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.

There’s a lot happening that I haven’t had time to blog about, but I did want to pass on this message from our Church’s President. I attended the concert with family, and it was fantastic!!!   —Julia Schult, Webmaster

[Email from Chris Ogden:]

Hello Everyone,

The Susquehanna String Band Concert was Friday night [October 16, 2009].   The church received $340 in donations at the door.   Special thanks to Bill and Audrey Wakefield who sponsored the Band! Also hearty thanks to:

* Joe Pullman, Tom Reese, and John and Chris Ogden who tidied up, cleaned and prepared the church for the event

*Kim Allen, Bill Wakefield, Julia Schult, Margaret Downing, and John and Chris Ogden who helped to publicize the event

*Jim Pelton who set up the heat and Helene Maxwell who opened the church

*David Millet and John Ogden who collected the donations at the doors

*Pam Jenkins, Julia Schult, and Chris Ogden who provided refreshments for the reception that followed the concert

*Audrey Wakefield, and John and Chris Ogden who helped the Band with their equipment and with cleanup.

And, of course, thank you to all of you who supported and enjoyed the wonderful music of the Susquehanna String Band.  It does take a community to have a successful event!

The best news:  Audrey says there’s a good chance they’ll be back again next year!

Stay warm and healthy, Chris Ogden [President]

After our Worship Associates Workshop last Saturday, I revised our “sample program” on the web page to reflect what workshop participants decided was a good standard for our services. I would like to hear your opinions about what should go on the back cover. Jan and I have seen the 7 UU Principles on the back of many churches’ order of service. We currently have an explanation of UUism which reflects several of the principles, but is simpler and less formal.

Our current Order of Service shows this on the back:

- Unitarian Universalism is a religion which honors the great teachers and prophets of every age and tradition, yet searches for new expressions of goodness, truth and meaning.

- We are bonded together by our belief in the supreme worth and dignity of each person.

- We strive for justice, equality and compassion in all human relationships.

- We cherish the acceptance of one another and encourage spiritual growth in our congregations.

- We promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Jan’s Order of Service has the following on the back:

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to honor and uphold:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of democratic processes;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Reverence for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The flaming chalice has become a symbol of our denomination.  The flame and the chalice were brought together by an Austrian artist, Hans Deutsch, in 1941.

(For further information: www.uua.org)

We could fit the following shortened version on the back of our program easily:

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

• • The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  • Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
  • Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth;
  • A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  • The right of conscience and the use of democratic processes;
  • The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
  • Reverence for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

(For further information: www.uua.org)

Note that Jan’s wording has “We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to honor and uphold” while the above sample includes “There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote” – Which of these phrases would our congregation prefer? My hunch is that people don’t want to use the word “covenant”.

Which list would you like on the back of the order of service, the 7 principles, or the simple explanation of our beliefs?

Here are some comments I have recieved through the UUCortland-L email list (with no naming of the authors):

“I prefer the 7 principles.”

“I’ve seen these 2 sets of wording alternated over the course of time.  The first wording contains only 5 bullets which creates a question; where are the other 2 principles? Or aren’t these the 7 Principles?  Then, what are they?”

“I like the latter [7 principles] text.  Plus, it gets rid of that pesky word “religion” which to me implies dogma.”

“I like the first [our current wording] — it seems more personal and accessible.”

“The seven principles.”

Please add your comments below, by clicking on the Comments link. Thanks!

—Julia Schult

Sunday, June 7, 2009 will be our Flower Communion service. This is becoming a staple for UU congregations around the U.S., but our congregation hasn’t been aware of its importance to others in our faith (as far as I know! Please post a Comment if I’m  not right about that!).

For many UU communities, the Flower Communion ends the regular service season and starts the summer schedule, just as the Water Communion ends the summer schedule and acts as a Gathering In for the regular church year.

Reverend Jan sent out the following message to our listserv:

On Sunday June 7th we will have our annual flower communion service.  Everyone is asked to bring a flower to share.  I would also like to know if anyone has graduated or is planning to graduate from middle school, high school, college or some other educational program by June 2009.
Blessings,
Rev. Jan

The Wikipedia entry on Flower Communion includes some history and details about the Czech Flower Celebrations, and suggestions on bits that could be included in the service.

Here’s a PDF from the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) about the origins and common elements of a Flower Communion.

Go now in Peace! And add a Comment below…

—Julia Schult

Wow, how time does fly! The winter blahs must have set in because this blog has languished. Please comment below if you missed reading this UUCortland Blog.

Some recent comments from our President, Chris Ogden:

Singing for the Green: We had a great turnout for the kick-off dinner for our stewardship campaign.  Thanks to the generosity of Chuck Lochner who planned, purchased and acted as “top chef“, a delicious dinner was enjoyed by the 30 some who attended.  John Ogden, Jim Lawson, and Jim Pelton assisted with the cooking.  Marion Lutz and Ellen Ketchum helped with other kitchen tasks including serving and clean up.  Marion  planned the decorations with Jim Lawson, Jim Pelton, Ana Brendes, and John Churchill assisting with the set up for the dinner.  Fred Lutz was the official  vacuumer.  Many other people helped with cleanup.  The entertainment was supplied by our very own Mens Chorus accompanied by Amy Schultz.  In addition, Mary Ann DeRusso-Allbight and Heather Beardsley treated us to two duets.  It was a delightful evening.  Thank you to all who helped and participated.

The Belfry [is tilting, leaking, and needs structural help.] This past Saturday a contract was signed with a contractor who has experience with restoration work.  The focus of the work to be done will be to reinforce the inside structure of the church bell tower.  When that has been completed, the large pediment under the belfry and the wood trim around the roof edge will be painted.  Funds have been raised to cover the cost of these two projects.  I want to thank Julia Schult, Jim Pelton and Karen Kenning for their time, effort and dedication to helping get these projects under way.  I also want to thank those who helped raise the funds by supporting our “paint can collection’ and our recent fund-raising events. Jason Thornton is designing a computer model of the church belfry to assist the engineer and contractor that we are hiring, so that they can see a 3-dimensional view of the belfry as they work on its reinforcement.  Thanks and Go Jason! TOGETHER we can make things happen!

-Chris Ogden

p.s. Please do use the comments below to let me know if you value this blog and want it to continue. You can compare the fall, when there was an entry every 1-2 weeks, and the winter, when there hasn’t been a new posting for 3 months. Which do you like better?

—Julia Schult

On Saturday, January 10, about 14 people of the UU Church of Cortland gathered at the Interfaith Center on campus to ponder the vision, mission, values, and raison d’etre (reason for being) of our church organization. Julie Ganson was our fearless leader. The Board President,  at least 3 other Board members, and our Minister were among those gathered. As was I, the church webmaster, and the following are my opinions and observations, not any kind of official message!

We considered the strengths of the UU Church of Cortland, which include our people, our building, our history, and our values. We considered our challenges, including our building and our need for people – including paid staff – and therefore our need for money! Then we tried to create a vision of what we want for our church. Now, if you know anything about this whole “visioning/mission/goals thing”, you know that it is easy to slip into a buzzword bingo mindset, and come out with, for example, a mission statement that sounds nice but doesn’t do anyone much good over time. Julie Ganson was great at pushing us to make this method produce valuable, concrete results. Part of how she did that was by NOT insisting that we follow a time-limited process, but by letting us work through our thoughts and differences even though that takes time. As a result, we – the folks who were there – have a good sense of our strengths and weaknesses, and what is important to members and friends of the congregation, even though we did not come out of this one-day retreat with tidy statements of our “vision, mission, and goals”. Instead, we have many thoughts captured on large sheets of paper, and a determination to use those thoughts to:

• Help the Pledge Committee share elements of our vision with those who will be asked to support the church financially.
• Help the Board understand the needs and wants of our members and friends.
• Provide a base on which the congregation can build through future retreats, forums, or meetings, in order to crystallize our vision and mission, after which the Board will create specific goals to accomplish, with specific plans and timelines.

Our job as Board, members, and friends will be to ensure that this process is followed through, so that we can become the busy, active, safe, and well-known community within our region that we want to be, without stressing, pressuring, or burning out the people we have.

Let it be!

—Julia Schult

It has been a great holiday season! The children’s pageant, which focused on the Winter Solstice this year, was fun. At the first service of the New Year, the kids talked about New Year’s resolutions while the grown-ups were pondering how we choose our UU rituals.

But by far one of the neatest parts of the season for the church community was the Christmas Eve Service of Carols & Candles, organized by our minister, the Reverend Jan Johnson.

The UU Church of Cortland, bedecked for the Christmas Eve Service

The service included invited soloists, members and friends of the church, all led by Jan. More than forty people attended; next year it will probably be more. Four readings related the story of Jesus’ birth, accompanied by appropriate hymns and a gradual dimming of the lights. Just before the Silent Night, each person in the congregation lit a candle and the church sparkled with candlelight and the lights from the tree.

Another of our successful collaborative efforts to build our community, and hopefully the start of a beautiful local tradition!

—Julia Schult

• After the service on Sunday, December 14th, join us and help “green” our church sanctuary.  We will put up our Christmas tree and decorate the window wells with real evergreen bows.  Bring any decorations you would like to contribute to the effort, homemade or store bought.
• Sunday, December 21st, will be the children’s holiday service:  ”Celebrating the Winter Solstice“.  The actual astrological solstice occurs at 7:04 in the morning, EST. It will be a service reflecting on the darkness, and then the children will wake up the sun. Finally, the children will depict the astronomical solstice as a story/play.
• On Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 5:00 pm please join us for a traditional service of stories, carols, candle-lighting, and special music led by Rev. Janet Johnson.  We hope both regular churchgoers and others in the area will come and make the UU Church of Cortland Candlelight Service part of your Christmas Eve. Carols and candles, what could be better!

Everyone knows our church needs funds, especially for preservation of the building. Marion Lutz has come to the Board with an offer, but we’ll need commitment to make it work!

Marion has coordinated quilt raffles for several organizations, and is willing to coordinate one for us. This has potential to bring in several thousand dollars, much of which might come from outside our small congregation. In order for this to happen, we will need 1) volunteers to help Marion create the quilt (experience helpful but not necessary) and 2) everyone to commit to selling raffle tickets.

1) to make the quilt, Marion can design it and host work parties. If we get together a group of women for a quilting bee, we might even get a Women’s Group going. Or we can have a come-all-ye working party or two. There will be jobs for both experienced quilters and non-quilters. Can you commit to helping?

2) to sell the tickets, Marion says the price would be reasonable, but hopefully almost every member or friend could commit to selling at least $25 worth of tickets, priced at about $1-2 each. People who don’t want to sell the tickets could buy them with their own money. However, we need to have a relatively large group of people willing to sell tickets in order to make this project worth doing. Are you willing to sell tickets?

I will send this out by email also, and you can reply to the email or click on “Comments” below and add a comment to this post. Please respond so that we know whether to proceed with this project!

—Julia Schult