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. She needs help shopping for groceries and getting to the doctor's office, as she cannot drive right now.

The Green Basket Charity for September is

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. 

Pima County Food Alliance

 

"A Place at the Table", a thought-provoking documentary about poverty and hunger, will have a special screening in Tucson.  A panel discussion with local and national food advocates will follow.   

 

When:   Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m.

 

Where:  Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel

880 E. 2nd Street

 

It's FREE, open to the public (doors open 6:30 p.m.)

Aluminum Cans

 

Please bring your empty aluminum cans to church and place in the special bin. Proceeds from cans go to the Camp de Benneville Pines Scholarship Fund. Thank you to Emily Ricketts for sponsoring this worthwhile project.

 

MInister's Column

 

I am so glad I am a Unitarian Universalist. I say that because there are times when the grass looks greener on the other side. There are times when I long for the inflexibility of a creed upon which to rest a quest weary head. There are times when I long for the simple assuredness of orthodoxy. There are times when I envy the devotion found in the eyes of other religious practitioners of east or west.

 

Experience is the mender of these little rifts. All it takes is exposure to the reality underlying any of these wistful wishes and I am assured, with great relief and happiness, that I am a Unitarian Universalist through and through. So what is it that drives me back home? What is it that makes me so happy to be here?

 

Recently I was invited by Humane Borders (where our own Gene McCormick volunteers as a water truck driver) to take part in a Blessing of the Fleet. Many of you know that I am unconvinced of my blessing power. Nonetheless, I support their mission and so decided to attend and offer what I may. I was joined there by some Rabbis, a Zen Buddhist, an Eastern Orthodox priest, an Episcopalian priest, an interfaith minister, a Buddhist monk, a Presbyterian minister and a couple other Christian ministers.

 

Some splashed water on the water trucks. Horns were blown. Incantations were incanted. More water was flung. Powerful words were raised up to the heavens. God was beseeched, postures struck. The most involved and intricate blessing was offered by the Buddhist monk.

 

Now, a part of me understands that some of this speaks to the power of formality. A vocal form or a set of movements carves out space for the ineffable to occupy. Some of this was symbolic. It was all in earnest, and for that I have nothing but respect. However, I knew that I could not do what my colleagues were doing without feeling like I was make believe magic making.

 

I found myself girded by two elements. One, whatever I said would have to be true to the material world. Two, whatever I said would have to be meaningful in the spiritual reckoning of the congregation in which I take my stand. These two constraints were like the banks of a river, which focuses and increases the power of that which flows in their middle. That's how it felt.

 

It was terrifying because I was struggling to find the right course. But it was powerful because even that pursuit, and hopefully its realization, put me on unshakable ground. I wound up offering a prayer regarding the worthiness of all people and the sacredness inherent in all events. I proposed that sacredness is found through compassionate attention and that compassionate attention could be entered into through memory and gratitude: memory for those who have died in longing and gratitude for those who seek to help others in distress. Memory and gratitude guide us to compassionate attention. That felt honest. Spiritual honesty is its own magic. So is hard work. So let's remember and be grateful that Gene and others are out there delivering the lifeline of water to people who may need it to survive.

Congregants are always welcome to attend meetings. Those who wish to speak will be allotted 5 minutes within an Agenda item or after the Treasurer's Report if not an Agenda item. Please contact the President one week before the meeting.

 

Finding Heart Starts a New Year

 

Finding Heart Ministries will kick off the 2013-2014 year at the service on Sunday September 22. New groups will begin in both October and January. Consider taking part in this small-group approach to getting to know congregation members and friends better, sharing and laughing together, and working on a small service project to benefit our congregation or community.

If you are interested in facilitating a group, come to our organizational meeting on Saturday September 21 at 9:00 am in in the Large RE room. New facilitators are welcome and training is available. Want more info?? Contact Meg Kidwell at 520-490-3199 or mmgkaz@gmail.com. 

 

Music Notes

 

Hymn of the Month

 

The Hymn of the Month for October is "I Brought My Spirit to the Sea," #4 in the gray hymnal. The Existential text by Max Kapp, a UU minister and professor of Theology, is about finding looking for self and meaning in nature. Rouzbeh will play it as one of his selections on the first Sunday of the month, the choir will sing it as a response on the second Sunday, we'll sing it as the preparatory hymn with me as song-leader on the third Sunday, and sing it in the second hymn-slot on the 4th Sunday.

 

Choir

 

The MVUU Choir is off to a great start and will continue singing on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month through March. In April and May we'll be on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. Our anthems for October are "Seize the Day" on October 13, and "The Road Not Taken" on October 27. "Seize the Day" is from the 1992 movie musical "Newsies" which was recently turned into a Broadway show. Its uplifting text is matched to an upbeat and jazzy tune. "The Road Not Taken" is a Randall Thompson's setting of the famous Robert Frost poem. The reflection on what might have been is well-suited to October's liturgical theme of Mystery and The Unknown.  

 

All are welcome to join the choir, just come to rehearsals on Thursday night at 7pm in the sanctuary. There's no audition or need for any previous experience, so drop in and check us out-we can always slide more chairs into the "choir loft."

Do you like helping others who are in need? Please consider joining the Pastoral Care Committee. Committee members help congregants with rides to doctor's appointments, errands and meal preparation, etc. Committee members also visit convalescing congregants at home or in the hospital, when requested.

Tucson Chamber Artists Concert

 

Tucson Chamber Artists, Southern Arizona's professional chamber choir, of which our own LB is a member, will be presenting an upcoming concert entitled "How Sweet the Sound II," featuring American folk songs and spirituals. Concerts will be October 11, 12, and 13. The program features favorite songs by Aaron Copland and Stephen Foster, and beloved African-American spirituals and hymn, including "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?" and "Amazing Grace." For more information and ticket prices, click here.  

Prickly Pear Project

 

 

If you would like to help in the prickly pear jelly-making project, you can pick the fruits, which are now ripe. Use tongs 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 fruits and put them in the pot with about 1/4 inch of water. Cook on very low heat until soft--about 3 hours. Then mash them and strain the juice through cheesecloth. If you want to be in on the jelly-making, please contact Margaret Fleming or Betty Meikle.

I first came to Tucson in December of 1952 as a USAF Aviation Cadet in primary pilot training in Marana. By an amazing coincidence, my parents had just moved to Tucson earlier that year and had acquired an old territorial home in the Tucson Mountains, the very one where Betty and I live today! I stayed on in Tucson to marry my Oberlin College sweetheart, start a family and graduate from the University of Arizona. During my senior year I analyzed Arizona economic data at the UA Bureau of Business Research, which led to an interest in computers and a job offer from UCLA at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Over the years my interest in computer analysis has led me into fascinating areas of scientific and technological development, as well as entrepreneurial adventures.

 

I have always had a special interest in theology because my grandfather was a Lutheran minister, as well as my uncle, and my mother hoped that I would follow in their footsteps.Unfortunately, the more I studied the Bible and religion, the more I recognized the conflict with science. I chose to study religions and philosophy on my own until a UU neighbor invited me to a service in San Diego. Like so many, I felt immediately at home. Betty and I joined our hands in marriage there, combined our family of four boys and four girls, and became members of the choir. When we moved back to Tucson to take care of my aging mother, we were delighted to find a newly founded UU congregation where we could expand our participation into all aspects of a religious community. In joining with others to develop, experience, and sustain our programs and facilities here at MVUU, I have found the meaning of life and sense of fulfillment that I hoped for.

 

 

Association of Contractors with the MVUU  

 

by Dinshaw Contractor

 

Our involvement with the MVUU began after we moved to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. where I began teaching in the Civil Engineering Department in 1968. By that time we had five children and we were forced to think about their spiritual development. Hutsy and I were both brought up in the Zoroastrian faith in India. We were each initiated into the religion at a special initiation ceremony called the Navjote. In the US we met very few Zoroastrians in the towns where we lived, so we began our search to find a place where our children could grow spiritually.

 

After looking at many churches, we decided to attend the UU Fellowship in Blacksburg. Most of the UU members were from Virginia Tech. We felt very much at home in this fellowship. We enjoyed the services, the members and the activities of the fellowship. However, to make our kids attend the children's services, I had to bribe them each week by saying I will take them to McDonalds after the service. It worked every time. For a year, I served as the Leader of the Group and organized the speakers and other activities.

 

In 1981, I was offered a faculty position in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Arizona. With the exception of our elder two daughters, the family moved here. We attended services at the UU Church on 22nd Street for many years. Our third daughter Yasmin was married there. It was a long drive to church from the Northwest part of town where we lived and when we heard that a new fellowship was to be formed in our part of town we were eager to be a part of that activity.  

 

The formative years of the NW fellowship involved meeting in the homes of members and classrooms of middle schools. I remember Howard Morton and the numerous times we met in the kitchen of Claire Toth's inviting home. These are very fond memories that both Hutsy and I share. I enjoyed leading the fellowship for a year. In 1985, we lost our second daughter in a parachuting accident. Soon after that, we were introduced to the Theosophical Society in America. I was aware of the Society when I was in India. The International Theosophical Society is based in Chennai, India. The tenets and beliefs of this Society resonate with us as those of the UU church also do.  

 

We continue to appreciate and enjoy the friendship of many members of the MVUU community.

 

John Fleming

 

I grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a New York City slum. My mother had a Lutheran background but was not a church-goer. My father was a good Catholic, always blessing himself when passing the church, lighting candles whenever the welfare check was late, and having all of his sons confirmed.  When I was 13 he thought it would be a great idea for me to go to a Catholic school and have God scare the fear of hell into me.

 

Once I started class in Sacred Heart of Jesus School, black swallowed me, black robes, dark corners, and the mystery of sin. The only thing positive was the darkness that gave me a sanctuary for my pimples.

 

The boys' division--separate from the girls, of course--was started and staffed by the Christian Brothers of Ireland, who had "a strong reputation for discipline." Some might have called it physical abuse. The diocese apparently thought that, since the neighborhood was crawling with Irish drunks fist fighting in the streets, bars, and homes, the only way to point us to the ways of God was to call in their muscle--the Wise Guys from Ireland--to beat us up.

 

That experience left me with strong negative feelings about religion, and I didn't have contact with any church for years. When I married Marge, I attended the UU Church with her occasionally, and gradually I got sucked in. UUism was different from any religion I'd ever known about; it was one I could actually fit into and feel comfortable with.

 

In 1992 Marge and I were on the committee searching for a permanent home for our congregation when a friend of mine, a fellow real estate broker, told me about a church property just coming on the market. We went to see it; we both said "yes;" then we took Marge to see it, and she said "Yes!" We immediately wrote out a contract. She signed it, as purchaser. I took it to the listing agent, who was just entering the property into his computer, and said, "Don't bother. I have a full-price offer right here." We let the sellers keep their Bibles, but asked for the pianos and chairs.

 

At first our congregation was so small that we all had to do some of everything. I was active in Buildings and Grounds and marketing from the beginning. Tom DeConcini, Doug Walling, and I were "the three marketeers," and membership doubled. More recently I've promoted the use of the Internet and social media to sell our church and UUism. We got two grants to link with other congregations through technology. Ironically, the best link we have is with the prison fellowship in Eloy, and they don't have access to the Internet.

 

Most recently I've worked with Wally Gerrard to install our new audio-visual system. We're hoping to attract some young techie types to do internships and learn how to operate the systems. It might be a good way to attract new members.

 

 

Variety of Experience Serving You on New Board of Trustees

 

Beginning with its first official meeting in mid-September, the new Mountain Vista UU Board Trustees brings together seven members with wide-ranging professional and personal experiences. Here are brief biographical sketches of your new board members.

 

Larry Jagnow, President

 

Larry retired in 2000 as a senior vice president for a major Midwestern hospital system.  In that capacity, he served as the compliance officer, oversaw low income elderly housing, and managed the public relations and development functions.  Most of his 35-year career was in public relations. He graduated from the University of Illinois and also served in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Vietnam.

 

He and his wife, Anne, joined MVUU in 2009. He has served on the Endowment and Management committees, and has been the second vice president and treasurer for two boards.
 
He and Anne moved to Tucson in 2009.  They lived in the Chicago area for most of their working careers.  They have two grown children, and two grandchildren.  He now loves taking money from Joe Bredau and Larry Castriotta when they golf together.    

 

Sybelle van Erven, First Vice President

 

  Sybelle was born and grew up in The Netherlands. She moved to Rhinebeck, NY in 1987 and moved to Tucson in 1990 (and to Benson in 2001).

 

She was a midwife in The Netherlands and became a Certified Nurse-Midwife in the US. She has delivered about 1,000 babies. She has 2 children, who have grown up with MVUU as their community. Ingo is 19, Bibiana 16. They were always homeschooled until Ingo started Pima College at 16 and Bibiana started attending Edge High School in Tucson, starting this year. Sybelle's family has been members of MVUU for about 13 years.

 

Sybelle has always been active in the Religious Education committee and is currently the coordinator for Adult R.E. She has been a YRUU facilitator and teaches Our Whole Lives classes. She was a VP on the Board several years ago and is in the same role now, for her second year. She was on the Ministerial Search committee and enjoyed that immensely! Sybelle is also one of the coordinators for the monthly lunches that RE organizes. She is active in the Social Action committee, especially in Interweave and Animal Ministry. She loves playing cards and board games, reading and listening to audio tapes, and doing all kinds of crafts.

  

Gwen Goodman, First Vice President

 

A Unitarian Universalist since 1988, Gwen has been active in both Tucson congregations.   She met Eb Eberlin at the 22nd Street church in 1993 and they moved to Mountain Vista in May 2002.    

She has been an active participant in religious education, stewardship and dabbled in social justice.  While previously having not served on the Board at Mountain Vista, Gwen served on the Board at 22nd Street.

 

Eb is active in Building and Grounds and on the Board of SAWUURA, UU's wilderness camp.  They have two kids.   Lucius is a sophomore at Tucson High,   Karina a 6th grader at Miles ELC K-8.  Both are active in RE and love to go to DeBenneville camps.

 

Professionally, Gwen is the Director of the Employee Service Center at Pima Community College, responsible for payroll, benefits, retirement and wellness programs at the College.

 

 

Larry Castriotta, Treasurer

 

Larry Castriotta  was born, raised and educated in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  Once he got that out of his system, he moved to the Midwest and ran several of his own companies but also spent many years doing turn-arounds (fixing sick businesses).  After three failed retirements, including five years in real estate in Mexico, he has finally quit working for compensation here in Tucson.

 

He spends his time singing with the Tucson Barbershop Experience, (and serving on its board) as well as playing golf with the willful intention to help supplement Larry Jagnow's retirement income. (Larry J. thinks Larry C. is just naturally bad.) 

  

Jane Paul, Secretary

 

Jane was raised in the Beverly Unitarian Church on the south side of Chicago. She has belonged to Emerson Fellowship in Troy, Michigan; The Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois; Countryside UU in Palatine, Illinois; and Valley UU Congregation in Chandler, Arizona.

 

Over the years, she has served on Worship and Membership Committees and as an organizer of special events such as service auctions, fairs, congregational dinners, and concerts.

 

She recently retired from Arizona Department of Public Safety where she was a researcher at the drug trafficking fusion center. Before moving to Arizona with Conrad in 2000, she worked for Moore Business Forms as a sales rep in Detroit and an analyst on system development projects in Chicago.

 

Jane loves golf and hates tennis. She plays the piano, makes polymer clay jewelry, and tries to keep up her computer skills.

  

T.J. Boothroyd, Trustee at Large

 

T.J. Boothroyd has had a career in employment law, risk management, and labor negotiation. He appeared as an advocate before labor law tribunals representing employers throughout the Western United States. He had a long career in Los Angeles with the Automobile Club of Southern California in employee relations, compensation cost control, public affairs and operations management. Following that he and his wife, Kaaren, moved to Northern California where he opened his own legal services management consulting firm. He then expanded his services into labor negotiations representing police officers in Nevada County. He also was retained by the University of Phoenix to create a curriculum and teach an innovative course of employment law to small businesses in the Sacramento area. He is a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England and Glendale University College of Law.

 

In 2006, he retired and he and Kaaren moved to Tucson where Kaaren, after a career in non-profit management, secured a position as Executive Director of a nationwide professional association. He loves tennis and hates golf. When not busy with MVUU tasks, he is a writer of mystery and salacious suspense fiction.

 

He and Kaaren love Tucson because it reminds them of the unspoiled Southern California where they spent most of their lives, but without the smog and earthquakes.

  

Joe Bredau, Trustee at Large

 

Prior to retiring in 2008 from a 40 year career in the distribution of musical instruments and sound reinforcement, Joe spent the last 20 years as Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Sales of an international musical instrument and sound reinforcement manufacturer. Besides supervising the marketing functions and driving sales revenues, Joe directed the strategic planning and implementation teams as well as co-managed product development.

 

Joe and his wife Pat have been members of MVUU since 2009 where he has served a two year term as pledge drive chair and served on the interim ministerial committee in 2011.

 

Joe and Pat have been UU's since 1985. They have two daughters and four wonderful grandchildren living in New York. Joe loves golf, scrabble, card games, movies and NPR/NPB.

Social Justice and Action Is Reorganizing

 

In his August 15 column, Rev. Ron gave several examples of the energy at MVUU that he had experienced during his first year and that he saw carrying over into his second year and beyond. Among these was the launching of a process of reorganizing social justice and action endeavors "to focus our justice efforts without compromising the diverse areas of interest already served by members of our community." He cited TIHAN, Primavera, Native Elders, and our Prison Ministry, to which we could add our Animal Ministry, Private Prisons, and Immigration Education.

 

A step towards launching this reorganizing process has been the formation of an ad hoc Justice Coordinating Committee (JCC), consisting of Lara Brennan, Debbie Gessaman, and Chuck Tatum, which met in early August with Rev. Ron to formulate a preliminary plan to, in Ron's words, "seek to discover, in conversation with our entire community, an issue of justice that we can enter into, as a whole congregation: where we may work to transform the world and find ourselves transformed in the process." The JCC's advocacy responsibilities would include: search for community agencies with which to coordinate; build bridges and locate potential projects; look for educational opportunities and advocacy occasions; and get training in congregation-based community organizing. We decided it was important in broadening our social action efforts within MVUU, as well as locally, nationally, and globally, to introduce the congregation to several process models that other UU congregations in Arizona have already developed to bring justice-seeking awareness to their congregations.  

 

The JCC discussed several models and found that the process developed by Beacon UU of Flagstaff merited our attention. Over thirty members of this congregation attended Justice GA in Phoenix a year ago and, fired up by the experience, a new social justice group was formed to develop a carefully planned effort that over the next several months included one-on-one conversations within the Beacon UU community as well as with leaders in the larger Flagstaff community. This process culminated in June 2013 with a unanimous congregational vote "in support of families of undocumented immigrants" in the Flagstaff area. Learning about the Beacon UU process would serve to start a conversation among us about how we might want to proceed. Each congregation is unique, so we may want to adapt features of their process as well as others that we learn about.. It's important that this conversation involve as many members of our congregation as possible. To succeed, our process will be developed from the ground up.  

 

Roz Clark, a longtime Beacon UU member, was instrumental in organizing, guiding, implementing, and sustaining this year-long process. She has graciously accepted our invitation to meet with our community on September 15th to share with us the Beacon UU process. The JCC invites all to attend this informal meeting in the Sanctuary shortly after our Sunday service. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Chuck Tatum at 742-4007 or by email (ctatum@email.arizona.edu).

 

In love,

Justice Coordinating Committee  

Sunday Morning Book Group, 8:30 

Wednesdays, 9:30 am, Writers' Workshop

Margaret Fleming at 888-7059 or margefleming@earthlink.net.   

 

MVUU Growth Group 

 

After a bit of a break, we begin Holy Conversations; Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations by Rendle and Mann, on Monday August 26th at 6:30.  The book is about 200 pages so let's break it into 50 pages per session.

 

September 16th-- pages 91-153.

Either September 30th or October 7th-- 154-the end.

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