The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Oregon

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem

5090 Center St. NE

Salem, Oregon 97301

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

January 21, 2004

Items for the newsletter may be placed in the newsletter box in the church office or mailed to the editor c/o the church office at the address above. Items gladly accepted on disk or by email. (email for next issue to editors@uusalem.org)

Our annual black history potluck dinner will be held on Saturday, February 7th, from 5:30 to 8p.m. The food is always sumptuous and the speaker this year will be A.J. Talley, a local diversity activist and TV host. Dennis Ehrp will be running the entertainment section, so you’ll certainly enjoy that. Bring a dish to share and please RSVP to the office if you need child care.

Bring your valentine and dance the night away on Saturday, February 14th, 7-11p.m. J.T. and the Tourists will help us initiate the new floor of Hanneman Hall with their rocking good music. Buy tickets early or pay the $7.50 at the door. Bring your own beer, snack and munchies. Please RSVP to the office for childcare.

Here we are in the very heart of gray skied winter (can you doubt it after the recent snow and ice storm?), a time when much life has disappeared from view. I have been acutely conscious of this lately as I have prepared and conducted memorial services for Marjorie Skillen (member Shirley Gregory’s mother) and Georgiana Ulmer (member Cherie Ulmer’s mother), and as I remember my mother’s death at this time of year two years ago. Then, there is the very recent passing of fifty one year old Jeanne Gunning. A few of us were there to say goodbye to her, and tears were shed. (We will mourn her death and celebrate her life on January 31 at 2:00 at the church).

And even if we haven’t experienced a recent personal loss, almost every day we hear that more bombs have exploded in Iraq or Israel, cruelly snatching life away from so many who should have lived and loved much longer.

Just as wet snow and ice weigh heavily upon trees limbs, causing them to snap, so do loss and grief weigh upon many hearts, causing them to break. Every human heart knows grief at some season of life. There is such a thing as good grief that allows us to have an honest cry. At memorial services I often quote the poet Melville Cane’s line: "tears unshed are stones upon the heart that choke the healing stream."

But then I balance this thought with A. Powell Davies’ reminder that "anguish, like ecstasy, is not forever. There comes in time a gentleness, a returning quietness, a restoring stillness. . .and a deepening inward knowledge that in the final reckoning all is well." Even as we should not avoid walking down into the valley of grief and sorrow when we experience loss and heartbreak, so should we not forget that there is a path leading out again.

Sometimes just the right words can serve to remind us of a joy and goodness that transcends whatever pain, sorrow and hopelessness we may be experiencing. Consider this passage from J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings (so far, I’ve only seen the first movie adaptation, but I read all the books years ago.) Near the end of the epic, when the Hobbits Sam and Frodo are deep within the evil realm of Mordor, and there is no rational cause for any hope whatsoever, Sam looks up and sees a single star shining in the heavens.

Tolkien writes: "the beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach. Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master’s, ceased to trouble him."

Another favorite line comes from a World War II Warsaw Ghetto victim who said "I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining."

Finally, let’s not forget that we can awaken hope in one another. You may be that star over Mordor or that shining sun for someone nearby. Don’t neglect to let your light shine in this season

The Annual General Meeting of the Pacific Northwest District will be held as a joint meeting with the Canadian Unitarian Council in Victoria, B.C. The meeting starts Friday evening, February 13^th, and ends at noon on Sunday, February 15^th, after the worship service.

The meeting is entitled "Cascadia 2004" and will provide an opportunity to revisit and make new Canadian UU friends. Rev. Bill Sinkford, President of the UUA, will be the keynote speaker. A bus will be running from Portland for attendees.

A monthly visual adventure in travel by sharing our best slides will be offered to UUCS members and friends beginning March 3rd at 7 p.m. Our new series, entitled "Travel Abroad: Sites & Insights", will spotlight locations from Central America to the Swiss Alps to the beauty of distant Nepal. Tom Ferron will be the first presenter.

Former Peace Corps members and others who have lived overseas are invited to join the line-up. If anyone can do power-point presentations, we'd certainly welcome you. This is an Adult Education series.

Ellen Howard will facilitate an 8-week adult series to explore individual life journeys through sharing of experiences, doubts and current beliefs. The group will meet Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9, beginning February 10. Register by February 3: call the office.

Newcomers are always welcome at these continuing Monday night sessions (Sunday nights before Marvelous Mondays). There will be an hour of guided meditation and then discussion of The Path of Compassion: Writings on Socially Engaged Buddhism, edited by Fred Eppsteiner. Call Kristen or Bruce Hunt for more information.

If you’re interested in the idea of a monthly Coffee House, to be held in Hanneman Hall, please call Lee Coyne. He envisions recruiting outside talent for entertainment and suggests that the young adult group might be interested in a first Friday schedule.

Covenant Groups continue to meet regularly, discussing topics such as spirituality, politics, ethics, movies, and memoir writing. The two sessions for training new leaders are this evening (January 21) and January 28. For information contact Rick Davis or Claire Deal, or call the office.

It is time for the Sunday service Celebrant/Anchor quarterly meeting.  We will share what has worked well and should continue, what can be improved, and what we may want to try in the future.  Come with your ideas and be prepared to sign-up for Sunday services through the end of June.

We will meet in the sanctuary on Saturday, February 7th from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM.  Please contact George Piter, Jeff Geissler or Mike Berger if you have questions or will not be able to attend.

The next Women's Alliance meeting will be on Thursday, Februay 5 at 7 p.m. at the church, and will feature Jo Bateman as the speaker in our continuing "Getting to Know You" series of programs.  All church women are invited to attend and enjoy an interesting talk and an evening of socializing.

A Celebration of Life in honor of Jeanne Gunning will be held at the church at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 31st. Please join Jeanne's friends and family in remembering her. If you would like to write a few words, share a story, etc. for a Remembrance Book, please email to Denise Cedar.

Are you considering membership in this congregation? Perhaps you have been attending services and now feel more committed to supporting this congregation. Come to Path to Membership on February 8 immediately after the service and meet with Rick in his office. Learn more about this particular congregation and how you can find a place here. Even if you are not ready to become a member, you are welcome to attend and learn more about Unitarianism/Universalism and our congregation.

The Alexanders are retired: Don was a health physicist (monitoring radiation exposure as part of safety procedures), and Anne was the executive director of the Real Estate Association. They have done a lot of traveling (Tibet, Britain, Australia, and China), and hope to get to Europe for their 50th wedding anniversary.

It’s never a surprise to scan the program of a community theater or musical performance and see the names of UUCS members. The recent, and acclaimed, Pentacle production of ‘The Music Man,’ was no exception. Chloe Nord played the part of Amaryllis. Cherie Ulmer, John Roy Wilson, Miles and Nicky Brownson sang in the chorus. Galen Brownson worked with the lighting. Cherie Ulmer worked with the musical staging.

Betty Reese’s 92nd birthday is on February 1. She relishes visits from UUs and would certainly enjoy cards celebrating her birthday. Her health is generally quite good, but it is increasingly difficult for her to walk.

Andrea and Dan Dailey’s son, Josh Dailey, continues to serve in the 2^nd Armored Cavalry Division in Baghdad, guarding the UN compound and instructing Iraqis doing patrol duty how to protect citizens and suppress local crime. He was recently promoted to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant.

Wilson Wyant will return home this week after a two weeks’ visit with his and Barbara’s daughter, Elizabeth, in Guam. Elizabeth moved there this summer from teaching history in Moscow in the Anglo-American school’s international baccalaureate program to teach the history of Western civilization at St. Joseph’s School (Episcopal) to local and foreign secondary school students. She will also teach a course in Japanese history at the University of Guam. Wilson anticipated not only the visit with Elizabeth, but also opportunity for swimming and hiking on the island. By the next newsletter he and Barbara expect to have become first-time grandparents to a child soon to be born to son Matthew Wyant and his wife, Bonnie Light, in Seattle.

Jo Bateman left Monday to once again join an Attraction Tour of central coast California. The group will ride Amtrak to Salinas, and then board a bus to enjoy Monterey with its world-class aquarium, Cannery Row, the sights of Carmel, and the Hearst Castle at San Simeon before returning home next Saturday by Amtrak.

As reported earlier, Delta and Roy Ockert’s son-in-law, Jim Bell, a professor of Astronomy at Cornell University is currently in Pasadena as team leader for the Panoramic cameras on the Mars Exploration Rovers. Since Spirit touched down on January 3rd, Jim and his team have been sending commands to the cameras daily to learn as much as possible about the surroundings. Just last week, Spirit drove off its lander and started its exploration of the surface. It will pull up to rocks and soil formations and perform a number of scientific tests using four instruments. Opportunity, the second rover, will land late at night on January 24.

When the electronic signals stop coming, perhaps not for 3 to 6 months, the teams will take their treasure troves of scientific data and spend the next year or two studying and writing papers about the areas explored. Jim will also be involved in the next Mars mission, set to launch in 2005.

Wes and Bev Anderson are leaving mid-week for several weeks’ tours in Kenya and Tanzania. They fly via Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya, travel widely in both countries and then return home via Madagascar.

Your Personal Invitation Is Coming Soon

You'll receive a call soon from a UUCS Pledge Dinner host, inviting you to join us Saturday, February 28, for dinner, entertainment, and very important work--assuring our future financial well-being.

The pledges made during this campaign will support the congregation's 2004-05 operating budget of about $200,000. What will that pay for? Well, one way to look at it is in terms of expense categories; for example, about 65 percent of the budget goes to people, compensating our minister and staff. Another 27 percent goes to must-have operating expenses such as utilities, insurance, and postage; and the rest, the "optional" items, are for our programs.

Another, perhaps more useful, way of looking at the budget is in terms of what it enables us to do and be -- ensure fulfilling Sunday services, comforting ministry for those in need (and who isn't?), life-enhancing religious education, and valued community service and leadership.

And that's why we'll gather on February 28—to celebrate our church family and our plans for a strong future. We certainly hope you can join us.

Listen...with respect.

Curiosity: Seek to understand rather than persuade.

Diversity: Invite and honor all points of view.

Sincerity: speak what has personal heart and meaning.

Brevity: Go for honesty and depth but don’t go on and on.

*Ground rules for the discussions led by the Junior Youth after the service January 18

Judith Steel is a spiritual counselor for the Willamette Valley Hospice and is also involved with their community outreach. She will be talking about taking care of the whole person in a hospice situation.

In the past few years people who have attended our annual Youth Sunday Service have been astonished and amazed at how deeply they were touched and inspired by hearing what wisdom, insight and pure joy that our youth group has to offer. Their theme this year will be dreaming. Please come to receive their ideas and also to offer them the gift of your presence.

What’s the typical daily forecast for your internal emotional climate? Full of the light of love and joy or perpetually overcast by dark clouds of fear, anger and anxiety? Although we can’t control the weather outside, modern science is beginning to affirm an ancient Buddhist view that can indeed affect profound changes in our internal emotional climate.

Wednesday, January 21 Cov. Group Facilitator Training, 7-9 p.m.

Drumming Circle, 7-8 p.m.

Thursday, January 22 NAACP Meeting, evening

Wednesday, January 28 Cov. Group Facilitator Training, 7-9 p.m.

Friday, January 30 YRUU Overnight

Saturday, January 31 Board Retreat

Sunday, February 1 Sunday Service Team meets, 9 a.m.

YRUU Bake Sale

Newsletter deadline, 11:30 a.m.

UU Meditation, 7 p.m.

Monday, February 2 Marvelous Monday, 6 p.m.

YRUU Group, 7 – 9 p.m. (every Monday)

Thursday, February 5 Women’s Alliance, 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 7 Black History Potluck, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 8 Path to Membership, after service

Tuesday, February 10 Evensong (Adult RE)

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources. So begins the list that identifies the spiritual roots of our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition. Two of the six formative sources we identify are (1) Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life; and (2) Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

CONVERSATION CAFÉ A STEAMING SUCCESS!!