Communitarian

Published Monthly May 2012

I am enjoying being your interim minister and getting to know you, but I'm concerned that there are few social events and no chair of social justice. The website needs work, especially because it is considered today one of the best advertising tools for younger people coming in, and a reflection of who the church is and wants to be. I realize that much of the congregation is tired and still recovering from conflict; many of you long time members have devoted a great amount of time, energy, love, money and leadership, and obviously this church is very meaningful for you. There is great potential here with many good people and a beautiful church. Let me know what you're thinking and feeling; may the Spirit of Life, the Transforming Power of Love, God, Goddess, the Sacred, or whatever name or force you want or need to use be with us. Much love, Rev. Art I will be traveling to San Antonio and Austin, TX, from May 16 through May 23 to attend the graduation of my daughter, Katie (who was recently here visiting) from University of Texas at Austin Nursing School with a masters degree in Nursing. I'll get a chance to see my other kids, grandchildren, and especially my wife (who I haven't seen since the last week of January!

Ministers Message
The ART of Interim Ministry
As the pledge drive is finished up (you DID get your pledge in, didn't you?) and a new budget created for the future, you also begin to select the search committee to find the next minister to be in religious relationship with. Now that I have been here for a few months and have begun to get to know many of you, it's also time to reflect on the conflict of the previous ministry and how it has affected you and this church. It is important not to attempt to assign blame, but to realize that all suffer during conflict, and determine how the church can be healed so the next minister does not inherit the pain, grief, and anger which are usually present in church conflict. We will also begin to work on the mission of this church, its goals, hopes, dreams. Does this church want to grow? Current thinking in church studies says that a Sunday attendance of at least 110 to 125 is crucial to be able to financially support a full time minister, and that when you're at 75% seating capacity, you're full!

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Sunday Services May

May 6 Why We Sainted Emerson, and Why We Shouldn't Have Ralph Waldo Emerson began his career as a Unitarian Parish minister, but he resigned after three years, finding ministry (and especially pastoral care) not to his liking. He became one of the most influential American thinkers and philosophers of the 19th century, especially famous for "Transcendentalism," essentially a new way of looking at religion as the intuition of each individual rather than an institution of doctrines. It's difficult to build church community that way! Worship Leader: Rev. Art Severance Worship Associate: Ernie Garcia May 13 Mother, May I? Reflections on the "mixed blessing" of Mother's Day and how it affects us all in different ways. As someone said, "A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother." The annual Flower Communion will be held today. Please bring flowers to share!

May 20- RE Sunday: Hospitality for the World Annual Religious Education worship service, involving children's participation in worship and a story and homily about hospitality and multicultural education. Worship Leader: Michelle Mueller, Director of Religious Education Worship Associate: Christina Cervantes May 27 The Myth of Memorial Day Memorial Day is often a day that not just remembers those who died serving their country, but seems to glorify war and encourage an almost religious patriotism that claims our country the one God loves best with "God on our side." Perhaps it is time to make it a day to celebrate peace... Worship Leader: Rev. Art Severance Worship Associate: Sara Milnes

Religious Education News Volunteers Needed for Summer!

Dear Community, We will need some additional help in June and July running childrens activities, while our Director of Religious Education in on leave. Is there a craft of interactive lesson you would like to share? Favorite stories you want to read in a Religious Education class? We would love to involve more people from the congregations in the Religious Education program.

Worship Leader: Rev. Art Severance Worship Associate: Christina Cervantes A beautiful rose from the churches rose garden. Photographed by Rev. Art.

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Please email Michelle, our DRE at religious_ed@stocktonuu.org to volunteer. (After June 23, please contact Sarah Blessinger at dayblessing@prodigy.net.) One idea from the children was: Water Games (sprinkler or water balloon toss). If you would like to volunteer to run a water balloon toss, let Michelle know. We are not using a particular curriculum for the summer, focusing more on sessions of FUN. Volunteers can choose activities they would like to share with the children.. We have a number of materials the children can play with during free time if a volunteer plans a short lesson. Signing up in pairs of adults is a good idea, to run the class together. These are the dates needing volunteers: June 17, June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, and July 22.

April Social Justice Collection

Our April Social Justice Collection raised $357.38 in support of the Western Farm Workers Association. The WFWA provides many programs for low-income individuals in our area. These programs include emergency food, clothing, non-emergency dental care, preventive medical care, legal advice, child care, and much more. Thank you to everyone for your generous contributions!

Congregational News & Updates Mens Group Meetings

May 2 and 16 The Mens Group, a biweekly social/support group for men, meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. Members meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. Meetings for this month will be held on May 2 and 16. If you are interested in becoming a member of this group, please contact Al Babylon at (209) 9566838 or at albabylon1@gmail.com

Social Justice News Social Justice Collection

Sunday, May 20
This months social justice collection, on May 20, has not yet been determined. Keep an eye out for an announcement in our weekly A Look Ahead emails very soon! Do you know of an organization that would be a good candidate to receive one of our social justice collections? If so, please contact Board President Ben Cervantes or board member Lauri McKindley. We meet periodically to decide who will be the recipients of our social justice collections, and we welcome your ideas!

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Book Group Meeting

May 23 The book club meets this month on May 23 at 7:00p.m., in Jackson Hall. This month the club will discuss, The Tigers Wife by Tea Obrecht facilitated by Jeannine Burns. Members submitted nineteen book recommendations. The following books were selected by vote including The Tigers Wife. Order will be announced later. 1.) Cold Dish by Craig Johnson 2.) August in Osage County (a play) by Tracy Letts 3.) Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun by Ani Pachen 4.) The Man Who Loved Books too Much by Alison Hoover Bartlett 5.) The Immortal Life of Harriet Lacks by Harriet Jacobs 6.) Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver New Members are always welcome. Please contact Lonnie Martin at (209) 9817800 New members or drop-ins are most welcome. If interested in joining, contact Lonnie Martin at (209) 981-7800 or leonebmartin@gmail.com. Lonnie Martin, Chairman

Welcome to our New Members!

On April 15, we welcomed the following new members into our church. Here is a little taste of who they are. John Peters John was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles. He is a recording engineer/producer by profession. He's built, owned and operated several recording studios in the past, recording singers, musicians and bands. He's recorded all kinds of music, from hard rock to opera, as well as radio dramas, children's records, ethnic music and dramatic spoken word. He's even created special sound effects libraries for film and television, with titles such as Science Fiction Sound Effects; Jurassic Dinosaurs and Other Fantastic Creatures; Thrillers, Fantasies and Hauntings, etc. At this point in his life, after recording the music of so many others, he has now begun recording his own compositions. John composes many kinds of music, including Brazilian sambas and bossa novas, rhythm and blues, film or TV dramatic action themes,
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new age, and even Eastern European gypsy music. On top of all that, he's written a movie screenplay and a children's book that's ready for publication. There's also experience as an actor on stage and in small film productions, evidenced by his help in writing the script and acting in our recent Pledge Drive skit. He says his creative work has also been his hobby and he plans to never retire! An agnostic until about age 30, he developed an interest in and found "something more" in the spiritual teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism, living for eight years at Ananda Village, located in the Sierra foothills, near Grass Valley and Nevada City. It is an international community founded on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, who wrote the famous spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi. John has been attending our church for the past year or so. Juanita Palaganas Juanita hails originally from Napa. She has an extremely varied and interesting history of experiences and work, including landscaping, driving tractors and other heavy farm equipment, butchering, courier service for a bank, janitorial work, but by far the most interesting was her three seasons of service on a huge fish processing boat called "The Independence" in the seas off Alaska. There were the calm times, when she could relax and hang out with some of the terrific people with whom she worked, but that was balanced by the very long work days, the few days off, and the constant dangers, such as bouncing and rolling in 20-ft. waves in the middle of the Bering Sea during a storm! Oh, the beauty and excitement! Oh, the terror! There was, indeed, beauty in the fantastic scenery of forest, meadows and mountains along the way, the many sightings of Beluga

whales, hundreds of dolphins swimming with the ship, as well as the many birds and other examples of wildlife around the ship or on shore. At the end of the season, the ship's captain would allow those who so desired to leave the ship to explore a nearby island which was otherwise almost untouched by humans and she remembers hiking around the island, enjoying the plant and animal wildlife which were its only inhabitants. She enjoys and participates in many sports, plays the guitar and the harmonica, loves bike riding and camping, as well as arts and crafts, especially woodworking. She also volunteers with varied activities, often helping at the Asparagus Festival. Juanita has had some rough patches in her life and doesn't mind us knowing that she at one point suffered from severe anxiety, developing a serious depression, along with problems with substance abuse involving alcohol and other drugs. To her credit, she has managed to get a grasp, turn things around, and can proudly say that she has remained completely clean and sober for a year. Hooray for you, Juanita! Matthew Green Matthew is also a native Californian, having been born in Santa Clara and living in various locales in the Bay area, including San Francisco. He's a graduate of Las Positas College in Livermore, attended San Francisco State for a time, and graduated from Cal State East Bay in Hayward. He now lives in Manteca. He grew up in a Christian household, the son of a minister. His religious journey took him through becoming a deist, then an agnostic, an atheist, and finally to the realization that he needed "something more". Matthew had known of the Unitarian Universalist community, but it was only after he had read of the publication of the "Pentagon Papers"
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by Beacon Press (the publishing wing of the UUA) that he became strongly interested in UU for himself. After a few months of reading more about UU, he made his first trip to visit us and shortly realized he had found a "home". His main hobbies are reading, writing, watching movies, and just a little TV. Favorite reading topics are religion and economics. (Seems we have a scholar here.) Oddly enough, though not his favorite reading genre, his favorite topic for writing is fiction. He will occasionally study another fiction writer's style or look to it for inspiration. He is presently working for a family business, but really wants to get that writing career underway. Though not yet married, Matthew does dream of someday finding that right lady and having a family of his own. (Attention, ladies!) He's known for his friendly smile and it is said that he can also have a bit of a witty and sarcastic sense of humor. Matthew once met Congressman Jerry McNerney and had a photo taken with former U.S. Senator and Vice President Bob Dole. He's also spoken with historian and philosopher Richard Carrier, one of America's leading atheists. He claims the only other thing to know about him is his deep love of chocolate ice cream. Pat Davis Pat spent a long career as a special education teacher and retired six years ago. During that time, she and her late husband traveled around the U.S. in a 30-ft. fifth wheel RV trailer and visited every state in the contiguous United States! They wrote a book together and "FLOPS on the Road" is to be published this month. Unfortunately, she lost her husband about a year ago. In the past, she also lost a brother, something she has in common with her long-time friend, Ginger, also one of our new members.

Her son, Patrick, is a speech therapist (some say speech pathologist) with Stockton Unified School District. Besides travel, Pat enjoys reading, keeping track of old friends, tap dancing, and is involved with the American Association of University Women. She is, in fact, co-chair this year of AAUW's 61st annual home tour coming up in November. Her father was an atheist who returned from WW II in the South Pacific believing that no god could have tolerated what he had seen. Pat has never been a member of a church and states this is a special time for her. Ginger Radin Ginger and Pat Davis have been friends for over thirty years. Ginger is also a retired special education teacher, has been residing in Woodland, but is moving to Stockton. Ginger is also quite the traveler and has accompanied her biologist son to Peru, the Amazon area, Australia, and last year, Africa! She also has a 20-yr.-old daughter who is attending college in California. She lost her brother last year and says she has enjoyed the support our UU church has been able to provide. Ginger's interests include tile work, seeing old friends, and she has a special place in her heart for just about all animals. She has a Yorkshire Terrier named Darcy, a very lucky little dog, we're sure. She is also enjoying the non-doctrinal views of the UU community, being the daughter of a Jewish father and a Mormon mother.

A Big Welcome to All of You!!

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Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with us! May 5, 6:00 p.m.

OLE! Join us for a Mexican Fiesta on Cinco de Mayo!!!! Mariachi Music, Salsa (dip) contest, taco bar, and piata...it's a party! Do you have a salsa (dip) that you and your family love? Well, enter into the Salsa (dip) contest for your chance to win a prize! The entry fee for the salsa (dip) contest is $5.00 Mexican beer, Coke and Sprite will be available for purchase. Please buy your tickets in advance $15.00 for Members and $20.00 for nonmembers. An accurate head count will be needed by Wednesday, May 2nd so make sure to get your ticket today! Do you need more information? Please contact Christina Cervantes at 209-373-3615.

Third Annual Jon Gatlin Memorial Yard Sale is Approaching Quickly!

We are now starting to take donations of your used items for the sale. Items we will accept: house wares, towels, blankets, sheets, sporting goods, childrens games and toys, holiday decorations, small furniture, books, DVDs, videos, gardening equipment....well just about anything! Due to the space that we have, we WILL NOT be accepting clothing. If you would like to donate your items, please contact Christina Cervantes at (209)373-3615 or by email at trxiegirl71@yahoo.com. Please also think about helping Christina and Ben with pricing, set up, monitoring the sale and clean up on the day of the sale. Even if it's just for an hour, we DO need YOUR help!

Collecting Bottles and Cans Delta Harmony Xpress Concert

May 6 at 7:00 p.m. Come one, come all! Delta Harmony Xpress's second Friends and Family Night is heading down the tracks! The concert will be held on Sunday, May 6 from 7:00 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. Refreshments will follow in Jackson Hall. This musical event is FREE and appropriate for ALL ages! Come hear DHX's new repertoire of Broadway, patriotic, and spiritual songs!
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The Church is collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles (water, soda, & juice ONLY no other plastics) for recycling. Two barrels for your donations are in Jackson Hall; on for cans and one for plastic bottles. Please drain all liquids before placing in receptacles. Every Monday the cans and bottles will be taken to a recycling center. For more information, contact Judy Andrews at (209) 476-9828.

UU Alliance News Alliance Meeting June 13

The Alliance will have their annual program, project planning and business meeting at Janet Bonner's home on Wednesday, June 13, at 11:00 a.m. Attending members will furnish potluck salads. Dessert and rolls will be provided. Please let Janet Bonner (209)946-0540 or Joan Briscoe (209) 956-9304 know if you are planning to attend. All Alliance meetings are open to members and friends of the church. The Alliance

now, and may yet to be! Participation will be limited to 12 women. For more information, please contact Rev. Cat at revcat@revcat.net or (707) 853-0009. To register, please contact Jane Middleton at jane@janemiddleton.com or (510) 232-2075. The registration deadline is May 1st. The cost is on a sliding scale and will fall between $375 and $475.

Registration Open! 2012 UU Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage

Other UU Events & News Beyond the Congregation The Dreams of Women Retreat
May 11 through 13 Rev. Cat Cox is offering a dreamwork retreat for women in May at the UU Church of Berkeleys beautiful retreat center in Freestone, CA. As a dreamworker for the past 30 years and a UU spiritual director, she believes that our nightly dreams are a laboratory for personal and cultural transformation, revealing the unfolding potential for our individual and collective lives. The focus of the retreat will be to explore the relationships between our nightly dreams and our ability to move into greater fulfillment of the hopes and dreams we hold for our waking lives. We will allow the power of our dreams to renew and inspire us honoring our lives as they have been, are The next UU Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage is scheduled for October 6-13, 2012, and registration is now open. This unique bus trip is much more than a Civil Rights history tour through Alabama and Mississippi. We will be visiting historic sites and meeting veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, and but will also be spending time together and with guests exploring what racism, white privilege, and barriers to equality look like today in Southern towns we visit---and in our own hometowns. Beyond experiencing first-hand the civil rights legacy, our goal is to develop commitment, vision and mechanisms within our group to work on issues of race, injustice and inequality that still bedevil our congregations and our society. The Living Legacy Pilgrimage is hosted and organized by the Reverend Gordon Gibson and Judy Gibson; the Reverend Hope Johnson; the Reverend James Hobart; Janice Marie
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Johnson; Annette Marquis; and Donna Sequeira, and co-sponsored by the Southeast District of the Unitarian Universalist Association. For more information and to register, please visit www.uulivinglegacy.org. Don't miss your chance to be on the bus! Register

Stockton Area Events & News 2012 "Festival of Colors" Cinco de Mayo Celebration

early costs are discounted for those who register before May 15th. Escape to Vermont First Annual B&B Weekend
May 25-28, 2012 Offered by the UU Church of Rutland, Vermont! Enjoy the beauty of Vermont, UU hospitality, and a choice of guided activities: hiking, kayaking, Vermont open studios/art exhibits, gardening tips and local organic farms, wine and artisan cheese tours, and many custom outings. Prices are as follows: Before April 10 - early bird registration - $325.00 (bed) or $595.00 (couple). After April 10: $375.00 (bed) or $675.00 (couple.) To reserve your spot, please send a $100.00 (per person) deposit with your registration form. Send to: UU Church of Rutland Vermont, 117 West Street, Rutland, VT 05701. For more details, and the printable registration form, see our website: www.springweekend.wordpress.com. For more information contact: Kathy Pingree at (802) 353-7969 or email at kmpingree@mac.com. Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012 Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm Location: Micke Grove Zoo 11793 N Micke Grove Rd Lodi, CA 95240 Come and celebrate colors, culture, and community at Micke Grove Zoo this Cinco de Mayo! There will be games and crafts from a variety of cultures, colorful decorations, and beautiful Lorikeets, whose bright colors will fill the Lorikeet Adventure exhibit from May 5 - September 3. The Lorikeet Adventure exhibit is open from 10am-4pm, but the rest of the activities will occur between 11am and 3pm. Plus, this event is free with the cost of admission! Volunteers are needed for this event. Please contact (209) 331-2010 or info@mgzoo.com if you are interested in volunteering or have any questions. Zoo Admission $4 adults $2 youth 3 - 17 years Children 2 years and under are free! Contact: info@mgzoo.com (209) 331-2010

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Sacramento Gay Mens Choir Performance May 5

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Regular Church Activities Come Join Us!

Regular Groups & Meetings Book Group All are invited to read & discuss books selected by the group. Mens Group All are invited who wish to participate in our conversational sessions. Youth Group Formerly called YRUU, our youth group offers opportunities for social get-togethers and service projects. Monthly Meeting Date(s) 4th Wednesday 7:00 PM May Date(s) May 23 Contact for More Information Lonnie Martin, 981-7800 or
bookgroup@stocktonuu.org

1st & 3rd Wednesday 7:00 PM

May 2 & 16

Al Babylon, 956-6838 or
mensgroup@stocktonuu.org

Special Events as Scheduled

Dates will vary. Please check the church website for more information.

Michelle Mueller, 466-7743 or religious_ed@stocktonuu.org

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Purpose
(Article III, By-Laws of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton) We, the members of this congregation, shall foster Unitarian Universalist principles. We encourage each individual to determine his or her own creed and standard of theological belief. Toward those purposes, we are committed to creating a loving religious community through worship, study, service and fellowship while honoring diversity and respecting the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. We shall strive to render enlightened service to the various communities of which we are a part. We respect the interdependent web of all living things. Interim Minister Rev. Art Severance ..........................................466-7743 E-Mail...................................minister@stocktonuu.org Director of Religious Education Michelle Mueller, M.Div. ...............................466-7743 E-Mail........................... religious_ed@stocktonuu.org Music Director Curtis Mannah. ................................................466-7743 E-Mail....................................... music@stocktonuu.org Administrator Krista Snyder ...................................................466-7743 E-Mail........................................office@stocktonuu.org Board of Trustees President Ben Cervantes .................................................. 373-3957 E-Mail ................................ president@stocktonuu.org How to Contact Us Phone ...................................................... (209) 466-7743 Fax ........................................................... (209) 466-6474 E-Mail .................................... contact@stocktonuu.org Web .............................................www.stocktonuu.org Mail/Office .................................. 2737 Pacific Avenue Stockton CA 95204 Office Hours ......................Mon. 8:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tues., Wed., Fri. 8:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Thurs. 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

First Unitarian Universalist Church 2737 Pacific Avenue Stockton CA 95204

Return Service Requested

Time Dated MaterialPlease Deliver Promptly

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MAY 2012 First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton

Sunday Monday Tuesday
1

Wednesday
2 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism 7:00 PM - Mens Group 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism

Thursday
3

Friday
4

Saturday
5 6:00 PM Cinco de Mayo Celebration in Jackson Hall

6 10:30 AM Service Why We Sainted Emerson, and Why We Shouldn't Have 6:00 PM Delta Harmony Xpress FREE Concert

9 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism

10

11

12

13 10:30 AM Service Mother, May I? Flower Communion Today 20 10:30 AM Service RE Sunday: Hospitality for the World Rev. Art Out of the Office (Social Justice Collection)

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15 7:00 PM Board Meeting

16 7:00 PM Mens Group Rev. Art Out of the Office

17

18

19

Rev. Art Out of the Office 24

Rev. Art Out of the Office 25

Rev. Art Out of the Office 26

21

22

23 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism

Rev. Art Out of the Office

Rev. Art Out of the Office

7:00 PM Book Club Meeting 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism

(Newsletter Deadline)
27 10:30 AM Service The Myth of Memorial Day 28 29

30 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Adult Religious Education Class: Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalism

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Memorial Day (Church Office Closed)