Interim Reflections
Notes from the Ministerial Search Committee
Our ideal minister will:
New CSA Program: More Filling! Tastes Great!
November Sunday Worship Services
Ministry with Children and Youth
A Global Village Retreat
“Would You Like to Hold The Baby?” Holiday Pageant 2008
Ministry with Children and Youth Calendar Highlights
Contact Toniann
Boilerplate
Interim Reflections
I continue to be
about the tasks of “creating normal” these days. Balance in what I do to feed my spiritual
life is a high priority. My favorite
early morning activities include yoga, meditation or some journaling and
sometimes, a walk. These habits nurture
my health and support my work. These
days, as the darkness stays later into the morning, I have heaped my fireplace
with branches of magnolia and pine boughs, and placed several tea light candles
among the greens. Sometimes I just sit
in the morning darkness and watch the miracle of light as it comes into the
day.
Office Hours: Now that my office is in order and I am beginning to become acquainted with various schedules in the church, I have set some tentative office hours. The times during the day when you can expect me to be available in my office are:
Monday: 11:30 am to 2:00 pm
Wednesday: 10:30 am to 2:00 pm.
And other times by appointment.
We will see if these hours are useful to you and me. If not, I shall announce changes in the Monday announcements.
Tuesday is my day to write and plan worship. I do that best at home. Thursdays are “catch-up” days for running errands, going to the library, completing the order of service and other administrative tasks. Sometimes on Thursday, I do not get to the church until late afternoon. And Friday is the day I attend to personal activities and events.
I am becoming confident that the problems I have been having with my email are on their way to being solved. To reach me by computer, it is still best to address emails to both
and 
. These days, I
make it a point to pick up email once a day.
I hope these reflections about how I approach my accessibility will make
it easier for you and me to be in touch.
***
This season of darkness is my favorite time of the year! I learned to love it from my grandmother. For me, the movement of the sun is magic, the darkness is divine and even the grocery stores are filled with reminders that this is the beginning of a sacred time of year. . . IF we choose to decide for ourselves what the impact on our spirit the commercial hype of orange and black, and red and green might have. In our attitudes, I do believe we have a choice.
On my spiritual calendar, this incredible season begins now by bestowing upon us the abundance of the gifts from the earth and our gardens. Through the ages, this time of year has been a time of gratitude and thanksgiving. This is a good time to nurture our own capacities for these qualities of the spirit by making time for them. We can begin now by nurturing our capacities for gratitude and thanksgiving, and culminate in January with the experience of epiphany - the coming together of heaven and earth.
Between these times, we can celebrate a time of waiting and anticipating –advent—waiting for the gifts that will be born into our lives from the most unlikely events or places. What better spiritual practice during these dark days of advent and solstice than to befriend our own darkness, and create a space to wait and anticipate the gifts that can come into our awareness from the most unlikely sources.
My own attention to these spiritual aspects of this season has helped me to appreciate even the most extreme and garish manifestations of its meaning. I am enjoying the prospect of celebrating this season with you this year. May we hold on to our gratitude as we find peace and beauty and love . . .and may we make good use of whatever else comes our way.
Reverend Sue Turner, Interim Minister
Notes from the Ministerial Search Committee
article submitted by Margie JacobsSince the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC) began this journey to back in April, we have been gathering information about our congregation and the qualities we need in our next settled Minister. The Transition Team kicked it all off by conducting their exhaustive and thorough Appreciative Inquiry interviews. The MSC subsequently launched an online survey, answered by over 100 of you. We held cottage meetings and interviewed committee chair people and Board and staff members until, at last, we have arrived at the end of the beginning. As of this writing, we have completed the Congregational Record (CR), a detailed document that is the main part of our "application" for a new settled Minister. The CR was posted online at the end of October, and will soon be made available for viewing by Ministers who might be interested in serving our congregation. Then the MSC will begin receiving names of qualified candidates. The description of what kind of Minister you are looking for was posted via email and is reprinted here for your review.
Now is the time when the MSC needs to start working confidentially as a group in order to protect the identity of prospective Ministers.
By way of all your hard work, your candid answers to our many questions and your dedication to this process, you have sufficiently prepared us to find your ideal person for the job. You have equipped us with a map and given us the tools to go forth and find the treasure – UUMAN’s new settled Minister.
- Have a true "calling" to minister to a congregation of adults, youth and children with diverse philosophical, religious, spiritual, political, pastoral and multi-cultural backgrounds.
- Be open-minded of strong moral fiber with the professional
competence to effectively listen to and communicate with the congregation.
- Present challenging and stimulating sermons that make us think and meet the spiritual needs of the diverse congregation.
- Be able to spiritually and personally inspire us through language that is inclusive of many religious backgrounds and practices.
- Be invested in our spiritual growth as a congregation and individually, perhaps developing seminars or classes to that end.
- Foster a sense of fellowship and community within the congregation by getting to know us as individuals and the work done by our small groups and committees.
- Be expected to be a compassionate individual offering pastoral care and counseling to members in need and also empower and support the congregation to minister to each other.
- Help us prioritize and focus our efforts by displaying a desired collaborative leadership style.
- Encourage us to recognize our individual needs, while identifying our common goals, vision and mission.
- Foster healthy relationships, based on trust, respect, integrity and honesty.
- Engage as part of our community and encourage individuals to connect and be in relationship with one another.
- Encourage an involved volunteer base and a dedicated lay leadership.
- Help us fulfill our vision by coordinating, supporting, empowering and encouraging us by demonstrating good collaborative leadership skills, particularly around communication and conflict management.
- Embrace conflict and differences with enthusiasm, highlighting opportunities to unite, grow and reconcile while retaining a strong sense of self.
- Be able to demonstrate their path, yet illustrate the bonds, commonality and value of all religious and spiritual paths.
- Promote the Unitarian Universalist religion, both within the church community and beyond to our wider community.
- Reinforce our Seven Principles and explore the difficulties, opportunities and challenges these present in everyday life.
- Embrace, support and champion our Ministry with Children and Youth (MCY) in collaboration with our MCY Director and be enthusiastic about fostering and maintaining positive, healthy relationships with our children and youth.
- Support and encourage our social action, sustainability and environmental projects
- Supervise, support and advocate for our paid staff members with good leadership, collaboration and communication skills.
New CSA Program: More Filling! Tastes Great!
article submitted by Dallas StrombergFor just under $30, you can get a grocery sack full of fresh locally-grown, organic produce at UUMAN each week. We have teamed up with a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to save you time & money, support our regional food system, and increase sustainability within our community.
What is a CSA?
CSA programs are a system that connects people who live in urban areas to an environmental and socially responsible source of food from a local farm. People who join the program receive a weekly box of farm-fresh foods conveniently delivered to a neighborhood host site. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become "shareholders" of the CSA.
How does UUMAN's CSA work?
UUMAN's CSA is organized by Localfoodstop.com. They coordinate with several farmers to have 4-5 varieties of fruit and 6-7 varieties of vegetables each week. This is enough for a family of two adults and two children, or you could work with another family to split the produce each week. This CSA allows you to decide on a weekly basis if you want to participate - there is no commitment required.
Left: Example of a weekly bag contents - apples, plums, a pomegranate, romaine lettuce, green peppers, an acorn squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, purple cauliflower, and a little basil plant. Right: Roasted Acorn Squash and Pomegranate Walnut Chicken and ingredients.
Here's how it works:
1. Check localfoodstop.com weekly to see if you're interested in the produce offered this week.
2. If so, use their online Paypal option to pay.
3. Pick up your produce bag at UUMAN on Thursday afternoons and purchase additional fair-trade food items at the stand.
4. Use the recipes listed on localfoodstop.com to cook your fruits and vegetables into delicious meals.
Check localfoodstop.com for more information.
Why choose local?
- The fewer steps between your food's source and your table, the less chance there is of contamination.
- Money spent with local farmers, growers, and artisans and locally-owned purveyors all stays closer to home, working to build your local economy instead of being handed over to a corporation in another city, state, or country.
- Since the food moves through fewer hands, more of the money you spend tends to get to the people growing it.
- By buying food grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area.
Why choose organic?
- Conventional agriculture relies heavily on chemical inputs.
- Organic Produce is chemical free and 100% natural. The EPA now considers 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides, and 30% of all insecticides carcinogenic.
- Organic produce is more flavorful because it is harvested at its peak - most commercial fruit is picked green.
- It is beneficial to soil, water and local habitat.
- Organic has been proven to use less energy.
November Sunday Worship Services
November 2, 2008
Beyond Categorical Thinking - The UUMAN Search Committee (Worship Associates: Margie Jacobs / Sue Turner)
Amanda Schuber and Mary Esther Johnson will present the program "Awakening: Beyond Categorical Thinking."
November 9, 2008
Giving It Up: The Holiness of Sacrifice - Dave Hudson (Worship Associate: Jennifer Elliott)
On November 11th - Armistice Day - now Veteran's Day - we confront both the idea and the reality of sacrifice - of loss - of giving up something of great value - of giving up life itself. We examine here the concept of sacrifice and consider whether sacrifice can be thought of not only as loss, but, rather, as something entirely different - as part of a larger, more positive construct. October 19, 2008
November 16, 2008
A dramatic reading: "The Thanksgiving Visitor" - Jim Saunders (Worship Associate: Kelsey Bogue)
Jim delivers the Truman Capote classic.
November 23, 2008
Wisdom and Music - Randy Wilber (Worship Associate Sue Turner)
November 30, 2008
Brooding laughter - Sue Turner (Worship Associate: Miriam Bellamy)
Deep in the scheme of things there is a kind of joy, a sense of anticipation that comes to us in the bleakness of the season. On this Eve of Advent on the calendars of our Christian neighbors and friends, we will celebrate the laughter that broods in the silence of the winter forest and brings us hope this time of year.
Ministry with Children and Youth
A Global Village Retreat
article submitted byChris Wheeler
I knew that the Calvin center was a plot of land used to simulate conditions in developing countries. I also knew that this particular retreat was supposed to simulate being a refugee. But, I did not know the specifics of our coming retreat, nor did I have a developed understanding of refugees and their day-to-day experiences.
I spent most of the ride to the Calvin center pondering these questions, as I could not join in the communal banter, because I had a seat in the very back of the car and was covered in other people’s luggage. When we arrived at the center we were greeted by our mentor and facilitator Hein and his assistant Laura-Lynn. After dinner, we were taken to our “home”, which were two brick cabins that simulated middle-class Haitian housing.
Hein then gave us shocking statistics concerning refugees and promptly sent us to bed. For me it was hard to sleep having my new knowledge of refugees, but we were woken early enough so as to ruin all possibilities of sleep.
At around 4 a.m., or so I have since been informed, everyone was woken by the sound of gunfire and a strangely familiar accent shouting, “evacuate immediately!” We then boarded a truck with nothing but ourselves and our sleeping bags and were taken to a fenced in plot of land to stay the rest of the night.
When we woke we were given breakfast, told we were in a “refugee camp”, and forced to do odd jobs for the remaining morning and part of the afternoon by Laura-Lynn. After lunch, Hein came to the camp and our group had a discussion about refugees. Shortly thereafter, we were told we could go back to the original village and buy food for dinner. We did so, and after a wonderful rice dish prepared by Mr. Randy Blasch, we went back to the refugee camp and listened to Hein tell stories about his faith and his work in
I believe that my experience at the Calvin center changed my perspective of refugees and life in general. Even though the standard of living we enjoyed at the
8 Youth and 4 Adults spent a weekend at The Global Village, October 3-5th. See photos this month in Fellowship Hall. You can learn more about Refugees at www.refugees.org or www.uusc.org .
“Would You Like to Hold The Baby?” Holiday Pageant
2008
We want YOU to participate!
ALL UUMAN’s (adults, children & youth) are invited & encouraged to join in the festive fun. Join a group on any of the following Sunday mornings:
