Beacon (June 2011)

Summer 2011

The Lowcountry

Beacon Unitarian

Universalist Congregation of the

Lowcountry

A Month of Sundays

Sunday Service: 10:00 am

June 5 “This Is Between Us: The

Way of Restorative Justice” Susan Shaffer

June 12

Upendo Village: Social Justice in Action

Sister Florence Muia

June 19 "I'm Sorry. Forgive Me. Thank You. I love you."

Rev. Pat Jobe

June 26 “A Declaration of

Interdependence ” Rev. Manuel Holland

May and June of this year marks two 50th Anniversaries of which we should take note: The 50th Anniversary of the merger of Uni-tarians and Universalists into one denomination and the 50th Anni-versary of the Freedom Riders.

The Unitarian and Universalist denominations had each already voted to merge when they came to the General Assembly of 1961 in Boston. For a number of years prior to that the two de-nominations had jointly spon-sored the Council of Liberal Reli-gious Education and the Liberal Religious Youth.

Pages 26-34 of the just arrived Summer issue of the UU World present articles and information concerning the importance of the merger and the impact it has had upon our churches, fellowships, ministerial associations, and world outreach over the past fifty years.

Take time to read those articles and if you would like to know more about our Unitarian Univer-salist heritage speak to me or to John Quirk.

The second 50th Anniversary, that of the Freedom Riders, is of interest to a much larger audi-ence.

The story of the Freedom Riders is an important part of our his-tory. At a time when we and our leaders are deeply saddened and angered by the inhumanity shown to so many protesters in countries ruled by dictators, we need to be reminded of the vi-cious inhuman beatings which were inflicted on the Freedom Riders in this country.

Congressman John Lewis was invited in 1999 by our Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee to speak at a public gathering. He also did a book signing at Barnes and Nobles. His book, Walking With The Wind, is in our church library. If you can find time, check out the chapter on Freedom Ride.

Also be on the lookout for the special television programs and documentaries which will be aired in the next few weeks.

~Manuel Holland, Senior Minister

Standing on the Side of Love in Bluffton and Hilton Head Island for over 30 years.

2 The Lowcountry Beacon, Summer 2011


Programs, Meetings, and Special Events

Board Meeting - Cancelled for the month of June. The monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees is held on the fourth Thursday of each month in the UUCL Clara Barton Conference Room. Visitors are always welcome. Book Club—Friday, June 10 at 7 pm. "Never in my Wildest Dreams- A Black Woman's Life in Journalism" by Belva Davis. Meeting will be at the Sweeny’s house in Windmill Harbor. E-Team - Sunday, June 26, following service. The Environmental Team meets on the 4th Sunday of each month. Knitter’s Circle - Wednesday, June 29 from 6:30 - 8 pm. Meets on the last Wednesday of every month from 6:30-8 pm. We make Prayer Shawls, Comfort Blankets, Wraps, Hats, Baby Clothes, and other items to give to members and friends of the congregation in times of need. You do not have to be a Knitter to be in this group. Our doors are open to those who crochet, quilt, weave, sew, and do macramé. Bring whatever you are working on and come en-joy an evening with good company. For more information call Ann at 422-2598 or email [email protected]. Newsletter Deadline - Wednesday, June 15. The deadline for the Beacon is on the 15th of each month. Items should be emailed to Mary-Michael at [email protected]. UU Animal Ministry - Sunday, June 12, following service. UU Animal Ministry meets the second Sunday of each month. UU Singers - Sundays at 9:30 am. Singers are invited to arrive early before Sunday’s service to practice the hymns for that day. This is the first step to creating a Music Pro-gram here @ UUCL.

The Unitarian Universalist As-sociation turns 50 in June and planning for that milestone is well underway. The anniversary of the consolidation of the Uni-versalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Asso-ciation is actually May 15, 2011, but the real festivities start a month later at General Assem-bly 2011 in Charlotte, N.C. The opening ceremony on June 22 will be given over to a cele-bration of that anniversary. One of the highlights will be a hymn, commissioned for the occasion, with words by the Rev. Thomas Mikelson and music by com-poser Tom Benjamin. After the opening worship, a party will commence in the ex-hibit hall. “There will be cake for 3,500 people,” said Don Plante, General Assembly and Meeting Services planner. You can register here: http://www.uua.org/ga/registration/index.shtml

Votes being cast at the UUCL Annual meeting held On Sunday, May 29th, 2011.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Beacon%20Newsletter%20Submission

http://www.uua.org/ga/registration/index.shtml






UUCL Youth who took part in a wonderful service with the help of Religious Education volunteers Rea C and Richard F.

Three of our young people demonstrating with soap and water how they would look sporting a beard at the Annual Picnic at Sea Pines.

We need several

people who can help keep the gardens in

shape over the summer. To join this on-going

group contact

Folly at 682 - 3191.



Folly K is leading a wonderful and exciting new committee called “Beyond Sundays”. The “Beyond Sun-days” committee will provide UUCL members and friends with opportunities for spiritual growth, adult edu-cation, and personal enjoyment. It will coordinate with the Minister and standing committees and follow the Mission, Goals, and Visions set forth by the Strategic Vision Plan of 2010-2015.

PURPOSES: To encourage and assist the formation and organization of new activities that will bring together members and friends with common interests. To assist the functioning and promotion of existing groups when called upon. To advance the development of Small Group Ministries.

We are grateful to Folly and her husband, John, for your great ideas and hard work in forming this commit-tee, and also for proposing the purposes and guidelines, which we will include in its entirety in the next newsletter.

Please see Folly for more information!

Dear UUCL Members and Friends,

Since this will be our last newsletter until September, I want to express what an honor it has been to be your UUCL President this past year, and to have served with such an out-standing group of individuals as our Board of Trustees. Thank you all for all your efforts and contributions. I look forward to the coming year and serving with an-other outstanding Board! WELCOME TO THE 2011 – 2012 NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES! (There will be an inaugural ceremony in July!) Our UUCL Youth group, with assis-tance from Religious Education lead-ers Rea C and Richard F and Direc-tor Ann H, presented an outstanding and creative worship service on May 22nd titled “You Might Be a UU If…” Their wonderful messages were of-ten presented with humor, while showcasing some of the talents and thoughtfulness of this special group! Thanks to each of you and we hope you will plan another service soon!

Our annual picnic potluck was also on Sunday, May 22nd at the Sea

Pines Forest Preserve, a beautiful setting. Over 70 members and friends attended, and many thanks to Libba B for making all the arrange-ments and being our lovely hostess! It was great fun for everyone, includ-ing several of our canine family mem-bers!

The UUCL Annual Congregational Business Meeting was held on Sun-day, May 29, 2011 following our ser-vice. Items adopted were: Bylaw Changes, Slate of Officers and Board Members for 2011-2012, and Board Approved Budget for 2011-2012.

Our Unitarian Universalist District name was recently changed from Thomas Jefferson District to South-eastern District.

Unitarian Universalists from all over the country will soon gather for the 50th annual General Assembly (GA) in Charlotte, NC, June 22-26, 2011. Several UUCL members are attend-ing, and we look forward to sharing some of our experiences and “new found knowledge” with you!

If you wish to attend, reservation in-formation, agenda, and other details can be found at www.uua.org or ask

any of your Board members.

The proposed Unitarian Universalist Association’s statement of con-science this year is Statement of Conscience - Ethical Eating: Food & Environmental Justice and is online at http://uua.org/documents/gaoffice/agenda/statement_conscience.pdf.

There will NOT be a Board meeting in June. The next meeting will be on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:30 P.M.

We will be honoring six of our be-loved long-term members during our June 26th Sunday service. These in-dividuals hold a special place in our hearts and in our congregation’s his-tory and this is an opportunity to ex-press some of our deep appreciation and caring to each of them.

Whether you are taking a vacation, heading to a place with cooler weather, or participating in the abun-dance of summer activities in the Lowcountry . . . ENJOY!

In warm fellowship, ~ Peggy Tweel

President’s Message

http://www.uua.org/

http://uua.org/documents/gaoffice/agenda/statement_conscience.pdf






BOOK CLUB JUNE 10TH The book selected for the Book Club on June 10th is "Never in my Wildest Dreams - A Black Woman's Life in Jour-nalism" by Belva Davis". The meeting will be at the Sweeney's house in Windmill Harbor starting at 7pm, directions to follow. Please see this for an Amazon review with reader comments: ht tp: / /www.amazon.com/Never-My-Wildest-Dreams-Journalism/product-reviews/1936227061.

New Member

Sandy Rumanek

I’ve been politically active and in-terested in social justice and envi-ronmental issues since I was a teenager. While living in Glynn County, GA, in the late 80s and early 90s, I co-founded and was president of a political action group formed to address the gross spending inequities among the eight elementary schools in the district.

My family moved to Pennsylvania in 1992 and I became a newspa-per journalist, focusing on investi-gative governmental reporting. In 1999, I to became the founding editor of a weekly newspaper cov-ering my school district and the seven municipalities therein. It is still the best job I ever had.

Since moving here in February, I’ve become a member of the Ex-ecutive Committee of the local Si-erra Club, and, most importantly, become active in the life of this church.

I feel very much “at home” here, thanks to this wonderful congrega-tion!

I look forward to serving and facili-tating its growth in membership and social activism in any manner I am able, now and in the years to come.

A delicious picnic lunch at Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

UUCL members on a Savannah walking tour, an item donated by Joe and Diane M at the last Auction. The tour was led by Joe and Diane.

http://www.amazon.com/Never-My-Wildest-Dreams-Journalism/product-reviews/1936227061











The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry covenants to affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

• Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;

• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in the society at large;

• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The Living Tradition Which We Share Draws From Many Sources:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder; affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

• Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life;

• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;

• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sa-cred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry

Our Mission To enrich and clarify our understanding of religious thought;

to provide experiences for spiritual growth; to encourage and protect the right of individual freedom of belief;

to promote the democratic process in human relations; and to advance these principles for the benefit of each other,

our community and our world.

Committees Aesthetics & Décor Fran Farrell Peggy Tweel Beyond Sundays Folly King Building Maintenance Doug VanNostran Care Committee Dan Tweel Grounds Paul Brophy Mary A. Walker Finance Dan Tweel Fund Raising Janice Alden Hospitality & Kitchen Kathleen Mirin Membership

Kathy Quirk Music Rosalind Ayers Planned Giving Coordinator Rev. Manuel Holland Promotion & Publicity Sandra Rumanek Religious Education Richard Friedman Social Activities Libba Beerman Strategic Vision Team Mary Alice Walker Worship Cheryl McCarthy Social Justice Groups: E Team Harry Gregory Family Promise UU Animal Ministry Peggy Tweel

Editor Mary-Michael Hanbury

Email: [email protected]

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcounty

110 Malphrus Road Bluffton, SC 29910

(843) 837-3330

[email protected]

www.UULowcountry.org

Office Hours Volunteer Office Staff

Thursdays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Senior Minister Manuel Holland

Religious Education Ann Harrison

President Peggy Tweel

Leadership Staff



http://www.UULowcountry.org

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JUNE 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4

5 9:30 UU Singers 10:00 Worship “This Is Between Us: The Way of Restorative Jus-tice” (Susan Shaffer)

6 7

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10 7:00 pm Book Club Meeting (Sweeny’s House)

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12 9:30 UU Singers 10:00 Worship Upendo Village: Social Justice in Action" Sister Florence Muia 11:30 UU Animal Ministry

13

14

15

June Newsletter Deadline

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17

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19 9:30 UU Singers 10:00 Worship "I'm Sorry. Forgive Me. Thank You. I love you." Rev. Pat Jobe

20 21

22

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24

25

26

9:30 UU Singers 10:00 Worship “A Declaration of Interdependence ” Rev. Manuel Holland 11:30 E-Team

27 28 29

6:30 pm Knitter’s Circle

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Beacon (June 2011)

Documents

Transcript of Beacon (June 2011)