JULY 2007
Office hours: M&F 8-11:30am; T-Th 8am-3pm
Phone: (315) 386-2498
E-mail: uucanton@verizon.net
Web site: www.uucantonny.org
Co-Ministers: Wade Wheelock and Anne Marsh Director of Religious Education: Jan Hutslar
Deadline for next newsletter: Friday, July 20.
A MONTH OF SUNDAYS
Worship services and children’s religious education begin at 10:30 a.m.
July 1: “Chill” - Wade Wheelock How do you cool off, not from summer heat, but from the demands of life? I’ll offer some reflections on the religious meanings of relaxation and invite others to share some of their ideas on good ways to “chill out.”
Greeters: Anne Richey
Volunteer needed (sign up on kiosk)
Social Hour: Volunteers needed
July 8: “Hymn Sing with Piquant!” Anne Malone and Milner Grimsled will be our worship leaders in a hymn sing with the Latin beat of Piquant! Join us for music and readings that touch body, mind, and spirit.
Greeters: Ruth Baltus & Kevin Ball
Social Hour: Volunteers needed
July 15: “From Bible, Beads, and Bewilderment” - Charlotte Ramsay Unwilling to be limited to a one-minute “elevator speech,” Charlotte has chosen instead to share her spiritual journey and recount her many stops along the way to our church.
Greeters: Volunteers needed
Social Hour: Volunteers needed
July 22: “Medicine And Spirituality” - Dr. Ed Goldstein
Dr. Goldstein will discuss how spirituality is an essential ingredient in his practice of medicine. Doug Rubio will be the worship leader.
Greeters: Volunteers needed
Social Hour: Volunteers needed
July 29: Creative thinker, artist, and long-time UU Ines Sanchez-Ferreira will be our worship leader, assisted by Jon Montan.
Greeters: Volunteers needed
Social Hour: Carol Gable
IN PARTNERSHIP
The other day, Wade and I were canoeing on the Grasse River, meandering somewhere between Pyrites and Canton, when we saw a tiny animal in the water up ahead. “That’s too small to be a muskrat,” we thought, and we paddled up to get a closer look. It was a chipmunk, moving its little feet with great determination and finally making it all the way across the river and disappearing into the tall grass. We were impressed. “Wow,” said Wade. “Proportionally, that’s sort of like a person swimming the English Channel.”
I’m not sure how long it took the chipmunk to swim across the Grasse, but it must have been rough going, struggling against the current and maybe worrying about predators and nosy humans in canoes. And it got me thinking. It’s summer, and we want our days to be filled with relaxation and fun, to “be idle and blessed,” as Mary Oliver puts it. That’s the way summer is supposed to be, after all. But the Grasse River chipmunk wasn’t floating on his back with a glass of lemonade in his paw. What he (or she?) faced was more difficult and challenging.
So it is for each of us. We don’t get to choose when the tough times will come, but come they do -- the death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness, the end of a relationship. Then we must swim through the river of pain and sorrow and loss, and sometimes it feels as if we won’t make it to the other side. But we can take a lesson from the chipmunk. It just kept putting one paw in front of the other, keeping its eyes on the far shore. Maybe it even noticed, if just for a moment, the beauty of the bubbles on the water or the wild-flowers on the bank. And we are luckier than the chipmunk, because we have each other. Hope comes when we feel our connections. Strength comes when we know we are not alone. And love will guide us safely home. - Anne
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
I am sitting in my office, surrounded by what may look like a huge mess. I’m not suggesting the office is tidy, but these are the physical remnants of a busy, full year. And I will clean it up, but first I look around and smile and soak up the energy of all the activity and wonder that happened in the RE program this school year.
This past Sunday (Religious Education Sunday) was very special for me. I appreciate how much the RE program is part of the life of the church, it is always so impressive to see how many adults and youth work together to create the lively program we have, as they come forward to stand and be honored for their contribution. And the children who bravely came before us and told their stories, and strongly read the readings and sang the prayer, and participated with their class in the storytelling workshop, and the talented musicians who played for us - wow. They did an amazing job of presenting the worship service they worked hard to prepare, and it was beautiful. To the teachers that worked with the children preparing for RE Sunday and especially Sarah B-G for her dedication and vision for the storytelling, I am grateful .
I hadn’t planned to be so sappy, but I will blame it on the my messy office and the reminders the mess provides - about our church family and, as Zachary Barnes so wisely reminded us, of how we see with our ears and we hear with our hearts. Thank you all! – Jan
SUMMER RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
There will be a relaxed program for children this summer. After the children’s story, the Pre-K-6th graders will go downstairs with two adults. The children can enjoy playing games, having conversation, creating artwork . Sometimes the adult supervisor may take the children outside to play or to help in the UShare garden. It is an unstructured time for the children to be together. Children younger than preschool are welcome, as always, to be in the nursery, where childcare is provided. Any youth over 6th grade are welcome to join the younger children as helpers, to talk with their peers downstairs, or to stay in the sanctuary and participate in the worship service.
WANTED: An RE Committee member will lead the games and crafts each Sunday this summer, but we still need a second adult for many of the weeks. No planning is needed, just an hour to spend in the good company of children. If you can help, please call the church or sign up on the kiosk. Childcare providers for the Nursery are also needed. – Jan and Sarah
JOYS AND SORROWS
1. Healing thoughts to Jamie Szafran, who was injured in a car accident while on her NASA internship in Florida. Cards would be most welcome at Jamie’s summer address: 7280 Briar Oak Drive, Merritt Island, FL 32953.
2. Sally Van de Water is making a speedy recovery from her recent surgery.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!
· Thanks to all the children and youth who did such a great job presenting RE Sunday!
· Thanks to all the adults and youth who worked in the RE Program this year.
· Thanks to Kim Jukic for donating a highchair to the church.
· Belated thanks to Dave Bradford for his delicious buckwheat pancakes at our April 29 Pancake Breakfast.
· Thanks to the Social Events Committee for hosting our annual Church Picnic, which was held indoors this year because of the weather, but which was lots of fun anyway! Special thanks to Ann Spies and Kathy Wyckoff, who did the coordinating, and to Connie Nelson and Sally Vrooman.
· Our rainbow sherbet celebration of diversity at the Dairy Princess Parade was a big success. Thanks to all who helped, especially to Margaret Harloe for having the idea and to Scott Shipley for coordinating the event. Carol Pynchon got Youth Group volunteers and made an emergency run for more cones. Hilary Weissbard, Charlie Toomey, and Drew Pynchon helped serve.
· Thanks to all 28 UUs -- from toddlers in strollers to grandparents -- who marched with PFLAG in the Dairy Princess Parade. It’s a wonderful way to be “out” in the wider community as a Welcoming Congregation.
· Thanks to the Spring Work Day crew who helped shore up basement beams, weed and mulch gardens, wash windows, prepare a shed site, and more: Sam Bailey, Pete Beekman, Sheila Cerwonka, Judy DeGraaff, Steve Doheny-Farina, Judy Gibson, Richard Grover, Bobbi Haldane, Esther Katz, Manohar, Anne Marsh, Rajiv Narula and his parents, Kamlesh and Subhash, Constance Nelson, Saravanan, Bill Short, Becky Van de Water, and Pete Wyckoff.
MAX-IMUM THANKS
I received over eighty cards on the occasion of my eightieth birthday. If I tried to answer in kind I would certainly suffer card-iac arrest! So I turn to our church newsletter to say “thank you” for all those cards bearing memories, appreciation, laughter and love folded up inside and sent for my “I-can’t-believe-I’m-eighty” birthday.
– As ever, Max
WATER, STONES, SHELLS
Wherever your summer takes you, whether to places far from home or a hammock in your back yard, remember to collect a sample of water or a stone or shell. Kids, too! Then at our annual Homecoming Service for all ages on September 9, you can join others in placing your water, stone, or shell or the altar. It’s a wonderful way to come back together after summer travels.
COFFEE AND GREETERS: FIRST NOTICE
As many of you know, the September newsletter will include the list of assignments for Greeters and Social Hour Hosts for the 2007-2008 church year. The tradition in our church is to assign every member and regularly-attending friend one Sunday between September and June to be a Greeter and one to be a Social Hour Host. (We depend on volunteer sign-ups in the summer and over the December holidays.) It’s a simple and effective way to involve us all in the life of the church; however, we realize that not everyone can or wants to participate. So:
If you do NOT wish to have your name on the Social Hour and/or Greeters lists for the next church year, please call the church office (386-2498) or email us (uucanton@verizon.net) by August 15 so we will know not to include you. If you have already so notified us in previous years, you do not have to do so again.
If, on the other hand, you would be willing to be available to do an extra shift when the person scheduled is ill or called away, please let us know that, too. Thanks!
SPEAKING OF GREETERS…
…and Social Hour Hosts as well, many more volunteers are needed for Sundays in July and August and for Labor Day weekend. Greeters hand out orders of service and take the offering. Social Hour Hosts put out juice and snacks (which the church provides). Making coffee is optional during the summer. The tasks are simple, but important. Summer services generally have a smaller attendance than those during the school year, but we strive to be a welcoming church all year ‘round. Please pick a Sunday and sign up on the kiosk. And we also need an adult helper each week to assist with games and crafts for the children. Thanks so much.
FROM THE SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE
I think it’s safe to say our monthly Social Action Shared Offerings (SASO) have been a wonderful success and an extraordinary demonstration of our congregation’s generosity and commitment to social action -- in our community, across the nation, and around the world.
Since our first SASO in November 2006, the monthly offerings we have donated outside our church walls have included:
· Oxfam $1,107.00 (including proceeds from the Hunger Banquet)
· Church and Community Program $2,336.00 (plus $400 to the local Habitat for Humanity chapter)
· Southern Poverty Law Center $570.80
· Lambda Legal Defense Fund $786.00
· Angel Trax $1,464.00 (including proceeds from benefit concert)
· Fair Share $7,748.80
· Water Partners International $525.00
· UU Service Committee/Drumbeat for Darfur $1,091.65
These are remarkable numbers, but even more amazing is that the totals for our monthly collections - our plate income - have not been affected. Even taking away one collection a month, the bottom line for monthly offerings has still been consistent with the numbers projected by the Budget and Finance Committee.
We will continue the SASO program in the 2007-08 year. Our goal is to offer you opportunities to learn about and support a variety of local, national, and international social action organizations and causes. It is important to understand that we see these as chances to learn as much as to give. Some may interest you, others may not. We hope you find our displays and presentations informative and that you feel comfortable choosing which to support based on your own interests and choices.
If you have suggestions for organizations or causes for future SASO’s, or questions or comments about the program, please be sure to let me know.
the next meeting of the Social Action Committee will be Wednesday, July 11, at 7 p.m. Please join us if you’d like to discuss plans for next fall’s SASO’s and other social action programs.
Carol Pynchon, Chair
WHO WANTS TO LEAD AN ADULT GROUP?
A crucial element in enhancing our sense of community is to have a number of opportunities for small group interactions in addition to what happens on Sunday mornings in the service and social hour. So we’re putting out a call now for anyone with an idea for or a hankering to lead a small group in the coming church year. This could be a one-time workshop or discussion, a multi-part class, or an ongoing interest group. The theme could be explicitly religious, simply interesting, or just plain fun. The time for the meeting could be Sunday before or after the service, a Saturday, week nights or weekdays at the church or at some other comfortable location.
Some ideas are already in the works – for example, groups for book discussions, Asian religious practices, pagan spirituality, “Building Your Own Theology,” legacy writing, and Pilates. Our primary focus is on groups offered free of charge for church members and friends, but sessions for the wider public and/or those requiring a fee are also possibilities. The Adult Whole Education Committee will be reforming itself this summer and trying to organize a few after-church programs in the fall as well. We would like to produce a brochure in September listing all the various offerings, so please give it some thought and let the church office, Wade, or Anne know if there is a group or program you could organize or lead. Thanks!
STAFF VACATIONS
Anne and Wade will be on vacation from July 2-29, and Wade will be on study leave July 30-August 5. In case of emergency, you can reach them through the church office or by leaving a message on their home answering machine. Jan will be away June 22-July 2, and for several other weeks, and will not have any regularly scheduled office hours over the summer. Since other staff may also take vacation time in July and August, it’s best to call ahead before coming to the office.
FOOD PANTRY COLLECTIONS
Thanks to Tom Cutter, the monthly donations of non-perishable items we have been putting in the box in the sanctuary for the past several years have been taken to the Food Pantry at the Church & Community Program (CCP). Tom is now ready to “retire” from this volunteer opportunity and offer it to someone else. CCP Director Shari Wilcox says she depends on church food-box donations to maintain a steady supply and variety of items for needy families to supplement what comes in from big community canned food drives and government food banks. So as we remember the importance of our donations to our UU food-box (which will start up again in the fall), is anyone willing to take up the task of walking or driving the bags of food we collect each month to the CCP on Main Street? If you’d like to help, please call or email the church office, or talk with Anne or Wade. Thanks!
ADIRONDACK BUDDHIST RETREAT
Rising Light Sangha is hosting a retreat with Joel Baehr on July 7, 9:30-4:00 at the Keene Valley Congregational Church on Route 73 on the topic of "Mindful Presence." There is no set fee for the retreat; one chooses what is appropriate to give. Joel Baehr is a senior student of Lama Surya Das, and an ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister. For more info, contact Jen at 518-891-3652.
RACHEL GRANT AWARD
On June 3, Ruth Beebe was recognized as the 2007 recipient of the Rachel Somers Grant award. The social action award honors people who work, as Rachel did, to make ours a more humane and progressive community. Following are excerpts from Sue Powers’ presentation of the award:
Ruth Beebe, a long-time member of this church, has been a persistent advocate for social action and justice in this region. People involved at any level of social action in Potsdam have met Ruth and seen her in action. Whatever meeting you go to, Ruth is there making sure things are happening. Ruth Beebe’s sage statements on what she believes are the necessary actions to right the wrongs of this region or nation are softly spoken but heard widely. But she also knows that organizing for social justices requires more than just taking the grandstand and spouting off about issues. Instead, with her decades of experience, she knows what it takes to get beyond the talk and move into action. She makes sure minutes get taken and distributed, she identifies and handles the details that need to be completed, and she holds others accountable for the work delegated to them. The net result, if Ruth is involved, there is indeed a bus ordered and ready to take protesters to DC, press releases do get out in a timely manner, and protesters are mobilized and present in front of the Potsdam post office every Saturday morning at 11.
Ruth’s organizational capabilities are most apparent through Seedcorn - a community-based, not-for-profit educational organization that is committed to social justice, community building, local self-reliance, and sustainable development in our region. Her selfless hours of dedicated work have been essential to the maintenance of Seedcorn as a viable group and fabulous resource in this area. Seedcorn provides an organizational umbrella for new initiatives and emerging community-based organizations. With Ruth’s drive behind it, Seedcorn has been instrumental in starting the North Country sustainable energy fair, the farm to school program that gets locally grown fruits and vegetables into schools and universities, the Potsdam farmers market, North Country notes, and the North Country citizens for responsible growth. Now, many of these activities have been established as their own entities, but their initial development and success can be attributed in part to Seedcorn’s help and resources. Ruth is a sweet, kind, and gentle person. But she has strong opinions about how to make our society better and works tirelessly to help that happen. What a great and inspiring person Ruth Beebe is!