17540 N. Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, AZ 85378-2581 Phone: 623.875.2550 Fax: 623.875.2552  www.uusurprise.org Email: [email protected] The Newsletter of Unitarian Universalist Church, Surprise, AZ is published monthly except August. Minister: Rev. Terry Sims Minister Emeritus: Rev. Dr. Walt F. Wieder President: Reggie Johnston November 2014 Newsletter Editor: Charlie Mannino Email: [email protected] Printing: Kathryn Pabich From The Minister’s Desk I ’ve been carrying our congregation’s right relations covenant around with me this week. In part, that is because of the moving, personal story Patricia Balfour shared with us during the Reflections part of the worship service on October 12. I’ve also been involved in some conflict situations recently that have made me wish for a panacea to conflict and disagreement, not that I think there is one. I know that in any human effort or enterprise, both disagreement and some level of conflict over time are inevitable, but that doesn’t make me happy about it. I also don’t think the answer to conflict is never, or always, to avoid it; or always, or never, to accommodate the other person, that is to give in on something we honestly disagree with, provided that it is important. So I ask myself what to do with that. I really don’t have any answer except the covenant I make with myself and with all of you. I mentioned during the sermon on October 12 that our right relations covenant is easy to say and hard to do. Even when we agree on principles, putting them into practice is considerably more difficult than just stating what we all agree on in the abstract and not in the heat of an argument. How do we disagree with people we care about? First, I want to ask myself: “Is this really important?”, lots of disagreements aren’t. I find the rest of how I want to disagree with people in the covenant, “we build our church on a foundation of love and covenant with one another . . . .” Maybe we could stop at the beginning of a disagreement to remind ourselves, and tell the person we disagree with, that we do care about and appreciate them. Maybe we could follow that up by telling the other person that we don’t like November 2014 disagreeing with them; that it hurts. Out of that bad feeling I had recently, I said something, as much to myself as to the person I was in conflict with: that there has to be a way we can disagree with each other without hurting ourselves and others more than the disagreement itself hurts. It has to be about not whether we disagree, but how we disagree. “To accept responsibility for our individual acts and promote justice and peace.” How easy it is to talk about peace . . . and then use verbal violence when in a heated disagreement with someone. “To communicate with kindness.” When I find myself in conflict with someone, I wish I would ask myself more often before speaking, “What is the kindest way I can communicate my views?” The covenant leaves no space for bullying, of course. But there are other ways of communicating that, at least for the moment when we are not our best selves, show that we dismiss or devalue the other person’s idea and perhaps the person. Each of us ought to strive for grace in communicating with each other, especially when we may not feel very inclined to be gracious. “To search for the divine in all that is.” If I could just always remember that one, I would see myself, other people, my own and conflicting ideas, and the disagreements over them, in a new light. Our right relations covenant is a spiritual practice. I want us to practice loving kindness with each other when we disagree, when loving kindness is hardest to feel. I have faith that we can all get better at it. I’ll see you in church. Faithfully yours, Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org 1 President’s Report UU Church Library Needs Help Reggie Johnston, President Marylu Rideout Our church will turn 40 in 2015! We are thankful for those who built the UU Church of Surprise physically and spiritually. In preparation for celebrating this grand anniversary or birthday party, we are evaluating where we are in programs, outreach, physical space, finances, and the direction we want our congregation to go. How do we connect with the greater community? How do we meet the needs and goals of our congregation? Our children’s Religious Education program has grown so much we’re having a problem with space. We’re looking for more members to form a group to look into this --- a part of our future. We are also giving thanks at the annual Thanksgiving dinner here in the Social Hall on Thanksgiving Day and by participating in the ‘Guest at Your Table’ program sponsored by UUSC. Mark your calendars for two other important dates: Tuesday, November 4th all day - VOTE Sunday, November 16th, 3:00 p.m. - Concert by Kent Trostel With the passing of Jane Eckenberg we have lost the heart of our Library. Jane and Mary Bond established our Library, and Jane was very familiar with the authors and all the books in it. I was a school librarian for many years so I know the fundamental organization and day to day workings of a library, but I do not have the knowledge of the collection that Jane had. I would like to have a Library Committee of people who would like to help in the Library. If you would like to help out, or better yet if you have any library experience, please contact me. It is not hard work and only a day or two a month. I would tell the mothers who volunteered in my school library that if you knew your alphabet and could count to 1000 with decimals you were in! Our annual meeting where we evaluate the year, finalize the budget for 2015, discuss and vote on two by-law changes, and give thanks to our volunteers is scheduled for Friday, December 5. Please circle the date on your calendar. I am thankful for all of you. Coffee Volunteers Needed These are some of the things that need to be done: Read the shelves: Using the Shelf List, check that all books are there or checked out. I do this about every year. (It’s needed now.) Circulation: File cards of books that are taken out and return cards to books that are returned. Put books back on shelf. Send reminders for books that are out over two months. New books: Choose and process new books. Type catalog cards, pockets and sign out cards. Library Policy: Discuss and update any library policies as needed. Contact: Marylu Rideout at 623-979-9165 - or see me in church. Calling Any And All Outdoorwalkerphiles Berta Czeczyk Jack and Helen Sheehan The church needs volunteers to make coffee on Sundays for social hour. Nancy Townsend would like to volunteer a couple of hours at the beginning of December to teach the art and science of making coffee. Questions and/or concerns, please speak with the Coffee Organizer Berta Czeczyk. The landscape committee is in need of someone who would agree to, and very likely enjoy, monitoring our church’s irrigation system. Candidate must enjoy walking in the great outdoors and accomplishing a needed service. The system is prone to springing leaks and plugging up emitters which either runs up our water bill or kills the plants. The job entails an hour, or a little more, every two or three weeks replacing damaged emitters and reporting any surfacing underground leaks. The more of our own landscaping jobs that we do, the more money we’ll have to support our other endeavors, and it will have a direct effect on our bottom line. If you’re able to help, please reply to Jack and Helen Sheehan at 623-214-8084. Facebook We are in the process of reintroducing a Facebook page for the UU of Surprise. Does anyone have an idea who may have been involved with the original Facebook page in 2011? Any leads would be helpful. Please send information to [email protected]. 2 Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org November 2014 A Call For Help John Cline As we confront our church's serious budgetary shortfall again this year we must ask ourselves… how can we build our congregation which hopefully will result in increased membership support through tithes and offerings? The answer must be outreach. In today's world a professional, good looking website is so important in getting the word out to those in quest of a church home such as ours. Yellow page advertisements are a thing of the past. Twelve years ago our church's PR (public relations) committee operated on a budget of over $3000. Most of this went toward paper media advertisement. Later on, a large chunk went towards Walt's Radio show. Today, the PR budget is one tenth of that and goes toward our current website hosting expense. Bottom line is… we need a modern, professional-looking website. Our church is in desperate need of an update to our antiquated (15 - year old) website. Today's families most likely will find us solely on-line. Doug Nintzel and myself are currently working together on an update as best we can with do-it-yourself skills. Anyone with internet website building/maintenance skills and/or an offer to donate toward a professional website expense, please contact Doug Nintzel at dnintzel@ yahoo.comor myself at [email protected]. Understanding New Technology Ann Winsor would like to form a group to get together to learn and discuss current technology for the novice. If interested contact her at 623-584-1067. Volunteers Needed For Church Office Nancy Flann Fall brings more activities to so many of us. The same is true of our church office. Volunteers are needed to help answer the phone, receive packages, and do some paper work. Your help provides Kathryn, the church administrator, time to concentrate on her responsibilities and assist Rev. Terry as her job requires. The office is open weekdays 9-12. If you would be able to work one morning a week, that would be terrific. We also appreciate people willing to fill in when needed. Please contact Nancy Flann at 623.583.4636 or 515giles@ hotmail.com if you are able to help. Training is available and comes complete with a certificate of completion, (nah, just kidding about the certificate). November 2014 UU UNO Sunday at UU Chruch of Surprise Envoys Juanita Copeland & Ruth Swank On September 28, 2014, UU Surprise conducted UU Sunday. Reverend Terry Sims delivered a related and meaningful sermon. An audio of the sermon is available on the church’s website. Maggi Mahan read a story to the children about indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines. It was one of the books recommended by the UU UNO office in New York. UU UNO envoy, Ruth Ann Swank provided the Reflections to explain UU UNO while the other envoy, Juanita Guidry Copeland is needlepointing flags of all of the countries that are members of the UN. Eventually, the flags will be created into a United Nations bouquet of member countries. Approximately $1,000 was collected in donations for the UU UNO and has been forwarded to the New York UN office. Thank you to all of you who made contributions during UU UNO. Your monetary gifts will be used to continue to support UU UNO programs. Your compliments and participation in the UU UNO Fall Service are appreciated as well. Movie Night At UU Linda Vitale Come join us for a showing of an oldie but goodie, murder-mystery film “Murder on the Orient Express”. The film’s tag line is: “The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder.” This all-star cast includes Ingrid Bergman (Oscar winner) Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael York, Tony Perkins, John Gielgud, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam and Jacqueline Bisset and directed by Sidney Lumet. What more can I say? Come watch how Detective Poirot tries to solve the mystery of who murdered a fellow passenger on the Orient Express. The film is based on Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel of the same name. I hope to see more people attend now that Fall is here. The film showing is Tuesday, November 18th, at 7 pm. Run time is 128 minutes. Please bring your own drink and snacks. Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org 3 “Cakes For The Queen Of Heaven” and “Rise Up And Call Her Name” Pianist Kent Trostel In Concert A UU Adult Education Course, Fall 2014 Bonnie Saunders will facilitate an eight-week adult education course called “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” and “Rise Up and Call Her Name,” a woman-honoring journey into earth-based spiritualities. Subjects include the ancient goddess religions in Europe, the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, West Africa, India, China, Japan, Hawaii, and North America. Participants will explore intriguing questions. How did/does the gender of the deity in a society affect the status of women in that society? What happened to the Goddess religion? This course weaves spiritual stories that honor female divinities around the world. It focuses on artistic and intellectual tools which facilitate self-development and personal integration into the interconnected web of all existence (one of the UU principles). Other activities will include thinking and talking about the sacred and the spiritual, listening to music, watching DVDs and slides, reading rituals, creating visual images, telling stories, meditating, singing, and dancing. Schedule: the following Mondays: 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Social Hall 11/3/14: Sub-Saharan African Goddesses 11/10/14: East and South Asian Goddesses 11/17/14: Hawaiian Goddesses 11/24/14: North American Goddesses Interested women and men should sign up on the sheet in the Church Social Hall and/or contact Bonnie by e-mail ([email protected]), telephone (623825-7105), or in person at church. People who are not members are welcome to attend; however, they should contact Bonnie ahead of time. Name Tags The sale of the magnetic name tags will be available on Sunday, November 9th. For questions, please call Ken Pierick 623-214-9366. Grandmother Clock For Sale The church has acquired a Grandmother clock for sale. It is running inside the Social Hall see Ken Saunders ($150 delivered, set up and guaranteed) 4 Pianist Kent Trostel will return to our congregation Sunday, November 16, 3 p.m. to present a concert of original music. Kent is a graduate of the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts and holds a degree in Music Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He is currently the accompanist for the Arizona Masterworks Chorale and the Prescott Center for the Arts Singers. Joining Kent for the program will be: Kristen Drathman-vocals, Katrina Becker-violin, and Audrey Miller-clarinet, for an hour of songs and instrumental themes and variations. A reception with the artists will follow with light refreshments. Donation of $15; 12 and under free. Bring your friends! Tickets will be available the first three Sundays of November. (This concert benefits our congregation.) Oh Oh! Tis The Season Jan Lundstrom and Gail Vosburg Each year the holidays “sneak up” on me. How that can be when the retail stores begin displaying Christmas items before Halloween is a mystery. Put it down to “old timers”! Anyway the holiday season is fast approaching. The pressure we experience must be exponentially increased by families in need. The UU Food Drive for this quarter will be Sunday, November 2, 2014. Gail and Jan ask you to provide canned and nonperishable items that will add to the season’s festive dinners. Of course cash and checks are gratefully accepted. We also ask that you watch for turkey promotions and participate in donating the “free” turkey to the food bank. They will have trucks at designated super market parking lots through the season. Watch the media and participate. Make the season merrier for those in need. With THANKS for your participation! Personals Bulletin Board Housing & Property Committee In addition to the sign-up sheets on the tables on Sunday is now a “UU Personals” bulletin board for posting “Wants” and “Offers” of a personal nature for use by our UU family. The bulletin board will only be available for posting and viewing on Sunday mornings. Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org November 2014 Doree’s Corner In Memorium Doree Conner Phyllis Burnett died at her home on Monday, September 8, 2014. Phyllis had not been well for some time. Berta Czeczyk had been helping her. The last time we saw Phyllis at church she came to tell how much help Berta had been and how she appreciated it. The first time I met Phyllis was at a bridge party and she told me that she and Bob were going to Grand Canyon to scatter their son’s ashes as that was what he requested. We lost a friend in Lee H. Voré when he died on October 3rd. When Lee joined our church, he felt that he had been a UU all his life. Marilyn Kluge was another reason. Lee was born in Nebraska. The family moved to California where he graduated from UC Berkeley. He worked as a real estate appraiser in Orange County, California. C lif i He H moved to Arizona in 2003 to work at the Veterans Administration. Lee had been in hospice care at Royal Oaks Healthcare facility after hearing that his condition was terminal. Lee loved travel, line dancing, ballroom dancing, photography, reading and taking classes at RISE. We’ll miss his friendly smile and attitude.  An invitation to all on a talk about “The History of Voting Rights in the U.S. and Arizona” Seven or eight people from Kazakhstan are touring Arizona in October and November to learn about our elections. At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 1st, Bonnie Saunders will talk to them on “The History of Voting Rights in the U.S. and Arizona.” This is a joint project of the UU Adult Education Committee and the LWV/AZ. Members and friends are invited to come to this talk. We hope to have a good turnout of people who are interested in politics and who are willing to show this interest to these visitors - the most interesting part of this event is likely to be the questions of the Kazakh visitors themselves. November 2014 Doree has not been very diligent about gathering information. Bill has had a couple of trips to the hospital as a result of falls and is now working on improving balance. Ellen Atkins gave a lovely arrangement to celebrate the 58 years she and Charlie had together. It is nice to have Reggie & Don back from their vacation. Ken and Bonnie Saunders had an interesting visit in the East where they were excavating an old sailing boat. They proved again that they are good at seeing that we eat enough....everyone seemed to enjoy the Welcome Back Dinner. Nancy Townsend would like to encourage people to help make the coffee for after services. If you would like to help, see Berta Czeczyk. UU Church of Surprise Presents Family Harmony, Efficiency and Cooperation: The Art of Shaping Family Life Presented By Jeff Drake, M.A. How you shape your family’s day, week and year increases your ability to teach your children important social and emotional skills. You can increase family cooperation and harmony; strengthen the bonds between you and your child, all while making your job of running the family smoother and more predictable. Come and learn about steps you can take to give your children real developmental advantages and make your own job as parent saner and easier. This workshop is designed to help parents of any age child. Pizza and childcare will be provided. Jeff Drake is a long time parent educator who has recently moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Wickenburg, Arizona. His background, includes teaching preschool, elementary and high school, substance abuse counseling, drug and alcohol prevention programs, and creating and teaching parenting programs covering all ages and stages of childhood. His goal is to give parents the benefit of the most effective and proven ways to help their children succeed. To register, please email Lisa Lawrence, Director of Religious Education, at [email protected] with your name, adults attending and ages of children. Date: Time: Fee: Location: Sunday, November 9th, 2014 5:00-7:00 pm Free 17540 N. Avenue of the Arts Surprise, AZ *Donations for pizza and childcare are welcome! Hosted by the adult & children’s RE Departments Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org 5 Camp deBenneville Pines Sally Thomas, Camp Champ Please check the UUSC table for brochures describing Winter Youth and Family Camps, one each for elementary, junior high, and senior high, Music in the Mountains, and the Thanksgiving Family Celebration (one of my favorites), at the wonderful UU camp in the San Bernadino Mountains, Angelus Oaks, CA. They are hoping to have a Long Distance Driver option for several youth campers from the Phoenix area to carpool in one vehicle for the weekend. For more information about the camp, please call me: Sally Thomas, 530-258-6543. Shared Thanksgiving Dinner Ken and Bonnie Saunders On Thursday, November 27th, Ken and Bonnie Saunders will organize the Shared Thanksgiving Dinner, with the social hour starting at 2:00 p.m. and dinner starting at 3:00 p.m. They will cook two turkeys with stuffing and gravy. Members and friends of the congregation will bring potluck dishes, including other main dishes and side dishes, appetizers, cranberry and other sauces, salads, breads, and desserts. Bring your relatives and friends, including children of all ages; you will have to cook less and you will enjoy a wider range of conversation. Sit with people whom you don’t know well, and get to know new people. Starting no later than Nov. 1st, the sign-up sheet will be in the Social Hall so that you can let us know what kind of potluck goodies you will bring. Worship Leader Training November 18 6:30-8:00 pm Worship leaders have a unique opportunity to introduce guests and members to the heart of Unitarian Universalism as well as to create a worshipcentered holding environment. Please join us in the choir room for a fun evening of learning fresh and faithful approaches to being the worship leader! Debra Peevey will be leading this training—she has decades of experience! Please sign up in the social hall. Call with any questions - 623-398-0574 6 Anthem Commissioned For 40th Anniversary Celebration Liz & Debby The Music Department is pleased to announce that an anthem will be written for the congregation in celebration of our 40th year. The piece will be composed by Clif Hardin, UU composer, and will also honor Jim Flom. It will be premiered on Sunday, April 5, when worship will celebrate our 40th year. Clif holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and the University of Maryland. He has been Music Director at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Bethesda, Maryland, since 1983. We invite you to note in the Sunday Order of Service the times when Clif ’s wonderful music is sung by the choir or the congregation, or played by the accompanist. The commissioned piece will also remember the work and honor the memory of Jim Flom, whose musical leadership over the years brought vitality to the congregation through increased choir participation, instrumentalists at worship, concerts for our members’ enjoyment and community participation. We invite the congregation to share ideas for themes they’d like Clif to consider for this anthem. During November there will be a “themesuggestion box” in the social hall. We encourage you to submit one word, or a 3-word phrase, that expresses your experience in the congregation whether that spans 4 months or 40 years – and your vision for its future! We will pass these suggestions on to Clif as he prepares this special music for this extra-special occasion. Clif shares our excitement as we embark on this unique experience. We can hardly wait for us to sing it! Looking back, and forward, Liz & Debby Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org November 2014 UUSC RE Update Jan Lundstrom Lisa Lawrence, DRE A new year has started for UUSC. Our first activity this church year is participation in the annual Fair Trade Trick or Treat. Look for your fairly traded chocolate mini bar on October 26, 2014. Soon after begins the Guest at Your Table membership drive. This effort in the past was highlighted by the boxes into which you were all encouraged to donate your spare change. Last year the production of the boxes was discontinued for ecological reasons. A limited number of boxes exist ordered before the “ban”. If families with children find this meaningful, please contact members of the UUSC committee—Jan Lundstrom, Darnell Kirksey, and Sally Thomas. Giving is a learned behavior, and if families find that the boxes aid this learning there are a few available. We ask that you do not write on the boxes but rather include a notation in the box of the donor family. That way we can reuse the boxes. The best thing that UUSC has done is eliminate the levels of membership based on amount donated. Every donor is counted as a UUSC member. The newsletter articles each month telling about the work the UUSC is doing world wide and also in the United States, should reinforce your wish to join and participate. Your easiest time to donate is the plate collection on Sunday November 30, 2014. The envelopes will be available at the door to the sanctuary. The Shelter Rock Veatch Foundation will again match your donations of $125 or more to support the work of UUSC. Please consider supporting this important effort for Justice. The projects UUSC emphasizes are Workers Rights and the fight for a higher minimum wage, the human right to potable water, the rights of often disenfranchised women and children, and finally economic justice for small farmers. Thank you for all you do. Much news to report… I feel like the luckiest DRE ever. I have a team of 27 volunteers helping to make our increased programming possible this year. The teachers and classroom assistants rotate to volunteer about once per month. Rotating keeps the volunteer roles manageable and allows them to catch the majority of sermons. Thank you volunteer team! Our first OWL sexuality education class has been completed. I’d like to give a great, big thank you to our OWL facilitator team of Sharon Beard and Annie Converse. Hoot! Hoot! Thank you for your time, energy and dedication in teaching this 8 week class. I’d also like to let you know about the upcoming parenting workshop being planned for Sunday, November 9th from 5:00-7:00 pm. The title of the class is “Family Harmony, Efficiency and Cooperation: The Art of Shaping Family Life” and will be presented by Jeff Drake, M.A. Jeff is a long time parent educator who has recently moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Wickenburg, Arizona. This event is open to the public and pizza and childcare will be provided. Coming up later in November, RE will be holding their first service project. We will once again be volunteering at Valley View Community Food Bank as they allow children under the age of twelve to volunteer. Opportunities like this help us, and our children, to develop compassion, empathy and a sense of stewardship for our own community. It reinforces the truth that they, too, can make a difference. We are opening this service day up to the whole congregation because philanthropy feels good and the more the merrier! Please look for a sign-up sheet in the social hall with detailed event information. Please have information for the Newsletter submitted by Noon on the 15th of each month to the Editor, Charlie Mannino at [email protected] November 2014 District Assembly It’s early, but please mark your calendars now to attend our Unitarian Universalist Pacific Southwest District Assembly this church year, April 24 and 25, 2015, at one of our nearby sister congregations, Valley UU in Chandler, Arizona. Since our District covers Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, it is not often that District Assembly is so close to us. Come experience this mini-General Assembly, with interesting workshops, inspiring worship, and the chance to connect with other UU’s in our District! Unitarian Universalist Association www.uua.org 7 17540 N. Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, AZ 85378-2581 Phone: 623.875.2550 Fax: 623.875.2552 www.uusurprise.org Email: [email protected] First Class Mail Affirmation Love is the spirit of this church And service is its law. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, To seek the truth in freedom, And to help one another. Join us for Sunday service at 10:30 am Sermon Titles For November 11/2 - Rev. Terry Sims....................................................................................................................................................... Speaker for the Dead How does our relationship to those who have died inform how we should live? That is the question we will explore in this service honoring the tradition of the “Day of the Dead.” 11/9 - Rev. Terry Sims ........................................................................................ Casting Ourselves into the Future, Part II Last month, we examined how we cast ourselves into the future through our congregation and in other ways. In this service, we’ll take an even broader look at the future of the human experiment, how we may all hope to throw ourselves forward into it, and what part religious principles may play in that effort. 11/16 - Rev. Terry Sims .............................................................................................................................The Widest Circle St. Augustine said that God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. On this “Bring a Friend to Church” Sunday, we will consider our liberal religion’s goal to include many diverse people, ideas, and views, not just for their sake, but for ours. Is that enough to hold Unitarian Universalism together? Bring a Friend to Church - All of us can spread the good news of Unitarian Universalism and our church. Personally inviting someone to come to church with you is the single most effective way of doing that. It’s how I became a UU! November 16 is our “Bring a Friend to Church” Sunday. And we all have friends. Please extend a special invitation to your friends to come to our church that Sunday. It could well be a blessing for them and for us! Thank you. Rev. Terry 11/23 - Rebecca Riggs .................................................................................................................................. All That Is Not Lost 11/30 - Rev. Terry Sims ................................................................................................................... And Service Is Our Law That’s a pretty strong statement in the Affirmation we repeat each Sunday. How can we reify our commitment to service? The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee has good ideas. It’s been living out the UU ideal of service for a long time.