UU UU UPDATE UPDATE JUNE 13, 2014 OCTOBER 17, 2014 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS OF TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY A WELCOMING CONGREGATION The Psychology of Evil Rev. Ernest L. Mills, Jr. — Sunday, October 19 In this reflection we will explore several modern psychological concepts, such as the Unconscious, regression, projection, the complex, and the shadow. We’ll also consider what these concepts have taught us about the nature of evil. Depth psychology in particular focuses on the psyche in relation to the sources of evil. Jung was convinced that if we were to rid the world of evil, we would need to start with ourselves. Sunday Sermon Please join us for worship on Sundays at 9:30 or 11:00 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship between the services. UUTC and Me Memorial Service Find out more about UUs and UUTC and meet new friends! Our one-day “UUTC and Me” class will take place on Saturday, November 1, from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. On Friday, October 24, we will hold a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. to honor the life of Nick Craddock. See page six for the schedule! Highlights Inside Sunday Children’s Programs Nursery care will be provided during both services. During the 11:00 service, Ted Heimerdinger will conduct Spirit Play in the classroom for children ages 4-8. Heather Layton is out of town and there will be no Riddle & Mystery this week. Pages 2-3 Board President’s Message Page 4 Ushers / Wonderful Wednesdays Page 5 NEW UUTC STAFF MEMBER! UU Seeking Temporary Housing Page 6 “UUTC and Me” Schedule Page 7 Community Connections Social Action / CROP Page 8 UUTC Contact Information Who Are We, Really? by President Becky Young What does membership look like for UUTCers? Is it like American Express? Do we plunk down an annual fee and get “benefits”? I think everyone I know from UUTC would join me in a resounding NO, but what would make us say YES? Most of what I really value here is not easily quantifiable. And I haven’t always valued those un-quantifiables the same way. I’m going to talk today about what I feel about this community—I hope it will lead you to do some thinking of your own, and that you will share that thinking with others . . . maybe even your Board! To what I value, I give my time. Then, after I give time to it, I find myself wondering why I wasn’t doing that sooner. When Kay and I became members, we were a bit . . . sporadic . . . in attendance. We were not part of any small groups. For me, that was partly a choice based on my work schedule—it was really easy to say, “Oh, I’ll go next Sunday.” Still, my group of friends who are UUTCers continued to grow. And I decided that I enjoyed these folks enough that I needed to make sure that I got to see them at least once a month, so we signed up to usher. With a “duty” firmly in place, we became “regulars.” I’ve not regretted it for an instant. I get the best hugs from folks! After I agreed to serve on the Board (but before I was actually serving), Ernie came to me one morning and mentioned that I should come more often. He was smiling; it wasn’t a criticism. But I knew he was right. Since that time, I have increased my involvement (with choir, with the Board) and I feel content that this is MY community. I enjoy and value the friendships I have here, and it feels reciprocated. If I had not made the choice to become more regularly involved, I would not be enjoying those unquantifiable “benefits.” For me, time & talent go hand in hand. We each have gifts, and it’s fun to discover these when we work or study together. And this, for me, is one of the great things about UUTC—the number of people who share time and talent in pursuit of mutual goals. Whether that goal is spiritual development or social action, when we are working together we are highly effective. We are vocal about our principles, and we work to see those principles carried out in our community. At Rise & Shine I enjoy the fact that there are more people from UUTC serving than from any other church community. Ok, maybe I gloat just a little! Where I think we may not be serving ourselves quite as well is here at home. A somewhat disturbing situation is how GREATLY we rely on volunteer efforts alone for the daily functioning of the church. There are position and salary recommendations on the UUA website for both the size of the church and the economic conditions of the location of the church. President Becky Young, continued Economically, Brevard and Transylvania County fall into the lowest group, which means that our salary recommendations are lower than for churches sitting in wealthier zip codes. Here is a piece of the UUA spreadsheet, aligned with our own positions. POSITION STATUS UUA MINIMUM UUA MID UUA MAXIMUM 2014-15 UUTC Budget MINISTER FULL TIME $50,750 $64,700 $78,550 $52,000.00 OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR 15 HOURS / WEEK $25,100 / $12.55 $29,500 / $14.75 $34,000 / $17.00 $15,600 / $15.00 CRE LEAD TEACHER 15 HOURS / WEEK $29,900 / $14.95 $35,250 / $17.63 $40,500 / $20.25 $10,350 / $16.00 CRE TEACHER 5 HOURS / WEEK $3,450 / $14.00 The annual salaries listed are the UUA recommendations for full time positions. The hourly rates beside them are calculations to make it easier to compare what UUA recommends and what we are actually budgeting/compensating. Those hourly figures make us look pretty good—we are compensating at a higher hourly rate than the minimum in every category. We might even like to think this is a living wage, something we clearly care about, since we have groups that go out and educate others in the community on the topic. Here’s the thing, though. It’s not really a living wage job if you work part time. And we clearly have a need for more administrative help. Many tasks have become the domain of “task forces” or the mini-jobs of people willing to help out. A current example of this problem is the need for the development of safety procedures (fire drills, how to handle a hostile person/group in our space, etc.). We have identified some risks from a previous task force, but we have been unable (so far) to come up with individuals who are willing to do this work. And I’m quite certain you can come up with other examples of administrative needs. Please do not take this as meaning that I have heard a single complaint from any of our employees—I have not. Some might be quite content with their hours and their workload. But at this point in our growth, it is time to start asking this question of ourselves: Do we wish to give more time to functions that we may not be truly invested in, or do we wish to invest in someone else to do those tasks for us? Me, personally—I want my time with my church family to be spent in mutually satisfying interaction, pursuing spiritual growth or the company of warm and interesting people. I love my work with the Board. (No, I’m not a masochist!) But there are some tasks that may not provide me “benefits of membership.” Maybe we need to start thinking about paying someone to take care of those things that have to be done, but we don’t wish to spend our time and talents doing them. Think on it. Current Usher Schedule Please e-mail Susan Freeman if you can fill in an open slot. [email protected] 9:30 a.m. Oct 19 Oct 26 Nov 2 11:00 a.m. Marilynn Weber Ted Fredley Lelia Graham Carolyn Fredley Ed Carroll Devonne Johnson Nancy Carroll Alix Berenzy Carol MacAllister OPEN Joan Bliss OPEN POETRY AND MUSIC! Our WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY four-week series will give everyone the opportunity to experience outstanding music and favorite poems! You won’t want to miss the following: October 22 — A SHOW TIME SING-ALONG. Ed Hauschild, John Austin, Melody Richardson and Jim Hardy will feature songs from Broadway shows. The evening will close with a show tune expressing Unitarian Universalist principles. October 29 and November 5 — A FAVORITE POEM AND WHAT IT MEANS TO ME. Select a favorite published poem, read it to the audience, and tell why this poem is special to you! (If you would like to share a poem on either evening, please send an email to [email protected] with your name, the poem title and author, and, if you have a preference, which date (10/29 or 11/5) you would like to read your poem.) November 12 — MUSIC OF THE WESTERN CAROLINA MOUNTAINS, featuring the music of John Austin and John Carter. Each evening will begin with dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6:30. There is no charge for the dinner, but donations are gratefully accepted. Dinner Reservations can be made by contacting the church office at 828-877-6121 or by using the sign-up sheet at the office desk. All are invited to enjoy this special series of Poetry and Music! Please Welcome Paula Wesley! UUTC hired Paula Wesley to succeed Mary Scott Christfield, who is retiring as our bookkeeper. Mary Scott has begun training Paula and will retire when the training is complete. We are enthusiastic about having Paula join our UUTC staff! She has lived in Brevard for nine years, where she has been a mediator and served on the board of the Center for Dialogue. She was also a tutor at Rise & Shine Freedom School and served on its Board. She is currently the Finance Manager of the Transylvania County Arts Council, where she has worked for six years, and is also serving her fourth year as Finance Manager for Bread of Life. Prior to moving to Brevard, Paula worked at the national headquarters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, building their national donor file. She has worked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/PBS, helping their radio and TV stations fundraise. She relocated to Brevard upon the death of her mother, Esther Wesley, who served as Director of the Brevard Chamber of Commerce for 21 years and also served on many Boards in the County. UU Seeking Temporary Local Winter Accommodations Libby Jensen is a member of the UU congregation in Haverhill, MA. She wants to relocate to Brevard with her two dogs Enzo and Jake (a beagle mix and a dachshund/terrier mix) for the months of January, February, March, and maybe part of April, 2015. She “just can't stand the winters here anymore!” (Libby thinks that winter in Brevard should be a piece of cake compared to what she is used to.) Libby is a parttime college professor, but won't be teaching the spring semester while Libby and Mia she is in our area. Libby will visit Brevard (without her dogs!) from November 1-3 and plans to come to our 9:30 a.m. service on November 2. Libby is the chair of the Membership Committee and is in charge of Coffee Hour at her congregation, so she thinks it would be helpful to see how another church operates. Libby owns a lovely home in Massachusetts, which she shares with a roommate. She is open to all possible housing situations for the winter, so long as she can find an appropriate place to live with her dogs. If an elderly member needs a little assistance, she’d be happy to help them. If you are interested in communicating with Libby with ideas for winter accommodations, you can contact her at [email protected]. Enzo and Jake Dear UUTC Visitor, You are warmly invited to our Prospective Member/Friend Class on Saturday, November 1. See the schedule for the day below—lots of information and that elusive Free Lunch! This is a new one-day format and may allow us to offer the class more than twice a year. Sign up on the office counter or contact Elizabeth Thompson, [email protected] or 828-650-9765, or call me at 207-831-8976. We would be happy to answer any questions. Be sure to indicate if you will need childcare. Susan Slocum Membership Team Leader Times 9:30 - 10:30 am Subject/Task Welcome and why are we here?; What it means to be a UU; UUTC’s Command Central 10:30 - 11:00 am History of Unitarian Universalism video 11:00 - Noon UUTC History, Congregational Covenant; UUTC Governance Noon - 1:00 pm Lunch (Chili, Salad, Bread) 1:00 - 2:00 pm Speaker 1 Alice Hardy Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Ernie Mills Carol Moore Elizabeth Thompson Jim Hardy Becky Young Covenant Groups; Social Action; Children’s Religious Exploration Joan Lemire Sue Null Heather Layton 2:00 - 2:30 pm Scavenger Hunt (Building, UUTC and UUA Websites) Elizabeth Thompson 2:30 - 3:30 pm Adult Religious Exploration; Stewardship; Closing Dave Hunter Dave Roberts Alice Hardy Some UU Food for Thought Unitarian Universalism is not a rock to hold onto. It is a river to swim in. If you want a set of beliefs to hold onto, if you want rules to guide your life in all situations, if you want a foundation for a spiritual fortress, you will probably be disappointed with us. However, if you want to dive into the river and explore, if you think that what you experience and what you do is more important than what you believe, if you want to be with people who engage in this world to promote wellbeing for all, we may have something to offer. Life itself is more like a river than a rock. Life is in flux, it changes, twists and turns, ebbs and flows. When a river encounters a boulder, the boulder may win for a while. But eventually, even the most massive stone is worn away by the currents of time. Unitarian Universalism is about learning to swim in the river rather than climbing out of it onto a rock. Rev. Doug Kraft, Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento Exciting Community Events! Saturday, October 18—Support SAFE, Inc, and enjoy its Fall Designer House at 84 Meadow View Road in Straus Park from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00. p.m. Tickets, which may be purchased at the door, are $5.00. Get a jump on your holiday shopping—free delivery of large items. Tuesday, October 21—Free performances of a one-hour play, “Granny D, You Are Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell,” at 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Hendersonville NAACP Chapter at the Hendersonville Public Library, 301 North Washington Street. Thursday, October 23—Women’s Financial Planning Seminar—Your Guide as the Survivor. This event from 5:30-6:30 p.m. is sponsored by SAFE, Inc., of Transylvania County and will take place in the Brevard Conference Room in the Hollingsworth Building, Brevard (above Quotations Coffee Shop). Cost is $10. Call 885-7233 to register. Saturday, October 25—THE UU Hendersonville Social Justice Committee is sponsoring a concert featuring the Wendy Jones Quartet at 7:00 p.m. Featuring an evening of jazz and beautiful standards with piano, bass and drums. Doors open at 6:30. Suggested donation $15.00. Call 693-3157 for more details. Support the CROP Walk for Hunger this Sunday!! The community-wide CROP Walk will take place Sunday. Last year about ten UUTC walkers participated and raised $400, the fourth highest local amount. The 5-K CROP Walk will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, rain or shine. Find more information, donation envelopes, and a sign-up sheet in the church foyer. Walk for a good cause and a good time if you can—and please donate, whether you can walk or not! Social Action for October— Minister’s Discretionary Fund Our Social Action funds this month replenish the Minister’s Discretionary Fund. This fund assists people who are facing an emergency or crisis but are not eligible for other community services. Please place your contribution in the offering basket in a specially-marked envelope. If you are contributing by check, please make it payable to UUTC and write “Minister’s Discretionary Fund” on the memo line. “We are the certain and the seeking, the lifers and the newcomers, the beloved and the brokenhearted, the insiders and the rejected, all of whom have found a home in the extraordinary, yet intimate, communities of Unitarian Universalism." Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC host UUTC Mission Statement Join Us! Our mission is to create a community that Discover what it means to have a personal encourages free spiritual discovery and faith that is anchored by diversity and growth, celebrates personal and religious acceptance. Join in Sunday services with the diversity, and promotes active, responsible Unitarian Universalists of Transylvania County. involvement in the larger community. Contact information is below. K E E P U P W I T H W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G ! ! ! VIEW our church calendar. ACCESS previous issues of UUpdate. SEND news for this newsletter by close of business on Wednesdays. Please include date(s), a description, and the contact person’s name and telephone or email address. Send to [email protected]. SCHEDULE events on the UUTC calendar by sending an email to [email protected] with the date, start and end times, space to be used, and contact person. C O N TA C T U S Our minister is the Rev. Ernest L. Mills, Jr. Church office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The church telephone number is 828-877-6121. Our mailing address is UUTC, PO Box 918, Brevard, NC 28712. Our email address is [email protected]. Our church is located at 24 Varsity Street, at the corner of South Broad Street in Brevard.