News from UUCNWT

* Liz Cook died on May 1st in Michigan, surrounded by her husband and family. We send our love and support to Liz's husband John and the Cook family. Memorial donations may be sent to the Muskegon Museum of Art, where Liz worked as a docent: 296 West Webster, Muskegon MI and/or the Memorial Endowment Fund of C3 Exchange; 225 East Exchange, Spring Lake MI.

We sent healing wishes to:

* Barbara McCormick, who broke her ankle and is recuperating in HealthSouth.

* Patrick Klass, who is recovering from an emergency appendectomy.

Annual District Assembly May 21

The Annual Meeting of the Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena, CA. The annual meeting of de Benneville Pines, Incorporated will also be held on the same date and at the same location.

The tentative agenda for the PSWD meeting includes annual elections, approval of the 2011-2012 budget, the Board's vision for the District's future, reports, elections and such other business as may be properly presented.

The tentative agenda for the de Benneville Pines, Incorporated meeting includes annual elections, reports from the President and staff and such other business as may be properly presented. A detailed preliminary agenda will be sent to you prior to the meeting.

District Assembly is a singular opportunity for you to meet with a significant number of other Presidents and share issues and concerns with your peers as well as board members. This year is especially significant as both the Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations and Camp de Benneville Pines celebrate their 50th anniversaries in 2011.

All are welcome. Please contact Conrad Paul if you would like to attend as a delegate.

Signage for Mountain Vista UU

A team from Building and Grounds Committee will be planning signage to go outside our sanctuary. We need an identity sign that indicates our name and can help direct the newcomer toward our entrance areas.

Anne Tatum, Anne Leonard, John Fleming and Connie Armstrong will be sharing ideas, but we need input from YOU. To date, we are considering a worded sign, either attached to the north side of the sanctuary, or one standing alone in that area, a pergola type of structure through which we would enter, and a flaming chalice as part of the sign.

If you would like to share an idea, please write a description, draw it, indicate rough measurements, where it would be placed and send that in writing to B&G committee member Anne Tatum, ahtatum@mindspring.com .

Food-Food--Food

New members, did you know that you can help your church while grocery shopping? And it doesn't cost you anything. I sell gift cards for Fry's and Bashas'. You spend them like cash and when the money runs out, you just put more money on the cards. The cards are registered to us and we then get a percentage of what you spend.

If you shop at Albertson's, I have a community pardner key tag that you show when you shop. Then we get money.

If you shop at Safeway, you need to register on line with e-scrip. It's easy. Just go to escrip.com and enter our ID number, 9608298. Then register your Safeway shopping card number. While you're there you can also register your Macy's charge card number. I know Macy's isn't a food store but we can also get money when you shop. I'm at church most Sundays so just look me up.

Alberta Gunther

New Website

The Management Committee has authorized a transition from our old website to a new website design system called Squarespace that is better adapted to current technologies. The transition will be gradual, and the current site will remain operational until the new one is fully developed.

Advantages of the new site:

· It's user-friendly

· It can be accessed from any computer

· Committees and teams will be able to update their own areas

· It's sophisticated enough to satisfy experienced web designers

· It is continually being updated

· There is 24/7 assistance

There will eventually be training workshops set up, so that everyone who needs to use it can learn how. The Gateway Project has been using this program for its website for over a year, and it works. To see the new site in its very early stage, click here.

Missing Calculators

A few weeks ago 2 calculators walked off from the office. If you accompanied them, would you please locate them and return them to the office? We NEED them back. Thank you.

Housing Needed

A lifelong Unitarian Universalist and Pre-Med Public Health major from the Wayland, MA UU congregation is planning to come to Arizona to work with No More Deaths this summer, and she will need housing from June 6th to July 2nd while taking an EMT course here. If you can offer housing, please email Rev. Joy at revjoy@aol.com.

Voting Results of the May 1 Congregational Meeting

Following the check-in of members and count to determine the quorum, the following measures were voted on. 48 Yes votes were needed to pass each one.

1) The Slate of Nominees for the Ministerial Search Committee was approved (Yes-76, No-0, abstain-1).

2) Under changes to the Bylaws, Resolution 1 (Board composition) was approved (Yes-67, No-8, abstain-0)

3) Resolution 2 (Melding of Stewardship, Finance & Endowment committees) was defeated (Yes-40, No-31, abstain-5).

The meeting adjourned at 1:17 p.m.

Deborah C. Gessaman, Board Secretary

Inquirers' Meeting May 15

Considering Membership?
Or just want to know more about us....

Come to an Inquirers Meeting after the service at noon on May 15 to learn about this congregation, its programs, and Unitarian and Universalist history. Talk to Jane Paul if you have questions.

Ice Cream Social
May 15

An ice cream social will be held after the service on May 15. This is a fund-raiser for camp for our youth. Come, eat ice cream with various toppings, and socialize.

Activities and Events

Movie Night May 21

"Bagdad Café," Saturday, May 21, 7 pm, at Judy Carlson's, 13956 N. Green Tree Dr., Rancho Vistoso, Oro Valley. Bagdad Café is a comedy about a German tourist who is dumped by her husband in front of a down-and-out motel/café in Bagdad, Arizona, and about what happens to her and the quirky people there. We are limited to ten persons by space limitations. Please bring a snack to share. Look for a poster, review, directions and a signup at Mountain Vista. john.wilcox2008@comcast.net 531-1413

Bookaholics Unanimous May 25

Their idea of bliss is a bookshop selling only the finest literature: overlooked masterpieces, little gems quietly sitting on the shelves, newly-published treasures. When their dream comes true, The Good Novel opens to great success. But the mainstream press demands to know who these elitists are and how dare they tell everyone what to read? Our literary lovers must fight very real enemies, however, when they begin to fall victim to near-fatal accidents.

You'll want to read A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse on to the end, so you can discover for yourself the solution our brave bookaholics face. When we meet at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25th, in the Fireside Room, we'll want to hear your comments and opinions. We never all agree, so you can say whatever you wish! ··Be ready for next month (June 29): it's an author focus on Jane Hamilton. Read any book of hers you wish and tell us what you think of her writing. And looking farther ahead: July 27--The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman; August 31: The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen.(We chose a "cold" book to drive away the heat!)

Contact: Elaine Harris azbooklover@comcast.net 290-1026

R.E. News

RE Upcoming Events:

Sunday, May 15th- Regular classes (start in the sanctuary for a Story for All Ages)

Sunday, May 22nd- End of the Year Pizza Party

Sunday, May 29th - Regular classes

Sunday, June 5th- Intergenerational Service: Flower Communion

Thank You

A special thank you to Ann Ellsworth for her generous donation to the landscaping project. And a big thank you to everyone who has been generously (and stealthily!) placing food in the RE Cabinet food for the children.

Wish List

Canisters of powdered lemonade mix.

Summer RE Program

This summer we are planning a Share Your Passion program, in which various adults will visit and share their passions with the kids. Some examples are scrapbooking, drumming, bird-watching, genealogy, singing, and public speaking . Any of you who have a passion you'd like to share with the kids one Sunday, please let Donna or Margaret know. Even if you don't have teaching experience, this is something you can do. One of the RE teachers or committee members will be with you to serve as a liaison, find supplies, provide snacks, and help you with the kids. We will continue with the story on the first and third Sundays.

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

Spaghetti Dinner & Movie Night May 21

YOU ARE INVITED to a spaghetti dinner and movie night sponsored by the Interweave Group of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson on May 21, 2011 @ 5:30 PM in the Sanctuary.This event is to help raise funds for Gay Pride to enable the UU Congregation of Northwest Tucson to have a booth at the Gay Pride event held in October at Kino Sports Complex.

Suggested Donation of $5.00 at the door

What is Interweave?

Unitarian Universalists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns

The mission statement for Interweave reads as follows: "Interweave is a membership organization affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is dedicated to the spiritual, political, and social well-being of Unitarian Universalists who are confronting oppression as lesbians, gay men, bisexual persons, transgender persons, and heterosexual allies. It celebrates the culture and lives of its members." Interweave membership is open to all interested UUs of any sexual or affectional orientation. It has chapters in many Unitarian Universalist congregations and districts, as well as a Continental chapter. Membership in Interweave involves two primary goals:

· the creation of local groups for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender Unitarian Universalists for support, socializing, and sharing life issues, and

· outreach to the larger bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender community to publicize the religious alternative offered by Unitarian Universalism.

If you are interested in attending this exciting event on Saturday, May 21, 2011, please RSVP no later than May 14, 2011 - Contact persons are Roberta Price - 520-406-2259 or berta194366@yahoo.com or Lincoln Statler - 520-409-6916.

Please come to this wonderful event - you will be pleased that you did - open to all and everyone who wishes to attend--bring your friends and family along for a great night of fun and fellowship.

Seventy-Somethings
at It Again

Three of the Seventy-Somethings spent much of the day Wednesday cleaning up the junk around the brick building on the north campus and hauling it to the landfill. Thanks to Ron Brumshagen, John Fleming, and Larry Jagnow for their efforts.

For future work parties, the group will be glad to confer honorary membership on anyone who wants to help, even those who have not yet reached seventy.

Make a Difference--Join the Five Points Dinners Team

meal One of the social action projects of our congregation is preparing and serving a weekday dinner meal to the residents at Five Points. This apartment complex is part of the Primavera Foundation's program to aid previously homeless persons in Tucson. The residents of the complex are off the street, working and managing their lives in positive, productive ways. To ease the workday of the residents, the dinner is prepared by volunteers from various churches and individuals in the Tucson community.

For many years, members of our congregation have provided the dinner on the third Wednesday of every month. The persons who volunteer to do a dinner are called Team Leaders. They choose the month they want to do and are responsible for selecting the menu, buying and preparing the food, and getting it to the apartment complex by 5:30 p.m. The residents serve themselves, so the Team Leaders are not obligated to stay after delivering the food. Many of them, however, report staying and enjoying conversations with the residents.

We currently need more Team Leaders. Can you help? It's really easy and fun and is a chance to put our faith into practice. We would like to have enough Team Leaders so that each one would be responsible for only one month of the year. We also welcome help from other volunteers in doing shopping, cooking, delivery, and of course donating money. The Primavera Foundation is extremely grateful for all the help and support it gets, and the residents really appreciate the meals.

A Team Leader training includes a walk through the entire process with an experienced volunteer, including going to the apartment site to deliver the meal the day of the dinner.

To volunteer or to ask questions, contact Emily Ricketts at 795-2153.

Immigration--a Focus for the Coming Year

Since the announced theme of the 2012 General Assembly to be held in Phoenix is Immigration, our congregation, along with others in Arizona, is focusing on this topic. Several of our members attended the UUA course, "Immigration as a Moral Issue" at the UU Church of Tucson. In addition to a substantial amount of written material as background, the course included several guest speakers, and two field trips, one to Nogales, and one to the downtown Federal courthouse to see immigrants being "processed."

We are now planning to offer this course at our church in six sessions, beginning October 10. To sign up, contact Margaret Fleming at 888-7059 or margefleming@earthlink.net

Additionally, we plan to offer a hands-on religious education course for our older youth based on making a documentary video on the subject of immigration. Kids will learn the principles of videography, how to formulate questions and conduct interviews, how to write commentary, and how to edit text and videos. The finished video will be uploaded to our YouTube and Facebook sites. In the process of putting this together, the kids will learn a lot about immigration-related issues.

UU Gateway Project a Great Success

computer disk The UU Gateway Project, funded by the UU Funding Program, gave us a $5,000 grant a year ago. We were promised another $5,000 if we could raise matching funds. The year is almost over, and so far we have raised only about $35. Since the money has to be in increments of $500, that doesn't help much.

The good news is that our sister (or mother) congregation, the UU Church of Tucson, has decided to donate $250 to the Project in hopes of getting a match. They would use the money to send out a glossy newsletter, designed and produced in cooperation with the Gateway Project, to evangelize the neighbors around them.

We need to raise another $250-and soon. We don't expect our Board to come up with the money, since we know it is struggling with other priorities, but we are hoping there might be individuals who could help.

The Gateway Project has accomplished a lot this past year.

· Established a fully functioning media center in our sanctuary and another one in our R.E. building with high-speed cable access, and large-screen systems

· Showed Power Point presentations and social action films

· Created a UU Gateway website and a UU Facebook page

· Video recorded sermons every Sunday, edited them with Magix software, and posted them on YouTube. To see them go to www.youtube.com/uugateway1

· Printed 2 issues of a full-color, glossy newsletter describing Unitarian Universalism, mailed it to neighboring families and to other congregations and leaders in UUA and PSWD, and handed it out in the community

· Printed and handed out business cards with UU principles on the back

· Conducted workshops on photography, PowerPoint, and Facebook

Our plans for next year include:

· Teaching videography to our youth

· Making a documentary video with the youth on the subject of immigration

· Developing a cadre of media specialists to continue recording sermons and events

· Continuing to publish our print newsletter quarterly

· Making further contact and working with other congregations, especially the Phoenix church, which is hiring an immigration specialist to help prepare for GA 2012

· Keeping up our Facebook page, a cost-effective way to spread the word about UUism

We have applied for an extension of the grant for another year, but even if we don't get it, we intend to pursue most of these activities, especially the video documentary project. Our R.E. Committee is enthusiastic and supportive of this.

For more information or to make a donation, contact John Fleming at elfuturo@earthlink.net or 888-7059.

Sunday Services for May

May 15, 2011
"The Footprints of Gossip"
Rev. Joy Atkinson

Gossip is such a delicious temptation, but it can be so destructive! The sermon will explore the phenomena of rumor and gossip in human experience, their effect on communities (including religious communities) and how we can become effective "gossip busters." We will also consider the potential uses of our recently re-worded Covenant of Right Relations. Romy Fouad is Worship Associate. LB will lead the choir.

May 22, 2011
"The Human Side of Immigration Policy"

Margaret Regan

Margaret Regan, the author of the book The Death of Josseline, will speak about the human side of immigration policy. Margaret is a writer for the Tucson Weekly. She presents the perspectives of the people involved in this daily drama including: the migrants, the border patrol, the ranchers, and the activists from No More Deaths. Her book is available for sale from the Book Table. Paula Trahan is Worship Associate.

May 29, 2011
"The World Is Medicine: What Type of Medicine Are You?"

Ken Vorndran

This sermon is based on a Zen koan, a paradoxical or challenging saying, question, or parable. Ken's wife, Jennifer Sellers, and their children Carly and Ali, have been members of this congregation for many years. Ken is a teacher of English, and a department head at Pima Community College. He has a doctorate in Rhetoric and Composition, with emphasis on Religious Studies. Margaret Fleming is Worship Associate.