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March 15, 2018
Issue #444
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March 18, 2018: Risking Blossom, Emergent Hope
Rev. Dara Olandt
In today's complex world, sometimes it can feel like things are "stuck" in gridlock, with little forward motion. Yet, this morning we consider: what is positively emerging? Can beauty be found even in brokenness? Are new possibilities for individual and collective empowerment unfolding? How, why, and from where does hope emerge?
Rev. Dara Olandt fondly remembers ministering alongside members and friends of the congregation back in 2012 when she supported Religious Education at UUCM. She is a life-long UU who has served congregations in California and Virginia. She graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry in 2010 and serves as Director of Spiritual and Religious Life and Chaplain at Mills College in Oakland, California, working with emerging social justice leaders on strategies for sustaining activism and supporting religious pluralism. She also serves on the steering committee for Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME), an interfaith justice network in Oakland.
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Upcoming Topics and Leaders
3/18/18: Inviting Inventions: Spring Brainstorming Session
All Comers
3/25/18: Income Inequality
Jim Prochaska
The Sunday Circle is held from 9:00 am to 10:00 am each Sunday in the Fireside Room.
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Words of Joy -
Minister's Miscellany
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Black Lives UU
We have collected $1825.40 in donations to the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective for their work toward racial equality and the dismantling of white supremacy in our institution. This means that we have more than met the matching challenge, and our donations will be matched by generous donors who have pledged up to $1 million to provide matching funds to all congregations who donate at least $10 per member to BLUU. Thank you for your understanding of the importance of this effort and for your generosity!
Path to Unitarian Universalism Class-March 26
I want to extend an invitation to all who wish to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and about this congregation to attend our Path to UU class, which takes place on Sunday, March 25th after the service at 12:15 PM. Members of the Membership Committee and I will be there to discuss Unitarian Universalist history and identity, and the functions and activities of the UU Congregation of Marin. A light lunch will be provided.
Annual Pledge Drive Brunch-April 8
Join us for brunch following the service on April 8th as we begin our annual pledge drive for the support of UUCM. Stewards will be present at each table to facilitate a conversation about UUCM and to collect your pledges for the coming fiscal year, which begins on July 1st. If you can't make it to the brunch, please let the office know, and we will arrange to have a steward meet with you at another time.
Ceremony for the Welcoming of New Members-April 8
We are planning to hold a ceremony to welcome new members on Sunday, April 8th. If you have been considering joining the congregation, please speak with me or with Membership Chair Thomas Ervin. You may also attend the Path to UU class on March 25th following the service to learn more about membership. We would love to welcome you as a new member on April 8th .
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Fair Trade Not Slave
Get ready. The children are coming armed with information about the child slavery situation in the world of commerce. We will all be the wiser if we heed the children's call to become more educated on the subject and then change our behaviors.
Fair Trade chocolate will be on sale after the service and orders for a larger supply will be taken as well. We are assured by our supplier that if we call the order in on Monday the 19th, the chocolate will arrive by Friday in time for Passover. (Cash and checks only.)
Our 4-6 grade OWL class
is coming to a close and they will have traditional celebrations. The first is a mixed gender overnight at UUCM. (Getting them ready for MUUGs we hope.) And the other is a full family celebration and potluck to acknowledge the student's completion and to solidify that
UU Family values mean ALL kinds of families and that sexuality is a normalized part of being human.
We need
eggs
to color on March 25th. Please bring a dozen or two hard boiled
eggs
to help us prepare for the
Egg
Hunt.
So,
April 1st
this year is a semi-rare event with
Passover, Easter, and April Fool's Day
all on the same day. I am thinking it is a great day for families to get in the spirit and find an appropriate hat for the day.
The next
YRUU overnight is scheduled for April 7th at UUCM. Please save the date if this pertains to you.
Jeffrey Melcher, M.Div.
Director of Religious Exploration
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Upcoming dates link to the UUCM calendar for saving on iCal, Outlook etc.
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UU Book Group Meetings - April 1 and May 6
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The next UUCM book club meeting is on April Fools and Easter, April 1, at 3pm at Janice Prochaska's house. We will discuss "Salvage the Bones" by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.
We will meet May 6 at Villa Marin, hosted by Sandy Steinman, book to be determined at the April meeting.
Newcomers are welcome to join the book club!
Kim Holscher
[email protected]
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Remarkable People - March 16
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Friday, March 16, 7- 9 pm Fireside Room
Karen Auroy and Jim Harrison are our March people of the month.
The ongoing Remarkable People series gives us time to learn about each other from the interesting stories of individual lives. Whether you already know them by name or not, you will learn what you don't know in the evening of sharing and community. Each person talks and there is time for questions and general sociability and usually some sustaining snacks.
You may know Karen Auroy from her lovely voice in the choir, her winning smile, or her active role on the Board and as a Worship associate. She is also an avid hiker and photographer who has traveled an interesting spiritual path. Come hear her travel tale on "the evolutionary Choo-Choo that has brought me, after numerous stops, to the UUCM station".
And while you may know Jim Harrison as a noble and clever lead of the Fixit Facilities team and a Chalice Circle, you may not have heard about his Navy career that began at 17 and his path to being an electrical engineer. There is more to know...
Jump in and learn about these good people.
Be remarkable yourself and come enjoy!
And for next month (April 20) if you want to mark your calendar: Michael Jenkins and Lynne Scarpa.
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"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." James Beard. Get to know other members of the congregation eating dinners in their homes through Dinners for Eight (or Six). We would love to have more participants for the last two dinners of the year on April 7th and June 2nd.
Dinners for 8 (or Six) is a coordinated potluck. We meet on the 1st Saturday of the month, October through June. Each month a volunteer host will offer a main course and guests bring appetizers, salad/soup, dessert, and wine and good conversation. Contact Sher Sheldon at 415-892-1727 or
[email protected]
for details.
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We are looking for a few additional members to serve in our usher pool. Ushering helps you to get know more people, matching faces with name tags as you hand out the Orders of Service at the door. Our ushers take a turn once, twice or three times a quarter. If you are willing to serve our congregation in this way, please contact June Fesler at
[email protected].
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Turn in Retreat Registration and Payment by 3/25
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If you have a Registration Form, please fill it out and return it this coming Sunday.
Forms are due no later than March 25.
If you would like to offer a workshop, please let Thomas Ervin know (
[email protected]). We are planning a joyous retreat with scrumptious meals, learning and playing together in the beautiful setting of Walker Creek Ranch. Nothing could be finer than to spend a weekend in the country in May with your family and friends! We can't do it without your registration forms. Please attach a check or pay online and note the online payment on your form.
Thanks,
Thomas and Dianne
Retreat Waiver
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Rita Child's beautiful portrait drawings are hanging in the Fireside Room. She is a local artist and teacher and a friend of one of our members.
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Summer Worship Opportunities
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The Worship Committee is currently seeking members to give services from July 23rd until the end of August. You will be assisted by a Worship Associate to plan your service. Typically the 'sermon' portion lasts 15-20 minutes.
If you have an idea for a service, please contact
[email protected]. Share your words with our Congregation!
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Women's REST Program in Last Year
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Women's REST Program in Last Year -- Helpers needed for April.
Thank you to everyone for pitching in to make and service food during this last year of the REST program. For 10 years, UUCM along with other community groups has helped provide emergency wintertime shelter and food for up to 25 women a night. This is the last year of that program. Come be a part of it! We need helpers for April. Walt Littrell and the Fountain of Ukes (Ukaleles) will get your toes tapping and fill your heart with joy.
Click this link to sign up!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a054aafac2e5-sunday
Questions? Ask Sarah Tiederman --
[email protected]
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UUA 2017-2018 Common Read
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UUCM Adult Ed Committee is sponsoring the UUA 2017-2018 Common Read
Join in the national conversation!
This year we are reading
Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry edited by Mitra Rahnema
Thank you to those of you who were present at the Promise and Practice Service. Thank you also to those who were able to attend the discussion on white privilege and discrimination within the UU denomination that took place after the service. It was a very honest, fruitful and expanding conversation. Discussions of "Centering" will be
April 22nd 12:15-1:30PM at UUCM and also at the UUCM retreat May 4-6.
This anthology of vital voices from our own UUA ministry speaks to the challenges of being a minister of color in our denomination.
Adult Ed has purchased 10 copies from the UUA to circulate for reading.
As of Feb. 25 there was at least one copy of "Centering" available to be checked out from the
Adult Ed Lending Library which is a well labeled box with a checkout form near the computer in the Community Room.
If you have a copy you are willing to circulate please leave it in the Adult Ed Lending Library in the Community Room.
It's going for $9.99 and $7.99.
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General Assembly Kansas City, Missouri
The call of our Unitarian Universalist faith has a place for each of us.
All Are Called
to join us this June 20 - 24 in Kansas City to build courageous, collective leadership with tools, skills and connections.
Financial aid for General Assembly is available in the form of working volunteer positions as well as registration scholarships and travel grants. There are several different funding sources available via the General Assembly Unified Scholarship Application, including additional funding committed by the UUA Administration to the 2018 budget to facilitate the participation of People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Persons at GA. Financial Aid applications are accepted March 1 through March 31.
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Pacific Western Regional Assembly - April 27-29
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More than 500 individuals
from the four districts of the UUA's Pacific Western Region have already registered for the PWR 2018 Regional Assembly. They will gather
April 27-29 in Portland, OR. Speakers include, the Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern,
Senior Minister at the First Unitarian Society of San Francisco; Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, advocate for women's, immigrant, civil, and human rights; and the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, newly elected UUA president.
Programming includes workshops, worship, district meetings, and an optional social justice activity. A day-long Professional Day designed for religious professionals is planned for Friday, April 27, before the start of Regional Assembly. Discount lodging is available at the Portland Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, site of the Regional Assembly. Childcare and youth programming will be available.
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Basket Share Participants Needed
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Are you involved as a volunteer or recipient of the services of a local 501(c)(3) agency or program?
You can help that organization raise money by initiating a 50/50 UUCM Offering Basket Share.
Complete the
application form on the UUCM website Social Justice page. Or find one at the Social Justice Table on a Sunday morning. Send it to
[email protected] or leave it in the SJ box in the Community Room.
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Sending Announcements for the Order of Service
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If you have an announcement for the back of the Sunday Order of Service please send it to
[email protected]
instead
of sending it to the office. Please send by 5 PM on Wednesday, any later submissions will be considered for timeliness and room. The Worship Committee members are now putting together the Order of Service and Janette will print it.
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Social Justice Education/Action
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Next Social Justice meeting: Sunday March 18, 12:15-1:30 PM
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We have a newsletter list to inform you about
UU Social Justice actions and local issues. Sign up by
replying to this email and typing
"Yes to Social Advocates".
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Continue your commitment to environmental and economic justice by shopping at
http://shop.uusc.org
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Visitor's Box
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We cherish diversity and welcome among us
people of all races, cultures, ages, abilities, sexual
identities/orientations, and faith perspectives.
GUESTS
are always welcome. Sunday worship is a time for inspiration, renewal, and connection.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH join adults during the first part of the service, and then attend Religious Exploration classes. Nursery and toddler care is provided during the 10:30 service. There is a speaker system to bring sound from Fellowship Hall to the nursing room and the pre-K area.
REFRESHMENT HOUR
in the Courtyard or
Fireside Room follows the services.
There are four "Sunday First Time Visitor" parking spots at the top of the parking lot.
Come, join us!
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Staff Links
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Office Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday 11AM - 6PM
Other times also available. Call/email for an appointment.
phone 415-479-4131 ext 102
Office Hours:
Sunday 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Tuesday 10:30 - 1:30 PM
Thursday 12:30 - 3:30 PM
phone 415-479-4131 ext 104
Nursery Teacher: Glynda Christian
Don Beck: 415-892-0642
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I appreciate any feedback about this weekly newsletter.
eWeekly Deadline for Thursday issue:
Tuesday by 7 am - activities and announcements, Staff columns, committee reports
Weekly articles can contain:
- Notices of UUCM sponsored events, meetings, or other activities which involve the entire congregation.
- Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) or Pacific Central District (PCD) announcements of interest to the entire congregation.
(Staff article length 250 words)
Production, UUCM Connect and Special Announcements Editor: Lisa Cohen
Backup Production Editor: Valerie Taylor
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin
415-479-4131
240 Channing Way
San Rafael, CA 94903
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