Submissions must be in by Wednesday at 4:00 pm to be included in the newsletter. 
Caleb Alexander, Beacon Office Manager
~ Sunday Service, May 13 ~ 
"Grateful and Believing"
With Rev. Kevin Lawson

With words and Music to celebrate Mother's Day, Rev. Kevin and Music Director Adrianne Anning offer a service of music, duets and readings to honor, share 
gratitude and remembrance for those who mother in our lives. 

*Note Special Event Budget Town Hall Meeting after service.

~ Touchstone Theme: Beloved Community ~ 
~ Attention: Beacon Member ~

Special Notice from The Beacon Board of Trustees
Budget Town Hall Questions & Answers Session
Sunday, May 13th, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Beacon Members, be sure to join us this Sunday, May 13, after service for a question and answer session concerning the Proposed Budget for the upcoming fiscal year  (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019). We expect to answer questions at the meeting, and encourage everyone to attend the meeting on Sunday, May 13, at 11:30 am. Members should have received an email with the Proposed Budget to review Wednesday. Please reply to this newsletter if you are a member and did not receive the Wednesday notification.  We will have a few paper copies of the budget for sharing on Sunday. We ask that if you will please print out your own copy and have your questions identified, this will expedite the meeting for all who attend. Thank You.
~ With Special Gratitude ~

Special gratitude to Theresa deBoer for her work as project manager for the Building Expansion Team (BET), guiding the stewardship campaign, and leading Building & Grounds activities; and to Anne Cotten for her work on the Board, which will end this term as she moves to Phoenix.

Care of the Beacon Board
~ Religious Exploration ~

PreK-Grade 4 -  Our May theme is Beloved Community.  We were surprised by a guest last week and did not do our planned lesson. So, this week we plan to do what was planned for last week.  We will hear the story What Bees Do At Home. This session focuses on the family home through an investigation of bees and their homes. The activities explore the idea of home as a specific, physical place that plays a role in the lives of bees. Children will discover commonalities shared by the homes of bees, the homes of other animals, and our family homes. 

Please check out the preparation activities in our Google Group for grades 3 & 4 if you would like! These are some suggestions of things you can do this week to get ready for our lesson on Sunday.  Activities are appropriate for younger children as well.
 
Grades 5-8 -  This group will visit an Evangelical Christian church.
 
And we are looking forward to...  Chalice Camp!
Our theme this summer is Gather in Spirit,  a program that teaches stewardship with a focus on water.  Through a lens both scientific and spiritual, using activities a wide range of ages can do together, this program addresses the importance of water, the inequity of access to clean water, and actions we can take as Unitarian Universalist stewards.

Hope to see you soon,
Amy Huntereece
Director of Religious Exploration
~ Social Justice Allies (SJA) ~

Beacon was well-represented earlier this week for the showing of The Yes Men Fix the World!  With incredible creativity, planning and chutzpah, we and others watched these "culture-jamming spoofers" call out undemocratic and dehumanizing policies. We shook our heads and laughed out loud in disbelief at their satirical, audacious stunts.  Co-sponsored by Beacon Social Justice Allies (SJA) and The Flagstaff Reading Group, the final film, Freedom Riders , will be shown at Beacon Monday, June 4 at 7:00 pm.

More for your calendar!
Regular SJA Meeting, Sunday, May 20 after service
Members, friends, and visitors are always welcome!

On May 1, the Flagstaff City Council voted 4-3 in favor of the following resolution requesting policy changes of the Coconino County Detention Center. Link to the full text here.

Peace and Peace-Making, Monday Night, May 21
The Flagstaff Friends Meeting  (Quakers) is hosting a conversation on Peace and Peace-Making. Nadine Hoover is an  innovator in creating cultures of peace in some of the world's most difficult and conflictual situations.  Click here for the poster and please join the discussion.  

In community,
Roz Clark, SJA Journalist
~ Community Action Committee ~

Our Share the Plate partner is The Flagstaff Family Food Center! The Family Food Center sponsors eight programs that provide Flagstaff families hunger relief and children's literacy programs.They serve daily hot meals, provide emergency food boxes, and provide  sandwiches from there kitchen back door lunch service. They also support other non-profit agencies with food services. Last year they collected over 700,000 pounds of food through there food rescue program and gave over 300,000 pounds of inedible food to animal feed through food to farm program. The Family Food Center will be sponsored to May 20.
 
To nominate an organization to be a Beacon community partner, pick up an application in the CAC folder or click here. The CAC has recently selected additional community partners for June.  With continuing thanks for Beacon's generosity and especially for CAC members' thoughtful, persistent efforts to "bring our UU Principles to life,"
Rich Clark
CAC Chair
~ Worship Associates ~

How we communicate at Beacon
It is important for us all, in covenant, to honor and affirm the channels of communication that exist for our congregation. There are many ways to share information and to find out what's going on at Beacon: the weekly newsletter, the website which hosts our calendar and directory (registration and login required), the Google Group, and Facebook.

The Worship Associates wish to remind the congregation about the Beacon policy for announcements: "Oral announcements from the pulpit are made at the discretion of the minister and relate only to church news and events. Permission must be received from the minister by the preceding Wednesday to make an announcement in church." 

We also ask, out of respect for each other, that Joys and Concerns remarks be kept brief. The policy states, "This cherished tradition is for heartfelt sharing of meaningful events and concerns in our lives, so that our joy may be increased or our sorrows lessened." This is not a time for announcements. Sundays' Joys and Concerns are being noted every week in the newsletter, so that everyone has access to what was shared during the services. 

Worship Associates
~ In Community ~

Anne C. shared the joy at seeing our high school youth, leading service this morning, she recalls fondly watching them all grow up within this community. 

Sue S. shared happiness from the successful NRA protest rally at the Ponderosa Convention Center, NAU Campus on Saturday, May 5th. 

Elise L. shared the relief of having ACT and SAT test completed, and almost finished with final exams. 

Dennis S. shared the update that Theresa was in the hospital two day, with IV antibiotics due to a severe cat bite, but she is recovering well and is now at home resting and healing.
~ Up Coming Events ~

Beacon @ Buffalo Park
Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 9:00 am
Join with Rev. Kevin for social time and a walk in the fresh air with  this new monthly event for spring and summer!  Rev. Kevin will meet up with those interested for a walk and talk at the Park Ramada just inside the main gates at 9:00 am. We will gather and then head out to walk and explore the Park by 9:10 am. Looking forward to this new spring and summer outdoor opportunity for out of office-office hours! 

I'll be the one in the Bright Yellow Side of Love t-shirt, see you Saturday,  Rev. Kevin.

Pride in the Pines
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Beacon participates annually in this community event.  Please see the volunteer sign up sheet near the Kitchen door.  Join with Rev. Kevin and our amazing volunteers as we share our support for the sexual orientation/gender identity communities of Northern Arizona. The list of individual letters is ever increasing. This is always a fun and festive way for Beacon to affirm our welcoming and open congregation for all.

Flagstaff Fourth of July Community Parade
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Plans are underway for Beacon to participate in Flagstaff's  4th of July Parade.  If you would like to participate please email Rev. Kevin , or DRE Amy. W e're building a list of those interested. We will be developing our entry and the event falls in the middle of Chalice Camp, so our kids will be with us for this festive outreach opportunity!

Beacon Summer Day Retreat
Save the Date: Saturday August 4, 2018
Stayed tuned for upcoming information on Beacon Day Camp for all ages (our summer day retreat is  August 4, 2018). This event is being developed by Rev. Kevin and Char Tarashanti and will be a summer followup to our exciting Winter Retreat Day.
~ Beacon Calendar ~

Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, May 10
7:00 pm
Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, May 17
7:00 pm
RE Committee Meeting
Sunday, May 13
8:30 am
Flagstaff Folk Project
Friday, May 18
7:15 pm
Worship & Religious Exploration
Sunday, May 13
10:00 am
Beacon at Buffalo Park
Saturday, May 19
9:00 am
Budget Town Hall Meeting
Sunday, May 13
11:30 am
Worship & Religious Exploration
Sunday, May 20
10:00 am
  Committee on Shared Ministry
Monday, May 14
5:15 pm
Social Justice Allies Meeting
Sunday, May 20
11:15 am
Yoga Practice
Tuesday, May 15
11:00 am & 5:00 pm
Yoga Practice
Tuesday, May 22
11:00 am & 5:00 pm
QiGong
Tuesday, May 15
6:30 pm
RE Committee Meeting
Tuesday, May 22
3:30 pm
Core Leadership Council
Wednesday, May 16
5:15 pm
QiGong
Tusday, May 22
6:30 pm
Kadampa Buddhist Teachings
Wednesday, May 16
6:30 pm
Touchstones Chalice Circle
Tuesday, May 22
7:00 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
Or by appointment
Director of RE, 
Amy Huntereece

Sun: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Tues:  12:00 pm - 4:00 pm Wed:  4:30 pm - 7:30 pm
 
  Office Manager, 
Caleb Alexander

Wed: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thurs: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Fri: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Or by appointment
Office Phone (928) 779-4492
~ Website Members and Friends Access ~

Interested in accessing the directory and board documents on the Members and Friends page on BeaconUU.com? Register on the website by clicking here!  Call or email Caleb ( office@beaconuu.com ) with any questions !
 ~ 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 Caleb, our Office Manager, at  office@beaconuu.com.