September 6, 2022

Each Other’s Human Beings

My family’s home was destroyed by fire on Sunday morning, April 3, 1994, which happened to be Easter.  Shortly after the sun came up, I called the minister of the Unitarian Universalist church where I was a member, knowing that his routine was to get up very early Sunday morning to finish his sermon.  I said “I don’t know yet what we’re going to need, but I know we’re going to need help.” 

My husband John was on a month-long business trip in Japan, and I didn’t have a way to contact him directly. So the second call I made was to my friend Glenn, who speaks Japanese, to ask him to help track down John.  

After the service was over at the church, a church-friend located me and said “we want you to stay with us,” and I accepted her offer.  Later in the day the coordinator of the church’s brand-new Caring Program called me to ask what we needed.  Members of the congregation had signed up to provide help to others in need, offering a ride, a casserole, a chore that needed to be done, or an unspecified category called “other.”  The program was so new that it had not yet been activated.  And I didn’t yet know what I needed.

Everything in the house was covered in a thick black layer of soot, and our insurance company considered the house and its contents to be a total loss.  One of the insurance company’s requirements, in order to reimburse us for replacement costs, was that we produce a full inventory of the contents of the house.  Not just how many pieces of furniture of what description, but also how many books, how many bars of soap, how many dolls and Lego sets, how many chocolate bunnies in the Easter baskets.  In order to help us achieve this daunting task, the Caring Committee of the church sent a team of congregants to help make lists of every single thing we owned.  A dozen or so people showed up to help.  There were people I knew and was friendly with, and people I didn’t know at all.

One of the helpers that day was my friend Glenn, who had been brought up in Judaism, and who held his own skepticism -- about anything and everything -- with religious fervor.  Making conversation as we paused from our labors, Glenn asked me “Why do agnostics go to church?”   I looked around and gestured toward the people who were helping us that day, counting and listing soot-covered household items, and I said “This is why.” 

Compassion and connection.  That’s why.  That’s why agnostics and atheists and theists and neo-pagans and other varieties of Unitarian Universalists go to church.  Because human beings need compassion and connection:  Not just to find compassion and connection or to receive those things, but to do them and be them and make them.

We are called to be each other’s human beings.  To share our sorrows and our joys, to show up for each other in ways that honor others’ humanness and our own.

In faith and hope,

   Connie

Rev. Connie Grant

Interim Lead Minister

grant (at) uubloomington . org

Emily's Post

Dear Ones,

It was wonderful to join together in person and online for our Water Communion on Sunday and to celebrate how much this Beloved Community creates and holds with one another. Thank you to Connie, Guy, Sandra, Anabel, Marina, Mary Beth, and Eve for helping to bring Gary Boelhower's A Common Thirst to life. If you didn't get to see it, check it out here--they did some amazing acting!

Each year, Water Communion is a time of returning to one another--a moment in the cycle of the seasons when we mark our arrival in our congregational home and we both recognize it and find that it is different. In fact, every time we come together in person and online, it is different, and so are we. That can feel uncomfortable and enlivening. Rabbi Alan Lew describes such an experience this way:

"This place we [are] in, this completely fluid place--this place of endlessly swirling currents with nothing to hold on to, nothing solid or substantial about it, this place made of water and light and movement--this [is] home."

He goes on to describe home as a place that returns us to ourselves. As we enter into this month of exploring our September theme of Belonging, I hope that you will find that UU Bloomington is a place where you can fully return to yourself and know that you belong. I am so grateful to be in community with each of you.

Sending my love,

Emily

Reverend Emily Manvel Leite

Minister of Story and Ritual

leite (at) uubloomington . org

From Our Board of Directors

Have you ever wondered what it is that the UUCB board does, exactly?

We are most visible every Sunday in our vivid sashes standing up in front of the congregation to make announcements. But that can’t be all we do, right? 

The board of directors of the church met this Labor Day weekend for our annual board retreat, with Rev Grant facilitating, to cover that exact topic, “what is it that the board is charged to do in this congregation?”  

We defined some broad areas that the board will work on in the next year.  

The overarching theme is understanding who and what UUCB is currently and, going forward, thinking about who and what we want it to be. Within that are:

• Membership: what does it mean to be a member of this congregation? How do we define membership? Who are our current members? 
• What committees of the board need to be formed? These include committees for stewardship, personnel, and worship team. Look for more information about these committees in upcoming prologues. 
• Staffing: Do our staffing levels accurately match what we need? Where are we falling short? Where do we excel?  
• Reenergizing and reengaging the congregation. Think about how we communicate with each other effectively. Look at how folks would like to be involved.  
• Policy and governance review: What in our policies and bylaws no longer accurately reflect who we are and where we want to be going? What needs to be changed, deleted, or added?  

We also talked about how the process of board meetings will change going forward. We are moving into a consent board model which means that during meetings less time will be spent on discussing committee and staff reports that are emailed to us ahead of time, and more will be spent on looking at these big picture things that impact who we are going forward. 

UUCB board meetings are open to the public and everyone is invited to attend as a spectator, either in person or via zoom. Meetings are held the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 in the Church Library. The zoom link for the meeting will be posted in the Friday update the week before.  

The board is excited to engage in this work. I hope you will join us! 

Abby Gitlitz

Congregational President

Position Open: Religious Education Coordinator

• 10 hours/week; $19.23/hr
• Flexible schedule, though must be available most Sunday mornings
• Duties may include teaching, materials preparation, coordinating volunteers, program promotions, and administrative work
• No experience necessary

To apply, please contact Stephanie Kimball:

kimball(at)uubloomington.org

Please subscribe to Education Matters, our monthly religious education newsletter, for much more information!

Past issues can be found on our website.

GREEN GROUNDS Work Days

Now on Sundays in September, from 4 - 6 p.m.

Our Green Grounds group will be meeting every Sunday this month, 4 to 6 p.m. Come when you can, stay for as long as you'd like. Watering, mulching, weeding. Learning about invasives. Great way to meet dedicated UUs. Join us! Contact Ann Kamman with any questions.

Seeking Java Crew Volunteers for September

SIGN UP to volunteer on an upcoming Sunday

Help make coffee and tea available on Sunday mornings between services. This hospitable task is as simple as refilling coffee, arranging coffee stations, and stowing used mugs and tables. Our coffee is warmer and more welcoming with your support! Be in touch with Marlin at howardm(at)indiana.edu or Anabel at connect(at)uubloomington.org with any questions. Thank you!

Have you attended New to UU and want a deeper dive? Save the dates: September 18 and 25!

Join us for Exploring Unitarian Universalism on September 18 and 25, from 2 to 4 pm via Zoom. In these small group gatherings you can learn more about the UU Principles, role of the UU minister, the history of Unitarian Universalism and this church, how to get involved here, what it means to be a member, and much more. Plan to attend both dates, since different topics will be discussed in each session. We request completion of these sessions before becoming a member of the church. Everyone ages 14 to 100+ is welcome!

Questions? Email Anabel Watson, Connections Coordinator, at connect(at)uubloomington.org for more information or for the registration link.

Adding Your Address to the Church Directory

We are encouraging all interested to upload a home address to our online directory (which only our members and friends can access).

Go to uucb.churchcenter.com/profile (follow the prompt to log in, if

you are not already logged in) and then click on the "edit" button under the "Contact Information" section. You can also email your address to me and I will add it to your profile! Or you can give us a call at 812-332-3695 with your new info. ~ With gratitude, Anabel Watson, Connections Coordinator

connect(at)uubloomington.org

2022 Holiday Bazaar:  December 2-3 

It's Persimmon Season!

The UU Bazaar includes a persimmon pulp sale. We need folks who are willing to pick up persimmons and we need to know of people with persimmon trees who have extra persimmons. If you have either, please contact Marcia Hart,  marciakate(at)icloud.com  707-888-7018

Please contact Ruellen Fessenbecker for general Bazaar questions, rfessenb(at)indiana.edu.

Sunday Morning Volunteer Opportunities

JAVA CREW

GREETERS

FLAME KEEPERS

LIGHT THE CHALICES

Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe Speaks

Via Zoom September 11

At 5:45 PM on Sunday, September 11^th all are invited to hear climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, author of Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy and on the advisory board of IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute. Please register at https://www.greenteamsummit.org/register-2022 to watch her talk with us (masked) in Fellowship Hall, followed by a discussion, or to watch on your own. Attendees will be able to submit questions via Zoom,chat, and we will host a discussion after her talk. Please email Molly O'Donnell, MollySOD (at) gmail.com, so we know to expect you!

If you feel heartened by the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, join members of the Green Sanctuary Task Force for a brainstorming session on what we can do personally, and what else our church can do, to reduce our impact on the climate! Please email Molly O'Donnell, MollySOD (at) gmail . com, for a Zoom link to our next meeting in September.

--> Want to watch from home?  Click here for information.

Support Abortion Rights and Access through

All Options Pregnancy Resource Center

The most cost-effective way to support abortion rights and access in Indiana now is to donate to our local All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center. Costs will soon rise astronomically since after September 15, Hoosiers will be forced to travel to another state for abortion services. To donate, choose the drop down menu option for 'Hoosier Abortion Fund' on this site: 

all-options.networkforgood.com

How to Reach the Administrative Staff

Church Administrator Carol Marks can be reached at 812-287-9615, 812-332-3695, or admin (at) uubloomington.org, M-F 10-4. She is in the building several days a week; if you would like to stop by the church office, please call ahead, 812-332-3695.

Office Assistants Monica Overman or Mandy Skinner are in the church office Room 204 on Sundays, 10-1. They can also be reached at other times, below.

Office Assistant Monica Overman, T, Th, 10-1, Friday 12:30-3:30, 812-322-5546, office (at) uubloomington.org. Working from home.

Office Assistant Mandy Skinner, M, W, F, 10:30-1:30, 812-340-9981, office (at) uubloomington.org. Working from home.