A Unitarian Universalist Congregation
All Are Welcome!
Chili-makers at our Third Annual Chili Cook-Off to benefit Maureen's Haven
New Feature! Check Out the new Events Calendar at the bottom of this page. Contact cherylvs@optonline.net to add your event!
Coming Attractions!
Feb. 1st – Covenant Group. Parish Hall, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 5th – Maureen’s
Haven. Parish Hall, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
Feb. 3rd,
10th, 17th, 24th– English as a Second Language Tutoring.
Parish Hall, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 16th –
Board Meeting. Parish Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 26th – Board Game Sleepover. Parish Hall, 7:00 p.m. Bring a game and/or dessert to share, and join the fun!
Dear Members and Friends,
I will be away on a two-week
vacation from February 1-14. Please
call president Gale Alexander at (631) 765-5706 to reach the minister on call
in case of a pastoral emergency.
In Love & Light,
Rev. Addae
Third Annual Peconic Plunge Fund-raiser
Saturday, Feb. 27th, Veteran’s Park, Mattituck, NY
From the
President’s Pad
Dear Friends,
Rev. Suzanne Spencer, writing "Notes from your Interim
Minister" in the monthly newsletter Comment from the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Danbury, CT, presents us with the following:
In Winnie
the Pooh, Pooh and Piglet take a walk on a golden evening. For a long
time they walk in thoughtful silence. Finally, Piglet breaks the
silence. He asks, "When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what's the
first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's
for breakfast?" says Pooh. And then, "And what do you say,
Piglet?"
Piglet
replies, "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?"
Commenting
on this interchange, consultant Robert Dale writes, "What we expect from
life is usually what we get... Small expectations yield meager results. A
congregation can choose a ‘breakfast dream' or an ‘excitement dream.'“
A
"breakfast dream" is a survival dream, one of self-preservation, and
thus barely a dream at all...
"Excitement dreams" are about ministry and
mission. They extend Piglet's question even beyond "What's going to
happen exciting today?" to "What exciting things can we make
happen?"
We at the
First Universalist Church of Southold have managed to hold together a
"breakfast dream" for the present church year 2009-10, but we can do
better than that. At our retreat, we looked ahead with excitement and
with dreams for the year 2010-11. By the end of February, the Board will
propose a budget designed to support those dreams. In turn, we will
each have to recognize that if our dreams are to come true, we will have to
make a pledge, not just in money, but from the heart, in time and effort as
well. The church by-laws state, "Active members are required to make
a contribution of record in support of the church." It doesn't
say what that amount should be; each of us must decide for ourselves. The
church does not have a source of money to draw upon to operate. The
pledges from us, the members and friends, are the major source for our
existence. In March we will start a pledge drive for the church year
2010-11. The results of that drive will
determine whether we are "just dreaming of breakfast" or
"dreaming of exciting things to come."
My dreams are exciting.
I hope yours are, too. Reverend Peter Morales, our new UUA
President, says, "We must become more conscientious, deliberate, and
determined to succeed."
See you in church.
Separation of Church and State: Are We Making Progress?
A panel discussion to stimulate civil conversation on
controversial issues. Panelists include
Rev. Welton Gaddy, The Interfaith Alliance; Rev. Barry Lynn, Americans United
for the Separation of Church and State; and Dan Mach, American Civil Liberties
Union. They will address the status of
religious freedom today, the new administration and religious liberty, and the
role of law to protect religious freedom.
Wednesday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at
Shelter Rock
48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset
Questions? Contact:
Claire Deroche
Social Justice Coordinator
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock
48 Shelter Rock Road
Manhasset, NY 11030
Phone: (516) 627-6560, Ext. 177
Fax: (516) 627-6596
Time Bank
We are hoping to actually put the Time Bank into motion this
month, so if you have already filled out a services form, you may be contacted
by someone interested in “purchasing” your service(s). If you have a service that you would like to
offer and have not yet filled out a form, forms are available in the Parish
Hall.
Every account will be given one hour of credit to start
with, and this may be used to purchase your first service. Each time someone purchases an hour of
service from you, your account will be credited one hour. Each time you purchase an hour of service from
someone else, your account will be debited one hour. The services registry and time log will be kept in the Parish
Hall, and you will be responsible for updating your own account. There will also be a “Help Wanted” section
in the services registry, where you may list services that you are interested
in purchasing.
If you have any questions, please contact Regan Batuello
(734-2901, rbatuello@aol.com) or Susan
Pond (780-6275, suepond@optonline.net)
and they will be happy to help you.
Maureen’s Haven
Due to the holiday closing of facilities in Riverhead on New
Year's Day, First Universalist hosted the MH guests from 1 p.m. until the next
morning at 7 a.m. Mattituck Presbyterian hosted them the night before and
up until 1 p.m. Volunteers came to
spend the afternoon with the guests. Rev. Lorraine D'Armitt came and
played games with them downstairs. We also set up the TV downstairs for
them to watch DVDs.
At 6:30 p.m., we fed 59 homeless along with driver, screener and two
administrators from MH. The quantity of donated food was like manna from
Heaven! We served stew, lasagna, chili, salad and other veggies.
Blue Duck Bakery donated three large bags of bread, rolls and pastries.
Consumption of juice, coffee, and water was never ending.
Words cannot express our thanks to the volunteers. Georgeann and Regan
served their usual breakfast of eggs, sausage, bagels, rolls, OJ, and
coffee. The guests received a brown bag
lunch as they left with their bus tickets.
We did have a problem with smuggled alcohol brought with them from
Mattituck. Later in the evening, I told the screener and the
administrators that I could not host again under these conditions. Some
of their behavior was not acceptable. There is now a zero tolerance in
place with the use of a breathalyzer tester.
The number of guests escalated to the high 70s as the temperature
plummeted. As a result, I began an attempt to raise funds to return the immigrants
to their homeland if that is what they want. Sr. Margaret Smyth of the
Hispanic Apostolate has been purchasing return airline tickets as donated money
becomes available. I estimate that so far we have raised enough to
purchase 8 to 10 tickets. Anyone who wants to donate may do so by sending
a check to Sr. Margaret Smyth, Hispanic Apostolate, 220 Roanoke Ave.,
Riverhead, NY 11901. This appeal has been sent to the 26 churches
who participate in the Maureen's Haven shelter program.
Sincerely submitted,
Cecilia Z. Loucka
From the Long Island Council of Churches (LICC)
The Long Island Council of Churches’ Emergency Food Pantries
in Freeport (450 N. Main Street, 516-868-4989) and Riverhead (407 Osborne
Avenue at Lincoln, 631-727-2210) are feeding many more people than last year, which
was itself a record year. They
particularly need donations of fresh produce, low-sodium food, low-fat food,
low-sugar food, Ensure (and similar supplements), infant formula (especially
those with iron, such as Enfamil with LIPIL). Non-perishables of all sorts can be donated, even fruitcake. Donations of toiletries and personal care
items also are welcome. Please call
before bringing clothes—we already have lots to give away.
The Freeport pantry needs a copier, vacuum cleaner, and small shopping carts.
The Riverhead pantry needs some comfortable chairs or a small couch.
Our Hempstead offices need carpeting.
We also need drivers who can pick up food donations occasionally and deliver
them to Freeport, Hempstead, or Riverhead, as you are needed and as you happen
to be available, with no guilt when you aren’t.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
We have started the ESL program with four students. I’m sure more will come as word spreads, but starting small is much easier. We have a need for Spanish/English dictionaries, if you have a surplus one around. You can leave it with the church secretary.
Thank you,
Ceil Loucka
Chair, Social Responsibility
.
Going Green for Our Church
Caring for our families, our community, our church and our Earth.
Here are three ways we could help:
1. Buy and use one green cleaning product or make your own with baking soda, lemon juice and vinegar.
2. Adjust your home thermostat up or down by 2 degrees: heat at 68, not 70; air conditioner at 78, not 76.
3. Install three compact light bulbs in your home.Do you dream of inexpensive vacation travel to interesting destinations where you can stay in the homes of friendly people who share your ideals and are happy to provide directions and advice for their area?
The UU bed and breakfast directory UU’re Home (formerly Homecomings) can fulfill your dream. For 29 years, we’ve provided a network of hosts in the United States (and a few abroad) who enjoy meeting new friends and who are happy to open their homes to like-minded people.
You can also become a host and be listed in the directory. Contact us at info@uurehome.com, or at 828-281-3253, and we will gladly send you information about listing your accommodations.
Host listings on the UU’re Home website, at www.UUreHome.com, are updated whenever changes are made or new hosts are added. The paper edition is published once a year in April. For a copy of the 2009 directory and a year’s access to the website listings, please click on “become a member” to pay by credit card, or send a check for $25 and your e-mail address to UU’re Home, 43 Vermont Court, Asheville, NC 28806.