may 22nd, 2008 Vol 49, no 36
Spiritual Celebration and Program
Please note the following changes to our celebration and programming schedule for THIS SUNDAY, May 25, 2008.
- There is NO 9:15 a.m. Spiritual Celebration.
- The 10:45 program will be a Spiritual Celebration led by Consulting Minister Jill Jarvis.
- Our Annual Spring Potluck Picnic follows at noon.
See the details below, and also in our newsletter.
10:45 a.m.
Sunday, May 25, 2008 - Spiritual Celebration - "Flower Power: A Unitarian Tradition of Fellowship and Justice"
Just as no two flowers are alike, no two people are alike, yet each has a valuable contribution to make. Our shared celebrations are essential for a free people of a free faith. But the Unitarian tradition of individualism presents challenges: how do we “walk together” in a diverse community of freethinkers? Our Fellowship has life-affirming and life-saving lessons to teach. As we practice acceptance, love, and justice together, we model community, and nurture our spirits for the work of repairing a broken world.
Join Consulting Minister Jill Jarvis and Spiritual Celebration Associate Heather Coffman for a special service which will include our annual Flower Communion, nearly a century-old Unitarian tradition. Please bring a flower to add to our Fellowship Bouquet and share with another (if you forget, not to worry; we’ll have extras!)
Our children will receive gifts of potted flowers to take home, and will rejoin us at the end of the service to participate in the Flower Communion.
12:00 p.m.
May 25, 2008 - Annual Spring Potluck Picnic - Immediately following the 10:45 service, ALL are welcome to join in our annual Fellowship Potluck Picnic. Please bring a salad, main dish or dessert to share.
Drinks will be provided. Guests and newcomers are warmly invited to participate (no food contribution necessary; your presence is the gift you bring.)
What's in store for this summer?
9:15AM - Spiritual Celebration: The Services and Sunday School will be at the same time - 9:15. This will be followed by a half hour coffee and conversation time.
10:45 a.m. Program: We will hold programs. Some will be odysseys and others will be "sharing our thought" time.
June 22nd we will have a Strategic Planning Task Force meeting as the program and hope all will come and share their thoughts with us. Watch this space for more information. ~Judy Wilson
Rev. Sinkford Visit to Lawrence
On Sunday, May 18, Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) addressed over 160 people at the 
Lawrence High School, near the historic Unitarian Bell display. The audience for his talk, "Being Liberal in an Illiberal World," included Lawrence UU members, I-70 choir members, other UU southern cluster congregation members, and community visitors.
In this first ever visit to Lawrence by a UUA president, Rev. Sinkford reviewed the settlement history of Unitarian Free Staters in Lawrence, with their deep commitment to involvement with education and their involvement with the making of justice in this nation. These commitments are shared by Unitarian Universalists (UUs) today.
Celebrating the growth of the churches and fellowships in our Prairie Star District southern cluster, Rev. Sinkford noted that the 7 congregations affected by the test marketing effort a few years ago have grown by 50% in adult membership in the last 6 years, a remarkable achievement. He added that we locally know the individual stories of the people behind the numbers. He observed that our effort was not just about advertising-it was about UUs and their leaders with a commitment to making this faith available to those who yearn for a liberal religious home.
Rev. Sinkford addressed several issues of UU involvement in social justice issues, including
- the California Supreme Court decision mandating civil marriage equality. The UU organized interfaith amicus curiae brief was quoted extensively in the 150 page decision.
- the UU role in forming Faith in Public Life, the interfaith sponsor for the recently broadcast Compassion Forum (where both Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton participated, John McCain declined)
- immigration, observing that this complicated and divisive issue is treated irresponsibly in the mainstream national press (undocumented workers are "illegal aliens"), that a policy of 12 foot walls is guaranteed to bring us more trouble. He added, "I don't believe that it's the job of the religious community to construct, to create national policy-it is our role to ask the questions that our policy makers should pay attention to." We should "try to frame a conversation which is both more reality based, less punishing of the human spirit and moves us toward a place of grounding, to where we do in fact recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person, of all souls, not some souls."
- religious liberals' progressive role as each generation answers the question, "Who do we mean when we say, 'We, the people.."
- how we deal as religious liberals with the sense of being "an island of blue in a sea of red." Our tendency has been to form interfaith coalitions just with groups who agree with us on everything. What we are more often doing now, is to form interfaith coalitions with those who share common ground with us on specific social justice issues.
For community visitors, Rev. Sinkford noted that UU congregations are places where people try to do two different things: 1) to nurture the human spirit, to help us all to connect with that which is most holy in our lives, and 2) out of that place of nurture and acceptance, to move forward to help heal the wounded world in which we live.
After a stimulating question and answer session, attendees adjourned for refreshments and continued discussion.
A Thank You and a Follow-Up
Thanks ever so much to all Fellowshippers who have stepped forward to help Hannah Boulton recover from her apartment fire. Smoke damage to her belongings had rendered much unusable, even after concentrated cleaning and scrubbing. So, if you have any spares of the following, or if you know someone who does, Hannah would be most appreciative of a floor lamp, a full-size/double futon mattress, kitchen table/chairs, wood/plastic kitchen utensils and storage containers, and a set of queen-size sheets. Hannah now has a new phone number and email and can be reached at 785-218-0285 or boulton.hanna@yahoo.com. Thank you all for your help during this time of need!
Talk about Book Groups
Those interested in book groups for the Fall
Kathleen Gilles Seidel will talk about book groups at 7pm on Tuesday evening, May 20th in the Public Library's auditorium. Called "To Book Club or Not to Book Club...." this sounds like an interesting and fun evening with one of Lawrence's and UFL's own . Hope to see you there! ~M. Roy.
New Sanctuary Movement
The New Sanctuary Movement in Kansas City has a family needing emergency sanctuary. NSM is requesting emergency donations of money as well as food. (McDonald's, Chile's, or other inexpensive restaurant gift cards might be a convenient way to donate food from Lawrence.) There will be a special donation box in the back of the meeting hall on Sunday, May 25 for the New Sanctuary Movement. Checks can be made out to "People of Faith." For further information, please contact Marta Caminero-Santangelo at camsan@ku.edu , or see the New Sanctuary Movement website:
http://www.newsanctuarymovement.org/ .
"We pledge our support to the families suffering from unjust deportation laws"
~New Sanctuary Movement website.
Walks and Windows Slated for Addition
With the exterior stucco work completed and the black, weather resistant membrane applied, workers are now starting on the final stages of attaching the attractive, horizontal wooden slats. Meanwhile, the metal framing for the windows and doors is nearly complete and glass installation will soon be underway. By next Sunday the concrete for our new main entrance walkway and terrace will be completed, weather permitting. Then, insulating and dry-wall installation begin.
Kathleen Hoff
artist statement
Growing up in western Kansas (native of Hays), Kathleen Hoff was surrounded by a landscape of extremes, a level horizon stretching out forever, fields of wheat and prairie grass, an immense sky displaying an ever-changing vista of clouds, storms, sunrises, sunsets, the zen-like quality of the sparseness of trees and hills, the omnipresent wind, the changing of the seasons, inspired by this amazing environment, the patterns, colors, and rhythms.
Kathleen also finds inspiration in many modern painters including Van Gogh and the pastelist Wolf Kahn. She discovered pastel five years ago at a Lawrence Art Center workshop. Since then she has shown her art in several regional exhibits, winning an award at the Wichita Midwest Garden Show as well as a Kansas Arts Commission Mini–Fellowship.
Kathleen resides in Lawrence with her husband, Doug Harvey. She co-manages the Blue Heron, downtown Lawrence, where she is a merchandiser, buyer, and a design consultant.
RE Kids Tie Dye Party
Religious Education for Kids will have a tie-dye party on May 25th before/during/after the potluck picnic. We will have some 100% white cotton shirts in boys undershirt size Small (6-8) and Medium (size 10-12) for your use. If you need another size, please bring it as RE will already be over budget this fiscal year. The ones I have are Harley's that he has grown out of. Dye and rubber bands will be provided. Questions? Contact Sherry Warren at ufldre@sunflower.com or 785-594-3993.