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| Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa | Special Edition September 2013 |
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Rev. Dr. Doak Mansfield, Interim Minister
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Erin Powers, DRE
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Click for
The Church Calendar
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DOMELIGHT
Deadline for Submissions: 17th of each month
Length of Articles:
300-350 words
Submit via email to: domelight@uutampa.org
DL Editorial Board:
Harriet Blymiller
Mary Francis
Christine Smith
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Visit our website at
www.uutampa.org
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Our congregation is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association an organization of more than 1,000 congregations in the U.S. and Canada. Our national headquarters is in Boston, Massachusetts.
Other UU Links:
Southern Region website
Florida District UUA |
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 "Wondering while Wandering"
The Rev'd Doak M. Mansfield, D. Min. Interim Minister Most all of you are new to Pegs and me, and we are new to most of you. There are expectations by all of us as well as assumptions, biases, apprehensions, jealousies, and maybe even some fears. When I get in a troublesome situation or place of uncertainty, I remember my daddy's advice. When I'd be panicky as a kid, he'd say, "Easy Buck, we'll just have to see, but I suspect it will be all right."
Future friends and neighbors, let us be gentle and affirming with one another. We together will see and feel what happens. I've some 40 years dealing with UUs from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Huntsville, Alabama, to Clinton, North Carolina, to Laurel, Mississippi as their minister, pastor, counselor, and friend.
And we move around, don't you know? There is no formula to apply for all situations or one analysis of a personality. We all are tailored made, and each of us is a modification of a model. I'll be me myself, and I invite you to be you likewise. From there, I figure we can learn how to be with one another. It is my sincere desire that we will pass the next couple years listening, learning, leaning, and lifting.
The Interim Ministry has a method and a madness. I will serve as religious community management consultant, questioner, devil's advocate, cheerleader, and gentle critic to order to strengthen the "being a congregation." There is no right way to be a UU congregation. There is, though, a multitude of ways to be an underachieving, sick, troubled, gathering of folk with UU as a name. Instead, may we build on what is and carry on the process of becoming better at what we aspire to and imagine.
As importantly, I will offer my style and approach to ministry in public and private, as theologian, as philosopher, as pastor, and as sage. The idea is for you to see that there are differences in our professional clergy, and as y'all move along to calling a settled minister for UUCT by the fall of 2015, a good find can be made.
As Unitarian Universalists we have a wonderful and inspiring "message" for our time. Yes, even an evangelical calling: a dynamic heart and head message and a broadly welcoming community that can nurture spirits and help heal a broken culture. There must be a good and strong "system," a "functioning, healthy Unitarian Universalist community" that can serve that mission.
I take on the mission of UUCT as mine:
A center for liberal religious education for people of all ages
A haven for those seeking a positive spiritual experience
A community of caring and committed individuals diverse in identity and theology
A positive force in the community for justice and equality
Will you do the same?
I can be a bit rustic and do laugh out loud and clap when happy and excited, which I prefer to be. Let us be happy, have fun, and laugh much, much more than we cry and anguish. If we don't, that is very sad and a sure waste for all. My success depends on our success of UUCT becoming better at what you envision; true to legacy, mission, outreach, and possibilities.
I'd like my calendar crowded with visits. My cell number: 601.498.0906.
Balance & Harmony ~ Doak |
 Office Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 10 am - 2 pm Wednesday is Rev. Doak's day off. Only urgent calls please.
Please call him at 601.498.0906 with questions, ideas, needs, and to confirm his availability at the church office as he may be called away. Appointments may be arranged at mutual convenience. |
Join us in the Multipurpose Building on Saturday, September 28th at 9:30 am until 12 noon for a congregational workshop to explore our future during this interim period and the next steps on our path.
- A brief overview of the process of how ministers are settled
- Some attention to the interim process and what to expect/what can be done with a 2-year interim period
- Congregational time line
- Strengths and challenges inventory
- Power and authority
Questions? See Mary Francis
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A Month of Sundays at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa |
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Services begin at 11 a.m
September 1 - Work, Work, Work: A celebration of Labor Day
Rev. Doak's first service will be an informal affair with him sharing a bit of philosophy, history, and reflections on the holiday that is "Labor Day."
September 8 - Life as a Journey: A Blending of Waters Ceremony
For this annual event, Rev. Doak's reflections will consider the meaning and possible power of ritual for a reasoning people.
September 15 - Why Unitarian Universalism?
Rev. Doak says about this offering, "This is a revival witness, testify, sermon. I hope it is the sermon I want to be remembered by with appreciation." An Interim Minister Investiture Ceremony is part of this service. Friends of the Mansfields and UUs from other UU congregations will be with us.
September 22 - What We haven't Learned from History Guest Speaker: Joseph McAuliffe
Despite the considerable problems our world faces today, Mr. McAuliffe believes that the "trajectory of the human story has been positive." He will identify several ideas that he deems essential to the forward progress of the human condition. Central to his thesis is the consequential implications of ideas and the critical need for personal intellectual inventory in ascertaining the foundational ideas of our own lives.
September 29 - Universalism: Its Past & Promise
The second half of our name makes it long and complicated. What did Universalism mean and what might it mean now and for the future are ideas Rev. Doak will explore.
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Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant
- Robert Louis Stevenson
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