January 2010 Newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Visalia

Worship Service Calendar For January 2010
Jan. 03	Free to Be	Presented by April Hill
Jan. 10	Spiritual Atheism	Presented by Alex McDavid	A Choir Day
Jan. 17	On UU Sources	Presented by Sam Webster	A Choir Day and a Worship Team meeting
Jan. 24	The Gods We Left Behind	Jolene Edwards and April Hill	Social Justice meeting after potluck
Jan. 31	Where We've Been and Where We're Going	UU Visalia Board
Please Note, Service topics are subject to change
The 5PM Worship Service is followed by a potluck supper at 6 PM to which all are welcome! Please do not hesitate to come to church and join us for dinner potluck. Even if you forget to bring a dish, we always have enough and your company is most welcome

January 6th, Guest speaker, David B. Reid, Architect. 6:30-8:00pm Topic: Elder proofing your home or that of someone you care about. Make sure that you know about all of the safety measures that can be taken and the resources that are available to make the environment safe for yourself, and the elders you know. No Fee!

Offered at the Friends Meeting House - 17208 Avenue 296, Visalia.

To register, contact: ww@uuvisalia.org Or ask for registration form before or after sunday service

January 13th, Guest speaker, Sara Shena, Attorney. 6:30-8:00pm Topic: Advanced Directives, Wills, and Powers of Attorney. If you don't have a will or an Advanced Directive or need to update either, join the class and go home with a new one. If you have wondered whether you needed Powers of Attorney for health or financial matters, join the class and find out. No fee!

January 20th and January 27, Guest speaker, Janet Wood, Clothing Instructor at COS. 6:30-8:00pm, Learn how to fit patterns and do alterations. You are invited to bring the article you need altered. No fee!

Please visit our online bookstore!
Anything you buy from Amazon.com after clicking on

will provide a percentage to help support our Fellowship.

Editors Suggestion: Religious Naturalism Today: The Rebirth of a Forgotten Alternative

By Jerome A. Stone

From Amazon:"This is a timely contribution to contemporary theology. I know of no other book that provides such a clear yet nuanced account of the origins, development, and contemporary forms of religious naturalism. Stone's achievement ensures that religious naturalism will again be a major contender in theological debates." -- Mary Doak, author of Reclaiming Narrative for Public Theology.

More at Amazon.com

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to support our Fellowship!

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UU Visalia at Facebook , Everyone knows what this is by now.

UU Visalia at Yelp , Kind of like the e-yellow pages.

UU Visalia at Ning, Just for our congregation, groups for any interest

UU Visalia at Twitter, you'll find the time, it's odd that way.

The social and spiritual isn't restricted by the geographical anymore so give us a try.

UU Visalia Fellowship News December 2010

Call to Members for Fellowship History. Needed: digital photos of congregational events, historical documents from the past, and a videographer with equipment to tape oral histories of our founders and other long-time members. What is the story of the Visalia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship? Who started the church? (Don and Phyllis Chapin are still active members.) Where did we meet? What social issues did we get involved in? We would like to write up a history to post on the web and to format as a pamphlet. Volunteers needed to conduct and tape or film the interviews. Please contact a Board member if you are willing and able.

Successful Collection for Homeless Survey. The Fellowship contributed two large boxes of toiletries to Continuum of Care on Homelessness, to provide incentives for their January 2010 "Point in Time" survey. The need was publicized on short notice and we appreciate that you came through so generously. Social justice projects like this can make us better known in the larger community and attract like-minded folk who want to "walk the talk."

Please Label Ingredients of Potluck Dishes. Some members and visitors have serious food allergies and we want them to enjoy dinner without worry. We've started making a list of the ingredients of our potluck contributions on a post-it or index card. Particular concerns are peppers and wheat gluten. Secondary benefits are for vegetarians who may not be able to tell if meat is in a dish. Also, if you are willing to divulge your whole recipe, we will collect the cards to include in the Fellowship Cookbook Version #2.

SHARES from Jan. 09 to Oct. 09 Total $731. Don't forget that SHARES cards are also good at FoodMaxx and Lucky.

Deadline February 1, 2010 UU Visalia is sponsoring Menu for the Future, a six-session course exploring the connection between food and sustainability, beginning on March 4, 2010 for six alternate Thursdays. If you are interested in participating in this course, please sign up by contacting Harold on or before February 1, 2010.

Discussion Course Goals:

To explore food systems and their impacts on culture, society and ecological systems.
To gain insight into agricultural and individual practices that promote personal and ecological well-being.
To consider your role in creating or supporting sustainable food systems.

February 1, 2010 is the deadline to sign up for the course and order your copy of the discussion guidebook. If you order through us, you will be given a 50% discount on the guidebook ($20 before the discount).

For further information about the course or to sign up, contact Harold at harold@uuvisalia.org harold@uuvisalia.org or (559) 739-8527.

More details are available on the Northwest Earth institute website: http://www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/menu-for-the-future

UU Events

The New Century Summit. January 29 & 30, 2010 UU Church of Berkeley How relevant is Unitarian Universalism for these Tumultuous and Transformative Times? How can your Congregation Truly Meet the Needs of this New Century? See http://www.pcd-uua.org/

NCUUCC Spring Thing at Asilomar (April 23-April 25, 2010) Come to a weekend in the beautiful seaside setting of the Asilomar Conference Grounds on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula. It is a relatively unstructured gathering of about 40 UUs and friends. The days are free for your own activities, exploring the Monterey area, with conversation and games in a friendly atmosphere in the evenings. Cost is $230 per person, double occupancy in historic Scripps Hall, for 3 days / 2 nights, 6 meals, maid service, and use of all Asilomar amenities, including jitney service. Children 3-17 yrs. are $160 and children under 3 years old are free.Registration deadline is January 17, 2010. For a registration form, contact the Registrars, Kathi and Murray Bullis, by telephone at (925) 829-4419, by mail at 9033 Craydon Circle, San Ramon, CA 94583 or e-mail mbkb2@comcast.net

May 2: Come join us for District Assembly 2010! This is always a fun-filled event with many opportunities for worship, education, seeing old friends, and making new ones!

Women & Religion, Pacific Central District, Unitarian Universalist Association "Creating Peace in a Chaotic World". March 5-7, 2010 retreat at Enchanted Hills, Napa. Co-convenors: Geri Kennedy & Barbara Schonborn Join a caring circle in a time away from the everyday world. Two nights lodging, six delicious meals. The weekend includes: workshops for the mind, body and spirit, conversations with old and new friends, shopping at the annual book swap, boutique, and silent auction. Beautiful surroundings, delicious meals. Workshop coordinator: Jewel Whitaker @ 209-683-8072

UU Online

Winter Gifts from the Church of the Larger Fellowship http://www.clfuu.org/catalog
20% discount on chalice pendants and lapel pins through January 2010. Looking for that special gift for the Unitarian Universalist in your life? The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) offers UU gifts for friends, family & volunteers of all ages! To reach a real person, contact The Church of the Larger Fellowship: e-mail clfshop@clfuu.org or, 617-948-6150

Purchasing UU gifts from the CLF is another way to support the work of Unitarian Universalism throughout the world. All proceeds from the CLF Shop support the many ministries of the Church of the Larger Fellowship.

Two UU Holiday Ideas

The Church of the Larger Fellowship offers UU themed gifts for that special UU in your life -- note cards, pendants, lapel pins, and posters. Check out the CLF Shop. Check out this link:http://clf.uua.org/catalog/
The Church of the Larger Fellowship also publishes a monthly worship publication titled Quest, filled with sermons, poetry, and thought provoking ideas from renowned UU ministers. How about purchasing the Gift of Quest for a friend? Check out this link:https://secure.uua.org/clf/quest/gift.html

As you travel to work or on your way to some wonderful summer vacation, wouldn't you like to take along some UU friends? Unitarian Universalist Podcasts, sermons, meditations, RE materials and more, are available from the Church of the Larger Fellowship anytime and any place for your ipod, MP3 player, or computer. Hear the voices of UU contributors to the CLF's worship publication via iTunes subscription, or listen a la carte. You can subscribe to our free podcasts at www.clfuu.org/podcasts, or listen to segments ala carte www.clfuu.org/quest. The CLF Quest podcast has nearly 1,000 subscribers worldwide: join our community of listeners today! Visit the Church of the LargerFellowship atwww.clfuu.org

Questions? Contact Beth Murray: bmurray@clfuu.org 617-948-6150

The Church of the Larger Fellowship's (CLF) mission is to provide a ministry to isolated religious liberals, promote the understanding and growth of Unitarian Universalism and institute programs to that end. For more information about the CLF and its UU ministry to members all over the world, visit their website: www.clfuu.org. Happy Holidays!

For information about these courses and more, contact: The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF)
www.clfuu.org/learn 617-948-6150 re@clfuu.org

Out of the box

I thought this was really silly until I de-hypo-crit-u-lated long enough to honestly evaluate some past behavior. It didn't really take long to think this through and realize that this man has a point or two. I do wish this had another name like "status abuse" or such. "Rankism" doesn't quite sound right somehow.

An article on Rankism at Common Dreams

I mused to myself, "Oh good grief y'all, man-up and knuckle down". Then I remembered that "He who advocates for injustice gets it".

Robert Fuller's Site.

Interesting ideas, This is very much at the roots of our "culture wars".

"Unitarian Universalists welcome worshippers of every age, color, sexual orientation, and religious belief (or unbelief). At First Parish in Cambridge (and UU Visalia), you'll sit next to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Pagans, atheists, agnostics, and seekers of every variety. (No wonder we adapt our hymns!) We have only one absolute requirement: We covenant to treat each other with respect. As we call each other to spiritual growth, we also challenge each other to build Beloved Community not just in our congregations, but in the wider world. We stand on the side of love for marriage equality, for immigrant rights, for climate justice." - Rev. Fred Small pastor of First Parish in Cambridge, Unitarian Universalist, 12-23-09 from UU World.

Ongoing Fellowship Events

Invite Your Friends to the Fellowship! We have a convenient way for you to invite your friends and acquaintances to our Fellowship. Many people are turned off by "organized religion" but they have no clue that there is such a wonderful religious alternative like Unitarian Universalism that that is guided by a quest for truth and meaning, not by a set creed or dogma. So we've created handy "pocket coupons" to help you share the good news! The "coupon" entitles your friend to a FREE potluck dinner, "A Message to Celebrate Life," "Lively Discussion" and Free e-mail Newsletter. A brief summary of the seven principles and time and place with directions to our Sunday services are included. You can download our "Pocket coupon" from our website, and print your own with text back-to-back, then cut the page to provide yourself with four handy pocket coupons to carry with you. The pocket coupon is available on the public portion of our website, on our "Welcome to Visitors: page, here: follow link or http://www.uuvisalia.org/visitors/ That's a good page to refer your friends to so they can learn more about our Fellowship, and learn the good news of the liberal religious alternative!
Ongoing Meditation Sessions, Each Wednesday, 6:30-8PM at Friends Meeting House. An opportunity to practice this universal spiritual discipline and discuss mindfulness.
Caring as a Fellowship, If you know of any Fellowship member or friend experiencing a life challenge (including yourself!), please tell a board member so we can offer support. E-mail your request to: info@uuvisalia.org or mention during "Joys and Concerns."
Please Use your S.H.A.R.E.S. Card at Save-Mart, Our Fellowship is participating in the Save-Mart S.H.A.R.E.S program. If you take one of our S.H.A.R.E.S. cards and give it to the clerk at the check-out counter, our Fellowship will receive 3% of your grocery purchases from Save-Mart, at no extra cost to you. Please get your own S.H.A.R.E.S. card from Jolene. And... bring your receipts for the Raffle!
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK, An increasing number of our members and friends are networking with each other and our Fellowship on the social networking website, Facebook.com. Please join our UU Visalia Facebook group and have some fun with online interaction and sharing! It's a good way to learn more about each other, and to keep in touch between Sundays!
Friday UU Visalia Social Lunch Group, Join us every Friday at 12:15 p.m.for lunch - we'll be visiting different locations each week! If you'd like to attend, contact Harold at 739-8527 or email harold@uuvisalia.org to be added to our weekly notification list.
Join Our Choir The Choir practices at 4 PM for rehearsal on several designated Sundays each month. If you are interested in joining the choir, contact Ken Elias at kelias@prodigy.net or phone: (559) 561-0610.
Carpooling Save money, gas, and the planet! Sign up to commute to Fellowship Worship Services from Hanford, Three Rivers, Tulare, or Visalia. Look for sign up sheets at the Meeting House or e-mail info@uuvisalia.org if you're interested.
Reminder to GoodSearch, Search the World Wide Web and support our Fellowship at the same time. GoodSearch: You Search...We Give. Use GoodSearch to support our Fellowship. Identify "Unitarian Visalia" as "who you search for" and earn monetary points for the Fellowship.
Bring Your Used Printer Cartridges, Recycle your cartridges and earn cash for the Visalia Fellowship. Please place in the Empties4Cash box in the entry.
Share Your UU Magazines, After you have read the UU World, Interconnections and/or CLF Quest publications, please contribute them to the library.

Contact Info: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Visaliainfo@uuvisalia.org(559) 477-4214 We're now listed on yellowpages.com http://www.yellowpages.com/info-22106135/Unitarian-Universalist-Fellowship-of-Visalia

If you're searching for a spiritual home that is guided by a quest for truth and meaning, not by a set creed or dogma, we invite you to discover Unitarian Universalism.We are an open-minded religious community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path, offering you resources to help you make your own decisions. Unitarian Universalist congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities and the world a better place.