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Beacon Spiritual Theme of the Month
~ Beauty ~
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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 ~
"Running as Spirituality"
Running is a call to play, as well as a call to suffer and to explore our perceived limitations. Mark James shares his exploration of the places that running can take us.
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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 ~
Welcome to our new themed ministry program for the coming year -
Touchstones
. Our new theme for September is
Beauty
.
First, with this link you will find the monthly Theme Journal, which offers readings, information and activities to help us all to more deeply engage in our spiritual theme for the month.
In the coming months, you will find a new "common bowl" in both our primary meeting rooms, the downstairs community room / kitchen and the upstairs multipurpose room, our Beacon Library and DRE office. You will see in the new monthly journal "readings from the common bowl" it is our intent to make these available each month for your group and committee meetings, should you wish to open or close your time together in sharing a brief reading or quotes on our theme for the month. These will also make short chalice lighting words also, if you wish to use them for this purpose.
For those in service last Sunday you were introduced to our new member Char Tarashanti. Char will be leading our new Chalice Circles, which are also supported with our new themed outreach. Char will be facilitating two groups, one on the 4
th
Sunday from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm and one on the 4
th
Tuesday from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Each group will be capped at no more than 8 participants for the initial trial this fall. Please do be in touch with the office to register your name and chosen date/time, or see the signup sheet at the greeting table on Sunday mornings.
I hope you will join with me in the spirit of exploration and appreciative inquiry as we venture into this new opportunity with themed and program supported ministry, Touchstones. The hope is an opportunity for spiritual deepening within ourselves, our community and to support our commitment to the common good.
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Homecoming Picnic - Sunday September 10 - Community Ramada - Bushmaster Park
With our 31
st
annual Homecoming Picnic in the coming week, I thought the following article an interesting and timely reading to share. The article speaks to our Unitarian history of taking summers off, when and why this practice used to be the norm, and how and why it has changed over the years. Most UU Congregations, Churches and Fellowships now offer year round church programming, however many of us still honor the past and the ingathering or homecoming to initiate the new "church year." Enjoy a bit of history.
__________________________
Sunday September 17, 2017
Please make plans to be in service this special Sunday as we welcome and commission our new Director of Music Adrianne Anning, and our new Director of Religious Exploration (DRE) Amy Huntereece. Within Unitarian Universalism, we use the language of covenant, to speak to the agreements, the promises we make one to another. On this special Sunday, we welcome our two new professional staff and covenant with them in making promises of our expectations and our support for them and their programs. As we welcome new members among as speak in covenant how we will welcome them and support them in joining our Beacon community. Please make plans to be with us this special Sunday for the ceremony of welcoming and covenanting with our new staff - A very special morning in the life of Beacon.
Grateful to be on the Journey with you,
Rev. Kevin
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~ Religious Exploration ~
Good Day! It is with great joy and gratitude to serve as your Director of Religious Exploration. My passion is to work with children in a spiritual realm and being your DRE is a wonderful match for me.
I come to you with twenty years of teaching experience. I have an MA in Education and am a certified Waldorf teacher. I specialize in planning and programming. I am currently working on a PhD in Leadership and Change at Antioch University.
I have lived in Flagstaff for 17 years with a few short hiatuses. I love this community and plan to stay here for a while! I have a husband, Hunter, two children, Mollybeth (14) and Micah (12), a quirky but sweet dog, Guinness, and two cats Priya and Avadhana.
In my free time I enjoy yoga, hiking, geocaching, baking, and gardening. I try to make music, movement, and art a part of every day.
Join me with positive thoughts and anticipation for the future of RE at Beacon!
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~ Music Box ~
#108
My Life Flows On in Endless Song
is a Christian
hymn
with music written by American
Baptist
minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry. The song is frequently, though erroneously, cited as a traditional
Quaker
or Shaker hymn. The original composition has now entered into the public domain, and appears in several hymnals and song collections, both in its original form and with a revised text. Though it is not, in fact, a Quaker hymn, twentieth-century Quakers adopted it as their own and use it widely today.
#348
Guide My Feet
This song was originally sung as an African American Spiritual, but is also arranged with driving rhythms and sung as a Gospel Song. It was frequently sung in the 1960's as part of the civil rights movement.
#311
Let it Be A Dance
by Ric Masten. Ric
wrote this song for Barbara Brussell, a friend of one of his daughters. Barbara was a high school dance student who was seriously injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver that killed her teacher and two of her classmates. Her knee was so badly damaged that it was doubtful that she would ever walk again, let alone dance. He visited her in the hospital and bet her that within a year she would come dancing up the road to his home in Big Sur to a song that he would write. The song he wrote within a few days was Let It Be A Dance. A year later, she came dancing, limping, but dancing up the road as he played his guitar and sang, "Let it be a dance we do./ May I have this dance with you?/ Through the good times/ And the bad times, too,/ Let it be a dance."
It was included in our hymnal,
Singing the Living Tradition
, which was published in 1993. Masten was pleased to have this song included, but he did not appreciate the poetic license that someone took in changing one of the words in the song. In the third verse he wrote, "share the laughter, bare the pain," as in reveal the pain. This was changed to "bear the pain," as in carry the pain. When Ric Masten performed in a Pittsburgh church, he asked everyone to pencil in the correct word in the brand new hymnals, writing "b-a-r-e" in place of "b-e-a-r."
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~ In Community ~
Jack Doggett shared concern for family members in the path of Hurricane Harvey, and shared sorrow for a friend with family troubles.
Andy Gould shared concern and hope for a friend's daughter's living situation to improve.
Terry White shared sorrow for the loss of a close friend, and joy at surprising her mother for her 83rd birthday and enjoying seeing the eclipse.
Ruth Roazen shared joy at finishing her first week at a new job.
Paul Beier shared sorrow for the passing of his younger brother.
Dora Harrison shared joy for the 13th anniversary of meeting Ray.
lore shared concern for upcoming surgeries for a kidney stone, and joy for upcoming in the fall, final transition surgery.
Susan Immel shared devastation for the pardoning of Joe Arpaio, and joy at Tucson's Mexican-American studies being supported by the court.
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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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~ SIGN UP Time for Circle Suppers at Beacon ~
Break bread with a few other Beaconites
How it works:
- Any Member or Friend of Beacon signs up (with your partner and family, if you wish) by September 12. You are signing up to participate in 3-5 potluck Suppers (or brunches or whatever) during September-January. Each Supper is held in the home of one member of the Circle; nobody hosts more than 1 Supper.
- Paul Beier assembles participants into "Circles" of ~6-8 adults (plus kids in kid-tolerant groups), notifies you of the Circle to which you have been assigned, and assigns one person to be the Ringleader of each Circle.
- The Ringleader of each Circle works with Circle to set the date for the first Supper at the Ringleader's home. At each Supper, the Circle selects a date & host for the next Supper. Continue until everyone has had hosted.
- Is your home too small to host? No problem! We can work it out...
"A Beacon tradition for 30 years"
What to do:
- Name
- Email
- Phone (gotta have it! I promise not to share it beyond your Circle)
- Names of other adults who will attend Suppers with you
- Names and ages of kids who will attend suppers with you
- Are you willing to have babies (kids <36 months) old in your Circle? Yes/No
- Are you willing to have kids > 3 years old in your Circle? Yes/No
- Any other information, such as: "only Sunday brunches" or "house too small for me to host" or "please put in circle with Barack."
If you can't remember if you already signed up for Circle Suppers, just sign up again - I will find the duplicates.
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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, 4th Sunday at 11:30 am and 4th Tuesday at 7:00 pm. 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!
FINAL WEEK!
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!
Sunday cash counters needed! 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. Thank you to those who have expressed interest, we need three or four more people to schedule a training, and are looking forward to implementing this program in the coming weeks!
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!
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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~ 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 31
7:00 pm
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Qi-Gong
Tuesday,
September 5
6:15 pm
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Sunday Service & Religious
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Worship Associates
Wednesday, September 6
5:30 pm
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Finance Team
Wednesday, September 6
5:30 pm
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Owl Parent Meeting
Tuesday, September 5
5:00 pm
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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, September 30
10:00 am
UUJAZ Lunch info and Fundraising at Beacon
Saturday October 14, 2017
UUJAZ - Issue and Action Day
Saturday, Oct 21, 2017
9:00 am
Building and Grounds workday.
Breakfast treats provided!
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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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