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Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World
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Sunday, April 26, 2020
10:15 a.m. LIVE STREAM ONLY
Credo: Coming of Age Recognition Service
Coming of Age Participants and Mentors
The Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
The Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
This Sunday, we will welcome into our congregation and into our virtual pulpit seven 9th and 10th graders who have completed our Coming of Age program. Don't miss this moving opportunity to hear from our youth and to acknowledge them as newly adult members of our community!
Please join us via livestream for this week's service via our Facebook page or our website livestream page. Archived videos are available about 3 hours after the airing of each livestream on our website, in case you miss the livestream.
Our Building is Closed, but Our Hearts are Still Open. To help disrupt the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 in our community, our building is closed for the time being. All in-person events and meetings have been cancelled.
Everyone please stay safe, stay well, and stay home.
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Join us for Virtual Coffee Hour!
Every Sunday after the worship service until 12:15 pm,
click on this link to join us for engaging conversation!
When you click on the link on Sunday, you will enter a "waiting room" for security reasons. After you are admitted to the main Zoom meeting, you will be given a choice of breakout rooms, where you can engage in small group conversations. Email me before Sunday, if you would like to request a new breakout room topic and be the conversation host for that room. Read the Friday Update for the list of this Sunday's breakout conversation rooms.
If you haven't participated in a Zoom meeting in the past, please take a moment to read our instructions before using it for the first time.
The instructions are available here. If you prefer to use your phone for audio, the phone number to call in to Coffee Hour is 646 558 8656, use meeting ID: 601 601 156.
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Tomorrow, April 22nd is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Will we heed the call to be gentle with ourselves and gentle with our earth for the next 50 years? It will not be easy. It is not easy. So ironic, that being gentle is not easy. But we can do it together. We are going it together.
Tomorrow, April 22nd, I invite you to begin a one month gratitude journey with me. I figure if ten people accept this invitation, I will be happy and full of gratitude! Starting on April 22nd, I will write a note of gratitude each day and send it to someone in my life or the life of the congregation. I do not have a system of how I will select a person; it may be somewhat random. And I will use real postage stamps and write real notes. If you, or others in your household, want to join me, email me at:
macklin@uubloomington.org . One qualifier about this "writing of gratitude note" is that it has to go on your 1)
Get to do list, and NOT YOUR 2) To do list. There is a subtle but important difference. Ponder that one. I look forward to hearing from at least ten of you.
In closing, this excerpt from the prayer I read from
Franciscan Brother Richard Hendrick's poem "Lockdown":
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe. Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic.
The birds are singing again. The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming, And we are always encompassed by Love.
In gratitude for Spring, You and Earth Day,
MAM
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Senior Minister
P.S. For Entertainment Purposes Only
Life with our chickens, Sansa, Dany, Arya and Brienne, is going well, despite the Pandemic. Sansa, apparently the mother of the brood although they are all the same age, loves to jump up on my spouse's lap and take a nap. My spouse, Deb Phelps, has a very calming spirit and I think it allows Sansa a little time to take a break. The other day Deb Phelps was standing near the coop talking to our neighbor Andy, who by the way keeps an exquisite flower garden that connects to our backyard. And! And! Sansa flew up and landed on Deb's shoulder and she just stood there. Sansa and Deb. Andy and I were busy chuckling at the two. As I attempted a photo, Sansa flew off. And that's just keeping you in the loop on the scoop from the coop.
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Dear Ones,
I am writing today with deep gratitude to those of you who have sent photos over the past couple of weeks. They really help sustain our caring UU congregation that is Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, and Changing the World (our congregational Vision Statement).
I have been personally glad to be receiving the photos. Each one is a tiny joy waiting in my inbox, a moment of brightness in my day, soon to be shared with the congregation in the slide shows Ned has been putting together for Sundays. I love them all, particularly those where I can see you: beloved people close to my heart.
Though we have been sharing photos because we sadly cannot be together, it is also a rare treat to see something of one another's lives, especially in a community that usually sees one another only on Fee Lane. It feels good to connect with the many ways you have been individually Seeking the Spirit-- images of cooking, handwork, and nature remind me of this, as well as the photos of beloved cats and chickens.
Building Community takes on a whole new meaning these days: images of family time together, of connections via the internet, and (of course) the shared photos themselves remind me that we are still busy building community. Changing the World is still happening, too--thank you to those of you dropping off food for the food pantry, delivering groceries, building gardens, and calling and writing decision makers.
As the Covid pandemic makes us ever more aware of racial disparities in our country, our congregation is also continuing the work of Dismantling White Supremacy. If you have time during the stay-at-home order, please take a look at the message below from Mary Beth O'Brien, member of our Dismantling White Supremacy working group, and join us in this critical work.
As Reverend Mary Ann said at the beginning of this past Sunday's worship: we MISS you. But your photos and all the connections we are continuing to make as a congregation help to miss one another a little less. Please keep the photos coming (send to mre (at)
uubloomington.org and media (at)
uubloomington.org) and keep on Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, and Changing the World.
Be well,
Emily
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
Minister of Religious Education
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Join our Director of Religious Education on Facebook Live
Our Director of Religious Education, Adrienne Summerlot, will be holding space for children and those young at heart each weekday. We start with a chalice lighting and show and tell (via comments) and then she features a story. The schedule is as follows: Mindful Mondays, Time Turner Tuesdays, Weird, Wild and Wonderful Wednesdays, Tales from Around the World Thursdays and Fun Fridays. Can't join us live? The videos are posted to her page, along with some wondering questions and links to activities and other stories for you to go to when it is convenient.
Her professional Facebook profile is
Dre Bloomington Summerlot
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What is troubling Rev. MAM and Queen Dany?
You may be wondering (or not)---with everything happening in the world, what might be troubling MAM and her pal Dany regarding church operations. Well, they are concerned about a large income item in our UUCB budget: Grocery Cards. Our income from Grocery Cards is hefty, not poultry, ahem, paltry ($7,000 per year). We have already run a-fowl of by losing income from fewer facilities use contributions (i.e. building rental); there is nothing we can do about that at this time. But we are also losing income from lack of Grocery Card sales. However, we can ALL help with Grocery Cards. See below in the gizzard of this message. Dany and I are waving our magic wand, so you will not duck this opportunity, with our rallying cry "Gallus Gallus Domesticus!" Seriously folks, if you shop at Kroger, you can fix this yourself. DIY Grocery Benefit to UUCB. See below in the gullet of this message. Or buy some cards.
Meanwhile, be safe, be smart, be kind.
Gallus Gallus Domesticus! Dany and MAM
Grocery Card Fundraiser Update:
We've Got 'em and You Can Buy 'em!
Although we are not able to be together right now physically, we have figured out a way to make grocery cards available for sale.
This will be on a first-come, first-served basis,
since we are not quite sure how we will acquire more cards to sell after our supply is gone. Below is our current inventory. If you would like to buy some grocery cards, send your check payable to UU Church, to UU Church, 2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington, IN 47408 with a note regarding the kind of card you want and the amount, i.e. Bloomingfoods, $100. (We cannot accept credit cards for grocery cards because the fee we would pay for the credit transaction washes out the profit on the grocery card purchase.) We will then mail you the card(s). We will keep
a running inventory online at this link so you know how many we have left.
Bloomingfoods:
$100 - 12
$50 - 6
$25 - 6 |
Fresh Thyme:
$100 - 6
$50 - 3
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Kroger
no longer sells grocery cards, but we can participate in their Community Rewards program by annually
registering our Kroger Plus cards
online at this link
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Our Kroger organization ID number for this program is EW763.
We currently earn about $400 per quarter from Kroger, and it would be great if more of us could participate.
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Send Your Zoom Meeting Reservation Requests to
office (at) uubloomington.org
We have moved our Zoom meeting reservation function to the church office. So if you as a group leader would like to reserve one of the church's online Zoom meeting spaces for your UU task force or Chalice Circle meeting, please email Monica or Mandy at office (at) uubloomington.org. Please be sure to let us know 5 business days in advance, so we have time to make the reservation and get the Zoom link back to you in time for your meeting. Concerned about Zoom Security? Please click here to read about how we are preventing "Zoom Bombing."
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From your Dismantling White Supremacy Working Group...
The Dismantling White Supremacy Working Group is still working during this sheltering at home time. Indeed, anti-racist work is not something we can pick up and put down--it is a constant need in our world. Having said that, here are a couple of books you might "pick up" to continue your own anti-racist journey, while you are sheltering in place.
by Crystal M. Fleming, PhD
Described as a "a truth bomb and an unforgettable wake-up call for anyone who wants to see a brighter future." (from back cover) Chapters titled: The Idiot's Guide to Critical Racial Theory, Listen to Black Women, Fake Racial News and Becoming Racially Literate, among others, inform, teach, expose and inspire. Published by the UUA's
Beacon Press.
I could not stop reading this book that so closely mirrored my own journey that began with my being born into white privilege. It is described as a "wake up call for white people who want to consciously contribute to racial justice rather than unconsciously perpetuate patterns of racism." - Terry Keleher
Thank you and be well!
--Mary Beth O'Brien (of our Dismantling White Supremacy Working Group)
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Racial Justice Task Force Provides Support to
Black Lives Matter Project
The Racial Justice Task Force supported Black Lives Matter Bloomington's Easter basket drive with volunteers to shop for treats and necessities for the baskets, and a grant to underwrite the cost. The project, headed by UU member Whryne (Renee) Reed, delivered Easter baskets and boxes of essentials to over 50 families. Much of the help has gone to the Crestmont neighborhood, and also to families of color elsewhere in Bloomington. Many thanks to all who helped!
--Martha Foster, Racial Justice Task Force
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Faith Climate Action Week, April 17-26:
Watch The Human Element online for free
Then Meet via Zoom on May 3 to Discuss
Earth Vision Institute
, founded by photographer and scientist James Balog, is providing a link to view his feature film,
The Human Element
, for free online during Faith Climate Action Week--April 17 through 26--to members of Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) congregations.
"
With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element relays captivating stories from coast-to-coast, inspiring us to reevaluate our relationship with the natural world."
To watch the film during ILP's Action Week,
sign up here to receive the link (scroll down to the bottom for the sign up button).
As IPL states, "During this time, it is important that we provide opportunities for connection and community. We hope that this online film screening will leave people feeling inspired to continue their advocacy on climate change and connected to the faith climate action movement."
Please contact Molly O'Donnell at mollysod (@) gmail.com if you would like to join our congregation's discussion of the film via Zoom on Sunday May 3rd. (Time to be determined.)
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Helping with the Grounds This Spring
Need to spend some (socially-distanced) time outdoors? Our grounds could use people or family units to work in designated areas this spring and summer. Visit the
Green Grounds page (which is at
www.uubloomington.org under Social Justice, Green Sanctuary Task Force, Green Grounds) to see the areas we have defined.
If you are able to help, please contact Molly O'Donnell at
mollysod(at)gmail.com or 812-345-7399 to select an area, set up a time (e.g. one-time or a range of time) when you could maintain that area and to schedule your work in this social-distancing period so no one is exposing anyone else.
And please use only your own tools during this period.
Keep in mind that if you are planning to do grounds work at church, our building is closed and the restrooms are not available. Please do not enter the building, for your safety and the health and well-being of our ministers and staff. Thanks!
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From our Reproductive Justice Task Force:
Because of COVID-19, the number of families seeking support from diaper bank programs throughout the country has skyrocketed. Help the Reproductive Justice Task Force address the increased community need with the April Diaper Drive for All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center. It's simple to donate from the above link, allowing All-Options to buy diapers in bulk in the sizes they need. Their shelves are bare! Help keep our families strong!
Now more than ever, the need is there to support women in their ability to access safe abortion care. The
Hoosier Abortion Fund is the only statewide abortion fund in Indiana.
Join the Reproductive Justice Task Force in the April community-wide fundraiser to show up for Hoosier women.
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From the UU Homelessness Task Force and Hunger Task Force
April Food Drives (and other needs)
Through April 30, we are collecting items for Shalom Community Center and The Nest. Our building is closed, but we have placed collection bins outside the building, under the northside porch near the Portico Entrance. Simply drive up and drop off - we are collecting donations from these bins daily.
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Community Connections
Our Faith in Action in the Community
IU Health Virtual Visits Available
IU Health has created a way for you to visit with a doctor online if you are ill, to help disrupt the community spread of the coronavirus by limiting the number of people who need to visit a doctor's office or the emergency room. Click here for more info.
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UU History for You
Timothy Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web
Sir Timothy Berners-Lee was born in London in 1955. His parents were early pioneers in the development of computers and worked on the first commercial computers. He attended Oxford and majored in physics. He worked for CERN in Switzerland and while there was frustrated at the difficulty of communicating with other scientists because different companies used different programs for their systems.
Sir Tim came up with a proposal in 1989 that he called "information management." He proposed three components-a specific computer language [HTML], an address [URL], and an retrieval system [HTTP] to link those communicating across the web. He called it the worldwide web [www]. He arranged with CERN to make the system royalty free so anyone could use it without paying a fee and advocated "net neutrality" as its policy, with no censorship for communicating ideas.
In 1994, he moved to MIT where he is professor of engineering. He is also a professor of computer science at Oxford University, and is Director of the World Wide Web Consortium and the World Wide Web Foundation. He was knighted for his work by Queen Elizabeth. Raised Anglican, he later became an atheist, but after he became a parent, he chose to become a Unitarian Universalist.
--Elof Carlson, UUCB Historian
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Religious Education for Adults
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Invitation to Join the UU History Class May 10
Ever wonder how the Unitarian Universalist church evolved? Where this way of doing church came from, and who were the founders of the Unitarian and Universalist churches? Please join us for
this romp through 500 years of UU history on Sunday, May 10, from 2:00pm - 4:00pm, via Zoom.
We will meet the Socinians, who practiced an early form of Unitarianism, meet the first anti-Trinitarian King, and learn about the first Unitarian who was burned at the stake. See why the English Parliament's law, with the penalty of death against anti-trinitarianism, caused Unitarians and Universalists to flee to a new world across the ocean. We will meet not only Unitarian signers of the Declaration of
Independence and Unitarian Presidents, but also the first woman to be ordained as a minister in the United States and the women who transformed religious education, leading our country in action demanding social justice.
We are the beneficiaries of the work of amazing women and men from our congregation's past. Because of their courage, determination and a commitment to the inherent dignity and worth of all people, we have today the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana. If you have any questions or wish to know more about this class, please contact Stuart Yoak, who will serve as the tour guide. Email:
sdyoak(at)iu.edu
or Cell: 314-566-9059. To register for the class, email connect(at)
uubloomington.org
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"Writing as a Spiritual Practice"
with Rev. Barbara Child
A Drop-in Group on Zoom
Tuesdays 1:00-2:00, through May 26
I invite you to join me on a journey of personal exploration through writing in community.
Click here for a full description of how the group will work. If you would like to participate,
register by clicking here to get the Zoom link and instructions.
This is a drop-in group and you can attend one or two or all sessions.
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Shambhala Meditation Mondays at 12 noon
Online Only
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Open Mind Zen Online Mondays at 7:00 pm
We are in touch with Frank Seisho Diaz and an online version of Open Mind Zen will be available soon.
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Gentle Hatha Yoga Tuesdays at 5:30 pm Online
Kate Mulligan is continuing to lead her yoga classes via Zoom on Tuesdays 5:30-7:00 p.m.. For security reasons, please contact her directly for the Zoom link.
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Traditional Taiji Not Meeting Tuesdays
For the time being, "Wu (Hao)" style Taiji will not be meeting on Tuesdays. For more info:
Contact Brian.
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UU Humanist Forum and Freethinkers Meeting Online
Each Sunday at 12:30 p.m., our UU Humanists and Freethinkers meet online on Zoom for
open and non-structured discussion of issues of social, political, and theological/religious concern.
Click here to see upcoming topics. Email
Ann Watzel if you would like to join the discussion.
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Looking for ways to stay connected?
Here are several opportunities to connect with our congregation throughout the week:
Mondays at noon, join Sarah Flint for Shambhala Meditation on Facebook
Fridays at 7:00 pm, join the Virtual Dance Party. Email dre(at)uubloomington.org to get the meeting link.
Weekdays at 1:00 pm Kids are welcome to join our Adrienne Summerlot at 1:00 pm every day for Story Time on Facebook
Weekly Call from a Friend If you would like a friend from our congregation to email or call you each week, just let me know.
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Do you have an Email Buddy?
During the current circumstances, we cannot send our Prologues out on paper to the couple of dozen folks in our church who do not have easy access to the internet. If you know someone in our congregation who's in this situation, consider being an email buddy for them, and call them on the phone to update them on what's going on. Thanks for helping Build Community!
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We Are Resilient!
Auction Donation Deadline Extended
We are resilient and one way it is showing is in the donations for this year's auction that we have received. So far, we have around 40 unique offers of services and items. In the past, our live auction usually has around 50 items. Phil Cooper is even back, offering a batch of his caramels! Please remember that if you offer an item, you must make arrangements to deliver it directly (and safely!) to the winner. We are going to leave the window open for submitting a donation form until this Friday, April 24 at 4pm. Our auction steering committee thanks you!
Click here for the donation form. The auction will go live online, Sunday, May 3. We will let you know how to get there!
Debbie Fish, Drew Schrader, Rich Slabach, Ann LeDuc, Barb Backler
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UUA General Assembly Goes Virtual in June
The UUA Board of Directors voted this week to make UUA General Assembly (GA) 100% virtual in June instead of holding the meetings in Providence, Rhode Island. The decision alleviates the anxiety and concern shared by many about how GA might proceed given the impact of COVID-19. It also gives the Association time to plan a more robust and rewarding virtual experience. Learn more at
UUA.org/ga.
Interested in being a Member Delegate to General Assembly?
If you are interested in being a member delegate from our congregation to the online General Assembly this June, please be in touch with Iris Kiesling, irisfkiesling(at)gmail.com
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Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, our Senior Minister
can be reached at macklin (at) uubloomington.org or 812-322-0205.
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite,
our Minister of Religious Education,
can be reached at mre (at) uubloomington.org or 812-333-9822.
Reverend Barbara Carlson, our Minister Emerita, can be reached at barbaracarlson5 (at) gmail.com or 812-822-0243
.
Reverend Bill Breeden, our Minister Emeritus, can be reached at breeden1949 (at) gmail.com or 812-360-1779.
The offices are closed, but we are working from home
We will be regularly checking email during business hours, as we work from home for the time being.
Carol Marks, Church Administrator, admin (at) uubloomington.org
Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator, connect (at) uubloomington.org
Monica Overman and Mandy Skinner, Office Assistants, office (at) uubloomington.org
Ned Joyner and Andy Beargie, Multimedia Managers, media (at) uubloomington.org
Adrienne Summerlot, Director of Religious Education, dre (at) uubloomington.org
Stephanie Kimball, Religious Ed Assistant, rea (at) uubloomington.org
Susan Swaney, Music Director, music (at) uubloomington.org
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Our Covenant of Right Relations
In June 2017, our members affirmed a Covenant of Right Relations.
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Deadlines for Publications
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Order of service and Friday UU Update:
Thursday, 9 am, to office@uubloomington.org
Prologue:
Date of publication, 10 am, to admin@uubloomington.org
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Office hours
: M-F, 10 am-4 pm (office closed, but staff working from home during these hrs)
Facebook: Many church events are also posted on our
Facebook page.
Prologue
Publication Schedule:
The deadline for articles is 10 am on the date of publication, which is
the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Upcoming
issues:
May 5, May 19, Jun 2, Jun 16
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HOOSIERTRADE.COM
: FREE ONLINE BARTERING SITE for goods and services, recently created by Terran Marks, a friend of our congregation.
https://hoosiertrade.com
Post items you have to give away and items you are looking for. Internal messaging, searchable by location. Completely free.
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Livestreaming Our Sunday Service, 10:15 am
Have a problem viewing or hearing the service?
Links to Archived Services to View Online
- Or, scroll down on our main Livestream Page
for full archives of both services and other events (memorials, concerts, etc).
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Membership: 527 certified members; 545 current members.
Attendance:
Sunday, April 12 10:15 Livestream page: 298 Facebook Live: 152 total 450
Sunday, April 19 10:15 Livestream page: 185 Facebook Live: 129 total 314
Non-Pledge Offering:
April 12: $645 April 19: $601
Total to be donated (25%) to Volunteers in Medicine (HealthNet): $311.50
We wrote a check to HealthNet for Quarter 3 donation of $1175.81 on April 16.
Grocery Card Sales:
(Bloomingfoods or Fresh Thyme) $0.00
During the last quarter (October thru December 2019) we received $446.72 from Kroger, with 134 UU households participating with their Kroger Plus accounts.
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Masthead photo by Glenda Breeden. Owen County barred owl.
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