|
June
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.
June
2002 Clarion
Headlines:
Message
from Rev. Jonathan Rehmus
If I accept you, and you me,
If we extend gratitude jointly, and gently,
If with safety and comfort, I feel the touch and breath of your life,
 … and you mine …
Then we walk hand in hand with what is divine and human.
Jonathan Rehmus
(Top
of Page)
Annual End-of-the-year
Picnic
Sunday June 23
Buckland Recreation Area
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
The picnic will be held at the Buckland Recreation Area in Buckland. From Route 2 take 112, pass the Mohawk Trail Regional High School on the right and the recreation area is a short distance beyond, on the same side of the road. Drive all the way to the end of the access road to the pavilion. If you need more detailed directions, ask Irmarie or Susan Garfield-Wright.
Please bring salads and desserts to share. The church will provide beverages and there will be charcoal all set if you want to take your own things to barbeque. This is a lovely, private spot, with plenty of room to play games or just enjoy the setting.
(Top
of Page)
RE: R.E. (notes from the DRE)
Most of you already know that I have been struggling
with my health for the past month or so. Some of you know that I've been under the weather lately.
My thyroid problem and the medication that I am on have left me feeling pretty awful at times. But there's a gift in everything. And for me, the gift in this lousy situation is that I'm learning how to let go and slow down. Here are some of the things I've learned:
. |
 Dust bunnies will multiply under the bed, but they don't eat much.- In a pinch, ice cream can be a perfectly acceptable supper.
- If you don't answer the phone, eventually it will stop ringing.
- You are much more likely to get help if you ask for it.
- When all else fails - blast the stereo and dance with the kids.
- A good friend and an Oreo cookie make everything better.
- Sometimes you have to trust the universe to wrap her arms around you and hold you up.
Blessings to all of you who have helped me learn these lessons and to those of you who are struggling with your own lessons.
In Peace and Hope
—
Eve
|
Notes
From R.E.
The children from Religious Education participated in the annual fundraiser at the May Day festival in Montague Center. They made over $190 selling flower crowns and refreshments and Cynthia Bluh threw in a few dollars to make an even $200 to send to our Partner Church in Romania.
The children also collected over $80 with the Guest at Your Table boxes for UU Church World Service.
The CBD Youth who were at All Souls for the conference put in a hard morning’s work at Wissatinewag helping to turn the soil in a new Native American garden and erecting a fence around it. Howard Clark, caretaker of the site, expressed his gratitude for the spirited cooperation of the youth. He said they greatly helped to advance the project and that without their help there would only be one small garden existing this summer.
(Top
of Page)
All Souls Currency: You Have a Vote!
…or one coming to you.The ad-hoc All Souls Currency Project Committee (composed of Eve Brown-Waite and Jon Rehmus) has postponed until Fall the elections to change the faces on the coinage. This delay will allow more time for education about the 19 nominees and more time for you to agitate. Demand timely and proper elections! “We affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in society at large.”
— UUA Principles.
(Top
of Page)
The Nature Spirit: Birdwatching
Sunday, June 2, 7:00 a.m.; Meet at the Buchanan's
Led by veteran birdwatchers Nancy & Bill Buchanan, our group will explore the habitat niches in and around the Greenfield River Park. Last year we saw nearly 2 dozen species on a gorgeous morning walk! Dress for the weather and call if it appears too inclement. Bring binoculars if you have them, though a few extra pairs will be on hand.
Please call for directions.
(Top
of Page)
Summer Activities?
Please be mindful of the Clarion deadline of June 20 and that this will cover both July and August. If you have an idea for an activity for the summer while the church suspends regular Sunday services, check in with Jon or Diane. In the past, church members have coordinated informal summer services. Is there a person or group of people interested in taking this on for this summer?
(Top
of Page)
Annual Reports
The Annual Reports of all committees are due the first week of June. Please be sure to get them to Diane Dix on time so they can be part of the packet handed out before Annual Meeting.
(Top
of Page)
Ferry Beach Offering Week-end Getaways
Take the “Downeaster,” Amtrak’s new streamlined train to Maine. Spend two days and two nights (Friday dinner through lunch on Sunday) at Ferry Beach in Saco, Maine.
They offer free shuttle service from the train station in Saco, dorm rooms, and all meals.
All-inclusive Package Rates: Adults — 2 days - $125, Teens
— 2 days - $110, Youth — 2 days, $75. Two week-ends are available:
Friday, June 28 - Sunday, June 30 or Friday, August 23 - Sunday, August 25.
Use the Amtrak address: http://www.amtrak.com
to purchase your own seats. The train has a history of selling out. Then call Nan at 207-284-8612 to reserve your special weekend getaway at Ferry Beach. Their website is
www.ferrybeach.org
where you can read more information about the week-end and other events this summer.
(Top
of Page)
UU Church in Barnstable
Offering
Bed and Breakfast Lodging
Come to beautiful Cape Cod! Stay in private UU homes close to beaches, historical places, golf courses, bicycle trails! Members of the Unitarian church of Barnstable provide Bed & Breakfast facilities over a wide area of the
Capel All proceeds benefit the church. Rates $80 per night, single or double occupancy. Reservations one week in advance preferred. For more information call 508-362-6381 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am - Noon, or E-mail
barnstableuu@geoserve.org.
(Top
of Page)
UU General
Assembly
Quebec City, Quebec
June 20 - 24
Registration forms and more complete information are available in the church office. And if you’re feeling disappointed that you can’t make it this year — focus on 2003, when GA will be held in Boston!
(Top
of Page)
A Symposium on Spirituality
and the Ecological Crisis
June 15,
2000
First Congregational Church, Ashfield
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
This will take place at the First Congregational Church in Ashfield, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, with three major addresses in the morning and seven workshops in the afternoon, followed by a
plenary session. Workshops will focus on ecological thought in a variety of religious traditions, local practices for preserving the earth, “earth literacy’ in a changing world, educational methods for integrating environmental studies in the curriculum, and writing poetry from the natural world. The symposium fee of $20 includes a box lunch. For more information call Preston or Ann Browning 628-4484 or 628-3276 or e-mail
browning@wellspringhiuse.net.
Wheel of Life
The tag sale at the end of April earned $874 for the church.
Sallee Garland is pleased to be able to drive again and is recovering from her stroke. It was wonderful to see Sallee play her flute with the Four Seasons Chamber Ensemble when they performed for
Mid-Week Music on May 22.
Isabel Cole attended the Flower Communion after an absence from Sunday services due to a fall.
Jerry Noble, who was playing with Bob Sparkman that day, lit a candle for Isabel and gave tribute to the Coles for introducing him and Bob to each other.
Leah Garfield-Wright received one of the Interfaith Council’s “Peacemaker Awards,” awarded to area students who initiate efforts or who have shown skills in peacemaking and reconciliation processes.
Andrew Baker qualified as a clean-elections candidate for state representative by gathering the necessary signatures and $5 donations.
Eve Brown-Waite was accepted to Meadeville-Lombard UU Divinity School for their M.Div. program. This will begin with a January intensive next year, and we are pleased she can combine her calling with continued service as our Director of Religious Education! This is a modified residency program which will require her presence on campus for only one month out of the year.
Trystan Dean greets her friends at All Souls and is now managing the nursery at the High Street Farmer’s Cooperative.
Harlin and Jim Glovacki joined Barbara Weeks and
Jon Rehmus in visiting New York City in May. A memorial was read at Ground Zero and a meaningful, enjoyable day was spent touring the city separately and together.
Friend to many in the community, Wally Nelson of Woolman Hill died on Thursday, May 23. We extend our love and support to his wife
Juanita and to family and friends. Cards or other appreciation can be sent c/o Eveline MacDougall, P.O. Box 223, Greenfield, MA 01302.
Marjorie Winfrey, (daughter of Lynn Benander and step-daughter of
Andrew Baker) graduated from Columbia University this May with a B.A. in Russian Area Studies. She was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship and willbe studying language policy in Kazakhstan for a year, beginning in September. Although she manages an asthma condition, Margie also competed successfully for three years on the Columbia women's varsity crew team, fitting in daily 5:00 am workouts on the Harlem River with her studies! Margie will be in Shelburne Falls over the
summer, sleeping late.
Marjorie's older sister Maya Winfrey graduated from Macalester College last spring with a B.A. in fine arts, after taking a year off to recover from a serious car accident. She spent the past year working for the New Haven Arts Festival and is moving to Brooklyn this summer to pursue her vocation in the arts.
Gardner Cummings of Southampton, grandson of
Jean and Stanley Cummings and Irmarie and
Brud Jones, graduated May 18 from Skidmore
College. He has been accepted at Clarkson University to earn an MBA. Gardner’s parents are
Meg and Bruce Cummings, who met when they were in the Young People’s Group at All Souls. Gardner’s sister,
Jayna, will be a freshman at Skidmore next fall. She graduated from Hampshire Regional High School.
Congratulations to Christina Grinnell and
Max Johl who were elected by their peers to be the CBD/YAC Worship Coordinators for the coming year. This is a position
Sky Dix held two years ago. Sky has been invited to be one of the planners of the first ever Young Adult Week-end at Ferry Beach this summer. It is hoped that the event will be successful enough that in ensuing years there will be full-week programs for young adults from the ages of 18 - 35.
Jon Rehmus and many others in the wider community were seen on national television recently.
An Act of Conscience, a documentary which covered the events surrounding the confiscation of the Colrain home of war tax refusers Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner was shown repeatedly last month on the Sundance Channel.
(Top
of Page)
Coffee
and Soul Presents
Laura Wetzler
Saturday June 15, 2002
ASCAP Award-winning singer-songwriter Laura
Wetzler tours in
over 150 concerts and lectures each year, singing
critically-acclaimed Contemporary Folk/Americana originals,
World Jewish Roots Music in Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino(Judeo-Spanish)
and the great classics of American songwriting.
"Laura is one of the very best…" — Pete Seeger
Mid-Week
Music Line-up for June
June
5 — Michael Nix, classical
guitar
June
12 — Chris Devine,
multi-instrumentalist
June
19 — Mark Fraser, cello
& Sooka Wang, piano
(Top
of Page)
|
