If the above describes your present condition or you simply wish to get better acquainted with other members and friends of the All Souls community, be sure to mark your calendar for March 8. Then list your name and phone number on the Circle Dinner flyer posted on the Activities Bulletin Board (NW wall of downstairs Parish Hall). If you have questions about how this works, please call Margo Campbell.

We hope you can join us for this energizing experience. All ages are invited. Ellen is a wonderful facilitator who finds rhythms to satisfy both experienced and novice drummers. $10, young children free. Pre-registration is appreciated. Bring your own drums and rhythm instruments, if possible, and Ellen also brings extra drums to share.

Two shows are coming this month. The Stone Coyotes will return on February 8 at 7:30 p.m. This is an upstairs show and our profit will be given to Ways and Means toward the goal set at Annual Meeting.

The following Saturday will be Annie Raines and Paul Rishell, a blues duo from the Boston area. This will be downstairs and preceded by a full hour of open mic performances.

The Rani Arbo/Brooks Williams was a huge success and our highest turnout to date: 213 people attended. It was a wonderful night. We enjoyed great music and working with the devoted group of volunteers who make these performances happen every month.

We encountered one unexpected problem that night. Coffee & Soul is a separate and distinct program of the church. We have a separate banking account, which is a church account, separate from the general fund so that can more accurately keep records of expenses, profits, and losses. Our supplies, also, are separate from regular church supplies. We buy our own coffee, tea, stirrers, votives, etc. and keep them in a cabinet, marked Coffee & Soul, in the kitchen. Several times we have found things missing from that cabinet.

In December, after our show, we had nearly two full cases of 16 ounce Poland Springs bottled water left which we were counting on having for our January show. They were stacked on the floor of the storeroom under a paper with Coffee & Soul written on it. One entire case was gone when we arrived on January 19 to set up and no one who was there that night had the time, inclination, or BJ's membership card to go out and replace it. We ran out of water to sell that night. We feel that our loss was significant: we purchased the water with our money AND lost the potential profit, $1 a bottle.

We know this wasn't done maliciously, but would appreciate it if our supplies are not touched.

Thank you for your support.

Purpose of Group: Increase our familiarity with non-white peoples (churches) in our community by visiting churches.
Beginning and Ending Dates: June - August 2002
Contact Person: Leigh Youngblood 772-3116

Overview:
Greenfield was nearly an all-white town until very recently. Recent "newcomer" groups are not entirely welcomed and most of us are ignorant of their communities and churches. We propose summer visits to broaden our awareness and to begin bridge-building wit churches, including Spanish evangelical, black, Moldavian, Ukrainian and Korean.

The Board of Trustees meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the church. The Board is your representative governing body; contact us if you have nay concerns. Here is a brief summary of major items from our January meeting.

1. From the Treasurer's Report, a familiar refrain, individual pledges through the end of December are slightly behind; approximately $1.5k on the year. Forever the optimist, the Treasurer expects that recently issued quarterly pledge statements will begin to close the gap. In the investment area, Linc Hirst reports a quarterly gain as of December 31st of approximately $20k to the value of the endowment principle. Dividend returns are almost $7k versus a budget goal of $13k. In summary, Linc said, "This may be a reverse of the bleeding. . . and [perhaps the beginning] of a trend toward more favorable market conditions."

2. "The Site Survey and Condition Report," March 2002 by Stained Glass Resources, Inc., Hampden, MA, (They completed the recent restoration to the Methodist Church windows.) was the main item. Tom Hill moderated, and the attendance was augmented by nine other interested members who also participated. The report identified a total of seven windows in need of immediate repair: five in the sanctuary at $10.2k; one side window on Hope Street at $4.9k; and the Rose Window at $43k. The grand total is $58.2k (dollar amounts rounded). Tom Hill recommended we proceed with the restoration. No serious objection was voiced. The situation appears to be, as one member said, "You've got to do what you've got to do." The Board will take up the issue again at the March meeting.

3. Some of the following are already on the table for February: What will be the extent of church participation in the celebration of the 250th Greenfield Anniversary? Consider that the church has been a significant community institution for more than 150 years. Also, The Religious Education Task Force Report is due.

4. Keep in mind that General Assembly is scheduled for June in Boston which should encourage attendance.

David Bigda, Chair of the Board of Trustees

Have you ever wanted to read some of the great writings of our UU forebears, such as Channing, Emerson, Parker, or Ballou? Have you wondered what bearing these great thinkers have on our modern day practice of UU'ism? If so, then have we got the class for you!!! Minister Intern Manish Mishra will be offering a class on UU Spirituality starting in mid-March. This class will look at and discuss selections from some of the great, historical UU thinkers of our movement. We will share our thoughts on the meaning of these great writings and sermons, and discuss what these UU thinkers might contribute our our modern day understanding of what it means to be a spiritually grounded UU. Our first class session will be Sunday, March 16th at 9am, and continue thereafter on a weekly basis through May. If you are interested in attending this course, or have questions, please write to Manish by email at: MMishra@aol.com.

Members of Hope Church in Amherst will be meeting in the Parish Hall on February 21 and March 7 with members and friends of All Souls Church for a conversation about the Hope Church programs in dealing with racism. This will be a potluck dinner, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call Molly Chambers for more information.

With Eve's absence in January, I've been helping coordinate the RE programs these past few weeks. This is my first time being an RE coordinator, and I must say that I'm already very grateful for all the willing folks who provide their time and energy to our church's children and youth. Thank you for the support you've lent me this past month, and for your ongoing commitment to our next generation of UUs!

As I reflect on my experiences this month, I'm finding that certain cliches about our RE programs and kids seem to be based in fact. It's a well known sound bite that UU kids are amongst the smartest kids in the U.S. (in terms of SAT scores, etc etc.) -- I've certainly been wowed this month by how articulate and insightful many of our church's children and youth are. Well ahead of their peers, I'm certain. We UUs are also known for our commitment to diversity, and I'm pleased that this was the main theme of our programming this past month. Finally, I know many religious educators speak about what a privilege it is to work with our UU children and youth. I must say that I've also certainly felt that way. Those of you that are parents clearly work very hard during your work weeks. Then, during your precious, uninterrupted weekend time with your families you entrust your kids and teenagers to us for several hours each Sunday. It has been a trust that I have felt and witnessed this month, and one that I been honored to bear.

As we think ahead to our children getting older, I'd like to use this opportunity to highlight for you all the UUA's "Mind the Gap" campaign. The Unitarian Universalist movement has one of the highest "gap" rates in membership of college-aged young adults and young professionals. (Nationwide, we typically have very low membership numbers reflecting this demographic group; our church seems to follow this national trend.) What this means very practically is that we UUs tend to do a great job with our kids and high school-aged teenagers, but that once our kids ship off to college they tend to stop attending UU churches, they feel very disconnected from the movement, and unsupported by their former home churches. Many of these young adults leave the UU movement altogether; some return after a hiatus of 5-10 years, typically after they are married/partnered and have kids.

There are many practical reasons for this reality. College-aged UUs are not typically "pledging units" so many churches feel less compelled to reach out to them, even when the church is centrally located near college campuses. Home churches tend to be uncertain how they can support their young adults who go to college hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away.

We are all so obviously putting in great effort to rear our kids and youth well, to help provide them religious grounding. Why are we, as a movement, then doing so poorly when it comes to staying connected with our college-aged UU sons and daughters? Can we survive and thrive as a religious movement if our churches nationwide are allowing an entire age group of UUs to drift away from the movement for no other ostensible reason than neglect? I don't think so. And while I don't have any immediate answers, I'm a firm believer that the first step to fixing a problem is understanding that a problem exists. If you weren't already aware of this issue, I'd urge you to think more deeply about it: these are our children and the future of our movement that are at stake. For those interested in reading more about the UUA's "Mind the Gap" campaign, please log onto "www.uua.org/sunday2002" for more information. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas on this topic.

In faith, Manish

The proceeds from our Mid-Week Music December programs were donated to the "Warm the Children" Fund, sponsored by The Recorder. They wrote: "Thank you for your generous gift of $375.00. It is only through the continued support of good friends like you that we are able to continue with our Warm the Children Campaign." Hopefully, with the help of your donation this 2002/2003 season, all requests for winter clothing can be filled. The value of your gift is beyond measure, and I hope it warms your heart to know you have helped deserving area children stay warm this winter. Thank you again for joining us with our Warm the Children effort at this time.

Sincerely, Jane A. Kane, Coordinator

Co-sponsored by the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence

and All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church, Greenfield

Facilitated by: Trainers from the UUA Jubilee Working Group for Anti-Racism

February 28-March 2, 2003 at All Souls UU Church, 399 Main Street, Greenfield

This interactive workshop is designed to help Unitarian-Universalist congregations and other faith groups dismantle racism by allowing participants to examine both personal and institutional racism, and by empowering them to develop a realistic plan that can move their congregations forward in working for racial justice. Developed by the UUA Jubilee Working Group for Anti-Racism, the weekend workshop will be facilitated by trainers from the working group.

SCHEDULE:
Friday Evening, 7:00 - 9:00 PM Welcome and Session I
Saturday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Session II (all day, includes lunch)
Sunday, 10:30 AM Sunday Worship Services held at both congregations

ABOUT THE TRAINERS:
Rev. Danielle Di Bona (lead trainer) is the Program Coordinator for Multi-Racial Family and People of Color Programs and Services of the UUA. She lives in Onset, MA, with her husband and three dogs (who often take her for walks). She is member of the Wampanoag Native American tribe. Ian White Maher, a current student at the Harvard Divinity School, is the former editor of Birthrights, a resource magazine for white anti-racists.

TWO WAYS TO REGISTER: 1. Call All Souls Church at 413-773-5018 or e-mail administrator@uugreenfield.org to receive a registration 2. Click on the Jubilee Workshop link (on the home page) of the website to download a PDF version of the registration form. Suggested donation (includes lunch and snacks) $15.00. Scholarships available. Childcare will be provided. Registration deadline is February 13th.

Questions? Call Molly Chambers

A happy event to report for this month is the arrival of the new daughter of Susan Schillmoeller and Robert Hazard. They have just returned from China with her. Her full name is Robin Morgan Yuanjie Hazard and she celebrated her first birthday on January 6. Congratulations to Robin and her new parents.

It would be helpful to know who in our community is attending General Assembly in Boston this summer. If we know who is interested in attending either some or all, we can pool that information to arrange carpooling or van rental if some are interested in attending all or part of the gathering, and sharing of rooms is also possible. Do you have friends or family who would offer hospitality to anyone? Please let Jon or Diane know and we will keep a list and share it when time gets closer. Reminder: Registrations re-open on March 1. Also, lodging reservations will open.

(Every month it is hoped that there will be an item of church history in The Clarion. Some of the long time members are meeting monthly to bring the history up to date. It has been quite sketchy since about 1940. Here is a contribution from Rev. Holly Bell.)

In January of 1956, Hugh (my husband) and I , with our two children Marc, 2+, and Peter, 6 months, moved to Greenfield, when Hugh was discharged from the United States Naval Reserve after fulfilling his enlistment for the Korean War. Our connection with All Souls Church was established shortly after we moved. We had been married in Amherst at the Unitarian Church there, as we had been active in a Unitarian college age group during our college years. We felt it was important to us and our children to be associated with a Unitarian church. By spring, we were legal members of All Souls.

Paul Harmon Chapman was then minister, and his wife, Violet, was the superintendent of the church school. By June 1956, Mr. Chapman had asked me if I would consider replacing Violet as superintendent of the church School. I agreed, and thus began my career of nearly fifteen years as superintendent, and then Director of Religious Education at All Souls.

There was a Religious Education Committee that met sporadically in the beginning. There must have been 50 or sixty children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Teens of high school age met on Sunday evenings with Craig and Isabelle Cole as their advisors. It was my responsibility to see that we had teachers for each group, and that there was a worship service for two groups each Sunday-kindergarten through third grade, and fourth through eighth grade. These were 20+ minutes in length.

The services were similar to the adult services except the readings, hymns, and talks were geared to the age group. Music was provided by various people: Dibby Falconer with her autoharp, Polly Plaisted with the piano were the mainstays. Sometimes a young person would play.

The other part of the hour program was spent in classrooms. Sometimes there were two groups meeting in one area until the downstairs was restructured basically to what we see today. For one year we had two sessions, with the older youth at 9:00 a.m. The younger ones came at 10:30 a.m. At that time we didn't believe that babies should be at church. There was no nursery. All of us hired baby sitters until our children were toilet trained and verbal.

We definitely needed more space for classrooms. Parents coming from a distance didn't like to make two trips, an early one for the older children, and a later one for the younger children. And then what were they going to do with the older children during the church service. Around 1960 we began thinking about how the downstairs space could be better utilized. An architect member of the church, Rudd Falconer, drew up a proposed plan for improving the use of the space.

Where the nursery now is, there had been a women's bathroom and coat rack. The flight of stairs was changed, making space for the room under the stairs. The enclosed shelving at the end of the present stairs was built. Two new bathrooms were added with fixtures low enough to be used by children except the very youngest ones.

The Parish Hall was divided up to make the main hall. An accordion type wall formed another room in the section of the main hall nearest to The Recorder's driveway. There was another accordion type wall separating the Women's Parlor from the main hall. These walls could be folded up to open up the entire space. This was when the indirect lighting was installed. The area where the counter is in the main hall and behind it, there had been a stage. When the stage was removed, the area was enclosed to make three rooms, a large room behind the counter, with smaller rooms on each side. The closet, where we now store chairs and some tables, was added at this time.