Butter and Egg Days Parade Entry 2009

UU-umbo Butter and Egg Days Parade Entry 2009
Originally uploaded by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma

About 40 UUP members and friends marched with our "UU-Umbo" elephant float made of recycled materials on Saturday, April 25, 2009. The theme of this year's Butter and Egg Days was "Recycle, Reuse, and Remember."

UPDATE:
Our entry won first place in the "Mini-Float, Non-Commercial" category! (See the news article with full results at Petaluma360.com.)

This Week at UUP

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


To subscribe to "This Week at UUP" for email delivery, please send a request to uupetaluma at gmail dot com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

From the President…
The March 1st Time and Talent Auction was a HUGE success! We made a total of $4,722. (Our goal was $2,800). In the live auction the largest draw was the Cultural Evening and Dinner, offered by Meredith Guest and the Boyles, it brought in $270. Second place went to the Tragical Magical Mystery Tour offered by Jan Ogren and Dean Watson - at $225. Third, at $200, was the Sightseeing Flight donated by Bob Minkin. The silent auction was also very successful with so many donated items that we had trouble finding table room! That is a really wonderful problem to have. Also, this year, for the first time we had donations from some Petaluma businesses. A truly luscious lunch, prepared by some of our youth and RE volunteers, was enjoyed by the 92 people who came to the event.
So many people to thank....donors, bidders (47 of them), dessert makers, people who set up and stayed after to clean up, the lunch makers, the organizers - with the leadership of Diana Spaulding, the musicians, and our talented auctioneer, Mike Iritz.
It was great fun. Let's do it again next year!
Blessings to all,
Jean Conrad
Board President

Come See UUP in the Butter & Eggs Day Parade!
We are float #35, so be sure to get your front row seat to cheer us on as we go by! Be there - along Kentucky Street or on Petaluma Blvd - at noon this Saturday. Look for the Indian elephant made of recycled parts. Hope to see you there! Contact Stacey Meinzen with questions.
If you would like to march with UUP in the parade, please be at Walnut Park at the corner of 4th and D streets by 11:45 am on Saturday. Please let Stacey know if you plan to join us!

District Assembly and General Assembly are coming up!
Pacific Central District Assembly
May 1-3, 2009
Fremont, CA
For more information, visit www.pcd-uua.org/events/DA-2009/index.htm .

UUA General Assembly
Salt Lake City, Utah
June 24-28, 2009
More information, contact Marlene Abel, UUP Director of Religious Education.

Space limited, sign up now for the Annual UUP Memorial Day Retreat - May 22nd-25th!
We have room for four more adults (kids, too) 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.

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 26, 2009: "Shut up?!"
Guest Speaker: Russell Menk
Worship Leader: Joyce Tischler
Have you ever said anything you regretted afterwards? We have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, so we look and listen twice as much as we speak, but sometimes we still talk too much.
Guest Speaker Russell Menk is a retired rocket scientist who is now a first year Unitarian Universalist theology student at Pacific School of Religion. He moved to the Bay Area from Utah last summer with his partner, three dogs, and ¾’s of a cat to attend seminary. He and his family live in San Leandro.

Sunday, May 3, 2009: "Spring Forward: Pledge Sunday"
Worship Leaders: Elizabeth Nielsen and David Dodd

May 10, 2009: "Women's Decade Circle"
Worship Leader: Elisabeth Hathaway

REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS
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!

Links:
www.uupetaluma.org
Facebook Page (be sociable with UUP friends!)
Flickr Gallery

This Week at UUP: The 7th Principle in Daily Living

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


To subscribe to "This Week at UUP" for email delivery, please send a request to uupetaluma at gmail dot com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

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 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 .
Jan Ogren and Dean Watson will be attending DA, so contact them if you would like to connect!
General Assembly (GA), a gathering of thousands of UUs 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.

"New to UU" Visitors' Orientation this Sunday, April 19
Trying out UUP? Visiting for the first time or have been for a while, and want to learn more about our congregation and about Unitarian Universalism? Gather with several UUP members to ask questions you might have and to hear more about UUP. We’ll meet near the fireplace immediately following the service.

Space limited, sign up now for the Annual UUP Memorial Day Retreat - May 22nd-25th!
We have room for four more adults (kids, too) 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.

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 19, 2009: The 7th Principle in Daily Living"
Worship Leaders: Stacey Meinzen and David Dodd
As Unitarian Universalists, we profess to believe in respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. In other words, we are part of a larger system, not separate from it, and we acknowledge that this system exists not just for our sake, but for its own sake. What does this mean for the way we live daily? How do we reconcile disparities between this paradigm and the way we actually live in modern culture?

Sunday, April 26, 2009: "Shut up?!"
Guest Speaker: Russell Menk
Worship Leader: Joyce Tischler
Have you ever said anything you regretted afterwards? We have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, so we look and listen twice as much as we speak, but sometimes we still talk too much.
Guest Speaker Russell Menk is a retired rocket scientist who is now a first year Unitarian Universalist theology student at Pacific School of Religion. He moved to the Bay Area from Utah last summer with his partner, three dogs, and ¾’s of a cat to attend seminary. He and his family live in San Leandro.

REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS

UUP Membership Committee will meet Sunday, April 26th, 12:15 pm in the Christian Science Reading Room.

UUP Women's Group will meet Monday, April 20th, 7:30 pm at Jean Conrad's house. The Topic: Doing Your Best. Do we always do our best? What if we run out of time for a particular task? Or we forget to do something and only have 5 minutes left? Yikes! Then there everyday tasks like flossing or fixing dinner or laundry or telling a joke. You get the idea.

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!

Links:
www.uupetaluma.org
Facebook Page (be sociable with UUP friends!)
Flickr Gallery

Religious Education Update: April 12, 2009

A New Ecumenism

This past week, President Obama held a Seder in the White House, believed to be the first Seder celebrated by a sitting US President in his home. Tomorrow, our President will host the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. How wonderful it is to have a leader who honors the faith traditions of diverse religions. I personally believe that President Obama’s open mindedness must trace back to his Sunday School attendance at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu as a child. However, I also admit to having a personal bias in regards to the value of Unitarian Universalist religious training.

The holidays of Easter and Passover are, of course, directly linked in the story of Jesus. Jesus, an observant Jew, had returned to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with his disciples. His Last Supper was a Seder, and is still remembered in the Christian celebration of communion. Unfortunately, the events that followed the Last Supper led to difficult relationships between well established Judaism and the new Christian religion. These difficulties continue to this day.

I am grateful that Unitarian Universalism seeks to honor the wisdom of many faith traditions. We can celebrate freedom with our Jewish friends at Passover time, and remember Jesus’ message of love with our Christian friends. At Easter, we also celebrate spring and new life as Pagans have for thousands of years. As UU’s, we can work for greater unity and understanding between believers of different faiths, in order to promote peace. This Sunday, let us celebrate freedom, love, life and peace.

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

This Week at UUP

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


To subscribe to "This Week at UUP" for email delivery, please send a request to uupetaluma at gmail dot com.

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!

Links:
www.uupetaluma.org
Facebook Page (be sociable with UUP friends!)
Flickr Gallery

Religious Education Update: April 5, 2009

District Connections
This Sunday, I am attending the Coming of Age Retreat at Lake Chabot in Oakland. I am cooking for fifty at a campsite, with my propane stove and barbeques. I’ve cooked for fifty before, but never without benefit of any kitchen or even running water. I hope that the cooking goes well.

So, why would I go camping with over 40 UU teenagers? The main reason is that making connections with the larger UU world really matters for our teens. While our UUP community offers many opportunities for this age group, such as taking leadership roles and making intergenerational connections, our youth need to see Unitarian Universalism in a larger context. They love meeting other teens, of course, and are interested in learning about other UU churches. The UU’s of Petaluma is just one congregation among over a thousand in the Unitarian Universalist Association, and it matters that they experience that we are part of a larger movement. Also, I have the opportunity to connect with adults from nearby congregations. Many of these folks do the same job I do- Director of Religious Education- but I have few chances to talk with colleagues in person. So, we chat and make plans, and have fun, too!

Fortunately, the Coming of Age Retreats are not the last district connection for our teens. Our high schoolers are already making plans to attend District Assembly. At DA, which is May 1-3 in Fremont, they will be with other UU’s teens in a more civilized environment, the Marriot Hotel. They will play cooperative games, go swimming, attend workshops, create worship services, and have a pizza party. They loved DA last year!

My next project is to publicize district connections for Middle School Youth. These kids could get a terrific introduction at District Assembly this year, with a sleepover just for 6th, 7th and 8th graders, a swim party, pizza, circle worship, games and workshops. This program will be run by Heather Sawyers, the amazing DRE from the Mt. Diablo Church in Walnut Creek. I’ll be there!

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education

This Week at UUP

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


To subscribe to "This Week at UUP" for email delivery, please send a request to uupetaluma at gmail dot com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

UUP in Butter and Eggs: come build the float!
A huge THANK YOU to those that helped with the first Butter and Eggs Day float work party on Sunday. It was a hit! We will be having another one 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 if you plan to take part in the April 12th work party. 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.

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 5, 2009: "The Individual Heart and the Congregational Vision"
Worship Leaders: Diana Spaulding and Elizabeth Nielsen
Our congregation is a beautiful tapestry woven by our common dreams and vision, and nurtured by our individual hearts. What meaningful spiritual moments have you experienced within our UUP community recently? What might we envision together as UUP sustains a religious liberal presence in our wider world, and grows and matures to serve our shared values?

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.


REGULARLY SCHEDULED GATHERINGS
* UUP Men’s Group meets Friday, April 3rd - tea 7p, starting 7:30 - at George Beeler's house, 100 Fair Street at the corner of Douglas
* UUP Worship Leaders meets Sunday, April 5th from 12:45 pm to 3:30 pm in T's office
* 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!

Links:
www.uupetaluma.org
Facebook Page (be sociable with UUP friends!)
Flickr Gallery