Is your Prologue getting clipped short in your email inbox? Follow the above link, or make sure you click "View entire message" at the bottom of your email, to read the whole newsletter.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
Congregation founded 1949 | LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation since 1995 | Green Sanctuary since 2007
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URGENT: The Indiana Legislature Needs
to Hear from You Today--
HB 1134 Aims to Stop Discussion of Racism in Schools, Colleges, and Libraries
HB 1134 and HB1040 are currently being worked on by the Indiana State legislature. Please inform yourself about these House Bills and take action now to express your opinions about them.
Click here to read an email from Rev. JauNae Hanger, JD - President, Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, that includes information about these harmful bills and provides links for contacting your state representatives. The bills would stop discussion of systemic racism in our learning institutions, make teaching almost impossible, institute a culture of surveillance, prohibit discussion of social emotional issues in the classroom or school without parental consent, and enforce its provisions with draconian penalties against teachers, administrators, and librarians, including lawsuits and loss of teaching licenses.
The legislature is moving quickly on this because they probably think we are not paying attention, so please take time to contact them and tell them to vote NO on HB 1134.
Reverend Bill Breeden requested we include this important information in today's issue; it was provided through our Racial Justice Task Force. --Carol Marks, Ed.
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Seeking the Spirit | Building Community | Changing the World |
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Join us for online services
Livestreamed on Sunday mornings at 10:15 am
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Hearing assistive devices are now available at the AV Tech booth in the rear of the sanctuary for use during Sunday worship services.
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Visiting the Labyrinth
If you are near Bloomington, you are invited to sign up and come travel the labyrinth which has been installed in our sanctuary for the remainder of this month. Moving through a labyrinth is a wonderful and accessible way to set aside time to reflect upon what is important to you, and, if you wish, to set intentions in your life.
We expect that visitors to the labyrinth will be vaccinated and boosted and will wear an n95 or kn95 mask when they come. If you do not have this type of mask, one will be provided. Number of people walking the labyrinth will be limited. Evening, daytime, and weekend times will be available, and new times will continue to be added as staffing is possible. You can sign up by clicking here.
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Sunday, January 23, 2022
10:15 a.m. Livestream
Nothing is Perfect
The Annual Science Sermon (for 2021)
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
“Without imperfection neither you or I would exist,” cosmologist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking reminds us. In her annual science review sermon, dedicated to the late Professor Hawking, who would have turned 80 on January 8th, Reverend Macklin will explore highlights and discoveries from various areas of science from 2021, including human origins, environment, physics, math, astronomy, neuroscience and technology. She will also reflect on former science review sermons from the past twenty years.
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Sunday, January 30, 2022
10:15 a.m. Livestream
The Zen of Small Things
Sensei Frank Seisho Diaz
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Join us as we welcome congregation member Sensei Frank Seisho Diaz once again into our pulpit to explore some Zen in these times.
As Frank states, “In a world with big problems, it is easy to forget the small things. From a simple act of kindness to the gift of undivided attention, our actions push and pull on the mandala of life with the force of our intentions. In Zen, we are reminded that despite our need for certainty and control, all we are ever ultimately able to do is confront the present moment with awareness, wisdom, and compassion. How then, might we find some comfort in the power of small things? As the great Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh explains, 'Don’t worry if you feel you can only do one tiny good thing in one small corner of the cosmos. Just be a Buddha body in that one place.'”
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Our Folks...
We are saddened to announce the death of John Woodcock, a long time member of our congregation. John died at home on his birthday, January 13, in the presence of his family. He enriched the lives of many and we were honored by his presence. We draw a circle of love around Peggy and their children.
(John shared his wonderful gift of photography with us for many years; the masthead photo in this issue is his work.--cm)
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MAM's Musing
Recently, I was reminded by an Addiction Educator about the importance of spiritual community with a sense of belonging--- for our emotional, spiritual and physical health. The next day, I came across this piece from Arianna Huffington:
The call to community is a call to belonging, to being part of something larger than ourselves, to making of our lives the latest chapter in the human story. We want not only to know who we are, but of whom we are a part. These impulses weave the thread of community with which we connect with others and reconnect with ourselves. Being raised in Athens, the city of the gods, I was infused with that sense of community. In the home of my childhood, there was no division between community and spirituality, history and current events, public concerns and private issues. And this belief, more than anything else, creates community. It is neither utilitarian nor utopian. It is prompted by a fourth instinct, not in its mystical but in its everyday manifestations: by giving, sharing, and making "common" our blessings and burdens alike.
May we never take for granted the gift of belonging to this congregational community. May we pray for the day when we might gather again, chair to chair, breath to breath, song to song, in our sanctuary---our spiritual home. I don’t know when that time will occur, but until then, may we continue to share, give, and make “common our blessings and burdens alike” as we each find ways to discern the balance of safety and risk in our being together.
I strongly urge you to experience our labyrinth walk currently available in our sanctuary. I walked the labyrinth on Sunday and felt the deepening of spirit, silence and belonging which is too often overshadowed by the busyness of life. Click here to sign up to walk the labyrinth. Details in the article above.
Peace,
Mary Ann
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Senior Minister
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Emily’s Post
Dear Ones,
Today I am feeling deep gratitude towards the many of you who have been a part of co-creating our Covid Memorial Installation. Our collective work of writing is slowly bringing the vast number of people we have lost into our shared awareness.
If you haven’t been able to attend services, or have sometimes missed the beginning, you may not know that each week we tell how many numbers we have collected in our sanctuary so far, and remember a little about what was happening in the pandemic and in our congregation at that time. Our slow recounting of the story is helping us remember that this pandemic has not been one unending experience just like what we are feeling now, but a time of continuous change: with progress and set-backs, times of overwhelm and times of hope.
Participation in this project has been amazing—your energy and steadiness have been inspiring. As we continue to seek ways to affirm being a part of a community, even in these days of being distant from one another, I invite even more of you to join or rejoin us as we seek to bring our Covid Memorial Installation up to the present moment. People have told me that they find the work meaningful and meditative, an important time of recognizing what is painfully true in our world, while finding that recognition easier to hold because we are holding it together. You can find more details and sign up here to be a part of it, or you can send me an email at leite(at)uubloomington.org.
Finally, let me echo Reverend Mary Ann and urge you to register to visit our labyrinth if you can safely do so in our sanctuary—or to contact me if you’d like to be involved in installing a temporary outdoor labyrinth so more people could safely visit, even on these frosty days!
Sending my love,
Emily
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
Minister of Story and Ritual
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Notes From Reverend Bill
I hope everyone is staying warm during this blast of cold from wherever it originates.
In my sermon last week, I recommended that folks read James Baldwin’s book, The Fire Next Time. I sent a copy of that book to Phillip Stroud, a member of our congregation who is imprisoned at the Indiana Reformatory in Pendleton, Indiana. There is nothing reforming about that prison, but Phillip has miraculously self-reformed and is a sterling example of the power of the human spirit to find the courage to be. I was informed this week that Phillip is on his third reading of this small book. I am not surprised. It is a compelling read.
I would like to add a companion book to follow your reading of Baldwin. Eddie Glaude Jr.’s, Begin Again—James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, is medicine for the sickness that still infects our nation, the pandemic of racism. Covid will not destroy the soul of America. Racism and white supremacy has the power to do just that, if we cannot awake from our slumber of complacency and rise to meet the challenge that threatens our democracy. May we be empowered to be fully human, and love our way into a future that fulfills the dream and the promise of equality for all.
Peace—bill
Reverend Bill Breeden
Minister Emeritus
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Do You Need Contact Information for our Ministers or Staff? It's all at the bottom of every issue of The Prologue! See below! |
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Message from Michele
Embracing the Interim:
Exploring our Religious Education Heritage
In the past four months, I have gotten to know you and begun the discernment process around the congregation’s lifespan religious education future. This is liminal space which provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on your religious education values and dreams. Beth Lodge-Rigal, Drew Schrader and Stephanie Kimball are working with me to design an intentional discernment process for storytelling, reflection, and discernment.
In January, these opportunities to gather will look at this congregation’s religious education heritage. See below for specific dates and times. Then in February, there are more opportunities to gather to discern this congregation’s religious education core values. In March, we will gather to dream UU Bloomington’s religious education future.
We hope that each of you will participate. Lifespan religious education is an integral part of this congregation’s mission and vision. There are specific learning programs for all ages AND there is learning in unexpected places. Because learning happens all the time, each of you has experienced religious education and have something of value to share in this process. I look forward to hearing your stories and perspective. Thank you for all you give this community.
Online session #1 will be held on Sunday, January 23, 2022 Noon to 2:00 PM
Facilitators: Drew Schrader and Michele Townsend Grove
Online session #2 will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2022 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Facilitators: Drew Schrader and Michele Townsend Grove
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Adult Religious Education Opportunities
Coming Soon!
In the next few weeks, a series of adult religious education opportunities will be posted. Right now, all of these will be online opportunities with the hope that new ones will open as it becomes safe to gather in person. Keep an eye on the Prologue and Friday Update. We ask that folx register for classes so that we can communicate with participants. If you have any questions or would like to suggest future adult religious education offerings, contact interim religious education consultant Michele Grove at
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Religious Education Update
Parents, please register your children for Spirit Play (ages 3-7) or IMUU (ages 7-13) so we know our staffing needs when we are able to meet in person again. And see our website for information on how kids can engage in the meantime!
Also, note that registration is open for our Shout Mouse Press Book Club, which will meet online, in person, or hybrid, depending on the preferences of those who sign up.
We are also planning some fun outdoor activities FOR ALL AGES for the next few weeks as we wait for Omicron to subside. Please register today!
- January 22, 1-3pm: RE Gift Assembly Party, on the porch near the Portico (north side)
- January 29, 7:30pm: Campfire at Paynetown SRA
- February 5, 3pm: Hike at Griffy Lake
For details, please see the registration page for each event, or contact Stephanie Kimball (kimball (at) uubloomington.org)
Religious Education Coordinator
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Women's Alliance Welcomes Ray and Scott
on Thursday, February 3
We are in for a treat on Zoom, Thursday, February 3, when Ray Fellman and Scott Hogsed (but probably not their canine pal Monty, pictured at left) will regale the Women's Alliance with love songs to help celebrate St. Valentine's Day. Join us at 11:30 a.m. for a special program of music! Please contact Doris Wittenburg, dwittenb (at) indiana.edu for the Zoom link.
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New Support Group for Parents with New Babies: The 4th Trimester Team
The UUCB 4th Trimester Team is forming to help support parents with new babies in our community. We plan to connect with parents, listen to their experiences, offer in-home support and referrals as needed. We will soon be accepting volunteers who are interested in being a part of this support group. Learn more here.
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Writing as a Spiritual Practice (Season 6)
A Drop-in Group with Rev. Barbara Child
Tuesdays through February 22
You are invited to join me on a journey of personal exploration through autobiographical writing in community on Zoom.
We will meet every Tuesday afternoon 1:00-2:00 p.m.
January 4 through February 22.
Even if you took part in one or more sessions during Season 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, you need to register for Season 6 by clicking on the following link:
You need to register only once and can then attend as many Season 6 sessions after that as you choose. You may register up to a few minutes before a session begins.
Here is a description of “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” and what happens in our Zoom room on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00.
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UU Online Book Club February 7
The second half of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow will be discussed at the February 7 Book Club meeting pm Zoom at 6:30 p.m.. On March 7, The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones will be discussed. If you would like to join the book discussions, sign up here. The UU Online Book Club meets the first Monday of each month at 6:30 PM via Zoom. If you have questions email connect(at)uubloomington.org.
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Join Friends at the Dog Park for a Weekly Meetup
This small group has decided to meet WEEKLY, on Mondays at 3:00 p.m., with or without dogs, at the dog park at Switchyard Park, mostly using the small dog area. There is no RSVP required, although you can contact Martha Dogan with questions, (317) 370-3824
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Fellowship Dinners Restarting
With caution and our fingers crossed, we are restarting Fellowship Dinners. If you are interested in the possibility of participating, please go to Fellowship Potluck Dinners Sign Up for detailed information on how we are handling the dinners. Please note that we are limiting the dinners to participants who have been fully vaccinated. If you choose to sign up and are signing up as a couple, please include both names on the sign up form. Also, after you have filled out the form, please be sure to click the Submit Form button. You will receive a confirmation email with the information you included on the form.
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Mission: Joy -- Don't Miss This Life-Changing Film!
Here are the link and password for viewing the film:
Password: joy122
We have access for viewing until 12 noon on Wednesday, January 19.
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UU Humanist Forum Meets Sunday, January 23,
12:45 pm
Every other Sunday at 12:45 pm, our UU Humanists meet together online on Zoom for discussion. On January 23, Dexter Edge will lead a discussion on "The Gadfly Papers and the UUA." Email Ann Watzel if you would like to join the discussion.
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UU Freethinkers Meet Sunday, January 30, 12:45 pm
The UU Freethinkers bi-weekly meeting creates the opportunity for participants to raise questions and engage in open and non-structured discussion of issues of social, political, and theological/religious concern. Every other Sunday via Zoom at 12:45 pm. To join, contact Ann Watzel.
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Shambhala Meditation Online on Mondays
Every Monday at noon online, or anytime it's easy, since there are saved sessions, you can join Sarah Flint in this 2500-year-old practice of cultivating peace and inner wisdom. Contact Sarah Flint to join the group in real time. On Facebook at UU Bloomington Meditation.
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Open Mind Zen at Friends Meeting House
Open Mind Zen with UU member Sensei Frank Seisho Diaz meets weekly at the Bloomington Friends Meeting House. If you'd like to participate, visit openmindzenbloomington.org and click on the "Welcome" tab for more information.
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COVID-19 Vaccination News
Vaccines for Ages 5 and Older!
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Your Church Office Staff is Available
by Phone and Email
Here is how to be in touch with the church administrative staff during their office hours as they continue to work from home.
Church Administrator Carol Marks, M-F, 10-4, 812-287-9615, admin (at) uubloomington.org
Office Assistant Monica Overman, T, Th, 10-1, Friday 12:30-3:30, 812-322-5546, office (at) uubloomington.org
Office Assistant Mandy Skinner, M, W, F, 10:30-1:30, 812-340-9981, office (at) uubloomington.org
The land line at the church, 812-332-3695, is checked for messages twice weekly.
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Email SCAM Alert
Our ministers, staff, and board members or other members will never send you email asking you for any money besides your pledge payment!
How to Recognize an Email Phishing Scam:
Is the email impersonating Rev. Macklin or another of our staff or ministers? Are they asking you to purchase gift cards? Wait! Don't do it! We will never send you emails like that. To double check, look at the email address of the sender. Is it from an address at uubloomington.org? If not, that's the second good reason to delete it!
Office Hours, Calendar, Deadlines
Office hours: M-F, 10 am-4 pm.
The Church Office can be reached via text or voicemail during office hours at 812-287-9615. Email: admin (at) uubloomington.org or office (at) uubloomington.org. Since our building is on Restricted Status, staff are working from home.
The Prologue is published on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month. Next issue is
February 1. Deadline is 10 am on date of publication, admin (at) uubloomington.org
Church Mailing Address
2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington, IN 47408.
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Details on Membership & Offering
Membership: 574 certified members as of 2/1/2021;
564 current members.
Non-Pledge Offering:
January 2 $376
January 9 $98
To make a contribution for the Non-Pledge Offering (Sunday Plate), or to make a payment towards your pledge, click on this link to get to our new Giving page: uucb.churchcenter.com/giving
Total to be donated (25%) to The Nest childcare center at New Hope Family Shelter: $118.54
Grocery Card Sales: (Bloomingfoods or Fresh Thyme) $300; Total income to UUCB: $15
Free Money from Kroger!
Fresh Thyme and Bloomingfoods
Grocery Cards Available by Mail
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Did you know that Kroger sends us over $1,600 each year? This is made possible by those of you who participate in Kroger's Community Rewards program. Register your Kroger Plus card online at this link.
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We are also still selling grocery cards for Bloomingfoods and Fresh Thyme by mail. Click here to see what kind of cards and how many are available. Send your check to the church (UU Church, 2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington, IN 47408) with a note to let us know the type and value of card(s) you want, and we will mail them to you. You do not need to send an envelope.
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Masthead photo by John Woodcock. |
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, IN
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