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The Unitarian - May 10, 2016
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Sunday Worship - May 10: New Member Sunday
Welcome and Announcements: 9 a.m. Sara Oaklander; 11 a.m. Catherine Claypoole
9 a.m. Ushers: Eva Patalas & Peter Guthrie 11 a.m. Ushers: Martha Spaulding & Margaret Marks
Lay Pastoral Care: 9 a.m. Janet Amphlett; 11 a.m. Tom Neel
The flowers on the Chancel table this Sunday are given by Ariane and Stefan Frank in celebration of their 23rd anniversary. To Love!
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Reflections from Rev. David Bryce, Senior Minister
Relegation
On Monday, May 2, Leicester City became the champions of the Premier League, the top level English football (we would say "soccer") league.
For most Americans this means nothing. (And some of my baseball references later in this column will also mean nothing to at least a few folk, but the message may matter.)
But it is the first time for Leicester since their founding 132 years ago. To put that just a tad into perspective, when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 it had been 86 years since they had last won - and they had won previously. The new Premier League winners had never taken it all. And they had waited 46 years longer.
But wait, there's more. English football uses a system that includes "relegation". There are twenty teams in the Premier League. At the end of the season, the bottom three teams drop into the next lowest league and are replaced from teams in that league. Imagine that your favorite baseball team dropped down from the Major Leagues into AAA ball.
What's more, a team can drop year after year into lower levels (or rise year after year). I have a cousin in England who supports Blackpool, and has seen them drop from the top league to the second and then to the third and now are in danger of dropping into the fourth level.
Imagine if we all had relegation as a possibility for us in life. Somewhat like a Reality TV show we could face being the "lowest scoring member" in our family and so find ourselves relegated.
Or imagine a spiritual league where - purely on a scoring system - we could be relegated from heaven, or from the ranks of the "saved", or from God's love or just from serenity of spirit.
Thankfully that does not exist, and our Universalist heritage tells us that all are saved.
Yes, I know, many of us do not believe in salvation. But this is imagination, right?
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A Call to the Annual Meeting at The First Church In Belmont: Sunday, May 22, 2016, 4 p.m.
Pursuant to a call by Todd Schatzki, President of the Parish Board, you are hereby notified that the Annual Meeting of The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist will be held on Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall for the election of officers, status of next year's budget, committee highlights, and the transaction of such other businesses as may lawfully come before the meeting.
Hereof, fail not, and make due attendance at said meeting and time.
Only active adult members, who have had standing as such for not less than seven days prior to the meeting, may vote. No proxies will be accepted: you must attend the meeting in order to vote.
- Downing Cless, Parish Clerk
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Stewardship Drive - please pledge today
Have you made your pledge? Are you considering increasing your pledge, as some havealready done? You're just one click away at www.uubelmont.org/stewardship. The Parish Board is finalizing the budget right now, and we need pledges or responses from everyone to fund essential church programs for the coming church year. Questions? Please contact Roger Read ( rread@uubelmont.org) or Mark Thurber ( mthurber@uubelmont.org).
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Children's Religious Education: It Takes a Congregation
There are certain experiences that appear on the "bucket lists" on many Unitarian Universalists. Some are ones that our religious education programs try to arrange for children and youth to have as part of their faith formation ... { click for more }
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Beneath The Surface Film Fundraiser - Partner Church Committee
Saturday, May 14, 7:00 p.m., Parish Hall
The Partner Church Committee presents Beneath the Surface, a feature-length documentary film.
A beautiful lake now covers the drowned village of Bözödújfalu in Transylvania (right), where members of three ethnicities and five religions used to coexist peacefully. The village was destroyed by a dam built by the Ceaușescu regime just before the 1989 downfall of Ceaușescu and the Iron Curtain.
Twenty-five years later, now dispersed across different countries and social classes, former inhabitants of Bözödújfalu meet, as they have every summer, on the lakeshore to remember their heritage and pass on their traditions to younger generations. Among those featured in the film are the minister of Concord's partner church, Rev. József Szombatfalvi, and his brother István, a beekeeper.
This 90-minute documentary is a meditation on history, families, traditional values and loss. Directed and beautifully filmed by Alex Debreczeni, Beneath the Surface was nominated for the Ensor Award for Best Belgian Documentary in 2014
Members of First Church will travel to Bözödújfalu this summer, as part of our visit to partners in Désfalva, Transylvania. The film will help raise funds for the trip. Tickets are $10 each and there will be desserts and popcorn for sale.
Please join us for the movie and fellowship with our travelers afterward. To watch the trailer visit bit.ly/bts-trlr.
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FLASH! Some Second Friday Coffeehouse changes ahead SOON!
After over two decades at the same rates, we are raising our price at the door and the price of our (two-people for the price of one) Season Tickets by 20%. This is still lower than comparable venues but closer to the norm. As a gesture of gratitude to our loyal supporters, and in an attempt to shorten our fall Season Ticket sales season, we are offering 2016-2017 Season Tickets to early bird purchasers at 2015-2016 rates from now until midnight August 31st.
Sales of next year's tickets at this year's prices begin at the May 13th and June 10th Coffeehouses and by mail from now until the end of August. Don't miss out on this great bargain on great music and your chance to support ten great beneficiaries!
Second Friday Coffeehouse: May 13 at 7:30, to benefit
Renewal House
Colorado based singer-songwriter John Bunzli writes songs that explore the darker side of the human condition with compassion and sincerity. His rich voice, fraught with the emotion inherent in the tales he tells, flows over the hypnotic, melodic grooves he weaves with his guitar.
For as long as he can remember, John has been surrounded by music. As a child, he spent hours listening to his family's record collection. He bought every one of the Beatles' records with his hard earned paper route money. But it was a dream he had in high school that changed his life.
"I woke up the next morning and knew I had to have a guitar." He managed to wrangle his sister's old beat up nylon string and never looked back. That decision, which can be heard on his stunning, award winning debut CD, The Well, has earned him considerable acclaim throughout the Colorado music scene. www.johnbunzli.com Singer/autoharpist Gerri Strickler leads a quintet that plays broadly influenced folk-music revival favorites, with beautiful vocal harmonies. She is joined by Belmont friends, Lakshmi Nayak on vocals, Eve Patalas on recorder and penny whistle, Roger Miller on guitar and vocals, and Jim Sugarman on percussion and bass. Additional appearance by Webb Sandquist on guitar and vocals.
Musica Sacra presents "The Joke's On" - May 14
Music to tickle your funny bone ends Musica Sacra's season on Saturday, May 14 with The Joke's On... Mary Beekman conducts music by PDQ Bach, Pinkham, Alkan, Lassus, and others, including Rossini's Comic Duet for 2 Cats and a drop dead arrangement of Teddy Bear's Picnic at 8 p.m. at The First Church Congregational, 11 Garden St. in Cambridge. NuBar, right next door offers a pre-concert prix-fixe dinner, so make a night of it! For tickets, go to www.musicasacra.org or contact Mary Beekman.
Marian Melnick Reprises "Meet Fannie Barrier Williams" - May 18 at the Arlington Library For those who missed Marian Melnick's wonderful in-character presentation of "Meet Fannie Barrier Williams" at the March Alliance meeting (left), there's a new opportunity to see her.
On Wednesday, May 18, Marian will reprise her presentation at Robbins Library Community Room, 700 Massachusetts Ave. in Arlington, from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Marian portrays a black woman activist - and Unitarian - from the early 20th century. The event is free.
Marian originally created her characterization for the FCB children's RE program. She has embedded Fannie's story in the historical context of 1855 - 1944, Fannie's life span.
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- "Beneath the Surface" - Film fundraiser - Sat., May 14,
7 p.m., Parish Hall (see above for description) - New group forming in the fall - "Next Chapter"
- Meditation - Mondays, 8 p.m., Library
- Jobseeker Buddy Group - Tuesdays, 10-11:30 a.m., Library
- Fiber Arts Fellowship - Thursday, May 19, 8 p.m., Location TBD
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UU Alliance - Wednesday, May 18, 12 noon, Upper Hall
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Facing Illness Together, Thursday, May 19, 7 p.m., Tinkham Room
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Science and Spirituality - Thursday, May 19, 7:30 p.m., Conference Room
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First Church Book Group - Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., Library
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Hootenanny/Jam Session- Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., Parlor
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Program & Committee News
Urgent Campaign to Support Asylum-Seeking Families from Central America
FCB Social Action Committee has joined forces with our FCB member, Bev Freeman, who has established a link to RAICES, a Texas legal services nonprofit, to help asylum-seeking families who were once incarcerated there and have already migrated to Massachusetts. These are women and children who were imprisoned in Texas for seeking asylum in the US - and who are now being released due to U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee's court order and public pressure.
The goal is $35,000 to support a half-time case manager position at the Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) in Boston. This professional would be a lifeline for the families, and would be sure they get needed services including legal help. To donate, go to http://www.iiicenter.org/2016/02/case-manager/ If you have questions, reach Bev Freeman who is organizing this fundraising campaign: beverlyjfreeman@gmail.com. The families are from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and they fled very dangerous conditions. 55 families have already arrived in Massachusetts; many of the family members have suffered trauma and the women spouse abuse. This effort to help the families now here will hopefully serve as a model for other states. Any amount is appreciated. Those who donate will receive a full report of progress in resettling these families and giving them a truly openhearted welcome to Massachusetts. Read a recent New York Times article concerning family detention in Texas:
"Summertime ... and the livin' is easy" except if your cupboards are bare and the meals your children have eaten at school all year are no longer available during the summer months. Please help to STOCK THE SHELVES FOR SUMMER.
May and June Special Request: Your favorite items from the shopping list - clip and take with you.
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All stages of baby food
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Enfamil with iron
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Vegetable or corn oil
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Boxed infant cereals
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Cheerios
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Flintstone Chewable Vitamins
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Polyvisol with Iron Liquid Vitamins
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Canned fruits packed in syrup
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Canned vegetables
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Parmalat milk
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Carnation Instant Breakfast
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Canned chicken and tuna
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Peanut butter
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Macaroni and cheese
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Dried fruits, especially raisins
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Canned beef stews
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Pasta sauce
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Caring Connection
Lay Pastoral Care Team The Lay Pastoral Care Team works with and supports the senior minister in reaching out to members and friends of the First Church who are adjusting to change, loss, illness or death: uubelmont.org/lay-ministry
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Connect with UU actions, events & resources
- Annual Meeting, Sunday, May 15 at 1 p.m. We have moved this important event to Sunday in the hope that more of our friends will be able to join us. Same great gathering, different day! We'll see you there!
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Parish Board
Information and board minutes are online at uubelmont.org/parish-board.
Contact Us
Please send your announcements, news, events, and other submissions to office@uubelmont.org by noon on Wednesday, May 11. Please note that announcements may be edited for space and clarity.
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