cats-like activity" as the pros and cons of building on the new tract or expanding the present facility went back and forth At the September 26 Northeast Cluster meeting, the Volusians were obviously very excited at the prospect of having a sanctuary large enough to seat everyone in the congregation for the foreseeable future plus having a dedicated eating and general purpose area, religious education classrooms designed for that purpose, and space to carry out administrative and clerical functions without bumping into each other. The downtown location is another big plus, Linda said. Celebration in Palatka - There were balloons, a beautiful cake and music! It was a great turnout for the celebration of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church’s third anniversary on Sunday, August 2. A small but dedicated group has kept the doors open to a liberal faith in devoutly conservative Palatka, FL. “It’s a minor event for many organizations, the third birthday, but it’s a big deal to us,” said Gail Zeigler, president. Looking back over the past five years (including two as part of Chrysalis Way, a curriculum designed in the Florida District to improve chances for success Yes, we can! Have our cake and eat it, too .... for emerging UU congregations), it has been hard work, but with satisfying results. All Souls UU participates annually in the Martin Luther King Day parade and dinner, provides volunteers to Bread of Life, the local soup kitchen, and tithes ten percent of all money collected to support the Bread of Life. Christmas 2008 the church adopted a local family and provided everything from the Christmas turkey to bikes for the three children and gifts for the guardian grandma – in all, an entire van-load of gifts for the deserving family. “We’re looking forward,” according to Kevin Sharbaugh, “to continuing to make a difference in Putnam County, even as we continue to build our congregation.” Kevin’s oral history of All Souls was part of the birthday service. Kevin was also one of the original “Gatherers” (participants in Chrysalis Way) who helped put All Souls on the religious map of Putnam County. All Souls participates in Northeast Cluster activities, recently sent two delegates to the Southland Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience, and is part of a four-church project designed to bring smaller congregations together to share resources and build on individual experience. “Look for bigger and brighter things from All Souls in the future,” Gail added. - Rita Foust In Memoriam: Rev. Dr. Forrest Church: Theologian, Author, UU Spokesperson - The acclaimed author of more than two dozen books and longtime minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City, Forrest Church died on September 24, 2009, following a three- year battle with esophageal cancer. He was sixty-one years old. The son of former U.S. Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho) and grandson of former Idaho Governor Chase A. Clark, Forrest Church earned his Ph.D. in early church history from Harvard University in 1978, and began his career at All Souls that same year. Selected from approximately twenty-five applicants for the position, Church was twenty-nine years old. He served All Souls from then until his death. During Church’s tenure at the congregation, All Souls flourished. Over the past three decades, membership at All Souls has more than tripled. With over 1,400 members, All Souls is one of the largest congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association today. As All Souls grew, so too did Church’s prominence as a public voice for Unitarian Universalism and for social justice. He was a strong proponent of both religious and political liberalism. In 1986, Church told the Boston Globe, “…generally, politicians try to change society for the betterment of the individual. I like to change the individual for the betterment of society.“ “Let us never forget . .” At the UUA’s 2008 General Assembly, Church received the most prestigious award given by the UUA. Upon receiving the award, Church remarked, “Let us never forget what a privilege it is to be part of this great movement and to pronounce its saving faith: one light (Unitarianism) shining through many windows (Universalism).” New York Times reporter Cara Buckley talked with congregants at All Souls in the fall of 2008. “They spoke of Mr. Church’s gift with words, his ability to connect with others and his seemingly endless capacity for empathy and compassion,” she observes. “Unitarian Universalism is a theologically liberal religion, and to many, Mr. Church embodied the very best of the religion.” His friend, NBC newsman and former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw said, “Forrest Church made all of our lives so much richer with his friendship, his faith and his optimism. He was a leading citizen in the world of all of God's children.” Church spent his final years reflecting on the importance of living each day with love and gratitude. He writes in Love and Death, “The goal is to live in such a way that our lives will prove worth dying for.…The one thing that can’t be taken from us, even by death, is the love we give away before we go.” Speakers speak up - Worship committees, either always or occasionally, need an outside speaker to bring thoughtful sermons/speeches to the congregation. In the August and September Breezes, we listed some active speakers in our Northeast Cluster, along with their contact numbers. Lloyd Dunham was on the list and emailed new information. So that you’ll know a bit more about each potential “preacher,” we’ll give you a brief picture of one or two in each Breeze from now on. Rev. Lloyd H. Dunham (5927 Aruna Drive Port Orange FL 32127, 386-761- 6509, [email protected]) has spoken at Eustis, DeLand, Ormond, Palatka, Rev. Lloyd H. Dunham Marion County (UUFMC), Nature Coast UUF and, of course, at his home county Community UU in New Smyrna Beach. “While I have spoken on many topics,” he wrote, “I have specialized on first-person presentations on UU Heroes. While Laurie and I have given many years in pastoral ministry in the United Church of Christ, we find our UU experience wonderfully free and broadening. With Forrest Church, we strongly affirm the idea of ‘One Light Through Many Windows.’” Rev. Dr. John M. Higgins - [email protected] - 321-777-1321 – no distance limit – John Higgns -"Jack" - has been a UU minister since 1996. He was ordained at the UU Church of Amherst, NY in 1996 and served two smaller Rev. Dr. Jack Higgins congregations in the Buffalo suburbs before returning to Florida for the 5th time. Prior to that he was an educator in six different countries – USA, Canada, Australia, Uganda, Colombia and Brazil. He was a college/university dean and vice president in several smaller American colleges. At present, in addition to being a Consulting Minister at Friendship Fellowship at Pineda (between Melbourne and Cocoa), he teaches a class in World Religions at Brevard Community College. Jack speaks regularly at six other UU churches in addition to Friendship. Fees and travel expenses for both speakers are to be negotiated. For further information regarding speakers and topics, check out the Florida District website and click on Speakers Bureau – www.floridadistrict.org. True tale of a partner church (Jacksonville) pilgrimage to Romania - Traditionally, our Arlington Street church has a potluck luncheon after the Thanksgiving Day Sunday service, and we were urged by the minister, Rev. John Young, to discuss our own heritage with those sitting at our table. And so it was that, a few years ago, fate had me sit next to Marta Zsemberovszky, a fairly new member whom I did not know. When I told the story of my mother coming to this country as a young girl from Hungary, Marta revealed that she, too, had emigrated from the same country. As Marta and I got to know one another, I told her about our Partner Church in Bozod, Romania, which began in 1993, but became dormant in 2000 due to changing leadership and waning interest on the part of the congregation. Communication was difficult with no ability to translate the language. The two of us decided to renew our relationship with Bozod, and Marta began contact with Levente Fazakas, the minister of an almost 200-year-old Hungarian Unitarian Church located in a town of less than 600 people. Marta had planned a visit to Hungary in 2007, and made a side trip to Bozod. The next two years saw lots of activity, with Hungarian Dinner fundraising, collections for needed service projects in Bozod, talks by UUPCC Coordinator John Dale, and initial plans for a trip by members to Bozod. In 2008, Marta surprised us all as well as the people in Bozod with the announcement that she was going to retire and move to Bozod. Following Marta We now had the impetus to plan a 2009 trip. John Pilgrims all - First row: Marta Zsemberovzsky, Dale visited again, and we identified eleven travelers Donna Janesky, Pat Ballinger, Carlos Fraticelli; who wished to make the pilgrimage – September 7- second row: Bob Irwin, Dee Powers, 24. The process was very simple, with information Barbara Robinson, Donna Nagy, Lois Hoeft, Rita Carr, Dave Nagy, Sabena Norman from the UUPCC and John Dale’s help with the (not in photo because she’s behind the camera: itinerary. In addition, the 17-day trip was very Donna “Jan” Janetsky) reasonably priced. We landed in Bucharest, and were met by John’s wife Scilla, who served as one of our translators. We boarded an air- conditioned bus, and set off on our great adventure.