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Weekly Update of the
Unitarian Universalist Society
of Black Hawk County
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Hello!
We are pleased to welcome our visiting minister, Rev. Audette Fulbright, to lead us this Sunday. I hope you enjoy this special treat to hear someone new.
Exciting work has gotten underway with Board and the Committee on Ministry, as they look to lead us in a series of conversations about identity this winter/spring. I’m excited to hear your thoughts about our community and look forward to beginning to these conversations. What is central to who you see us? How do you talk about who we are to others? Would there be a better name for us, that we could use to make us seem welcoming? What brought you here and what keeps you coming back? . . . I looking forward to hearing your stories. So often I hear people talk about how they wish they could explain this place to their friends and family more easily. I think listening to each other talk about these things will help us all be clearer as we bring our faith out into the world, and in our own hearts.
The Stewardship Campaign is underway! Each of us must find some time in the coming weeks to set aside a moment to really think about very unique community that we are, and that we will continue to be for the Cedar Valley. Your gifts of time and money are what make this place live. We have added staff, and continue to bring quality programs and services to the children, adults and elders alike. I hope you will increase your support to reflect our excitement in help you create an amazing progressive spiritual community.
I will be gone Feb 22 through March 2nd. I plan to attend an training on “Adaptive Ministry” at our UUA headquarters in Boston. (I don’t know much about this theory, and so look forward to telling you more when I return.) And while in the area, I’m taking the time visit my mother, who continues with her cancer treatments. She lives just an hour’s drive north of Boston in New Hampshire. I will have my cell phone with me, and should be able to receive calls and emails, as I always do. There will be times during the conference that I will be unavailable, but I will return your calls as soon as possible.
See you in church!
~Eva
PS: Don’t forget! The Buddhist Retreat is tomorrow morning! (more info below) All are welcome. Come try something new!
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This Sunday 2/19/12
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8:30 am Music Rehearsal
9:30 am Service: “Things Fall Apart” The Rev. Audette Fullbright Fulson
Hailing originally from South Carolina by way of Berkeley, CA; Asheville, NC; and Roanoke, VA; the Rev. Audette Fulbright Fulson is in her twelfth year of Unitarian Universalist ministry. Over the years, she has had the good fortune to be a guest preacher at a number of UU (and other) congregations, and finds it to be a special joy. Alongside being a wife, mother, dancer, reader, fiction-writer, and sometime geek, Rev. Audette also currently spends time working with the Southeast District Anti-Racism Dream Team and with OccupyRoanokeVA.
11:00 am Children’s Chapel
11:15 am Sunday School for Children & Youth (classrooms)
11:15 am Adult Religious Education
Small Group “Round -Up” Join a small group today! Facilitator: Mica Lorenz
What is it? These groups provide an opportunity for community-building and spiritual exploration for their members. The groups serve both newcomers and “old-timers” in our congregation who may not yet have found a way to connect deeply. A typical group has about five to ten members guided by a facilitator, meets at least once a month, and creates and abides by a covenant or set of ground rules. The group meeting format includes a time for centering, an opening reading, a check-in, usually a discussion of a topic agreed on by members, thought-provoking questions, check-out and a closing. The kind of topics that groups explore are far-ranging and are usually tailored to the interests of the participants.
If you have an idea for a special interest small group, bring it to the “Small Group Round-Up” or just come and join one.
2:30 pm Sunday Afternoon Small Group
2:00 – 4:00 pm Cedar Valley Interfaith Open Houses at the Mennonite & First Presbyterian churches (see Community Announcements below)
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Calendar for this Coming Week
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Tuesday
7:30 pm Board Meeting
Wednesday
5:00 pm Festival Sunday planning meeting
5:15 pm Children’s Choir
5:45 pm Dinner: Burrito Bar, plus beans, rice, salad & fruit
6:30 pm Adult Choir
7:30 pm Theoretical String Band
Thursday
7:30 pm Buddhist Path
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Pastoral Update
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I’ve heard lots of stories of people home sick with stomach bugs, laryngitis and such. I hope everyone is feeling better soon!
∞∞∞∞§§§§§§∞∞∞∞
Sending love and hope to anyone who is hurting. Please reach out and let us know. And please, let me know of any other pastoral updates to include from week to week. People want to know, and send you love, prayers or bring you a pot of soup! ~Eva
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Church Announcements
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Photo Directories
The photo directories have arrived and will be available at the scrip table. One per family. We also have a half-sized directory for folks that want an additional copy. Also, a PDF version will be available for your computer or portable device. Contact the office and we'll email it to you.
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Guatemalan Family
To help the family with transportation, homework, English, or other needs, contact Heather Flory: heather.flory@yahoo.com
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UU Garden Survey
The Green Living committee still welcomes your input on what you think the future of our vegetable garden should be. The Survey Monkey online form stopped functioning so if you haven't yet voted please fill out a paper form that is sitting next to the voting box in our coffee area. This box is along the north wall, near our cartridge recycling box. Those of you who successfully voted; thank you, and we still have those numbers.
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Children’s Religious Education Notes
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Family Movie Nights!
Please mark you calendars for first Family Movie Night on Friday, March 23rd. We will be showing a family friendly movie in the sanctuary and serving popcorn. This is a whole family event! (Movie name and exact time yet to be determined.)
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No RE During Spring Break
There will no children’s RE on March 11th and 18th. There is also no Children’s Chapel during this time. Enjoy your break!
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Church Events
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UU Mystery Friends in April!
Kids and Adults, would you like to develop a new multi-generational friendship at the UUSBHC? UU Mystery Friends would be a great place to start!
Participate in this fun and easy program in April where RE students ages 4-18 sign up to become a mystery friend of an adult member of the congregation who has signed up to participate as well. During each week in April, the mystery friend will provide their child letters and/or trinkets. We will have a reveal party on Sunday, May 6th. The kids will be receiving a sign up sheet from their RE teacher on Feb. 25th and adults, you will be able to register to be matched up starting the same day. You must register by March 25th so we can match up friends before April 1st.
If you have any questions, please contact Angie Stafsholt or Moria Brown.
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Annual Buddhist Path Meditation Retreat
On Saturday, February 18th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the Annual Buddhist Path Meditation Retreat will be held at the church. A retreat is a great time to reflect and quiet the mind. This half-day retreat will include periods of meditation, walking meditation and a dharma talk (teaching) from Martin Lahn of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Refreshments will be provided. The event is open to the public and there is no cost, though a free-will offering is appreciated. Please help us spread the word.
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Wider Faith: UU Events and Opportunities
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Installation of Quad Cities UU’s New Minister
The UU Congregation of the Quad Cities is pleased to invite you to attend the installation of their new minister, Rev. Jay Wolin on March 18th at 5pm.
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PSD Annual Conference 2012: April 13-15
Lessons from War and Peace
Wars and rumors of wars are so much a part of our lives that we often fail to consider that a truly peaceful world is possible. Prairie Star District takes up this theme, "Lessons from War and Peace; Stories of Hope, Faith and Courage," at its Annual Conference, April 13-15, in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Two challenging speakers will present the theme for the weekend. Reverend Jim Eller, who has spent many years working on issues of reconciliation will present the keynote speech on "The Glory of Courage and the Joy of Reconciliation." The Judy Memorial Lecture by Thomas Weiner is "The Toll War Takes on All Who Are Called to Serve."
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This weekend conference is a time to meet with UUs from our eight-state area to talk and share together our insights, questions and hopes. How can we apply our UU principles to the difficult questions of war and its costs, economic, physical and emotional.
Middle and high school youth will be attending their own Con within the conference -"ConScience," which will explore the way UUs make moral decisions, especially as they relate to war and peace. The conference will have many activities throughout for youth and younger children.
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Save 20% on
Chaos, Wonder and the Spiritual Adventure of Parenting
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Greetings!
With February school vacation week fast approaching here in Massachusetts, we thought we'd take a moment to highlight one of our favorite Skinner House Books from last year.
Chaos, Wonder and the Spiritual Adventure of Parenting is full of poignant and enlightening essays on parenting from several of the biggest names in writing. Barbara Kingsolver, Scott Russell Sanders, Rosemary Bray McNatt, Barry Lopez and others have penned some of the most insightful words on parenting we've encountered - covering all of its joys and all of its frustrations.
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If you order by March 1st and use discount code CHAOS12 at checkout, you'll save 20% off of the list price!
Thank you for shopping at the UUA Bookstore. Your purchase supports the work of the Association on behalf of our congregations.
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Community Announcements
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Cedar Valley Interfaith Council
On Sunday, February 19th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. we will hold our second event of connecting the religious bodies in the Cedar Valley. (The first open house was on November 21st in Waterloo at St. Edwards Catholic Church and Sons of Jacob Synagogue.)
This event will be at two Cedar Falls churches: the Mennonite Church on the corner of Clay and 9th Streets and First Presbyterian Church a block and a half over at 902 Main Street. We invite you to begin at the Mennonite Church at 2:00 p.m. in the sanctuary with an explanation of this church’s beliefs and history. We will visit their Peace and Social Justice Center before moving over to First Presbyterian.
In that sanctuary, descriptions of Presbyterian principles and practices will be shared. Tours of the building will culminate with a question and answer session and refreshments in Fellowship Hall. Rev. Brad Braley of First Pres, Rev. Susan Janzen of the Mennonite Church, Rev. Stanley Rosenbaum of Sons of Jacob, and Father Jerry Kopacek of St. Edwards will facilitate the discussion of commonalities and differences in our religious beliefs.
We encourage you to attend and hope for as lovely weather in February as we had in November.
Cedar Valley Interfaith Council
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Expert Panel Convenes for Discussion on Iowa Courts and Merit Selection Process
The Black Hawk – Bremer League of Women Voters is sponsoring a community conversation entitled, “Why Merit Selection of Judges is Good for Iowa” at 6:30 pm Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at AEA 267, 3712 Cedar Heights Drive.
Justice Bruce Zager of the Iowa Supreme Court will start the panel discussion with an introduction to the Iowa Courts: the different levels of courts, the kind of cases each handles and how they operate.
K. O. Myers, Director of Research and Programs with the American Judicature Society, will follow with an explanation of the history and function of the merit selection system in Iowa.
Scott Peters, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa, will discuss the Varnum ruling and the 2010 retention election.
After these presentations, a Q&A session will follow.
The public is invited to join this community conversation exploring Iowa’s court systems as a potential model for other states.
For more information, call Michelle Temeyer at 235-7689 or Jeri Thornsberry at 235-0704. In Bremer County, contact Jackie Juhl at 319-352-5871 in Waverly.
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Upcoming Canterbury Forum Program February 26th
On Sunday, February 26th, the Canterbury Forum will host "Torture: Ethics and Pragmatism", presented by Dr. Francis Degnin of UNI's Department of Philosophy and World Religions. Throughout the 20th century, torture was condemned as a barbaric war crime, and those individuals, organizations, and nations who inflicted it were condemned by world opinion and punished. But in the last decade, torture has made a comeback, and now not only is condoned but celebrated in some quarters, by people who pride themselves on their defense of strict moral values. Can torture ever be ethically justified? Can it be pragmatically justified? Where does it come from in the human psyche? There is no one better qualified than Dr. Degnin, an authority on ethics, to lead us in an exploration of these issues.
As always, the program will be presented in Will Hall at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 2410 Melrose Drive in Cedar Falls, and will begin at or shortly after 7:00 PM. The doors will open at 6:30. The program is free and open to the public. I hope to see all of you there.
Bob Dise
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Worker Justice Conference
The University of Iowa Labor Center will hold a one-day conference on worker justice on Saturday, Feb 18, from 9 am to 3 pm. The keynote presenter is Kim Bobo, author of Wage Theft: Why Millions of Working Americans are Not Getting Paid and What We Can Do About It. It's free and lunch will be provided if you register by Feb 13.
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Office Announcements
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Stay Informed/Keep Us Informed:
FYI - If you are sending something for the Weekly Update later than 10 am on a Thursday and want the notice in that week’ Update, you should copy Eva so she can add it before sending the Weekly Update out on Fridays. I leave at 12:30 pm on Thursdays and no one checks my email when I’m gone. Janet
The February newsletter is available as follows:
- for downloading UUSBHC February newsletter
- paper copies are available in the fellowship hall at church.
- Also let the office know if you would prefer to receive the newsletter by email administrator@uusbhc.org
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