Sunday Services

Sunday, March 2 – Dr. Michael Stoltzfus, “The Kite Runner:  Redemption and Transformation in the Novel”

We will use Khaled Hosseini’ novel The Kite Runner as a catalyst to discuss modern history in Afghanistan, the differing forms of Islam in the region, and the general themes of war, peace, redemption and transformation.  We will use the novel to highlight some of the contemporary myths about Islam in general and the broader Middle East in particular.  We will try to see the world through the eyes of the children of Afghanistan so that we might allow their struggles for peace and redemption to inform our own struggles for ongoing transformation.   Those of you who read this book for our January book discussion may especially enjoy this presentation.  Dr. Stoltzfus has been assigning this book in some of his classes recently. 

Sunday, March 9 - “Ostara”

Come join us for a lay led celebration of Ostara, the Pagan celebration of the Spring equinox.  We will celebrate the history and tradition of the Pagan holiday and, if weather permits, we will walk the nature trail and reflect on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.  Lars Leader will lead this service.

Sunday, March 16 – Rev. Jane Page -  “Tending the UU Flame!”

We all need to use good stewardship of our contributions of time, energy, creativity, and financial resources. In her message today, Jane explores ways that we can create a supportive flame-tending village so that all remain in the warmth of community, with a diminished possibility of folks getting “burned out.”  The "Story for All Ages" will be a special retelling of "The Little Red Hen." 

Sunday, March 23 – Rev. George Bennett, “OPEN THE DOOR” 

We are supposed to be wild with enthusiasm for life.  Life is so good. Yet we are often locked behind our closed doors of fear and despair.   Yet, there is a knock at our door.  There is a breath upon us. God brings us freedom and life.  

Sunday, March 30 – Dr. Dick Saeger, “Election 2008” 

Dr. Dick Saeger, Professor Emeritus from Valdosta State University ’s Political Sciences Department, will discuss the presidential race and other current political issues in this election year.  Come join us for the latest in politics and lively discussion after the service.

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 .

              

Religious Education for Children

            The R.E. program continues in the New Year with the We Believe: Learning and Living Our UU Principles and stories by Dr. Seuss. WE BELIEVE... focuses on the seven  UU principles.  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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Let’s Have Some Fun!!

 

Games Night  

Saturday, March 15   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, March 28 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 Faith Club” by Idliby, Oliver, and Warner, three women, one a Jew, one a Muslim, and one a Christian.  The cover states it to be “a groundbreaking book about Americans searching for faith and mutual respect … .”  It is “the story of three women, their three religions, and their urgent quest to understand one another.” 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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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: Beginner’s Class, 5:30-6:30 PM; Continuing Class, 6:30-8:00 PM.  Contact Dennis Bogyo or Luana Goodwin.  

 

 

UU Church of Valdosta Board of Directors Meeting:

February 6, 2008

Attendance: Mya Storey, Doug Tanner , Chuck Giese, Rosie Asbury, Lars Leader , Sue Bailey, Jim Ingram.

Mya started the meeting at 6:06 pm by confusing us with a sign that she had seen. [Sic-You’ll have to ask!]

Old Business: The Board approved the minutes of the January meeting.   JUUST Change/Accepting Difference Committee has contacted the Pavo Ashram regarding their break-in. Further discussion will take place before we decide what we can do to help.  Lars has been in contact with the Exchange Club regarding our advertising bench. Contract has expired, it will cost $350 to renew, and that includes repainting the sign. Lars will follow up.  We will stay with our current P.O. box, and check it more frequently. Recurrent bills are being switched to auto-pay. No sign of the roofer to fix the kitchen leak. Jim to follow up.  Jim will repair/replace the bench on the trail.

New Business:  Treasurer’s Report received. Florida dues and P.O. box paid. Will move Branan donation to another category. Upcoming expenses – entrance light and Terminex contract. Treasurer is conducting pledge canvass to determine next year’s budget. Program report –Fred Howard may be available this summer.  RE report – Back on track after the holiday season with the We Believe and Dr. Seuss curriculum.  Annual Meeting – Budget, Board members and any issues up for consideration need to be published 10 days in advance. Mya will appoint a Nominating Committee. We will prepare two budgets, one with and one without paying off the mortgage. The board agreed that the SAVE group from VSU can use the church for overnight accommodations.  General Assembly – Our attendance looks like 2 probable and 1 maybe.  Doug will investigate replacing our existing music setup with a PC for storing digital music. Also having problems with the amplifier not working properly. It may be possible to replace these out of the program budget this year.  The board decided to remove long distance service from the church phone.  The next board meeting will be on Wednesday, March 5 at 6:00 in the RE Building.  Meeting adjourned at 6:50.

VSU SAVE Group: At the request of the VSU SAVE group we allowed about 20 participants in the Weekend Environmental Conference to spend two nights at the church over the weekend in February.  VSU had allowed them to camp on the intramural fields but some preferred to sleep indoors.  Fortunately for those who did sleep outdoors, it was relatively warm Friday and Saturday nights.

 

The Branan Memorial Committee has been appointed to plan and build a memorial for Virginia and John Branan. The Branan’s were dedicated members of our church for more than thirty-five years. The committee is composed of Frank Asbury, chair, Jason Halter, Julie Halter, Jim Ingram and Chuck Giese.

                Members have suggested that the memorial be built on the Meditation Trail located behind the church. Jason Halter built the Meditation Trail as his Eagle Scout project. Virginia Branan helped him choose and plan this project. He also said that Virginia influenced him very positively as his RE teacher in our church.

                Julie Halter expressed agreement with the previous suggestion of building an arch to mark the entrance on the left side of the Meditation Trail, which the Board had approved. After the committee meeting, Jason walked through the trail with Frank Asbury explaining his thinking when he designed the trail. He intended the right side to be a nature walk and the left side to be a meditation area. We also looked at the tree at the left entrance of the trail which Virginia helped the RE students to plant several years ago. This tree could possibly be incorporated with the arch.   Frank says the committee is depending on Jim Ingram, our distinguished architect, to provide guidance with the design and construction of the memorial. Jim will begin to sketch out some possibilities.

Anyone interested in helping should contact Frank Asbury.

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Treasurer's Report

Rosie Asbury

January 2008

Receipts                     January                          July -present

  Plate                                     $    59.00                 $   725.83

  Pledge                                      775.00                    6265.00

  Rent                                          240.00                    1680.00

  Memorial donation                    0.00                 10000.00

  Interest Income                          0.00                          0.00

Total Receipts                    $ 1074.00                 $18670.83

Disbursements  

  Mortgage                        $  500.00                     $ 3500.00               

  Speakers’ Fees                   750.00                        4510.00

  Repairs & Maint.                   0.00                            70.00

  Newsletter                              0.00                           289.40

 Termite Control                       0.00                          278.00

  Postage                          0.00                                      33.43

  Supplies                       11.62                                      47.27

  Utilities                      204.64                                  1701.63

  UU Dues                    420.00                                  1500.00

  Others                          34.00                                    243.65

Total  Disbursmnts.$1920.26                              $12173.38

Net Receipt              $- 846.26                              $  6497.45

 

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

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.  

Accepting Difference Project: The Accepting Difference Committee, after conversation with Sadhvi Ji Chaitanya(Vrndaji) of the AVM Hindu ashram in Pavo and members of our congregation, has recommended to the Board that the UU Church make a contribution to the ashram for the purchase of a replacement item in our name for one that was destroyed.    The Pavo Hindu Ashram was vandalized in January.  Thanks to Susan Bailey and Lars Leader for speaking with Vrndaji about our proposed donation. 

    

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.

March 1 Conflict Management program, Tallahassee, FL

March 2 Installation of Reverend Sara Zimmerman, Tampa , FL

March 8 West Central Cluster Co-Sponsored Event, Conference and update on Marriage Protection Amendment with Rev. Barry Lynn Good Samaritan Church, Pinellas Park, FL

March 8 Southwest Cluster Annual Spring Meeting & Growth Workshop,   Port Charlotte , FL

March 8-9 Second Annual Florida District UU Choral Festival,  Orlando, First UU

March 10 Deadline for Florida District Award nominations

March 15 Celebrated Speaker Series – David Gergen, Vero Beach , FL

March 29 Mapping a Culture of Peace Workshop, Boca Raton , FL

March 29 GAYla 2008! A Celebration for Equality, Tampa , FL

April 18-20 Florida District ANNUAL ASSEMBLY, Gainesville, FL [Note date change from that previously announced.]

We are now accepting nominations for District Awards to be presented during the upcoming Annual Assembly. 

Conference theme: “How Strong Is Our Faith — Spiritual Growth in a Multi-Cultural World” with Paula Cole Jones, of 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

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UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS                    Joan Lund

I  hope those of you who wish to read about UUA Trustee meetings will look at the District web page where there is a link to Trustee reports and Tidbits. For some time I have wanted to write about “Tapestry of Faith”, a new series of programs and resources for all ages that nurture Unitarian Universalist identity, spiritual growth, a transforming faith, and vital communities of justice and love. I may be “preaching to the choir” because our excellent Directors of Religious Education (DRE) are well aware of this new series and that eventually “Tapestry” life-span curricula will be available at no cost on the web. However, I am not able to tell you when.

                “Tapestry of Faith” offers a vision instilled in seven key beliefs. Briefly these include, in part, the belief that all people are lovable beings of worth, with powers of the soul and an obligation to use their gifts and talents in life service; UUs are a part of a religious heritage and part of a community of faith that has value and provides resources for living; we are moral agents who can make a difference in the lives of others; we recognize the need for community and affirm the importance of relationships and families, and the connections between/among the generations; we know of the value of spiritual practice as a means of deepening faith and integrating believes and values in our lives; and joy and sadness are all part of our lives. The goals of “Tapestry” are ethical and spiritual development, UU identity, and faith development.

                The program encompassing K through 6 will be centered on UU religious identity, faith, ethical, and spiritual development. The programs will nurture the child’s understanding what it means to be a UU. Middle school youth programming already has Our Whole Lives; a new and comprehensive Coming-of-Age resource is on the horizon. Also under development is a new, relevant version of “Neighboring Faiths”, which connects UU youth with other faith traditions. Two additional programs are anticipated for this age group: one will explore ethics and values and another will provide age-appropriate projects for social service. Three priorities for high school youth have been identified: to feel a sense of belonging and affirmation, to find support for ethical decision-making and living, and to develop, articulate and draw strength from a spiritual center. “Tapestry of Faith” adult programs will be developed in seven areas, with flexibility in mind: sessions may be run as one-hour workshops before or after a worship service, and most will not depend on consistent, long term commitment.

                Much more is available for you by going to the UUA web page and linking to “Tapestry of Faith”. I have only touched the surface. Stay in touch: jlund@uua.org. May the “blessings” of spring be upon each of you.

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Greetings Florida District Friends and Leaders

Rev. Kenn Hurto

District Executive for the Florida District UUA

Dear Companions, Unitarian poet, William Wordsworth, noted wryly, “The world is too much with us, late and soon.” By the time you read this note, the Florida primaries will have weighed in on our nation’s Presidential contest. [Oh, by the way, please see our website for the “Real Rules” about congregational engagement in political campaigns.] It is my hope that the worrisome talk about a national or global recession has led to a shift of some sort to forestall such an event. It is an irony of our 7th principle to observe that interdependence is not only true, but that the phrase “what effects one effects us all” can be drearily prophetic.

                Of urgent concern, still are issues like health care for nearly 50 million Americans. Then, there is Darfur and the tragedy of genocide. Now, add to that the crisis in Kenya . You might want to know that “a three-person Unitarian Universalist emergency assessment delegation has reached Nairobi and has begun collecting information and personal accounts of the ongoing violence in that country. The members of the delegation are Dr. Charlie Clements, President/CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), Atema Eclai, Program Director for the UUSC and a native of Kenya , and Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, minister of Fourth Universalist Society in New York City and a founder of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry. Clements has begun posting on the UUSC’s Hotwire blog (see

http://www.uusc.org/blog/2008/01/kenya-crisis-up-close-and-personal.html ). The UUA’s Jane Greer has written on the emergency mission in UUWorld.org’s latest edition (see http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/63017.shtml  ). UUA President Rev. William G. Sinkford’s pastoral letter on the crisis can be read at http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/62953.shtml .  To contribute to the UUSC-UUA Kenya crisis fund, go to http://www.uusc.org/programs/support_kenya.html  .”

                Meanwhile, the disaster of war in Iraq continues unabated, draining our moral capital and our financial well-being [to the tune of $5B/week!]

                Yet, we press on. Life is a muddle and it is part of our Unitarian Universalist ministry to be a bit more hopeful than the facts warrant and faith is the ability to see across the desert to the long awaited land of promise. I remind you of this as you lead our congregation and from time to time get lost in the dailiness of our “stuff” and the on again, off again squabbles of one thing or another. [I opined recently that the theological tiffs between our “rationalists” and “spiritualists,” etc. are our form of arguing how many angels dance on the head of a pin. When children go hungry, when racism remains intractable, when the world remains riven into the “partly prosperous and mostly miserable,” when farmworkers have to beg for a penny-a-bushel increase from Burger King to earn just a bit more, when the sex-slave trade shames Florida with its awful presence, I have to remind myself that our work is not to resolve metaphysical debates. We are called simply to nurture souls, so individually and collectively we may heal this hurting world.

                So, too much or too little, the world is with us and awaits us. We are the one’s it is waiting for. Let us proudly take up the flag of love and justice and lead the way to peace and thanksgiving.

                See you in church/fellowship/society/congregation!

Many blessings, Rev. Kenn

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VOLUNTEER AT GA 2008  

THE UUA GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMES TO OUR DISTRICT this year and with it the opportunity for more of us than ever to join as many as 5000 (or more) UUs from around the world in celebration of our community.(See the UU calendar above for dates and location.)  Anyone choosing to volunteer 24 hours during GA receives free registration.  Of course you also will have the satisfaction of being truly a "part of the action" and knowing that you have the love and gratitude of all those attending.  You'll also have a T-shirt to identify you to all as a source of information and help.

WHAT DO GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOLUNTEERS DO?  greet people arriving at the GA site; provide information about the local area; assist UUs with mobility difficulties and other needs; care for young children or help with field trips for older ones;  staff the local GA office; register attendees; act as ushers at events;  count votes at plenary sessions and mini-assemblies;  have a great time welcoming UUs to our district

Volunteer applications will be available on March 1, 2008 at: http://www.uua.org/documents/gaoffice/volunteer.pdf . The applications must be postmarked in March 2008 and mailed to the UUA.  

Join UUs from around the country in Niagara Falls , July 20-23, 2008   

Come experience the wonder of Niagara Falls including some great educational opportunities while being taken care of like royalty.  The UU Church of Niagara is conducting a four day UU Niagara Experience which is a lifetime opportunity to encounter the Falls up close from every perspective.  Spend four days with us exploring the rich history and natural beauty around the Falls.  For information visit our web site : http://www.uunex.net/   You don’t have to be UU to join us.

 WINE COUNTRY EXCURSION TO THE NAPA VALLEY

An hour north of San Francisco are the lush vineyards, world class wineries and picturesque small towns of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys . We invite all UUs and friends to share the beauty of our “home” through the UU Fellowship of North Bay’s “Wine Country Excursions.”  We offer small customized two day tours of our valleys which can include wine tastings, art galleries, museums, scenic trails and much more. We provide private rooms with bath in the homes of our members and experienced guides to conduct tours in their cars.  Napa itself is alive and vibrant with galleries, boutique shops, world-class restaurants, wine tasting rooms and entertainment.  Tours are offered from May through October.  Plan for two days of touring and a two or three night stay with all local transportation provided.  Home hospitality without tours is also available.  Our fees are much below market rates for similar services.  All proceeds to help our Fellowship grow and purchase property in this expensive real estate market.  We have limited openings, so contact us now for details.  Tom Wilson 707.254-7443 or 2wilsons1dog at comcast.net

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