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Our
Society
Prairie
Book Club Announces Selections
The
Prairie UU Book Club meets once a month after service to discuss a
book of interest. Books are discussed over potluck lunch, and you do
not need to have finished (or read!) the book to attend. Following
below is a list of the books the group will be discussing from March
through July of 2010. For more information, contact Mary Mullen,
608-298-0843 or mmullen(at)chorus.net.
Sunday,
March 28 – Remarkable
Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species
by Sean Carroll. (nonfiction, 352 pages) “Tells the stories
of
the most dramatic expeditions and important discoveries in two
centuries of natural history — from the epic journeys of
pioneering naturalists to the breakthroughs making headlines today
—
and how they inspired and have expanded one of the greatest ideas of
modern science: evolution.” Recommended by Galen Smith.
Sunday,
April 25
– The
Gate to Women’s Country
by Sheri Tepper
(post-apocalyptic novel, 320 pages) - Set in the future many
generations after a nuclear war, the story focuses on a matriarchal
nation, Women’s Country, where young boys are given up at age
5
to live in garrisons with men and at age 15 decide whether to
continue to be warriors or to give up that life and live in
Women’s
Country with the women, young children, and men who have renounced
garrison life. Read this novel for the themes of ecofeminism and
ecotopian fiction, for the mystery of how such a divided society can
even survive, or for a science fiction look at how catastrophic wars
can be avoided. Parts of this novel may make you angry, but they will
still make you think. Suggested by Mary Mullen. Page
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Sunday,
May 30 - A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn
by Betty Smith (fiction, 528 pages) –
Rarely does the book club read a “classic.” This
month’s
book is an exception. First published in 1943, it is a bildungsroman
or coming of age story. The novel takes place in the first 2 decades
of the 1900s in Brooklyn, NY and follows Francie Nolan and her
3-generation Austrian/Irish-American family who are struggling
against poverty. The main metaphor of the book is the Tree of Heaven,
an Asian import now considered invasive that is common in vacant lots
in New York City. Suggested by Barbara Park.
Sunday,
June 27 - Elegance of the
Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery (French fiction, 320 pages)
Told through 2 narrators – concierge
Renée Michel
(in first person) and an intellectually precocious girl named Paloma
Josse, (through her journals) - it features erudite characters. It is
full of allusions to literary works, music, films, and paintings.
Themes relate to philosophy, class consciousness, and personal
conflict. Suggested by Rose Smith and Al Nettleton.
Sunday,
July 18 - (Date may be changed) Roads
to Quoz: An American Mosey
by William Least Heat-Moon (608 pages) is about a series of short
trips – total of 16,000 miles - rather than one long trip as
Heat-Moon’s other books were. In this book he covers
Maine’s
North Woods by car, a trip along the coast from Baltimore to Florida
by boat, one in Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains by rail bike
(bike
fitted out to cruise along abandoned railroad tracks), and others.
“Wherever he is, Heat-Moon’s thought is often
tethered to
questions of sustainability and equitability…deep
ecology.”
It’s a long book, and you may choose to read it over the
summer
while on a trip or while trapped at home. Feel free to select
whatever trips appeal to you. Suggested by Al Nettleton.
WOW
to Meet April 3rd
Prairie's
Women's group, also known as WOW, meets monthly for breakfast potluck
and conversation and an occasional project. We will meet next on
Saturday, April 3rd, at 9:00 am. Come and join us for great food and
conversation.
Prairie
Elders meetings
Prairie
Elders is a group of over-65 Prairie members who meet once a month
(generally on the 4th Tuesday of the month) and Oakwood, in the
Nakoma room, for conversation and mutual support. New members are
always welcome. Topics alternate between general interest and more
personal items. The topic for March 23rd is "A
Report Card for President Obama." For April 27th the topic is
"Something you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask." Afraid of
feeling stupid? Topic too grand? No way. Such a topic
spurs fascinating discussions in our loquacious bunch. Our
“round
robin” format makes it easier to hear and gives all the
option
of speaking. Topics alternate between general issues and personal
interests. NOTE: Please bring
suggestions for future topics.
All
meetings begin with informal conversation at 1:30 pm, followed by
discussion beginning at 2:00 pm. If possible, please bring some
snacks to share and your own beverage cup. For more information about
the group or to arrange a ride, please call one of the following:
Donna
Murdoch 238-3802, Gordon
Cunningham 230-3367, Rosemary Dorney 238-4382 or Rose Smith 233-3363.
Humanist
Union to Discuss Outreach with Jane Esbensen
On
April 18 the Humanist Union will meet with humanist UU minister Jane
Esbensen to discuss humanist outreach ideas. Jane is currently
serving as half-time consulting minster to the Lake Country Unitarian
Universalist Church in Hartland WI. We are departing from our usual
practice of meeting on the first Sunday of the month because the 18th
was the only Sunday in April when Jane was available for our usual
potluck lunch at 11:45 am and our presentation/discussion from 12:30
to 1:30 pm. Since the Prairie Board will be having a potluck and
meeting upstairs during this time, we will share their potluck
serving table but take our food downstairs and meet there. In May we
will return to our first Sunday schedule for our May 2nd meeting with
Andrew Kerr, Speaker of the Free Congregation of Sauk County.
Mark
Your Calendars!
-
The
Spring Parish meeting
has been scheduled for Sunday,
May 16th, after the service. We
will begin with a potluck lunch at 11:45 and begin the meeting at noon.
At this annual meeting, the budget will be presented for the
congregation's approval, and new board members and officers will be
elected. Materials for the meeting will be distributed beforehand via
Prairie News or US mail.
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4
-
Prairie's
annual fall
retreat has been scheduled for
the weekend of September 17 - 19, 2010,
at the Pine Lake Camp in
Westfield, Wisconsin. This is the same location we used last year, and
we are hopeful that the earlier date will bring us both warmer weather
for enjoying all the camp has to offer, and the possibility that the
folks at Sauk City UU will be able to join us this year. Every
year the retreat
is run with tremendous volunteer support. People are always needed to
coordinate programs, help with publicity and registration, help with
childcare, and more. If you are interested in volunteering to work on
the retreat, please contact Kate Liu, Prairie's administrator, at 271-8218 &
admin(at)uuprairie.org.
Plans
for Professional Ministry
By now you are likely aware that our minister of the past 3-1/2 years,
Ralph Tyksinski, will by retiring from professional ministry at the
end of his term with us, on June 30, 2010. There are several steps we
need to take to obtain a new consulting minister, and the process is
already well underway. We need to submit a “Congregational
Record” to the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) to
serve as our ad and invitation for any ministers who might be
interested in serving us. The Board discussed what we need from a
consulting minister at this time, and got additional ideas from the
Long Range Planning Committee and the Committee on Ministry. A small
group of Board members wrote a draft of the report, which was then
approved by the full Board at its 3/14/10 meeting. We will be working
with our Central Midwest District Ministerial Settlement
Representative, who will help us through the process. We need to
appoint a consulting minister task force, whose role will be to help
us reach the point of selecting a candidate to present to us. We are
planning for the new minister to start August 1st.
Do
you have the time, energy, and desire to help us find our next
minister? It will be time consuming, but rewarding. Please let me
know right away, because we want our task force up and running. It
should be a fascinating and exciting process.
Rachel
Long, President
Vote
on Settled Ministry to be Delayed
Throughout
this congregational year, Prairie has been undergoing a discussion
regarding ministerial relationships: learning what settled,
consulting, interim, and lay ministry mean, and how Prairie’s
future might be fostered by different types of ministerial
arrangements. This discussion was begun at the direction of the
Prairie UU Society Board, which charged the Long-Range Planning
Committee in July to facilitate the process. This request was
intended as preparation for a congregational vote at the Spring
Parish Meeting on whether Prairie should pursue
“settled”
ministry (that is, long-term, rather than year-to-year contract
ministry).
In
undertaking this process, both the Long-Range Planning Committee and
Prairie members have conducted much important work. Progress has been
made on many fronts. We have interviewed members of several other
congregations who have undergone similar discussions. Outside
speakers have come to Prairie to share their thoughts during or after
Sunday services, including Ian Evison from the Central Midwest
District of the Unitarian Universalist Association and Glenda
Consenza of the Dekalb UU Society, which recently called a settled
minister. Prairie members have had opportunities to explore and
discuss the issue at three workshops, one-on-one interviews, and
other events. The Committee has shared information through four
Prairie Fire articles, numerous group e-mails, verbal announcements,
congregational mailings, and individual emails and phone calls. A
question-and-answer session about lay leadership with Andrew Kerr,
Speaker of the Free Congregation of Sauk County, was rescheduled due
to a death in his family but will take place on May 2.
Throughout
this process, members have provided feedback in verbal and written
form, and “readiness polls” have been taken in
which respondents indicated their preparedness to cast a vote
(“1”
being “not at all ready”, “5”
being “I
could vote today if needed”). Three trends have become
evident:
1)
The readiness polls indicate that the majority of respondents are not
ready to vote, with average response ratings ranging from 3 to 3.67.
2)
A majority of the membership is not
fully engaged in the discussion. Fewer than 25% of members have
attended a workshop on the topic, and follow-up contacts with those
unable to attend echo a lack of
preparedness
to move forward in decision-making.
3)
The feedback from those who have attended raises important but
complex issues, many of which are
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beyond
the scope of what can reasonably be resolved between now and the
Spring Parish Meeting. Examples include questions about ideological
identity (including theological diversity) within the congregation
and how different ministry forms would affect or reflect it; the
impact of different ministry formats on leadership; and financial
wherewithal to support a settled minister.
After
reviewing both level of participation and feedback received thus far,
the Long-Range Planning Committee recommended to the Board that the
vote be delayed, and the Board has accepted this recommendation.
Discussions will continue in the future; however, at present the
Committee will be shifting into a “reporting” mode,
to
allow time to present all the findings and information that has been
gathered. This will ensure that the work done this year by members of
the congregation on this issue is fully documented. The Committee
will also make recommendations regarding means of facilitating future
discussions.
With
such an important issue, full participation and thoroughly resolved
discussions are critical. To move forward with a vote when there is
clearly more work to be done would not be in the best interest of the
congregation.
Additional
feedback is encouraged; please contact any member of the Long-Range
Planning Committee (Robyn Perrin, Aileen Nettleton, Ken Skog,
Christina Klock, and Mary Mullen). Many thanks for your time and
effort on this issue. It is important, and the discussion process
will continue in the future.
Robyn
M. Perrin, Chair, Long-Range Planning Committee
Caring
Committee Guidelines for Support for Prairie Members
The
Caring Committee commits to reach out to members in times of crisis
to plan with the individual or family for ways they would like
support from the committee and congregation. Discussions will be
confidential.
Information
about the individual’s status will not be communicated beyond
the Caring Committee and minister via email or other announcements
unless the individual agrees information may shared in order to
respect the individual’s right to privacy. The Caring
Committee
contact person may coordinate
support
with other members of the
congregation, if
needed and if the individual agrees. The committee will work in
cooperation with the individual’s family and the minister to
address members’ needs. The committee will do what is
appropriate and feasible, given our time limits as volunteers. It
does not take the place of professional counseling or other services.
The
Caring Committee will offer
to help members during times of
illness, life crisis or major transition in these ways:
Call,
email or send a card when a person is ill, check to see if meals,
groceries, ride to doctor are needed/desired.
Contact
person or family when person is in the hospital to see what the
person would like: visits, family meals, pet care, transportation,
etc.
Contact
family at time of child’s birth to offer support for food or
respite care.
Contact
young families to see if respite care is needed in special
situations.
Contact
person prior to planned surgery to see if person would like hospital
visits, meals after home, post-op visits.
Contact
person to share bereavement when family member or good friend passes
away.
Share
with a member about life issues in their family such as an aging
parent.
Offer
respite care for individual with long-term ill spouse/partner.
Provide
support at the time of death in the immediate family, such as
bereavement visits and meals.
Discuss
end-of-life issues for the individual/ parents/ family member (Refer
to Final Chapters booklet)
Contact
the minister (or community
services, if appropriate):
Contact
minister when individual has illness; minister may visit in hospital
Pastoral
counseling
Mental
health needs
Rites
of passage: child dedications, marriages, memorial services
Professional
counseling
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Support
for “Friends” of Prairie
Concerns
related to interpersonal relationships
Concerns
with end-of-life issues
Bereavement
Financial
emergency needs
Individuals
are encouraged to request assistance yourself in other situations
from other members of the congregation or community resources. The
Caring Committee may be able to suggest appropriate community
resources or private paid services to the individual:
Requests
for assistance in moving
Regular
rides to doctor appointments
Long
term need for shopping (grocery store delivery, pharmacy delivery)
Home
assistance such as cleaning, laundry
Snow
shoveling, other home care tasks
Rides
to Prairie events
Please
contact one of the Caring Committee, Aileen Nettleton, Randy
Converse, Linda Colletti, Linda Sheehy, Jill Cornejo, or Erin Bosch,
or Rev. Ralph Tyksinski if you have an illness, death, or major
crisis in your family, or if you hear about another Prairie member in
need. We will do our best as volunteers to be there when most needed.
We appreciate all the support that the Prairie Community as a whole
provides to one another in our “ministry” of caring
for
each other.
Aileen
Nettleton, Chair, Caring Comittee
 In
Memoriam: Mary Lou Diehl
Mary
Lou Diehl passed away March 13, 2010, at age 89, following a massive
stroke. Her children were with her at the hospital at the time of her
death. A memorial service is being planned for June. Cards may be
sent to the family at her home as listed in the Prairie Directory.
Mary
Lou was one of our early members of Prairie, having joined joined in
1969. She will be remembered for her strong activism and sense of
justice in society. Professionally, she had worked in public
relations at MATC. She was very proud of the achievements of her
three children, John, Alicia, and Tim, and her grandchildren.
Social
Action Notes
Mary Somers,
chair of the Prairie Social Action Committee, will receive a
certificate of award as a UU Humanitarian from the UU Church of Tucson
along with 14 others for their work with the church's ministry of NO
MORE DEATHS. No More Deaths provides humanitarian aid in the desert for
those crossing the border. The awards will be given on March 28th at a
special service given by John Pike, founder of both the sanctuary
movement and No More Deaths.
Prairie
member Nancy Graham, also in Tucson, brought the play, SEVEN JEWISH
CHILDREN to the Tucson Northwest UU Church March 14th, and plans to
have several other performances at area churches.
In the
Madison Area, the The
Single
Payer Action Network of Madison will present James Thindwa at the Labor
Temple on April 10 at 2 p.m. James was featured on Bill Moyers Journal
last year and has been a guest on the Health Writers program on several
occasions.
Mary
Somers
Social
Action Chair
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Rev.
Ralph's Ruminations
Dear
Prairie members and friends,
My
decision to conclude my service as Consulting Minister has been made.
It has not been easy and uncomplicated. But I feel that it is now
time for Prairie to journey with another minister and the Board is
now actively engaged in the search process. Since I began my service
in October of 2006 (I remember well attending the parish retreat at
Bethel Horizons and participating with Karleen in our first Key Log
service, indoors because of the rain outside,) we have journeyed
along a path that has surely developed reasonable expectations of
what shared ministry can mean. I have felt deeply privileged to serve
and have loved my time with Prairie. We should honor and own the
achievements that we have accomplished together and I strongly
believe have demonstrably enriched the life of the congregation and
have made it a healthier community.
However,
along with achievements there are for me some disappointments. The
excellent work that has been done by the Long Range Planning
Committee has not yet yielded the kinds of consensus building around
the congregation’s readiness to make a decision to go forward
with the longer term service of professional ministry.
The
Committee recommended to the Board at the March 14th meeting the
following: “That Prairie UU Society delay the vote on whether
to pursue settled ministry, originally scheduled for the 2010 Spring
Parish Meeting." The LRP committee also recommended to the Board
"that different models of professional and lay ministry models
continue to be explored and discussed during the 2010-2011
congregational year.” Both recommendations were accepted by
the
Board.
I
would like to suggest that Prairie is not alone among congregations
in its struggle to find an identity with professional ministry.
Here
is a framework that Alban Institute consultant Roy Oswald recommends
to congregations as a way to move beyond polarity thinking and
divisiveness and toward greater consensus building.
“A
polarity is a pair of truths that need each other over time. When an
argument is about two poles of a polarity, both sides are right and
need each other to experience the whole truth. This phenomenon has
been recognized and written about for centuries in philosophy and
religion, and the research is clear: leaders and organizations that
manage polarities well outperform those who don't. A polarity is a
pair of truths that are interdependent. Neither truth stands alone.
They complement each other. Congregations often find themselves in
power struggles over the two poles of a polarity. Both sides believe
strongly that they are right. People on each side assume that if they
are right, their opponents must be wrong—classic "either/or"
thinking. Either we are right or they are right—and we know
we
are right! When people argue about the two truths, both sides will be
right, and they will need each other to experience the whole truth."
Let's
take a look at each quadrant in the "Strong Clergy Leadership
and Strong Lay Leadership" polarity in detail:
The
Upside of Strong Clergy Leadership
Clergy
possess theological and spiritual depth and draw on those gifts to
lead the congregation well
Clergy
possess enough emotional intelligence to develop strong, trusting
relationships with others
Congregations
are well served by clergy who know how to maintain balance in their
lives
Excellent
pastoral care is offered
Congregations
thrive when clergy lead congregational change
Strong
prophetic messages are delivered when necessary
The
Upside of Strong Lay Leadership
Clergy
and laity share a set of commonly accepted set of principles that can
result in strong mission and vision
Some
laity understand the complexity of the clergy’s role and
support and guide their minister’s work in the congregation Page
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Gifted
and called laity also offer pastoral care
Positive
change takes place in a congregation when strong lay leaders are
involved
Dedicated
lay leaders participate with their minister in challenging the
congregation
The
Downside of Strong Clergy Leadership
Some
laity may feel inferior to ministers in their knowledge of religion,
philosophy and congregational life
Clergy
may try to micromanage other staff members and lay leaders
Overfunctioning
clergy may burn out and fall into exhaustion, cynicism, and
disillusionment
Lay
leaders’ energy declines because they lack ownership of
important decisions
Clergy
are, so to speak, stoned to death like the prophets of old
The
Downside of Strong Lay Leadership
Conflict
can result when strong lay leaders butt heads with strong clergy, and
one side wins
Some
laity try to micromanage their clergy
Change
is not possible because strong lay leaders insist that things be done
the old way
The
energy of clergy declines as they lack ownership of important
decisions
Clergy
are unwilling to deliver strong, prophetic messages
Thriving
congregations have found ways to empower their clergy and to empower
their laity. It is important to do both. One way is to reproduce this
polarity on a single sheet of paper and ask for an hour’s
discussion at the next board meeting or
better, the next congregational meeting. The question that needs to
be asked at such a time is this: “Are we managing this
polarity
well or managing it poorly?” If there is consensus that the
congregation is managing it poorly, the board can ask for suggestions
of action steps that might bring the two poles into better balance.
If the suggestions are not particularly robust, a task force can be
appointed to study the polarity and bring recommendations. Managing
this polarity is worth that expenditure of energy.”
Of
course, there will be folks at Prairie with concerns over budgeting,
leadership roles, professional responsibilities, duties and tasks.
But these are issues that congregations will always face whether with
ministers or not.
Glad
to be journeying with you,
Rev.
Ralph
Denominational
News
The
Central
MidWest District Meeting
is approaching! It will be held the weekend of April
30th-May 2nd
at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, IL. You still have
some time to plan, so mark your calendars!
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"There
will be the usual inspiring banner parade, moving worship services
and the winner of the sermon award will present their award-wining
words as part of the Sunday morning worship. And there will be the
important sharing of resources, experiments and successes around the
issue of growth that religious leaders are always clamoring for."
It is always an uplifting weekend. Brochures will be available at the
Prairie meetinghouse starting February 28th.
Also,
the UUA General
Assembly is
being held in Minneapolis, this year, June
23-27th!
We are hoping since it is so close, we can get car loads of Prairie
folk to attend! "General Assembly is the way that our faith does
business. Actions of social witness are passed at GA, elements that
make up future policies are discussed… and YOU have a voice
in
the discussion. You’ll hear terrific speakers. There will be
hundreds of entertaining programs and informative workshops, offering
excellent support and learning for leaders in our congregations.
You’ll be able to join the witness for our faith and values,
in
moving and exciting ways."
Please
let Heidi Hughes, DA chairperson, know if you are planning on
attending either or both conferences - or if you are interested in
being a delegate for either meeting and would like more information.
Heidi
Hughes
Denominational
Affairs Chair
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UUSC
is having a Get Together... and you're invited!
This
exciting event will be held on Justice Sunday, March 28, 2010, 4:00
p.m. EST.
Join with
others in your congregation and community for a UUSC Get Together about
the critical issues facing both white and blue collar workers in
today's turbulent economy. Share a meal, discuss The Big Squeeze with
New York Times business and economics correspondent and author Steven
Greenhouse, and learn ways to reclaim the social contract lost over
years of declining job security and vanishing pensions.
Can you Host
a Get Together?
Register
your Get Together and we will send you a tool kit that will help you
promote and organize this event, including flyers, sample e-mails,
potluck recipes on a budget, give-aways, lawn signs, and many other
items.
Would you
like to attend a Get Together?
Connect your
local community with Get Togethers across the country and join in the
national conversation. UUSC will host a conference call with author
Steven Greenhouse. Your Get Together will be able to participate and
ask questions of the author!
There are
currently Get Togethers planned in 30 communities across 21 states!
Please help us reach our goal of having 50 Get Togethers on March 28!
To learn
more about this event, please visit our website www.uusc.org/get_together.
Sincerely,
Myrna
Greenfield,
Director
of Outreach and Mobilizatio
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