At the Executive Committee Retreat in August of 2011 the committee discussed many of these aspirations and asked the standing committees to look at others. One of the central issues of the strategic planning process was the need for a minister as key to new growth in membership and family support. Laurel Calouri and Anahid Avsharian were asked to look at the prerequisites for acquiring a minister. The financial commitments and other significant considerations in getting a minister have convinced them that we need a broader conversation regarding this step with the wider church community and several events are being planned for that purpose. The Social Responsibility Committee has subsumed the Green Sanctuary Committee and we have recently received a $16,000 grant to expand the Berkshire Food Net project, in partnership with CoAct to provide fresh garden produce to the hungry in central and southern Berkshire County. The grant only covers part of the operational budget for the project which will be the single largest social responsibility endeavor ever taken on by our church. Eddie O’Toole is the Project Coordinator and needs lots of help and support. The Religious Education Committee is initiating a series of Family Support and Development initiatives and a new Adolescent group. It is also working with the Membership Committee to attract more young families with children. A set of brochures have been designed and printed and are currently being distributed. The Finance Committee is planning the 2012 Canvas Campaign with a series of activities to better educate and illustrate to the UUCP community the components of the operational budget and the purpose of various activities that our pledges support. Our Vice President, Sheila McKenna is leading the Canvassing Committee and our drive for new growth. As the 2012 Annual Meeting approaches Ron Giancola, Chair of the Nominating Committee is looking for nominees for the various leadership positions in the church and needs the participation of new members to bring new blood to all of these vital efforts now underway. Make no mistake; none of these ventures can succeed without broad congregation wide participation and assistance.

We are in an era where right wing religious fundamentalists are expanding their efforts and becoming more and more active in their efforts to dominate the political and cultural aspects of American life. They are too smart to preach it from the pulpits but they are taking advantage of large multi-media and social network to exploit the fears and biases of those alienated to a culture of diversity and egalitarian principles. This is no time for liberal churches and progressive faith organizations to sit on the sidelines. Even if we had that luxury and we lived in a perfect world we could not afford to simply sit still. There are many wonderful aspects of our religious community with which  we have all become comfortable, but without new growth, without new commitment, even these familiar attributes of our religious community will eventually fall by the wayside and all that we discovered and valued in our visioning process and past will be lost. C’mon let’s get to work, your church needs you.

Blessings,

Gerry Robinson, President

Join us Sunday March 4 at 11:30am for a discussion on our churches ministerial needs.

A Delicious Lunch and Lively conversation guaranteed!

For more information please contact Laurel Caluori or the Church Administrator.

At the December Social Responsibility Committee Meeting the topic of donating organs came up. I was surprised to find out that I was the only person at the meeting who was NOT an organ donor. Apparently, organ donor ship is a UU thing and I’m quite proud of that. If you (like me) have not designated your organs for donation, you may do so the next time your license comes up for renewal. The Social Responsibility Committee applauds you for this highly personal social action.

(Editors note: you may also do this in person or on-line with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and with your Primary Care Physical.)

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Giancola

All non-CFL bulbs were replaced with high efficiency bulbs. A full house check was done by computer. A follow up visit — up to 8 hours — will take place to seal up and insulate leaky areas. The entire audit took about three hours at NO COST. The bulb replacement value was over $100. PLEASE! If you have been putting this off- don’t any longer. Call CET at (413) 445-4556 or call WMECO directly to schedule your audit. If you don’t, you’re wasting time, money and ENERGY.

We are collecting:

Backpacks

Children’s Summer Clothing

Children’s Shoes

Band Aids

Antibacterial Cream

Crayons and pencils

Coloring Books

Children’s books in Spanish

Tooth Brushes, Toothpaste

Soap and Shampoo

Used things in good condition are welcome. Our inspiration for this work was Kelly O’Toole’s classroom visit. She had been invited to speak about her experience in Honduras, as a “prophetic”  woman who inspires others to make the world a better place ~ The UU second source.

Please help us make our project a success.

Sue Langman, Re Director

Quoting Master Kai Ying Tung speaking on the Chinese art of t’ai chi ch’uan –

The goal is not to demonstrate strength, power or violence. The goal is to attain serenity, tranquility, and the discovery of oneself. It is truly an exercise of the mind.

The cart for donations to area food pantries will be in the foyer as a constant reminder that the need is great, and we as a congregation need to share as we are able.

Thank you for you consideration.

The Executive Committee

Thursday, January 26, 2011  -  “Fixing the Future”  -  In a one-hour PBS special, Host David Brancaccio visits communities across America using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity in our new economy.

Thursday, February 2, 2011  -  Regular Meeting

Thursday, February 9, 2011 – “The Freedom Riders” – John F. Kennedy was elected president, in large part due to widespread support among blacks who believed that Kennedy was more sympathetic to the civil rights movement than his opponent, Richard Nixon. Once in office, however, Kennedy proved less committed to the movement than he had appeared during the campaign. To test the president’s commitment to civil rights, CORE proposed a new Journey of Reconciliation, dubbed the “Freedom Ride.” The strategy was the same: an interracial group would board buses destined for the South. The whites would sit in the back and the blacks in the front. At rest stops, the whites would go into blacks-only areas and vice versa. “This was not civil disobedience, really,” explained CORE director James Farmer, “because we [were] merely doing what the Supreme Court said we had a right to do.” But the Freedom Riders expected to meet resistance. “We felt we could count on the racists of the South to create a crisis so that the federal government would be compelled to enforce the law,” said Farmer. “When we began the ride I think all of us were prepared for as much violence as could be thrown at us. We were prepared for the possibility of death.”

The Freedom Ride left Washington DC on May 4, 1961. It was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17, the seventh anniversary of the Brown decision. Unlike the original Journey of Reconciliation, the Freedom Ride met little resistance in the upper South.

On Mother’s Day, May 14, the Freedom Riders split up into two groups to travel through Alabama. The first group was met by a mob of about 200 angry people in Anniston. The mob stoned the bus and slashed the tires. The bus managed to get away, but when it stopped about six miles out of town to change the tires, it was firebombed. The other group did not fare any better. It was greeted by a mob in Birmingham, and the Riders were severely beaten. Birmingham’s Public Safety Commissioner, Bull Conner, claimed he posted no officers at the bus depot because of the holiday; however, it was later discovered that the FBI knew of the planned attack and that the city police stayed away on purpose. Alabama governor John Patterson offered no apologies, explaining, “When you go somewhere looking for trouble, you usually find it . . . . You just can’t guarantee the safety of a fool and that’s what these folks are, just fools.”

Despite the violence, the Freedom Riders were determined to continue. Jim Peck, a white who had fifty stitches from the beatings he received, insisted, “I think it is particularly important at this time when it has become national news that we continue and show that nonviolence can prevail over violence.” [30] The bus company, however, did not want to risk losing another bus to a bombing, and its drivers, who were all white, did not want to risk their lives. After two days of unsuccessful negotiations, the Freedom Riders, fearing for their safety, flew to New Orleans. It appeared that the Freedom Ride was over.  (But there is more, much more – all documented in this wonderful film.)

Thursday, February 16, 2011 -  Regular Meeting

Thursday, February 23  -  “The Lord is Not On Trial Here Today “  This is a Peabody Award-winning documentary that tells the compelling personal story of Vashti McCollum, and how her efforts to protect her ten year-old son led to one of the most important and landmark First Amendment cases in U.S. Supreme Court history — the case that established the separation of church and state in public schools. The case is little-known by the contemporary American public, yet the McCollum decision continues to have important ramifications for current conflicts over the role of religion in public institutions – from displays of the Ten Commandments in government buildings to student-led prayers at public school graduation ceremonies.

The film recounts what Vashti McCollum later described as “three years of headlines, headaches, and hatred,” and the dramatic legal maneuvering that led to a decision that shocked the nation and made the McCollums a household name. “Beautifully researched” according to the Peabody Awards, perhaps one reviewer says it best: “The Lord is Not On Trial Here Today [tells] a little-known story of a woman, a court case, and a movement that changed American society forever.”

Thursday, March 1, 2011 – Regular Meeting.

Acknowledging the accomplishments of our members who selflessly give their time and efforts to causes in and around our church community.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world.

Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has”  Margaret Mead