May 2015

Rev. Dr. Doak Mansfield, Interim Minister

Erin Powers, DRE

In This Issue

Wondering While Wandering

Desk of the President

R.E.flections

Pride

We Have a Candidate!

Special Congregational Meeting

May 3rd Congregational Meeting

Circles in the Woods

mUUsic

Adult RE

Friendship Dinners

WomenSpirit

The Mountain

Universalist Convocation

A Bouquet for Mother

Come and join

Buildings & Grounds Work Day

May 9

9-11 a.m.

Click for
The Church Calendar

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Coming up This Week/Next Week

Care Committee
circle_of_people

Our Care Team sends greeting cards, makes hospital visits and follows up with congregants who are experiencing joys or sorrows. Please let us know if you or someone in our congregation is in need. Contact Tempie Taudte at care@uutampa.org

Al-Anon

Al-Anon meets at UUCT on Saturdays at 10:30 am each week. For additional information in Hillsborough County, call 813-881-9372 or visit us on the web at www.tampabayalanon.org.

DOMELIGHT
Deadline for Submissions:

17th of each month

Length of Articles:

300-350 words

Submit via email to: domelight@uutampa.org

DL Editorial Board:

Pat Busbice

Mary Francis

Christine Smith

Board of Trustees

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Wondering While Wandering . . .

Pegs and I will be working on letting go from y'all and this place over the next 3 � months. It won't be easy. Your inclusion of us in the life of UUCT and response to our efforts have been wonderful and gratifying. It is a precious thing. Our experiences with y'all are valued treasures we'll have forever.

We are going west August 17. First to our home in Laurel, MS then August 19 to Pasco, Washington. There we will begin Sept 1 my tenure as minister (half-time plus) of the Community UU Church of the Tri-Cities (Pasco, Richland, & Kennewick). We're very excited and hopeful. From all we can determine this is a great congregation with tremendous strength and possibilities.They and I are the same age. They were founded in 1948 as was I. They are healthy, happy, and hopeful. A good fit it seems. If all goes well we could be there for several years.

The church has 70 members with 25 children-youth, very nice, debt-free facilities centrally located in a vital, growing, three-city area (population of some 220,000) on the Columbia River in southeast Washington, 30 miles from Oregon. I will be their first minister in residence for over a decade. They are healthy, happy, and hopeful. A good fit it seems.

We've located a nice patio apartment that will be prefect for us, 10 minutes from the church across the Columbia in Kennewick, WA.

The Tri-Cities are set at the convergence of the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima rivers in a beautiful, broad valley region bordered by a low, treeless mountain range (Rattlesnake Range). There is a rich heritage of varied agriculture production (all sorts of food is grown here today from cherries, apples to asparagus), wineries, the Pacific Northwest National Research Lab, Hanford Nuclear Faculties, and various high-tech businesses. They also boast impressive medical facilities, all the features of modern urban America, a branch of Washington State University, and Columbia Basis College. There is Amtrak service to Portland and Minneapolis plus a busy region airport. Climate is arid and temperate.

That is a snap shot of our future. We still have the next several weeks with you. Let us make the remaining time a continuation of regard, joyful community, discovery, consideration of worthwhile ideas and ideals, and the celebration of the wondrous as well as the meaning of life.

See you in church if not before!

Love ~ Doak

Desk of the President
It's Spring finally after our awful winter here in Tampa. New things, new growth, regrowth -- you know the routine. Yeah, yeah, to those with allergies this new growth means something different, but even to them it seems new. So here we go again.

Lots of excitement, lots of it. We may want to coast a bit and catch our breath, but no, the next few months will be filled with more excitement and more events to plan and participate in and more general work around the place.

Will it ever stop?

I certainly hope not.

Bill

UUCT

One Place. All Faiths. No Problem.

kR.E.flections
Growth=Connections

Erin Powers, DRE
I'm writing this Domelight from District Assembly at First Unitarian Church of Orlando. Regionalization has been voted in and there is much talk of connection and growth.

The prevailing message is of connections. Connections equal growth and growth is a measure, not a goal. We never stop growing as congregations. Not only in number, but also in depth--spiritual depth. That's what brings us together after all. We crave a connection to each other and we crave growth of our spirits, not only for ourselves, but for our children. Whatever name we use for this yearning, it is a human condition.

This year's focus in RE has been connections. Our youth and I have been making connections within Florida Beacon and with each other.   I now hold the position of Advisor Co-Chair within Florida Beacon. Two of our youth hold committee chair positions within Florida Beacon.   Our children's classes have made wonderful connections with each other and their teachers.

I am always overjoyed to see collaborative play and learning happening in our religious exploration classes. Moms and soon Dads are getting together to share our joys and struggles with parenting. It's always a relief to know we're in this together. Connecting, growing our young UUs and ourselves.   We've been marching, with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and in Tampa's Pride Parade.

We're connecting with our community and growing our awareness.   This is the magic of our faith, the connections to each other and the growth of our collective spirit.

Beacon Youth Group - meets Wednesdays at 6:30-8:30 in the Youth Room. Youth ages 12-20 are welcome!

Children and Youth Religious Exploration

Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa

One Place - All Faiths

Lead by our Beacon Youth Group, many of our members marched at the Pride Parade in Ybor City on March 28th

Spotlight on Search

We have a Candidate! By now, the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC) hopes that many of you have a chance to meet Patricia Owen.    There are many more events scheduled for Candidate Week so come on out and introduce yourself so you can get to know each other a little better.   Click here for the candidate week schedule. Don't miss the second sermon on Sunday April 26 and the Congregational Meeting that follows.

The committee members have worked many hours to bring the congregation to this point.   We have, with great dedication, kept the congregation foremost in our minds as we did our best to learn who the congregation is now and what we aspire to become. We earnestly prioritized the congregation's needs and wants after looking at our strengths and our "growing edges" (that's Search language for weaknesses).  Our decisions were made by consensus, so you know we discussed the important decisions many times. We were given a daunting task and no one on the team backed away from the challenge. The seven members of the MSC are convinced that Patricia Owen is the right choice to be the Settled Minister of UU Tampa for now and for many years to come.

This is the Ministerial Search Committee's last article.   Our by-laws require that the committee be disbanded upon the Congregations successful affirmation of the MSC's choice for Settled Minister.   With all our hearts, we are confident that affirmation will take place at the April 26 Congregational Meeting. We accept your thanks for our service with humility.   We are honored to have served UUCT in this way. It was a lot of work, but we had some fun too. We are all looking forward to new tasks for our hands and minds to do.

Comments, questions and conversations are welcome in person anytime, or by email to search@uuct.org or attend Conversations with the Board.

Elise Richardson, Joan Lund, Ara Rogers, Marta Pearson, Ed Benedict, Earl Harvey, Mary Francis

Special Congregational Meeting

On Sunday, April 26, a special congregational meeting will be held following the Sunday service for the specific purpose for members to affirm the choice of the Search Committee"s recommendation of Patricia A. Owen as our settled minister.

Snacks will be available to encourage members to remain for this important meeting.

Yes, one week later, we will have our Annual Meeting that will include a pot luck. It's important to all of us to attend both of these functions.

Annual Congregational Meeting

Mark you calendar for Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 at 12:45 the spring Congregational Meeting. A potluck is planned prior to the meeting, so plan to bring a dish to share.

The agenda includes the following:

Welcome and Approval of Agenda
Approval of minutes from, Congregational Meeting, Sunday, April 26, 2015.
Reports from the Standing Committees and Church Council
Approval of minutes from, Congregational Meeting, Sunday, Presentation of year to date budget by Pat Benedict
Recognize members leaving the Board for their service on the BOT
Election of new Board of Trustees Members - Nominating Committee - nominations from the floor will be accepted (see candidates at the bottom of this notice)
Presentation of the 2013 Betty McCleur Lee Distinguished Service Award
Open items from the floor
Adjournment

Meet the Candidates for the Board of Trustees

The Leadership/Nominating Committee, consisting of Diane Gainforth, Russell Patterson, Russell Kirby and Ed Benedict, is pleased to announce that four members of our congregation have agreed to run for the three available positions on our Board of Trustees (BOT) at the May 3, 2015, Congregational Meeting.

To better acquaint you with these candidates, each has prepared a biographical sketch, which identifies their experience in the church, as well and their qualifications and strengths.

The four candidates standing for election are Pat Benedict, Lynn Parrish, Roger Polcyn, and James Shaw. Biographical information about the candidates is provided below:

Pat Benedict
I've been a member of UUCT since 1997.
Since my retirement from teaching in 2005, I have become actively involved in many aspects of the church. In my three years on the Board of Trustees, I served one year as secretary and the last two as Treasurer. I currently serve on the Membership, the Worship Program Committee, and Finance committee. I was privileged to serve as Chair of the Search committee for our previous settled minister, Sara Zimmerman. Other areas in which I have served are the chair and co- chair of the Stewardship Drive and co-chair of the Capital Campaign in 2009. I also help with organizing the annual auction and with other fundraising activities.

I enjoy working for and with my church family and would be honored to serve another term on the Board of Trustees.

Lynn Parish
I've been a member of the UUCT since 2001. I currently work for UnitedHealthcare as an executive on the national clinical consulting team. I am a nurse practitioner by profession with a major in gerontological nursing. Since joining the church, I co-chaired the membership committee with Judy Lehman for several years and continue to serve as a committee member. I served three years on the committee on ministry. I host the Russian dinner each year as an item in our annual auction fundraiser. I have served on various fundraising workgroups over the years helping with set-up and organization.
I enjoy my church friends and would consider it a privilege to serve on the Board of Trustees.

Roger Polcyn
Jae and I have been Unitarian Universalists for 45 years and members of UUCT for 29 years.   We have been members of six UU churches and I have served on the boards of four of them including an earlier six year term at UUCT.

I have served on various committees, was youth advisor at two churches and was finance chair and headed the pledge campaign for five years at UUCT. I currently serve on the UUCT board. My major other interest has been the Worship/Program committee and the development of the Community Conversations on Worship and Growth.

I have enjoyed being a part of the interim ministry and wish to stay on the board to work on the development of the new ministry.

James Michael Shaw, Jr
I first started coming to UUCT in 2008 and became a member in 2011. I'm the proud father of Claudia Shaw, proud husband of Aida Shaw, and future father to a young man who will be born in April. I'm a full-time attorney. I've also taught as an adjunct professor at St. Petersburg College. In addition to that, I have served as chair of the legal panel for the Greater Tampa Chapter of the ACLU of Florida since 2007 and served as a committeeman for the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee from 2008-2012, where I co-chaired the Bylaws Committee.
UUCT has been a wonderful place for me and my family to grow, and I would be honored to have the opportunity to give back by serving on the Board of Trustees.

(Submitted by the Nominating Committee, whose members are Diane Gainforth, Russell Kirby, Russell Patterson and Ed Benedict).

Circles in the Woods CUUPS

Join our Full Moon Celebration on May 2nd. 'Tis the merry month of May!!!! Time to celebrate spring and the Divine Union of the God and Goddess. This Beltaine celebration will include the traditional May Pole dance as well as other family-friendly Beltaine activities. Join Serenity Coven for an evening of Beltaine fun! This will be a child-safe Beltaine ritual! Drums are welcome and encouraged!

The cost is a love donation and there will be a Moneta basket for offerings. No pets please. Plan to come early or stay afterward to socialize. Come, join us, in perfect love and perfect trust.

For more information about Circles in the Woods CUUPS, e-mail cuups@uutampa.org.

UUCT mUUsic Group

Meets 7:30pm Mondays

Behold our muse. Not sure how musical you are? Afraid you'll be embarrassed?

Come to mUUsic Group anonymously if you like. Your secret will be safe with us. So, please join us in the Small Dome. We're there every Monday at 7:30 PM.

In the spirit of old-time hootenannys and good-time jam sessions, this is an informal gathering of musicians, vocalists, and just plain music lovers who want to make or listen to mUUsic. Sing, play an instrument, drum, or bang on an upside-down waste basket. Get creative. It's all good.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of ability or experience. So come one, come all, and let the good times roll! Questions: muusic@uutampa.org

Adult RE

My grandfather, Luke Austin, Sr., was part of the notoriously hard life of working in an unjust coal mining deep mine, the one in the history books, up on Wilder Mountain. That's where a protracted and very unfair labor union strike by mining families led, in too many households, to conditions of starvation, deprivation, and terror. My grandfather and grandmother, Pearlie Austin, buried a baby daughter on Wilder Mountain and, apparently, then brought my father into the world in March of 1933 on safer ground nearer to our family on Lost Creek in Tennessee. The terrible miners' strike at Wilder Mountain continued tragically that winter of 1932-1933 but my father survived away from harm while the miners' union president, Barney Graham, paid with his life for his justice-seeking courage. He was ambushed outside the "company store," the Wilder Store, by two company guards who were known to be gunning for the fearless man.

What did our world gain from that nearly endless tragedy on Wilder Mountain?? Today, I can study a family photo taken in those same Cumberland Mountains three decades after the cruel strike and the birth of my father. Seeing these depicted family members from left to right, I find the smile on the little boy's face at far left--my face--is a lot like my late father's smile, which matches the knowing smile of his mother, Pearlie, who is shoulder to shoulder with her son "Junior" and standing tall above his four children.

The best answer, I believe, to the question of "what did we gain" from the Wilder Coal Mine tragedies is this: in November of 1932, as the strike was being voted in, a famous school for social justice inspired by religious education was founded up on a mountain in Tennessee. A leader of the school put his life on the line on Wilder Mountain in support of the striking miners. Myles Horton, cofounder of Highlander Folk School up on the slopes of Monteagle, went to Wilder and wrote well-informed letters to newspapers and churches as a way to publicize the plight of miners like my grandfather and get assistance in his initial Highlander mission, even to help prevent the assassination of leader of the striking miners, Barney Graham. But, what Myles got was arrested, like some of us at UUCT! He was charged with "coming here and getting information and going back and teaching it." What people among us do is much like that. Rev. Mansfield works for us the way Myles Horton did by coming here and teaching us.

Friendship Dinner

It would be helpful to me if anyone offering either kind of dinner would contact me by phone (813 988- 7272) or email (dw_stickell13@verizon.net). If you have any questions, either mode of contact is fine; if I don't know the answer, I will find one or invent one.

David Stickell

Unitarian Universalist

WomenSpirit presents:

Stars Above, Light Below, A Call to Celebrate Magic

The stars are the oldest things, more ancient than the earth herself. In ancient times, the wise ones, the healers, were women. We look to the night sky above and in those lights shining, we see the wise women of ancient times. We draw from that wisdom, that light, to illuminate our own paths and the paths of those around us

Institute - May 13-16, 2015. Gathering - May 15-18, 2015

Price includes all meals, lodging, and programming at The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center in Highlands, NC. http://mountaincenters.org

Womenspirit is an inclusive Spiritual retreat for all women 18 & older, regardless of affiliation or spiritual path. Explore the Feminine Divine through spirit-nourishing workshops and ritual, surrounded by amazing views of the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. We value the worth and dignity of all women and affirm diversity.

More info: registration flyer is available at:

http://uuwomenspirit.org or contact: Registrar uuwomenspirit@gmail.com

About The Mountain:

Founded in 1979 by Unitarian Universalists, The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center is a nonprofit, year round retreat center and summer camp open to all. The Mountain is located in Highlands, NC and is approximately a two hour drive from Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. Visit our website, mountaincenters.org, to learn more.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS:

Mountain Hiking Retreats: April 26- May 1; May 17-22; June 1-4 Come enjoy a week of Day Hikes on foot trails along ridges and rivers, over mountains, and to waterfalls on the Highlands Plateau. Enjoy several 2 to 5 mile moderate day hikes, education, fellowship, recreation, fun and good food! View flyer here

Appalachian Spring: May 25-29 Friends of The Mountain are blessed to know the sacred earth that lies atop Little Scaly Mountain. We walk the trails, meditate on a rock outcropping, and laugh with friends as we overlook the valleys below. But who was here before us? What were their lives like? What makes the Highlands Plateau a unique ecosystem? That's what Appalachian Spring is all about. Visit our calendar to find out more!

Fun and Adventure Week: June 29-July 5 Take a new rafting trip on the Chattooga River or do a "duckie" on the Nantahala River. Kids and Grandparents can enjoy a Great Smokey Mountain Train ride...or zip line...or hike...or all these choices and more. Campfire and s'mores, constellation lessons,other evening entertainment, too. Fun for all ages with extra help from YA Charles Sterner and from Barry White who'll add to your hiking fun on new trails and a rock scramble. View Flyer and Schedule. Get your $25 Early Registration Discount.

Health and Wellness Retreat: July 21-24 This weekday retreat is designed by long time yoga teacher and life skills retreat leader, Cathy Woods. She has created a program where you can spend quality time with yourself and like minded individuals all coming together with intention of self care and renewal. View flyer here.

SUUFI 2015: October 4-9 We have a great new program planned again for our 4th Fall Institute! Come enjoy SUUFI's blend of personal growth and fun, inspiration and relaxation, community and space. Our 2015 program will test your mind and your experiential skills, yet we trust you'll learn and leave with new options and commitment. Ahh, the color and coolness of fall in the WNC mountains, at our unique UU place, elevated 4200' in early October. Please join others of diverse thinking who want a positive week of "being", learning, and connecting.

Our 2015 journey together on SpaceShip SUUFI with you and 60-80 others teams up 2 talented navigators: A storyteller versed in UU Buckminister Fuller's constructs of the earth/universe and a UU minister to help us soar within ourselves, learning about other "ins and outs" of the world. SUUFI blends hands-on and experiential modes, producing fun and renewal with personal growth. View the Flyer, Schedule, and Program Details. Get your $25 Early Registration Discount now.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Love The Mountain? Do you want your congregation to love The Mountain as much as you do? Many UU Congregations have established a Mountain Mover Sunday where the proceeds of "Passing of the Offering Plate" go to The Mountain - your retreat and learning center in Highlands, NC. Call me to talk about this special way of giving, Huldah at 828-526-5838 Ext. 254.

HIRING SEASONAL KITCHEN STAFF

We are now accepting applications for seasonal kitchen positions. Work days will typically fall on weekends with the possibility of a few week days. Schedule/hours subject to change based on business needs. Basic duties include prep/cooking and cleaning. Minimum Qualifications/Job

Requirements:
-Able to work a flexible schedule.
-Must be able to follow recipes and directions.
-Must have reliable transportation.
-Must be teamwork oriented.

To apply email your resume to charity.alston@mountaincenters.org

A Bouquet for Mother

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.

He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."

He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

~ Author Unknown

A Month of Sundays at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa

May 3   'By what, by whose Authority?' The Reverend Doak M. Mansfield       A consideration of the sources for the 'truths' of live. Is there an ultimate authority? How do we know what we know, how do we justify what we do?

May 10   'A Mother's Day Reflection: 'Beyond Sentimentality' The Reverend Doak M. Mansfield
The founder demonstrated against it the last half of her life. She was even arrested for that in the national's capital. Yet it persists. How can we with a respectful honesty celebrate this powerful secular holy day?

May 17   'What Do We Hold Most Sacred?' The Reverend Brock Leach
We pride ourselves on being inclusive in all the best ways: inclusive of people, theologies, and ideas and even in the spectrum of justice issues we take up.   Our inclusivity infuses our religious tapestry with richness, diversity and color. But once in a generation there are tipping point moments that call us to focus our collective energies. And there are some issues so central-- so sacred-- in our tradition that we UU's are specifically called to lead the way.   Today we'll explore why climate justice is the morally imperative of this particular moment.   Our tradition compels us to respond with truly radical inclusiveness.
Brock was a ministerial intern at UUCT in 2009-2010. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC).

May 24   'Reclaiming Reverence' The Reverend Doak M. Mansfield                                    Unitarian Universalists in many ways are what I call "post-religious." So much of the religious cultures effects and resources are not useful or meaningful to us. Yet I do believe there is a profound mystery beyond fundamentalist portrayals and superstitions, culture's self-serving myths, and the skeptic's descriptions of science that we need to acknowledge.

May 31 TBA
Check uutampa.org for information

Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.~ Stevie Wonder

Contact Info
UU Church of Tampa

email: info@uutampa.org

11400 Morris Bridge Road, Tampa, FL 33637

813-988-8188