Contents
FEATURED THIS MONTH
RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION
COMMITTEES
| |
ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
WIDER COMUNITY
NEXT Newsletter Deadline:
Noon Tuesday, October 14
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FEATURED THIS MONTH: Beyond Categorical Thinking
The Ministerial Search Team
What IS a good minister? As our community embarks on the path to
calling a new minister, we must take time to reflect on this fundamental
question. As part of our shared path, on October 5th, we will host
guests from the UUA Transitions Office to help us start this important
time of reflection. Each of us has personal ideas about what a "good
minister" might look like.
Sometimes those ideas have a "shorthand" that focuses on identities
that we think explain exactly what a good minister is, but are not
actually instructive or helpful in finding the best candidate for our
congregation. Co-facilitators Jo Victoria and Gil Guerrero participate
in this ministry of the UUA, and are devoted to helping congregations
begin the process of finding the best choice. They will share their
personal perspectives on the experience of identity, and how our
understanding of identities impacts the ministerial search. After
worship, we encourage everyone to attend the second part of their work:
an interactive workshop entitled "Beyond Categorical Thinking" as we
learn about the way that our personal experiences and biases can hinder
us from finding the best minister for our congregation.
** Please plan to join us for the 9:30 or 11:15am service, stay for
pizza lunch and then a workshop with Jo and Gil. Child care available
with advance notice to any Search team member.
All Congregational Meeting - October 18
Roger Sherman, Board President
Mark your calendars for October 18. On that afternoon we will have a
congregational meeting to talk about some of the directions we will be
going during this year. I hope the idea of a fall congregational
meeting, distinct from our annual meeting in the spring will become a
tradition. After the meeting we will have a potluck to share in the
bounty of the season and the fellowship of our congregation.
President's Message
Roger Sherman, Board President
What will we leave behind for future generations of BUUFers? That is
a question that has been running around in my brain for awhile and that
is an open question for all of us as we head into the congregational
meeting on October 18th and beyond. What do you want as the legacy of
this generation?
We are the current congregation of a church that has roots back to
the earliest years of the 20th century in Boise, though our current
Fellowship was started in the 1950's. We stand on the shoulders of folks
who met in peoples' homes, in the YWCA, who bought a building on Pierce
Park and outgrew it to build this building we now inhabit. They operated
with a minister and without. They struggled over their opposition to the
Vietnam War and protested nuclear weapons, stood for peace and human
rights. They created a home for liberal religion, this free faith. BUUF
was a refuge, as it is now for free thinkers, humanists and theists,
heretics from less open religion, searchers and people looking for a
spiritual home.
What will be our legacy?
Jo and David Douglas, two of our BUUF forebears and most recently,
Besse LaBudde, left us generous gifts. What is our responsibility to
their memories? While the Douglas' did not stipulate how their money
should be used, Besse asked that it be used for something
permanent—building a sanctuary or starting an endowment most
specifically. They left it up to us to decide what is most important to
us and future generations.
We have some tremendous collective physical assets: our lovingly
cared for grounds with manicured gardens and the rare and distinct grove
of poplars fed by one mother tree. The little Transylvanian style bridge
that leads to Jeremiah's Adventure Garden with its mazes and water
feature. We have an acre of land that is often called the "Chelan
property" that abuts the grove and was purchased to be used in the
future for a parking lot, for a community garden or for some plan that
has not yet been devised. And of course we have our building that is
used for worship and religious exploration classes on Sundays, church
and community meetings in the evenings during the week, periodic
ceremonies like weddings and funerals. How else might we use the
building and grounds to further our goals and values?
And of course our greatest asset is, well, us: the volunteers who
teach our children, make coffee, clean up, care for the sick and well,
care for those grounds, and go out in the community to stand up for
human rights and minister to those left out. How do we best nurture our
own spirits to inspire us to go out and do good in this world?
Reverend Dana says we are at an "inflection point". I looked it up.
Mathematically it has to do with the precise point at which a curve goes
up or down. We are at that point as we call a new minister and as we
become the congregation that gets ready to do so. At this inflection
point where the past and the future merge, the question of legacy is
potent. Let's keep talking.
In The Interim
Rev. Dana Worsnop
At last month's meeting, the BUUF Board did something inspiring that
I wanted to share with you. They set "ministry visions" to guide the
life of the congregation, its minister, staff and groups for the coming
year. The point of these visions is to help answer the question, "In
what ways will we transform lives in the next 1-3 years.
Here they are:
1) BUUF will strive to become a more welcoming, transparent and
inspiring congregation. A major piece of this will be to create easily
discoverable pathways to participation for newcomers and others who seek
to deepen their engagement.
2) Social justice ministries will help guide and inform all aspects
of BUUF's congregational life.
Imagine for a moment that these visions are not just there to guide
the specific committees and groups that usually have responsibility for
the Justice Outreach Ministry or the Welcoming and Fellowship
Connections teams.
How might the Library Committee welcome new people in or do the work
of justice?
How about the Music Committee, the Children and Adult Religious
Explorations committees? Landscape, Interiors, Safety?
For some the answer is more clear. The very existence of the
Congregational Care Team, Festivities, Hospitality and Food, the Usher
and Greeters is meant to be welcoming. Adult RE, the Senior Sages, the
many Affinity groups always hope to deepen engagement in the
congregation and in a spiritual life. How might they also take up a
ministry of social justice?
How might the Rainbow Outreach Committee be welcoming? How can more
and more people be invited into the various social justice activities
– from the Crop Walk (Oct. 21!!) to Habitat for Humanity to the
Interfaith Sanctuary?
The Library Committee can buy books that address issues like economic
justice – things like The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the
Age of Colorblindness for instance. Adult RE could create a book
discussion group. The choir, always welcome to new singers, can explore
music from many cultures and traditions. The RE Program for Children and
Youth can think about its larger ministry to families who often have a
particular challenge in engaging in many church programs.
The Safety Committee might begin a discussion on how all can make
people of color, people with fewer economic resources, groups outside
the "mainstream" culture can feel welcome and safe at BUUF. Interiors
might look at how the artwork and signage are most welcoming and
inviting to newcomers with a particular eye for those on the margins of
the culture.
And all should think about how to be more actively inviting. This
means more than just putting notices in the newsletter, Sunday order of
service or the Facebook page (though those are important). How do you
let people know what is going on and that you really want them to join
you?
This can be as simple as being sure you wear your nametag(!) on
Sundays and as engaged as agreeing to make personal phone calls to
invite people to join – church activities and justice efforts
alike. It may simply mean joining a Chalice Circle and then agreeing to
facilitate one in the next round.
Think of the lives that would be transformed if BUUF took these
ministry visions truly to heart. This isn't a transformation that will
happen overnight, though if you take on these practices for a year or
two or three, what will the spirit of this place look and feel like into
the future?
You already have the heart for this kind of work. How can you become
even more effective and strong as a congregation?
Go forth and make it so.
Religious Exploration
Family Games - Family Time – Family Faith Together
Emmie Schlobohm, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)
Last month, I started a year-long project to feature familiar family
games with a twist. I invite you to play the traditional versions and to
explore deeper questions with the children in your life around the theme
of these games. Expand the rules and your "playground" to encompass our
BUUF community and the wider world.
October is a time of falling temperatures and breath-taking colors.
It is also a month filled with scary images and themes surrounding
Halloween. This month's theme is confronting your fears by sharing them
and working together - Hide and Seek is our game. For me, Hide and Seek
used to be a frightening experience as a child because my older cousins
would jump out and startle me from their hiding places when I was "it".
I loved to hide so I had to confront my fears in order to play with the
big kids. Here are some ideas on variations of Hide and Seek...
Play a game of Flashlight Hide and Seek where, after counting to 50,
"It" takes the flashlight (turned off) and seeks out the other children.
When they find a hidden player "it" turns on the flashlight and shines
the light on them. The child who was found takes the flashlight (turned
off) and goes to find another player who is hiding. The game can go on
for a long time without counting and hiding all over again.
Use the Hide and Seek analogy to talk with your children about their
fears. Things aren't as scary when they are revealed and shared. Keeping
them hidden to yourself lets them grow and get scarier. Finding them and
talking with others about them brings them into the light so they can be
faced and dealt with. Share some of the fears you had at their age.
Read
Hide-and-go-seek,
a (very) short story in UUA's Tapestry of Faith collection of stories,
with your children.
Use the following questions to explore their feelings and yours.
Ask for their reactions. Note that people often mean different things
when they use the word "God." In fact, some people might want to use
words other than "God" in this story.
How would they feel about the story if the word "wisdom" replaced the
word "God"? What about "love" or "mystery"? Can they suggest other
terms? Ask if ideas about God, wisdom, love, and mystery are spiritual
ideas. In other words, do they help us understand our connections with
our inner selves, with others, and with the universe?
Here's another story,
"Hide-and-Seek
with God," from the storybook of that name by Mary Ann Moore, with
a different message to share with your children.
As you play these games throughout the year, please share stories of
your family's experiences with me and others in our Religious
Exploration community. I'm looking forward to hearing all about the fun
and the opening hearts!
Stand Up and Be Counted in Religious Exploration!
It's never too late!
Emmie Schlobohm, DRE
Religious Exploration registration forms are available and
due back!
It is time to turn in your registration form for Religious
Exploration for Children and Youth and tell us All About YoUU. You can
pick one up in the Religious Exploration section of the Information
Center in the north vestibule or in the fellowship office or in any of
the class rooms or
here on our website.
Please return your registration forms – either by mail or directly
to the Director of Religious Exploration, Emmie Schlobohm. We are
launching into our fall classes and would love to hear from you. Your
response and information will allow us to include you in important
communications and better serve your children. If you have any
questions, please contact Emmie Schlobohm at 658-1710 or dre2014@boiseuu.org.
First Sundays are now Social Justice Sundays in RE!
Emmie Schlobohm, DRE
This year, we will be exploring social justice issues inspired by our
monthly plate partners on first Sundays in the elementary RE classroom.
Starting on October 5, our Social Justice Sundays will be a multi-age
celebration of the mission of that month's plate partner. As an integral
part of the class, we will be taking an offering as one of the opening
rituals. The money collected will go to the plate partner and the
activities in the class will be created around the central mission of
the organization. This month's plate partner is our own Pay It Forward
Fund. We receive support, insight, love, and a place to be ourselves
here at our Fellowship and, as our BUUF community gives to us, we in
turn give our own gifts of energy in many forms, among them love, time,
and money. Our children are vital members of our community who receive
loving teachers/guides and a caring community supporting their spiritual
growth and development as human beings. As members of our community, our
children will have an opportunity every month to participate in this
offering.
Parents and family members, please talk with your child(ren) over the
upcoming months and help them collect some money and talk with them
about stewardship, shared community and gifts we give to help those we
love. Thank you for all that you do for your children and for our
beloved community.
Junior High Coming of Age Program Continues this Month
Emmie Schlobohm, DRE
This year Religious Exploration is offering the Coming of Age program
as a rite of passage for junior high school youth into young adulthood.
In our Unitarian Universalist tradition we ask young people to consider
our shared seven principles, how they apply to their lives and what they
believe. From September through May, youth are paired with an adult
mentor to sort out their questions and perform a community service
project together. The group will also have monthly gatherings with Emmie
Schlobohm, the Director of Religious Exploration and our interim
minister, Dana Worsnop. The program culminates in the creation of a
personal credo or statement of faith that is shared with the BUUF
community at the Coming of Age worship service on May 10, 2015.
Children's Dedication
Emmie Schlobohm, DRE
Our children are an essential and life-affirming part of our
congregation. Unitarian Universalists believe that each child brings new
life and hope into the world and we, here at BUUF, include a special
ceremony to dedicate ourselves to the spiritual growth of our children
during a Sunday service. If your family would like to participate in
this beloved ceremony, please note that October 26 is our next scheduled
date. For more information, or to indicate your interest, please contact
Emmie Schlobohm, Director of Religious Exploration at 658-1710.
Committees
The Pancakes are Coming, the Pancakes are Coming
Claudia Fernsworth
Mark your calendars for a family friendly "Pancake Supper": Saturday,
November 1, 2014 at 6:00. Doors open at 5:45. Invite your family,
friends, co workers and neighbors. One less night that you have to
cook...
Gluten free and wheat pancakes will be provided.
Children of all ages (that means adults and children) are invited to
wear their Halloween costumes one more time
Look for more details in the November newsletter and in the Sunday
orders of service.
November All Silent Auction
Claudia Fernsworth
Now is a good time to set aside items you no longer want or need, or
to think of a holiday treat or handmade item you want to prepare to
donate to the November All Silent Auction. Set up will be on Thursday
October 30, so items can be brought in Sunday October 26 unless other
arrangements are made with Claudia Fernsworth.
If you would like to help with set up, contact Claudia Fernsworth.
You can use our
auction donation web form
to send us information about your donation. Thanks!
Fall Fire Drill October 12
Paul Schlobohm
We care a great deal about each other. We care enough to look out for
our mutual safety and well-being. This includes being prepared for all
of us to safely exit from the building, should we ever have a fire at
BUUF. In coordination with the Worship and Religious Exploration
Committees, the fall fire drill will take place at the conclusion of
both services on Sunday, October 12, in observance of National Fire
Prevention Week. Instructions will be announced on the day of the drill
and can be found in the Order of Service.
Conducting a fall fire drill with the entire congregation and a
spring fire drill with RE classes only is part of a new preparedness
plan being developed by the new Safety Team. The Safety Team is Dan
Bacon, Arlene Baldwin, Warren Bean, Allie Gooding, Nancy Riley, Paul
Schlobohm and Bill Smithey. Contact Emmie Schlobohm, DRE, with your
RE-related questions or Paul Schlobohm with your fire drill-related
questions.
Events & Activities
October Fellowship Fun and Potluck – October 18
Karen Raese
This month, the all congregation potluck moves from the second
Saturday to the third Saturday. Plan to attend this informative session
and join with friends, old and new, for fellowship and a meal. Please
look for specific details about this elsewhere in this newsletter or
order of service. Bring a potluck dish to share and, if you like, your
own plates and utensils. See you there.
A Cirque in the Forest
Jeanette Ross
For our September meeting the humanists will meet with Linden Boice,
a member of the search committee, to consider the qualities that can
lead a progressive fellowship into the future. As preparation, I'll
characterize our earlier suggestions in terms of roles blending Cirque
de Soleil and King Arthur.
a) We need a ringmaster who can keep us all performing. b) We need to
share the work, with some marching behind the horses with a broom while
a crew of aerialists defy gravity and connect with others across a
political abyss. c) We need soldiers who march into a forest without a
pathway, ready to rescue those in danger. d) We need to gather,
regularly, at a round table and listen to each other. We are putting on
a show, living theater, by improvisation, writing our sacred text as we
seek meaning. We are enlarging our understanding of what is community,
applauding each other, witnessing to and for each other.
Join the humanists for our October meeting in the library, 11:15pm.
Allison Benjamin will lead us in considering what our DNA tells us about
ourselves.
Idaho Friends of Jung Presentation and Workshop, October 17 and 18
Elton Hall
Certified Jungian analyst Joseph Rutte will speak on "The Alchemical
Gold of Failure: From Freud to Jung, and from Jung to White," on Friday,
October 17, 7-9 pm in the North Wing of BUUF. Jung's book
Symbols of Transformation created a sharp break with Freud, which
Jung suspected it would, and led to his own journey through depression
and renewal. Similarly, Jung's close relationship with the Dominican
White ended in White's failed attempt to rejuvenate Thomistic teaching
with Jungian ideas. He, too, found renewal in working through failure
and exile. The presentation will help one to understand failures and
suffering as sacred opportunities for deep self-examination and
transformation into what we are meant to be.
The workshop on October 18 from 10 am to 1 pm, will consider
failures as openings to new psychological life, examine individuation
more deeply, and critically evaluate the views of others in
understanding one's unique path as guided by one's own psyche.
Come on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to enjoy wine, coffee, cheese and
companionship before the presentation. Suggested donation $10-20; no one
will be turned away. Similar suggested donation for the workshop.
Sages History
Tom von Alten
Join the BUUF Sages this month for two glimpses of days gone by: Dr.
Charles Lauterbach on the plays of Berthold Brecht, and Dr. Jeanette
Ross on the iconoclasm of Stephanie Coontz, author of "The Way We Never
Were" (1992) and "The Way We Really Are" (1997). We meet second and
fourth Thursdays, Lauterbach on Oct. 9 and Ross on Oct. 23, 9:30 am at
the Kopper Kitchen (2661 Airport Way) over a no-host breakfast for
friendly conversation. Contact Tom von Alten, 208 378-1217, or
tva2014@fortboise.org for more
information, or to be added to our email reminder list.
Not Your Ordinary Companion
Mike Philley
"This Quest program at BUUF ... what
is it that you do?"
"I'm a spiritual companion."
"So, you provide spiritual guidance?"
"It's more like being a witness. It's listening and respecting
silence. Above all, it's being present."
"What do you mean? If you're with someone, you're
present—right?"
"No, I can be with someone and at the same time be lost in my own
thoughts. The challenge of being a spiritual companion is to resist the
impulse to tell my partner what to do. It's important to empty myself of
all pretense."
"So what does this do for your partner?"
"If my partner sees me as non-judgmental and trustworthy, it's easier
for him or her to be vulnerable. Revealing one's personal story, warts
and all, really matters for spiritual growth."
"Everyone has a story. What does that have to do with spirituality?"
"We get caught up in our storylines. We're so busy rehashing in our
minds each insult or compliment, every failing or achievement, all that
threatens or bolsters the protective armor of the ego—it's no
wonder that we forget who we truly are."
"Who we truly are?"
"It may seem paradoxical, but the less we're bound by who we tell
ourselves we are, or who we think we must become, the freer we are to be
authentic and real. It's our birthright. Or, as we UUs might say: each
of us is uniquely woven into the interdependent web of all
existence.
Travel Bugs on Medical Mission
Patty Nakaoki
This month, Travel Bugs go on a medical mission to Myanmar (Burma)
with Mary Schwartzman. Mary travels with her daughter and a group from
the University of Virginia. The group does medical assessments in an
orphanage of 250 children, working with staff in a small rural medical
clinic. They also distribute basic medical supplies. Mary will share her
adventures with us. Myanmar has only been easily open to travelers for a
few years, so this is a great chance to hear about a country that has
been largely closed for many years. Please join us at 7pm, October 24,
in the Channing room at BUUF. Contact Patty Nakaoki, 409-0807 or Karen
Raece, 853-3865 for questions. Everyone welcome!
The Other Book Club
Erin Logan
Come join us for lively discussion on books and other topics. We meet
on the second Sunday of the month from 7 to 8:30pm.
October 12, we will be discussing Sherman Alexie's Absolute True
Diary of a Part Time Indian. We will meet in the BUUF Library.
November 9, we will be discussing Charles Portis's The Dog of the
South. Our gathering will be at the home of Patti Raino, 4905 W.
Outlook Ave, Boise, 336-2280.
December 14, we will be discussing Undertow by one of our own
resident authors, Eric Wallace. Place to be determined.
Future books include Love in the time of Cholera,
Swamplandia, The Price of Silence, and All the Light We
Cannot See. Stay tuned.
If you'd like to receive our emails, let me know at erins49602014@msn.com.
Happy Reading.
History Keepers Note
Charlotte Tompkins & Janelle Wintersteen
There was a time when after singing a hymn, we placed our hymn books
on empty seats, balanced them on out laps, or even put them on the
floor. After services, whoever cleaned up retrieved these books that
BUUF had spent money on, or that had been bought as donations or
memorials for people who had died, and replaced them on the seats. It
was Nancy Harms who finally changed this in 2008 by designing the cloth
hymnal holders that we now use. Once she had the design finished, she
and Erin Logan shopped together for the fabric. She and Erin called for
volunteers. Over several weeks the Balasz Room room on Saturdays became
a sewing room, full of sewing machines as about eight people cut and
stitched, making real the two pocket hymn holders that we now use. New
ideas often take getting used to but these hymn holders were such a
convenience! Once in place, they were taken for granted and memories of
how we managed before faded.
PNWD & UUA News
General Assembly is Coming to the PNWD!
Our Pacific Northwest District is host district to GA 2015, June
24-28 in Portland, and General Assembly needs you!
When and where does it happen? June 24-28 (Wednesday afternoon
through Sunday afternoon), in Portland, OR. We'll meet in the Oregon
Convention Center and with some events in nearby hotels.
Who can attend? Anyone! All are welcome, of all ages.
Does it cost money to attend? Yes. To participate in General
Assembly, you pay a registration fee. GA runs on a break-even basis. But
there are opportunities for free registration by serving as a volunteer,
as well as financial aid that you can apply for.
Where can I learn more?
The General Assembly website already has
lots of information, and will keep adding lots more as GA gets closer.
Give it a look now, and keep going back to it. If you can't find what
you're looking for there, ask me, or a district board member, or someone
in your congregation with lots of GA experience.