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November 23, 2017
Issue #428
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Susan Pierson, Guest Speaker
Thanksgiving is over, the rains have returned, and everyday we have a little less daylight than the day before. Christmas, Hanukah, and the winter solstice lie before us. Let us take time this Sunday after Thanksgiving to reflect on what the dark and cool days of late fall and the end of the year mean to you and your families.
Susan Pierson is a Master of Divinity student at San Francisco Theological Seminary. Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida (the other Bay Area), she moved to San Anselmo in 2012 from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is pursuing ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and is interested in doing ministry in a variety of settings - prisons, hospitals, city streets, and maybe even churches.
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Upcoming Topics and Leaders
11/26/17: Wisdom/Humor Sharefest: Bring a joke or quote you love
All Comers
12/3/17:
Desiderata
Jim Harrison
The Sunday Circle is held from 9:00 am to 10:00 am each Sunday in the Fireside Room.
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Words of Joy Thinking and Thanksgiving
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Genuine thankfulness as a basic attitude means having a thankful heart even in adversity, even in need, even in darkness-being thankful for the opportunity to partake in this life, to feel its joys and sorrows, its ecstasy and pain. It is a profound gratitude for the gift of being itself. The poet ee cummings expressed this expansive gratitude when he exclaimed:
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
I once discovered that the words "thank" and "think" are historically related, and that the two words are probably two forms of one original word. My historical dictionary says that the primary sense of the word "thank" was the idea of "thought," and that "thank" referred to "a favorable thought or feeling, good will and graciousness." This connection of thanking with thinking illuminates for me what an attitude of gratitude is all about. We teach children to be polite, to respond to little favors and gifts by always saying "thank you," which is certainly important. But there is also a deeper sense of thanks, which is thoughtful, aware, mindful of the gift of life, a humble awareness of the incredible blessedness of every minute of living. The great religious leaders of the world's faiths down through the ages seemed to possess this thoughtful gratitude in abundance, and I believe that it is an attitude we can all cultivate. Without gratitude, we can too easily become insensitive, discouraged, cynical, impoverished beings.
If, in this world of trouble and challenge, we can nevertheless maintain an attitude of gratitude, we can help to diminish the forces of negativity, and bring some healing and a sense of hope to our lives and into the world.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with love, sharing, companionship, and a heart full of gratitude.
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Thank you to all who helped created a stupendous
Stone Soup
service. The youth edited a very fun script from a draft written by
Cat Woods and committed to practicing ahead of time and not the night before. We finished the afternoon before at a waffle brunch hosted by
Henry Bankhead. And a tasty bit of gratitude to Henry for also bringing fresh sourdough to the ritual meal. The soup too was excellent as usual per chef skills of
Mikey Songster
who again made enough to satisfy the crowd and send some to the Women's Shelter for dinner along with a loaf of Henry's bread. So much more gratitude to so many more people that can be listed here. The whole congregation pitched in. It is a beautiful thing.
See some photos here.
D
eck the Halls
is just around the corner on
Dec 3rd, noon-3pm.
Everyone is encouraged to stay and help decorate the tree and to make and hang decorations. Learn snowflake making from cutting master Henry Kingdon and son Noah. Learn wreath making from expert Monique Webster. We still need a craft or two or at least someone to organize a few tables with crafts. If you can lend a hand ...
[email protected]. This is a family-friendly, ages 0-100, event with a light lunch served.
Sunday, November 26
there will be no RE classes. The Nursery will be staffed as usual. Youth are encouraged to attend the service with their parents this week.
May your
Day of Giving Thanks
be sweet in heart and mind,
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Upcoming dates link to the UUCM calendar for saving on iCal, Outlook etc.
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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Path to Unitarian Universalism
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Sunday, December 17 12:15, Minister's Office
Path to Unitarian Universalism
Newcomers, those interested in membership, and anyone interested in learning more about Unitarian and Universalist history are welcome to attend this session with Rev. Joy and members of the Membership Committee. A light lunch will be provided.
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Help Defeat the Hunger Horcrux!
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Join the 2nd-6th graders in their fight against hunger in our community. Leave non-perishable items in the SF-Marin Food Bank barrel located in the UUCM foyer. Most needed foods are peanut butter, cereal, tuna, soup, canned meat, chili, granola bars, and baked beans. No glass, please! Monetary donations can be made at
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Tenants' rights and protections in Marin County:
Tuesday, Dec. 5th at 1:00 PM at Marin Civic Center:
PLEASE join me and some other concerned community
members to make our voices heard at the Marin County Supervisors' Meeting.
I'm looking for stories from TENANTS as well as LANDLORDS regarding
fair housing practices. Contact Linda Haumann.
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From the Partner Church Committee
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There will be a Transylvanian Christmas tea on December 9 at 2:30 pm at Starr King school in Berkeley to honor this year's Balazs scholar from Transylvania, Lidia-Emese Bodor. The tea will include photos from Transylvania. Contact Marilyn Nelson (415 456 7534) if you're interested in attending the tea. Several of us hope to go and learn more. Lidia will be visiting us at UUCM in March.
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Food Delivery Person needed for Mill Street Shelter
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UUCM provides a
first-Sunday-of-the-month food delivery to the Mill Street Homeless Shelter. The need n
ow is for a "younger-than-80" someone, or a team of someones to make this food delivery. A run to Costco once a month would do the trick! You will be reimbursed from the funds raised by this year's annual homeless appeal letter that just went out to the congregation.
Joan Nelson - 415-506-4166 - c: 415-595-6221
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Notes from Developmental Ministry Meeting
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The Fruits of Developmental Ministry in San Francisco
Rev John Buehrens
Reporting over lunch on his assignment as a developmental minister at the First UU Society of San Francisco (UUSF.org), Rev. John Buehrens gave examples of how he "trimmed the deadwood and did some new plantings" that bore fruit.
The role of a developmental minister is to collaborate with the board and the congregation and to set achievable goals after deep listening. He reported three major changes at UUSF:
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With a focus on young adults they went from zero to 200!
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With a focus on social action they went from 39 committees to a Social Justice Council focused on three projects.
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With a focus on funding they had a capital campaign which had the unexpected result of people increasing the annual pledges 50%!
Key is establishing priorities and a tactical plan to achieve them. He challenged the entire congregation to be the membership committee and gave a prize one month for the person bringing the most visitors -- the winner had invited 14 people.
Only after inquiry can a congregation identify transformative change. Take a look at what are the opportunities for change.
Congregations have to overcome the naysayers who say:
We need stewardship of morale as well as money. The goals have to be broadly shared with the "owners" in the congregation. Key to hiring is a minister who is not afraid to exercise initiative.
Submitted by Kat Braeman, UUCM Board Secretary
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Basket Share Participants Needed
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Are you involved as a volunteer or recipient of the services of a local 501(c)(3) agency or program?
You can help that organization raise money by initiating a 50/50 UUCM Offering Basket Share.
Complete the
application form on the UUCM website Social Justice page. Or find one at the Social Justice Table on a Sunday morning. Send it to
[email protected] or leave it in the SJ box in the Community Room.
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Web Site Help Still Needed
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Web Site Help Still Needed
The Communications Team is updating the UUCM website. We are migrating the site to a WordPress template provided by the UUA and in use by over 100 UU Congregations in the US. And we are looking for help!
We need a few people to help migrate material to the new site, edit text, and add some functions to the new site. If you have experience with WordPress, website maintenance, or editing, and would like to help with this project, please email
[email protected]
, or call Valerie Taylor.
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Sending Announcements for the Order of Service
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If you have an announcement for the back of the Sunday Order of Service please send it to
[email protected]
instead
of sending it to the office. Please send by 5 PM on Wednesday, any later submissions will be considered for timeliness and room. The Worship Committees members are now putting together the Order of Service and Janette will print it.
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Save the date for 2018 Retreat
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Retreat 2018
Please save the date. Your annual All Congregational Retreat at Walker Creek Ranch will be held the first weekend in May 2018 -
May 4, 5 and 6. Details and registration starting in February.
Thomas Ervin
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Social Justice Education/Action
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We have a newsletter list to inform you about
UU Social Justice actions and local issues. Sign up by
replying to this email and typing
"Yes to Social Advocates".
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Contribute to the 3rd Tuesday night dinner at the First Presbyterian Church.
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Do you know of an inspirational activist who would be a good speaker for one of the Social Justice Committee's education-action luncheons? If so, please contact Joan at [email protected] (415-506-4166, Cell: 415-595-6221)
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Continue your commitment to environmental and economic justice by shopping at
http://shop.uusc.org
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Visitor's Box
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We cherish diversity and welcome among us
people of all races, cultures, ages, abilities, sexual
identities/orientations, and faith perspectives.
GUESTS
are always welcome. Sunday worship is a time for inspiration, renewal, and connection.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH join adults during the first part of the service, and then attend Religious Exploration classes. Nursery and toddler care is provided during the 10:30 service. There is a speaker system to bring sound from Fellowship Hall to the nursing room and the pre-K area.
REFRESHMENT HOUR
in the Courtyard or
Fireside Room follows the services.
There are four "Sunday First Time Visitor" parking spots at the top of the parking lot.
Come, join us!
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Staff Links
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Office Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday 11AM - 6PM
Other times also available. Call/email for an appointment.
phone 415-479-4131 ext 102
Office Hours:
Sunday 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Tuesday 10:30 - 1:30 PM
Thursday 12:30 - 3:30 PM
phone 415-479-4131 ext 104
Nursery Teacher: Glynda Christian
Don Beck: 415-892-0642
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I appreciate any feedback about this weekly newsletter.
eWeekly Deadline for Thursday issue:
Tuesday by 7 am - activities and announcements, Staff columns, committee reports
Weekly articles can contain:
- Notices of UUCM sponsored events, meetings, or other activities which involve the entire congregation.
- Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) or Pacific Central District (PCD) announcements of interest to the entire congregation.
(Staff article length 250 words)
Production, UUCM Connect and Special Announcements Editor: Lisa Cohen
Backup Production Editor: Valerie Taylor
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin
415-479-4131
240 Channing Way
San Rafael, CA 94903
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