The Flaming Chalice

Sat	Apr 3	evening	Easter Events begin - campout - see below!
Sun	Apr 4	10:45 AM	Sunrise service, pancake breakfast (9:00 a.m.), Easter Egg Hunt Service - Jack Ford
Tues	Apr 6	11:00 AM	Break Bread Together Meal Delivery
Tues	Apr 6	7:00 PM	Women’s Group at the church
Sun	Apr 11	9:30 AM 10:45 AM	Youth R.E., Meditation group Service - Tom Hallock, Spiritual Exploration in American Poetry
Fri	Apr 16	7:00 PM	Coffee House!!
Sun	Apr 18	9:30 AM 10:45 AM 12:15 PM	Youth R.E., Adult Forum Service - Jack Ford 3^rd Sunday Potluck, followed by a board meeting
Tues	Apr 20	6:00 PM 7:00 PM	Religious Diversity event on VSU campus Women’s Group at the church
Thur	Apr. 22	4:30 PM	Visit with Rev. Mary Higgins, Florida District Executive
Sun	Apr 25	9:30 AM 10:45 AM	Youth R.E., Meditation group Service - Bill Frierson (VSU Dept. of Philosophy)

Spring is Here!!
We continue our celebration of spring with several Easter Weekend events! A campout and campfire Saturday evening - who know’s maybe a rousing game of dominoes by firelight? Bring a favorite reading or poem to share at the Sunrise Service early Sunday a.m. The men’s group (newly organized) will be serving pancake breakfast at 9:00 a.m. ($3.00 adult, $1.50 for kids over 11, $1.00 extra for non-vegetarians who wish to have sausage on the side). An Easter egg hunt for all ages will follow the breakfast, before the 10:45 a.m. Sunday service with Jack Ford in the pulpit.

Support Lamp!!
April is our month to support LAMP!! Lowndes Associated Ministries to the People is an interfaith organization (of about 70 churches) which provides services and emergency assistance to people in need in Lowndes County. Bring non-perishable food items such as peanut butter & jelly, macaroni and cheese, canned goods, cereal, salty snacks and crackers, sugar, and personal hygiene products (shampoo, deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.), food cans with pop tops (for transients).

Our next coffee house will be held Friday, April 16, 7:00 p.m. Donation for admission is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for students, includes coffee or tea. $1.00 discount if you bring at least two cans of food for LAMP. Lasagna dinner, desserts and specialty drinks available for purchase.

Expect a great evening of entertainment - Alan Keith, a Tallahassee folksinger will join us again, The Molly and Doug Revue with various special guests, open-microphone (bring your poetry, readings, jokes, music, and dancing shoes), and lots of fun! We need volunteers to provide food, help serve, etc. Contact Rene, Molly and Doug, or Carol.

Tell all your friends! Come, have a great evening to benefit UU-Valdosta and LAMP!!

On the 1^st and 3^rd Sunday of each month, an Adult Forum discussion group will be held, with various topics. On the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays, meditation will be held. Both groups will meet at 9:30 AM. Any 5^th Sundays are open, and the group will decide on an activity for that extra Sunday in a month; otherwise the room is available for meditation. For more information, please contact Wendy Sue Lamb or Bill Hayes by phone or e-mail Wendy or Bill.

The women’s group is reading the novel Pope Joan, by Donna Woolfolk Cross. It is not necessary to read the book to participate in our evenings - join us for good food and great company, the 1^stand 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m

Games Night - By the campfire? See the Easter weekend events described on the first page. Call Julie or Carol for more information.

Based upon many discussions with congregants, new and long-time members, and the results of the ministry survey, the Board has decided to try to find a temporary consulting minister (for instance, a retired minister that would live and work with us here in Valdosta) for the next year. This is an exciting time for UU-Valdosta, a time of transition and renewed commitment! The board and congregation will work to increase membership - many ideas have been generated for increasing the awareness of UU in Valdosta. The program committee will, of course, continue to lead and organize lay-led services through the summer and into the fall, and plan some special visits by UU ministers from nearby congregations.

Jack Ford has four more services with us in April and May, and plans to return in the future to give visiting sermons, as he finishes up his work before going before the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee in Boston next year. Let’s celebrate with Jack these next two months, his past few years with us here at UU-Valdosta!

Late-breaking news! Rev. Mary Higgins, UU-Florida District Executive, will visit us this month to help make plans to meet our future goals on Thursday, April 22, 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. - call Steve or Janet for more info.

UU-Florida District Executive Rev. Mary Higgins, will meet with us on Thursday, April 22, 4:30 - 7:00 p.m., in the R.E. building, to make plans to meet our future goals. All are encouraged to participate in this brain-storming and consulting session. (Remember that Tai Chi is ongoing in the sanctuary on Thursdays; therefore, the meeting with Rev. Higgins will be held in the R.E. building, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Call Steve or Janet to confirm.)

This past month, the Elementary RE time machine has taken the class back in time to the 16^th through 18^th century to view early Unitarians and their struggle to freely talk about their religious beliefs. We hope to present a play later in the spring about these early leaders and the ideas and the persecution which they endured.

Sunday, Apr. 18. Please bring a dish to share, after the service. Board meeting (or other activity) to follow.

If you can deliver meals the 1^st and 5^th Tuesdays of each month beginning about 11:00 a.m., please contact Carol. Meal delivery only takes about an hour of your time.

We want ideas, suggestions and action that will motivate and compel people toward the Unitarian Universalist church where they can become active, invigorating members.

Will this idea help us to grow both spiritually and in numbers should be the criteria for all future plans and we should challenge and change any personal and institutionally-held practices that may be barriers to the overall growth of this congregation.

True partnership means that each person's talents and gifts are viable to this growth and that synergy is evident in a working church. It will take everyone committed to growth for us to grow.

The program committee has challenged themselves to provide better organized services, with more insightfulness, higher participation with a sharper focus on sermons that tend to uplift the human spirit. Music and participation by the youth of this church is not an option - it is an uplifting and important part of the services. When we leave it must be with a feeling that we have been to church and not to a town meeting, debating society, or a college lecture.

We are a covenanted group agreeing to affirm and promote certain principles and in turn this promoting will cause us to grow both spiritually and in numbers. Our effort should be toward that end with our talents, time and money. Our faith is strengthened by sharing all three with others and springs from commitment to affirm and promote these principles.

Thank You, Thank You For delivering Break Bread Together meals last month: Janet Andersen, Joan Cline, Carol Stiles, Mark Blackmore (guest substitute)

VSU will celebrate Diversity Week, April 18-22 - we are currently planning our involvement in this event. On Tuesday, Apr. 20, at Powell Hall Auditorium, a religious diversity panel and speakout will be held. Andrea Green, Emory University, will be the speaker at 7:00 p.m. We will be able to participate by providing a display about Unitarian Universalism at 6:00 p.m., in the Powell Hall Lobby, as well as being a part of the panel/speakout. Contact Charles, Theresa, Carol, or Tom with ideas for this display! This is a great opportunity to increase awareness of UU in Valdosta!! The display may also be a part of the Diversity Fair on Thursday, Apr. 22, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on the Palms Quad (in front of the dining center on Oak St. on campus).

In addition, a forum will be held at our church for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgendered members of the community to meet with and obtain information from various LGBT groups. Groups will include Macon Pride, Georgia Equality Project, and perhaps groups from Atlanta as well. This forum is scheduled for Wednesday evening, April 21, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Representatives from Macon Pride and the Georgia Equality Project will be participating in the VSU Diversity week, during a student speakout on Wed., Apr. 21 at 4:00 p.m. (Powell Hall) and during the Diversity Fair on Palms Quad, Thursday, Apr. 22, 10 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Contact Carol for more info on how you can support both religious diversity and LGBT concerns in Valdosta.

Available at the church for distribution: Timeless Voices, Middle and South Georgia’s Official Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered and Friends (LGBTF) Newspaper published in Macon, GA. Spring Issue should be available soon.

Can you identify the religions indicated by these symbols? (Better yet, can you provide different or additional symbols in *.gif or other format? --ed.)

The Board is preparing for the annual congregational meeting for UU-Valdosta. The nominating committee is preparing a slate of officers for elections (see any member of the board if you’re interested in serving as an officer), and the canvassing committee is contacting members for pledges and fundraising for next year.

Florida District Annual meeting will be held this month, April 16-18, at the First Unitarian Church, in Miami, FL. The keynote speaker is Margaret Beard on "What Makes a Healthy Congregation?"

Check the bulletin boards in the church and R.E. building for information on the following events:

Category	Actual	Budget	Difference
Income:	11,420.79	17,667.00	-6,246.21
Expenses:
Denominational	421.65	1,578.00	-1,156.35
Membership	308.31	491.00	-182.69
Ministerial	3,559.69	4,357.00	-797.31
Miscellaneous	337.57	377.00	-39.43
Operations	10,024.27	10,432.00	-407.73
Religious Education	515.00	450.00	65.00
Total	15,166.49	17,685.00	-2,518.51
Total Income/Expense	-3,746.70	-18.00	-3727.70

The UUA continues to try to persuade the Boy Scouts of America to re-instate official recognition of the Religion in Life award for Boy Scouts and Explorers, as well as the Love and Help award for Cub Scouts. A complete revision of the Religion in Life manual has been prepared, designed to respond to expressed BSA concerns, while maintaining a clear articulation of UU principles. The manual is used for religious education and coming of age programs as well as by Scouts. A reply from the BSA has been requested by March 1, so that the new edition can be printed before General Assembly, but the BSA may request additional time to review the material. Last fall, the BSA ordered the UUA to stop awarding the Religion in Life award. The BSA claimed that the UUA's Religion in Life award contains statements which are "inconsistent with Scouting's values," objected to the UUA's reference to the "trouble that some Unitarians Universalists may have regarding the duty to God," and complained that the UUA disapproved of "Boy Scouts’ membership policies relating to known or avowed homosexuals." (Excerpted from the UUA website: http://www.uua.org/news/scouts/index.html )

Celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this summer, The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center is an independent affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association, near Highlands, NC, (about two hours from Atlanta). Go see what it’s all about - you can make reservations to stay as a drop-in guest, or you can participate in one of the many programs - see the partial calendar below.