|
November
2003
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.
November
2003 Clarion
Headlines:
From
the Minister
Seeking
a prayer for a Thanksgiving gathering? These are
brief and have some nice elements. Peace —
Mother-Father-Spirit-God,
O thee of many names (thou art One):
Thank
you for the nurture and fellowship of this meal,for
the love we have with one another as neighbors.
We
remember the Earth and the workers of the Earth who
brought forth this bounty.
We
remember that power and joy lie with the people,
In
the name we hold sacred, Amen.
-----
Goddess
of the harvest, we welcome your spirit and are
grateful.
Thank
you for dancing the glory of the seasons,
Thank you for bringing the fruit of the Earth,
Thank you for these family and friends, that all can
be shared,
Blessed
be.
(Top
of Page)
Report
From the Board
Next
meeting date: Tuesday, November 11, 7 p.m., at the
church. Contact any Board member (listed on the back
of The Clarion) with your concerns or
suggestions. Here are some of the highlights from
our October meeting and other developments:
1.
Various reports were received. The Treasurer
expressed general satisfaction with the financial
condition of the church. The money flow into the
church from membership pledges was better than this
summer, which was a great help.
The
Property Committee has agreed with Smith &
Associates on a changeover of the outdoor locks and
the purchase of high security keys. This new
security is long overdue; and if any inconvenience
results, it should be worth it. Also, the committee
is attending to the water damage in the downstairs.
A contractor and the insurance company have been
contacted. With luck, we may get a reimbursement by
mid-November, and thereafter move into the real
repairs.
The
R.E. Task Force has begun to formulate the
membership to the Director of Religious Education
Council. The D.R.E. Council will act as supervisor
to the D.R.E. and in some ways be analogous to the
Committee on Ministry as it relates to the Minister.
As
for new business, the Board elected to join the
Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light, an
organization of the faith community dedicated to
reducing energy consumption and lowering operating
costs. Initially, our chief benefit will be a
comprehensive written energy audit of the church;
this should be useful since there are concerns about
the longevity and efficiency of the existing heating
system. Furthermore, all member households will be
eligible for a free energy audit at a later date.
2.
Other new business included the appointment of
trustee liaisons to the various standing committees:
Julia Ellingboe, Religious Education; Margo
Campbell, Finance Committee; Mark Gradijan, Mem
bership Committee; David Bigda, Property Committee;
Barbara Weeks, Music Committee; and Mary Ortiz,
Personnel Committee.
3.
Finally, a Board Retreat has been scheduled for
November 1 at the home of Gary and Susan Fentin in
Conway. Sarah Pirtle, a highly acclaimed
facilitator, will conduct the session. The principal
objective of the meeting will be personal
development of the art and science of finding
agreement on a common cause. In this instance,
anti-oppression shall be the vehicle of discussion.
Hopefully, the acquired skills could be applied to
other concerns such as spiritual development or even
children’s religious education.
David
Bigda
Chair of the Board of Trustees
(Top
of Page)
RE:
R.E. – Notes from the DRE
‘Keep
out’ ‘No trespassing’ ‘Do not enter’
I’m
afraid we have become a bit territorial. And I’m
not only talking about the way the U.S. government
behaves out there in the world. No, I’m talking
about downstairs in our Sunday School. It began with
one sign: A notice that only Youth members were
allowed to enter the Youth Room. I understand the
need for privacy and support the burgeoning autonomy
of our Youth. But then a similar sign cropped up on
the door of the Junior Youth room. And now Sierra
informed me that the Nature room children want a
sign of their own.
Now,
I think we have a problem. Living in community is
always a complicated dance. It’s a ballet between
giving and taking; a shuffle between private and
public; a boogie between me and you. And that
struggle becomes pretty evident when we compete for
limited space. Can I get my needs met without
stepping on your toes? Can you speak your mind
without hurting my feelings? Can we all let go of a
pet peeve here or there for the good of the
community?
Living
in community — like dancing — takes balance and
coordination, and every now and then, you risk
looking like a fool. But it’s worth the effort of
learning the steps and then practicing, practicing,
practicing. After all, this getting along in
community, isn’t that what life is really about?
We have to master the fine art of playing nicely
with others if we are to create and nurture
friendships, partnerships, marriages, unions,
families and social, political and business
alliances.
So
how about the Nature Room and their request for a
sign of their own? Maybe I should let them do it. I
can think of several good signs, as a matter of
fact. How about ‘Friends are always welcome’?
Or ‘Peace to all who enter here’. And
then there’s ‘Cead Mille Failte’; ‘Shalom’;
and ‘Karibu’. Or my favorite: ‘Enter,
Rejoice and Come In’.
Yeah,
that ought to fit the bill.
In
peace and hope, Eve
P.S.
Thanks
to the talented folks who worked tirelessly to
create another miraculous Enchanted Kingdom!
Elizabeth Bonney, Jana Cummings, Christine &
Rocky Perham, John & Alicia Walter, Christine
Bates, Martha Elliott and the Youth, the Junior
Youth, Greg Weeks, Ayla and Sue Booth-Daniels, Julia
Ellingboe, Brendan Kenny, and Jon Rehmus — THANK
YOU for creating magic, once again. We raised nearly
$500 to help support our church. And we had a great
time doing it!
(Top
of Page)
Wheel
of Life
Check
out page 11 in the new UU World Magazine.
This feature about Mid-Week Music at All Souls was
thanks to Irmarie Jones who sent a write-up to the
editor.
Congratulations
to Charlene Brown and Paul Gatker who became engaged
in PA on March 16, 2003. A June 19, 2004 wedding is
planned here at All Souls. Jon Rehmus will conduct
the ceremony. The couple currently reside in
Greenfield and NYC.
Dorothy
Harris, a long-time member of All Souls, left
Greenfield on the last day of October to return to a
home that she owns in Warren, PA. She is a strong
supporter of the church and was always interested in
what was going on. Dorothy was a close friend of Dee
Appley and Virginia Low. She will be missed. Her new
address is: 1812 Stonehill Rd., Warren PA, 16365.
Christine
Copeland has opened a yarn shop on Miles Street in
Greenfield.
Irmarie
Jones remembers Eleanor Bell, who died on September
24 at the age of 92; Eleanor signed the membership
book in 1930: "I first became acquainted with
Eleanor about ten years ago when she called me to
tell me she had some things for a tag sale…
‘Could you pick them up?’And that became a habit
from then on. She’d call and I’d go to her home
and ‘pick them up’ every time there was a tag
sale. She was such a cheerful person and always
seemed to look on the bright side of things. Even
last spring, she came to an occasional Mid-Week
Music program. By that time, I believe, someone
brought her, but not too many years before, when I
saw her thaere, I asked, ‘how did you get
here?" She was indignant. ‘I drove myself,’
she said with her hands on her hips and a then a big
laugh."
"Her
niece, Martha Stiles, said that after Eleanor fell
late last spring, even though she didn’t break the
hip, she seemed to go downhill after that. At her
memorial service at the church, relatives and
friends spoke about how much she seemed to love
life. I will miss her."
The
Charity Fund is now richer by $70, 520, discovered
in a fund that has not been active for years.
Cynthia Bluh invested it, with approval of the
Charity Fund Committee so that we are getting a
regular deposit of $300 every month. This means that
long after we are gone there will be that money
coming into the fund to help the needy people of
Greenfield.
The
Greenfield Cooperative Bank has donated $250 to the
Mid-Week Music Fund.
On
September 28 at the age of 92, All Souls member
Dorothy Rock Jorgensen died at the Anchorage Nursing
Home. Dorothy will be memorialized at All Souls by
family and friends Sunday afternoon, November 23
at 1:00 p.m. Dorothy was unknown to many in the
congregation, because she came from Virginia to live
with her Shelburne Falls family at a point of
decreasing mobility. Dorothy joined All Souls in
2000 partly to express her long-time commitment to
the UU movement; for example, Dorothy helped lead
the Unitarian initiative that helped desegregate the
Arlington, Virginia school system 50 years ago. With
her husband, Chris, she was worked on behalf of
worker and women’s equity issues during the New
Deal and then worked with him for many years
overseas. Dorothy served as vice-mayor of a city in
the 1940s and at another point met with Eleanor
Roosevelt at the Roosevelt’s Hyde Park home. An
interesting person and UU! Dorothy’s family warmly
invites those members of the All Souls community who
would like to honor her.
(Please
help keep the community informed of significant
events affecting our members. If you have any
information you would like included in Wheel of Life
please speak to Diane Dix.)
(Top
of Page)
The
All Souls Tag Sale will
be on Saturday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If
anyone can help and hasn’t told Irmarie Jones,
please contact her. If you have items to donate,
bring them to the church and leave them to the right
of the front vestibule, but please be careful not to
block the janitor’s closet. Or, they can be
brought in on Friday, December 5, between 9 a.m. and
2 p.m..
November
23 is going to be quite a day for the church.
It will be Survival Center Sunday in all
Greenfield churches, asking for non-perishable food
to be donated to the center. (see below)
Then,
that is our day at World Eye Book Shop, when
the church will receive 20 percent of total sales,
if you fill out the necessary form at the time of
your purchases. (There are three on a separate page.
Please share with friends and co-workers.)
At
1:00 PM, there will be the memorial service for
recently departed member Dorothy Jorgenson.
At
4:00 PM, the second "Music for All Souls"
concert will present Julia Bady, a good friend to
All Souls, and Jamie Goodnow in a four-handed piano
program.
Survival
Center Donations
The
Board of Directors of the Franklin Area Survival
Center would appreciate the cooperation of your
church for Survival Center Sunday on November 23.
The
Center is in need of a good supply of non-perishable
food, especially at this time of the year. In these
stressful economic times, the requests for food have
increased and many clients who left us have had to
return.
If
your church plans to participate, canned goods,
cereal, crackers, baking mixes and condiments could
be taken to the church. (Financial contributions, of
course, are always welcome.)
We
appreciate any help you can give us to help supply
food for the needy of Franklin County.
Sincerely,
Irmarie Jones, Chairman of the Survival Center Board
(Top
of Page)
November
Newcomer Activities
All
Souls Members to Welcome New Members & Newcomers
at Dinner. All Invited!
Won't
YOU ALL come to help the Membership and
Hospitality Committee welcome newcomers and relative
newcomers to our church community? We will host a
spaghetti supper Friday, November 14 at 6:00 p.m. in
the Parish Hall, and it will be our best opportunity
of the year to get better acquainted.
All
we ask is that those who join us notify Anne Hare or
Gloria Bean and bring a dessert or salad to share
plus an open and welcoming heart.
(Top
of Page)
New
Member Orientation/New Member Sunday
The
consideration that goes with commitment is
empowering as is having a voice and vote in the
mission and conduct of All Souls Church. However,
whether you are becoming a member of All Souls
Church or would simply enjoy some refresher, these
enjoyable programs are open to all. If you are
becoming a member, please RSVP by contacting
Susan Fentin of the Membership Committee (369-0001)
or minister Jon Rehmus (624-3025).
Session
1
Sunday,
November 2, 8:30 — 10:00 a.m. in the Minister’s
Study
This
session will involve sharing our personal journeys
to All Souls and Unitarian Universalism and an
overview of our church in terms of community,
program, governance, and facility. A light breakfast
will be served.
Session
2
Sunday,
November 9, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. in the Minister’s
Study
We
will examine the history of Unitarian Universalism,
current trends in the UU movement, and programs and
governance at the district/national level. Again,
light breakfast will be served.
Make-up
Session
Wednesday,
November 12, 6:00 — 7:30 p.m. in the Minister’s
Study
An
option for conflicts that arise and for those used
to rising later! A light supper will be served.
Sunday,
November 16, 10:15 a.m.: New Member Sunday
(Top
of Page)
Christmas
Tree
Is there a family who would like to put up the
Christmas tree before the first December service on
the 7th? Irmarie and Brud Jones had been
doing it for years; last year Sky Dix and a friend
put it up and Cassie and Anna Walker decorated it.
Irmarie will open the tower and explain how the tree
is assembled. As usual, it will be a mitten tree,
where mittens, gloves, hats and scarves can be left
as decorations and then will be divided between the
Greenfield Family Inn and the Franklin Area Survival
Center after Christmas. They are always so
appreciative.
New
Testament Series Continues
"New
Takes on the New Testament" continues as the
Sunday morning discussion series (note: no sessions
Sunday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 7). The group will meet in
the Chapman Room at 9:00 a.m. and is led by All
Souls minister Jon Rehmus and long-time UU Dan Tinen.
The November/December focus will be passages from
the Gospels of Luke, Matthew, Thomas, and John.
Bring a Bible, but no background in New Testament
study is required. Including part-timers and
drop-ins, all are welcome!
(Top
of Page)
"Articulating
Your UU Faith" Curriculum at noon Sundays
through November
Dan
Tinen will be teaching this course after church.
Each session begins at noon and goes to 1 p.m. All
are welcome to attend.
Annual
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
This
year’s interfaith service for the whole community
takes place Sunday, November 23 at 7:00 p.m. at
the Second Congregational Church (at town
common). The theme is "Who Is the
Stranger?" and focuses on the gratitude
we feel for others.
Ministry
Availability in November
I
will be away for a family gathering from Tuesday,
Nov. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 30, and back-up
coverage in case of emergency is still being
arranged at this publication. In all cases of
emergency when I have not been reached, please leave
a message with administrator Diane Dix at the church
phone, which is checked throughout holidays. A
message on my phone is also welcome in all cases.
Peace and blessings to all of us this holiday —
Jon Rehmus
(Top
of Page)
Last
Chance To Get Your Name in the Church Directory!!!
We
will be reissuing the church directory with new
entries, changes, etc. Please leave new information
with All Souls administrator Diane Dix as soon as
you can by phoning or e-mailing the church or
putting it in her office folder. Thanks! The new
directory will be published shortly after New Member
Sunday, November 16.
All
Souls Church History
(This
is part two of Jean Cummings story about the Union
Teas)
Here
we continue the history of the Union Teas sponsored
by the All Souls Women’s Alliance, that popular
annual affair which brought together the women from
the various churches of Greenfield. In the
mid-sixties the successful panel discussions were
followed mostly by individual speakers, starting in
1965 when Edna Sinclair, past president of National
Church Women United, was the speaker and, again as
in the past six years, Isabel Cole arranged for the
Madrigal Singers of Stoneleigh Burnham School to
entertain.
Leighton
Cheney, Director of projects at the Baldwinville
Youth Center, in 1975, spoke to 125 women of all
faiths attending the ecumenical event. In ’76
Joanne Potee of Petersham, character actress,
presented a dramatic program, a monologue,
"Mrs. Alcott Remembers". Jan Geroul,
flutist, provided musical selections.
Mary
Diamond of Easthampton spoke on special adoptions
and foster children at the 1977 meeting with Esther
Strong Holway, soloist, accompanied by Isabel Cole
and in 1979, Dario Politella, U. Mass Journalism
Teacher and probably better known as the long-term
president of the Deerfield Valley Art Association,
spoke on the topic "The Journalist As
Poet".
At
the last one of our Union Teas in 1980, our own
Henry Leland Clarke, Deerfield composer and student
of local history, spoke on "Music that changed
the Valley" You may remember that the Clarkes
left the Clarke Fund and an equal amount in the
Endowment Funds to the church in their wills. What a
great person to have culminated our many years of
such a successful program. Incidentally, Lucinda
Cole was Chairman and Monica Sharp introduced the
speaker.
These
Union Teas, which brought together women of all the
churches in Greenfield for exchanging their thoughts
and ideas about religion and the place religion
holds throughout the world, and with the chance to
talk and socialize, probably did more for
ecumenicalism than any other organization in town.
Certainly all other ecumenical activities must have
been either instigated or enhanced by these events.
Anywhere from 50 to 125 women from all the organized
churches in Greenfield convened at All Souls. once a
year. Gradually, as the years went by, more and more
church groups were added to the original protestant
churches. The Hebrew congregation, and finally the
Catholics and the Christian Scientists sent
delegates.
We
dressed up, wore hats at least through the
‘60’s, the role of churches was taken, a prayer
was given, speakers and panelists were introduced.
Following the formal program, tea was served with
the church silver service, white linen table
clothes, flowers, candles, delicious tea sandwiches
and cakes - and always two people poured.
Of
the living members of our church who were mentioned
in the various articles and from our memory as
having taken active part over the years were Isabel
Cole, Monica Sharpe, Ginny Short, Betty Hefner,
Holly Bell, Jean Cummings, Marion O’Meara, and
Marilyn Lee. If I have omitted anyone, please let me
know so the names can be added for the church
history.)
I
believe that All Souls Unitarian-Universalist Church
must have been the only church which could have
accomplished the successful melding of such diverse
religious groups with these events which continued
yearly for almost 75 years.
(Top
of Page)
World
Harmony Chorus, directed by Mary Kay Brass, is
giving a concert at All Souls Church on Friday,
November 21, at 7:30 p.m. More info in orders of
service.
The
Caring
Coordinator
for November is Anne Hare (773-8466)
November
15th Coffee & Soul Concert
The
Tarbox Ramblers will be coming to Coffee & Soul
on Saturday, November 15. Local legend John Sheldon
will be opening for them at 7:30 p.m. Tickets prices
are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, half-price for
seniors and students. Tickets are on sale through
the church or by going to World eye Book Shop in
Greenfield or Boswell’s Books in Shelburne Falls.
If you would like to bake a fresh, home-made dessert
in exchange for admission, please call Diane Dix
(773-9818).
Drawing
from both hillbilly and blues repertoires, this
quartet blurs the boundary between America's black
and white musical traditions, wowing audiences
across the country with their pre-World War II
blues, hillbilly songs and fervid hymns, updated
with rockabilly energy.
"It's
hard to imagine a sweeter blend of blues, string
band music, and old-school hillbilly than the debut
album by Boston's Tarbox Ramblers…Michael Tarbox's
striking slide guitar work and unmannered, engaging
vocalizing highlight the group's work."
— Billboard Magazine
(Top
of Page)
"Music
For All Souls" Concert on November 23rd
About
the Musicians:
Julia Bady was awarded a bachelors degree in
music from Brown University. She earned a Master’s
degree in the Creative Arts in Education and Piano
Performance from Lesley College and the Longy School
of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms Bady has
performed solo piano and chamber music extensively
in the New York/New England region. She was founding
member of the Hickory Ridge Trio, the Green River
Chamber Players and Oak Hill Chamber Ensemble. Ms
Bady teaches piano at her studio in Greenfield,
Massachusetts, at the Eaglebrook School in
Deerfield, Massachusetts, and at Greenfield
Community College.
Additional
Accomplishments:
- Faculty
member of Calley Community Music School from
1990 to 2000. Piano instructor and chamber music
coach.
- Taught
at the Academy at Charlemont
- Guest
lecturer at Northampton Community Music Center
- Was
a guest on the "Well-Being" show on
GCTV, October 2003
- Finallist
in Concert Artists Guild Competition, 1980, NYC,
with flutist Susan Thomas
- Part
of Keyboard/Guitar duo, Porla Paz, 1985-1993,
performing classical an original compositions
throughout New England.
- Co-founder
and owner, with Sylvia Pippen, of Bach Bouquets,
a business providing music and flowers for
weddings and occasions, 1996-1999.
Jamie
Goodnow
works and lives in Deerfield, MA. He has been
working professionally as a pianist/artist in the
Western Massachusetts area for years, and just this
past fall of 2002 had the wonderful experience of
playing his first solo tour in various halls in
different parts of New England. In addition to
Jamie's career in music, he enjoys working as a
parinter and sculptor at Stillwater Art &
Design, a local art studio in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Jamie is currently studying piano with Raphael
Atlas, a professor from Smith College.
Ms.
Bady and Mr. Goodnow have enjoyed a long-term
collaboration as performing artists. The concert
will be at 4:00 PM on November 23rd. Tickets are
$10, half price for seniors and students.
(Top
of Page)
|
