THE CHALICE NEWS Unitarian Society of Menomonie A Welcoming Unitarian Universalist Congregation
October 2020 Newsletter
CALENDAR SEVEN PRINCIPLES 10 AM (ZOOM UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)
1. The inherent worth and October 4: Book Discussion of On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal dignity of every person by Naomi Klein. Paul Helgeson will lead via Zoom. Get your book online at Bookends or contact Menomonie Public Library. 2. Justice, equity and compassion in human October 4: Garden of the Righteous film at Mabel Tainter Theater, 7:30 pm Discussion after. Free admission, although donations accepted. Wear a mask, social relations distancing required. Be sure to contact the Tainter to make a reservation due to limited seating. 3. Acceptance to one another and October 11: Service lead by Diane Light “Longing for Change” 100 years ago, women’s long struggle for the vote became a reality. But the 19th encouragement of amendment was just the beginning of women’s struggle for equal rights. In this worth spiritual growth in our ship service, we will explore what the women’s persistent work for the vote and for congregations equal rights can teach us as we too long for change
October 18: Guest Speaker: Margy Hagaman To be Announced 4. A free and responsible search for truth and October 26: Service lead by Dennis Peters “Conspiracy Theories: Ah, What meaning Fun!”
Let’s explore some of these delightful thoughts. After all, someone has worked really 5. The right of conscience hard on them! and the use of the
democratic process within . our congregations and in Autumn whispered to the wind, “I fall; but always rise again.” society at large – Angie Weiland-Crosby 6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
105 NE 21st Street, Menomonie WI (Alano meeting room, across from Mayo Clinic) www.menomonieuu.org Find us on Facebook JULIANA SCHMIDT, PRESIDENT
The following is the second in a series of reflections on the Unitarian principles. Instead of a creed, UU’s abide by a list of principles. Far from specific directives (as in thou shalt do this or that), they are labeled “principles”. These fundamental truths that lay the foundation of Unitarian Universalism. I look to them as a guide to live by.
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations is the second foundational principle. It certainly relates to humanism as did the first principle which is the inherent worth and dignity of each person. Principle number two also relates to how we treat each other, not just in the day-to-day, but in the larger world. Rev. Emily Gage of Unity Temple in Chicago, and one of the essayists in The Seven Principles in Word and Worship, says that the second principle “points us to the larger community. It gets at collective responsibility. It reminds us that treating people as human beings is not simply something we do one-on-one, but something that has systemic implications and can inform our entire cultural way of being.”
“Collective responsibility” and “systemic implications”… Just pondering those concepts makes me think how interconnected humans truly are. Kind of like the interconnected web mentioned in another UU principle. There are consequences for the majority of the population when a minority utilizes most of the natural resources in the world. The U.S. has 5% of the world's population but consumes 30% of the world's resources and creates 30% of the world's waste. That is real systemic implication.
I found an online list of the top 9 social issues in the U.S. put out by Yeshiva University. Voting rights was number one. I find that interesting. In my opinion, voting rights is very much linked to racism which is also on the list. Climate justice is number two. Climate justice is also linked to racism since the people most affected by climate change, in our country and in the world, are those of color. Our current book discussion focuses on Naomi Klein’s book, On Fire: The Case for the Green New Deal. Klein makes a very good point that folks displaced by climate change are usually those who are non-white. Very often, people of color (as a result of racism) lack the resources to mitigate against damaging storms, or crippling drought.
Healthcare, refugee crisis, income gap, gun violence, and equality are also on the same online list. So many of these issues listed by Yeshiva are interconnected.
On any given day, we can find many examples of injustice, inequity, and a lack of compassion for our fellow humans. Greed. avarice, and a capitalist system seem to me to be likely root causes. Control (and the feeling that there is a lack of same) – of peoples’ resources, lands, lives, wellbeing – keeps the money flowing. I could probably write pages and pages about the issue of control (or lack thereof) and what it drives humans to do to other humans.
Each of us can do a little bit each day to show kindness and respect for those with which we come in contact. On the other hand, in order to achieve equity and justice, we need to work together. That collective work is very important. As Rev. Gage says, “Compassion is something that we can easily act on individually. We can demonstrate openness, give people respect, and treat people with kindness on our own. But we need one another to achieve equity and justice.” That web thing again – it’s a tall order but one we must keep working to achieve. We can do small (and large) things, through time and/or treasure, through careful attention to our environment, to elevate others here and abroad, and work with others to live out our second principle. Important work.
Juliana Schmidt Chair
Board Meeting via Zoom on October 7th Outside/Inside 6:30 pm. Let Juliana know if you would like to attend and By Laura Bogle she will send you an invite. Email: [email protected] Against a band of vivid orange sunset and deep blue sky, the silhouette of a teepee Garden of the Righteous and flags The “Garden of the Righteous” is a celebration of those Outside who, before and during WWII risked everything – for The flags fly themselves and their families – to save Jews and others Down the highway, hanging on to the back from the Nazis. In-between the stories are musical of large trucks or the chest of a man. interludes by Naye Strunes, a Yiddish music ensemble from Outside the Twin Cities, who developed this documentary. There There is grabbing and taking are also segments describing the work of Doctors Without A staking and restaking Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). The documentary will Of territory claimed be followed by a recorded panel discussion. The roads cut, the oil burned, blockades erected, and walls built Apart from a small honorarium to the Mabel Tainter, all Outside proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. The borders between us are made visible in noise, colors, ballots. All aspects are pre-recorded. Signs and signals.
Please call the Mabel Tainter box office 715-235-0001 to Inside resides reserve your spot on October 4, 7:30 pm. Limit is 45 in- The breath of common ancestors person attendance. Following the Mabel Tainter event an The child who plays with no thought of online version will be made available for viewing. malice The heart tuned toward suffering Menomonie Cares The taste of figs ripening in the lingering Menomonie Cares was a group formed after the 2016 autumn heat election to work to counter the negative rhetoric and actions The sliver of an orange moon low in the of the government and try to make our community a more evening November sky. welcoming place. Menomonie Cares has provided welcoming lawn signs, staffed a booth at the Farmers Inside, begins something you might call a Market, lobbied the city and county for welcoming prayer proclamations, lobbied to change Columbus Day to Let us kneel down. Indigenous People’s Day, and a variety of other actions. Not to God or nation or ideology The group meets by Zoom once or twice a month. If you But to what is inside. A feeling, a would be interested in getting connected to Menomonie connection Cares, please contact Dave Williams at A welling like the waters at the very [email protected]. beginning of time Unpolluted and gently flowing. Have content for the next newsletter? Sweet and dark and healing. Please email events, news, poems, stories by the 25th of Let us kneel down to the persistent the month to be included in the next newsletter to possibility that the life and love within [email protected] prevail. Let us release what is inside outward in beauty, spilling towards each other, until all merges. Unstoppable well of knowing that we will only ever be saved by one another. DIANE LIGHT, LAY MINISTER
Just a month to go before the next presidential election! Some of us might be feeling really hopeful, or really, really anxious—and afraid. We might be longing for the whole thing to be over, or feeling that it’s coming way too soon. On November 4th, or whenever the last of the votes are counted and turned in, we will either feel elated and relieved, or…I don’t want to think about ‘or.’
Instead, I am thinking about what grounds me, what helps me to feel human and connected and whole, even during Covid. I am seeking ways to be creative, to find satisfaction and to experience peace. This lovely fall weather sure does help. The bright red leaves of the maples. The mix of yellows and greens and golds across a landscape, or the bright face of the moon in a clear night sky help me to remember that other realities besides the political exist, right here in our own communities.
Remember, this month, that you are connected to people who love you. Talk with them often and visit if you can. Allow delight to enter you spirit. Find ways to be playful—and if that’s as hard for you as it is for me, get help from a dog or cat or child, or a playful adult. Take time to walk, to relax, to escape in a book or a good movie. Pay attention as much as you wish or are able to the ins and outs of this next election. But remember that this is not the only reality. May you find peace and hope in the days and weeks ahead.
May it be so.
Our mission is to engage people in an open, nurturing spiritual community, promoting intellectual curiosity, honoring human rights and religious differences, and providing services to just causes.
THE GARDEN OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Sunday, October 4, 7:30 pm Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts 205 Main Street East Menomonie WI 54751fa
Benefit for Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) Suggested donation: $10 or more. Your generous support of their work upholds the spirit of courageous action in response to human suffering. Leviticus 19:16 says: "You shall not stand indifferently beside the blood of your neighbor." More than 24,000 people risked their lives to save victims of the Holocaust. Designated as Righteous Among the Nations, these courageous individuals have been memorialized by trees planted in their honor at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Weaving together original Yiddish music and the stories of Righteous Gentiles, the program gives audience members an opportunity to reflect on the extent of courage and compassion during perilous times. Those who work for Doctors Without Borders are contemporary examples of righteousness.
Naye Strunes Klezmer Ensemble Panel Discussion (Pre-Recorded) to follow Box Office: (715) 235-0001