Sunday Services

Sunday,  June 1 –  “LITHA” Lay Led by Doug Tanner  

Litha is the pagan Solstice celebration of the longest day of the year.  It is the celebration of lights triumph over darkness and that of the bountiful beauty that light brings into life. Flowers are common in the circle, roses and bright cheerful wildflowers are upon the altar and usually worn by all. It is the changing point of the year, and the celebration of the spiral dance of the year is common among Wiccans. It is a celebration with much joy, and much feasting. Many Wiccans will attire themselves in bright colors and equally bright adornments of flowers.

 Sunday, June 8 - Dr. Michael Stoltzfus, “Maturing Humanity: A Developmental View of History”

 We will articulate a developmental view of history and associate it with human maturation in terms of infancy, childhood, adolescence and the possibility of early adulthood.  We will distinguish a developmental view of history from more traditional progressive, cyclic, and end of age historical views.  Most importantly, we will look for signs of movement toward human maturity/development and associate that maturity with the promptings of Jesus, Buddha and other teachers of wisdom and compassion.  Dr. Stoltzfus, VSU Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, is a regular speaker at our church

 Sunday, June 15 –  Rev. Jane Page , “The New Atheism:  What’s It All About?”

Four recent best-selling books were written by atheists (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett) who share a belief that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its negative influence arises.  Rev. Jane explores their ideas using the lens of our Unitarian Universalist principles.

                Some of you may recall that Dr. Jim Hill spoke about these authors several months ago and provided a reading list.  Here is an opportunity to hear the perspective of a UU minister on these modern authors.

Sunday,  June 22 – Rev. George Bennett, “Reflections on China " 

George Bennett reflects on his China experience.  George and Martha Bennett have returned from 21 days in China .  Their visit included Beijing , Imperial China, Tibet , Hong Kong and a four day small boat trip on the Yangtze River .   While in Tibet they took tea with a local family, visited the Potala Palace and spent a day in the DeJi Orphanage. The Bennetts stayed in the home of a family and shared several meals with other families. 

Sunday,  June 29 – To be announced later.

Watch for announcements about plans for this fifth Sunday in June in your Sunday Order of Service.  Several of our members will be at General Assembly Services this day in Ft. Lauderdale .  

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:

 

 

 

Newsletter Editor:  Betty Derrick Website:  Carol Stiles Local Publicity: Dee Tait June 15: Deadline for the July newsletter.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Religious Education for Children

            The RE program for children meets at 10:45 AM concurrent with the Sunday morning service.  Volunteers to help in the classroom are needed. Contacts: Mya Storey, Susan Bailey  

Collecting Recyclables for RE Projects: Please bring your recyclables to be used for arts and crafts projects in RE: clean bleach bottles, dish detergent bottles, 2 liter soda bottles, single size water and soda bottles, plastic tubs (such as margarine tubs), empty oatmeal boxes, potato chip canisters (like Pringles), and paper towel tubes.

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UUA General Assembly

Fort Lauderdale , FL

Dee Tait , Betty Derrick, and Carol Stiles will be volunteers at the annual UUA General Assembly June 25-29 in Fort Lauderdale with the Florida District as its host.  Dee and Betty will be our delegates to the meeting; Carol will be an alternate delegate.  This should be an exhilarating week of workshops, worship services, business meetings, and social events.  The three hope to have much to report to our congregation when they return.

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!!!Important – New Officers Please Note!!!

Please send Betty Derrick no later than June 15 your name and contact information as you want it listed on the newsletter banner (see top of newsletter) for the coming year.  This would be a good time for returning officers to check to be sure their information is correctly listed.  Note that this personal contact information appears in the print newsletter only.  Carol Stiles lists only the church contact information on the Website. 

 

ABOUT OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

Wishing Good Health to members and friends dealing with health and family issues.

 Congratulations to

v   Ann Tait’s daughter who recently graduated in Library Science from Agnes Scott College

v   Frances Patterson on the recent publication of her book and her daughter’s completion of a Master of Divinity at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA in May.

v   Dee Tait who has a brand new great grandchild, Noah James, whose parents are Michael and Abby who live in Atlanta .  Michael is Dee ’s daughter Kathy’s son.

Branan Memorial dedication ceremony 

July 6 

You have no doubt already noticed our beautiful arch, constructed by Jim Ingram , at the entrance to the meditation trail. It will be named The Branan Meditation Trail  in memory of John and Virginia Branan, longtime faithful members of our congregation.  We are now finalizing plans for the dedication ceremony on July 6.  Rev. Fred Howard will conduct the Sunday service that day, followed by the dedication ceremony.  The Branan’s son, John Branan Jr., and his family will be here, as will John’s brother, Roger and his wife.  It is hoped Virginia 's sister Jean and brother George will also be able to attend.  If you would like to say a few words about the Branans during the ceremony, please let Frank Asbury  know.  A potluck dinner at the church will follow the ceremony. Please bring a favorite dish.  We hope everyone will come for this special event. Mark the date on your calendar

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Let’s Have Some Fun!!

Games Night

Saturday, June 14   7:00 PM

At the church

Bring some finger foods and munchies to share, libations if you’d like, the kids, a friend, a favorite game and let the games begin.  See Sue Bailey for further details.  Come enjoy the fun!

 

Book Discussion and Potluck

Friday, June 20   6:30 PM

At the church

Bring a dish to share.  Coffee and tea will be provided.  You are welcome to bring other beverages.  We’ll plan to wind up by around 8:30 PM if you have other end of the week commitments.  The book for discussion is "The Preacher's Son" by Marc Adams, who spoke at our church in April.  In this book he shares part of his life story growing up gay, the son of a fundamentalist Baptist minister, and later attending Jerry Falwell's Liberty University .  During the evening we will select our next book for discussion. We are selecting books which deal with different cultures, religions, and life styles.  Betty is keeping a list of suggestions.  Let her know your recommendations.  Contact: Betty Derrick.

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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.

 

Thank You Letter from Pavo Ashram

Following is a letter we recently received acknowledging our recent gift to the AVM Ashram.

UU Church of Valdosta

C/O Accepting Differences Project

East Park Avenue

Valdosta , GA 31602

May 7, 2008

Dear Betty, Lars, and Board Members of the UU Church:

                Arsha Vijnana Mandiram acknowledges your generous donation of $1500 received in April 2008. No goods or services were given in return for this contribution.

                I arrived at the ashram after a long international lecture tour in April, and found your touching gesture awaiting me. The fact that a church can extend help to a religious organization of a completely different faith is the highest example of interfaith harmony and respect. By helping the ashram regain its bearings after a hate crime, the UU church has set a new precedent for the practice of compassion and tolerance in Southern Georgia .

                There is an ancient saying that whenever something is given with a heart that is free of ulterior motives its effect is far-ranging, and multiplies very quickly. You will be pleased to know that this has indeed happened at the ashram, and we are now ready to celebrate the arrival of two new structures on the land which will truly make it a retreat center. Shortly after your check arrived, a member of the temple who passed away recently left some money from her estate for something to be built at the ashram. This retreat center is open to you and your congregation for any events that you might wish to hold. I am enclosing along with this letter an invitation to attend the festivities.

                May God bless you. May the UU church of Valdosta continue to be a beacon of religious tolerance and respect for diversity.

                May whatever you give be returned to you a thousandfold.

With love and best wishes,

Sadhviji

Accepting Difference Project

                Community members of the Accepting Difference Project have been challenged to match our UU contribution to the Pavo Hindu Ashram.  Members of this group also were invited to participate in the Accepting Difference Project cosponsored Marc Adams event.

 

Inaugural Ceremony at Arsha Vijnana Mandiram Held May 17, and 18:  

Saturday, May 17, four of our members-- Dee Tait , Mya Storey, Susan Bailey, and Lars Leader--attended an inaugural ceremony at Arsha Vijnana Mandiram.  Lars reports on their experience: You might remember that this is the ashram established in Pavo by Vrnda Chaitanya, the Vedic monk who has led meditation sessions at our church.  In response to a recent vandalism at the ashram, our Accepting Differences Committee had sent a donation of $1500 for restoration of their temple.  Here is Vrnda's message telling us about the inaugural ceremony:

“With the monies received from the UU church, we are reinstalling the main representation of God that was stolen from the temple. We now have a river stone from the Narmada River in India to represent Shiva. It will be consecrated and installed on that day. The process of installation in a Hindu temple is similar to inviting a choice guest into the home. The presence of God is invoked into the deity amidst chanting and sharing of songs, etc. The deity, as a manifestation of God, is ritually bathed with milk, water, etc. This is called Abhisheka. Sani pradosham is a bimonthly festival occurring on the thirteenth day of the waxing moon in the evening. This time is astrologically said to be very propitious for the fulfillment of all goals and desires. It is a time of prayer and contemplation, and it is said to be a time when prayers easily flow from the heart, and are also easily accepted.”

                During the ceremony, we were able to participate in the consecration of the river stone as a deity.  We then also got to see the two new buildings the ashram had just installed on their land.  At each location, Vrnda led a ceremony to appease any damage done to the environment by the building installation.  That was followed by a wonderful Indian meal and conversation.  When we left, the ashram members presented our church with a painting featuring symbols of Eastern and Western religions.  The members also expressed their excitement about Susan’s and Mya's suggestion to have an outing to the ashram for our RE children sometime soon.

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Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Programs (UUSC)

Social Justice Stimulus Plan: $252 for Peace: Imagine a world where taxpayers can choose to fund peacemaking instead of war, where strengthening our nation means investing in peace. UUSC wants to stimulate peace – and we need your help.

                If you are a U.S. taxpayer, an economic stimulus payment from the U.S. government may be on its way to you. The amount of the rebate for most individual taxpayers is $600. According to the National Priorities Project, $252 of those dollars would have gone to fund the Bush administration’s military program.

Now you have the chance to give that $252 a rational objective – peace.

UUSC is inviting fellow peacemakers to make a one-time stimulus investment of $252 in human rights and social justice around the world.  By redirecting these war dollars to UUSC, you support:

·         Active-duty U.S. military personnel speaking out against the Iraq war and the U.S. occupation

·         Iraq war veterans calling for congressional investigations and hearings into military abuses; Women and girls in Darfur who risk their safety each time they leave their camp for firewood and water;

·         Ugandans who, after 20 years of war, are finally returning to their villages.

It is not often that we have the opportunity to redirect our tax dollars towards a worthy cause. Please give $252 for peace. www.uusc.org/info/vstaxrebate_donation.html 

Burmese Cyclone Relief: The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association have launched a humanitarian relief fund to help survivors of the cyclone that struck Myanmar (formerly Burma ) on May 3.  World news reports are chronicling the tension between the international aid community, which wants to roll out a massive disaster response, and the Myanmar government, which wants to control all aid delivery. Given that situation, many concerned people are asking whether it makes sense to contribute to the relief effort.  This is a reasonable question but the focus on the international aid response to the disaster leads to an incomplete understanding of the situation. Since the storm struck, organizations with offices on the ground in Myanmar have, in fact, been leading critical – and effective – recovery work behind the scenes of the international aid debate. The international NGOs in the country and the few national NGOs that have capacity to respond to the cyclone are working around the clock. Those that have national staff and projects in the delta region have mobilized their people and have brought in staff from other regions.

                Two UUSC program staff persons were in Myanmar just before the cyclone on program development work and are now in communication with NGO contacts there to support these vital relief efforts. Because of the relationships formed in Myanmar and our existing partner relationships in southeast Asia, UUSC is now able to work with organizations on the ground delivering relief directly to affected groups.  According to our contacts on the ground, it is possible to purchase supplies in country, particularly in Mandalay , the second largest city in Myanmar that was not affected by the cyclone. They report that wholesalers and factories are selling supplies as close to cost as possible and cooperating fully. Using pickup trucks, boats, and dugout canoes, they are moving supplies farther and farther out into affected areas, extending the network of aid deeper into the delta. The NGOs are cooperating closely with monks and nuns who are leading local relief efforts in the villages. Many monasteries, nunneries, and temples have opened their doors as shelters and monks have helped coordinate communities’ work in affected villages. Buddhist relief organizations in other countries have successfully gotten emergency funding to the Sangha in Myanmar , which is playing a central role in the relief effort.  To read more on UUSC’s response please visit http://www.uusc.org/info/article051408.html .

UUSC Statement on China earthquake: A number of concerned constituents have asked if UUSC will be launching a relief fund to aid Chinese earthquake survivors. After careful consideration, UUSC has decided not to do so since the Chinese government is mounting a robust relief effort and we feel it is important to concentrate on Myanmar where the situation is still desperate. 

UUSC is excited to announce the 2008 Freedom Summer: A Civil Rights Journey, which will take participants to the front lines of the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.  UUSC’s fifth annual Civil Rights Journey will include stops in Atlanta , Ga. , and Montgomery , Selma , and Birmingham , Ala. During this intergenerational camp, we will travel by bus to historic sites and hear inspirational stories from courageous people who participated in the movement.  The Civil Rights Journey will conclude with a two-day community-service learning project that will take place in Birmingham , Ala. Participants will work with community-based, human-rights organizations.  

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UU Church of Valdosta Board of Directors 

May Meeting News:   Present were: Lars Leader, Sue Bailey, Mya Storey , Jim Ingram , Doug Tanner, and Rosie Asbury. Visitors were: Kari Wells and Bill Webster.  Mya lit the chalice and invited those present to focus and center in preparation for the meeting. She read an appropriate passage from the UU World.

OLD BUSINESS: Jim  Ingram reported that the kitchen ceiling leak is due to rusting of the roof caused by an accumulation of dead leaves. Jim requested an estimate of the cost of repairing the roof, but has not heard back from the roofer yet.  We will wait until fall to hold the next new member ceremony.   The stray bicycle that had been left on the church property has disappeared so no further action is needed on this agenda item.

NEW BUSINESS: Rosie prepared two budgets proposals for next year, one with the mortgage paid off and one without. The Board unanimously approved Budget Proposal A & B to be presented to the congregation at the Annual Meeting.  The Program Report was given by Doug Tanner. RE is still working with the We Believe curriculum supplemented by Dr. Seuss.  A request was made to replace the RE table or raise the legs on the one we have because it is too low for the kids.  The Branan Memorial Dedication was discussed. Jim Ingram is donating his work on the arch. The Board will write a letter of acknowledgment. The rebuilding of the bench on the meditation trail should be finished in about one week. Jim also offered to get the plaque for the arch done.  Mya confirmed that the items to be addressed at the Annual Meeting are the approval of the budget and the election of officers.  Unless pressing business arises during the next several weeks, there will be no June Board meeting. The next official Board meeting is scheduled for July 2.

 

Annual Meeting – May 18, 2008

Following the Sunday Service President Mya Storey convened the congregation for its annual meeting.  There were two items of business on the agenda.

·         The Nominating Committee,  Dee Tait , Chair, Sue Bailey, and Jim Ingram presented the following slate of officers for the 2008-2009 church year:

      President: Doug Tanner

Vice President/Programs: Bill and Valerie Webster (to be a shared position with one vote on the Board) 

Treasurer: Rosie Asbury

 Secretary: Kari Wells

 Director of Membership: Lars Leader

 Director of Religious Education:  Susan Bailey

 Director of Building and Grounds: Jim Ingram

The slate was elected by acclamation.

·         The Board presented two budgets, one which proposed using available funds from a recent generous donation to pay off the mortgage and one to use those funds in the general operating budget.   The congregation passed the budget, which would pay off the building’s mortgage.  The treasurer noted in the discussion that given the aging of the building the funds for maintenance and repairs had been increased.  In addition there was discussion about the need to increase the number of pledging members in order to maintain the three-speaker programming we have been funding of the last several years.  The Board has chosen to use the balance of a generous donation, given for a minister several years ago, in this manner in hopes that the congregation would grow sufficiently to continue this programming.  It is clear that if this growth does not occur soon this money will have been depleted.  Members may wish to note the deficit spending in the treasurer’s report each month, which has been covered by this rapidly depleting fund.

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Treasurer's Report

Rosie Asbury

April 2008

Receipts                                 April                          YTD(10 mo)

  Plate                            $    22.00                           $   875.83

  Pledge                              702.00                             9072.00

  Rent                                 240.00                             2400.00

  Memorial donation                0.00                           10000.00

  Interest Income                     0.00                                   0.00

Total Receipts                  $   964.00                       $22347.83

Disbursements  

  Mortgage                    $  500.00                          $ 5000.00               

  Speakers’ Fees             1237.00                             7247.00

  Repairs & Maint.                 0.00                             1260.84

  Newsletter                           0.00                               420.68

 Termite Contrl/Insur.       1136.00                             1704.00

  Postage                                0.00                                39.17

  Supplies                               8.84                                87.11

  Utilities                             218.98                            2384.14

  UU Dues                              0.00                            1500.00

  Advertising                       400.00                               400.00

  Others                                59.00                               321.65

Total  Disbursmnts.     $    3559.82                         $20364.59

Net Receipt             $   - 2595.82                          $  1983.24

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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.

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.” Universalist University is an educational event just before General Assembly for congregational leaders of all kinds.  If you want to increase your knowledge and ability to serve your congregation and community then UU University is for you!

June 25–29 47^th UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Fort Lauderdale, FL GA Program & Registrations available on-line March 1st at www.uua.org

July 6 -11  RE Week The Mountain, NC www.mountaincenters.org 

 

General Assembly 2008

Wednesday night opening ceremony will feature the Reverends Kendyl Gibbons and Jason Shelton's Sources, a seven-song cantata that excitingly presents the roots of Unitarian Universalism.  When performed at the UU Musicians Network Annual Conference in Clearwater last August, the capacity audience gave it standing ovations.  Thursday night's Service of the Living Tradition's sermon will be given by the Reverend Victoria Safford, award-winning sermon writer and minister at the White Bear UU Church in Minnesota .  This event is free and open to the public.  Friday afternoon President William Sinkford will be the lead speaker for the Public Witness Event Valuing ALL Families-including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families and immigrant families.  That evening the Contemporary Worship service will be multigenerational and inspirational, celebrating our faith for every age and stage of life.  Saturday's Ware Lecture features Van Jones, co-founder of the EllaBakerCenter for Human Rights in Oakland , California .  Its Books Not Bars campaign helped reduce California 's overall youth prison population by more than 30 percent.  Jones and the EllaBakerCenter worked with Congress to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007.  The Reverend Marlin Lavanhar, senior minister at the Tulsa , Oklahoma All Souls Church , will deliver the sermon at the Sunday morning worship service.  This event is also free and open to the public, as will the Exhibit Hall be on Sunday morning.  Plan to attend a day or all five days.  " - Hone your talents in our workshops, lift your spirits in our worship, thrill to visionary speakers at GA here this year!"

 

UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS                    Joan Lund

The month of June is upon us, when we, the Florida District, are afforded the opportunity and responsibility of hosting our Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) General Assembly (GA) in Ft. Lauderdale , June 25-29. I look forward to being with you this year, especially because I was not able to attend the District Annual Meeting in April. For those of you have been to a GA you know what an exhilarating and wonderful experience it is. For the first-timers you will find much to do and learn during our UU days together. This month I am writing about something I touched upon in the lengthy report which can be found on the District website, written after I returned from the April UUA Board of Trustees meeting: a new DVD, “Listening to Experience”, produced by the District Services Staff Growth Team.

                This recently-completed DVD captures the wisdom and experience of twelve ministers from some of the fastest growing UU congregations in our nation who gathered for three days in November 2007 to talk about how to increase the number of Unitarian Universalists in the world. Five thousand copies have been produced, and are being distributed, along with a letter from Rev. Bill Sinkford, UUA President, to UU ministers, seminarians, theological school professors and instructors, and hundreds of key lay and professional leaders throughout the Association. During the conversation among these ministers, they responded to questions posed by the Rev. Alice Mann of the Alban Institute which included:

• What is the saving message of your congregation?
• How does your congregation help people move inward and outward on their spiritual journey, and how does this relate to congregational growth?
• What institutional, organizational, and practical nuts and bolts need to exist in order for a congregation go grow and keep growing?
• What are the obstacles or roadblocks to growth?

 

This is an excellent DVD for ministers and lay leaders to watch together over several meetings and benefit from the wisdom of these ministers. A list of questions to discuss, the same ones that served as the basis for the conversation in November, is included in the packaging, as are the names of the participating ministers. 

                If you would like a copy of the “Listening to Experience” DVD contact Heather Bond, District Services Administrator, hbond@uua.org. Again, I look forward to being with you in June. In the meantime if you have questions, concerns, or just wish to talk about “something UU” email jlund@uua.org.

 

Greetings Florida District Friends and Leaders

Kenn Hurto , Florida District Director

I call it the "missing half" of congregational polity: the interdependence of autonomous congregations. As freedom of belief is too often linked with the non-sensical "you can believe anything (!) you want," some Unitarian Universalists think that each congregation's autonomy means going it alone, doing your own thing. Both sentiments are wrong.                Since our governance was first laid out in that seminal document,             The Cambridge Platform (1648), the radical independence of congregations has also included mutuality of support and accountability one to another. We ask our Unitarian Universalist Association to stand by us in a time of need. Likewise, our associated neighbors ask us to vouchsafe to the integrity of our ministries as a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

                Our District Assembly just concluded at the Gainesville Fellowship. It was a stellar example of both qualities. Our delegates came away supported by our larger communion and challenged to be in the conversation with regard to social change and racial justice. Our presenter, Paula Cole Jones, of our UUA's JUUST Change consultancy, provided us a model of power and accountability that challenged us to ask: If you have privilege, to whom are you accountable? She noted that we all aspire to attain the American dream --- which means getting as many of the privileges society sanctions as you can. These become the definition of our personal worthiness. We hold ourselves accountable to those in power who control access to those privileges [e.g., education]. If the access gate is closed for some reason [e.g., racial characteristics or sexual orientation], injustice is redefined as a personal failing.

                Ms. Jones asked of those on the margins, without the powers of privilege? If you or I have a privilege, what is our responsibility or accountability to those who do not? Staying with education as an example, do our people, generally among the better educated in this country, have an obligation to those who do not? With nearly 1 in 3 failing to complete high school, as members of a privileged group and a faith that promotes as well as affirms the worth of all souls, should our ministries be addressing this question?

                By turning the question around, one begins to get at how to think differently about social change. I hope we will soon post on the FLD website practical tools for your use based on this analysis. I hope, also, that the 160 or so who came to Gainesville for mutual support will now return prepared to teach and to hold their own congregations accountable. It is our association with free congregations that makes each one healthy and better able to nurture spirits and to heal some part of our world.

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PROJECT HARVEST HOPE - Atlanta Unitarian  Pilgrimage-August,  2008:  Fred Howard sends this information to give everyone in Valdosta a chance to join me and several other UUs from all over Georgia on our pilgrimage to Transylvania this summer (July 30-Aug 11.)  We will be visiting the citadel where Francis David was martyred, the tomb of King Sigismund, and various other sites of Unitarian historical interest.  The trip will culminate at the Unitarian World Gathering on Aug. 9.  There will also be chances for cultural exchange, as we will be spending several nights in the homes of our fellow religionists halfway around the globe.  The total cost of the trip is $1895. The deadline for registration is May 31.  This is a PILGRIMAGE PROGRAM described as Pilgrimages of Witness and Transformation.

Our Pilgrimages provide opportunities for North Americans to:

*Witness the daily joys and struggles of village life

*Give and receive the gift of engaged listening

*Share stories, bread and work

*Reflect upon our vocation as a people of privilege

*Explore a spiritual commitment to justice-making and sustainable living

                To accomplish this mission, our pilgrims live in the homes of local families, work alongside our project partners, and participate in seminars and reflection groups. Our pilgrimages have an intentional discipline and spiritual rigor. We have found that the work of transformation and commitment is often difficult, as is the experience of a vastly different culture, and therefore we provide leadership and support during the journey. We hope that you will join us on pilgrimage—ready to witness and be transformed.  Religion points to that area of human experience where in one way or another one comes upon mystery as a summons to pilgrimage.

Frederick Buechner. Contact information: Kelemen Eva  Pilgrimage coordinator    

ESCAPE TO VERMONT       September 26 – 28, 2008

Fourteenth Annual B&B Weekend offered by the UU Church of Rutland, VT.  Enjoy the beauty of Vermont , UU hospitality, and a choice of guided activities:  hiking, kayaking, bicycling, antiques/arts, cider making historic tour, soaring tour, touring historic sites and quaint towns, and much more.  Registration by August 1, $250 (single) and $450 (double).  After August 1, $300 (single) and $500 (double).  For more information contact uufoliagevermont@yahoo.com or (802) 353-7969.

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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: Continuing Class, 6:00-7:30 PM.  A Beginner’s Class will likely start in August or September. Contact Dennis Bogyo or Luana Goodwin 

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