BUUF News – June 2013

Contents

TRANSITION

Interim Minister Selected

Interim Ministry Transition Team

RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION

The Spring Rush Onward

Summer in Religious Exploration for Children

Consider guiding a class in Religious Exploration

Follow your heart & feed your passion

Eight Youth Are Boston Bound!

In Gratitude to our Graduates

JUSTICE OUTREACH

June plate: Idaho Voices for Children

Join Boise Gay Pride Parade

Common Read/Common Good

 

ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

Elizabeth Greene's Retirement JUUbilee

Virtual General Assembly

UUA Ministerial Sustenance Fund

Humanism in UU History

Tell us Your Story!

Sages in Summer

June Travel Bugs

When We Had No Tables...

Exploring the Yang

Everything about Color!

Saying Farewell to Elizabeth

NEXT Newsletter Deadline:
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at NOON

Transition

Interim Minister Selected

Your board of directors and the Interim Minister Task Force are happy to announce that Rev. Dana Worsnop has accepted the position as our Interim minister. Dana has been the settled minister at Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City, OR for the past ten years. Prior to that time she was an interim minister in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The task force enthusiastically recommended Dana to the Board because of her energy, her wit, and her record of collaborative relationships with congregations she's served. She impressed us with how diligently she had studied the materials we compiled about BUUF, and how genuinely interested she was in how we work together to fulfill our mission. The Board has agreed unanimously. On Friday, May 3, the offer was made formally, and accepted.

Dana will arrive in Boise on August 16, with her first service sometime in the following few weeks. In the meantime if you would like to learn more, you can visit Dana's personal website and the Atkinson Memorial Church website.


Interim Ministry Transition Team

Dear Friends and Members:

As newly appointed members of the Interim Ministry Transition Team (IMTT), we are honored and delighted to serve you in this capacity. Our main function is to help facilitate the Rev. Dana Worsnop in her work as our Interim Minister. What does this mean for you? We, as the Interim Ministry Transition Team are available to you, to hear concerns and ideas, as well as possibly calling on you for your unique contribution to developing our next chapter at BUUF. Specifically, the calling of the Transition Team is to:

We are an advisory team, and will do our best to make your voice heard. Feel free to contact any of us with thoughts, comments, and feedback on the transition process.

Sincerely, the IMTT:
Jeanette Ross, Co-Chair , 208-378-1217
Ann Sabin, Co-Chair , 208-639-9450
Elaine Durbin
Jackie Groves
Jay Wechselberger
Miriam Woito

Religious Exploration

The Spring Rush Onward

Emmie Schlobohm, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE), 658-1710 or

My spring has felt like a cross-country race. Definitely pushing to run stronger, but still noticing and enjoying the scenery and all the sights and happenings along the way. There have been uphill climbs and downhill sprints, streams to splash through and puddles to jump over. The difference between this run and an actual race is that at the end of this run there is a joyful leap onto a virtual rope swing with a big jump out to Boston on June 3 to prepare that oblivious city for our Boston Bounders' arrival on June 5. Our week in Boston will be a fitting end to an exhilarating spring.

I'll be back in the office mid-June to support our summer RE program and wrap up the program year. July is my time for slowing down. I will be focused on reflection and a deepening of my ministry of religious exploration. I'm looking forward to catching up on some reading and to prepare for new beginnings in August. This is an exciting time of anticipation for our congregation and we have a wondrous journey of self-discovery before us. May we enjoy the ride together and experience glorious transformations!


Summer in Religious Exploration for Children

Emmie Schlobohm, DRE

We are fortunate to have Kristin Bergeson this summer as our Summer Religious Exploration Coordinator! Religious Exploration for children continues throughout the year and it looks a little different in the summer. Nursery care for our youngest congregants (infant–2 years old) will continue in our nursery. Starting on June 9 and continuing through September 1, we will be having some changes from the regular church year routine. All children, ages 3-11, start together in the sanctuary with their families, as we do during the regular church year. After the children say their affirmation and the congregation sings them into the RE wing, these children will meet in the Olympia Brown classroom (the second classroom door down the north hall) for an all-ages welcome and in-gathering. Weather permitting, all elementary ages and their adult guides will go outside for their RE time as much as possible. We will split into age-specific groups and continue with our RE time with age-appropriate activities. Additional information about our summer curricula can be found in the Information Center in the north vestibule and from the RE Team. Youth, 12 and over, are welcome to stay in the sanctuary with their families or can come to the RE classrooms to assist our adult guides. Questions or comments? Please contact Emmie Schlobohm at 658-1710 or .


Would you consider guiding a class in Religious Exploration this coming year?

Emmie Schlobohm, DRE

This is not a question to take lightly. It entails commitment to our children and youth, commitment to our community, and commitment to Unitarian Universalism. The essential qualities we look for are a love of children, empathy, the ability to listen, and a willingness more to share who you are than what you know. We also look for good communication skills and reliability. Above all, guides and advisors are mentors and companions for the children and youth as they undertake their religious journeys in life.

The people who are guides and advisors are not necessarily accomplished teachers but are willing to take on a joyful challenge! It does not require extensive knowledge of our faith tradition. Many people who teach say they learn so much, not just about Unitarian Universalism, but about other religious beliefs as well.

This coming year, we will have two guides in every class, so you'll always be working with another adult. There are trainings, so you know who-is-who and what-is-where. Every grade level is supplied with a curriculum with lesson plans that are very well spelled out. And best of all the workload is shared. You will not need to prepare a lesson every Sunday!

Rest assured it's not all work and no play. This next year, each guide will teach two times per month, once as the lead and once as the assistant. There will be a few Sundays where we offer multigenerational worship with everyone in the sanctuary together. There are class socials, teacher potluck in-services, Appreciation Sunday, and a retreat in April. Best of all, you will feel ever more connected to our vibrant community of caring people.

Guide and advisor teams begin their work together in August. So you can understand why it is necessary to establish the volunteer staff as soon as possible.

We want you to have a realistic picture of expectations. Starting this year, there is a specific job description that is available from Emmie Schlobohm, the Director of Religious Exploration. If you are interested, there is an application form. The next step is a reference check and interview. Once we have completed a background check, you are placed on a teaching team and you become a partner in ministry with Emmie and all the people who learn and grow with our young people here at BUUF.

Interested? Please contact Emmie at 658-1710 or .


Follow your heart & feed your passion while creating a nurturing & welcoming place for Religious Exploration for children & youth!

Emmie Schlobohm, DRE

Many hands make light work and that light will shine on for years to come. There are numerous opportunities available to share your gifts of time and talent within Religious Exploration for Children and Youth. Our classrooms are places of wonder and merriment, but if that's not your passion, alternatives abound. Please come talk with Emmie, our Director of Religious Exploration, and discover for yourself where you can light up the world for our future captains of our blue boat home.


Eight Youth Are Boston Bound!

Emmie Schlobohm, DRE

At the beginning of this month, eight Jr. High youth, three chaperones, your Director of Religious Exploration, and our own minister will be experiencing a UU pilgrimage to Boston. From June 5 to June 11, we will take in many treasured UU sites as well as learn a whole lot more about our nation's early history. It took all of the Boston Bounder families and all of you to get us there! Together we raised well over $6,000 as of mid-May to make this all possible. Thank you for all your support, encouragement and never-ending efforts to make this trip happen. We simply couldn't do it without you. Now, stay tuned for our Boston-themed service in the fall when we report back to the community about how it all went.


In Gratitude to our Graduates

Emmie Schlobohm, DRE

There is a bridge between childhood and young adulthood. Here at the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship we celebrate the journey over that bridge as a welcoming rite of passage. In mid-April, two of our senior high youth crossed that bridge and journeyed toward exciting adventures as a part of our Bridging Ceremony. Our celebration included the gifts of a very special member of our community: Lance Pittman created the chalices that we gave to the "bridgers" as tokens of our love and esteem. Our young people are truly phenomenal and we are all blessed to have heard their voices and seen them shine. We would like to take this opportunity to once again acknowledge them and their families at this time of passages, beginnings, and endings.

Our Bridging Seniors and their families are:

Carrie Hope — daughter of Norma and Barry Hope

Susan Beasley — daughter of Gena Delucchi

JUSTICE Outreach

June's plate recipient is Idaho Voices for Children

Roger Sherman

June's plate offering will go to Idaho Voices for Children, the state affiliate of Voices for America's Children, and the strongest advocacy group for kids in Idaho. Voices was founded and operated for several years as an all volunteer organization until hiring a director three years ago.

Until last year, Idaho was the only state in the country without a process for reviewing childhood deaths. Through the efforts of Voices for Children, a Child Fatality Review process has been established which will help prevent future deaths—especially those caused by abuse or neglect. Voices was also responsible for creating greater legal protections for grandparents and other relatives to care for children when their parents are currently unable. Idaho has an unusually large number of grandparents caring for their children's children.

Currently Idaho Voices for Children is also leading an initiative focused on ensuring that all Idaho children are reading at a proficient level by third grade. Third grade reading is identified as an early marker for success in life, even to the point where some states use that indicator to determine future prison populations! Another major Voices' effort is to reduce or eliminate childhood hunger and its staff is traveling the state is to build support and identify where gaps exist.

These are all issues in which many BUUF members have already engaged so I encourage your support. Twenty-five percent of the unpledged plate offering will go to this cause. If you want 100% to go to Idaho Voices for Children, write outreach on the memo line of your check, or use the envelopes in the hymnal holders and mark social justice.


Join Boise Gay Pride Parade

Rainbow Connection Committee

The Gay Pride Parade, which is part of a week of festivities celebrating Boise Gay Pride, will be held on June 15. a Saturday, and will start just after the 11 am rally on the steps of the Idaho state capitol. The banner for the Unitarian Universalist church will be there since every year,Large amounts of members of BUUF have marched in the parade. The Rainbow Connection Committee people and others will be circulating with clipboads to ask people to sign up. Usually the Boise UU has a booth at the PrideFair that is held in Julia Davis park right afterwards; this year it has been decided to forgo the Booth and free up members for other activities and commitments for Boise Pride. Since participation in the Parade has always been popular and the Boise UU presence has been obvious since the beginning, the banner will be there for us to march under. A Parade such as this, during we can sing and shout and make the mountains echo, for which the entire downtown is cleared so we can march safely through, is always one of the most pleasurable parts of the PrideFair.


Common Read/Common Good

Debra Smith

The Social Justice Strand and the Hunger Action Task Force announce a new educational opportunity as a follow-up to the recent Earth Day presentation, "Dirt—A Love Story." We will be reading a book that was recently cited in a New York Times article about sustainable agricultural models - Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered by Woody Tasch. We hope to explore the connections between social justice and sustainable farming models. We have eight copies of the book available to check out and read. The money to buy these books was generously donated by a long-time friend to BUUF, Joanna Kirkpatrick, who wanted to donate to a social justice initiative at our Fellowship. When given the choice, Joanna chose to underwrite the launching of this new book discussion group. If you would like to join the discussion, please sign up at . We will decide on a meeting date, and I expect it will take place some time in August, depending on participants' schedules. Please join us!

ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

You are cordially invited to

Elizabeth Greene's Retirement JUUbilee

(A joyoUUs celebration for all ages)
A Come and Go event at
Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
6200 Garrett
3:00-6:00 on Saturday, June 1, 2013

Mark your calendars for June 1st as we celebrate 25 years with our beloved minister, Elizabeth Greene, in a joyous celebration for all ages. Plan to take an hour out of your day to attend this come and go event in the gorgeous courtyard at BUUF. Have your fortune told by Elizabeth, help create several special mementos (shhh, they are a surprise), enjoy music by BUUF musicians, participate in activities lead by our youth, and enjoy the wondering clowns! Please bring a small plate of finger food (that means no utensils needed) to share. We hope you all come to celebrate Elizabeth's retirement and send her off with lots of love and good memories.

We anticipate large crowds to attend both Saturday's party and Sunday's service (yea!) However, our parking lots will overflow (oh, dear!) Here is what we need to do: carpool with everyone you know, ride your bike or walk. The greenbelt connections to BUUF are great!

Consider parking at the newly paved greenbelt lot on the east side of Glenwood at Marigold. More parking is in the area near the Garden City post office and city hall. Additional parking spaces will be reserved at BUUF for those who need it most.

For more information or to volunteer your much needed assistance, please contact Karen Raese (853-3865 or ).


Virtual General Assembly: Participating from offsite

Technology has re-shaped the meetings landscape in recent years—providing new opportunities to connect General Assembly (GA) on-site participants with those who cannot attend in person. GA is transforming from an event one need be present to experience into a hybrid meeting—incorporating off-site delegate participation, live streaming of events, and social media to create an interactive experience for live and remote attendees.

For more information, visit uua.org/ga/virtual/ or contact .


UUA Ministerial Sustenance Fund

The proceeds from the June 2 Sunday service offering will be sent to the Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Sustenance Fund. Many of our UU ministers do not receive a large salary, so are sometimes caught short when an emergency arises. (Elizabeth received help when she had two surgeries in five weeks, about a dozen years ago.) In addition, there are still retired ministers who essentially live in poverty, because they worked when there was no official UUA Retirement Program. Come prepared to give generously!


Humanism in UU History

Jeanette Ross

The May topic for our discussion: What can we learn by looking back at the history of humanist thought in the American West?

This is an important question for BUUF right now, too, and that's because humanist Unitarian ministers, in the western United States, came together to write the first Humanist Manifesto, a declaration not only of what they believed, and what this might mean for the direction of what would be the UUA, but also boldly addressed this issue: given that we believe we are, as educated and privileged persons, free of the chains of dogmas and convictions of the past, and given the damage done by such aforementioned chains, convictions and prejudices, what should we be doing about this?

Sit down before you read their conclusion, and I quote: "...humanists are firmly convinced that existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself inadequate and a radical change in methods, controls and motives must be instituted. A socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life may be possible."

You aren't ready to accept this? If you have a better idea, join us at the June 16 humanist meeting, 11:15 am in the BUUF library. Share your own bold plan.


Tell us Your Story!

Most Sundays we have had congregants tell their story. We hope you have been enjoying the stories you have been hearing. We would love to hear your story. Does your story fit the theme of a future Sunday Service? Please contact Nancy Harms, or 658-1710.


Sages in Summer

Tom von Alten

Our friendly semimonthly group of Thursday morning carries on in summer season, and newcomers, interesting topics, and guest speakers will all be continued to be made welcome. We'll meet June 13 and June 27, 9:30am at the Kopper Kitchen (2661 Airport Way) for a no-host breakfast and friendly conversation. Contact Tom von Alten (378-1217 or ) for more information or to be on our reminder list. (You can also sign up for the Sages list online.)


June Travel Bugs

Karen Raese

In June, we travel to Andalucia, the romantic southern province of Spain. Home of sunny beaches, flamenco, and fantastic Moorish architecture. Dick Sevier, Mark Kirkpatrick and Patty Nakaoki will share some of their adventures in Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Ronda, the beach towns, and day trips to Tangiers and Gibralter on Friday, June 14 in the Balazs room at 7:00pm. For more information, call Patty Nakaoki at 409-0807.


When We Had No Tables...

History Keepers

The seventies period of the Boise UU Fellowship was a period when we who were there accepted certain realities, such as most of Boise had no comprehension of who they were, there was only a certain amount of money, and that the main job of whoever was Social Chair of the Fellowship was to rent the tables for all social events, the potlucks and such. At least until Christa Hansen accepted the position. She has possibly never wondered where the tables came from for food related events, and when she found out, she was shocked. Her reaction was "Absolutely not! This stops right now. We need our own tables. The Social Chair needs to be more creative." She immediately started fundraising. The odd thing is that no one had thought of us buying our own tables before this. Once Christa made her decision, the money for the tables flowed in. Of course we needed our own tables. WE had chairs galore because we sat on them for every service and afterwards, during coffee hour, we stood them up in towers along the edges of the room. But the tables to go with them? Once Christa made her stand, it seemed totally reasonable. It was a classic case of one person refusing to go along with what was "tradition" and causing the rest of us to how hollow that particular tradition was.


Exploring the Yang: Male/Masculinity/Father Gods at Exploring Pagan/Nature Spirituality

Thursday, June 13, 7pm Meeting in Meridian at Leslie Miller's, 424 W Cherry Lane Trailer #60. All Welcome!


Everything about Color!

The Psychology of Color, Human response to Color, Therapeutic use of Color, Spirituality of Color, Everything about Color! Join the Fringe Topics Discussion, Thursday June 20, 7pm in the Channing Room at BUUF.


Saying Farewell to Elizabeth
as she leaves the Worship Committee

May 9, 2013

Giving your wisdom, thoughtful and calm,
Your presence soothing as a Psalm.
Directing our worship's ebb and flow,
Your sense of drama leaves its glow.
Touching the heart, mind and soul,
You've kept us looking toward that goal.
It's humor and direction you've provided,
We'll miss you and the path you've guided.
We're heading down another highway,
As you leave us along the byway.
Working with you has taught us well,
Think of us with each ringing bell. Farewell!

Love ya,
Wanda Jennings

A Welcoming Congregation
All the colors of the rainbow
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