Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Drive, Madison WI 53711–4843 (608) 271-8218 admin@uuprairie.com Located off the south frontage road (West Beltline Hwy Rd.) near the Seminole Hwy exit. PRAIRIE FIRE BULLETIN "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." April 6, 2009 In this issue: -calendar -programs Calendar Sunday, April 5, 2009 9:00 am - Choir Rehearsal 10:00 am -service - "First Amendment - Right or Slogan?" presented by Andy Somers. 12:00 noon - Ethical Humanism study group meets. Tuesday, April 7, 2009 7:00 pm - Software Seminar presented by Al Nettleton. (You can still get in on this auction item! Please contact Al Nettleton for details.) Saturday, April 11, 2009 8 am - 8 pm -- Art Institute trip. 9:00 am to noon - Prairie Orientation. 2:00 pm - Memorial service for long time Prairie Member, Dick Bonser. Sunday, April 12, 2009 9:00 am - Choir Rehearsal 10:00 am - all-ages service - "Easter Customs and Traditions: Old and New" presented by Rev. Selena Fox. 11:45 am - Hospitality Committee meets. Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - Prairie Fire article deadline. 7:00 pm - Program committee meets. Saturday, April 18, 2009 10:30 am - Adult Education Committee meets. 5:30 pm - Spring Fling overnight event begins. Sunday, April 19, 2009 9:00 am - Choir rehearsal. 10:00 am - RE service project. 10:00 am - service - "Feeding the Hungry in the Face of the Global Economic Crisis," an Earth Day presentation by Florence Chenoweth. 11:45 am - Board meeting. Potluck lunch begins at 11:45, meeting begins at noon. 11:45 am - Prairie Book Club meets. 12:30 pm - Food, Faith, and Earth Day event at First United Methodist. Please contact Judy Skog for more information. Wednesday, April 22, 2009 7:00 pm - Fr. Thomas Pallithanam, details to follow. Save the Date! May 3, 2009, Prairie Spring Parish Meeting. Agenda to be posted shortly. October 23-25, 2009 Prairie's Annual Family Retreat at Pine Lake Camp. Upcoming Programs Sunday, April 5, 2009 - "First Amendment: Right or Slogan?" presented by Andy Somers. This will be a short review of the amendment and what it purports to protect in dangerous times, such as war, and what it doesn't (to our peril). We will review some of the "tough" decisions of the US courts and check their consistency. Do we understand the protections or do we see through a glass darkly? We will be concentrating on the "free speech" portion of the amendment. Sunday, April 12, 2009 - "Easter Customs and Traditions: Old and New," presented by Rev. Selena Fox. How is Easter connected with the Spring Equinox? What are the origins of eggs, baskets, and rabbits as Easter symbols? Where does Easter get its name? Rev. Selena Fox describes some of the customs, symbols, and traditions associated with Easter across cultures and through time. She also shares ideas for creating personal, family, and community Easter celebrations. Rev. Selena Fox is Senior Minister of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church serving Nature religion practitioners worldwide. Active in interfaith work, she is serving her fifth term as the president of the Greater Madison Interreligious Association. Selena has an M.S. in counseling from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Sunday, April 19, 2009 - "Feeding the Hungry in the Face of Global Economic Crisis," an Earth Day presentation by Dr. Florence Chenowith. The number of chronically hungry people has surpassed the 1 billion mark for the first time as the economic crisis compounds the impact of high food prices. The world has struggled and failed to provide the enabling environment that would allow the hungry to feed themselves up to this point. There will be billions more mouths to feed by 2050, making an increased demand for food a long-term trend. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has indicated that to meet the challenge, global food production must double. Two questions come to mind: Firstly, can we come up with a sustainable approach to putting dinner on the plates of nearly 1 billion people that are currently undernourished and all of the others that make up the current population of 6.7 billion? Secondly, can we meet the challenge of doing the same for the extra billions that will need to be fed in the next 42 years without degrading our environment further? In her talk on 19 April, Dr. Chenoweth will address the issue of world hunger from a basic human rights approach and all of the wiggles that surrounds it. Sunday, April 26, 2009 - "Ending Hunger in our Lifetime," presented by Bob Mohelnitzky. An estimated 40% of all food in the United States never makes it to our tables. The issue of domestic hunger is not one of lack of food resources but how surplus and unsaleable groceries are allocated. The mission of Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin is to end hunger in southwestern Wisconsin. Second Harvest centralizes the food acquisition and distribution process for more than 400 partner food pantries, shelters and meal sites that serve 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties. Bob Mohelnitzky has been President/CEO of Second Harvest Foodbank since 2001 prior to which he was executive director of the Dane County Mental Health Center for 22 years. Upcoming Programs Input Deadlines: Calendar items and program descriptions are due on the 1st and 15th of each month. Feature articles for the full Prairie Fire are due on the 15th of each month. Please send to Kate Liu at admin@uuprairie.org or call 271-8218. The full featured Prairie Fire, including calendar items, programs, and articles, is published on the 21st of every month.The Prairie Fire Bulletin is a calendar- only newsletter that is published on the 6th of every month. Both are published by Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society of Madison, WI. View past issues at www.uuprairie.org Contact Us: Minister Rev. Ralph Tyksinski minister@uuprairie.org 873-6041 Youth Coordinator Rebecca Malke-Eliganti youthcoordinator@uuprairie.org 695-3435 Editor/Administrator Kate Liu admin@uuprairie.org 271-8218 President Rachel Long 608-328-4899 Prairie UU Society 2010 Whenona Dr. Madison, WI 53711 608-271-8218