News from UUCNWT

Both the sanctuary and the barn have been re-roofed
A drainage pipe has been installed beside the road near the mailbox to prevent water from eroding the road surface
A dishwasher has been installed in the kitchen
The fluorescent lights in the sanctuary have been changed to correct the hum they were making
The playground has been cleaned and its fence repaired

GA in Phoenix?

Arizona CLUUster UU Ministers and Professionals met last Tuesday, May 11, and recognized that the vast majority of UU ministers, staff, and congregants in Arizona want General Assembly to meet in Phoenix in 2012 to strengthen our social action arm. We are planning a response to the UUA Board's recent decision to present a resolution to the UUA General Assembly in June to move GA away from Phoenix in 2012 in protest of the Immigration bill 1070.

Arizona Congregation ministers and presidents had a phone conference on Tuesday, May 4, with our District Board rep, Tom Loughrey, and the overwhelming desire of Arizona congregations and ministers was to have GA stay in Phoenix so we could feel support in our justice efforts and engage in protest. We will keep you posted. Rev. Susan

Religious Education

REMINDER

Please remember to donate empty aluminum cans to the RE Department!!!!!!!!!!!!! Collection containers are located by the Goldblatt Building.. A special thank you to Emily Ricketts for volunteering her time and effort each month to deliver these cans to the Aluminum Recycling Facility. Proceeds earned benefit the Camp de Benneville Pines Scholarship Fund so that deserving youths from MVUU can attend summer camp. Thank you for your support.

CLASS NOTES

Mothers Day service

Please note the upcoming dates:

Sunday, May 16th- Connection Sunday : Connecting to ANIMALS - The Tigers and TAMS are invited to attend a Field Trip to visit the horses of church members Bill Wire and Pete Adams. Students will learn about the care of horses, and be given the opportunity to ride.

Sunday, May 16th- Last Day to register for Super Camp Sunday Discounts- Early registration discounts for Camp de Benneville pines if registration is turned in NOW. Please see Donna for more info.

Summer Camp Dates:  Elementary Camp July 11-17th
   Jr. High Camp July 18-24
   High School Camp July 25-31

Sunday, June 13th- deadline to enter the Youth Art Show - Anne Leonard has invited the RE Students to participate in a Summer Youth Art Show.  If your child is interested in having their art work ~ photographs, drawings or paintings~ displayed in the sanctuary this summer for all to enjoy, please let Donna or Anne know. The deadline for entries is Sunday, June 13th. If possible, please have art work framed, and ready to hang. Art work will be returned to the students on Sunday, September 5th.

SUMMER RE PROGRAM:  Youth Culture Camp for Tigers and TAMS June 6- August 22. Countries visited will be India, Palestine, China, England, Switzerland, Korea, Holland, and Turkey, with congregation members who come from or have lived in these countries.

YRUU- Last class of the year is May 16th. Classes will resume in September.

OWL Our Whole Lives, the UUA and UCC sexuality education program for high school students, will take place during overnights on the second, third, and fourth weekends in June. For more information, contact Dori Klass dori@doriklass.com or Niki Davis nikipdavis@hotmail.com

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting Religious Education at MVUU!!!! If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact Donna Pratt, DRE, at mklo@earthlink.net  or 867-1400.

SAWUURA--Your 100 Acre Wood

2010 Memorial Day Weekend (May 29 - 31)
Keep It Simple!
Substantially Reduced Cost!
FREE for members,
$10 / campsite / night for non-members.
Check out the flyer!

For those of you who have been to our long-weekend camps, we have decided to do things differently this time. You will need to bring along your own food, but you will have access to the kitchen. More details will be sent when you register.

For those who will be new to SAWUURA, this 3-day weekend is an opportunity for fun, relaxation, and renewal. The main focus of the weekend is making and renewing friendships (with UUs from around the state), enjoying the surroundings, and connecting with nature. There will be both organized and informal hikes, games, and activities. Bring activities for children or others to participate in if you wish. This is also a great time to become a member.

Registration and liability waiver required.

New Members

Karen Hahn

You may know Karen Hahn as a Greeter, or from the hiking group. Karen began her career as an Occupational Therapist. She met her husband, a psychologist, while working at the VA hospital in Phoenix. After earning a Master's in Psychology, she and her husband operated a psychiatric day treatment center for mostly WWII and Korean War veterans.

On their vacations, Karen and her husband traveled to all seven continents and 120 countries. They spent eight years living all over Europe in an RV. They did extensive backpacking throughout the Grand Canyon. Her latest trip was just last month to India.

Karen was drawn to Rev. Susan after meeting her at the Sierra Vista church. Since the loss of her husband four years ago, she left Sierra Vista for Tucson to get actively involved in a larger community. She has been a regular at Mountain Vista ever since.

Oak Sky

Oak Sky

Welcome Oak Sky ! Oak's life has been a series of adventures we all can envy. She earned her Bachelors in Child Development/ Family Relations at our U of A. Then to U of Maryland, for a Masters in Library Sciences. She married and moved to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands where her husband had a Defense Department position. During that time, she earned her pilot's license, logging 200 hours in small, single engine aircraft. She also was in charge of the public library on the atoll.

Her next move was to Cheyenne, WY where she lived near F.E.Warren Air Force Base for 31 years. She and her husband traveled to 49 states for his work for the geodesic survey squadron. Oak became a skilled photographer of places around the world. Widowed in 2002, she spent a brief time in Flagstaff then came to Tucson in April 2009. She chose Tucson for the desert she remembered from her U of A days.

Other interests include painting with oils or pastels, writing haiku, and reading and writing poetry. Oak was a Tibetan Buddhist for ten years and worked her way through the mainstreams of Buddhism. Having been a Humanist Unitarian in earlier days, she was drawn to our congregation.

EXCERPT OF UUCNWT BOARD OF TRUSTEES' MINUTES          Tuesday, March 23, 2010

1)     Review/Approval of Minutes of February 23, 2010 Meeting--The March 23, 2010 Minutes were approved as submitted. Seconded, none oppose, one abstain.
2)     Matters arising from the Minutes:
a.     Response to Michael Durall--Meg has received several responses but needs the remainder sent to her soon.
b.    Donated organ--Debbie has sent a card of thanks to Ruth Knittel for the generous donation of her electric organ, which Jane Paul plans to play on Easter Sunday.
Board Reports:
1)     Membership Auditor's Report--Anne reported that, after accepting the resignations of Jeff Chamberlain, Suzanne Borth, and Jeaneen Vogel, our membership stands at 153, including one Life Member. As a routine matter, Debbie will send thank-yous to former members for their service to the congregation; confirm their new status, if any; and tell them they will be welcome to come back in the future, should they so decide.
2)     Treasurer's Report--Bill reported that the income of $5967 for February was short, with expenses of $11,015, showing a loss of $5000; last year showed a loss of $3500. Year-to-date operating loss this year shows $3000; last year was $11,000. He estimates we may be $5000 low for the end-of-year figure. From the Balance Sheet, he noted that 2220 has been reduced by $400 for outside display boxes on the Goldblatt, as authorized by the Social Action Committee, and questioned whether funding designated for supporting diversity should be so used in this time of tight money. Do we need a policy for how such monies are authorized and disbursed? Green Basket offerings are: TIHAN $163.30, Haiti $559, Food Bank $684, and ICS $488, with no evident impact on church giving. Bill will ask the Finance Committee to propose a policy for how 2220 monies are disbursed and authorized, which the Management Committee can then bring to the Board.
3)     Minister's Report--Susan reported that, at the Ministers of Diversity Retreat, she'd gotten to know Alicia Forde, Program Coordinator for Multicultural Congregations, Identity-Based Ministries, and Office of Racial and Ethnic Concerns. Susan has invited her to visit and speak to us May 15-16, 2010, on the Diversity of Ministry Initiative. Following up in regard to our own ITF, Betty will contact Janice at the Office of Ministerial Diversity to learn more about the ministerial diversity program.
Task Force and Other Reports:
1)     Site Evaluation Task Force: Recommendation for Short-Term Action Regarding Our Current Site--Tom emphasized that this report should be regarded as a short-term progress report. Richard Giachetti will submit a proposal and resume/CV to the Board, prior to beginning work. Tom noted that Giachetti will have to know from us exactly what he has to do or redo, which may take some time to figure out.
Executive Session:
1)     Proposal to the Board (letter previously circulated)--Following an Executive Session, the Board voted unanimously to retain Steve Weatherspoon as the Congregation's attorney to contact Greg Fahr and George Holquin to obtain usable copies of the work product developed by each, pursuant to their respective 2009 contracts with the Congregation.
BREAK
Task Force and Other Reports (cont.):
1)     Stewardship Committee Report--Jim Gessaman. From Part I - Results of Pledge Drive FY 2010-11, Jim noted that any additional monies have come in from new members and that current member pledgers are just keeping up with members we've lost. Being optimistic, he hopes for an additional $25,000, just $5000 more than this year. Last year, an estimated $17,500 for donations was extremely high, compared to an actual receipt of $5300 so far. Betty suggested that new members pledge when they sign our book. Jim will talk to Membership Chair Jane Paul about this idea.
2)     Nominating Committee--Ron Meikle.
a.     Report: The Nominating Committee has been talking to people to fill slate positions for next year; but he's finding that no one wants to be on Endowment, a committee which serves an advisory function when appropriate requests (not budget deficits) are made for projects. He will continue to work on this challenge, but this committee would definitely not be disbanded at this time.
b.    Proposal for update of Nominating Committee description: The Board, having given the Nominating Committee the additional responsibility to find a slate of up to seven church members to make up the Ministerial Search Committee, means that there are many qualifications to meet, which will have to be balanced by considerations for Board members and other essential governance positions over a two-year period. It was moved that we accept the 3/23/10 Draft for the Nominating Committee, adding the responsibility for the Ministerial Search Committee. Seconded, none oppose, none abstain.
3)     Interim Task Force--Betty. Betty reported that our early application has been submitted to the UUA Interim Ministry Office. Elizabeth Reed is currently putting together an overview packet of 15 items to introduce us to the candidates, which will be added to our website once some security issues have been solved. Around April 20, the Task Force will review the UUA contract template for any needed changes; a matrix in the Settled Ministry area might be helpful or might be altered for evaluating interim ministry candidates. After that, they will begin making phone calls, background checks, etc. in order to evaluate what candidate will be best for us and reasons why so the congregation can decide. In early May when we make offers, the Task Force will need the Board's help in a timely manner. Betty is asking all of us to think seriously about the characteristics and capabilities we're looking for in an Interim Minister, and email our thoughts to the Task Force in the next two weeks so this information can also go into the packet. The Board has asked Betty to make phone calls to sister churches (22nd Street, Flagstaff, and Chandler) for advice on their recent or current IM searches.
4)     Planning Minister's Retirement party, Saturday, May 8, 2010, 6:00 p.m.--Jan reported that she has organized set-up and clean-up crews, but she still needs help with ideas for the entertainment portion. "The food part is easy."
New Business:
1)     May 15-16 Visit of Rev. Alicia R. Forde--(See Rev. Susan's comments under Board Reports, Minister's Report, item #3, page 1 of Board Minutes.)
2)     Appoint Planning Committee for Congregational Meeting, Sunday, May 2, 2010--Board Members, Meg, Conrad, and Anne, will plan the meeting, as well as work with the Nominating Committee to present the slate and monitor the election.
3)     Calendaring--Calendaring has already been completed for the Finance Committee meeting(March 24), the Board's Special Budget meeting (April 6), and the deadline for the slate to be sent by Ron Meikle to the Newsletter by April 3, at least 28 days prior to the Congregational Meeting.
4)     Review of updated descriptions for Policies and Procedures Manual--Meg.
a.     Updated Bylaws (hard copies for binders) were handed out to all Board members.
b.    Architectural and Site Development Committee (draft of 1/2/10): Moved to accept, seconded, none oppose, none abstain.
c.     Fundraising Policy: Received from the Management Committee with several deletions. Following discussion about the "Sales for Profit" section, Betty will ask Leah to review the wording concerning use of church property when profits do not stay "in-house," particularly if profits go for outreach projects; and ask her to submit alternate wording for the April Board Meeting.
d.    Membership Committee: Moved to accept, seconded, none oppose, none abstain.
e.     Hospitality Policy: Moved to accept, as amended below, seconded, none oppose, none abstain.
Betty will ask Leah to add "newcomers" to the first line, to read ..."members, friends, and newcomers...."
f.     Reimbursement Policy: Moved to accept, seconded, none oppose, none abstain.
Betty will ask Leah to expand the "Reimbursement Procedure" section to be more specific and return for the April Board Meeting; and also develop a separate section for "Minister's Reimbursement Policy," if that is not covered under her contract.
5)     Review of Communications Policy: Role of CommComm in managing the Newsletter and Electronic Communications--Joanne and Juli. Joanne, Juli, and Conrad have drafted a CommComm Overview 2010 - Scope & Function tree for Board consideration. Following discussion, the Board decided that an issue of this importance and complexity, in which the Board needs to consider the relationship between it and all communications going out from the church and also between communications and finance, will require a Board mini-retreat, future date to be determined.
a.     Review of descriptions for Communications Committee, Newsletter and Electronic Communcations Policy. Meg, Joanne, Juli, Marge and John Fleming. Tabled until after the Communications mini-retreat described above.
Confirmed dates of April Board Meetings: April 6 (Budget only) and April 27, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. in the Goldblatt.

Let the Record also show that Jim Gessaman, Stewardship Chair, and Meg Kidwell, Board President, were heartily thanked and applauded for their dedicated service in their respective positions!
The Meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

Sunday Services for May

Sunday, May 16, 2010
"Mystical Naturalism: Contemplations on a Cosmic God"
Rev. Susan Manker-Seale

So much of our religious heritage ties God to Earth, to human stories and chosen peoples. As we begin to find planets around other stars, and turn over long-held beliefs that said the Moon held no water, life in the Universe around us is becoming more of an accepted idea, an unignorable reality. Even now, a new theory says the Universe may have begun in the dark, rather than the light. How does a concept of God, or no-god, fit with our evolving scientific revelations? Eb Eberlein is Worship Associate.

Sunday, May 23, 2010
"Leaping Before You Look: Crossing the River Jordan and Other Mysteries of Faith"

Rev. Alicia Forde and Rev. Susan Manker-Seale

What is "church" all about? Why do we attend and what are we looking for? As the UUA moves to be more multiculturally inclusive, and as our congregation enters a time of ministerial transition, we need to reconsider what it means to be a fully-committed anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural congregation. Rev. Susan will host Rev. Alicia, who is Program Coordinator for Multicultural Congregations of the UUA, and after Alicia preaches, they will engage in some informal conversation, then invite the congregation to reflect. Rev. Alicia will also stay after the service for an hour of conversation with anyone who wishes to delve deeper (www.uua.org/idbm). Romy Fouad is Worship Associate. Lyle Brown will direct the last choir anthem for the season.

Sunday, May 30, 2010
"Immigration: An Alternative Perspective"
Isabel Garcia

This service is sponsored by the Social Action Committee. We are grateful to have Isabel Garcia with us. She is a well-known activist in the community on border issues. Paula Trahan is Worship Associate.
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