SUGARLOAF CONGREGATION OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST MINISTERIAL START-UP SEMINAR

mug available at Artransmitte

OCT 30 FROM 6pm to 9pm OR OCT 31 2009 FROM 9am TO 3pm… PICK DAY THAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU OR BETTER YET ATTEND BOTH DAYS… Please Come!

Please remember this announcement every time you drink coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot cider, milk, or water…

What is a ministerial startup? It is a very important time of focused conversation with our new minister, church leaders, and members, to establish priorities and goals for the first year of our new ministerial relationship. The Joseph Priestley District of the UUA (JPD) provides facilitation for such events, bringing to the conversation information of how congregations and ministers achieve positive working relationships.

Why should you participate? And can you wear a Halloween costume?

Because the importance of this process deserves your time and attention, because your voice matters to your new minister, and because congregations who invest the time tend to enjoy more satisfying and longer lasting ministerial relationships.


Because Rev. Megan Foley believes that this activity is important… Because Rev. Megan Foley believes that this event is important… Because the JPD who supports us is providing their facilitation for FREE…



Please Come!! The Seminar will be held at SCUU at the YURT and Sugarloaf House on Friday October 30th From 6 to 9pm & Saturday October 31 from 9am to 3pm... Childcare will be available… Easily served and light food will be available… For more Information Please contact Adam Styles[Email Link].

The Internet Dependent Web of Life!!!

All the weeding reminded me to post one of our UU Principles tweaked...

Respect for the internet dependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Breaking UU Humor News: Springtime Weeding the Links...

It's spring time and time to weed the links. After a nudge from a comment on the UU Humor post I found that a few Humor pages have changed or moved around a bit.

Unfortunately I can no longer find the Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church (BAUUC), Texas Humor page so I have replaced it with the Unitarian Fellowship of Houston, Texas Humor page.

I am extremely pleased to find that Houston Texas has UU Humor... Yeehaa!!

I also found in my quest for Humor the blog a UU Deist in Texas. It's one of the first links to show up in a google search when you enter "uu humor texas"...

So weeding the links is a good thing...

Springtime Weeding helps to maintain the Unitarian Universalist principle of the Internet Dependent Web of Life!!!

A friend is a present you give yourself.

Repeat as necessary....

A friend is a present you give yourself.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Hence it's always a special gift giving holiday here at SCUU...

Or as a friend once said: "lather, rinse, repeat"

Many Moons ago I Read a Poem by Lao Tzu -- Empty Boats

He is also known as Chuang Tzu and of course Thomas Merton is involved. Thomas Merton was the translator of the Poem...

Being humble

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world,
no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....

Who can free himself from achievement, and from fame, descend and be lost amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen, he will go about like Life itself with no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction. To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power. He achieves nothing, has no reputation.

Since he judges no one, no one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty.
(20:2, 4, pp. 168-171)

The man who has some respect for his person keeps his carcass out of sight, hides himself as perfectly as he can.
(23:2, pp. 187)

Link to Poem

Strange, when I read the poem long ago I felt I understood on a deep level what it meant. The same way I felt about "green eggs and ham"; I would use the term as a shorthand to remind myself to not take myself too seriously. But who will truly empty their boat completely.

I like the feel of a good canoe floating on a lake or pond. You can lie in the bottom the ribs of the canoe pressing against your back and float. However it's hard to steer in that position. I don't think I would try lying down in the canoe in a river.

But I digress the point is to attempt to be an empty boat.

WOW... It says nothing about burning boats...

WOW: "Where Is It Written?" A Poem from Jim Wyckoff

Jim writes: Gus, What a powerful message. I am attaching a reading I prepared recently for my Global Warming service on Aug. 3rd. In another way it speaks to this young lady's plea. All the best, Jim

Where Is It Written?

Where is it written that my generation should:

Use up all the world’s forests
All the world’s fish,
All the world’s oil,
All the world’s gas,
All the world’s coal,
All the world’s copper,
All the world’s helium,

While using the oceans as it’s trash dump,

While using the atmosphere as it’s pollution dump,

In celebration of greed,

To make me comfortable?

Jim Wyckoff June 21, 2008

WOW: message from the next generation

Gus writes:

WOW!!

My very first thought when I started to listen to this is ... "Oh.. just another kid who doesn't know how complicated the real world is."

But... very quickly I became astounded by this girl's poise, dedication, speaking talent, and courage. Not to mention the undeniable truth of her words. She should be asked to speak at the start of every UN and major international conference.


message from the next generation Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JvVf1piHXg

Zaria has not been well and we want her to get better...

We pray, hope, wish for all blessings to be bestowed upon Zaria.

Please give her a quick recovery.

love

WOW: Happy 4th of July!!

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The Continental Congress: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

May our constitution be preserved. May democracy prevail. May power derive from the consent of the governed.

Long live change; long live evolution; long live Safety and Happiness.

WOW: What is the Sound of One Hand Clapping?

The sound of your hand hitting your forehead... Duh!!

Under the heading of inherent worth and dignity of all:

"Timely Cancer Diagnosis Linked to Insurance Status"

The invisible hand is going to come out and slap some people silly...