Our mission is to be a caring community that encourages spiritual growth and

actively works to improve our society and the environment.

Volume 6, Issue 24 December 19, 2014 Next Issue 1-2-15

Deadline for entries 12-29-14

Unitarian Universalist Church of Bowling Green

E-Newsletter

Upcoming Services

Every Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Contemplative Service

Reverend Peter Connolly Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh

Saturday, December 20, 5:30 p.m.

Winter Solstice Spiral Festival for All Ages

Come walk a spiral path by candlelight. All ages welcome!

Sunday, December 21, 11:00 a.m. UU Festival for All Ages -

Illumination Reverend Peter Connolly

Come celebrate light in this season of darkness! Please bring your own chalice for our first annual Illumination of the Chalices.

Wednesday, December 24, 7:00 p.m. Christmas Eve

Reverend Peter Connolly Join us for an early evening service as we celebrate Christmas

with stories traditional and new, carols of the season and singing "Silent Night" by candlelight.

Thursday, December 25, 11:00 a.m. A Child’‛s Christmas in Wales

Reverend Peter Connolly Our Christmas morning service features a dramatic reading of the Dylan Thomas classic story, "A Child's Christmas in Wales"

that will add a glow to your celebration of the day.

Believing in the beauty and simplicity of Christmas, I commit myself to the following: 1. To remember those people who

truly need my gifts. 2. To express my love for family and

friends in more direct ways than presents.

3. To rededicate myself to the spiritual growth of my family.

4. To examine my holiday activities in light of the true spirit of Christmas.

5. To initiate one act of peacemaking within my circle of family and friends.

~from Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli

The Christmas

Pledge

Presidential Perspective

Long-Haul People

by Rudy Nemser

You find them in churches

when you’re lucky;;

other places too, though I mostly

only know ecclesiastical varieties. Long haul people

upon whose shoulders

(and pocketbooks and casseroles

and daylight/nighttime hours) a church is built and maintained

after the brass is tarnished and

cushions need re-stitching. They pay their pledges full and on time

even when the music’s modern;;

support each canvass though the sermons aren’t always short;;

mow lawns and come to suppers; teach Sunday School when

there’s no one else and they’ll miss the service.

Asked what they think of the minister, or plans for the kitchen renovation, or the choral anthem, or Christmas pageant, or color of the bathroom paint, they’ll reply: individuals and fashions

arrive and pass. The church—their church—will be here, steady and hale. For a long, long time. It will. For long haul people bless a church

with a very special blessing.

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Amen and blessed be. The end of the calendar year is upon us. Taking the time to mark the passage of another year here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bowling Green gives us time to reflect on all the joys and the sorrow, all the work and the fun, we have witnessed for one another. This church has gained members and friends and it has also seen farewells. Within these walls, we have served our mission and we have served one another. We show up on Sundays ready for connection and inspiration. We also show up on many days in between to do the work of the church and support one another. We meet, clean, host, read, study, pray, learn, organize, reorganize, laugh, and cry. Please remember, as we near the end of 2014, that to keep this church going, it takes all of us, the long— haul people. Thank you for the work you do and thank you for the commitments you have made— commitments of your time, your financial support, your faith and trust-and let us continue to bless this church. In peace, Jennifer Thomas

access to healthy food. Geospatial inequalities and marketing strategies have created a generation of malnourished but obese children; along with this comes an epidemic of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Solutions will require a holistic and ecological approach involving buying foods from local farmers; eating food grown locally during its normal growing season; organic and enhanced conventional foods that limit our exposure to chemicals; and more.

December 28, 2014. Lecture 17: Biomagnification of Toxic Chemicals in Top-Order Predators.

Toxic chemicals can build up in the bodies of long-lived animals that occupy the top of the food chain. We know that only about 10% of the energy at any given trophic level gets to the next level. Organisms in the top levels are less numerous than those at lower levels but require large amounts of energy. Meat-eating mammals consume a rich diet and spend comparatively less time feeding than other animals. As chemicals move through a system, their concentration is increased—an effect called biomagnification.

DDT provides a case study. It was used to control mosquitoes beginning in the 1940’s; it was credited with saving thousands of U.S. soldiers from getting malaria during World War II. After the war American farmers used it extensively on their crops; cities began spraying it in populated areas to control mosquitoes. In 1962 Rachel Carlson published Silent Spring, which exposed the toxicity of DDT and the way it moves through ecosystems. We know now that DDT is easily absorbed by organisms and remains a long time in the environment.

Other dangerous molecules are called “hormone mimics;” they result from increased chemical use. Hormone mimics upset the normal growth behavior and reproduction of wildlife. They disturb an organism’s system by sending (Continued on pg. 5)

The Adult Forum December 21, 2014. Lecture 16: Agriculture’s Ecological Consequences.

Food webs involving people have been significantly modified by modern agriculture and technology.

Agriculture began about ten thousand years ago when human populations began to plant crops. Egyptian farmers created canals to channel the Nile floodwaters to their land; later the Romans built aqueducts that carried water over 200 miles. Modern farming techniques intensify water use along with expectations of what the land can produce. The present model of food production and distribution imposes a huge burden on the biosphere.

The grafting of different plant species enables the creation of desired traits that expand our diets. Many popular seedless fruits are grown that way. Farmers can graft potatoes and tomatoes to grow on the same plant. Grafting, however, diminishes genetic diversity because it amounts to cloning; this reduces the variation that would otherwise exist in a population. Genetically engineering enables delayed spoilage and increased stress tolerance, but it decreases other capacities.

The evidence suggests that vegetarian diets are more sustainable than the carnivorous diets common in the United States. The vast majority of food produced in the U.S. is produced in terrestrial ecosystems. The growing techniques used are depleting the soil, which is then replenished through fertilization. This results in large quantities of animal manure in the soil, leading to large amounts of carcinogens in drinking water.

Most people on the planet live on essentially plant-based diets. Meat-based diets require more water, energy, and land resources. The amount of grain used to feed animals could feed about 800 million people on vegetarian diets.

The "green revolution" has left negative legacies. Its new techniques helped countries around the planet turn infertile lands into productive agriculture, but decades of pesticide, fertilizer, and herbicide use have degraded soils and polluted drinking water.

In the U.S. poor urban communities face reduced

We continue our Ecology series. We recommend that you arrive at 9:50 a.m. so that we can “check in” with each other before starting the DVD lecture at 10 a.m. and still have plenty of time for discussion after viewing/hearing the lecture.

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Your UU Library has a Christmas Wish

List…

It would love to have a few hymnals that could be checked out. Since the library has a budget of $0, please consider contributing so that we’ll be able to purchase check out-able copies of the hymnals. A standard print copy of the Singing the Living Tradition is $28, a large print version is $45, and Singing the Journey (the teal hymnal) is $18. Please consider donating money to fund at least a partial book (or the whole thing which would be wonderful). I would like to purchase at least one copy of each volume. If we get more money I would purchase another standard print copy of the gray hymnal. I know there are times when you really need access to a copy of the hymnal. If you’ve taken one home to work on a project and could bring it back, please do. If you would like to order one for yourself, I would be happy to do that and we could save on shipping. Please note on your check that you are donating to the library hymnal project, or if you give cash, please put it in an envelope and indicate the recipient of your donation (library hymnal). Thanks to all,

Sharon Crawford

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harmful signals or blocking beneficial ones. The effects of hormone mimics were first observed in 1995; a study in Minnesota found large numbers of amphibians with massive deformities, such as multiple limbs and eyes growing at ends of their feet.

PCB’s are persistent organic pollutants linked to environmental decline. A notorious case concerned General Electric, which over a period of thirty years released 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River.

Biomagnification occurs even in remote places like Antarctica, which has experienced little human impact until recently. Sediments collected there contained some of the lowest mercury levels recorded. Yet mercury levels in the primary producers and consumers from Antarctica were discovered to be greater than those in similar organisms in food webs elsewhere.

These summaries are based on lecture notes supplied by the lecturer.

The Adult Forum (continued)

Yoga

Due to busy holiday schedules all of December classes are cancelled.

Yoga classes will resume Wednesday, January 7, 2015.

Living Ultimology: A Small Group Ministry Opportunity

You may recall that in my October 17 newsletter article, I wrote about the concept of “ultimology,” a term coined by my colleague the Rev. Gretchen Woods, now interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, KY. In a presentation called “Living Ultimology,” at our ministers’ retreat at Pokagon State Park in northern Indiana, she invited us ministers, over a period of two days, to investigate together those topics of a spiritual nature that seem most important to Unitarian Universalists-- an alternative to more traditional theology-- what is most important to us.

Please join me, if you are interested, in a small group ministry (SGM) experience on the first six Sundays of the new year as we explore topics such as identity, cosmology, death, grace, and the nature of the ultimate. Our first meeting will be on January 4 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

A sign-up sheet will be available on Sundays through the end of December and on the table by the bulletin board in the Olympia Brown foyer at other times. Class size will be limited to ten. If there is sufficient interest, another group will form to meet on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm. Sign up now by e-mail while you are thinking of it: revconnolly@gmail.com

See you in January!

Peter

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A Parking Place of Your Very Own!

Would you like to cruise into your own premium, reserved parking place every

Sunday? Our annual fund raising season begins soon, and we'll be holding a raffle for the right to put your name on the parking space reserved just for you every day of

the year!

Tickets are just $5 each, or a special deal of 5 tickets for $20. Members of the Buildings and Ground Committee will be selling them soon, and they will be

available at potlucks and on Sunday mornings. The drawing will be held at the end of the semi-annual congregational meeting (date TBA). You need not be present to

win!

From the Buildings and Grounds Committee

Last Call for Suggestions for the Remembrance Garden

The Remembrance Garden Design Task Force will meet on Tuesday, January 6, at 4 p.m. in the Hosea Ballou Room of Thomason Hall to finish developing the primary design and get started on details. If you have suggestions for

what you would like to see in the space between the buildings, please submit your

ideas before that date to one of the members of the Task Force (Jim Haynes, Janeen

Grohsmeyer, John Downing, Susan Sirvain) or write them on the Garden paper on the Church

News bulletin board. Thanks!

Come to the January 18th Workshop on

“How to be a Moderator for Sunday Services”

This year, the Sunday Services Committee (SSC) has been making a concerted effort to improve our services and to unfold a liturgical year of Festivals and special services. There have also been several changes to the order of service, and so as we have been working out the kinks, for the most part only SSC members have been moderating and coordinating the service on Sunday mornings. However, now that the format of the services is finalized, everyone is welcome to participate in these social and important roles. To that end, SSC will be holding a workshop on “How to be a Moderator” on Sunday, January 18th, soon after the service. Everyone who would like to be a moderator for Sunday services is encouraged to attend. In February, there will be a workshop on “How to be a Service Coordinator”;; more details will be announced in future newsletters. Of course, moderating and coordinating aren’t the only ways to be involved in crafting our congregation’s worship experiences. By joining the SSC Team, you can be a part of selecting sermon topics, finding guest speakers, creating rituals, and planning our liturgical year, all while having fun with dedicated and caring friends on the team. Everyone is encouraged to share in this vital ministry that is a centerpiece of our church! To learn more about the workshop or about joining the SSC, please contact a member of the Sunday Services Committee

YOU

Join the “12x12x12 Basic Needs Relief” Team

Our Social Justice Action Committee wears many hats. One of our most important projects is the 12x12x12 Basic Needs Relief team, who helps provides food supplies to hungry people in our area. To do this, we recruit twelve people from our church who each provide $12 worth of food items or $12 (either cash or check) for the next twelve months. The money and food are then given to Manna Mart, which is the HOTEL INC food bank. If you wish to join this effort and be part of the 12x12x12 Team, please email me at chaoticx@twc.com or call 270-320-6658. Thank you all for helping our church reach out in our community with compassion and care for the hungry, particularly during these approaching wintery months.

Thanks! Claudia Hanes

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A CALL FOR QUILTS!

We will have some acoustic panels going up soon in the Fellowship Hall, but since the rest will be delayed, we are asking for quilts (or other textiles you would like display) to be hung on the walls. Valuable heirloom quilts with special needs would not be best, but any textile will add to our enjoyment. Lots of quilts stored for years will bring smiles to us and increase our experience in Fellowship Hall. To prepare your quilt for display, get a dowel a bit longer than the quilt and stitch a sleeve on the back at the top of the textile to fit the dowel. Write your name and phone number and the quilt pattern (if you know it) on a card and pin that to the back of the quilt, then bring the quilt and dowel to church. The office is open 9 to 1 on weekdays, and the Fellowship Hall is open Sunday mornings through early afternoons. The Buildings and Grounds Committee will hang the quilt for you. This is an easy way to help our church, and you may retrieve your quilt at any time. If you would like more information or are interested in participating, please contact Judy Tabor at judytabor@ymail.com.

Thanks in advance! Judy Tabor

Buildings and Grounds Chairperson

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Hospitality News

December 28 Potluck

sponsored by our Social Justice Action Committee

Please join us after the service.

As usual, please let families with children through the line first.

i December 21st - Valerie Brown and Ken Kuehn

UUA Survey

Help the UUA Board of Trustees in their efforts to ensure that governance of our Association is effective, democratic, and inclusive and explore the possibilities in re-imagining governance by taking this 15-20 minute survey. For the future of our faith, please share your thoughts in this important dialogue before Dec. 20: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J722R6T.

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To make more efficient use of our existing space, the Buildings and Grounds Committee will soon be doing a bit of rearranging. A Community News center is planned for the coffee lobby, with a place to hold flyers. A mail center will be created in the Horace Mann Room, using the cabinets and the plastic mail boxes currently in the Thoreau Room (the old library). Some larger storage units and some coat racks will then be placed in the Thoreau Room, and the long coat rack in the main hallway will be moved near the kitchen in the Fellowship Hall. This will make our primary entrance more spacious and inviting for all of us on Sunday mornings. Many hands make light work, so if you'd like to help in any of these projects, please contact Judy Tabor. - from the Buildings and Grounds Committee

Where's My Coat? Some Changes Coming to UUCBG

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Welcoming a Guest at Your Table

Each year at this time, friends and families in our congregation participate in Guest at Your Table — a 40-year UU tradition. By learning about real people in countries around the world we are shown how the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee puts our shared values into action. Through a potent combination of advocacy, education, and

partnerships with grassroots human rights leaders, UUSC promotes workers' rights, upholds the human right to water, and protects communities at risk. Through their Stories of Hope, we connect with leaders throughout the world who

are working hard for human rights in partnership with UUSC.

Households are invited to share Guest at Your Table stories at home when family and friends gather together and to reflect on the contributions of these "guests" toward justice: Each week, we can choose a different story to read,

bringing our guests to life and helping celebrate our own rights. Sharing our blessings through Guest at Your Table ensures that UUSC's human rights work continues.

A collection of Stories of Hope booklets and personal GAYT home collection boxes from years past and contribution envelopes are available on the table in the Olympia Brown foyer. If you prefer, you can make your contribution online

at uusc.org/givetoguest.

Please consider adding daily or weekly contributions in your personal GAYT box at home throughout the program to collect enough to be eligible for this year’s matching grant: any donation of $125 or more is eligible to be matched

dollar for dollar, thanks to a generous grant by the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, N.Y. This means you could double the impact of your gift!

Our Guest at Your Table program this year will run from Sunday, December 7 to Sunday, January 4. Your generosity is always appreciated.

Taylor Chapel AME Church Lay Organization

& Association of Black Social Workers invite you to attend the

14th Annual Community Kwanzaa Celebration “Healthy Families, Stronger Communities”

Date/Time: December 29, 2014, 6 PM

Location: State St. Baptist Church

340 State St., Bowling Green, KY

Free Admission. Refreshments, Entertainment, & Fellowship. Afrocentric attire optional.

** Donations of Health/Hygiene items as the community gifts, including but not limited to: hand sanitizer, first aid kits, Kleenex tissue, soap, lotion, mouthwash, shampoo, combs, brushes, deodorant, lip balm, Vaseline, etc. will be collected for the Homeless & Housing Coalition of South Central Kentucky.

For more information, contact Dr. Saundra Starks, chairperson, 270-535-3819 or saundra.starks@wku.edu.

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MINUTES OF UUCBG BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING November 19, 2014

Board Members in Attendance: Jennifer Thomas (President), Ken Kuehn (Past President), Diane Lewis (President-elect), Michele Newcomb (Secretary), Eric Bain-Selbo, Rev. Peter Connolly Absent: Lisa Dalporto

I. Opening Words and Chalice Lighting

Jennifer Thomas called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. and Peter Connolly gave the opening reading. II. Check-in

III. Recognition of Visitors

Valerie Brown (Ass't. to the Treasurer).

IV. Roles for Tonight’s Meeting Timekeeper - Ken Kuehn, Process Observer - Peter Connolly

V. Consent Agenda A. Minutes of October Board of Directors Meeting - accepted by email. B. Treasurer’s Report (Attachment 1)*

Valerie Brown noted that there was an error on the balance sheet, which has been corrected. The corrected report is attached.

C. Committee Minutes Minutes from Religious Education, Buildings and Grounds, Hospitality, Sunday Services, Finance, and Communications committees were received and accepted. A chart of minutes received and dates is attached (Attachment 2).* The Board wants to clarify that committee minutes should be submitted 9 days prior to the month's Board meeting, which would be the 3rd Monday of the month. Diane Lewis will convey this to committee chairs at the next CLC meeting. Discussion also included the need for term limits policies for committee chairpersons.

VI. Reports

A. Minister’s Report (Attachment 3)* B. President’s Report (Attachment 4)*

VII. Action Agenda A. New Business

1. The Board is asked to clarify whether the minister has the authority to negotiate rental fees.

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The following motion was made (JT/EB-S) and passed unanimously: The Board agrees that the minister has the authority to negotiate rental fees for the

church.

2. The Online Services Subcommittee of the Communications Committee would like to reorganize the website and its menus to better showcase our mission.

The Board appreciates the efforts on this, and will communicate ideas or concerns about the updates with the subcommittee. Our new liaison to the committee will take an active role in reviewing the progress and bringing information to the Board.

3. Appoint Board Liason to Communications Committee Diane Lewis has volunteered to fill this position. 4. The Communications Committee would like to know if the Board would like to move

forward on a process to select a name for the new building and for the rooms. We would like to see a proposal for this process, and feel it will need input from others.

VIII. Discussion Agenda A. Status of the By-Laws Revision Task Force.

Ken Kuehn has formally resigned from the task force as of November 19. The following motion was made (EB-S/MN) and passed unanimously: The Board assigns Jan Garrett and Janeen Grohsmeyer to continue work on the By-Laws drafts for presentation to the Board as eash section is completed, prior to their being shared with CLC members.

B. Publishing Board minutes in the e-newsletter This procedure was approved by consensus, and should be limited to distribution to church

members. C. Need for appointment of a Treasurer or Acting Treasurer from the Board to fulfill the oversight

function described in the Job Description. Eric Bain-Selbo has agreed to serve in this capacity until June 30, 2015.

D. The Communications Committee asks the Board about the status of the Website Review Panel We will review the concept of the panel; in the interim, Diane Lewis will include this function

in her role as Board Liason to the CommComm. IX. Rev. Connolly delivered a brief process report. X. Closing Words

Rev. Connolly gave a reading. Respectfully submitted by Michele Newcomb on November 24, 2014

* Attachments can be viewed in the administration office

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Calendar of Events December 2014

Christmas Day Service

6 pm Community Kwanzaa Celebration

(340 State Street Bowling Green)

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Jennifer Thomas President

Diane Lewis President-Elect

Eric Bain-Selbo Treasurer

Michele Newcomb Secretary

Ken Kuehn Past President

Lisa Dalporto Member-at-large

Peter Connolly Minister, ex-officio Usually Meets on the 4th Wed. of the Month, 6:00 p.m.

Nicole Duffy and Valerie Brown Assistant Treasurers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Buildings and Grounds 1st Tuesday, 5:30 pm Judy Tabor, Chair

Caring Dates and times vary Katrina Phelps, Chair

Children’s R.E. Dates and times vary Susan Rigsby, Chair Church Leadership Council 1st Wednesday, 7:00 pm Every other month Diane Lewis, Chair

Committee on Ministry 3rd Thursday, 6:30 pm Matt Foraker, Chair Communications As announced Janeen Grohsmeyer, Chair Endowment Committee As announced John Downing, Chair Finance 2nd Wednesday, 5:00 pm Kerry Kenady, Chair Hospitality 2nd Sunday, 12:15 pm Becki Davis, Chair

COMMITTEES

OFFICE HOURS Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. MINISTER’‛S HOURS

Tues -Thurs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and by appointment

Newsletter Design and Production

Tammy S Ferrell Copy and Line Editor

Reverend Peter Connolly

OFFICE MANAGER Tammy S Ferrell

R.E. TEACHERS

Youth:

Matthew Sheffield

MINISTER Reverend Peter Connolly (270) 904-0433 church;

(270) 392-9212 cell revconnolly@gmail.com

Children:

Tamara O’‛Nan

NURSERY CAREGIVERS

Magnolia Gramling And

Laura Beth Fox

Library Committee Dates and times vary Sharon Crawford, Chair Membership 1st Thursday, 4:00 pm Krystina Krueger, Chair Nominating Committee Dates and times vary Sharon Crawford, Chair Personnel Committee As needed Katrina Phelps, Chair

Sabbatical Committee

As announced Katrina Phelps, Chair Social Justice Action 2nd Tuesday, 5:00 pm Claudia Hanes, Chair

Stewardship Dates and times vary Ken Kuehn and John Forman, Co-chairs Sunday Services 1st Tuesday, 7:00 pm Meagan Harris and Tim Kercheville, Co-chairs Youth Group Dates and times vary Michele Steiner, Advisor

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Getting the Word Out

To make church-related announcements about upcoming meetings and events, Committee chairs may use any of the following venues:

i Twice-monthly E-Newsletter, contact Tammy S Ferrell uuofficemanager@mw.twcbc.com

i Sunday Bulletin, contact Katrina Phelps

i Sunday Morning Announcements, email to revconnolly@gmail.com by 9 p.m. on Saturdays or put a note in the Announcement basket by 10:55 a.m. on Sundays

i Inserts for Sunday Bulletin, prepare and send completed electronic copy by the Monday prior to Sunday service to the church office manager

i Church bulletin boards, anytime

i Press Release, for a major event write a press release and give it to the Communications Committee to distribute

Committee chairs should review their announcements by the due date in the bi-weekly E-Newsletter. See page 1 for the due dates. Periodic reviews and news of each committee’‛s activities is a must to keep our members informed of what is happening or has happened during the week.

To:

Unitarian Universalist Church 2033 Nashville Road

Bowling Green, KY 42101

Living by the 7 Principles

2033 Nashville Road Bowling Green, KY 42101

Phone 270-842-4060 E-Mail: uuchurchbg@mw.twcbc.com

Organization

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF BOWLING GREEN

www.uubgky.org WEBSITES OF INTEREST:

For links to Unitarian Universalist websites of interest and to the religious diversity of Unitarian Universalism, please go to our website at

http://www.uubgky.org/ or http://www.uua.org/

http://www.midamericauua.org/

Postage