| Newsletters
& Sermons
November 2003
UUFD
NOW
UU
holiday list:
Look into
these Unitarian Universalist-related resources for your gift planning!
UniUniques
has jewelry, T-shirts, music and other items.
Skinner
House Books, a division of our Unitarian Universalist Association,
offers "books aimed directly at the spiritual needs of Unitarian
Universalists," including meditation manuals and social justice
concerns.
Then, there
is the UUA Bookstore,
including a wider variety of resources from various publishers.
And the
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
has a variety of holiday cards.
Catalogs
for all these organizations are available in the church office in
the rack to the right of the computer.
Off
the shelf:
Cathy Ritchie,
a former longtime UUFD member, had a comprehensive article published
in the Oct. 1 issue of Library Journal. Click here
to view it online. Cathy is theatre librarian in the fine arts division
of the Dallas Public Library. Her article describes sources for
librarians to find information to help patrons “demystify”
unfamiliar religions and belief systems. Yes, UUism is mentioned,
both with a listing of the UUA Web site and references to “A
Chosen Faith” by John Buehrens and Forrest Church and “Challenge
of a Liberal Faith” by George N. Marshall.
Oh,
baby!
All members
and friends of UUFD are invited to the “Family Ties”
baby
shower (tennis shoes/family “ties” -- get it?) for Joe
and Julie Pajer, their daughter, and the twin boys they're expecting
in February -- AND -- Wade Grenier and April DeConick and the boy
they're expecting at the end of December. The gala happening will
be immediately after church on Sunday, Nov. 23. Please bring a dish
for the potluck. Cake and drinks will be provided. If you’d
like, bring a small gift for Joe and Julie's daughter. RSVP with
Jeanne Robertson.
Here’s
a good sign
By Ken Robertson
The duct
tape on the UUFD roadside sign has been removed!
On Oct.
10, Poland Glass made permanent repairs to the north side of the
sign near the driveway. They have repaired the sign in past years.
Unfortunately in making the repair, the first two letters of UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALIST were lost. However, I was able to make a reasonably
good replacement, using black labeling tape and glue. If anyone
has a better idea for a permanent replacement for the letters I
will not be offended.
In early
October, I completed the work of replacing the grass around the
floodlight for the corner sign with a bordered bed of wood mulch
and replaced the burned-out bulb. The sign at the corner is now
illuminated during the early evening, along with the other sign
and the parking lot lights.
(Editor’s note: I think this young fella’s got a
future with this congregation, don’t you?)
Point
to ponder:
The discipline of
the writer is to learn to be still and listen to what his subject
has to tell him.
-- Rachel Carson |
DollarSense:
Now’s
a good time to catch up on your pledge!
REality
-- The Religious Education Report, Holiday Edition
By Lorelei Zaker
Director of Religious Education
Thanks
to all of the people who have helped keep Real Cool Sunday School
on track while I've been recuperating from double surgery.
A big pat-on-the-back to the people who volunteered to teach the
grade school students -- Sandy Dattoli, Marge Evans and Dick Zaker
(twice!).
We think November will be just as much fun for the kids. We will
have our Halloween party Nov. 2. Please have your kids dress in
costume that day. If you can help out with the party, please let
me know. (I already know that we're expecting a surprise visit from
Spider-Man!)
The Terrific Toddlers and PreK/K class will follow their regular
curriculum Nov. 9 and 16. The Grade School class will learn about
Buddhism and then Islam those weeks.
On the 23rd, I will have a very casual combined class; we'll do
a Thanksgiving craft.
We will also have a combined class on Nov. 30. We will learn how
the ancients celebrated the season by decorating and then we'll
do some decorations for the RE area. If anyone would like to donate
evergreen branches, pine cones and other natural decorations, let
me know.
Community
Announcements:
Hunger
for justice
Dove Inc. and other Decatur groups will be active during National
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 16-22. A chili cookoff
and food drive are being planned. Call Barb
Blakey at 428-6616 for more information.
Recycling
Get an extra nickel a pound for your aluminum cans on Friday, Nov.
14, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Dove RSVP site, across from the Keil
Building on Cerro Gordo Street. It’s a way to mark America
Recycles Day.
Spirited women
WomanSpirit 2004, “Spirit Rise and Sing,” will be held
Jan. 23-25 at the Tinley Park Convention Center near Chicago. The
conference is conducted by the Women and Religion Committee of the
UU Central Midwest District. Keynote speakers will be Julie Forest
Middleton, author of “Songs for Earthlings,” and Ann
Keeler Evans, writer of “A Rite to Remember.”
For more information, go to www.womenandreligion.org
(sorry, we have no address or phone number.)
Shelter
needs
The Dove Domestic Violence Shelter needs these kinds of items: disposable
diapers, adult and children’s cold medicine and women and
children’s sleepwear.
Lost
and found
There are
a few items in a box near the copier in the church office. Included
are eyeglasses, a sheet of baseball cards and a copy of Judy Blume's
book "Fudge-A-Maniac."
If any
of these sound familiar, please contact Rev. Biedler or any of the
church officers.
In
John's Words -- By John Biedler, M.Div.
Ministers
need to receive feedback from members of their congregation, but
it's sometimes difficult to get it, even from Unitarian Universalists
who are known for being outspoken. I'm experienced enough to know
that when feedback isn't forthcoming it's not because the minister
never makes mistakes; I think it's something more.
I heard of a Roman Catholic priest who during the course of regular
Mass elicits liturgical responses from the worshippers. At various
points during the service the priest will say: “The Lord be
with you.” The congregational response is: “And also
with you.”
Once, during a routine Mass this priest, not sure whether the microphone
was working, was about to recite his regular “The Lord be
with you” when he tapped on the mic and muttered: “There's
something wrong with the mic.” Back came the congregation,
"And also with you." I guess one might call that unintended
"feedback."
But why
don't more people speak up when they either like or dislike something
their minister has said or done, or left unsaid or left undone?
We all know that after “the honeymoon” period of a new
minister, there comes the reckoning -- one flawed minister and one
variously faulted congregation, seeking together to be more human
than otherwise … and both learning forgiveness and tolerance.
I'm writing
this letter to invite your feedback -- positive and negative. I
was about to write that I “invite your feedback -- both positive
and critical,” but I would hope that your positive feedback
be "critical" as well, that is, that it be as carefully
weighed and seriously pondered as might be whatever negative comments
you might make. I think the positive requires just as much critique
as does the negative. I know it's hard to say things that sound
negative, especially because the person or office of ministry is
one you esteem and respect. And that may be all the more reason
for one to take the time to speak up.
So I invite
you to write or speak with me about how you feel about UUFD and/or
me. You may use e-mail (jsbiedler@aol.com);
write a letter (send it to the Fellowship's address); you may call
me at the Fellowship or at home (963-2490); or you may find it easier
just to catch me at church, at a Covenant Group meeting, Board meeting,
etc. and let me know what you're thinking.
I do need
to know what kind of job you feel I'm doing as your minister. This
being your Fellowship, owned by everyone involved, it's up to you
the members to let me know what you think. I am sincerely interested
in your feedback -- and since we don't have liturgical moments like
the priest I mentioned above, you will probably have to communicate
with me directly. I only ask that you be kind -- as I know you naturally
would be.
With open ears…
John
Minister's
November Office Hours:
Every Thursday
afternoon from 1:00 to 5:00 at the Fellowship Hall, you may reach
Rev. John Biedler at the church office at 875-5442 or on his cell
phone at 972-2184. And, of course, you may call him at any other
time during the week at his home at 963-2490.
Joys
and Concerns:
Tree-mendous
job
Thanks to Darwin Shroyer for cleaning up the tree trimmings from
our recent church cleanup so neatly.
Birthdays
Sue Fustin: Nov. 6
John Marty: Nov. 28
General Hospital
October was a monster medical month for at least two UUFD households.
Ron Shafer had a colon polyp removed, then found out it was cancerous.
But a follow-up CT scan and blood test showed that the polyp removal
got it all. But Ron deserves a break after his many operations over
the past couple of years, don’t you think!
Meanwhile, Lorelei Zaker had doctors doing a “tag team”
on her on Oct. 1. First, a heel spur was repaired, then hernia work
was done. Please let them both know you’re supporting them
with your thoughts and prayers.
Welcome, new members
Two smiling faces you’re seeing pretty regularly around church
belong to our newest members, Jim and Jennifer Gardner.
Jennifer
was raised in Chatham and is the computer-support technician for
a department of the SIU School of Medicine. She loves the Harry
Potter sagas, and she has agreed to run the UUFD Web site.
Her husband,
Jim, graduated from Eisenhower and Millikin. He recently finished
a four-year tour of duty with the Illinois Army National Guard,
and is pursuing a masters in human services with an emphasis in
substance-abuse counseling at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
In his spare time, he likes to meditate and work out
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