Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Drive, Madison WI 53711–4843 (608) 271-8218 admin@uuprairie.org Located off the south frontage road (West Beltline Hwy Rd.) near the Seminole Hwy exit. PRAIRIE FIRE December 15, 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. Past issues may be seen at http://uuprairie.org President: Mike Briggs (608) 835–0914 Editor: Dan Proud, admin@uuprairie.org; (608) 661–0776 PRAIRIE CALENDAR Sunday, December 17 9:00 a.m. Choir rehearsal 9:30 a.m. Nifty Gifty in R.E. *10:00 a.m. "Prairie's Winter Wonderland, a Celebration of a Magical Season" led by Dorothy Krause *12:30 Humanist Union sponsors HumanLight celebration Wednesday, December 20 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal @ Prairie 7:30 p.m. Left Hand of God covenant group meeting Sunday, December 24 No choir practice *10:00 a.m. Symbol Tree intergenerational service led by Erin Bosch Tuesday, December 26 5:00 a.m. Prairie serves breakfast at Men's Shelter Wednesday, December 27 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal @ Prairie Sunday, December 31 No choir practice No morning service *6:00 p.m. Prairie potluck *7:00 p.m. Service of songs and readings led by the Rev. Ralph Tyksinski Wednesday, January 3 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal @ Prairie Sunday, January 7 9:00 a.m. Choir rehearsal *10:00 a.m. "Propaganda Overview" presented by Andy Somers (first in his lay ministry series) Monday, January 8 7:00 p.m. EnACT class Wednesday, January 10 6:30 p.m. Midweek Meal @ Prairie 7:30 p.m. Board meeting Thursday, January 11 6:30 p.m. Everyday Spiritual Practice Group Sunday, January 14 10:00 a.m. Choir rehearsal *10:00 a.m. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr; Artist, Prophet, Dreamer" presented by the Rev. Ralph Tyksinski *11:30 a.m. Book Group potluck and discussion Sunday, January 14-21 *Interfaith Hospitality Network Shift Wednesday, January 24 *6:30 p.m. Spanish Speakers meeting Saturday, February 24 Save the date for a trip to the Art Institute in Chicago to see "Cezanne to Picasso." Details to follow. NEXT PRAIRIE FIRE DEADLINE: Sunday, January 7 DETAILS OF COMING PROGRAMS Sunday, December 17 Prairie's Winter Wonderland, a Celebration of a Magical Season Plan on joining us to share in elements of the beginning of the season inwhich the earth slumbers, preparing itself for its annual rebirth. There will be opportunities for the sharing of photos, artwork, tales, and poems by Prairie members. Dorothy Krause will lead this program. Sunday, December 24 This Sunday will be our traditional Symbol Tree intergenerational service where all (including children) are welcome to come forward, share some words with the congregation, and place a related symbol on the tree. Following are some possibilities to get you thinking: Was there an important milestone event that happened to me this year? hat did I learn this year that might help others? Do I have a story to share about something that others might find uplifting? Since some people may be less comfortable sharing personal experiences, you are also welcome to share a poem or quotation or other short reading with a more universal quality. Please bring cookies or other finger foods that we can munch as we mingle after the service. Sunday, December 31 There will be no morning service. Instead, everyone is welcome to begin New Year’s Eve celebrations by joining your friends and family at Prairie for a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. This will be followed by a program of community singing of mostly familiar songs - songs of peace, joy, and being together. Good food, words of inspiration. singing, and being together. What a wonderful way to say “farewell” to 2006 and “hello” to 2007! Sunday, January 7 How do we come to hold some of the opinions we treasure so strongly, and why don't we recognize the source of those beliefs? Could it be that there's the legendary wolf dressed in sheep's clothing that leads us down a primrose path? Prairie member Andy Somers will begin to tackle these questions on January 7 in the first service of a fascinating three-service lay ministry on Propaganda. In the Overview, he'll tell us how to recognize propaganda and will talk about some of the ways it affects us. He'll clue us into hidden messages, reverse propaganda, other techniques especially as they are often found in the arts. onsider this lay ministry an aspect of "a free and responsible search for truth and meaning," our UUA fourth principle. Andy is a 5-year member of Prairie, a retired attorney, a former judge in Fitchburg, an accomplished public speaker, a thespian with many plays under his belt, and a fierce supporter of Irish rights who has often served as a volunteer legal representative in immigrant cases. Andy's other two services are scheduled for January 28 and March 4. Sunday, January 14 In observing the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we will be exploring how the influences of Henry David Thoreau, M. Gandhi, and Dr. Benjamin Mays, came to bear on Dr. King, and how his experience in the African-American community helped shape his vision of prophetic justice and his living legacy for all Americans. OUR SOCIETY IN APPRECIATION OF GEORGE CALDEN An Expression of Appreciation to George Calden from his Prairie Friends George Calden has been contributing time, wisdom, music, and programs to Prairie for more than 35 years. Here are words of appreciation from just a few of the many who have appreciated his efforts over the years. From Dave Zakem: I first met George when I came to his Pete Seeger service on September 14, 1980. John Ohliger (Basic Choices) convinced me to come. Meeting George, Ruth and the Prairie community opened up a new chapter in my life. George encouraged me in many ways and supported me in becoming a lay minister. George is a great man and a good friend. I cherish the many enriching times that we have shared together. Dave Zakem Vientiane International School PO Box 3180 Sapanthong Tai Road Vientiane Laos From Anne Pryor: Publicly, George's memoir writing and his sharing of those beautifully crafted vignettes brought me great pleasure at several Prairie services. His perfect comedic timing in his delivery added to the power of each piece. Personally, George always showed strong interest in my dissertation, asking about my progress toward getting the research done and the paper written. That interest encouraged me in low moments when I was disheartened and actually helped me to finally finish. Thank you George! From Rosemarie Lester: I joined Prairie in 1969, and my first vivid memory of music with George goes back to the very early seventies and a "performance" at FUS of Yiddish/Russian folk music, with Ruth on recorders, me on guitar and George, of course, on his beloved mandolin, giving one of his witty running commentaries on the history of the music. He had come up with a name for our little group: "The Martin Buber Trio". The what?? Well, George the psychologist was, of course, referring to Buber's concept of the "I, Thou and it," and George modestly chose to be the "It". I went to Germany in 1977 and when I came back in 1989, The "Ethnic Connection" had been established, and there was no place for me. But for a while in the nineties, Ruth, George & I still played together, now mostly Latin American and some Russian music that George picked out from his seemingly bottomless musical bag of tricks - and his joy in the music often seemed to run away with him, making him play at break-neck speed... Once we played for a lovely Lesbian wedding at James Reeb UU Society and again, George came up with the proper Jewish music. That program about Marriage, Music and Madness must have been before 1977. I remember it started our good-natured running argument about married vs. single. He sometimes came up with long forgotten German phrases he enjoyed and then told me their Yiddish equivalent. (E.g. Man kann nicht wissen, ob die Fische kuessen. Ueber Wasser tun sie's nicht, und unter Wasser sieht man's nicht! Translation: You don't know whether fish kiss. Above the water, they don't do it, and below the water, you can't see it...) Ah, but I'd better stop reminiscing here, there's so much more, Dear George - Your German friend, Rosemarie L. From Barb Park: Of course, everyone loves the music programs that George took part in, but my favorite programs given by George were the ones in which he read his autobiographical short stories. The one I remember best was about why he had heart problems, tracing it back to his childhood diet. There was this image of his mother tossing bread covered with schmaltz out of the window, down to the kids, so they wouldn't have to interrupt their lay (or bother their mother). I loved hearing Yiddish in the stories because I grew up hearing it from my best friend's parents and grandmothers. I finally gave my friend a copy of one of George's books, but I wasn't sure how she would like it. When I read the stories, I hear George's voice in my mind, and of course she couldn't do that. However, she was charmed by the stories, even without George in her head! From Bob Park: What better way to illustrate George's sparkling wit than to quote his own words. In the midst of writing an article for Prairie's newsletter about his then upcoming 1973 lay ministry on Marriage, Music, and Madness, he inserted the following paragraph. "(As I'm typing this out, on August 17th, I overheard the following ominous news announcement on the radio: 'The price of poetry has gone up n the supermarket.' I tremble to think about the next time I went to the A&P to buy an ode by Keats or a sonnet by Shakespeare. I might have to pay double. Fortunately, the newscaster corrected himself. He meant 'poultry' and thereby calmed my fears. Now I can settle down and worry peacefully about Watergate)." From Warren Hagstrom: One of my earliest memories of George Calden was of a program about Beethoven he gave to the Friday night group at the First Society. This was before Prairie, so it must have been about 1970. He gave a bit of biography, some music, and closed by playing on his mandolin the melody from one of the last quartets, Opus 130, where Beethoven had written on the score, "Es muss sei"--It must be. Much later, about 2000, I persuaded him to play and sing a Gershwin song, "Jascha, Sascha, and Mischa?)" George could be funny...terribly, terribly funny. That program about Beethoven inspired me to produce many programs about composers at Prairie. When I told George about that, he had forgotten his Beethoven program. Somewhere around the house we have a copy of George's "I Count, You Count." From Doleta Chapru: In the 1970s, George played a hot mandolin with a Prairie bluegrass group called the Chicken Pluckers. He seldom encountered a duple dance rhythm he didn't enjoy playing at breakneck speed. Later he, his wife Ruth and Rosemarie Lester formed a group they dubbed the Martin Buber Trio. Both groups enhanced Prairie services with their music. George and Ruth also treated the congregation to mandolin and recorder or quena duets including a lovely and haunting rendition of El Condor Pasa. In the mid 1980s, George, Ruth, Lee Burkholder and I formed the Ethnic Connection, an ensemble specializing in international folk music. We periodically performed for Prairie services and presented a Prairie program titled "The Gospel According to the Ethnic Connection." At Prairie service auctions we put performances up for bid which netted us rewarding musical moments at anniversary parties, the Wright Century bike ride and other special events. We provided music for memorial services for Prairie-connected people including Paula Elkins, Ione Hatfield and Robin Carre's mother. George retired from the Ethnic Connection at age 91, having played over 500 performances, many for senior groups and charitable nonprofit organizations. Among George's unique contributions to music at Prairie was his sharing of Yiddish music, his knowledge and love of Woody Guthrie's songs, tunes he and Ruth collected on their many international travels, his extensive record collection of international folk music, and endless fascinating nd humorous background stories. Some years ago George, Ruth and I were invited to lead folk dancing at a UU Central Midwest District meeting about an hour's drive from Madison. George and Ruth came along to play music. After a good chat in the car on the way up we parked at the site and unloaded our instruments. All, that is, except George. Stunned, he realized he had forgotten his mandolin. After only a moment of chagrin, he resumed his sociable self and Ruth and I played for the dancing. George rose to the challenge of each participatory music program at Prairie by playing everything from classical orchestra themes to Neil Simon's fake Albanian piece from Barefoot in the Park. He occasionally treated us to one of his own pieces such as "Never Call a Bagel a Donut." His rich voice had been silenced much of his life by a teacher who thought he couldn't sing. George also provided entertainment at Prairie retreats and outings. I knew I had found my church home when I marched, waist-deep, up the Wisconsin River with George, Ruth and a handful of other Prairie canoeists loudly singing Pomp and Circumstance. From Erin Bosch: I think it was about 10 years ago that Prairie had a talent show and George did an act where he called himself a "sit-down comedian" and he sat on a chair and told jokes about getting old. He's a much beloved character, that's for sure. From Barb Bailly: I appreciate how George and Ruth always treated me with kindness, respect and encouragement. My fondest memories of George are his recorder concerts and his Woody Allen jokes. It makes me smile just to think back on it. From Orange Schroeder: I will always think of George when I hear a mandolin, and remember his stories of how he came to play this special instrument. A whole world of music was opened to us, and to our children, by the Ethnic Connection. I have hardly ever known anyone who plays with more joy than George. Many of George's stories from his past reminded me of my own father's childhood in a Jewish household in New York. Living in the Midwest, I treasure that connection to a part of my background that I left behind. I love the wit that George brings to his stories, and the insights into the human condition. Dean and I read George's book about marriage back when ours was new, and gained skills that have stood us in good stead through our 30 some years together. Certainly Ruth and George have always been an inspiration to us--an example of how two people can be themselves, and in many ways very different, and yet clearly admire and love each other enormously. From Julie Bonser: We first met George and Ruth in November of 1974 when we first attended Prairie UU. At that time George played the mandolin with a group known as the Prairie Chicken Pluckers. Dick and I were part of the "Zen and the Path from Psychopath to Cyclepath." George had the smallest motorcycle and he brought it into Prairie while the rest of the motorcycle riders marched in wearing our helmets. George is a great role model for aging. He is so involved in life. I remember George and Ruth telling us about the three stages of retirement. "Go, Go. Slow Go, and No Go." From Mary Mullen: George's stories were always the best. I recall two different times he presented family stories at Prairie. Those stories were always full of humor and pathos, and when I read stories out of his "Roots and Wings" and "Leaving Tracks" I can't help but hear his voice. When he presented his stories it was never long before you knew what a treasure his beloved Ruth was to him. You always soon became aware that George was Jewish and that he grew up in Brooklyn, NY. That knowledge led me to invite George to come to my 4th grade class in Brooklyn, WI, once. At the time, my class was corresponding with another 4th grade class in Brooklyn, NY. I thought my students would enjoy learning what Brooklyn was like and what it was like to be a kid in Brooklyn at the time George was growing up. After an introduction about the meaning of the word Brooklyn, George launched into telling about a daredevil sport he and the other young boys took part in on the streets of the city when he was young. Back then, horse-drawn wagons were the rule. A favorite dare was to run underneath the belly of a horse. The risk, according to George, was not what we would think--the risk of getting brained by a kick to the head--but it was instead the chance that the horse might happen to let go a heavy shower of hot pee just at the moment a boy was passing under. Needless to say, we all realized in a second that life had changed dramatically from then to now. And I'm sure I'm not the only one from that schoolroom who will carry forever an indelible image of the Brooklyn of yesteryear. Another characteristic of George was his telling it how it is. George didn't like getting old even though he wrote a humorous story called "Old Age is a Laughing Matter." The story is full of funny jokes about memory loss and the like. But in real life, George would share that getting old and sick was nothing he was laughing about. Like others, I can attest to George's always-friendly greetings at Prairie. From Kathy Converse: Being from the East Coast, George's stories can transfix me quickly back to my experiences and those of friends and relatives who have lived in the New York area. His stories of growing up with his brother in New York, carrying his mandolin case to practice, visiting delis and his relationship with his mother are priceless. I purchased all of George's volumes of Leaving Tracks and they inspired me to start leaving some tracks of my own. I sent copies of them to my brothers to try to inspire them to write their memoirs also. For me it is the graciousness and apparent ease with which George traverses his life, whether his is playing music, telling stories or just talking with others that always stands out. From Linda Sheehy: I've known George for over 20 years and have many memories of his humor, his intelligence, and his musical abilities. But there is one significant way in which George affected my life. When my husband, Mike, and I joined Prairie 20 years ago, we also joined our first circle dinner group. The Caldens were in that group, and George must have been about 71 years old. Until I met George, I had the impression that "old" folks--people around 60 years of age--didn't do much. They stopped working and just hung out at home until they died. What I discovered was that George took classes at the university, played musical instruments, planned programs, and was, generally, very active and engaged in life. He became my model for how I wanted to age. And today, in my "old" age, I'm living George's example. From Mike Briggs: Earliest memories of George--gathering in the evening at the home of Barbara Willard (later James), making music. George on his mandolin, me tentatively plucking a banjo. The songs I remember are "Baltimore Fire" and "Wild Mountain Thyme," and I recall thinking "What a guy to take up an instrument when he's so old!" (Of course, he was ten years younger then I am now). And over the years--George's stories of his encounters with famous people (he met Duke Ellington when the great man asked him the way to the men's room), and his unique programs at Prairie. Once he talked about retirement; and this, now, is bittersweet: he described the three phases of old age as go-go, slow-go and no-go. About a year ago, I was driving on Segoe Road, and saw George walking, wearing his dark glasses. I went around the block, stopped beside him and called out "Can you give me directions?" He said, "Sure, where do you want to go?" I said, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" And, with only a slight pause, he replied, "Practice, practice, practice!" That's George--a man of many and diverse talents, and a huge variety of practiced skills. HUMANIST UNION PLANS HUMANLIGHT CELEBRATION December 17, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., is the time picked by the Humanist Union for our HumanLight Celebration this year. We plan a potluck dinner, group singing of humanist-friendly songs, and other entertainment and fun for humanists in the greater Madison area and their families and friends. See http://humanist.madisonwi.us/events.htm for more details. HumanLight is intended to be a holiday celebration that reflects the inclusive, caring, compassionate ideals of Humanism, with "light" in the name evoking these and other shared humanist values, such as reason and hope, that "light up our lives". At a time of year when holiday celebrations grounded in supernatural beliefs can separate people along religious lines, it provides us with an alternative celebration that expresses our hope for a just and peaceful world without deep religious divisions. (See http://www.humanlight.org/ for more on HumanLight.) PRAIRIE ELDERS OFF THIS MONTH Prairie Elders will not meet in December. Our next meeting will be on January 23. Watch Prairie Fire for details. SPANISH SPEAKERS MEET JANUARY 24 Spanish speakers will meet at 6:30 p.m. on January 24 for conversation and potluck at the current home of Dave and Marcia Johnson, 3855 E. Oakbridge Way, #2A, Madison. For directions, call the Johnsons at 829-0270 or Rosemary Dorney at 238-4382. INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Prairie's next turn to help host homeless families through the Interfaith Hospitality Network will be January 14-21. Prairie is one of the buddy churches helping Midvale Lutheran provide shelter, meals and support to those families. If you are interested in volunteering or would like further information, please contact Paula Pachciarz at 273-04806 or pachwack (at) sbcglobal.net. ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER COMING TO PRAIRIE After the first of the year, I'll have forms available to be filled out by those who want to have their pledges automatically transferred (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually . . .) from individual checking accounts to Prairie's checking account. Contact me if you'd like to do this. Norma Briggs REV. RALPH'S RUMINATIONS Dear members and friends of Prairie UU Society, as we enter the new calendar year of 2007 we will continue to face the challenges of how to best deal with demanding issues facing our congregation: growth in adult and youth membership; meeting house space large enough to accommodate increased adult and youth programing activities; space to accommodate professional staff functions and service duties. The discussions, dialogues and deliberations that we will be having on these issues will require from us all the need to be deep listeners and hopeful consensus builders. Also during January and the months following each member of the congregation will be expected to identify the kind of role or roles that will best define how you will contribute to the process of achieving the congregation’s vision for the future. None of us can perform all of these valued contributions for healthy congregational decision-making. However, we can be constructive if we consciously adopt a role that is best suited to our individual strengths and personal style of group participation. Here’s a suggested list of some ways you might see your self serving the common good of the congregation in the weeks and months ahead. Initiator contributor. Offers new ideas or a change of ways. Information seeker. Seeks clarification of suggestions. Opinion seeker. Seeks clarification of congregational values. Information giver. Offers facts or empirical generalizations. Opinion giver. States beliefs or opinions pertinent to suggestions. Elaborator. Gives examples or develops meanings. Coordinator. Pulls ideas and suggestions together. Orienter. Defines position of the group with respect to goals. Evaluator. May evaluate or question the group's function Energizer. Prods the group to action or decision. Procedural technician. Performs tasks and facilitates optimal group productivity. Recorder. Writes everything down and serves as the group memory. Some other common-good growing and energizing roles for members are: Encourager. Praises, agrees with, and accepts others' ideas. Harmonizer. Mediates intercongregational conflicts. Compromiser. Operates from within the group to "come halfway." Gatekeeper and expediter. Encourages and facilitates participation. Standard setter or mission stater. Expresses standards for the congregation. Group observer and commentator. Keeps records of group processes. The following are some “antigroup” role labels that could unwittingly/ unconscioUsly be enacted: Aggressor. Deflates status of others. Blocker. Negativistic, stubborn, and unreasonably unrealistic. Recognition seeker. Tries to call attention to self. Self-confessor. Uses group to express non-group-oriented feelings. Dominator. Tries to assert authority to manipulate members. Help-seeker. Tries to get a sympathy response from others. Special-interest pleader. Attempts to grow a grassroots effort. These are only my suggestions. Whatever congregational decisions are achieved we all have a share in the process. Of course there are other role identities that you may see as being of importance in our conversations and decision-making discussions. Whatever role you see yourself performing in the process it’s important for everyone to feel that they are engaged and see themselves as “players”. “Everyone has a place at the table.” Finally, as Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, let us not lose sight of why we gather in community: to support our individual spiritual and meaning seeking journeys; to trust in that openness to one another's experiences in order to enhance our understanding of our own links with ultimacies, with our history, and with one another. Your thoughts and responses are always appreciated. Rev. Ralph WINTER BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS Sunday, January 14. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards. Fiction, about the decision of a doctor to secretly send his newborn daughter with Downs syndrome to an institution. 432 pages. Sunday, February 11. "A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906," by Simon Winchester. Nonfiction, about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. 480 pages. Sunday, March 11. "Until I Find You: A Novel," by John Irving. Fiction, “the story of the actor Jack Burns-–his life, loves, celebrity and astonishing search for the truth about his parents.” 848 pages. CHOIR HAS 2 WEEKS OFF There will be no choir rehearsal on December 24 and December 31. UUSC GUEST AT YOUR TABLE PROGRAM UNDERWAY The annual Guest at Your Table fundraising program for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) had its kicksoff on Sunday, December 10 at Prairie. Guest at Your Table boxes are available to take home, and materials describing the worldwide UU-connected service programs are on display at Prairie. MEMBERSHIP NEW DIRECTORIES AVAILABLE You can pick up your new directdory at church. After Sunday, December 17, the copies will be mailed to those who did not pick theirs up at Prairie. NEW MEMBERS Please welcome our new member: Mary Terese Wixson 3191 Shady Oak Lane, Verona 53593 UPDATES Please note the following corrections to the new directory: (seasonal address) Dave and Marcia Johnson 7855 E. Oakbridge Way Apt. 2A, Madison (608) 829-0270 (corrections to the new directory) Rebecca Malke-Eligenti youthcoordinator (at) uuprairie.org Rachel Long ra_a_l (at) tds.net Martin Arnold gasmann (at) tds.net Reuben Arnold rlongarnold (at) wekz.net Kristin Long kklong5 (at) yahoo.com Dirk (inside cover) hoymand (at) danenet.org Andy Somers andysomers64 (at) charter.net Kurt Gutknecht 2284 Ledgemont LETTERS Andy and Mary thank prairie friends who helped him celebrate his 70th birthday. We had just a wonderful time and enjoyed the mixture of family and friends at this delightful event Saturday, December 2nd. Andy and Mary Somers PRAIRIE WEB SITES Society Home Page: http://uuprairie.org/ News Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prairienews/ Views: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prairieviews/ Social Action: http://socialaction.madisonwi.us Humanist Union: http://humanist.madisonwi.us UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST NEWS GENERAL ASSEMBLY VIDEO NIGHTS AT FUS Prairie members are welcome to enjoy video nights at First Unitarian Society (FUS) on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. The FUS Denominational Affairs Committee is showing the following DVDs from the 2006 General Assembly in the next few weeks: Monday, December 18: DEEP-TIME EYES: Evolutionary Inspiration for Troubled Times. The UU Process Theology Network Presents Rev. Michael Dowd. This high energy presentation by “America’s evolutionary evangelist” explores how the 14 billion year epic of evolution can inspire us (individually and collectively) to harness collective intelligence and co-create a just, healthy , beautiful, sustainably lifegiving future for all species. Monday, January 8: Plenary IV. Introduction of YRUU Steering Committee; Report of the UUA Board of Trustees; Presentation of the Distinquished Service Award; Presentation of the President’s Award for Volunteer Service; Opportunities for Volunteer Service in the UUA; UUA and UUSC President’s Social Justice Report; Presentaton: Unitarian Universalists and the Gulf Coast. Monday, January 15: Bridging Ceremony. The annual Bridging Ceremony worship service honors the voices of youth and young adults and celebrates those youth who are becoming adults. Monday, January 22: Plenary V. Recognition of Green Sanctuaries; Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation; Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee Report; Breakthrough Congregation: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County; Ministerial Fellowship Committee Report; Committee on Socially Responsible Investing; President’s Report; Executive Vice-President’s Report. Monday, January 29: Starr King President’s Lecture with Rev. Rebecca Parker, Starr King President, and Rev. Rob Hardles, minister of All Soul’s Church, Wasington D.C. An exploration of the themes from Dr. Parker’s latest book, edited by Rev. Hardies, including how Unitarian Universalism can respond to the realities of evil and suffering by reclaiming our theological voice in the public sphere. OTHER NEWS INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK NEWS Happy Holidays from IHN! So many people have contributed to making this holiday season joyful for IHN families by purchasing gifts, decorating our day center, and donating grocery certificates among other kindnesses. But still, we hear from desperate families each day, and we keep trying to help them in whatever way we can. A family that is staying at the warming shelter at night came to IHN during the day this week. They are facing multiple challenges: a very depressed mom needing a Paxil refill, two children who need medication to combat the effects of lead poisoning, no income, no school enrollment and of course, no housing. IHN helped get all the children enrolled in school right away, gave the family some lunch and welcomed them to stay here each day. We are working on strategies for medication and housing. We will make sure this family receives some holiday gifts as well. But most of all, what IHN can give this family for the holidays is a ray of hope that their future can be brighter.