Church Life
monthly newsletter - part 1

Our newsletter has been divided into two parts for quicker viewing. Part 1 will contain all church faith-related activities, including sermons, messages from the minister and religious instruction.
Part 2 will contain all other activities of church life.

May 4 - Evil: What Is It? We emphasize the positive character of God, Nature/Creation, and humanity. What about really ugly, hurtful and hateful experiences and situations? Can the positive-minded, liberal value system give us a firm ground to stand on and offer resistance to destructive forces? Or is our philosophy a sadly naïve illusion of ethereal goodness? Rev. Tim Ashton

May 11 - Mothers Day: Could Your Mom Really Be President? Considering Hillary Clinton, a group of college girls said it all: "Would we want our mothers to be President?" If you are assertive, can you still be a woman? If you're nice, can you really make tough decisions? If you're tough, will men vote for you? If you're feminine, will anyone think you can do the job? What is a woman to do? Rev. Tim Ashton

May 18 - Chalice Lighter Youth Program Eight youngsters of our RE Program will be graduating from the Chalice Lighters program, a ceremony which represents a culmination of a year of study in our Seven Principles by these children with guidance from their mentors. Scott Harrigan and Hella Jacob, the Chalice Lighter program coordinators, will perform the ceremony with some words of wisdom from Tim. Come find out what it means to be a Chalice Lighter and how you can be one too.

May 25 - Memorial Day: A Time to Remember Once called "Decoration Day" the holiday began as an effort to heal the wounds of hatred between the North and the South after the brutal and barbaric Civil War. What sense does Memorial Day make when we are mired in a now futile war that will not end?

However sad this war is, we will again stop to remember our war dead and recognize those who serve or have served in our military. We will remember also and recognize those who have stood against war and bloodshed. And when this sad war mercifully does come to some end, how will we keep from losing sight of the patriotism of our ideals? Rev. Tim Ashton

OUR LEADERSHIP
Minister; Reverend Tim Ashton 634-3010
Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Chris Barry
Music Director, Marie Zak
Religious Education Director, Anne Hibbert
Church Administrator/Newsletter Ed., Margot Shoemaker
634-3010, uuamherst @ roadrunner.com

INVITATION TO MEMBERSHIP
If you are looking for a religious community in which to seek spiritual growth...
If you are eager to consider religious questions with others who are not always certain they have all the answers, but who are determined to keep searching with an open mind, and acceptance of other peoples' beliefs....
If you would like the fellowship of others for celebration and worship, discussion and education, friendship and mutual support...
If you want children to be helped to develop their own religious beliefs...
If you wish to preserve and extend the traditions of personal freedom and human dignity against the dangers they face today, you may find this church fills your spiritual and human needs.
If you wish to know more about us as you consider membership, talk to our minister.


Creative Interchange - Drop in any Sunday morning between 9:30 and 10:30 am. We'll be in the Living Room by the fireplace. Creative Interchange is an informal get-together of anyone interested in lively exchange of ideas on any subject. Epiphany guaranteed, or your money back. - Ros Magorian

Evensong Come join us on Friday, May 9. The topic for our eighth gathering is "Celebrate Your Family." This will be our last Evensong for the church year, so we are really hoping you will join us!
Things we will be discussing:
How is your family unique? How is your family like other families? What is important for your family right now? Pick out an object that represents your family and bring it to the gathering. Potluck dinner will start at 6 pm and the service will start at 7 pm. Dinner in the Emerson Room. Service in the Living Room. If you can't make it for the potluck, you are still more than welcome to come to the service and enjoy dessert afterward. We look forward to our time together very much. It is a special time for our family to meet all our wonderful church family. All are welcome. Don't be afraid to join us! Scott & Tammy Ulrich

Cadre of Caring wants to know . . . about any of our members
- who are suffering physically
- who are housebound
- who are tending a seriously ill relative
- who have lost a loved one recently
Call the church office, 634-3010, or Dabney Smith, or email uuamherst @ roadrunner.com, with name of person who needs our caring.

Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF)
CLF brings Unitarian Universalism to religious liberals throughout the world. Looking to explore your own spirituality? The Church of the Larger Fellowship offers online classes and email discussions. Go to www.clfuu.org (Click on Resources), or call 617-948-6166.

The Campus Ministry Committee is looking for volunteers interested in working with this student ministry. We are looking for people who have daytime ability to sit at a table and talk to students about UU faith issues. If you are interested, please contact Scott Harrigan at seh @ buffalo.edu - Scott Harrigan

The Lay Worship Committee is starting a Lending Library for books on UU spirituality. The idea is to buy books from the UUA Bookstore and build a quality collection of spirituality texts that would be too expensive for many people to own by themselves and lend them out to members of the congregation for a limited time so that we can all enjoy and learn from them. If you have books on UU spirituality that you would like to donate to this library or are interested in donating money to buy books for the library, please contact Scott Harrigan. If you have suggestions for books of interest, we will put them up for a vote depending on our limited funds (if you want to 'sponsor' a particular book, let us know!). We are limiting purchases for theLibrary to selections the UUA Bookstore to support their work. If you think part of your ministry for the church might be working with this Library, email Scott Harrigan

The New U.U. (Unitarian Universalist) is a two-session orientation program for newcomers and any one else who might be interested. The purpose of the program is to help new people become part of our church community, intellectually, socially, and personally. New UU addresses this purpose in three ways. Participants will --
a) Create a time line of religious turning points in their lives and share these narratives with others in the new uu group. This is a great way to begin new friendships and see how much we have in common in our religious journeys.
b) Explore Unitarian Universalism by looking at the local church and the larger movement.
c) Identify and talk about important issues such as theological position, approach to tradition, the tension between intellect and feeling, and the importance of money, involvement and volunteering.
Please contact the church office, the Minister's study or Joann Shafer to sign up for the New UU. Tim Ashton, Minister; Joann Shafer, Membership Committee

Religious Education - From the Top of the Stairs
Spring is here, and that means it's time to think way ahead about recruiting teachers for next fall. Our theme for the 2008-2009 year will be UU Identity. We teach in teams, ideally four people, who set up their own rotation schedule, so noone has to miss too many Sunday services. The curricula are very "user-friendly" and prep time involves 1 to 2 hours a week. If you are a parent of children in the R.E. program, helping teach is a great way to show your child how you value their religious education. If you an adult without kids in church school – whether your children have already been through Sunday school or whether you have no children but enjoy kids anyway – teaching is a wonderful way to connect with a different segment of our church population. Oh, did I mention the training and support that the R.E. Committee provides the teacher?

This is just a "heads up". Be on the lookout for posters and announcements about Teacher Recruiting Sunday. There will be a special table in the Emerson Room that day for people to view curriculum and to sign up for teaching. Please consider us when making your fall plans for how your want to be involved in church life.

Here's more about life in our Sunday school:
Our Easter hunt for canned goods went well. We donated 129 pounds of food to the Western New York Food bank. Thank you to Rosalind Sulaiman and Matt Weppner for coordinating the hunt and to Heike Jacob and Cian Harrigan for handing out the prizes. The kids had fun! Some of the elderly people in our congregation to whom we gave the Easter baskets have expressed their appreciation to me as well. It's a tradition we'll keep!
The Third Grade has been talking about the "interdependent web of existence" through a story about the animals and people of the world, and with an activity illustrating all the things that an apple tree needs to grow.
Our Fourth Grade class visited Cornerstone Manor and spent a Sunday afternoon helping the mothers and children there make collages and frame them. This was their service project for our social justice theme.
The Fifth Grade class has been discussing prejudice and how people have preconceived ideas/reactions to certain things, whether they be positive or negative, maybe without having ever having encountered the object. What is YOUR reaction to "dolphin" or "oyster," for instance?
Our Junior Youth group, meanwhile, has been exploring situations in which there is a moral dilemma with no right or wrong answer. I've enjoyed listening to these kids argue a case!
Our Youth Group visited Viva La Casa, a home for refugees, to do a project with the kids there. I believe they have also visited there before. Also a part of our social justice theme.

Our recent Family Games Night drew 47 people of all ages. There were a Scrabble game, a Scattergories game, a table of people just chatting, good food, and great music. I really enjoyed the adults and kids dancing to the 80s music. Thank you to Scott Harrigan.

That's just a sample, folks. Come join our religious education program!And last, a big THANK YOU to Dave Yuhnke for hooking up my computer to the internet. See you all around church. Anne Hibbert, Director

Interested in Learning About World Religions? The Adult Religious Education Group will meet from 7:30-9 pm on Tuesdays, March 25, April 22, and April 29 to discuss Judaism (Chapter 7) and on May 20 and May 27 to discuss Christianity (Chapter 8) in World Religions by Huston Smith (1991). Please read these chapters. Unless you hear otherwise, meetings will take
place in the church living room.
Diane Bofinger

Owning Your Religious or Spiritual Past: We just finished the curriculum, "Owning Your Religious/Spiritual Past". Ten people participated. Our discussions were very enjoyable, enlightening, and affirming. I have started to put together a list of other curricula that we might consider doing
in the future and hope to make that available soon for your input. Also, let me know if anyone else is interested in doing the "Owning Your Religious/ Spiritual Past" curriculum that just finished. It can be run again. Please give me feedback on your interests. Diane Bofinger

Chalice Lighters, led by Scott Harrigan and Hella Jacob. This is a self-discovery and religious identity program for UU youth open to interested children in the 4th grade and up. Each participant will gain a thorough understanding of the Seven Principles by doing exercises and activities at home with a parent and then meeting to exchange opinions once a month as a group during Special RE Sundays. The Chalice Lighter program will culminate in a special recognition ceremony on May 18, 2008.
The Chalice Lighter program begins on 9/23 with a brief get-to-know introductory meeting after regular RE (11:30-12:00) in the Bullfinch room.
From October through May, we will have seven meetings which are held on the Special RE Sundays while younger children attend children's chapel.
These dates are: 10/14 (1st Principle), 11/11 (2nd Pr.), 1/13 (3rd Pr.), 2/10 (4th Pr.), 3/9 (5th Pr.), 4/13 (6th Pr.) 5/11 (7th Pr.). On 5/17, there will be a rehearsal in the afternoon, and the Chalice Lighter ceremony will be Sunday morning.

Spiritual Cinema Circle Looking for something fun and relaxing to do on a Friday night? We would love for you to join the circle this month! We watch movies then discuss reflective questions. Families with children certainly are welcome to attend. Children can watch the movie, if appropriate, or run around the house with our two girls.
Films this month:
The Wine Bar This short film transports us to a cozy wine bar on a winter evening in Manhattan. Henry walks in looking for a beer, and in his bumbling innocence, both offends and charms the bartender and the beautiful woman reading beside him.
(12 minutes in English)

Lucy's Piano Starring Stephanie Zimbalist (Remington Steele), this short film reveals the transformation that can occur when humanity comes in to soften the blow of a tragic loss. (14 minutes in English)

Mystic Ball (I) This beautiful documentary is one-part inspiring sports movie and one-part spiritual quest as Greg Hamilton explores the art of chinlone, an engaging ball game played by almost every Burmese person, regardless of age or gender. (83 Minutes in Burmese and English with English subtitles.)

Details for our gathering:
When: Friday, May 30
Time: We will start the movie promptly at 7:15pm
Where: Ulrich house, Williamsville
What to Bring: your own beverages and any other snacks besides popcorn (we provide the popcorn!)
Cost: $30 divided by # of attending adults
RSVP: Scott or Tammy Ulrich
If you would like to learn more about the specifics of the circles past monthly movies go to spiritualcinemacircle.com

Liberal Religious Hour - Podcast
For music and interviews on topics of interest to religious liberals, including peace, justice, interfaith communications, fair trade and labor practices, environmental concerns, etc., go to UURadio.org

Food Donations - Thank you for the food donations brought tothe church for the food pantry. The food is delivered to the Food Pantry branch at University Presbyterian Church which distributes food to an average of 322 hungry people every month. Your food donations help in this effort. Non-perishable foods like canned foods and unopened boxes of dried foods are especially needed.
They also need volunteer workers, especially men, to work one Tuesday or Thursday afternoon per month. Duties include waiting on customers, packing food bags and restocking shelves. Talk to me or to Mickey Tannehill at church, or call Gerry Grisante or Melinda Hutchison. - Jack Howell

Survey on Sunday Worship!
The Committee on Ministry is charged with making periodic surveys of various topics. This year's survey focuses on Sunday worship. We ask that each of you complete one survey. So if there are two or more members in your household, each of you should complete the survey. We have set up the survey on a service (Survey Monkey) that is user friendly and easy to tabulate. For those of you with computer access, we ask that you complete the on-line version to help us collect the data quickly and accurate. Below is the link. It should take no more than ten minutes. When moving through the survey, please use the buttons at the bottom to move back and forth between pages. DO NOT use your browser's back arrow! surveymonkey.com
If you do not have computer access we will have copies available at Sunday services for several weeks starting February 24. Committee on Ministry – Elaine Cusker (Chair), Michele Beiter, Dennis Bihl, Pat Burke, Eric Groat, Scott Ulrich

Rev. Tim's Bits . . . May 2008
Remembering Carl Thitchener
For people who become interested in the impact of the life and teaching of Jesus on his followers, it is disappointing to discover that we know nothing about his real biography. So one puzzles, if people were so excited about his leadership, why didn't they remember? Take some notes?

Actually a religious figure's biography is not very important. What people remember are particular ways that they were touched by the leader, a brief incident or a few words. Some suppose that one of the beginnings of sacred writings was the lists of these teachings and events that followers kept. For example, I made a list of the aphorisms of my home church's (Akron, Ohio, where I grew up) minister. It never occurred to me to write his biography. But I can tell you moments where he touched us.

I think that biographical interest comes later on – in the second or third generation who want to feel close to the leader that they never knew or saw. The synoptic gospels, biographical as some like to suppose they may be, look a lot like lists of events and sayings with fairly artificial biographical action tying them together.

On Saturday, March 29, we remembered Carl Thitchener, our beloved, former minister of twenty-two years, at his memorial service at First Unitarian Church in Rochester. The pattern of remembering a religious leader was clearly evident in Carl's memorial: We remembered brief cameos that depicted the way he touched us. And we shared our remembered treasuries of aphorisms and teachings that we gathered over the years from his preaching.

Ministry, at its best, is not about the minister; it is about how we are touched and taught; it is about our gratitude for these gifts.

In the course of being your minister for these brief four years, I have collected some of Carl's teachings from you. As I think about these brief wise words, I am grateful for the perspective and depth that Carl built into our congregational life.

On making sense of things: "It might be good; it might be bad; it's just too soon to tell."

On helping another person: "In the face of someone's pain, we want to rush in and take it away so they don't suffer; but we can't. What they want and need is for us just to listen."

On ideas and action: "Theology is our core values while religion is how we act out these core values in the world."

As a part of creating a permanent memorial to Carl, it occurred to me that it would be fitting to make a collection of his teachings. Please send in what you remember so we can collect these at the office.

Things You May Not Know About the Network of Religious Communities - Mission statement:
The Network facilitates interreligious, ecumenical and interracial cooperation among congregations and religious organizations in WNY. Because our humanity is deeper than our divisions, we promote dialogue, facilitate the sharing of spiritual resources and work together for justice, peace and the common good.

Did you know . . . ?

1. The NRC operates a food pantry staffed by volunteers from area congregations. The pantry is open Monday - Friday each week from 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM and provides 3 days of nutritious food to over 14,000 persons a year.

2. The NRC is responsible for promoting and resourcing the Food Stamp program in Erie County. We provide current food stamp information to all agencies and organizations in Erie County, promote food stamps through various broadcast and publishing media and maintain a hot line to assist persons who desire to apply for Food Stamps.

3 The NRC undertook the challenge of working with UB to organize and hold an Interfaith Service wiith His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

4 The NRC shares its facilities at 1272 Delaware Avenue with several organizations. They include the League of Women Voters, Indigenous Women's Initiatives, Immigrant Legal Services, Interfaith Peace Network, Outside the Box, etc.

Our newsletter has been divided into two parts for quicker viewing. Part 1 will contain all church faith-related activities, including Sunday sermons,
messages from the minister
and religious instruction.
Part 2 will contain all other activities of church life.