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Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World
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Sunday, June 10
, 2018
9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Tag Team Worship
Reverend Scott McNeill and Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Keeping with our theme of "Play" for the month of June, we'll play with the concept of tag team worship, integrating lots of speakers and reflections throughout the day. Often, the game of "Tag" features running around a field wildly, in hopes of avoiding being caught and becoming "It." But in certain situations, creating a "Tag Team," where you can reach out your hand and ask for help in a moment of need, is just the thing to help you face difficulty. Join us for a playful service that focuses on how we can help one another, and our community (our 25% Share the Plate nominees will present information about their organizations during the service).
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Official Notice
Congregational Meeting
Sunday, June 10, 2018 4:00 p.m.
in our Meeting Room
2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington, Indiana
All members urged to attend. Childcare provided.
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Sunday, June 17
, 2018
9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Intergenerational Solstice Celebration
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite and Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Join us as we celebrate this season of maximum daylight and the arrival of summer. We will share ritual, song, storytelling, and play! The service is designed for ages three and up to enjoy together, and childcare will be available for our youngest ones. Teddy Gonyea and Steve Mascari will provide special music.
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From Our Board President
Three items this week from your Board President: consider upping your pledge to get us to our goal, a celebration of the Ramadan Iftar dinner, and a reminder of the congregational meeting this Sunday at 4pm.
The pledge drive - we are now over $600,000 (actual total is currently $620,000) and we are in sight of our goal of $650,000 - but we are not there yet if we are to provide fair compensation to our ministers and staff and increase our capacity for live streaming. If you have not pledged yet, please do so. If you have already pledged, please considering joining Ruth and I in increasing your pledge. Visit
https://www.churchdb.com/churchdb/donate/uucb/donate.asp
to pledge (or re-pledge) (Choose "I Want to Make a Pledge Commitment" and the 2018-19 Fund) or contact the office at
[email protected]
or 812-332-3695, ext. 204 to make your pledge.
What a amazing Ramadan Iftar dinner last Friday - the 17th year we've hosted this wonderful event! I am so proud of our community's hospitality in hosting this dinner and maintaining this connection with our broader world. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event such a success.
Finally, our congregational meeting is this
Sunday June 10th, 4:00 pm.
We hope to see you there for votes on the Leadership Cultivation Slate (see below), our 25% of the
Sunday
Plate recipient, and amendment of our Articles of Incorporation. See the May 15 Prologue for details.
Thank you - Von Welch, UUCB Board President
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MAM's Musings
Some of our Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington staff, family and friends were able to attend a Goat Yoga session as a result of an awesome donation (one of many) to our congregation's auction in May. Thanks again to all who made the auction possible. Our Goat Yoga session was perfect preparation for this month's
congregational theme: Play.
In my reflections on Sunday, I mentioned that researcher and psychiatrist Stuart Brown points out there are many types of play: Body Play (getting ourselves out of gravity---jumping, amusement parks, dance, sports), object play (ball, Frisbee, sticks, food-fights ), social play (how we learn to belong), rough and tumble play (where we develop emotional regulation, cognitive motor skills), Spectator Play (sports and other spectator events) Ritual Play (play in a traditional format). Imaginative Play (often when we are alone) where we create stories and let our imaginations go wild.
My guess is that Goat Yoga involves the first four: body play, object play (goat), social play and rough/tumble play. My conclusion? Goat Yoga is good for the soul!
Meanwhile, in case Goat Yoga may not be your thing, we will have a visiting Death Doula here next Monday to share her story and experience over a noontime discussion. Sponsored by our End of Life Task Force:
A Conversation with a Death Doula
Monday, June 11, 12:00 noon-2:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington
Bring a sack lunch - drinks and dessert will be provided
As a death doula, Birgitta Kastenbaum creates opportunities to explore and open up conversations about living, loss, aging, illness, death and dying in order to enhance community engagement, knowledge and understanding regarding these important life transitions. We hope you will take the opportunity to hear her talk about the life experiences that led her to this path, then answer questions about her work.
Peace, MAM
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, Senior Minister
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From Our Associate Minister...
Off to General Assembly Soon!
In just two short weeks, about a dozen of us will travel to Kansas City, Missouri, to find the best barbeque in the Midwest. Well, perhaps, that's a side trip for me - but beyond good food, we'll find good company amongst the nearly 3000 Unitarian Universalists who will gather for worship, workshops, and world-changing social justice events!
There are many ways you can still be involved with General Assembly - including watching LIVE worship with almost all of the 3000 or so people (a unique experience), as well as the UUA's business meetings.
https://www.uua.org/ga/off-site is the link for all of the ways you can participate online. You can also follow updates via the UU World (
https://www.uuworld.org/ga). If you're on Twitter or Facebook, often people (and organizations) within the broader Unitarian Universalist movement will post updates - so, check out your friends (or make new ones). I will try to keep up a social media presence while there (note - both of these contain my own reflections and not official statements on behalf of the church:
https://twitter.com/scottmcneill or
https://www.facebook.com/UU.Rev.Scott).
Following our time at this year's General Assembly, we'll find ways for the many folks headed there from our congregation to share their experiences with you - so, stay tuned!
Reverend Scott McNeill, Associate Minister
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Our Folks...
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Wanda Pyburn, a friend of the congregation who passed away on May 31, at Meadowood.
Our thoughts are also with Ruellen Fessenbecker and her family upon the death of her father, Ruel Fessenbecker, or May 25, in Milwaukee.
And many blessings to Jennifer Kulow, daughter of Ruellen Fessenbecker and Carl Kulow, who was married on Sunday, May 27, in Colorado.
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Leadership Cultivation Committee Slate
for June 10, 2018 Congregational Meeting
NEW: An At-Large Position Now Has Candidate
Your Leadership Cultivation Committee (LCC) presents the following slate for your vote at the June 10th Congregational Meeting. We thank all these members for their willingness to serve the congregation, and we also thank those they are replacing for their service.
Please note the addition from the last published roster of Julia Karin Lawson for At-Large Board member. LCC: Sheri Benham, Danny Callison, Harv Hegarty, Deb Hutton, and Michelle Monroe-Cook.
Board of Directors
President: Michelle Monroe-Cook (replacing Von Welch)
Vice President: Stuart Yoak (replacing Michelle Monroe-Cook)
Treasurer: Ed Robbins (replacing Sandy Churchill)
Secretary: Steve Gilbert (incumbent)
At-Large: Julia Karin Lawson (replacing Pat Brantlinger)
At-Large: Helmut Hentschel (incumbent)
At-Large: Sharon Wiseman (incumbent)
Elected Leaders
Leadership Cultivation Committee: Dan Wiseman (replacing Harv Hegarty)
Leadership Cultivation Committee: Anne Haynes (replacing Sheri Benham)
Leadership Cultivation Committee: Arzetta Hults-Losensky (replacing Danny Callison)
Special Purposes Fund (SPF): Harlan Lewis (replacing Joanne Wilhelm)
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Continuing Conversations about Religious Education
Please take a Survey about Religious Education
Save the Date! Splash of the Sacred, September 2
Our annual church pitch-in picnic and pool party is set for
Sunday, September 2nd from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Bryan Park.
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Adult Religious Education Opportunities
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Shambhala Meditation Meets Mondays at 12 noon
Join us at 12 noon every Monday in the Library for an hour of Shambhala Meditation, walking meditation, and Shamatha yoga with Sarah Flint. Beginners welcome to participate in this 2500-year-old
tradition. [email protected]
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Open Mind Zen Meets Mondays at 7:00 pm
Join Frank Seisho Diaz for meditation, talks, and discussions on Zen Buddhism, Mondays 7:00-8:30 pm, in Room 110 here at the church. All are welcome regardless of faith or experience.
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Traditional Taiji on Saturdays at 8:00 am
Brian Flaherty leads "Wu (Hao)" style Taiji in Fellowship Hall on Saturdays at 8:00 am. Anyone is welcome, even those with no experience. Please wear loose-fitting clothing.
[email protected]
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UU Humanists Meet Sunday June 17, 12:45 pm
An opportunity for regular, open, wide-ranging discussions relating to ethics, human development, and the nature of the universe. This bi-weekly forum will meet next on Sunday, June 17 at 12:45 in Fellowship Hall. The discussion topic is "Preserving the virtues of democracy"
and will be led by Sandy Dolby.
All are invited to attend. For general questions about our UU Humanist group, contact
Ann Watzel.
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UU Freethinkers Enjoy
Free Ranging Discussion
June 10, 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. UU Freethinkers meet on every other Sunday in Room 208, after children's religious education classes end. U
U Freethinkers will meet next on Sunday, June 10 at 12:45 pm.
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A Conversation with a Death Doula
Monday, June 11, 12:00 noon
- 2:00 pm
Fellowship Hall
Bring a sack lunch - drinks and dessert will be provided
As a death doula, Birgitta Kastenbaum creates opportunities to explore and open up conversations about living, loss, aging, illness, death and dying in order to enhance community engagement, knowledge and understanding regarding these important life transitions. We hope you will take the opportunity to hear her talk about the life experiences that led her to this path, ask questions about her work.
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SERVETUS, THE RADICAL REFORMED MUSICAL
Wednesday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Dress Rehearsal Performance -
A Benefit for Shalom Center
On Wednesday, June 13
, at 7:00 p.m. here in our Meeting Room, Reverend Dennis McCarty will debut his one-person, 90-minute play about proto-Unitarian scholar Michael Servetus. Free-will donations will be invited and will go to the Shalom Community Center.
Servetus (1511-1553) was a genius and polymath. At age 21, he wrote "On the Errors of the Trinity," challenging standard Reformation dogma. His use of reason in religion makes him an ancestral figure in Unitarian Universalist thought, but his beliefs would actually be tame by today's standards. He worshiped a loving God and followed Jesus. Even so, he so outraged church fathers of his own time that Reformed Church leader John Calvin had him burned at the stake.
Rev. McCarty will take this presentation "on the road" this summer, to Unitarian Universalist congregations in the Southwest and Pacific Coast. This event is co-hosted by our Homelessness Task Force and the Shalom Community Center.
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Ramadan Dinner Thank You
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who helped with this year's Ramadan Dinner on June 1. Whether you signed up or just showed up, worked at the front of the stage or behind the scenes, you helped make this event happen in a more environmentally friendly way. And you affirmed our commitment to stand on the side of love for all of our fellow inhabitants of this Earth.
As the event began winding down, I looked at the tired, sweaty faces of many of you who were still hustling dishes to the kitchen, washing pots and pans, operating the dishwasher and retrieving clean dishes from racks, stacking chairs, or completing any one of the myriad tasks left to do, and felt both gratitude and joy to be in community with you.
Judy Berkshire, Ramadan Iftar chair
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Green Grounds
Summer Garden Care
As part of our permaculture vision, the turf grass on our property is slowly being replaced by plants and trees to reduce mowing, model permaculture principles, and make our grounds more welcoming. We invite you to choose an area of our grounds where you would like to work, and select the dates you can help.
Areas to be maintained include: watering and tending (and harvesting!) the vegetable garden, garden tower and dwarf cherry tree (select dates at
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0545a4a62fa2f49-summer ); planting and maintaining the terrace garden; removing invasive plants from gardens near the office entrance; removing invasive "false horsetail" from the Memorial Garden and from under the large oak; keeping the path up from the Bypass clear of weeds and watering the nearby pecan tree; pulling weeds on the path along the south side and the nearby bushes.
If there is a particular area that "calls" to you, please let us know!
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Memorial Garden Welcome and a Plea for Volunteers
Everyone is welcome to admire and enjoy the Memorial Garden, newly remodeled and featuring a new bench made out of stone previously used for the foundation of the farmhouse that once stood at the northwest corner of the property. We thank Deb Hutton for the idea and a contribution toward building it, as well as Deb Martin and Sandra Freund for help with maintaining it. We do need more help, urgently, with ongoing efforts at weed eradication! Due to these efforts we ask that people not walk in the garden apart from the stone paths to the benches. It is difficult, in any case, to avoid stepping on the many plantings there.
Please email or call Ed or Claire
Robertson if you'd like to help with weeding:
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Welcome to our newest members
On May 20, we welcomed five new members into our congregation. Please give a warm welcome to Eddie Franklin, Sally and Jim Harvey, Judy Kelly, and Barbara Straube. Below are two bios to help you get to know them. --Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator
Jim Harvey is a native Hoosier. He was an administrator and high school social studies teacher in the MCCSC. Jim is a volunteer with the Interfaith Winter Shelter and Shalom Community Center. He enjoys chair yoga and open wheel automobile racing.
Sally Harvey was raised in Kentucky but has lived in Bloomington most of her life. She taught (primarily) 4th grade for the MCCSC and raised a family. She now volunteers as an ENL teacher through the Monroe County Public Library. She loves living in a college town and enjoys painting in oils, writing, travel, pets and people.
Come learn how to use simple handheld percussion instruments in preparation for marching with us in the 4th of July Parade.
There are parts for everyone (easy, medium, and challenging). The first two sessions will be learning sessions, and the last session will include practice playing while walking. Dates: June 5 at 6:30 pm in Fellowship Hall, June 15 at 7 pm.
These workshops are designed for adults and children age 8 and older. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Let Ann LeDuc know if you would like to eat pizza before the workshop by emailing
[email protected]
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Colleen Haas, Instructor
Come be part of the fun! Make signs for the 4th of July Parade and eat pizza - this Thursday, June 7!
The first parade prep and pizza night is this Thursday, June 7, 6-7:30 pm in Room 208. Come hang out with other UUs and make signs for the parade. All ages welcome! Children must be accompanied by an adult. Let Ann LeDuc know if you would like to eat pizza by emailing
[email protected] . Additional prep times are scheduled for June 15 and 21, 6-7:30, and June 30, 10:30 AM.
Exploring Unitarian Universalism Class
July 8 and 15
Are you interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism (UU) and this congregation? Are you considering becoming a member of this dynamic religious community? Whether you are considering membership or are just curious, this class is for you. The Exploring UU Class will be held on July 8 and 15, 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 by signing up at the Welcome Table in the foyer, or emailing Ann LeDuc at
[email protected]. Free childcare is available if requested in advance.
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Women's Alliance Meets June 7, 11:30 am
The wonderful and talented Gladys DeVane is the Women's Alliance's special guest on Thursday, June 7th. The topic of her presentation is "Moving Forward." We gather at 11:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. Meetings begin with a brown bag lunch. Gladys's presentation begins at noon, and will be followed by a business meeting. The hosts for the month, Ann McEndarfer and Beth Hollingsworth, will provide drinks and dessert. Join us and bring a friend. Everyone is welcome.
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UU Men's Group Meeting at Church June 19, 7 pm
The UU Men's Group is open to all friends and members of the congregation. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month, often in members' homes. We have lively discussion about a topic we choose. We check in with each other and get to to know each other. The meeting this month will be at the church on Tuesday, June 19th from 7-9 in the Ralph and Annetta Fuchs Library on the second floor. Call Dan Wiseman if you have questions at 847-902-9034 or email
[email protected]. Hope to see you all soon.
-- Dan Wiseman, UU Men's Group facilitator
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UU History for You --
Joseph Tuckerman and the Unitarian Ministry at Large
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Joseph Tuckerman (1778-1840) was the son of a wealthy landowner and founder of a Fire Insurance Company. He attended Harvard and roomed with William Ellery Channing. After he was ordained as a Unitarian minister, he took an interest in the growing number of impoverished people living in Boston. Many were new immigrants. Some were alcoholics. There were prostitutes and beggars as well as orphaned children and widows struggling to survive in an era when the poor were often blamed for their own condition. Tuckerman believed in the "perfectibility of humanity" (a credo of Condorcet and the French Enlightenment) and felt it was an obligation the privileged owed to the underprivileged to help them. He began a ministry at large and visited the poor, helping them with necessities and organizing shelters and chapels where they and their children could be taught and where they could help each other. He believed alcoholism was a disease and not a lapse of moral judgment. He opposed government programs that he felt were based on containment and punishment. Instead, he offered summer camps for children and vocational training of the children. Tuckerman published his findings in 1826 as a scientific
study of poverty.
Note: Rev. Forrest Gilmore mentioned Tuckerman's work in the May 6, 2018 service. This is history article was written in August 2015.
--Elof Carlson, UUCB Historian
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Current Membership: 512 certified members; 531 current members.
Attendance
Sunday, May 20
9
:15 -
99 11:15 - 132 TOTAL: 231
Sunday, May 27 9:15 - 100 11:15 - 113 TOTAL: 213
Sunday, June 3 9:15 - 132 11:15 - 158 TOTAL: 290
Non-Pledge Offering Sun,
May 20: $497.00
Sun, May 27: $510.00 Sun, June 3: $547.00
Total to be donated
(25%) to All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center $389
Grocery Card Sales (Bloomingfoods or Lucky's Market) (info not available at press time.)
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Social Justice Funds Committee Nominations for 25% Fund in 2018-19:
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First Books of Monroe County
- Spencer Pride
- Volunteers in Medicine
The members gathered at our Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 10 at 4:00 p.m. will vote to decide which one of these three organizations will receive 25% of our non-pledge Sunday offerings in 2018-19.
--Steve Mascari, chair, Social Justice Funds Committee
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Thanks from the Booktable
Thank you to all who donate books to the Book Table and padded mailers for Pages to Prisoners!
-- Glee Noble, Booktable Chair
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Community Connections
Our Faith in Action in the Community
Macaroni for Shalom Center!
For the last several years, our congregation's 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.
Sunrise Solstice Celebration Saturday June 16 at All Souls
Saturday, June 16th, 6:30-9am,
All Souls Unitarian Church
Doors open at
6:15am
for a
6:30am
sunrise summer solstice ritual, followed by potluck breakfast at around
8am.
Gather with us to celebrate this time of abundance, strength, and rejuvenation we call the summer solstice, Litha, the longest day.
Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2005526326355275/
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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.
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.
He can also be reached on his mobile phone, 703-577-0919.
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 Wednesday and Friday mornings.
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Our Covenant of Right Relations
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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. If you have a problem viewing, please email Andy Beargie and Ned Joyner at
[email protected]
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Direct URL Links to Recent Service Videos
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Church Calendar
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 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
Prologue
Publication Schedule:
The deadline for articles is 10 a.m. on the date of publication, which is the first and third Tuesday of each month. Send articles to [email protected].
Next few
issues:
June 19, July 3, July 17.
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masthead photo (Redbud with Rising Moon) by Marcia Hart.
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this photo by John Woodcock. |
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