---

Sunday Services

 

Sunday, December 2 - Dr. Betty Derrick, “UUSC: Guest at Your Table”

Guest at Your Table is a special tradition of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee(UUSC), typically initiated at most UU churches during the Thanksgiving holiday and continued for several weeks into the holiday season.  As UUSC explains “this program is intended to help us make lasting connections to UU principles, build awareness about UUSC, and strengthen UUSC’s human rights work.”  UUSC is a UU membership organization which “advances human rights and social justice around the world, partnering with those who confront unjust power structures and mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies.”  Many of our members are members; Betty is our UUSC Local Representative.  She will conduct this service of UU faith in action.  Dr. Derrick is a VSU Professor Emeritus.  She serves on the governing bodies of two professional organizations: as Councilor for the Southwest Georgia Section of  the American Chemical Society  and member of the ACS Council Policy Committee and as a Councilor from the southeast for the American Association of University Professors(AAUP).  She is a long-time member of our congregation.

Sunday, December 9 – Dr. Michael Stoltzfus, “Paradoxical Identities in the Life and Writings of Zora Neale Hurston”

Between the middle of the Harlem Renaissance and the end of the Korean War, Zora Neale Hurston wrote four novels, two books of folklore, and more that fifty short stories, plays, and essays.  She is perhaps the most prolific and celebrated North American black female writer and anthropologist in the first half of the twentieth century.  We will highlight the paradoxical moral and religious qualities of life expressed in Hurston's personal experience and literary endeavor.  On the one hand, Hurston celebrates the unique cultural heritage and colorful creativity present in the black quest for human dignity and communal solidarity.  On the other hand, Hurston offers an implicit critique of latent sexist sensibilities present both in black religious expression and in the general milieu of the Harlem Renaissance.  If you participated in our recent Big Read book discussion “Their Eyes were Watching God,” you already are familiar with Hurston’s work and can look forward to Dr. Stoltzfus’ insights and further discussion of this work.

Sunday, December 16 – Rev. Jane A. Page, “Who is Santa Claus?”
Rev. Jane Page will explore this question by looking at the history of Santa Claus, the theology of Santa Claus, and her own encounters with the big guy in the red suit. And of course, we'll have some good holiday music too, provided by Rev. Jane herself!  Parents should note that Jane has wanted to do this service for some time.  It is a holiday discussion for adults.  Our children with “sugar plums in their heads” at this season will be attending Children’s Religious Education during the service.

Sunday, December 23 – Rev. George Bennett, “Wherein Is Hope?”

We can live without many commodities.  But we can't live long without hope.  Wherein is a hope that endures, that enables us to go on amid life's difficulties?  In the end it must be a hope not of our own devising.   It must be a hope that survives the annihilation of the finite.  Is there a hope in a higher power?  Is there a hope in God?

Sunday, December 30 – A Layled Celebration of the Holidays Service

We will have a special holiday service which will include the Children's Religious Education group.  We will celebrate the holiday season with songs and fun activities appropriate for the young and young at heart!  

Rev. Jane A. Page, Minister, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro, serves our congregation in Valdosta each month.  She is available for conferences and special services when she is in Valdosta .  Contact information:

---

Religious Education for Children

            The RE program for children meets at 10:45 AM concurrent with the Sunday morning service.  The current curriculum comes from We Believe: Learning and Living Our UU Principles. The children are exploring the seven principles in depth using stories, songs, crafts, and games and activities. The book is designed for single, all-ages religious education classrooms. The curriculum is being supplemented with stories by Dr. Seuss. Volunteers to help in the classroom are needed. More detailed information about the RE program is available on the table in the back of the sanctuary. Contacts:  Mya Storey; Susan Bailey.

 

INVITATION TO MEMBERSHIP If you are interested in becoming a member of our fellowship, we encourage you to talk with our President, Mya Storey, or Membership Director, Lars Leader.  We welcome your questions, and we extend an open invitation to all who want to join our liberal community of faith.          Rev. Jane Page also welcomes your questions about UU membership.

 

 

 

Portrait of Virginia Branan:  You may have noticed the charcoal portrait of Virginia Branan at the church.  Virginia ’s son, John Branan has donated the portrait which we plan to hang at the church.  Our thanks go to both John and to Dee Tait for making arrangements at the time of the Branan auction for the portrait to come to the church.  The Board will be expressing our appreciation to John Jr. for his donation and letting him know where we decide to hang it.  Those of you who knew the Branans may want to thank him, too.   Thank you too Dee .

---

Join Us in the Valdosta Community Christmas Parade: By the time you see this newsletter, members of our congregation will have already participated in the annual Valdosta Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 1.  A special thank you goes to all members and friends of UU Valdosta who helped to attach our church signs to the sides of Charles Judah's big red truck.  The theme of the parade this year is "Caroling Through the Years."  The plan was to decorate our truck "float" to include a message about James Pierpont, a Unitarian and one-time resident of Valdosta , who wrote the song "Jingle Bells."  Special thanks to Lars Leader and Sue Bailey for coordinating our participation in this community event.

 

Let’s Have Some Fun!!

Games Night (& Tree Decorating Party)

Saturday, December 15 at 5:00 PM

At the church

We’ll be having our annual Tree Decorating Get-Together and Games Night as a joint party this year.   Bring some sandwiches or finger foods and munchies to share, libations if you’d like, the kids, a friend, some Yuletide music…and plan on decorating from 5-7ish. Then let the games begin. See Sue Bailey for further details.  Come and enjoy the season together for a night of fun.

  Book Discussion

Our November UU book discussion as part of the Valdosta Big Read event was a success.  The group decided to meet next in January, after the holidays.  The book for that discussion will be “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. One source states: “The boyhood friendship of social opposites and the strong father-son relationship of two Afghan émigrés form the heart of this story of Afghanistan at peace and war.”  A movie based on this book was recently playing in theatres.  The author also has another more recently published book.  Both books are readily available.  Betty Derrick is still collecting suggested titles for books which deal with different cultures, religions, and life styles for future discussions.  E-mail her if you have suggestions.  

---

UU Church of Valdosta Board of Directors Meeting:

November 7, 2007

Attendance: Mya Storey, Chuck Giese, Sue Bailey, Doug Tanner , Jim Ingram , Rosie Asbury. Mya started the meeting at 6:06 pm with an appropriate reading.

New Business: Treasurer Report; Program Report; Religious Education Report: Attendance is up, with several new children attending; Valdosta Christmas Parade float.  The Board continues to work with the New Hope group and their use of our facility.  The next board meeting will be on Wednesday, December 5 at 6:00 in the RE Building.

---

Treasurer's Report

Rosie Asbury

October 2007

Receipts                October                                 July –present

   Plate                    $   35.00                                  $   374.82               

   Pledge                    690.00                                     3640.00

   Rent                        240.00                                       960.00

   Interest Income        0.00                                           0.00

Total Receipts      $  965.00                 $4974.82

Disbursements  

   Mortgage           $  500.00                 $2000.00

   Speakers’ Fees      750.00                    2260.00

   Repairs & Maint.      0.00                         70.00

   Newsletter              289.40                      289.40

   Termite Control    278.00                       278.00

   Postage                     33.43                        33.43

   Supplies                    12.05                        12.05

   Utilities                   395.88                    1208.94

   Others                         0.00                        81.00

Tot.  Disburmts    $ 2258.88                                $ 6232.82

Net Receipt           $-1293.76                                $-1258.00

---

Branan Memorial Fund  If you have comments on this project, call or e-mail Frank Asbury Financial contributions to the fund can be mailed to Rosie Asbury, Treasurer of the Valdosta UU Church , P.O. Box 2342 , Valdosta , GA   31604 .  

Book Donations:  Frances Patterson is full of wonderful ideas!  She suggests that people who recommend books during our church discussions donate a used copy of the book to the church. She actually suggested that we could do this around Christmas time (Think about it if you are working on the December 30 service!) and have an "opening of the presents" for the church library at a service.  We could thus build a library of liberal religious books. If we did it all at once, we could have immediate check-out and a church official could be there to sign donation statements (for those who itemize their taxes). Thanks for a great idea Frances .  You may recall that she donated a copy of the most recent Dawkins book and plans to donate a copy of The Churching of America which she recommended during that discussion.           

---

Social Action Activities

 

Break Bread Together

Our date for meal deliveries with the Break Bread Together program is the 2^nd Monday of each month.  If you can deliver meals on this day beginning about 11:00 AM, please contact Frank Asbury.  

Guest At Your Table Boxes: Place your box in a prominent place in your house as a holiday reminder to contribute to the programs of the UU Service Committee.  A similar holiday donation program has suggested that donors set an extra place at their table placing their donation card there during the holiday as a reminder of those in need of food and other essentials during this holiday time of giving.  You might consider using our Guest at Your Table Box in a similar way.  Boxes and UUSC donation envelopes will be collected at the service on Sunday, January 6. 

Green Ideas  Frances Patterson has suggested that our newsletter include a short section devoted to caring for our earth where members share ways they contribute to the health of the planet, practical ideas that ideally the contributor actually uses.  She passed along with her suggestion this drench for fire ants which also works as a spray for other insect pests.  Two teaspoons of peppermint oil and two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid (many think lemon works best) dissolved in a gallon of warm water. Kills fire ants (the oil allows the dishwashing liquid to penetrate their bodies and it is the dishwashing liquid that kills them). She likes this because she can safely use it around her companion animals and also does not need to worry about protecting herself from contact--which means she can treat more frequently and easily. Source:  Terrific Garden Tonics by Jerry Baker.  If you have favorite “Green Ideas” pass them on to your editor for inclusion here from time to time.

Weekend of Drumbeat for Darfur events in Washington , DC December 8-10  UUSC is organizing this event to coincide with International Human Rights Day.  With the situation in Darfur continuing to be tenuous, the deployment of United Nations forces uncertain, and peace negotiations advancing very slowly, it is imperative for us to continue the work to end the genocide in Darfur .  We need your help to make this weekend a success.  We have the chance to send a clear message to the Bush administration and Congress that ending the genocide is one of our highest priorities and it should be theirs, too.  This is not only a chance for you to help, but an exciting opportunity for members of your congregation and/or community to get involved.  For more information visit http://www.uusc.org/drumbeatfordarfur/savedate2.html  Stay up-to-date about UUSC! Visit www.uusc.org.

---

At the Church-in-the-Woods

New Hope Christian Fellowship - Sunday evenings: Choir practice at 5:00 PM. Service at 6:00 PM.  

Taoist Tai Chi – Monday and Thursday: Remainder of 2007 Class: 6:00-7:30 PM; Beginning January 14, 2008: new Beginner’s Class, 5:30-6:30 PM; Continuing Class, 6:30-8:00 PM.  Contact Dennis Bogyo or Luana Goodwin.  

Another Reminder to people who set up our Meet and Greet and help clean the kitchen.  The cabinet to the left of the stove above and below is used by the Tai Chi group.  The upper cabinet contains cups, tea, and snacks and the lower one a large coffee pot used for tea.  These items should not be used by church members.  Out UU cups and coffee items are in the cabinets immediately on either side of the sink.

 

Newsletter Editor:  Betty Derrick Website:  Carol Stiles Local Publicity: Dee Tait December 15: Please adhere strictly this deadline as your editor has little flexibility for the January newsletter.  Thanks!

 

 

UU Activities and Announcements

Further information is posted on the bulletin board in the R.E. wing at the church.  Also check your Sunday Order of Service for announcements. 

December 6- Orange Blossom Memories: Songs of Florida, Vero Beach, FL
December 8- The Courage to Lead - Leadership Round Table, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
December 8- Mosaic UU Concert – Jim Glover Orange City
December 26 –Jan. 1 Southeast Winter Institute Miami (SWIM),  The Pines Conference Center, Brooksville, FL
January 12- Celebrated Speaker Series, Michael Beschloss Vero Beach, FL

 April 11–13 Florida District ANNUAL ASSEMBLY, Gainesville , FL

Conference theme : “How Strong Is Our Faith — Spiritual Growth in a Multi-Cultural World.” With Paula Cole Jones, of   All Souls Unitarian Church , Washington , D.C. She  is a lead consultant for JUUST Change.

June 24-25 UUUniversity, Fort Lauderdale , FL

Dr. Nick Carter, President of Andover Newton Theological School, will be the keynote program as congregational leaders work on what Dr. Carter calls “interfaith border crossing skills — the ability to communicate with, work with, and care for people who think differently and pray differently.”

June 25–29 47^th UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Fort Lauderdale , FL  

Peacemaking Congregational Study/Action Issue program: At latest count, 96 UU congregations are actively participating in some way in the Peacemaking Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) program. We hope to double that number! To learn how your congregation can be involved, go to the Peacemaking CSAI Home Page at www.uua.org/csai. And spread the word - talk to people in your congregation and other congregations about getting involved in the CSAI!  March 1, 2008 will be the deadline for congregations to submit comments on what should be included in the draft Peacemaking Statement of Conscience(SOC) that will be prepared by November 15, 2008. We hope many congregations will submit their ideas - the comment forms are available at www.uua.org/csai. Check the webpage over the next few months for ideas on how to organize discussion in your congregation on the SOC.

---

Reminders from Carol Stiles about our local e-mail list: If you hit "reply" the list is set up so that the response goes back to the individual.  In some e-mail programs, if you hit "reply to all," it goes to the whole list.  But there is a second line of prevention in that our list is moderated, thus, if a message appears to be a response just to the individual, we will probably not let it go through (although we are human.... mistakes happen!).  The list membership is also moderated to prevent people we don't know from joining and sending out advertisements, etc.  If there are visitors or friends who would like to be on the list, send me their name and current e-mail address, and I can generate an e-mail invitation to join the list. Great thanks go to Carol Stiles for managing our electronic communications from Gainesville , FL.  

   

 

UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS                    Joan Lund

Hopefully you enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving and are not too busy as we approach the holidays. With the exciting and well received national TIME magazine advertising initiative underway perhaps you are experiencing more-than-the-usual Sunday guests at your service. To quote Rev. Bill Sinkford, UUA President, “They will be bringing gifts, and in order to accept these gifts we will need to reconsider what it means to be hospitable. We need to be ready not just to greet visitors, but to welcome them into relationship within our faith community.”

                There are times for each of us that stand out and are remembered because they mark the beginning of a different direction or path. I remember the birth of my children, graduations, and some of the successes of my career. Most of us clearly remember the first time we were guests of the congregation that ended up becoming our spiritual home. How positively we remember that day depends upon how and whether we were greeted. If you have many visitors you need many greeters available each Sunday.

                Greeting practices at UU congregations vary considerably, yet we have some constants including the use of guest name tags or a different colored coffee cup during social hour. But if no one greets the guest in our midst warmly with both initial and social time caring conversation all the pamphlets, bookmarks, newsletters, and information about our faith may not entice a return. I often visit congregations both in our District and elsewhere and sometimes have found myself standing alone until I approach someone or some group already in conversation. Hopefully this does not happen to your guests.

                What if each greeter introduced themselves inside the front door and asked the guest to sign the guest book/form then gives her/him a quick orientation to the room where the service will be held, the bathrooms, where RE is held, and invites them to stay for coffee? In addition why not encourage the guest to visit the Sunday service at least three times so that they get a really good picture of the church. What if your congregation had a group of “phantom greeters”, a group of regular attendees who like to talk to people and are knowledgeable about the congregation and who do not identify themselves as part of the greeting program, but simply as members? Would that work for your church during the social hour? Remember visitors should be tended to first and faithfully at the social hour.

                There is much “greeter” and “retaining visitors” information to be found on the UUA website. Welcoming our guests is very important to all of us. Let me know how I can be of service to you. As always I can be contacted at jlund@uua.org . Happy holidays one and all!