October 2014 Green Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Fellowship President’s Message

October 2014
Green Bay Area
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
President’s Message
by Jane Jordan
I had the privilege of hearing keynote speaker Diana Nyad at an event. She is the woman who swam the 100
miles from Cuba to Key West Florida Labor Day 2013. She was inspiring.
Ms. Nyad shared when she was 5 years old her father brought her to the great book which was always open in
his office. The great book was the dictionary. He was now going to show her the meaning of her name. One
of the definitions for nyad was champion swimmer. Diana shared she was very glad she had the arms and body
to prove it to be true.
At the age of 16 when she did not qualify for the Olympics she realized she was not a pool swimmer. She was
an endurance swimmer. That is when the idea of Cuba came up. She attempted her dream at 29 and failed.
From there she went on to live her life.
At 60 after her mother died she Diana took stock of her life. She was searching for something. Cuba came
up loud and strong. At first she dismissed the idea, after all she was 60 years old. The burning passion in her
deepest pit would not go away, shared Ms. Nyad. She made the decision to go for it.
She put together a team of 35 people. People who ranged from helping design a special suit against jelly fish
attacks to a nutritionist to support people in boats. By the fifth time even her team questioned her decision.
The odds were against her and yet there was one factor that can overcome the odds said Diana. That is the
human spirit.
What is your spirit telling you?
Nyad shared three messages. “One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your
dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team.”
What is the dream you would like to chase?
My dream for GBAUUF….to be the vibrant exciting Fellowship vision when it was started. It took Diana Nyad
35 years to fulfill her dream with a team of 35. GBAUUF has many more team members. Plus we are well on
our way of reaching this goal. Thank you for your
help in moving us forward. Just one stroke at a time
and we’ll be there.
Green Bay Area Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship Contact Information
1641 Commanche Ave Suite G
Green Bay, WI 54313
Jane
Phone: (920) 499-2344
Website: www.greenbayuu.org
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Board Notes
Excitement was shared concerning the number of people who expressed interest in becoming members at the
Mingling of Water Sunday service. This was in addition to the nine new members who have joined.
Discussion was help on the topic of reaching out to all members and friends. It was decided that each Board
member would take a page from the directory and make a phone call. People will be invited to the Sept 21
Service. That is the day new members will be recognized and soup Sunday. It was decided to as ice cream and
topping to make it even more fun and festive to renew, revitalize and reconnect.
Progress is being made in reconvening the Safety Task Force for the purpose of looking at the recommendations
from Laura Smythe.
Religious Education (RE) work is in process to begin RE. Goal is the first Sunday in October.
Facility: Working with the landlord concerning the leak in the roof over the 2nd bathroom in the library.
FUUsion Group is actively working. This is the group who is looking at all the steps needed for us to become a
multi-sited congregation with Appleton, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and us.
Steering committee representatives: Alf Langan & Steve Krings
Representatives on subcommittees
Programming & Staffing: Janice Galt
Communications: Dan Lorenz
Governance: Kari Beth Krieger
Finance: open
All groups meet at a time and place which is convenient to the members. There are representatives from all
fellowships within each group. Other members from our Fellowship are welcome to become involved in a
sub-committee. Contact Jane Jordan if interested. Janejordan124@gmail.com or 920-313-9445
Talked about our involvement as one of the sponsors for the Move to Amend event in October. We will staff a
table to answer questions and share information about the Fellowship.
Move to Amend
“It’s Not Partisan, It’s Politics…Why You Need to Know
the Differences” is the topic for Judy Goldsmith a past
president of NOW presentation. Plan on attending
Wednesday, October 8 at 5:30 at the Downtown Central
Library. Our Fellowship is one of the sponsors for this
event. Come learn and support this social action piece.
Move to Amend is a group who is working to get a
referendum on the November ballot in Green Bay to
amend the constitution so that corporations aren’t
individuals and money doesn’t equal free speech.
This is a cause supported by our UUA.
Our Mission
The growing Green Bay Area
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
is a welcoming and caring
spiritual community of all ages
that supports one another in
seeking and understanding truth
and beauty. We unite in freedom
and acceptance for worship,
religious education, social justice
and spiritual growth.
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ONE WORLD-Global Social Justice Issues Sermon Series
Our 6th principal is: The goal of world community with
peace, liberty, and justice for all.
Rev. Sean Parker Dennison, of the Tree of Life Congregation in McHenry, IL states:
“The sixth Principle seems extravagant in its hopefulness and improbable in its prospects. Can we
continue to say we want ‘world community’? ‘Peace, liberty, and justice for all’? The world is full
of genocide, abuse, terror, and war. What have we gotten ourselves into?
“As naïve or impossible as the sixth Principle may seem, I’m not willing to give up on it. In the
face of our culture’s apathy and fear, I want to imagine and help create a powerful vision of peace
by peaceful means, liberty by liberatory means, justice by just means. I want us to believe—and
to live as if we believe—that a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all is possible.
There is no guarantee that we will succeed, but I can assure you that we will improve ourselves
and improve the world by trying.”
Source: uua.org
The Sunday Service Committee is pleased to announce a new monthly sermon series based on global social
justice issues. We’ve scheduled a variety of clergy and lay persons to speak on topical events and the
extraordinary work being imagined and realized all over the world. More details about each upcoming topic will
be shared in future newsletters.
October 5: South America (Peru) by Teri Nehring
November 16: Africa (Gambia) by Egide Nimbubona
We are looking to book additional speakers in spring. If you know of anyone, or if you are
yourself are involved with a global social justice organization, please email the office or
contact a member of the Sunday Service Committee with any leads.
Projection Screen Needed
Back by popular demand! Father Jim Neilson visited
us in February with a highly-visual presentation on
Art and Faith. His topic was well received and we’ve
asked Fr. Jim to come back and deliver part 2 of his
topic. He will join us for the October 12th service. If
anyone has a projection screen (or a way to get their
hands on one) for this service, it would be much
appreciated. Please contact Claudia Moder
claudia@greenacresboxerrescue.com if you are able to
provide a screen.
Gifts for Golden House
Thanks for helping fill our Gifts to
Golden House for this month. Janice
Galt will be delivering them after
service this Sunday, Oct. 5th.
Any non-perishable food
items, cleaning and paper
supplies, baby and
toddler diapers are
needed. Checks are also
welcome.
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Facilities
Coordinator (FC)
The Facilities Coordinator oversees the
general health of the facility. If a problem
is identified by a member or the
Coordinator, the FC will try and find the
resource to fix it within our members, or
if it involves an expense in excess or the budget, they
will bring it to the Board. They will also schedule
members and friends to help keep the grounds and
facilities clean and in good repair (e.g. mowing,
shoveling, etc).
Chico Bags
Wondering how to put 10 pounds of stuff into a 5
pound bag? It will all fit in one of the UU Chico bags.
Plus the nylon type bags fold up into themselves
which makes them very convenient to use. The bags
can be found on the table in the back of the
Fellowship. Price has been reduced from $7.50 to
$5.00. Great way to advertise the Fellowship and
support the environment.
Host or Hostess
The membership committee is looking
for people to help with being a Host
or Hostess before and directly after
the service to welcome visitors and
returning new comers. It is an
important part of our mission and
vision to reach out and be welcoming! This is on a
rotational basis of about 6 times a year. Please contact
a membership member to get added to the list and
review the procedure (15 minutes of your time).
Membership team is: Chair - Jim Cairns, Mary
Wallschlaeger, Doug Gjerde and Vicki Fresen.
Got email?
Get connected with the fellowship electronically.
Join the news list, receive your newsletter by
email and read UU Weekly Connect in your email
Inbox. Please send an email requesting any or all
of these communications to
admin@greenbayuu.org.
2014 Governing
Board of Trustees
Committee/group Contacts
•President: Jane Jordan 313-9445
•Vice President: Paul Baumgart
•Corresponding Secretary: Jan Millermaier
•Treasurer: Sam Vainisi
•Member at Large: Annette Drier
•Membership Committee: Chair Jim Cairns 639-5462
•Committee on Ministry: co-chair
Amy Gialdini 606-8522 & Geeta Bhojwani 609-1361
•Program: Chair Jean Wentz 499-8517
•Stewardship: coordinator Sam Vainisi
•SCRIP: Don/Laurie Falk 499-1252
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Service Topic Preview
October 5: Social Justice Sunday:“Hurry Up and Wait” by Teri Nehring
We live in a fast paced world filled with multi -tasking, burnout, and people who are so worried about all the
stuff they have to do next week, the next month, the next year. We are losing how to be present and how to live
in the moment. It becomes more about doing than being. During her nine extended travels to Peru in the past
five years, Teri has witnessed the injustice of pay raises, learning to live with little, the poverty, the water
problems, and how women are trying to make their way in a male dominated culture. Come and be present as
you learn about the gifts given to a woman who dared to “Hurry Up and Wait,” a principle she learned while
living in South America.
October 12th: Art and Faith
Fr. James Neilson, O. Praem., a Norbertine priest of St. Norbert Abbey and a professor of Art at St. Norbert
College, visited us in February and spoke on the topic of Art and Faith. We invited him back to continue the
exploration through images and ideas, in the context of radical hospitality and beauty. This highly-visual
presentation is not to be missed!
October 19: “Rethinking Prayer” by Rev. Karon Sandberg
As Unitarian Universalists we often have a conflicting relationship about the idea or use of prayer. Mostly we
wonder where is it going and who is it for? I will explore rethinking prayer through the lens of Anne Lamont
and Thich Nhat Hanh and uncover how we might change how we define prayer in our lives.
October 26: Rev. Lori Hlaban: “Finding Hope”
Is hope “the thing with feathers” Emily Dickinson wrote of; or is it as Friedrich Nietzsche said, “the worst of all
evils?” Where do we find hope, in this confusing and often scary world? What keeps us going, when we seem to
lose hope? Hopefully, we’ll find some answers together – though more questions are likely as well.
November 2: “Celebrating Our Ancestors” by Rev. Linda Hansen
For our Latin neighbors, the Day of the Dead is an important and joyful time to honor family members who
have died, and makes death a normal part of the life-cycle, rather than something to be hidden and feared. We’ll
explore these traditions and what we have to learn from them.
November 9: “Voices of Hope: Life Stories of Fox Valley Latinos”
by the Reader’s Theatre of ESTHER (JOSHUA’s sister organization from Appleton, WI)
This unique service substitutes a forty-five minute presentation in lieu of our usual service format. Ten
members of ESTHER will present stories of local immigrants, primarily Hispanic that focusing on their
struggles and hopes with living in the USA. Voices of Hope explores a sampling of the stories and the reasons
behind the often traumatic journeys that have brought people here.
November newsletter
deadline:
The November deadline will be
The Principles of the
Unitarian Universalist
Association
We, the member congregations of the
Unitarian Universalist Association,
covenant to affirm and promote:
Monday, October 20
Please email all submissions to:
•The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
newseditor@greenbayuu.org
•Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
•Acceptance of one another and encouragement to
spiritual growth in our congregations;
•A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
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newsletter electronically.
Email:
admin@greenbayuu.org
•The right of conscience and the use of the
democratic process within our congregations and in
society at large;
•The goal of world community with peace, liberty
and justice for all;
•Respect for the interdependent web of all existence
of which we are a part.
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Address Service Requested
Green Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
1641 Commanche Ave Suite G
Green Bay, WI 54313