W3 Archiving Project

Tuesdays at 10:00 AM, Large RE Room
Drop by and see what we are doing to learn and apply various archiving techniques, including scrap booking, taking oral histories, video recording, genealogical research, etc.

Café Justo on Sale Dec. 12

Look for the Gunthers--Alberta and Don--on December 12, after services, and buy a pound or two of Café Justo-the coffee with a conscience. Maybe buy a pound for a friend to help support this Social Action/Justice project. This coffee is fair traded plus shade and organically grown. You can learn more about Café Justo at http://justcoffee.org/. Need more info or want to make a special order? Contact Elizabeth at 520-269-3414 or reedeliz@gmail.com .

Oneness Deeksha

Book Sale Needs Leadership

We need a volunteer to lead our Annual Used Book Sale traditionally held in February. Many of us have come to count on it as place to donate our books and music, thus making room for more of the same.  Connie Armstrong will hand off all the How-To Info to make the sale a success.  She reports that it isn't much work and you get to meet all the readers in the congregation.

This sale historically raises about $1,000 in just a few hours.  Previous years' proceeds have been used to purchase unbudgeted items, like furniture, to improve our Community Space.  This year we're looking to fund a nice rolling cart to bring coffee hour into the Sanctuary.

Don't hesitate!  Volunteer crew will respond to your call so you won't be working alone. The Book Sale is a valuable event to the congregation.  Contact Connie at 544-7723 or ConnieaChuckG@aol.com

MLK March

Plan to join us on January 17 for the MLK march. The Coming of Age kids will be out in force, and we hope others will join us as well. Let's make our UU faith visible for this event. Stay tuned for details.

Pledge Reminder

The tax year is ending, and we are in the red--falling behind in pledge fulfillment. This makes for a great Win-Win possibility. Pay up your pledge and increase your charity deduction at the same time. Maybe even add a little more since some pledgers are experiencing difficulty. If you need an update on your status, contact Dorothy at office@uucnwt.org or 520-579-7094.

Kaleidoscope Gallery

Barbara Amyx is exhibiting her art in our sanctuary until December 4.   Please enjoy her work. If you would like more information or are interested in purchasing a painting, contact Anne Leonard,  Anne@alartworks.com or 825-3449.

Sunday Book Group 

The Sunday morning book discussion group has chosen their next book, Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View, by Stephen Breyer.  Breyer is a Supreme Court Justice.  His purpose is "to increase the public's general understanding of what the Supreme Court does."  

The book group will discuss this book from November 28 until January 9 as consistent with the UU covenant "to affirm and promote the use of the democratic process...in society at large." Come one; come all. Any questions, call Tom Blackburn 544-9509 or email: blackburn1231@comcast.net

Buy Prickly Pear Jelly; Support the Garden

For the next few Sundays, we will be selling prickly pear jelly made by Karen Hahn, Margaret Fleming, Paula Trahan, and Betty Meikle, as a fund raiser for the Community Garden. On November 28 at the luncheon we will also have for sale some pesto made from basil donated by Marion Erickson from her garden.

DREAM Act

Congress will likely be voting on the DREAM Act next week.  The DREAM Act allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. before age 16, and have been here for at least five years, to earn legal status if they pass background checks, attend college or serve in the military for at least two years.

Over the past year, you have urged your legislators to support this measure and asked Congressional leadership to bring this legislation to the floor. Because of your advocacy, the time for a debate and a vote has finally arrived.

Thanksgiving

Members of our congregation celebrated Thanksgiving with a potluck in the Fireside Room. Many thanks to Hobie Denny, who organized the event.

Thank you to all who have contributed plates to our kitchen. It is nice to know that we as a community will be adding a little less garbage to the landfill! Please, if you use plates or cups, place them in the dishwasher and if it is full turn it on. Thank you!

New Member Recognition December 5

A New Member Recognition Ceremony will be held on Sunday, December 5, during the service.  We encourage anyone who wants to join to sign the book on that day.  

We also invite any of our newer members to participate in the ceremony if they were not able to do so last year.  

For those of you considering membership, come to the next Inquirer's Meeting on January 16, after the service.

I need to know who plans to be there December 5.   Thanks!

                                                                           Jane Paul

December 5 is Kick-Off Day

This year, our Finding Heart groups--Mountain Vista's small group ministry or covenant group program--will begin in January 2011 after signups during December. Some groups will have themes, such as "Our Bodies--Let's Talk," and "Humanist Values." Two new, "Taste of FH" groups will be offered: "Six Weeks of Values Discovery" and "Finding Meaning in the Seven Principles." These are especially designed for those who have never been in a Finding Heart group, but would like to sample one.

At the Strengthening Finding Heart meeting in November, facilitators--past, present, and future--shared with each other and Rev. Joy several ideas and approaches to our small group ministry here at Mountain Vista. One result of that meeting is that the facilitators will have their own group so that they also may gather together for sharing and training.

Finding Heart groups help us to know congregation members and friends better, go deeper in sharing our values, get support in living our values, have occasions for laughing together, and--essential to the ministry--work on a small (or large) service project to benefit our congregation or community. Want more info?? Pick up a brochure at the back of the sanctuary or contact Bill (wcaseyiii@yahoo.com ) or Elizabeth (reedeliz@gmail.com) or either at 520-269-3414.

Activities and Events

Hike December 3

Our next hike will be on December 3rd on the King Canyon trail in the Saguaro National Forest West. The trail head is located on the other side of Kinney Road just north of the entrance to the Desert Museum.

You can meet at the church at 8:30 am for a car pool.  Arrange your own as I will be waiting for you at the trail head. The rest of us can meet at the trail head at 9:15 am.

We will walk up the canyon for one hour, stop for a snack break then return to the parking lot. So we should take about 2 1/2 hours. This is an easy walk through a wash, very little gain.

Interesting vegetation and geology.

Wear weather appropriate clothing, good shoes; bring walking stick, water and a snack. e-mail or call me at 253-857-5171 if you have any questions.
                                                                     Hobie Denny

Soup and Salad Lunch January 9

The fund raising campaign for Scholarships for our youth to go to Camp de Benneville Pines (our PSWD camp) continues with another lunch. We have heard that our lunches are well received and we really appreciate everyone's donation of food. We have some amazing cooks in our community!

There will be a selection of different soups and a salad bar,rolls and desserts after the service on Sunday, January 9th.
We would appreciate any donations of a pot of soup or an item for the salad bar or dessert. When the time gets closer the youth might approach you to see if you want to donate a food item.

Thanks from the youth who really want to go to camp (and their parents).

Coordinators: Sybelle UUSybelle@gmail.com and Lara larabuggy3@gmail.com (or see us at church).

RE News

Sunday, December 12th:  Winterfest Intergenerational Service (students will be in the service the entire time). Childcare will be provided for younger children.  The RE Students will be participating in a special play written by Christiane Heyde.  (Thanks, Christiane!)

YRUU:  (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists, for students in grades 9-12), meets the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays of the month, 10:30-11:45, in the Goldblatt Building. 

OWL: (Our Whole Lives)  If we have enough interest, we will be sponsoring a High School OWL class, (grades 10-12), this Spring.  If you know of a student who might like to participate, please let Donna know as soon as possible.  The student does not have to be a church member to take part. Please let your relatives, friends and neighbors know about this wonderful opportunity.

TAMS:  (The Awesome Middle Schoolers)  We need an adult to help facilitate this fun and fabulous class twice a month, (Sundays, 10:30-11:30). No experience necessary.  Training is provided.   If this sounds like a way you would like to help out the church, please see Donna.

RE Committee Meeting:  Wednesday, December 8th, 6:00-7:30 PM in the Goldblatt Building.   Everyone is welcome.

Lost and Found:   In the Large RE Room, at the end of the ramp, there is a plastic box overflowing with lost and found items.  Please take a moment to sift through to see if any of the items belong to your family.

RE Snack Closet:  Thank you to everyone who has recently donated items to replenish the RE Snack Closet.

If you have any questions or suggestions for the RE Department, please contact Donna anytime at mklo@earthlink.net  or 867-1400

Holiday Concert December 11

Tucson Chamber Artists presents its annual Traditional Lessons and Carols by Candlelight on December 11, 7:30pm, and December 12, 2:00pm, at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church.  Enjoy TCA's professional choir, harp, and pipe organ in a dramatic event by candlelight, during which the audience joins on favorite carols.  Concerts regularly sell out, and tickets are available at 401-2651 or www.TucsonChamberArtists.org.

Arizona Schools Tax Credit Contributions 2010

The last two years UUCNWT members have joined together to support two needy schools in our area, donating our yearly School Tax Credits.  Please join other members of the Congregation again in directing your 2010 Arizona School Tax Credits to these two schools.  The tax credits total $200 per person and $400 per couple.  When you make gifts in those amounts to local schools, you receive a credit against your Arizona state income tax in that same amount on your 2010 tax return.  In essence, the program permits you to specifically designate how that amount of your tax dollars is to be spent for educational purposes. 

Laguna Elementary School and Homer Davis Elementary School in the Flowing Wells District were identified two years ago based on need and proximity.  The schools are located in our area, just South of Rillito Creek.  More than 90% of the children at these schools qualify for the school lunch program.  Our credit contributions will help enhance the education of these children through extracurricular activities such as field trips, music, and other programs.  One school uses the funds, in part, to take 5^th graders to the Grand Canyon.  

Forms will be available and collected on Sunday December 5, December 12, and December 19, 2010.  The forms, with checks, will be delivered to each school the week of December 20, 2010.  Please do not check the school selection box on the form since we attempt to equalize the contributions to each school. Checks are to be payable to Flowing Wells School District and the District will send you a receipt for tax purposes after the first of the year. Copies of your form and check will also be provided to you. This is an opportunity for us to join together to advance our collective ministry and provide much needed assistance to these deserving students.  You can contact Romy Fouad or Steve Weatherspoon for further details (624-2134).

Exploring the Tao:  Just What Is Tao?

The English title for the Taoist "bible"--the Tao Te Ching, is usually called The Way of Virtue, Tao being most often transliterated as "the Way" and te as "virtue." Ching refers to collection or book.

Chuang-Tze tells us any word we give for Tao points to something greater. And Lieh-Tze tells us again--if we can talk about Tao, then we probably don't know what it is--only if we can do it can we understand it. But then, we might not want to if we're really, truly Taoist. Lao-Tze wrote that "he who speaks doesn't know, he who knows doesn't speak."

A literal translation of tao (or any Chinese character) is impossible because the Chinese characters embody several concepts at once. But most often Tao in English is termed "The Way," and or the path. We have many ways open to us through life, and the path of Taoism offers us a path of harmony, the one that is natural, the one that takes the least effort-or wu wei--Chinese for non-ado.

So thinking of Tao as the Way, is one thing, but understanding the term is more difficult, because, according to Victor Mair, "the Tao is deeply imbedded in elemental human experience." (Mair, Tao Te Ching, p. 132)

If we look at several transliterations of the first lines of Chapter 1 in the Tao Te Ching, we'll find the following variations:

Star:   The way that can be walked is not the Way. A name that can be named is not the Name.

Bruya:  The Tao is like this, it does this, and it isn't this . . . If you can explain the Tao clearly, then it isn't the Tao.

Ames & Hall:  Way-making (tao) that can be put into words is not really way-making (Tao). And naming (ming) that can assign fixed reference to things is not really naming.

Adiss & Lombardo:  Tao called Tao is not Tao. Names can name no lasting name.

Mitchell: The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

According to his grandson, Confucius said: The Tao is what we can never leave. If we can leave it, it is not the Tao. (Red Pine, Taoteching, p. 2)

Here's another way to consider Tao: "Before there was something there was nothing and that nothing is known as Tao." You might read the various transliterations and have a different sense of the concept. Tao can't be named or explained, so any spoken idea isn't quite it--and perhaps close at the same time. It is the experience of Tao that has meaning.

Are You Guilty of "Light Pollution"?

No, "light pollution" does not refer to dirty light bulbs! Basically, light pollution refers to artificial lighting that is brighter than necessary, unneeded, improperly directed or just plain annoying. The International Dark Sky Association defines it as: "Any adverse effect of artificial light including skyglow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste."

An example of unwanted light is "light trespass", which occurs when light enters one's property, for instance, your neighbor's yard light shinning into your bedroom window.

"Light clutter" refers to excessive groupings of lights. Clutter is particularly troublesome on roads where the streetlights are badly designed or brightly lit advertising surrounds the roadways. This is very distracting and can lead to accidents.

Particularly troublesome to astronomers is "skyglow", which results from large-scale illumination of the night sky or parts of it. Skyglow from artificial lights is common throughout the world and can be observed over most cities and towns as a glowing dome over the populated area. Skyglow can be greatly reduced by keeping lights from shinning upward.

The skyglow over Tucson is less than from most cities of similar size. Why? Because Pima County and cities and towns within the county have enacted ordinances that limit the type and amount of outdoor nighttime lighting that can be used. These ordinances are intended to protect astronomy observatories in the area, such as Kitt Peak, Mt. Lemmon and Mt. Hopkins. However, they are also beneficial to plant life, wild life and nighttime safety.

For more information, visit www.sa-ida.org .

 Services in December