The First Church in Belmont

THE UNITARIAN  March 11, 2014

In This Issue
Reflections from Rev. David Bryce
Music Notes from Alfa Radford
Upcoming Events
Young Adult Social Action Trip
Calendar 

Next Issue: March 18

Deadline: 3pm  March 13

 

Wednesday, March 12

7:00pm   Children's RE. cl5.

7:30pm   SGM. Library.

7:45pm   Membership Data. cl7.

Thursday, March 13

6:45pm   Nova Choir. Sanct.

7:00pm   Living w/Illness. Lib.

7:00pm   V-Day Cte. CR.

Friday, March 14

4:00pm   SGM. Library.

7:30pm   Coffeehouse. PH.

Saturday, March 15

4:00pm   Men's Group. Parlor.

Sunday, March 16

8:15am   Nova Choir. Sanct.

9:25am   Sr. Choir. Parish Hall.

12:30pm Transcendentalist

                Series. Library.

4:30pm   COA. Parlor.

4:30pm   OWL. Library.

6/7pm     YAC/YG. Parlor/UH.

Monday, March 17

6:30pm   Jr; 7 Chan; 7:45 Youth.

7:30pm   Stewardship Cte. CR.

7:30pm   V-Day Cte. cl7.

8:00pm   Meditation. Library.

Tuesday, March 18

7:30pm   Program Counc. Parlor.

7:30pm   SGM. Library.

Wednesday, March 19

12:00pm BelUnitAlliance. UH.

7:30pm   Women's Group. Lib.

7:30pm   Youth Cte. CR.

 

Looking Ahead

Mar 28-30: Women's Retreat

Mar 29: All-Church Potluck

 

Link to church calendar 

This Sunday 
Music: March 16, 2014
Prelude: Be Thou My Vision
arr. Gerald Near (contemp)

Alfa Joy Radford, organ

9:00 Service:

Jr. Choir: "Sing Joyfully"
-Marguerite Shaw (contemp UU)
"Take Up the Tambourine"
-Lloyd Larson (20th c.)
Nova Choir: "The Lone Wild Bird" -American Folksong,
arr. D. Johnson (contemp.)
Postlude: O Gott, du frommer Gott -Johannes Brahms
(19 c. German) Mary Beekman, organ 

11:00 Service:

Chancel Choir: "We Thy People Praise Thee" -Haydn

"Tsho-Tsholoza" -So. African Folksong

Sr. Choir: "Once More, My Soul"
-Wm. Billings (Early American)
Postlude: Russian Sailors Dance - R. Gliére (1809-1847) Mariko Findell & Vickie Livermore, piano duet
 
The flowers this Sunday are given by Charles and Ethel Hamann in memory of their parents, Edmund and Mary Hamann and Ronald and Ethel McFarlan.
  
Ushers: Members of the New Connections Ministry
  
Welcome & Announcements:
Leslie Kolterman & Betsy George
Caring Connection 

The Caring Connection is a group of Church members and friends who provide support to members of our community who find themselves in some difficulty and need short-term help. Please let us know if you could use some assistance, or know of someone who would benefit from our support. You may fill out a Caring Connection card, available in the hymnal holders and drop it in the collection basket, or contact Laurie Graham at caring@uubelmont.org or Susan at the Church, 617.484.1054 x201.

Lay Pastoral Care Team 

As members of the lay pastoral care team we are called to be present with you, members and friends, when you wish a compassionate listening ear during times of transition and stress whatever form it might take. We support those who are adjusting to change, loss, illness or death. We share in moments of celebration and happiness. We reach out to those who are unable to get out and who would like a visit. We share in situations that require a special touch of human kindness and an open ear. Please contact us if we might be of help or comfort. We count on the congregation to keep us in touch with pastoral needs of our community.  - Janet Amphlett, Devon Beckett, Nancy Davis, Steve Saar, and Martha Spaulding

Social Action Corner

ACTION IS OUR PRAYER

Grow Clinic! Grow Clinic!  

Still time to provide more "Macaroni Miracles" for the Grow Clinic families. Think MAC & CHEESE when you shop this week. Thanks!
Save the Date!
The next minister to be ordained by us as a congregation will be
Allison Palm
We hope you can join us on Saturday, May 31
beginning at 3:30pm.

The last minister to be ordained by our church congregation was Eliza Blanchard in September of 2004, just weeks after we moved back into our building from the Chenery School.

Spring Housecleaning 

At this time of the year we have a lot of activity related to our church annual pledges (thank you!). In order to keep accurate records, we need to know exactly which pledge period your check covers. Our current church year is July 2013 - June 2014, next year's pledge year is 2014-15. Please indicate on your check whether it's for the current church year (2013-14) or prepayment for next year's pledge (2014-15). Many thanks.

Reminder to Church Groups & Committees

In order to get the best and efficient use of our church space, church groups should fill out an application form in the church office or email sstreet@uubelmont.org. You are also responsible for notifying Susan Street of any changes or cancellations.

     Church groups must provide your own refreshments, set up and clean up, leaving the church as it was when you arrived. When you plan an event, make sure you have volunteers to CLEAN UP (this includes washing all tablecloths used for the event/meeting) and CLOSE UP carefully. Thank you.

1. Turn off thermostats. 

2.Turn off all inside lights.

3. Make sure ALL outside doors are LOCKED & CLOSED TIGHTLY.

 

The Unitarian Newsletter 

Submission Guidelines

 

Please submit articles for the newsletter to Susan Street in the following format: 

- Times New Roman font, 10 point. 

- jpeg for photos

- pdf for attached documents 

- sample@uubelmont.org for e-mails.  

- avoid phone numbers unless their owners don't mind them being published on the FCB website. 

 

 

 

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First Church Office
:: 617-484-1054
5 Things To Know This Week 
  • Stewardship Update
  • Note from the Parish Board
  • Berklee Night at the Coffeehouse, March 14
  • Transcendentalist Series: Walt Whitman, March 16
  • Young Adult Social Action Trip
Sunday, March 16          

Multigenerational Service: Who Is My Neighbor?

Rev. David M. Bryce

 

9:00 & 11:00 Church Service                           

Childcare for infants and young children

(For weather-related Service and Children RE class cancellations, please check 617.484.1054 x250.)   

 

This is such an easy question to ask, but is not so simple to answer. We will explore this topic in many ways. (This service is related to the congregational theme for this year of "Connecting with neighbors.")

 

** Next Sunday, March 23 **

Youth Sunday

 

Sermons in text and audio format can be found at uubelmont.org/sermons

Reflections from Rev. David Bryce, Senior MinisterRev. David Bryce

Last night I finally finished reading Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses." I purchased the book back when Rushdie was threatened with death for having published it. Buying the book was my way of supporting freedom of speech. (It took me twenty-five years to finally get around to reading it.)

     I had never read any of Rushdie's writings before and found his book to be quite engrossing; he has (to me) a fascinating way with words.

     It seems I read the book just in time; the current senior cleric in Iran announced on February 14 (the twenty-fifth anniversary of the original Fatwa) that the death sentence against Rushdie was "as fresh as ever."

     This is an over reaching by religious authorities. It is a moral wrong to threaten someone for words they have written.

     This is also a far too common occurrence among religious fanatics of all kinds, regardless of their tradition.

     In Burma there have been mob attacks upon Muslims which were led by Buddhist monks; and the history of Christianity is replete with tales of horror.

     In these days leading up to Purim (the celebration of thwarting an attempt by fanatics to destroy the Jews of Persia) may we recommit ourselves to building a world of tolerance and acceptance of all.

Alfa Radford
Music Notes from Alfa Radford

ALL YOUTH/CHILDREN'S CHOIRS & SR. CHOIR SING in CHURCH THIS SUNDAY, March 16:

Jr. Choir (K-Gr.4) arrives 8:30am. Sing at 9:00 Multigenerational Service.

Chancel Choir (Gr.5-6) arrives 10:15am. Sing at 11:00 Service. 

FUTURE DATES for CHOIR PARENTS:

Chancel Choir (Gr.5-6) sings at 9am Serv. May 11.

Youth Choir (Gr.7-up) sings 11am May 11.

Jr. & Chancel Choirs sing on June 8. 

COMING SOON! BEAUTIFUL SPRING MUSIC SERVICE:

Palm Sunday, April 13, 10:30am

Karl Jenkins "Requiem" interspersed with Japanese Haiku poems.

Choir, Soloists, and Orchestra. 

QUOTABLE DEPARTMENT: WHEN THE CONDUCTOR STEPS ON THE ODIUM

 The reactions of 1st-3rd Graders on their first exposure to Classical music:

"The best way to tune up is to use a pitchfork."

"If you keep moving two fingers real fast on the piano, you get a thrill."

"The most dangerous part about playing the cymbals is near the nose."

     Smiling with glee!  Alfa

Children's Religious Education Information  

Sunday School Program Notes

The spring semester focus is on Our Judeo-Christian Heritage, UU Source #4: "Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves." (UUA website) This huge subject is one which has implications both for faith formation and for cultural relevancy as Bible stories and references are embedded throughout our daily lives.

     We encourage parents to help build Bible and Judeo-Christian literacy by taking advantage of opportunities to follow up on story topics at home or to help your children understand the impact of both these major religious traditions, especially in this season of Passover, Lent, Easter. Growing up, many of my classmates would arrive in school on Ash Wednesday with their foreheads marked with ashes, and would be talking about what they had given up for Lent. Today, it is less common to see anything except images of Mardi Gras madness, so our UU children need help to develop an awareness of the occurrence of these dates and of their significance. You might even consider borrowing a Children's Bible from the library and reading some of the stories yourselves. You'll be surprised at how engaging they still are for children and at the thoughtful questions they will spark.

 

Missing from the RE wing - Did you borrow any of these items?

There are a number of things which have gone missing from the RE classrooms and supply cupboards. It would be great to get these items back if you borrowed any of them or inadvertently took them home:

·        Small and large glue guns and glue sticks

·        Bag of assorted ribbons

·        Container of Q-tips

·        Large stack of CDs (assorted titles - for craft use)

·        Orange printed fabric altar cloth

·        8 or so tie-dyed tablecloths (folding table size)

·        Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

·        Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

·        There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro

 

Substitute Teachers Needed

Every week we are in need of substitute teachers in various classrooms. Specific information about upcoming substitute opportunities is posted on the bulletin board downstairs in the RE hallway. Please consider helping out, even if you only have one week available - it will be much appreciated! 

 Laurel Whitehouse, Director of Children's Religious Education 

From the Parish Board

We are pleased that the search for the new RE director is underway. Last Sunday the search committee, David, members of the RE Committee and Parish Board and I met for a preliminary workshop with Karen-Bellevance Grace, Director of Faith Formation of the Mass Bay District of the UUA. The search committee will be gathering information to develop a job description and advertise for the position. We anticipate that the new director will assist us next year in assessing our program and deal with the reality that fewer parents are able to teach.

     We were thrilled that last Sunday's first-time stewardship celebration was so successful. Congregants were asked to bring their completed pledges forward, a successful practice of many churches, to launch the campaign and communicate the importance of giving to our church's livelihood and vitality. We can thank many for its success: John Howe, Martha Gallagher and the Stewardship Committee; Alfa, Richard Curzi, Davron Monroe and the choirs, and; Jackie James and the Worship Committee; Jim Staton, David Warner and the ushers; Kay Wiggin and her Quebrada Bakery; and, of course, our minister David Bryce. While our pledge deadline is the end of March, Sunday was a warm and celebratory beginning.

     The Parish Board, at its monthly meeting on March 10, will continue its 2014-15 budget discussions and review a brief congregational survey compiled over months by the Committee on Ministry. A summary of Parish Board minutes is posted on the bulletin board by the first floor elevator.

     Thank you for your support. And please feel free to write with any suggestions or questions.

     Jeanne Widmer, President of the Parish Board, jwidmer@uubelmont.org.

Stewardship Update

A heartfelt word of appreciation to the congregation for a very strong start to the "Response" phase of this year's March Stewardship Drive. A wonderful outpouring at our March 2 pledge offertory service brought our pledge total to over $325,000 -- reaching, on the very first day, more than half of our target of $605,000! We still have a long way to go, though, and all parishioners who have not yet made a pledge are urged to do so promptly. This year we are urging parishioners who give at every level to honor the legacy of a passing generation of members whose support sustained the church and made possible the thriving community we enjoy today. Our median and average pledge levels have remained roughly constant for several years. In order to assure the long-term financial health of the church, we must raise both of these levels. An honor roll of timely pledges will be posted in church next Sunday, March 16. It will include the names of all parishioners who have communicated their pledge to the church by Thursday, March 13. Thank you for your consideration and your generous response! -Stewardship Committee

Upcoming Events: 

LIVING WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS

Thursday, March 13, 7:00pm, Library

Our lives are constantly changing and facing changes that involve illness makes us feel vulnerable. This ongoing support group provides a space and time to understand and process feelings and circumstances related to dealing with serious illness, both for caregivers and people in all stages of discovery and recovery. 

BLOCKBUSTER COFFEEHOUSE THIS FRIDAY! 

This Friday March 14 at 7:30pm will be an unprecedented opportunity to see two uncommonly talented, all award-winning young performing duos from the very best of Berklee's world music students, in the warm and welcoming setting of our very own Second Friday Coffeehouse. Mairi Chaimbeuland Jenna Moynihan on harp and fiddle bring you haunting and enchanting music steeped in the traditions of Scotland and Appalachia, and Tali Rubinstein and Gilad Barakan present lively and engaging contemporary Israeli jazz and traditional song adaptations with recorder, guitar, and vocals. Please be sure to look at the flyer for additional complete and tantalizing information! 

     Our featured beneficiary is Youth Build USA, founded by our own Dorothy Stoneman in 1988. In this model national program, low-income youth work from 6 to 24 months to earn their GEDs or high school diplomas while learning job skills by building local affordable housing. Emphasis is placed on leadership, community service, career development, creation of positive mini-communities, and follow-up for job or college placement. Learn more at www.youthbuild.org.
     We wish to again thank Berklee's Roger Brown, who for the third year has facilitated the booking of Berklee Night. His comment on this Friday's exceptional program is clear and unqualified: "I promise this will be an unforgettable set of performers -- from Appalachia to Israel!"
TRANSCENDENTALIST SERIES:
The Radical Vision of Walt Whitman
Talk and discussion with Laurie Carter Noble
Sunday, March 16, 12:30-2pm, Library
The poems Whitman wrote are transcendent in their beauty, compassion and humanity. They are a glorious reflection of a visionary poet and an extraordinary human being. We will look at several poems especially those that show how radical and revolutionary his vision was. A man so convinced of his mission that he wrote, under various pseudonyms, laudatory reviews of his poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, and had these reviews published in newspapers all over the country, Whitman continues to delight, amaze, confound and inspire us. 

ALLIANCE LUNCH & PROGRAM AT FIRST CHURCH

Wed, March 19, 12:00 noon - All Men and Women Welcome! 

Our Wednesday, March 19 lunch and program will be at The First Church in Belmont. Lunch at 12:00 noon. The program,starting about 12:30pm, will be the movie "THE STRAIGHT STORY" based on the true story of an elderly man's 260-mile journey across Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother, who is in poor health. Impaired eyesight prevents the elderly man from driving a car, so he uses a riding lawnmower towing a trailer.

     To help us prepare for the number of attendees, please let Susan Street know (617.484.1054, x201) that you will attend and the number of guests you will bring. Bring your own sandwich and we will provide soup, beverage, and dessert. The suggested lunch donation is $1.00 per person to help pay for the food costs.

SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY

Thu, March 20, 7:30pm, CR - Ken Bernstein & Edwin Taylor 

Alice Trexler will lead a discussion on the book The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik. Gopnik describes recent studies on what babies and toddlers understand and when: When they feel empathy. When they understand rules. When they understand that hitting hurts. Why they have invisible friends. And consequences of these studies for parenting. Selected reading is available at eftaylor.com/sands.
FIRST CHURCH BOOK GROUP 
The Book Group will meet on Wed, March 26, 7:30pm in the Church Library to discuss Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Flight Behavior. Set in Barbara Kingsolver's native Appalachia, Flight Behavior tells the story of Dellarobia Turnbow intertwined with the story of climate change. A young mother in flight from her stifled life in the mountains of Tennessee, Dellarobia stumbles upon an astonishing sight, a mountainside covered in monarch butterflies. This discovery changes her life, her world outlook, and the community around her. Richard Waring and Kristin Phillips, admirers of monarch butterflies, will lead the discussion. 
    The Book Group is always open to new members with no continuing commitment required. Please contact Anne Stuart at astuart@uubelmont.org to confirm attendance if you are interested in participating.
     Looking Ahead: April 23, the Book Group will be discussing Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick, which is the One Book, One Belmont selection for 2014. The Belmont Library will present special events related to the book throughout April and May.

ALL-CHURCH POTLUCK DINNER

Saturday, March 29, 6:30-8:30pm, Parish Hall

Savor a diversity of cuisines as varied as our congregation at this church-wide event sponsored by the Fellowship Committee. All ages are welcome. Come bring your favorite dish and bottle of wine to share, plus a healthy appetite. Show off your culinary talents, or secret recipe. Enjoy an evening of fine food and conversation at this fun evening together! Sign up at coffee hour, or just show up with something delicious. Direct any questions to fellowship@uubelmont.org.

YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL ACTION TRIP (18-35 years)

Friday, August 8 - Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Chicago, Illinois - Ethical Eating and Advocacy

Ethical eating means more than local and organic ingredients - it means supporting the people throughout the food chain who bring food to your table. Come to Chicago, a nexus of America's food industry and economy, to learn how to use your power as a consumer to improve the lives of U.S. food workers. Working with the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago, a UUSC partner, we will learn about labor history, the injustices of the restaurant industry, and innovative organizing strategies. We will meet directly with workers and organizers and take part in on-the-ground action. This hands-on experience will give us the knowledge and skills we need to choose compassionate consumption and support people at the forefront of change in the food industry - and the drive to get involved when we return home.

Cost: $500 (Does not include travel to/from Chicago)

For additional information on pricing, meals, housing and a sample schedule, contact Julie Ennis at jennis@uubelmont.org.

Register by Sunday, March 23:

http://uucsj.org/journeys/food-for-thought-an-exploration-of-eating-and-worker-organizing/

Recommended Reading: Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman

Must See Trailer: http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780801451720?p_ti&PID=34712

VDAY BELMONT - UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS

The Social Action Subcommittee is presenting a benefit reading of Eve Ensler's A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer on Saturday, April 5 at 7:30pm in the Parish Hall. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students with ID, and are available at coffee hour, online at www.brownpapertickets.com, and at the door. Proceeds will go to My Life My Choice, a local organization that works with adolescent girls to help them out of prostitution. The event is recommended for ages 15 and up.

     V-day is a global activist movement to stop violence against woman and girls. Their work is grounded in 4 core beliefs. Core belief #1: Art has the power to transform thinking and inspire people to act. Further information can be found at www.vday.org, Facebook.com.vday, and @vday on Twitter.