July 2020 Newsletter

This year, General Assembly, like so much of our lives, has moved online.  Like UUCV, the UUA has moved worship, business meetings and education to zoom meeting rooms.  I will get to experience online worship, rather than leading it.  I will work with my co-religionists to figure out how to have a helpful dialogue via zoom chat.  I will phone bank with UU the Vote (find out more here) rather than engage in our annual mass demonstration.  Many things will remain the same but nothing will feel quite the same.

 

It is tempting to constantly compare: how does this new way of doing things match up to what we used to do?  Inevitably the new falls short.  But I think we are comparing the wrong things.  The question is not: is this new thing the same as a thing I previously loved?  The question is: does this new thing help me to do the things my faith calls me to do: 

 

love one another

 

make meaning of our lives

 

fight to make sure everyone has the opportunity to do the first two free of violence and fear.

 

Everything we can do that helps us accomplish those three tasks is worth doing, even if it doesn’t feel quite like it used to.  Living our faith isn’t something we ever finish with.  New tools will be required. But we will continue to love, find meaning and fight for justice.  Together.

 

In faith,

Aija

Here is what we need for our Chili Dinner:

Pots of Chili in Disposable Pans

Change for the World
Community CARES - AUGUST

Community CARES will be UUCV's Change for the World again in August.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Community Cares is continuing to practice social distancing and has moved its most vulnerable and sick residents into hotel rooms to help curb the spread of the virusThey currently have a Census of approximately 60 people and are operating on a skeleton staff. Their resources are being stretched to the limit right now, as need is up and donations are down. 

Keeping 60 residents safe and healthy during a pandemic, in a communal setting, is a herculean task that they are tackling with grace and proficiency. Please support Community CARES staff by donating to this month’s CFTW. They are the front line of protecting our most vulnerable citizens right now.

Send checks made out to UUCV with "CFTW" or "CARES" in the memo line and send to UUCV, PO Box 207, Boiling Springs, PA  17007

Other ways you can help our CARES community.  Here's what is needed most right now...

 

Basic staple foods
Hygiene Products
Cleaning supplies
Masks
Gloves.
2x and 3x men's and women's underwear (new)
men's and women's socks (new)
men's xl boxers and t-shirts (new)
allergy medicine
coffee filters
coffee creamer
cold medicine 
bike locks

Non-perishable items may be placed in the CARES collection container located near the door by UUCV’s parking lot.

Survey about RE at UUCV: Summer 2020 and Beyond

Hello to everyone!

This is Cathy coming to you from the Auction Attic. You know? That place where we keep things that are too good to throw away, but will never use. That place where we have stored heirlooms from people we've never known or met. That place of knowledge that you have not thought about or made use of in a long time.

I am hosting an auction meeting on Zoom at 12:15 on Sunday July 19 ID# 572 887 2212. Our annual auction has tentatively been moved until next spring, however there are ideas afoot to do something this year to keep us in the mood, connected, and informed. I'm asking those of you that have supported our annual auction in the past as part of the auction committee, as well as newcomers to attend this short meeting. Bring with you your own ideas about what we can do between now and late fall, or build on what some of us have come up with. I welcome anyone from the fund raising committee to attend as well.

So mark your calendars for Sunday, July 19 at 12:15 for our first auction meeting and I hope to see many of you there.

The spinet that sits in my home studio—you’ve seen it over my shoulder if you’ve watched me play the prelude during our Zoom worship—is the same piano that sat in the living room of my childhood home as I was growing up.  I learned to play on that instrument, though my parents never quite believed I ever did any practicing on it.  (As a dyed-in-the-wool introvert, I never practice when others can hear me, so I only touched that instrument when I was home alone.)

When I got to college, while other students (I presume) were sneaking out of their dorms to library carrels and science labs, I spent many midnight hours in the sanctuary of Allison Church playing the grand piano that lived there, enjoying the special ambience a grand piano creates in a large, empty, resonant hall.  Sometimes I’d play music I knew well.  Occasionally I’d work on repertory I wanted to improve.  Most often, though, I’d just improvise, letting the sound of each note and each chord “tell” me where the music wanted to go next.  It was a practice that wasn’t necessarily great for my GPA, but it was absolutely life-saving for my soul.

True, those nights spent listening and (in the best sense of the word)  playing at the piano were foundational to the work I do now as a composer, arranger, and music teacher.  I learned the importance of resonance and silence, of dissonance and resolution, of movement and stillness.  But most importantly, I learned to find peace in ambiguity, and groundedness in uncertainty.

On Thursday evenings during the quarantine I’ve been opening my home—virtually, of course—in an attempt to share some of that magic with anyone who cares to join me.  Each week I select and meditate on a different reading before I sit down to play, but once the hour begins and I light my home chalice it’s as though I’m back in that Sanctuary in college, alone in the darkness, just listening and  playing.  I check the Zoom logs afterwards to see who’s been present with me, but my goal for the time is really for each of us just to be “alone together” in the same acoustic space.  Attendees’ mics are muted, and most even leave their video off so they don’t need to be self-conscious about their appearance.  At least one regular visitor tells me they’re in the habit of lying on the floor, eyes closed, so nothing competes for the focus of the music.  It’s a special time for me, that helps me reclaim a sense of calm during weeks full of not-calm-ness, and I think I move more competently in the world because I carve out this time each week.

If you’d like to join us, you’re welcome to do so, any time on Thursdays between 8:30 and 9:30 PM ET on our regular Virtual Community Zoom channel.  We can even send you a text reminder an hour before the event each week if you like—just sign up here or let me know directly and I can add you to the list.

As Rev. Aija reminds us often, we need each other more than we know.  And when we’re too exhausted or frightened or numb to “get out there and make some trouble,” sometimes what we need to help us heal and recover is to be alone, together.

May it be so for you as well.

It warms our hearts to see all your faces (or names) at worship on Sundays.  And, many of you are also using our UUCV channels for your small group meetings, committee meetings, and monthly executive meetings.

We ask that the meeting leader reserve your ZOOM time by emailing Pam.  A staff member will open up your meeting at your requested time and then turn over the HOST duties to the leader and staff will pull out of the meeting.  We have multiple channels and happily, they are being used to keep everyone connected.  

The ZOOM passwords have been changed so make sure you get your time reserved so the staff can connect you with your group.

• point your browser to uuma.zoom.us/j/9428106896 , OR
• “listen in” (without video) by telephone, by calling 646-876-9923 and entering Meeting ID 942 810 6896

If you don’t already have Zoom installed on your computer, clicking any Zoom link will prompt you to begin the installation.  There is no charge to you for the software or its use.

If you are interested, send me an email or call: 717-486-8600. If I don't answer, please leave a message and I will get back with you. I hope to hear from you soon.

Stay Well,
Jim Burton
Small Group Ministry Leader

Many churches use a business-type activity to help with funding. I am thinking of one local church with a food truck. I am also thinking of the Taizé monks, who generate revenue by composing and publishing music.

 

If we could develop a sustainable “business” model, it would relieve some of the pressure on the congregation’s wallets.

 

This is not to say I have any kind of instant, magic solution to the problem. Far from it.

 

But I believe there may be viable solutions and I am qualified to help us explore the subject. I have started and run perhaps 20 businesses, some of them successful. 

 

I am seeking a few people for a short meeting, via Zoom, perhaps two hours, to talk this over and decide if it’s worth exploring further. If we decide to continue, we will need to do a lot of research and brainstorming.

 

Do you feel this is worth taking a few hours to assess its feasibility? Would you like to help us think outside the box (assuming you’re not a cat)? If so, please contact myself or Pam pam@uucv.net

 

Joseph Osborne (jo@osbornej.com)