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The Windmill |
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| April 1, 2004 |
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The Windmill |
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| April 1, 2004 |
REV-ving Up!: Words from our ministerBy The Rev. Louis V. SchwebiusThe thought manifests as the word; —Buddha Dear Friends, Have you ever met someone who talks with authority and could declare his or her opinion to be fact? This is the type that states unequivocally that strawberry ice cream is the best tasting, or that a certain route is a shortcut, when it seems to us that chocolate ice cream is the best flavor, and that their route is definitely much longer than our suggested shortcut. We all have a variety of opinions on a number of subjects from religion to politics to child rearing to eating habits to you-name-it. The overwhelming need to have our own way, or to be right all the time, can become a dysfunctional approach to life and all its problems, most of which have more than one way to find a solution. Indeed, sometimes problems will not be solved and then we must at least learn to live with them. For those of us who need to be right and in control at all times, change can become the enemy which must be fought at every opportunity. I believe that change is not an enemy but an ally, and that we all must continually struggle with our need to be right all of the time. I believe that change is an opportunity for us to grow ourselves into better people, to grow our world into a more just and loving community. "I’m 100% in favor of progress," I once heard an impatient person say, as he was reacting badly to some new proposals at a meeting: "It’s all this CHANGE I’m against!" (Forgive us our change, as we forgive those who change around us!) The word "religion" stems from a word that means to bind together, as in community. We come together and bind ourselves into a religious community, even though we have a variety of beliefs. Religion can be about giving up the ego-needs for rightness and control, and trusting the process, trusting each other, and perhaps even trusting the divine—however we define it. Let us help each other to continue our growth as a rich and diverse religious community. As we face life’s complex issues, I encourage us to examine these issues in the light of our transforming tradition. Knowing how courageously we must choose where to hold on and where to let go, I urge you to consider this question: "Are we reaching out to what is truest or are we sometimes clinging to the more familiar safety gear?" Our answers and our choices today are the next link in our history and will be teaching examples for those who follow. May we walk hand in hand in love with each other and with Life, giving of ourselves freely! In faith and love, —Rev. Lou |
A Month of SundaysServices at 9 am and 11 am April 4 April 11 April 18 April 25 Audio tapes of all services are available upon request. Some sermons are available online in the sermon library. Program HighlightsWorkenanny and Lunch Good Friday Tenebrae Service Seder Easter Egg Hunt Earth Day Fair Movie Night BEL (Bryant Early Learning Center)
Benefit Concert Annual Congregational Meeting and
Potluck |
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
The Parkway was opened in 1932 to honor George Washington. Visitors come from all over the United States and the world with various interests. "Interpretive Rangers" familiarize them with history, nature, and many activities—hiking, biking, bird watching, and picnicking—beyond just relaxing in the beautiful scenery. There are over twenty parks, including two Presidential Memorials, two Military Forts, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Great Falls. There are miles of planted trees and shrubs and there are also many places, such as Dyke Marsh, left to grow naturally.
Doug will explain and discuss the great forest crises. A Forest Restoration bill was passed last fall, with bi-partisan support. He will tell us what is being done to help the forest reserves. Doug is a Senior Policy Analyst in the U. S. Forest Service. His family have been active members of MVUC for many years and at present, he is on the church Board.
MVUC needs a nurturing, reliable Nursery Caregiver each Sunday morning from 8:45 am until 12:15 pm. You will have parent volunteers to assist you each week. Pay will be $75 each Sunday. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. It is possible for 2 people to share the job. See Janice Fitzpatrick for more details.
MVUC also needs two people to be the Summer RE Providers. These are paid positions (pay depends on age and experience) for ages 14 and up, including adults. Summer RE starts June 6 and ends September 6. Work hours on Sunday mornings are 9:30 to 11:30 am. Contact Janice Fitzpatrick, 703-765-5950 x 105; email mvuc-re@mvuc.org.
The ever-popular Easter egg hunt will take place, on Sunday, April 11, 10:15–10:45 am between services. Ages through 5 hunt in the "walled" garden, just off the patio, behind the Commons; ages 5 through 5th grade hunt in the Meadow. The 6th and 7th graders will hide the eggs. All are welcome to bring donations of colored hard-boiled eggs and individually wrapped candy. Hunters should bring their own baskets.
EcoStewards Awards Dinner & Concert
On April 22, EcoStewards Alliance & the Chesapeake Earth Institute are sponsoring the third annual dinner and awards event to honor the EcoSteward and EcoSteward Organization of the year. The program also will feature the new EcoChampion initiative launched this year in collaboration with the National Wildlife Federation and the Center for a New American Dream, and will celebrate the 10th anniversary of EcoStewards Alliance. A concert, Somewhere in the Wild, will feature the EcoVoice Ensemble immediately following the dinner. Contact Suzanne Cleary for more information.
The BEL Action Advisory Committee and other volunteers are working on the annual Bryant Early Learning (BEL) Center Benefit Concert set for Saturday, April 24, 7:30–9:00 pm. Once again, local talents Cleve Francis and Herb Tyson have generously agreed to donate their time and musical gifts to raise much-needed funds to benefit children in our community—children like Katie.
Katie was enrolled at the BEL Center when she was 9 months old. Her development was so severely delayed that she was not even able to eat solid foods. Through BEL’s Early Intervention and Prevention Program, in only 3 months, Katie was able to eat on her own. In only six months, Katie’s abilities matched that of other children her age.
We hope to raise $5,000 with this concert to help children like Katie. You can help us reach this goal by being a sponsor and by buying tickets and attending. For sponsorship information, please contact Debbie Halla at (703) 317-3358. For ticket information and reservations, please contact Esther Dickinson at (703) 360-9375. Tickets are $35 for premiere seating, $15 for general seating, and $5 for children under 12.
If you have a red/clear blue ink ball point pen with "Charles County Health Department" markings, it belongs to MVUC. Several pens of all colors walk out of the building every week, mostly on Sunday. Please leave these pens, or others you don’t need, on the greeter’s table in the Commons.
Ginny and Bev will be offering an exciting program on April 27 from 10:30 until Noon. Our Presenter will be Maureen McHugh, who teaches the Feldenkrais Method. Since the program is about "a way to feel better by helping you move better," she will lead us in a series of exercises that will illustrate the Method. Bring a mat or blanket with you, as the exercises are done lying on the floor, moving gently and slowly. (Those of you who find it difficult to get up and down at first, may observe as the rest of the group goes through the suggested movements).
Maureen has been here before, and she was highly recommended by those who attended her earlier demonstration. Anyone who wishes may attend this program and be most welcome. Wisdom Years includes many of us, whether wise or not! Questions? Call Bev or Ginny or ask to see Maureen’s informational sheet with more information.
It’s coming up fast! Saturday, May 8, is the date, and we’ll be setting up in the Mansion starting Monday, May 3. Because the Mansion is still undergoing extensive work, we can’t receive your goodies at this time. If you just have to bring them up to the Hill now, we can store some things in the garage (behind the greenhouse). Call Betsy Roderick or Pat Jackson if you have any inquiries about the Flea Market.
MVUC Members interested in attending the UUA General Assembly (June 24–28 in Long Beach, California), should contact the Nominating Committee to be nominated as MVUC Delegates.
Members of the Nominating Committee are: Brett Alexander, Scott Cameron, Esther Dickinson, Betsy Roderick, and Bruce Tinker. Delegates will be nominated by the congregation during the Annual Meeting, April 25, 2004. Information about the General Assembly is on the credenza in the Commons: Program Sampler, Registration Forms, and Hotel Reservation Forms. Additional Information is available in the office and at www.uua.org/ga
It's Spring! Birds are singing, flowers are blooming—but at UCM there is a lack of good foodstuffs for the less fortunate. Every Monday morning I take food donations from MVUC to UCM. Lately there has been very little to take. Next time you're coming to the Church, why not bring a little extra from your last trip to the grocery store and leave it in the collection boxes in the Commons. They’ll make their way to UCM on Monday and make Spring just a little better for some of UCM’s less fortunate. Thanks.
—Bev Southerland
The extensive work projected for Hollin Hall is proceeding on schedule, with the target date for completion the end of April. The handicapped-accessible entryway with new brick ramp has been finished. Five new Carrier gas furnaces and their companion outside compressors have been installed to accomplish the heating and cooling of all floors. The old radiators and central boiler, which formerly provided heat for the Mansion, will be removed along with most of the associated exposed piping. Plumbing work to replace the water supply pipes to all the fixtures has been extensive and—along with the HVAC work—the cause of considerable wall and ceiling breakout. The new handicapped-accessible restroom on the first floor off the foyer will be tiled similarly to the existing first floor restroom, and a vintage lavatory sink (from the deactivated second floor Matisse room bathroom) will be utilized in this room. The kitchen ceiling, which was showing signs of separating from the ceiling joists, will be entirely replaced as part of the follow-up wall and ceiling repair throughout the building. A new kitchen tile floor will be installed as a climax to all the upgrades to Hollin Hall. This is a gift from Betty Baran, who approved the idea and the choice of color for the project just a week before she died. She had expressed a desire to give something to this restoration project at Hollin Hall, something that we might not be able to fund otherwise. The next few weeks will be busy ones as the new bathroom is completed, the holes get patched and painted, and a final cleanup is accomplished.
Hats off to Betsy Roderick, Russ Stumpe, and Terry Patterson, who have been dealing with the contractors, and poring over the plans since last summer. And now it’s almost done!!
—Pat Jackson
On Friday, April 9 at 7:30 pm, Rev. Lou will lead a Unitarian Universalist style Tenebrae Service in the Chapel. This Tenebrae service is adapted from the Christian tradition and commemorates the life and spirit of Jesus of Nazareth. It reflects on the solemn side of Easter Week and the resiliency of the Human Spirit through the Passion Story. All are invited to come to the Chapel and share in a time of biblical readings, special music, and candle lighting.
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RE Youth Birthdays! April 1 Jack Irish 3 Elliott Jernigan 5 Michael Sears 8 Ian Anderson and Katie Sargent 12 Griffin Colaizzi 14 Kevin Sargent and Naomi Masterson 15 Emma Boel 21 Caroline Stewart 26 James Dressing 30 Will Neer and Alexa Sears |
Gregg and Debra Early on the birth of their daughter, Sophie Chance, on March 4. Proud grandparents are Hal Holtzclaw and Isa McGuire.
MVUC is saddened by the death of long-time member Alex Lehrer on March 11. A memorial service was held on March 21.
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 to respond to your needs, as noted in the Order of Service. Call Jo Jackley 6636 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
To all who supported our recent fund raising dinner: Köszönöm szépen. It was a successful event featuring the wonderful a cappella chorus, Potomac Fever.
The committee’s next project is to co-sponsor with the MVUC Religious Education program a gathering of art supplies for the school in Szentháromság, our partner village in Romania. The school covers Kindergarten thru 8th grade. We have about $900, collected from the sale of the holiday cards which featured drawings from the students, to donate to the school. The school has many needs, including indoor plumbing, new blackboards, books, etc. But, what we would like for the 32 MVUC’ers who are visiting in July to take with them are donations of used kids’ magazines (which have mostly pictures); used children’s dictionaries with pictures; colored pencils; crayons; regular pencils; hand pencil sharpers; washable markers; water colors; gel pens; stickers; etc. Those going to Romania in July won’t have lots of room, so we don’t need really heavy things or huge quantities. Tablets, and other types of paper aren’t so useful, as their paper and tablets are different sizes than ours. It is possible that we could purchase paper supplies while we are in Romania.
There will be a container in the Commons for receiving your donations. Köszönöm szépen! (Have you figured out that that means "Thank you very much!" in Hungarian?) Contact Lisa Gillispie or Angela, Gary, Janice Fitzpatrick with questions.
The time is right for a public demonstration of historic size in support of abortion rights and reproductive freedom for all women. Our rights are under attack as they haven’t been in over a decade, and Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread in the Supreme Court. You can help build the momentum we need to preserve our rights. Please join us to March for Women’s Lives.
The March for Women’s Lives addresses the assaults on women’s rights and lives, both nationally and globally, that restrict women’s access to reproductive health services and limit women’s ability to have a child or to end a pregnancy.
As the anti-choice agenda expands, the lives and health of women have never before faced such peril. On Sunday, April 25, we will converge on Washington DC, to deliver a message to the country. We will not allow women’s lives to be lost or ruined by unjust laws and insensitive regulations promulgated by those who put women last! Additional information and a schedule of UU-related activities is at the following web site:
It is again time to vote on the proposed Study Action Issues for presentation and a vote at General Assembly, this June in Long Beach, CA. What is a Study Action Issue? It is a statement of principle on an issue, say Civil Liberties, that once selected is sent out to the congregations so that every UU has a chance to review and have a say on its wording. Once that process is complete, and if it is adopted at a future General Assembly, it becomes an official Statement of Conscience of the UUA. The proposed Study Action Issues this year are:
Copies of these drafts are available in the Commons. Please stop by to review them, vote on the ones you’d like to see presented at General Assembly, and find out more about the process of choosing a Statement of Conscience.
Save the Date! On Saturday, May 8, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm UUs for Social Justice will host a workshop, Feeding the Flame of Justice II: A workshop for Social Justice Leaders. The event will be held at the UU Congregation of Columbia, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD. Both those who attended the first Feeding the Flame workshop and others interested and/or currently working on social justice issues in our UU congregations are invited to attend. Please see the UUSJ website for further information: www.uusj.org
Linda Jemison, Chair, MVUC Board of Trustees
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
—Charles Darwin
Change is what happens when you think you have everything arranged perfectly. At the beginning of this church year, we hired a new Director of Music and we looked forward to the first full year with our new Director of Religious Education. For different reasons, both have found it necessary to resign their positions with us. At almost the same time as those two staff members leave, we will finally employ a Business Administrator to manage administrative and business functions.
We embrace change as transforming; indeed we are the change for the better in a world of terror and pain. But change is still hard, it causes stresses, distorts perceptions. Growth, too, is a part of change and comes in many forms. We could grow in members who have signed the membership book, in the number of children in Religious Education, in the number of outreach programs, in name recognition, in the size of our staff. And growth is messy. It causes uncomfortable imbalances, such as a chapel one-third full at 9:00 am and standing room only at 11:00 am. Responding quickly to the changes caused by growth is almost never possible because we are a democratically run congregation.
The truth is we are growing and will continue to grow in all these ways. By 2010 Mt. Vernon will be the most populous district in Fairfax County, even more so than the current leader, Hunter District. This will be due largely to the Laurel Hill development in the southern part of the county, the former Lorton Correctional Facility. Unitarian-Universalists who live in the southern part of the county will choose among Bull Run Unitarian, Accotink Unitarian and Mt. Vernon Unitarian. This choice will depend not only on the convenience of travel to each church, but also on the character of each congregation.
Through all this change and growth we must remember that we are all sheltered under the same principles. We must remember that we all have the same agenda—the agenda that is stated in our covenant. We say these words every Sunday and long repetition can sometimes drain the meaning from a statement of intention such as this. Next time, think about each phrase as you say it. Love is the teaching…the quest for truth…service…to dwell together in peace…to seek knowledge…to serve life in community…
I have a dear friend in this congregation (I have many, many dear friends, but I’m thinking of one in particular here) whom I cherish. This friend and I are 180 degrees apart on a particular Unitarian issue—the kind of issue that makes tempers flare and accusations fly. Yet, we still enjoy conversing and hold each other in the highest esteem, and we always make a point of remembering that we each have the right to follow our own conscience. And of course we have the hope that each of us will come around to the other’s point of view. It would certainly be a bitter irony if the day should come and find that, though we were finally in agreement on the issue, harsh words had irretrievably broken our friendship.
I tell you this because soon we will join together at our annual meeting. At that time, we will take in our hands that cherished Unitarian principle of democracy and decide if we should choose to grow our programs and our outreach by choosing to build on to our chapel and create the space we need to comfortably accommodate growth. We must come together in a spirit of good will and fellowship, knowing that not all will agree, knowing that all of us feel strongly about our concerns and our view of our needs, and knowing that all of us have the best interests of our church in mind.
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the founding of our fellowship, we will continue to grow in love and care for each other as well as in size and facilities. We owe it to our beliefs and our children to be the change in the world and to extend the reach of the Unitarian-Universalist faith. The time for our commitment to growth and change is now.
Mark Zimmerman submitted his resignation as our Director of Music on Monday, March 15. Mark gave us many superb musical experiences. I especially remember the joyful installation service, the kids dressed as animals in The Spirit of the Christmas Tree, the performance of Mimi Stevens’ tribute to Martin Luther King at an ecumenical service, and his rendition of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables. The donated pianos he obtained will be a permanent reminder of his work here. Mark’s departure has saddened us. The Music Committee is working on interim plans and the search for a new Director of Music. We have enjoyed the several months that Mark has been with us, grieve his departure, and wish him well wherever his journeys take him.
—Karen Tyson
Celebrate Earth Day in style by taking part in MVUC’s second Earth Day Fair 11 am–3 pm on April 18 (immediately following the single 10 am Earth Day service). Those who participated two years ago will recall the information, activities, food, and fun for all ages. Here’s a sample of what’s planned:
Demonstration of Earth-friendly hybrid cars
Plan to join in the festivities. For more information or to find out how you can help, contact Bill Alsmeyer-Johnson or Suzanne Cleary.
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.