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Submissions must be in by Wednesday at 4:00 pm to be included in the newsletter.
Heather Thornton, Beacon Office Manager
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~ Sunday Service ~
"Question Box Sunday"
Do you have something you've always wanted to ask a minister, the minister, YOUR minister? Today's the day to bring your question! Questions will be collected during the service and answered by Rev. Kevin in lieu of a sermon. Children's questions will be answered during Time for All Ages, so encourage your little ones to bring questions as well!
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~ Notes from the office ~
Directory
There will be a copy of the current Directory on the greeter table on Sunday! Please take a moment to take a peek at your entry and let Heather know if any corrections need to be made!
Name Tags
Thank you all for your patience while we update the name tags! If you do not see a tag with your name on it, please email Heather at [email protected], and we will work to get one out for you as quickly as possible!
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~ Homecoming Picnic Sunday! ~
Join Beacon for our 31st Annual Homecoming Picnic! September 10, 10:00 am at the BMP Community Ramada at Bushmaster Park, adjacent to Thomas School, off Lockett Rd. There will be a short homily, with a potluck picnic, family fun, and games to follow! We look forward to having you all with us to celebrate this long time Beacon tradition!
Directions and a map to the location coming soon!
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~ From the Ministers Desk ~
"
The depth of man's questioning is more important than his answers
."
~ André Malraux, novelist
"
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers
."
~ Voltaire
This Sunday will be a new adventure for us in the collective. It is my first annual
Question Box Service.
Many UU ministers and others, offer such a service once or twice a year in lieu of prepared sermon. A chance to ask the questions upon your heart and mind and to have me to my best ability offer response. The timing feels right as we close out summer and begin to look at our coming church year to offer an opportunity to hear your questions.
As has been mentioned in the sermon note for this coming Sunday -
Do you have something you've always wanted to ask a minister, the minister, your minister? Today's the day to bring your question! Questions will be collected during the service and answered by Rev. Kevin in lieu of a sermon. Children's questions will be answered during the Time for All Ages, so encourage your little ones to bring questions as well.
There will be note cards at the ready for your questions so be thinking of these now through Sunday.
Parents
, please be speaking with your children to aid them in finding their wondering, if helpful have them write their question in advance and bring with them for Time for all Ages. We will have a few prompt questions as well to help us along with the kids.
With appreciation to Nancy Paxton and Jack Doggett for our Poetry service last week, here a poem by
Alice Walker:
"I must love the questions
themselves
as Rilke said
like locked rooms
full of treasures
to which my blind
and groping key
does not yet fit.
And await the answers
as unsealed
letters
mailed with dubious intent
and written in a very foreign tongue.
And in the hourly making
of myself
no thought of time
to force, to squeeze
the space
I grow into."
Grateful to be on the journey with you,
Rev. Kevin
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~ Religious Exploration ~
Greetings from the Religious Exploration (RE) Committee!
Your RE Committee has been very busy!
We have been meeting regularly. We selected Amy Huntereece as our new DRE, and have been working with her to develop curriculum and look at possible new models for RE to engage kids and accommodate families. With Amy's help, we are considering traditional UU RE curriculum as well as innovative ideas that will connect our curriculum with UU principles and values.
Adrienne, our music director, is excited about collaborating with Amy to incorporate music into the program.
After families have been enjoying the summer, we are looking forward to inviting everyone back to RE at Beacon! Amy has been reaching out to all of our families as well as inviting families from the larger Flagstaff community to join us for our new exciting RE program. The kick-off for RE will be on Sunday September 17
th
.
Meanwhile, we - the RE Committee - would welcome new people to join us to share energy and ideas. Our next meeting is at Beacon on September 11 at 4pm. This is your chance to learn about and contribute to RE!
Love,
the RE Committee (Trish Black, Kay Johnson, Christina Boyd, Dee Wegwert, and of course our DRE Amy Huntereece)
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~ Music Box ~
#8 Mother Spirit, Father Spirit by Norbert Capek. Now a popular hymn, this poem, was written by a Czech minister after he was taken by the Gestapo to a death camp in World War II. He died in Dachau in 1942.
"This is one of our most haunting hymns - both melody and lyric work together to create an air of mystery, wondering, and mysticism. It is the plaintive call of the seeker, questioning all, finding solace in each other. It is a hymn uniquely suited for us - it is theism and humanism, nature and community, all rolled into one. I know that its author, Norbert Capek, did not live to see the fullness of the modern Unitarian Universalist movement but his prescient lyric speaks deeply of those questions we wrestle with today."
Notes from the Far Fringe by Kimberley Debus
#1003 Where Do We Come From? was a manifesto the artist Paul Gauguin wrote on the upper left corner of one of his largest painting. Looking for a society more simple and elemental than that of his native France, Gauguin left for Tahiti in 1891. In addition to several other paintings that express his highly individualistic mythology, he completed this painting around 1898. Gauguin considered it a masterpiece and the grand culmination of his thought.
#354 We Laugh, We Cry by Shelly Jackson Denham
And we believe in life,
and in the strength of love;
and we have found a joy
being together.
And in our search of peace,
maybe we'll finally see:
even to question truly is an answer.
Shelly Jackson Denham's song reminds me of questions asked and lessons learned, akin with the writings of modern mystic, John O'Donohue.
"We live in a world that responds to our longing; it is a place where the echoes always return, even if sometimes slowly... The hunger to belong is at the heart of our nature. Cut off from others, we atrophy and turn in on ourselves. The sense of belonging is the natural balance of our lives... There is some innocent childlike side to the human heart that is always deeply hurt when we are excluded... When we become isolated, we are prone to being damaged; our minds lose their flexibility and natural kindness; we become vulnerable to fear and negativity.
The ancient and eternal values of human life - truth, unity, goodness, justice, beauty, and love - are all statements of true belonging; they are the also the secret intention and dream of human longing.
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~ In Community ~
Sue Strobel shared sorrow for the passing of
Beatrice Kimberlin, mother of Sara Felder, grandmother of Alisa Ashley, and great-grandmother of Isaac Godwin and Tyler Ashley, at 104 years of age.
lore dickey commented on the beginning of the staff year at NAU and the return of students the following week.
Becky Hipsher shared concern for our country and the current political climate; hopes for peace and justice.
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~ Social Justice Allies ~
With everything going on at Beacon these days, let me add more dates-social justice-related-for your calendar:
- Sunday, September 10, 4 - 5:00pm: Justice Strength Training, Session 1: Intersectionality & UU Action, a webinar sponsored by UUJAZ (UU Justice Arizona) network. See Justice Strength Training, below)
- Saturday, September 30: In the morning: Walk to Fight Suicide, at Buffalo Park (google afsp.org/flagstaff for more information). Public Safety is one of Beacon's public stance issues, and suicide is a pressing problem-yes, right here in Flagstaff!
-
Saturday, October 14: Issues and Action
, an annual day of preparation for our UU Day at the Legislature in February. Sponsored by UUJAZ, conducted all day, (probably) at the UU Church of Surprise. Early registration begins Sept. 4
Thanks! Roz
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~ Beacon Community Action Committee ~
August Community Partner: Full Circle People's Pantry
This Sunday, Aug. 27:
Stuff the Van for People's Pantry
That's this
coming Sunday,
Beacon! Please begin, if you haven't already, to collect canned or packaged foodstuffs, fresh produce, cases of water or healthy beverages, and household hygiene products. I'm on my second bag-it's in a spot that I must see most of the day ( or trip over)! If you want to contribute fresh produce or frozen items, please deliver it directly to the People's Pantry, 2529 E. 7
th
Ave. (east of 4
th
St.).
The van from Food Pantry will arrive after our service. You can bring your bags into the foyer if that works for you; we will have help to unload from your car if that helps.
On the subject of volunteers at the new Pantry
...the Packards welcome help in teams of 6 - 8. They have suggested one
Sunday
monthly from
3:00 - 7:00
as a fixed day for Beacon if there's interest and commitment. Though ambitious, this, too, is a much-needed effort. Let me know if you'd like to be on a Beacon team at the Pantry, and we could pick our
Sunday
!
Can't wait to see all the good stuff Beacon folks will bring Sunday! Happy food gathering!
Sue Strobel, Beacon's Coordinator for the People's Pantry
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~ A new way to deepen your Beacon experience. ~
Chalice Circles are an Adult RE component of the Touchstone program of themed ministry that Beacon is initiating in September. Each Circle will consist of 8 participants an a facilitator, meeting once a month for approximately 90 minutes. Topics will follow the monthly Touchstone theme.
Chalice Circles are not study groups, or support groups. They are designed to foster introspection and deep listening as participants respond to topic questions from their personal perspective and life experience. Chalice Circles provide;
- A way to foster friendships and caring connections
- An avenue for personal growth and spiritual exploration
- An opportunity to strengthen the fabric of our church community.
As your Chalice Circle facilitator, Char Tarashanti is committed to creating a safe and welcoming space for all participants and guiding the process with the framework of the Chalice Circle format. Char had 5 years of Chalice Circle experience in her previous congregation in MN.
Sign up sheets will be available in the lobby on Sundays and in the office during the week. Char will be happy to answer any questions in person or by phone.
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~ Classifieds ~
Lost and Found!
Please note! It's time for the annual clearing out of the lost and found! Please look in the plastic tote under the plate table for any of your belongings, we will be donating all remaining items in September!
New
Sunday Morning Volunteer opportunity! You've been looking for how you can help out at Beacon, here's your chance! We're seeking to build a pool of cash count volunteers to work in teams of two, for one half hour after service to count the offering and prepare cash count sheet. Please contact the office with your interest.
Photos!
Requesting photos with permission to use them on the Beacon website! Photos can be of congregational events (please make sure everyone in the photo is named so that I can obtain a release to use them!), the church itself, the grounds, or even just of around town! Help us show the public the beautiful community that is Beacon UU!
Beacon Library!
Our Beacon Library is in need of some friends, might you have time to help organize, and to create and review checkout and return of our honor system loaner library? The library is currently being reset in the upstairs library / DRE office room, so a great time to help with organizing. Please be in touch with Rev. Kevin.
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~ Art Exhibitions at Beacon for July and August
~
And Now For Something Different - New Art At Beacon
For July And August we are displaying the exciting work of textile artist and man about town Jamie Hasapis. The pieces in this exhibit were created using a technique called "snow-dyeing". Fabric is covered with 8" - 10" of snow and then dyes are applied. As the snow melts the dye is absorbed randomly creating color, design and texture. "I never know what the end result will be....when I open the bundles I have these incredible gifts that I get to share."
In addition to his art, Jamey is a musician, singer and actor. He is also the host of Radio Sunnyside's Community Conversation
on Monday mornings at
10 a.m.
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~ Website Members and Friends Access ~
Interested in accessing the directory and board documents on the Members and Friends page on
BeaconUU.com
? You can get the password over the phone (928-779-4492) during regular office hours, or by requesting it from a board member after Sunday Services.We will not be providing it by email.
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If you are not on Beacon's exclusive google group, you are missing out on an important communications link within our congregation. It is useful for spreading information about something going on in Flagstaff, informing others of social action activities, offering an item for sale or to give away, sharing enthusiasm about a book or movie, requesting information or recommendations -- and more! It's simple to sign up! Email Heather, our Office Manager, at
[email protected].
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Beacon Calendar
Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, August 24
7:00 pm
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Qi-Gong
Tuesday, August 29
6:15 pm
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Board of Trustees Retreat
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Flagstaff Family Food Center
Wednesday, August 30
3:30 pm
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Sunday Service & Religious
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Owl Parent Meeting
Wednesday, August 30
5:30 pm
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Owl Parent Meeting
Sunday, August 27
11:30 am
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Yoga
Tuesday, August 29
11:00 am, 5:00 pm
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Sunday Service & Religious
10:00 am
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If you would like to submit a calendar event, send an email to
[email protected]
. With all requests, please indicate the following: proposed start and end time of the event, the space/room preferred, and a rough group size. On the occasion of a cancellation or rescheduling of an event, please let the office know in a timely fashion to ensure that your event is correctly represented in the newsletter and order of service. Thank you!
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~ Save the Date ~
Sunday, September 10
10:00 am
Homecoming picnic
Bushmaster Park
Saturday October 14, 2017
UUJAZ - Issue and Action Day
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Beacon Office Hours
Rev. Kevin
Lawson:
Tues: 11:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Weds: 11:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Other times available by appointment
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Director of Religious Exploration,
Amy Hunterreece
Please call the office during regular office hours for DRE needs at this time.
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Office Manager,
Heather Thornton
Tues: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Weds: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Thur: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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~ Fundraising the Easy Way! ~
We have added new, easy ways to give back to Beacon!
Do you shop at Fry's? Use the Beacon phone number, (928) 779-4492, at checkout, and Beacon receives donations from Fry's through their Community Rewards program!
Or, use smile.amazon.com! Just set Beacon as your charity of choice, and when you use the smile.amazon.com portal to shop, Beacon receives donations from Amazon.com!
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