Northern Light September 2007

Outlined below is a summary of the financial reports presented to members of your Finance Committee and Board of Trustees for the month of July:

           Actual $ Budget
        Received (Expected
July, 2007   and Paid     Receipts &                                                             Payments)

Pledge Income $ 12,080    $ 11,889
Other Income    6,688        2,974
Total Income    $ 18,768       $ 14,863
Total Expenses    $ 12,747    $ 14,860

Year-to-Date

Pledge Income $ 83,258    $ 83,224
Other Income      13,473       20,818
Total Income    $ 96,731    $104,042
Total Expenses    $101,252    $104,020

July was the first month since January that Pledge Income was on budget.

It was necessary to transfer $5,000 from Capital to cover checks that have been or will be written. Even though this was put in the budget and approved by the congregation, taking into consideration good accounting practices, this is not a wise way to meet monthly expenses.

Total Income for the year is $4,500 below expenses.

Until next month,
Nancy Remer

Choir Notes
The first choir rehearsal of the 2007-2008 season will be on Sunday, September 9 at 9:00 am. We will be singing "River In Judea" for the Ingathering service. Folders with all of the music for September services are available now. Returning members should select a folder from the top of the music library filing cabinet. We will have rehearsal every Sunday morning at 9:00 am from September 9 - December 16, when we will take a short winter break over the New Year Holiday.

September 2 marks the first service for our new pianist Wade Jones, whose passion for classical music and jazz impressed us at his job interview this summer. Please take a moment to introduce yourself to Wade and offer a warm welcome.

Can I have a show of hands of the History majors? If you asked this question in a 1^st year law school class, you would get at least 40% of the class (the others being Poli Sci (40%), English (15%), Philosophy (3%) and Other (2%)). I have had a continuing fascination with history since as long as I can remember, but it has been a rare instance when I have considered what “History” means. When you think about “History,” it is easy to consider it a recitation of events set forth in chronological order. This is primarily because this is the prime archetype of how history is understood and taught in western culture; an archetype that originates with Thucydides and his History of the Peloponnesian War written in the fifth century B.C.E., the first recognized scientific approach to history. However, modern criticism (modern being post-Renaissance) of this approach has, among other critiques, stated that history is not a series of critical events, but rather a slow accumulation of small events until a critical tipping point is reached and that it is this slow accumulation that is the “real” History.

While this critique of historical method has made a number of valid points, the power of the chronology of events is its resonance with how we measure our own personal history. I do not take the measure of my personal history by recalling twenty years of tweak and strains of my ankle, but rather the sudden snapping of my Achilles tendon and unalterable changes that followed. We measure our lives and look back on our personal history as a series of events, moments really, where everything we were before is unalterably changed and everything that occurs after is different. Whether it is an anticipated event (e.g. a college graduation) or something completely unexpected (a death of a friend), our lives are made up of these events; events which serve as boundaries between who we were and who we are. These boundaries fascinate us because we see in them the power to alter us so completely. Just as history appears to be filled with these critical junctures, so it is a habit of mind to view our lives as being changed inalterably by moments.

Two recent events have reminded me of how thin is the boundary between life as it is and life as it could be. Last Saturday (August 25^th), a tornado reportedly touched down within 2 miles of our home. A tornado is a perfect example of a random event that could inexorably alter someone’s personal history; especially given their unpredictability. There is no known reason why the tornado touched down where it did rather than the next block to our house. Had it touched down there, all of these words would never exist; my life and my family’s life would have changed in an instant and my personal history would have (hopefully) been divided between that which existed before the tornado and that which existed after.

While I continue to have a charmed (or at least lucky) life, our fellow congregants in the Findlay congregation have not had the same fortune. The UU Congregation of Blanchard County (http://www.ohiomeadville.org/congregations/ohio.html#Anchor-BlanchardValley ) was hit with a flood during the recent storms that have damaged so much of Ohio. The Findlay congregation lost their piano, sound system, chairs, all of their RE curricula, books, and supplies in the flood waters (however, they did salvage their coffee pots, so all is not lost). As a small congregation (25 members), they do not have immediate access to funds needed to repair and restart their congregation. As such, the Ohio Meadville District has sent out an appeal for any help that can be provided by the member congregations.

We see and hear so much about loss and destruction every time we peruse the newspaper or television. As a Universalist, I feel for those who suffer and know that my life is diminished by the suffering of others. However, in most cases, I have not made a commitment to live in community with those suffering as reported in my daily Dispatch. The UU Congregation of Blanchard County is different; they are our co-religionists, the people who we have committed ourselves to and they to us. If it were our church that was destroyed, our grand piano lost, we would look to them and all of the district, as well as all UUs, for support. Now it is time for us to fulfill our commitments, our promises to those we have entered into community with.

During In-Gathering on September 9^th, we will make a special collection for the UU Congregation of Blanchard Valley. Currently one member has, anonymously, offered to match any funds collected up to $500. If you can, please consider this special offering; an opportunity to change someone’s history, to make that which comes after different by affirming our commitment to one another, both within the walls of our church, as well as our district, our movement, and our world.

I want to say that it's “that time of year again.” But that time of year for what? If you think about it, every month is “that time of year again,” but for our Religious Education program, Fall does mean the beginning of a new year.

This year we have made a number of changes. (I'll save the best for last.) The first change is our annual or biannual change of RE Chair. After serving on the RE committee for several years and teaching RE for just as many, I finally felt prepared to take on the duties of chair of the committee. I started in August.

The next three changes are the result of our educational and exciting visit with RE consultant Katie Erslev.

This year, our youngest RE group (for ages 3 to 5 years old) will be known as The Chalice Children. Like last year's preschool group, they will meet each Sunday in Fellowship Hall.

One suggestion Katie made to us was to combine our school children into one class instead of two. This helpful change will allow us to make the most of our volunteer resources and also will foster mentoring between the older and younger kids. This newly-combined age group of 6-11 year olds is called The Explorers.

The next change involves our teachers. In order to lessen the burden of teaching, we are asking volunteers to sign up for one of two teams for only half a school year at a time, instead of a full year. The fall session will consist of seven Sundays from September to the middle of January. The winter session also consists of seven Sundays and will run from the middle of January to the 2nd week of June.

And remember, you don’t have to have a child in RE to teach! The broader our scope of teachers, the better the experience for our children, and the more easily we share the responsibility for religious education. If you have thought about teaching but had been unsure about a lengthy commitment, this might be your year! If you are interested in teaching or assisting with RE, please feel free to contact me (tsteinbr@columbus.rr.com) or Rev. Susan Ritchie (RevRitchie@aol.com). A Teacher Orientation is planned for Thursday, September 6 at 6pm at Nielsen House.

The final and most exciting change for this year will effect the Youth. As mentioned in Susan’s “RevElations!” article, NUUC is pleased to welcome our brand-new Youth Advisor, Mylesant Carreno. Mylly will be responsible for planning youth activities and teaching each Sunday, supported by a volunteer assistant.

Click Here for a full description of our exciting RE this year. The RE Committee is excited about all the new changes we will be making this year. We hope you will share in our excitement by volunteering your time to make our school year as successful as possible for our children. Remember, you don't need to be a parent to volunteer!