Circle of Life

*  Edee Sobel is recovering from surgery and would welcome hearing from friends.  Her summer address is P.O. Box 3587, Sunriver, OR 97707.

* Marion Erickson is now back at home. She welcomes calls and visitors.

A Note on the Gathering of Waters Ceremony

Water Communion September 8

All around the nation, Unitarian Universalist congregations will be celebrating ingathering Sunday in September. It has become one of our ways of honoring the journeys we are each on ever and always. It is a wonderful expression of welcome, which, lo and behold, is our liturgical theme for the month!

In order to create a ceremony that truly honors each of us, I invite you to continue the tradition begun last year. That is, when adding your water to the shared waters, rather than announcing the place from which we brought the water, we will name the character of the experience involved around getting that water.

So, when you add water to water, rather than saying, "This water comes from Siberia," you can say, "This water is about finding light while getting lost." Or instead of saying, "I got this water from my tap," you might say, "This water is about nourishment." Or rather than reporting that you went to Maui, you might say, "Utter relaxation."

I believe this will, and heard that last year it did, call forth a greater consideration of the experience of retrieving the water, deepen the sharing, and create a more welcoming ceremony.

Then at coffee you may bump into someone and ask them, "Can you tell me more about your experience of 'intrigue and decisiveness?'

If you need clarification, please ask one of the Worship Associates or myself. We will do our bless to clarify.

May your water be clear,

Pastor Ron

It's Back! Café Justo

 It's time to again treat yourself a few pounds of Café Justo--the Coffee for Social Justice and Ethical Drinking too!

The "Coffee Mission" is a Social Action/Justice project that supports a small co-op of Mexican coffee growers and roasters. Through your support and that of many other congregations, these folks are now earning a livable wage from Café Justo. This coffee is fair traded plus shade and organically grown. To learn more about Café Justo and view what's available, go to http://justcoffee.org and "meet" the coop members.

You may order regular, decaffeinated or a mixture; beans or ground. The coffee comes in dated, sealed 1-pound bags. Regular costs $9; decaffeinated and 50/50 blends cost $10. Mountain Vista UU does earn a few cents per pound sold.

To put yourself on the monthly "coffee order alert" list or to gather more info, contact Elizabeth Reed at 520-269-3414 or reedeliz@gmail.com. Once you order, you will be contacted each month for your next order.