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Sun Aug 20 2017 Summer #9
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From the Minister
Charlottesville, Virginia: I went to nursery school there when my parents were graduate students, and I returned there in adulthood as a graduate student myself. During both the pre-school and post-graduate stints, I attended Charlottesville's Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist. Many TJMC-UU members were among the counter-demonstrators last weekend. The combination of the large University and the nonurban southern setting makes Charlottesville a logical place for strong feelings for and against Confederate monuments to clash.
I didn't remember that Charlottesville had a Robert E. Lee statue. I grew up in various southern towns, many of which probably had Confederate Monuments, though I scarcely noticed. Carrollton, Georgia, where I lived from 4th-grade through high school, had a generic Confederate soldier statue in front of the courthouse, though I have to cudgel my memory to recall it. (A quick internet search confirms it is still there.) As a child, what did I think of this? Very little. I remember most that Carrollton's statue faced north, serving notice that northerners were seen as enemies. Since my parent were northerners -- and I lacked the accent most of my peers had -- the statue was one more way I was made to feel not at home. While the generic soldier statue was easy to ignore, the bas-relief sculpture in the side of Stone Mountain, 90 minutes away in a park we sometimes visited, was more impressive. It's enormous and depicts three particular men on horseback: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. When I try to recollect what would have been going through my pre-teen brain as I looked at that display, I don't come up with much. I suppose I had some dim apprehension of the white supremacist message, but, immersed as I was in a culture full of white supremacist messages, the monument didn't stand out. Anti-racism efforts of the time were focused on de-segregation, and no one, it seemed, was voicing objection to monuments. It didn't occur to me to wonder how these monuments made my African American classmates and their families feel.
I'm now thinking more about Confederate monuments than I ever did when I lived among them. Most of them, I've learned, were erected in the 1910s and 1920s -- long after the Civil War ended. These aren't war memorials. They are expressions of backlash against Reconstruction. They were erected during the time when the KKK and lynchings were resurgent, and they were unambiguously intended to affirm the supremacy of white people against a threatening possibility of racial equality. Original funding was usually organized by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization promoting white supremacy and a romanticized view of slavery. The KKK was also often a significant fundraiser for the monuments. Today, explicitly white supremacist groups rallying to defend the monuments and African American voices urging their removal are in agreement about one thing: these monuments are important symbols of white supremacy.
It's time they all came down.
Yours in the faith we share,
Meredith |
Practice of the Week
The Gratitude Visit
"First, think of someone who has done something important and wonderful for you, yet who has not been properly thanked. Next, reflect on the benefits you received from this person, and write a letter expressing your gratitude for all he or she did for you. Finally, arrange to deliver the letter personally, and spend some time with this person talking about what you wrote." READ MORE... |
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Lifespan Religious Education
Summer means fun and games! CUUC is no exception, so join us on Sundays. Childcare is provided for all ages during the Sun services. When the weather is warm, there may even be water balloons, so be ready for summer fun on Sunday mornings.
Please see the following two (2) announcements:
1)
Summer Sunday Games During the Service
Children of all ages are invited for:
- outdoor games
- playground play
- water balloons
- board games
You are also welcome to attend services as a family in air-conditioned Fellowship Hall. The childcare room is also air-conditioned.
Nursery care is available.
2)
Bring your special interest to life...in our Religious Education Ministry.
What lights up your heart, stirs your soul, or sparks your creative thinking?
Tell us
your passion and we will find a way to help you share it with others.
Creative arts, spiritual practices, social justice causes, hobbies, religious traditions, and life stories have all been turned into activities, projects, classes, or presentations for children, youth, or adults.
Contact Perry at [email protected] or 914-946-1660 x4.
Sincerely,
Perry
Director of Lifespan Religious Education
and Faith Development
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Are YOU in the Directory?
Take a look
HERE
or pick up a sample printed version at Sunday services. If you don't see your picture or address included and you would like them to be, contact Pam at the CUUC office, [email protected] or 914-946-1660 x2. Help us make our directory complete!
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Upcoming Worship Services
Sun Aug 20
Moral Psychology of Left & Right
Rev. Meredith Garmon
Perhaps surprisingly, people who identify as "conservatives" tend to be better at predicting what "liberals" will say than liberals are at predicting conservatives. There's a reason for this -- and it raises the question of whether liberals should pay more attention to certain of the moral foundations. Or not.
Sun Aug 27
Annual Poetry Celebration: Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Rev. Meredith Garmon
This year's Poetry Celebration service highlights the work of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (b. 1919) of the West Coast Beat poets. His best known collection of poems,
A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), remains one of the best-selling and most popular books of poetry ever published. The beat poets of the 1950s continue to offer us lessons -- as relevant today as ever.
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Animal Ministry
Animal Ministry meeting, Sun Aug 20, 11:30
The new Animal Ministry social justice team will meet after service. Contact: Doreen Rossi ([email protected]).
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Nurture Nature Community
Nurture Nature Community and Wild Walk: Spiritual Animals, Sat Aug 26, 10:00am-12:00pm, Parsonage
We meet to help one another be nourished by nature, including human nature, so that we can nourish the world. Learn more, register, and get the monthly packet HERE.
Contact: Rev. LoraKim Joyner ([email protected]).
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Summer Services in Fellowship Hall
Sundays, 10:00am Worship (Prelude music at 9:50am), Fellowship Hall
Keep the flame alive (and your body cool) by attending our Summer Services in air-conditioned Fellowship Hall. Prelude music begins at 9:50am and worship starts promptly at 10:00am. Services in the sanctuary and religious education classes begin again Sun Sep 10.
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In the Community
Interfaith Prayer Vigil for #Charlottesville and the Nation, Today, Thu Aug 17, 7:30pm, New Rochelle United Methodist Church
Join community members gathering in response to the violence in Charlottesville last Saturday. The vigil will be outside on the lawn, or inside if weather is inclement.
New Rochelle United Methodist Church, 1200 North Avenue, New Rochelle.
Midnight Run, Fri Aug 18, 7:00pm, First Unitarian Society of Westchester (FUSW), Hastings-on-Hudson
Volunteers needed to help prepare food, pack clothes, and distribute and interact with the homeless in NYC. If you haven't gone on a Run before, there is no time like the present! Contact: Art Lowenstein (
914-844-4189, 845-424-3638,
[email protected]) or Annie Patton (
914-588-4782,
[email protected]).
March for Justice: NYC to Albany, Sat Aug 26 to Wed Sep 13
A Message from Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
The
Hudson Valley Community Coalition
(HVCC) supports immigrants facing unjust deportation, such as CT resident Joel Colindres, a married father of two American children, due to be deported today. Click
HERE
to help HVCC in one of four important ways,
HERE
to like and share HVCC on Facebook, and
HERE
to donate. It is important to show up now, in whatever ways we can.
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Ingathering Worship & Water Ceremony, Sun Sep 10
As you go through these last weeks of summer break, remember to stop and collect a sample of water to bring in for our Ingathering Worship and Water Ceremony. The sample may be one that you picked up while traveling, or from a creek near where you live, or from your pet's water dish, or just out of the tap. Reflect on whether the predominant theme of your summer has been: still waters of rest and renewal; shining waters of joy and happiness; stormy waters of grief and loss; or rushing waters of transition and change. Let the water you collect represent how your summer has been for you.
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Ingathering Brunch, Sun Sep 10, after worship
Join us in Fellowship Hall for our annual "gathering in" brunch after the worship service. Reconnect with fellow members, meet new friends, and greet our visitors over a hearty meal. We will have bagels, lox, scrambled eggs, and a selection of salads on hand. We invite you to bring a home-cooked side dish, salad, or sweet to share. Contact John Schwam ([email protected]) to let him know what you plan to bring. The brunch is free!
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Journey Group Signups Coming Soon
Life is a journey, and the CUUC Journey Groups are a vital way to deepen our understanding of life and strengthen our connection to one another by exploring monthly themes together. This year's themes will be Forgiveness, Death, Mindfulness, Embodiment, Resilience, Love, Wandering, Faith, Truth, and Justice. Signup information for the 2017-2018 Journey Groups will be on our website soon. Once it is available, you can choose to continue with your old group or try a new one. Even if you can only attend a few monthly meetings, please do sign up -- Journey Groups are how we help each other become the people we most want to be!
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Save the Date
Sun Oct 1, 4:00pm-6:00pm
You asked for more opportunities to gather together informally and we listened! On Sun Oct 1, the first of our Neighborhood Socials will take place at locations throughout the community. We are looking for hosts willing to open their homes to CUUC families living nearby. Contact Jane Dixon ( [email protected]) to learn more. If you cannot host, please join us as a guest, bringing snacks or beverages to share. Details to come--stay tuned!
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The Program Council is pleased to announce that all coffee hours for the coming year have designated hosts! CUUC Committees, Social Justice Teams, Journey Groups, and others have signed up to host most of the coffee hours. Thank you to all these groups who answered the call, knowing that many hands make light work and that hosting as a group is actually fun!
We will also be trying something new this year on Sundays around major holidays when we expect attendance to be lower. These Sundays will be "Cooperative Coffee Hours" where we ask those attending to bring a treat to share and volunteer to help serve and clean up. Milk and juice will be supplied. No need to sign up ahead of time, just jump in wherever you see a need!
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Denomination News
Matching Giving Opportunity
With the
Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge, new legacy gifts to a UU congregation are eligible for a 10% matching cash gift--paid by or before 2020--up to $10,000 per donor.
Gifts designated between Jan 1 2017 and Jun 30 2020 qualify (see FAQ HERE).
This unique opportunity could create an enduring legacy program for CUUC! To learn more, contact
Tom Wacht ([email protected]) or Chris Kortlandt ([email protected]).
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Share the Plate for August: Rehabilitation Through the Arts
The recipient of half our non-pledge collection this month is Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), which uses the transformative power of the arts to help prisoners develop the social and cognitive skills they need for successful reintegration into the community. Learn more at rta-arts.org.
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Caring & Sharing Circle
If anyone knows of another among us who is in need of a caregiver, please contact Catherine Kortlandt (
[email protected], 914-834-7112) or her backup Nicky Klemens (
[email protected], 914-967-4419).
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This Week at CUUC
The full calendar can be found here. Room numbers subject to change; please check the board on Sunday morning. To reserve a room, please contact Pam at the CUUC office (914-946-1660 x2, [email protected]).
Thu Aug 17
7:00am Rental: Film Crew
Fri Aug 18
7:00am Rental: Film Crew
Sat Aug 19
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
10:00am Zen
Sun Aug 20
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
10:00am Summer Nursery Care
10:00am Summer Worship
11:00am Refreshments
11:30am Animal Ministry meeting
Mon Aug 21
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
8:00pm Finance Committee
Tue Aug 22
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
Wed Aug 23
7:00am Rental: Film Crew
10:00am Fall Communitarian articles due
Thu Aug 24
7:00am Rental: Film Crew
Fri Aug 25
7:00am Rental: Film Crew
Sat Aug 26
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
10:00am Zen
Sun Aug 27
7:00am Rental: Film Crew (Parking only)
10:00am Summer Nursery Care
10:00am Summer Worship
11:00am Refreshments
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Contacts
Director of Lifespan Religious Ed. & Faith Development: Perry Montrose, [email protected], 914-946-1660 x4
Congregational & Communications Administrator: Pamela Parker, [email protected], 914-946-1660 x2
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Your Moment of Zen
A Key Issue. Two people competing with each other in business could sit together in sangha, even if one of them drives the other out of business. Members of opposing gangs, the CEO of a corporation and the director of a consumer's union that is suing that corporation, a doctor and the patient suing that doctor for malpractice: sangha is safe space for people who are dangers to each other elsewhere.
Woodpecker appeared in the circle one warm summer evening with a guest. "This is mole," she said. "He has life questions but is very timid about coming to meetings. He wants assurances that he is safe," and she cast a look at Badger and Owl.
Raven said, "Well, I'm a predator myself. It's good that we face this issue early." Addressing mole, she said, "This is the Buddha Macaw's sacred temple, where her disciples from all over can feel safe together. You are safe here. Right, Owl? Right, Badger?"
"Safe here," they echoed.
Mole seemed to shiver, but he spoke up and said, "Thank you. I confess I still feel uneasy, but my questions make me stay. Funny situation, isn't it!"
Raven said, "Is there anything that isn't peculiar?" (adapted from Aitken,
Zen Master Raven)
Verse
Are we not here to be eaten, the substance of our life consumed by more life?
To die and turn our bodies over to the nourishment of a grander thing?
To flee in terror only to get caught?
To see amid safety and friends that this is so?
For info on CUUC's Saturday Zen group
SEE HERE.
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The
e
-Communitarian
newsletter is e-mailed each Thursday.
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