Submissions must be submitted by Wednesday at 4:00 pm to office@beaconuu.com 
in order to be included in the newsletter. 
~ Sunday Service, April 07 2019
We Are Whole
With Rev. Kevin Lawson
Rev. Kevin will welcome our new monthly spiritual theme of Wholeness / Salvation with a reflection upon our individual and unique wholeness.  "We are Whole, even in the broken places, even where it hurts" writes Rev. B. Lefever, in addition the author Henri J.M. Nouwen shares aspects of this understanding in his work "The Wounded Healer." How might we learn to accept our wholeness, even in our brokenness?

~ Monthly Touchstone Theme: Wholeness / Salvation  ~ 
 ~Town Hall Report ~

Report on Town Hall of last Sunday; Congregational Meeting scheduled for April 14 CANCELLED

The information Town Hall last Sunday was well attended.   Theresa deBoer of the Building Expansion Team (BET) presented an update on all the happenings since the approval of Option B, last July 29. At that meeting the Congregation directed the Board and the BET to move forward with all actions necessary to further the Expansion within the monies available. When we got the contractor's final pricing Monday, March 25, it was higher than previously negotiated and we faced a $22,509 deficit including a $10,000 contingency; $12,509 without the contingency. To spend that amount would have required a congregational vote which is the reason for tentatively scheduling the congregational meeting. Fortunately, three people had said they would give an extra $1000 and suddenly there was a seemingly spontaneous eruption of generosity with several people offering to give another thousand or five hundred dollars. This was during the meeting. After the meeting we received three additional contributions for an overall total of just over $19,000. Just amazing, and so inspiring. Therefore we have met the deficit and only have about $3000 remaining to restore the contingency. (If anyone wants to contribute to that, call me.) Therefore, the Board has cancelled the congregational meeting and the BET can continue to move the project forward. Read notes from the meeting here. Many thanks to all who came, and for the totally unexpected result. We are on our way!! If anyone, whether you attended the meeting or not, has a question or concern, please contact me (929)913-0813 or Theresa (928) 707-1974.

The other item discussed briefly was the shortfall in our pledge drive. While we expected less (we were told that the pledge drive following a capital campaign can be less than usual), right now it is approximately $15,000 less than last year. This probably means a very tight budget for 2019-20. If there is anyone reading this who has not pledged, please do so asap.

Dora Harrison, President
Board of Trustees
~ Stewardship Update on Beacon's Annual Pledge Drive ~
 
Spring is in the air and the season of renewal is upon us.  In particular, we have been engaged in an effort these past couple months to renew our financial contributions to Beacon for the upcoming year.  The annual pledge drive and your financial pledges represent almost 80% of Beacon's revenue for the operating budget, which includes salaries for staff, utilities, and programmatic expenses.  The pledge drive included testimonials during Sunday services, conversations amongst members and friends, and our Celebration Sunday on March 3rd. 
 
As of today, 66 "pledge units" (families, couples, or individuals) have pledged $118,840 for the July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 fiscal year.  This is well below our budget and pledges from last year.  While the UUA prepared us for a lower pledge total the year following a capital campaign, it will result in a tighter budget. 
 
It is not too late to submit a financial pledge and we would encourage anyone who has not submitted their pledge to do so as soon as possible.  The form is still available on the  Beacon website.
 
Thank you for your commitment to Beacon's future,
Wendy, Holly, Carl, Carleton, Bill, Paul, Skip, Dora, and Kevin P.
Stewardship Team
~ Religious Exploration ~

On March 31 we hosted all youth grades 6-12 for a YOUTH BREAKFAST CLUB!  Nine youth met in the kitchen during service and ate donuts while they discussed YouTube and social media. Some of the topics were privacy, viewing choices, and how much time people spend online. Thank you to Linda Ochi for making this possible!

After service many more folks joined us in the kitchen and made tin foil hearts for our neighbors at the Jewish Community Center to show our support for them during this time.


Coming up :

April 7  Worship for All Ages, please join us at
  • 10:00 with a very special order of service just for kids! AND at
  • 11:00 for First Sunday Fun day!  More details here
  • 11:30 Coming of Age luncheon and interview with the minister
Director of Religious Exploration 
~ News from the Committee on Shared Ministry ~
 
We Want to Hear from You!

One of our assignments on the Committee on Shared Ministry is to write an annual report about our minister's work at Beacon. We are asking for your help so we can include the impressions of all our members in our review of Rev. Kevin's work this year. On Thursday, April 11, we will send you a message with a link to a brief questionnaire posted on Survey Monkey. You may be wondering why another survey? Why now? We are asking you to review Rev. Kevin's work this church year, from July 2018 through April 2019, because we are required to send a report each year to the Unitarian-Universalists' Fellowshipping Committee as part of his credentialing process. 

You may notice, if you replied to the survey last year, that the questions are reordered and reworded. These changes reflect revisions in the criteria that the UUA has asked us to use in our report. On Thursday, April 11, we will send you a special message by e-mail, announcing that the questionnaire is open for your comments.  Please respond as quickly as you can because the survey will close on Sunday, April 21. Last year over 60% of our members responded to our questions about Rev. Kevin's work. We hope to hear from all of you this year.

If you have questions, please contact Collin Weller, Maryann van Drielen, Nancy Paxton, Mark James,or Beacon's office number: 928-779-4492.
~ Circle Suppers ~


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 Tuesday April 30. You are signing up to participate in 3-5 potluck Suppers (or brunches or whatever) during May-September. Each Supper is held in the home of one member of the Circle; nobody hosts more than 1 Supper. Hosting is not required, so you can sign up even if your home too small to host 8 people.
  • 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 all hosts have held events.
"A Beacon tradition for 30 years"

What to do:
By Tuesday, April 30 , use this online form to provide your name, email, phone number, and the names of other adults and names & ages of kids who will participate with you. The form will also ask if your home can accommodate babies (<36 months) and kids (3 years and older), and will allow you to provide other information, such as "my house is too small for me to host" or "I will be gone all of September" or "please put me in a circle with Barack" or "please don't put me in a circle with Paul."
*OR*
Find the clipboard (carried by Paul or Maryann or Dora or Carleton) at a Sunday service during April and fill out the information by hand.
If you can't remember if you already signed up for Circle Suppers, just sign up - I will find the duplicates.
~ Winter Chalice Circles ~

Touchstones Chalice Circles are designed to meet our needs for belonging (intimacy) and meaning (ultimacy) by building friendships and providing opportunities to ponder life's questions, small and large, with others who share the common values of our UU Principles. 
 
The Chalice Circle Schedule Will Continue with New Circles in January
4th Sundays, January to April, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Starting January 27 
OR 4th Tuesdays, September to December, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm, Starting January 29
 
Please contact Char Tarashanti for more information and to register.

(507) 990-3888
~  Social Justice Allies (SJA)   ~

Rev. Lisa McDaniel-Hutchings, Executive Director of UUJAZ (UU Justice Arizona) network, met with SJA last month as part of her annual expedition from Tucson to Beacon. Her sermon focused on relationship-building as the foundation of all our efforts to make the world a better place for more people. In her conversation with SJA following the service, she reminded us of the UUJAZ action teams focused on education, water and immigration. New UUJAZ board member Molly Divine, of the Granite Peak UU Congregation in Prescott, joined us that morning, too.
On a personal note, Rev. Lisa announced that she will begin a sabbatical this summer as she explores possibilities for her next professional calling. We recently received notice of the selection of UUJAZ's new Executive Director Janine Gelsinger, who will be stepping into the leadership position.

Alexandra Longoria of Flagstaff Repeal Coalition met with SJA on March 24. She shared with us that Repeal is spearheading an effort to convince our Flagstaff City Council to approve an ordinance to stop the criminalization of immigration.Approval of such an ordinance is particularly important because it is primarily the Flagstaff Police Department officers who arrest immigrants. They are placed in the county jail and then (upon their release)-by the direction of the county sheriff-into ICE's hands.
The ordinance is not yet on the Council agenda. KFT (Keep Flagstaff Together) has been working closely with Repeal in support of their work and has had a series of meetings with Council members, with more scheduled. It appears that there is Council support for the ordinance, with the next step to reach agreement on what is-and is not-legal. (ACLU is advising Repeal and KFT.)
The ordinance is not yet on the Council agenda. The proposed April 9 decision date-for Council to decide whether or not to proceed with this ordinance-is now questionable. (I just received that word last night. Roz)
Please check Beacon googlegroups for updated information .

Asylum seekers fleeing violence in their Central American countries are being sent to the Phoenix bus station and are in dire need of travel food supplies for their 2-4 day bus trip to be with family in other parts of the country during the immigration process. At the bus station Somos America supplies them with snack foods that will sustain them on their trip.
 
Beacon members, friends and visitors will have an opportunity to contribute what we can on Easter Sunday, April 21. Somos America requests that we gather THESE SPECIFIC FOOD ITEMS:
 
--Boxed tuna or chicken salad with crackers                
--Small packs of ritz crackers or similar                                         
--Granola bars, hard or soft
--Peanuts in SMALL bags                                           
--SMALL applesauce cups or fruit cups
 
The best buys locally on these items is at Dollar Tree. They are also available at Sam's Club.

The next SJA meeting will be Sunday, April 14, following the service (about 11:15). As always, Beacon members, friends and visitors are welcome to attend. Snacks will be provided.
In community,
Roz Clark SJA Journalist
construction_hard_hat.jpg
~ REI Building Project Update ~

This week we are moving forward! We have permits, we have a contractor, and we have a tentative start date of May 6! This is not an April Fool's joke!

The contract is in the works, which we hope to have signed very soon. Barry Brenneman has been working with the bank for the last few months on securing a line of credit, and Skip Brimlow dropped off the final application last Monday.

In about 2 weeks we will be dismantling and moving the playground and patio.

Thank you all for your support of Beacon's future!

Theresa deBoer
REI Building Project Manager
~ Committee Moments ~

Beacon Committees perform critical functions to support Beacon and provide valuable outreach that serves our community.  During January, February, March, and April, some committee representatives will take a few moments during Sunday Service announcements to briefly describe their committee.  

You can look forward to hearing from the:
Worship Associates on                        April 7th,
Finance on                                          April 14, 
and Caring Circle                                April 28.
   
Dennis Spurlin
~ Yoga ~

female_doing_yoga.jpg
After nearly three years of offering yoga classes at Beacon, April will be the last month of Tuesday classes, led by me. I'm grateful to the many people from Beacon and the community who have attended yoga, and for the friendship and community that has emerged through weekly yoga practice. An extra benefit is that half of the proceeds from these classes has been contributed to Beacon. 

One option to keep yoga at Beacon is to identify another or other yoga teachers in town who may be interested in teaching in our space. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact April in the office.   

Yoga will be held the five Tuesdays in April, at the usual time, 11 am - 12:30 pm. It's a joy to teach - and not to late to join in. 

Namaste - Cassie
sepia_stacked_hands.jpg
~ Volunteers Needed ~

Food Center Meal Service:  4th Wednesday of each month, contact Sue Strobel for more information.

Event Coordinator for PRIDE in the Pines: Saturday, June 22, 2019 - contact Rev. Kevin for additional details

~ Joys and Concerns ~
 Sunday, March 31, 2019

Anne W. - Shared joy that  Eric Giddens was elected as state senator in Iowa. He and his wife, Kendra Wohlert, used to be members here, and Kendra was our choir director.
Dru & Steve  shared joy in celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary on Saturday, March 30th. 
Sue S . - Shared sorrow for the loss of her Aunt Fern in February of this year.
Donna R . - Shared concerns that her mother-in-law is in hospice and her father-in-law may come to live with them. 
Gus M . - Expressed joy for springtime flowers and moments enjoying the birds.
Pia K . - Shared that her daughter Inca will participate in the 4th annual Grand Falls Clean-Up on Sunday, April 7th.
Jack expressed a joy. 
Susan P. - Shared a joy. She also expressed concern for the redo of her hip replacement.

A sincere apology if your joy or concern has been omitted or contains an error. 
This Month's Share the Plate Partner   ~

Beacon's community partner for April 2019 is the Hozhoni Foundation. The Hozhoni Foundation is a leading provider of services and advocacy for people with disabilities. Residential, Vocational and Educational services are provided to assist individuals in achieving their maximum potential. Ultimately every person with emotional, physical, or developmental disabilities has not only the opportunity but the right to experience life to its fullest.
~ Upcoming Events ~

Friday, April 26-28 -  PSW District Assembly. 
Worship opportunities a 
long with music, keynoters, workshops, social justice field trips, and plenty of chances to visit with old and new friends.

Sunday, May 19 - Budget Town Hall, (Discuss draft budget with members of the Board and the Finance Committee)

Sunday, June 9 - Rev. Kevin's last Sunday in the Pulpit with Beacon.

Sunday, June 9 - Community Potluck (finger foods, please!) Bring some small bites, brunch or snack items for community sharing as we say goodbye to Rev. Kevin.

Sunday, June 9 - Annual Congregational Meeting 11:30am - 1:00pm.

Saturday, June 22 - PRIDE in the Pines (**if event coordinator found).

Wednesday, June 19-23 - UUA General Assembly.  General Assembly is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association. Attendees worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process. Anyone may attend .

** Event and Volunteer Coordinator needed for Pride in the Pines 2019.
Are you looking for a small(ish) role to help support Beacon's community outreach?  We are recruiting for this years Event / Volunteer Coordinator to organize, recruit and support Beacon's participation in PRIDE in the Pines 2019. Please contact Rev. Kevin if you'd would like to serve in this role. We'll need an event coordinator prior to our purchasing booth rental space.
~ Beacon Calendar  ~


Choir Practice
Thursday, April 04, 2019
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Qi Gong
Tuesday, April 09, 2019
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Worship & Religious Exploration
Sunday, April 07, 2019
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Coming of Age Class
Tuesday, April 09, 2019
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Coming of Age Interviews
Sunday, April 07, 2019
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Membership Team Meeting
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
 Newcomers Orientation
Sunday, April 07, 2019
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Finance Team Meeting 
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Yoga Practice
Tuesday, April 09, 2019
11:00 am - 12:30 pm

 
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!
Beacon Office Hours  ~
Minister, 
Rev. Kevin  Lawson 

Tues: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wed: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thurs: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Or by appointment
Director of RE, 
Amy Huntereece

Sun: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Wed:  8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Or by appointment 
  Office Manager, 
April Yax

Tues: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wed: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Thurs: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Or by appointment
Office Phone (928) 779-4492
~ Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles ~

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a "living tradition" of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from  sources  as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience.  Learn more at beaconuu.com!


~ Beacon Google Group ~

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 our Office Manager, at  office@beaconuu.com.
~ Beacon Website - Now More Secure ~



The internet provider, DreamHost, provides free hosting for our  beaconuu.com website.  We are now protected by their "DreamShield" malware remover and their free "Let's Encrypt" SSL Certificate Authority.  You will need to use the "HTTPS" address rather than the "HTTP" address in order to encrypt the communication to and from the Beacon website.  From now on, please use  https://www.beaconuu.com to connect for a more secure connection.
 
Feel free to contact  WebMaster@beaconuu.com  if you have any questions or need assistance.