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First Unitarian Universalist Society Of Middleboro Newsletter
JANUARY
2010
The Sunday Worship Services and Religious Education Program begin at 10:30 a.m.
January 3: These Are The Days Tricia Tummino
Each New Year that rolls around is an opportunity to assess the quality of the choices we are making and to be grateful for the time we have been given. As Paul Simon so famously said, “these are the days of miracles and wonder.” Special music will be provided by a Recorder Ensemble, and Helen Casoli is our storyteller this morning.
January 10: Humility – Knowing It’s Not All About Us Tricia Tummino
It’s easy to feel, with all our ups and downs, that we are the center of the universe. Today we explore humility, a helpful virtue that power that comes from accepting and understanding that life isn’t all about us. The choir will be singing, and our storyteller today is Laura Stevens.
January
17:
The Other America
Tricia Tummino
This hour will be a look at and a celebration of the life and thought of Martin Luther King. Dave and Diane Becker will be providing special music all morning long.
January
24:
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights Tricia Tummino
Drafted in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has come to be regarded as possibly the single most important document created in the twentieth century and as the accepted world standard for human rights. The choir will be singing this morning, and Marilyn Thayer is our storyteller.
January
31:
The Poet’s
Corner
Michael Hall
So many of life’s questions begin with “where”: Where have I come from? Where am I? Where am I going? These questions show the importance of a sense of place in helping to define our life’s journey and make meaning from it. Our storyteller this morning is Annie Giddings.
Today seminarian Michael F. Hall will reflect on what the poets, those fearless trekkers of the spiritual landscape, have to say about the intersection of place and meaning in our lives.
Large print hymnals, plus hearing assistance devices, are available. Nursery care is provided. Bring a friend!
The
Minister’s Corner
Welcome, Twenty-Ten!
This is one
year when it feels important to stay up on New Year’s Eve just to make sure the
old year leaves. Do you feel the same way? This past year is one that most of us
will be glad to see gone. With the economy in a shambles, millions of Americans
jobless, and our country at war, this is one year most of us will be glad to
usher out. Let’s hope Twenty-Ten is better!
The coming
year is still full of promise, like a baby just being born. My husband Larry and
I don’t head downtown to join the crowd or drink hard or blow even noisemakers
at midnight. A hug to each other and a quick call to our kids feel just about
right.
I write
this, though, having just come from the home of someone who is ill and who very
well may not live to see the New Year. And that is a startlingly different
perspective on the holiday.
Seen from
this angle, the year Twenty-Ten is a breathtakingly generous gift. It is 12
months; it is 52 weeks; it is 365 days; it is 8,760 hours; it is 525,600
minutes; it is 31,536,000 seconds. No matter how we describe it - it is an
amazing gift for which we should be extraordinarily grateful.
Larry and I
wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year. We wish for you all that the year
will be scattered with moments for which you feel special gratitude. May your
new year affirm life within you and renew your sense of wonder and possibility.
See you in
church,
Tricia
NEW TO UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM?
COME TO THE NEW UU
Sundays, January 17 & 31 and February 7
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
This three-part course, led by the minister, the Rev Tricia Tummino, provides a good introduction to our UU faith. Included will be some background in our history as well as an orientation to the workings of our Middleboro church.
All members
and friends of our church -- newcomers, long-term, or in-between -- are heartily
welcome to attend. Child care will be provided!
Putting your
name on the sign-up sheet in the Parlor will help us know how many materials to
get ready.
President’s Corner
Dear Fellow Congregation Members,
My wife, Laura, and I are relocating to New Hampshire to be closer to my new job. We are excited for this new opportunity and also said to be leaving this community. I have resigned as President of the Parish Committee; and our Vice President, Andrew Putney, will be taking over my duties until Parish Committee decides on a course of action.
Laura will be resigning her position as Director of Religious Education with her last day as DRE on January 24. The Religious Education Committee will be meeting soon to make plans for the future of the RE program.
We are sad to be leaving this great community. Shortly after joining five years ago, our newborn daughter, Mia, was hospitalized with a life-threatening illness. The support we received from people we just met was amazing. It was heartwarming to know we had so much support in our time of need.
This is and always will be a special place as our family’s first religious community.
Faithfully yours,
Greg Stevens
UPCOMING BALLOU CHANNING DISTRICT WORKSHOPS
· Growing Stewardship and Generosity in Our Congregations
Saturday, January 30 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Unitarian Church of Barnstable, 3330 Main Street, Barnstable, MA
This workshop, led by Laurel Amabile, Director of the UUA Annual Program fund, is for individuals involved in congregation fundraising. It will provide participants with strategies for effective, year-round stewardship and fundraising programs and experiential learning through role playing and small group discussions. Registration fee is $10.
· Don't Hit Back: Responses to Button-Pushing Behaviors
Saturday, February 6 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Canton, 1508 Washington Street, Canton, MA
This workshop will look at how congregations can handle behavior that blocks progress, that hurts others, or escalates conflict, while still valuing freedom and the inherent worth and dignity of everyone. The Rev. Dr. Ken Reeves, a clinical psychologist and Unitarian Universalist minister, will offer some theoretical understandings of difficult behavior and theories, strategies, and tactics for handling such behavior. Registration will be $20 per person or 3 for $50.
WINTER GIFTS
from the Church of the Larger Fellowship
20% discount on chalice pendants and lapel pins through January 2010
when you mention the words “Newsletter Fillers”
Looking for that special gift for the Unitarian Universalist in your life? The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) offers UU gifts for friends, family and volunteers of all ages! The CLF sells several styles of chalice pendants and lapel pins for all genders and all ages.
To reach a real person, contact The Church of the Larger Fellowship at 617-948-6150 or email clfshop@clfuu.org . Purchasing UU gifts from the CLF is another way to support the work of Unitarian Universalism throughout the world. All proceeds from the CLF Shop support the many ministries of the Church of the Larger Fellowship.
PARISH COMMITTEE
Your Parish Committee, the elected governing body of this Society, meets on the second Sunday of the month at 12:30 p.m. in the Town Hall. The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 10. Your input, ideas, concerns, and interest are important to the functioning of this democratic society. You are strongly invited and encouraged to attend and to participate in these open meetings. If you wish to have an item placed on the agenda, please contact Andrew Putney.
ADULT SQUARE DANCING
January
10 & 24 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Masonic Hall, Bridgewater
On December 13, 2009, we celebrated the upcoming holidays with a covered dish supper, presenting Christmas gifts to our caller, Bob Butler, and dancing the night away! Our caller had many Christmas tunes that we danced to, using allemande lefts, dosados, and grand rights and lefts. It was a fun evening as usual and the last dance for the old year.
We welcome the 2010 year on Sunday, January 10, with two visiting clubs on “banner raids” – The Do-Si-Doers from Walpole and The Hobowock Hoedowners from Abington. It should be a fun-filled evening. Bud Soule
SHED TASK FORCE UPDATE
The
Shed Task Force met on December 23 and voted to recommend a 10' x 16' shed to
the Parish Committee at its next meeting, January 10. Some of you have offered
suggestions, a willingness to help defray costs, and wanted to know if there was
any other role you could play. As the Task Force continues our work, we will
continue to need and welcome all of those wonderful commitments on your part.
And, we will learn and decide how to best answer those questions.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Church. Please join us if you can and are interested. If you have any questions, please get in touch with me. Happy New Year! Cheryl MacQueen, Chairperson
CRANBERRY CLUSTER
The Cranberry Cluster is starting off the New Year on Monday, January 25, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. We will be at the First Parish Church UU in Bridgewater with two Bridgewater State College geography professors presenting a program entitled “Earth View.”
We at the FUUSM will host the spring cluster on Wednesday, April 21, with Andrea Priest’s crew in the kitchen. The evening program is to be determined. Bud Soule
In February of 2000, the Parish Committee passed comprehensive Safety Guidelines designed to keep everyone as safe as is possible in a public setting. We agreed at that time that we would publish a news article every year reminding people that the guidelines exist and mention briefly what they contain and how they work. With that in mind, copies of the Safety Guidelines will be available on the Parlor table for the month of January. Some key features are:
· We require that at least two adults are in church school classrooms.
· Every volunteer or professional who works with our children or youth must become an “official volunteer” by submitting to a CORI check.
· Every year all church school children are offered at least one class in Safety covering both “stranger danger” and personal empowerment.
· Adults are offered a class in Safety annually, and every adult is encouraged to take the class at least once.
· The guidelines include procedures that can be followed by the Safety Committee should a known sex offender desire to attend the church.
Sadly, the headlines in the news over the past several years have taught us that no church can ever be a totally safe place because it is part of society at large. What we have learned, as we have studied the issue of church safety, is that our true measure of safety stems not from a policy but from our level of education on the issue and our continued willingness to talk openly with each other and our children.
Our church leadership is committed to maintaining an environment that is as safe, secure and nurturing as possible. With that in mind, anyone who has not yet attended a safety class is encouraged to attend this year class when it is offered in the spring.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding our safety guidelines and practices, they may be directed to our President, Janet Walkden (and chair of the Safety Committee), our minister, Patricia Tummino or our Director of Religious Education.
GUIDELINES FOR CHURCH ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTERS
We follow the UUA’s guidelines for church electronic newsletters, which you can read more about at: http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/55398.shtml.
CABIN
FEVER
DANCE PARTY
FUNdraiser
Saturday, January 23
7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
$15 suggested donation
We will clear the Parish Hall for a night of dancing!
Dave Becker will offer a fun night of great music for dancing
with
his unique style of recorded and live music.
All are welcome with this free-style format -
Free
spirit, Free from judgment!
Dave and Diane can even teach a few dance steps
for those who want to learn something new.
Hearty appetizers and goodies and a cash bar for wine will be available.
Invite your family, friends and neighbors (partners not required).
Come celebrate the sun coming back!!!!!!!
We will need help with set-up, donations of food, and clean-up. Please see Andrea Priest.