May 2006

Sermon Schedule:
May 7          A Few Thoughts As My Time With You Grows Short
May 14        Bridging (Logan will graduate this year) the bridging will be part of
                  our minister led service
May 21        What We Will Remember/ What We Have Left To Do
May 28        Memorial Day
 

MINISTER’S MUSINGS     

    Well another month has sped by. I’ve been getting my house ready to sell. I have accepted a one year residency as chaplain at St. Vincent hospital in Indianapolis. In addition to my regular activities, I have done a little apartment hunting and I have worked with Committee on Ministry to try to plan for the time between when I leave and when your interim arrives.

    It has been an interesting time. I have gotten to watch how uncertainty affects people in the church and how it affects me. As I started to pack up the books in my basement so that the bookshelves could be painted – I realized that there was no point in doing it twice. One temporarily and once when I move. So the sorting began.

    I will be moving to an apartment and I must make decision about what to get rid of – books/ furniture. All of a sudden I realized that I wasn’t just changing positions. I was entering a new phase of my life. I am in an ending phase – a downsizing phase.

    Some of you have already been there. It really hit me – the time I have left of life is much shorter than the time I have already had. I have listened as others of you have spoken of times when the looming of death was very present and a bit unsettling to you.  And today I understand it in a new way.

    That is one of the gifts of life. That we get to have experiences that enrich our understanding of others. That deepen our connection to each other and to the world. Over and over we have these experiences. It reminded me of the story of the sage – who was approached by a woman whose child had died and who wanted him to remove her suffering. He sent her from house to house to collect a grain of rice from anyone who had not experienced suffering. And she came back empty handed.

    So for all of us and our wish to be wise without suffering. Lot’s of luck. Rather may we pray that we learn well from whatever trials we face.

See you in church.

Julie

ANNUAL PLEDGE DRIVE

    Don’t forget to turn in your pledge cards!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

    We, the board, are in the process of hiring an interim minister. The term for an interim minister can be one or two years. We applied for the one-year option. According to the UUA website, interim ministers:

• assist the congregation in claiming and honoring its past and in healing its griefs and conflicts
• illuminate the congregation’s unique identity, its strengths, its needs, its challenges
• clarify the multiple dimensions of leadership, both ordained and lay, and aid the congregation in navigating the shifts in leadership that accompany times of transition
• renew connections with available resources, within and beyond the UUA
• enable the congregation to renew its vision, strengthen its stewardship, prepare for new professional leadership, and engage its future with anticipation and zest

 
While this is going on we will need to be actively searching for our next settled 

minister. Ms. Lisa Presley is going to address our congregation soon and then 

meet with the board after the service to address the process we need to go through.

As you well know this is an exciting time to be a member of UUCE. 

To steal a wonderful phrase, "Go forth and let your living bless the world."



Ben Sizemore
Board President
UUCE  

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

 We, your board, would like to have a congregational meeting on May 21, 2006. 

At that meeting we want to address the interim/settled minister process, and what 

we as congregates need to do.  Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.

ANNUAL MEETING

    The UUCE Annual meeting will be held on Saturday, May 20 at 6:00.  The 2006-2007 budget will be discussed.  Dinner will be provided.  Please RSVP to captainben54@yahoo.com no later than Monday, May 15^th.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Parent’s Group:

Potluck followed by discussion. We will meet at 11:30 on May 14. Newcomers always welcome. Parents and children eat together and then kid’s go off to play (childcare provided) and adults spend an hour on that day’s theme.

CAJE update:

This month and next CAJE will be running its fund drive. Some UU folks will be soliciting you for funds. Others will be going to local corporations. If you would like to give and are not contacted by the end of May – I would be joyous if you called me. (Julie)

Social Justice Committee:
This month we will be collecting non-perishable food, children's socks, and school supplies for Patchwork Central.  There will be a box in the church foyer for donations.  Thank you for your continuous support of our Social Justice monthly programs.  If you have any questions, contact Chris Norrington.  Thank You!

Coffee
Fair Exchange coffee order forms are available in the foyer or contact Chris Norrington at cnorrington@hotmail.com.  Please place your order by the 25^th of each month.

PIDG
The Pagan Interest Discussion Group meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm at the church.  This month's topic is Beltane.  All are welcome.  If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Talley at 459-3067 or xgj36@hotmail.com.

FALL FESTIVAL
As you plan your summer vacations make sure to save a day or two for the Fall Festival!  Fall Festival this year is October 2-7.  Mark your calendar and plan to join us for a fun filled week of food on West Franklin!

WE ARE WELCOMING!
On Sunday. April 23 the congregation of UUCE voted to become a Welcoming Congregation.  Final application has been made to the UUA. 

GA IS COMING!

    General Assembly will be held in St. Louis this year!  

It won’t be this close again for at least 3 years, so why 

not plan to attend at least past of GA, if not the entire time?  

GA runs from June 21-25, 2006.  

For more information visit: www.uua.org/ga.

Newsletter Editor: Beth Heil
June Newsletter info due to me by midnight May 20. Thanks.
email: uuceeditor@hotmail.com