News from Florida District Unitarian Universalist Association

Florida District Connections

September 17, 2010

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Notes & Comments From Our District Executive

"May you live in interesting times," is an old curse. We must be cursed!

Our time is too interesting! It is one of great anxiety and ever accelerating change. If you can figure out the lay of the land, it alters before you can adapt. The recession, our ever more nasty political exchanges, the traditional stalwarts of stability -- family and church -- are in disarray, and on and on. Yes, at moments our time is unbearably interesting!

Where do we find any hope amidst all this turmoil?

For me, I turn to the Universalist side of our faith. Our faith ancestors taught that if God, the divine or the holy were anything at all, it was known in the power of loving hands. "God is love" is the core tenet. For the longest while, our Universalists were known as "the love church."

The Unitarian side, known more for its numerology debate with the Trinitarians, too, had a similar affirmation often used yet today: "Love is the teaching of this church."

So, however interesting our times are, I find love still reliable in most any situation. Not what would the Buddha or Jesus or Mohammed do. The question is what does love require of me, now, here, with these people? When I rest in love and act in love, hope unfolds.

When faced with fear and hatred, love seems, well, rather lame. Yet, over and again it is a constant that transcends our differences large and small. Love is a gift to give. Love is a discipline to live. Love is our source of grace. It is the reason to hope.

May we make our times interesting in a different way. May we Unitarian Universalists surprise everyone we meet. Let us live our core teaching. Love boldly! Love broadly!

All blessings, dear companions. Rev. Kenn

Trustee News

UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS

Joan Lund, September 2010

Joan Lund 2010

Routinely this is the time of year when congregations are welcoming the "new year", members and friends returning, and guests in our midst. It has been a relaxing summer for me...hopefully for you, also. As I write this, a few weeks before publication, I am awaiting the birth of my first grandson; happily, I am already the grandmother of four granddaughters.

At General Assembly in June the delegates passed a Statement of Conscience (SOC): Creating Peace. I wrote about it briefly in a report to the District following GA (on the District web page: www.floridadistrict.org), and hope in your community you are/will be involved in this SOC.

Historically and today morally our faith calls us to create peace through the work of peace building, peacemaking, and peacekeeping, by addressing the roots of conflict. This includes negotiation of fair and sustainable peace agreements, mediation between disagreeing parties, and post-conflict reconciliation. UUs advocate the culture of peace through change in public policies, religious consciousness, and individual lifestyles. Our faith believes that initial response to conflict should be in a non-violent manner yet we acknowledge the right to defend ourselves and stand with others who are countering aggression. We know true peace requires the cooperation of all nations and peoples and that the creation of peace is accomplished in different ways. We continue to affirm a range of individual choices, including military service and conscientious objection. Even though our religious tradition calls us to create peace at times we have not had the courage to speak and act against violence and injustice. We have not acknowledged our own complicity in violence by not acting in constructive ways, by not speaking out to unjust power exerted by our own nation.

The Creating Peace SOC challenges, individuals, congregations, and our Association to engage with more persistence, creativity, and depth in the task of creating peace. Our theological principles are grounded in the fundamental unity and interdependence of all existence, the transforming power of love, the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, human freedom, cooperative power, justice, peace, humility, and open-mindedness.

I have condensed the full SOC, which can be found on www.uua.org. There are many ways each of us can be involved in creating peace within our congregations and communities. All of us are knowledgeable and creative so let's just do it! I look forward to hearing from you at jlund@uua.org or 818-931-9727. Happy September one and all.

Tipping the Balance Toward Better Practices

Leader/Congregation Communications

Leader/congregation communications are an enduring challenge. Here's an easy one: The Sunday after your monthly Board meeting, two (only two) Board members host a 30 minute "Q&A" session after services. Members are invited to attend as they choose. The Board representatives do two things: Report on the last meeting, notably any decisions that were made. They also invite member questions or comments for future Board consideration.

The discipline of doing this every month ensures all that there is a two-way challenge between leadership and followership. Try it, you'll like it!

September District Packet & UUA Congregational Bulletin

The Florida District (FLD) Monthly Packet contains flyers for district, cluster and congregation events. Information on non-FLD events of widespread interest are also included.

The September 2010 district monthly packet has been posted to the district website and may be viewed at the following link:

http://www.floridadistrict.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/FLD-UUA-September-2010-Packet.pdf

Please share the information contained in the monthly packet with individuals in your congregation. This edition of the district packet contains the following items:

· District Calendar, page 1

· Update Your Congregation's Data Online for the 2011 UUA Directory flyer, page 2 (and we really need you do to this for the Florida District Directory update also!)

· Building the World We Dream About Facilitator Training flyer, page 3

· Leaders Roundtable flyer, page 4

· Compassionate Communication Workshop flyer, page 5-6

· Registration form for Northeast Cluster Fall Gathering, page 7-8

· UU Zen in the Pines flyer, page 9

· Move to Amend flyer, page 10

· Creating Connections, NE Cluster Women's Retreat flyer, page 11-12

· We Are Gonna CrUUise flyer, page 13

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The UUA Monthly Bulletin for Congregations is a collection of announcements and updates from the staff groups and committees of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of Congregations, and from the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF).

Click here to view the September 2010 UUA Congregational Bulletin

Around the Florida District - News and Events to Note

Upcoming Florida District Events - Save these Dates

calendar clip art September 18 - Leaders Roundtable - First UU Congregation of the Palm Beaches

September 24& 25 - Florida District Board Meeting - Oviedo

Cluster, Congregation & Affiliated Organization Events

October 1 & 2 - NonViolent Communication Workshop with Rev. LoraKim Joyner - UU Congregation of Miami

October 2 - Southeast Cluster Special Meeting - UU Church of Ft. Lauderdale

October 3 - UU Lineage & Legacy Workshop with Rev. Kenn Hurto - UU Congregation of Lakeland

October 9 - Northeast Cluster Fall Gathering - UU Society of the Daytona Beach Area

October 9 - West Central Cluster Fall Picnic and Craft Fair - Spirit of Life UUs

October 17 - Installation of Reverend Kathryn Schmitz - First Unitarian Church of Orlando

October 22 to 24 - UU Zen in the Pines - Pines Conference Center, Brooksville

October 22 to 24 - Beacon Youth Ministry Advisor Training - UU Church of Sarasota

November 6 - Southwest Cluster Fall Meeting and Workshop - UU Congregation of Venice

December 26 to January 1 - Southeast Winter Institute Miami (aka SWIM)

Other News

UU Fellowship of Gainesville Welcomes New Minister of Lifespan Faith Development

RevLeahHart-Landsberg The UU Fellowship of Gainesville has just hired the Rev. Leah Hart- Landsberg as Minister of Lifespan Faith Development in charge of the congregation's Religious Education program. Rev. Leah holds a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA, and has been ordained and fellowshipped by the Unitarian Universalist Association. She has served as Director of Religious Education at Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church in Hayward, CA. She will begin her work in Gainesville on September 1. Leah says, "RE keeps me anchored to the core of my ministry, which is being in community with people of all ages."

The Emerson Center/UU Fellowship of Vero Beach Presents The Florida Humanities Series 2010-2011

Once again in 2010-2011, The Emerson Center at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vero Beach will present the Florida Humanities Series - our gift to the community. Six acclaimed speakers will be presented at the Center between October 2010 and April 2011, with all presentations relating to Florida history, nature, culture, and issues. Admission to each is complimentary and all performances will begin at 7 p.m. Learn more

UU Church of Ft. Myers Bird/Shelling Tour

UU Church of Ft. Myers is offering a Bird/Shelling Tour through their Bed & Breakfast program December 9, 2010 to December 12, 2010. Learn more

First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches CrUUise

1^st UU Congregation of the Palm Beaches invites you to join them on a 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Aboard Celebrity Eclipse visiting San Juan, St. Maarten, St Kitts. January 29 - February 5, 2011. Deposit of $250 per person is refundable until final payment is due Nov. 1, 2010.

For questions or reservations contact Pam or Nancy at Vista Travel at 561-630-9833 (off) or 561-630-8738 (fax). Congregation contact - Judy Bonner, judybonner@bellsouth.net . CrUUise Flyer

Things to Know in Our Extended Unitarian Universalist World

UUA and UUSC Launch Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund

UUSC Pakistan Since the world learned of the floods now devastating Pakistan, conditions have worsened dramatically. As of August 23, the Pakistani government estimates that 17.2 million people are affected by the floods - more than the Haiti earthquake, the 2005 South Asia earthquake, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami combined.

The growing enormity of this humanitarian disaster has compelled the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to launch our UUSC-UUA Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund.

Most recently, rivers flowing from the flooded areas in the northwest have swelled with water and are deluging the Sindh and Punjab provinces in the south. This is sure to have serious long-term implications for all of Pakistan. The fertile Punjab is the breadbasket for a country where a third of its population of 170 million people live below the poverty line.

Donations to the UUSC-UUA Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund will be put to immediate use, since UUSC already has partner organizations in the region. Bedari, which worked with UUSC in the 2005 South Asia earthquake, is working to protect women and children displaced by the floods. Barakat, a UUSC partner in Afghanistan that also works in Pakistan, is helping refugee families who have fled to the district of Attock.

Please help us help the people of Pakistan recover from this unfathomable disaster - give to the UUSC-UUA Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund at http://tinyurl.com/PakistanFloodReliefFund

Thank you for your generosity and concern.

Flood Relief for Prairie Star District UU Congregations

Water has played havoc with two congregations in Prairie Star District this summer. Your contribution will help these congregations recover.
Rev. Thom Belote, Minister at Shawnee Mission UU Church of Overland Park, KS, reported: on June 12, massive storms ripped through the Kansas City metro area. The torrential rain overwhelmed our sump pumps and drainage systems causing $18,500 in damage to the church.
UU Fellowship of Ames reports: we sustained quite a bit of damage when water came in through the doors and through the ground level windows of our lower level. Because the building is built into a hill, and the hillside was soaked through, water drained in. We expect that the bill to repair the roof, re-grade the hillside, repair the floor and replace damaged goods will be at least $100,000.
Your contribution to the newly established Prairie Star District Flood Relief Fund will make a difference. Every dollar received will be sent to the congregations. You can target your donations to one congregation or the other. Undesignated donations will be divided proportionally between the congregations, according to need.

Donate online OR Make a check payable to:
Prairie Star District, with Flood Relief and the name of the congregation you want to help in the memo line.
Mail to:
Flood Relief Prairie Star District - UUA
122 W. Franklin Ave., Suite 303
Minneapolis, MN 55404

UUA Board Asks for Congregational Input on GA 2012

The Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees is looking for input on how General Assembly (GA) 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, will look.

We want to know your questions, concerns, and opinions. Please take a look at the link below to see our full request along with two related resolutions passed at GA 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We would like some very quick responses to this as the General Assembly Mission of the Association Partnership (GAMAP) is meeting next week. Thanks for your interest and assistance! Visit http://www.uua.org/board for more information.

Let Us Be Counted! The First UU Jewish Gathering in Over 20 Years

UUJA logo Registration is now open for Let Us Be Counted!, the first UU Jewish gathering in over 20 years. Check out www.uuja.org for more information on program details and how to register.