vineyard uu voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. i look forward to island hopping and returning to...

10
he met and fell in love with Siren Mayhew. He moved here in the fall of 2017. Sean and Siren have a beautiful ten -month old daughter, Isla. Sean’s journey to the UUSMV feels like a match made in… the Island community. Know- ing his quest for music ministry, many Island folks told him about the UUSMV. So, welcome, Sean. We are delighted to share in your spiritual journey. Note: If you are seeking a music teacher for yourself or another, Sean teaches guitar, voice, piano and composition. --Dorie Godfrey Welcome, Sean McMahon, our new Music Director! Sean is excited about the creative opportunities await- ing him at the UUSMV. He loves arranging and compos- ing music and is looking for- ward to working with the voices of our choir and con- gregation. Sean earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston and has studied sacred music of various world religions. Sean explores and finds his spirituality in music. He and his brother Griffin share their music with churches on the Island and the entire Island with their Sunday night “Holy Rock and Roll Revival.” Sean also works with the Wampanoag tribe teaching group music classes to the children. Sean grew up in Long Meadow, Massachusetts with his three siblings, who are all in the creative arts. He came to Martha’s Vineyard to visit his brother, Griffin, and here The Chapel and backyard will be in use by ACTmv every weekday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm from June 24 to August 16. The Island The- atre Workshop (ITW) Acad- emy of Children’s Theatre Martha’s Vineyard (ACTmv) is an intimate Summer Drama Program for young people ages 8 to 18: music, theatre, voice and speech, dance and body movement. We are delighted to be able to offer our space to this community. UUSMV groups and individu- als will not be able to meet or access the Chapel during these days. --Editor And the Beat Goes On Inside this issue: July Worship Calendar 2 Minister’s and President’s Columns 3 PC Notes 4 Play Discussion Groups 7 Meetings in July and Beyond 7 In Our Com- mUUnity and July Coordina- tors 7 Contacts 8 July Calendar 9 UUSMV Rents Stevens Chapel to Academy of Children’s Theater This Summer Vineyard UU Voice July 2019 Volume 6, Issue 7 Special points of interest: Review of the Religious Explora- tion Program, p. 2 Join the UUSMV Cropwalk Team, p. 4 Summer Reading Suggestions, p. 10 We are an intentionally welcoming congregation of diverse faiths and shared values, fostering spiritual growth, community action and universal justice.

Upload: others

Post on 27-Jun-2020

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

he met and fell in love with

Siren Mayhew. He moved

here in the fall of 2017. Sean

and Siren have a beautiful ten

-month old daughter, Isla.

Sean’s journey to the UUSMV

feels like a match made in…

the Island community. Know-

ing his quest for music

ministry, many Island folks

told him about the UUSMV.

So, welcome, Sean. We are

delighted to share in your

spiritual journey.

Note: If you are seeking a

music teacher for yourself or

another, Sean teaches guitar,

voice, piano and composition.

--Dorie Godfrey

Welcome, Sean McMahon,

our new Music Director!

Sean is excited about the

creative opportunities await-

ing him at the UUSMV. He

loves arranging and compos-

ing music and is looking for-

ward to working with the

voices of our choir and con-

gregation.

Sean earned a Bachelor of

Music degree from the New

England Conservatory in

Boston and has studied

sacred music of various world

religions. Sean explores and

finds his spirituality in music.

He and his brother Griffin

share their music with

churches on the Island and

the entire Island with their

Sunday night “Holy Rock and

Roll Revival.” Sean also works

with the Wampanoag tribe

teaching group music classes

to the children.

Sean grew up in Long

Meadow, Massachusetts with

his three siblings, who are all

in the creative arts. He came

to Martha’s Vineyard to visit

his brother, Griffin, and here

The Chapel and backyard will

be in use by ACTmv every

weekday from 8:00 am to

4:00 pm from June 24 to

August 16. The Island The-

atre Workshop (ITW) Acad-

emy of Children’s Theatre

Martha’s Vineyard (ACTmv)

is an intimate Summer Drama

Program for young people

ages 8 to 18: music, theatre,

voice and speech, dance and

body movement. We are

delighted to be able to offer

our space to this community.

UUSMV groups and individu-

als will not be able to meet

or access the Chapel during

these days.

--Editor

And the Beat Goes On

I n s i d e t h i s

i s s u e :

July Worship

Calendar

2

Minister’s and

President’s

Columns

3

PC Notes 4

Play Discussion

Groups

7

Meetings in July

and Beyond

7

In Our Com-

mUUnity and

July Coordina-

tors

7

Contacts 8

July Calendar 9

UUSMV Rents Stevens Chapel to Academy of

Children’s Theater This Summer

Vineyard UU Voice

J u l y 2 0 1 9 V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 7

S p ec i a l

p o i n t s o f

i n t e r e s t :

Review of the

Religious Explora-

tion Program, p. 2

Join the UUSMV

Cropwalk Team,

p. 4

Summer Reading

Suggestions, p. 10

We are an intentionally welcoming congregation of diverse faiths and shared

values, fostering spiritual growth, community action and universal justice.

Page 2: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 2

Review of Religious Exploration

Worship Services 11:00 am July 7: Wabi Sabi

Faith - Reverend

Janet Newton

In

tradi-

tional

Japa-

nese

aes-

thetics, wabi-sabi describes an

appreciation for finding beau-

ty within imperfection, imper-

manence, and incompleteness.

Applied to our faith lives, Rev.

Janet wonders whether ap-

preciating imperfection-- with

gratitude for its sometimes

painful lessons--might be

the...perfect...way forward.

The Reverend Janet Newton

is our former intern minister.

She was recently ordained in

this chapel, by this congrega-

tion, in a stunning gift of spir-

it. She extends deep gratitude

to this church and its extraor-

dinary people. Janet currently

serves First Parish Church of

Berlin, MA.

July 14: Conversations

between Hildegard of

Bingen and a Religious

Naturalist - Ursula

Goodenough and Jes-

sica Goodenough

Sanseverino

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-

1179) was a German Benedic-

tine abbess, writer, composer,

philosopher, and considered to

be the founder of scientific

natural history in Germany.

Jessica will sing several of the

haunting chants about the natu-

ral world composed by Hilde-

gard of Bingen and Ursula will

complement Hildegard’s Chris-

tian sensibilities with spiritual

reflections elicited by our pre-

sent-day understandings of the

natural world.

Ursula Goodenough is Profes-

sor of Biology Emerita

(Washington University, St.

Louis), now living in Chilmark.

Jessica Goodenough Sanseveri-

no is a professional soprano

who just moved with her family

from Nantucket to Chilmark;

she will begin teaching K-8 cho-

ral music at the Tisbury School

in the fall.

July 21: The US Slave

Song Project Spirituals

Choir, Directed by

Jim Thomas The US Slave Song Project Spir-

ituals Choir

under the di-

rection of Jim

Thomas re-

turns to Ste-

vens Chapel.

This is always a

deeply meaningful service of

song and story.

Jim Thomas is founder and

president of the Spirituals

Choir and member of the

UUSMV. The U.S. Slave Song

Project (USSSP) is a nonprofit

organization dedicated to

educating the public about

authentic U.S. slave songs.

U.S. slave songs, also known

as Negro spirituals, are true

American folk music. They

were sung by slaves between

1619 and 1865, when the last

slaves were freed.

July 28: Salvation -

Reverend Bill Clark Reverend Bill returns to our

pulpit to deliver one of his

favorite sermons: Salvation.

What is salvation to a Unitar-

ian Universalist? Do we need

to be saved? And if so, from

what are we saved?

youth, the families, and the

congregation? Can we be

more effective or more

efficient? Are there ways to

increase participation?

Kristy and Celeste wel-

come your thoughts. If you

have any comments to

The Parish Committee has

asked Kristy Brooks and

Celeste Stickney, who are

members of the PC, to

conduct a review of the

Religious Exploration Pro-

grams. Are we meeting the

needs of the children and

share about existing pro-

grams or ideas for future

programs, please share

them with Kristy and

Celeste.

—Editor

V i n e y a r d U U V o i c e

Page 3: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

In Faith and Service...

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 7

I am composing my column

from a very wet Star Island. For

those who don’t know about

Star Island, it is a UU and UCC

conference and retreat center

off the coasts of New Hamp-

shire and Maine. I am here as

their minister of the week for

what is called the “Star Arts

Conference.” It is always a

great honor and privilege to

serve here.

It has been raining most of the

time, which is challenging since

one of the best things about

Star is to wander about the

Island and take in all of its natu-

ral beauty. But we have that

luxury daily living on Martha’s

Vineyard and being continually

surrounded by natural beauty,

oh, and some tourists, as well.

Finding solace and inspiration in

the natural world has always

been important to me. As Hen-

ry David Thoreau wrote “Let

us spend one day as deliberately

as Nature, and not be thrown

off the track by every nutshell

and mosquito’s wing that falls

on the rails. Let us rise early

and fast or break fast, gently

and without perturbation. Let

company come and let company

go. Let the bells ring and the

children cry, determined to

make a day of it.”

Nature brings balance into our

world and often also to our

lives.

The first day of summer can

remind us to take things a tad

bit more slowly than before and

to simply bask in the beauty of

our surroundings.

I look forward to Island hopping

and returning to all of you very

soon.

See you in church.

~ Reverend Bill

the Minister and the members

of the congregation, with em-

phasis on the mutually support-

ive partnership that needs to

exist between the Minister and

the Lay-Leaders of the Society.

Our COM members are Sarah

Shepard, Barb Caseau, and

Katharine Colon.

The Minister has primary lead-

ership responsibility for these

ministries: Worship, Music,

Pastoral Care, and Rites of Pas-

sage. The Parish Committee

has primary responsibility for

the ministries of Universal Jus-

tice and Community Action,

Communication, Governance

and Stewardship, Denomina-

tional Affairs, and Right Rela-

tions. Together the Minister

and PC are responsible for

Membership and Lifelong Learn-

ing and Faith Formation for

children, youth, and adults. The

Parish Committee is responsi-

ble to charter--establish

the scope of work--for ALL

committees, and together with

the Nominating and Leadership

Development Committee, re-

cruit members to serve.

We are currently searching for

one or two members who will

take on chairing or co-chairing

the Music Committee, the Uni-

versal Justice and Community

Action Committee, and the

Communications Committee. If

you might consider volunteer-

ing, lunch is on me to talk about

the expectations and scope of

work!

--Rita Brown, President

The Parish Committee (PC) and

Rev Bill (the Minister), and the

Committee on Ministries

(COM) have been working on

defining our roles in the opera-

tion and governance of the So-

ciety, and how we can best sup-

port one another in our re-

sponsibilities. Rev Bill is part-

time, living and working on the

Island 14 days a month and

from his home in Provincetown

the second half of the month,

when he is reachable by phone,

text, or email.

The COM consists of three

members of the Society ap-

pointed by the PC, in consulta-

tion with the Minister. They

serve 3-year terms. They are

responsible for the overall

health of all our ministries and

our congregation. The primary

purpose of the COM is to facili-

tate a balanced and positive,

two-way relationship between

From the President

Page 4: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 4

CUUPS

Parish Committee Notes Your Parish Committee

(PC) met on June 11. Here

is what happened:

Sean McMahon’s em-

ployment as Music

Director was

approved. Welcome,

Sean.

A personnel policy

manual for the UUSMV

is in the works.

Norman Stickney

provided a report of

the Trustees.

The resignation of Rick

Bausman, RE Director,

was accepted. Rick’s

employment ends in

August.

Treasurer reported

that although expendi-

tures exceeded reve-

nue in May and June,

we still have an excess

of revenue to expenses

year to date.

Rita was approved as

the UUSMV off-site

delegate to General

Assembly.

Ewell Hopkins volun-

teered to coordinate

the UUSMV team for

the Crop Walk in Oc-

tober and has already

got a team started with

about $800 raised so

far.

The service auction is

scheduled for Novem-

ber. The Stickneys and

the Krause-Palmers

will co-chair.

UUSMV has joined the

Massachusetts Coali-

tion to Prevent Gun

Violence.

The Forum on Creat-

ing Our Shared Future

is June 29.

Religious Exploration

program is being re-

viewed by the PC with

a goal to recommend

option(s) for going

forward with Faith

Formation (as it relates

specifically to children

and families).

--Editor for the PC

-centered traditions which

celebrate the sacred circle

A celebration of the Sum-

mer Solstice was enjoyed

by 17 adults and children

on June 19 in Stevens

Chapel. Our next celebra-

tion will be Lammas on

Thursday, August 1 at Na-

tive Earth Teaching Farm.

Watch for details later.

CUUPS stands for Cove-

nant of Unitarian Universal-

ist Pagans. CUUPS honor

"Spiritual teachings of Earth

of life and instruct us to live

in harmony with the

rhythms of nature."

CUUPS is chartered by the

UUA and CUUPS chapters

are affiliated with a UU

congregation. See Barbara

Caseau or Sam Greene for

more information if you are

interested.

--Barbara Caseau

V i n e y a r d U U V o i c e

Page 5: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 7

home of Doreen Kinsman and on

Thursday, July 25, 2:00-4:00 pm

at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs with

Steffie Michalczyk as host.

—Celeste Stickney

The Sewcial Ac-

tion Knitworkers will NOT meet in July.

The next meeting will

be on Friday, August

2, 2:00 pm at the home of Barb

Caseau.

—Laura Beebe

The Book

Group will read

Manhattan Beach for

the next meeting on

Tuesday, September 10, 2:00

pm at the home of Doreen Kins-

man. Over the summer, readers are

encouraged to read one of Tony

Horwitz’s books in preparation for

our October gathering. Many thanks

to Doreen for hosting.

—Peter Meleney

The Men’s

Group meets on

Saturday, July 6,

9:30 am at the home

of Steve Engh.

—Peter Meleney

The Women’s

Group meets on

Thursday, July 11,

2:00-4:00 pm at the

Meetings in July, August and September

Wishing the very best birthday to

Jan Casey who is 69 on July 8

Kristy Brooks on July 9

Jeff Fisher who will be 70 on July 10

Chris Fried on July 11

Betty Burton on July 12

Alan Wilson on July 13

Jack Street on July 16

Tripp Hopkins on July 19

Pamela Street on July 20

Celeste Stickney on July 23

Steve Engh on July 26

Contact Dorie Godfrey if you would like your birthday

included in UU Voice. And remember, donating to the

UUSMV is a beautiful way to honor someone on their

birthday!

July Coordinators:

Caring: Mimi Davisson; Hospitality: Nancy Wood

Page 6: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 6

Share the Rainbow - Share Your Dreams

It was a morning of fun and celebration

as the children and youth shared their

year of exploration at the annual youth

service on June 16. Under the direction

of Rick Bausman, our Religious Explora-

tion Director, the children and youth

shared the adventures of the year.

What a great morning!

—Dorie Godfrey for the Lifelong

Learning Committee

V i n e y a r d U U V o i c e

Isabel offers Welcome!

Iyla shares

Explorers 1’s

Rainbow

Connection

with Rick

and Alex.

Talia and

Lily share

Explorers

2’s dialogue

with Her-

shey about

child labor.

Joey shares the experience

of Our Whole Lives.

Jack and

Kyle ask the

question: Is

Pastafarian-

ism a reli-

gion?” ex-

plored in

Big Family

Day.

Rita recognizes the many volunteers

who helped in the Religious Explora-

tions programs this year.

Children

and youth

hand out

the power-

ful sword

of making

someone

feel good!

Page 7: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

Play Discussions and Potlucks

P a g e 7 V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 7

The dis-

cussion

of Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl

will be on Sunday, July 7 at

6:00 pm at the home of Myra

Stark, host.

The discussion of Vanya and

Sonia and Masha and Spike by

Christopher Durang will be on

Sunday, August 4, at 6:00

pm at the hone of Tad and Judy

Crawford, hosts.

The discussion of Low Down

Dirty Blues by Randal Myers will

be on Sunday, September 8

at 6:00 pm at the home of

Anita Christian, host.

Each of these plays will be in-

teresting and thought provok-

ing. As we have for the past

twenty or more years, UUSMV

provides opportunities for com-

ing together to discuss and eat,

two of the things we do best.

How do we do this? You are

encouraged to attend the Vine-

yard Playhouse plays at any time

during their runs. The potlucks

and discussions are held on the

Sunday following the last per-

formance. The hosts for these

discussions either lead the dis-

cussion or have another mem-

ber of the congregation pose

the questions and manage the

discussion.

You are encouraged to sign up

for the potlucks by letting your

hosts know what you will bring.

The host usually provides the

main dish and the attendees fill

in around it to make a whole

delicious meal.

These events are usually kept

to 12-14 people depending on

the size of the hosts’ homes.

The discussions can be lively

and informative. The best duo:

great conversation and really

good food.

—Johanna Kobran,

Parishioner-at-Large

quiet, because I am not a

screamer. As I mingle among

the teeming masses, I am strick-

en by the dichotomy of the

mobility impaired group and the

exercising group. Both struggle

with their unique issues while

the lawn mower sits under the

back porch desperately needing

Well, it

has been

a quiet

month

here at

the

UUSMV

Stevens Memorial Chapel build-

ing and grounds department:

action. We who have done the

mowing await the onslaught of

New England jungle. Join us.

Discover the one redeeming

fact of humanity: to be con-

sumed completely in a noble

cause is as good as it gets! Join

us. Contact me.

—Norman Stickney, Trustee

bury College; Owen Engler,

son of Sharon and Bill Eng-

ler, who made the top 20 in

the class and will attend Boston

College in September; and Ja-

cob Maccaferri, son of Mad-

die Maccaferri, who will be

attending Massachusetts Mari-

time Academy in Buzzards Bay

and will be majoring in Marine

Transportation. We are very

proud of you all and are sure

your parents are as well.

Best Wishes to Maddie Mac-

caferri on her new home shop

location for Mac’s Barber shop.

Contact her for an appointment

on State Rd. in Vineyard Haven.

--Celeste Stickney

Please hold Steve Clark and

Linda Wilson in your caring

thoughts, as well as Peter

Palches, who had a fall.

Join me in wishing congratula-

tions to our graduating seniors

from MVRHS: Addie Hay-

man, daughter of Lucia Hay-

man, who graduated third in

her class and will attend Middle-

In Our CommUUnity

This Old Church

Congratulations

Graduates!

Page 8: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 8

V i n e y a r d U U V o i c e

Page 9: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

P a g e 9 V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 7

Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard Rev Bill will be on Island July 26-August 5.

ACTmv in residence weekdays, 8:00 am-4:00 pm throughout the month.

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 9:30 am: Medi-tation Circle at Nancy Wood’s

3 4 8:30 am: Cleaners in the Chapel

5 6 8:30 am: Men’s Group meets at Steve Engh’s

7 11:00 am: Wabi Sabi Faith – Reverend Janet Newton Worship Coordinator: Judy Crawford 6:00 pm: Play Discus-sion and Potluck at Myra Stark’s

8 9 9:30 am: Medi-tation Circle at Nancy Wood’s 4:15 pm: Parish Committee meeting

10 11 8:30 am: Cleaners in the Chapel 2:00 pm: Women’s Group meets at Doreen Kinsman’s

12 13 9:30 am-12:30 pm: Insight Meditation Group Rental

14 11:00 am: Conversations between Hildegard of Bingen and a Religious Naturalist - Ursula Goodenough and Jessica Goodenough Sanseverino Worship Coordinator: Barb Caseau

15 16 9:30 am: Medi-tation Circle at Nancy Wood’s

17 18 8:30 am: Cleaners in the Chapel

19 20

21 11:00 am: US Slave Songs Project Spirituals Choir - Jim Thomas

22 23 9:30 am: Medi-tation Circle at Nancy Wood’s

24 25 8:30 am: Cleaners in the Chapel 2:00 pm: Women’s Group meets at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs

26 27

28 11:00 am: Salvation - Reverend Bill Clark Worship Coordinator: Jennifer Knight

29 30 9:30 am: Medi-tation Circle at Nancy Wood’s

31

July 2019

Page 10: Vineyard UU Voice2019/07/06  · our surroundings. I look forward to Island hopping and returning to all of you very soon. See you in church. ~ Reverend Bill the Minister and the members

Unitarian Universalist Society

of Martha’s Vineyard

P.O. Box 1236, 238 Main Street

Vineyard Haven, MA 02568

Phone: 508-693-8982; Email: [email protected]

Website: www.uusmv.org

Reverend Bill Clark - Minister

Emily Anderson - Music Director

Rick Bausman - RE Director

Lori Shaller - Administrative Assistant, Newsletter

Copy Editor and Publisher

Dorie Godfrey - Managing Editor

Katharine Colon, Christine Ferrone, Mary Miller –

Proofreaders

UUSMV

PO Box 1236

Vineyard Haven, MA 02568

Summer Reading

List Here are some books and a movie on issues of universal

justice we invite you to read over the summer. Come fall

we will schedule times for discussions.

Race: Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and The

Stony Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and the movie, When

They See Us created by Ava DuVernay showing on Net-

flix.

Climate: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

—Barbara Caseau, Adult Lifelong Learning