SUNDAY SERVICES

10:30 am

Children & Youth

Religious Education

10:30 am

Minister

Rev. Joy Atkinson

revjoy@aol.com 

262-8480

Office Hours:

10 am - 3 pm, T, W, Th

 
Director of

Religious Education 
Donna Pratt  406-5121

mklo@earthlink.net   

Choir Director

Lyle Brown

579-7094

lbrownvh@yahoo.com 

Congregational

Administrator

Donna Pratt  579-7094,   406-5121

office@uucnwt.org  

Office Hours:

8 am - 1 pm  MWF

Newsletter Editors John and Margaret Fleming
888-7059

margefleming@earthlink.net 

Deadlines: 12th & 24th

Board of Trustees

President:

1st Vice President:

Treasurer:

Jim Gessaman 

Donated Appliances

Jayne Kuennemeir has some appliances to give away. Call her before May 29 if you are interested. 825-0095

Charity of the Month

The Green Basket Charity for June is the Primavera Foundation, an organization we have supported with monthly dinners for 20 years.

Please remember to make checks out to MVUU and put the name of the charity in the memo line.  

Greeters Needed      

Here's an opportunity to meet a new people. We currently need volunteers to serve as regular or substitute greeters. Don't worry that our standards might be too high. About three minutes of intense training is all that's needed for you to join the ranks of the GREETERS.

If you're interested please contact Gene McCormick at genemick@comcast.net

Kitchen Clean-up 
Someone is in the kitchen with.......? YOU!!!!!

If you use the kitchen, it is YOUR responsibility to leave it clean and orderly.

1) Please clean and replace all dishes, cups, and pots and pans.
2) Please put all the garbage out.
3) Please run and unload the dishwasher even if you have to come back later! (No, you do not have to run it unless it is full.)
4) Please wipe down surfaces, and vacuum, if needed.  

THANK YOU! 

GA Transportation Meeting June 3

Everyone who is planning to attend GA or everyone who would like to attend just the Sunday service at GA when GA registration is not required is requested to meet at the 22nd Street UU Church in the Holland Room at 12:00 for approximately 20 minutes on Sunday, June 3. We will discuss carpooling and a van or bus option to get to GA for the Sunday event. For more information, email Carolyn Saunders at c_saunders1@msn.com.

GA Reminders

June 20-24 General Assembly, Phoenix   

The main GA hotels are the Hyatt and the Renaissance where 1000 rooms have been blocked for UUs at $125 a night. But registration at these hotels must also be done online through the UUA housing office.

District Executive Ken Brown reminds us that as we get nearer to General Assembly, our own PSWD web site has a section on Migration and Border Issues which keeps getting bigger. This section is a resource for individuals and congregations in the PSWD and across the nation. Most of the material is there because in some way the issue or report may be part of events or education at GA and maybe our own District Assembly. Click here to access it.

Free Books 

While reorganizing the RE rooms, we found that we have more books than we have room to store. Books in the bookcase next to the bulletin board in the large R.E. room are free for the taking. We wanted to give congregation members the first chance to take them, after which they will be donated to a library. 

2012 UU Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage

The next UU Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage is scheduled for October 6-13, 2012, and registration is now open. This unique bus trip is much more than a Civil Rights history tour through Alabama and Mississippi. We will be visiting historic sites and meeting veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, and but will also be spending time together and with guests exploring what racism, white privilege, and barriers to equality look like today in Southern towns we visit---and in our own hometowns.

Beyond experiencing first-hand the civil rights legacy, our goal is to develop commitment, vision and mechanisms within our group to work on issues of race, injustice and inequality that still bedevil our congregations and our society. The Living Legacy Pilgrimage is hosted and organized by the Reverend Gordon Gibson and Judy Gibson; the Reverend Hope Johnson; the Reverend James Hobart; Janice Marie Johnson; Annette Marquis; and Donna Sequeira, and co-sponsored by the Southeast District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

For more information and to register, please visit www.uulivinglegacy.org. Don't miss your chance to be on the bus! Register early --costs are discounted for those who register before May 15.

Trip to Northern Arizona

Registration is now open for an exciting trip to Northern Arizona October 13-20 to visit Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest among other interesting sites. This trip is sponsored by and is a fundraiser for the 22nd Street church, UU Church of Tucson. You will travel on a comfortable tour bus and stay at moderate hotels such as Best Western and Holiday Inns.

We have space for 24, and the cost is $1099 per person for a double room. Single room rates are also available. If you register now, you can cancel until July 1st, but after that we are committed to paying the hotels, etc., so no refunds after that date. Payment must be made in full by August 19.

For information and registration, click here. 

Interim Minister's Column                        

Words of Joy

For the month which includes Father's Day and the Summer Solstice

Here's a little story about a father for your meditation, on the strength of community: A father wanted to leave his estate to his children, but he wanted to be sure that they would stick together and look after each other when he died. So he gave each of them a small stick and asked them to break it, which they easily did. Then he took several of the same size sticks and bound them together, and asked them to break the bundle. No one could. Moral: you are stronger when you are bound together than when separate.

This congregation has certainly pulled together lately, to become like a strong bundle of sticks rather than a collection of fragile single twigs. Your commitment has shown through the many things you do here: the many volunteer tasks and projects, the committee work, candidating week and the recent congregational meeting, the pledge drive which Stewardship Chair Joe Bredau tells us has exceeded the original hoped-for goal, the Board's and Stewardship's and Finance Committee's and Treasurer's Bill Casey's successful efforts to balance the budget, given the good news about the pledge drive. The people I have had a chance to work with are many, too numerous to mention here, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank this and last year's Board of Trustees and outgoing President Conrad Paul for all their good work and support. Although there have been plenty of bumps and potholes in the road, the Board has steered rather gracefully through it all these last two years, and it has been a pleasure to work with them.

Next month at this time I will write my final column. It is hard to believe that almost two full "church years" have come and gone. My personal news, since many have asked, is that my next step will be to take my first break from ministering to a congregation in 24 years. I expect to take a long, deep breath, do some writing, tackle some home projects back at my Berkeley home base, and then look for a new interim ministry, perhaps to start at the beginning of next year.

I will be moving back about a week and a half after my last service on July 1st. It will be a summer for me spent in several "climates": the hot, hot days of June, the drama of the beginning of the Arizona monsoon season, and then the chilly Bay Area summer, where one must dress in layers, hoping the daily fog lifts by noon. Here is a thought for your summer, wherever you find yourself:

I wish to begin my summer well; to do something in it worthy of it and me; to transcend my daily routine...to have my immortality now...in the quality of my daily life!"

                                                                                                         --Henry David Thoreau

Weekly Activities

From May 27 to June 17 the Sunday morning book group will discuss The Science of Yoga: Risks and Rewards by William Broad. It's a book describing the effects various types of postural yoga have on health and mood.  

The group will choose a new book on June 10 for discussion beginning June 24. Please join us.

Anyone interested in writing is invited to join the Writers' Workshop on Wednesday mornings from 10:00 to 12:00. Participants share their writing, critique each others' work, and offer suggestions for such aspects of writing as plot development, organization, tightening, and word choice. Come any time for one session or a series of sessions. If you have writing to be critiqued, please bring at least 7 copies.

For more information, contact Margaret Fleming at 888-7059 or margefleming@earthlink.net .    

Monthly Activities

Movie Outing June 3

"Bernie," Sunday, June 3, 4:40 pm, at the El Con 20, 3601 E. Broadway. Shirley MacLaine is a mean old lady and Jack Black an undertaker everyone likes in a small East Texas community. He does her in and the town applauds. Supper after the show at Claim Jumper Restaurant, 3761 E. Broadway. See the poster, a review, directions and a signup at Mountain Vista in Goldblatt. john.wilcox2008@comcast.net 531-1413

Bookaholics Unanimous May 30

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. This is a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear in a modern-day family tale on an Iowa farm; it won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992. Well worth reading and even more fun to come and discuss (at 6:45pm in the Fireside Room.)

June's book is going to be skipped in order to give you more time to read our July 25th selection: Imran Ahmad's book: The Perfect Gentleman: A Muslim Boy Meets the West.  This is a book many of us are going to be reading, so it'll be entertaining to share our opinions. Knowing us--as the lively, outspoken, cheerful UUs we are--it'll be an evening to remember. We meet at 6:45pm in the Fireside Room--we'll look for you there on July 25th. Contact: Elaine azbooklover@comcast.net 290-1026

August 29th: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
September 26th: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
(See: If you choose from our lists, your insatiable need to read can be fed. If you come meet with us, your insatiable need to talk can, too. How UU is that?!)

Religious Education News

"Share Your Passion" Summer Program We need volunteers for our upcoming summer R.E. program. Each Sunday, beginning June 17, we will be welcoming a special guest from the congregation to share with the students something they are passionate about. Last summer's topics included drumming, jewelry-making, Feng Shui, birding, mountain-climbing, being a prison guard, scrapbooking, and travel stories. Do you have a passion you would like to add to this summer's list, or perhaps you would like to expand on one of the above topics.

This is a fun and easy way to help out RE. The kids have a good time, and the adults and kids get to know each other better. Please talk to Donna or Margaret if you have a passion you'd like to share.  

Youth Caucus at  GA

We are proud to have 6 students represent us at the Youth Caucus during the General Assembly in Phoenix June 20-24: Ali Brennan, Ashlen Brennan, Clarissa Ballesteros, Steven Ballesteros, Daniel Martin, and Bibiana Van der Heiden. Scholarship funding was provided thanks to your generosity. Thank you to everyone who contributed time, effort, and potluck dishes to the RE luncheons this year, and thank you to those who purchased meals (often after having contributed a dish), The proceeds from the luncheons and generous donations from John and Helen Wilcox and Chuck and Anne Tatum were matched by John Fleming's Gateway Project grant. We know the students will have a wonderful time, and will represent us well.

RE Wish list: We need canisters of powdered lemonade mix. We also need small Dixie cups.  Thanks.

RE Classes: 10:30 on Sundays. During the summer all students (K-8th grade will meet in the large RE room. 

If you have questions, please call Donna anytime at 441-0870 or e-mail her at  mklo@earthlink.net

Next Inquirer's Meeting June 10

Newcomers and/or folks who have an interest in learning more about the Mountain Vista church and Unitarian Universalism are invited to attend an "Inquirers Meeting" on Sunday, June 10. It will be in the small RE room in the Goldblatt Building, beginning at 12 noon. Learn more about our church community and UU beliefs. Reverend Joy will lead the discussion and there will be light refreshments and the chance to meet other inquirers.

If you are interested please contact Anne Leonard at 520-825-3449. We hope to see you there.

Attending GA on a Budget

Planning to attend General Assembly in Phoenix this June but concerned about the cost? Here are some ways to attend some or all of GA on a budget:

Go for One or Two Days Only
Registration is $320 for adults attending full time ($365 after April 30th) But you can register by the day--$130 per day ($145 after April 30th).

Go by Chartered Bus for a Day
An option from the UUs in Green Valley:?The UU Congregation of Green Valley is arranging to have a chartered bus take people to Phoenix on Sunday, June 24, to attend the GA Sunday service (open to the public whether registered for the conference or not) and browse the exhibit halls (also open to the public that day). The cost per person would be $30 or $20 depending on the size of the bus. Pick up time would be approximately 7 am and return time approximately 6:30 pm. Contact Loretta Carmickle (carlor3344@q.com) or Charles Burkholder (cburkholder2@cox.net), co-chairs of the Justice Action Network of the Green Valley congregation for questions and indications of interest.

Stay at a Local Hotel and Drive to the Convention Center
The two official GA hotels (Hyatt and Renaissance near the Convention Center) cost $125 per day, and parking is extra. You can find a local motel to drive to the convention center from. Parking at the Convention Center is $12 per day.

Big Changes Coming in the Sanctuary Décor

The Ambience Committee is moving ahead rapidly on a series of tasks to improve the ambiance and flow of traffic for the sanctuary. Charlotte Engvall has already had the space between the front wall and the sidewalk by the front door concreted for safety and to allow more room to mingle. We will move the nametags outdoors in front for the duration of the services. This way we hope to cut down the congestion inside.  

During June we will paint the walls and redesign the podium area. The podium area will be the main focus with a contrasting wall panel and a new chalice design attached to the panel. We are consulting with a professional colorist courtesy of Connie Armstrong. Snow birds should be pleased when they return to see what a change this will make. We are also working on lighting and the possibility of new chairs. New flooring will be a major item when we can afford it. We will keep you posted on a corkboard to be located in the Goldblatt Building.

Anne Leonard 

anne@alartworks.com 

Fond Thank You's!

Dear Beloved Community of Mountain Vista UU,

The time has come for me to move on!

I joined this congregation in 1998 after moving here with (now ex-spouse) Chris Martin and 3-year-old Daniel. Now Chris and I have been happily divorced for 12 years, and Daniel is taller than both of us and busier too, including being on the Pacific Southwest District YRUU Board and co-dean of Sr Hi Camp at DeBenneville Pines.

You have supported me in my transition to becoming a religious professional as your Director of Lifespan Religious Education for 6 years, and further transition to professional ministry during and beyond that time. I was your designated "Student Minister."

You made the decision to ordain me into the ministry, and what a moving service that was for me!

Now, I have been working half-time as a chaplain at TMC Hospice for 4 years (!). In July, I will also join the Unitarian Universalist Church of Southeast Arizona (in Sierra Vista) as

their half-time contract minister (Yay!).   

It has been an incredible journey, and I am honored to have been in the company of so many generous-hearted children, youth, parents, board members, committee members, and congregants! I especially appreciate the love and support from Rev. Susan and Rev. Joy, the staff, the RE committees, the transition committee when I was in seminary, and the ordination committee.

You have deepened my learning and my laughter, my discernment and my inspiration. Thank you! You have created a minister.

I will need to resign as a member, but I will continue my pledge, as Daniel will still be in the congregation for his senior year. This congregation will always be close to my heart.   Blessings for your continued journey into the future, and may you always nurture your emerging ministers and DRE's!

Love and peas,

Karla (Rev. Karla Brockie)  

Shop--Eat--Shop--Eat--Shop

Every so often I like to remind our members and friends that we can help the church when we shop. And anyone new may not know about our efforts. We don't make a lot of money, about a thousand a year, but every little bit helps.

If you shop at Bashas' I sell gift cards. They are $25 and when more money is needed, just put some on the card at the check stand, Just remember to do it before the clerk starts to ring up your purchase. The cards are registered to our church and we get 6% of what you spend.

If you shop at Fry's the gift cards are $50. At Fry's you can put the money on the card at the check stand or at customer service. We get3%.

If you shop at Albertson's I have key tags. When you shop just let the clerk scan the tag. We get about 1%.

If you shop at Safeway, Safeway is part of a program called e-scrip. You will need to go to e-scrip.com. Our ID number is 9608298. Then click on Safeway and type in your Safeway card number. Then when you shop be sure to have the clerk scan your card (or as I do--just give your phone number). We get about 1% but there are special promotions when we get more on specified items. Unfortunately this normally occurs at back to school time and the items are snack and junk food. Macy's is also in the

e-scrip program and you can sign up your Macy's card at the same site. Macy's gives a better percentage, I think. I don't shop there myself. It would be nice if some of my favorite thrift stores were on the program. Oh well....

If you have any questions I'm at church most Sundays. Alberta Gunther  

Board Highlights

Keeping Everyone Up to Date

Mountain Vista UU Board of Trustees Meeting May 16, 2012  

Note: These Highlights are from the draft minutes. Final minutes in their entirety will be posted outside the office after approval and will include any reports submitted.  

• Operating surplus of $233 in April (planned negative of $3,135).
•  Year to Date income versus expenses is minus $16,721 compared with a projected minus $21,805.
•  Pledge income is approximately $6,000 below planned.
•  Fair Share: Unanimous vote to not pay the balance of the UUA and PSWD in consideration of our unknown expenses for property status and low reserves.
• Worship Associates Committee Chair: Approved John Clark as the new Chair of the Worship Associates Committee. 

Next Meeting: TBA for Mid-August 

Upcoming Sunday Services    

June 3, 2012

"Engaged Buddhism"

Christiane Heyde

Christiane will present a sermon on Buddhism, contrasting the two major teachers who emerged in the field of Buddhism during the last century: Thich Nhat Hanh and His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Both have a different cultural and religious background, and view life quite differently, but both came up with a strong commitment to social activism and ethical living. We will compare their views and see how their paths may be relevant to our own lives and ethics. Romy Fouad will be Worship Associate.

June 10, 2012: Intergenerational Flower Communion Service

"How Flowers Changed the World"

Rev. Joy Atkinson

We will gather near the date of the original Flower Ceremony in Prague, Czechoslovakia (June,1923) to celebrate a communion of flowers, with a homily, readings and some of the original words from Rev. Norbert Capek, founder of the Flower Ceremony. Please bring at least one flower for each attending member of your family, to add to the communal bouquet. If you can, bring extras for those who forget.

June 17, 2012: Father's Day Service

"Dooms of Love: Images of Fathers and Fathering"

Rev. Joy Atkinson, John Fleming, Margaret Fleming, Eb Eberlein

The service will present images of fathers and facets of fatherhood through homilies, poetry and song.

June 24, 2012

"What They Taught Us and What We Learned: Reflections on Religious Education" 
Margaret Fleming

We'll hear about their religious education from several members who were brought up in different faith traditions, then explore UU religious education, past and present, and end with reflections on our current RE program.

July 1, 2012

"Joy's Moving Sale"

Rev. Joy Atkinson

This will be our interim minister's last service before she moves back to the San Francisco Bay Area to begin a six-month leave from interim ministry. The sermon will sum up the work we have done together during this two-year transitional time, address issues regarding closure for minister and congregation, and gaze into the "crystal ball" to speculate on what the future might look like for this congregation.