MVUUF Forum June 16-30, 2009

The FORUM
Newsletter of MVUUF

June 16-30, 2009

~ A Welcoming Congregation ~

Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

8690 Yankee Street, Dayton, OH 45458

937-436-3628 http://mvuuf.org

Click on the headings below to navigate directly to these topics!

Letter from the President

Sermons

Keeping Up with Our Members

Around the Fellowship

YRE Information

Don't Forget!

Save the Date!

Letter from the President

So let us be about the task...

"The UU member churches affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process in our congregations and in society at large."

Careful listening and sound deciding. That's how I experienced our congregational meeting. Thoughtful ideas were put forward and considered, and in the end you made the hard choices. You established our priorities and commitments. You decided how to care for our long-time members, how to care for our staff, and how to care for our building. You did the best you could with our scarce resources. Despite our differences on some of these issues, we came together democratically. Thank you all for staying with it. These decisions were important and not made easily. It was democracy at work.

Democracy as a practice is exciting to me, and fundamentally about self-determination. We chart our own futures. We rule, not the minister, not the president. Democracy is hard. We need to pay close attention - and you did. On Sunday we had a healthy and vigorous direct democracy experience.

We also have a good system of representative democracy in our congregation through the Program Council and Board. While you are the ultimate authorities, your elected leaders are working hard on your behalf and at your pleasure. One of the tensions inherent in our democracy is the relationship between the responsibility you elect us to hold and the challenge of ensuring that issues are well considered by as many people as necessary.

Some of the connections between members and the board and program council have been strengthened recently by some congregants raising concerns about the direction elected leaders are taking. This kind of questioning is vital to the health of the church because it improves the consideration of diverse views, slows decision-making, and improves the processes of communication. I urge more people to pay attention in that way, and to bring concerns out into the open.

Back to Sunday's congregational meeting. For those of you who missed the meeting, we have raised an additional $10,000 in pledges and one-time gifts. However, we are still short sufficient funds needed to paint the building. While we agreed to draw the interest on the endowment to help supplement the expense, that interest is relatively low because of the economic downturn. If you have not yet increased your pledge or committed a one-time gift, I urge you to do so by June 14. Just send an email to Kristin Freeman at kfreeman@mvuuf.org or call the church at 436-3628.

~Alice Diebel

Greetings!!

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Quick Links

MVUUF Calendar

MVUUF Website

Sermons

June 21 - Beyond Forgiveness Rich Robinson
~ This sermon is the third of a series of sermons on forgiveness by Rich Robinson. The first was an exploration of forgiveness. The second went deeper into the mechanics of forgiveness. During his work with Non-Violent Communication over the past few months, Rich once again came face-to-face with the concept of forgiveness and found that his sense of the issue had changed. Come hear how NVC has changed Rich's understanding of forgiveness in this service titled "Beyond Forgiveness."
June 28 - The Spirituality of Poetry and Jazz Carol Narigon
~ Sometimes the best way to experience the world is by turning off the thinking part of our brains and letting the creative, right side take over. Explore the spirituality of poetry & jazz in this interactive service.

Keeping Up With Our Members

Jeanette Eakins is recovering nicely from her surgery.

YRE Schedules

YRE Calendar for June:

Chalice Children class
(Preschool and Kindergarten):

*Pre-K/K begin in class at 11:00 a.m.

June 21 - Class: Gardening & our Earth
June 28 - Class: Gardening & our Earth

Kindergarten - 5th grade class:
June 21 - Class: Multicultural games (Classroom #7)
June 28 - Class: Multicultural games (Classroom #7)

6th - 12th grade class:
June 21 - Class: Hunger & homelessness
June 28 - Class: Hunger & homelessness

Children's Choir (Pre-sign up):
June 21 - Choir practice in the Founders' Room

June 28 - Choir practice in the Founders' Room

To view the monthly from our DRE, please click here Natalie's letter

**For more detailed information about the YRE program, as well as YRE events and schedules, please go to our web site at http://mvuuf.org and click on "Religious Education."

Around the Fellowship

Daytime Book Club Titles
June 17 - The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck
July 29 - Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, by Greg Mortenson
We meet one Wednesday a month, at 10:30 a.m., in the Fellowship Library. All are welcome!

Offering for June
The Social Concerns Committee invites plate offerings for Equality Ohio. Equality Ohio advocates for fair treatment and equal opportunities for Ohio's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. It does so by collaborating with local, regional, statewide, and national organizations and government agencies. Most recently, Equality Ohio sponsored its fourth annual Lobby Day, in which people from all over Ohio (including eight members of MVUUF) met with legislators to advocate for full equality in antidiscrimination legislation covering housing and employment. For more information, please visit Equality Ohio

UUMen on Summer Hiatus
UUMen will not be meeting this summer, but will resume meeting after Labor Day. Watch the bulletin and the Forum for an announcement about fall programming.

Evening Book Club*
July 14 - Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult
*Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, at the Boston Stoker in Centerville. New participants are welcome. Contact Ann Snively for more information.

Family Day!
Meet us at the park! Bring your lunch, swimsuits, towels & sunscreen and join Fellowship members at the Activity Center Park, 221 N. Main St. in Centerville on Sun., June 28. We'll head there immediately after service for a fun-filled day of sun & fellowship! For more information, please contact Carolyn Leman.

Don't Forget!

**Cinemaniacs will meet June 21 at the Neon. Please call Pete Hering at 974-0360 for more information.

Save the Date!

**Food Fanciers will meet July 24 and August 21. We need you to help out demonstrating a recipe. If you're interested, please contact Sylvia at sylviawince@att.net.

**Smart Choices will meet July 16 to share family blooper stories. Contact Sylvia for more information at sylviawince@att.net