Up, Up, and Away

The Meridian Generation

Help us go where no UU has gone before.  Help us to explore new possibilities and prepare for new generations to follow.  Help us transform 333 Meridian Street from our new building to our new spiritual home. 

During the last week of April you should have received a brochure about the Capital Campaign that is currently in flight.  Our destination is $300,000. Canvassers are currently meeting with friends and members to request a three year financial commitment for this transformation. 

If you did not receive a brochure and would like to have one mailed to you, please call the church office at 765-742-0460 and one will be sent. 

If you have not yet made a pledge to The Meridian Generation capital campaign, please contact Fritz Smith and he will arrange for a canvasser to meet with you. 

If you wish to help in the task forces working on the various aspects of the transformation, please contact Alanna Steffen .

If you have any questions about the capital campaign, please contact either Volker or Edie Thomas

We plan to reach our destination May 31, 2007, so don’t delay, get on board and help us in our voyage. We will celebrate our success on June 3, 2007 after the Sunday morning service.  Please plan on joining us and help relief Volker of his long-sleeved red shirt!

Thanks to everyone of one you for putting flight to our dreams.

The Capital Campaign Committee

A Big Thank You

A few months ago, we started to think we had better get this ship assail, so we volunteered to be the co-chairs of the Capital Campaign Committee.  We called on several people to join us in our command team, and they all quickly and positively responded.  On Sunday, April 29, 2007, their hard work and dedication came to a great height when we launched the Up, Up and Away – The Meridian Generation Capital Campaign drive at our new building.  This event would not have happened without the commitment of each member of the command team.  Thank you goes to many, and forgive us if we forget or miss someone--to Ruth Ann Ferris for the cake and to both Ruth Ann and Bruce Craig for putting the kick-off event together and emceeing. Thanks also to Bruce for blowing up all those balloons and making sure they arrived.  Thank you to Fritz Smith for organizing the canvass.  Thanks also to Lynn Richardson and John Finley for their work on many things, including the brochure, wordsmithing, databases and more.  Thank you to Keith Brown for printing the brochure.  Thank you to Michelle Tomarelli for organizing the childcare.  Thank you to Margaret DuVall for providing the childcare. Many thanks to Kaye McSpadden for producing the brochure and the pledge cards.

We also want to acknowledge Mary Ann Foley, Sue Robinson, and Cheryl Fowler and all their volunteers for organizing the potluck – setting up, arranging, cleaning up and more. 

Thank you to Martha Gipson, Jason DuFair, Denise Wilson, and Michael Lewis for their beautiful and most appropriate music. Thank you to Christine Shertz for presenting a newer member’s perspective.  Thank you to Hilary for her words and her vision.

And a special thank you to John Carlson for his eloquent historical presentation (both because of the history he brought to the presentation and for the history he created).

Without all these people and those that we are not even aware of, this event would not have been so successful, and with all of you, we can also make the campaign a success.

Edie and Volker Thomas

Campaign Co-Chairs

Lake Geneva Unitarian Universalist Summer Assembly, often referred to as LGSA, has moved about 40 miles north from Lake Geneva to the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, which is just 2 miles north of I-94 along Wisconsin Highway 67. The owners of the campus where we have held our summer assembly since 1946 changed their mission and greatly downsized their housing, so the camp is no longer available to us.

If you have wanted to go to LGSA during the Fourth of July week and couldn’t because of  the lack or quality of housing, too many hills and/ or non private bathrooms, this year is for you.  LGSA is now Midwest Unitarian Universalist Summer Assembly (MUUSA) and will be held at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.    MUUSA is held  July 1-7, 2007. Only the name and location have changed; all of the wonderful programs and people will remain.

Your can access and download the 2007 MUUSA brochure at www.muusa.org,.

May & June “Change for Change” going to Planned Parenthood

The recipient of our weekly “Change for Change” collection during the months of May and June will be Planned Parenthood, our community’s leading reproductive health care advocate and provider. It focuses on medical care, education, and advocacy with a goal of protecting, providing and promoting reproductive health.

In the greater Lafayette area, Planned Parenthood serves about 6,000 patients every year, providing annual exams, cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, birth control, STD testing and treatment, and information and referrals. (Abortion services are not available at the local clinic.) Over 80 percent of patients are living in poverty, and for many, Planned Parenthood is the only source of medical care.

Planned Parenthood recently built a new clinic in Lafayette in order to provide patients with top-notch modern care and the dignity and respect they deserve. Located in Cascadia Business Park off McCarty Lane, the new facility will be supported through a 3-year “Tapestry of Strength” capital campaign. Several members of our congregation are involved with the campaign, and everyone is encouraged to contribute (see Bill Asher or Kaye McSpadden).

Because Planned Parenthood believes that an informed population is a healthier population, staff educators offer programs throughout the community, including presentations at our own OWL (Our Whole Lives) classes. Our Change for Change coins will help underwrite Planned Parenthood’s education programs and supplement the Women’s Health Fund, which helps patients who are unable to cover the cost of their treatment. Please give generously.

—Kaye McSpadden, member of the Social Justice Committee

 Religious Education Happenings

Religious Education Director: Michele Tomarelli

Wasn’t the Capital Campaign Fund Kick-Off an energizing and challenging event?  $300 thousand sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it?  Why so much?

You’ve already heard a good description of the church wide proposals, so let me tell you what we are planning for Religious Education.  First, our new building has enough room for each age group to have a classroom of its own.  No more borrowing space from our good neighbor, the Red Cross, no more having classes meet in the Minister’s Office or the kitchen, no more counseling students or calming babies in the halls: on Meridian Street there is room for our needs. 

Ah, but having new rooms means that we need more furniture and classroom supplies. The furniture for each room will be appropriate to the age range of the students using the classroom, with little chairs for little bottoms and little scissors for little hands.  The youth will get a lounge space to call their own.  RE will be coordinating our decorating with the rest of the Meridian Street church so that we don’t look out of place in the new building, but of course, we’ll adjust the design. Some of the rooms need painting, and one, the room the Methodists call John, needs new carpet. We also need to fill our new classroom cupboards with supplies – but wait:  some of the classrooms need cupboards in which to put the supplies, so we have to have those, too. 

We are going to be able to do so much more in our new home than we could ever have considered before now.  This move is liberating!

There will be two RE rooms in our new building totally unlike the ones we have now.  One, the DRE’s office, will provide a place to store private records, meet with parents, mend things, talk with kids, oh, and write Chalice articles.  Such an office is going to need appropriate furniture as well, like big chairs for, uh, well, never mind that.  One thing we need is a new computer.  I do my work on my old home Dell.  It’s been a good computer, but the poor thing has become so outmoded that I crashed it when I last updated its antivirus package.  It can’t run the cool new programs that are being created for RE by the UUA.  An office with a desk, a worktable, enough storage space, a new computer, seating to invite people to sit down to talk; wow!  The DREs at other churches will have nothing on us!  We are going to be pro-fessional. 

The other room that has been a dream of mine since I first came to the UU is what you might call a chapel.  This is a small room done in a simple, Oriental style, with mats on the floor (karate mats donated by the Poindexters, covered with grass matting), a grill to protect the window and no other furniture.  It will have multiple functions.  During the RE period on Sunday morning, a child having what you might call a “wild moment” can be taken into the chapel to cool out.  This isn’t necessarily a punishment, as children who feel the need to give themselves a cooling off period can come to the chapel as well, with the approval of their teacher and the rover, and do a few cartwheels, or sing, or just lie on the mat until they feel their way back to balance.  Teachers can also schedule time in the chapel for more physical activities; for instance, one summer we sampled yoga, tai chi, karate, and other arts involving chi, and we discovered that the floor at the Red Cross is very hard.

None of the RE rooms are going to be restricted to children’s classes.  Groups like Fiber Arts and the Outdoors Group, and the Adult Religious Ed classes like Atheism and Women’s Studies will meet in the classrooms during the week, and in some cases may store things in the classroom.  We will schedule room use the same way we do now.  That includes the chapel, which can be used for bodywork, meditation, small group ministry or any class or group that can meet shoeless on the mat.  In addition, we want to have a mail area and dedicated storage space in the meeting room currently known as the Alpha Omega Room, for Groups and ARE classes.  They will finally have someplace to store their materials and no longer need to keep them in a box under a table in Room 4 or in the trunk of someone’s car. 

Things like grass matting, paint, a big cabinet for ARE and the Groups all take funding.  Many of us, in our salad days, had to live in nearly bare rooms with a mattress on the floor for a bed.  It was fun for a while, but for adults, that would feel pretty shabby.  In order to be the community we want to be, we have to have more than just a building.  We have to make the building livable.  Decorating in the style known as “Early Dormitory” isn’t going do.   Our Meridian Street church needs to be an inviting place for newcomers, certainly, but we owe it to ourselves to make it a warm, functional home for us.

Minister’s Muse

Every year in early June, we have a special service – a service in which we honor our volunteers – which amounts to every person in this church to varying degrees – and in which we partake of a flower communion.  Everyone brings flowers from home (or wherever) and places them in a big container at the front of the sanctuary.  By the end of the service, we have taken time for everyone to go forward and receive a flower other than the one they brought.  This ritual – which is one of the few rituals which is uniquely Unitarian – begun by Norbert Capek, a Czech Unitarian minister in the mid 20^th century.  It is important that people come to the service and are honored for their work in this congregation.  It is important that even people who are new to the congregation feel celebrated – though their major contribution is to show up that day.  It is important that people who are not able to contribute much time – because they cannot come often, live far away or are physically challenged -- feel appreciated because they also give what they can.  The life force of a congregation is in the gifts that the members bring – and that is worth an annual celebration, the giving and receiving of flowers, and even sweets for those who eat sweets.  So I hope that you will take out your pencil and reserve that Sunday to come to 17 South 7^th Street and celebrate. 

I admit that right now, my mind is very much on the Big Move.  It was completely amazing to sing together in the sanctuary at Meridian Street, to light the chalice, to say our covenant.  It was even wonderful to straighten up and find the light switches and turn the lights off afterward.  More than half the meetings I attend now are concerned with the Move.  The work of careful planning is essential to success in this congregation’s new home.  I am conscious that this is a turning point in the congregation’s history.  I am also conscious of the fact that each person here now is part of a new generation of founders – of the future. We got a taste of that future this past Sunday as we celebrated and met in the Sanctuary and did not even bump into each other on our way to the Fellowship Hall.  It was a very emotional time – I think that I was not the only one who appreciated that Martha Gipson and Jason Dufair, who sang “Here Comes the Sun,” had grown up in this congregation, and Martha remembers John Carlson – who spoke so eloquently – from her days in the UU youth group. It was stirring to hear our music in that space and to feel our history – our sorrows and those we have lost sitting with us in that new space.  It was a strong clue that moving this congregation will not lose its best history, but be able to take it into the future.

When we gather on June 3^rd, we will also celebrate the end of our Capital Campaign – the fund drive to make this transition a real success.  It will be a wonderful Sunday-- a time of celebrating the power of congregational life.  In the sermon on Sunday, I referred to the work of Margaret Wheatley, whose books I strongly recommend and whose website I also strongly recommend (margaretwheatley.com).  She has inspired me again and again to turn back to the gathered congregation for wisdom and creativity. And when I turn to the congregation again and again, I see the power of commitment and community.  Sometimes, I hope to bring you a new idea that will spark new things – but sometimes, all I can hope to do is to hold up a mirror in which you can see the face of your best hope.

All of us can reach entirely new levels of possibility together, possibilities that are not available from soap box rhetoric. To achieve this, we need to begin these conversations about purpose and shared significance and commit to staying in them. As we stay in the conversation, people start to work together rather than convince each other of who has more of the truth. We are capable of creating wonderful and vibrant communities when we discover what dreams of possibility we share. And always, those dreams become much greater than anything that was ever available when we were isolated from each other.

ATTENDANCE RECORD FOR APRIL:

DATE                  FORUM       SUNDAY  SERVICE        TOTAL

APRIL 1        30                95                 125                                                                                 

APRIL 8        25                91                 116                                                                                 

APRIL 15      27                69                  96                                                                                  

APRIL 22      31                81                 112                                                                                 

APRIL 29      -                   87                  87                                      

From the Moving Committee: Helpers Needed Soon!

We've acquired some office furniture for our new space, but we need to move it before the end of May.  We are in need of several things: (1)  large trucks, vans, or a truck with a hitch that can pull a U-Haul; (2) people with strong backs to move large items; and (3)  a large, dry space where we can store the furniture until we move this Fall. If you would like to help, please contact Co-chairs Alanna Steffen (amsteffe@purdue.edu) or Christine Schertz (cdschertz@earthlink.net). Consider this practice for the move this Fall!

 Looking for a great summer camp for your family? Join us at Bayside Camp, a Unitarian Universalist Family Camp, located on beautiful Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.  

Spring is here, and it’s time to start making plans for summer time fun!  Consider a week of family fun at Bayside Camp, a Unitarian Universalist family camp held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Bayside is a small (75-90 person) summer camp that will be held at the Wesley Woods Conference Center July 15th – 21st. 

The camp includes morning adult worship services and workshops, morning day camp for the kids -- with an emphasis on a variety of activities for them, based on age,  -- and lots of free time in the afternoons for family fun and relaxation, plus intergenerational activities in the evenings. 

Founded in 1988, Bayside Camp aims to provide a nurturing “family” atmosphere for singles and families of all configurations and traditions.

Bayside Camp is a great stress reducer.  It’s an affordable way for busy families to spend quality time together, and it is a great place for grandparents, aunts, and uncles to spend some precious moments with their favorite child.

For more information or to register, please e-mail Emma Williams at cnmne@verizon.net, call her at (608) 838-6604, or browse the website at http://www.yahoodrummers.com/bayside/, where you can also register.   

 The Fowler family has included Bayside Camp as part of their vacation for the last 7 years!  We will be attending again this year and wanted to share the information with the UUC.  If you have any questions, you can talk with Gary, Cheryl or Claire.  It's a great vacation!

 Atheism Discussion Group 

The Atheism Discussion Group will meet from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of May in Room 4. On May 10^th, we will discuss death and dying, and on May 24^th, we will discuss atheism in the UU church. Please contact JC Romero at with any questions.

Timely Topics UU Discussion Group

Well, here we are near summer break.  Timely Topics (our UU discussion group) will continue on May 2 and May 16^th, the first and third Wednesdays.

Since the present federal administration is nearing total meltdown and social phenomena such as the Virginia Tech disaster are unfortunately in abundance, one can hardly keep up with grasping the larger significance. I can't imagine getting beyond these events as a basis for rich discussion.

No handouts; bring your perceptions; all are welcome.

I am investigating Michael B. Oren's book, Power, Faith and Phantasy in American Foreign Policy.  It has memorable passages documenting America's addled perceptions of the Middle East; our insane wish to view ourselves in a distorting mirror; and the historic emphasis in restoring a Jewish State.

Your A.R.E. Coordinator,

Chuck Reynolds

LUM Report

Homeless Shelter:

There is some good news on the Homeless Shelter front.

The board has elected to allow LUM to rent the Bundy/McNair insurance building located in downtown Lafayette, for a period of 5 months. This would allow LUM to evaluate the building's suitability with respect to office and program space.

If the building is found to be suitable, then LUM would offer to

purchase the building, thus enabling them to provide more space for beds at the shelter. We will be hearing more about this in the months to come as LUM will be launching its own capital campaign to secure the funds needed for such a purchase.

Current Homeless Shelter needs:

The Homeless Shelter is in need of coffee, sugar and

disposable razors.

Office Needs:

Used inkjet cartridges of any brand would be greatly

Appreciated. LUM receives money for them. Also needed

are children’s DVDs for the waiting area, such as Dr.

Seuss, Disney movies, Sesame St., Barney, etc.

Tax return program:

As of April 11^th, the volunteers at LUM have completed

750 returns, representing a total of $1.2 million in

tax refunds for low income clients; over $600.00 in

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) deductions were filed.

The tax program has saved low income taxpayers over

$150,000.00 in tax preparation fees, fees that would

be paid to entities whose main purpose is to make a

profit rather than to advocate on behalf of taxpayers.

Moreover, many people who did not have bank accounts

were assisted in opening accounts at area banks, thus

helping them to avoid costly fees incurred when

cashing their checks elsewhere.  

In other news:

The Food Pantry, located at St. John's Episcopal Church, is seeing record numbers of people needing assistance. Clients are currently allowed to visit the pantry twice a month, but St. John's may need to reduce the number of visits to once a month due to the

increased number of people needing assistance.

Anyone wishing to donate food to the pantry may do so between the hours of 9:00am and 11:30am on Monday, Tuesday,

Thursday, and Friday. The pantry entrance is located on Sixth St. under the green awning.

-Mary Finley, LUM representative

The Transitions Council

The transition infrastructure, presented in the March Transitions Council, outlines 12 teams that need to be formed. One of the focuses of the past month has been gathering volunteers to sit on and lead the 12 transition teams.

Currently, volunteers have been found for 11 out of the 12 teams, and the teams are hard at work preparing for the upcoming move.

Another major goal in the month of April was to compile a list of needs for the new space to allow the capital campaign to get up and running. The capital campaign was happy to report, at the April Transitions Council meeting, that the teams’ lists were turned in by

the deadline, and they were making plans to move ahead with the Capital Campaign Kickoff on April 29, 2007.

One of the next tasks the teams face is prioritizing their lists of needs and wants for the new building. The next Transitions Council meeting is Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please direct questions and comments to Alanna Steffen-Nelson  

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Where Have All the Flower Sponsors Gone?

Have you sponsored flowers lately? Each week we have lovely sanctuary flowers because members of the congregation sponsor the flowers at $20.00 a bunch. You can honor a child, a sweetheart, a parent, a friend, a special occasion, a memory, a sorrow, or a joy! Your announcement will be put in the order of service, and you get to take the flowers home after the service and return the vase later.  Just sign up on the sheet in the sanctuary, and put your money in the envelope.

LEGACY BUILDING WORKSHOP

What is the future place of Unitarian Universalism in the Greater Lafayette community and the surrounding region?  How do I make the voice of liberal religion a greater presence in public discourse?  How can our congregation build a foundation for another 50 years of growth?   We have a perfect opportunity to start answering such questions with our move to a new church building, and the best way to begin consideration of the future role of our church is through  participation in the capital campaign canvassing effort. 

The Capital  Campaign Committee will hold a Legacy Building Workshop on Saturday,  May 12, 2007, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of our 7th  Street location.  We are asking members and friends to consider  volunteering to canvass others in an effort to start a dialogue about  the legacy of our UU community.  Those with experience in previous capital campaigns, those looking for ways to be of greater service, and those curious about the impact that our congregation can have on life in the Wabash Valley, are invited to participate.  Lunch will be  provided.

RSVP to Fritz Smith  or contact the church office 765-742-0460 with names of those attending.

From the Capital Campaign Committee

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Changes to Meijer Community Rewards Program

Members who have already done so need to re-enroll because Meijer is updating its Community Rewards Program so that we can raise even more funds for our church. Rewards will now begin on your first dollar spent each month, and our church will have unlimited earning potential.

Eligible purchases are being expanded to include Meijer gas station purchases and purchases through Meijer.com. This is in addition to in-store purchases for food, clothing, toys, housewares, jewelry, hardware, garden, etc. 

Our church will receive 1% of all eligible purchases made with a Mejer credit card, and 0.5% of all purchases made with cash or a debit card. 



If you’ve recently joined Meijer Community Rewards (MCR), thank you for your support! Because of the changes to MCR, members must RE-ENROLL. You will receive a new set of Meijer cards in the mail, and your purchase history will be transferred to your new card number. Visit Meijer.com/rewards for complete details and to re-enroll.                

 If you haven’t joined MCR, please do so now. The sooner you sign up, the sooner you’ll raise more money for our church! It’s free and can be done in-store by applying for a Meijer Guest Card or Credit Card, on-line at Meijer.com/rewards, or by picking up an application at the back of the church and mailing it to Meijer. You may also call 1-800-962-7011 to get more information.

Our organization number is 472561. Simply swipe your Meijer credit card or MCR card at the register whenever you shop at Meijer, and you’ll automatically raise funds for our church.

The Worship and Music Committee 

Worship and Music is very excited to announce that this May 27^th, our Sunday service will be led by the Reverend Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow – Unitarian Universalist eco-evangelists extraordinaire.

Michael and Connie came here a couple of years ago for an evening program and wowed the crowd. As we live in a time when creation stories vie for attention, Connie and Michael have found a joyful way of celebrating the scientific creation story – the story of evolution and of the interdependence of life – to teach it, to celebrate it – and to preach it around the country.

Don’t miss this exciting event. They usually travel with a great bookstore so that you can catch up on all your reading on climate change, sustainable economics, eco-spirit, evolution, and find  wonderful reading materials for young people as well.

If you want to learn more about Michael and Connie, you can visit their website at http://www.thegreatstory.org/ or visit the UUA World magazine website and read the article that was printed about them there about a year ago.

Tell your friends!

WHAT, ME WRITE ? 

If you are interested in learning to write press releases and simple informational ads, come join the Publicity Committee.  These ads are fairly easy since we are often able to use templates and “boilerplate” phrases.  

Committee members average approximately an hour a month on publicity projects plus attending one meeting a month. Please contact us with questions. The members of our committee are Verna Ritz (448-4459, vmritz@msn.com), Martha Lempke (463-4019, mblempke@aol.com), and Celia Hartley.  Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Church.

Our Church's name has been out there before the public recently.  WLFI-TV and the Journal & Courier both covered the recent “Justice Sunday: Darfur” program.  The Purdue Exponent covered the January presentation by Rev. Hilary of her trip to Palestine and Israel.  WLFI-TV and the Journal & Courier both covered the “Meth Baby Quilts” Sunday Service.

This type of FREE publicity serves a dual purpose. Besides promoting a specific event or cause, it helps make people aware of Unitarian Universalism, raising interest in our church and increasing our general stature in the community.  Please join us in this endeavor.

UUSC announces 2007 Civil Rights Journey

UUSC is excited to announce the 2007 Freedom Summer: A Civil Rights Journey, a JustWorks camp that will take you to the most significant sites of the Civil Rights Movement.

Join UUSC for the fourth annual Civil Rights Journey to Atlanta, Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham, July 7-14, 2007. During this intergenerational trip, we will travel together by bus to visit historical sites that were significant to people who worked, often at great personal peril, to register new voters during Freedom Summer 1964. Participants will also hear inspirational stories of people who were there.

The Civil Rights Journey will conclude with electoral-related skills training that will equip participants to return to their communities and campuses as activists.

Freedom Summer 2007: A Civil Rights Journey (intergenerational 14 and over), costs $500. For a flyer you can download, visit http://www.uusc.org/info/flyer07.pdf

Join us for this or one of our other JustWorks camps, meaningful social justice experiences, and action opportunities for people of all ages. For more information, visit www.uusc.org/justworks.

New Church Pianist! 

The Pianist Search Committee announces...success!  After interviewing two excellent candidates and having them play for us, we made the decision (difficult because of the quality of both candidates!) to recommend that the Board of Trustees hire long-time local musician Peg Black.  At its April meeting, the Board voted to hire her.

Peg has lived in Lafayette for many years.  She has played piano, sung, and directed in many groups.  She loves Gilbert and Sullivan and currently sings with the Chamber Singers.  She reads music AND plays by ear, with a wide-ranging knowledge to go with her skills. 

As has been the case for our other hired pianists, Peg will play three Sunday mornings each month from September through May, and two each month June through August.  Please make her welcome as she begins playing for us in May.

Many thanks go to the Pianist Search Committee - Kitty Campbell-Laird, Kaye McSpadden, and Noemi Ybarra, with help from Hilary. 

Our special gratitude goes to Kaye McSpadden for keeping the church filled with wonderful music while we searched.  Kaye, thanks for all the time you've spent; your talent and dedication are amazing!

 The Community Responsibility Committee

The Community Responsibility Committee is looking for a volunteer to help once or twice a month to deliver food collected at the church to the LUM Food Pantry on 6^th street. You would deliver the food between the hours of

 9- and11:30 a.m. Mon., Tues., Thurs. or Fri. mornings.  Call Sue Robinson, 463-4786, if you are interested.

 Please note ~ There will not be an All-Church Potluck the last week  in May as it is Memorial Day Weekend, and the All Church Picnic is on  Sunday, May 20th.  See you at the picnic!

 Please mark your calendars for Saturday, May 19^th, 10:00 a.m., and plan to attend a retreat for our Social Justice Committee. We will spend time discussing our long-range goals and writing mission and/or vision statements for our committee. This will be a chance to really explore what we want to accomplish in the coming months and years. The success of this retreat will depend in large part on good participation from the committee. The retreat will either be at Sue Robinson’s or Jean Tyner’s house, and lunch will be served…details to follow. Anyone interested in participating on this committee is welcome to attend.

The Social Justice Committee will meet on Thursday, May 10^th, at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in working with this group of active UUs, please join us for our monthly meeting.

In order to continue its programming for the next year, the Social Justice Committee is in need of new members. YOU make the success of the Social Justice Committee possible, and we hope that you will therefore consider joining us at an upcoming meeting. To learn more about the Social Justice Committee or its programs, contact Co-Chairperson Charles Coley

New UU&U Class!

          If you are new to the church or just want a chance to talk about what it means to be a UU, please come to the New UU&U class to be held Sunday May 6, right after the church service until 2:30.  If you are interested, please register by signing the sheet (backed by a hot pink border) on the bulletin board on the back wall of the sanctuary.

Sunday Morning Forum

May 6 "Women in the Arab World" Samia Mohtar. Samia has lived in Beirut for the last 11 years. She is currently engaged in research in renewable fuels at Purdue.

May 13 "The Prevention of Homelessness" Charles Coley. Charles is working at the State level on programs to ameliorate the plight of homelessness in Indiana.

May 20 "The Possibilities of a Two-State Solution in the Middle East" Hillary Krivchenia. Hilary has recently returned from a visit to the Israel-Palestine area.

May 27 "Global Warming--Continuing the Conversation” Marty Patchen. Marty will return to the Forum with a colleague representing the economic aspects of efforts to reduce global warming.

 COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY COMMITTEE:   

CLOTHING COLLECTION SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND, UU CHURCH PARKING LOT, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The Community Responsibility Committee is collecting clothing.  Please pass on the information to your friends and family.  We want to surpass our collection of 187 bags last year.  Goodwill gives us a $5.00 voucher for each bag of clothing, and we donate these to LUM, the Women's Shelter, and the Cary Home for people needing clothing.  Goodwill bags will be available soon, but any sturdy bag may be used.  Please don't bring clothing before June 2nd.  For questions or to make arrangements for early delivery, phone Rae Brandt or Dave Shelton at 463-3793.

Board Highlights

April 15, 2007 Meeting

·        New Social Justice co-chair will be needed in the fall.

·        Congregational meeting changed to April 29.

·        May board meeting will include new board members.

·        Approved hiring of pianist, Peg Black.

·        Approved proposed Committee on Ministry slate: Gary Fowler (continuing); new: Kitty Campbell-Laird; Gale Kvam; Kelly Earnst, Malcolm Easler.

·        Established plan for gathering long range goals from 5 major church areas for budgetary initiative planning.

·        Voted to approve request for UUC to become a named sponsor of an educational community event on Gender Identity and Expression, September 18.

·        May board meeting will immediately follow annual church picnic.

·        Complete minutes can be found at https://uufolks.org/groups/board/minutes

Church Mouse Awards   This month’s church mouse awards go to Jean Tyner and Kaye McSpadden. 

·        Jean has been leading the efforts Dafur project efforts, bringing much needed attention and aid to a deplorable situation.  Jean also works hard for many other social justice causes on behalf of the church.

·        Kaye has volunteered to fill in as pianist for many Sundays since our pianist left.  Kaye is also contributing her time and effort in many ways to the transition, in addition to all the work she does for the Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.  

We greatly appreciate all Jean and Kaye do for our congregation.

Book Group

Monday, May 14, 2007, The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland

Monday, June 11, 2007, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf

The Book Group meets on the 2^nd Monday of every month at 7pm at Borders Bookshop in Wabash Landing in the lounge area where it joins Panera’s.  All are welcome to join us for discussions of books selected by participants.