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The Windmill |
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| March 1, 2004 |
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The Windmill |
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| March 1, 2004 |
REV-ving Up!: Words from our ministerBy The Rev. Louis V. SchwebiusCherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built. —James Allen Dear Friends, As we approach the time for our Annual Canvass, I have been reflecting quite deeply on a particular question which I have asked of many of you: "What is the vision of this congregation?" Because we do not have any set creed or system of belief to which we all must adhere, we all may have very different ideas of what a congregational vision should be. Each of us brings to this vision our own images, aspirations, and needs. Your individual visions, for example, may reflect what a particular faith community in the past has given to you, as well as your present hopes of what this faith community will become. A vision does not presume a fixedness or an arrival somewhere down the road; rather, it assumes and fuels the human journey. A vision is that wish or hope which is held just beyond the horizon. It is the quest of vision which is the invitation to move, to explore, to examine potential. Faith communities must have a vision that empowers, coupled with the resolve to live life in such a manner that it will inspire others to do likewise. When I ask about your vision, I want to know more specifically how it is that you see yourselves as a whole congregation—as a living force not only within the Unitarian Universalist parameters, but as a dynamic entity in a vital and new religious time - a time when all the classic paradigms are in flux! What vision will we carry forth on this exploration? I believe that vision leads to action. In his work The Prophethood of All Believers Unitarian Universalist theologian James Luther Adams has said that the liberal church seeks to transform both individuals and society. People choose to belong in order to effect change in themselves and others in order to grow spiritually and mentally. MVUC is on the verge of a wondrous period of transformation! With the special foundational inheritance of Unitarianism and Universalism providing nourishment and health, we are a unique place from which to grow! I believe that MVUC represents what is best and most necessary in the world. I have faith in all of you, and in each of you. I stand united with you in celebration of the present, of our growth and changes, and in anticipation of the future. What a joyful journey this congregation can make together! By sharing our dreams and keeping faith with one another, who knows where we will travel? Surely, our vision will change and expand, as the horizon does with each step we take towards it. The possibilities are endless! As your minister, it is an honor and a privilege to be a part of your ongoing journey. We’ve only just begun!! In faith and love, —Rev. Lou |
A Month of SundaysServices at 9 am and 11 am March 7 March 14 March 21 March 28 Audio tapes of all services are available upon request. Some sermons are available online in the sermon library. Program HighlightsGood Companions Introduction to UUism Partner Church Dinner Wisdom Years Canvass Dinner Our Larger World Forum Movie Night:
The Last Temptation of Christ International Partner Church Sunday Used Book Sale Food of Love concert |
Elaine Bronez and Bev Southerland, coordinators
Meetings will be held in Hollin Hall.
11:45 to 12:45—BYO Lunch
12:45 to 1:45—Speaker
Chuck reaches back into his own experiences in the Army in World War II. He will show a video and talk about Enigma. This was a German encoding machine which Allies recovered from a sunken Nazi submarine. The find had a major impact on the outcome of the war and was also the best-kept secret of WWII. After his discharge Chuck became an engineer and had a 45-year career. He and his wife, Vilma, have been MVUC members since 1972.
Pam grew up in Springfield, Virginia, is a member of the Cherokee Nation, and a longtime member of MVUC. Trained as a physical therapist, she is the person who formed the Mount Vernon Hospital Rehabilitation Program and served as its Director for 18 years. Six years ago she founded the Frog Pond Early Learning Center. Recently she added work in Code Pink for Peace.
Hope Andonovska, Director of Religious Education
Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
by Emily Dickinson.Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
The first stanza of this poem came up one day on my desk calendar. Going by the name Hope all of my life has been something I’ve felt I had to earn, or grow into. I tend to view the glass half full, and I know that optimism and resiliency are considered to be factors in living a healthy and long life. When you’re walking through your daily lives, do you stop and feel gratitude for the little things? Do you have hope for a brighter tomorrow? With spring approaching soon, I hope that these cold days fade quickly, and that your faith and sense of promise will be renewed. May it be so.
Love and light,
Hope Andonovska
9 am Preschool Storytime. We read the Ant and the Grasshopper fable, we talked about Valentine’s Day, made sandwiches for coffee hour, and we joined children’s chapel.
11 am Preschool Storytime. We read Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? We read Friends and talked about making choices, and we read The Little Red Hen and talked about ways to help at home.
Way Cool Sunday School, Grades K–7. We talked about our 5th Principle this month, the right to conscience and the democratic process—or we are free to have a voice in what is right for us. We voted and sang in children’s chapel. We read Aesop’s Fables and watched a video. Some of us talked about the right to vote and how important that is.
Coming of Age. We met and continued planning our service for the spring. We talked about different issues concerning character development, and we visited All Souls in Washington, DC on Feb. 29.
YRUU. We attended worship, we talked about our youth service in March, and some of us went to the OWL Con in Maryland.
Saturday, April 10 is on the MVUC calendar as the date for the annual UU Seder. The last few years, under the direction of Susan Rutherford, a wonderful kosher meal was created. We have several Haggadah texts, including one particular to Unitarian Universalism. Susan has moved away. Is there anyone out there who wants to organize and produce this year’s Seder? If no one steps forth before March 15, the date will be relinquished to another event. If interested, contact Janice Fitzpatrick, 703-765-5950 x105; mvuc-re@mvuc.org.
If you wish to suggest programs or guest speakers for services conducted during the summer months, please talk with us or send a note to the Sunday Services Committee (we have a mailbox near the church office). The Committee may not be able to accommodate all requests, but we welcome ideas for services to be conducted from June 20 through September 5.
Ron Brandt and Suzanne Cleary, interim co-chairs, Sunday Services Committee
The 2004 Canvass—Questions & AnswersLarry Wheeler, UUA fundraising consultant, opened a workshop for 30 MVUC canvassers on Saturday, Feb 9 by circling the word "fun" in "fundraising." He promised canvassers they would enjoy canvassing if they did it as taught by the UUA: a face-to-face meeting scheduled in advance with enough time available for both parties to get to know one another better. He closed the workshop by saying, "This is not primarily about raising money. It’s also about building community." So what are the goals of this canvass? We hope to increase the amounts pledged by at least $50,000 over last year. We can do that by having more pledging units, raising the general level of giving in our church, really connecting with the congregation, and building on the strengths of our outstanding new professional staff. All this is explained in an informational brochure we’ll be distributing soon. Who is Larry Wheeler?Larry is on the staff of The Mountain, a retreat center in North Carolina. A Unitarian Universalist for 30 years, he is one of several professional fundraisers approved by the Unitarian Universalist Association. When we asked for assistance from the fundraising office of the UUA, they recommended Larry Wheeler to us. Why is he advising on this year’s annual canvass?Larry was invited to work with MVUC by the Board of Trustees after meeting with members of the Board and the Facilities for the Future Task Force in December. (A year ago, he also led a day-long assessment workshop attended by some 50 members of the congregation.) The Board contracted with him only for the current annual canvass, but each time he comes here, he also meets with the team that is tentatively planning for a capital campaign that, if the congregation approves, will be held in the fall. What is the connection between the current canvass and the proposed capital campaign?MVUC gets about 80% of its operating funds from members of the congregation, mostly through annual pledges. The proposed capital campaign would be a separate fundraising effort, sandwiched between the two regular annual canvasses. Before undertaking a capital campaign, it makes great sense from both the "community" and "business" perspectives to assess our needs and prospects and to communicate with the congregation. Larry Wheeler emphasizes that the key to a successful capital campaign is to first have a good annual canvass. In planning and conducting a well-planned canvass, we are laying the groundwork for a successful capital campaign, as well as more effective annual canvasses. So will there be a capital campaign?Members of the Facilities for the Future Task Force certainly hope so. With Board approval they have asked a new team of architects to prepare preliminary drawings for a tremendously exciting design. At the Annual Meeting in April the congregation will be asked to approve the design and authorize a confirmation study to assess the likely outcome of a capital campaign. Only after all these steps, and only if the confirmation study results are positive, the congregation will then be asked (probably at a special meeting in June) to authorize a capital campaign. For more information, talk with any member of the Board or the Facilities for the Future Task Force. Ron Brandt, Communications Chair, Annual Canvass Linda Jemison, Chair, Board of Trustees Bill Clontz, Chair, Facilities for the Future Task Force |
Please complete the sign-up sheet in the Commons to let us know you’ll be coming to the pot-luck dinner at 5:30 pm on Saturday, March 13. No canvassing or pledging that night; just a few amusing songs, fellowship, and good food. Of course, you bring the food: your choice of hot dish, salad, or dessert—enough for eight. Donation of $1 per person for incidentals. If you forget to sign up, you may confirm you plan to attend by calling the church office at 703-765-5950 x 101 or emailing Georgia Pourchot, events chair for the canvass.
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice is joining with Beacon House and UU Affordable Housing Corporation on April 8 at All Souls Church. The President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Reverend Bill Sinkford, will be the keynote speaker. The event is still in the planning phase so please watch the newsletters for further details.
Our annual Flea Market is scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 9 am to 4 pm. We’ve again reserved the Mansion starting Monday, May 3, and we’ll be filling the rooms with all your donated items—kitchenware, small appliances, linens, pillows, dinnerware, pottery, sports equipment, computers and related items, radios, lamps, bric-a-brac, all kinds of things. The classier items will be reserved for our successful "Unicorn’s Corner". We can’t receive your donated items yet because the Mansion is still undergoing repairs. If you just have to get rid of stuff right away, call and we’ll make arrangements. Otherwise, set things aside and wait for the signal to "bring it all in." For information call Pat Jackson. You may wish to have your own space for selling, and we’ll be doing that again too. Watch for more news in future newsletters.
March 9—Officer Greg Kottemann, Crime Prevention Officer, will appear before us to present his take on Identity Theft. As an aside, Mr. Kottemann was chosen by the Mount Vernon Citizens Advisory Committee as Officer of the Month in December of 2003.
March 23—Donna Bolton will have a presentation on Making Estate Sales Work for You. The talk will focus on the disposition of valuable possessions when faced with making a life change.
If you have any questions or suggestions concerning Wisdom Years, please contact Ginny Endicott or Bev Southerland. Barring unforeseen weather problems, we plan our Wisdom Years group meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 10:30 am until Noon.
Mark Zimmerman, Director of Music
Ah, signs of spring are close now. Hollin Hall work progresses, great plans are underway for the Meeting House, and spring music events are in bloom!
Much special music comes in March—Women’s History the first weekend, Canvass Dinner and Pledge Sunday the second weekend, Special Services run by our high school youth on March 21. The choir is doing a pop classic made famous by young international singer Josh Groban on Sunday, the 28th. And, on the afternoon of the 28th, don’t forget our delightful afternoon of desserts and music at 3 pm—The Food of Love.
Attention singers, grades 4–8: I will be starting rehearsals for a special music number being presented on Easter Sunday, April 11. The Chalice Singers will perform with the Guest Artists for the day, the Polymnia Handbells from UU Arlington. Brief rehearsals start on March 7 after the 11 am service, so if you might be away part of spring break, kids can still sing with us as long as you are back in church on Easter morning.
A reminder: mark your calendar to invite friends to services at 10am on Sunday, April 18. This will be the biggest, finest musical event of our season. The Cantata Chorus is up to 50 already; plus brass choir and percussion. And we will be premiering the refurbished 4 manual Johannus Orgelbouw organ that day, with Mary Ann DiMartini at the helm. If we were Jewish, this would be a High Holy Day and we could sell tickets to church services. But we’re Unitarian Universalists, so all you do is invite your friends and show up. How great is this?!
Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre presents Anne of Green Gables. Performances will be held March 19, 20, 26 & 27 at 7:30 pm and March 21 & 28 at 3:00 pm. The show features several MVUC youth—Eben Kuhn, as Gilbert Blythe; Ilene Gillispie as Marilla Cuthbert; Megan Cleary as Bessie Wright; and Molly Alder as Minnie May. This is a great show for children and adults alike. Please come and support our talented youth!
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RE Youth Birthdays! — March — 1 Tommy Arnold 4 Alexei McHugh Ben Roberts 7 Tristan Colaizzi 11 Madeleine Boel 18 John Stewart 19 Sydney Bergen-Hill 21 Kelsey Dressing 25 Katie Tyson Sam Bair 28 Dena Lougee 29 Helen Joy Kitrosser 31 Kelly Watson |
Our thoughts are with:
Jim Derhaag, who is recuperating from a foot injury—a casualty of the icy weather. He welcomes phone calls.
Congratulations to:
Elaine Bronez on the birth of her granddaughter, Kaya. The proud parents are Veronique and Mark Bronez.
Wendy and Bill Burns on the birth of their grandson, Wyatt Raymond Wolfman, on January 30. The proud parents are Laura Burns and Alex Wolfman.
Need temporary help with a ride to an appointment, shopping, picking up prescriptions, delivery of meals due to an emergency? Caring Associate members wear green name tags during Sunday services and there is always a member on call, as noted in the Order of Service. Call Jo Jackley if interested in joining us.
Social Justice Programs at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church
Love is the Teaching of this Church ... And Service is its Prayer
The Green Sanctuary Committee will be holding an environmental fair on April 18 after the service. There will be only one service that day so the festivities will start around 11:15 am and continue through 2:00 pm. The event is still in the planning stage so please watch for further details in the coming weeks.
The Partner Church Committee is pleased to have Potomac Fever entertain at its annual fund raising dinner on Saturday, March 6. Dinner, featuring Hungarian style food, begins at 6 pm. Potomac Fever, an a cappella ensemble of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, will perform at 7:30 pm. Cost is $20 for all over 18 and $5 for those under 18.
Sunday, March 21, is International Partner Church Sunday. At MVUC, there will be a special collection at each church service to benefit our partner church in Szentháromság/Troita Romania. We are hoping to help them set up a computer lab in the church Useful House. Many in the congregation are very interested in learning English using computer software. It may now also be possible to establish an Internet connection in the village. Currently, we are waiting to learn of the appointment of a new minister. The previous minister, Rev. Szilard Sandor, has gone to a church in another town.
One of the university students sponsored by an MVUC family is hoping to come to the U.S. this summer to work. Arpad Kovacs is an industrious young man who works part time in an Internet Cafe in Targu Mures, a nearby city where he attends the university. He is studying computer engineering, but is willing to do almost anything. He speaks English well. If he has the promise of a job, he will be able to get a visa. If anyone has any ideas of a job for him, please let me know as soon as possible.
—Janice Fitzpatrick
To contribute to OLW News, please contact Bill Alsmeyer-Johnson.
Linda Jemison, Chair, MVUC Board of Trustees
Make of yourself a light. —the Buddha
We love our gardens and the grounds and we care for them with the labor of our hands, but we are not a garden club.
We gather to discuss the issues facing our country and the world, but we are not a debating society.
We look at the world beyond our hill, at the neighboring community and generously offer support, but we are not a philanthropic foundation.
We come together for special events and parties and celebrations, but we are not a country club.
We enjoy the choral and instrumental music at our worship services, but we are not a music appreciation society.
We are a religious congregation of more than 400 members joined together by a covenant and a common set of beliefs. As a part of this community which we have freely chosen, we allow for a wide latitude of interpretation of belief with the understanding that we are all reasonable individuals with dearly held principles. Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church is our safe place to agree and disagree and we are most true to our chosen faith when, even in disagreement, we still clasp hands and feel the warmth of friendship and community. And this simple concept is what truly makes us a church: not the grounds, not the buildings, not the music, but the clasping of hands in a sacred moment.
In the coming months we will endeavor to closely examine who we are as a church, as a fellowship, as a faith community. But I can give you some interesting statistics right now about the growth of our congregation.
In the nursery and preschool classes (under age five) we have 44.
In K–7 (ages five through 12) we have 83.
In the Coming of Age class 19 eighth-graders are preparing for a trip to Boston as a rite of passage in their deepening relationship with our faith. This has impressive implications for the YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) group next year.
Currently, there are 28 in the YRUU with a regular Sunday attendance number of 15–20. Of those 28, five will graduate from high school creating a 42-member YRUU.
Since January 1, 2003 40 individuals have signed the membership book; exciting news indeed. But even more exciting: nine of those new members are children of MVUC.
A few weeks ago Rev. Lou asked us "Will our children choose our chosen faith?" With a record number of young members numerous enough to have their own table at the annual meeting and an R.E. program thriving with an average Sunday attendance of almost 100, I would have little reservation shouting out a "Yes!"
Our current success is certainly a tribute to the hard work of the Religious Education Council, not to mention Hope Andonovska, our Director of Religious Education and Janice Fitzpatrick, R.E. Assistant and previous Interim Religious Education Director. But it is also a tribute to the commitment of our membership to leave a legacy of the Unitarian-Universalist faith.
If I’m going on about this, it’s because I had the chance to participate in R.E. again recently, something I most emphatically love doing. I commend to those of you who have never led a class of young learners: This is where the action is in growing our church and our denomination, in spreading the good news of liberal religion.
The only hope of immortality for any of us is the example we set by our stewardship of our faith and what we leave of that faith with the rising generations.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
—William Butler Yeats
This comment summarizes the reactions to the new direction of our Long Range Facilities Plan, following an initial review for about 40 people last month. Our architects reviewed what we have done to date and proposed a somewhat different approach that is in many ways "back to the future;" it’s very true to the vision Kay Sargent outlined some years ago. The result is much, much better; larger, more flexible, more aesthetic, and a minimal footprint on the Hill. In short, this is the real "once in 20 years plan" that we have been seeking. It’s a bit bolder and bigger. We think it is worthy of our commitment and within our capacity. Like everyone else, we want to concentrate on the Annual Canvass over the next month to make it the best one ever. Once that is complete, we will be talking with you in April, in advance of the Annual Meeting, about these plans in detail. Stand by—we think you are going to be as excited as we are.
—Bill Clontz
The deadline for the mid-month newsletter, Stirrings from Windmill Hill, is the 5th of each month. Material should be submitted to Mimi Stevens by email (mimis (at) erols.com) or left in the Newsletter box by the Church Office.