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March
2002
The
Clarion deadline coincides with the monthly
Friendship Potluck Luncheons on the third Sunday
of the month. Submissions can be in writing, on
disk, faxed (773-5018) or e-mail at newsletter@uugreenfield.org.
Past
issues of The Clarion can be found by clicking here.
March
2002 Clarion
Headlines:
Message
from Rev. Jonathan Rehmus
The state judges’ request that court employees work 8 unpaid days illustrates deflation. Even if some don’t feel directly affected, deflation is worth a warning.
For our culture, the metaphor for deflation might be an obese person shedding pounds and the lifestyle that created
them. The problem is, when a society is organized on an unequal basis, that shedding is unequal. In our society, for example, we have set ourselves up such that deflation pressures wage earners, small business owners (who have to price downward to chase thinning wages), and others depending on spare dollars, such as the poor. Given the advantage are those with hard assets: cash, land, basic/precious commodities, or guaranteed income (like the judges). Farmers can often hold their own; landlord-tenant crises increase. Ronald Reagan used to say a rising tide lifts all boats. When it falls, some boats have more power to stay afloat.
As a minister, I raise this for three reasons. One, deflation is worth premeditating with a sense that we need not feel alone. Suffering is increasing on an unjust basis (e.g. the judges, who are allowing self-exemption from their own request; also Enron), and our community is feeling both the sting and the outrage. Two, natural responses to deflation are often increased mindfulness, social change, and finding more joy in life itself. Basic UU spiritual values! I raise these things, because we will genuinely pull through this if we pull (and tighten belts) equitably and together. Peace
-
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Newcomers’
Circle
Sunday, March 3 following the service
If you are a newcomer and getting acquainted with All Souls, come join minister Jon Rehmus and other members for a discussion and question/answer period during coffee hour. This is a great chance to learn about our church and Unitarian Universalism as well as meet other newcomers.
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The Mystic Path:
A 3-Session Evening Course
Wednesdays, March 13, 20, and 27
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM (includes dinner)
Cost: $15
This course will offer exposure to mystical practices, traditions, and contemplations. Each session will begin with a shared, light meal, follow with an exercise, and finish with discussion. This is not a study/reading group but will involve activities such as prayer & meditation, chanting, and body movement. Advanced registration is appreciated; all are welcome. No mystical experience is either required or guaranteed! The course will be led by Jon Rehmus and will meet in the minister’s study.
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April Trip to New York City
Saturday, April 27
So far, 6 people have expressed interest in traveling to Manhattan for a day of memorialization, contemplation, and enjoyments. Leaving very early from Greenfield, the itinerary will include observances at Battery Park
— under the gaze of Liberty — and the September attack site. Opportunities for fellowship with city UUs are still being confirmed, and the afternoon will be given over to museums, shopping, etc. We will arrive back in Greenfield in the mid-to late evening. Please leave word with Diane Dix or me by February 15th if you would still like to go. Plan on paying a share of transportation and parking and feel free to approach me with questions.
—Jon Rehmus
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A Few Words Regarding
the
Friendship Potluck Luncheons
Please remember that the third Sunday of each month is set aside for the Friendship Potluck Luncheon. Everyone is encouraged to bring food to share and to try, if possible, to double the recipe. Each month, a committee takes the responsibility of organizing the event, but each committee has only a few members so we should all do our share to help. Coordinating the lunch means setting up the tables, putting out the food, and helping to clean up afterwards. This is a community meal and should be a community effort. There is always room for more help during these luncheons.
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Religious
Education
I Feel the Love When
by the children of the Sunshine Room
I feel the love when you tuck me in.
I feel the love when you take care of me just right.
I feel the love when you work so hard to put a roof over my head.
I feel the love when I don’t feel good and you let me share your bed.
I feel the love when my pet licks my face.
I feel the love when we play and I laugh all over the place
I feel the love when you read to me at night.
I feel the love when you keep me in sight.
RE:
R.E.
(Notes from the DRE)
"The souls of youth are more important than church furniture." I read that on a sign in the parish hall of the UU society in Northampton. I think we would all agree with that. When you come right down to it, the souls of youth are more important than most things we spend our money, time, and energy on. Yet I think we, as a congregation, need to take a good look at what we are doing to nurture and nourish the souls of our young people. And I think we need to ask ourselves if we are, indeed, doing enough.
Spiritually under-nourished young people are everywhere. If you'd like to meet some, just pick up a newspaper, talk to your local high school principal or join me on a Restorative Probation Board. You might be
appalled—and frightened—by the sheer number of spiritually starving young people in our community.
These are teens and young adults who don't know right from wrong. They may lack the ability to empathize because they fail to recognize the interconnectedness of every living being. They cannot respect others because they have lost respect for themselves. They have no goals because they have never been taught how to dream. They are truly lost souls.
Young people like this need and deserve our help. And I know that many of us do our part by volunteering, mentoring and teaching. But I think we also need to commit to preventing the spiritual under-nourishment of children. We can do this by creating an RE Program that is equipped to enrich the souls of our youth. We can start by asking ourselves what we want our RE Program to accomplish. If what we want is to simply keep our children safe and occupied while the adults nurture their spirits upstairs, then we are doing enough. But if we expect our RE Program to help our youth discover their souls and to enrich their spiritual lives, then I think we need to do more.
As I plan for the future of our RE Program, I need to know how others feel about this issue. I hope that many of you will share your thoughts and feelings with me.
In Peace & Hope -
Eve
Mark Your
Calendars
Mid-Winter Clean-Up and Pot-Luck Lunch will be held on Saturday, March 2 10:00
AM - 2:00 PM. We'll clean toys and equipment, organize supplies and work on a few special projects that we never seem to get around to. Bring the whole family and a lunch dish to share. There will be activities for the kids as well. If you can't teach or serve on the RE committee, here's your chance to support the RE Program.
Looking for: Carpet squares for children and teachers to sit on during our Gatherings. Please see Eve if you have a carpet connection or live near the Dakor Center (they have offered to donate some but this requires checking in with them frequently).
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All Souls Seder Friday, March 29
The traditional Passover meal will be a potluck and begin at 5 p.m. Eve Brown-Waite and Kirsten Johl are the coordinators. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Parish Hall. Please sign your name, number of people attending, and your phone number. Eve or Kirsten will phone you and ask you to bring a specific
type of food. There will likely be a nominal cost for some of the supplies. This is happening on the Fifth Friday, usually designated as a
“Family Fun Night”. Therefore, the mood of the evening is intended to be light and fun. All are invited.
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Verdict
In Memphis:
Who Slew the Dreamer?
7:00 PM, March 15, 2002, All Souls Church
Reverend Mike Clark served as media liaison for the family of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the
recent successful civil trial in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a student of the King case for more than thirty years. He has done research, presented papers at national conferences and was part of efforts to win a new trial for James Earl Ray.
As a member of the plaintiff's team in Memphis, Clark was afforded an opportunity to assess the evidence presented and evaluate the jury's verdict of a conspiracy in the death of Dr. King. Reverend Clark will discuss the evidence presented at the trial and its implications for our national life.
This event is co-sponsored by Discrimination Prevention Project, European Dissent, Franklin County Interfaith Council, and the All Souls Church Social Action Committee.
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Elements of Magic
Join us for a weekend exploring the fundamentals of creating magical workings in your life. This class will lay the foundation for co-creating Earth centered ceremony and rituals in the Reclaiming tradition. The Reclaiming tradition, founded by Starhawk and friends during the 1970's, draws on a variety of
traditions and practices, including magical political activism as an important aspect of walking a spiritual path.
Each session will focus on a different element. We will come to intimately know our connections to Earth, Air, Fire and Water and the accompanying magical correspondences.
The weekend culminates in a celebration of the 5th sacred element, the Center, that we will craft together practicing the skills we have learned. Activities will include ecstatic singing, chanting, dancing, art, divination, journaling, guided meditation and trance work and more.
It will be held from Friday evening,
March 29 through Sunday afternoon, March 31 in a sunny, quiet meditative space in Greenfield, MA. This class is for both men and women.
Local teachers Dorothy McIver and Bonnie Wodin have been facilitating ceremonies and spiritual growth trainings for the past several years and will be joined by Burlington, Vt., Reclaiming
teacher Angela Magara. Cost for the weekend is a sliding scale from $75-$125.
For more information and
to register call: Dorothy at 413-772-3743 or Bonnie at 413-337-5529 (after
March 11)
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International Women's Day Dinner!
Friday March 8, 5:30 PM
Following a rally on the Greenfield Common, enjoy a catered
Indian/Vegetarian meal (or bring your favorite ethnic dish) at All Souls
Church.
For dinner reservations mail a check, $10-$4 sliding scale to Traprock Peace Center,
103A Keets Rd, Deerfield, MA 01342.
Ellen Klegg leads improvisational music. International dance & spoken words follow. Celebrate the lives and hopes of women in Franklin County. Please invite international neighbors. For more info. Call Leela
Whitcomb-Hewitt at 413-773-5188.
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Mid-Week Music Returns
For Spring Series
Each Wednesday, 12:15 - 12:45 PM. Admission is Free.
(Donations appreciated)
March 20 - Mohawk Regional High School Dixieland jazz Band, directed by Nick Waynelovich
March 27 - Peter Blanchette, Arch Guitar
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Bowl For Kid’s
Sake
Saturday, March 23, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Mark and Annette Wadleigh of the Bernardston UU Church are Board members of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, which is sponsoring a bowling event at the French King Entertainment Center in Erving on March 23. They are hoping to find a team or sponsors from among the members of All Souls Church. Please check out the posters on the community bulletin board in the downstairs entry or get more information about this event or pledge forms in the church office.
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An Overview of the Jubilee
World Workshop
During the weekend of February 8-10 fourteen members of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church attended a Jubilee World Anti-Racism workshop at the Unitarian Society of Northampton. They were joined by 60 other UUs from the UU Societies of Northampton, Amherst and Winchendon.
It was a day full of informative interchange between the UUA workshop leaders and participants, as well as among the participants from the various congregations. Many of us came away more keenly aware that anti-racism work is not simply integrating people of color into our congregation as much as it is expanding our awareness of white privilege and how it has shaped our lives.
The weekend culminated with the participants dividing into action groups for each of the different congregations. The goal of each action group is to come up with ideas and/or to create venues within each congregation to continue the efforts of the anti-racism workshop.
The All Souls participants subdivided further into four action groups to focus their attention into four different areas: (1) Further integration of multi-culturalism into already existing UUA curriculum; (2) Building bridges to, and enhancing our knowledge of, newer congregations in the Greenfield area (Spanish Evangelical, African-American, Moldavian, Ukrainian and Korean); (3) Increasing diversity of our broader worship environment; and (4) creation of a Jubilee Working Group to broaden and deepen All Souls congregational commitment to anti-racism.
The contact people for each group are: Eve Brown-Waite, R.E. Curriculum; Leigh Youngblood, Church & Community Outreach; Winnie Ganshaw, Worship Environment; and Molly Chambers, Jubilee Working Group.
Many thanks to the Social Action Committee under the leadership of Mark Gregory for its support of the anti-racism film festival and the Jubilee Workshop. We look forward to continuing support from the congregation as we seek to put our UU faith into action.
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Wheel of Life
Long-time member Sally Garland extends her appreciation to all those who have been visiting and supporting her during her stay at the Buckley Nursing Home. She is recovering from a brain lesion and awaits further testing and treatment.
Val Axton is home, slowly recovering from a fall down the
stairs a few weeks ago that fractured her sternum.
Jon Rehmus went to California to attend the memorial service for his grandmother. From there he went on to Florida to join
Karen and the girls for a brief vacation.
All Souls donated $52 for the Franklin County Community Meals Program from a Souper Bowl Sunday collection on February.
Eve Brown-Waite has entered two new fields in the last month
(aside from pig-kissing). She has begun classes toward becoming a minister and is also substitute announcer for Bob Pickett on WFCR.
David Bigda is golfing on Jekyll Island in Georgia for a couple weeks.
The spring tag sale is April 27. Many volunteers will be needed. If you have items to donate and would like to bring them early, they can be stored in the choir loft. Don’t forget to save your bags.
Now is the time to donate spring clothing to the Franklin Area Survival Center. Items may be left in the basket in the front hall. Food is always needed. Volunteers are always needed at the center. If you can volunteer some time, see
Irmarie.
By the time you receive this, the Guest At Your Table boxes will have been distributed. They
should be returned on Easter Sunday.
Sky Dix will be attending the YRUU Social Justice Conference March 14
- 18. Every year UU youth from all over the US and Canada come together to learn about grassroots organizing and connect with
others who are putting their faith into action.
Several members of our community are either
under or unemployed at this time. If you have any leads please contact them directly:
Russ Pirkot is a state-licensed social worker but has not worked since December, Most recently, he had worked at the Anchorage Nursing Home in Shelburne. He also has had experience working in a homeless shelter and with children and adults in other settings. He is particularly interested in working to stop domestic violence and to promote non-abusive relationships.
Vanessa Bliss is new to Greenfield and All Souls from Oxford, Mississippi, where she worked as an office assistant for the Mid-South District Office of the UUA, an organizer for the Mississippi Greens, coordinator for the Mississippi Nader/LaDuke campaign, and coordinator of a public art project commemorating the Civil Rights Movement on the University of Mississippi campus. Soon, she'll have her M.A. in Southern Studies. She’s looking for work in social justice organizations, and also co-ops and collectives.
Winnie Ganshaw is seeking an administrator/outreach position in the non-profit arena. She has a background in hospice/healthcare, education and the
environment/advocacy.
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