The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Oregon

Our April 23rd (Friday, 7 p.m.) launching of Cafe Eclectic will begin with a "Salute to Poets" in honor of National Poetry Month. Original poems by Virginia Corrie-Cozart and B. Lee Coyne, as well as by a young surprise guest, will be offered.

Following these, we’ll enjoy love songs delivered by Barbara Stebbins-Boaz and a unique blend of 60’s style folk music by Jean Logan, guitarist par excellence.

Be sure to invite your poetical and musical non-UU friends to this unforgettable experience. The $4 donation includes yummy refreshments. Go for it!

Lee Coyne

PLEASE DON’T LEAVE VALUABLES in your car (not even in your glove compartment), particularly if you’re parked across the street. There was a break-in during the service Sunday.

When the current Bush administration took office in 2000 there was talk about it being time for mature grownups – the ones who had morals, took responsibility, could balance the national checkbook and protect us all from the dangers of the world – to take the reins of power from the former administration, which was characterized as licentious and immature. Now the "Daddy" party was in power.

Yet it strikes me that the current administration displays a scandalous level of immaturity – they approach their solemn responsibilities as though they were playing children’s games.

They play with our national defense as if it were a game of cowboys and Indians (or in this case, Muslims), and now we are sinking into a tragic, brutal quagmire in Iraq.

They play with the economy as if it were a game of monopoly where the winner takes all. Indeed, the rich are getting richer (with tax breaks) and the poor (mostly women and children) are sinking deeper in debt while bankruptcy laws are tightened up to prevent them from escaping their heavy financial burdens.

They play with the ecology like heedless children who never clean up after themselves. National energy policies are crafted in secret with the advice of the energy industry, and warnings from the scientific community of impending ecological disaster are downplayed or ignored.

They play with our social service system as if it were a toy they intend to break and not replace. The federal deficit balloons and the promises of Medicare and Social Security are quickly deflating.

Those truly mature would not act like arrogant bullies; they would not sow discord without thought for the consequences; they would not allow self interest to triumph over the general welfare. Mature stewards of our nation would gaze forward into the future with profound concern for coming generations. Frankly, I don’t see anything approaching that level of maturity in this current administration. What chutzpah it takes to don the mantle of maturity and behave in such an immature fashion.

Please don’t receive this as a partisan political screed – you can get that in the editorial pages. Consider it a prophetic pronouncement (which isn’t a prediction of some future apocalyptic "end times" but rather a cry for social justice). The ancient Hebrew prophets originated this form of speech nearly three thousand years ago when they felt called by the spirit of God to be a voice for the voiceless (the poor and oppressed, the widows, the children), to challenge the powerful kings and priests to end their rapacious economic and oppressive political ways.

This prophetic tradition has profoundly shaped our Unitarian Universalist religious heritage, and I feel the spirit of this, my chosen faith, urging me to cry out for peace and justice in a time when they seem sorely lacking.

Prophetically Yours,

Of the 40 UUs voting March 28, more than two-thirds voted "Yes":

Civil Marriage Equality

Oppression of Women World Wide

Threat of Global Warming

The fourth, Stopping Mass Extinction, received less than half of the votes and was dropped from consideration.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll.

Mariana Bornholdt

For those of you who are interested in becoming a member of the Life Lines Lay Ministry group, we will hold our annual training session in September. Information on date and time will follow later.

After all your hard work over tax forms, why not join us on April 15th to enjoy an uplifting slide show on Adventures in the Alps? Save 7 p.m. as the embarkation time. Head to Hanneman Hall and get your natural high as Cathie Olcott shares her treatful trek. Best of all: it’s free. Take a deep breath.

In the first quarter of 2003, UUCS contributed 738 pounds of food for an average of 56.7 pounds per week, and $71 in checks and cash, to Marion-Polk Food Share. In that same period, an equivalent of $15 in toiletries was donated to HOAP (Homeless Outreach Advocacy Project).

A year later, in the first quarter of 2004, we contributed 461 pounds of food, and $502 in checks and cash to Marion-Polk Food Share, and the equivalent of $110 in clothes and toiletries to HOAP. The end result is that we have markedly increased the amount of monetary donations to Food Share, and also made major increases in the contributions to HOAP. We donated a smaller amount of food items for the past quarter, but this was more than compensated by the cash and check contributions.

Many thanks for your continued generosity.

Dick Boyle, Social Action Team

The Landscape Committee has scheduled a Congregational Conversation to discuss finishing the patio and other plans and concepts for landscaping our grounds. This conversation will be held on Sunday, May 2nd, in Hanneman Hall after the service and during the Coffee Hour. We will show the plan to finish the patio by partially enclosing it with a fence/wall and talk about financing for the project. Also, there are ideas which have been discussed over the years for developing our landscaping; the Committee would like to have a shared discussion as to what and how folks feel about where we go from here. All who are interested in these things should plan to stay after the service on May 2 for a short while.

Pat Smith, Landscape Chair

Our annual dinner meeting will be held at Kwan's Restaurant at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 6. We reward ourselves for our hard work by this special occasion, which is our last meeting for the church year. Come join us. For reservations please call Jane Manning or Marge French.

Marge French

Saturday, April 24th, is the Annual Plant Sale from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Bring potted plants on Friday, April 23rd between 4 and 7 p.m. (note time change from the last notice). If necessary, plants could be brought on Sunday, April 18. Setup volunteers are needed for Friday afternoon starting about 3 p.m. Contact Pat Smith to volunteer.

 Pat Smith

Has a birthday, wedding or anniversary delighted you? Has the loss of a life deeply affected you? … the birth of a child thrilled you? … the accomplishment of an artist captivated you? … the exceptional contribution of a member amazed you? … the tireless effort of a member astounded you? If you have experienced any of these emotions, there is an opportunity to put your feelings into action. "Special Tribute" cards are available for use within our congregation, to make a monetary gift to honor someone. Contributions will be credited to a fund of your choice, and acknowledged by sending you a donor card.

Tribute cards with envelopes will be available at the Greeter desk in the foyer, at the information table in Hanneman Hall, and in the office. Completed cards may be placed in the Sunday collection or mailed to the church.

Rick Davis’ last forum on world religions will take place on Wednesday, April 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in his office. Come and join the session on Islam.

Longtime UU Diana Nicholson-Nelson is assistant manager of Planned Parenthood in Salem and will describe its programs for family planning and the services it offers for women’s health issues Sunday, April 18^, at 12:15 p.m. in Hanneman Hall. She will also explain how the community’s growing needs led to Planned Parenthood’s expanded new facilities at 3825 Wolverine Street in Salem. The program is sponsored by the Political Action and Ethics Covenant Group; the public is welcome.

Adrienne Pauly

COM members Kay Young, Rob Schiff, Ernest Perez and Margaret Boyle will be in the library after the service on Sunday, April 25, to meet with anyone who would like to drop by and share a concern or pass on some thoughts and ideas relating to our common ministry.

One of the goals of the Committee on Ministry is to promote healthy communication within our church community. We will welcome your input.

Sunday, April 25, will be New Member Recognition Sunday. Please be ready to welcome our newest members then. Here is the final installment of short biographies of the members who joined us on March 7.

Don Wolf and Stephanie Jernstedt live in Monmouth. Stephanie is a social worker in children’s programs. Don is, by profession, a natural resource educator but currently works as a receptionist for the Oregon Dept. of Veteran Affairs. They have been married three years, but have known one another for 30! She likes scrapbooking and watercolor painting; he is a fan of gardening. Don and Stephanie were drawn to the UU Church of Salem by the acceptance and sense of community we share here. Don is already on the Fellowship Team, and both have joined the Evensong group.

Esther Friedman has a son, Tyler, who is five years old. They live in northeast. Salem. Esther has a business as a Lactation Consultant, and also does tutoring and testing for the public schools. She is currently writing a book on advocacy for parents of special needs children. In searching for a church, Esther was looking for a congregation and philosophy that permitted and accepted skepticism – a church that did not dictate how one must think. She was happy to find those characteristics here. Esther is thrilled with the R.E. program, which has already made positive contributions to her son Tyler’s well-being (he sings the "love arch" song at home!). Esther is qualified as an ASL interpreter, and would be willing to help provide that service in our church.

Michelle and Nacho Cordova live in the northeast part of town. They have two children: Phoenix, age 4 and Terra, 9 months. Michelle is a homemaker, and Nacho is a professor of rhetoric and media at Willamette. Nacho is originally from Puerto Rico and met Michelle in Maryland. Originally Catholic, they are enjoying reading and studying about the Unitarian Universalist principles and philosophy. They like the sense of community they have experienced in our congregation, and plan to make Religious Education a priority for their children. Nacho is particularly interested in meditation, while Michelle has suggested that a Covenant Group with a focus on "Mothers" would hold great interest for her.

Annette Vasseur and Ed Crawford live in northeast Salem, where they care for and enjoy one horse, one dog, and eleven cats! Ed works for Business Connections, and Annette works for Affordable Framing. Annette is also attending massage therapy school. They both have strong interests in community service and have been volunteers for the Salem Wildlife Rescue. Ed and Annette learned about our church from one of our choir members, Jill Baker. Once they visited, they loved the friendliness, the commitment to community, and the sermons!

Elissa and Isaac Szymanczyk decided to visit our church after reading an article in the newspaper about the forum on the Iraq war, and being impressed by the comments of our minister during that forum. They liked what they heard, and decided to make the Unitarian Universalist Congregation their home church. Their children, Nigel (two years old) and Lily (six), are already acquainted with the R.E. program. Living in south Salem, Elissa is at home with the children while Isaac works as a writer and musician.

Stephen and Darlene Henderson have one son, William, thirteen. They live in south Salem, where Stephen works as a "home dad." Darlene is a registered nurse with Salem Hospital, and also a major in the National Guard Reserve. Stephen is a basketball coach for his son’s team, and the whole family enjoys hiking and backpacking. They became interested in Unitarian Universalism when a cousin from Seattle recommended they begin attending church. After experiencing more traditional approaches, they decided to try our church, and found it a good match for their perspectives. Stephen is interested in helping with grounds and building maintenance.

Last week Kay Young was the honoree at a surprise party celebrating her 80^th birthday. She evidenced no prior knowledge of the plans which brought together many friends from several venues in her life and was altogether pleased with the event. Daughter Jane Manning arranged to extend the surprise to include her sister, Sally, who flew west from Michigan and stayed on for another week in Salem. Congratulations, Kay!

Welcome home to Dani Adams from the winter’s stay in a village on the southern tip of the Mexican State of Baja Sur.

Molly O’Dea’s impending surgery for the removal of her cancerous esophagus will occur this Friday, April 16, at Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital. She expects to remain in the hospital for approximately ten days; her complete hospital address, including room number, will be available at the church office by early next week. In the interim, she can receive mail addressed to OHSU Hospital, Sam Jackson Blvd., Portland.

Jane Fields’ knee replacement surgery was postponed and by press time the new date is unknown. As soon as Jane enters Salem Hospital, contact information will be available in the church office.

Irene Jones’ son and daughter-in-law from North Carolina visited her last week. Following their departure Irene became quite ill and was hospitalized in Salem for several days but is now home again.

Jo Bateman’s family will celebrate a series of events in the next two weeks. Jo’s sister Alice Hill and her nephew and his wife, Bryan and Sue Hill, will fly from Massachusetts next week. Together, they will vacation both in San Francisco and at the Oregon coast.

A fall, resulting in a broken arm for Carol Ferron, led to the cancellation of an intended vacation in the Southwest for Carol and Tom.

News of the UUCS Community solicits input from you! Please call or e-mail me!