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Building Community, Changing the World, Seeking the Spirit
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Sunday, May 7, 2017 9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
The Embodiment of Oppression
Dismantling White Supremacy Teach-in
Reverend Scott McNeill and Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Guests: Nyama McCarthy-Brown and Selene B Carter
Embodiment is our theme of the month and this will be a unique Sunday as this is also an urgent time in our faith. The Unitarian Universalist Association Board, the UU Ministers Association, and the Liberal Religious Educators Association are all urging congregations to heed a call from Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism to hold a "Teach-In" on the painful reality of racial inequity in our country and our communities and congregations. This Sunday, we will offer Part I of our Teach-In
on the issue of white supremacy and how we can dismantle it in our lives. Special guests will include dancers Nyama McCarthy-Brown and Selene B Carter, faculty members of the IU Department of Theater, Drama, and Contemporary Dance.
W
e'll join more than 600 other UU congregations also doing a variation of this project.
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Sunday, May 14, 2017 9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
Flower Communion Celebrations for All Ages
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
The Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
The Reverend Scott McNeill
Please bring a flower (or several if you have them) to share at this service!
All ages are invited to join us as we celebrate the uniqueness and beauty of each individual within our community and share rituals acknowledging the changes happening in our lives. Our children's choir, directed by Jill Courtney, will be singing.
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Women Excel Bloomington
Last week, the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce announced the 2017 recipients of the Women Excel in Bloomington awards - and our Senior Minister, the Reverend Mary Ann Macklin was one of the seven people selected. For all of her work supporting our community in many ways, she will be honored on
May 24
at a luncheon featuring IU's Women's Basketball Coach Teri Moren. Tickets are available for purchase online (
http://web.chamberbloomington.org/events/Women-Excel-Bloomington-Awards-Luncheon-960/details
); contact Rev. Scott if you are interested in attending at a UU-sponsored table (there are currently 5 spots available).
MidAmerica Regional Assembly and Ending Racism
This past weekend (April 28-30), 10 people from our church attended the MidAmerica Regional Assembly near Chicago. This conference brings together UUs from the MidWest, for worship, workshops, and social time. Lee Barker, president of Meadville Lombard Theological School, delivered this year's keynote address, entitled, "To Multi-faith: A Verb." Other worship services also focused on the need for connection within and beyond congregations. Friday night featured a panel forum of the three candidates for UUA President (to be elected at this summer's General Assembly). You can find more information about those candidates here
http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/elections, and in a few weeks, MidAmerica should post the video of the forum they held.
One of the main threads throughout the conference related to work happening throughout our Association regarding our commitment to ending racism and oppression, through multi-cultural work. All 1,000+ UU congregations were asked to take part in a teach-in about this work, preferably on either April 30 or
May 7. Of those, some 600+ have agreed to (either on those Sundays, or a different one that worked for their schedule)--including our congregation. Each church will do things differently from the others, balancing its local, unique needs with the broader, national conversation. We have been encouraged, as well, to connect to those doing anti-racism work in our local communities.
Recently, Music Director Susan Swaney experienced an anti-racism teaching performance in which facilitators informed the audience about their experiences with race and racism through embodiment (which is our theme for the month of May). The ministers, along with Susan Swaney, are planning to offer a workshop on this topic here soon, with facilitators and dancers Nyama McCarthy-Brown and Selene B Carter, to deepen our racial justice efforts. This Sunday, our worship service will include an introduction to this workshop and we will have a special opportunity to witness a portion of the teaching performance that Sue experienced, with the dancers coming to our worship to share. We hope you will join us!
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MAM's Musings
On May 12th at 6:30 p.m. here in our Meeting Room, we will have a chance to explore a topic that impacts everyone on this planet---the handling of end-of-life issues with family and friends.
Actor and local favorite Diane Kondrat will take the stage in our sanctuary to appear in "Final Acts: End-of-Life Scenarios and Conversation," a one-hour show that portrays some of the complicated questions raised by end of life situations. I will moderate the various scenarios and even invite questions from the audience for the characters at certain points.
"Final Acts: End-of-Life Scenarios and Conversation" presents various end-of-life scenarios that many families and loved ones confront, such as the pressures of taking care of the elderly, deciding whether to pursue exceptional life-saving procedures, the questions surrounding physician-assisted death, end of life planning, and more
.
Who: Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington
What: Final Acts: End of Life Scenarios and Conversation
Where: UU Church of Bloomington, 2120 Fee Lane
When: Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Donations will be invited at the door to benefit Compassion & Choices of Indiana and UU Church of Bloomington End-of-Life Education.
"The human desire to communicate during story-telling happens easily in this form." Kondrat said. "Audiences benefit from the gift of give-and-take that this form of theater allows."
In addition, I will participate on a short panel, along with Diane and Dr. Rob Stone, associate director of IU Health Bloomington Hospice. A reception will follow the panel.
Hope many of you can join us for this important evening.
And a whopping BIG THANKS to everyone who helped make our first Earth Day! Pledge Day! a success. Please see the Board message below regarding our current financial fiesta known as Pledge Drive.
Peace, Mary Ann
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, Senior Minister
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From Your Board of Directors
Congratulations to Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
on receiving a Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce's Women Excel Bloomington 2017 award, recognizing her outstanding leadership and community engagement!
And thank you to everyone who has pledged! At this time our pledge total is over $473,000 from 237 pledges. Our community should be proud of this generosity and hopeful that we can quickly and successfully complete this pledge campaign and make our $650,000 goal.
Finally, we thank the
seven
people who attended the town hall on Sunday and gave feedback on the Healthy Communications Covenant (HCC). In case you missed it, you can find more information about the HCC at
member.
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Religious Education:
May 7 Teach-in
about Race and
Racial Privilege
in UU Congregations
This
Sunday, May 7
, our congregation will be participating in a nationwide teach-in around issues of race and racial privilege in UU congregations. As a part of this work, our children's classes and youth groups will also be addressing these issues.
We are aware that talking about race can be very uncomfortable and can be avoided for a long time if you are privileged to be white in this country. We hope that by talking about race at church, more conversations will also become possible within families and among friends.
When we were growing up and when Emily was raising young children here in Bloomington, we were under the impression that the best thing for children was to raise them to be "color blind"--meaning that they would not see people for their skin color, but as individuals. In our quite "white" town, families worked to expose kids to a variety of shades of people both in person and in picture books. But people didn't talk about the variety of colors as we encountered them. Skin tone wasn't something that it felt okay to talk about.
Recently, research has shown what we certainly knew at some level all along--sighted people, regardless of their upbringing, do see the colors of people. The thought that we could or would be unaware of skin tone is an illusion. We notice many things about the appearance of others-their expression, their attire, and their physical attributes including their size, shape and coloring. We recognize people by the shape of their face, their hairstyle, and their skin tone among other things. If we didn't notice these things about appearance, we wouldn't recognize our friends and neighbors until they talked with us. If we try to avoid using these things to describe others, then it can feel like we are treating them as though they are negative attributes, and our children pick up on that.
So now there is a shift happening. We are encouraged to raise children to be aware of skin tones--to notice and appreciate the beauty of our diverse world. This is the conversation we have been having and will continue to have with our youngest children at church. With older children and youth, we are beginning to unpack the ways in which people with "white" skin are treated differently--all of the privileges that lighter-skinned people take for granted and are often unaware of.
We have no illusions that this Sunday's teach-in will do all of this work. It is only a tiny symbol of our ongoing commitment to address these issues in our congregation. We will be continuing this work in religious education and in our congregation as a whole in various ways, and hope that you will choose to engage in it with us. Some resources for use with your children or family can be found at this link:
http://www.raceconscious.org/strategies/
Please be in touch with either of us if you would like to discuss this important congregational commitment. We are very engaged in learning more about these issues with you as parents, as educators, and as people.
Warm regards,
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Our Folks...
Our thoughts are with Miles Eddy and his family, upon the recent passing of his mother. Miles shared this video he made several years ago of his courageous mom, riding a bike 50 miles for her 80th birthday, while battling cancer.
Our thoughts and sympathy are also with Steve Lessmann, whose father passed away last week, in California.
Several UUs are performing in an amazing circus show at the Buskirk-Chumley on May 26-27: Amira Sabbagh, Anneka Nelson Laird, Siri Backus, Teal Larsen, Teddy Gonyea, Kathrynn Meuser, Virginia Durlacher, Liam Clower, Maya Baird.
A message to the UU Congregation from Gladys DeVane
"Wow! All I can say is Thank you! The expressions of concern and the acts of kindness shown during my rehabilitation are remembered with sincere gratitude. The cards, flowers, visits, and personal phone calls lifted my spirit and brightened my day.
And the meals...I've never eaten so well! Thanks to Sharon Yarber, Diane and Bob Port, and Denise and Harold Ogren. Gene also sends a special thanks to all of you for making life less stressful for him.
I have never before felt so loved...And FEELING LOVED IS A WONDERFUL FEELING!" --Gladys DeVane
Congratulations to the following UU members who have participated in the Retired Seniors Voluteer Program (RSVP) Senior Corps with Area 10 Agency on Aging: Anna Wiley 16 years, Lloyd Orr 15 years, Bob Taylor 10 years, and Penny Fisher 4 years. Thanks for helping!
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Women's Alliance Meets May 4
On
Thursday, May 4
th
, join us to hear our Congregational President Von Welch on "What is computer security and why is it so hard?" Von is Director of
Indiana University's
Center for Applied Cyber Security Research
(CACR).
Hosts for the meeting are Lynne Gilliatt and Doris Wittenburg.
Please bring a salad to share for the May 4 meeting.
The Women's
Alliance
meets the first
Thursday
of each month at
11:30 am
in Fellowship Hall, enter through court yard doors. Meetings begin with a brown bag lunch; drinks and dessert are provided by hosts of the month.
The program begins at
noon
, followed by the business meeting.
Come and join us and see what we are all about.
--Julie Cauble, Alliance Vice President
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Annual Goods and Services Auction: Sunday, May 7
Mark your calendars for the 2017 Goods and Services Auction on
Sunday, May 7th at 2:00 p.m. There's a way for everyone to participate in this important annual fundraiser. Now it's time to get ready to bid!
Here's the auction catalog listing all the fabulous items that will be available, and the talented Darrell Breeden will be our auctioneer again this year.
Remember that a modestly priced lunch will be available in the Fellowship Hall at 12:30, before the auction.
Contact Deb Fish if you would like to help,
schoolofdfish@gmail.com.
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UU Midwest Leadership School
for Adults and Youth (ages 14-18)
Are you a leader or a youth who wants to improve your leadership skills and explore more deeply the U.U. faith?
Midwest Leadership School (MWLS), in Decorah Iowa, is an immersive week of learning about leadership tools and best practices, and theological exploration with other UUs from the Midwest.
More information is available at
www.mwls.org
. Register by
June 1
. Flame Keepers scholarship applications are due
May 15
.
Ready to become a member of UU Bloomington?
If this is your community, if you feel at home here, join us! The next opportunity to become a member of UU Bloomington is Sunday, May 7 at 10:30 am in our Library. We ask for participation in our "Exploring UU" class prior to signing the membership book. To make arrangements to become a member, for questions, or to register for the Exploring UU class to be held in July, please contact Ann LeDuc
, Connections Coordinator, at (812)332-3695 or
connect@uubloomington.org
.
Show Bloomington what you love about our church--
Help with the 4th of July Parade!
Bloomington's
4th of July Parade is a great way to tell the larger Bloomington community what our church is all about. Please come to a meeting on
May 14 at 10:30 AM (during coffee hour) in Room 112 to see how you can play a part. We will need marchers, artists, singers, and more. --Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator
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Installation Service for
Reverend Scott McNeill
Saturday,
May 20
Mark your calendars. Please save Saturday, May 20, 2017, 4:00 p.m. to join us for the Installation service for Reverend Scott McNeill as we celebrate and reaffirm the bond between Scott and our UU Church of Bloomington. Details about this event can be found Here and Here. Childcare will be available.
We are honoring Rev. McNeill and his commitment to social justice by supporting the Backpack Buddies Program through Community Kitchen in the weeks leading up to his installation service. We will be collecting shelf stable protein- rich foods that will help to fill a great need for this program. Currently, there are 400 children in Monroe County enrolled in Backpack Buddies across 18 schools, using 3,200 pounds of food EACH WEEK! For more information on Backpack Buddies and how you can help, CLICK HERE.
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Black Democratic Caucus Meets May 25
at 6:00 p.m.
The newly formed Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus is working to strengthen Black community involvement in local politics. Help us make your voices heard and your votes count. Be hands up and hands on!
The meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers, Showers City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street.
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Incarceration and Its Repercussions
Saturday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m.
A Forum Hosted by the Hope for Prisoners Task Force
with special guests
Antonio Jackson,
Author, "On My Momma" and Founder of Big Boy's Moving Company
and
Marilyn Dallas,
Co-founder, Courage to Change Sober Living, and
Director, New Leaf-New Life Transition Center
Our citizenry is 5% of the world's population, yet 25% of those imprisoned around the globe are held in US jails and prisons. Thus we have been deemed the "Incarceration Nation." In this forum, we will consider
·
The high rate of recidivism (ca. 75%)
·
The role of the Criminal Justice System
·
The challenges decarcerated individuals face as they recover from drug use,
seek housing and jobs
·
The efforts in our community to assist these individuals
·
The ways we can help
The forum will be held here in the Ralph and Annetta Fuchs Library, on the second floor. Please enter at the Portico Entrance on the north side.
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Macaroni for Shalom Center!
For the last 3 years, our congregation members and friends have provided macaroni for the meal program at Shalom Community Center. Please remember to pick up a package the next time you go to the store. Collection basket for donations is under the Social Justice table in the Commons.
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High School Program Open House Picnic
Are you wondering what is next for you and your youth as they enter high school? As they join Coming of Age and/or the high school youth group? Our youth and high school parents are happy to share their experiences.
The UU youth group enthusiastically invites youth who will be in ninth through twelfth grade next year, and their parents, to our:
Potluck Picnic, Games and Orientation to UU Youth Programming
1-2:30pm, Sunday, May 21, 2017
Henderson Shelter, Bryan Park
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UU Children's Choir Upcoming Schedule
Sun May 14, Sing in services, Flower Communion Sunday
(Rehearse at 9:45am, Sing at end of 1st service, Sing again at start of 2nd service, done approx 11:30)
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First Monday Poetry Sharing
Join us in this ongoing monthly group for poetry lovers! Bring a poem to share that you enjoy. Next meeting is Monday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. in the Library at church. Contact Bob Taylor for info,
bstaylor1@comcast.com
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Shambhala Meditation Every Monday at Noon
Join us at 12 noon every Monday in the Library for an hour of Shambhala Meditation, walking meditation, and Shamatha yoga with Sarah Flint. Beginners welcome in this 2500-year-old
tradition.
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Traditional Taiji on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Brian Flaherty leads Taiji in Fellowship Hall on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. This form practices the "Wu (Hao)" style of taijiquan, including practice of standing exercises, forms, and "pushing hands." Anyone is welcome, even those with no experience.
Please wear loose-fitting clothing.
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Open Mind Zen Bloomington
Mondays at 7:00 p.m. (except May 1)
Join Frank Seisho Diaz for meditation, talks, and discussions on Zen Buddhism,
Mondays 7:00-8:30 p.m.,
in Room 110 here at the church. (No meditation on May 1.) All are welcome regardless
of faith or
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Emily Greene Balch and
Her Struggles for Peace
Virtually everyone knows Jane Addams as the Nobel laureate whose settlement house in Chicago brought citizenship and jobs to immigrants living in poverty. Her Peace Prize, the first to a US woman, was in 1931. But Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961) deserves recognition for being the second US female to win a Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1946. She was born in a Boston suburb to wealthy parents. Her father was a lawyer and served on Senator Sumner's staff. She attended Bryn Mawr for college, and then went to France to do a dissertation on the "Public Assistance in France to the Poor." She admired Jane Addams but chose world peace as her life's work. She attended the 1915 Peace Conference in the Hague, but was fired from her university position at Wellesley College after the US entered WWI, because of her advocacy for pacifism. She became an editor for
The Nation and after the League of Nations was formed, moved to Switzerland to become the founder of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She advocated reforms in immigration, livable wages for the working poor, job opportunities for females, the end of child labor, drug control, and other social causes of civil distress and war. She was raised Unitarian but converted to the Quaker faith because of their leadership in promoting peace. She never married, devoting her life to her public causes.
--Elof Carlson, Congregational Historian
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Ministry Themes for 2016-17
We will be exploring the following themes for the remainder of the 2016-17
church year.
October: Healing
,
November: Story,
December: Presence, January: Prophecy,
February: Identity, March: Risk,
April: Transformation,
May: Embodiment, June: Zest
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UU Humanist Forum Meets on Alternating Sundays
This group offers an opportunity for regular, open, wide-ranging discussions of issues relating to morality and ethics, human development, and the nature of the universe. The bi-weekly forum will meet next on Sunday, May 7 at 12:45 p.m. in Room 208. The topic will be "The Life Lie" led by Elof Carlson.
A complete list of spring/summer topics
can be found here.
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UU Freethinkers Group Enjoys Free Ranging Discussion
The purpose of the UU Freethinkers bi-weekly meeting is to create the opportunity for participants to raise questions and engage in open and non-structured discussion of issues of social concern, political concern, and theological/religious concern. UU Freethinkers meet on alternating Sundays after children's religious education classes end, in Room 208.
UU Freethinkers meet next on Sunday, May 14, at 12:45 p.m.
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Current Membership: 510
Attendance
Sunday, April 23 9:15: 85 11:15: 140 TOTAL: 243
Sunday, April 30 9:15: 161 11:15: 204 TOTAL: 389
Non-Pledge Offering
April 23: $871.50 April 30: $587.43
Total to be donated to New Leaf-New Life $466.74
Grocery Card Sales
(Bloomingfoods, Marsh, or Lucky's)
April 23: $1250, income to UUCB $65.50 April 30: $250, income to UUCB $12.50
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Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, our Senior Minister,
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 201 and is available by appointment on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons.
macklin@uubloomington.org
Reverend Scott McNeill, our Associate Minister,
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 209 and is available by appointment on Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
mcneill@uu
bloomington.org
. He can also be reached on his mobile phone, 703-577-0919 and for after-hours pastoral emergencies, please call him at 812-727-0919.
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
,
our Minister of Religious Education,
can be reached at
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Livestreaming Our Sunday Services
Please let us know if you have a problem with the livestream, by emailing Andy Beargie at
media@uubloomington.org It is also helpful if you let Andy know which web browser you are using.
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Beacon Young Adult/Campus Ministry
Orion Day, our Young Adult/Campus Ministry Coordinator, can be reached at
beacon@uubloomington.org and keeps office hours at the Indiana Memorial Union Room 577. Stop by and say hello!
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Deeva, Carol, and Monica
Our Administrative Staff |
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who do I call about the Auction?
Deb Fish, schoolofdfish@gmail.com
2. How do I make a pledge for 17-18?
Call Carol at 812-332-3695 ext 200 or admin@uubloomington.org
3. I need to know my pledge balance. Call either of the numbers above: 812-332-3695 ext 200 or 204
4. I need an appointment with one of the ministers. Contact them directly. See their contact info in above article on this page.
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Church Calendar
A link to our church calendar can be found on this page of our website.
Facebook
Prologue Publication Schedule
The Prologue is edited by Carol Marks. The deadline for articles is 10 a.m. on the date of publication, which is the first and third Monday of each month, with exceptions for federal Monday holidays.
Next few issues: May 15, June 5 and 19, July 3 and 17.
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Masthead photo by John Woodcock. Our new window screen designed and created by Steve Krahnke.
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