Newsletters & Sermons
December 2003

UUFD NOW

Meditation 101

Mel Weinstein and Ron Shafer will offer another five-week course in Beginning Meditation starting Monday, Jan. 26, from 7 - 9 p.m.at UUFD.

The free course will involve a history of meditation, secular and religious connotations, benefits, techniques and other topics.

The second section will involve starting a meditative practice. The course is open to all UUFD members and friends, and anyone from the larger Decatur community. Register by contacting Mel or Ron.

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Winter and Women:

The WomanSpirit 2004 Winter Conference will be Jan. 23-25 at Tinley Park,
Ill. This event is presented by the Women and Religion Committee of the Central Midwest District of the UUA. The theme is "Spirit Rise and Sing." For more information and a registration form, go to www.womenandreligion.org.

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We Appreciate, by Joan Brown

Lots of people were involved in the Clegy Appreciation celebration on Oct. 26, which made it all the more wonderful. I'm glad it was on the Sunday that Tom Morrow (from Richland Community College) was there. I know John has very high regard for Tom.

Dick Zaker sent out an e-mail to everybody except John, informing us of the plan to do something. Dick also lighted a candle with a lovely message. Eric Devore was the director. The people with cards were: Terry Ankrom, Jeanne Robertson, Mandy Miller, Sharon Zimmerman, Joan Brown, Chelso Frescura, John Hays and Jane Brooks. Jeff Miller did the drum rolls before each "attempt" to get the spelling right. Jeff Morton did a fanfare on the piano when we finally got it right. Wade Greiner presented the gifts, bird feeder and feed that Marge Evans had picked out.

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In John's Words -- by Rev. John Biedler, M.Div.

Not only is the "unexamined life" not worth living (as Socrates is recorded to have said), I believe that an ungrateful life is not worth living. But what, you may ask, makes "being thankful in life" a life worth living?

Some of you may have heard my recent sermon on thankfulness. I wanted to
share with you in print some research on the subject.

Research on the emotional benefits of gratitude was published in the "Psychological Bulletin," a leading journal in the field.

These researchers used a series of self-reporting questionnaires to measure gratitude and its benefits. Here is what they found:

1. Those who kept records on a weekly basis of the things they were thankful for exercised more regularly, felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the upcoming week than those who recorded hassles or neutral life events. (These they called "gratitude journals.")
2. Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals over a two-month period, compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.
3. Self-guided, daily gratitude intervention exercises with young adults yielded higher levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy, compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison.
4. Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to those in the hassles or social comparison condition.
5. Grateful people reported higher levels of positive emotions, vitality, optimism and lower levels of stress.

The researchers also found a spiritual connection. Those who regularly attend religious services and engaged in religious activities, such as meditation, prayer and the reading of religious and inspirational materials, are more likely to be grateful.

Further, they found that grateful individuals place less importance on material goods and are less likely to judge their success and that of others in terms of possessions accumulated. Further, they tend to be less envious of the wealthy and are more likely to share their possessions with others.

All of this I found convincing and reaffirming. My wife, Gwen, and I regularly share with one another everything we have to be thankful for. It is an integral part of our relationship. Now there's even "scientific proof" that not only attending religious services helps improve one's state of gratitude, but people around us benefit as well. I'm so thankful I have you, the UU Fellowship of Decatur, as my church home.

In Faith,
John

Making time
Rev. Biedler's office hours in December will be on Monday afternoons (except Dec. 29) from 1-5 p.m. at the Fellowship.

The Fellowship's number is 875-5442. You may also reach John on his cell phone at 972-2184. At other times, John doesn't mind being called at his home at 963-2490.

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Point to ponder:

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You're Having a Birthday:

Happiness to: Judy Thistlethwaite and Dick Zaker on Dec. 4, Jennifer Gardner on Dec. 17 and Lorelei Zaker (kids, can you say Half a Century?!) on Dec. 30!

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Condolences:

We express our sympathy to UUFD member Deonne Orvis, whose mother, Marie, died Nov. 14. A memorial service was held at UUFD on Nov. 22.

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Our thoughts and prayers are with...

Ed Seymour, who in St. Mary's Hospital. He welcomes visits and cards.

Sharon Zimmerman, who was recently released from the hospital.

Julie Pajer, who we hope is off bed rest by the time this newsletter arrives!

April DeConick, who is trying to follow her doctor's orders to rest until her little one arrives (hopefully by New Year's!).

Ron Shafer who recently went through some radiation treatments.

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Dollarsense:

End-of-the-year donation statements for 2003 will be sent only to people who request them. Checks or gifts must be received by Dec. 31 to be credited
to this tax year. If you need a statement, please contact Mark Sorensen.

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REality -- the Religios Education Report:

November was another fun month for Real Cool Sunday School. We learned
about Thanksgiving. We also learned why we use greenery and lights to decorate for the winter holidays, and then we used those things to decorate the RE area. Thanks to Jane Brooks, who was a substitute, and Chelso Frescura who, dressed as Spider-Man, entertained us at the Halloween Party.

We will combine all the children into one class for December to give the teachers a break. One Dec. 7, we will have a Hannukah Party. On Dec. 14, we
will have our big intergenerational holiday service. Dec. 21 will be a Christmas Party. And on Dec. 28, we will learn about why and how people celebrate New Year's, including learning about resolutions.

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Light up a Chalice:

As you may know, the Chalice Lighters program is our Central Midwest District's way to pool money to fund growth projects in individual congregations. $10 contributions from individuals turn into amounts in the thousands. A church in Hobart, Ind., has received grants twice; for publicity and for a music director.

There is interest in our congregation in applying for a Chalice Lighter grant. It would be beneficial to show our support for the program at least up through the point at which we would apply. To do so, send a check for at least $10, payable to the Central Midwest District, to 4415 W. Harrison St., Suite 310, Hillside, IL 60162. Please write "Chalice Lighters" on the memo line of the check.

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Out with the old...

Bringing out your Christmas things and finding stuff you don't want to store again? Remember the UUFD June Rummage/Treasure Sale. Contact Vern
Thistlethwaite for a pre- (or post) Christmas pickup.

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Tag, you're it:

Terry Ankrom and Kathy Kline took over the job of making name tags from June a couple of years ago. If you don't have a name tag, or you know of someone who needs one, contact Kathy or Terry.

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Credit where Credit's due:

Give the editor a moment to thank those who actually get this Newsletter to you: June Allison, who maintains the mailing list and prepares labels, and Jane Brooks, who collects the finished Newsletters from the printer and prepares them for mailing.

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Web Wonders:

Here's a salute to Jennifer Gardner, who's transformed uufd.org into a thing of beauty. Now that you're here, please take a look around! The index guides you around logically, and the pictures give a sense of vitality. Please let Jennifer know you've been to the site. You haven't met Jennifer? Well, now's a perfect time to get to know her and her husband, Jim.

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Notes from the Wider UU World:

Prison reform
Did you know that the U.S. prison population has quadrupled since 1980? Or that more than 3 percent of the adult population, are now incarcerated? Minorities account for a disproportionate number of convictions.

Wanting to find out how Unitarian Universalists can advocate for criminal justice system reform, delegates to the June 2003 General Assembly selected Criminal Justice and Prison Reform as the Study/Action issue for the next two years. Study/Action Guides can be seen on the UUA's Web site at www.uua.org/csw/.

Fire Relief Fund
A Fire Relief Fund has been set up by the Pacific Southwest District to meet the needs of communities affected by the devastating fires in Southern California.
If you wish to contribute, make checks out to PSWD Fire Relief Fund and mail them to PSWD Office 12355 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604.

Famous UUs
Did you know that the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Plymouth was the church of the Pilgrims, but the Pilgrims were not UUs? Unitarianism did not make its way to America until the late 1700s. Many important thinkers of the time held Unitarian ideas, but there were no official Unitarian churches! It wasn't until Joseph Priestly, a dissenting minister from England persecuted for his beliefs, fled for his life and settled in Pennsylvania. There, he helped establish the first
official Unitarian church.

Also, did you know that "Over the River and Through the Woods" was written by a famous UU? Lydia Maria Child was one of the earliest American women to earn a living from her writing. She later lost much of her public popularity when she began speaking out against slavery.

Backing gay marriage
UUA President William G. Sinkford is lauding the decision of the Massachusetts high court supporting same-sex marriage. Sinkford said, "The Unitarian Universalist Association has a long-standing and deeply held religious commitment to support full equality for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people, and today's ruling is a significant step forward in guaranteeing that the rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are also available to its bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender citizens."

District Assembly
The District gathering of our Central Midwest District is set for April 23-25 in Lisle, Ill. The Rev. Dr. Michael Schuler will be keynote speaker. The District Assembly gives us the opportunity to gather with UUs from all around Illinois, eastern Missouri (including the St. Louis area), southwestern and upper Michigan, eastern Wisconsin and upper western Indiana.

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