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December 2016
Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church 70 West Emerson Street, Melrose, MA 02176-3128
781-665-7504 [email protected] www.melroseuu.org
The Lightbearer
Reflections from Rev. Anita
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. -Wendell Berry Wendell Berry’s words are uncomfortably appropriate for this December. The days are getting short, we know. They always do in December. As we move on toward Christmas we know we will light candles against the dark, as people have done through the millennia, Christians and Jews, pagans and others, lighting candles and fires in the midst of the darkest of days. It is an act of affirmation and solidarity- holding together we offer comfort and support, assurance that the light will return, and our days will be glad. And surely in these times, not only of the natural season, but of the political season of our nation and the world, many of us are feeling the darkness closing in. These are uncertain times, and they feel scary. Wendell Berry’s wisdom is important here and now. It is not always wise to run away into the light. There is wisdom in the darkness, in settling down into it, feeling it fully and letting the truths that reside in those dark and often unvisited places surface. Sometimes acting quickly proves foolish. Sometimes bolting out of our discomfort zones is to run away from insight, learning, healing wisdom. Sometimes… We will never know those times of wisdom if we always run. And so our received tradition, as well as our natural world brings us these days of waiting time, called Advent in the Christian calendar. Waiting. Waiting to discern the right
time and the right action, waiting to allow the kernel of wisdom to germinate, the power of love to unfurl its wings. And that time is coming as sure as day will follow night and spring will follow winter. The power of love will unfurl its wings, and we will be a part of that. We already are. The wisdom literature tells us: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Let us attend to the season that is with us, the season of preparation. And then, for sure, rejoice in celebration of the new life and holy work that is born amongst us. With love and warm wishes, Rev. Anita
Rejoice with us:
The Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at 5:30 PM. The cozy Christmas morning service, 10:30 with Rev. Anita The exhilarating New Year’s Day service, 10:30 gathering in the Meetinghouse for centering, followed by a walk in the Fells and a return to Fellowship Hall for soup and bread and soul-warming fellowship. Look on page 8 for details on how to participate in the Christmas Eve Pageant.
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Music Notes Tara Tresner-Kirsch, Music Director
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. - lyrics from "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen People say to me, “Oh, you gotta be crazy! How can you sing in times like these? Don’t you read the news? Don’t you know the score? How can you sing when so many others grieve?” People say to me, “What kind of fool believes That a song will make a difference in the end?” By way of a reply, I say a fool such as I Who sees a song as somewhere to begin A song is somewhere to begin The search for something worth believing in If changes are to come there are things that must be done And a song is somewhere to begin. - lyrics of "Somewhere to Begin" by J.R. Ritchie December is a great month to sing! Adult Choir will be learning and remembering great seasonal music (and new singers are always welcome!). Many carols will be incorporated into worship service. And stay tuned for other oppor-tunities to sing in your church community — in-cluding holiday and carol singing at the Alterna-tive Fair on December 3rd and on December 18th. Come lift your voice in song!
Morning Song: December 4th
Singing meditation resumes Sunday, December 4
th, 9:30-10:00 in the Sanctuary. We will sink
into a few short songs and chants as well as pe-riods of silence for meditation and reflection. This month our songs will reflect the increasing darkness as we head towards the longest night of the year. We will endeavor to both embrace these dark times, but also be reminded of the spiritual light and fire that can see us through. Inspired by the death of Leonard Cohen the day before Election Day, the choir has begun sing-
ing a chant that begins “Forget your perfect of-fering / Just sing a song that you can sing” as part of vocal warm-ups. Most famous for his ubiquitous “Hallelujah,” Cohen’s words call us to bring our full selves into our work and let go of perfectionism. Perhaps only then can we tru-ly work from deep love and let our true voices be heard in the world. There is considerable pain in our world, coun-try, communities, and hearts right now. For me, singing together is “somewhere to begin” to fight through this pain, and moreover to strengthen our beloved communities. A 2013 study found that as people control their breath-ing in order to sing, their hearts literally slow down: singing soothes the individual. Moreover, when people sing together, their heartbeats ac-tually begin to sync up and unify: singing physi-cally binds community too. My hope is that, in these dark months, we will all take opportunities to sing more. Maybe it’s not something you do typically. Maybe you are self-conscious about your voice or how you look, but please consider “forget[ting] your per-fect offering,” and opening your heart to the possibilities of singing in community. There will be many opportunities! In peace, Tara MUUC Music Calendar Every Week: Sunday 9:00 a.m. - Adult Choir (unless other-wise noted) All events are in the Sanctuary. December 3rd: Carol Singing at Alternative Fair December 4th: Morning Song 9:30am, No Choir December 18th: Carol Sing, noon - Parish Hall December 24th: Choir Rehearsal, 4:00pm December 25th: No Choir
We will be singing an upbeat Hallelujah song and will practice in the Sanctuary noon-12:20ish weekly from October 23rd until their appearance in the service. Dear Congregation, We are in the week of celebrating our American holiday – Thanksgiving. We know the story of a first shared meal has parts that have been questioned and are complicated. As Unitarian Universalists, we share in the tradition of asking questions of what we encounter and experience.
There is a difference between asking questions of and questioning. In the life a faith community, we engage in so many kinds of creative and meaningful explorations to develop our skill of asking questions of what we see, experience, and sometimes do not understand….yet. What comes before these questions is the experience of being curious.
In this congregation, there is a deep commitment to the practice of cultivating curiosity. By now it is widely embraced that the Spirit Play classrooms are places where children enter in to story realms and are then given wondering questions to guide their processing of what they hear, imagine and especially – do not understand….yet.
We can learn from this. We can learn from walking through our days with our child mind and heart activat-ed, while functioning in our adult ways. We can learn from practicing (just to ourselves) asking ourselves questions about the world around us. It is not child’s play to always preface such questions of ourselves with “I wonder how…” or “I wonder why” or “I wonder if….when….what….” I wonder is a powerful lan-guage cue that keeps us from rushing to a judgement, reaction or challenging emotional response.
It may be hard at first but in time, we come to depend on such personal/spiritual practice as necessary, grounding and calming. We will know more and more are doing this when we notice more and more of our conversations beginning with more questions, curious questions. Sometimes it’s as simple – and bold – as asking, “why do we this?”
I have rejoined you – this time, as your interim religious educator – particularly, for my experience with teenage leadership development. I have already begun to ask questions to help understand the connec-tions between the aspirations of the congregation for youth ministry and what it means to be a teenager – today.
So here’s what I’m thinking about –
How do I compare the responsibilities I had as a teen with teens of today? Who are the teens of today? Are they all the same? How are they different? How does privilege impact a child or teen’s well being – for better and for worse? How are our children being raised with intercultural curiosity and compassion?
These are some great big questions that come from my curious contemplation and observation. Some-times I can begin to answer them when I consider the nature of my own small habits and expectations. I will be inviting all of us to do this together in the name of beloved community at MUUC.
En paz, Anne
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Religious Education (RE) News
Anne Principe Interim Director of Religious Education 781-665-7504 [email protected]
Finance Committee News
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Giving Beyond Our Wal l s Melrose Emergency Fund is the recipient of December’s Collections
Nine years ago the MUUC Board proposed an initiative titled "Giving Beyond Our Walls." By donating half of our non-pledge plate offerings, we have supported the work of many worthy causes in our greater community.
Melrose Emergency Fund is the recipient of November’s Collections The purpose of the fund is to provide one-time help to Melrose residents experiencing financial emergen-cies. “Our goal is to provide help with immediate needs, so the family can resolve the crisis and move on,” said Mayor Dolan. Most of the help the fund provides is basic needs—food, fuel, and utilities. “My goal is that no one in Melrose will go cold or hungry.” For more information or if you would like to donate to them direct-ly: http://www.cityofmelrose.org/for-residents/melrose-emergency-fund/
The recipients of the 2016-2017 Giving Beyond Our Walls Program are:
September– UUSC/UUA Refugee Crisis Fund February– Community Legal Services and October- Melrose Alliance Against Violence (MAAV) Counseling November- Bread of Life March– Change is Simple December– Melrose Emergency Fund April– Homes For Our Troops Christmas Eve– Minister’s Discretionary Fund May– Immigrant Learning Center January- Housing Families June- UU Ministry Bethany House
January 1 marks the half way point of the church year as well as the beginning of the
new year for income tax purposes. Some people like to complete their pledge by
December 31, but we are happy to accept your contributions through June 30, when
the church year ends. If you have questions about where you stand on your pledge
to the Melrose UU Church, please contact the church collector, Mary Delahanty, at
[email protected] or she can be reached at 781-665-2220. Your support for
Melrose UU Church is always gratefully received and very much appreciated.
THANKS FOR GIVING Erin Hobin-Audet & Cathy Sang, Stewardship Co-Chairs
Throughout this season of giving, what comes to mind when you think about giving to MUUC? While your annual pledge and financial commitment are critically important to sustain and grow our beloved community, your gifts of treasure are just one way that MUUC depends on your generous support. Giving of your time and your talents throughout the year are also vital to our community’s ability to live out our values and mission to the greater community and to one another; ‘service is our prayer’. A great example of the importance gifts of time, treasure and talent is our recent Har-vest Festival. Many MUUC members donated items and goods to be sold, were ea-ger shoppers, or both. Together, we happily gave of our treasure to raise close to $6,000 to support church activities – one thousand dollars more than planned for in the annual budget!
But the Harvest Fair would not have been possible, much less been a great success, without the gifts of time and talent given so freely by countless church members and friends. We celebrate and are thankful for the many hours of work that went into the festival’s planning, preparations, and execution. Approximately 60 volunteers gave an average of 15 hours; multiply that by $29 an hour (the average rate for a volunteer hour in 2015 according to Independent Sector, a support organization for nonprofits), and the combined volunteer effort resulted in a gift of $26,000 to MUUC. This is a sig-nificant contribution deserving of a huge thank you as well! Whether you participated in the Harvest Festival or not, thank you for the many ways you give to MUUC. Whatever balance of treasure, time and talent is right for you, we are grateful for—and the MUUC remains vital and strong thanks to—your deep and ongoing support. In fellowship, Cathy and Erin
Stewardship
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UU Mass Action – Our Faith Calls Us to Change the World My last two articles focused on the international reach of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and its affiliated organizations as well as the local impact of our New England Region. This month I’d like to highlight the work of the UU Mass Ac-tion organization which is the state action network organizing and mobilizing 140 UU congregations and 20,000 UU’s around issues of social justice. We are fortunate to have Social Justice Committee member Nancy Free involved with them and she of-ten shares their news and activities that are a “call to action”. Ongoing work has included the well publicized “Stop Spectra” neighborhood rallies in West Roxbury protesting a gas pipeline running through a densely populated resi-dential area with a quarry. Several UU ministers and congregation members have been a constant presence at the vigils and a number have been arrested, including a 17 year old from Haverhill. The most recent issue of UU World includes an article on page 51. With the recent election the work of UU Mass Action is more important than ever. Climate justice work will inevitably change as will the need to protect those who are most vulnerable among us. In this week’s newsletter the Standing on the Side of Love director Caitlin Breedlove says that “we are now in a different political move-ment that requires new and different skills. Let’s be gentle with each other and our-selves as we navigate this new landscape”. Together. As we look outside our walls to see how we can put our values into action consider the important work of this organization. Talk to Nancy Free and read this week’s newsletter to see the many opportunities to become engaged. http://www.uumassaction.org/uuma/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UUMANewsletter-11-21-16.pdf In fellowship, Nancy Nichols Denominational Affairs [email protected] [email protected]
Denominational Affairs Corner
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Transition Team Update
Melrose UU weathervane
Transition Team Update: Setting Our Course
Supported and guided by our interim minister Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson, we are pleased to initiate Setting Our Course, a process that will lead us on our path to select a new settled minister in 2018. We have chosen our beautiful lyre and plume design weathervane as a symbol for the transition and search process. As a first step to involve the entire congregation, the Transition Team is now organizing a series of House Meetings designed to inspire and capture the spirit, culture, and energy of our congregation. Over 17 days, January 28th – February 12th, all members, friends, and senior youth will be invited to participate in small group meetings to hear and learn about our individual experiences and aspirations that will help us to understand where we are today and what, as a congregation, we want to be within the next 7 - 10 years. We can do this most effectively by attaining our goal of 100% attendance with your participation in one House Meeting during this period. More details will be forthcoming in early January. In 1935 a longtime Melrose Unitarian Congregation member, Union B. Twitchell, donated “an old-fashioned weathervane”, which for many years stood on a community church in Bethel Maine built by Mr. Twitchell’s grandfather. The occasion of this legacy was the construction of our present sanctuary, including the steeple and parish hall, constructed on the foundation of the previous meetinghouse, and completed in 1936. We are looking forward to a vibrant and exciting exchange of ideas and also to full and willing participation from everyone as we set our course to a new settled minister and beyond. Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship. Omar N. Bradley Submitted by David Bliss.
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Congratulations to all for making the Harvest Fair a Success This church-wide effort raised approximately $5,900 that goes to funding part of the annual operations of the church!!! Thanks to the many volunteers who worked the day of fair, set up, cleaned up, and donated and made items to sell. Our greeter at the fair has heard year after year from many patrons that we are "the best fair around", including the friendliest, nicest merchandise, and best food. All can be proud of our great effort. Lastly, that the dedicated workforce of the Harvest Fair is aging and we are now seeking motivated, energetic, and younger volunteers to en-sure it is successful into the future! It’s fun and the benefits include helping the church and spending more time with mem-bers of this great community.
Christmas Eve Nativity Play
MUUC’s Annual Harvest Fair Update
It's that time of year again. We're looking for shepherds, a Magi and other cast participants for the Nativity Play in our Christmas Eve Service. All ages are invited to participate in the Nativity story at our Christmas Eve Service on Saturday, December 24 at 5:30 pm.
Rehearsal is Sunday, December 18 from 12 -1:00 pm and on Saturday, December 24 at 4:30 pm. If interested or just curious, please visit our sign-up table after church on Sunday, December 4th and 11th. See Beth Yourgrau for more info.
“Tis the Season! For Decorating and Cookie Swappin’! Please mark your calendar to join us on Saturday, December 10 at 3:00 PM, to help
decorate the church for the holiday season. We will decorate the sanctuary and Parish Hall with candles in the windows, and greenery on the lectern and the pulpit. And of course, we’ll decorate a lovely BIG Christmas tree in Parish Hall. When all that has been accomplished, it’s time to break out the cookies, or squares, or whatever your holiday specialty is! Please package your goodies in baggies or plastic wrap, so they stay fresh. How many should you make….2-4 dozen, depending on the size of individual pieces? Don’t forget to bring a container large enough to carry home all your new favorites! The Fellowship Committee will provide drinks for thirsty decorators. Mary Beth Griscom and Jane Foley , Fellowship Committee co-chairs
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Fellowship News
Wintertime “Walk in the Woods” Service
On Sunday, January 1, 2017, the Green Sanctuary Committee welcomes every-one to gather at 10:30am to celebrate the New Year and the gift of our natural world by sharing in a “Wintertime Walk in the Woods”. We will first gather at MUUC for a reading or two and then car-pool to the Jerry Jingle parking area next to Grimsby’s where we will begin our wintertime walk in the Middlesex Fells along the Crystal Springs Trail. MUUC has adopted the Crystal Springs Trail and will help the Friends of the Fells be good stewards of the trail. After our time in the woods we will meet back at MUUC to share a simple meal of soup and bread. Those who might not be able or interested in joining the out-door portion of the service are invited to join in conversation and fellowship at the church and then come together with the hikers for a warm meal. If you are interested in helping to organ-ize or prepare food for the meal, please contact me or other member of the Green Sanctuary Committee Doug Dick Chair, Green Sanctuary Committee
Green Sanctuary News
Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church 70 West Emerson Street Melrose, Massachusetts 02176-3128 Address Service Requested Please note: If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please let us know.
The Lightbearer Published monthly.
DATED MATERIAL
The MUUC’s Annual Alternative Holiday Fair and Café will be held on Saturday, December 3rd from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The Alternative Fair is an “alternative” to mall shopping and provides a mar-ket for interesting handmade items from Central America and other countries. Fair trade coffee, chocolate and tea are available and local businesses will be selling spices and jams. Local causes will also have displays of nice items for sale. The Melrose UU Church quilters have items for sale to support its out-reach to veterans and children in hospitals, and the Cafe Kitchen will be serv-ing homemade soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Come, shop, have an inexpensive lunch, and relax.
