Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Oregon 2/8/05 Newsletter

Once again the youth of our congregation brought us a Sunday Service that combined joy and wisdom, insight, fun, and thoughtfulness - and something I’ve been hoping would be included more often in our services, dancing and body movement.

Central to the service were the readings composed by each of the youth. Each had a different personal theme, but all were reflections on Hope. Many of the youth also carried out other roles in the service.

Congregants were welcomed in by music played by Rory Gravelle on his zitar. Bryant Hampton and Molly Laing did the chalice lighting, and Makenzie Kleutsch read the opening words. Three singing bowls were rung by Camille Hampton, who also took care of the announcements, Rory Gravelle, and Kayla Gravelle. Galen Brownson shared his attachment with his stuffed animal, Sneezy who gave him hope, with the children before they left for RE classes through the love arch directed by Kayla Gravelle.

The offertory was overseen by Chaz Bogner, Shareef Noor, Stuart Mayberry, Bryant Hampton, and Galen Brownson. All of the members of the youth group participated in the offering with dancing and body movement. Christianna Hannegan played her harp and Miles Brownson played the piano. Rounding out the readers and choir members were Anne Reeder, Diana Cunningham, Emily Branch, and Sara Gardner. All in all, it was a fun and satisfying service.

Let’s hear it for the youth group and their advisors CM Hall, Carlos Herrera, Amanda Nelson, and Mark Powell for their contributions to our church community.

Some of you may remember our first building dedication on December 7, 1997 when Judit Gellerd, founding honorary president of the UUA’s Partner Church Program, movingly conveyed greetings from our own Partner Unitarian Church in Simenfalva, Romania. Judit’s father, the Reverend Imre Gellerd, served as the minister of this church in the 1950’s. Over the years I had heard Judit talk about her father and the ordeals he suffered under communist rule, but I had no idea how sorrowful and tragic his life was until I began reading her compelling biography of her father, Prisoner of Liberte (which she was encouraged to write by her teacher and mentor, Elie Wiesel).

In her book Judit relates her father’s harrowing ordeals as a political prisoner. They began late one night in 1959 when a dreaded, but familiar sight appeared in front of the parsonage in Simenfalva – a black jeep from the Securitate (the Romanian secret police). Imre was arrested (as “an enemy of the state”) and spent the next six years under the most hellish conditions.

He endured harsh physical and psychological torture at the hands of cruel and malicious guards and experienced such extreme deprivation that he weighed less than eighty pounds near the end of his stay. He would have died in prison had not a Romanian Jewish doctor rescued him from a cold concrete floor where he had been left to die by prison authorities.

As I read this harrowing, heartbreaking tale I felt moral indignation toward the totalitarian government that perpetrated such abuses. Then, I sadly realized that our own government is sliding down a slippery slope as it engages in its own human rights violations.

Certainly, the US government does not practice torture in the systematic and widespread ways that totalitarian and authoritarian governments often do. Yet the current administration’s “war on terror,” has seemingly led our government to relax its moral inhibitions against torture. The new Attorney General recently termed the Geneva Convention’s protocols for the protection of prisoners as “quaint.” Gross abuses of detainees at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and in Guantanamo, Cuba by American soldiers and others is well documented and indisputable.

Not only has this caused needless suffering to many detainees and greatly diminished our reputation among the nations of the world, it betrays a sacred and precious principle upon which our nation was founded – the right to be free from torture and oppression. Then, too, these human rights abuses violate international conventions our government has ratified: the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convention against torture.

As I write this, I have no fear that my comments will provoke the same harsh reaction from our government as they would have for the Rev. Imre Gellerd in Communist Romania. Yet right now, as I write this, I am mindful that there are many foreign detainees who suffer much as he did. Since they are foreign, and mostly Muslim, public outrage is muted. That, too, disturbs me profoundly.

Love, Rick

Celebration Sunday is Coming

Congregations that acknowledge the deeper meaning of stewardship do not view the money they give to support it as merely being a way to pay its bills. Rather, such congregations regard the life and ministry of the congregation with a percentage of their incomes.

Our congregation's Finance Team and Canvass Committee have selected the Celebration Sunday Stewardship Program as a way to enhance and celebrate our natural tendency to be generous. Celebration Sunday is based on the conviction that generous giving helps us to become the generous, openhearted people we are called to become by our liberal faith rather than the need of the institution to receive. Instead of treating people like members of a social club who should pay dues, we will treat people as those who want to give unselfishly to promote the principles and purposes of our shared faith.

Celebration Sunday encourages people toward proportionate and systematic giving in response to the question: "What percentage of my income am I called to give to be true to my highest ideals?" During morning worship on Celebration Sunday, we are asking UUCS members and friends to make financial commitments to our congregation's life and ministry.

Every attendee and member who completes an Estimate of Giving Card does so voluntarily by attending the Sunday Service on Celebration Sunday. We urge members and friends to attend who may have misgivings about completing a card. The procedure is done in such a way that no one feels personal embarrassment if she or he chooses not to fill out a card.

We will do no home solicitation to ask people to complete cards. During the Sunday Service our guest leader will conduct a brief period of instruction and inspiration, climaxed by members making commitments as a confidential act of commitment.

We will encourage participation in Celebration Sunday events through the Celebration Sunday team and governing board members. Since we will make no follow-up visits to ask people to complete their cards, we will make every effort to inform, inspire, and commit everyone to attend the Celebration Sunday Service.

Thanks in advance for your enthusiastic participation in Celebration Sunday events.

Cheryl Randall, Celebration Sunday Chair

Chuck Howard, UUCS Board Chair

Twenty- and Thirty-somethings will meet after coffee hour, around 12:30, at Thompson's Brewery on Sunday, February 13th. Come grab a bite to eat, or just a drink. Hope to see you! Elissa Szymanczyk

Kristen Hunt would like to invite the members of the congregation to a show of her current work at the Silver Creek Gallery in Silverton. The show titled Oregon Visions will be on display until February 26. Silver Creek Gallery is located at 119A N Water Street and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10:00 to 2:00 on Saturday. Emily Start shows her jewelry at the Lunaria Gallery which is next door to the Silver Creek Gallery.

Dr. Marilyn Sewell, senior minister at Portland’s First Unitarian Church, will present an all day workshop entitled “Breaking Free: Women of Spirit at Mid-Life and Beyond” through Chemeketa Community College on Friday, February 11. The $120 fee includes meals. Information: 503-399-2520 or alank@chemeketa.edu. To register call 503-584-7272

Don Wolf and Rick Davis lead the Sunday morning forum at 9:15 a.m. The book currently being discussed is John Buehrens’ Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals. Everyone is welcome.

The UUCS will send five delegates to the Pacific Northwest District annual meeting in Portland in mid-February. Mary Sohlstrom, Jane Fields, Roger Gillette, Chuck Howard and Ken Erickson will attend as delegates. Petra Berger is the alternate.

If you would like to make a donation in honor or in memory of someone, or to celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday, wedding or anniversary, SPECIAL TRIBUTE CARDS are available for this purpose.

Tribute cards with envelopes are on the Information Table in Hanneman Fellowship Hall, or in the office. Completed cards may be placed in the Sunday collection, or mailed to the church.

Join other women in our UUCS Community on March 18-20, Friday evening through Sunday morning at the Cedars Retreat Center southeast of Oregon City. The Cedars is nestled in 80 acres of old growth cedar forest, meadows, wetlands and riverbank along the Clackamas River. The lodge is lovely, with guest rooms, meeting room, and dining all under the same roof. It is handicapped accessible and barrier free. The cost is $95 for two nights shared lodging and all meals and linen provided. Vegetarians and special dietary needs can be accommodated. Only 30 women, 18 years and older can sign up for the retreat, so complete a registration form available in the Hanneman Fellowship Hall, RE wing or office. Claire Diehl, DRE

It’s time to bid adieu to the Remily family: Mike, Shannon, Benjamin, Scott, Adam, and new-born John! They are moving to LaGrande, a DOT transfer for Mike, who will be regional projects manager. They’ve bought a home there that must be extensively renovated before occupancy. In the interim they’ll live in the second floor of an apartment building. Shannon expresses pity for the downstairs neighbors!

Eric and Kristen Gabrielsen are using this format to light a symbolic “candle of joy” for their good news. Their UUCS commitment to teaching in RE leaves no opportunity to attend the Sunday service. Kristen is pregnant with a second son, whom they expect to welcome on May 18!

Altogether unexpectedly, Lydia Bright died last week. Her body has been transported back to Victoria, Texas where her life can be celebrated by her four children.

Condolences to Leanne and Dan O’Leary and their children at the recent death of Leanne’s mother, Bonnie Lee Hummel Mortensen, of lung cancer. A celebration of life conducted by the Reverend Judith Steele was held at UUCS. Reverend Steele, a Hospice chaplain, is the wife of UUCS custodian Dennis Harrison.

Condolences to Dr. Phil Porter, long-time UUCS member, whose wife, Dorothy, died recently. A memorial service for her was conducted at Salem’s First Congregational Church, which she and her husband attended.

Condolences to Ed and Jackie Klimowicz and their family at the recent death in California of Ed’s mother.

Barbara Hanneman's daughter, Laurie Speight, writes to update us on her physical condition as she continues to wage war with ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease, which she contracted less than a year ago. She writes, “My condition has changed considerably these past two months. My arms and hands have become very weak, making such simple tasks as feeding myself, brushing my hair, and turning the newspaper pages difficult. My speech is at the point where I now prefer others to answer the phone because callers are having problems understanding me. Also, it takes me a long time to pick up the phone and place it by my ear. Swallowing is difficult as well. Before long I will need a feeding tube. Patience is something I am learning to take to a new level - not being able to say things when I want is frustrating, as is having to frequently repeat myself.”

Millie Rochester, former UUCS DRE and currently a UU minister in Chicago, has been critically ill, hospitalized with infection which manifested itself as pneumonia. Her immune system was severely weakened by chemotherapy she was receiving following surgery for breast cancer. Her husband Roger wrote last weekend that when the pneumonia was reduced and she was able to breathe on her own physicians found two sources: gallstones and infection of the pleural cavity. Roger wrote, "Today she was almost fully conscious for several short periods and was able to communicate—say who and where she was, ask for ice chips, smile when I sang to her, say “I love you” when I had to leave. The trend is upward, but I’ve learned not to expect it to be straight and easy.”

Welcome back to Mary Edith Gilbertson who, accompanied by her daughter Meredith Smith, has just returned from a visit to Bar Harbor, Maine with Meredith’s son Brock and his family.

Jo Bateman’s sons David and Douglas, and their families celebrated her 83^rd birthday last week with a snow vacation in Sunriver. While she took her skis along, Jo decided against skiing; snow conditions were too variable even on world-class Mt. Bachelor.

Lise Sherry returned from Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary in Chicago where she spent the previous month in studies which should eventually lead to candidacy for the UU ministry. Students’ programs normally take from one to four years to complete in a modified resident program each January in campus residence. She is pleased to report that she passed the first of three reviews of her program. A highlight for her was a soapstone rock carving project, symbolizing theological “conversations with the rock”, a component of the exploration of arts and religion curriculum.

Ken and I are celebrating the good news that state agency job transfers are making it possible for number seven offspring, Angie, husband Doug Denning and two young sons to return to live in the Salem area. Both have been working in settings in Ontario, OR while living in Fruitland, Idaho.

Your news, joys and concerns, shared with others bring our community closer to one another.

“T’was not I,” said he. “I was pleased with my diet. That woman you gave me, she forced me to try it.”

February 13 “Let’s Stand Together” The Reverend Richard R. Davis, Jonah Edelman, Dana Hepper, Petra Berger

We have a phenomenal success story to share. In 1999 a new children’s advocacy group was founded by Jonah Edelman here in Oregon (and in several other key states). Members of our congregation have been very active since the beginning. Our organization’s primary motivation is our love for children. We work to promote and protect their unique needs and interests. Come learn what Stand for Children has done and help us dream about what we can do in the future.

Dr. Harris is a recently retired Salem ophthalmologist and clinical instructor at OHSU. He has been on the national board of Physicians for Social Responsibility since 1993, serving as national president in 1998. He has worked overseas in medical missions to Labrador, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Moldova and Mexico.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Oregon