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

L. H. 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 

Charity of the Month

The Green Basket Charity for June is the Primavera Foundation, which provides pathways out of poverty through safe, affordable housing, workforce development, and neighborhood revitalization.

Its vision states that it "promotes economic and social justice while working to build a future in which all people are assured basic human rights, a livable income, and safe, affordable housing.  

Its philosophy states that it "is dedicated to addressing poverty and homelessness by acknowledging the intrinsic worth of every individual" (Sound familiar?) www,primavera.org   

New Summer Office Hours

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7 am - Noon  

To Submit Announcements for Publication

Please send to publications@uucnwt.org. NOTE: We are no longer using the OOS@uucnwt.org address.

AIDS

This month is the 31st anniversary of the first reported cases of the disease that would become known as AIDS. And June 27 is designated as National HIV Testing Day.  

If you haven't had an HIV test recently, please consider taking control and taking the test. Knowledge is power, and knowing your HIV status is key to keeping you healthy. For testing information, contact the Pima County Health Department's Theresa Lee Clinic at 520-791-7676 or visit their website

Sign Placers Wanted

Here is an easy way to help the congregation. We need volunteers to put out our directional signs on Sunday mornings. Some of us who have been putting them out are mobility-challenged with arthritis, back problems, and so on. So all you younger folks (younger than 70, that is), please step up and take your turn.

The fire/ambulance station at the corner of Thornydale and Cromwell has agreed to let us store the signs inside their utility room, just to the left of their back door. So all you have to do is go in-there's no door-it's an open entry--take the two signs and put one on the median strip and one on the sidewalk in front of the station. There's a sandbag for each one to keep it in place. Then, after the service, you retrieve the signs and store them away until the next week. That's all there is to it.

If you can do this once a month, or more often, please contact John or Margaret Fleming at 888-7059 or elfuturo@earthlink.net   

Thanks for your help.

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 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.

Diary of a Bewildered Gardener

By Alberta Gunther

First the good news. In the front garden the okra looks good and is blooming.

In the back for the first time I have cucumber plants that lived and at least one cucumber. I was surprised at how small the blossoms are. I thought they would look more like squash blossoms. The squash plants are blooming but so far no squash. Also for the first time my pumpkin seeds grew and are also blooming. I planted the small sugar pumpkins.

Now for the rest. In the front I planted three tomatoes, pear, cherry and a big one. The pear has grown like gang busters. Does anyone know how gang busters grow? It's covered with little tomatoes and I've had several ripen. The cherry has a lot of green tomatoes but is taking its time about ripening, and the big tomato plant is too busy contemplating its navel to think about blossoms. So what's the problem? A large number of leaves on all three are wilting and dying. I have no idea why.

If you remember I had a Cuban red hot chili. It produced one chili. One morning when I watered as soon as the water touched the leaves about half fell off. The next morning the rest fell. These were good leaves without a blemish. They just fell off. I finally pulled the plant.

Now we come to the green beans. I planted a dozen but only about three came up so I got some more seeds and planted again. I had ten plants. Then when about an inch high they curled up their toes and died. So I planted again and had about ten. They're an inch high and now one still looks good; three are maybe, but I doubt it, and the others are gone. Apparently it's not in the stars for me to have green beans. More later.

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. 

New Ambience

Thanks to the Ambience Committee for the new look in the sanctuary. These dedicated individuals, under the leadership of Darcey Spears, spent hours painting and decorating to give us this beautiful enhancement to our worship. To all of you: we really appreciate the wonderful job you did.  

GA Coming Up June 20-24 

Planning to attend General Assembly in Phoenix June 20-24? 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.

I am supposed to volunteer at GA, but at the moment I do not have a way up to Phoenix. I am on the Ambiance Committee, so I should be there Tuesday afternoonm if possible, though it is OK if I start Wednesday. I figure it doesn't matter too much if I return on Sunday or Monday. If anyone is going up who has an extra space in their car, I would appreciate a ride. My phone number is 610-504-3555.

Sincerely,

Aurora Dawn Smith

Scattering of Jeff Knowles' Remaining Ashes June 16

In the minister's office are the remainder of the ashes of member Jeff Knowles. Interim Minister Joy Atkinson has contacted the surviving relatives and they do not have plans for them, but a suggestion was made by a family member regarding scattering them. This will take place with a brief ceremony on **Saturday, June 16th. (**This date may change.) Please contact Joy if you would like to participate.

New Discussion Group Starts June 20     

A new discussion/book group at our congregation begins Wednesday, June 20, at 7 pm in the Fireside Room, (with a possible daytime meeting added). The topic is MVUU Community Growth; Stewardship, Leadership, & Membership. For more info, please contact Tom Bunch at www.sparky9132000@yahoo.com   

Meet Raúl Grijalva June 22

Are you going to GA? Do you wish that MVUU could show how special and dynamic we are? Are you as sad as Catalina that we couldn't have an open big old party for everyone while we were there? Do you wish there was some way to tell all the visitors that we are the really coolest church in AZ? Now you can! Congressman Raul Grijalva will be at the Friday night, June 22nd, witness event and we are the people bringing him there. Yes, it's true! We are special and dynamic and cool, all at the same time. This nationally known congressman with one of the strongest records on justice and immigration reform has agreed to come to GA for us, little old MVUU. 

Animal Blessing Service June 30

Going Away Party July 1

There will be a Going Away and Thank You Party for Rev. Joy after her last service with us on Sunday, July 1.

Event organizers are Lara Brennan and T.J. Boothroyd. They welcome your help to make the event happen. If you want to help, please contact them and let them know: larabuggy3@gmail.com; tjboothroyd@gmail.com  

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

Bookaholics Unanimous July 25

For the first time ever, we have skipped meeting for a month so that everyone would have time to read July's book: The Perfect Gentleman; a Muslim Boy Meets the West by Imran Ahmad. Yes, it's the very one written by last month's guest speaker. We hope you'll join us on July 25th at 6:45pm in the Fireside Room to share your comments about this funny and insightful book with us. We always have a good time--if you come, you can have one, too.  

August 29th's book is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. We traditionally plan for our August book to take place in a cold location; man, did we ever succeed this year. September 26th we're discussing In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. None of these books will disappoint you.  

Contact: Elaine azbooklover@comcast,net 290-1026

Interweave and Green

Sanctuary

The Interweave Meetings and Green Sanctuary Meetings are postponed until the fall. With folks traveling for the summer months and everyone's busy schedules, the committee thought this would be a wise decision. See you all in September, fresh and ready to go.

Green Basket Charity

The Green Basket Charity for June is the Primavera Foundation. The Primavera Foundation provides pathways out of poverty through safe, affordable housing, workforce development and neighborhood revitalization. Its vision states: it "promotes economic and social justice while working to build a future in which all people are assured basic human rights, a livable income, and safe, affordable housing. Its philosophy states: it " is dedicated to addressing poverty and homelessness by acknowledging the intrinsic worth of every individual" (Sound familiar?) www,primavera.org    

Religious Education News

The "Share Your Passion" Summer RE Program begins on June 17th. Thank you to all the members and friends who have agreed to help out this summer. The Tigers and TAMS will meet together in the Large RE Room. Upcoming programs include:

June 17: Collages with Diana Chapin-Tsai

June 24: Beading and Music with Zae Bear

July 1: Poetry with Alberta Gunther

RE Wish List: We still need canisters of powdered lemonade mix, please. Thanks!

If you have any questions, please call Donna anytime, (520) 441-0870 or email her at mklo@earthlink.net.

Prison Visit

On June 8 six members of our group of prison volunteers visited the UU fellowship inside inside the La Palma Correctional Facility in Eloy. This was our third visit, and it inspired the following poem:  

A Green Flame Burning

They inhabit a sterilized landscape of dirt, concrete, chain link,
   and razor wire.

They wear shapeless, featureless tan uniforms.

They are housed in identical steel buildings like oversized
   storage sheds.

But their minds are alive, curious, engaged.

Their welcome transcends the fifteen-foot fences

And the series of razor wire cages we have to pass through.

For two hours we share poetry, stories, meditation, singing,
   intellectual discussion.

Personalities begin to emerge:

Al, the organizer, is a scholar and a teacher;

Bill is a poet; Carl is the talkative one;

Don doesn't say much, but always has a thoughtful comment
   when asked.

Ed is an artist; Frank is a musician; Gabe, always cheerful,
   sets up the room.

These are our UU brothers;

This is our celebration of community.

When time is up, the guard comes

To take the prisoners back to their cells,

And the chaplain escorts us visitors out.

As we exit the building, we note a single plant

That somehow has escaped annihilation,

A green flame burning

In a chalice of brown dirt rimmed with gray concrete.

Margaret Fleming

Volunteer of the Month

Clare Toth

Clare has been an outstanding volunteer for the entire history of this congregation. As the "mother" of our church, she provided the space in her kitchen for the first organizing meetings of what would be a new congregation on the northwest side of Tucson. "Clare's Kitchen" is the iconic starting place of what we have become.

In the early days Clare carried water to Cross Junior High every Sunday to make coffee, since we had no kitchen facilities there. She also welcomed newcomers to the congregation and took care of many housekeeping duties involved with our rental of the school facilities.

Clare has served as President of the Board two separate times. She has also been a member of the Membership Committee, the RE Committee, the Finance Committee, and who knows what else. Currently she is on the Finance Committee. She's also a greeter, so you must have seen her welcoming people as they come in. She has sponsored Finding Heart groups, served as a Pastoral Care team member, and been a supervisor for the DRE during the minister's sabbatical. As a retired school psychologist, she's been available for consultation when we needed it in her area of expertise.  

Clare's e-mail is ma_Clare. How appropriate. She mothers anyone who needs it. When Leah Brown died, Clare "adopted" her adult children while they were in town taking care of their mother's affairs. She cooked meals for them, gave them advice, invited other congregation members to meet them, and helped them plan the memorial service for Leah.

Besides all her other attributes, Clare is a ham. How many service auction programs have been enlivened by her witty dramatizations? How many otherwise drab announcements have been delivered with her inimitable verbal panache?

Clare is one of a kind. No one can quite touch her. No one would even dare to try.

Welcome Our Newest New Members

Galina De Roeck

I was born in Bihac, Bosnia, in 1938. My parents were Russian emigres, having left Russia in 1920 after the Civil War between Whites and Reds.

After (former) Yugoslavia was occupied by the Germans, we were taken to Forced Labor Camps in Germany and, after the end of the war, we stayed in Displaced Persons Camps. We emigrated to Morocco in 1949, which was then a French Protectorate, and I finished my high school there. In 1958, Belgian-born Rick De Roeck and I met and married, and in l962 we arrived in the United States. I pursued my education at CUNY, where I got a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature.

Growing up on four continents, being caught up in the turmoil of WWII in Europe, and being exposed to many different cultures have been important in shaping my interests and general outlook on life. I think it has also prepared me to become a Unitarian Universalist. I joined the UU Church of Staten Island in 1981, where I was active as director of RE, member of Social Action, and on the Board of Trustees (vice-president and president).

Rick has retired from his job of International Economist with General Motors, and I am retired from the University of Arizona, where I taught Russian. We have a son and a daughter, and are happy that they have joined us in Tucson. Muriel (De Roeck) Gardener has two daughters, Chloe and Astrid. They have occasionally attended UUCNWT.

I used to be a member of UUCNWT as well, where I concentrated my energies on Social Action. Probably because WWII has had such an impact on my childhood, war and peace issues are very important to me. My knowledge of Russian has facilitated peace activities in East-West relations. Among others, I traveled as a consultant with a UU-United Nations Office group to the Society Union in 1988. But I know there can be no peace without justice, and Arizona being the gateway to Central and Latin America, I have also been active in North-South relations. I have also taken time off from church to engage in other community activities and to write my memoir. I am glad to renew my membership.  

Lyn Merrihew

I was born in Seattle. I've lived all my life in the Pacific Northwest until recently, when I transferred to Tucson. I work for an airline and, as such, I work most weekends. My ability to attend Sunday services will be somewhat limited, but I do enjoy services when I can attend. I also am looking forward to other ways I can connect with the Congregation and serve where I'm able.

I'm married, have two children and two grandchildren, with another on the way. I enjoy hiking and biking. I used to love gardening in the Pacific Northwest, but I've found Arizona is quite different.

As a teenager, I briefly attended a Unitarian church, and I'm glad to have rediscovered this Unitarian community.  

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. 

Save Our Children

By Alberta Gunther

If you don't always read your copy of UU World, at least read the article in the spring 2012 issue by Eboo Patel on page 50. In it Patel gives examples of terrorists, both domestic and foreign, and shows that they were all either young or recruited young. Extremist organizations of all religions and philosophies spend vast amounts of energy and money on recruitment. They have groups that attract children.

Many in moderate and liberal communities do not. Instead when our children become teens and are most receptive, they leave church out of boredom or disinterest. These teens are then fodder for the well planned activities of extremists.

I think our church does a fairly good job of keeping teens, but we still lose some. It might be one of the most important areas of the church.

The summer issue of the UU World has an article about a congregation in Ogden, Utah, that has the children in during the entire service. Twice a month the children have an hour-long class following coffee time. The congregation also has adult classes, especially good for those parents that are waiting for their kids.

14th Annual Yoga and Wellness Retreat  

at Camp de Benneville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA
Friday September 7th - Sunday 9th, 2012
Early Registration Discount ends on June 30, 2012 

Upcoming Sunday Services    

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.