The Prologue
Monday, October 5, 2015
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana

Congregation founded 1949

GLBTQ Welcoming Congregation since 1995

Green Sanctuary since 2007

Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World

 

Upcoming

 

Cottage Meeting with 

Search Committee 10/11

 

Search Survey due 10/19

 

Quick Links
From Our Board
Ministerial Search
From Our Interim
Racial Justice Task Force
Our Folks...
Religious Ed News
Adult Rel Ed Course List
New Staff
Become a Member
Being Welcoming
Grounds Workday
Gourmet Galaxy
Clothing Swap
Habitat Projects
Building Maintenance
Sunday, October 11, 2015    9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
"Beloved Conversations"
Julica Hermann 
The Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Our guest in the pulpit will be Julica Hermann of Meadville Lombard Theological School. Join us as we consider how to create spaces to re-form the brokenness of racism into new patterns of thought and behavior, ushering in social and spiritual healing. 
Sunday, October 18, 2015    9:15 and 11:15 a.m.
"The Things We Carry" 
The Reverend Douglas Wadkins
The stories that shape who we are as a community are like mementos that we carry.  They are important because they convey great influence and power.  Each story a community carries serves some purpose, but some stories prepare us more assuredly for our future. Some stories may actually help keep us stuck in the past.  This service will explore how we might know which stories of our community are worthy of carrying forward and which ones might ask us to let go of the past in some way.       

Greetings from your Board of Directors
     A number of tasks have kept us busy this month, including preparing for an upcoming retreat with the ministers to discuss how the new associate minister will fit in our congregation's governance model and staffing, working with the finance committee to determine financial arrangements for the new minister, and organizing responses to the recommendations from Nancy Heege's report to be presented at the upcoming congregational meeting on December 13th. 
     We also met with the Ministerial Search Committee to give our input to their four questions. We continue to be impressed with the energy and excitement of this committee and hope you can find time to meet with and support them in their important effort. Don't forget to fill out their survey by October 19th: 
Pat Brantlinger, Von Welch, Deb Hutton, Ann LeDuc, Kathleen Sideli, Doug Cauble, Arzetta Hults-Losensky

Ministerial Search Committee - Reminders and Next Steps
Two Reminders:
(1) Please complete the committee SURVEY:
(2) The last chance to attend an OPEN COTTAGE MEETING is Sunday, Oct 11, 10:30-11:10 am in the church Library.
      Thank you all for your participation in the Cottage Meetings and for completing the survey.  The Search Committee is very appreciative of all the voices we hear as we gather information to build a profile
 of UUCB and learn what is important to you. 
       WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:  In early November, we will submit the Congregational Record and Position Application to the UUA Transitions Office to review, and they will release this information around Thanksgiving for Ministerial Candidates in search to see.  In December, we will post a packet that showcases us, so candidates can discern their interest in us. 
 

Our Ministerial Search Committee:  Michelle, Mary, 
Stuart, Abby, Amy, Craig, and Barb

       With gratitude for your support, Your Ministerial Search Committee: Barbara Backler, Mary Boutain, Craig Coley, Michelle Cook, Abby Gitlitz, Amy Taylor, Stuart Yoak.  uucbmsc@gmail.com
Doug-2015

Weaving the Strands  
     NOW it feels like autumn!  There is so much about the fall that I love, and part of that sense of great expectation for the autumn has been honed by my years of working with congregations.  I always experience a sense of possibility for what the move into autumn will bring for the life of the congregation I serve.  There is much happening this autumn in Bloomington!
     For one thing, your search committee is working diligently to prepare the background material to begin the formal part of the search, but they are also engaging you in conversation about your vision of the congregation now and the future you hope for.  These conversations are much larger than their implications for who your new associate minister will be.  This time is setting a context for possibility.  In the service on September 27, I listed the core questions that congregations of many faith traditions explore as part of the interim time.  Those questions are: 
 

Who are we?      Who are our neighbors?       What is God calling us to do?
 
     These questions ask for a dynamic interplay of essential components of the congregation's future.  The questions ask you to know and internalize the stories that shape a deeper sense of who you are. They ask you to understand your work in the context of your relationship with the world around you. This time invites us to live in the place of possibility that comes out of the convergence of a vivid sense of identity, a responsive and heartfelt assessment of our larger connections; with a sense of the calling that is rooted in our most soulful sense of truth. 
     This is the best orientation and attitude of intention for this time of possibility and discernment.  Bring this intention and these three questions to the way that you engage the worship services on Sunday.  Invite its spirit into how you talk and listen to one another in our cottage meetings and coffee hour!  Carry the spirit of larger vision and possibility to all that you do right now as a congregation.  We can never REALLY know what the future will bring.  But being grounded in an exploration of who you are as a congregation, which relationships are calling you to fuller connection, and what the deep call of conscience is asking...these will serve you well in whatever the future brings.  Being steeped in such clarity from you as a congregation will help your capable search committee know what they are looking for in ministry far better than any job description. 
     Exploring the answers to these questions this year will help you live fully and enthusiastically into whatever wonderful, meaningful future awaits the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. Here's to an abundant autumn together.
 
Peace and love to you all!
    Doug 
The Reverend Douglas Wadkins, Interim Associate Minister  
Join a Conversation about Racial Justice October 14, 2015    
You are invited to a conversation to consider starting a new task force here at UUCB focusing on racial justice.  Join conveners Deb Fish, Betty Wagoner and Douglas Wadkins for an hour's conversation about whether there is critical mass to start this task force and what might be some areas of focus for its work.  We will gather on Wednesday, October 14 from  6:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the Library.  
Our Folks...
     Our sympathy and healing thoughts are with Jeanette Miller and her family upon the passing on Sunday evening October 4 of her husband Jim Miller. A memorial service for Jim is scheduled for Saturday, 
October 17 at 11:00 a.m.
     Welcome to Cynthia "Thea" Grace, who was born to Patricia Winterton and Scott Hyslop on June 4th. Named after her great grandma, she very much enjoys the UU service, especially the special music. 

Elder Tech Help Offered this Sunday, October 11
1-2:30PM in the Sanctuary
     Our youth are once again offering their technological savvy to solve elders' problems with cell phones, kindles, laptops, tablets and other tech devices.  Bring your pesky device, and they'll do their best to help!  Meeting in the sanctuary (Meeting Room) from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. on October 11.  Questions?  Contact Reverend Emily at mre@uubloomington.org.  


Calling All Past Coming of Age Mentors and Youth
Potluck and Pumpkin Carving (BYOP)
Friday, October 30, 6-8PM
Did you participate in Coming of Age last year?  The year before?  Many years ago?  We hope you will get back in touch with your mentor/mentee and come to Fellowship Hall for food and spooky, silly or surprising pumpkin art--the more the merrier! Please let Reverend Emily Manvel Leite know you're coming (mre@uubloomington.org) so we will have enough carving tools.  She can also help track down contact information if you need it.
 
Visitors Welcome at Youth Committee Meetings 
Would you like to be involved with planning our programming for youth and their families?  Visitors are always welcome at our Youth Committee meetings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 13, from 6:30-7:30PM in the Library. We will be discussing middle and high school programming and our offerings for families with youth.  We are currently looking at the transition from elementary to middle school, inviting youth and parents to do things together, and supporting seniors in high school and their families as they make the transition to post-graduation life.  More information can be found here:
If you have questions about the work of this committee, please contact the chair, Yvonne Wittmann at ycwittmann@gmail.com.
 

Seeking The Spirit
Adult Religious Education Course List Available
The Fall Course List for Adult Religious Education is now available. Classes include

Exploring the Feminine in Her Many Faces (a class for women)
    Third Thursdays, October 15 - March 17     7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Room 208    Facilitator: Sara Steffey McQueen, quanyinsara_mcf@yahoo.com
 Class is filling up quickly-- 2 spaces left. We will create a wait list if necessary.

Traditional Taijiquan ("Tai Chi")
    Saturdays 8:00-9:30 a.m., instruction and practice and Tuesdays 5:30-7:00 p.m., additional practice Fellowship Hall     Instructor: Brian Flaherty, creektivity@gmail.com

Sharing Poetry
    Monthly, first Mondays 10:00 a.m., Fuchs Library    Next meeting-- November 2     
Facilitator: Bob Taylor, bstaylor1@comcast.net

Conscious Contact Meditation
     Wednesdays 6-7 p.m., Fuchs Library or Room 210    Facilitator: Kris Roehling, Kristina.roehling@centrstong.org

Shambhala Meditation
    Mondays, 12-1, Meeting Room    Led by Sarah Flint

For full class descriptions Click Here. To register, contact office@uubloomington.org or call 812-332-3695, ext. 204.

Shambhala Meditation is Every Monday at Noon 

Join us at 12 noon every Monday in the Fellowship Hall for an hour of Shambhala Meditation, walking meditation, and Shamatha yoga with Sarah Flint. We have new cushions available, but you may bring your own cushion if you have one.

Conscious Contact Meditation, Wednesdays at 6:00

Kris Roehling leads weekly Conscious Contact Meditation from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Library (or sometimes in Room 210). This event provides insight meditation supporting recovery in all forms.  

Taiji Continues on Tuesdays and Saturdays 

Brian Flaherty leads Taiji in Fellowship Hall on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. This form practices the "Wu (Hao)" style of taijiquan, including practice of standing exercises, forms, and "pushing hands." Anyone is welcome, even those with no experience. Please wear loose-fitting clothing.

Our Congregational Themes

 

January:     Integrity                May:      Tradition         September:  Invitation

February:   Faith                     June:     Grace             October:  Letting Go

March:       Resilience             July:     Here & Now    November:  Ancestry

April:          Revelation            August:  Wonder         December:  Expectation

  


 

Building Community
 
We Welcome a New Member of our Staff
Deeva Khatiwada, Office Assistant
Deeva Khatiwada is a new part of our support staff as an office assistant. Originally from Munster, a northwest Indiana suburb of Chicago, she is currently in Bloomington pursuing a degree in Law and Public Policy from Indiana University. She loves exotic foods, traveling, and a variety of music. In her free time, she enjoys organizing and cleaning. She is open to meeting new people every day and looks forward to the experiences she will have working at the Unitarian Universalist Church! Deeva started as a new member of our staff on September 24.
 
Ready to become a member of UU Bloomington?
If this is your community, if you feel at home here, join us! If you would like to make the commitment and become a member of UU Bloomington, the next opportunity is Sunday, Oct. 18, at 10:30am in room 207B.  (We ask for participation in our "Exploring UU" class prior to signing the membership book.)  To make arrangements to sign the membership book, please contact Shari Woodbury, Connections Coordinator, at 332-3695 or connect@uubloomington.org, by Wednesday, Oct. 14.
 
Become a Greeter! 
Greeting is a great way to meet people and it takes very little time.  Fall training will be held Sunday, Oct. 18 at 12:45 pm in the Meeting Room. Childcare provided in Room 108. Join us!   
Fall Grounds Work Day October 18
Our Fall Grounds Workday will be after church on Sunday, October 18th from 12:30 to 3:30, or any portion of that you can spare. 
Tasks will include deadheading, doing some sheet mulching and weeding under the big oak tree, cutting back an invasive species (horsetail fern) in the Memorial Garden, spreading mulch and woodchips, and planting some spring bulbs. Please bring tools and gloves appropriate for the activities you would like to engage in.  If you can help or have suggestions, please email Grounds co-chair Rhonda Baird  shelteringhills@gmail.com
       Please sign up by October 17th if you'd like pizza, and the type of pizza you'd prefer, so we can order it! 
Gourmet Galaxy needs your help for the Bazaar 
December 4 & 5!
The annual Holiday Art Fair and Bazaar is once again upon us, so it is time to start planning your generous donations of baked goods and other items for the Gourmet Galaxy.  We would be delighted to have rum balls, peanut brittle, divinity, jams, chutneys, relishes, and breads. Maybe you will be inspired by this year's international theme and cook up some baklava, biscotti, marzipan, stollen or Chinese donuts. If you want to avoid being overwhelmed by the holiday rush, start baking and freezing now!  Help make this year's bazaar the best one yet!   Ann LeDuc and Molly Gleeson, Co-chairs  
UU History for You
MAY SARTON AND THE VALUE OF SOLITUDE
May Sarton (1912-1995) is best known as an author of 50 books of poetry, novels, memoirs, and journals.  She was born in Belgium in 1912 and two years later her parents fled the invading Germans as World War I erupted.  Her mother was a fabric designer and furniture maker.  Her father was a scholar and founder of the academic field of the history of science.  May was their only child. Her parents did not believe Jesus was a god and did not attend church. But at age 10 a friend of May asked her to come to a Unitarian church with her.  She resonated to this experience and thought of herself as a Unitarian. She quickly developed skills in writing. At 18 she had her first poems published in Poetry.  She decided not to go to college and wanted a career as an actress.  She performed in and directed plays in small theatres but realized her talents were in writing books.  As an adolescent and young woman she was bisexual but by middle age she considered herself a lesbian.  She did not want to be known as a lesbian writer. Her novels dealt with heterosexual themes as well as homosexual ones.  She wanted her themes to be of "universal interest."  She enjoyed solitude because it gave her a chance to study things intensely.  It was not to meditate or find an inner self.  She believed all things in the universe reveal something that relates to us when we study them intensely, without distractions, and that was why she celebrated solitude in her memoirs and journals. She felt poetry was particularly suited for that experience and claimed "when we are able to write a poem we become for a few hours a part of Creation itself."  
--Elof Carlson, Congregational Historian

Hospitality for Those with Allergies

As a courtesy to our friends and members who have allergies to fragrances, we are designating the west section of the Meeting Room (next to the sliding glass doors and tall narrow windows) as Fragrance Free. Please do not sit there if you have used any fragrances.  Anyone else is welcome to sit in this area.  Thank you for your consideration. 

UUs Who Can Provide a Variety of Professional Services - 

List and Waiver Form Now Available

The Elder Focus Task Force has compiled a list of Unitarian Universalists who are available for hire for a variety of tasks including Pet Sitting, Home Healthcare, Organizational Skills, Carpentry, Counseling, Sewing Machine repair, Building Construction. The list and the liability waiver form are posted here: 

UUs for Hire and Liability Waiver

Changing the World
UU Humanist Forum Meets on Alternating Sundays
This group offers an opportunity for regular, open, wide-ranging discussions of issues relating to morality and ethics, human development, and the nature of the universe. The forum will meet next on Sunday, October 11 at 12:45 p.m. in Room 208 after children's classes end, when the topic is  Lessons from the Declines in Oil Prices- Carbon Emissions presented by Lloyd Orr. If you would like to see a list of upcoming topics through December, click here.

Reproductive Justice Task Force October 12
Reproductive Justice Task Force (RJTF) will host a special meeting on October 12th at 7:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. We will be writing letters to the Bloomington City Council and other local and national legislators, as well as to various news organizations.  We will also be preparing for other activities related to our support for Planned Parenthood locally.  Please join us! 

Hope for Prisoners Meets October 14:
Alternatives to Incarceration
The Hope for Prisoners Task Force invites you to their meeting on Wednesday, October 14 from 12:00 noon to 1:30.  The guest speaker will talk on alternatives to incarceration such as House Arrest with ankle bracelets.  This will help reduce over-crowded prisons and jails, and also lean toward rehabilitation rather than punishment.  You will also learn of the other work being done in our county jail and near-by prisons.  You may bring your lunch to the meeting if you like.
  --Rick Holl and Lois Holl  
Green Sanctuary Task Force 
Fall Clothing Swap October 31
     The Green Sanctuary Task Force encourages us to examine our habits of consumption.  What do we buy? Where does it come from? What happens to it when we're finished with it? What impact does our consumption have on the earth and its inhabitants?
     Twice yearly, we hold a Clothing Swap as an alternative to buying new clothes.  This fall's Swap is Saturday, October 31 from10:00 am until 12:00 noon, with drop-off starting at 9:30 am. If it would be helpful to you to have childcare provided for this event, please contact Stephanie Kimball (Kimball.stephanie@gmail.com) by October 14.
     Also, remember that the dynamic people on our Green Sanctuary Task Force have posted information on our website about ALL the work they are doing here and in our community. 
Habitat Work Day with Area 10 on October 24
On October 24th the UU Habitat for Humanity Task Force will partner with Area 10 Agency on Aging to provide home repairs to area residents in need. If you have skills in any of the areas listed below, we need you!  Breakfast will be provided at 8 AM at Bell Trace and everyone will be done well before noon.  If interested, there are also volunteer opportunities in Spencer too.
Please contact Ann LeDuc at a_leduc@msn.com to volunteer.
* Installing and replacing hand rails on porches and interior walls
* Patching cracked concrete 
* Installing grab bars in a shower
* Replacing decking
* Repairing tile floors
* Widening door frames and hanging doors

Habitat for Humanity More than Houses Breakfast November 12
The Habitat Task Force invites any UUer to join our table at a great event, More Than Houses Breakfast, sponsored by the local Habitat chapter. The free breakfast is 7:15 to 8:15 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Bloomington Convention Center. The annual event is a wonderful way to see the impact of Habitat's work in the community and its plans for the future, including the new Trail View neighborhood, and hear first-hand from grateful homeowners. It is a fund-raising event, but contributions are voluntary. If you'd like to attend, contact Barb Berggoetz, task force co-chair, by Oct. 19, by emailing barbberg@bluemarble.net.  Thanks for your support of Habitat. 

UU Freethinkers Group Enjoys Free Ranging Discussion 

The purpose of the UU Freethinkers bi-weekly meeting is to create the opportunity for participants to raise questions and engage in open and non-structured discussion of issues of social concern, political concern, and theological/religious concern. UU Freethinkers meet on alternating Sundays after children's religious education classes end, in (the new) Room 208.  UU Freethinkers meet next on Sunday, October 18, at 12:45 p.m. Info, contact John Crosby.   

Contact a Minister
    
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, our Senior Minister 
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 201 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons



 

 
 
Doug-2015
Our Interim Minister,     
Reverend Douglas Wadkins 
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 207 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons 
email: wadkins@uubloomington.org
    In case of a pastoral emergency after office hours, please call his home study number, 
812-369-4179.
 




Reverend Emily Manvel Leite, our Minister of Religious Education 
can be reached at 812-332-3695, ext. 203 
on Monday and Friday mornings. 
 
   

  

Who Ya Gonna Call about Building Problems and 
Facilities Maintenance?
If you notice a problem with the building, please contact Carol Marks, Church Administrator, admin@uubloomington.org, 812-332-3695, ext. 200, and she will contact the experts to get it taken care of.

Facilities Update
Here are some details on recent facilities maintenance activities.
Doorbell at Courtyard Entrance has been replaced
Keyless entry lock at the Portico entrance has been repaired.
Consideration is being given to how to encourage those who park on the west side to pull all the way in to the parking spots to allow traffic to flow more safely.
New parking delineator posts will be installed soon in the east parking lot.
Automatic door openers at Portico and Courtyard Entrances were recently tested and they are working.
Investigating replacement of one of the skylights in the Commons to eliminate leaks.
Everyone is encouraged to be more vigilant in being sure the building is locked securely after events. 
Remember that the weekday entrance is the Office Entrance, which is at the northwest corner of the building where the staff offices are located. If it's locked, or you'd like to enter at the Portico, please ring the doorbell or buzzer.  
Weekday office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday hours: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
--Carol Marks, Church Administrator
Office Closed October 12
Church offices will be closed Monday, October 12 for the federal holiday.  
Livestreaming of Sunday Services
Livestreaming the Sunday Services Link:   uubloomington.yourstreamlive.com
As archived videos of service become available they will also be at the link listed above.
If there is a problem with livestreaming, please contact Andy Beargie, Multi-media Specialist, media@uubloomington.org

Calendar of all our congregational events can be found at  www.uubloomington.org 

In the left hand column, click on "Calendar" and then on the top link on the page or Click Right Here. Information is also available on our public Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uubloomington  You do not need a Facebook account to read our page.

Prologue Publication Schedule

Next issue, Monday, October 19. 

Deadline for articles about congregational events and projects is 10 a.m. on date of publication, to admin@uubloomington.org. The Prologue is published on the first and third Mondays of each month, with exceptions for Monday holidays. Upcoming publication dates:  10/19, 11/2, 11/16, 12/7, 12/21, 1/4, 1/19 
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, 2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington IN 47408, 812-332-3695  

Masthead Photo by John Woodcock