HAUUS Newsletter: November – December 2009

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS)
November – December 2009
Electronic Version of Newsletter

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday’s 0f the month at 10:30 AM.  We are located at 198 Main St. in Hornell NY unless otherwise noted below.   All are Welcome.  For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 or (607)522-7803

November 8 –”Turning towards a sustainable future” This presentation covers the transition from fossil fuels to those that last forever without serious impacts on climate and civilization, while detailing current environmental deficits.  It is quite inspired by Lester R. Brown’s new book, Plan B version 4.0.  It is free to read at his www.earthpolicy.org website.  Brown has won the UN Environmental Prize and a Macarthur Fellowship for his leadership on developing a realistic alternative economy for our civilization.  Hal Bauer will present this program.

November 22 – No Man is an Island’–If He Builds Bridges” John Donne’s “No man is an island, entire of itself” stands in stark contrast to Kahlil Gibran’s “Your life is an island separated from all other islands and regions”. The two opposing statements can be reconciled by the concept (and actuality) of bridging. In this service we explore two (related) kinds of bridges: a) one’s ties with other people, and b) the connections
between the different phases of one’s own life. Homer Wilkins, our guest presenter states, “In my own experience, these two kinds of bridges are closely related. The ability to build and maintain such bridges is an important aspect of being human.” The discussion will be illustrated by stories from personal experience as well as from the lives of others.

December 13 –  More than 150 Years of Liberal Religion in Rochester, New York.  Galen Brooks will present the evolution of Universalist beliefs at First Universalist Church from its founding in 1846 to the present. The church, located on the northeast corner of Washington Park in Downtown Rochester, is below Xerox Tower and across from the more recent Bausch & Lomb corporate headquarters complex. The current edifice designed by Rochester Architect Claude Bragdon and dedicated in 1908, is currently the home of Lee Archives which includes historical documentation of all known Universalist churches in New York State.

Dedicated archivist Karen Dau has visited us twice to tell about her work and seek additional Universalist church information.

December 27 – “A Letter from Bodacia, Texas by Dennis Hamilton – Bert Brown will share this Christmas spoof.

News and Notes

On October 17 at the Universalist Church in Rochester, HAUUS was inducted into the NYS Universalist Convention. Five HAUUS members were present (Penny, Tim, Galen, Bert, Sharon) and Penny spoke eloquently in front of the convention about Hornell’s deep roots in Universalism.

Canned and boxed food goods wanted:
Please remember to bring non perishable food items when you come to our UU meetings.  When our box is full it will be donated to a local food pantry.

HAUUS for Peace – HAUUS members hold a silent Peace Vigil in front of our building at 198 Main St. prior to the Sunday meetings.  This silent vigil is from 9:30-10:00AM.  All are welcome to join us.  Bring a sign if you have one.

Visit our Blog at HAUUS.org

Newsletter – September-October 2009

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS)

September-October 2009  - Downloadable MS Word Version

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday’s 0f the month at 10:30 AM.  We are located at 198 Main St. in Hornell NY unless otherwise noted below.   All are Welcome. For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 or (607)522-7803

September 13 – HAUUS Ingathering Celebration – Please come and join us as we renew our commitment as Unitarian Univresalists through our principals, purpose and the merging of our energies for the 2009-2010 year.  Participate in our traditional “water communion” by bringing water, photos, readings etc. to share from your summer experiences.

September 27 – This Sunday we will view a DVD, the Universalist Heritage Foundation narrated by Joyce and Dick Gilbert.  Afterwards we will have discussion led by Bert Brown.

October 11 – “The Path of Atheism” is a sermon that comes to HAUUS from UU minister, the Reverend Christine Brownlie of Blacksburg Virginia.  Through the reading of Brownlie’s essay, we will explore Atheism and how it does or does not fit with the UU principals.  Penny Whitford will lead our discussion.

October 25– We did a great job last year with the UU Trading Cards.  This meeting we will use our same skills and techniques to make a UU calendar.  The vision is that each page of the calendar is 5 ½” x 11”.  The calendar part will be the bottom 5” x 5” and the image will be about 5’’ x 5’ at the top.  This leaves an inch for putting it together.  Each of us will make an image for one month.  There will be creative ways of adjusting if we are more or less than 12.   Each page of the calendar will be copied and put together so each of us can have a calendar. Toni will bring paper, art supplies, glues, etc.  Feel free to bring your own supplies.  For questions call Toni Moon (585) 374-9546.

Upcoming Events

HAUUS Yard and Bake Sale COMING UP THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!

Saturday and Sunday September 5 and 6 at Penny Whitford’s. 10:00AM ‘til 4:00PM each day.  We need stuff, help and baked goods.  5101 State Route 36 – Canisteo – Call Penny at 698-4508 for details

Convention of Universalists – October 16 and 17 in Rochester.  HAUUS is being inducted into the Universalist Convention!!  Part of the proceeds from the HAUUS Yard and Bake Sale will be utilized to help offset motel costs for anyone wishing to attend the Universalist Convention.  Call Penny for details.

News and Notes

HAUUS for Peace – HAUUS members hold a silent Peace Vigil in front of our building at 198 Main St. prior to the Sunday meetings.  This silent vigil is from 9:30-10:00AM.  All are welcome to join us.  Bring a sign if you have one.

Visit our Blog at HAUUS.org

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS) Newsletter – May – August 2009

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS)

Newsletter May – August 2009

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday’s at 198 Main St. in Hornell beginning at 10:30 AM unless otherwise noted below. All are Welcome. For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 (607)324-5097 (607)522-7803

May 10 – Beltane – May 1or May Day is the cross quarter day between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. In the Wiccan year this six weeks is the season of Beltane and a time for celebration of the fertility of the earth and the fertility of our own souls. George Smith will lead us in this Beltane celebration. This program will begin at 3:00 PM

May 24 – Living Green: Making Small Lifestyle Changes Which Will Reduce Your Carbon Footprint…Suzanne Miller will lead this discussion.

June 14 – ISRAEL/GAZA: MYTH/FACT – Dr. Stephan Greenberg from Hornell NY will be our presenter. He will provide a 35 year look at life in Israel’s southern border city of Ashkelon—the city of Samson, a capsular review of UN Aid agencies, recent hostilities, and an overview of future choices for peace.

June 28 – A Solstice Gathering – The summer solstice begins the season of Litha in the Wiccan year. This Sunday we will meet at Polly Nelson’s cottage on Smith Pond in Howard to honor the coming of summer. Bring alter items and a reading, poem or pictures to share. After our celebration we will share in fellowship with a dish to pass picnic. Along with your dish to pass, please bring your own table service and beverage. – Call 522-7803, 698-4508 or 566-2870 or email Sharon or Penny for directions

News and Notes HAUUS for Peace – HAUUS members hold a silent Peace Vigil in front of our building at 198 Main St. in Hornell prior to the morning Sunday meetings from 9:30-10:00AM. All are welcome to join us. Bring a sign if you have one. Please remember to bring your food items to each meeting for us to then donate to local food pantries.

HAUUS Yard Sale –Bake Sale fundraiser will be held this summer at Cindy Petric’s in Hornell. Dates to be announced. Hang on to that good stuff you are willing to donate and please bake a few things too!! Volunteers will be needed to help out. We will have brief planning meetings for this fundraiser during our social times in May and June after our programs.

There will be no meetings in July and August. In Gathering will be September 13th

Visit our Blog at HAUUS.org

Newsletter May-August 2009 (pdf)

HAUUS – Special Annual Meeting Edition -April 2009

hauus-special-edition-april-2009

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday’s of the month.  Our new location is 198 Main St. Hornell, NY.  The meetings begin at 10:30 AM.  All are Welcome.  Changes for specific times and/or locations will be noted below. For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 or (607)522-7803.

April 12th is our Annual Meeting – Our meeting place will be at our new location – 198 Main St. Hornell, NY – HAUUS’s Annual Meeting will include the election of officers, review of the past year and continued planning for the future.  A dish to pass luncheon will follow the meeting. Along with your dish to pass, please bring your own table service and beverage. No microwave or refrigerator available.

The theme for this year’s Annual Meeting is commitment.

We will explore what that means for each of us and ask that we each think about how much (time and money) as individuals we are willing/able to commit for HAUUS’s growth as well as our own.

Bring your fundraising ideas to the Annual Meeting

Bring books or titles of books you think we might want to read together as a group for program

Bring your ideas for community events and programs

The rent for our new location is $100.00 a month.  Outside presenters receive a $50.00 honorarium.  Other expenses include supplies and regional district UU dues.  Consider what your monthly contribution could be.

The responsibility for HAUUS’s twice monthly programs will now be shared between all members.  We will have a calendar at our annual meeting allowing members to sign up for the dates for which they will be responsible for the program.  Each member can either lead the program themselves or find a presenter/topic that supports the UU principles.

News and Notes

HAUUS members are asked to bring a food item or items to each meeting.  The food should be suitable for donation to a local food pantry.  Those present at the meeting will decide which local food pantry will receive our donation and who will be responsible to deliver the items

HAUUS for Peace – HAUUS members hold a silent Peace Vigil in front of our building at 198 Main St. prior to the Sunday meetings from 9:30-10:00AM.  All are welcome to join us.  Bring a sign if you have one.

Visit our Blog at HAUUS.org

Ah 1 and a 2 and a 3

"Welcome, Rejoice, and Come In" a polka? Ecstatic dancing?? Ted Thompson may just be the only accordion virtuoso accompanying a UU fellowship. And if a little foot stomping follows the program, so much the better!

For Immediate Press Release Gaza’s Dilemma

For Immediate Press Release Gaza’s Dilemma:

Presented by Dr. Ismail A. Mehr Team leader, from Hornell Dr. Mehr led a team of 9 physicians and 2 non medical personnel on a relief mission in Gaza recently.

“We were the only Americans in Gaza” said Mehr when asked about other relief organizations and their work. Come join us to hear about what it is like to be in a war zone from the only American who dared go.

When: Monday March 16th, 2009 at 7pm
Location: Knights of Columbus 251 Main Street Hornell, NY
Sponsored by: The Hornell Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS) & the Steuben County Green Party

For Media Contacts: Please call Dr. Omar Qureshi 585-820-6002

WWW.AMMGAZA.COM

HAUUS Newsletter March/April

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS)

March-April 2009 Newsletter

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday’s at the Senior Center on the Broadway Mall in Hornell unless otherwise noted below. The meetings begin at 10:30 AM. All are Welcome. For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 (585)593-1623 (607)522-7803

March 8 – HAUUS Planning – please join us for this planning meeting as we prepare to move into our new location at 198 Main St. in Hornell. This is the building across from the movie theatre where the Peace Vigil is held. Be part of a changing and growing HAUUS. Input from all is needed as we move forward. The Futures Team (Penny, Sharon, Polly Barbara, Tim, Galen) will meet after the social time for further planning.

March 22 – Spring, Vernal Equinox, Ostara – A welcoming celebration for the season with ritual, poetry, readings, music and song. Bring a favorite poem or reading and a sign of the season for the altar as we honor the awakening earth.….

April 12– HAUUS’s Annual Meeting will include the election of officers, review of the past year and continued planning for the future. A dish to pass luncheon will follow the meeting. Along with your dish to pass, please bring your own table service and beverage. No microwave or refrigerator available.

April 26– Lest We Do Further Harm: Buddhist Meditation and Ecological Awareness – Ben Howard “Only awakening,” writes the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, “can save our planet.” This talk will explore links between ecological awareness and the Buddhist teachings of ahimsa (non-harming), interdependence, and the impermanence of all conditioned things. Ben Howard is Emeritus Professor of English at Alfred University and leader of the Falling Leaf Sangha, a Zen sitting group in Alfred.

News and Notes HAUUS for Peace – HAUUS members hold a silent Peace Vigil across from the movie theatre in Hornell prior to the Sunday meetings from 9:30-10:00AM. All are welcome to join us. Bring a sign if you have one.

There is a video available “Voices of a Liberal Faith” produced by the UUA. This video is very good to learn more about or feel affirmed in your discovery of UUism. To find the video on line go to www.uua.org/visitors/47881.shtml and click the link to the video On line information from UUA is available!!! Go to www.uua.org. You can access information from the St. Lawrence District at www.sld.uua.org.

Visit our Blog at HAUUS.org

Rescheduled: HAUUS welcomes Terri Divens-Bruffey a St. Lawrence District representative

RESCHEDULED for SUNDAY JANUARY 18 at 10:30AM at the Senior Center in Hornell – Please try to attend…

HAUUS welcomes Terri Divens-Bruffey a St. Lawrence District representative.  The objective for this meeting is for Terri to help us in our continuing efforts towards defining and reaching the goals we set for ourselves during Tom Chulak’s visit.   Participation of all HAUUS members is vital and all other interested people are welcome to participate.

HAUUS Newsletter: Jan/Feb 2009

Hornell-Alfred Unitarian Universalist Society (HAUUS)
January-February 2009

HAUUS meets on the second and fourth Sunday of the month at 10:30 AM at the Senior Community Center on the Broadway Mall in Hornell unless otherwise noted below. All are Welcome. For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 or (585)593-1623

January 11 – HAUUS welcomes Terri Divens-Bruffey a St. Lawrence District representative. The objective for this meeting is for Terri to help us in our continuing efforts towards defining and reaching the goals we set for ourselves during Tom Chulak’s visit. Participation of all HAUUS members is vital and all other interested people are welcome to participate.

January 25 – The festival of Imbolc begins of February eve (January 31st) and usually concludes on February 2nd, the cross quarter day between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. George Smith will lead us in a celebration for the season of Imbolc, when the first stirrings of the new life of spring can be felt. Although the weather is still wintry, winter’s darkness begins to loosen its hold and new beginnings can be seen and felt.
The Imbolc Celebration will begin at 3:00 PM

February 8 – HAUSS greets Doug Clarke who will deepen our understanding of sustainability, a movement he has been actively involved in for over two decades. From the discussion we will discover ways in which we might lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
February 22 – Penny Whitford – Book discussion – The World Without Us – by Alan Weisman. This book draws on the research from engineers, scientists, paleontologists and others to envision the planet’s future without us.

News and Notes

HAUUS members are asked to bring a food item or items to each meeting. The food should be suitable for donation to a local food pantry. Those present at the meeting will decide which local food pantry will receive our donation and who will be responsible to deliver the items.

Walt Brown is having some additional medical concerns. He would appreciate our continuing cards and letters. He loves to read. You can write him at:
7 Depot St
Canaseraga, NY 14822

HAUUS for Peace
We continue to hold a silent peace vigil on HAUUS meeting Sunday mornings from 9:30 – 10:00AM. The vigil is held across from the movie theatre on Main St. in Hornell. All are welcome to participate. Bring a sign if you have one.

uunewsletterjan-feb200912

HAUUS Newsletter Nov/Dec 2008

NEWSLETTER: NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 2008
HORNELL – ALFRED UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY (HAUUS)

HAUUS meets the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 10:30 A.M. The meetings are at the Senior Community Center on Broadway Mall in Hornell unless otherwise noted. All are Welcome.  For more information about HAUUS please call (607)698-4508 or (585)593-1623.

November 9 As Leo Strauss provided the foundation for the neo-conservatism that has dominated the Bush Administration, progressives have been looking for an alternative foundation for their values and activism. Sheldon Wolin, a retired political philosophy professor who worked at Berkely and Princeton, is becoming known amidst progressives as providing such an alternative through his proposal of “wilderness democracy”. This presentation and discussion will give an introductory perspective that can be built upon in future programs which will address how specific crucial aspects of his thought can strengthen progressive cultural work like Unitarian Universalism.

November 23 Peace and Justice: Person to Person – Nadine Hoover. As a member of the friends society of Alfred, Nadine has been led by the voice of her spirit to dedicate much of her energy volunteering on a people to people basis to create non-violent, eco-compatible solutions to basic needs such as safe drinking water. Her mission has taken her to Indonesia where, among other services, she is helping establish schools for young, war traumatized children.

December 14 Virginia Rasmussin will give a program on a subject to be announced. Virginia is a member of POCLAD (Program on Corporation, Law and Democracy), a group of eleven people who put forth democratic conversations and actions that question the authority of corporations to govern. Their goal is to assert the people’s rights over property interests.

December 28 Season of Darkness – Celebration of Light! We would ask everyone that attends to bring readings, poetry and/or information about a holiday and/or celebration that pertains to this time of year – (Kwanza, Hanakuh, Solstice, Christmas, etc.).

We wish to thank Barbara for being our gracious hostess at Camp Strawberry Fields Sept 28, October12 and October 26.

If you have been holding off on donations because things seemed on an even keel now is the time to make a donation. Our treasury is getting low due to some planned spending. Penny is treasurer until Sally returns from Nova Scotia.

Our Peace Vigil will resume on meeting Sundays 9:30 – 10:00 at the same location.

Newsletter version for Download:  hauusnewsletternovdec_08