E-mail UU-Valdosta at uuvaldosta@yahoo.com  

Phone:  229-242-3714 

 

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Sunday Services	Thank You! Thank You!	Religious Education
President's Portion	Social Action	UU Activities and Announcements
Social Events!!	Board Notes
	Welcome new (and returning) board members!!!

 What’s going on.…July 2004  

Sunday Services

Rev. Harold Hawkins will be with us on the first Sunday in July as we celebrate July 4.  His topic will be “American Exceptionalism.”   Rev Hawkins has visited with us on numerous occasions.  He is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister who lives in Tallahassee, Fl.  He served as a hospital chaplain for a number of years and has served several Florida UU churches as minister.  His topic sounds provocative for our times.  Come and welcome him back to our congregation and participate in this service.   

On July 11 Emory Warwick will speak on “Ideological Errors of the Neoconservatives."  Many of you know Emory and some of you know that he is the father of one of our new members, Anne Zipperer.  Welcome Emory Warrick and participate in what promises to be a topic relevant to this election season. 

"Prayer, Meditation, or Whatever You Call It," presented by one of our members, Fred Howard, is the topic for July 18.  Fred has spoken a number of times on topics, which are on his mind as he is enrolled in the theology program at Emory University in Atlanta.   

On July 25 another of our members, Hue Jacobs, will share some of his thoughts entitled, "My Most Important Lessons About God and Spirituality Came from Comic Books, Science Fiction, and Video-games."  Hue’s talks usually generate an interesting discussion.  Come and participate. 

Meet & Greet Coffee after the Service: Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in friendly and interesting conversation and particularly to greet visitors and newcomers.  Volunteers are needed to host particular Sundays.   

Childcare is available during the Sunday service. The nursery is now equipped with new furniture. UUA policy recommends that it is prudent to have two people providing childcare for each age group on any given Sunday.   Sarah Tait has agreed to be a provider every Sunday for the nursery. One additional volunteer is needed each Sunday.  Please consult the two-month schedule available at the church and sign up for the dates you can help. This could help our church grow!   

GHP Students

Georgia Governor’s Honors Program students are back at VSU.  Our experience in the past several years has been that UU students from elsewhere in the State come themselves and often invite their new friends to visit our congregation.  They have been a wonderful addition to our summer services.  Many of these students have learned for the first time what a liberal religious community and UU congregations in particular have to offer.  Do welcome our visitors if they come again this year and listen for requests for help with transportation.   (In the past we have offered transportation to our services; however your editor was unaware of this year’s plans as the newsletter was going to press.)    

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President’s Portion Dee Tait This could be our best year yet, and as I say that, I ask myself what exactly that means.  I examined that thought during our last board meeting when a board member contributed that she doesn’t think so much about attracting people, but more about serving people.  That strikes me as such a valid point.   As I think more about it, it occurs to me that most everything we do at the church building or in the community and beyond is service.  If we are aware of that, we can feel that each of our small parts is significant. So, as we make preparations for our new minister, Rev. Barbara Child, to arrive September 8, let’s have some fun staying involved inside the church and beyond.  We will be getting photos and information for our new church directory.  Watch for directions and make sure you get yours done.  The directory is only useful if we are all in it.  Reverend Child has asked us to choose from a list of topics for her presentations and the best time for her to present them.  Watch for this list and make your choices soon. We continue to receive concerns that our church sign is not visible.  If you have a suggestions on how to make our church sign more visible, watch for directions on how to do that. Let’s be alert to announcements of places and ways to get involved inside and outside the church.  As we follow our principles, we can be of service to each other, our community, our world and, yes, to ourselves. Details on some of these announcements could be in this July newsletter, so read it carefully. Cheers for a wonderful year!

 

New Church Directory: We are beginning the process of printing a news church directory.  The directory will be effective only if we are all in it.  (1)     Be prepared to have your photo taken the last Sunday in July.  Makeup dates will be the first two Sundays in August. (2)     Send your updated information for the directory to Anna Mitchell Hall:  name, as you want it to appear, mailing address, home/business phones, email address.

  Welcome to New Officers

Officers for our new church year were elected at the May 30 Annual Congregational Meeting.   They begin their duties this month.  We thank our outgoing officers, those who have agreed to continue to serve on the Board, and newcomers to the Board.

President: Dee Tait

Vice President: Lars Leader

Treasurer: Randy Thompson

Secretary: Anna Hall

Religious Education: Anne Zipperer

Building ;and Grounds: John Tait 

About our members and congratulations:

v      Congratulations to Leona Zipperer, Anne Zipperer's daughter.  She received Honor and Merit scholarships and a grant from Agnes Scott College.  Leona will begin her studies at the Decatur GA college in August.   

v      Best wishes to Rhonda Crawford and her husband who are leaving Moody Air Force Base and Valdosta this summer.  Good luck to both of them as they take up new duty stations.  We will miss both of you. 

v    Congratulations to our UU friend, Dr. Jennifer Lawrence, who gave birth to a 9 1/2 lb. baby boy on June 14. Those who know Jennifer may want to send a card to her at 3208 Country Club Dr., Valdosta, GA 31605

v      Stephanie Kiyak, one of our new members shares the following about herself and her artistic work.  Stephanie donated one of her “spirit forms” to our church recently.

She says that about 4 years ago, I awoke one morning with the image of a "spirit form" in her mind.  It was quite clear in her mind how it should look, and even the method I would use in creating it.  I was to make it without gender, and it would possibly represent different meanings to the person viewing it -- a Spirit or Angel, maybe a Saint, or to some possibly Jesus.  At the time, my ceramic art was focused mainly on functional art and art influenced by the Native American culture – I felt and still do that their spiritual ideologies are the closest to what I believe, in that the Creator dwells in all living things, animate as well as inanimate.   I wasn’t really interested in sculpture at the time, so I was intrigued that this image and the desire to create it was in my mind that morning.   I remember that as I set about to make them, I thought that I would give them to friends as Christmas presents – well, it turned out that my life was to go in a topsy-turvy direction, and I ended up giving them to my friends as my going-away present, since I thought I was leaving South Florida and never to return again (interestingly, I didn’t keep one for myself).  Well, I did return after a year, although I had had to put my studio in storage and didn’t have access to set it back up until a few months ago, after relocating to Valdosta.  But the image in my mind never left, and I am creating them once again.  I feel very strongly about certain spiritual beliefs that I consider “fact” deep in my soul, and I know that we are all “messengers” of the Creator.  That is to say, when someone says something profound, or if I say something to someone that strikes them as profound, I never feel as if it originated from that individual or myself, but rather that it is God talking through us.  And I definitely feel that way with my art.  I am constantly amazed when I create a bowl on the wheel, or have an idea in my mind as to what to create next and set about doing it – I feel that it is the Creator working through my mind and my hands, and that I am just the vehicle through which the Creator is expressing It’s ideas.  Sometimes I’ll just look at whatever I’m working on and think to myself “how did I do that, with just a lump of clay?”.  I feel very humbled by the experience, and I feel blessed to be aware that I am consciously joined with our Creator.  I hope this doesn’t sound too convoluted – I guess it’s a long answer to a simple question, but for me, everything has a deeper meaning once you set yourself on a path of self-discovery and make the decision to lead a purposeful life.

So, with all that said, I feel “directed” to continue making these figures, as well as other functional pottery, for sale to the public.  There are many days in which I think to myself “I need to get a real job to bring in income”, or “who wants to buy this stuff?!”.  But there continues to be this feeling within me like in the movie Field of Dreams where it was told to the main character “build it, and they will come”.  I keep getting the feeling that I am not to worry about the outlet for selling or who my appreciative audience will be, and that I am just to continue creating and “they will come”.  As I type this, I look up at a watercolor plaque that I made a year ago (again, another time inspiration struck and I made about 50 of them – all inspirational sayings -- in two weeks) – this one reads “Have faith… faith grows when you act without knowing the end result”…you could say this is they way I live my life.  I’m quite pleased that the direction I’m going in includes having joined the Unitarian Church and meeting wonderful people that share an optimistic view on life and ALL THAT IS.  

INVITATION TO MEMBERSHIP If you are interested in becoming a member of our fellowship, we encourage you to talk with Betsy Thompson, Membership Ministry Committee Chair, or any of our church officers. We welcome your questions, and we extend an open invitation to all who want to join our liberal community of faith.

 

 

Social Action Activities

Break Bread Together

Our date for meal deliveries with the Break Bread Together program is the 2^nd Monday of each month.  If you can deliver meals on this day beginning about 11:00 AM, please contact Dee Tait. 

Social Action Committee

This committee will begin meeting regularly again in the fall.  Contact Anna Mitchell Hall if you are interested in current activities of this committee.

 If you are interested in resources on prisoner abuses, you may find the following source useful.

http://www.uua.org/news/2004/040511.html 

Special Thanks to Jack and Kathy Ford who, during their visit the last Sunday in May, when Jack filled our pulpit, presented a vase made by Steve Andersen and a ceramic figure made by Laurel Hahlen to the church to replace items destroyed a year ago when the church was vandalized.  The artwork had been gifts to Jack and Kathy from Steve and Janet Andersen and from Laurel Hahlen and Chuck Cape.  Steve Andersen is a retired VSU faculty member from the Art Department.  He and Janet were members of our church when they lived in Valdosta.  They now live in Colorado.  Both Chuck Cape and Laurel Hahlen graduated with degrees in art from VSU.  Chuck was a member of our church when he lived in Valdosta.  He now lives in Atlanta. GA.  Laurel lives in Valdosta and is a member of our church. 

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If you wish to read the UU publication, InterConnections, online, you may do so by signing up at www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/interconnections-1.  This publication offers valuable information, whether you hold an office or are just interested in knowing more about Unitarian Universalism.  

Fellowship Activities

  Games Night!

Join in this fun evening the first Friday of each month at the church at 7:00 pm.   Bring along some refreshments and your favorite game.  Contact: Hue Jacobs.

 

Last Saturday Supper

Saturday, July 31

Cook-out at Betty Derrick’s Home

6:30 PM

Betty will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, and veggie burgers,  as well as rolls and the fixings.  You bring yourself, a salad or dessert, and your beverage of choice.  Please invite newcomers to our congregation to join us—and offer to bring them out to Betty’s.  Call to let Betty know you are coming so she’ll know how many rolls and “burgers” to buy. 

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Newsletter Staff

Editor:  Betty Derrick

Production/Mailing:  Virginia Branan

Website:  Carol Stiles

July 15: deadline for the August newsletter.  Your editor will  be doing the August newsletter very late in July.  If you have late additions send them in as late as July 22.

What happens to the newsletter before it is posted to our website: a report from Carol Stiles:  When the newsletter is ready for printing, an electronic copy is sent by your editor to Carol Stiles, who maintains our website.  Based on UUA guidelines Carol removes the health concerns entirely, but leaves in the "congrats" section. She uses first names of children, high school and under.  She removes home phone numbers, addresses, directions to socials, etc., and e-mail addresses. (We can be contacted through our church e-mail address, and then Carol passes the messages on to the appropriate individuals).   Carol also usually reads through the newsletter and may remove some other details, but otherwise it goes online with the same content as the print version, although in a different format and order, because of the need to convert it to .html.

If anyone submits anything for the printed newsletter that that person does not want online, Carol would be happy to edit it out, if your editor is so informed, or you  directly notify Carol, before the newsletter is  posted (which could be anytime after the 15th of the month).

Carol says our website is now commercial-free!   There should be no pop-up ads when accessing the pages.

Many thanks to Carol for maintaining our site.

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UU Activities and Announcements

 Further information is posted on the bulletin board at the church.

August 13-14 R.E.Teacher’s Retreat, First Unitarian Church, Orlando, FL

September 26-October 2  Florida District Leadership School,  Oviedo, FL 

October 16 Managing Differences led by Mary Higgins, Community UU Church, Daytona, FL

Nov. 13 Fall Leadership Conference facilitated by Wayne Clark, UUA Congregational Fundraising consultant

 

Did you know that our UU heritage is fueled by the “two heresies,” Unitarianism and Universalism.  Names of those famously connected with the Unitarian heresy include Michael Servetus, a young anti-Trinitarian law student who was burned at the stake by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland in 1553.  Faustus Socinus founded Socinian churches, which were destroyed or banished in 1658 in Poland.  Another is Hungarian Francis David who died in prison in 1579.  John Biddle was the founder of the English Unitarian movement, which moved to America with Joseph Priestly, who established, with the encouragement of Benjamin Franklin,  the first church in America established as a Unitarian church in Philadelphia in 1796.    The Universalist heresy was brought to America in 1741  by George de Benneville, who was imprisoned at one time in France and saved from beheading by Louis XV.  Probably the most influential early Universalist in America was John Murray, who in 1779 organized the first Universalist Church in America in Gloucester, MA.  Members of this church were already aware of the 1759 publication of James Relly in England, which discussed universal salvation. Prejudice against universalism was great enough in early America that George Washington issued orders to establish Murray’s rights as a chaplain in the army of the Continental Congress.  Hosea Ballou followed as a major Universalist influence in America.    “Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were what today we would call religious liberals.   Thomas Jefferson, its author was an avowed Unitarian.  Three    primary figures in nineteenth century Unitarianism, William Ellery Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Theodore Parker, were linked to      the Revolution through their ancestry as well as their ideas.”  Hosea Ballou had been influenced by the writings of the Revolutionary War general, Ethan Allen.    “Religious liberalism, as embodied in Unitarian Universalism, was closely identified with the Revolution and the convictions of its leaders about God, human nature, politics, liberty, justice, truth, progress, the human situation, cosmology, science and reason, are conditioned by that inescapable fact.”   From: H. B. Scholefield (ed.), “The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide”

Treasurer’s Report

May 2004  - Treasurer: Randy Thompson

								YTD
OPERATING RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS:						May		Eleven Months
Receipts:
One-time Ministerial Pledge						$0.00		$17,500.00
Pledge						1,180.00		13,988.12
Plate						121.05		1,367.02
Rent						100.00		2,700.00
Other						0.00		435.00
TOTAL RECEIPTS						1,401.05		35,990.14
Disbursements:
Mortgage						500.00		5,000.00
Speaker's Fees & Expenses						500.00		2,183.41
Utilities						149.62		1,911.29
Pianist						0.00		770.00
UUA Annual Dues						0.00		1,495.00
Postage						62.90		333.06
Supplies						0.00		700.39
Insurance						0.00		1,238.00
Repairs and Maintenance						0.00		613.55
Congregational Travel						0.00		206.75
Child care expense						20.00		50.00
Other						0.00		1,140.52
TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS						1,232.52		15,641.97
NET RECEIPT (DISBURSEMENT)						$168.53		$20,348.17

 

At the Church-in-the-Woods

Tai Chi – Monday and Thursday Evenings.  A new Beginners Tai Chi class will begin August 23 meeting 5:30-6:30 PM.  Contact Dennis Bogyo if you are interested or need further information.

New Hope Christian Fellowship - Sunday evenings: Choir practice at 5:00 PM. Service at 6:00 PM.

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