Prairie Fire

April 22, 2011

In this issue:

-calendar
-programs
-announcements

The Prairie Fire is published by Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society on the 6^th and 21st of every month. View past issues at www.uuprairie.org

Contact Us:

President
Barbara Park
barpark@gmail.com
608-273-8775

Director of Religious Education
Rebecca Malke-Eliganti
youthcoordinator@
uuprairie.org
695-3435

Editor/ Congregational Administrator
Kate Liu
admin@uuprairie.org
271-8218
Office hours: M, T, F - 10 to noon

Prairie Web
Sites:

Home Page
www.uuprairie.org

News Group
http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/prairie
news/

Views
http://groups.yahoo.
com/group/prairie
views/

Social Action
http://socialaction.
madisonwi.us

Humanist Union
http://humanist.
madisonwi.us

Input Deadlines:

Calendar items, announcements, and program descriptions are due on the 1st and 15th of each month. Please send to Kate Liu at admin@uuprairie.org or call 271-8218.

Calendar

Sunday, April 24, 2011
8:45 Choir Rehearsal
10:00 Service - “A Freedom Seder: Celebration of the Exodus and Freedom Movements Throughout the World,” presented by Ruth Calden and Mary Mullen.
10:00 Easter Egg Hunt for RE students

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
2:00 Prairie Elders meet at Oakwood; topic is nuclear energy.

Saturday, April 30, 2011
9:00 Adult RE class: Immigration.

Sunday, May 1, 2011
8:45 Choir Rehearsal
10:00 Service - “Universalism: Past, Present, and Powerful,” presented by Rev. Kalen Fristad.
11:45 Humanist Union meets for potluck lunch and presentation.

Monday, May 2, 2011
6:30 Spanish Speaker's Potluck at the home of Prudence Barber. Call Rosemary Dorney at 238-4382 for more information.

Saturday, May 7, 2011
9:00 WOW – Prairie's women's group – meets for breakfast potluck and conversation.

Sunday, May 8, 2011
8:45 Choir Rehearsal
10:00 Service - "Sown in Tears: Family Letters From Bleeding Kansas,"
presented by Rev. Bobbie Groth.

Upcoming Programs

Sunday, April 24, 2011, 2010, 10:00 am: “A Freedom Seder: Celebration of the Exodus and Freedom Movements Throughout the World,” presented by Ruth Calden and Mary Mullen. This Easter Sunday Prairie will celebrate a Seder, the 3000-year-old ritual meal of Passover. The Seder is a feast of freedom, remembering the triumph of an oppressed people over their oppressor. The Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt has become a metaphor for deliverance from all types of bondage. This past year we have witnessed the stunning struggles for freedom against Pharaohs in so many countries in the Middle East. In our own country many groups still battle against barriers to equality or attempts to limit their freedoms and ability to organize. Come both to participate and learn as Ruth Calden and Mary Mullen lead you through a “Freedom Seder” updated from the one we last celebrated in 1971 during a time of Black liberation.

Sunday, May 1, 2011, 10:00 am: "Universalism: Past, Present and Powerful,”
presented by Rev. Kalen Fristad. Kalen Fristad is an ordained United Methodist Minister. After serving churches in Iowa for 27 years he embarked upon an independent ministry. He conducted this ministry full time from 2003-2006. It consisted of traveling around the country with his wife, Darlene, accepting invitations to speak to churches and other groups, countering the teaching that many people will suffer for eternity in hell and instead, proclaiming the hopeful message of universalism. He went back to the parish ministry in July 2006. As of January 2008, while continuing to serve churches in Iowa part-time, he resumed his traveling ministry, spending half time on the road speaking on the subject of universalism.

Sunday, May 8, 2011, 10:00 am: "Sown in Tears: Family Letters From Bleeding Kansas," presented by Rev. Bobbie Groth. Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth will speak about the "story behind the story" of her recent book published by Skinner House Books: The Incredible Story of Ephraim Nute: Scandal, Bloodshed, and Unitarianism on the American Frontier. Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth is a UU Community Minister who served victims of violence for more than twenty years. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Alverno College in Milwaukee. If you are interested in ordering the book before the service, please contact Prairie's admin.

News & Announcements

Rev. Jane's new address Rev. Jane has left us for Sweden, but would still love to hear from us! Her email will remain the same, jlesbensen@gmail.com, and her mailing address is
Jane Esbensen Karlsson, Laxögern 58, 90788 Täfteå, Sweden

Report on American Humanist Association Annual Conference The 3 Prairie members who attended the American Humanist Association 70th Anniversary Conference in Cambridge, MA, April 7-10, Barb & Bob Park and Susan Hagstrom, will report on the conference at the Humanist Union's May 1st meeting. Speakers at the conference included Richard Dawkins, Steve Wozniak, Rebecca Goldstein, Candace Gingrich-Jones and many others. (The full schedule can be seen online at http://www.americanhumanist.org/What_We_Do/Annual_Conference/2011/schedule.) We will start as usual with a potluck lunch at 11:45 am, with reporting and discussion from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.

UU Views of Immigration Adult Ed Class If you would like to join the Immigration-focused adult education sessions, 10:00-12:00 Saturdays, April 30 and March 13, please contact Christina Klock directly at cak190(at)hotmail.com or 695-5013.. There are enough people enrolled for the class to proceed, but there are openings if you are interested. Christina will facilitate the exploration using UUA study materials. She will get you materials and details before the class begins.

What is the Caring Committee? The Prairie Caring Committee is here for Prairie members so they can depend on someone for support in times of need. As a religious community, we want to reach out and provide support when you need it. The caring committee can arrange for visits if you are in the hospital; meals and company when you are home recuperating; share in a family death or other crisis; and provide a friendly ear if you are simply feeling a little overwhelmed. If you or someone else in Prairie may need caring support from Prairie, please contact any of the members of the committee. Members of the committee are: Erin Bosch, Linda Colletti, Randy Converse, Katherine Peterson, Linda Sheehy, and Aileen Nettleton, chair (238-6053). If you do not reach the committee member who is your contact person or if you do not recall who that is, please call any member. Contact any one of us and we will try to help get the response you need.