This coming Sunday, December 12th, you are invited to participate in the service by lending your voice as we sing together winter hymns and Christmas carols.  Also in the spirit of the season, we’ll  “green’ our sanctuary” to get it ready for the children’s presentation of   ”A Christmas Carol” on December 19th
  and our candlelight service on December 24th, Christmas Eve.
 
 Please join us for these church events as we contemplate the true meaning of the holiday season and the return of the light.

 *Chris Ogden

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service from 2008

We have started a relationship with a church in Kenya!

On United Nations Sunday, October 24, Julia Ganson presented a service that included reading a letter from a wonderful church in Kenya. They are struggling to care for over 30 orphans who lost their parents to AIDS or the unrest that has devastated that part of Africa. We took up a separate collection for their benefit, and the Reverend Jan sent the money to them. Here is their reply:

Hi Rev,Janet,
I have finally received the money you sent safely and I want to send my special thankfulness to you and to the member of our sister church Cortland for the compassion you have extended us.I’m going to meet with children department committee tomorrow and the church committee to hand over the money to children department committee.I hope the clothes will be purchased on Thursday and I will update you for the progress.
Finally I wish to tell you that I have talked to my two committee members and explained them that I have received the money you sent and sincerely they are happy and very thankful to you and your members.
Love,peace Joy to you.
Kevin your best friend from Kenya.

To burn, or not to burn (candles), that is the question:  Some folks become ill from the chemicals emitted from burning candles.  Some folks feel that the quality of our worship is diminished by not having a real flame.  They also point out that plastic candles and batteries made in China add to the pollution of the planet as well. 

I am proposing that we try various compromises.  Next week we will light the chalice with a real candle, but use stones in the water for “joys, concerns, and sorrows.”  I will have face masks available for those who cannot tolerate even one candle.  There will not be any candles burning in the social hall at all.

You may respond to this on our blog or you may reply to this email.  Please reply to all, so that we can have a real Congregational conversation about this.

–JAN

p.s. Please leave a comment below. We need to hear your voice on this issue!

Walk for a Nuclear-Free Future – 2010 Northern Route, which was initiated by Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, will be visiting the UU Church of Cortland this Friday! Come to our First Friday Potluck and bring a little extra for our guests. Dinner starts at 6 pm.

The group is walking from Western New York to the United Nations in New York City, March 7 – May 2, 2010, for a total of 700 miles. Each step will be a prayer toward a nuclear-free future. See their route and more details in this pdf document.

The group will be staying at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland on Friday, April 2. They will be joining us for our First Friday potluck at 6 pm, and at 7 pm they will host a circle discussion for any who are interested in learning about what they mean by a Nuclear Free Future.

Time, Talent and Treasure Auction TOMORROW!

 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Mar 27, 2010

 The Time, Talent and Treasure Auction is Saturday, March 27th. Starting at 5:00 PM, there will be hearty hors d’oeuvres and drinks, followed by the auction at 6 PM. We raise fun and funds for the church at this hilarious event. Last year’s auction included kayaking trips, a cottage rental, beautiful glassware, a classical music performance, and lots of cookies and cakes galore. Come buy someone’s time, talent, or treasure for your very own!

Location: UU Church of Cortland, 3 S. Church St. Cortland, NY

Potluck dinner, with talk of nuclear-free issues to follow: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Apr 02, 2010

Walk for a Nuclear-Free Future – 2010 Northern Route, initiated by Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order

 A group is walking from Western New York to the United Nations in New York City, March 7 – May 2, 2010, for a total of 700 miles. Each step will be a prayer toward a nuclear-free future. The group will be staying at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland on Friday, April 2. They will be joining us for our First Friday Potluck at 6 pm, so if you are planning to bring a dish to pass, please make a little extra for our guests. At 7 pm the walkers will host a circle discussion for any who are interested in learning more about the purpose of their walk and what they mean by a Nuclear Free Future. Thank you and hope to see you there!

 -Chris Ogden (President of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland Board of Trustees)

Help the church and have fun at the same time at our

Italian Dinner and Piano Concert!

Featuring Abbey Phelps performing pieces by Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven

The fundraiser will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland, 3 Church Street, corner of Elm and Church in Cortland, on Saturday, January 23rd. The dinner is at 5:30 pm and the concert at 7:00 pm.

Join us for a wonderful evening of good food, interesting conversation and marvelous music.

Prices are:  $10 a person,  $7 for a child and  $25 for a family of four. For more information, please call 756-4580.

If you plan to attend, please e-mail or call Marion Lutz and tell her how many will be in your group. [Or use the email for the UUCortland webmaster and I will forward  your message to Marion.]

Hello Everyone,

The Board has decided to have a mid-year Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 10th at noon.  There will be a brief coffee hour from 11:30 to noon. If you would like to and are able, please bring a food item to share.  It would be greatly appreciated.

The focus of the meeting will be on the goals each committee has created for this year and its job description or charge. Also, the regular meeting time will be announced, so if you are not on a committee as yet, you can speak with a member from a committee that interests you.

Our Treasurer, Marion Lutz, will give a financial update and upcoming fund raisers will be announced.

Finally, Rev. Jan Johnson, who has served our church for 1 1/2 years, is interested in serving for another year.  A vote will be taken on whether or not to renew her contract for another year.

I hope you will be able to attend this meeting.  Thank you.

-Chris Ogden, Board President

(Posted by Julia Schult from Chris’ email.  All are welcome at Congregational Meetings, although only church members may vote on motions.)

There’s lots going on at the UU Church of Cortland. Here’s a sampling:

Today Jim P. was meeting the piano tuner at the church when the heater people also showed up to put some new valves on the furnace system. While that was going on, he noticed some lift activity in the driveway next door, and sure enough the professional painters have arrived and started scraping and prepping the belfry! Our thanks go to Jim Pelton for being there, McNeil Development for donating work on the belfry, and all of the folks who have donated money so we can get the piano tuned, the furnace fixed, and the belfry painted!

The Social Justice (or is it Social Responsibility) Committee is gaining some momentum and will be collecting pairs of socks for the Community Action Angels to distribute to those in need.

This coming Saturday, November 14 will be our annual Harvest Dinner. The UU Church of Cortland will join with the Sacred Seed food co-operative to celebrate the season. Please come! Bring a dish to pass and table service; turkey will be provided. Dinner will start some time after 6pm.

Adult Religious Education is going strong, meeting Sunday mornings at 9:30. The Rev. Jan Johnson is doing a great job with the Evensong curriculum most Sundays, and on other Sundays our guest speakers are leading a discussion for adults as a precursor to the service. Paul Griffin did just that this past weekend on the subject of the importance of the holiday dinner table. This coming weekend, Andrew Fitzgibbon will discuss the topic of Practicing Nonviolence.

Children’s Religious Education Committee is still looking for a Youth Leader to help out with our teens. We have an opportunity to hold a small holiday sales event for the residents of Friendship House, who sometimes have a hard time getting out for shopping, and who always enjoy a visit. A few people including the folks at Capco are looking for a small group of teens to pull together some crafts or pretty Christmas or holiday decorations to sell inexpensively to the residents on a Friday in December. If you are interested in helping to organize this, or to volunteer for our R.E. activities with the younger kids, please contact me (Julia Schult).

I’m sure there’s other things going on. Feel free to Comment below on anything relating to the UU Church of Cortland. See you at the Harvest Dinner, perhaps!

—Julia Schult

I’m posting a message and 3 pictures sent to the UUCortland-L email list by John Ogden:

John Kirk, Dan Duggan, and Rick Bunting perform as the Susquehanna String Band October 16, 2009.

Hi Everyone,

Here are some photos of events that have taken place at or for the church recently.  So in addition to what goes on Sundays, we participate in and organize other activities.  These are signs of our vitality.  They are also signs of the broad participation from our congregation, one way we all contribute to the on-going health of our community.

The first is, of course, the Susquehanna String Band that performed last Friday evening.

The second is the group that assembled at our church today at 12:30 to promote health care reform, Health Care For America Now (HCAN): http://healthcareforamericanow.org/.  The group then walked to Rep. Michael Arcuri’s office across the street.

Finally, today was the second fundraising event of the season, the plant sale at the College. This was instigated by Julia Schult who provided the plants.  Others helped repot them and sell them. The photo shows Julia and Jeannine Thibault. (Details on other helpers will follow.)

Thanks, John

Health Care For America Now (HCAN) gathers at the UU Church, October 20, 2009

Jeanine Thibault and Julia Schult sell plants outside the SUNY Cortland Bookstore to raise funds for the church.