What

What’s going on.... January 2001

Mon	Jan 1	All Day!	Happy New Year!!!
Tues	Jan 2	7:00 PM	Women’s Group at the church
Sat	Jan 6	7:00 PM	Games Night at the church
Sun	Jan 7	9:30 AM 10:45 AM	Youth R.E. Service – “Living in Being: A Sharing of Stories”
Mon	Jan 8	11:00 AM	Break Bread delivery
Sun	Jan 14	9:30 AM 10:45 AM 12:15 PM	Youth R.E. Service – Ann Kasun will lead a Martin Luther King Day Celebration 2^nd Sunday Potluck and Board Meeting
Tues	Jan 16	7:00 PM	Women’s Group at the church
Sat	Jan 20	6:30 PM	Reader’s Theatre and songs with Bo Chagnon at Charles Judah’s home
Sun	Jan 21	9:30 AM 10:45 AM	Youth R.E. Service – Bo Chagnon, "Poetry and Music"
Sun	Jan 28	9:30 PM 10:45 PM	Youth R.E. Service – Theresa Thompson, “Mythology as Sacred Story”

January……. Happy New Year and New Millennium! Give some thoughtful time to resolutions for this new age. Join with our church family in its continuing pilgrimage together to better understand ourselves and each other and our world near and far. Participate as you can in all that we have to offer.

Bo Chagnon Returns to Valdosta

In March 2000 Bo Chagnon first came to Valdosta and shared a service with us. It was a pleasure to meet him and have him present. Bo is a professional musician, workshop leader, and presenter of Sunday services for Unitarian Universalist societies. On Sunday, January 21 he will share a service of Music and Poetry. We are looking forward to it, and welcome Bo back to Valdosta.

Saturday Night with Bo Chagnon

Saturday, January 20

6:30 PM

Charles Judah’s home

Charles Judah will host a gathering for Bo Chagnon on Saturday before the service on Sunday. Bring snacks to share. BYOB also. This will be an evening of reader’s theatre and songs with Bo. Call Charles if you need more information.

New Year’s Eve Bonfire and Potluck Reminder: Remember the celebration at Sam and Julie Halter’s home. Come about 7:00 PM and stay until! Call if you need more information.

Games Night!

Bring $1.00, a dish, and your favorite game to the church on Saturday, January 6 at 7:00 PM. Call René Kerr or Julie Halter if you need further information.

Women’s Group

Join us for good food and great company, the 1^stand 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Bring a snack, ideas for discussion, or just yourself! Contact Julie Halter for more information.

Program Committee

The next meeting of the program committee will be Sunday, February 4 after the service. The committee asks for your input about our programs. Please contact the program committee chair, Diane Holliman with your ideas and feedback. What do you like? What do you want to see again? What types of services and programs can best meet your needs? As a lay led congregation, your input helps the committee plan for future programs. The committee wants to hear from you.

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 Virginia Branan.

Volunteers Still Needed

Contact Virginia Branan

Ø Vacuum R.E. building

Ø Mowing

Ø Delivery coordinator for Break Bread

Ø Scrapbook/history

Ø 3 people to alternate Sundays for childcare

Did YOU KNOW that several churches that identified themselves as Unitarian were first established in England in the 1500’s? Followers of John Robinson, who was minister to two of these churches, were among the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock. In 1701 the Act of Toleration in England first allowed Unitarians there to worship openly, although they still could not hold public office or own property.

R.E. Program

Youth R.E. The young people this year are working on a “big event” each month, spending each Sunday getting ready for the event. If you want to be involved contact Ann Kasun.

Adult R.E. There is continued discussion about Adult R.E., although there is no on-going program at the moment. Let Ann Kasun know if you are interested in leading a Sunday discussion.

Volunteers Needed to Assist with the Services

The Program Committee is asking for volunteers to assist with the services. Are you interested in doing the welcome and announcements, the chalice lighting, introducing the speaker, the responsive readings, or the closing? We are developing a list of people who are willing to participate in this way. Please call or e-mail Diane Holliman to sign-up.

White Elephant Christmas Gift Party

Saturday, January 6

8:00 PM

Betty’s advertising this biennial party as the first Christmas Party of the new millennium. If you’ve been before you know it’s a lot of fun. Bring a gift you don’t want, suitable for anyone, wrapped as a Christmas gift to swap with someone else. Also bring any leftover holiday goodies. BYOB. Celebrate old Christmas and have a lot of fun as folks gather after the holidays. Call Betty if you need directions. Betty says this will be a UU plus others party.

Wedding Bells Ring

in January for two of our friends!

Congratulations!!

Maori Coastal Build: Contact Ann Bennett right away for more information. The build is scheduled for New Zealand in May 2001 for 16 days. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity to work with Habitat International and see New Zealand while you live in the Maori culture there. Ann will be moving to New Zealand soon so this would be a chance to visit her too!

Beginner’s Tai Chi Class

If you were intrigued by watching the Tai Chi several Sundays back when Luana Goodwin and Dennis Bogyo talked about Tai Chi, and they and several of our members demonstrated Tai Chi, plan to join in a new beginner’s class this winter. The classes will start January 11 and meet on Mondays and Thursdays at the church from 5:30-6:30 PM. It takes about three months to learn the set. Speak with Betty Derrick, Ann Bennett, or Holly Smith if you want to know more. You might also want to check out the Taoist Tai Chi website at www.taoist.org.

Thank you! Thank you!

For R.E. bookcase: An anonymous helper assembled a bookcase donated by Janet Andersen in December 1999, which remained boxed for a year.

For delivering meals in November: Rosie Asbury and Dee Tait

For Christmas bags for our Break Bread recipients and older members who cannot attend services regularly: Everyone who made donations and helped with delivery.

For decorating the church: Everyone who helped make the church festive for the holiday season.

CPR Classes

May Lee has volunteered to teach a CPR class at our church on January 13 and 27. The two Saturday classes are scheduled from 9 AM-1 PM. Those who complete the 8-hour course will receive certification by the American Heart Association. May, a family nurse practitioner, is a certified AHA instructor and will be donating her time. Cost for the course will be $25 to cover materials and the official certificate. This is half the usual cost for the AHA course.

Anyone whose CPR certification expired within the last year may take the 4-hour refresher course on January 27 from 9 AM-1 PM. The cost for material and recertification is $20.

To assure individual instruction, the class is limited to six. Please contact May to sign up for the class. Any money not needed for course materials will be donated to the church.

An Editor’s Musings

Your editor is putting the first edition for the new millennium of The Flaming Chalice “to bed” before the Winter Solstice or Christmas or the New Year have actually arrived. On the other hand the grades are in, the decorations up, gift purchases are under control and the baking begins this afternoon. Your editor is even looking forward to time, in a day or two, to write those annual letters to friends, Christmas cards, which are part of her rituals at this season. It is a romantic and magical season if you can still find a bit child in the heart. I think that UU’s find that easier than many folk do. It is a wonderful gift.

This winter season though is also a time of reflection and resolution making. The dark season in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice, a cold time too just a little further north from us, perhaps fuels melancholy for some. For Christian cultures this is the season to celebrate the birth of a child, symbolic of new birth and new beginnings. Candles and light and merrymaking brighten the darkness and warm the cold.

Theresa Thompson in her winter solstice homily talked of stories of emergence. The year’s cycle is both ending and beginning at this time of year. Many of us reflect on the past and make our resolutions for the future. It is a time of change and growth with the uncertainty and excitement as what might have been and is and might be are considered.

My father died at this time of year over a decade ago, very suddenly. My Christmases have been, since then, colored by this poignant memory. He had decorated the house early that year in anticipation of the family’s visit, to which he so looked forward. I remind myself each year that all who visited in his joyfully decorated holiday home that season both mourned his absence and celebrated the joy he had brought us.

Perhaps this time of year is a time for personal reflections for you also. Let me share a poem from our Florida District Director to our congregations.

December 30 Holiday Party for Bill Sinkford candidate for UUA Presidency at home of Kathleen Moran and John Young, Jacksonville, FL. RSVP by December 28.

Millennium II on The Mountain, December 29, 2000-January 2, 2001. Highlands, NC (828-526-5838). Registration required; limited space.

Video-tapes of the UUA Candidate Forum held in early December in Orlando are available from the District Office for use by congregations. The UUA Presidential candidates are Diane Miller, William Sinkford, and Larry Peers. UUA Moderator candidates are Patsy Madden and Diane Olson.

The Mountain is a UU Camp and Conference Center with planned programs throughout the year. It is possible though to plan your own retreat there. Call the office for drop-in rates. The Mountain is near Highlands, NC. (828-526-5838)

January 10 Deadline for proposals for workshops and displays for Florida District UUA 2001 Annual Assembly(April 60-8).

January 11-14 “Religions in Dialog: From Conflict to Trust, UU Church, St.Petersburg, FL.

January 12 Deadline for nominations for Trustee Election. The Florida District and Mid-South Districts share a Trustee on the UUA Board. Margaret Sander of the First Unitarian church in Orlando currently holds this position.

January 19-21 Curriculum Renaissance Module, First Unitarian Church, Orlando, FL.

February 2-4 “Planning for Growth and Vitality for the Small congregation: a weekend with Rev. Larry Peers, hosted by the Community Unitarian Universalist Church, Daytona Beach, FL. Churches should send teams of 3-5 people to this workshop.

February 23-24 “Adult Programming in Your Congregation” UU Church of Deland, FL. (Lower fee for registration before Feb.1)

Mark your calendar now for this summer week of fellowship and fun on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, VA. We’re looking for a SUUSI Evangelist/Ambassador to send materials to. Contact Cathy Ring at (703)-754-8191 or info@suusi.org. Workshop leaders for yoga, tarot, belly dancing, labyrinth, and women’s support group are being sought. See workshops@suusi.org right away.

"Liberating Faith" is the title of the 2001 calendar published by the Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society, and now available from the Heritage Society Office. The calendar features 12 important UU women. Biographical sketches highlight their lives and emphasize their accomplishments. The calendar gives the birth dates of over 200 additional Unitarian Universalist women. "These women are among the prophets and leaders whose efforts have made the Unitarian Universalist Association into the unique, empowering organization it is today." To order calendars, call the Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society, 781-321-3979, email: uuwhs@aol.com. They sell for $13.00 each, but can be ordered in shipments of 15 or more at a 15% discount and resold to make a profit for your organization.