This Week at UUP: May 23-28, 2008

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


ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

UUP Congregational Meeting Sunday, June 1st
Reminder that the UUP Congregational Meeting is Sunday, June 1st after the service. Please plan to attend!

Considering Becoming a Member of UUP? The next New Member Ingathering is Sunday, June 1st
If you've been attending UUP regularly and have been thinking about joining the congregation as a member, here's your chance! We will hold a new member welcome ceremony during the Sunday service on June 1st. For details, please contact Hope Stewart, for the UUP Membership Committee.

Ric Masten
Ric Masten, UU poet/philosopher/troubador, died May 9, 2008, at his home in Big Sur. Sympathy cards may be sent to Billie Barbara Masten and Family, 37931 Palo Colorado Road, Carmel, CA 93923. To read an article about Ric and his life, including some of his poetry, go to www.montereycountyweekly.com/831. Information about a public memorial service scheduled for Ric's birthday, June 20, will be posted at www.ric-masten.net.

Ordination of Leland Bond-Upson
On Sunday, June 8th, the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma will ordain Leland Bond-Upson, a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry (class of 1976!) and a former Regular Guest Minister at UUP. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 and will include UU Ministers from throughout the Pacific Central District as well as representatives from the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our own Reverend Ben Kocs-Meyers will officiate. All those associated with UUP are welcome to attend! We also invited our neighbors from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin, as Lee is a long-time member of that congregation. As we are expecting a crowd, kindly R.S.V.P. to uupetaluma@gmail.com or call 773-2835.

The members of UUP voted enthusiastically in favor of ordaining Lee and of hosting a party worthy of this important event. As such, we will be looking for help from UUPetaluminaries to help make the event a success. We will need volunteers to help set up and decorate, cook, clean up, etc. We also ask that Petaluma folks bring a pot-luck hors-devours tray to share with our guests. There will be a sign up sheet circulated, but if you are anxious to volunteer, please contact KC Greaney at kgreaney at santarosa dot edu .

Curious about why Lee waited until now to be ordained? Here is his story, in his own words...

I have been asked why I waited so long to get ordained. After all, many of my Starr King School peers (class of 1976!), got ordained by their home or internship churches right away. I didn't, because my feeling was that ordination should come when a congregation has called a minister to serve.

At that point I wanted to work in partnership with my new wife and I wanted to stay in the Bay Area. Then, as we know, 'way leads on to way', and I went into education, started a family, and performed only incidental ministerial duties over the years. Internships, conducting rites of passage, preaching here and there, and service on Boards (Starr King, Marin, Legislative Ministry) are all worthy, but don't constitute a call.

However, when the UUs of Petaluma and I got together, and I began to preach there once a month, something good began, and it grew and deepened over the five years, and after it ended, I realized I had been called to ministry at last. So I asked to be ordained, and the Petaluminaries said yes, with feeling. And so, despite the long journey, I am perfectly happy and content with where I am and how I got here. Thank you for your help along the way.

UPCOMING 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. )

This Sunday, May 25, 2008
Worship Leader: Meredith Guest
For the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend while most of the membership is on retreat, Joyce and Meredith are putting together a moving and powerful worship service focused on peace featuring one of the finest peace sermons you are likely ever to hear. If you're in town and of a mind, we hope you'll join our intimate gathering as we turn our thoughts to peace.

Sunday, June 1st: 'Saint Stephen with a Rose': Ritual, Rapture and the Grateful Dead Experience
Guest Speaker: Mary Goodenough
Guest musician: David Gans
Worship Leader: David Dodd
Drawing on mythologist Joseph Campbell's lecture: "Ritual and Rapture: From Dionysus to the Grateful Dead," Goodenough will discuss ritual and rapture as they relate to the Grateful Dead experience. Grateful Dead concerts were, as Campbell discovered first hand, a container for religious experience characterized by an opening of the heart. The music, dancing and participation of all present created a ritual performance that brought about a catharsis of mind, heart and senses, thus opening one both into full awareness of the self and one's relationship with the natural world. Goodenough will also consider a few lyrical images (from Grateful Dead anthem "Saint Stephen," and others), then briefly describe their personal signifiance as well as their centrality to the Grateful Dead experience.
Mary Goodenough, a member of UUP, is a published scholar on the topic of Grateful Dead spirituality. David Gans, guest musician, is a long-time authority on the band and a wonderful musician in his own right. UUP member David Dodd has published three books about the band, and runs the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics website.

REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS
Larking About, the UUP Singers, meets on Wednesday evenings from 8 to 9:30 at the home of Diana Spaulding and David Dodd.