HighLights

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis (UUCA)
333 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD 21401; Phone: 410/266-8044; Fax: 410/266-6910
mailto:newsletter@uuca-md.org Web site: The Home Page at: http://www.uuca-md.org

Staff:
Reverend Dr. Fredric J. Muir, Parish Minister

Reverend Amber Beland, Assistant Minister
Francoise H. Ateto, Director of Religious Exploration
Betsy Jo Angebranndt, Minister of Music
Christol Medley, Church Administrator/Editor

Theresa Novak, Intern Minister

Susan Eckert, Members Services Coordinator

Lori Frederick Office/DRE  Assistant

Stephanie Meredith, Coffee Server

 

Church Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Next News Deadline: midnight, 06/06/2007

Next Mailing: 06/12/2007

Volume 50, Issue 10

May 22, 2007

 

 

 

VIRGINIA FREDERICK – (1915 – 2007)             

A TENACIOUS AND CARING ADVOCATE

 

Gracious and caring, willing to serve and to share, fierce in her beliefs and desire for equality and fairness – Virginia Wilkinson Frederick was the archetype of a Unitarian Universalist.   The League of Women Voters, Democratic political groups, and organizations that were justice-seeking and globally conscious were an integral part of her life.  She was a founder and core member of the UUCA United Nations Global Justice Committee which sponsors UUCA’s Annual UN Weekend.  This November 3-4 Weekend will be dedicated to her.

For many years Virginia held a Great Decisions discussion group first in her home, and then at the UU Church of Annapolis. This will be maintained by the UN Committee.  Her strong belief in global issues started when she gave her high school valedictorian presentation on the importance of the League of Nations. Virginia had a fascinating, full and rich life where she made a difference. In her death, Virginia Frederick leaves a void for those who counted on her.

If you wish to make a contribution in Virginia’s name to assist in work that supports her passion for the United Nations, you can send it to the UU-United Nations Office, 777 UN Plaza, Suite 7G, New York, NY 10017.  Please put her name on the memo line.  The contributions will help continue their education, advocacy and outreach efforts including their internship program.

           

Betty McGarvie Crowley and Kay Cave

United Nations Global Justice Committee

 

 

Summer Service Begins May 27 One Service at 10 a.m. through September 9

On Sunday, May 27, 2007 UUCA will begin its summer service schedule. The summer service is at 10 a.m.; Children’s Religious Exploration Summer program will begin on June 17. Summer R.E is a multi-aged curriculum-based program for ages 3-4 to 10-11 years old, and sometimes youth 11 years old and up.

 

No June 26 Highlights

Due to General Assembly the week of June 19- 25, we will not publish a June 26 newsletter. All information should be submitted for the June 12 issue. The deadline for submitting information is June 6. If you have any questions please contact Christol Medley, Editor at 410-266-8044 ext 102 or admin@uuca-md.org.

 

 

 

 

 

               

Upcoming Sermons

 

May 27

“Living Legacy”

Rev. Amber Beland

One Service at 10 a.m.

Memorial Day began as a day to commemorate those who had died during the Civil War and later became a day to remember all those Americans who died fighting for their country.  Come join me as we explore together how we can honor those who have gone before us.

 

June 3

Coming of

Age Service

 

 

June 10

Blessing of the Animals Service

Your beloved pets are welcome at this service, but they do need to be on a leash, in a cage, terrarium, or bowl (depending on the species). 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Our Beloved Community

 

Volunteers Needed

The church office is currently seeking volunteers to assist with copying and folding the order of service (Sunday Bulletin). This requires a few hours of your time Friday late morning or early afternoon. Training will be provided. If you’re interested, please contact Christol Medley, Church Administrator at admin@uuca-md.org or 410-266-8044 ext 102.

 

Spring Cleaning

On Tuesday, May 29, at 2:00 p.m. the large storage room located at the end of the gallery hallway will be reorganized by the staff. All committees and programs using storage space in this room are asked to clean and organize their things to facilitate the successful reorganization of the room to meet the needs of the church.

All items left untagged and unclaimed will be donated to the Lighthouse Shelter or properly disposed. Due to limited space all large items such as pictures, posters, stands, and cushions should be removed.

 Non perishable food items should be stored in sealed containers and kept in plastic bins to prevent contamination. Bins should be clearly mark with the committee or program name. Food left in the storage room beyond the expiration date will be discarded. If  your committee needs additional plastic bins they can be purchased at your local discount store.  Please contact Christol Medley at admin@uuca-md.org or 410-266-8044 ext 102  if you have any questions.

 

Website News

UUCA has hired a webmistress to redesign and manage our website.  We are currently seeking content updates for all information currently on our site. If your program or committee has a page on the website please contact Christol Medley, Church Administrator at 410-266-8044 ext 102 or admin@uuca-md.org to get a copy of your webpage.  All changes should be returned to the management team as soon as possible.

If you would like to have a page on the website please submit your information to Christol Medley, Church Administrator, admin@uuca-md.org. Pictures and graphics are welcomed.

 

 

 

R.E. Flections

You’re searching (…) for things that don’t exist: I mean beginnings.  Ends and beginnings – there are no such things.  There are only middles.”         (Robert Frost)

So here we are, completing another church year, another Religious Exploration cycle - and at the same time in the middle of getting ready for the beginning of the summer programs, and planning for the fall.  We have to think ahead, we cannot simply wait for the time to come, and expect that everything will miraculously fall in place.  The new R.E. flier describing the 2007-2008 Religious Exploration programs is enclosed with this newsletter, and families with children and youth will also receive in the next few days a more detailed brochure and information about the summer programs, along with registration forms.  If you are a parent and intend to enroll your children, you are asked to fill out and return the forms by June 10; all children and youth from Nursery through high school must be registered.  In an effort to make this process veeeeery easy, DRE Assistant Lori Frederick will staff a registration table in the narthex after the service on June 3.  Conveniently, you will be able to take a look at the curriculum guides, fill out the forms right then and there, and then be entered in a drawing for a surprise gift!

Supporting our philosophy that the church is one family, we do not charge a registration fee, and simply ask that you take R.E. into account when you make your annual contribution.   So why is it necessary for children and youth to be registered?  Here are some of the reasons:

Ÿ    it is a courtesy to the facilitators and advisors, most of whom volunteer their time and energy to lead groups;

Ÿ    it helps us plan for adequate space and staffing;

Ÿ    if it turns out that we need to cap enrollment in some of the groups, registered children will have priority;

Ÿ    it helps ensure a safer environment for all (the forms include information about special needs, and Codes of Conduct and Ethics for all adults to sign);

Ÿ    and yes, parents are expected to help in some way – because our RE programs are co-operative ventures which are mostly carried out by volunteers, everyone must make a commitment .

Let’s all work together to support our children and youth in their religious and spiritual quests.       

 

Fran

 

2007-2008 Board of Trustees

Peter Lamb, President

Bryan Barrett, Vice President

Dick Roop, Finance Officer

Phil Tawes, Secretary

Tod Geimer, Nominating Cmte

Toni Mattia, Trustee at Large

Olivia Stewart, Trustee at Large

Pat Simons, Trustee at Large

 

Who Am I?

Best known for his stalwart pacifism and early recognition of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi. It was in 1921, when Gandhi was almost unknown, he preached a sermon entitled The Greatest Man Alive in the World Today—not Wilson, Lloyd George, Lenin, Stalin, not Trotzky; not Clemenceau, Churchill or Tolstoy, but Mohandas K. Gandhi of India, the apostle of non-violence!

 

 

UUCA Outdoor Club

UUCA Outdoor Club is open to all members and friends of UUCA who wish to enjoy the fellowship of UU’s in the setting of an outdoor activity.  For more information or to sign up, please contact Eloise Hoyt 410-768-4932 or ehoyt@toadmail.com June 9, 2007  9:00am-4:00pm  Kayak/canoe Upper Patuxent River, north of Jug Bay.  Must provide own boat, paddle, PFD.  Meet at church at 9:00am.  Bring boating equipment, water, snacks, lunch to carry in boat.  Recommend wearing bathing suit.

 

 

Crab Pot, Anyone?

Does anyone have a crab pot that is not currently in use?  Our backyard pond has become overpopulated with red-eared slider turtles and we would like to return some of them to the wild waterways, from which their original first-generation mother/grandmother/great grandmother came.  If you can lend out a crab pot for a couple of weeks, please contact Pat Fleeharty.

UUCA Book Club

The Book Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the church library.

For June 19 we have chosen Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown, an international tale of love and revenge. Our selection for July 17 is Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran, a memoir set against a background of world-shaking conflict and change

If you have questions, contact Jackie Rocca at 410-349-8351. All are welcome to join us.

 

Did you know?

Did you know that UUCA has a policy about alcoholic beverages and building use?

Alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine may be served with the written approval of the Management Team or its designated representative; and groups  must obtain the necessary permit if alcohol will be sold. All alcoholic beverages must be removed from building at the end of the event.

Did you know that a room request must be submitted and approved before a committee, group or council can meet in the building?

A reservation is required to provide safety, security, and planned custodial service. Submit a request via the web (www.uuca-md.org), phone (410/266-8044) or fax (410/266-6910).

Effective June 1st, building access via the entrance doors of the main building will be by four digit key code. Please discontinue using the “A” or “B” keys to lock and unlock the entrance doors. Letters informing current key code users of their four digit codes were mailed last week. If you need a four digit code please contact Christol Medley, Church Administrator at 410-266-8044 ext 102 or admin@uuca-md.org.

Summer R.E. news

During the summer months, multi-aged curriculum-based program for ages 3-4 to 10-11 years old, and sometimes youth 11 years old and up. Parent volunteers are expected to lead and or assist with a group at least once over the summer. For children under the age of three, nursery care is provided.

 

For all that is our life

By Theresa NovaK, Intern Minister

 

When our oldest son was four years old, we took the family to Disneyland.  He was big for his age and so was tall enough to ride on all the roller coasters in the park.  I really loved roller coasters when I was a child, and I was excited to share this passion with him.  We tried the Matterhorn first and he loved it, so we stood in the long line for Space Mountain.  For those of you who have never been on that ride at one of the Disney parks, it is all indoors and very dark.  It really does feel like you are hurtling through space.  I loved it and screamed at every dip and turn.  I heard not a sound from the seat beside me, however, and I began to be concerned.  After the ride was over, I hugged my son and asked if he was OK, had the ride scared him too badly?  I said that I was sorry that he hadn’t liked it.  He looked at me quizzically and said, “I liked it fine, it was fun.  But I am sorry you didn’t like it.”  When I asked him what he meant, he said that since I was screaming the whole time he had assumed I hated it.  I had to laugh and then I explained that screaming was part of the fun of roller coasters.  He yelled quite loudly when we went on Splash Mountain later in the afternoon, but I learned something about making assumptions, particularly when a cultural context is involved.  When someone seems rude because it feels like they are standing too close, or hostile because their voice seems to lack expression, it can help if we try to remember that we come from many different backgrounds and cultural contexts.  Underneath the cultural overlay, the feeling, the warmth, the connection, can still be very evident if you take the time to look for it.  It can also help to stop screaming long enough to notice the big smile on the quiet person’s face.

 

 

 

Summer Service Begins May 27 One Service at 10 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcoming, Caring & Connecting

 

Classes & Introductions for newcomers

Please join us for these opportunities to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and the UU Church of Annapolis.  The New UU – Saturday, May 26, 8:45 a.m. – 12 noon covers UU theology, UU history and the UU Church of Annapolis.  Anyone thinking of becoming a member of the congregation is strongly encouraged to attend the New UU class.  Please contact Susan Eckert for further information or to request childcare 410-266-8044, x110.  The “Newcomer Talk & Tour”– Sunday, June 17, after the service, provides an introduction to the programs and activities of the church as well as how to find your way around the buildings and grounds (time: approx. 1 hour). Please join us for these opportunities to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and the UU Church of Annapolis.  The New UU – Saturday, May 26, 8:45 a.m. – 12 noon covers UU theology, UU history and the UU Church of Annapolis.  Anyone thinking of becoming a member of the congregation is strongly encouraged to attend the New UU class.  Please contact Susan Eckert for further information or to request childcare 410-266-8044, x110.  The “Newcomer Talk & Tour”– Sunday, June 17, after the service, provides an introduction to the programs and activities of the church as well as how to find your way around the buildings and grounds (time: approx. 1 hour).

 

 

Who Am I? (Answer)

by Donald Szantho Harrington, Minister Emeritus, The Community Church of New York

      John Haynes Holmes -- the prophetic founder and minister of The Community Church of New York, located at the very heart of the inner city -- and I worked together as colleagues during the last twenty years of his life. Our apartments were across the hall from each other in the same building next to the Church, so I saw him every day. Every Monday morning we sat together in his study, evaluating the week past and planning the weeks to come. Every Saturday evening we met with our wives to review our preparations for Sunday morning. There were no questions we could not or did not discuss. He was my mentor and model for ministry; I was his choice for colleague and successor to carry forward the work he had begun. For seventeen years we sat together in the pulpit of the Community Church; for the first five he preached three times a month, I once; for the next twelve years I preached three Sundays, and he one. We shared all other churchly duties, I picking them up gradually as he had to relinquish them because of the ravages of Parkinson's physical assault upon his body.

 

Ray Still Oboe  Master Class - help needed

Ray Still, a member of the church since retiring after 40 years as principal oboe at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will be holding a master class at UUCA on Saturday, September 22 with a concert that evening.  Ray is donating is time and all proceeds will be going to benefit the Annapolis Habitat for Humanity.

We are expecting participating/student performers from around the country. Unfortunately, the Navy is having a football game in town and hotel rooms will be sparse and expensive.  Some of the attendees will be college and post-grad students for whom hotel expenses may be too great.  We already know that Amber's alma mater, Ithaca College is planning to send a van of students.

We hope that many of our congregation will be able to provide sleeping accommodations for Friday, Sept 21 and Saturday Sept 22.  They will be busy all day Saturday at the church.  We will probably charge a modest fee which would be donated to Habitat.

There are other needs as well:

   Breakfast goodies in the morning Sandwiches, coleslaw potato salad for lunch

   Goodies in the evening.

If you would be able to provide any of these, especially accommodations email Tim Barnum, class coordinator at Timothy_Barnum@yahoo.com or call 410-421-9522.  Our vice-president Bryan Barrett is also part of the planning of significant event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faith Development

 

Religious Exploration News

No R.E. on May 27: there will be no formal R.E. meetings that Sunday.  Children 6-9 months to 2-3 years old may be left in the Nursery; children 3-12 years old will sit with their family for the first part of the service, then go downstairs to the R.E. Sanctuary where there will be supervised activities; youth in the upper grades are invited to attend the service in the sanctuary with their family.

Informational Meeting about Coming of Age: Sunday, June 3 at 10:15 AM (following the Coming of Age service) in the Angebranndt Room – for incoming 8th graders and their parents.  Come and find out what is special about the Coming of Age year, receive handouts, and ask your questions.

Summer and Fall R.E. - Sign up the easy way!  On Sunday, June 3, a sign-up table will be set up in the narthex so parents can register their children right then and there for the Religious Exploration programs.  No more forms forgotten on the dining room table, no more guessing who will participate in R.E.!  DRE Assistant Lori Frederick will be there to answer your questions, and copies of curricula will be available if you want to take a look.  The goal is to have all registration forms by June 10 so that we can make concrete plans for the summer and fall.

June R.E. Calendar FYI

«   Sunday, June 3: R.E. Field Day (MEOW Bus – details below) for children in Pre-K through grade 5; youth in grades 6 and up are invited to attend the Coming of Age service at 10 AM.  Summer and Fall RE registration in the narthex after the service. 

«   Sunday, June 10: Intergenerational Celebration (Blessing of the Animals) – Nursery care will be available. Completed R.E. Registration and Summer Sign-Up forms due. 

«     Sunday, June 17: Summer R.E. program begins. 

 

R.E. FIELD DAY:

A program for children in Pre-K through Grade 5

The Museum Education On Wheels “MEOW” Bus

of the Chesapeake Children’s Museum will be at UUCA!

Animals on the Bus

 

Get on board for craft-making, storytelling and of course to visit with the traveling critters!

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Gather at 10:15 AM in the R.E. Sanctuary

Children will attend the first part of the service upstairs in the sanctuary

 

 

 

Mindfulness Group UU Open House for Beginners, 7 PM Thurs. June 21

UUCA's Mindfulness Practice Group invites the interested (or merely curious) to the first of our two open houses for '07.  Want to see how UUBus [UUBuddhists]fit into your UU experience?  Join us for a shortened 25 min. of meditation in the sanctuary at 7 PM June 21 or just come to the program starting at 7:30, ending at 8:30, on "Transcendence? Here on Earth!"  This highly interactive program with meditative walking, chanting, and mindful discussion will explore how UUism and American Buddhism were entwined in the 19th century through such UU heroes as Ralph Waldo Emerson and through the home-grown, nature-loving, democratic, Transcendentalist movement.  No lectures--just EXPERIENCE and discussion with friends, just as Emerson and Henry David Thoreau would have wanted it!  You may come promptly at 7 PM for the meditation; if you don't come for that, we do ask that you wait just a few minutes until meditation is over and enter at 7:25 during the break.  Watch for the announcement of our SECOND open house the next week, June 28, with a beautiful visual program on Christianity and Buddhism. 

 

Social Justice  & Outreach

 

Gallery at 333 

The Gallery at 333 is pleased to announce the opening of “Art in the Garden,” a show featuring six local artists’ impressions of gardens and landscapes. This show is a luscious celebration of nature and its beauty.  Included are the works of Eva Carson, oils and pastels, Gail Higginbotham, oil pastels, Bill Jaeger, watercolors, Donna Rhody, digital photography, Dick Schneider, photography, and Marietta Schreiber, watercolors.

      The artwork will be on display and for sale from May through the end of June.

 

MUSIC FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE SERIES

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF ANNAPOLIS

333 Dubois Road

Annapolis, Maryland 21401

www.uuca-md.org

 

Presents

 

A concert to benefit The Light House Shelter

Featuring

Unified Jazz Ensemble

SATURDAY, May 26, 2007

7:30 P.M.

Tickets $25 general; $15 students

For more information, call 410-266-8044

 

*SAVE THE DATE, JUNE 1, 2007 AT 7 PM*

Did you know that:

   * The United States dropped three times as many tons of explosives

     in Vietnam as it dropped in all theaters of World War II, including

     Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

   * that Ponce de Leon went to Florida mainly to capture Native

     Americans as slaves for Hispaniola, NOT to find the mythical

     fountain of youth?

   * That Woodrow Wilson, known as a progressive leader, was in fact a

     white supremacist who personally vetoed a clause on racial

     equality in the Covenant of the League of Nations?

   * That the first colony to legalize slavery was not Virginia, but

     Massachusetts?

These and many other interesting events will be discussed by noted author Jim Loewen on Friday, June 1st at UUCA.  Jim spent two years at the Smithsonian surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable.  Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past.  Loewen is a sociologist and educator who attended Carleton College, holds his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University, and taught race relations for twenty years at the University of Vermont.  In addition, he is a researcher who discovered that many, and in many states most communities were "Sundown Towns" that kept out blacks (and sometimes other groups) for decades. (Some still do.)

Save June 1st for a fascinating evening with Jim Loewen, sponsored by the Antiracism Transformation Team.  Doors open at 6:30, with light refreshments served until 7 pm.  The program will start at 7 sharp. 

Please call Diane Goforth at 410-544-2244 if you plan to attend.

 

 

Step Lightly Challenge

Peter Bergstrom and Debbie Cole, Co-chairs of UUCA’s Green Sanctuary Program

 

A few years ago, we put to a vote the idea of becoming a Green Sanctuary.  It was passed unanimously and was completed in 2005. This shows that the Green Sanctuary Program is not the only green component of our congregation –we are all in this together, living our Seventh Principle.  To this end we are offering an opportunity to stretch and grow even further in the “Step Lightly Challenge” to UUCA members and friends.  This is a challenge to all of us to reduce our ecological footprint, especially reducing energy consumption that contributes to global warming.  The health of the planet is part of our legacy to our children and all the children of the world.  (This is the intergenerational interactive part!)  Each participant would commit in writing to taking one or more such actions from a list we made, or ideas of their own.  We encourage participants to give a copy of that list to a child—a child of their own, a neighbor’s child, or a child at church, someone who will have to dea l with the messes we make after we’re gone. The child could help you implement the actions and report progress to someone in Green Sanctuary so we can track the accomplishments. 

We’re asking all UUCA members and friends to send us suggestions of (1) step lightly actions they have done already, that others might also do, and (2) step lightly actions that they would like to do in 2007 and beyond.  Please email your suggestions (by June 5 if possible) to Peter & Debbie at pwbergstrom-at-comcast.net and debcole-at-cablespeed.com (replace –at- with @ to make it an email address).  Or, place written suggestions in our Step Lightly suggestion box downstairs in the Green Grotto.  Watch this space in future newsletters for more details!

 

 

Great Decisions

The Foreign Policy Association of the US is again offering its popular video/discussion program, Great Decisions. Meeting on the fourth Sunday of each month through September, the Great Decisions course is covering the following subjects: WAR CRIMES (May); MIGRATION (June); CENTRAL ASIA (July); SOUTH AFRICA (Aug.); and CHILDREN (Sept.). The group meets in the Emerson Room at the Fahs House at 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. for bag lunch (you provide) and conversation; a video on the topic is shown, after which discussion follows concerning the topic on the video.  This course is sponsored by the UUCA United Nations Global Justice Committee. For more information, call Kay Cave at 301-925-7224.  All are welcome to attend

 

 

 

333 Coffeehouse at the UU Church of Annapolis

Friday, June 15, 2007, 8:00 PM

 

 

Pint and Dale: Maritime music

 

spine-tingling... unique and mesmerizing'--Dirty Linen '. . .the music itself was

inspired by the oceans that. . .cover two thirds of our planet.

 

 

 

 

 

Admission $10 ($8 senior/$5 student) Web site: www.fsgw.org/333

Coming Friday, July 20, 2007: Geoff Kaufman

 

 

 

 

 

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis is to serve the congregation and the community and to affirm the universal spirit of human dignity by creating an environment that challenges, inspires, encourages and supports the quest for religious fulfillment.

We are committed to the church as an institution, to social justice, to liberal religious education, to mutual caring and support, and to the value of diversity.

We invite all persons of every faith and background to engage in a search for truth. We believe in the dignity and worth of every human being and in freedom of expression. We strive to care about each other and the health of our community and the world.

Some material in the Newsletter is added during the printing process and not available electronically. In addition many of the names and phone numbers have been removed.

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