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Beacon Spiritual Theme of the Month
~ Faith ~
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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 ~
The Promise and the Practice of our Faith
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~ Touchstones Journal ~
November Theme
Faith
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~ From the Ministers Desk ~
The Promise and the Practice of our Faith!
Please Note:
We will be taking a special association offering in addition to our Beacon weekly offering. This special offering is the nationwide request for every UU to give $10 towards this national campaign. Here at Beacon we are asking every member to give $5, as we have a generous match program to help us meet our part of the national effort. For this special UU Association Offering proceeds will be matched dollar for dollar up to our expected participation based on membership count of 114 members.
114 members at $10.00 per member, therefore our fair share towards the promise of our denomination, $1,140.00. I hope you will be in service Sunday, or will make contribution towards this special request of our Association. The work of Black Lives Matter, Racial Justice, Immigration Justice, LGBT Concerns, Women's rights, Wage Equality, all the work and causes we hold dear in our social justice efforts truly are all interconnected, interrelated and have many points of intersectionality. Together let us join in our national work to address white supremacist culture, power and politics. Let us together address systems of dominance and oppression that take from the lesser than to continually prop up the greater than. This is the work of our living tradition. Let us join together and offer our part to the greater whole that is Unitarian Universalism in America.
Blessed Be, and grateful to be on the journey with you,
Rev. Kevin
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~ Music Box ~
#1000
Morning Has Come
by Jason Shelton
The Reverend Jason Shelton is a composer, arranger, conductor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, workshop and retreat leader and Associate Minister for Music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has served since 1998. His compositions have been performed in churches and concert halls throughout North America, and his workshops for choirs, musicians and ministers are helping to redefine music ministry in the liberal religious tradition for the 21st century.
#1045
There is a Balm in Gilead
Traditional African-American Spiritual
A balm is an aromatic, medicinal substance derived from plants. Gilead was an area east of the Jordan River, well known for its spices and ointments. The "balm of Gilead" was, therefore, a high-quality ointment with healing properties. The balm was made from resin taken from a flowering plant in the Middle East, although the exact species is unknown. It was also called the "balsam of Mecca." Myrrh is taken from a similar plant-
Commiphora myrrha
.The Bible uses the term "balm of Gilead" metaphorically as an example of something with healing or soothing powers. (from gotquestions.org)
#1015
I Know I Can
by Jeannie Gagne, lyrics by Dennis Hamilton Jeannie Gagne spoke at the
50 Years of UU Music
workshop and told a brief story of how this song came to be written. She was part of a group collecting and writing contemporary songs and hymns for "Singing the Journey", our teal hymnal. After two years and hundreds and hundreds of listening examples she and others determined they wanted a real "gospel" sounding song. She went home that night "
and the song just came forth". She recommends that the song be sung from your "earthly voice." "Comes from deep, deep, deep down here." She reminds singers to stay true to the rhythm but, "also invites you to sing the notes that you are called to sing."
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~ Social Justice Allies ~
For your calendar:
The next SJA meeting will be Sunday, November 19, following the service.
The agenda will include a report on the UUJAZ (UU Justice Arizona) network Issues and Action Day held at the UU Church of Surprise October 14. Faith Moore, Margie Goulden, Susan Immel, Rev. Kevin Lawson and Roz Clark participated in the day-long programming and will share their perceptions of how we might deepen and broaden Beacon's engagement with UUJAZ.
On Thursday, November 9, at 8:00pm in Room 136 of the NAU Liberal Arts Building (Building #18):
"The Bisbee Deportation of 1917: Songs, Words, and Images." With the 100 year anniversary of this dramatic and little-known chapter in labor history, Charlie King and Candace Cassin recreate this startling episode in which over a thousand striking miners were "pulled from their beds in the middle of the night, loaded into cattle cars and shipped to the New Mexico desert, never to return to their jobs, homes or families." Click Here for the Charlie King poster
Free and open to the public, this program is sponsored by the departments of History, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Ethnic Studies, and Latin American Studies. The presentation will be in English.
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~ Community Action Committee
Beacon's community partner for November is
Northland Family Help Center (NFHC):
Northland Family Help Center's mission is to provide safe haven, advocacy, counseling, and education to promote and restore healthy relationships.
- NFHC'S Domestic Violence Shelter provides safe shelter, crisis intervention, advocacy, counseling, and life skills training to those affected.
- NFHC's Youth Shelter offers shelter and respite care, family reunification, case managements, and life skills training.
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Overview Northland Family Help Center provides out-patient professional counseling services free of charge for eligible individuals.
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NFHC's Legal advocacy personnel provide training and advocacy to women fleeing intimate violence.
CAC is accepting nominations for 2018 community partners, and it's easy!
Pick up the one-page form from the CAC folder at the bottom of the stairs, fill it out, and return it to the same folder.
The nominated organization needs to provide direct services to our local Flagstaff community.
CAC is accepting nominations for 2018 community partners, and it's easy!
Pick up the one-page form from the CAC folder at the bottom of the stairs, fill it out, and return it to the same folder.
The nominated organization needs to provide direct services to our local Flagstaff community.
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~ In Community ~
Jan Nelson shared joy at having family in town.
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~ Auction ~
Auctioneers Andy Hogg, Mike Caulkins and Trish Black
celebrate the successful 20th annual Beacon auction.
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~ Path To Membership ~
The Congregational Vitality Team is hosting a Path to Membership Class at Beacon after the service on Sunday, Nov 12. If you are new to Beacon, or have been visiting for a while but would like to know more, we would
love
to have you attend this class. We will be providing a light lunch and a chance to get more information about Beacon and Unitarian Universalism. Reverend Kevin and our Board President will be joining us for the class. We hope the information will guide you in considering whether you would like to become a friend or a member of our Congregation. NO PRESSURE! It is fun to get to know other folks who are new to Beacon and hear a bit about our history and structure.
Please let us know if you would like to attend and tell us about your dietary restrictions so we can plan accordingly for lunch. You can email Dru Monroe at
edrumonroe@gmail.com
or sign-up with the greeter at church
on Sunday
. We hope to see you there!
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~ Building Expansion ~
Beacon Financial Capacity Study for the Proposed Building Expansion
An important step in our planning for our building expansion is to assess our financial capacity for funding the project. Beacon UU Congregation has hired Kay Crider, a congregational stewardship consultant, to conduct a professional financial feasibility study in early November. The results of her study will serve as a guide for Beacon's next steps in our building expansion planning.
Kay will prepare a summary report for the congregation. The results of the study will be reported to the congregation at a meeting on
December 3.
In a congregational meeting our membership will vote on whether to move forward with a capital campaign, which would likely be conducted in early spring, 2018. If so, it will be combined with our annual stewardship campaign.
The expansion plans include:
- More space for fellowship and religious exploration
- Moving our minister's office to the first floor
- Improving our common spaces and infrastructure
It's important that the feasibility study survey a representative cross-section of our congregation. About 20 per cent of our members are being invited to participate. Kay Crider has given us guidelines for who she wants to survey and invitations have gone out to that group.
These confidential interviews will be conducted at the church
November 9, 10 and 11. The results will:
- Clarify how much our members know about the expansion project
- Help identify issues that need to be resolved
- Estimate what financial support to expect
Interviews will take approximately 45 minutes and participants comments will remain confidential. Participation with partners as couples is encouraged.
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~ Beacon Art ~
ECO-PRINTING
These wall hangings were created by a process known as "eco-printing," sometimes referred to as "botanical printing."
The process uses the tannin in the leaves to print onto the fabric, usually silk though lovely results can happen on linen, wool and cotton also. Applying pressure and heat forces the tannin in the leaves to migrate to the fabric. Mordants of iron, soy milk, copper or alum make the prints permanent.
Because the prepared "bundles" of mordanted fabric and leaves need to be steamed or boiled in water, I often use a turkey roasting pan for that step in the procedure. A visitor recently saw this on my stove with steam coming out of it and asked what I was cooking. When I replied, "a blouse," she looked at me with concern. She obviously didn't know me well to consider this a strange response! And she needn't worry that I use that pan for food. It is dedicated for use with leaves.
Artists often use some rather strange equipment, techniques and products to make their vision become a piece that can be shared. We use precautions with anything that could harm our art or our health.
Anyone want to guess why I'm saving all my avocado pits and skins? Or why I never throw away onion skin? You'd be surprised what lovely colors can come from food waste!
Sharon Richards
928-774-7610
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Beacon Calendar
Community Action Committee
Thursday, November 9
4:30 pm
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Yoga
Tuesday, November 14
11:00 am, 5:00 pm
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Sunday Service & Religious Exploration
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Committee on Shared Ministry
Monday, November 13
5:15 pm
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OWL
Saturday, November18
8:00 am |
If you would like to submit a calendar event, send an email to
office@beaconuu.com
. 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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~ Classifieds ~
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!
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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
Sun: 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Tues:
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM Thurs:
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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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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(928) 779-4492
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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
office@beaconuu.com.
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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!
Do you know of other passive fundraising methods? Let us know at office@beacon.com!
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