Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Drive, Madison WI 53711–4843 (608) 271-8218 prairieu@execpc.com Located off the south frontage road (West Beltline Hwy Rd.) near the Seminole Hwy exit. PRAIRIE FIRE March 24, 2006 "As the prairie stretches out until it becomes one with the sky, let us reach out to touch and be one with the natural world and with one another." (Bond of Union) Prairie Fire is the semi-monthly newsletter of Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society. The two most recent issues may be seen at www.prairie.madison.uua.org President: Mike Briggs (608) 835–0914 Consulting Minister: Rev. Jody Whelden, minister@uuprairie.org; (608) 231-9707 Editor: Dan Proud, prairieu@execpc.com; (608) 661–0776 PRAIRIE CALENDAR Saturday, March 25 7:30 p.m. Playreaders Group is canceled Sunday, March 26 No choir rehearsal *10:00 a.m. "Working in the Trenches," presented by Rita Adair *11:45 a.m. Annual Service Auction preceded by potluck Tuesday, March 28 4:30 a.m. Prairie volunteers serve breakfast at Men's Drop-in Shelter, Grace Episcopal Church 2:00 p.m. Prairie Elders meet at Oakwood West, Oaks Building, Second Floor Activity Room 7:00 p.m. Natural Step class, at Prairie Wednesday, March 29 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal@Prairie 7:00 p.m. Housing and Property Committee meeting Saturday, April 1 1:00 p.m. Housing and Property Committee fixer-upper day Sunday, April 2 Spring Forward: Move clocks ahead one hour! 9:00 a.m. Choir rehearsal *10:00 a.m. "I've Gotta Crow," led by Erin Bosch. *11:45 a.m. Book Club meets at Prairie *11:45 a.m. Right Relations Congregational Meeting Tuesday, April 4 7:00 p.m. Natural Step class, at Prairie Wednesday, April 5 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal@Prairie Thursday, April 6 7:00 p.m. IHN Volunteer Training at Day Center Sunday, April 9 9:00 a.m. Choir rehearsal *10:00 a.m. "God, Torah, and Israel" presented by Rabbi Jonathan Biatch Friday-Sunday, April 21-23 *Central Midwest District Assembly 2006 at the Madison Concourse Hotel Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 Spring Fling overnight Sunday, April 23 *11:45 a.m. Annual Meeting at Prairie Sunday, April 30 12:00 p.m. Humanist Union meets at Prairie Wednesday-Sunday, June 21-25 UUA General Assembly, St. Louis, Mo. (* = Details follow in this issue.) NEXT PRAIRIE FIRE DEADLINE: SUNDAY, APRIL 2 DETAILS OF COMING PROGRAMS Sunday, March 26 In her presentation, "Working in the Trenches," Rita Adair will share voices of Allied Drive residents and speak about her experiences working in the neighborhood. Rita Adair has worked in the field of social work for 23 years. Currently she is employed by Dane County Human Services, as a Community Social Worker. Rita is assigned to the Allied Community working within the Joining Forces for Families Project and has worked in the Allied Community for 4 years She is involved with many agencies to deliver services to residents and address community concerns. Rita also spent 15 years working within the Dane County District Attorney's Office and has been a Dane County foster parent to 25 adolescents. Recently, she made a personal choice to bring evacuees from Hurricane Katrina to Madison, Wisconsin and spearheaded a campaign to raise funds, furnish apartments, employ and care for the evacuees. She is a community activist and a willing participant in God's work. Sunday, April 2 In American society, it is generally not socially acceptable to tell acquaintances when we have done something that we are proud of. It is considered bragging to do that. But at this service, "I've Gotta Crow," led by Erin Bosch, we will be encouraged to brag. After some brief introductory sharing, we will break into small groups of four and take turns telling each other something we have done in our lives that we are proud of. It can be something big or something small. Here are some examples to get you thinking: got a promotion, comforted a friend, wrote a book, lost 15 pounds, did volunteer work. It would be great if you came to this service prepared to share... but just listening is also okay. Let's give each other the opportunity to brag a little. Sunday, April 9 "God, Torah, and Israel: Three Pillars of an Ancient and a Contemporary Faith," is the fourth session of Rachel Long's 6-session lay ministry with Rebecca Malke-Eligenti, "World Religions - Know Your Neighbor." Our guest speaker for April 9 is Rabbi Jonathan Biatch. The biblical book of Proverbs [3:18] declares that Torah is a 'tree of life' for those who grasp it tightly. Judaism is a living faith that provides comfort and solace, joy and exultation, social justice and ethical guidance. Judaism asserts the idea that we ourselves determine how we shape the soul that God has given us, through acts of free will, and by following examples set for us by moral and ethical leaders throughout history, and we do so by looking at our relationship with God, by our understanding and exploration of the Torah, and through our connection with the people of Israel all over the world. Rabbi Biatch served in synagogues in Virginia and California before becoming spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Madison. He has served on the boards of the southern California region of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and "Allies," a human rights advocacy organization supporting the gay and lesbian communities of the Shenandoah Valley. He is married to Rabbi Bonnie Margulis. They have two children, Samantha and Joshua, and reside in Madison. OUR SOCIETY PARISH MEETING AGENDA Please plan to attend our parish meeting on Sunday, April 23 after the service. 1. Minutes of the last meeting 2. Committee reports 3. Committee on Committees – election of officers, lay ministers, GA delegates 4. Consulting Minister’s report 5. Resolutions concerning professional ministry: a. Board to review and report on settled minister starting 2007 b. Consulting minister for 2006-2007 6. Any other business We’ll take up a collection during the meeting for the fund to buy assistive listening devices. MARCH 26 ANNUAL SERVICE AUCTION AND POTLUCK The Annual Service Auction will be held on March 26 following the Sunday service with Orange Schroeder serving as our auctioneer. Please consider the talents and skills you have to offer that others may appreciate. Past services have included home baked items, dinners, artwork, music lessons, poetry, Bed and Breakfast weekends, childcare, financial Services, photography, computer services, help with household chores, and many other diverse contributions. Please contact Steve Vorass at svorass (at) sbcglobal.net or 216-0608 or KK Anderson at AndersonKK (at) yahoo.com with your contribution to this year’s service auction. Please include a minimum suggested bid, and if you are offering an event, please choose a date. This is a fun opportunity to discover (and benefit from) the hidden talents of your fellow Prairie members and friends. There will be a potluck meal, so please bring a food item. Child care will be provided. Steve Vorass THE VIEW FROM MY BRANCH Beginning in April, people at Prairie will embark on the exciting project of writing an "Agreement of Right Relationship" with each other. On Sundays, right after the service, the Prairie's Board of Directors' Task Force of Right Relationship will bring to you the first draft of the agreement. Some of the areas we will be working with are Serving Our Congregation, Forgiveness, Embracing Differences, Working with Listening and Speaking, and Welcoming. There is more and more evidence that being in right relationship is what makes a congregation grow and thrive. In a recent book, "Practicing Right Relationship: Skills for Deepening Purpose, Finding Fulfillment, and Increasing Effectiveness in Your Congregation", Mary K. Sellon and Daniel P. Smith make the case that the health of churches and synagogues depends on congregations learning how to live out love in "right relationship." From the Alban Publisher's Web site... "The authors found that the effectiveness of a congregation, as well as the participants' sense of fulfillment and commitment, varied according to the quality of their relationships with each other. The quality of relationships seemed to be the key. Leadership is not a matter of using certain skills and implementing particular practices, nor it about being right. Leadership is a relationship." And so, to enhance our connections to each other, to make our congregation a safer and positive environment, and to help the congregation heal old wounds, we are about to embark on a congregation- wide dialogue. We look forward to you joining us. Come to one, or all, of these dates--Sundays April 2, April 30 and May 21, 11:45 at the Meeting House for about an hour. See you there! The Rev. Jody Whelden Consulting Minister Office: 608-271-8218 Home Office: 608-231-9707 ATTENTION, ARTISTS! RAINBOWS NEEDED! The Communications Committee requests graphic images that indicate we are a welcoming congregation. The graphic selected by the committee will appear on our new Prairie UU Web site. Submissions may be electronic files or images on paper that can be scanned into a digital file. We need a short, wide image, about 5 times as wide as it is tall. The image will be rather small on the home page of the Web site (about 120 pixels wide by 30 pixels tall, or about 1.25" by 0.25"), so it must be very simple and bold to show up well. Submissions may be given to Karen Deaton by hand, by mail (22 Starr Ct, Madison, 53711), or by email (karendeaton (at) tds.net). The deadline is Sunday, April 23. BOOK CLUB TO MEET APRIL 2 Seldom does the Prairie Book Club read and discuss a second book by an author, but on April 2 we are breaking our precedent by discussing THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES AT LITTLE NO HORSE by Louise Erdrich. THE LAST REPORT is the latest in Erdrich’s chronicles of the Chippewa and Michif Indian people of central North Dakota. It focuses on religion and how it touches the lives in the town of Little No Horse. A reviewer describes this as “a beautiful, brilliant book” that “holds up as a bold and thoughtful study of sexuality.” Here’s a clue: the priest who is thought to be a man is a woman! This book includes characters that appear in other books by Erdrich, but reading the others isn’t mandatory as this book stands on its own. Start reading now since this book has 355 pages. The Prairie Book Club is open to all on a drop-in basis. The Club meets at Prairie shortly after the Sunday service. (Remember that Daylight Savings Time begins April 2. Set your clock ahead an hour.) Bring food to share. Read more about the novel at http://www.dancingbadger.com/nohorse.html Discussion questions can be found at http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/last_report_on_the_miracles _at_little_no_horse.asp If you have any questions related to the Book Club, contact Mary Mullen at mmullen (at) chorus.net or 298-0843. ROOMMATE WANTED Roommate is wanted to share a 2-bedroom townhouse in a nice West side neighborhood. Fully furnished; bedroom on second floor; laundry on ground floor; parking available; large back yard. Rent is only $220, plus 1/2 utilities. Please, non-smokers only; no pets or loud partiers. Call Tom at 271-8365. HOUSEMATE NEEDED Fully furnished (right down to the linens!) 1-2 rooms available to rent in a member's home near Prairie. Includes many amenities... all utilities, cable TV and internet in room, semi-private bath, kitchen privileges, and more. One room for $500/month or 2 for $800. Will also consider 2 people for a total of $1000/month. Share with one adult and 2 cats. Photo and more info at http://dorothyk.net/ or call Dorothy at 271-7532. MEMBERSHIP Please welcome new members to Prairie: Gordon and Vera Cunningham 6225 Mineral Point Rd. #A3 Madison, WI 53705-3367 (608) 230-3367 Jerry (Jerome) Morrow 201 S. Madison St. #101 Waunakee, WI 53597 (608) 849-8003 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FROM DRE TO YREC We are in a time of transition for RE, since Bob Radford stepped down as our Director of Religious Education (DRE) March 11. We have used this opportunity to review the job description and the name of the position. We realized that what Prairie needs right now is not a DRE. The RE committee has actually been directing the program all along, with support from the person we have been calling the DRE. The position involves more coordinating than directing, so the title gets a “C” for coordinator, not the director’s “D”. Prairie has more and more adult RE opportunities, and this position is for the youth portion only, so we add the “Y” for the youth to make it clear. In the future when we are bigger, we will likely need a DRE who will oversee the program of religious education for youth and adults. For now, though, the better title for the job is Youth Religious Education Coordinator, or YREC. We hope to have our new YREC in place within the next few weeks. In the meantime, without a paid staff person we need a lot more volunteer help. If someone from the RE committee approaches you for help, try to say yes! Rachel Long Chair, Religious Education Committee PRAIRIE WEB SITES Society Home Page: prairie.madison.uua.org News Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/prairienews/ Views Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/prairieviews/ Social Action: socialaction.madisonwi.us Humanist Union: http://humanist.madisonwi.us Long Range Planning: www.execpc.com/~prairieu/planning LETTERS REPORT FROM THE GULF COAST Greetings, Friends, Fifty-five MATC students just returned from spending Spring Break 2006 in New Orleans. They did not party hearty, however. They spent the week emptying homes of flood-ruined possessions and gutting buildings to the floor underlayment and studs. It was dirty, sweaty, smelly, moldy work harder than most of them had ever done. My daughter, Tess, was one of them. She's home now and deeply affected by her experience. Seeing hurricane devastation first hand at ground zero does that to one. It is like being in a war zone. The clean-up effort was put together through ACORN a national humanitarian organization. You can volunteer to help clean and rebuild New Orleans, too. To learn more, click http://www.acorn.org. Tess will speak at a Madison program to raise funds for hurricane survivor relief at the April 1, No Foolin'! Gulf Coast FUNdraiser, Zion Lutheran Church, 2165 Linden Ave, 6-11 p.m. I will be there, too. There will be a savory southern-style dinner, 6-7pm; Gulf Coast relief presentations, 7-8pm; and live music by Yid Vicious, Down From the Hills, and Trails End String Band, 8-11pm. Also included are dancing, jokaraoke, kids play area, face painting and more. The event is sponsored by Akanishta Buddhist Center, Tao Sangha Shiatsu Center, and Katrina Kids Relief Tour. Akanishta Buddhist Center and Tao Sangha Shiatsu Center "adopted" and sent truckloads of home and personal items to 7 Mississippi families. Katrina Kids Relief Tour entertained and brought hope to 2500 Mississippi and Louisiana youngsters and adults. Sponsors' efforts are ongoing. Admissions are: Adults - $10; Teens-Seniors-Students - $5; 12-under & evacuees - Free. Advance tickets are recommended and available at: Willy St. Coop, Bunky's, Louisianne's, New Orleans Take Out - both locations, and EVP Coffee - both locations. For more FUNdraiser information contact Spyder at usa@taoshiatsu.com, 516-2142. We hope to see you there. As my dad used to say: Keep the Faith! Yours, Reid Miller UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALIST NEWS ARTISTS AND VENDORS ARE INVITED This year the UU Central Midwest District Assembly will be held at the Concourse Hotel in Madison, from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23. People from Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri will be attending the meetings. Approximately 300 - 400 participants are expected. The theme of the Assembly is "Taking Our Country Back From The Religious Right" with Rabbi Michael Lerner the Keynote Speaker on Saturday morning from 9:15 to 10:45. The Organizing Committee is inviting vendors to offer items for sale during the Assembly consisting of Fair Trade, Art, Fine Crafts, and Wisconsin Products. Eight to ten vendor tables will be located in the hallway on the 2nd floor. In addition there will be several display tables in the same area. There is no security in the hallway. Therefore, vendors are advised to remove their inventory when they are not present. Schedule: Friday April 21--Setup between 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sales tables open 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. Saturday April 22--Sales tables open 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday April 23--Optional 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. The above opening times are recommended, not mandatory. You may want to come earlier or later, stay longer, or leave early. If you are interested in being a vendor at this event, you are required to reserve a table to display and sell your merchandise. The cost of a table is $30.00 before March 30; after that it is $35.00. Vendors may register on line at www.regonline.com/89851, or you can send a Mail-in Registration Form with a check made out to UUA-CMwD with DA Vendor in the memo line to: Central Midwest District 4415 W. Harrison St., Suite 310 Hillside, IL 60162 If you have any questions or would like more information, please call or e-mail me. Geke de Vries [pronounced Gayka] Coordinator Vendors Telephone (608) 238-3425 E-mail hhfelste (at) wisc.edu DISTRICT ASSEMBLY REGISTRATIONS ARE DUE The deadline to register for District Assembly is approaching rapidly --March 30! A LATE FEE will be charged for any registrations received online or postmarked after midnight on Thursday, MARCH 30. Central Midwest District’s annual Assembly will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21-23, at the Concourse Hotel and you will want to be there for all the exciting things that will be happening! Register online at: https://www.regonline.com/89851 You may find a printable registration form online at: http://www.cmwd-uua.org/DA-registration-form.htm Full details are available at: http://www.cmwd-uua.org/DA.html To make your hotel reservations, you need to call the Concourse Hotel directly, at 1-800-356-8293. In order to get the special rate of $79, you must mention the Central Midwest District Assembly. Hotel Reservations for our room block must be made by April 5, or the hotel rates will go up substantially. See you in Madison! Gretchen Ohmann Communications Coordinator Central Midwest District UUA 4415 W. Harrison St., Suite 310 Hillside, IL 60162 708-236-0831 Fax 708-236-0829 VOLUNTEER DISCOUNTS AT THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY You can get a 25% reduction in the registration fee for the CMwD District Assembly if you volunteer for 2 hours. The jobs are listed below. To sign up at the discounted rate, you can reach the conference registration through either of these links. There is a place on the form where you indicate you want to volunteer. Use http://www.cmwd-uua.org/ (scroll down for the link) or use http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=89851 Another alternative is to volunteer 2 hours, pay no fee, and just hear Rabbi Lerner (if you don't want to go to any of the other DA activities). If you would like to use this alternative, do not use the registration process. Instead, contact Gretchen Ohmann at communications (at) cmwd-uua.org. Deadline for all cheap registration alternatives is March 30. There is also an immediate need for someone to put together the children's programming for Saturday. This job has a "small stipend" (I don't know how big). This person doesn't necessarily have to do the programming on Saturday. We are getting volunteers to do that. If you are willing to put together the children's program on Saturday contact Dori Davenport at DoriDuure@aol.com. There is no place to indicate a volunteer job preference on the registration form. We will contact you later. See you at DA! List of volunteers needed: registration: 7 people child care: 4 people children's program: 4 people (this does not include the person who will develop the children's program) meal checkers: 4 people bookstore: 13 people worship ushers: 6 people NEW DISTRICT EMPLOYEE HIRED We are delighted to announce that the Rev. Dr. Ian Evison has accepted the position of Congregational Services Director in the Central Midwest District. His tentative start date is July 1, though he will undoubtedly be involved in some district events before that time. Ian is currently serving as Director of Research for the Alban Institute, a position he has had since 1998. From 1995 until 1998 he was Academic Dean and Interim President of Meadville/Lombard Theological School in Chicago. He served as Coordinator of Research for the Family, Culture, and Religion Project for the University of Chicago Divinity School from 1990 to 1995. From 1980 to 1984 he served as Minister of the UU Church of Niagara Falls. He received his Ph.D. in Practical Theology with honors in 1994 from the University of Chicago Divinity School, a D.Min. with highest distinction from Meadville/Lombard Theological School in 1979, and a BA from Carleton College in 1975. We also want to the thank the District's Search Committee for their successful efforts on behalf of our faith. Members were Dori Davenport, Chuck Horvath, Rosemary Lawton, the Rev. Scott Prinster, the Rev. Sue Sinnamon, and Justine Urbikas. Please join us in welcoming Ian to our staff. Rev. Harlan Limpert, Director for District Services Rev. Emily Gage, President, Central Midwest District of the UUA MUUYACM SPONSORS CONCERT APRIL 22 The Madison Unitarian Universalist Young Adult and Campus Ministry will host a free performance by singer/songwriter Ellis on Saturday, April 22 at 9:00 p.m. at First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Dr., Madison WI 53705. The concert is free and open to the public. Ellis consistently receives favored recognition in readers’ choice polls in her home state of Minnesota, most recently in February by the Minnesota Women’s Press. At each of her previous performances in Madison, Ellis has earned an enthusiastic fan base. About Ellis: After moving from Texas to Minnesota at age 16, Ellis founded her own record label and has recorded five solo albums, selling more than 25,000 copies to date. Touring nationally, with more than 130 concerts each year, she has been described as "Minneapolis' most ascendant folk singer" by the Star Tribune. Ellis' current release is "Evidence of Joy" and her website is http://ellis-music.com/. Independent Songwriter Magazine said, "with a voice as strong as thunder and a message powerful as a surge of lightning, Ellis pours her heart and soul into every word." Ellis has gotten great support from fans as well as critics - she's been voted "Best Musician" in readers' choice polls in the Twin Cities for the past five consecutive years. "She's got real star power and audiences are utterly mesmerized by her," says Curve Magazine. The Pacific Northwest Inlander wrote, "Her sound is like the aural love child of Edie Brickell and Ani Difranco; her lyrics evoke all the social consciousness and emotional vulnerability of the early Indigo Girls." Stacy Harbaugh MUUYACM Program Coordinator stacyh (at) fusmadison.org, (608) 852-5822, or visit www.muuyacm.org UU CHURCH SPONSORS CHICAGO GETAWAY See Chicago! The congregation of Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist invites you to join them for a weekend getaway to the city of Chicago, June 2–4, 2006. For details, see previous issues of this newsletter. ************************************* JOURNEY TOWARD WHOLENESS (JTW)- NEWS ************************************* As I write, a major corner has been turned in developments to halt the Iraq War. Bi-partisan momentum is growing for an open debate! There are currently more than 8 Iraq-related bills languishing in committee in the House of Representatives. The one with the most support is H.J.Res. 55, the "Homeward Bound" resolution introduced last year by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), with the support of several of their colleagues. H.J.Res. 55 would require the president to develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq. Representative Abercrombie has filed a discharge petition for the Homeward Bound Act which would force the bill out of committee and guarantee consideration on the House floor. In order for this to happen, 218 Representatives need to sign the petition. The petition itself is H.Res. 543. The discharge of the Homeward Bound Resolution is not about passing this particular bill, but rather securing an open discussion about the war--17 hours to be precise. By contacting your representative and urging them to sign the petition, you can help make this happen. It is likely that forcing debate in the House will lead to action in the Senate as well. See http://www.uua.org/news/2003/iraq/060316_congress.html for further details, including how to contact your Members of Congress. See President William Sinkford's stirring Call for a Public Debate and for action at http://www.uua.org/ and a prayer he has written that you may want to use in your commemorations of this sad anniversary http://www.uua.org/president/060316_iraq.html. For reports on congregational actions see http://www.uua.org/news/2003/iraq/060316_congaction.html. You may want to participate in Faith Voices for the Common Good's Beyond Iraq On-Line Write-In on March 20-21. See http://www.faithvoices.org/programs/iraqreg.html. Peace, Susan ************************************************* NATIONAL TOUR FOR DARFUR: Eyewitness to Genocide Sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition. The UUA is a member. Brian Steidle, a former Marine captain and observer to the African Union peacekeeping forces, will be traveling over 21,000 miles on his national tour in support of the Million Voices for Darfur Campaign. Captain Steidle will be speaking from his firsthand experience as a witness to genocide and mass murder, and he will be telling Americans what they can do to help stop genocide. Please see http://www.savedarfur.org/go.php?q=brianSteidleTour.html to find the exact location and time of the tour stop in your city. Participate in the Save Darfur Million Voices Campaign--This is an easy and effective way to press for action. The overall goal of the Million Voices Campaign is to raise the level of public awareness and outcry so that President Bush and Congress take significant action. To that end, the UUA, UU Service Committee, and other partners in the campaign will collect one million postcards from concerned people across the country. We're hoping to collect 25,000 postcards from Unitarian Universalists before the Rally for Darfur in Washington, DC, on April 30 and May 1. See http://www.uua.org/news/darfur/congaction.html for details. ********************************** REPORT ON SO. DAKOTA UU CONGREGATIONS FIGHT ABORTION BAN UUWorld.org is a weekly electronic version of UU World that includes lots of coverage of UU congregations. For the story on S. Dakota see http://uuworld.org/news/articles/southdakotauusfoughtstateabortionban288 1.shtml. *************************** COMMUNITY INVESTING OPPORTUNITIES In the Spring Issue of UU World there is an excellent article by Rev. Dorothy May Emerson on Community Investing: See Seeds of opportunity--Community investing brings economic opportunities-- and Unitarian Universalist congregations are joining in to help. By Dorothy May Emerson at http://uuworld.org/life/articles/communityinvestingplantsseeds ofopportunity2712.shtml And go to http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/ for an on-line power point presentation on community investing by the UUA Committee for Socially Responsible Investing Community Investing is a way for congregations to use their power and privilege in partnerships with people in low-income and oppressed communities. It is truly a way to redistribute wealth and some power. Susan Leslie Director for Congregational Advocacy and Witness Unitarian Universalist Association 25 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02108 (617) 948-4607; sleslie@uua.org www.uua.org/justice OTHER NEWS ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION SIGNUP Prairie Fire readers are invited to opt for electronic notification of Prairie Fire issues. If you sign up for this service, we will send an e-mail to you notifying you that the latest newsletter is on the Prairie Web site. You can click the link in the message to open the Web site and read the issue online or print it on your printer. The benefits of opting for electronic notification are that it saves Prairie money for copying the newsletter and mailing the copy to your home; you can read the newsletter sooner, without waiting for the issue to arrive in your mailbox; it is ecologically more responsible to receive electronic rather than hardcopy newsletter copies. To opt for electronic notification of the Prairie Fire newsletter, please send an e-mail to prairieu@execpc.com and put "electronic copy" in the subject line. INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK BULLETIN Did you know that IHN needs more volunteer mentors for the Second Chance Apartment Project?  We have received some generous grants to pay the rent for families in the project, but must recruit mentors to give these families the support they need to succeed.  If you have two hours a week and would like to give emotional and practical support to a family transitioning out of homelessness, please contact IHN today at 294-7998. One family in the Apartment Project is graduating early this spring. “Shayna”, a single mom of two pre-school aged children, has reached several of her goals and has been accepted into permanent, affordable housing.  Her mentors are glad to see this success, but they wondered at times whether they had really made a difference.  When Shayna asked them “You’ll stay in touch with me, right?  Just because I’m moving doesn’t mean you won’t finish working with me?” they realized that this relationship has been as meaningful and important to Shayna as it is to them.