Page 1 UU Galveston Gazette December 2015

The theme for our December programs is "World Community with Peace, Liberty, and Justice for All."

The recent, horrific acts of terrorism have prompted responses for justice in the guise of war and revenge against the perpetrators, as well as, isolation and exclusion of refugees from war-torn Syria.

How can an ideal of world community prevail in this climate of hate? Is there a response that would unite rather than further divide our world community?

Please join us this month as we explore what seems to be the impossible dream of peace, liberty, and justice for all.

December 6: – Jean Goodwin, M.D. - “C.S. Lewis: Searching for the Lost Mother” The creator of Narnia lost his faith at age 9 when his mother died. His life story can be read as a series of attempts to re-find his mother and to re-find his faith. What began as his problem became his life's work and his life's joy. His day is celebrated in the Anglican Church on November 22. Jean M Goodwin is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Galves-ton. She is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UTMB and a training and supervising analyst on the faculty of the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies in Houston. She is an author, lecturer and consultant on issues of childhood trauma and dissociation. Greeter: Sandra Sullivan BMOD: Wendy Baker Facilitator: Dorothy Trevino Music: Idalia Avezuela

December 13: Rev. Rob Tucker - “Liberty and Justice: Basis for World Community and Peace?” INGATHERING TODAY The phrase “with liberty and justice for all” flows easily off our tongues and is embedded in our memory. However, is this American concept a pattern for the world? Bob is a native of Minnesota and has served churches in South Dakota, Minneso-ta, Texas and Kansas. He was, for twenty-eight years, the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church of Houston. He is Executive Director Emeritus of The Foundation for Comtemporary Theology. Greeter: Susan Persons BMOD: Mary Case Facilitator: Vickie Francil Music Bruce Mauzy

December 20: Rev. Joy Daley -- “A Moravian Love Feast” This annual service celebrates the Christmas season with carols, readings, candles and a traditional Moravian Love Feast. This ritual is a shared communion of rolls and sweet coffee, served by members of the congregation. It is based upon the Agape feast and the meals of the early churches described in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles, which were partaken in unity and love. A Lovefeast seeks to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another. Joy, a member of this fellowship, is a minister ordained by the Inter-national Assembly of Spirit Healers and Earth Stewards (S.H.E.S.). Greeter: Susan Persons BMOD: Tom Delgado Facilitator: Sharon Goodwin Music: Margaret Canavan

December 27: Cheryl Sanders Henry -- " The Last Sunday: Closing Thoughts " POTLUCK TODAY On this last Sunday of the year, let's take a brief look back at the joys, sorrows, challenges, and lessons of 2015. What joys or sorrows did you experience? What challenges did you face? What are you thankful for? What did you learn? What, if anything, would you do differently? During this service, we will take some time to review the past year and acknowledge the ups and downs. By declaring the year complete, we can more easily look to the future with hope and a sense of pur-pose. Please come to the service prepared to share your personal reflections about the year and what hopes you have for 2016. Cheryl Sanders Henry retired from a career in Training and Development in 2005. She has been an active member of this Fellowship since 2007. Cheryl lives with her husband and three dogs on Galveston Bay. Greeter: Susan Persons BMOD: Larry Janzen Facilitator: Bets Anderson Music: Bruce Mauzy

UU Galvest n Gazette Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Galveston County December 2015

502 Church Street, Galveston, Texas 77550-5502 409.765 8330 Online at uugalveston.org

We welcome the full range of human diversity, that is, age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its gift. This is our great covenant:

To dwell together in peace, to see k the truth in love, and to help one another.

Page 2 UU Galveston Gazette December 2015

A Message from the President

Previously I have asked for feedback about any aspect at the Fellow-ship really, but, most likely, I was hoping to get input about the pro-grams. Lo and behold, I have received some feedback, and now I’m not sure what to do. I’ve heard from a few, but mostly people I see on a regular basis.

Some changes are easy to make, and probably should have hap-pened sooner, but others are not as clear cut. And what if there is disagreement, some want it one way and some another? Some members want more uniformity and others are not sensitive in the least to a wide range of practices.

So, I’m still looking for feedback, about anything really, but if you have a specific idea or opinion about a program, shoot me an email please. mcasetxtx@earthlink.net I’ve asked that this be put in the Weekly Announcements as well.

You might notice that we have dropped the Concerns from Joys and Sorrows. After searching the UUA library on-line, we found that many churches are adopting this change. Nowhere else in our ser-vice does our diversity show more than in our Joys and Sorrows. Some people have a strong need for more reverence in our services, and thus think these sharings should be limited and perhaps even controlled. Others see our service as informal as a club meeting and feel strongly that ‘anything goes.’ Clearly the answer is for every-one to consider the diversity that we all are united in valuing and try to find some middle ground.

If we are all considerate and practice our tolerance we will be blessed with a peaceful celebration every Sunday.

And finally, I am so pleased to announce we have a new Administra-tive Assistant, Angie Hungerford. Although she’s from this area she’s recently returned after many years away. Please welcome her warmly.

Love and Peace,

Mary Case

2015 - 2016

Leadership of UUFGC

Board of Directors

President Mary Case President-elect Larry Janzen Past President John Vanderpool Treasurer Stan Blazyk Secretary Judy Glaister At-large members Wendy Baker Steve Townley

Tom Delgado

Committees and Task Forces

Caring C.Lobb/M.Philpot/M.Terrill Communications Madeleine Baker Landscape John Stokes Membership Cheryl Henry Program/Worship Mary Case Religious Education Neil Huddleston Supper Circles Mary Ann Fore Social Action Bets Anderson

Administration

Adminstrator Angie Hungerford Newsletter Editor Margaret Canavan Webmaster Neil Huddleston

Themes for 2016 services January Greatness February Love March Justice April Stewardship May Relationships June Creativity July Compassion August Challenge September Community October Spiritual Practice November End of Life December Peace

REMINDER: We always have collection boxes in the foyer for donation of the following:

Unused medications for St. Vincent’s House student run Free Clinic.

Vacation/sample toiletries (or full size if you are generous) for clients of Access Care of Coastal Texas (formerly AIDS Coali-tion) .http://www.supportacct.org/; also pet supplies for those clients.

Donations of supplies or funding for the Gal-veston Diaper Bank. https://www.facebook.com/thegalvestondiaperbank

Used printer cartridges for recycling.

Get YOUR news out to our members and friends!

Sunday Order of Service: send by Thursday evening

Weekly email: send by 5pm Sunday

Newsletter: send by the 15th of the month

All information may be sent to administrator@uugalveston.org

Page 3 UU Galveston Gazette December 2015

“Like” us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UUGalveston

UU Book Club is open to all who love to read.

Meetings are at 7pm on the second Wednesday of each month, with discussion of books selected by the partici-pants. Meetings are in the Fellowship “Living Room” and we bring snacks or beverages to share. Up for discussion on December 9 is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

And start collecting your 2016 books now, they are:

January The Master and Margarita by Mikail Bulgakov February The Circle by Dave Eggers March Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee April The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera May The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig June Circling the Sun by Paula McLain July Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek. by Robyn Davidson August The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Eliza-

beth Tova Bailey September Farewell Fred Voodoo by Amy Lilentz October The Outer Buoy by Jan de Hartog November Being Mortal by Atul Gawande December The Promise by Ann Weisgarber

C o n n e c t i o n s

Boo

k C

lub

In a world more and more polluted by the lying of politicians and the illusions of the media, I occasion-ally crave to hear and tell the truth… Friendship is by its very nature freer of deceit than any other rela-tionship we can know, because it is the bond least affected by striving for power, physical pleasure, or material profit, most liberated from any oath of du-ty or of constancy.

(Francine du Plessix Gray, 1930 - )

Ingathering of new members December 13: If you have

been considering membership in the Fellowship, now is a fine time. We will have a ceremony of ingathering as part of the servicee on Sunday, December 13. Contact Membership Chair Cheryl Henry, or email administrator@uugalveston.org.

“A Course in Miracles” will have a new meeting location in

December. If you would like to attend, contact Laura Murrell or Dale Hogan for information. All are welcome to participate.

No Game Night in December. Gamers will reconvene in Jan-

uary.

Float the Boat: Karla Klay reminds us that there is still time get

your tickets to the December 11 Artist Boat fundraiser at https://kayak.destinationnext.com/FloatTheBoat.aspx .

Got Music?: The “Music Department” welcomes your musical

talents. If you have something musical you would like to offer for a service, please let any of the musicians know. They are a flexible group and are willing to try most anything. Have a song to sing? They will do their best to accompany you. Play an instrument? Solos wel-come! Or they will let you know hymns in advance so you can prac-tice and play along.

Galveston College Chorale

to Perform

It’s that time of year for holiday con-certs, and several members of UU Galveston are preparing to sing with the GC Chorale. You’ll have several FREE opportunities to hear them at:

Holiday in the Park at Saengerfest Park,23rd & Strand, on Saturday December 12 at 5pm;

The performance of Handel’s Mes-siah on Sunday, December 13, 7:30pm at Moody Methodist Church, 53rd and Avenue U. The chorale will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra for this special concert.

Galveston’s first ever Messiah Sing-along on Monday, December 14 at 7:30pm in Galveston College’s Seibel Hall at 39th & Q½. Join in if you’ve ever wanted to sing along!

Moody’s Mansion’s Twelfth Night celebration at 6pm on January 6.

Members of the chorale include UUs Bets Anderson, Madeleine Baker, Deanna Benson, Margaret Canavan, Mary Case, Larry Janzen, Miso Lee, Carol Lobb, Billie Rinaldi, and UU-by-marriage Roy DeGesero.

Page 4 UU Galveston Gazette December 2015

The Compassionate Collection in December will benefit the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) Refugee Crisis Fund. The UUSC will distribute the funds to partner organizations in countries that are receiving refugees from Syria and other war-ravaged nations. “Our work will focus on ensuring the safe passage of refugees seeking safety and helping refugees access their rights in host countries,” said UUSC President William F. Schulz and UUA President Peter Morales in a joint statement announcing the fund.

“Right now, 11 million Syrians have been forced to leave their homes after four years of civil war,” Schulz and Morales continued. “Worldwide, an estimated 60 million people have been displaced, leading to the largest crisis of forced dis-placement since World War II. The United States must step up as a leader in aiding these vulnerable people.”

Their appeal also included a link to a petition calling on the U.S. government to raise the number of Syrian refugees it accepts from just over 100 last year to 200,000.

The UUSC announced that the fund has raised more than $370,000.

UUSC receives the highest possible ratings from Charity Nav-igator, an independent evaluator of charity expenditures and functions. Your donations will be used wisely.

Our compassionate offering is always on the first Sunday of each month. If you are unable to attend that day and want to make a contribution, you may provide a check made out to UUFGC that states the group to which you wish to donate. Our Fellowship has a history of much generosity to local non-profit groups.

S o c i a l A c t i o n N e w s

The November Compassionate Collection for the Galveston Seafarer’s Center resulted in many goody boxes delivered to

the Center. These will be given to seafarers who are away from home at this holiday season.

Thanks to all who participated for your generosity.

From Social Action Committee:

We will NOT have a provocative film in December as there are so many events going on around town. So films will return in January. In the meantime we rec-ommend that everyone enjoy:

Dickens on the Strand December4-6

Ron Wyatt’s Organ Extravaganza at Trinity Episco-pal Church on Saturday, December 5

Galveston College Chorale concert of Handel’s Mes-siah on December 13, 7:30pm, at Moody Methodist Church

A singalong of Handel’s Messiah at Galveston Col-lege’s Seibel Hall on Monday, December 14, at 7 pm

P r a y e r o f S a i n t F r a n c e s

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be con-

soled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal

Life. Amen.

December Compass ionate Col lect ion to Benefi t the UUSC Refugee Cris is Fund

Shannon Samuelson-Reeves is collecting new socks to be given out by the Luke's Society Clinic for homeless and under-served populations. These are much need-ed as the weather gets colder. Most useful are new men’s tube socks, as they will fit most sizes. If you would like to contribute please leave them at the Fellowship by Sunday, December 13 and Shannon will collect and deliver them.

Page 5 UU Galveston Gazette December 2015

Newsletter Items Due

Please!

December 2015 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 5pm Bowlers

6 pm Program

Committee

3 4 10am “A”

Team

7 pm No Pro-

vocative

Film this

month

5

6 9am Adult Forum

10:30: Jean Goodwin, M.D. -

“C.S. Lewis: Searching for the

Lost Mother”; Children’s Reli-

gious Education

8pm: AA

Phoenix Group

Hanukkah begins

7 11am Course

in Miracles

8

Bodhi Day

9 5pm Bowlers

7pm Book Club

discusses

Big Little Lies

8pm AA

Phoenix Group

10

11

12

Feast of

Our Lady of Guadalupe

13

9am Adult Forum

10:30: Rev. Rob Tucker -

“Liberty and Justice: Basis for

World Community and

Peace?”; Children’s Religious

Education

12n “Newcomers” meeting

8pm AA Phoenix Group

14 11am Course

in Miracles

5:15pm Board

Meeting

15 16 5pm Bowlers

8pm AA

Phoenix Group

17 18 19

20 9am Adult Forum

10:30: Rev. Joy Daley -- “A Mo-

ravian Love Feast”; Children’s

Religious Education

6:30pm: Poker @ Townley’s;

8pm AA Phoenix Group

21 11am Course

in Miracles

22 23 5pm Bowlers

8pm AA

Phoenix Group

24

25

Christmas

26

Zarathosht Diso

27 10:30: Cheryl Sanders Henry -- "

The Last Sunday: Closing

Thoughts "Children’s Religious

Education

8pm AA Phoenix Group

28 11am Course

in Miracles

29 30 5pm Bowlers

8pm AA

Phoenix Group

31

at UU Galveston

Potluck Today

Happy Birthday to Steve Townley 12/1

Zoula Zein-Eldin 12/2

Vickie Francil 12/9

Deanna Benson 12/10

Dale Hogan 12/10

Jamey White 12/11

Mary Case 12/17

Sharon Booton 12/23

Ingathering