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What is an "installation ceremony"?
Rev. Katie's Animas View
Way back in 1985, right around the time our current Unitarian Universalist principles were being created and established as markers of our movement, one of our stalwart ministers produced a manual to offer congregations and ministers a guide and understanding of the purpose, meaning and form for ordinations and installations. In all these years since, I haven't seen anything like it produced, and I'm pretty sure that many of the newest clergy and congregational teams are unaware that such a manual exists. It might be a tad dated, but it's still helpful. Here's what the Rev. Peter Raible said there about installations:
An installation service is the recognition that a minister is settled in a particular society. ...There is an important history to this service relating to congregational polity. The fact that normally a minister is formally installed only some months after entering upon the actual ministry to a church suggests how mainly ceremonial such occasions have become. Whenever held, however, the installation
highlights and reaffirms the bond between a minister and a society.
In our case, we are reaffirming the bond that began two years ago, when I was first hired by the Board of Trustees to serve as a "Developmental" minister. This past March, the entire congregation made the decision to "call" me to serve as your minister. Let's celebrate that!
The service of installation looks a lot like a regular worship service, with the addition of special guests and elements. There is a sermon from an out of town special guest, and the inclusion of a Charge to the congregation and a Charge to the minister. The part that makes it official is the Act of Installation in which the members of UUFD and the called minister speak some words of promise and agreement to each other. So, if you have not yet joined the fellowship, now would be a good time, so that you can participate when only members stand to say these special words together.
There will be special music from our music director, Marilyn Garst, along with soloists, and the service will include other special pieces from our choir. And of course, following the service, we'll have a big party with a toast to our future, plenty of food, and, of course, cake.
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is nearly 50 years old, and this congregation, birthed and grown by you, is something of which to be especially proud. This special service is a way to celebrate your choice in the invitation and vote for this relationship of minister and congregation. Personally, every time I attend an installation in support of my colleagues and of congregations across the country, I am once again sparked into gladness for this wonderful tradition of Unitarian Universalism. I hope you'll be there to celebrate in the joy.
With love for the faith and for you,
Rev. Katie
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September Sunday Services
Shall We Gather at the River
A time for returning and creating new vision
September 4
Colorado 1913: A Labor Day Under Martial Law
Charlie Clements, pulpit guest
Our Social Responsibility and Justice team will consider the seminal role of Mother Jones and Colorado mineworkers in establishing the eight-hour workday, mine safety, and the end of abusive conditions. How does its memory continue to reverberate in contemporary political discourse?
September 11
Gathered Here
Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris and Lisa McCorry
Our traditional ingathering service uses a communion of water from our travels to remind us of the healing power of community. We'll remember the anniversary of 9/11/2001 and our friends in Baton Rouge who have had too much water. Our children will remain in the service today.
September 18
Other Hearts in Other Lands Are Beating
Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
What does it mean to be a refugee? How can we hold an identity and still reach out to aid others who are living amidst strife and violence? Consider our current-day struggles and remember the vision of our UU forebears who stepped up during WWII.
September 25
Abide With Me
Rev. Michelle Favreault, pulpit guest and Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
What changes and what remains as we gather in a tradition dedicated to growth and learning? Let's celebrate history and hope in a spirit of worship.
September 25 **
4pm**
Ceremony of Installation
You'll want to arrive early for a good seat for this special afternoon worship. Our wonderful choir as well as out-of-town guests will be leading this historic service acknowledging the relationship between the congregation and the first called minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango.
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President's Message
Teresa Jordan
Remember those long, lazy days of summer? No? Me neither. Summer flashed by at record speed for me. Already I feel a cool nip in the air, a harbinger of approaching autumn, my favorite time of year. Following all our summer adventures, nature provides a visual color feast as we return to the routine of congregational life at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango (UUFD). Only this fall is not routine because we already have several special activities scheduled.
Board Retreat.
The board will hold an annual retreat in early September to consider how to approach our agenda for the coming year. The congregation will be invited later this year to help discern how UUFD can best deal with the growth we are experiencing since the arrival of our first minister, The Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris. Growth in our church home - what a wonderful problem we have to solve!
Installation Ceremony.
Before we all roll up our sleeves to tackle our growth issues, let's first celebrate our relationship with our newly called minister. Plan to attend Rev. Katie's installation ceremony at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 25. The Installation Team is busily preparing for this historic event in the life of our congregation. (I'm not aware of all of the details, but as a member of the choir, I know wonderful music is being rehearsed under the direction of Choir Director Alane Brown.) UUFD has never experienced such a ceremony. Be sure to RSVP by September 9th, and be a part of this momentous occasion.
Watch Party - Defying the Nazis.
Join the UUFD watch party for the new Ken Burns film "Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War." At the UUA General Assembly in June, I was fortunate to view clips of this amazing film scheduled for broadcast by PBS. You will be proud and inspired by this story of Martha and Waitstill Sharp, two young Unitarians who stood up against injustice to defy the Nazis and rescue dissidents, Jews, and other refugees during World War II. Our Social Responsibility and Justice Team, co-chaired by Betty Schwartz-Bozeman, Charlie Clements, and Bonnie Miller, is organizing the event at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 18. Contact the team for more details.
FROLIC.
There is more fall fun on the UUFD calendar with FROLIC scheduled for Saturday, October 15. This evening of auction and entertainment will raise funds to help UUFD address our growth issues and 10% of the proceeds will be donated to local housing efforts. The FROLIC Team, co-chaired by Bonnie Miller, Connie Jacobs, and Lynn Griffith, has selected the theme "Building for the Future." Contact the co-chairs for more information.
New Workshop Series.
"The New UU," a series of workshops developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association, will be offered at UUFD this fall. Designed to welcome, orient, and integrate newcomers, these workshops will also appeal to anyone who wants to know more about what we believe and what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. Allison Andersen, Maureen Maliszewski, and Susie Francis, the members of our UUFD Nominating Committee, are organizing the series with help from Faith Formation Director Lisa McCorry. Watch for details on how to register.
Board Meetings
. As I mentioned above, the board will be reaching out again to the congregation this year, and you are always welcome to attend board meetings, which are scheduled in Bowman Hall at 3 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. Agendas and minutes are posted on the UUFD website here
. Your board welcomes your thoughts and ideas. Contact us:
Our church year is taking off with an exciting number of special events and activities this fall. There will be much more to come as the year unfolds. It is such a pleasure for me to participate in the growth and development that is happening at UUFD. I hope you share my enthusiasm for all we can do together.
Teresa Jordan
Board of Trustees President
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Hold on to your hats! SJ&R has lots to report!
Social Justice & Responsibility Coordinators: Betty Schwartz-Bozeman, Bonnie Miller, Charlie Clements
"Hold on to your hats!"
That expression capturing the feeling of exciting busy experiences with a lot of rushing around seems apt for what's happening in our social justice work right now. We've started the 'new year' with a robust set of actions. We donated $2500 of our Disaster Relief and Development funds to the UU Church of Baton Rouge to help flood victims. In gratitude for the Fellowship's support, and just for fun, we provided a free showing of the film "Pride" and served popcorn. The process has begun for selecting our Share the Plate recipients this year (be sure to nominate an organization or project you think worthy). SRJ teams are initiating their work for this year: the LGBTQ team begins their monthly meetings working on advocacy and education; the Healing Racism team will be involved in the UUA common read book "The Third Reconstruction"; and the Basic Needs team will be researching local agencies addressing the issue of housing as a recipient of 10% of the proceeds of our upcoming Frolic.
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Martha and Waitstill Sharp |
We are sponsoring an important community wide PBS documentary film showing of "Defying the Nazis: the Sharps' War" on Sunday, September 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
(Note this change of date!) This Ken Burns film tells the extraordinary story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife who left their children behind in the care of their parish to take on life-threatening missions in Europe to help provide relief to people trying to escape Nazi persecution. Their heroic sacrifice saved the lives of dozens of Jewish scientists, journalists, doctors, powerful anti-Nazi activists and children. This is a powerful story that relates to the issues we face today of hatred and discrimination. Join us and bring your friends to explore what it means to be 'righteous.'
If you have a heart for social justice, please join us in our work. Each of the SRJ teams welcomes new members and you can stop by the SRJ table after Sunday services or contact the facilitators to learn more: Basic Needs, Charlie Clements; LGBTQ, Bonnie Miller; Healing Racism, Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris.
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Faith Formation Corner
Harbingers of Frost
Autumn, we know,
Is life en route to death.
The asters are but harbingers of
frost.
The trees, flaunting their colors at
the sky,
In other times will follow where
the leaves have fallen,
And so shall we.
Yet other lives will come.
So may we know, accept, embrace,
The mystery of life we hold a
while
Nor mourn that it outgrows each
separate self, but still rejoice
that we may have our day.
Lift high our colors to the sky!
and give,
In our time, fresh glory to the
earth.
-Robert Weston, from
Singing the Living Tradition #538
What are the "Harbingers of Frost" in your life? Maybe it's school children with backpacks, football games, a pot of aromatic chili, that pesky weather pain from an old injury or simply the smell and feel of the crisp morning air.
How do you take notice? How might you pause? What can we learn from autumn?
Are we willing to consider gratitude? Even if we carry stress, sadness, grief, trauma or loss, is gratitude within our reach? In the stillness of the season, may we explore the stillness within.
Be aware this season, of Harbingers of Frost. May they remind us that we too, are rooted and yet, changing. Fear not losing leaves, rather rejoice in your autumnal colors.
Things to Note:
Water Communion, Sept 11, 10 AM. Bring a small amount of water from a source of your choosing to participate in this special UU ritual.
There is now an online sign up format for Faith Formation
classroom volunteers through Sign Up Genius. If you plan to teach and did not receive this, contact Lisa McCorry.
Healing Racism Circle invites everyone to join us
Sept. 15 at the FLC Concert Hall for the Las Cafeteras performance, (
http://lascafeteras.com/). Stay tuned for more Healing Racism gatherings.
Save the Date for
Rev. Katie's Installation on September 25, 4 PM. Kids pizza party with childcare during the Installation. RSVP's appreciated.
Reminder that all items for the Orders of Service and the E-Announcements are
due by Tuesday at noon. Thank you.
Our semi-annual fund raiser,
FROLIC is October 15. There are many ways to contribute. Contact Lynn Griffiths, Bonnie Miller or Connie Jacobs.
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Recital Series 2016-2017
Tenth anniversary season begins Sept. 23
The tenth anniversary season of the Recital Series will begin on Sept. 23 with the Southwest Piano Trio consisting of Kay Newnam, violin, Joanna de Keyser, cello, and Marilyn Garst, piano. They will perform works in various styles by Beethoven, David Wilde and Dvořák. Kay served as Concertmaster and violin soloist of the Orchestra of Santa Fe and has been a member of the Ensemble of Santa Fe. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she also is a member of the San Juan Symphony. Joanna is professor emerita at the University of New Mexico. She was a medal winner in the Geneva International Competition and has performed throughout the U.S.A., Europe and Mexico. Before moving to Durango in 2005, Dr. Garst was a faculty member for 25 years at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she taught piano, harpsichord and keyboard ensembles, performed in recitals, and served as Keyboard Studies Coordinator.
Italian guitarist Nicolò Spera will present the second recital on Nov. 4 featuring Spanish music from Catalonia by Mompou and Granados. Nicolò will perform his own transcriptions of this music on ten-string guitar. He is a faculty member at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He has won top prizes at several Italian and international competitions and is regularly invited to play in music festivals such as the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, the Tangents Guitar Series in San Francisco, the Mediterranean Guitar Festival in Italy, and the Sauble Beach Festival in Canada.
The third recital on Feb. 3, 1017, will be presented by Quadrivium, a vocal quintet including three faculty members from Fort Lewis College-Charissa Chiaravalloti, soprano, Kerry Ginger, alto, Erik Gustafson, tenor-plus two singers from Arizona-Cory Close, tenor, and Michael Hix, baritone. The program will feature a 1597 work by Orazio Vecchi entitled L'amfiparnaso (The Peaks of Parnassus). The comedic drama unfolds in a series of madrigals which depict dialogues between the commedia dell'arte characters. Between the short movements, the actors will enact scenes and give segues in English.
The series will conclude on April 28, 2017, with the Mangold Duo-Marilyn Mangold Garst, piano, and Bonnie Mangold, cello. Marilyn will perform solo piano works by Clementi and Ravel, and the duo will perform works by Prokofiev and Schumann. Bonnie's career included 37 years as cellist in the Utah Symphony, preceded by three years as principal cellist in the National Orchestra of Colombia in Bogota. She is currently completing a substantial book about music entitled Journey into the Heart of Music that includes her own compositions.
Please see the Recital Series brochure for specific information about the programs and tickets for these events.
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HELP NEEDED!
Help raise wages for 420,000 Colorado workers
 Thrive! Living Wage Coalition is leading the campaign in La Plata County to educate voters about the
Colorado Minimum Wage Ballot Measure ($12 by 2020). We need at least 30 Volunteers for Sept 3 - Nov 8 to knock on doors and educate voters about the ballot measure. All volunteers will receive all necessary training and support throughout the campaign. Low-wage worker volunteers may qualify for a stipend. Call Maureen at
970-903-0957.
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UUFD Fall Campout and Picnic
Join us Sept 9-10
 Best ever campout, picnic, group fun, food, and camaraderie. We have reserved Group Camp Site # 3 at Chris Park (next to beautiful Haviland Lake and just 18 miles from Durango) for Friday and Saturday nights, Sept. 9th and 10th.
All families, friends and members are welcome
and it's close enough that those who don't like to sleep on rocks can go home at night to their cushy, warm beds.
The facilities include a large covered
picnic shelter with electricity and tables, fire rings, grills, accessible vault toilets, drinking water, horse shoe pits, volleyball courts, hiking trails, and of course boating and fishing at the lake. Electricity is available for RVs for $5 per night. All meals will be on your own except Saturday night, which will be a group feast. Saturday evening will include "happy hour" at 5PM, and a group dinner about 6PM, which will be followed by dancing to music and moonlight provided by our own professional DJ and Mother Nature.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome but must be on a leash while in the campground.
Bring your own beverages, and for the group dinner bring your own main course to grill,or other main dish, and a dish to share in accordance with the list below:
A-F Appetizer
G-P Side or Salad
Q-Z Dessert
You don't have to RSVP, just come.
-John Schwob
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Fabulous, Rousing, Outrageous, Lively, Ineluctable Celebration!
Co-chairs: Lynn Griffith, Connie Jacobs, Bonnie Miller
Did you get that - the FROLIC! These words were the brainstorm of the 'founding mothers' of the UUFD Frolic, with Aline Schwob being the chief mama. We will be having our fourth Frolic this October 15 starting at 5:00 p.m. and the fun, good food, entertainment and fabulous auction items tradition will continue. Beginning September 11, someone will be at a Frolic table after each Sunday service through October 9 where you can purchase tickets for the event (still only $5 for adults and kids free!) and pick up or turn in a donation form describing what you can contribute to the auction. You can also go to the UUFD website durangouu.org and complete a donation form online.
In addition to the silent auction and live auction items, new this year will be a section of fixed price items, all at $50 or less. Also new, for every dinner in the Board Auction, we will have a raffle available for $20 for two spots. You can enter a raffle for as many dinners as you want and if your name is drawn, you and a friend will be going to one of the amazing gourmet dinners you will read about in the catalogue to come. Stop by the Frolic table to see a list of ideas about donations...everyone contributing something makes for a wide range of interesting items that members and friends can bid on and try to make theirs.
The Board of Trustees met recently to make a decision about the use of this year's Frolic proceeds. If you've been wondering about how we may manage our space needs in the future as we continue to grow, Frolic funds will help us all to find answers to that question. After donating 10% of Frolic proceeds to a local agency helping with housing issues, the remaining funds will be used to contract architectural consulting services to identify options for meeting our space needs, and to develop architectural designs for planning work. This should go a long way toward helping us in the next two years to accommodate our vibrant growing Fellowship. Our Frolic theme of 'Building for the Future' reflects this vision.
The Frolic couldn't happen without the generous contributions and volunteer work of so many of you. We still have need of some help with assorted tasks, so if can give some of your time, please contact one of the Co-Chairs for more information.
Don't miss out - mark your calendars now!
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Our Olive Oil Makes a Difference
Equal Exchange: A Different Way of Doing Business
 Equal Exchange olive oil comes from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC), a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable economic development with 41 farmer cooperatives in the West Bank. Purchases of this olive oil help small-scale farmers to stay on their land and make a living for their families. Palestinians have very few ways to support themselves, and by enjoying this olive oil from small-scale family farmers, you are helping people in a part of the West Bank who are faced with a multitude of challenges.
F
rom Equal Exchange Community Sales/ Janice Taylor
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Pause for Poetry
The UU Poetry Circle meets
September 12
,
6-8 pm
, in Bowman Hall. Bring your own poems or those of a favorite to share. Light refreshments. Questions:
durangofolk@frontier.net
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Life on Crutches (2)
A life with one leg and no hands.
Walled in-- my airy nest, now a castle's keep.
I lurch, sway, steady myself on my broken leg.
Time slows, sags like one of Dali's clocks.
My refuge - mysteries and TV induced stupors.
I yearn for the pleasures of familiar chores -
Mowing the lawn, weeding the garden beds,
The fragrance of grass, the feel of soil - bliss.
I imagine hiking back-county trails
With my dog once again, watching her
Play hide and seek with squirrels,
Listening to the watery warbling of
Red-winged black birds. I will breathe
Deeply, settle into moments of silence
When my place in the life of our lovely
Blue planet feels real once again.
Doreen Hunter
7/20/16
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