The North Unitarian Universalist Congregation Newsletter

November 2010

Page 4

Call to Action!

.Empty Bowls Soup Lunch on Nov. 7 One of our most satisfying and meaningful annual events of the year, our “Empty Bowls” soup fundraiser, is nearly upon us. This year’s event is scheduled for Sunday, November 7 from 11:30am-12:30pm. It is one of those events were we get to make and eat great soups, support our local Food Banks, and spend time talking with our friends. As in years past, our NUUC youth have joined with others in the community and made bowls for the event. For a requested $10.00 donation, you get to choose and keep one of the many unique bowls specially made for this event, filled with all the hot soup (plus bread) you can eat. We can still use volunteers to help set up for the event, make one gallon of soup, and/or clean up (and of course, EAT the soup!) Please look for the sign-up sheet posted in Fellowship Hall, or contact Tracy Steinbrenner tracystein@att.net or any member of your Social Action Committee. Come enjoy delicious soups and conversation with your NUUC friends! NUUC--Good Turnout at Del. Co. CROP Walk! Each year your Social Action Committee participates in the Delaware County CROP Hunger Walk. This year the Walk was on Sunday, October 3. Our Walk is sponsored by the Delaware Ministerial Association and supports Church World Service hunger programs. CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. This year, a total of at least 156 walkers took to the streets in Delaware on one- and six-mile routes to increase awareness of, and raise funds to reduce, the problem of hunger and poverty worldwide. The total amount raised was $10,618, more than last year but not as much as in pre-recession years. Among the walkers were at least 15 from NUUC (which included a good contingent of our youth), constituting about 10% of all the walkers. NUUC walkers raised $1,799 – almost 17% of the total. As in past years, NUUC’s dollars-per-walker average was considerably higher than the overall average. The organizers of the Delaware Crop Walk are well aware of this and have expressed to me their appreciation for our contribution. In all CROP Walks – some 2,000 across the country each year – 25% of funds raised go to local organizations working in their communities to overcome the plight of the hungry and the poor. In our case, over $2,650 will go to People in Need (PIN), an effective Delaware County organization providing food, clothing, and other services to those among us needing help. A resounding Thank You! is due to all the members and friends of NUUC who participated – by walking and by contributing – to make this a successful endeavor. Tom MacLaughlin NUUC CROP Walk Coordinator Open Invitation from Social Action Committee The NUUC Social Action Committee typically meets the first Sunday of the month, after service, in Nielsen House. For more information please feel free to attend a committee meeting or talk to any member of your Social Action Committee. Because of a conflict with the annual “Empty Bowls” soup fundraiser on November 7^th, this month’s meeting is being rescheduled to a later date. Contact Chair Tracy Steinbrenner at tracystein@att.net for questions and to learn of the next meeting date.  Won’t you join us? Update on House Bill 176 HOUSE BILL 176--Where has it gone? Nowhere! True to form, Senator Bill Harris did not assign a senate number to HB 176 before the senators went on their summer break. Not much can be done until the Senate reconvenes in November. However, there are a few things you can do as individuals. It can’t hurt to write another letter or place another phone call to your senator asking them and Bill Harris to bring HB 176 to the Senate floor once they reconvene in November (and don‘t forget to thank your senators who are in favor of passing the bill). Go to the website www.ohiosenate.gov to get information about your senator. The NUUC Social Action Committee has been in close contact with Equity Ohio concerning the passage of HB 176. The group was very thankful for our letter-writing campaign. In fact, they were so impressed with our organized campaign that they asked if they could use the material in a letter-writing workshop they held. Our thanks to NUUC members Martha Filipic, Marty Keith, Jeanne Casanova, and Connie Grossman for providing the great resource used in our letter-writing campaign. Equity Ohio also has a form letter on their web site which you can sign. Their website is www.equalityohio.org. Our support for getting HB 176 to the Senate floor doesn’t end with our letters. A number of members from our congregation attended Equality Ohio’s Lobby Day in May, and I am happy to report that Unitarian Universalists were well-represented that day. Members from Akron’s UU, Kent’s UU, Columbus First Church, North UU, Wayne County’s UU and a few other churches were there in force! Once the Senate reconvenes this month we will continue to work with Equality Ohio on getting HB 176 to the Senate floor. For more information, contact any member of your NUUC Social Action Committee or Equality Ohio. Tracy Steinbrenner, Chair tracystein@att.net Remember the “Share” Project Cold weather will soon be upon us…so please remember this project the next time you clean out your linen closet… If you have used (but stain-free) towels and washcloths that you would like to get rid of, please consider donating them to "Share” for their use in making sleeping bags for the homeless.  (Other items that are needed are fabric, blankets, and men's ties.) Donation is easy—just give to Lynn Foreman at service any Sunday morning. (If you can’t find her, you may leave the items on Jeri’s desk in the center office off Fellowship Hall with a note marked “for Share project.”) “Share” has also sent out an appeal for help with toiletry and personal care items. Especially needed are: new or gently used washcloths/towels; toothbrushes; toothpaste; deodorant; safety pins; sewing kits (Dollar Tree has great name brand health items!) Place items in labeled box on desk in Fellowship Hall. See bulletin board for complete list of items. For more information about either of the above projects, www.Shareyourbest.us or contact NUUC Coordinator Lynn Foreman sbgmacb@hotmail.com or 740-513-4876.

The Power of Political Persuasion Workshop Join your fellow UU’s from the OMD District at the “Power of Political Persuasion” workshop on Saturday, November 20, from 10 am – 12:00 noon in the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Riffe Center (across from the Statehouse), 77 S. High Street, 7th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215 Office Phone: (614) 466-3398. This is a workshop for those wishing to become informed, educated, motivated, empowered and mobilized as “advocates” for real social change. We will meet in the Riffe Center that houses the Ohio House of Representatives at 77 S. High Street, across from the Ohio State House.  We will explore the power of political persuasion and learn more about becoming advocates for changing social systems through the process of bearing witness to state legislators.  The workshop leader is Rev. Bob Erickson, Director of the Hunger Network in Ohio, and experienced social change advocate and educator. We will also meet with Greg Hargett, the director of the Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. The workshop will not only offer training on how to become an effective social change advocate at the State House level, but will also introduce participants to concrete ways to address the human needs and economic conditions of impoverished people in Ohio. These lessons are relevant in addressing needs in other states such as West Virginia, Pennsylvania and beyond. This workshop is free, but we ask that you register on the OMD website so we know how many to expect. To register and for more information, go to www.ohiomeadville.org.  Rev. Joan Van Becelaere,  District Executive Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA Admin: PO Box 157, St. Clairsville, OH 43950 jvanbecelaere@ohiomeadville.org,  303-641-5896 (cell) A Message from Rev. Erickson about the Hunger Network in Ohio: Consistent with our mission (audaciously put, "to end hunger in Ohio"), we try to "attack" the problem of severe poverty.  Although recognizing the value of emergency responses to people needing food (food pantries, soup kitchens, etc.), we believe in enabling "needy families" to progress from dependence ultimately to self-sufficiency. We support development approaches to economic rehabilitation of families in need (long-term case work, providing job training and helping to locate jobs, stabilize housing, transitional health care and child care, etc.).  We acknowledge that while "charity" (giving people what they need at the moment) is often necessary, "Justice" (countering an imbalanced social structure designed to favor the "haves" and keep in "their place," the "havenots,"  or better, the have less or little) is essential.  We opt for trying to change conditions that cause or tolerate poverty. Most of how we try to do this involves informing, educating, motivating, empowering, and mobilizing "advocates."  These are usually church people who want to move beyond just handouts to individuals in dire straights to changing social systems that unfavorably represent and repress possibilities for them to take better charge of their own lives. A principal pattern of engagement is to take them directly on visits with legislators. We also offer opportunities for them to bear witness to existing conditions and how to improve them through testifying before legislative panels.  We provide information on pending bills with hunger implications to engage advocates in study of complex conditions and likely resolutions, and encourage them to them to fully and effectively express their convictions. Meanwhile, you may access further information about the Hunger Network in Ohio through our website (below).  And you may call us anytime to answer questions or obtain additional information. Thank you. Bob Erickson Hunger Network in Ohio 82 East 16th Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43201 614.424.6203 (Phone) www.hungernetohio.org (Website) HungerNetOhio@aol.com (email) Become the Change!  Stand on the Side of Love!  http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org Loose Change Project Update Your Social Action Committee will continue its “Loose Change” project in 2010 by collecting your loose coins during the worship service on Sunday, November 14, as it has on the second Sunday of each month throughout the past year. October's Loose Change collection in the amount of $110.12 went to benefit the Delaware Co. CROP WALK which was held on Sunday, October 3).  Tom MacLauglin organized our congregation this year.  (See the CROP Walk update article elsewhere in this month’s newsletter for more information). The Loose Change collections for November and December will benefit our Holiday Family Project through the Delaware Co. agency People In Need (PIN). For more information about the organization, visit http://delawarepeopleinneed.org/ Additional deserving recipients for 2010 Loose Change collections are always under discussion. For questions regarding the “Loose Change” project or to suggest a recipient, contact Chair Tracy Steinbrenner at tracystein@att.net or any member of your Social Action Committee. 2010 Loose Change Collection Recap Month Collected $ Amount Donated to: Total January $112.25 Delaware Co. People In Need February $114.72 “ “ $226.97 March $ 92.47 UUSC/UUA Joint Relief April $106.70 Effort—Haiti $199.17 May $ 99.28 Heifer Int’l. June $ 75.00 Heifer Int’l. $174.28 July $ 98.32 Delaware Co. Juvenile Probation August $194.33 Department $292.65 September $111.70 UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) $111.70 October $110.12 CROP Walk $110.12 Refreshment Help Requested One NUUC tradition that carries on week to week is coffee, cookies, and conversation after services.  In an effort to share in the set up and clean up of this after-service treat, a monthly sign-up schedule has been designed. A very special thank you to all of you who have taken a turn at this task this year. If you have not already done so, could you spare a bit of time some Sunday to help?  The process is easy--all you have to do is follow instructions that are already posted in the kitchen on where everything is and how to make coffee (if you don't know how). And then clean up after and put things back. Everything is provided for you.  (But, of course, if you want to try a new cookie recipe or have dessert left from a meeting or family function, you are more than welcome to share it!) This is the perfect opportunity to work as a couple, or grab a friend to help.  If everyone took a turn, no one would have to do it every week.  And it's fun!   We are currently scheduling through January—see the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for available dates, or please contact Teri Cornell at tericornell@ymail.com or 614-891-5935.  NUUC Bumper Stickers The Communications Committee still has some of the new NUUC bumper stickers. Our “Many beliefs. One faith” stickers are an eye-catching bright yellow with black print and are available for purchase for just $4.00. See the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall to get yours. For more information, contact Kristin Grimshaw at 614-840-1950 or grimshaw@wowway.com. Go to: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3