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Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World
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Sunday, March 25, 2018
9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
Sharing Our Blue Boat Home
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin and Reverend Scott McNeill
As we conclude our monthly theme of Belonging, we will integrate music, art, poetry, and personal reflections about where we are headed as individuals, as a congregation, and as a global community. Together we will explore what gifts we have to offer and what we are hoping to receive.
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Sunday, April 1, 2018
9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Easter: A Celebration of Jesuses
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Reverend Scott McNeill
Reverend Doctor Susan Swaney and the Choir
Join us for this Easter celebration in which we will hear the voice of several Jesuses---And yes, some do hold the opinion that the plural of Jesus is Jesuses. In this worship service our choir and guests will offer music from Godspell as well as Jesus Christ Superstar and our ministers will offer reflections. And yes, we know that Easter is also April Fool's Day. This Sunday will also include our beloved Child Dedication ceremony.
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MAM's Musings
The theme of Belonging--quite an enriching theme to explore this month of March.
As I mentioned in Sunday's worship service, about a year and a half ago, I attended a conference in St Paul, Minnesota, along with a team from our congregation. Called Mosaic Makers, the conference addressed Multicultural Leadership Development for Unitarian Universalist congregations from the MidAmerica Region.
The Mosaic Makers conference addressed leadership for change in these times of universal upheaval and uncertainty, a time in which people are looking for guidance, support, and a sense of belonging.
At the conference we were introduced to a short exercise which highlights the culture within which we grew up. The exercise "I Am From" was created by poet George Ella Lyon and
Shawn Ginwright, who is a leading expert on African American youth activism, development and leadership. Too often, we are asked to leave behind our cultures, parts of ourselves, in order to belong. This exercise is a simple and powerful way to remember and reclaim.
We did this exercise together on Sunday, and we are looking to incorporate your responses in future worship services. Please visit this link to share your answers with us!
Peace, MAM
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, Senior Minister
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"All Are Called"
In three months, thousands of Unitarian Universalists will converge in Kansas City, Missouri, for the 2018 General Assembly ("GA" - https://www.uua.org/ga). This General Assembly is a particularly important one for us to attend, for our congregation and others in the MidAmerica Region (as there will be no separate MidAmerica UU Regional Assembly this year. http://www.midamericauua.org) Given the proximity of date (Regional Assemblies are usually in April) and the location (Kansas City is part of our region), the staff and leaders of the MidAmerica Region announced last year that we would gather for a regional meeting at the beginning of General Assembly.
Each year there is a theme for General Assembly--and this year, it is "All Are Called." (Part of the description on the website reads, "
The call of our faith has a place for each of us. Join us in Kansas City to build courageous, collective leadership with tools, skills and connections.")
While physically attending provides a unique experience, anyone with internet access can livestream the major worship services and business meetings (and those who are serving as official delegates from the congregation can "speak" and vote from home, as well) at uua.org.
If you have never attended "GA," it's a wonderful opportunity to experience different styles of worship and hear some of our Association's pre-eminent academics, preachers, and theologians. Delegates from each congregation to learn together about the work happening in the larger faith, and make decisions on the work our congregations and communities should undertake in the coming years. There are several social justice opportunities during GA, as well as workshops that offer resources for congregational life (our own Amy Makice led one of those workshops last year, at the GA in New Orleans). To see the kind of workshops offered, last year's program can be viewed online at https://www.uua.org/sites/live-new.uua.org/files/2017_program.pdf.
To learn more about General Assembly, or our connections to other UU churches and/or the UUA, I encourage you to contact me. In the coming weeks, Iris Kiesling, Chair of Denominational Affairs, and I will host a Sunday afternoon discussion about GA and what is happening in the larger UU movement.
Take care,
Reverend Scott McNeill, Associate Minister
mcneill@uubloomington.org
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Our Folks...
Congratulations to Emily and Scott Wickersham and big sister Rosalyn, who welcomed the arrival of Sadie on March 2nd.
A couple of our youth attended a conference last weekend
at People's UU Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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Puppet Building for "The Lorax" Saturday, March 24
We are producing Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax" in puppets and song this spring. There is information about this project here. If you would like to get involved in making puppets for this Earth Day production, please sign up at this link. We especially need people to help with construction on March 24! Puppet building will be in Fellowship Hall, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. Info, contact Reverend Leite, mre@uubloomington.org.
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Adult Religious Education Opportunities
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"When Children Leave Home"
a workshop facilitated by Amy Cornell
Wednesday, March 21, 7-9 p.m., Library
For parents, grandparents, and caregivers who are in a transition to life with fewer (if any!) children at home. This time can present a multitude of feelings and observations worthy of exploration. The tender time of letting go deserves attention, and this circle allows participants to honor that transition with others who find themselves at similar junctures. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and caregivers are welcome to this circle. We will share readings, refection, writing and sharing together. No previous writing experience needed. Please contact Reverend Emily Manvel Leite to register for this class:
mre@uubloomington.org
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Shambhala Meditation Meets Mondays at 12 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 to participate in this 2500-year-old
tradition. sflint.ktv@gmail.com
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Open Mind Zen Meets Mondays at 7:00 p.m.
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. All are welcome regardless of faith or experience.
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Traditional Taiji on Saturdays at 8:00 a.m.
Brian Flaherty leads "Wu (Hao)" style Taiji in Fellowship Hall on Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. Anyone is welcome, even those with no experience. Please wear loose-fitting clothing.
creektivity@gmail.com
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UU Humanists Meet March 25
An opportunity for regular, open, wide-ranging discussions relating to ethics, human development, and the nature of the universe. The bi-weekly forum will meet next on Sunday, March 25, at 12:45 p.m. in Room 208. The discussion will be led by Rich Janda on "Things people 'know' that ain't so." For general questions about our UU Humanist group,
contact
Ann Watzel.
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UU Freethinkers Enjoy
Free Ranging Discussion
April 1
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 will meet next on Sunday, April 1, 12:45 pm.
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Jammin' Java Coffeehouse Friday, March 23
The Habitat Task Force is sponsoring the Jammin' Java Coffeehouse on
Friday, March 23
, beginning at
7:30 p.m.
, in Fellowship Hall. Doors open at
7 p.m.
The event will feature singers, a jazz combo, a string band, and a piano quartet. All proceeds will go to support local Habitat builds. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth 18 years and younger. Click here to view poster (pdf). Light refreshments and coffee/drinks will be available. Free childcare will be provided, but reservations need to be made to rea@uubloomington.org.
The Habitat Task Force is also sponsoring an Easter morning fundraising breakfast between services on
April 1
in Fellowship Hall. Breakfast casseroles, eggs, potatoes, fruit and baked goods, juice will be served. Please
co
me to church hungry! $7 for Adults, $5 for Children, $20 for a Family.
Our fundraisers help us to financially sponsor a Habitat resale house and support other Habitat builds and housing projects.
--Barb Berggoetz
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Reproductive Justice and
Racial Justice Task Forces Present
Film Screening
March 25:
Death By Delivery
The film
"Death By Delivery" is a searing portrait of the cost of racism in America. It will be screened on
Sunday, March 25th, 6-8 p.m.
in Fellowship Hall. Black women in the US are four times more likely than white women to die during childbirth, regardless of their socio-economic status and education. Maternal morality rates are higher today in the US than they were in 1987. The US is one of only eight countries, including Afghanistan and South Sudan, where the rate is going up. Click here for pdf of poster.
To be followed by an open discussion moderated by UU member Dr. Clark Brittain, Ob-Gyn MD. Pizza and beverages provided. Freewill offering invited.
Co-hosted by our Reproductive Justice & Racial Task Forces in cooperation with
Monroe County National Organization for Women's Reproductive & Racial Justice Committees
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Video Available of "Final Acts: End of Life Scenarios"
If you missed Diane Kondrat's "Final Acts: End-of-Life Scenarios and Conversation," on March 3, a video of the performance is now available online here. Please note that the expert panel that follows the performance includes valuable information regarding the end of life issues addressed in the scenarios.
--Kathy Gilbert, End of Life Task Force
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Welcome to our newest members!
On March 18, we welcomed 3 new members into the congregation. Please offer a warm welcome to our newest members: Ted Hall, Ellie Moss, and Avram Primack.
--Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator.
Avram Primack has returned to Bloomington, a place with no mountains or ocean, but still a good place to be. He spent his time away in many places, including Mexico and the Adirondacks, both places with mountains, and in the Virgin Islands, where the ocean is always less than 5 miles away. No longer a student, this time he is teaching, and looking for a good forest in which to put down roots.
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It's IU Baseball and Softball Season and
the Sunday Parking is Challenging!
We have tacit permission from IU to park on the west side of Fee Lane near the ball fields on Sundays, as long as there is not a ball game in progress. Since there are a number of Sunday games scheduled this spring, we will need to be more creative than usual in our parking choices. Please consider attending the 9:15 service, or carpooling or riding your bike to the 11:15 service if it is a pretty day. Parking on Jordan is also still sometimes available when our lot is full, as well as parking at the tennis courts or at the old Church of God across the bypass. Here is a list of the Sunday games this spring:
March 25th
-
1 pm
softball
April 8th
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1 pm
softball,
3 pm
baseball
April 15th
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1 pm
baseball
April 22nd
- 12 n
oon
softball
April 29th
-
1 pm
softball,
2 pm
baseball
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Women's Alliance Meets April 5th
The April 5th Women's Alliance program will be a field trip to Monroe County United Ministries (MCUM). MCUM is located at 827 West 14th Court in Bloomington. Our host at MCUM is Erin Predmore, Executive Director. The mission of MCUM is to create lasting solutions to economic, educational and social injustice in our community through quality services,
collaboration and innovation.
The Women's Alliance meets the first Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m.
The meeting begins with a brown bag lunch. The hosts for the month,
Katherine Hopkins and Jean Knowlton, will provide drinks and dessert. The
program begins at noon. Join us. Everyone is welcome.
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Be Part of this
Great Community
on Pledge Day, April 14!
We need a few volunteers to help out on
April 14, Pledge Day.
Come to make your pledge for the coming year, be part of the fun and Celebrate Community with other UUs! Use these links to sign up:
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Support Reclaim:
A Black Lives of UU Revival
Warmest Greetings:
I am writing to you as a Black Unitarian Universalist to tell you a little bit about
Reclaim: A Black Lives of UU Revival.
I began worshipping with our congregation nearly two decades ago. At the time, I was the single mother of five and longed for the comfort of community which I will say that our congregation at the time strove mightily to fulfill. However, as the years passed, the loneliness and isolation of being one of the only Black members led to feelings of disquiet whenever I would choose to participate in a service, and bit by bit I withdrew from the very fellowship that I had so eagerly sought out so many years ago. Through the Black Lives of UU I have begun to reconnect with both my kindred and my faith. It was a joy to find family that shared similar struggles and heartache in these difficult times in which we live and to be able to worship and commune in solidarity while being encouraged to show up as my authentic self. That is why I was so enthusiastic when I was asked to join the committee to bring a UU Revival to the Midwest!
Reclaim: A Black Lives of UU Revival is an opportunity to come together as Black UU's in the MidAmerica Region, to explore how our Black Heritage is intertwined with the principles and ideals of Unitarian Universalism. You can support this moment of respite, revival of spirit, and fortification of resilience within the Black community in two ways.
Secondly, individuals and churches are encouraged to sponsor attendees, by covering their travel and housing accommodations directly, or through the BLUU website. Your support will help in bringing this sacred Black space into being, by aiding an attendee to bring their whole self to this revival: http://www.blacklivesuu.com/revival-sponsorship
On behalf of the Revival Planning Team, I thank you for your support and bringing Revival to the MidAmerica Region. Any questions you may have can be directed to myself or the BLUU Staff through email at marcus@blacklivesuu.com or mykal@blacklivesuu.com.
Many Blessings to you,
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It's UU Goods and Services Auction Time!
Please consider offering your items or skills for this year's auction on
May 6th. Here are some ideas of what has been popular in past auctions: items made by our members (pottery, paintings, knitting,
t-shirt quilt, pies); lessons (juggling, biscotti-making, caramel-making); experiences (glider, plane or pontoon rides); a stay at a vacation condo. Maybe you have something to share that you haven't thought about! Dig into your treasures and see if there's something that might light up someone else's eyes. Donation forms must be turned in by
Sunday, April 8th. Forms are on our website
here, or available on paper from the auction steering committee each
Sunday.
--Debbie Fish, 2018 Auction Chair
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Hello, Fellow Travelers!
Join UUs from around the world in Kansas City, Missouri,
June 20-24, 2018
, at
the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
You can attend for any amount of time and if you are a delegate you will have an opportunity to vote
on interesting topics, as well as attend many workshops
worthy of your attendance.
Since we now have 512 certified members, this year w
e are eligible to send eleven (11) member delegates (with voting privileges).
If you are interested, talk to
any former delegates who have attended GA recently: Marlin Howard, Doug Cauble,
Anne and Chris Haynes, Lloyd Orr and Jackie Hall, Patrick Brantlinger, or
Sandy Dolby. We have some financial support
available for delegates.
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Let the UUA's Commission on Appraisal Know
What You Think
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) (the association of all the UU congregations in the United States) has a Commission on Appraisal that studies an aspect of congregational life each year. This group invites your participation in a brief survey to help them select their next study topic. The Commission serves as a "think tank" on larger issues facing Unitarian Universalism. Their most recent study was on class in the UUA.
They are seeking input from individual Unitarian Universalists including congregation members, ministers, religious educators, administrators, etc. In other words, all UUs are invited to share their views. Use this
link
to participate in the survey. Our congregational ID number is 3433.
Thank you for adding your voice!
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MUUSA UU Summer Camp in the Ozarks
July 1-7, 2018
Consider joining fellow UUs this summer in the Missouri Ozarks at the annual Midwest Unitarian Universalist Summer Assembly (MUUSA). The weeklong camp offers many workshops and activities for families, couples and singles of all ages. This year Reverend Nic Cable (UU Congregation of Columbus, Indiana) will lead the daily Morning Celebration service on this year's theme: "Living Between Worlds."
Come gather in the beautiful forests and rolling hills of the Missouri Ozarks at YMCA Trout Lodge. Registration is open now! Get all the details at muusa.org.
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UU History for You--
David Starr Jordan: Pacifist, Educator, Scientist, and Eugenicist
It is appropriate as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Indiana University that we acknowledge its seventh President, David Starr Jordan (1851-1931). His middle name was given to him to honor Thomas Starr King, the Universalist theologian. Jordan was born and raised as a Universalist in Gainesville, New York. He attended Cornell University for his BA and MA. He then studied with Louis Agassiz at Agassiz's summer station at Penikese Island (a forerunner of the Wood's Hole biological laboratory).
Jordan received an MD in Indianapolis and taught at what was later Butler University. He moved to Bloomington and did substantial research on fish evolution, becoming chair of the Zoology Department. In 1885, at age 34, he became the President of Indiana University. At age 40, he became the first President of Stanford University.
Never formally becoming a Unitarian, Jordan was however sympathetic to the Unitarian outlook and wrote 19 books published by Beacon Press. He was an advocate for peace and denounced the ties of money and industry to promoting war. He felt that war recruits the healthiest and most able young men and kills them -- a policy that he felt countered the ideals of eugenics. His pacifist and eugenic views led to conflict, and during WWI he was booed by a mob of protesters in Baltimore for giving a lecture on peace.
His views on organized religion were negative ("religion is the debris of our grandfather's science."). He also felt that religion should be concerned with living life, not observing creeds or ceremonies.
--Elof Axel Carlson, UUCB Historian
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UU Church Office Assistant Wanted:
Application Deadline Extended
Deeva Khatiwada, who has served our congregation since 2015 as one of our Office Assistants, is graduating from Indiana University soon, and will be off to her next adventure this spring. We will miss her friendly and efficient presence in our church office.
We hope to fill this part-time position by the end of April. The position averages 11 hours per week between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays and includes 3 hours on Sunday mornings 2 or 3 times per month. Starting pay is $10.00 per hour. Skills include bookkeeping, editing, word processing, website updating and other online work, data entry, greeting and assisting members of the community, taking phone messages and assisting senior staff and lay leadership. For details,
click here (PDF).
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Current Membership: 512 certified members; 525 current members.
Attendance
Sunday, March 11
9
:15
: 71 11:15: 117 TOTAL: 188
Sunday, March 18 9:15: 111 11:15: 163 TOTAL: 274
Non-Pledge Offering
March 11
$354.90 Sunday, March 18 $674.17
Total to be donated (25%) to All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center $257.27
Grocery Card Sales (Bloomingfoods or Lucky's Market)
March 18: $675, income to UUCB $35.25
Sunday, March 11: $875, i
ncome to UUCB
$44.25
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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 Macklin is away until March 25.
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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Our Covenant of Right Relations
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Livestreaming Our Sunday Services
You can view the livestream of our Sunday services and view archived video from the last few months
at this link. If you have a problem, please email Andy Beargie and Ned Joyner at
media@uubloomington.org
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Church Administrator Away March 24-April 1
Church Administrator Carol Marks will be away (goofing off) March 24 through April 1. During this time, please talk with our comprehensively trained Office Assistants, Monica Overman or Deeva Khatiwada, for answers to your church administrative questions: office@uubloomington.org, 812-332-3695, ext. 204.
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Church Calendar
Office Hours: M-F 10-4
Calendar: A link to our church calendar can be found on
this page of our website.
Facebook:
Many church events also appear on our
Prologue Publication Schedule:
The deadline for articles is 10 a.m. on the date of publication, which is the first and third Tuesday of each month. Next few issues:
April 3, April 17, May 1, May 15, June 5, June 19, etc.
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Masthead photo by Marcia Hart, 3-20-2018.
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