This Week at UUP: September 28-October 4

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
An Oasis for Heart and Mind Every Sunday in Downtown Petaluma

For complete up-to-date info on the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, see our website: www.uupetaluma.org
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SUNDAY SERVICES

(Social time with refreshments begins at 10:00 am, at the Petaluma Woman's Club, 518 B Street. Worship service begins at 10:30 am. )

Sunday, October 1: "A Sanctuary of Music"

Music uplifts the spirit and reaches the deeper inner resonances of our soul. This service offers us this gift: to listen, to hear, to sing, to resonate. Join Worship Associate Elisabeth Hathaway in a service to honor and meet music as sacred experience, including an extended listening time to a piece of music, and our UUP choir Larking About offering an anthem.

Sunday, October 8: "Varieties of Unitarian Universalist Experience"

Guest Speaker and UUP Member, Earl Cruser, a former Presbyterian Minister, made a left turn in life and joined the Unitarian ranks, for which we are much the richer. By combining his own spiritual views, along with the renowned wisdom of Unitarian Richard Gilbert, Earl will present his perspective on how Unitarian Universalism embraces diversity of perspective on an array of subjects important to us all.

Sunday, October 15: "Restoring the Web"

"Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part" is a cornerstone of the UU faith. Unitarian Universalists tend to be nature-lovers and environmentalists, but what do we do as a collective body to live out this principle? Come hear about what we are doing to live out the 7th principle as a congregation and our plans for the "Green Sanctuary" project.

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Adult Religious Exploration Classes Forming

To join one of four small group classes and workshops offered in the coming months, look for the sign up sheet on the back table on Sunday and add your name and phone number.

The possibilities are:

1) Evensong, an experience of shared worship and an exploration of beliefs and spiritual journeys;

2) A book discussion group of A Chosen Faith, an introduction to Unitarian Universalism;

3) The Wider UU World, a discussion of topical articles from the national UU World magazine; and,

4) The Caring Congregation, a follow-up workshop to our August 27th service on living with mental disorders.

If interested but unable to sign up in person on Sunday, email Diana at weaverly at earthlink dot net.

The group meeting to discuss the book "A Chosen Faith" (an introduction to Unitarian Universalism) intends to begin twice monthly meetings on Oct. 15, on Sundays from noon-1 PM at the Woman's Club. Please sign up if you're interested in joining so that we can place an order for books on Oct 1st!

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UUP Flickr Photo Set

Resident geek and webmaster David Dodd has created a Flickr set for UUP photos, so they can be easily viewed online. So far, the set includes photos from a range of 2006 UUP events, including our Time and Talent Auction, our party to welcome Marlene Abel as our Director of Religious Education, our annual all-congregation retreat at Four Springs, the Water and Stones ingathering service, and our table at the Petaluma Progressive Festival.

Please take a look--and if you have photos to add, let David know!

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Regularly Scheduled Gatherings

--The UUP choir Larking About will meet Tuesday, Oct 3 at 8pm at David and Diana's house.

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If you have changed your email address or would like to be removed from the UUP list please email us at uupetaluma at gmail dot com

Religious Education Update: October 1

Islam and Ramadan-

The world’s Muslims are currently celebrating the Holy Month of Ramadan. Fasting during the daylight hours during this month is obligatory for most (with exceptions for the young, very old, and the sick), and includes a prohibition against food, drink, smoking and marital sex. Not being all that familiar with the practice, I assumed that Ramadan would be a difficult month for participants. However, Moina Noor, writes in last Wednesday’s San Francisco Chronicle:

Each year, my family eagerly awaits the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. In spite of the rigor it adds to our daily routine, we look forward to the spirituality and the sense of community it brings. During Ramadan, which began Saturday (September 23) and lasts until October 23, observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. An intense exercise in self-control, Ramadan is a time for Muslims to look inward. Weeks before Ramadan, however, our weekend social calendar fills with dinner invitations. It’s customary to break the fast together with a meal called iftaar.

I believe that most Americans know little about Islam, and that our lack of knowledge contributes to fear and mistrust. In a recent ABC News/Washington Post survey, 46% of polled Americans said that they had an unfavorable opinion of Islam. Thirty- three percent believe that mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims. A Cornell Poll in 2004 reports that about 27 percent of respondents agreed that all Muslim Americans should be required to register their location with the federal government, and 26 percent said they think that mosques should be closely monitored by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

As Unitarian-Universalists, we embrace freedom of religion, not just within our own walls, but for all the citizens of the world. If fear and mistrust of Islam allows our government to infringe on the freedom of Muslim communities in the US to worship as they wish, our own search for truth and meaning is also threatened.

In my work with the children this morning, we will not only talk about Ramadan, but also how UU’s respect everyone’s right to find their own religious truth.

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

UUP Toolbar--Getting Better

It's been awhile since I promoted our browser toolbar. It's available for download, free, at uup.ourchurchtoolbar.com.

The toolbar allows you to search Google, and provide instant links to several excellent resources, including the UUP homepage, this blog, the home pages of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Pacific Central District, as well as the UU Legislative Ministry.

It's also a tool we're using to broadcast messages via RSS (Really Simply Syndication) feeds to our toolbar users.

And finally, it provides the local weather, and instant links to such community resources as the Argus Courier, Petaluma Community Access, the Press Democrat, Aqus News, and the Petaluma Progressives. Additional link suggestions are welcome!

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Flickr photo set growing

I've been posting photos from UUP events on Flickr, as a means of sharing them among the entire congregation in an easy manner.


So far, the set includes photos from a range of 2006 UUP events, including our Time and Talent Auction, our party to welcome Marlene Abel as our Director of Religious Education, our annual all-congregation retreat at Four Springs, the Water and Stones ingathering service, and our table at the Petaluma Progressive Festival.

UUP at the Petaluma Progressive Festival

For the fourth year in a row, we had a table at the annual Petaluma Progressive Festival. This year, our table was situated between Revolution Books and the Green Party of Sonoma County--it depended on your point of view whether we were to the right or left of either...

It's always a good event--well-attended by local folks looking to find out what hope there might be in these dire times.

We also tried out a new form of PR--a small card that is good for slipping under windshield wipers of cars with good bumper stickers, saying "I connected with your bumper stickers," and explaining about UUP. We'll see what, if any, results we have.



Here's a picture of our table, ably staffed by Alex, Lara, and Jim. Stacey, Dennis, Diana, Hope, Celeste, Stephen, and others also helpd out.

Religious Education Update: September 24

Religious Education Update
September 22, 2006

Forgiveness and Atonement

Our Jewish friends and neighbors are celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend. They are honoring the new year 5767, a numerical reminder that the Jewish tradition goes back a very long time. This coming week’s High Holy Days are a time of reflection on the past year, and a time to make amends for the shortcomings and failures of the year gone by.

All of the major world religions contain an element of confession or repenting for one’s sins or personal failings. Catholics may receive absolution from a priest after confessing, Jews begin a fresh new year after the reflections of Yom Kippur. In the Muslim and Hindu faiths, disciplines ask for atonement from God or gods.

The Liturgy in UU congregations is less explicit about asking for forgiveness. It has even been said that, “Unitarians felt that they were too good to be damned.” That is not to say that UU’s feel they are perfect or fail to feel guilt or remorse over past actions. Often, we may even feel overwhelmed with our social responsibility towards global warming or pollution or racism or all the other ills of the world.

UU Tom Stites wrote a confession in a Building Your Own Theology Class:

We acknowledge our imperfections and confess to ourselves, and publicly to each other that we have fallen short in the crucial effort to live lives worth dying for.
We have allowed minutiae and unimportant things to rule our lives and to claim precious hours that should be devoted to concerns that are important to us, to our families and friends, and to the communities that sustain all our lives.

We have given too much power to fears and anger and pain. And in focusing too much on our own wants, we have arrogantly presumed that, despite overwhelming evidence of the vastness of the universe and the infinite sweep of time, we have special importance.

Let us rejoice that in each of us is the power to improve not only ourselves but also the needy world of which we are citizens. Let us seize this moment to renew our commitments to doing the right things and the important things, to confronting our fears, and to bowing in respect to the mysteries of nature.

As we begin this new church year, what would each of us wish to improve in our own deeds and actions?

Wishing all of you a sweet and joyful New Year,

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

(The current issue of Quest, a UU CLF publication was used as a resource for this Update.)

This Week at UUP: September 21-28

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
An Oasis for Heart and Mind Every Sunday in Downtown Petaluma

For complete up-to-date info on the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, see our website: www.uupetaluma.org
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SUNDAY SERVICES

(Social time with refreshments begins at 10:00 am, at the Petaluma Woman's Club, 518 B Street. Worship service begins at 10:30 am. )

Sunday, September 24: "Accepting (a certain Someone) as Your Personal Savior"
Speaker: Regular Guest Minister Leland Bond-Upson

Coming from a religious liberal, these words may sound foreign, even shocking. And they do seem more apostate than apposite to our faith, akin to being asked to sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers". And yet, perhaps there is room in our big tent for such acceptance. Perhaps this traditional act of Christian faith is not even in conflict with our principles. In fact, perhaps some of us need salvation, and a savior.

Sunday, October 1: "A Sanctuary of Music"

Music uplifts the spirit and reaches the deeper inner resonances of our soul. This service offers us this gift: to listen, to hear, to sing, to resonate. Join Worship Associate Elisabeth Hathaway in a service to honor and meet music as sacred experience, including an extended listening time to a piece of music, and our UUP choir Larking About offering an anthem.

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Petaluma Progressive Festival This Sunday! Volunteers Needed

UUP has had a table at the Progressive Festival each year since we started, and it is a great place to meet potential Unitarian Universalists who are looking for a spiritual community. We plan to be there again this year, in an effort coordinated by the Membership, Outreach and Hospitality Committee. The event runs from noon to 6 pm, is held in Petaluma's Walnut Park, and is extremely fun and well-attended, with music, speeches and theatrical performances. (Visit progressivefestival.org for details about this year's festival.)

Can you can help telling people about UUP for an hour or two? Please email David Dodd at weaverly at earthlink dot net, or call him if you can sign up for a shift.

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Adult Religious Exploration Classes Forming

To join one of four small group classes and workshops offered in the coming months, look for the sign up sheet on the back table on Sunday and add your name and phone number.

The possibilities are:
1) Evensong, an experience of shared worship and an exploration of beliefs and spiritual journeys;
2) A book discussion group of A Chosen Faith, an introduction to Unitarian Universalism (note: The group meeting to discuss the book "A Chosen Faith" (an introduction to Unitarian Universalism) intends to begin twice monthly meetings on Oct. 15, on Sundays from noon-1 PM at the Woman's Club. Please sign up if you're interested in joining so that one order for books can be placed on Oct 1st!);
3) The Wider UU World, a discussion of topical articles from the national UU World magazine; and,
4) The Caring Congregation, a follow-up workshop to our August 27th service on living with mental disorders.

If interested but unable to sign up in person on Sunday, email Diana at weaverly at earthlink dot net.


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UUA Letter urging the US Senate to Vote against Wiretapping

This afternoon, the Unitarian Universalist Association sent a letter to the Senate, condemning the NSA program of warrantless wiretapping. They urge Senators to call for a full investigation, and to vote against S. 2453, which would effectively authorize the program. You can take action against this bill by visiting www.uua.org/uuawo, click on "Oppose Warrantless Wiretapping!"

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Regularly Scheduled Gatherings
-The UUP Membership and Hospitality Committee will meet Monday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 pm at Hope's house.
-The UUP choir Larking About will meet Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 8pm at David and Diana's house.

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If you have changed your email address or would like to be added to or removed from the UUP list please email us at uupetaluma at gmail dot com

Religious Education Update for September 17

Dear RE families,

Welcome to the new church year! I loved the intergenerational
sharing at last Sunday's Water and Stone Ingathering, and I was
excited to see so many children and youth in attendance. The service
was rich with music, deep sharing of our families' spiritual and
physical journeys this summer, and a celebration of our wonderful
community.

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma deeply value and respect our
children and youth, an attribute that drew me to join our community.

This coming Sunday, the 4-10 year olds will be going on a UU
Pilgrimage (without leaving the building), and learning about the
roots of Unitarianism and why our ancestors broke away from the
Trinitarians. This lesson is from Holidays and Holy Days, my personal
favorite of all the UU curricula. The children will create their own
chalices to take home.

The Youth Group (grades 7-9) will be walking with their advisor, Lara
Abel, to Baskin and Robbins over the pedestrian footbridge downtown,
and planning for their activities this year. I will be asking parents
to sign a permission slip for the walk.

Our youngest will be in the nursery for storytimes and toys.

The following is a brief update on some RE concerns and plans:

1. Facilities- The Petaluma Women's Club Board is working on bringing
the upstairs classroom up to code, which involves adding some safety
railings across the bottom of the windows. Until this safety and
insurance liability issue is resolved, we'll combine our 4-10 year
old age groups in the Fireside Room. Our Board is also looking into
renting space at the Christian Science Church next door, as our Youth
group has not had an adequate meeting space at the Women's Club. I
truly appreciate all the support from our board in working through
these facility issues.

2. Future intergenerational worship and celebrations-
I have been working with the Worship Associates to plan for future
intergenerational events. We are now working collaboratively on a
Day of the Dead observance in late October, a Stone Soup all church
celebration in November, and holiday festivities in December. You
will be hearing more information about these events as they approach.

3. Registration for RE- I will be asking every family to complete a
short registration form, beginning this Sunday, giving important
contact information for our children and youth. I will also be asking
for families to say how they would like to contribute to RE this
year- by teaching or assisting with classes, by helping with special
celebrations, and in many other ways. The more families are involved,
the richer our program will become.

I look forward to the new church year and hope to see you soon.

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

Religious Education Update: September 10

Religious Education Update
September 10, 2006

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness”. John Muir

Water and Stones-

We gather this September morning to celebrate our Ingathering. We have been scattered as a community over the summer, with some of us remaining close to home and others traveling near and far. Some of us tackled projects at our residences, while others have reconnected with relatives or slept under the stars.

We are joined as a community once again, but different than before. The summer has changed us in ways large and small. Our children are taller and tanned by the sun. Some of us feel reinvigorated and refreshed by travels, rest, or solitude. Others of us have faced daunting challenges, and are looking forward to returning to a supportive community of friends. Others are new here and just getting to know the rest of us.

The Water and Stones ritual is widely celebrated by UU congregations at the end of summer. It is a time for briefly sharing experiences which have been transformational.. Did you visit a beautiful place which raised your spirits? Did you hear majestic music or see exceptional art? Did you learn a new skill or try something new? Did you test your courage, your stamina, or your bravery? Where did you go, if you did, and what changed you?

John Muir wrote often about personal transformation through nature’s power, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while care will drop off like autumn leaves”

In our ritual, we will join our gathered water and stones, or our symbolic contributions, into a common bowl. Our shared personal journeys and transformations will enrich our community as we begin our new church year.

Welcome home!

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

This Week At UUP: September 7-13

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
An Oasis for Heart and Mind Every Sunday in Downtown Petaluma

For complete up-to-date info on the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, see our website: www.uupetaluma.org
**************************************************************************
SUNDAY SERVICES

(Social time with refreshments begins at 10:00 , at the Petaluma Woman's Club, 518 B Street. Worship service at 10:30)

Sunday, September 10: "Water and Stones Ingathering"
Join us this Sunday for this very special service as we gather in an all-ages ritual to welcome each other back from summer adventures near and far! Bring a small vial of water and/or a stone gathered from a location where you spent time this summer, and enjoy a service of sharing, music and community. Virtual water and stones are welcome, and water and stones will be available if you don't have your own to bring.

Sunday, September 17: "This I Do"
Speakers: UUP Members Tony Blake and Michael Pool
Two UUP members discuss how their spiritual values play out in their daily lives.

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Adult Religious Exploration Classes Forming

To join one of four small group classes and workshops offered in the coming months, look for the sign up sheet on the back table on Sunday and add your name and phone number.

The possibilities are:

1) Evensong, an experience of shared worship and an exploration of beliefs and spiritual journeys;

2) A book discussion group of A Chosen Faith, an introduction to Unitarian Universalism;

3) The Wider UU World, a discussion of topical articles from the national UU World magazine; and,

4) The Caring Congregation, a follow-up workshop to our August 27th service on living with mental disorders.

If interested but unable to sign up in person on Sunday, email Diana at weaverly at earthlink dot net.

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UUPDates" Newsletter Now Available!

Our quest for a graphic designer and layout artist has proven successful: Ruth Lorain volunteered her skills to put together the newsletter. It is ready, posted on our website for easy download as a pdf file. The newsletter debuts a regular column, "Preacher At Large," by Leland Bond-Upson, our regular guest minister; a nutshell history of UUP by David Dodd; an article on our use of Fair Trade coffee for social time by Dennis Zerbo; and photos by Hope Stewart. There is also an enlightening set of pie charts which make our financial picture clear and a listing of regular meetings and special events coming up. Take a look!

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Two Recent Sermons Now Available Online

"An Evergreen Tree of Diabolical Knowledge," a sermon on the topic of libraries delivered last Sunday by David Dodd and "Living With Depression," delivered the previous week by the Rev. Barbara Meyers, are posted on the UUP website, if you missed them, or want to check on anything you thought you might have heard.

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UUP Website Statistics for August

Our website did better in the past month than ever, with 404 unique visits in August and a total of 1,063 page views. While the vast majority of our hits were based on referrals from Google, we also received substantial results from links via the UUA.org website, and those visits resulted in far more visitors who actually looked up the directions to UUP! Sermons remained the most-visited content we provide, with Elisabeth Hathaway's Independence Day sermon of 2003 leading the pack with 26 visits. Once again, we had virtual visits from around the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Korea, Jamaica, and the Netherlands.

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Regularly Scheduled Gatherings

- The UUP Board of Trustees will meet this Sunday morning at 8:30 am at the Woman's Club Fireside Room.

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If you have changed your email address or would like to be added to or removed from the UUP list please email us at uupetaluma at gmail dot com

Gravity Called Into Question

A wonderful blog post I stumbled across. (UU content!)

Source blog

When the planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, he relied on “gravitational calculations.” But Tombaugh was a Unitarian, a liberal religious group that supports the Theory of Gravity. The present-day Unitarian-Universalists continue to rely on liberal notions and dismiss ideas of anti-gravity as unfounded. Tombaugh never even attempted to justify his “gravitational calculations” on the basis of Scripture, and he went on to be a founding member of the liberal Unitarian Fellowship of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

It is safe to say that without the Theory of Gravity, there would be no talk about a “Big Bang,” and important limitations in such sports as basketball would be lifted. This would greatly benefit the games and enhance revenue, as is proper in a faith-based, free-enterprise society.

The theory of gravity violates common sense in many ways. Adherents have a hard time explaining, for instance, why airplanes do not fall. Since anti-gravity is rejected by the scientific establishment, they resort to lots of hand-waving. The theory, if taken seriously, implies that the default position for all airplanes is on the ground. While this is obviously true for Northwest airplanes (relying on “a wing and a prayer”), it appears that Jet Blue and Southwest have superior methods that effectively overcome the weight of masses at Northwest, and thus harness forces that succeed over so-called gravity.