Huntsville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Magaret Mead

Huntsville UU Services
Sun. Sept 11: Dr. Frank Schulman will be back from his summer travels and will speak on the topic "Reducing Evil." He says, "There are three questions about evil: first, what is the source of evil? Second, what is the nature of evil? Third, how can we overcome it? We need to understand the first two --that's the easier part--and we need to think hard about how we can reduce the awful sum of human misery in the world."

Sun. Sept 25: The guest speaker will be James Johnson, who has an M.A. degree in music therapy. He will inform and engage us with music, first with a brief overview of music therapy, then with a fun, interactive exercise to give birth to the music that bubbles inside each of us.

Sun. Oct 9: On this Sunday designated as Loyalty Sunday, we will all make a special effort to be present and to invite others to attend. Dr. Schulman will be the speaker. Our highest attendance was sixty on Loyalty Sunday in 2003.

Huntsville UU Women
Wed. Sept 7: The UU Women's Sharing Circle will meet at 10:30 a.m. at Joan Stringer's house in Elkins Lake. A guest speaker, Peggy Sloat, will share information on scrapbooking, an excellent way to start sorting out and organizing memories of the things that have given meaning to your life. (The psychologist Piaget claimed the main developmental task of maturity is to integrate experiences and determine the purpose and meaning of onešs life.) And Peggy will show us that it can be fun to do too!

Wed. Sept 14: UU women are invited to join the Red Hat Society at 11:00 for a repeat potluck at the Farris Chapel activity room on FM 1791.

UU Book Club
Is it time to revive the U-U Book Club? Some of us have missed it. The suggestion has been made that book lovers resume meeting at "tea time" (around 4:30 p.m.) on a Sunday evening every other month. This would NOT be a dinner, and hostesses are asked to provide only tea and coffee. It is hoped that an agreement to "keep it simple" will attract more volunteers to hostess in the future. "After all," stated one member, "itšs about reading, not eating."

If you are shy about offering to lead a session, remember that you do not need to be an expert to facilitate a discussion and that the purpose of this get-together is to stimulate thinking rather than to prove that we are Mensa material. All you need is to be a "Bona Fide Book Lover" with a willingness to share one of your favorite books.

In order to get things going, Ralph and Gail Phillips invite you to a "literary tea" at their home on Sunday, September 18, at 4:30 p.m. Ralph will lead a discussion of Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill. a scholar and historian whose books are as readable as novels. (He also authored How the Irish Saved Civilization, a book which many of us have enjoyed.) Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea is available in paperback at most bookstores and can also be purchased on-line at Amazon.com (Delivery is usually within a week.)

Congregational Picnic
Plan now to bring a covered dish and join the fun at Pam and James Johnson's home on October 15. Details will be announced later.

Member News
Dorothy Huskey returned to her Huntsville home on Aug 16th after spending ten weeks at her new home near Knoxville, enjoying visits from her relatives and some out-of-state guests, including Paul and Joan Culp. Welcome back, Dorothy!

Diversity Forum
Sept 12: The next meeting of the Diversity Forum will be held at 7:00 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church on Hwy 75 North. For carpooling information, call Sylvia DeVoss.

Several members of the Huntsville UU Fellowship, including Anita Plummer, Sylvia DeVoss, Ann Sigler, Joan Stringer, Joe Eliot, and Carla McAdams, have attended at least one of the recently-held diversity forums on raising awareness and finding solutions for racial tension in the community. Most participants were in agreement that diversity training must begin with the children. Sylvia DeVoss summarized some of the suggestions offered at the last meeting as follows:

Rev. Coleman proposed formation of a committee to monitor progress in turning the proposed ideas into accomplishments.

Patrick Antwi encouraged people to take time to greet each other since that lack had been noted at previous meetings.

David Lyons suggested the best way to get acquainted was over food, and a community pot luck is in the works.

Dr. Montgomery, the new HISD Superintendent, spoke eloquently of his desire to make the schools successful for everyone.

Naomi Lede spoke of the need for a change in the attitude of the community so that all members will feel welcome.

Wendell Baker has affiliations with a group that does community workshops to facilitate race communication and suggested we avail ourselves of that opportunity.

Teaching Tolerance, a program for schools developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was also proposed for further study to determine how it could be utilized by HISD.

Richard Watkins emphasized the need for 'saving the kids' and suggested that a district-wide mentoring program be started in the schools. (Right now it's only done in individual schools.)

City Manager Kevin Evans and Dorothy Shandera both spoke of the need for mentors and described the personal satisfaction of mentoring.

The success of 'Peer Justice' in other schools and the need for it in Huntsville was also considered.

The minister of St Paul's Methodist Church spoke of the need for more dialogue and volunteered his church for the next meeting, which will be on September 12. It was noted that attendance has increased with each meeting, indicating a growing interest in the community to find ways to improve race relations. We can be proud that UUers are almost always in the front row, ready to accept this challenge, which is in synch with our belief in "the inherent worth and dignity of every person."

Thoughts On Communicating
Here are some healthy suggestions for a healthy person in a healthy relationship from the work of communications pioneer, Virginia Satir:

See and hear what is here now instead of what should be, was or will be.

Feel what you feel instead of what you feel you ought to be feeling.

Say what you feel and think instead of what you imagine is expected of you.

Ask for what you want instead of hoping it will be offered.

Huntsville UU Newsletter Deadline: To submit news to the UU newsletter, e-mail Gail Phillips. Please have any news or announcements that you would like to have in this newsletter to the editor by the 20th of each month.

Annual Meeting
On May 1, 2005, we elected officers and approved appointments to various positions listed below for the church year 2005-2006.

Officers

President: Carla McAdams

Co-Vice Pres./ Program Chairs: Scott and Anita Plummer

Treasurer: Lee Stringer

Secretary/Membership Chair: Joan Stringer

Immediate Past President: Karl Mahaffey

Appointed Positions

Organist: Dixon Lichtenauer

Keyboardist: Sylvia DeVoss

Co-Song Leaders: Melissa Templeton-Mahaffey, Beth Williamson, Dixon Lichtenauer

Co-Reading Leaders: Ann Staples, Richard Lane

Newsletter Editor: Gail Phillips

Order of Service Editor: Roberta Krock

Publicist: Stuart Williamson

Hospitality Coordinator: Pam Johnson