuary Choir 7pm S
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11
*
Thundereggs Social 2-4pm at Tsunami Books (back room) - All women welcome, especially women-of-a-certain-age!
* Calm Abiding Meditation 6-6:45pm B Drop-ins Welcome
* INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE - the 11th of every month since 9/11 First Christian Church 6:45pm
* Board Meeting 7pm SH
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12
* Women's Alliance Potluck Luncheon at noon SH Kathleen Dillon at 541-689-1620 or kadydid@juno.com
* Interweave LBGT Dinner and a Movie Potluck at 6pm; Movie at 7pm. Coming Out Party (2003) Details
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13
* Phone your Joys and Concerns to Rev. Stephen Ames' voice mail: 743-0640 by noon today to be shared at tomorrow's service.
* "Ways of the Heart Dinner and Concert" - Seating at 5:30pm - Dinner at 6pm Details
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14 — two services, 9am and 11am
Marriage: Sharing a Committed Life with the Right Wrong Partner
Rev. Stephen Ames
Drawing from sources ranging from an existentialist “Book of Daily Afflictions” to a former monk, from psychiatrist-scholars to Frog and Toad, Rev. Stephen Ames will explore what it takes to have a meaningful and lasting relationship. Happy Valentine’s Day!
* Children's Religious Education classes
* You too can be a ChaliceLighter!
* Fair Trade Coffee Store - with chocolate, cocoa and coffee
* Sign up today for the Newcomer Orientation series in March
* Sign up now for the All-Congregation-Talent-Show (our annual Music Soiree on March 13). Poets, jugglers, dancers, story tellers, magicians, musicians - young and old alike - are encouraged to polish their best and present it at this evening of family fun. We have room for 18 acts of 5 minutes each...
* “Town Hall” style informational meeting on our New Home following the second service: 12:30pm S/SH Reserve childcare by February 10. Details below and Background Information
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Time is the coin of your life.
It is the only coin you have,
and only you can determine how it will be spent.
Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
~ Carl Sandburg
Now see directly below ...
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SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Let Love Guide Us
• INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE - on the 11th of every month since 9/11
Please join us at First Christian Church in downtown Eugene, at 7pm—with a prelude beginning at 6:45pm—to experience what is possible when we come together with intent to accept our neighbors and the sacred path that they follow. The Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Service provides a special occasion to pray for peace, remember our loved ones, reflect upon the interconnectedness of all beings, and to uplift our hearts and minds. Its purpose is to bring together people from different faith communities in the spirit of harmony, peace, and growing appreciation, and to nurture confidence in the universal power of love and unity that transcends all earthly limitations. More information at http://interfaith.ipower.com/11service.html
• WAYS TO THE HEART -
A UU Valentine Dinner Special, Saturday evening, February 13
Time is running out to reserve a spot for the special dinner on Saturday, February 13 in the church sanctuary. In addition to a tasty candlelit dinner, Jacqueline Cohen and Joseph Bonnevie will be singing familiar love songs of yesteryear. Tunes from Boardway musicals and unforgettable love standards will fill the air. Tickets on sale through Wednesday, February 10. $20 per person. Seating begins at 5:30pm with dinner at 6pm. This is not restricted to couples and is designed to be an evening of food, fun, and fantastic music. Purchase tickets after both services on February 7 in the social hall or contact Joseph at 541-510-4879 or vocalist@earthlink.net
• WHAT IS A CHALICE LIGHTER?
Chalice Lighters are people like us who have signed a pledge form with the Pacific Northwest District saying they will donate a minimum of $10 no more than three times a year to help fund projects for UU churches in our District. Forms explaining the program are available on the literature rack at church or you can go directly to www.pnwd.org and sign up electronically.
Churches seeking grants must have at least 30% of their members signed up as Chalice Lighters to be eligible. We do not now have enough people signed up. We need at least 128 UUCE Chalice Lighters to qualify for a grant ourselves. Grants from this program can now be as much as $20,000 and that would be very helpful in funding some element of our future home. Our church contact is Björn Olson at <bdo2@lehigh.edu>
• SOCIAL JUSTICE NOTES
* At FFLC (Food for Lane County) last Thursday, 19 UUCE'ers helped bag cornflakes from a giant (maybe 4X4X4) box of the cereal. One person commented on how much fun it was because the small groups could talk as they worked, and she got to know a whole new group of church members.
* Don't forget "Beggars or Jobs", the Eugene City Club program Ruth Duemler is coordinating, this Friday, February 5, Noon at the Hilton. Job development experts from LCC and St. Vincent dePaul will discuss sustainable local job development.
* In response to the swastika and vandalism of the LGBTQ office at U of O, about two hundred from the university and the community attended the campus vigil and open mike Tuesday night. People spoke from both the community and the university -- Mayor Kitty Piercy, representatives from PFLG, the Human Rights Commission, university instructors. and many others. Watch the list serve for more events.
• POSSIBLE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IDEA - YOUR INPUT SOUGHT
Habitat for Humanity is considering a project whereby a house would be completely constructed by an all female crew of volunteers. They did this in the distant pass and there appears to be a great deal of support for it in the community. Habitat would like to know if UUCE would be interested in participating at a time later this year. If this interests you at all, or for details, please contact me ASAP.
Wooldridge Diane, UFO Chair <woolietoys@msn.com> and 541-342-8071. (UFO = Unitarilist Fun Organization)
• GUEST AT YOUR TABLE
It’s time to count the contributions you’ve put in the Guest at Your Table box, write a check for the amount (made out to UUCE), place the check in the box, and bring it to service on Sunday. Remember to fill out the side panel of the box with name, address, etc. AND if your contribution matches the amount needed to qualify for membership, please consider joining UUSC by filling out that portion of the panel. Thank you for participating!
• eSCRIP - Do you shop at Safeway or Market of Choice?
If so, you may want to use this exceedingly simple way of donating to the church. To participate, go to http://www.Escrip.com and use the code 9615102. For those without computer access, paper sign-up sheets are available in the office and the social hall. Further information on the website at http://www.uueugene.org/finances/escrip.html Through December 2009, this program has brought in a total of $597.48 thanks to eScrip subscribers!
• UpDATE ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE OFFERING
In January, the Community Collection was destined for Haiti through the UUSC, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. But we're even more generous than previously reported! Once all the donations
were counted, our January Community Contribution offering to Haiti relief
efforts totaled $3,703.91. This is the largest amount our congregation has
given since the Community Contribution program began in April 2006. Thank you.
• FOOD FOR LANE COUNTY VOLUNTEER NIGHT- Thursday February 25 at 6:30pm 770 Bailey Hill Rd, Eugene
Check the February UUCE Newsletter to learn more about what "food insecurity" means in Oregon. Then join us at the FFLC facility to prepare food for distribution to the hungry throughout Lane County. It’s easy, fun, and the help is really needed right now. Just wear a hat or ponytail and closed toed shoes. -- ALSO: if anyone is driving in from SPRINGFIELD, we have a new person who would like to volunteer, but needs a ride. Let me know if you can help out. Questions to Diane Wooldridge woolietoys@msn.com 541-342-8071
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The purpose of the spiritual life is not to save us from reality.
It is to enable us to go on co-creating it.
~ Sister Joan Chittister
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“GETTING TO KNOW UU”
• SPRING 2010 NEWCOMER ORIENTATION
We believe that joining this church is an important decision, so we don’t want newcomers to rush into membership. We encourage you to take your time, attend the orientation series and find your part in our community as you learn more about us. These newcomer Orientation sessions are a good way to begin. Sign-ups begin on Sunday, February 7, 2010 on the Welcome Table in the Lobby.
In this four-session series, you’ll learn about some of the highlights of our Unitarian Universalist history. You’ll have a chance to share your religious ideas and values with other newcomers. You’ll meet potential new friends. Even if you have been a member of other UU congregations, you’ll find this series a great way to begin to be part of this community.
The Orientation series is designed to elicit and answer many questions that you as a newcomer might have, to help you identify what you are looking for in a church home, to share what your own and others’ spiritual journeys have been, and to help you get to know UU philosophy and values. There will be times for asking and answering questions and for sharing with others in smaller groups. You’ll learn about our church’s programs and operation as well as meet some of its members.
Class #1: Thursday, March, 4, 2010: 7:00-9:00 pm (Introductions, overview and getting to know each other in small groups with the Membership Committee)
Class #2: Thursday, March 11, 2010: 7:00-9:00 pm (More about UUCE, organization, committees, and social activities with the Membership Committee)
Class #3: Thursday, March 18, 2010: 7:00-9:00 pm (Rev. Stephen Ames answers your “Burning Questions” and gives an overview of Unitarian Universalist History)
Class #4: Thursday, March 25, 2010: 7:00-9:00 pm (Membership, stewardship, RE, Polity & Governance, and small groups with the Membership Committee)
Contact: Marilyn Junkins, Membership Committee chair (541-968-9200 or mdjunkins@comcast.net)
More info at: http://www.uueugene.org/Membership/matters.html
• Spring New Member Sunday - April 25, 2010
CONGREGATIONAL NOTES
• ANNUAL BUDGET DRIVE & CAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMBINED THIS YEAR
What an impressive bunch we are! In May 2007 we took the bold step of voting overwhelmingly to look for a new location for UUCE. Last November we voted (again overwhelmingly) to purchase the Scottish Rite building at 13th and Chambers. This building will give us the space to provide the services we want, and a location where we can reach out to the larger community. The possibilities are boundless! In a few weeks we will be combining our Capital Campaign effort with our Annual Budget Drive. Visiting Stewards will be calling on each of us as we build the financial resources we need to carry on our regular programs, and to create the worship space for the future that we have dreamed of. Like to help out? We can still use a few more Visiting Stewards. Training will be provided February 6th and 7th. Contact Brian Lewis at 541-870-6658 rustic289@yahoo.com or David Green at 541-683-9657 jodagrn@efn.org.
• CAPITAL CAMPAIGN EARLY GIFTS TO DATE
As a result of last September’s Financial Feasibility Study and follow-up efforts, $449,015 has been received as of February 2, 2010, out of the $808,400 pledged to purchase our new building! Many thanks to everyone who has had the opportunity to make an early financial commitment to this important project. If you would like to make an early gift, please contact Gil Osgood, Capital Campaign Treasurer at 541-484-1180 or giloz@comcast.net. On February 28, 2010, we will officially launch the campaign for our entire church community.
• OUR NEW HOME - TOWN HALL Meeting on Feb 14
A “Town Hall” style meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 14 following the second service at 12:20pm. The Building Project Oversight Committee (BPOC) will present information relating to our future home at West 13th and Chambers. This will be an opportunity to be brought up to date and ask questions. For those unable to attend the meeting, this information will be posted on our website after the meeting.
Childcare will be provided, but if you plan to use it, please let Judie Hansen know by Wednesday, February 10 so we know how many and what ages of children to plan for. (541-338-2959 or judie310hansen@comcast.net). We have been attempting to find a group to provide a light lunch as a fundraiser, but have not been successful. For now, we are asking those attending to provide their own lunch. For background information, visit: http://www.uueugene.org/building-proj/WhatNow.html If you have questions or comments about anything related to this process, contact BPOC members at newhome@uueugene.org
• 2010 CHURCH PHOTO DIRECTORY
Please review and approve or correct your listing for the upcoming 2010 Church Directory. Lists are available for review and correction on the Welcome table in the Lobby and in the Social Hall. If your listing is correct, please put your initials on the line next to your name. Otherwise, please make corrections as necessary.
Nisco Junkins will be scheduling photo shoots for all UUCE members and friends for the next photo directory in the March and April timeframe. Look for sign-ups in the coming weeks. We will be using Olan Mills to produce and print the directory again this year. There is no cost to the church or to you for the new directory. You will receive a free 8x10” color copy of the photo you choose.
• RESOURCE GUIDE UPDATE
The membership committee is in the process of updating the Resource Guide. We want to make sure to include all non-committee groups in this directory. Groups previously in the resource guide will be receiving a notice to review and update their listing. Please look for this via email. If you have a group that has formed in the last year or so, please send a description of your group with contact information (name/email/phone) to Audrey Maslin at afmaslin@comcast.net or (541) 485-1461. The deadline for submissions is February 21, 2010.
• CARE COMMITTEE - THANK YOU
In the Coordinating Council, Bob Coleman of the Caring Committee noted that many people are happy to do caring work, but only a few of them have had the required background check. After strong discussion, the Council unanimously endorsed the background search requirement for church caregivers. it was agreed that we need to get the word out that a background check is a non-invasive procedure that is needed to help make our congregation more caring, healthy and safe. In fact, the undersigned used to be uncomfortable with the idea, but is now undergoing this painless procedure as you read this. Ken Ross
• UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY (GA) -
June 23-27, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Think ahead -> Future GAs are all in hot climes during hot months -
June 22-26: 2011 Charlotte, NC
June 20-24: 2012 Phoenix, AZ
June 19-23: 2013 Louisville, KY
• ANNUAL PACIFIC NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY - in Bellevue, WA, February 19-21.
This meeting is a great opportunity to meet hundreds of other UUs from throughout the Northwest. There are great workshops planned for both adults and young people to help you learn new skills and expand your understanding of Unitarian Universalism. Come to Bellevue and be educated and inspired to walk out into the world sharing the message that our lives matter and our actions make a difference! Register on-line at www.pnwd.org
• OUR NEWSLETTER IS... GREEN
Newsletter subscriptions are now for the Web version ONLY, unless you officially OPT IN for the printed edition. So ---> To receive the Newsletter by paper snail-mail, please contact the church office at office@uueugene.org or 541-686-277 To receive it by email, start here or with the listmoms.
• OFFICE HOURS
Rev. Stephen Ames' office hours are Tues-Wed-Thurs from 9am-noon, Fridays off. Of course he can make appointments at other times. If you have a pastoral concern or other matter to discuss with him, please call 686-2775 x1. His email address is minister@uueugene.org If you need a reply to an email you sent to Rev. Ames, please leave a voicemail message at 541-686-2775 x1. He does not check email nor return non-emergency calls on his days off or on his vacation. For pastoral emergencies when Rev. Ames is not available, please contact Kathy Dillon, Pastoral Associate pastoralassociates@uueugene.org or 541-689-1620.
• SABBATICAL SCHEDULE
Candee Cole, Director of Religious Education (DRE), will be on sabbatical thru the end of May 2010 - for Religious Education questions,
please use Religious Education alternative contacts roster
• LOCAL LISTSERVS
Join a local UUCE Listserv - Members and friends may subscribe to one or more listservs at <http://www.uueugene.org/mailman/listinfo> or contact listmanager@uueugene.org for help. Consider UUCE-Share (personal), UUCE-Chat (banter, news, philosophy, silliness), and certainly UUCE-News (five church-related calendars a month)...
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More about Unitarian-Universalism
http://www.uua.org/visitors/spiritualtopics/index.shtml
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GATHERINGS, MEETINGS, EVENTS
Building Communities within Community
• THUNDEREGGS SOCIAL - Thursday afternoons: February 4 2-4pm offsite
Since 1997, women-of-a-certain-age have met to solve the problems of the world in the back room at Tsunami Books, 26th and Willamette St. Newcomers and drop-ins very welcome. Contact Elena at elenarae2@gmail.com
• WOMEN'S ALLIANCE HOSTS CHURCH WOMEN UNITED - Friday Feb 5 at 9:30am S
The Women’s Alliance will host the February meeting of Church Women United at UUCE. The morning’s program takes a look at the realities and consequences of human trafficking as it affects us here in Eugene. There will be a panel discussion with a focus on the impact of the downtown mall “exclusionary zone” on our homeless youth, our general responses to the problems of youth, and an exploration of our responsibilities and possible responses to the problems related to human trafficking. Come early and bring a friend. Breakfast breads, fruits, and beverages will be available beginning at 9:15am. For more information, call Kathleen Dillon at 541-689-1620.
• VISITING STEWARDS FOR THE COMBINED ANNUAL BUDGET DRIVE AND CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - Saturday Feb 6 10am-noon and 1-3pm; and Sunday Feb 7, 1-3pm
In a few weeks we will be combining our Capital Campaign effort with our Annual Budget Drive. Visiting Stewards will be calling on each of us as we build the financial resources we need to carry on our regular programs, and to create the worship space for the future that we have dreamed of. Like to help out? We can still use a few more Visiting Stewards. Training will be provided February 6th (10am and 1pm) and 7th (1pm). More info: Brian Lewis at 541-870-6658 rustic289@yahoo.com or David Green at 541-683-9657 jodagrn@efn.org.
• SUNDAY'S SOCIAL JUSTICE TABLE
At the SJ table on Feb. 7 there will be information about the Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI). The CLI has trained people in the Eugene area to become Climate Masters who in turn volunteer to provide home consultations to help people reduce their use of energy in their homes, in their yards, in their food consumption, and in their transportation patterns, The CLI was created by the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon, and recently has found a new home in the OSU Extension Service. Bill Rodgers will be at the table and will have leaflets and other information about the program. Bill was trained as a Climate Master three years ago, and since then has done numerous home consultations. Bill retired a year or so ago from the University of Michigan, where he was a research professor at the Institute for Social Research. He will be glad to sign you up for a home consultation at your convenience.
• MORNING DOVES - Tuesday mornings, February 9 at 8<cough, cough>am -
Birders & Breakfast group
We are UUs and friends who have been gathering on Tuesday mornings since the summer of 2006 to get a little exercise, learn to recognize different birds, and socialize, which can include breakfast... We go to Skinner's Butte, Checkermallow Meadow, Fern Ridge (various), Delta Ponds, and other locations. To be notified of the location each Tuesday, contact Judie Hansen at judie310hansen@comcast.net and learn how to join the Birders listserv.
• INTERWEAVE DINNER AND A MOVIE NIGHT - with guests from PFLAG - Friday February 12 with 6pm potluck, 7pm movie S/SH
Movie: Coming Out Party (2003). Seven gay and lesbian comics tell you hilarious personal stories about "coming out" and living a gay lifestyle in this uproarious program. PFLAG = Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Childcare available, contact Nisco Junkins 541-915-0097 or niscohappy@comcast.net
• WAYS TO THE HEART "A UU Valentine Dinner Special" - 6pm on Saturday, February 13
Picture yourselves enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner in our very own UU Sanctuary. Let your hearts swell when the lights dim as you listen to the sweet voices of Jacqueline Cohen & Joseph Bonnevie singing familiar love songs of yesteryear; tunes from Broadway musicals such as West Side Story, South Pacific and Phantom of the Opera, as well as unforgettable love standards. Reserve tickets by Feb 10 ($20 per person) for February 13, 2010 at 6pm. (Seating 5:30pm) Contact Joseph Bonnevie 541-510-4879 vocalist@earthlink.net
• WOM'NSPIRIT - Wednesday February 17, 7pm, offsite
We meet
3rd
Wednesday evenings at a location to be announced each month. 541-683-6691. Wom'nSpirit is a women's affinity group practicing earth-based
spirituality under the Women's Alliance at UUCE.
• THIRD FRIDAY POTLUCK & KARAOKE - Friday February 19, 2010 6:00-9:00 p.m.
(Karaoke 7:00-9:00)
A fun intergenerational gathering for all ages. Come and be on stage or be the adoring audience
and sing along from your seat! Potluck at 6, live DJ starts at 7:00. Contact Anndee Lloyd Burchett for more information 541-537-0872 or at specialnurse96@hotmail.com
• UUCE UNEMPLOYMENT SUPPORT GROUP - Sunday February 21, 12:30-1:30pm B (Potluck lunch)
The February monthly meeting of the Unemployment Support is Feb. 21 from 12:30 - 1:30pm in the Breezeway room downstairs after the second service. All members and friends experiencing unemployment are welcome. Please bring a simple lunch food to share. We'll discuss strategies and ideas about finding employment and share our stories. Childcare is scheduled for this meeting. Questions, please contact Pam Dillehay at 541-343-6332 or pdillehay@earthlink.net
• FOURTH THURSDAY AFTERNOON READERS - Thursday February 25, 2-4pm offsite
Our book this month is Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Details: Jean Coberly at 541-556-7656 or jcoberly@comcast.net
• FOOD FOR LANE COUNTY SERVICE NIGHT - Thursday February 25 at 6:30pm
Meet at the FFLC facility located at 770 Bailey Hill Road to package food for our hungry neighbors. It's fun and will help a lot of people who are in need right now. Contact Diane Wooldridge to sign up: woolietoys@msn.com or 541-342-8071.
• HOW TO TEACH A CLASS OR FACILITATE A DISCUSSION - Thursday February 25 SH
Ever wanted to teach a class or facilitate a discussion? You now have an opportunity to learn some how-to basics. This class is offered by Rev Ames as "Teacher/Facilitator Training". Register early to assure a place in this long-awaited class — contact the office at 541-686-2775 or office@uueugene.org by Feb 1st.
• FACILITIES COUNCIL - Tuesday, March 2, 5:30-6:30pm
• COORDINATING COUNCIL - Cancelled in February. See you Saturday March 13th.
• MARCH MUSIC SOIREE - Saturday, March 13, 7pm S/SH
Come one, come all! You are invited to share your talent in our All-Congregation-Talent-Show at our annual Music Soiree. Poets, jugglers, dancers, story tellers, magicians, musicians - young and old alike - are encouraged to polish their best and present it at this evening of family fun. Sign-ups begin February 1 and will remain open through March 7. There is room for 18 acts of up to five minutes each so please get your name in early to secure a place. Presenters should contact Tom Sears to sign-up 541-686-5972, tesears@comcast.net.
• NEXT NEWCOMER ORIENTATION SERIES - Four Thursday evenings in March
The Spring 2010 Newcomer Orientation series
will take place from 7-9pm on the four Thursdays in March (4, 11, 18, and 25).
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It is absurd to divide people into good and bad.
People are either charming or tedious.
~ Oscar Wilde
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CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE)
2009-2010 Theme: Our Fourth Principle
—We are free to
search for what is true and right in life—
• FAMILY KARAOKE & 3rd FRIDAY POTLUCK! February 19, 2010 6:00-9:00 p.m.
(Karaoke 7:00-9:00)
A fun intergenerational gathering for all ages. Come and be on stage or be the adoring audience
and sing-along from your seat! Potluck at 6, live DJ starts at 7:00. Contact Anndee Lloyd Burchett for more information 541-537-0872 or at specialnurse96@hotmail.com
• THE COMING OF AGE PROGRAM (COA)
for 7th-9th Grades
COA begins this April but the registration packet will arrive in February. Join us for an information
meeting on March 7 after church to meet past
graduates of the program. App. Deadline 3/31/2010.
A Call for Mentors! We will need adult
mentors for our Coming of Age youth. Mentors
must be members of the church, pass a background
check, and be able to meet with the youth 1-2 times
per month from May –September. For more
information, contact Judy Shaw at judy_a_shaw@hotmail.com or 541-434-2462.
• YOUTH SPRING CON(ference) - A US Passport will be needed, so plan ahead. April 23-25
Spring Conference will be hosted in B.C. Canada this year, mid to late April, most likely. You will need a passport to go to this con! If you do not have a passport, it does take 3+ months to get one sometimes...so you should start working on this now.
Also parents, we will be needing a letter from you to take your kiddo across the border, so look out for those instructions later as well.
• HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH on Facebook! Become a friend of “Eugene Youth—UUCE” and keep up with activities and share photos.
• CANDEE COLE'S SABBATICAL
Candee, Director of Religious Education (DRE) is on sabbatical through the end of May 2010.
Religious Education Contacts Roster
Candee was accepted into graduate school at the University of Oregon and will be working on a Masters in Special Education this next year. One of her goals in this endeavor is to be able to create a Ministry in our church community that reaches out to families with children with disabilities. The hope is that our program can improve our outreach and classroom support in this way. She will be taking a five month sabbatical to complete her program in the Winter and Spring of 2010, as well as rejuvenating herself and her creativity. She plans to return filled with ideas, renewed energy and a creative passion that will benefit the whole UU family! We greatly appreciate Marika Banyacski, the RE Committee, and the many volunteers who will help cover for Candee while she is on Sabbatical.
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I do not believe that women are better than men.
We have not wrecked railroads, nor corrupted legislature,
nor done many unholy things that men have done;
but then we must remember that we have not had the chance.
~ Jane Addams
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RELIGION/ETHICS NEWS
from Far and Wide
This section offers recent religion articles, ethics articles, resources, quotations and links from around the country. Some have to do with UU goings-on nationwide, some with freedom of conscience, separation of church and state, medical ethics, or religious shenanigans. In general they have relevance to our open-ended searches for religious and spiritual understanding. Links are underlined.
Religion in Haiti
...two things have struck me as I watched the constant onslaught of images of suffering and destruction. The first is the erroneous fact that CNN keeps claiming on its ticker that Haiti is 80% Roman Catholic. The second is the sheer [number] of U.S. missionaries on the island. The two are inter-related. Recent studies estimate that the Protestant population of Haiti is somewhere around thirty percent. In Port-au-Prince that number jumps to almost forty percent. The majority of these Protestant churches are Pentecostal. They are overwhelmingly independent, indigenous Haitian entities, though some are linked to North American denominational Pentecostal churches. Haiti, along with Jamaica and Puerto Rico, is home to one of the fastest growing Pentecostal populations in the Caribbean...
http://tinyurl.com/ybp8j7a
The Ethics Of Looting
When disaster strikes - for example, the earthquakes that have reduced the Haitian capital to rubble - victims lucky enough to be alive ideally go into survival mode. To allow yourself to be paralyzed by the sight of death and destruction is to risk everything of the little you have left. The ways disaster magnifies the disadvantages of nonwhites, poor, elderly and disabled victims is addressed... Philosopher Naomi Zack gets it right in the preface to Ethics for Disaster, essays exploring what it means to be a good person in the context of public emergencies: "If we have to live through disasters, we should not too easily give up our ordinary moral intuitions." I would go further, though, and insist that some ordinary moral intuitions should not be compromised at all... Thus, there are still moral absolutes in disasters. The breakdown of a society, even one that was already pretty broken down as Haiti was, could not justify gratuitous rape or reckless gun play, for example. But the demise of critical infrastructure can justify...[some] theft.
http://tinyurl.com/ybav8q7
How corporations became 'persons' - the story of a legal fiction that undermines American democracy
The debate about corporate power so far has cast it as a political issue. Yet, like all that is crucial, it is a religious concern as well. Any force that can overpower democracy is a threat not only to our nation’s political system but also to the human spirit, to the right of conscience, and thus to human freedom. (UUWorld 2003 edition ~ note sidebar topicsther too)
http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/157829.shtml?n
UUA board considers far-reaching governance reform
Trustees plan to propose changes to General Assembly, trim board, and formalize new regional structure; election changes placed on 2010 GA agenda. Big changes proposed for UUA's General Assembly Proposal: fewer delegates, biennial schedule, and subsidies to boost congregational participation. It would also involve reducing the size of the board, creating a system of regions to supplement the current 19 districts, and reconfiguring General Assembly to a biennial meeting with subsidized delegates. The language of the proposal, which the board began drafting at its January meeting but did not vote on at that time, will be finalized and voted on in an all-board conference call within the next two weeks.
http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/157757.shtml
Listening is the first step of every ethics (interview with Jacob Needleman)
...It was 1962—ancient times—I was hired at San Francisco State and I was obliged to teach a course called the History of Western Religious Thought. For me I had no desire to teach anything like that. I was totally allergic to religion. But I had training as a philosophy student, a grad student, a PhD. I did very well, was at the best colleges, best universities— Harvard, Yale—and I was willing to undertake preparing myself to teach such a course. Philosophers generally don't want to come anywhere near that kind of stuff—nor did I. But I honorably tried to prepare myself.
It meant I had to read theologians, Christian writers like St. Augustine—whom I had hated... And... I loved it—a great, great man... I couldn't believe how superficial my understanding of religion had been, even with a liberal education from the best universities. I discovered things about religion; I couldn't believe how good, how interesting, how profound—and how distorted it had become, how shallow it had become. So: I got deeply interested in religion because I had to teach it. And then I got interested in my own personal, spiritual search... This so-called fundamentalist was a human being. Someone might look like an unpleasant fanatic in certain conditions, then you begin to speak to them, and—well, you might be quite surprised.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religionandtheology/2227/?page
Modern-Day Pilgrims Find Interfaith Bond in Ancient Syrian Monastery
Father Paolo, as he is known here, presides over a group of 10 monks, nuns, and volunteers who welcome guests year-round and struggle to build harmony around a religious fault line that has only grown more volatile since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His passion for interfaith dialogue — he recently published a memoir titled “Believing in Jesus, Loving Islam” — has helped draw ever-larger flocks of visitors up the mountain to sleep in the monastery’s stone huts and take part in its multilingual prayer services... [But] “If you hold one belief about God, and I hold another, aren’t we bound to come into conflict?” said one earnest-looking American. Father Dall’Oglio weighed the question, rubbing his thin beard and looking a little tired after a long day. “I don’t claim to know the absolute,” he said. “I consider it a road, a path, that we are on together.”
http://cli.gs/ng58JJ (NYT)
Female Soldiers Not Protected by Constitution They Defend
For military women, who lack all rights to medical privacy, facing an unplanned pregnancy is a daunting obstacle. Thanks to anti-abortion forces in Congress, military hospitals are banned from providing abortion services, except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest (and for the latter two, only if the patient pays for the service herself). Amy says her options were “like being given a choice between swimming in a pond full of crocodiles or piranhas.”
http://cli.gs/eAg63b
Is your faith about to be demoted?
A case currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California
could establish that some faiths are indeed more equal than others–and
that minority faiths are not entitled to First-Amendment protection. Currently in the California prison system, only chaplains who represent one of five faiths–Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or Native American–can have staff positions and
the full access that affords in the system. A new amicus brief was filed this week by a group called Wallbuilders,
Inc. The Wallbuilders brief calls on the court to state that the First
Amendment itself does not cover Paganism. Or really, anything but
Christianity or some other monotheistic faiths.
http://cli.gs/m5zE85
Medical kidnapping?
The facts as reported are strikingly straightforward. Mrs. Burton, a [smoking] mother of two toddlers, contacted her obstetrician in March 2009 -- during her twenty-fifth week of pregnancy -- when she became concerned that she might be going into premature labor. The obstetrician advised her to report to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. While at the hospital, it became apparent that Burton was not going into labor. However, Dr. Bures-Forsthoefel recommended [stop smoking and] up to fifteen weeks of bedrest for her patient. When Burton explained that she had two children at home and a job, and that full bed rest was not a viable option for her, Bures-Forsthoefel ordered her confined to a hospital room to protect the health of her fetus. The hospital and Bures-Forsthoefel then obtained an order from the Circuit Court of Leon County that mandated Burton remain in bed for the duration of her pregnancy (eg. up to fifteen weeks) and to undergo "all medical treatments" that her physicians believed were in the fetal interest. Burton was denied any opportunity to obtain a second opinion at another hospital...
http://cli.gs/qGW6Jj
Can a doctor's order to quit smoking and rest in bed trump a woman's right to control her own body? In a Tallahassee court ruling, the answer was yes.
http://cli.gs/HpdYUh
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Before Enlightenment, chop wood carry water.
After Enlightenment, chop wood carry water.
Wu Li (1632-1718)
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