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Florida District Connections
November 20, 2009 | |
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Notes From Our District Executive
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 How quickly the weeks of Fall have passed and we enter the winter holiday season. Already travel plans and invitations are being made. The grand cycle of time repeats, beginning for most with Thanksgiving.
The mystic Meister Eckhart wrote, "If the only prayer you utter is 'thank you,' it will be enough." I like that we have an official holiday with that as its purpose, just noticing one's blessings and being thankful.
Thanksgiving for me is truly a holy day as it is happily free of commercialism. It is holy because it is focused on gratitude, a religious virtue. It is holy because we come together with beloved family, friends and often guests who might otherwise not enter our homes. It is holy because there are rituals, notably family traditions around turkey stuffing, arguments over cranberry recipes, or pumpkin pie. Beyond the Macy's parade, the Detroit Lions vs. the Green Bay Packers game, the day is a time for arresting time's pell-mell and just breaking bread together. No grander scheme. No lesser purpose.
Unitarian Universalists are a generous and blessed people. It is good we pause to utter our own prayers. And a simple thanks more than suffices.
Blessings on you and your family, now and always.
Rev. Kenn |
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Rev. Abhi Janamanchi is Honored by ACLU |
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Gardner W. Becket, Jr. Friend of Civil Liberties Award
 The 2009 Gardner W. Becket, Jr. Friend of Civil Liberties Award has been given to Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, minister of the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater, in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of civil liberties in the Tampa Bay area. Abhi Janamanchi grew up in India where he was informed on the value of freedom by his family history. His grandfather was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and was involved in India's freedom struggle His family wore homespun cloth as Gandhi advised, foregoing foreign clothing. His grandfather and other relatives marched and protested for over twenty years. A close friend of the family was tried for slapping a British police officer. This history left Janamanchi with a strong commitment to freedom and civil liberties. Read more
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Around the Florida District - News and Events to Note |
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The updated Florida District Directory 2009-2010 is now available. This year, in an effort to conserve resources, our directory will be offered only electronically via web access. Please contact the district office (FloridaDistrictUUA@cfl.rr.com or 407-894-2119) for the web link and password.
Upcoming Florida District Events - Save these Dates
District Board Meeting - February 19-20- Canterbury Retreat Center, Oviedo
Cluster, Congregation & Affiliated Organization Events
S.W.I.M. (Southeast Winter Institute Miami) - Dec. 26-Jan. 1 - Miami
Youth News from UU Church of Ft. Myers
Teens hosting an overnight lock-in for other youth in the FLD-UUA Southwest Cluster (Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Venice, Port Charlotte and Bradenton Congregations)
When: Friday, December 18th from 6pm to 9am on Saturday, December 19th
Where: Hobart Hall and Classroom 4
Why: To build community while continuing to develop an understanding of homelessness and hunger as social justice concerns.
What: The film The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), starring Will Smith as a newly house-less dad, will be the focus of our evening discussion. Following the movie screening, teens will enjoy a campfire on the Holton Eco-Preserve among other planned activities. On the following morning, teens are welcome to join us on a field trip to Echo's Global Farm Tour. Please visit the website: http://www.echonet.org/content/tours for more information about this organization.
Cost: $10 registration fee + canned goods to be donated to a local food pantry. An additional $5 fee will be collected for any kids who would like to join us on a field trip to Echo's Global Farm Tour. Make checks payable to UUCFM and put on the memo line: "Teen Lock-In" and/or "Echo Field Trip."
Contact: Megan A. Just, Director of Children's Religious Education for more information. Email: dre@uucfm.org Phone: 239.292.1019
Request for Proposals - Florida District Assembly
The annual District Assembly is in Miami April 9-11, 2010. UUA Moderator Gini Courter is our guest presenter on the theme of "What next for Unitarian Universalism." You are invited to submit a no more than 50 word summary of a presentation you might like to offer at the DA's workshops. Topics broadly relevant to Unitarian Universalists, of course, are welcome. Most welcome are those that give congregational leaders practical tools for strengthening our ministries. Apply by January 5, 2010, directly to the District Executive: khurto@uua.org.
For Congregation Presidents, Ministers and Administrators
The UUA online Congregational Certification of Membership system is now open and ready to certify your congregation's membership for fiscal year 2010-2011. The deadline is February 1, 2010. Complete details will be included in the December and January District Monthly Packets. For more information visit http://www.uua.org/leaders/dataservices/faq/ . Congregations are also invited to participate in the Congregational Poll to decide: 1) whether to admit a revised Draft Statement of Conscience on Peacemaking to the Final GA Agenda for 2010, and 2) which Proposed Congregational Study/Action Issues for 2010-2014 will be admitted to the Final GA Agenda for 2010. |
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Things to Know in Our Extended Unitarian Universalist World |
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 Thanksgiving at The Mountain
Our 31st annual Thanksgiving weekend will be a simple and joyful holiday, as we gather in community to share our gratitude while making new memories. All are invited - singles, families, empty nesters and couples. Our abundant buffet feast this year will be featuring free range turkey, with the freshest of traditional trimmings, as well as delightful and healthy vegan and vegetarian options. We will have time in nature, time to tell stories, time to sing and time to reflect. Call (828) 526-5838 ext 0 for more information or visit our website at www.mountaincenters.org. The Thanksgiving flyer is at http://www.mountaincenters.org/2009_thanksgivingflyer.pdf and the registration form is http://www.mountaincenters.org/2009_thanksgiving_RegForm.pdf Thank you and we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you spend it!
 What Should the Commission on Appraisal Study Next?
To answer this question, take our online survey at: www.uua.org/coa
DEADLINE: January 7, 2010
The UUA Commission on Appraisal (COA) is charged to "review any function or activity of the Association which in its judgment will benefit from an independent review and report its conclusions to a regular General Assembly."
To see what the COA has studied in previous years, check out our website for details and reports: www.uua.org/coa.
In Memoriam: Jerry Davidoff, Unitarian Universalist Lay Leader
 The Unitarian Universalist Association is sad to report the death of Jerry Davidoff on November 7, 2009. He was 83. Mr. Davidoff was an attorney and a nationally active lay leader in the Unitarian Universalist faith movement, having served our faith broadly, receiving, along with his wife, Jerry, the Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism Award by the UUA in 2006. His dedication to Unitarian Universalist lay leadership inspired the creation of the Davidoff Fund for Lay Leadership ( http://www.uua.org/giving/donatenow/152114.shtml ) to promote the development and training of lay leaders to share the ministry of community building with religious professionals and each other. For the complete story on Jerry Davidoff's passing, see http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/152626.shtml .
Honor UUs in the Armed Services
 "Each time I have to stand by the "Chaplain Corps" table strewn with religious and spiritual information for the National Guard Soldiers I support, I find myself yearning deeply for material that is representative of the open, diverse, nurturing, affirming and accepting ideas of the UU tradition...So many of our military service members are hungry for a community that allows them to develop and grow in a faith that fits who they are and what they believe." -Second Lieutenant Kelly Cummins, Chaplain Candidate Not since 1942 has Unitarian Universalism provided resources to its service members or the chaplains who serve them. The UUA is now seeking to publish a collection of materials that provide encouragement and comfort to Armed Service men and women in their times of need. Such a collection is an alternative to the usual religious literature that is readily and abundantly available to service members. Additionally, this collection would spread the word about our Unitarian Universalist values. In order to begin publication of this handbook, the UUA is seeking to raise $25,000 to produce, manufacture and distribute 20,000 copies at no charge to service members, military chaplains, and military chapels. Visit www.uua.org/giving/donatenow/142432.shtml or (888) 792-5885 for more information or to a gift of any level. Thank you for your generosity! |
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