CAROLYN’S COMMENTS
During the
past week, several teachers have appeared in my life, quite by accident.
There is a saying that goes “when the student is ready, the
teacher appears.” I had the
good fortune to be in the right place at the right time to receive the
lessons offered by my new teachers.
These people brought ideas to me that I am making use of now that
I have heard them once again, which often feels like the first time.
Sunday, May
18, during the Bridging Ceremony, where two of our young men gracefully
stepped from being Youth to being Young Adults, I received the first of
these teachings. This was
through one of the songs, and it was a powerful reminder about living a
simple life, finding a focus, keeping on track.
As I thought about it I realized how easy it is for me to get
things very complex, to a point where I am not sure where I am.
This
realization brought to mind a potent reminder from a conversation last
week about being where I am now.
I can’t see the future, nor can I know what would be the best
path. I can, however, live
in the reality I am experiencing at this moment.
Along with this reminder was a cryptic message from the Sufi
poet, Rumi, found on a postcard that a man let me borrow for a few days.
The seventh “advice” of Rumi is “Either be as you are or exist as
you look.”
I can only
imagine the deeper meaning of this advice, but as I choose to interpret
it, I am taking its meaning to be something like “be here now, you are
who you are so get used to it and for heavens sake live while you can.”
And furthermore, what I understand of these teachings would lead
me to believe that whatever meaning I get from “Either be as you are or
exist as you look” would be just fine with my Sufi friends.
To wrap up my
recent teachings was another lesson from the Bridging Ceremony about
listening. Often we hear
the messages we need but we don’t listen.
Jesus is quoted as saying to his followers “he who has ears, let
him hear.” This saying was
probably put in there by the writers of the gospels because they knew as
well as we do that it is very hard to hear what we need most to hear.
When we are
ready, our teachers appear, and if we listen, we open ourselves to be
reminded of how we can live the lives we love.
- Carolyn
BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING
UUCE Board of
Director's meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00 PM.
SUNDAY SERVICES
June 1
– FLOWER COMMUNION – Please bring a flower to share.
In 1940 Maja V. Capek brought this service of celebration to the
United States. It was
created in Czechoslovakia by Norbert Capek and presented on June 4, 1923
for the first time. Capek
died in Dachau in 1942. His
hope was that this service would held bind the members of his
congregation. May ours do
so as well!
June 8
– WHY ARE THE UNIVERSALISTS SO HAPPY?
In 1961, two small American versions of two liberal religious
groups joined together to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.
If you happen to know folks who were raised in a Universalist
congregation or family, you will notice some things about them that are
pretty upbeat and positive.
There is something about the Universalist side of our association that
is worth repeating and practicing.
June 15
– MY FATHER’S HANDS – A Father’s Day reflection on the importance of the
role of father, and the many possibilities available to men today.
Erma Bombeck wrote that men’s hands are “… large enough to hold
everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day, yet
small enough to cup a child's face.”
June 22
– FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM – In a world where Islamic fundamentalists
terrorize innocent people even in their own countries, it is sometimes
difficult to avoid demonizing a faith that inspires an estimated billion
humans. It is important to
notice that the basics of Islam resonate with our seven principles.
June 29 -
SOCIAL PROTEST THROUGH SONG
Presented by worship associate Jan Steinmark. Songs have been used
throughout history to rally the people and to take a stand. Today
we are honoring the 35th anniversary of the female a capella ensemble
Sweet Honey in the Rock, which has two UU mainstays: Bernice
Johnson Reagon, the founder, and Ysaye Barnwell, who is credited three
times in our supplemental hymnal.
UUCE DISCUSSION GROUP
The UUCE
discussion group meets the 1st and 3rd and 5th Sundays of the
month at 9:00 AM in the Chalice Room.
Upcoming Discussion Topics Are:
6/1 Buddhism
6/15 What can
Israel do to protect herself?
6/29 What can the Palestinians do in the Gaza Strip
Question? Contact the Adult
Discussion Group at
uucediscussion@gmail.com
Jennifer E Hyland -- Group Coordinator (Indianapolis)
jehyland222@gmail.com
Hardin Rathgeber -- Group Coordinator (Evansville)
hlrathgeber@yahoo.com
POTLUCK
Our monthly potluck will be on June 22 following the service.
Plan to join us and
gather with fellow UU’s for good food and good conversation!
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
Dale
Mossberger has resigned from the committee. Hardin Rathgeber is now the
chair.
VACATION CONSIDERATIONS
As enter the season of
summer vacations let’s not forget that our favorite fall event is only 4
months away! Save a day or
two of vacation to work the UUCE Fall Festival booth!
Fall Festival 2008 is October 6-11.
Plan to spend some time helping raise money for your church and
enjoying the company of fellow UU’s!
GREETERS NEEDED
Want to contribute to the church in a meaningful way but only have,
say, 20 minutes a week to spare? Perfect! Be a greeter!
Greeters are those wonderful, smiling people you've noticed welcoming
people at the door, passing out hymnals in the sanctuary, and
straightening up chairs after the service on Sundays. It's a fun,
easy, and important job that doesn't take much time at all.
Interested? See me, Lauren Talley, in church, or contact me via
email (xgj36@hotmail.com).
I look forward to hearing from
you!
WELCOMING CONGREGATION
As a Welcoming
Congregation, it is our continued responsibility to support causes
within the GLBT community.
We will be
selling food and drinks at the Inside/Out Music Festival at the Ruby
Moon Winery on Saturday, June 7 from 11-7. Sign up with Chris
Norrington if you would like to volunteer and help us make this a great
PR event for our congregation. We had lots of fun last year so
please join us!
We will also
be at the Main Street Festival again this year. We have had a lot
of positive feedback from the community that they are glad to see our
church selling food and drinks at this annual event. We need
volunteers to help the weekend of June 13, 14 , and 15. Contact
Chris Norrington to sign up to help the Welcoming Congregation committee
at this event. Thanks!
SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE
For all animal
lovers, June is National Pet Adoption Month. We will again be
collecting pet food, treats, cat litter, and pet care products for local
animal shelters and rescue associations.
Would you like
to help us show your love and support for these animals? Whether it’s
volunteering at your local shelter, adopting a pet of your own, or
donating goods or money, all animals deserve a loving home. Many of
these animals are malnourished, abused, mistreated, and abandoned. By
helping these animals, you’ll be benefitting by receiving their love and
devotion. Remember our seventh principle: "Respect for the
interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."
Thanks for supporting this worthwhile cause.
COFFEE
Place
your order for chocolate, cocoa, and coffee. Contact Chris Norrington -
cnorrington@hotmail.com. Thanks for your continued
support of this project that helps the Unitarian Universalist Service
Committee.
IU SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
June 15,
2008 Sweet Honey in the Rock (see service listing for June 29th) will be
opening the Indiana University Summer Music Festival at 8 p.m. in
Bloomington.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
June 25-29,
2008 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
HEARTLAND DISTRICT NEWS
October 3-5,
2008 DYSC CONtagious! 2nd annual YRUU Fall Kickoff Con.
Indianapolis, IN
April 3-5, 2009 Peace, Love, and Justice. 9th annual
district meeting. Muncie, IN
ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY
Celebrate One
Book, One Community, sponsored by the Evansville Vanderburgh Public
Library. This year's selection is THIS I BELIEVE: THE PERSONAL
PHILOSOPHIES OF REMARKABLE MEN AND WOMEN, edited by Jay Allison and Dan
Gediman. This book is based on the National Public Radio series of
the same name (www.thisibelieve.org).
Dan Gediman will be the featured speaker (UE Shanklin Theatre, date and
time to be announced).
SHAMANIC DRUMMING CIRCLES
The First Friday Shamanic Drumming Circle meets the first Friday of each
month at 7:00- 9:00 PM at the church.
All are welcome.
The Third Friday Drumming Circle meets the third Friday of each month at
7:00- 9:00 PM at the church.
All are welcome.
FUN DRUM
We have started a
new drumming circle. It is called the 4th Sunday Fun Drum and Feed.
It will be held every 4th Sunday in the Sanctuary from 4-7 PM.
Questions? Contact Hardin
Rathgeber
PSG MEETINGS
We are a pagan study group that meets every Tuesday and is currently
working on meditation, energy work, magic, and ethics, as well as
learning about a host of other pagan practices and topics. You do not
have to be pagan to attend these meetings. We do hold group celebrations
for the fire festivals, solstices, and equinoxes. Contact Lauren
Talley at
evansvillepsg@hotmail.com if you have any questions.
Our schedule is:
June 3 PSG meeting @6pm (Crystal skulls and Midsummer planning)
June 10 PSG meeting @6pm (Midsummer planning)
June 17 no PSG meeting (private ritual)
June 24 is the same (movie night @7pm)
SOCIAL NETWORKING for OUR
CHURCH COMMUNITY?
Would you be
interested in participating in an experiment regarding the use of social
networking software by our church community? Social networking
sites such as MySpace and Facebook are all the rage amongst the college
students and young people of today, but would they be useful for our
church community as well?
I envision an
environment wherein our membership would have the option of logging in
to this website to:
find the current email
address or possibly
other contact information for any of the
participants or
to blog the activities
at an event or
share files or
maintain an online
church calendar or
post announcements for
consumption by
the entire church community or a small task
force as needed
Special
interest groups could form and discuss ideas online. Even
potential committee meetings could be held online when necessary or when
a member was unavailable to physically meet with others.
We would
want to be sure that our information was secure to the point that
outsiders would not have access to personal information and that
privileged conversations would not be subject to public scrutiny.
We would need to manage access to be sure that members and friends of
the UUCE were the only persons enabled to use this service.
If you think
this sounds like an interesting exercise in investigation and you think
you might like to learn about this possibility, please let me know.
Thanks,
Jack Carden
j.carden@ieee.org
JAMES DURST TO RETURN IN OCTOBER
I am glad to announce the return of James Durst. James is a very
accomplished and talented singer /songwriter that has and continues to
tour the world. In fact, as I write this, James is preparing to do a
show in the Jerusalem Zoo (yes Stanley, the one in Israel). I, for one,
certainly hope that James can bring a new language to his show. When he
played in our chapel, 18 months ago, he could only sing in a couple
dozen languages. James has performed in 45 countries and 49 states.
James' shows usually includes songs in 5 or 6 languages due to time
constraints. If you have a request James will do his best to oblige.
Some of you
may recall the night of James' show we had a record rainfall. All of the
streets flooded and, consequently, we had a smaller than expected
turnout. Those in attendance agreed that James' show was certainly a
good reason to brave the weather. James told stories about his long list
of friends, to include Pete Seeger, and his travels punctuated by
beautifully sang and played songs most of which he wrote. All of his
songs have a story behind them and they are certainly educational and
entertaining. His show is entertaining for all ages. His catalog
includes children's song and his
show is very family friendly.
We are fortunate to have a world class entertainer come entertain us for
the evening so please mark your calendar for OCTOBER, 16TH.
James is
unsupported by anyone and supports his traveling show by donations and
his music sales. A $10 per person donation is customary but James told
me that he wouldn't want anyone to miss one of his shows from an
inability to make a donation.
The more people we can crowd into our church the merrier so I will
continue to make announcements and I am also going to try to get some
press release out.
I certainly hope to see you there,
Ben Sizemore
