What does it feel like to live in an impoverished country? On May 3^rd and 4^th, about fifteen First Church 9^th and 10^th graders and a handful of chaperones had a chance to get a brief glimpse of what such a life might entail by spending an overnight at Heifer International's Heifer Farm in Rutland, MA.

     Heifer International is a charity that works to address poverty and hunger worldwide, not by donating food to people in need, but, instead, by providing livestock, crop seeds, and training to struggling families and communities. Their farm in Rutland is one of a handful of facilities that they have in the US that let people observe what Heifer does. The Rutland facility is a working farm with livestock and vegetable gardens. However, included on the property is a "Global Village", which contains a representative home for each of about 7 or 8 of the countries that Heifer works in (including the Appalachia region of the US). The Global Village is open for people to tour to get a glimpse of how a typical family in those particular countries might live. However, for some, like the First Church group, staying in the Global Village provides an opportunity to experience firsthand what life is like for Heifer's clients.

     After getting an overview of Heifer International, the First Church group was divided into two subgroups, one of whom went to the Ghana house and the other to the Guatemala house. Each group was required to prepare its own lunch, using native ingredients for those countries. Part of the meal preparation involved gathering firewood from the surrounding grounds and making a fire to cook the meal. After lunch, the groups toured the entire Village, observing the similarities and differences between the various countries that Heifer serves. The full group then participated in a joint exercise which demonstrated the imbalances between population and consumption that exist in the world. Later, each person was assigned to one of three houses - Kenya, Tibet, or Poland - to spend the evening and overnight. The residents of each house were responsible for using a limited budget to purchase their Village's meal ingredients from a replica open-air market and then, again, for preparing their own meal. As with lunch, the meals consisted of small portions of grains and vegetables, notable for their rather bland taste, but surprisingly filling given the portion sizes. The specific lodging accommodations differed slightly by village, but none of the homes had electricity or running water, and they were sparsely furnished with little or no heat. Sleeping accommodations for many of the occupants of each house consisted of lying communally on a stone floor, much like would be true for extended family members in such circumstances. The following morning, the entire group gathered together to help with various farm chores, before returning to the comforts of Belmont.

     In addition to forming new connections within the group and strengthening existing ones, the overnight trip gave everyone a deeper appreciation for the challenges that people in other countries face coping with day-to-day situations that we generally take for granted in our own lives. All-in-all, an enriching way to spend a spring weekend less than an hour from Belmont. - Jack Weis 

BELMONT UNITARIAN ALLIANCE 

Lobster Roll Lunch & Annual Meeting - 12 noon, Wed, May 14

The Belmont Unitarian Alliance closes its 2013-14 church year with our Annual Meeting and Lobster Roll Lunch at First Church on Wednesday, May 14, at 12:00 noon. Contact Susan Street (617.484.1054, x201) very soon to register yourself and friends for the lunch so we will have enough Lobster Rolls for everyone. (The final deadline for signing up for a Lobster Roll is Thursday, May 9.) This lovely once-a-year Lobster Roll Lunch includes: salad, chips, and angel-food cake with strawberries and ice cream. The price for this luncheon is $12/person.

   Our Annual Meeting will begin at noon. We will review and vote on the recently revised Alliance By-Laws and elect the officers of the Alliance. You must be a member to vote. If you have not yet paid for your 2013-14 membership and wish to vote, please bring an additional $15 to pay for your membership, so that you can vote on the By-Laws revisions and elect the officers. Lunch will be served following our annual meeting.

SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY

Thursday, May 15, 7:30pm, Conference Room

The Science and Spirituality Group will meet on Thursday, May 15 at 7:30 in the conference room. Edwin Taylor will lead a discussion on two draft chapters of Edmund Robinson's book "Evil for Evil." Robinson, former senior minister of UU Belmont, started as a lawyer; at midlife he graduated from Harvard Divinity School and became a UU minister. Before this professional shift, he had taken on the case of a convicted murderer. His first chapter recounts this case, leading up to his client's execution. That experience led Robinson to write his book on evil. His first two draft chapters are at the website eftaylor.com/sands.

WOMEN'S SPRING POTLUCK SUPPER

Friday, May 16, 7pm, Upper Hall

Share good food, laughter and a chance to get together with the women of First Church. Bring a main dish, appetizer, salad, or dessert AND a beverage of your choice. RSVP to Lillian Anderson at Landerson@uubelmont.org so we know you'll be joining us.

ALL-CHURCH PICNIC - Sunday, June 8

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the annual All-Church Picnic immediately following the 11:00 service on Sunday, June 8. There will be delicious food including burgers, chicken, hot dogs and vegetarian options, lots of yummy salads for the salad contest, and of course, dessert. The cost is $5/adults, $5/children 4-12 yr, $20/families.

Salad Contest - Don't miss the annual First Church Salad Contest! Bring your favorite salad to share at the picnic - green salads, pasta salads, fruit salads, all types are welcome. Please bring your salad to the kitchen the day of the picnic and enter your name on the list to be part of the contest. Then at the picnic everyone will vote for their favorite. We serve over 200 people at the picnic, so the more salads, the better!   

Volunteers NEEDED! We will have a sign-up sheet at coffee hour listing different opportunities for people to help with this fun annual event - volunteers needed to run games for kids, grill, sell tickets, set-up, clean-up, shop, etc. If you have any questions, or would like to help out, please e-mail fellowship@uubelmont.org.