This Week at UUP

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
Nurture Your Spirit. Help Heal Our World.


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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Share-the-Plate Sunday
In keeping with UUP's commitment to supporting community efforts, on Sunday, we will split the non-pledge offerings with Petaluma People Services Center. Their goal is to reduce poverty, physical and mental abuse, chemical dependence, violence, ignorance, isolation and mental illness, among children, adults, families and seniors. The hands-on, face-to-face support that individuals receive from PPSC is wide ranging; counseling, job placement, gang prevention, daily hot meals, rides to the doctor, case management, financial assistance for homeless prevention, informational and referrals. People Helping People.

Easter Egg Hunt this Sunday
Our children and youth will participate in an Easter Egg Hunt immediately following the worship service. The hunt will take place in the grassy area between the Woman's Club and the Christian Science Building, with separate hunt areas for ages 5 and under, and our 6-10 year olds. The Middle School Group, grades 5-8, will decorate real hard boiled eggs, stuff plastic eggs and help the Easter Bunny hide them. The Easter Bunny will bring special treats for the Middle School youth for their assistance. UUP adults are invited to watch the fun of the hunt. We also welcome donations of a dozen, hard boiled eggs (colored or not).

District Assembly and General Assembly - from Marlene Abel, UUP Director of Religious Education
Members of UUP, including myself, will be attending District Assembly (DA) and General Assembly this year. DA will be in Fremont, May 1-3, and will offer truly outstanding program for children and youth this year. I particularly encourage Middle School Youth (grades 6-8) to attend, as they will have the opportunity to determine Middle School District programming for next year. Both Middle School and High School Youth will swim in a the hotel pool, play cooperative games, have a sleep over, worship, eat pizza and have fun! Elementary and younger kids will have lots of activities as well. Please ask me if you have questions about children's programs at DA. More information is available at http://www.pcd-uua.org/events/DA-2009/index.htm .

General Assembly (GA), a gathering of thousands of UU's from all over the country, is in Salt Lake City this year from June 24-28. It is a inspirational gathering with many workshops, worship services, social action, and entertainment. There is a GA choir and special youth programs. Please let me know if you have interest in GA, and I can tell you more. I've attended 6 previous GA's, and enjoyed every one of them.

UUP in Butter and Eggs: come build the float!
We will have another float building party on April 12th after service from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Woman's Club. Bring a snack to share and your creative capacities. RSVP to Stacey Meinzen by Friday if you plan to attend. Let's show Petaluma what we're made of – and what our big elephant float is made of (recycled parts). We need cereal boxes and cardboard milk cartons ... well rinsed.

Rebuilding Together
Please join the UUP Men's Group in the annual Rebuilding Together workday on Saturday, April 18th. Contact Phil Boyle by April 10th if you'd like to sign up or have questions. Service is our prayer.

Religious Education Committee Recruiting New Members
Please consider joining our Religious Education (RE) committee for the coming year. We help plan curriculum and provide support for ongoing RE classes and special services and events. The program serves 40 children and youth, and we have a lot of fun! If you are looking for ways to contribute to the congregation, we'd love your help. For more information, please contact Leslie Harrison.

SAVE THE DATE and SIGN UP NOW! Join us for the Annual UUP Memorial Day Retreat - May 22nd-25th!
We have room for fifty people (usually 30+adults and 20+ kids!) at Four Springs Retreat Center for our seventh annual four-day have-a-great-time-together fun fest. We live in community and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy: cooking & meals together, swimming pool, rustic cabins, beautiful remote location, a smattering of fun groups and mostly: time to visit and get to know each other. Please let T know ASAP if you would like to reserve a spot(s)… or help create & organize! We especially need people to organize kid events and support, support with food/meals, to plan the Worship Service, and to organize/communicate/administer the details! If interested, contact T Hathaway.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CORNER - "...service is our prayer"
A huge "thank you" to all who participated in UUP's first-ever 5th Sunday Luncheon on March 29th! It was a great success in many ways. We enjoyed several varieties of vegan chilies prepared by the SRC members, organic greens from Laguna Farm in Sebastapol (lagunafarm.com), organic sprouted wheat bread from Petaluma's Alvarado Street Bakery (alvaradostreetbakery.com), delicious non-dairy "ice cream," and - of course - great company! Due to several requests, we will have recipe booklets available at the Social Responsibility Table for all who would like one.

Many folks stayed to work on our float for the Butter and Eggs Day Parade, under the creative direction of Stacey Meinzen. We also collected several bags of groceries and $40 in cash donations for COTS/Petaluma Kitchen, to help meet their increasing need. Special thanks to Jean Conrad for delivering our donations to Petaluma Kitchen, to all who pitched in with set-up and clean-up, and to Barney Blankenship and George Beeler, our awesome dishwashing team! (No disposable paper or plastic products went into the landfill due to this luncheon! We even composted our leftover food scraps!)

It was a fun community building time for UUP and a great kick-off to the Unitarian Universalist Association's new Congregational Study/Action Issue, "Ethical Eating: Food & Environmental Justice." Please watch This Week at UUP for news of future events and visit the Social Responsibility Table for more information.

SRC thought for the week: "Let us bless the source of life that brings forth bread from the Earth. Let our lives be a blessing to the Earth that sustains us, and to all the creatures who, like us, call this planet home." -- John Robbins


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, April 12, 2009: "The Passion of Jesus: A Critical Examination of Easter"
Guest Speaker: Meredith Guest
Worship Leader: Jodi Boyle
In certain Christian traditions, the week culminating in Easter Sunday is called the Passion of Christ, passion coming from the Latin word for suffering. But another meaning of the word 'passion' is something to which one gives oneself with devotion and commitment. Following the excellent book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, the same authors I referenced for the Christmas sermon, let's look at the original intent of the early Christian writers within their historical circumstances and see if we can identify the real passion of Jesus and how that might still speak to us in our time. - Meredith
Meredith Guest is a member of our own Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma. A former Baptist minister, Meredith has become known for her passionate sermons, which inspire, incite, and invite us to examine our beliefs and assumptions more closely.


Sunday, April 19, 2009: "The Seventh Principle: Respect for the Interdependent Web of Existence"
Worship Leaders: Stacey Meinzen, David Dodd and Jan Crosby

REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS
* UUP Board of Trustees will meet Monday, April 13th at 7:30 pm at Jean Conrad's house.
* Larking About, the UUP choir, meets Wednesdays at 8 pm at David Dodd and Diana Spaulding's house, 716 Bassett St. New singers are always welcome!

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