Circle of Fellowship Newsletter
The
First Universalist Society of
A
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
www.geocities.com/centralsquareuu/
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OUR
The mission of the First Universalist
Society of
MINISTERIAL MUSINGS
Dear Friends,
Spring has sprung . . at last! It has
been a long snowy winter, and
it’s great to see the sun shining and new life sprouting today. Of
course, a lot of trash
which, has been buried under the snow is also resurfacing.
So, it’s a time for
spring cleaning and tidying up.
Many thanks to those who worked so hard to
spruce up the dining room
with a new ceiling and paint job. The office, nursery, and adult /
teen
programming area (also known as the “couch room”) are next in line for
improvements. Contact
Kate Stanton, who has agreed to coordinate the painting efforts,
if you can help.
In the last newsletter, I commented on what
a lot of illness there had
been in recent months in our congregation; someone suggested having a
healing
service, and I’ve scheduled one for May 6. If you have ideas as to
what you’d like
to see in such a service, and / or would like to participate in some way,
please
contact me at marghart@a-znet.com or give me a call (625-4485 or
439-8375). It’s great
to see so many people back in church, and I look forward to seeing even
more of
you this spring.
Spring is looking pretty busy, with the
Service and Merchandise Auction
on April 22, and the Canvass luncheon on May 6. Both can be really
fun events.
They also provide good opportunities to reflect on what our church
community means to
us, and think about how we can support it. A church, like any
voluntary
association of people, runs on the 3 T’s- time, talent, and treasure.
As we think about
what we can offer to the auction, perhaps it will involve a particular
talent. Maybe there’s a
particular talent which you are lacking but which you’d like to
purchase.
Let Marilyn Nye know of your ideas for the auction. As we think
about pledging our
support to the church in the coming year, hopefully our pledge will
include all of the
3 T’s . . . time, talent, and treasure. . . please reflect on yours and
give
generously. Thank you.
With love, respect, and
gratitude,
Margaret
UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY in
THE SERVICE AND MERCHANDISE AUCTION:
The Service and Merchandise Auction will be Sunday, April 22nd
following church services. There will be free food and door prizes.
The menu this year is pizza, apples, cookies and beverages. The
pizza is being purchased from our local Alura's Bakery on route 11,
Donations: Donation forms have been sent out in
e-mail form. Please return them as soon as possible. Sunday,
April 8th is the deadline to return your forms. Please ask your
Doctor, Dentist, Chiropractor or Mechanic if they would like to donate
their services for our auction. These services usually go very well
at the auction along with the services that have been offered by
individuals in the congregation April 15th. Silent auction bids will
close by Sunday April 22 at
Silent Auction: You will find many items and services
offered for silent auction beginning services. Watch for a display
of items that will be offered for silent auction.
Numbers for Bidding: Mike DiGiovanni will be giving out
numbers to use during bidding. They will be available the week
before the auction. Submitted by Ann Peterson
To request a donation form contact mjgarlow@aol.com
or at (315) 436-2238
A
NOTE FROM LIBBIE
Several people have asked me, and I have
asked myself when I will retire from my position as associate minister
here in
I would like to make clear, that being
with and among the people of this congregation for nearly 9 years – has
been a joy and a privilege, and when I leave it will be with feelings both
of gratitude and great sadness. Libbie
The greatest acts of love are done by those who
Are habitually performing small acts of kindness
I have been so blessed to have such a
wonderful caring church family. Thanks to all of you for your concern,
beautiful cards, calls, flowers, food, grocery shopping, to getting me to
the hospital and Dr’s appointments.
You have all made this journey much
easier for me. I’m now using my cane and hope to be back with the flock
soon.
Peace and Love,
Betty Figie
To everyone, thank you for your cards,
visits, thoughts and prayers as I still struggle with many health issues.
I’m at least able to use my hands now. Many thanks go out to Nancy
Haskell, Jodi Brown and Mike DiGiovanni for filling in for me during my
absence.
With love and appreciation,
Rita Thornton
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
We would like to thank Dan and Cheryl Newman,
Pat Carney and Ian and Reily Mumpton, Janie Garlow and Ann Peterson
for serving as greeters and /or hostess at the coffee hour. Volunteers are
needed for April. See Chet Perkins if you would like to help. A UUA DVD
titled “Ideas for Growth” has been viewed by the committee. It has
many, many good suggestions that if followed should greatly increase
church membership. We recommend that everyone see the DVD. If you would
like to borrow a copy see a member of the committee... One of the
suggestions is not to do church business during coffee hour but spend the
time getting to know the visitors and newer members.
Submitted by Chet Perkins
UU WORLD
To sign up for a free subscription to the weekly
e-mail newsletter about
Unitarian Universalism, go to www.uuaworld.org
. There you will find online
classified ads, articles from the printed “UU World” and online
extras, you can browse “UU World” archives and read timely UU news and
fresh articles.
We are updating our UU World subscriptions. If you are not
receiving it now but would like to in the future, please let me know, mjgarlow@aol.com
Janie Garlow
A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
THE NEWMAN FAMILY
We were introduced to each other in 1992
by a friend whom I met while I was in foster care. I was 16 and Dan 17
years old, we came from similar “troubled” families and had an instant
connection. We went to prom together and got a very (very) small apartment
together in
Through the years, Dan got a lot of great
experience at different companies and being the hard worker he is worked
his way toward the great career he has now with Brookfield Power, NY a
green power company specializing in hydroelectric power generation as an
HDCS Specialist. We bought and sold a townhouse in
Last year with the help of my step-father and our
friends we put on about a 500sq foot addition to our home. We saved
a small fortune doing the work ourselves, but oh my goodness, was that A
LOT of work! This year in addition to finishing the addition we’ll be
replacing carpets, siding, and sliding glass doors.
Over the years we’ve attended many churches and
synagogues but have never felt as accepted, welcomed and at home as you
have all made us feel. I would like to extend a special thank you to
Janie Garlow, Chet Perkins, Reverend Margaret Hart and Tim Hart for taking
the time when we were new to say hello and just for smiling and truly
welcoming us. It really made all the difference in our coming back. Though
we may not talk a whole lot to people at church, and we might not be able
to attend as many services or church activities as we would like to right
now, we want thank you so much for welcoming us into your family.
Dan, Cheryl, Korrinne, Kaileigh & Chloeanne
THE LANDERS FAMILY
Hello! We would like to introduce you to
the Landers Family - John, Pam, Matt, and Elizabeth. John and Pam have
been married for 20 years and have been high school sweethearts for
25.They live in North Syracuse and have lived here locally all their
lives. John is a maintenance technician for Housing Visions - a
not-for-profit company here in
We happened upon this church quite by
accident or should we say by a miraculous chain of events. We have come to
believe there are no "accidents" and that we had a little help
from the universe and "beyond". From the moment we walked in the
door we felt we were "home". We have been made to feel more than
welcome and look forward to many years of active growth and service with
our new church "family". We feel we belong here. Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you all for being genuinely you and for accepting us as
we are. God bless-
John, Pam, Matt, & Elizabeth
VIDEO
AND DISCUSSION GROUP
On Friday evening at
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY IN TODAY’S UU CONGREGATION
This is day long seminar exploring issues, challenges and
suggestions for implementing technology in a Unitarian Universalist
Congregation. This seminar is scheduled for Saturday, May 19 from
9:00 AM to 4:15 PM. It is hosted by First Unitarian
Universalist Society of
The SJC will meet on April 8 at
Ann Peterson, Ellen LaPine, Janie Garlow
and myself attended a social action workshop in Utica 3/17, led by
Dick Gilbert. It was a productive and entertaining day, as Dick has much
experience and many stories to relate. Because of this workshop, we have
decided to support efforts to pass a Bigger Better Bottle Bill. This was
included in Gov. Spitzer's budget, but was one of the items not accepted.
I will investigate where the process goes from here. There is information
about this issue at church.
We will do our spring highway cleanup on
Saturday, 4/14 at
We need sponsors for our
Check the weekly online announcements
about "The Ground Truth". This film is free and open to
the public on April 13 at
Thank you in advance for your help, Submitted by Nancy
Hallock
COFFEE
AND CHAT
The coffee and chat group
will meet as usual at
Several of the men have
decided to get together for coffee at that time, too. Check with Chet
Perkins if you are interested in joining them at 668-6719 or at marychet@earthlink.net
Submitted by Nancy Haskell
TWO
ADULT RE WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED WITH LIBBIE AND ANN
1.
May 5 from
2.
June 2 from 10 AM to
Both workshops will be led by the Rev Libbie Stoddard and
Ann Peterson.
Look for sign up sheets in church.
STORAGE ROOM CLEAN OUT
In the next few weeks, the alter committee
will be cleaning, labeling and rearranging the storage room in the
basement. If you have anything in there that you need to keep, please box
and label or it may be discarded. You will probably have about a month to
check over items. For more information or questions contact Rita Thornton,
Ann Peterson or Pam Landers.
“BOOKS”
REPORT
Several people have asked me to write
occasional book reports. I haven’t written a book report since high
school, but here goes … Actually, it’s “books report”
because I usually have two or three books going at once – and the
current three totally- unlike, books have a common theme. The books are
Celebrations by Maya Angelou; Enduring lives by Carol Lee Flinders and any
of Ellis Peters’ 12th Century, Brother Cadfael mystery
stories. All three, in varied ways, open for us the relationship between
our inner/religious/spiritual lives and the ways in which we answer to
that inner call.
1. Celebrations, through poetry, calls us to attend to what we
feel, and to go beyond feeling to embracing the world, recognizing its
pain was well as honor and joy.
2. Peters’ series illustrate how one person moves back and
forth between a cloistered reverence and the very practical. Immediate
demands to counteract evil and actions. Brother Cadfael, despite his robe
and cowl, is delightfully open in his religious views. For him, religious
practice is a way, not a dogmatic demand.
3. Enduring Lives is a series of reflections on the lives of four
women; Etty Hillesum, who dies at Auschwitz; Jane Goodall, who lived with
chimpanzees; Tenzin Palmo, a westerner ordained as a Buddhist nun, and
Sister Helen Prejean, whose work with death-row prisoners has continued
for years.
Over and over again in these books -
fiction, non-fiction, poetry – there is the emphasis on the translation
of our spiritual lives into compassionate action; and the need to keep
oneself nourished, “restored”, in order that the work may continue.
Submitted by Rev Libbie Stoddard
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elana
Levy whose home was completely destroyed by fire on March 22. She is one
of our community’s great peace advocates. You may remember Elana when
she spoke at our church last year for Holocaust Remembrance. She was able
to get out unharmed but her losses are great. Please contact the
There will be a benefit for Christiona
Shelley who at 5 weeks sustained a severe brain injury. The benefit will
be held at the VFW in Mattydale at the corner of LeMoyne and
THE
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS PROGRAM
Random Acts of Kindness is our
congregation’s program to financially assist those in need, whether
church members/friends or people in the wider community. Funding is
provided by the congregation through a special once-a-month offering.
The fund is administered by the minister(s) and the appointed lay person,
Cherie Perkins-DiGiovanni. Originally the plan was conceived to meet local
needs but we now serve a wider community with an occasional special
collection in the case of disasters. A policy of strict privacy is
observed in individual cases, and guidelines have been established for
amounts and method of giving, depending on individual circumstances.
Our congregation’s value of “service to the local and world
communities” is part of our
ALL
GOD’S CRITTERS GOT A PLACE IN THE CHOIR
I’M BACK! Your director of music
is having Sunday morning rehearsals at
THE ST LAWRENCE DISTRICT ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
Friday evening & all day Saturday, April 27 & 28 ~ the
topic is Spirituality and Science.
The keynote speaker is the Rev Gary Kowalski, author of, Science
and the Search for God. It would be wonderful to have many folks from our church attend. It
promises to be very interesting and it is always great connecting and
learning from other UUs. There are registration forms at church or go to
the St Lawrence District website.
St.
Lawrence District of Unitarian Universalist Congregations
OPENING
FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
-
Help
treasurer with paying bills, tracking donations, recording checks
-
Pickup
mail and sending tax receipts, etc
-
Assist
with publicity: newspapers, TV, radio
-
Coordinate
calendar and assist newsletter person
-
Other…
Starting June 1 ~ $10 per hour at 4 hours per week
If you are interested,
please contact a board member.
Happy spring to all, especially our five
new members, Dan, Cheryl,
John, Pam and Pat. It’s also nice to see Rita back playing our
beautiful, new piano
and our organ.
We have many exciting activities coming up in the near
future that we’d
love for you to participate in and bring a friend with you.
1. Herkimer Diamond fieldtrip: Meet at the church parking lot at
on the blue permission sheets located on the counter in the church dining
room.
This activity is open to your friends of all ages.
2. Service and Merchandise Auction: Sunday, April 22 after church in our
dining room. There will be a door prizes, lots of great items like
whitewater rafting trips, handyman offerings, Max Coots sculptures,
desserts, bake goods,
tutoring, and gift certificates. Make sure you put this on your calendar;
it is
our biggest fundraiser of the year and a lot of fun to participate in.
Try to get your
offerings in by April 8th so we try to get them listed online for those
who can’t bid in
person.
3. IANDS guest speaker, Dave Bennett, will speak after church on May
20th.
You’ll be amazed by his near death experience and possibly have the
question
“What happens to us after we die?” answered.
Also, I’d like to thank all of the people who
have been keeping up
with their pledges (both general and building improvement). If you
haven’t kept up
(and are financially able to), it would help our cash flow, if you could
do so soon.
A special thanks to those of you who also
contribute your time. There
are all of our committee chairs who so kindly helped out the board with
their reports
on future goals, the Landers (John, Pam, & Matt) who painted the
Dining room
and replaced the suspended ceiling (13+ hours of work) along with Steve
Garlow
& Tim Hart, our newsletter / weekly announcement person - Janie Garlow,
our Building.&
Grounds. chair Arne Hook who replaced a light fixture and is working hard
on
getting our doors replaced or refurbished, Judy Linder who puts in so many
hours behind
the scenes paying bills and keeping track of pledges, Mary & Chet
& Perkins who
are getting us organized, greeting us, and helping our membership grow,
and all
of the rest of you who so kindly support our church with your time,
treasure, and
talent. Our church is truly blessed with so many wonderful members
and friends.
Tim Hart, Board President
LETTER WRITING MINISTRY
Almost 300 prisoners across the US have joined
the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship, with more every month. With no
access to the web or UU Sunday services, prisoners’ only way of learning
more about UUism is through written publications, and letters exchanged
with CLF staff and other UUs. Sadly, dozens of CLF prisoner-members have
been waiting for many months to be matched with a UU pen pal through the
CLF’s Letter Writing Ministry. Members of any UU
congregation who might like to write to a CLF prisoner-member are invited
to visit the CLF website at www.clfuu.org
. Click on “Prison Ministry” to learn more.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
We have a "Getting to Know You" form. We would like to
learn more about your interests and skills. Please fill out the form and
return it to Chet Perkins or deposit it in the "Getting to
Know You" box at church. Forms will be available at church.
SPLINTERS FROM THE BOARD
The extended Board meeting on March 31st
dealt with many important subjects. The largest portion of the
meeting was devoted to our building and grounds. We will be
contacting the gentleman who will be restoring our front doors to perform
the work. There was also a motion which was approved that we spend
up to $1500 to replace the handicap entrance door and the side entrance
door by the bank parking lot. To bring these doors up to code
"crash" bars need to be installed on each which cost more than
the actual doors. These bars allow easy exit in case of emergency.
It was decided that the sources of moisture entering the dining room and
kitchen areas should be evaluated first before replacing floor coverings.
Possible landscaping to divert the water away from the building and
replacing the "door to nowhere" on the bank side entrance with a
wall so that water is unable to seep under it were discussed.
Mary Perkins presented updated Random
Acts of Kindness guidelines which were approved. RAK is funded by
the congregation with oversight by the ministers and a lay person from the
congregation. Congregants can bring cases of need to the attention
of the RAK administrators.
Mary also provided an update on
the Organizational Task Force. They are looking into combining some
committees, updating the role of the
Motion was made and approved that
we develop the position of Administrative Assistant for a 6 month trial
basis to help the Treasurer, assist with publicity, coordinate the
calendar and assist the newsletter person. More information will be
in the newsletter and announcements.
Chet Perkins reported on the
Membership Committee noting that a membership table has now been set up.
He also stressed the sense of community that is needed for church growth
and encouraged us all to embrace and include new people. He hi-lited
the upcoming visit on May 20th from IANDS as an opportunity for new people
to visit our church.
Kate Stanton provided update from the
Ministerial Advisory Committee noting their work with Margaret as they
have completed their preliminary evaluation required by the UUA
Ministerial Fellowship Committee renewal process. They also noted
Libby's announcement that she is approaching retirement and that Andrea
Abbott can act as pastor doing services as needed as Libby gradually
transitions into her retirement.
Rita Thornton provided reports
from the Altar and Music Committees. She noted that the Music
Committee would like to do a congregational music survey in the near
future to discover aspirations and goals. During the year she would
like to have small music workshops to focus on specific items such as
rhythm, tonal quality, breathing, etc. The Altar Committee would
like to set up a flower fund with the goal of having more fresh flowers in
the sanctuary.
Judy Linder and Chet Perkins
reported for the Finance and Canvass Committees by providing a preliminary
budget and noting that the Canvas Luncheon will be May 6th with the UU
Circle coordinating the lunch. Letters regarding the canvas will be
sent to each member.
Nancy Hallock reported that the
Social Justice Committee will be assigning SJC members to take up
different parts of the Green Sanctuary Program to bring to congregational
members to obtain their help and input. There is also ongoing work
in support of the NYS Bottle Bill which the SJC will provide more
information on in the future. Submitted by Ellen LaPine, Recording
Secretary
CHURCH CALENDAR
APRIL
5 6:30 PM Rev. Stoddard and Andrea
Abbott lead the Maundy Thursday Service
8 10:30 AM Rev. Libbie Stoddard leads worship-
Easter
13
14
15 10:30 AM Rev. Naomi King, from
Presentation after the service
by Lifeline Screening
Strike for Peace - Bowling for
the Syracuse Peace Council in E. Syr
18
22
Service and Merchandise Auction
after the service
25-27Rev. Margaret Hart at the UU Ministers’ Retreat in Utica
28 District Annual Assembly in Utica
29 10:30 Andrea Abbott leads worship
MAY
Newsletter Deadline at
10:30 Rev.
Margaret Hart leads a worship service focused on healing
Canvass luncheon after
the service
Regular meetings-
Chanting and Meditation Tuesday evenings at 6:45 PM
Men’s group Wednesday evenings at 6:47 PM
Ellen LaPine will be doing the newsletter for May in my absence.
If you have a NEWSLETTER ARTICLE you would like sent, please send it
to Ellen at dartfrog7777@aol.com
by
If you would prefer a hardcopy of the newsletter please let me
know and I will be happy to send it to you. Janie mjgarlow@aol.com
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