February 20, 2019
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February 20, 2019 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION AT SHELTER ROCK Strengthening the Interdependent Web 2018-2019 CONGREGATIONAL THEME See the Program and Event List Here TOUCHSTONES UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES The Rev. Ned Wight Sunday, February 24, 2019, 9:00 AM “Letter from February 3 Sermon” Peace and Meditation Service Facilitated by Cello Da Silva and The Rev. Ned Wight My sermon on our fourth UU source, Jewish and Christian teachings, Please join us in the Chapel for a brief time of reflection and included a letter I’d written to a meditation on peace in a time of conflict and turmoil. young person during a rough patch in her life. Here is the text of that Sunday, February 24, 2019, 11:00 AM letter: Managing Conflict The Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson and Andrea Lerner Dear "Jane," We are honored to have two members of the staff of the UUA Your mother called today to bring Central East Region join us to impart their wisdom about managing me up to date about your recent move. In many ways, she said, it conflict within congregations. The Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson and has been a difficult time of transition for each of you. She said that Andrea Lerner, Congregational Life Consultants, will expand our you have been contending with depression for a long time, and understanding of the inevitability of conflict in UU congregations that the past couple of months have been particularly difficult— and helpful ways in which it can be addressed to preserve painful, bleak, without much to look forward to, hang on to, or institutional health and strength. In the afternoon, they will be hope for. leading a workshop for the members of UUCSR’s Committee on Ministry to expand our own congregation’s skill and capacity to The individual freedom each one of us has been given is an manage conflict. awesome gift—sometimes a burdensome gift, sometimes a terrifying gift, sometimes a wonderful gift. The chalice lighting Sunday, March 3, 2019, 11:00 AM words we used to say together every week at a church I once Together Women Create Change attended come to mind: "Life is a gift for which we are grateful. We Women's Group gather in community to celebrate the glories and the mysteries of this great gift." Annual Women's History Month Breakfast: Visit uucsr.org/WGbreakfast to RSVP for breakfast with guest speaker Sometimes it's hard to find much to feel grateful for. Sometimes Joan Minieri at 9:00 AM, in the Veatch Ballroom. "The glories” seem to be almost totally eclipsed by "the suffering,” and "the mysteries" seem more woeful than wonderful. While Worship Service: March 8 is International Women’s Day, whose everyone’s experience of life is her or his own, and no one knows theme this year is #BalanceforBetter—"Better the balance, better exactly what anyone else is feeling or experiencing, I, too, have the world.” To help observe this day, members of the UUCSR wrestled with the angel of despair in my life. At such times, the Women’s Group will share stories of women from around the world love I knew others felt for me always seemed like something of a who are doing extraordinary things. mixed blessing: On the one hand, I felt totally unworthy of their love—as unworthy of their love as I felt incapable of loving myself. On the other hand, I felt somewhere deep within me a longing Transportation Assistance to accept their love without reservation— as they were offering it UUCSR offers FREE transportation assistance to Sunday to me—to accept it without questioning it—because it was freely Worship and Soulful Sundown Services for members who offered—and to allow myself to understand that if they could love are unable to travel due to physical or financial limitations. me, warts and all, maybe I could love myself, too. Contact Nicole Roman, Temporary Assistant to the Ministers, at [email protected] or 516.472.2941 for an application. Continued on page 2 The Quest 1 UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES TOUCHSTONES Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1 For that is what depression is—or does to us. It robs us of our capacity to feel and experience love--from within ourselves, from Soulful Sundown outside ourselves, from friends from family, from strangers, from Friday, March 8, 2019 God. Dinner 6:30 PM ($4) Worship 7:30 PM The experience of being at the limit, at the edge of meaning in The Rev. Jennifer Brower & life, is a very old human experience. The ancient psalmist wrote Cosmic Orchestra thousands of years ago, "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Free Coffee House with Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my Eugene Ruffolo supplications! I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning." (Psalm MINISTERIAL TRANSITIONS 130) As has been reported previously, the Board of Trustees has I sense that you, too, are crying out of the depths and waiting, decided to engage the services of a Developmental Minister to watching for some help, some relief, some comfort, some hope. assist the Congregation and has decided to appoint a "Selection God, or whatever you might choose to call the greatest mystery Committee" to recommend a candidate to the Board. To assist in in the universe, has called each of us into being for a reason—or the process of creating the Selection Committee, the Board has reasons. Our task in living is to figure out what this reason might asked for candidates from the Congregation. (We welcomed self- be--or perhaps better stated, to construct this reason with God. nominations.) A friend of mine who had lost a lover to AIDS took pains to remind Over 80 Members took the time to respond, and the Board has me in my bleakest moods, "You know, Ned, God don't make no received the names of more than 55 different members. At a junk." I've had lots of chances to think of his words. There have time when finding volunteers willing to serve in leadership roles been many days when I have felt like junk. pure and simple. His in the Congregation has become difficult, we are appreciative of words apply to you as much as me: "God don't make no junk. " those members who have volunteered to work on this important task, and are grateful for the names of other possible Selection I know you are surrounded by people who love you: your family Committee members who are held in high esteem by their fellow your classmates, your friends, people I don't know—and even congregants. people you don't know. I count myself among that company. And individually, each of us feels powerless to lift the cloud of At its two meetings in February, the Board of Trustees will begin depression that so distorts perception that you can't feel the love to identify a process for appointing the members of the Selection within yourself connected to and replenished by all of our love for Committee with the hope that the full Committee will be in place you. Even when you can’t feel the connection, I want you to know before the end of March. that there is nothing that can separate you from this love. Klaus Masuch, President John Ryan, Secretary I trust that you will someday be able to embrace love and hope with Mark Hartman, Vice President Brian Muellers, Treasurer the same intensity that you have been embraced by hopelessness and despair. It may take some time—and a willingness to stay on the difficult path of self-examination and personal change that INTERFAITH MINISTRY you have set out on. I'll continue to hold you in my thoughts, in my prayers, in my hopes—and in my heart. If you wish to write or call Rev. Ned Wight to Participate in Interfaith Seminar me, please don't hesitate to do so. I care about you and want you to experience joy in your life once again. I believe it's always there Saturday, February 23, 2:00–5:00 PM, representatives of various waiting for us. faiths will share their understanding of “Vaishnav Jan Bhajan,” a 15th-century spiritual song which was a favorite of Mahatma Yours, Rev. Ned Gandhi. This is the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth. This interfaith seminar will be held at Temple Tikvah, 3315 Hillside Ave., MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTERS New Hyde Park, NY 11040. Rev. Ned Wight will present a Unitarian Universalist perspective on the relevance of this ancient text to our In times of pastoral crisis, you may need to reach out to a member contemporary multi-cultural society. All are welcome, but an RSVP of the Ministry Team. Monday-Friday during regular business is requested at either [email protected] or nwight@uucsr. hours, please contact the Assistant to the Ministers, Kimberly org. This event is being scheduled in conjunction with “World Rossiter, by phone or email: 516.472.2941 or [email protected]. Interfaith Harmony Month,” declared by the United Nations and On weekends and after regular business hours, please call the live the Parliament of World Religions. answering service at 516.795.0329. 2 The Quest CONGREGATIONAL AFFAIRS CONGREGATIONAL AFFAIRS Adam Barshak, Congregation Operations Administrator As many members are aware, Committee Budget Meeting Notices there was a serious, but swiftly For Discussion of 2019-2020 Committee Budgets contained fire in the Worship Member Sunday Room during the Sunday Service 9:30 AM Bride's Room on February 10.