Circle of Life

* Marion Erickson has been having an extremely difficult time breathing. She is being moved to a long-term care facility. 

Greeters Needed    

Here's an opportunity to meet new people on Sunday mornings. We currently need friendly people to serve year-round or part of the year as regular or substitute Greeters.  We are especially in need of greeters on the second and fourth Sunday of each month, or on the fifth Sunday of June, September, or December.  Don't worry that our standards might be too high.  A few minutes of training is all that's needed for you to join the ranks of the Greeters.

To explore further please email Gene McCormick at genemick@comcast.net or phone at 520-297-9498.

The AV Project

It's just about done--up and running. Only a few bugs left. We've enhanced our ambience with high-quality sound.

We are now able to:

• Amplify sound
• Record sound
• Record video

Prickly Pear Project

Prickly pear fruits--known as tunas--are now getting ripe. They make wonderful jelly and syrup, so if you would like to help in the effort, we could use people just to pick them and save them for future use.  

Betty Meikle has spearheaded this project for several years. Her advice is to pick as many as you can, either on the church property or at home, and freeze them. Use tongs to pick them and put them in a paper bag lined with a plastic bag to prevent stains. Then you can freeze them whole or make juice and freeze it.  

To make juice, wash the tunas and add enough water to cover them. Cook until soft. Then mash them and strain the juice. If you want to be in on the jelly-making, contact Betty when she gets back, or Margaret  Fleming. 

Silent Retreat August 23

Friday Evening, August 23, 5-8 p.m.  

Come to Mountain Vista UU for a silent retreat respite from the concerns of your daily life.  Give and receive the solace of being together with your fellow silent retreat members.

You are invited to the opening circle at 5 to hear an inspirational reading and name your  intention for this time of personal renewal.

The next two hours are yours to be with yourself in nature in silence.

The last half hour we return to the circle to share how your intention and quiet time in the company of others was for you.

All participation is voluntary.  Brown bag in a supper, if desired.  Reading is distracting from your  silent retreat process and is discouraged.  No sign up necessary.  Guests are welcome.  Don't forget your water.

Adult Religious Exploration  

The first Wednesday evening Adult RE will be on September 4th at 6:30, Spiritual Poetry with Ron Phares and Bob Wallace. Look for the full schedule in the next newsletter. Each session of a series will be on alternating Wednesdays. So keep all your Wednesday evenings free. Childcare will be provided.

Owning Your Religious Past

A five-session workshop co-facilitated by Fran and Ron Bishop

Meeting every other Wednesday evening from 7 to 8:30 pm in the Goldblatt Building, beginning September 11th and concluding November 6th (9/11, 9/25, 10/9, 10/23, 11/6)   

This workshop offers an opportunity to explore who we are religiously, what our past religious perspectives and experiences have been and who we hope to become as Unitarian Universalists. Simple tools will be provided through which we can re-examine and retrieve positive aspects of our past religious connections. We will address the affective elements of these connections rather than dogma. The workshop will provide both group sharing and private exploration. Through reflection, discussions and journal writing we'll explore where our past religious experiences have taken us and where we hope to go at MVUU.

Fran is a member of MVUU since 2012. She was raised Catholic and has been a licensed social worker for over eight years.

UU Gateway News

Nine of us traveled to Eloy on August 12th for the UU Gateway Fellowship meeting. Following our usual ritual of opening words, Joys and Sorrows, and meditation, we were fortunate to have a quartet from the Interfaith Choir perform several songs. Their rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus" was superb.

We are starting a writing workshop there, and the first session was led by Diego, one of the inmates. It was very successful. Using Diego's prompt, everyone produced a bit of poetry and shared what they had written.

Following that, we had a graduation ceremony for 7 inmates who had completed an intensive public speaking course. They had asked if we would sponsor them, so we printed up certificates and signed them as members of MVUU. The teacher of the course, also an inmate, introduced each person, told a little bit about him, awarded his certificate, and then asked him to speak. It was very moving and inspiring to hear these men telling us, with poise and confidence, how they are working to better their chances of a full life when they are released.

Prayers to Share

Someone suggested that the prayers used at Jean Kratsch's memorial service were lovely and worth sharing.

Opening

We gather today in the shadow of grief acknowledging the sadness and loss we all feel as we come to celebrate the life of Jean. May we find consolation and comfort in the many good memories that remain with us always. May we be strengthened in our sympathy and our support for each other and for all people, and may we renew our dedication to the underlying and eternal realities of kindness and love which give our lives meaning and worth.

Closing

You can shed tears that she is gone

Or you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her

Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her and only that she is gone

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

As we leave this place, we go together to support and hold one another up. We go carrying our memories and remembering the gift Jean was to us as a sister, mother, and grandmother. May her legacy live on in all of us. May the almighty love, hope, and peace that binds us all together be with us this day, now and always.

One of the main reasons we live in Tucson is Mountain Vista UU. We have been Unitarian Universalists for 50 years and have belonged to many UU congregations. We met at Albion College in Michigan (a Methodist school) and took a course in religion together where we visited different beliefs. John had been a Lutheran and Helen a Methodist. We tried Reformed Judaism and some protestant churches before visiting a Universalist church nearby in Homer, Michigan. We liked the message.

We went to church in Midland, Texas and at Paint Branch in Maryland outside of Washington, D.C.  Overseas we belonged to the Church of the Larger Fellowship, and when we came back to the U.S., we helped set up Accotink UU in northern Virginia.

In New York City we were active members of Community (UU) Church in Manhattan.

Then we moved to Tucson in 1989 just in time to be charter members here while John was getting a Masters in Library Science at the U of A and Helen worked as a dietitian giving nutritional counseling at UMC Family Services and at the federal prison.

To find a good job for John  we moved to Athens, Georgia, and found a wonderful UU fellowship there. Helen started a Care Ring program which is still thriving today. John was active in Sunday services, denominational affairs and was on the Midsouth District board. As soon as we arrived in Georgia we realized that Tucson was home and we wanted to come back to this congregation when John retired in 2001.

At Mountain Vista UU Helen was active in the Membership Committee for years and helped set up a Care Ring program. She sings in the choir and is a greeter.  John was Denominational Affairs chair, has organized monthly movie outings for years and volunteers in the church office every week.

Mountain Vista is special to us. We are thankful for our friends and for all the wonderful things which happen here.

Two Longstanding Members Who Are Also Charter Members  

Lloyd Perper

Lloyd Perper came to Tucson in 1955, an MIT engineer, as an independent consultant supporting federal agencies in the development of aviation flight control systems. Although his services were required nationwide, Lloyd chose Tucson for his home and to raise his family. Lloyd loves the desert so much that when he heard of a proposed shrine to be built on the edge of the Grand Canyon, he joined a group of protesters that included the founders of the Desert Museum. They in turn asked him to become a member of their board of directors, which he did and served as chairman during 1976 - 77.   

"Man seldom improves on nature," says Lloyd, and to make sure his enjoyment of the desert would not be disturbed, he and his late wife Sara built a home in the Tucson Mountain foothills whose view includes only undisturbed desert and will itself become a part of the Nature Conservancy. "Sara and I became successful hermits," Lloyd chuckles, but admits to being carried away by a love of nature.

Lloyd believes that every person should develop their own set of principles and live by them. Lloyd is 92 years old and is living proof that this will lead to a fulfilling life and provide a legacy to share. He joined the Unitarian Universalist community in Tucson in 1957 and was a founding member of the Mountain Vista UU congregation in 1988. As a consistent supporter of our congregation even when he has been unable to attend services, Lloyd receives significant personal satisfaction from his indirect participation in our varied activities. He believes in supporting a religious community that reaches out to the greater community and offers those who were not satisfied with the beliefs of others a place to join with other "skeptics," as he classifies himself, to develop their own beliefs in the meaning and purpose of life.  

Lloyd believes members should include MVUU in their estate planning to provide for the future as well as participate with their gifts of time and talent. 

Emily Ricketts

I was the second child of seven, born in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents Dr. A.A. Hopps, M.D. and Eleanore Frances Jones Hopps. My mother and father were both members of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, a predominantly black denomination, founded in 1776 in Philadelphia by a freed African American slave named Richard Allen. My parents were deeply Christian believers, very much church-connected.  

My father, a medical doctor, was, as I look back on his life (1898-1967) and education (1926 medical degree), quite prescient regarding medicine and scientific advances known today. But when it came to my questioning religious beliefs, his pat answer was "Just have faith," in other words, accept Christian Biblical interpretations. This was extremely frustrating to me.  

As I grew older and wanted a spiritual home and a religious education for my children, I realized I could not accept faith as the answer to my needs and theirs, so I began a spiritual quest and in my late 30s discovered Unitarian Universalism, researched it, and became a member of my first UU church in 1974, Studio City in North Hollywood CA, where I was then living. I've been active in the denomination ever since. My major interests have been denominational affairs, religious education, and social action.

I moved to Arizona in 1977 and joined the UU Church of Tucson, where I was active until 1989, when I left it to join MVUU as a charter member. Early in our history I served a term as President. I've been our congregation's liaison to UUA for many years, as well as our representative to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, whose programs include Guest at Your Table during the winter holidays.  

My other activities are largely in the areas of Religious Education and Social Action. Some years back I was a member of a UUA Religious Education task force. Over the years I've served on our R.E. Committee, taught R.E., and facilitated three different Coming of Age programs. Along with others, I helped start our Journey toward Wholeness program some years back, and more recently have chaired the Social Action Committee, as well as organizing the monthly Primavera dinners and frequently leading a team that cooks and delivers one of them. I'm currently a member of the UU Gateway prison fellowship.

I believe deeply in our UU Principles and the sources underpinning them. I also believe in the UU expression, a favorite of mine: "To question is the answer."

Sunday Morning Book Group, 8:30 

Wednesdays, 9:30 am, Writers' Workshop

MVUU Growth Group 

 1st and 3rd  Mondays, 6:30 pm, Global Chant Group