Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson

NUUSLETTER

 A Newsletter for our Members and Friends

October 2005 - Web Edition

Love is the spirit of this church, and service is our law.

To dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.

This is our covenant

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Every Sunday Forum at 9:30am, Service at 11:00am

October 2

Forum: Ray Shenefelt, Discussion Leader.  "Possible Purchase of the Adjacent Property South of the Church"

Service: Reverend Luck

October 9

Forum: Tom Head, Discussion Leader.  "If They Build It, They Will Come: Strategies for UU Congregational Growth"

Service:  Reverend Luck; Potluck lunch will follow.

October 16

Forum: Jo Ann Bienvenu, Discussion Leader.  "Katrina: True Stories"  by Evacuees from New Orleans

Service: “Responding Creatively to Pain and Suffering,”
Linda Foshee (Our Home Church), speaker.  Over the past few weeks, we have been coming to grips with the massive destruction and death that has resulted from Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States.  Is it any wonder that people of faith are searching for answers and attempting to find meaning and purpose in the pain and suffering that has followed?  "One measure of our lives is the quality of our response in the face of pain and suffering," writes William Murry in A Faith for All Seasons: Liberal Religion and the Crises of Life.  Linda will explore Murry's insights into the liberal religious response to suffering.

October 23

Forum: "Neighborhood Watch."  Deputy Susan Craig, Director Crime Prevention/Triad, Hinds County Sheriff's Dept.

Service: "The Life of Louisa May Alcott" presented by church members

 October 30

Forum: Mike Mallory, Discussion Leader.  "Natural Disasters"        

Service: UU Service Committee and United Nations Awareness Sunday  

Deadline for submissions to the September UUCJ NUUSletter: September 18.  Please make submissions to NUUSletter@uujackson.org.

If you would like to receive the NUUsletter by email, please user our NUUS subscription form.

Mississippi Ministry

This month has been one of grace for this minister. Besides being graced with the presence of Ada and Roberto Tavar from New Orleans, along with Jim Mitchell, from Biloxi, in UUCJ's religious education home, I have been able to be present to those who are now scattered all over the country by Katrina. See the Mid-South District web site. Three of those formerly from the Coliseum in Jackson have called me to let me know how they are faring.

Though housing UUCJ's three Katrina displaced persons was our privilege, the plumbing, not used to occupants in the UUCJ- RE house, failed. Thankfully, Brian moved quickly to get a plumber on the job.

Then the Tavars were car-jacked on UUCJ's parking lot! Very distressing to all, but when the congregation heard the news, it was stirred into action. There is a car in the immediate offing. The Jackson police are working to get Roberto a new Louisiana driver's license. Cash appeared in various envelopes. Caring people doing good work; I am grateful for them.

Speaking of grace, Our Home's member Peggy Owens-Mansfield is the executive director of the Pine Belt Chapter of the Red Cross. The Pine Belt encompasses four counties!  She has been doing an unmatched job getting services to those in need quickly. She and her husband, the Rev. Doak Mansfield, along with church members Pat Cruise and Louise Welborn, have worked unceasingly in Laurel with Peggy and the Red Cross. Check the UU World on line for more information about the scope of their work. I am humbled by the ministry you do, Peggy.

The UUA Trauma team sent Annette Marquis to work in the Hattiesburg shelter, as I had in the Jackson Coliseum shelter, leaving me free to minister to my congregation. Not only has she been doing a wonderful job there, she has been writing a blog on the UUA web page, which you can read for more on her efforts. As they say, “When it rains, it pours,” and I could not have offered the much needed UU presence in Hattiesburg without her.

The Gulf Shores congregation has been on the mind of many as they are lay-lead and under great stress. Eunice Benton, Mid-South District executive, and I drove down to visit with members of the congregation Sunday afternoon (9/18) after worship at Our Home UU. There are still members they don't know the whereabouts of after Katrina. There is so much to be done in their homes and for their families that in an effort to help, we planned a work day for Mississippi UU's on Saturday, October the 15 in Gulfport.  Help is needed to clear their church property of trees and fallen branches. At least 6-7 skilled chain saw users with saws are needed as well as people to drag the brush to the curb.  Some others could provide refreshments as an added blessing. Please RSVP to me. Help is needed, and it would be a way all of us could show our care to our Gulf Coast congregation. You are in our hearts.

The Rev. Martha Munson from Buffalo, N.Y, another Trauma Team member, left my home in Moselle in a rent-a-wreck, the only rental car left in Hattiesburg, to minister to that congregation this weekend (9/23). Annette would also like to work on the coast using my Moselle home as a base to work out of doing trauma relief even after I return to Jackson, but that is not a given yet.

Eunice and I traveled to Baton Rouge to meet with other members of the Gulf Coast Relief Panel to plan the UUA's response to Katrina and her displaced people. Included were Meg Riley, Chair, Anne O. Heller, District Executive of Southwest District, Eunice M. Benton, Rev. Jacqueline Luck, Rev. Steve Crump, Atema Eclai, of the UU Service Committee, and Rebecca Cureau, PhD, a New Orleans native and member of the Baton Rouge Church.

Please inform me if any of you are in need of assistance with tree removal costs, lost jobs, lost homes, etc., as there is some money designated for Katrina Relief for UU's in distress. That money is being administered by the District.

In closing, UUCJ's and Our Home's arms have been long in reaching out to those in need after Katrina. These have been difficult times, but these messages of grace and hope brighten my day as I hope they do yours.

Blessings,

Jacqueline

 

P. S. Since these are such unknown times, I am not going to predict sermon titles as yet. This was a custom of William Ellery Channing, but it is only a passing fancy for me.

The President’s Corner

The President’s Corner:

The last column I wrote for our newsletter seems worlds away.  Since then, Katrina mauled my house and yard; we took into our church community and our Religious Education Building Jim Mitchell and Ada & Roberts Tovar from New Orleans.  Fortunately, our buildings did not suffer damage.  And we can thank our faithful Dary Shenefelt for the days she spent cleaning up the branches and twigs on our church grounds.  You wouldn’t know when you pass our property that a major hurricane had left piles of tree limbs across our property. 

As Natalie Maynor took over the VP for Membership and its accompanying responsibilities, she has removed herself from the Care Ring, and Mary Margaret Bollinger, Brian Heffner and Trina Cameron have replaced her.  Mary Margaret and Brian were doing the work before they got the title.  Members of our congregation have taken food to the Tovars and Mr. Mitchell.  Mary Margaret was a prime mover in that effort. And our faithful Steve Bollinger has helped our VP for Buildings and Grounds Brian Heffner, as we made our Religious Education Building a livable place for these three by updating plumbing and getting the gas turned back on after ATMOS turned it off without notifying us. Mr. Mitchell has returned to his home on the Coast.

Last month, Tom Head who had been a member in the late 1990s returned to us after traveling other spiritual roads.  He confided to me that we seem like a different place, more open and welcoming.  He was pleased at how many other people his own age there are compared to seven or eight years ago.  Though his is just one voice, I think we can look at his opinion as some evidence that our long term effort to make ourselves friendlier to people who belong with us but have not joined us is working.  Let’s pat ourselves on the back for that. We have worked hard to get to this point. 

We have some big decisions to make; shall we stay in this spot where the UU Church was built thirty five years ago or shall we look elsewhere for a building or for property? Because the house next door is for sale, we have only a few months to make a decision about the future of the UU Church in Jackson.  The Long Term Planning Committee is considering all the aspects of this decision and solicits your input.  The Committee members are Chair, Ray Shenefelt, members, D.E. Magee, Steve Bollinger, Mike Mallory, JoAnn Bienvenu, Brian Heffner and lastly, Margaret Drake as Ex Officio member.

Margaret

     ALL CHURCH UNICEF/ HALLOWEEN PARTY

Mark your calendars for an evening of old-fashioned Halloween fun on Friday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m. when we gather together for our annual UNICEF/Halloween party. We'll have costume contests for all ages, games, refreshments, spooky stories, and other surprises. We suggest a donation to UNICEF of $5 per person, or $15 per family- more if you wish!

There will be a R.E. Committee meeting on Oct. 16 following the service to finalize plans. Anyone interested in volunteering to assist may attend. You may also contact Dary Shenefelt or sign up on a sheet that will be posted on the bulletin board in the church hallway.

Children’s RE News

In September, after the hurricane, our children had many experiences at school, in the community at large, and at UUCJ which have deepened their sense of compassion for other people. They have learned each one of us can find ways of helping and becoming U.U. Super-Heroes right now.

The children welcomed Philip Sherman, a 5th grader from the U.U. Church in New Orleans to our class, and they became acquainted with Jim Mitchell from Biloxi and Ada Garcia and Roberto Tovar from New Orleans, who found shelter in our R.E. building. Ada and Roberto enriched our lives by sharing stories of their childhood in Honduras and Peru. Keely and Sharmila helped their parents host a dinner for Ada and Roberto.  When Ada and Roberto's car was car-jacked on the evening of Sept. 12 in our church parking lot, Caitlyn and Claire Cameron's parents offered them one of their cars. 

We talked about how Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, spent her entire life living out the Universalist values she had learned as a child from her family and the Universalist Church they attended. Elena Voisin and some of her neighborhood friends set up a neighborhood stand serving juice, iced tea, and snacks and earned $40 for the Red Cross.

In October we will learn about U.U. Super-Hero Christopher Reeves, and we will be busy preparing for our annual UNICEF/Halloween party on Oct. 28. On Sunday, October 30, the children may wear their Halloween costumes again, and they will participate in the first part of the adult service. They will pass out UNICEF cartons during the offering, so people who were unable to attend the party will have an opportunity to contribute.

Dary Shenefelt                    

 

The Ramadan Fast Breaking Dinner

Sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance and our own friend of the church, Sabri Agachan, will be held Friday evening, October 14, at 7:00 in the evening.  You must make a reservation by contacting Margaret Drake.

 

Congregational Meeting to be held November 13^th, 2005 for the purpose of choosing a member of the Nominating Committee to replace Ray Shenefelt, who took the board position of treasurer, and to vote on taking money from savings and putting it in improvement fund to pay for the trenching and replacing of the sewer pipe from the Religious Education Building to the street and to discuss driveway repairs and other improvements      

 

Healthy Congregations Conference: Auburn, October 8!

Learn how Living Simply, Living Spiritually, Living Sustainably can change your life and your congregation's life.  You will leave this one-day conference brimming with ideas and energy to share with your congregation, and glad that you came.

Here's a sampling of the sessions.

• Featured speaker Dr. Charlie Clements, President of UU Service Committee
• Green Sanctuary program and environmental justice
• Small group ministry for a caring network and meaningful growth
• Worship training for lay leaders using UU Ministry for Earth materials
• Leadership skills to develop leaders in your congregation
• The Time of our Lives: Balance for UU Families
• Pathways to generosity including "Share the Plate" and special purpose offerings and fundraisers
• "Green" investing fostered in your congregation
• Generosity-enhancing practices in asking for annual pledges
• Starting "Green Education" for your congregation

In addition to these sessions, there will be nursery care, children's programming (perhaps a trip to a nature park), home hospitality (request by September 30), and the facility is fully accessible. Register on the web and pay at the door $25 adults/$15 youth.  Youth permission forms to mail are on the Web.  Registration includes childcare and food.  For more information, contact Betsy Applegate (MSD TEACH Trustee).  Please call Margaret Drake if you are interested in carpooling.

We are assembling a new membership handbook, complete with pictorial directory, and would love to have photos of all of our members.  Tom Head will be bringing his digital camera to snap some photographs during the coming weeks but would also be happy to use existing photographs.  For more information, call Tom.

 

Housing UU's Displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita

 

There have been many, many generous offers to provide living space for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.  If you are interested in providing housing for these people desperately in need you can register at the site below.

http://www.swuuc.org/hurricaneevacuees.html

The site is located on the SW Conference web page. The SCW is the District of the UUA to which New Orleans congregations belong. It is also the district that contains Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio - the current major relief sites. You will find an email link to provide space as well as an email link for those seeking accommodations.

Additionally, in an effort to account for and reconnect our displaced UU's, you are encouraged to provide any information you may have on the whereabouts of displaced members of our UU communities. If you are a displaced UU, please let us know where you are, how you are doing, and how we can be of help. As this information is gathered it will be forwarded on to your ministers and district staff. This information can be sent to katrinamessages@swuuc.org.

Thank you all for all your concern.

Lyn Conley, UUA Trustee from the MSD

 

 

Thank You!

 Many thanks to Trina & Jim Cameron for getting us a brand new cd player

 

 

Natalie Maynor, VP for Membership, is hosting a Circle Supper in her home on October 1 at 6 pm in the evening.  She makes the entrée and everybody else brings the other food.  She will tell you what is needed.  This is a great way for new people to get to know long time members and vice versa.

 

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered to assist with the NUUSLetter!  Since we had so many volunteers, we’ve decided to form an informal NUUSLetter Production Committee to fold, label, and stamp the newsletters together.  We will meet immediately following the worship service on Sunday, October 23, and everyone who would like to help is welcome.  We’ll form a UU assembly line and finish the job in no time!

 

The Mississippi UU Congregation Get-together will be held in our church on October 22^nd.  Tom Head has agreed to be our organizer and work with District Executive Eunice Benton to make the meeting go smoothly.  If you have home hospitality to offer our co-religionists from the other congregations, please contact Tom.

 

In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.

 
Flora Edwards