Calendar

Worship: Month of Sundays and a Tuesday

Nov. 5: Andy Davis, "Pilgrim: a reflection on one man's effort to make his life a principled response to religious fundamentalism and terrorism ...nearly 400 years ago."

Andy is a storyteller and has traveled extensively as an activist for peace and justice in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the U.S. Since 2001 he has channeled his sense of righteous indignation and magical realism into a passionate avocation as a storyteller.

A member of UUFES, he and his wife, Andrea Walsh and daughter Fiona live in Albany, NH where they co-direct The World Fellowship Center, an educational family camp and retreat center dedicated to peace and justice.

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m.: Rev. Mary:

Not For Innkeepers Only— Quiet evening service. Light supper at 6:00 in lieu of coffee hour after.

Nov. 12: Vision Sunday, Rabbi Lev Ba’esh and Rev. Mary

Potluck lunch and all-fellowship conversation with Rabbi Lev from 12-2. Childcare provided.

Nov. 19: Rev. Mary, Thanksgiving Service and Guest at Your Table

5:00 PM: Community Thanksgiving Service, Tamworth Community Church, led by Rev. Mary, Rev. Tom Abugelis, and Rev. Heidi Franz-Dale.

Pick up choir rehearsal 3:30 Tamworth Community Church.

Nov. 26: Rev. Mary: Reflections on the Life of Thomas Starr King

November Birthdays

1^st Lisa Lee

5^th Tina Craig

7^th Barbara Lomas

8^th Phyllis Hatch

17^th Gail Munroe

18^th Rev. Mary Giles Edes

22^nd Veronica Marie Carboni

Help us commemorate your birthday; please pass along the date to Kathy Burnell, 447-6796 or kburnell47@verizon.net

Minister’s Schedule

Mondays - OFF

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - by appointment

Friday - writing day

Last week of every month – OFF

Dec. 10: UUFES Membership Meeting

The Governing Board announces the first Semi-Annual Membership Meeting, to be held on December 10th, 2006. This meeting is in response to the length of the Annual Meeting, and the Governing Board welcomes agenda items from members of the fellowship. So far, two agenda items have been requested : passing the basket on every Sunday, and whether UUFES should have categories of membership, i.e. the ability to join UUFES but not the UUA. Please send any agenda items to Ruth Hall at lawyerlady49@yahoo.com or call 473-2222; you may also call the UUFES phone number 323-8585, and leave an agenda request on the phone message machine.

Ruth Hall, President

Message from Mary

i watch the leaves

dance

down to

death

grace

filled

floating

lifting even

as they

fall

heaviness

nor

grief

nor

clinging for

long

longer

life

only

this

tender

timeless

release

into

it.

“Look out the window on a gray afternoon, as the wind sets loose the last leaves of summer and the skeletal remains of the garden stand in bleak testimony to the coming of our longest season, here in northern New England. Light lasts but a little while each day from now through mid-winter. Death’s familiar and unmistakable countenance greets us between the last days of the harvest and the coming of solstice. Sometimes comforting, sometimes disquieting - melancholy and sweet as fruit on the verge of decay, our deep, fallow time descends.”

The two writings with which I begin my November rumination grew out of my late autumn journal time. I have been thinking about seasons and cycles - nothing new, for me - but I have also been reflecting on the seasons of this fellowship. You may recall that last fall and all through our Breakthrough Congregation year, we spoke in terms of our Growing Season. And grow we have - in so many ways. In the past four years, you have called a minister, purchased and renovated a building, added a Director of Religious Exploration, greatly increased the budget, and nearly doubled in size.

Now I sense a kind of quiet descending on us - a fallow time - not stagnant, but waiting - a time of setting roots and drawing strength from the fertile ground of our togetherness. It is a good and necessary thing.

My confession in all of this is that I think I sometimes push too hard, expect too much. One of my less admirable qualities is my tendency to believe that if I’m not doing something, I’m doing something wrong. The last thing I want to do is project that onto UUFES. I am thankful for those of you who have the grace and goodness to remind me of this. I share with you here a bit of an email message I received from Eleanor Jenkins last week, after we had spent some time talking about these things:

“Dear Mary,

Morning thoughts:

Green Sanctuary can be just that for us, as we lie fallow: It will be our sanctuary.

Lying fallow - planting a green crop - allows time to

recover energy

heal impurities

live simply

move toward a more wholistic function of UUFES

time to make community - interweaving circles - small reading, poetry, knitting, woodworking; hands-on healing; hikes, fun stuff.

It is OK to just BE for a while and not DO (it all)”

Wise words, indeed. We are a green and still growing crop - one that promises us great bounty in years to come. As we envision our future, let us take the time we need to learn from and appreciate our history - both as a fellowship and as a religious movement. Let us discern best practices for the present, listen and seek wisdom from each other, and grow in patience with, and commitment to the process.

The nurturance we give and receive by coming together for worship, learning, and play is worthy of our time and energy and also our deepest gratitude.

May it afford us a tender timeless release into Life and all it offers us this day and always.
See you at the Meetinghouse!

With love, Rev. Mary

Membership Committee

“SHARING YOUR GIFTS”

Did you know that there is an easy, convenient and simplified way to do your holiday shopping? UUFES has a program called “Sharing Your Gifts” and here is how it works: you give a monetary gift to UUFES to be used as you indicate (General Fund, Social Concerns, Building) and a beautiful card announcing your gift is sent to your recipient. Your gift is tax deductible and you will receive a receipt for your records; there’s no shopping, no returns, and everyone is happy! This program can also be used for birthday remembrances, memorials, honorariums, etc. The form you need is located on our website (www.uufes.org) and also in an envelope on the bulletin board downstairs at the Meeting House. Your gift will be announced in this column unless you indicate otherwise.

“SHARING YOUR GIFTS” OCTOBER

Sandra Carr honors her father, Herbert Larson, on his 90^th Birthday

From the Religious Exploration Corner

Greetings From the Religious Exploration Corner. . .

As you are reading this our very own Trish Murray and Steven Kull will be receiving training to become the very first trained OWL (Our Whole Lives) leaders from UUFES. I can not tell you what a great step forward this is for all of us in this Fellowship.

Our Whole Lives is a comprehensive sexuality education program developed by the Unitarian

Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ.

Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.

The Our Whole Lives Values:

Self Worth
Sexual Health
Responsibility
Justice and Inclusivity

Each level of Our Whole Lives offers:

up-to-date information and honest, age-appropriate answers to all participants' questions
activities to help participants clarify values and improve decision-making skills
effective group-building to create a safe and supportive peer group
education about sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment
opportunities to critique media messages about gender and sexuality
acceptance of diversity
encouragement to act for justice
a well-designed, teacher-friendly leaders' guide
parent orientation programs that affirm parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children
Sexuality and Our Faith, an optional religious component for Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ settings

OWL programs are offered at five different age levels. Trish and Steve will be trained to lead two of those levels, Grades K/1 and Grades 4/6. Our current intention is to offer the curriculum this spring for our younger children and next fall for the older group. This opportunity could not have come at a better time since all of those who are registered in our Religious Exploration Program fall into these two age groups.

As a community we will also be reaching out to all of the area UCC Churches to let them know we are offering the program and invite their children to attend. For more information regarding OWL please feel free to contact me at terrapin@fairpoint.net or go to www.uua.org and click on Programs, Religious Education, OWL.

In Gratitude,

Joy

Social Concerns Committee

Don’t forget to put a Guest at Your Table

Pick up a box to put on your Thanksgiving table to help UUSC continue their good work for human rights and social justice.

UUFES/SCC Movie of the month

Sunday, November 19 after the service, excerpts from Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.

Lee's film is "a haunting look at New Orleans during and after the devastation of Katrina. But this documentary is quick to point out that the disaster was not really from nature at all; it came directly from our own government, from the Army Corps of Engineers' poor construction of the levees to FEMA's lackluster response. Lee allows citizens from all over the city, economic and racial backgrounds to tell the real story. He gives a fair and balanced perspective on how all levels of our government failed the people of New Orleans and a good portion of the Gulf Region."(excerpts from viewers' comments)."

People at UUFES were so generous with their money and good wishes when my husband and I went to New Orleans to volunteer after Katrina. And now, I am going to ask you to do more. Come see this film.

Be a witness.

Sometimes you can’t do anything for those who are suffering. But you can witness, sit with people and listen as they tell their stories.

Sometimes you can’t witness people’s stories face-to-face. But you can witness indirectly, through this film.

Do what you can, knowing it’s never enough, but it’s all there is.

Be a witness.

Dianne Sinclair

There is something you can do!

Top of Form

Action Alert

Take Action

Urge congressional oversight of Gulf Coast reconstruction

Bottom of Form

http://capwiz.com/uusc/issues/alert/?alertid=8859021

Jan 28. Mary’s sermon: “Though I May Speak With Bravest Fire“ Learning to speak with heart - from the heart - our deepest truths.

Feb. 4. Sandra Boston de Silvia’s sermon on the same subject as Mary’s the week before. From 12-5 she will lead a training entitled, “Aiming the Mind. Strategies and Skills for Conscious Communication.”

SANDRA BOSTON is the founder of the conscious Communication Institute http://www.ccitraining.org/ She has taught communication skills and conflict resolution for over 30 years to a wide variety of groups. She has studied Thomas Gordon's Parent Effectiveness Training, Gandhian nonviolence strategies, Marshal Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication, Arnold Mindell's Process Work, Family Systems Theory, Twelve Step Programs, Margaret Paul's Inner Bonding Therapy, and many others. Sandra also founded The Pilgrim Warrior Training for Women and The Women's Leadership Institute. She maintains a psychotherapy practice and does organizational development consulting, board and staff retreats, and mediation for organizations. She has done extensive training internationally, including Canada, Switzerland, Uganda and Russia . Sandra is the mother of three grown sons and lives in Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA.

CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION CREDO

Our commitment is to be conscious about how we communicate. We will:

· Hold each person's best interest at heart

· Be curious when differences arise

· See trouble as normal, as an assignment to apply our own highest intention to nurture our self and the other

· See conflict as an invitation to bring compassion, patience, awareness and creativity to the situation

· Come to the edge of difference with an intent to learn, not protect; to respond, not react

· Honor, explore and learn from our differences, not disappear them

· Stand our ground, without taking ground from the other

· Learn more about our own truth as we contrast ours with another's;
to feel what we feel, know what we know, want what we want,
and let that be known without fear of the other's disapproval

· Bring flexibility, positive regard, trust and resilience to our relationships

Community Connections

Habitat for Humanity

The Mount Washington Valley Habitat for Humanity is currently seeking qualified applicants to purchase their next home to be built on Robert Morrill Drive in Conway. They anticipate construction to begin this summer and will accept applications until March 31, 2005. Call 356-3832 for qualification guidelines and other information.

Christmas Project

The Tamworth Community Christmas Project is seeking donations. The Rev. Peg Custer, Coordinator (323-2055), sent UUFES an appeal which included the following bit of history about the organization and its work: “Let me tell those of you who are new to this project a little about it. We have been organized with a Board of Directors for 14 years. All are local people, some from local churches or organizations. This grew out of a project the Tamworth Community Nurses Association was trying to carry out on their own years ago. As the number of children grew, their Board felt it needed to be a community project to allow the nurses to nurse, not organize and shop. So those of us involved with them did form this non-profit Board. We are always looking for new Board members from the community as well as people to volunteer a few hours in December as we collect and assemble the items. We give each child a coat, hat, gloves, sweat shirt, boots (and for those under 8, underwear) plus a new book, dental supplies donated by local dentists and a gift card to WalMart for each child to use for him or her self. Toys from Tots also brings us a large assortment of new toys.

Also, the nurses are given cash to purchase a small gift for those homebound to whom they provide services. To contribute, please send your donation to TCCP, PO Box 236, Chocorua, NH 03817

Card of Thanks Received

To UUFES: “Thank you for your gift to the Conway Area Humane Society. Your generosity is making a difference in many lives, two-footed as well as four.”

Critters, Board of Directors, Staff

Village Players Will Make You Laugh

"One of the funniest musicals ever written will be presented by The Village Players of Wolfeboro at their theater on Glendon Street. Performance dates for "A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM" are November 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8:00 PM and matinees at 2:00 pm on November 12 and 19.

Doors open 30 minutes before performances. Seating is unreserved.

Tickets are available in advance for $12.at Black's Paper Store in Wolfeboro or on the web at www.village-players.com or $15 at the door. For information call 569-9656 or Willie Mork at 569-2687"

Susan Bruce and David Emerson

Request the pleasure of your company

At a Celebration of Their Lives and Love

Sunday, November 5, 2006

3:00 pm until 6:00 pm

The Salyards Center for the Arts

Conway, New Hampshire

Coordinated by: Ed Butler, Susan Forsman

Lea Greenwood, and Les Schoof

Cider Still Flowing

Eleanor Jenkins will be selling freshly pressed cider, to be delivered to the Meetinghouse on Sunday, Nov. 5th. You can freeze this for use during the next 6-12 months!! Cider will cost $4 a gallon or $2.50 a half gallon. All proceeds will be split between Guests at Your Table and the Thanksgiving food pantry drive. Call now to reserve your winter supply. 539-4843.

¨Correction:

Pam Fisher’s address is:

Wheelock Terrace

32 Buck Road, Hanover, NH 03755

Survey? What survey?

Last month’s Inclinations contained a “Draft Interview Guide/Questionnaire.” Don’t let the “Draft” part confuse you! Fill it out and send it in. The results will help UUFES in our Nov. 12 Vision Sunday deliberations. Can’t find it? Contact Kathy Burnell to get a new copy.

Send in your survey…

Send in your survey… P L E A S E !!!

Inclinations

PO Box 2785

Conway, NH 03818

Friday, November 10

Funky Divas of Gospel at the Brass Heart Inn

Benefit for UUFES heating system, with a portion of the proceeds to go to ( as yet to be determined ) local fuel assistance program.

Cocktail and Social hour 5:00 - 6:00

Dinner 6:00 - 7:00 Dessert 7:00 Show 8:00

Dinner, Dessert, and Show: $55 Dessert and Show: $30 Show only $20

For reservations call: 323-8585 Lois Glidden: sanglidden@hotmail.com

***********

Please send changes of address, notices and requests to be added to or removed from the mailing list to:

UUFES—Inclinations, K. Burnell, Editor, 447-6796

PO Box 2785, Conway NH 03818 kburnell47@verizon.net

· Deadline for December issue:

Nov. 26, 2006