Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson

NUUSLETTER

 A Newsletter for our Members and Friends

January 2007 - 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

 

January 7

Forum: Visioning for this Church, facilitated by Rev. Luck.

Service:  Secrets of the Yellow Brick Road, The Reverend J. Luck.  The Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum over 100 years ago, has reached the status of modern myth. What lies beneath its surface that calls to our collective unconscious? This sermon draws on the book by Jesse Stewart.

January 14

Forum:  Issues in Higher Education in Mississippi, Dr. D.E. Magee.

Service:  The Piney Woods School, The Reverend J. Luck.  The Piney Woods School was born when Laurence C. Jones agreed to teach a half-grown, barefoot boy to read. The next day the young boy arrived for his lesson and brought with him two friends. Thus Piney Woods School, the largest of four historically black boarding schools today, began in 1901. This story is both locally important and inspiring as we hold the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

 

January 21

Forum: How I found my Higher Power, facilitated by Brian Heffner. Invited guests (identifying themselves as 'Friends of Bill W.') will share their personal relationship with the Twelve-step program.

Service:  Dr. King. UUCJ is honored to have the Reverend Edwin King, who is widely recognized as one of the most prominent Southerners associated with the civil rights movement of the 1960's -- in our pulpit this Sunday.  He is a celebrated civil rights activist and a champion of racial justice...and a friend of UUCJ.  Facilitated by Joann Bienvenu.

January 28

Forum:  Bag of Topics.  Clip headlines and matters of interest from newspapers and periodicals, bring them with you this morning, and we'll draw them one-by-one from a bag.  We will share our thoughts and feelings on matters of contemporary interest.  Facilitated by Brian Heffner.                

Service:  The Gifts We Bring – The Gifts We Receive, The Reverend J. Luck.  This sermon evolves from the Religious Education Summit in Jackson and its theme.

 

Deadline for submissions to the February UUCJ NUUSletter: January 18.  Please make submissions to Susan Voisin at NUUSletter@uujackson.org.

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

Mississippi Musings

 

To each of you I want to say I hope your Holidays were enjoyable!

As we greet the New Year, we also welcome all new members to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson, as well as friends and those who have returned during the year!  

UUCJ is beginning this New Year with a healthy, vibrant congregation of so close to sixty adult members we could kiss them! Natalie has been working on the current membership list moving some to friend or inactive status after contacting them.

This congregation is growing toward possibility in 2007! It is a shame enough money was not raised in the “almost” capital fund drive, and the property next door slipped through UUCJ’s fingers. You did a rousing good job and were limited by a shortage of time, but there is more than one way to skin, hum, do a thing!

For instance, I want to remind you to continue sending your gifts to UUCJ’s Building for the Future Fund. If you choose to give “in honor of” or “in memory of,” that gift will be acknowledged in a note to the one honored, and listed in the NUUSletter, minus the amount. Also, you might wish to honor someone in the congregation for their birthday, or for their role within this Beloved Community.  

The rule is that a sanctuary 80% full limits congregational growth, so more room for the worship service seems needed as UUCJ grows. Crowded new comers are uneasy and often don’t return. We are going to experiment with chair arrangements; maybe getting some more chairs. I need to hear from you. How about the Forum the first Sunday in January? Join me in envisioning the future of UUCJ with a broad brush….brain storming at 9:30 am!

UUCJ for Adult Religious Education is expanding with possibility also! Please note elsewhere in this NUUSletter the announcement of the Saturday seminar: “The Gifts We Bring- the Gifts We Receive,” sponsored by the Mid-South District RE Board, including our Trina Cameron. We will be learning through the telling of stories embracing our diversity.

Small Group Ministry is coming to UUCJ!  There will be a new Adult Religious Education class meeting on Wednesday nights, which I will lead: S.O.U.U.P, which is also described elsewhere in the NUUSletter. I think you might want to attend. And, First Fridays are continuing as an intergenerational game night for all from 6:00- 8:00 on the first Friday evenings of each month.

How can I keep from singing? 

Jacqueline  

The President’s Corner

By Waverly Liles

For the service on December 17^th, a big thank you to everyone, to Reverend Luck, Natalie Maynor, Tom Head, all the new members, and to the entire congregation for a special day at church.   It was a day of community.  It was a special day.  I felt that there was a happy and worthwhile group doing a happy day at our ‘little church on the shady side of the street’ in Jackson.  Thank you, also to Stacey for a good forum.   I’m too old and crusty, too much of a frontier guy, to admit that I was emotional, but I was mighty close.   Thank you again.

The time approaches for the Religious Education Summit here in our church.  Katrina, who is on the MSD RE Board, will coordinate this operation.  Please give her support and help us be hospitable and useful.

Beyond that the time approaches for our annual meeting in March.  We all need to be thinking of all that may need to be done. 

I am so proud of all of you, board members, committee members, and the entire congregation.

 

2007 Mid-South District Religious Education Summit

Saturday January 27, 2007

UU Church of Jackson, Mississippi

 

That’s right – the RE Summit meets Mississippi in 2007!   We’ll be at the UU Church of Jackson on Saturday, January 27, 2007 for “The Gifts We Bring – The Gifts We Receive.” This will be a time for sharing our stories and learning around issues of diversity and plurality in our congregations. How do we acknowledge our differences without prejudging and stereotyping? How do we work together to create spaces within our congregations where everyone can feel invited to share the unique gifts they bring?

Differences can divide and cause distress; they can also be a source of learning and celebration!  The 2007 RE Summit will examine three specific characteristics of individuals - class, race and gender identity/affectional orientation. 

As individuals and faith communities we sometimes need help in living out our ideals.  We say YES to diversity, BUT it's the BUT that follows that can hold us back.   

Whether your focus in the congregation is adult programs, worship, social justice, children's RE, membership - or everything - this one day program will give you a new lens for seeing opportunities and practical tools for becoming the inclusive congregations we talk about.

In many of our congregations, children, youth and families are our most diverse population. So it is very appropriate for all who work in religious education to work with others in our UU community (like Justice, Membership and Welcoming Committees) to not pretend our ethnic, gender, affectional and ability differences don’t exist but learn to appreciate them for the strengths they can be. Because our work for justice and plurality crosses into all areas of congregational life, consider bringing teams to the RE Summit to spread the learning around and discuss ways to integrate practices into the whole life of your congregation.

Religious educators, ministers, presidents, Worship and Membership Committee chairs, as well as youth, teachers and justice leaders are invited.  In the spirit of diversity, consider sending a congregational team of multiple ages, interests and lengths of involvement.  Let's be intentional about the gifts we bring! 

 -- Eunice Benton

 

 

Membership Report for 2006

We are growing!  During 2006 UUCJ added nine new members: Monique Champagne, Rick Gagné, Jody Gore, Paul Gore, Susan Knipe, Elise Morse-Gagné, Ronni Mott, Ellis Pickett, and Harriet Tanzmann.  With the return of Stacy Callender, the number is actually ten.  Some of you were probably surprised to see Ellis, a long-time UU and a pillar of UUCJ, standing with the group of new members at the Ingathering on December 17.  He has maintained his membership in the Baton Rouge UU Church for years but decided this year to join UUCJ also.

Our membership is now at fifty-eight and will no doubt continue to grow as more of the people who signed the Stepping Stones Book in 2006 move on to the Membership Book: Felicia Bell, David Evans, Austin Faulkner, Laura Keigan, and Kellum Wilson.  In addition, we have had quite a few repeat visitors, some of whom will probably sign the Stepping Stones Book soon.

Since some of our visitors receive the NUUsletter, I will include this reminder of the process of joining UUCJ: Because every Sunday is different, we encourage newcomers to visit at least six different Sundays before signing the Stepping Stones Book.  Signing the Stepping Stones Book indicates a strong interest in becoming a member but is in no way binding.  The Stepping-Stones period is a minimum of sixty days, during which time a potential member gives serious thought to joining the church.  Any time after that sixty-day period, one is eligible to sign the Membership Book.  (People who have been members of UU churches elsewhere can skip the Stepping Stones Book and sign the Membership Book immediately.)

--Natalie Maynor

 

S.O.U.U.P.

S.O.U.U.P. Nights (Sharing Our UU Principles) begins January 17, 6-8 pm, the first and third Wednesday nights of each month in the RE Building. All are invited, the format will be that of a study group, which will follow UU curriculums and involve some reading, or viewing DVDs and discussion.  We will share responsibilities of bringing and opening cans of soup and bringing crackers or bread…homemade soup is allowed but not expected. Ask about child care. Contact J. Luck.

 

 

Join Us for Fourth Friday Films

 Each month an award winning, independent film featuring thought-provoking topics will be shown at the home of Jassen & Stacy Callender beginning at 7:00 pm. Call the church for further information or directions.

This month, on January 26th, we will be watching Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (2005) by Arturo Perez Torres and Heather Haynes [97 minutes]. The film, a quietly commanding documentary, follows in the footsteps of immigrants traveling from Nicaragua to the United States. On their journeys, they encounter gangs and vigilantes, as well as border patrol. But these immigrants navigate real-life nightmares with uncanny calm, grace, even humor.

Bring any snacks or drinks you would like! (Popcorn and sweet tea provided.)

 

First Friday Family Nights

 

Bring yourself and family (or friends) January 5th for a great social time—laughing, talking, and playing games! We will be meeting this month at Ranjan & Maureen's home for family-friendly fun from 6:00-8:00 pm. Call the church further information or directions. Bring any snacks or drinks you would like to share!

 

It is possible that home hospitality will be needed during the R.E. Summit weekend.  If you are interested in opening your home to a UU in the Mid-South District Friday, January 26 and/or Saturday, January 27, please contact Trina Cameron.  Look for upcoming announcements regarding other ways you can volunteer to help with this Mid-South District event being held right here in Jackson!  

 

Building for the Future Fund

A Christmas donation was made by the Rev. Jacqueline Luck to UUCJ's Building for the Future fund in memory of her parents, Polly and Jack Luck.

Natalie Maynor made a contribution to the building fund in memory of Grace Mason Maynor and Robert Clayton Maynor, Sr.