JANUARY  2008

Deadline for next newsletter: Monday, Jan. 21

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS

Worship services and children's religious education begin at 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted below.

January 6, 4:00 p.m.  (Note time!)  "The 12 Days of Christmas@ - Nelly Case, director

Snow postponed our holiday pageant, but January 6 is the actual 12^th day of Christmas, so we'll try again.  Our pageant is a light-hearted look at gift-giving that also invites us to think about the real gifts of the season.  With music by the Handbell, Adult, and Children's Choirs, and choreography by Robin Collen. You're invited to bring a contribution of non-perishables for our monthly food pantry collection. Note: There will be NO morning service.

Greeters:        Mary Graham & Rick Welch ; John & Janet Green

Social Hour:  Debbie St. Germain; Eileen Wheeler; Others TBA

January 13:  "Reflections on the Issue of Class@- Doug Rubio

Class is a difficult subject to talk about. Its boundaries and categories are elusive, partic-ularly in the U.S., and are often intertwined with related factors, such as culture, education, and geography. By sharing some of the events and circumstances of his life, Doug will explore a few of the issues surrounding class.

Greeters:        Milner Grimsled; Bart & Margaret Harloe

Social Hour:  Jim & Stevie Michaelson; Colleen Smith; Marie and Louise Tyo; Ginger Storey-Welch

January 20:   "Thought for Food@ -- Wade Wheelock and Anne Marsh

On this Sunday before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we'll explore an issue that was, and would certainly have continued to be, close to his heart:  how to insure that the poor -- locally and around the globe -- have enough to eat. What might we do to help?  Our monthly Social Action Shared Offering will be taken to benefit GardenShare. [See article  below.]

Greeters:        Jackie Gotham; Bobbi Haldane; Bill Hesse; Maggie Hockett

Social Hour:  Peter & Becky Van de Water; Dave Weissbard & Karen Wells

January 27: ARoots Hold Me Close@ - Anne Marsh and Wade Wheelock

The children in our Religious Education program begin their study of UU identity this semester, so it's a good time to explore our Christian roots. As our stained glass windows indicate, our Universalist (and Unitarian) forebears considered themselves Christian.  But has AUU Christianity@ now become an oxymoron?  A ceremony welcoming our 2008 Church Council and thanking departing Council members will be part of the service. Immediately after the service, we'll hold a congregational meeting to vote on our 2008 operating budget.

Greeters:        Charles & Lila Hunnewell; Helen Hutchinson; Valerie Ingram

Social Hour:  Cliff and Janice Westerling; Kathy and Peter Wyckoff

Notice of Congregational Meeting

Sunday, January 27, 11:45 

after the service to vote on our 2008 budget

 

IN PARTNERSHIP

Changing calendars should not be such a momentous act. But I always feel a staggering sense of time's passage, like an unnerving jump from one moving escalator to another. Part of it has to do with adding one to the number of the year. But the turning of the year always produces a certain melancholy for its prompting of an ineluctable assessment of how far I've come -- or failed to come, during this last segment of opportunity -- in leading a satisfying life. What filled the days of that old calendar? What choices did I make? What interruptions intruded from the world's storehouse of  surprises? How did I respond?

In answering those questions about the year past, I have the opportunity to mull over the prospects for the year ahead. I look for help in coming up with answers that will give me wisdom and inspiration for getting the most out of the fresh allotment of time I'll be receiving. Our Unitarian Universalist religious tradition is one main place I go, both for taking advantage of life's wonderful gifts and dealing with life's inevitable challenges. As Bill Murry, UU minister and author, points out in his book, A Faith for All Seasons, our liberal religion helps us through times of doubt and crisis by, first of all, Aholding central a belief in the dignity of each personY. With this goes a faith in one's ability to tap one's own deep inner resources.@ Furthermore, he says that we can draw on the assistance of Athe caring community. In times of personal crisis, we need the help of others, and we can depend on others@ from our congregations.

Finally, Murry notes that we UUs understand that what we believe matters. Our convictions about death, life, and suffering provide reliable strength in difficult times. Our affirmation of the inherent worth of each individual can keep our own suffering -- from guilt, hardship or illness -- from robbing us of a sense of value. Our commitment to supporting a caring community in the world here and now means that the suffering of others can be redeemed by social action to change the world, or through an outpouring of compassion that can at least humanize some of life's inescapable cruelties.

May our religious tradition and our religious community be places we can turn to for hope and inspiration as we turn the last page on our old calendars and put up the new one.      

- Wade

PRESIDENT'S NEWS

It is hard to believe January 2008 is the 10^th anniversary of the Ice Storm.  I have many Asurvival@ memories from that week coping with the lack of power and heat.  The Harloes camping out with us in our living room, the joyous discovery of still having hot water after two days, the calming and reassuring voice of North Country Public Radio's Barb Heller, and receiving incredible claim service from our insurance company are just a few.   But my most vivid memory is being physically spent by 7:30 each night wearing every piece of warm clothing I owned and listening to Barbara reading The Golden Compass to the kids.  This became a nightly ritual, an activity anticipated throughout the day in the absence of television, video games, and the computer.  Bundled in layers of flannel and fleece, multiple pairs of warm socks topped off with a wool cap, Barbara would read to the kids with a snake light wrapped around her neck.  I must admit to usually being the first to nod off but I was often awakened by Erica and Christian's pleas to AMommy, keep readingYyou can't stop now.@  

Last week, the movie version of the book opened in theaters prompting protests over the sinister portrayal of religion in the story's plot line.  I know today's kids are a lot smarter than I was at their age (my two remind me on a regular basis) and see The Golden Compass for what it is - simply a great adventure story and not an exposé of organized religions.  My kids are not likely to see the movie.  Experience has taught them movies rarely live up to the book.  I don't think I will either, preferring to listen to the book on my next trip enjoying this memory from the great ice storm of '98. 

B Pete Beekman

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

At this time of year, we focus on new beginnings.  New beginnings are built on previous experiences - the wheel continues to turn, the new mixed with the old.  Starting this month, the Religious Education program will focus on our Unitarian Universalist identity, which grew from Judeo-Christian beliefs. We studied the Christian and Jewish traditions from September through December.

We will be exploring our personal beliefs and our common UU beliefs.  The children and youth in the RE program will create a UU Wall, where we will post profiles of UUs and what they stand for, starting with ourselves.  Each person will think about what they stand for, and over the course of the winter and spring, deepen their understanding of their own values and priorities, and how their UU faith influences these.

Other Religious Education News: As most of you know, Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel graduated from SUNY Potsdam and was quickly offered a full-time job in her field at the St. Lawrence Health Initiative. I rejoice in her good fortune and wish her the very best on the next phase of her journey. I will miss working closely with Sarah, I will miss her kind, open way of communicating to kids and adults, her enthusiasm, her dedication, her ready smile. Thank you Sarah for everything!!! Happily, we will still see her here, as she has joined the RE Committee and will continue to be involved in the RE program.

With Sarah's departure, the Assistant DRE position has been restructured, and we are seeking a ten-hour-per-week ADRE, with the possibility of job sharing. Please see the special page later in this newsletter for the position description and application information, and feel free to call me for more information. 

- Jan

NEW CHURCH WEBSITE

As you may know, a small group of volunteers have been working with Haenel Communication Technologies on redesigning our church website.  While the new site is still in production we have the opportunity to build in certain features to the site that can enrich and improve communications between members.

One such feature is an online church directory.  We have not pursued this option with our current website because of privacy issues expressed by many members.  However, our new site has the capability to host an online directory that will be accessible to members only via a login process that is password protected. 

Some of the advantages of an online directory are the ability to maintain current information on members in real time, ready access to addresses, email, and phone numbers via the web, and reduction in the number of printed directories currently produced with some frequency.  The online directory can also accommodate photos.

Our Web Design Committee would like to hear how you feel about an online church directory before investing any time in designing this feature to be a part of the new website.  Please email your comments to uucanton@verizon.net or Pete Beekman at bbeekma1@twcny.rr.com, noting ATTN: Web Design Committee in the subject line. Thanks!

HANDBELL SCHEDULE

The Handbell Choir will not resume its regular rehearsal schedule until Wednesday, Jan. 16^th (at the earliest). But it will meet at  2 pm on January 6^th to practice for the rescheduled pageant.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES

The recent cancellation of our holiday pageant brought to our attention the need to have people aware of ways the church can notify as many as possible of last-minute changes to our schedule. Some of the procedures we use are: 

•     calling local radio stations (WSLU and WPDM) to broadcast changes

•     sending out a notice to our e-news list

•     posting the new information on or web site:   www.uucantonny.org

•     putting a recording on our office phone message

•     phoning a few key people involved in the service, especially those living at a distance

•     having signs on the doors

If you get to that last one, we haven't been terribly successful in getting the word out!  We also found that there are some gaps and delays in the other procedures -- for example, a swamped and under-staffed radio station not getting our message on the air as soon as we would have liked. But this is a good time to remind you that if you have not been getting our e-news bulletins but would like to (these are weekly updates on church and community events), please send this request, along with your name and the appropriate email address, to the church office at uucanton@verizon.net. Hope we don't have to do this very often, but  sometimes it's necessary and we'd like to get the word to you before you read the sign on the door!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!

•     Thanks to Lisa McCarty for coordinating the Tree Decorating Party and to Sue Powers, Robin Collen, Emmy Stevenson, Lila Hunnewell, Pam Short, and Peggy Sperling for refreshments; to Becky and Peter Van de Water for the trees and front door wreaths, and to Jim Michaelson and Tom Cutter for putting up the trees; to Becky Van de Water, David Nelson, and Tom Cutter for decorating the sanctuary; and to Wilma and Stu Hills for the lovely poinsettia.

•     To Pete Beekman and Pete Wyckoff for doing some insulation in the basement.

•     To Milner Grimsled for passing on a generous bequest from Anne Malone's will to the church.

    To Marilyn and John Ross for their generous gift to the church endowment and capital reserve fund.

JOYS AND SORROWS

    We are saddened by the death of long-time church member and widely involved local social activist Ruth Beebe last month. There will be a memorial service for her at our church on February 2^nd at a time to be determined.

    Congratulations to Aileen Vincent-Barwood on the publication of her book, AA Murderous Thirst,@ a mystery set in the Adirondacks; and to Wade for his book, AConsidering the Asian Religions.@

•     Best wishes to Robin Rhodes-Crowell and David Crowell for their new Asian Fair Trade store venture.

•     Our thoughts go out to Boris Jukic and the rest of his family on the death of his mother in Croatia.

•     Healing thoughts to Mary Smallman, who is now back home after spending rehab time in the nursing home after her hip replacement.

•     Congratulations to Walt Conley, Joel Foisy, and Oscar Sarmiento on the publication of AIdeas That Work in College Teaching,@ to which each contributed.

•     Kudos to Ed Clark on his photo exhibit in NYC!

CHURCH PHOTO DIRECTORY

It's been some time since we had an up-to-date church photo directory, so Jon Montan has volunteered to compile a digital one.  We already have a directory of church members and active friends with names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and children's names.  To this basic template, we can add digital photos and B voila! B we will have a photo directory.

If you wish to be included in the upcoming version of this photo directory, please do the following:

1.      If you have a digital camera, or know someone who does, take one photo that includes all the people whose names will appear in the directory next to the photo.  Hint: Make sure your images fill as much of the frame as possible so we can tell what you really look like.

2.      Email the photo, along with any changes in address, email, etc., to the church office at uucanton@verizon.net

3.      If you do not have access to a digital camera, Jon Montan will be available most Sundays after church to take your photo.

Deadline for submitting photos is January 15.

The photo directory, when finished, will be available in digital form or printed form to church members and friends who request it.  For privacy reasons, it will not be posted on the church website.  Once we get the photo directory set up, we'll try to keep it up-to-date!

FROM THE COOTS LIBRARY   BOOK REVIEW

Henry David's House, by Steven Schnur; illustrated by Peter Fiore

I really liked the book Henry David's House.  It tells about the life of Henry David Thoreau and about nature.  I really like the pretty realistic pictures in the book.  My favorite is the one that shows Henry with his axe in a summer field. I like the orange glow in the grass.  I like that Henry David built a simple house but it still looked neat and pretty and nice. I like how he spent his days in the woods chopping wood, or collecting chestnuts or other foods.

Henry is like me, because he would wake up early in the morning and daydream in nature and not know how much time had passed.  He would get lost in his thoughts the way I get spacey when I do my art.  I like how the book shows us a way to live a simple life in nature.  I think this book is best for kids in the 3^rd grade or higher, because it might be a little hard for younger kids to read without help.  Littler kids might not be as interested, but they'd still like the pictures.  A lot of the pictures reminded me of the kind of life we can still have here in the North Country.  My family and I enjoyed this book and you can, too.  It is now in our church library, so you can go and check it out.                                             

- Bridger Royce

AND I JUST READ...

The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth with an introduction by Forrest Church and afterword by Jaroslav Pelikan

Who were the Afounding fathers@? My recent recollections are of politicians, pundits and conservative religious leaders invoking the moral authority of the Afounding fathers@ to support their opinions on current issues. And I have to admit that someone in a loud resolute voice saying Athe founding fathers would be appalled at.... (whatever the topic is)@ or Athe founders intended that we should....@ can sound impres-sive. But have you ever wanted to reach into a radio, television or newspaper, and grab some-body by the collar to ask them specifically which of the founding fathers they are referring to?  I suspect they wouldn't know.

I think of the Afounding fathers@as those leaders instrumental in the American Revolution and the founding of Athe Republic." With this in mind I was browsing the church library and came across The Jefferson Bible. And while I was leafing through the book in the library, Judy Gibson Ahit me up" for a book review. It seemed reasonable since I wanted to read the book anyway.

Although I have never done extensive research about Jefferson, he has long been one of my historical Aheroes." Reading this book (and the subsequent reading it prompted) has been time well spent. The introduction and the afterword to the book I found to be critical to understanding how, why, and in what time frame this book came about. It seems quite striking that someone of his public stature would have the Aaudacity" o literally Acut and paste" the four gospels together to create a new book. In that process he eliminated references to the virgin birth, miracles and the resurrection. Although Jefferson regarded Jesus as perhaps the greatest moral reformer of all time, he did not believe he was the son God and he did not believe the Bible was the Aword of God."

He wrote to John Adams on January 24,1814: AThe whole history of these books [the Gospels] is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it: and such tricks have been played with their text, and with the texts of other books relating to them, that we have a right, from that cause, to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine.  In the New Testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills." He referred to the Revelation of St. John as Athe ravings of a maniac."

There are many other unflattering things Jefferson wrote about the Bible and established religions of history and of his own time. Anyone wishing to learn more about what he wrote about religion can do an simple internet search for AThomas Jefferson religious beliefs" and come up with good sources of footnoted information. Or you could email me and I can send you some interesting links (miles4906@hotmail.com)

It is interesting that what Thomas Jefferson wrote two hundred years ago is so relevant to the issue of Aseparation of church and state" today. I can't imagine anyone denying that he was one of the most important of Athe founding fathers." And given his written record, I don't think there can be much doubt where he would stand on this issue today.

                                              B Miles Manchester

WINTER  POTLUCKS

The Membership Committee is again organizing winter potlucks. Initially we are looking for hosts. Please consider hosting. Sign-up sheets will be available shortly at the UU Info Table.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE

The Red Cross will be using our building for their blood drive on Monday, January 7, and for other blood drives throughout the year ahead.  Stevie Michaelson has agreed to help find four volunteers who will assist on the 7th B two people from noon-3:00 p.m. and two from 3:00-6:00 p.m.  Help is needed at the registration table and at the canteen to serve juice and snacks.  Please call Stevie at 386-5250 if you are willing to help that day.  Whether you can volunteer or not, please consider giving a pint of blood that afternoon.  You can call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE for an appointment, or just show up at the church between 12:30-5:00.  Thanks!

CHURCH T-SHIRTS

Our beautiful new UU Church of Canton T-shirts are here! If you ordered a T-shirt, you can pick it up in the Social Room after the service over the next few Sundays.  That's the good news.  The not-so-good news is that, because of a miscommunication, the pink, blue, and red shirts we received do not match the samples from which you ordered.  You may either accept the color we received or we will reorder your original color at no cost to you.  We apologize for any inconvenience, and hope this resolution of the problem will work for everyone.  If you didn't order a T-shirt, but now wish you had, we have a few extras.  Cost is $12 each.