From the Minister

We have moved the Animal Service to September 25th this year to better accommodate Association Sunday and Coming Out Day in October. This makes it an even better opportunity to bring your friends, neighbors, and companions. Everyone who can fit in the door to Thomson Hall is welcome (elephants, horses, giraffes, and other large animals are welcome to come, but must listen from outside). Dogs, Cats, Birds, (small) Snakes, bugs, and even very small ponies are welcome to join us inside! Please take precautions to keep small animals safe by caging, carrying, and leashing respectfully! Send in pictures of current, past, and endangered animals to uuclr@aristotle.net. Why not bring a friend, colleague, or co-worker (and his/her animal companions) to add to the fun? Everyone is welcome!

10 Years Later: the Fall of the World Trade Center—Remembering 9/11
These past 10 years of war and societal upheaval have provided many challenges for all Americans. Not since Pearl Harbor has our nation been so baldly attacked and not since long before the Civil War had another nation attacked our mainland. Our national psyche has suffered along with the families of those who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan. The evil perpetrated by a few terrorists has endangered our relationship with the Muslim world along with our personal relationships with almost any foreigners. I think it is still too soon to step back far enough to learn as much as we someday will from 9/11, but we certainly can set aside time to pray and meditate and work for a just and lasting peace throughout the world as we remember those from many lands who have been killed or injured in 9/11 and throughout the past 10 years.

May the cooler temperatures of September lead our hearts and bodies out into this beautiful world in which we live. May we find time to recreate and refresh even as our lives become busier again as we head into Fall!

Stay safe, be peaceful, and bring your friends to UUCLR! Rev. Bob

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From the President

In August, Gene Hudnall, Rachel Finley and I attended the Dwight Brown Leadership Experience at TWU in Denton, Texas. This is an intensive leadership training course that is provided by the SWUUC. I came away understanding so much about the faith and practices of Unitarian Universalism. I am happy that I had this experience in preparation for our Discernment process that starts this month. I want to share with you some of the insights that I obtained in this process because I see many of these insights as important for us all to consider. In this process, we need to look at where we desire to go as a congregation. We have our Strategic Plan, which brings me optimism, but we also need to look at what it means to each of us to be a Unitarian Universalist. Here are some things to consider: 1) Unitarian Universalists are the people of many paths; 2) Faith Development is all we do; 3) The Unitarian Universalist religion is what we teach; 4) The Congregation is the curriculum; 5) Tasks are less important than Relationships.

As you well know, we have different spiritual paths that are nurtured under the umbrella of Unitarian Universalism. We are bound together by our Covenant with one another and by our acceptance of the Seven Principles. We have to keep in mind that spiritual needs and intellectual needs are not polarities. Our religion is balanced with intellectual and spiritual elements. Unitarian Universalism is a religion because it is what “binds us all together in community.” We teach one another, we feed one another, we challenge on another. We are the “beloved community” and we are our own classroom. We can be Beauty or we can be the Beast. I would like to see us fully examine whether we do enough to feed each other spiritually and in true Faith Development. I would like to see us each take a hard look at ourselves and our Unitarian Universalist practices. It is easy to “get comfortable” and stop challenging ourselves to grow. There are so many things that you can do to get this ball rolling. Attend the meetings, give your input, but do so after you have “discerned” where you are and what will help you grow.

Get involved. There are opportunities to assist with teaching in Children’s RE and Adult RE. Participate in planning Worship services that address individual and group needs. Pick a spiritual practice and follow it on a daily basis. Offer ideas about other Adult Religious Education classes/options. Lastly, hold the image and try to practice being a member of a “beloved community”. Relationships trump tasks. Work to show the people in our community the love you have for them and for yourself.

Edith Bradberry, President

From the Minister....

Fall is my favorite season. It is the season when the leaves begin to change colors and then fall from the trees, making the world crunchy. It is the season for long walks, Football, cooling temperatures after the heat of the summer, and catching up on yard work. October is also a busy month at UUCLR, with Association Sunday on the 2nd, our Coming Out Day Celebration on the 9th, UN Sunday on the 23rd and Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead Celebrations on the weekend of the 30th.

These events and worship experiences may help to remind us of the values that are so important to Unitarian Universalism such as acceptance of others, the quest for a healthy world community, and the reminder that the world is full of mysteries and amazing connections which we cannot explain.

May this be a challenging and inspiring month, a time for celebrating a rainbow of colors and understanding more fully our connections with all people and things within this vast and amazing universe! I encourage you to participate fully, drink deeply of this rich tradition we share, and bring forth your ideas, your energy, hopes, dreams, and commitment to strengthen our religious community and make the world better!

Rev. Bob Klein

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From the President....

“Those who wish to disrupt leadership will always frame the problem in terms of liberty and order, while those in positions of leadership will always see the problem as one of order and chaos”…. from “A Failure of Nerve” by Edwin H. Friedman. Or “The thing that’s important to know is that you never know. You’re always sort of feeling your way.” Diane Arbus

I open this letter with these quotes because I am still stuck on last month’s theme, Chaos. Strange theme, but, then again is it not something we all need to examine, because for so many of us Change is Chaos? And the biggest fact we face aside from death and taxes is Change.

Now let’s talk about Edwin H. Friedman. He was an expert in Systems Theory which looks at how groups-families, churches, organizations, countries interact. And one thing that he points out is that all groups resist Change. We may talk about Change, but the ways that Changes occur are usually counterintuitive. What happens is we TRY to change. We make big efforts and we go in circles making these big efforts. Our intrinsic resistance to change is so strong. He gives three characteristics of a System that is gridlocked (afraid to change, stuck): 1) an unending treadmill of trying harder; 2) looking for answers rather than reframing questions; and 3) either/or thinking that creates false dichotomies.

So… you may be asking what does this have to do with us? What does this have to do with chaos? Chaos shakes us out of gridlock and when we HAVE to start over, we start over with a different view and the system has to reorganize to come back together. You can’t try any harder, there are no answers and either/or just goes out the window. But, to change without total destruction and a need to totally rebuild, the counterintuitive opposite characteristics of gridlock have to be applied.

In October, we continue our Discernment meetings. We are going to be examining ourselves and our future. We tend to be answer seekers, solution advocates. Can we step back and reframe the questions? Can we see where we blame or create either/or, us or them situations? Is there a third option that we are not able to see because of mental boundaries? Is there a New World out there that we have yet to discover or imagine ? Can we honestly look at ourselves, our individual selves, and see where we may need to self-differentiate? Can I stand alone and change my behavior, and see how that changes the group?

I hope that all of you will attend these meetings with intention. Ask yourself these questions, expecting that change is never simple. Experience the chaos of new ideas and see where it takes you and all of us.
Edith Bradberry, President

 

From the Minister....

This month’s program theme is “Grace,” something which most of us have (some of the time), all of us need (most of the time), and some of us need to be reminded to practice (more of the time). I think of grace as both a way we choose to behave in our relationships with others and as a gift from the universe. Since this is also the month of Thanksgiving, I think the connections are pretty clear in the category “things we appreciate and are thankful for.” I invite you all to give some thought to what role “Grace” has in each of your lives, both in what we offer to family, friends, and the world, and in what we have received and are receiving! May we each be graceful, gracious, and practicing gratitude!

I want to also take a moment to thank each of you that shared your thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams in our recent discernment meetings. Thank you to all who have encouraged me to stay at UUCLR as well as to those who have told me you think it is time for me to move on. I am still processing all that was shared and will be meeting with the Committee on Ministry and then the Board exec and Board to discuss what we have learned. I will need to decide soon in terms of the search process timelines, but (as I write in mid-October) I have not yet reached a final decision. If I were to stay, we would need a new covenant with each other to clarify where we are going based on our Strategic Plan. If I leave, there will be new challenges for each of us as we move in different directions. In every crisis there is also opportunity on every side. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers and ask that you keep me in yours as we move closer to the time of decision.

As the days get cooler, the leaves fall from the trees, the wheel of the seasons moves, may we find opportunities to see in new ways, to consider new possibilities, to laugh and love and celebrate with joy!

So may it be! Rev. Bob

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From the President....

I was impressed to see the attendance at the “Discernment” meetings in September and October. I was also happy to see how people participated and how positive everyone was about our church and its future.

I was struck by one comment and would like to spend some time looking at this point of view. The member said that “maybe we would be better going forward if we could start to appreciate what we are and not feel so driven to change.” I want to spend some time doing “appreciative inquiry”.

We are a small group as churches go, but we are actually medium sized in comparison to many of the churches and fellowships in our district. We may not all know everyone’s name but, I would imagine that we each know at least 80% of the rest of the group and something about each of the people we do know.

I have seen it over and over again. A call goes out to the Women’s Group to assist someone who has had surgery or needs help for whatever reason and there is so much help that people are falling over each other to find a time to help. What a wonderful thing and I have seen this happen so many times I cannot count! We have strong participation at Requestors and Forum every Sunday. We have strong participation in Covenant Groups, Young at Heart and Between the Lines. Other groups come and go but, these groups seem to maintain and have members that are highly invested. We have members that consistently participate in Our House Meals and Prison Literacy and others who generously give so that these projects can be funded.

We all seem to like to be together…at Worship, potlucks, coffee hour, going to lunch after coffee hour, celebrating Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Illumination! We have high aspirations. I know we sincerely would like to be more involved socially and make an impact environmentally, but we are also a small group and even though we may not make the impact as a group that we would like to make. However, individually I see people committed to vegetarianism, veganism, ethical eating, recycling, and using “green” items. We are supportive of equality for all and for peace. We teach our children these things. All these efforts impact the wider world. Our efforts are not in vain.

We have a beautiful building and grounds. We are making progress toward making some improvements on the structure with the money allotted from the Endowment Fund. There are dreams and plans out there for ways to update the kitchen and sanctuary. Like any family, we have to plan carefully but, there are improvements in the works. Rev. Bob has been very gracious to let us give him feedback about his ministry. I feel strongly that we all need to appreciate the kind of person he is and his willingness to listen.

I would like for you each to take time and make your own list of appreciations. We all continue to be a part of this community for some reason. And for many of us, it may be for many, many reasons. I know for myself it has been a place where I feel I have friends, I have people to look up to, and I have people I know would be there for me no matter what.

Someone else commented at the “Discernment” meetings that a congregation is a hard thing to kill. But is it a
congregation or a community? And is it hard to kill because all of those things that we are committed to and hold dear and all the people that we love that are a part of it and give it life and hope and endless future?

I have to agree that we need to appreciate who and what we are. Celebrate all our positives! We have abundance and we need to embrace that.

Edith Bradberry, President

From the Minister....

This month’s program theme is “Darkness,” a word that can refer to the physical darkness, the shadow side of each of us and the institutions with which we affiliate, or the sense that parts of the world in this season are devoid of light. Darkness can also refer to the magical and mystical conjunction between physical darkness and the mental extension of ourselves into the universe when we look into the heavens to see planets and stars and galaxies millions of miles up to untold numbers of light years away. We are just specks in the cosmos, but we are UUnique specks, inhabiting this 3rd rock from the sun, this little M-Class planet in the temperate zone of our solar system.

From time before recorded time, our humanoid ancestors looked into the heavens with reverence, awe, wonder, and sometimes fear. Today we have to get away from the city lights and smog to see clearly the billions of stars of the universe beyond our humble lives, to look into the darkness, to let our minds experience the wonder of ancient peoples. Did life come to earth from somewhere out there, or is our planet the home of life, or are there other worlds that have developed independently from ours? Did God, or gods, or the Goddess plant the seeds of life here or in many places, or was it all a series of evolutionary biochemical processes that we should thank for our origins?

This season of darkness, of wonder, of many celebrations of light, is a special and sacred time. It is a time to celebrate the solstice, Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah, and all the other festivals of light. It is a time of mystical magical mysteries, a time of light and a time of hope, a time of dreams and a time to remember loved ones near and far. May the hours of darkness in this season offer time for meditation and contemplation, for remembering and sharing the warmth and love of the best of human experience. Happy, merry, peaceful, safe and meaningful holidays to one and all!

So may it be! Rev. Bob

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From the President....

In November, I attended the SWUUC’s Fall Leadership Conference and a track called “Examining Your Mission Field.” I was excited to attend this because in our Strategic Plan we address our mission in the neighborhood, community and world. One of the speakers talked about an author, Conrad Wright who wrote a book called “Walking Together.” In this book, he talks about how our identity still carries the characteristics of the Puritans and that we are bound by four interconnecting covenants. These covenants are internally and externally focused.

The internally focused covenants include: 1) the covenant between the member and the church; 2) the church and the minister or professional leadership; 3) the church and other churches; and 4) the minister and other ministers. We spend the most time on these four covenants. For example, we have recently spent time on the covenant between the minister and the church and there are plans to spend further time on this in the next year.
The externally focused covenants include: 1) the church and the neighborhood or community; and 2) the church and God (or the sacred.) Conrad Wright wrote that if we spend too much time on the first four covenants we create tension and become a collection of individuals.

We were then given examples of congregations and how they fulfilled their mission to the neighborhood or
community. One congregation in Turley, Oklahoma, has a mission-based church located in a poverty area. The congregation has built a relationship with the community and has alliances with government and other agencies. That congregation provides services that address the needs of that neighborhood such as community gardens, a clothing and food bank, a computer lab and a library. The minister and people in that congregation have moved into that community/neighborhood so that they are a part of what they also support. This congregation does not have a traditional Sunday service. They gather to celebrate and rejuvenate themselves in community on Sunday. Their “church” is an active entity out in the world and community. They live their values out in their service.

In Galveston, Texas, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation has a very unique ministry. They have a kiln and once a week people gather to make and decorate ceramic bowls. They make up to 1,600 in a year, and then once a year they have a fundraiser where they serve soup and sell the bowls. This year they raised $ 16,000 that they donated to a community organization.

I am pleased that we have our two areas where we serve the community. We presently have 10 people who
consistently work at Our House once a month or at the Prison Literacy Program once a week. We do have volunteers that float in and out of those programs but, the consistent number is around 10. We have other members who generously contribute money to both of those programs, but we sometimes struggle to keep the programs going
financially.

I am not sure that we are ready for the “radical” service that is being done in Turley, Oklahoma. But, I do think that it is important that we look at doing more and that more of us become involved. I have to stop and take in Conrad Wright’s analysis that if we stay too internally focused we become a collection of individuals and create tension. I also see that living our UU values in the greater world in an experiential way makes them become more real for us and somehow that deepens us spiritually and as a community.

Edith Bradberry, President

From the Minister....

Justice is a fitting theme, not just for the month but for a year when our Unitarian Universalist General Assembly meets this coming June in Phoenix with focus on the response by Arizona and other states to undocumented workers (who are often referred to as illegal aliens). There are many untruths spread about such workers, many of whom have come from impoverished areas of Mexico and Central America to earn enough to support their families through hard work at poorly paying jobs that U.S. workers will not take.

On Jan. 8th we hope to have with us in Forum and the service some visitors who have benefited from our Prison Literacy Program. The Focus of the service will be on Justice in the penal system, in immigration, and in the United States in general.

This month we will also be exploring our beliefs and intentions as a congregation. After the service on Jan. 8th, there will be a Town Hall meeting to discuss proposals from the Board for new Vision and Mission statements to fit our Strategic Plan and for a series of resolutions on important issues of our time. We will vote on these matters at a called Congregational Meeting on Jan 29th.

As we begin 2012, we face many challenges as individuals, as families, and as a congregation. May we face these challenges courageously, supporting each other as we encourage each other’s journeys, and ever seeking to build the beloved community of UUCLR!

So may it be! Rev. Bob

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From the President....

Happy New Year! I am hoping this New Year will bring good things for all of us here at UUCLR.

The Board has worked hard for the past two months to develop our Mission and Vision statements and Statements of Conscience. We have a Town Hall Meeting on January 8 to get your input on these. A Congregational Meeting is scheduled January 29th at 1:00 pm. Please plan to attend both of these. More Information

But, also make as your personal resolution now that it is important to be involved. It is important to live our Covenant with each other and the world through our Strategic Plan. Each of us can bring this alive through action.

It is a Journey that starts with each of us, taking that first step and seeing where it takes us.

Edith Bradberry, President