Monthly Archives: May 2023

July 2014 Worship Schedule

UUCB Climate Change Ministry Members march on the capital

07/06 “Letting Our Hearts Wander”

Rev. Howell K. Lind, Developmental Minister

Barb Fusco, Worship Leader

07/13 “To Have and To Hold – An Enduring Faith”

Rev. Howell K. Lind, Developmental Minister

Beckett Coppola, Worship Leader

07/20 “Taking Your Place at the Table”

Beckett Coppola, Ministerial Student

Ted Burnham, Worship Leader

07/27 “Lessons Taken Right Out of The Joy of Cooking”

Rev. Howell K. Lind, Developmental Minister

Tom Denkenberger, Worship Leader

Reflections on the Journey by Rev. Howell Lind

I had read about the prosthetic cheek bones that were added to Angelina Jolie in her portrayal of Maleficent and how, when she had her horns and robes on, all the child actors were frightened and wouldn’t go near her. So, Jolie’s own daughter, Vivienne, was enlisted to play the young Aurora.

There was quite a bit of media hype and back story about this Disney movie, Maleficent, and so I figured that I should see it. I thought it was great! I definitely appreciated the story line’s twist on the classic Brothers Grimm’s tale of Cinderella.

There were a number of times during the watching of Maleficent that I thought about our historic Unitarian Universalist faith’s declaration of the transforming power of courageous love and how lives are changed by living out of love, rather than giving in to bitterness, hatred or apathy.

In the movie, Maleficent suffers a painful betrayal and her once-loving pure heart is hardened by her anger and the desire for revenge. It is only through the re-capturing of what it means to have love in one’s heart that Maleficent moves beyond hatred and anger toward peace and she returns to a truly loving heart.

This movie struck a chord with me as I reflected on how humanity – you and I – often (more often than I think anyone of us wants to admit!) – on how we lose sight of the redemptive and transforming power of love. The need to open our minds, hearts, and spirits to being the kind of loving beings that we aspire to is a very real need for us.

Showing love to others, being in love with life, acting in loving ways in the world – we all need to become better at this. We recite that “Love is the spirit of our church” – of our Unitarian Universalist faith. The times that we live in call for us to put aside our foolish and petty ways and live into the kind of loving relationships, harmony, and peacefulness that we profess as a part of our faith tradition.

There is far too much hatred, apathy, anger, and angst in the world. I do think that we all could do so much more to better live our faith’s precepts if we took to heart what love freely given to one another – to our world – and to ourselves can mean.

There truly is a very powerful and transforming aspect to loving better, more openly and freely. In many ways, the ability to give and receive love is one of humanity’s most gracious and precious gifts. We need to make far better use of this gift each and every day. Disney’s Maleficent – it’s a good movie and an excellent reminder of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist!

Howell

Faith Formation Focus by Janen Wright

Tradition!! Tradition!!

As the 4^th of July rolls around (my next favorite holiday to Christmas) I can’t help but think about the importance of having traditions. I look forward to fireworks all year round—not to mention the barbecues and water fights and the strawberry, blueberry, banana “flag” cake we have every year at my house. Actually I started really thinking about the importance of traditions after our Teacher Feedback and Visioning meeting in May because the need for more out-side-of-church, yearly traditions was voiced there. UUCB has some wonderful worship traditions in place already, like the Christmas Eve Services, Flower Communion and the Homecoming service and barbecue but I think we could easily add to these. I was just going to say that kids, in particular, are comforted by traditions, but actually, I think we all are. Positive things we can count on happening year after year give meaning and structure to our lives and stand out in the memory when looking back.

Here are some ideas I have gleaned so far. We had so much fun at our Out- of -School Barbeque and Old Fashioned Game night a month ago we decided to make that a new tradition and advertise it earlier (and louder) to the whole church community. The parents and kids did awesome but wouldn’t it be fun to get some additional muscle on that tug- o- war rope, maybe pit our Wise Elders against our young adults?

How about a Summer Movie Night? That one is still coming up on July 12^th at 7:00- so you haven’t missed it. (Go ahead and mark your calendar.) One of my teachers had the great suggestion to take it up a notch by making it a Sing-a-Long Movie—Maybe one of Disney’s, with captions in case we have forgotten the words. (This is an official call to all choir members. We are going to need your voices.) This year we will show the movie in the Earth Room where we can link into the big sound system because we don’t have portable outdoor speakers. (Unless someone out there has such a thing that you could loan to us.)

In October the RE will host a Pumpkin Fest. We can all bring and carve pumpkins together then turn off all the lights and set them glow —and eat donuts and hot cider (or pumpkin goodies.) We could even come in costume if we feel so inclined. (I maintain that it’s good for the spirit to be someone else once a year.) If we put our heads, (and church organizations) together we could install in our church some great annual events that would bring people of all ages out for a good time. Maybe a cultural night with foreign food and a show-and-tell session for interesting artifacts. Maybe a music or talent night because we do have so much talent among us. Maybe something else we haven’t thought up yet.

As UUs, so often self-appointed to save the world, sometimes we overlook the fact that play is also important. To have good social times that build relationship is not just the icing on the cake but often the cake itself– and one of the best. The simple fact is that the stronger we bond as a faith community the more we have to offer those who would be one with us.

If any organization in our church wants to try out a new tradition this year count me in to be an enthusiastic helper. It fits nicely with my job description to, “develop and sustain a robust and vital Family Ministry” (not to mention the fact that I love a good party.) Like one of my prospective teachers said, “Religious education isn’t just about giving our kids knowledge, it’s more about giving them an identity; its about the experience they take with them of what it means to belong to a Unitarian Universalist church.” So talk to your people in your groups and committees. See what folks in our congregation would like to see happen and lets try out a thing or two which could become a yearly UUCB tradition!!

Janen Wright, Lifespan Faith Development Director

July Circle Supper

Susan and Paul Riederer invite you to a summer pot luck at their home in Gunbarrel on Saturday, July 5, at 6 p.m. We’ll have a wonderful dinner, perhaps with items from our gardens or the Farmer’s Market. Susan makes wonderful felted wool items—such as hats and stuffed dinosaurs, and Paul is an artist. We will see some of the their creations and learn about each others’ hobbies and summer adventures. Sign up at UUCB or call the Riederers. Thursday, July 3, is the sign-up deadline.

For all circle suppers, if you decide to come at the last minute, you might find that there is not room for you and not time enough to organize a second circle supper group. Please sign up at UUCB the week before the meal, or phone the hosts asap if you’d like to attend.

All are welcome! Circle suppers have nothing to do with the small-group ministries. The word “circle” does not mean a formal organization. This is the word we have used for 30 or more years at UUCB for informal shared dinners, usually in UUCB homes, but sometimes in a park or perhaps in the playground at UUCB. The people who attend are a different group each month. Sometimes there is more than one circle supper held on the same date when there are more people than will fit in one home. There is not a formal topic, but there are always interesting conversations. It is a great opportunity to get to know other UUCBers better. Sometimes there is a theme for the meal, selected by the host, but most of the time it is a real pot luck, with the hosts just trying to see that we have a variety of food.

We’d love to have you host in your home or in a park during the warm weather. You do not need to have a large home. If you can fit 6 or 8 people holding their plates on their laps, that will work. If you have a yard or deck with space for a group dinner, that’s really appealing in the next few months. Sometimes we have as many as 35 people, but the host limits the number. We find another host when a group is too large for one home.

July Tea House

Sunday, July 20, is our afternoon for tea, from 4 to 6. Dianne Ewing will host at her condo in Longmont (20 minutes from UUCB). All are invited. Bring finger food to share, and Dianne will provide iced tea and another beverage. Biking and car pooling are good ideas. It’s also possible to take the bus. There’s a bus stop beside her condo. Directions will be available at UUCB that morning and in the MidWeek Messenger on July 17. There’s no sign-up needed! If you’d like to host on the third Sunday afternoon in the future, please contact Dianne Ewing.

1st Annual General Assembly in Colorado (GA in CO) Potluck Dinner

DATE: Saturday July 12th, 5:45 to 8pm

LOCATION: Columbine UU Church

6724 South Webster Street

Littleton, CO 80128

Come enjoy an evening of fellowship with UUs from all 7 Boulder Denver Cluster Churches. Featuring a Potluck Dinner (sign up for sides, drinks, or dessert through the link below), reflections on this year’s General Assembly in Rhode Island, and a viewing of the Acclaimed Ware Lecture by Sister Simone of “Nuns on the Bus”

RSVP: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0F4AA4A82CABFE3-2014

The anticipated program will be:

5:45 – Chalice Lighting, Welcome
6:00 – Intros, Ice Breaker, Buffet line start
6:15 – MC Overview of Cluster teamwork
6:20 – “Open Mic” for those who attended (live or virtually) GA in Rhode Island
6:30 – Guest Speaker
7:00 – Ware Lecture viewing
8:00 – Closing

UUCB Supports Climate Marchers

Twelve members of UUCB headed for the steps of the Colorado Capitol building on June 16 to join a rally in support of the Great March for Climate Action. The goal of the Climate March is to change the hearts and minds of the American people, our elected leaders and people across the world to act now to address the climate crisis. There are now 40 intrepid marchers who began their walk across America on March 1. The youngest are in their early twenties; the oldest marcher is 76! So far they have walked over 1200 miles. They are heading towards Washington D.C. and stopping at cities and towns along the way to engage local citizens in conversations about how to take meaningful action on global warming.

Our UUCB contingent carried our banner high and joined the chanting as we walked along Denver’s 16^th Street Mall with a group of about 250 local supporters. We stopped along the way to hear a report from local EPA Region 8 Administrator Shaun McGrath on the new EPA regulations affecting coal plants, and then we headed for the Mercury Café where we enjoyed a vegetarian meal while engaging in animated discussions about local solutions to global warming.

Postscript: A week ago when the Climate March came through Colorado Springs, our sister church the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church hosted a dinner and discussion with the marchers, and many of the marchers stayed in their homes for a night. A couple of us from UUCB went down for that event. It’s great to be connecting with UU churches across Colorado as we work together on climate change.

Images from June 1 Transitions & Volunteer Recognition Service

Adults in the congregation who graduated with a college degree or above.

Tian, Lindsey,and Lael are going to middle school in the fall.

Kids saying “thank you” to their teachers

The Official Vehicle of UUCB?

Photo of UUCB parking lot after a service (no, this was not staged)

Hello from Jonathan and Hayden Williamson

Tessa Davis had a brief, but very good visit, with former UUCB members Hayden and Jonathan in Camden, Maine, in June They send greetings to all.

Alive Mind Cinema Series

A new film series, called the Alive Mind Cinema Series, has come to Boulder, Colorado and consists of documentaries centered on the meaning of life and happiness.

The first film, A Free Mind, explores the effects of meditation and yoga on the minds of veterans suffering from PTSD as well as children with ADHD. Through experiments with meditation, Professor Richard Davidson proves how meditation can have positive effects on the brain and have long-lasting effects on happiness and stress reduction. Other titles include The Forgotten Kingdom, Daughters of Dolma,Yangsi, and Faith Connections.

When you join the Alive Mind Series at http://gathr.us you will receive tickets for a monthly screening of five films, each screening followed by a discussion led by local leaders in spiritual and theological community. Series members receive a host of additional benefits including free access to other Alive Mind titles from film distributor Kino Lorber.

To learn more about this series, visit http://gathr.us, where you can also see details on local screenings.