What's going on....

Busy Month of February....coffee and tea and S³ 

Big events coming this month!! Coffee House II gets top billing. Join us Saturday, February 21, for a fun and entertaining evening! Doors open 6:30 p.m. We still need help preparing desserts and snacks, serving, scouting out talent!! See the article by Molly Scholz on page 2. Another big event of the month is the Florida District Super Saturday Seminar (S³), North Region, which we will host at the church-in-the woods on Saturday, February 28. More info further down the page....

Saturday, Feb. 7, 7:00 p.m. Early Valentine's Day celebration? Bring a friend, a game, a snack to share, and a dollar donation. The games begin around 7:00 p.m. and will continue until….? Call René Kerr or Julie Halter for more information.

Jack Ford will lead another Zen Buddhist meditation service on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 4:00 p.m. at the church. The service is based on the Order of Interbeing of Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hahn, and includes a reading of the precepts with time for quiet personal reflection in a meditative atmosphere. All are welcome.

Meditation Group

A group has gathered informally at the church a few times to meet for meditation, or discussion and support of meditation. If you are interested in knowing more about this group, please call Ann Bachrach.

LAMP needs donations !

Please continue to bring non-perishable food items to the church and they will be delivered to the Lowndes Associated Ministries to the People program for persons in need.

COFFEE HOUSE II

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Coffee House II to be held in our church on Saturday evening, February 21st. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. There will be a variety of entertainment all evening long - from music, drama, comedy, and poetry to the unexpected - open microphone, too! Speaking of entertainment, it is not too late for you to suggest performers or to volunteer as an act. Please call Molly Scholz with any ideas. Please call René Kerr, chair of the event, if you would like to volunteer to help prepare beverages and food, to be a server at the coffee house, or other helpful task. It's shaping up to be an evening of fun and entertainment that you won't want to miss!! Advance tickets are available ($5.00 donation), seating is first-come, first-serve. Tickets also available at the door ($7.00 donation), doors open 6:30 p.m. Tickets have been distributed to various people for sale - call Carol Stiles for more information. Nice flyers available, too (thanks, Chuck!) for posting in your favorite location - see René. We look forward to seeing you there!

--Molly Scholz

Adult Religious Education

Adult R.E. will continue with Chapter 6 of the History of God by Karen Armstrong on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 9:30 a.m. The discussion is led by Hue Jacobs.

UU-Valdosta goes electronic!
Wanted: your E-mail address!

Check out our Website:

http://geocities.datacellar.net/SoHo/1918/

Send your e-mail address to Carol Stiles (cranfun@peachnet.campus.mci.net). If you wish to receive the newsletter electronically, let Carol know. Also, once we compile a list of e-mail addresses, we may be able to use e-mail to notify you of upcoming events.

Women's Group

Women's Group meets the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Bring a snack to share, if you wish. Since we are all so-o-o busy, rather than choosing another book to read over the long-term, we would like to have each person choose a night and a topic or activity to lead the group - a jumping-off point to get the evenings started. February 3^rd, Carol will lead a discussion on a "sense of home" - how we choose our communities, what keeps us in those communities, etc. So, if you have a topic for discussion or an activity (art, craft, service, etc.) you would like to share, please just let us know (Julie, Carol, Dee, etc.). In this way, even those who cannot attend the women's group on a regular basis can participate. Generally, we meet the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday, but with enough notice (i.e., in time to get it in the newsletter), we could also meet on another night of the week, if Tuesday doesn't work for you. We are also still open for suggestions for books to read....

	Recent and Upcoming   Birthdays
Fleming Slone 2/17	Julie Halter 2/27
Albert Slone 2/17	Amber Brock 2/27
(no, they're not twins....)	Hugh Parker 2/28

(coming soon)
Tai Chi

New classes forming now, two nights a week 5:30 - 7:00 with ongoing classes after the beginners' classes. (nights to be decided)

Contact Dennis Bogyo or Luana Goodwin.

UU-Valdosta will host the North Region of the Florida District UU for a Super Saturday Seminar, on February 28, 1998. S³ is a day-long seminar for members and friends to gain a greater understanding of Unitarian Universalism. Each congregation is asked to send teams of 4-5 people to participate in workshops in each of the following four areas of church life: Worship, Finance, Religious Education, and Leadership. Participants also have an opportunity to interact with others from different congregations and clusters. The seminar in Valdosta is one of three being held in the district this winter (the other two are in Miami and Clearwater, FL). The S³ in Valdosta is coordinated by Nancy Bass with each workshop being led by different leaders from the Florida Dist., including Rev. Mary Higgins, District Executive. Local arrangements are being coordinated by Dee Tait. Contact Dee to see what needs to be done to help host this day-long seminar in Valdosta! For more info on S³ see also the flyers posted in the church.

Book Suggestion on the Table!

Hue Jacobs has suggested the following book to bring back our book discussion/potluck events. The book is titled The Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot (1991, Harper Collins). Pick it up at your favorite bookstore and we'll pick a date in March or April for the discussion.

Coffee House  Planning Meeting
Wed., Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., at the church.   Call René Kerr for more info.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit 

Artur Schnabel said, "The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pause between the notes - ah, that is where the art resides!" On Sunday, January 18^th, we had a great experience of the "pauses between the notes" when we recited and studied the 14 precepts of the Buddhist Order of Interbeing. There were a lot of quiet spaces during the service for reflecting on the moral and spiritual conditions of our present lives.

Maybe, as someone suggested, we could write our own precepts. Or we could adapt our 7 principles and purposes of the U.U.A. into a set of guidelines for daily living. Whatever your goals in life, I encourage you to take them into your heart and mind. Make them a part of daily meditation or mindfulness.

In February, my sermons address the personal and social actions in our lives devoted to relieving suffering and promoting healing. On January 19^th, we honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., February is Black History month, and March 9^th is the anniversary of the assassination of James Reeb. Rev. Reeb was a Unitarian Universalist minister who died in Selma living his religion. You might consider directing your mindful and heartfelt attention toward some ways that we can, and do, promote racial justice. We can do this in our families, communities, our nation, and our world, as well as in our personal lives.

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your minister. I am continually challenged to grow in spirit and in truth, that I may serve you better. The challenge, to give my best so that together we can be our best, is the greatest vocation of life.

Love and peace,

Jack
 

Religious Education (R.E.) Classes

All R.E. classes meet at 9:30 a.m., Sundays, before the 10:45 a.m. service. The children's R.E. classes continue with their respective curricula. The curriculum for Class 1 (elementary students through 4^th grade) is We Believe, Learning and Living our UU Principles. The curriculum for Class 2 (5^th through 8^th grade) is Travel in Time. Both curricula are put out by UUA and concentrate on the seven UU principles.

Bread Bread Together

Don't forget that we deliver meals for the Break Bread Together program the 1^st and 5^th Tuesday of each month. The people who receive these meals are always appreciative - of the food and of the personal contact with those delivering the meals. Contact Dee Tait for more information.

A Note From the Newsletter Editor

Thanks to Albert Slone and Jim Ingram for providing access to photocopy equipment, and to Julie Halter and Chuck Cape, for helping with the newsletter over the last two months, including this issue!
Letters-to-the-editor, news articles, feature articles about famous UU's or other topics, announcements, poetry, etc., are welcomed (and actively solicited! I know it looks "full" but there's lots of space and always time..?..)

Deadline for March issue:    February 15 - early deadline!

Contact: Carol Stiles
c/o UU-Valdosta
1951 E. Park Avenue Valdosta, GA, 31602
e-mail: cranfun@peachnet.campus.mci.net

UU Activities and Announcements

February 15, 5:00 p.m.

Interfaith Alliance of N. Central Florida, supper meeting at Silver Shores Presbyterian Church, Ocala, FL. Speaker will be Denise T. Davidoff, President of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation.

February 21

Southwest Cluster Meeting, Sarasota, FL

February 28

Super Saturday Seminar (S³)
North Region, hosted by UU-Valdosta

March 1

Deadline for nominations for Florida District awards.

March 6 - 8

UUA Renaisance Module on UU History, held at UU Fellowship of Lakeland, FL.

March 21

Northeast Cluster Meeting, Gainesville, FL

March 20 - 22

Choir Formation Workshop at UU Church of Brevard, West Melbourne, FL

July 28 - Aug 1, 1998

Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SUUSI '98), Radford University, Radford, VA

Check the bulletin boards in the church and R.E. building for more information and announcements!

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center is an independent affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Located atop Little Scaly Mountain near Highlands, NC, (about two hours from Atlanta), The Mountain offers many kinds of youth camps, workshops and weekend retreats for all ages, (and for many different focus topics), as well as a place for congregations to hold retreats. Some examples and dates for 1998:

• African Drum and Dance, March 19-22
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered &

• Embracing our Lesbian Identity, Apr. 24-26
• Mother & Daughter Passages, May 8-10

• Womenspirit Institute, May 13 - 15
• Womenspirit Gathering, May 15-17

Youth camps for different age groups (and with different focuses) are scheduled for different times during the summer. See the flyers on the bulletin board, or contact the newsletter editor, Carol Stiles, for more info.

Current CONcerns at the Mountain -
Youth conferences for

Senior High, Mar. 6-8, 1998

Jr. High, Feb 20-22, 1998

Topics for these youth conferences include race relations, sexual identity, religion and the environment

Kristie's poems

I think, well, everyone cuts their toenails, right? Well, I think everyone was created by God clipping his toenails. We're just a tiny scrap of God keeping up his hygiene. What if we are someone's God? I clip my toenails, do you? I bet I have many followers if I believed in the clipper theory.