The Prologue                                      Tuesday, December 5, 2017
  Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
   Congregation founded 1949
   LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation since 1995
   Green Sanctuary since 2007
Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World

Holiday Singalong Tomorrow, December 6
The best way for spreading holiday cheer is singing loudly for all to hear. Join Reverend Emily Manvel Leite and our pianist Ray Fellman to sing Winter Solstice, Hanukkah and Christmas holiday favorites tomorrow, Wednesday, December 6, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in our 
Meeting Room. 
Sunday, December 10, 2017     Special Music Sunday
9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
The Magnificat by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Our Choir and Guest Orchestra, directed by Susan Swaney
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Reverend Scott McNeill
          Join us for this special worship service in which our choir, soloists Jessica True and Ray Fellman, along with a 13-piece orchestra, will offer selections from The Magnificat by Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach. The Magnificat, also known as The Song of Mary or The Canticle of Mary, is a musical setting of the biblical Magnificat often performed during the Advent season.  Reverend Macklin and Reverend McNeill will offer seasonal reflections.  In addition, we will celebrate  Dr. Susan Swaney's 25 years of service to our congregation as our Music Director.  A special reception, hosted by the choir, will take place between worship services. 
Sunday, December 17, 2017
9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
The Moment of Magic
Reverend Scott McNeill 
In the depths of darkness, a spark of light can feel magical and bring us hope. In the last days before the Solstice and in the first days of Hanukkah, we join together in awe and reverence of the power of the light and the dark.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
6:15 p.m.
Winter Solstice Celebration for All Ages
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite, 
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, and
Reverend Scott McNeill,  
with special music by Ray Fellman and our 
Children's Choir
Come share in a quiet, reflective service celebrating the returning sun. We will fully inhabit this place on our planet as we join together in a candlelit spiral procession and reconnect with the earth and its natural cycles. Childcare provided for very young children available in Room 108.       
Sunday, December 24th, 2017
9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
Set the Bar Low for Joy
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Reverend Scott McNeill
          During these distressing times in our country, the holidays can add to the stress by creating high expectations for joy and merry-making.  Congregation member Sharon Wiseman wisely told me that in such circumstances, she simply "sets the bar low for joy."   So join us for a low-bar joyful worship on Sunday morning, Christmas Eve.  We will visit the Twelve Days of Christmas, do some merry meaning making, and pray for peace.  
          On the morning of December 24, Childcare and Religious Exploration for Preschool through 8th grade will be available at  11:15 a.m.  service ONLY.
Worship Services in December  
 
Wednesday, December 20, 6:15 p.m.
Winter Solstice Celebration, with a greenery labyrinth and candlelight. Childcare provided for very young children, Rm 108.

Sunday, December 24 & 31 morning services
We will hold services at 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. on both Sunday, December 24 as well as Sunday, December 31. 
 
Sunday, December 24, 4:00 p.m. Away in a Manger service especially for children; includes a Nativity pageant. No childcare. Details about this service here.
 
Sunday, December 24, 7:00 p.m. Reverend Mary Ann Macklin and Reverend Scott McNeill. Candlelight Christmas Eve service with music from our choir, and singing of carols, including Silent Night by candlelight (We'll be using the UU hymnal, so please feel free to sing the words you like the best!) 
No childcare.
MAM's Musings
During the holiday season, I strive to offer messages of inspiration as well as messages that challenge mind, body and spirit.   During these unprecedented times in our country, the challenges can leave one weary.
 
As shared during our December 1st worship service, this month's theme is Compassion.   The following quote is from Buddhist scriptures----the Karaniya Metta Sutta: "Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings."  
 
 A few years ago, I facilitated a three-session class on Karen Armstrong's book "Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life."   The book helped me see that I had a shallow understanding of compassion.  Initially, I learned more about what compassion is not, as opposed to what compassion is.  Compassion is not a feeling. Compassion certainly is not pity.  Pity diminishes the other person.  When we pity someone, the emotions which that person arouses in us become more important than that person's emotions or state of being.   This is not compassion.  Also, compassion is not about being nice.  Sometimes compassion is a type of tough love. We can offer a compassionate, courageous love that helps others, including our children as well as our Senators and Representatives, to "grow up"----to look at the long-term consequences of their actions.     
 
Our United States Senate chose this holiday season to pass a new tax bill which is an affront to human decency, particularly the most vulnerable. It also explodes the deficit, makes a mockery of fiscal responsibility and permits oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  It is not policy, but an auction to the highest bidder.  In addition to the content of the bill, I doubt our Senators even clearly understood what they were voting for---it was a rushed and pressured vote.
 
 
During this holiday season, we return to the archetype of mother and child in the merciful image of Mary and the baby Jesus.   Mercy is the traditional biblical understanding of what it means to put compassion in action.  These actions known initially in Isaiah as the four works--- feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering those without homes, and breaking unjust fetters--- if not done with a sense of equanimity, do not allow for true compassion to flourish. 
 
I was hungry and you gave me food.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you made me welcome.
Naked and you clothed me.
Sick and you visited me.
In prison you came to see me.
 
The virtuous would ask, "When did we do these things?"
 
In Matthew, the adult Jesus answers, "I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these, you did it to me."  Jesus understood all persons to be worthy of our care, beginning with the most vulnerable. 
 
And so, let us pray for compassion in these uncertain and dangerous times in which we live.  Let us pray for peace as the tensions with North Korea rise.   David Keppel recently drafted a letter for religious leaders to send to Senator Donnelly and Senator Young.   With David's permission and invitation, you might redraft this letter with your own voice, to send to our Senators.   It is a compassionate and tough-love plea for mature decision-making. 
 
 
*****
Compassion is a way of being in the world.  It is about relieving suffering in the present moment as well as the long-term consequences of our actions. It is about relieving the suffering of others while understanding that we are equal with those others.  Often in compassionate acts, people who are experiencing and extending compassion find they are helped just as much as those to whom they are attending.
 
May your spirit find inspiration and truth-speaking in this holiday season.
 
Peace, MAM
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, Senior Minister    
From Our Board of Directors
     The Congregational Meeting is December 10th at 4:00 pm!
     We'll officially announce the Right Relations Committee and the Social Justice Grants. As described by Reverend McNeil's article in the November 7th Prologue, the congregation will vote to endorse Reverend Forrest Gilmore as an Affiliated Community Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington.
     The Board is proposing a set of bylaw changes for congregational vote. The changes include adding a provision for Leadership Cultivation Committee (LCC) vacancies, participation by the Connections Coordinator in the LCC, removing the outdated Personnel Committee, and replacing a reference to our Articles of Incorporation with the relevant text. Full details of the proposed changes may be found at http://bit.ly/2gxOR8x There is also a paper copy on the bulletin board at church, and extra paper copies in Room 204.
     Plus we'll hear reports from the ministers, the Board, Planned Giving, Leadership Cultivation, the Green Sanctuary Task Force, and Building and Grounds.
     Finally, the Hogwarts Feast fundraiser on December 10 following the congregational meeting is SOLD OUT! Thanks for your support, everyone!
-----
Official Notice of Congregational Meeting
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Meeting Room
2120 N. Fee Lane
Childcare provided.
Our Folks...            
    We are holding all the caregivers in our hearts--those who are caring for family and friends who may be suffering in mind, body or spirit. The care you give makes the world a better place; remember to let others care for you.
  Changing the World 
Procession of Giving Update: 
over $1200 raised for UU Service Committee Stepping Stones still 
needs vacuums
A huge thank you to all who participated in our Procession of Giving this past  Sunday!  Our congregation provided much needed support to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and many practical gifts to local agencies: Head Start, Positive Link (serving people with HIV) and Stepping Stones.  Stepping Stones is still in need of three vacuum cleaners in (used in good condition is fine) for their apartments that house teens who are at risk for homelessness.  If you have an appropriate vacuum to donate or might be willing to purchase one, please email Reverend Emily Manvel Leite at  mre@uubloomington.org.  Thank you also to our wonderful actors  on Sunday: Eve Cusack, Carol Marks, and Marina! 
(photo by Rev. Macklin)
Farm to Family Fund Gift Cards Support Local Growers and Families
A gift to someone close and to someone you don't even know .  Many of you may already make gifts to others through an NGO, in honor of, or with thanksgiving for, or as a hostess gift or Christmas gift to someone dear to you.  Now you can make such a gift in your own community.  The Farm to Family Fund, a project of the Center for Sustainable Living, has lovely gift cards designed by Kayte Young, the new host of Earth Eats on WFIU.  The Farm to Family Fund buys food at half price at the close of the Bloomington Winter Farmers' Market every Saturday, December through March, and donates the food to The Rise, The Community Kitchen and Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.  For a $10 minimum gift you can provide a dozen eggs to 15 local families, or $25 will provide a 1-week supply of greens for 7 families.  Please stop by the Green Sanctuary Task Force table between services to purchase these lovely gift cards.  

Community Connections
Our Faith in Action in the Community

Last Night of Ballyhoo at Jewish Theatre of Bloomington Dec. 7, 9, and 10
The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington's 2017 season closes with  The Last Night of Ballyhoo , directed by Dale McFadden, December 7 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. and December 10 at 3:00 p.m.  at the Waldron Rose Firebay. Tickets are $20 at the BCT box office in person or at http://www.bctboxoffice.com/ or 812-323-3020.

Bucceto's Fundraiser for Winter Shelter December 11
Bucceto's Pizza and Pasta is sponsoring a fund-raiser for the Interfaith Winter Shelter on Monday, December 11, from 4PM to closing: dine-in/carryout/delivery.
Present the attached flyer when you pay, and the Interfaith Winter Shelter will receive a 20% donation of the total amount you spend.

Macaroni for Shalom Center!
    For the last several years, our congregation members and friends have provided macaroni and spaghetti for the meal program at Shalom Community Center. Please remember to pick up a package the next time you go to the store.  Collection basket for donations is under the Social Justice table in the Commons. 
  Building Community 

Holiday Bazaar a Great Success!
The 2017 Bazaar is over and was a great success.  Many thanks to all who moved chairs, baked, brought in books and white elephants, staffed tables and helped in the cafe and came to shop. Frozen Persimmon pulp is still available for $6.  See Ruellen Fessenbecker between services to buy persimmon pulp. Total preliminary gross receipts for the Bazaar are around $14,000! (photo by John Woodcock)
Women's Alliance Meets December 7
     "A Touch of Christmas" with Beverly McGahey and Fran Shelly is the program for our December 7 meeting.  The hosts are Ann Watzel and Cathy Hiatt. The Women's Alliance meets the first Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall.  The meeting begins with a brown bag lunch.  Drinks and dessert are provided by the hosts of the month.  The program begins at noon, followed by a business meeting.   Join us for some holiday fun. Everyone is welcome. 
Cookie Containers Available Through December 10
If you donated cookies to the Cookie Walk (Thanks!) and you'd like your containers back, they'll be in Fellowship Hall for you to pick up through Sunday, December 10. After that, we'll recycle 'em!
Ready to become a member 
of UU Bloomington?
If this is your community, if you feel at home here, join us! A Membership Ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, December 1 0 at 10:30 am in the church library.  We ask for participation in our Exploring Unitarian Universalism class prior to signing the membership book. To make arrangements to become a member, or for questions, please contact Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator, at  connect@uubloomington.org  or  (812) 332-3695 
Cub Scouts and UU
We are aware that we have quite a few Cub Scouts in our congregation.  We are taking orders for the UU activity book "Love and Help," which is the UU program equivalent to other faith traditions' "God and Country" badge in Scouting. Learn more about the "Love and Help" activity book here.  We want to support families who would like to use the winter break to learn more about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist, and help kids earn their Unitarian Universalist religious emblem as part of their participation in Scouting.   If there is enough interest, we would like to meet towards the end of January with a potluck lunch to connect and celebrate what we learned.  Contact Adrienne Summerlot  dre@uubloomington.org by December 12th to order a copy of the "Love and Help" activity book.
UU History for You--Mathematician Isaac Newton
     Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was born on December 25, 1642, in Lincolnshire, England, three months after his father died.  His mother remarried and had three additional children, but Isaac felt unhappy with his home life and did not wish to become a farmer like his stepfather.  He was sent to school and excelled, shifting his interests to mathematics.  He was 29 when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.  
     Newton's most famous work was the Principia Mathematica in 1687, which laid the basis for classical physics and the role of gravity in space and on earth. He also analyzed light by using prisms and showed that white light could be broken into a rainbow spectrum of wavelengths establishing different colors.  He invented calculus (independently found by Leibnitz in Germany).  He designed and built the first reflecting telescope for astronomical use.  His work on gravity convinced remaining skeptics that Galileo and Copernicus were correct in favoring a solar system for the sun and its planets.  
     Newton kept his religious beliefs private, but wrote down his (unpublished) thoughts.  He favored Arius (Unitarian) over Athanasius (Trinitarian). He felt worship of Christ was idolatry.  He saw Jesus as an intermediary between God and humans.  He served two terms as a Member of the British Parliament and he was Master of the Mint for 27 years.  He never married. 
--Elof Carlson, UUCB Historian

Current Membership: 529
Attendance  Sunday, November 26         9 :15: 89         11:15: 135      TOTAL: 224
                    Sunday, December 3           9:15:116        11:15: 165      TOTAL: 281
Non-Pledge Offering  November 26:   $481.60   December 3:   $644.52  
Total to be donated (25%) to All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center $281.53
Grocery Card Sales   (Bloomingfoods or Lucky's Market)
November 26: $250, income to UUCB $12.50    December 3: $900, income to UUCB $46.00
  Seeking the Spirit  
UU Freethinkers Enjoy Free Ranging Discussion  December 10
The purpose of the UU Freethinkers bi-weekly meeting is to create the opportunity for participants to raise questions and engage in open and non-structured discussion of issues of social concern, political concern, and theological/religious concern. UU Freethinkers meet on alternating Sundays after children's religious education classes end, in Room 208.   UU Freethinkers meet next on Sunday, December 10, 12:45 pm.

UU Children's Choir Upcoming Schedule
New and returning singers, Kg-6th grade, always welcome! 
Sunday Dec 10 & Dec 17 10:30-11:00am  Rm 110, Rehearse
Wednesday  Eve  Dec 20 , sing at Winter Solstice service . Run-through songs (Meeting Room) at  5:55pm.  Service begins at  6:15  and ends around  7pm.  Questions? Contact Jill:  jillmcourtney@gmail.com  

UU Humanists Meet December 17
An opportunity for regular, open, wide-ranging discussions relating to ethics, human development, and the nature of the universe. The bi-weekly forum will meet next on Sunday, December 17, at 12:45 p.m. in Room 208. The discussion will be led by David Keppel, on "What should be a 21st century humanist education?" For general questions about our UU Humanist group, contact Harold Ogren .
Labyrinth Coming in January
Once again this year we will have a meditative labyrinth in our Meeting Room, the week of January 7-13. Open hours will be posted soon.
Path to Membership: Exploring Unitarian Universalism Class--January 14 and 21
Are you interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism (UU) and this congregation?  Are you considering becoming a member of this church? Whether you are considering membership or are just curious, this class is for you. The Exploring UU Class will be held on  January 14 and 21 2-4 p.m.  in the church library. Please plan to attend both  Sunday  sessions, since different material will be covered in each session.  Register before  January 8  by signing up at the Welcome Table in the foyer, or emailing Ann LeDuc at  connect@uubloomington.org . Free childcare is available if requested in advance. Kathy and Steve Gilbert will facilitate this fun and informative class. 
  Changing the World 
Contact a Minister

Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, our Senior Minister,
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 201 and is available by appointment on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. macklin@uubloomington.org


 

Reverend Scott McNeill, our Associate Minister,  
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 209 and is available by appointment on Wednesday and Friday afternoons.  mcneill@uu bloomington.org . He can also be reached on his mobile phone, 703-577-0919 and for after-hours pastoral emergencies, please call him at 812-727-0919. 



Reverend Emily Manvel Leite our Minister of Religious Education,  can be reached at 
812-332 -3695, ext. 207  on Weds and Fri mornings.  mre@uubloomington.org


Our Covenant of Right Relations
In June 2017, our members affirmed a Covenant of Right Relations. Click here to read it.

Livestreaming Our Sunday Services  
You can view the livestream of our Sunday services and view archived video from the last few months at this link:    uubloomington.yourstreamlive.com 
Please let us know if you have a problem with the livestream, by emailing Andy Beargie at  media@uubloomington.org It is also helpful if you let Andy know which web browser you are using.
Beacon Young Adult/Campus Ministry
Orion Day, our Young Adult/Campus Ministry Coordinator, can be reached at  beacon@uubloomington.org and keeps office hours at the Indiana Memorial Union Room 577. Stop by and say hello! 

Who Ya Gonna Call?
Our Church Administrator Carol Marks acts as a contact point for many questions that come up about church life. If you see something around the building that needs attention or you have other churchy questions, please call or email Carol: 812-332-3695 ext. 200 or admin@uubloomington.org, and she will help figure it out.
Church Calendar
Office Hours: M-F 10-4
Calendar: A link to our church calendar can be found on this page of our website. 
Facebook  Many church events also appear on our Facebook page .
Prologue Publication Schedule 
The Prologue is edited by Carol Marks, mostly. The deadline for articles is 10 a.m. on the date of publication. Next few issues: The first and third Tuesdays of each month. Dec 19, Jan 2, Jan 16, Feb 6, Feb 20, etc.
BULLETIN BOARD
BANDANA POTTERY SALE DEC. 9-10: Bloomington native Naomi Dalglish and her husband Michael Hunt of Bandana Pottery will host a sale of their sculptures and pottery on Dec. 9, 10a-5p, and Dec. 10, 12n-5p,  at Naomi's parents' (Malcolm Dalglish and Judy Klein) home, 1111 E. Wylie St.   www.bandanapottery.com 
Masthead photo from the interwebs.
Unitarian Universalist Church