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Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
www.cedarlane.org
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eNewsletter Volume 5, Issue 23
January 11, 2013
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January 13, 2013, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
"O Clap Your Hands"
The Rev. Evan Keely
Worship Associate: Kathleen Reedy
Applause in the church: an expression of reverent enthusiasm? Or a debasing of the worship experience as if it were mere performance? Questions like this invite broader and deeper questions about what it means for us to be a worshipping community.
Volunteers for the Service:
Ushers: 9 a.m.: Norman Grossblatt, Tod Chernikoff, Joanne Evans, Bob Harrison
11 a.m.: Phil Schwartz & Lyn Peters, Nancy Janssen
Coffee Servers: 10 a.m.: Mike Benefiel; noon: Kate Curtis
Audio: Bob Pechacek
Board Member at the Office Desk: 10 a.m.: Michael Murray; noon: John Wing
Welcome Center: 10 a.m.: Brent Garland; noon: Marlene Berg
The flowers in the sanctuary are given by Susan Madden in celebration of Greg and Susan Madden's 25th wedding anniversary and their daughter Kara's 18th birthday. The flowers were arranged by Lyn Peters. The flowers in the chapel were arranged by Cathy Knapper.
In the Lounge: Alliance Books ◊ Beacon Books Cart ◊ Congo Kids ◊ Environmental Task Force ◊ Fair Trade Coffee & Tea ◊ Palestinian olive oil for sale to support peace in the Middle East ◊ Social Justice Council
This Sunday's Morning Forum: Religion and Politics in the Islamic World with Dr. Max Gross.
Don't forget to find Cedar Lane on Facebook! Click here to find us :o)
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Weekly Devotional · January 11, 2013
What is the kindest and most comforting way to help someone cope with the death of a loved one?
Certainly any member of the clergy (of any religious tradition) has to grapple with this question, but of course any of us from time to time encounter someone who is dealing with a great loss. Here are some things that I have learned (and of course I am always still learning):
Let them talk about what they want to talk about. My experience with bereaved people is that they very often need to talk about their experiences. This is most certainly not true of everyone, nor is it to suggest that talking is "better" than not for every grieving person. However, there is something in our culture that trains most of us to think that we should discourage the bereft from talking about their experiences, usually out of the fear that "it will upset them." This can be well-meaning, but it is not always helpful. Ask them what they need, and be prepared to just listen.
Help them get the help they need. Most bereaved people go through normal phases of grief. In some cases, however, for whatever reason, some grieving individuals are in need of more focused care. If someone starts talking seriously about suicide, for instance, that is a life-threatening emergency, and yes, in that life-threatening emergency as with any other, the appropriate response is to call 911. Other grieving souls may not need special care with that level of urgency, but it is not unkind nor inappropriate to point people toward help.
Help them stay connected. Yes, some people need alone time, especially in difficult emotional crises, but sustained isolation is almost universally injurious to the human spirit - and it can be especially so in times of great sorrow. Many of the bereft that I have known have benefited greatly from remaining connected - to family and friends, to meaningful work, and to communities of caring and meaning, such as we strive to make the church.
Prayer
May I be able to soften the pain of those I encounter by my words, but even more so by my presence. Amen.
Follow Rev. Keely on Twitter @evanvwk.
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TONIGHT AND TOMORROW!!!
Please join us for our annual Silent Retreat from 7:00 PM Friday, January 12 to 6:00 PM Saturday, January 13, 2013. The Silent Retreat provides extended time for reflection and walking the labyrinth. You are welcome to spend the night at
the church or at your home Friday night. Please call Cedar Lane to register at
301-493-8300 or Carol Edwards at cs.edwards@verizon.net for details.
The cost for Cedar Lane members is $15 and $20 for non-members.
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Upcoming Sundays
January 20, 2013, 9 and 11 a.m.
"Soul Force"
The Rev. Evan Keely
Worship Associate: Terry Hoffeld
The civil rights movement of which Dr. King was a part, was a time of magnificent activism aimed at changing unjust laws. It was also a spiritual movement.
Forum: National Security Challenges Facing the Second Administration with Peter A. Wilson, Senior Defense Analyst at RAND.
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We Care
We Care is a network for short-term pastoral needs, led by lay volunteers. Examples are food delivery, a ride to a doctor, or listening during a difficult time. Cedar Lane is organized by geographic neighborhoods, with chairpersons who coordinate support. Neighborhood numbers are listed on name tags, and shown on a map in the church office. Contact the church to determine chairs in your region. New congregant Amy Vernier requests thoughts and prayers as she heals from complications after emergency C-section delivery last year. We also celebrate baby Elizabeth, her daughter born on November 26. Amy has been in Shady Grove Adventist, and hopes to go home soon. The memorial celebrating the life of Paul Johnson (Neighborhood 7) will be Thursday, January 17 at 2 p.m., and will be officiated by Rev. Heather Janules. The celebration of life for Bruce Douglas (N8) is set for Saturday, January 26, at 2 p.m., and will be led by Rev. Evan Keely. Our hearts continue to be with the family, as Penny recovers from a serious pneumonia. Thanks to all who contributed to a moving Sunday on January 6, with Children's Chapels and an afternoon memorial for the life of Zachary Turner (N31). We send love to Anne, Jim and Abby Turner after this difficult transition. A number of Alliance members were congratulated at the Thursday luncheon for new grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Let others know of your joy, and feel free to get out the photos!  If you learn of a congregant in need, please do offer assistance, asking how you might support the situation. If the person would like church response, or you have a concern to share, please contact Louise Green, lgreen@cedarlane.org, Sabbatical Minister for Pastoral Care. You may also contact Evan Keely or Karen Lee Scrivo, as all members of the ministerial team offer pastoral support to the congregation. |
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"At the River I Stand"
Sunday, Jan. 27, 12:15 p.m.
in the Chalice House
All are invited to join CLARITY* members to share food, conversation, and ideas. We'll begin with a light lunch while we show the (1 hour) documentary "At the River I Stand." Afterwards, Elise Bryant will facilitate a discussion about the film. Elise's areas of expertise include communication skills, leadership training, labor history and culture, diversity training, and organization development. Cedar Laners may also know Elise as the director of the DC Labor Chorus.
"At the River I Stand" takes place in Memphis in the spring of 1968, the dramatic climax of the Civil Rights movement. The film skillfully reconstructs the two eventful months that transformed a strike by Memphis sanitation worker into a national conflagration, and disentangles the complex historical forces that came together with the inevitability of tragedy at the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This documentary brings into sharp relief issues that have only become more urgent in the intervening years: the connection between economic and civil rights, debates over strategies for change, the demand for full inclusion of African Americans in American life and the fight for dignity for public employees and all working people.
*CLARITY (Cedar Laners Against Racism - In This Together - Yes!)
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Environmental Task Force
Recommended Green Event:
Foodopoly Book Tour Event
in Washington, DC at Busboys and Poets
Join Food & Water Watch's Executive Director Wenonah Hauter as she discusses her new book, Foodopoly.
Foodopoly exposes the real culprits threatening our food system - consolidation and corporate control - which are preventing farmers from raising healthy crops and limiting the choices people can make in the grocery store.
After the discussion, Wenonah will be available to sign copies of the book for
anyone in attendance.
Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Address: 2021 14th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20009
Click here to sign up.
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Around the Church
Join Cedar Lane During This Week's Second Sunday Signing: While you may sign the Memberhsip Book at any time, Second Sunday Signing is an intimate welcoming ceremony held in the library that involves a minister and members of the Cedar Lane Board of Trustees and Member Services Committee. If you have decided to join Cedar Lane, then come to this month's Second Sunday Signing Ceremony in the library either at 10 a.m. or at noon, following this Sunday's 9 or 11 a.m. services.
The International Concerns Coalition joins the 7th grade, session 2 class in inviting all to attend our family-friendly benefit concert on January 19 at 7 PM. This is a great intergenerational opportunity benefiting the education of disadvantaged children in DR Congo through AMCAV.
Stop by the Congo Kids table this Sunday! Learn more about the concert and check out newly arrived beads to support the Ugandan women who made them as well as the AMCAV education project.
Play Area in Lounge during Coffee Hour!
So that our families with young children can more easily enjoy the coffee hour after the service we've added a play area in the lounge with a few toys. The target age group is pre-school but older children are welcome too as long as they play gently. All children will need to be supervised by their parents. Any questions or suggestions? Contact Membership Coordinator, Allison Cox, at membership@cedarlane.org.
Don't forget to check out Cedar Lane! Find us on...
If you would like your event posted on Cedar Lane's social media, please email
socialmedia@cedarlane.org.
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Religious Education for All Ages
Karen Lee Scrivo, Interim Director of RE
Vanessa Steck, Senior High Youth Coordinator
Gale Ginther Luce & Jeannette Wilson, Administrators
For information and to register for classes and programs call 301-493-8300 x207 or e-mail
Upcoming Calendar:
- F-Sun, Jan 11/13: Youth Group Ski Trip
- Sun, Jan 20: Time for All Ages, MLK weekend
- Sun, Jan 27: Teacher Renewal
- Tues, Jan 29: YAG Manna Food Packing
- Sun, Feb 3: Superbowl Party
Holiday Craft Day Plates are IN!
Guest at Your Table: Last Sunday!
Notes for Zach Turner's family
Teacher Renewal
Superbowl Party
Karen Lee Scrivo is away Jan 18-26.
Our Annual Youth Group Ski Trip
NEW Programs for Families
Youth Notes (Grades 7-12)
Young Adults (Ages 18-35)
Adult Programs (AP): Spring 2013 Brochure is coming!
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Calendar
Please visit the church calendar here.
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From the Music Director
Dr. Henry Sgrecci
Aaron Copland's Old American Songs were composed in two sets. The first set of five was written in 1950 on a commission from the renown British composer, Benjamin Britten, to be sung by his lover, Peter Pears, with Britten at the piano. Copland later performed them himself with the great American baritone, William Warfield. He went on to compose the second set in 1952, also for Warfield. Subsequently, he re-scored the songs to suit high, medium, and low voice so that virtually any soloist could sing the songs. More recently the songs have been transcribed by various arrangers for choir, thus becoming a choral mainstay in representing sounds of nineteenth century Americana.
Simple Gifts was composed by Joseph Brackett (1797-1882), an Elder in the Shaker religious denomination. Brackett's reputation as a songwriter would have probably gone unnoticed were it not for Aaron Copland selecting his song Simple Gifts as the cornerstone of his ballet "Appalachian Spring," which premiered in 1944 at the Library of Congress. While many enjoy the delights of the text" "turning, turning we come round right," Copland was more impressed with the tune which he has said struck him as quite a suitable melody to include in the ballet. At the River was composed by Robert Lowry (1826-1899), a minister, professor of literature, and prodigious writer of over 500 hymns. Historians note that Lowry was resting in his home one afternoon when his senses were overcome with heavenly visions of a brilliant throne and a host of saints gathered around a beautiful, cool, river of life. Overcome with joy, Lowry found himself realizing that there were many hymns that focused on rivers of death but few celebrating the river of life. The Boatmen's Dance was first published in Boston in 1843 as an original minstrel banjo melody by Daniel Emmitt, who also composed "Dixie." Copland discovered the song in the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays at Brown University. Sensitive to the prevalence of dialect in the song, Copland deliberately adjusted the text to remove racial connotations.
Special thanks to baritone soloist, Kevin Miller, for his delightful rendering of the Boatmen's Dance.
It's a "two-fer" - hear the Choir sing Copland's Old American Songs again at the Benefit Concert, next Saturday evening, January 19, at 7:00 PM.
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From the Senior Minister Search Committee: "We've Gone Dark!"
How is your Holiday Season shaping up? In the most positive sense, we members of the Senior Minister Search Committee are having an exciting time!
We've had an outstanding response from ministerial applicants in response to the announcement of our senior minister vacancy. Despite the brightness of the Holiday Season, you won't be hearing much from us over the next several weeks. We're on a tight timetable, so we'll be "going dark" for a while as we do the work entrusted to us. We're now in the process of assessing ministerial packets from all candidates and narrowing the field by checking references, conducting phone interviews, and setting up off-site visits with top candidates in January and February. Our goal: by mid-March to identify the candidate to be presented to you during Candidating Week at Cedar Lane, April 7 - 14, 2013.
Thank you again. We are humbled and inspired by your support and encouragement. We couldn't do it without you!
SMSC members: John Gubbings, Bob Harrison, David Hawver, Emily Mellgren, Ann Meyer, Carolyn Morrissey, & Lyn Peters
We also encourage all the check out the final 2012 SMSC Congregational Survey results. Click here to view!
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Beyond the Church
Click here to view JPD's resource library. Lots of info about social justice, spiritual awakening, UU identity & more awaits you!
JOIN US TOMORROW!!!
"The House I Live In"
Sat., January 12, 2013
7 - 10 p.m. at River Road UU
Free Film Screening & After Film Forum
Co-sponsored by River Road UU Congregation and Cedar Lane UU Church
In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made American the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and aboard. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong, and what can be done?.....
Come and find out!
Click here to view the flyer.
Mobilizing our Community:
A DC Public Forum on Challenging Anti-Muslim Discrimination
First Congregational United Church of Christ 945 G St NW, Washington, DC
January 14, 2013 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
In October, DC metro riders came face-to-face with hateful anti-Muslim ads in four metro stations. Interfaith and civil rights groups joined to address the ads head-on through vigils, op/eds, counter ads and letters to the local transit authority.
These ads reflect a larger, more troubling trend. Since 2007, the United States has seen a sharp rise in anti-Muslim activity throughout the country, accompanied by a decade-long increase in hate groups that target a variety of communities.
On January 14, from 6:30-8pm, join expert panelists in discussing this growing trend in organized hate across the United States. Then, from 8:00-9:00pm, we'll have facilitated roundtable discussions on how we as the DC interfaith community can organize to challenge discrimination in our city and country.
Volunteers Needed in Bethesda to Help Senior Citizens with Grocery Shopping
The Senior Connection urgently needs Montgomery County volunteers to help their neighbors 60 and older by:
- Escorting a senior to the grocery store, assisting with reading product labels, reaching stock, handling carts and putting away groceries. OR
- Shopping for an individual from a prepared list and putting groceries away upon returning.
- Provide companionship.
- Commit to serving 2-3 hours a week for 6 - 12 months
Volunteers have a feeling of great satisfaction knowing that they are giving back to their community when they help seniors remain independent in their own homes. To volunteer or for additional information, please call Marcia Custer at 301 962 0820 x 14; marcia.custer@seniorconnectionmc.org. Please visit us at www.seniorconnectionmc.org.
Click here to learn about some events sponsored by friends of Cedar Lane.
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eNews: Sara Davidson
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church: www.cedarlane.org; 301-493-8300
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