ST. JOHN’S

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

320 Resor Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45220-1698

.

  Non Profit Organization

U.S. Postage

P A I D

Cincinnati, Ohio

         Permit No. 2429

 

 

    THE REPORTER

 Newsletter of St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church of Cincinnati, OH                         December 3, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought of the Week

“Once I began going to church, the age-old religious rituals marking the turning of the year

deepened and gave a fuller meaning to the cycle of the seasons and my own relation to them.

The year was not only divided into winter, spring, summer and fall, but was marked by the

expectation of Advent, leading up to the fulfillment of Christmas, followed by Lent,

the solemn prelude to the dark anguish of Good Friday that is transformed in the glory of Easter.

Birth and death and resurrection, beginning and ending and renewals, were observed and

celebrated in ceremonies whose experience made me feel I belonged—

not just to a neighborhood and a place, but to a larger order of things,

a universal sequence of life and death and rebirth….

Going to church, even belonging to it, did not solve life’s problems. But it gave me a sense of

living in a larger context, of being part of something greater than what I could see through

the tunnel vision of my personal concerns. I now looked forward to Sunday because

it meant going to church; what once was strange now felt not only natural but essential.”

                                                                                                     –DAN WAKEFIELD

                                                      in Returning

 

Upcoming Sunday Services

Sunday services and Children’s Religious Exploration classes

at St. John’s begin at 11am. Child care is available.

“Holiday Choral Service”

the St. John’s Choir with special guests

      A beautiful set of Carols and Lullabies (Christmas in the Southwest) will be performed by the choir, accompanied by harp, guitar, and marimba. Solos by Tom Darner, Ed Jones, and Manuel Sussaret from the choir will spice up the music, and favorite guests John Wright and Lee Hoffman will also join us. (for all the details, please see Cathy Roma’s column on page 7)

 

Rev. Frank Carpenter will offer some reflections on the inner

ecology of generosity. Don’t forget, it’s “Bring a Friend to Church”

Sunday!

 

      an informal morning service to

      help get you in the sprit at 11am

“Family Candlelight Service”

    our traditional Christmas Eve service

     for the entire family at 7pm

 

 

 

 

Minister

  The Rev. Dr. Frank Carpenter

 Affiliated Minister

  The Rev. Bonnie Meyer

Minister Emerita

  The Rev. L. Annie Foerster

Minister of Music

  Dr. Catherine Roma

Assoc. Director of Music

  Rachel Kramer

Directors of Religious

Exploration for Children

  Mary M. Darner

  Barbara Hadden

Office Administrator

  Mary Jo (Josie) Arens

Caretaker

  J. Michael Skaggs

Newsletter Editor

  Bruce Beisner

Church Office

   513-961-1938

   FAX 513-961-4008

Church Office Hours

   Monday thru Friday.

   7:30am-2:30pm

Church Website

   www.stjohnsuu.org

Next Reporter Deadline

will be Thursday Dec. 14

at 5pm. Send articles to

Bruce Beisner via email.

 

Frankly Speaking…..

                                                                                 by the Rev. Dr. Frank Carpenter

 

     “Politics” isn’t a four letter word.  To hear some people use it you would think it is. Members of Congress are accused of being “political!”  Doh!  I gather what may be meant is that they are partisan.  How did they ever get to Congress?  Any why were they sent?  Politics in Washington is the messy business of representing the people’s interests.  Sometimes the definition of ‘the people’ gets pretty narrow, but ‘politics’ is the way it’s all sorted out: the assessment of the power of different congressperson, the amount of influence different groups can bring to bear.

     It does not seem unusual to hear someone speak of ‘church politics.’  It’s usually derogatory.  There’s that four letter word attitude again.

     While the vision of a loving community draws us to religious fellowship, we are no more above it all; we have not become holier by just coming to church.  If anything, we come to church to be reminded

that there is a different way besides the dog eat dog approach growing in our culture.

     But however much we wish we were above it all, we remain human.  Nothing proves this quite so much as a desire, perhaps even our fantasy that we are above it all.  But people are people, and relationships are relationships.

     One of my favorite 1960’s authors was the English psychotherapist R. D. Laing.  He wrote a book entitled THE POLITICS OF THE FAMILY.  You don’t have to go to Washington, or even to church to get the basic lessons in politics.

      For me, politics is about the messiness of our relationships. We are inextricably tangled with one another.  At are best and at our worse, we gather together. I take a positive attitude to the word, though

I don’t use it too much. It implies a commitment to be engaged with one another.

     We go to church to be reminded of what can be.  We would have our relationships based in the pure transparency of love.  It isn’t always so, so at this time of the year as days grow shorter, as we consider the eternal yearnings of the human heart at this time of year, it’s good to be reminded both of how things are and how they might be.

 

                                                                                              -Peace,

                                                                                                   Frank

 

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Our Mission: St. John’s is committed to creating a safe and caring community,
working  for social justice and celebrating beliefs that respect freedom of thought.
 
We are  pleased to be designated a “Welcoming Congregation” by the Unitarian Universalist
Association, and as such we honor and value the racial, cultural, economic, religious, physical ability,
sexual orientation and gender diversity of our members and visitors, young and old.

 

 

The deadline for the next issue of THE REPORTER will be Thursday December 14 at 5pm.

 

 

PAGE 2   The Reporter  December 3,, 2006

 

 

 

Church Calendar

 

Monday December 4

    7pm- RE Advisory Committee

Tuesday December 5

    9am- Staff Meeting

   10am- Meditation

    10am- Yoga

    8pm- Adult RE: World Religious Traditions

Wednesday December 6

   7pm- Friends of the Collaborative

    7pm- Membership Committee

Thursday December 7

   7:15pm- Choir Rehearsal

Friday December 8

   7pm- Games Night

   7pm- Interweave Christmas Party

Saturday December 9

   9am- Choir Dress Rehearsal

   11am- Chalice Group

   3pm- Holiday Open House

             at home of Karen Miller and Frank Meyer

   5pm- Gingerbread House Making Party

Sunday December 10

   11am- Sunday Worship Service: Choral Concert

   1pm- Interweave Luncheon

   4pm- Breaking Free

   7pm- A Course in Miracles

Monday December 11
   7pm- Worship Opportunities Planning Team
Tuesday December 12

    10am- Meditation

    10am- Yoga

    7pm- Adult RE Class: World Religious Traditions

    7pm- Chalice Group (J. Cirillo)

Wednesday December 13

   5:30pm- Executive Board Meeting

    6pm- Board of Trustees Meeting

   7pm- Chalice Group (Luerssen)

Thursday December 14

   5pm- Deadline for The Reporter

   7:15pm- Choir Rehearsal

Saturday December 16

   9:30am- Dream Group

Sunday December 17

   9am- Chalice Group

   11am- Sunday Worship Service

   7pm- A Course in Miracles

   

 

 
Tuesday December 19

   9am- Staff Meeting

   10am- Meditation

   10am- Yoga

   7pm- Adult RE Class: World Religious Traditions

Thursday December 21

   7:15pm- Choir Rehearsal

Friday December 22- Winter Begins!

    Church Office Closed- (Josie Vacation Day)

Sunday December 24

    11am- Sunday Worship Service

    7pm- Christmas Eve Family Candlelight Service

Monday December 25- Christmas Day

    Church Office Closed

 

 

News in the Office

by Josie Arens

St. John’s Office Administrator

 

I am still in need of some office coverage to check the phones for December 22, 27,28,29 for a couple of hours (preferably in the morning) If you can help please call me and let me know. If you need instructions on the phone system I will be glad to show you how it works. If no one can help out I will check the phones from home once each day in late afternoon. Thanks to Emily Hodges, Carolyn Banfield and Ethel Ingalls for their help for recent phone coverage. If you would like to purchase a poinsettia to decorate the sanctuary for Christmas Eve please fill out the insert in this issue of The Reporter and return it to the office by December 8th. My good intentions are to publish a new "People Book" by the first part of February. Please email me or leave me a note (in my office box) of any updates that you have for your listing. The next two deadlines for the Reporter will be December 14 and January 3 at 5pm. (We are skipping a week for the Christmas holiday). As we are now in the holiday season I would like to wish everyone peaceful days, good health, a blessed and safe holiday with the hope of ending the war and returning our troops home soon and safe to their loved ones.

 

The Reporter,   December 3, 2006 __ PAGE 9

 

 

RE Joys

by Barbara Hadden and Mary Darner

Directors of Religious Exploration

 

Thank you to our Voices of Variety children's choir for bringing us such a joyous holiday musical program, “December in Our Town,” on December 3. Thanks also to Rachel Kramer, choir director, and to Kathy Rentz for their leadership of the choir. The children had a very special Saturday final rehearsal and lunch on Saturday thanks to RE Associates Gina Marsh, Cynthia Villacis, Jill Lampe and Melinda Smith.

On December 10 when the adult choir presents their Spanish holiday concert, children are invited to sit with their parents to enjoy this delightful program. The smallest children will have child care. Any elementary age children not interested in the program will be able to watch a movie in the Rosa Parks room downstairs. Some of our junior high and high schoolers went Trick or Treating for UNICEF and collected $54.28. UNICEF spends 91% of donations directly on programs for children around the world. Thank you, youth, for your efforts to help others!

 

 

Support Our Youth Service Projects

Here is a list of service projects underway by

our youth. Your purchase or donations and commitment of time are important to the success of these efforts. Please pick one or more projects listed here and offer your time and resources:

The 5-6th grade class is selling polar fleece scarves for $5 and fancy scarves for $15 after church in December to benefit the Bethany House shelter for women and children.

The Hat and Mitten Tree in the lobby needs your donations of hats, mittens, scarves, and socks between now and Christmas to keep Cincinnati elementary school children warm this winter.

 

 

PAGE 8   The Reporter December 3,, 2006

The 7-8th grade class is collecting donations to help a family in Northside for the next two months. Your canned goods and household supply donations by December 10 will be greatly appreciated.

 

YRUU News

Starting December 31, the YRUU (high-school youth) will begin serving lunch the last Sunday of each month at the Drop In center in Over-the-Rhine. We will be asking YRUU families to join us the first few times and then open to the invitation to others in the congregation. If you are interested in sharing in this service experience with the youth, please let one of the YRUU advisors know. They are Alicia Rosselot, Kathleen Smythe, and John Fanselow

 

 

 

For Everything There Is a Season

At the end of June, I will be leaving my job as

Co-Director of Religious Exploration. I made this decision five years ago, but as each spring rolled around I found that I just couldn't let go of the work I find so rewarding. Now however, my brain and my body are giving me a different message and I know it’s the right thing to do for the church as well as for me. Two flights of stairs several times on a busy Sunday morning are increasingly difficult and my energy level is slowing down- not surprising since

I will be eighty years old in a couple of years.

I will not be leaving St. John’s but will find ways of staying involved in other activities as a new person comes in to work with Mary. June is six months away and I will be on the job, having a great time with our wonderful children, parents, teachers and all of you who have given us such great support for the past ten years.

                                        Love, Barbara Hadden

 

 

 

Opportunities

& Invitations

                          

Games Night is THIS Friday!

The Final Friday Game Group will be meeting THIS Friday (December 8) to avoid holiday conflicts as much as possible. This month we will be giving away games! Yep, you read that right, one of our members has some games he would like to give away, so please join us for some holiday cheer and game playing beginning at 7 pm. Our meeting in January will move back to the normal date-- January 26. Please contact Karen Miller for details.

                                                      –Karen Miller

 

Coffee Hour Sign Up

We will be signing up 2007 coffee hour hosts in Krolfifer after services on December 10 and 17. We’re in the process of modifying the procedures for coffee hour hosting, and would like to sign up volunteers for 2007 as soon as possible. We are working to simplify the procedures (which will require both setup and cleanup duties, but will only need to be done once per year for each St. Johner. For those who don’t sign up during the dates listed, hosting dates will be assigned. If you’d like to host for a specific date or with a specific group of people, please make sure to sign up after one of these services. We’ll soon be distributing additional information about our new, simplified procedures.

                                                          -Greg Terhune
                     

Women’s Book Group

The women’s book group won't meet in December.

Our next meeting will be on January 19 at 7:30pm at the church. We'll discuss the nonfiction book Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller. The book is about Fuller’s childhood during the Rhodesian civil war. All women are welcome. For newcomers, this is a great way to meet others in an informal, relaxed setting. Call Debbie Combs for more information.

                                                       –Debbie Combs

“Bring a Friend to Church” Sunday

Rev. Frank Carpenter and the Membership Com-mittee invite you to "Bring a Friend to Church" on December 17. This special Sunday has been set aside for you to introduce friends to St. John's. Your friends may already know we are committed to the practice of free religion. We worship, sing, play, study, teach and work for social justice together as

a congregation-- all the while remaining strong in our individual convictions. On December 17,  Rev. Carpenter will speak on the meaning of the holi-days. To prepare for a friend's visit you may want

to browse the membership table in the foyer. Of particular interest might be the small red folder entitled, ‘What do Unitarian Universalists Believe?” Another good brochure is “We Are Unitarian Universalists” which gives in-formation on looking for a religious home. A warm welcome will await all those you bring with you

                                       -the Membership Committee

 

Holiday Open House

All are invited to our annual Holiday Open House to be held on Saturday December 9 from 3 to 5pm at The Belvedere. In addition to your holiday cheer, you are asked to bring an appetizer or finger food to share. Your hosts will be Richard and Barbara Hadden, Eddie Langdon, and Karen Miller and Frank Meyer. Contact any one of us with questions.
                                                    
–Karen Miller

 

Gingerbread Houses & Pizza Party

Gingerbread House decorating by our families occurs on Saturday December 9 at 6pm. Make your reservation to create your sweet fantasy home by sending a note to st.john.dre@fuse.net  and letting us know who will be attending. We ask that each family unit contribute $10 towards pizza and a gingerbread house. We will be displaying the com-pleted houses on Sunday morning Dec. 10 with a model of our Unitarian partner church in Romania.

                                                               -Mary Darner

 

 

 

 The Reporter,   December 3,, 2006 __ PAGE 3

 

 

Among Ourselves

 

Board Nominations for 2007-2008

The Nominating Committee is presently accepting nominations for three Board positions (Administrative Council, Religious Development Council and Vice President) and three Nomina-ting Committee members. If you are interested in being nominated for one of these positions, or if you wish to suggest someone else, please contact any member of the Nominating Committee. They are Mary Ball, Dick Fencl, Richard Hadden, Monica Pellman and Cliff Shisler.

                                                     -Cliff Shisler

 

Our Successful Energy Plan

All of the efforts to reduce St. John's utility bill has paid off in a refund check just received from Duke Energy for $4832.16 and a reduction in our bills for next year by $520 a month. A year and a half ago a painful budget was worked out that reduced funding in many areas. Much of the need to do this was driven by huge rate increases for gas and electricity and the resulting increase in our monthly bill from Duke Energy. In an attempt to improve the situation the property committee put in new thermostats and installed them so they could be better controlled; programmed the thermostats to keep from heating and cooling unoccupied spaces; urged groups like the choir to use more easily heated/cooled spaces, increased the use of compact flourescent lights and other measures. The check was received at the end of the annual budget billing period and the new rate set lower. Congratulations to Bill Luerssen, Jim McDonough, Sam Cauffield, Dick Rieman, the Green Sanctuary Partners and to all of the members of St. Johns for cooperating to make these savings happen.

                                                –Barbara Casson

                                      Property Council Chair

 

 

 

PAGE 4  The Reporter  December 3,  2006

 

Changes to the Sunday Order of Service
There were many comments in the last assessment

of the congregation regarding the structure of our Sunday services. Many of the comments indicated that there needed to be some changes made in the format. Last month, Rev. Carpenter, Cathy Roma, Rachel Kramer, Barbara Hadden, Mary Darner, Bruce Beisner, George Dersheimer and Nina Tolley met to discuss these and look at how the services could be changed. In the coming months you will note that there will be changes and not each Sunday will look exactly the same. Some elements may not happen every week and others may be shortened or presented in a new way. We are hoping that this will make the services more interesting and look forward to hearing the congregation’s thoughts on these changes.
                                                        -Nina Tolley

 
Influence What Happens at St. John’s

Interested in helping with our website? Or raising funds? Or planning Sunday morning services? Or matching members with volunteer opportunities? Or governing the church? Come to a meeting on Sunday January 14 immediately after church in the Chapel to explore these opportunities and others. We’ll have people there to answer your questions and get you started in working with our various Committees and the Board. Childcare for this short meeting will be provided.

                                                          -Cliff Shisler

 

The Finance Corner

How much can it cost to run a church?  For 2006-07 we have budgeted $294,000.  Some costs involved with the keeping of our church are not always obvious.  For example, we spend $4000 per year on insurance, $2000 per month for utilities (including phone), $2000 per year on postage (including bulk mailing), $2000 per year on cleaning/maintenance supplies, $70 per month for trash collection, and $500 per quarter on copier maintenance contract…just to name a few.  So, pledges can have many uses.

If you’d like to participate in the Finance Council, contact Jonena Jones.

                                                    -Jonena Jones

 

 

 

Frequent Flyer Miles?

The Program Planning Team for our Contemporary Service would like to send two people to the San Diego UUA Young Adult Contemporary Service Conference in February. If anyone is able to donate

a round trip with frequent flyer miles between CVG and San Diego, please contact Ruth Anne Wolfe.

                                                               -Carol Fencl

 

Save the Heartland on District Board

The Nominating Committee of the Heartland UU District is searching for committed and talented lay leaders to serve as members of the Heartland Board of Trustees. The Board is focused on carrying the vision of the District and setting policies that are designed to achieve our desired impact in the world. To guide their work, members of this leadership team utilize the Carver Model of Policy Governance, a comprehensive theoretical foundation for the governing board's role in business, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Board members are elected to two year terms at the HUUD Annual Meeting each spring, with terms commencing July 1. In addition to the Annual Meeting, members are responsible for attending quarterly weekend board meetings in a central location, which includes a transition retreat in June. Additional phone or email communication is required throughout the year.

Members are compensated for travel, lodging and other approved expenses. Board members must be voting members of member societies of the District or of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship residing within the geographical area of the District. To be considered as a candidate for the HUUD Board, or for more information, please contact Kyle Bagnall, Nominating Committee member, at wildshore@charter.net or at 989.513.0961. Candidates are required to submit a letter of interest and a vitae detailing their professional and lay leadership experience. Please include two references that are familiar with your service as a UU leader. Send materials to Kyle via email (preferred) or by mail to 2809 Dawn Drive, Midland, MI 48642.

 

 

Music Vivace

By  Dr.Catherine Roma, St. John’s Minister of Music

 

Treat yourself to the St. John's Choir Choral Sunday Service on December 10 at 11am. We're aiming to end at 12:15! A beautiful set of Carols and Lullabies (Christmas in the Southwest) will be per-formed by the choir, accompanied by harp, guitar, and marimba. Solos by Tom Darner, Ed Jones, and Manuel Sussaret from the choir will spice up the music, and favorite guests John Wright and Lee Hoffman will join us. We are excited to perform all of the works in Spanish to celebrate our connections to Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina and more. We will have translations for full enjoyment. The final portion of the program will be Terra Azul, a terrific ensemble that will perform Brazilian music. It will be an all-music Sunday. Please join us as we sing this magnificent music and then get a special treat with Brazilian dance music on December 10. Thank you to all those who supported the second Music Series concert with MUSE Cincinnati's Women's Choir. We had three sold out perform-ances. Every concert so far has filled the sanctuary. More to come about it. Just a reminder that the third concert in our illustrious series is the Mad Cap Puppet Theatre doing Monkey See, Monkey Do” on Saturday January 20 at 10am. This is a concert expressly for children and families, and all who declare themselves young at heart. Join us.

 

Summer Camp at The Mountain

Summer Camp 2007 registrations have begun for our UU camp in Highlands, NC. Sessions are available for elementary, middle school and high school young people, as well as two sessions of Intergenerational Elderhostel programs. To see a complete schedule and/or obtain the registration form, please visit www.mountaincenters.org 

A number of people from St. John's have gone over the past few years. Please contact Carol or Dick Fencl for more information.
                                                 -
Carol Fencl

 

The Reporter _December 3,, 2006 __ PAGE 7

 

 

New Year’s Day Soups On Party

Time to mark your new 2007 calendars for the first day of the New Year! Come be a part of a St. John’s tradition of a mid-day Soup's On” Party in Madeira at the home of Carol and Dick Fencl. We’ll gather from noon to 3pm on Monday

January 1. Children are welcome. Guests should bring something to go with soup (salads, snacks, desserts, etc.) For more information, contact the Fencls

                                      -Carol and Dick Fencl

 

Audio Visual Operators Needed

The Program Planning Team of the contemporary service, scheduled to begin in March, needs four to six volunteers to operate the audio visual and sound systems.  Two will be on duty for each service.  The contemporary service, called “Celebrate Life Together!,” will begin as a once

a month service and later change to weekly. Training will be provided on the equipment. This is a good opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in AV operation. For more informa-tion, contact George Dershimer

                                               -George Dershimer

 

UU Summer Programs in Alaska

Five Alaskan UU fellowships invite you to

eco-cultural programs in June right after the Portland General Assembly or in July, 2007.

See the REAL Alaska ! With UU homestays in
Anchorage, Fairbanks , Seward, Juneau and Sitka UUs host parties and lead tours. We visit Tlingit and Inupiat Native Alaskans, see wildlife from bears, moose and caribou to whales, sea otters and sea lions. We visit Denali and three other national parks. Led for a 12th year by Rev. Dick and Mary Weston-Jones. For more information, visit www.wuurld.org or phone 1-888-998-8753, Reservation deadline: February 28.

                                       -Rev. Dick Weston-Jones

 

 

 

 

PAGE 6   The Reporter  December 3,  2006

More Adult RE Programs

Starting in January

We will have registration for new classes on the first three Sundays in January. Some of the classes will be based on books that can be purchased from Beacon Press at group rate if desired. (Please see the display at church on Sunday December 17).

Waist High in the World: A Live Among the Nondisabled - This discussion group will be based on the book by Nancy Mairs. The program encourages the reflections and contributions of all people, whatever their experience with disability. Three session class on Mondays from February 5 to 19.

Living with Racism: The Black Middle-Class Experience by Joe R. Feagin and Melvin P. Sikes.

On Sundays February 4 & 11 before church.

Emerson as Spiritual Guide- As a follow-up to last year’s Thoreau class, this will be a discussion of Emerson’s Essays, based on Barry Andrews’ discussion guide. The Spiritual Emerson published

by Beacon Press may be purchased or use another collection of his writings. This five session group will be offered twice: Monday evenings from March 5-April 2 and Wednesday afternoons March 7-April 4.

What is Marriage For? The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution. by E. J. Graff. “Participants investigate past and current marriage laws and customs and develop personal definitions of marriage.” To be on two Sunday evenings in April.

                                                               -Carol Fencl

 

Entertainment Books Still Available

A few Entertainment Books are left and will be available for the last time on December 9th. This small book is filled with coupons and offers that will be a perfect gift for an officemate, a babysitter, a teacher, or a favorite friend. Dining out at casual or formal restaurants, entertainment, shopping, travel and many more money-saving coupons make this gift one that keeps on giving throughout the year. The books are $35.00-proceeds go to the Flower Fund for use on special occasions. See Rick Prairie or Barbara Hadden or call the church office to reserve a book at 513-961-1938. Absolute deadline is December 9th.

                                                       -Barbara Hadden

 

You Already Have So Many Gifts!

This time of year much energy is put into thinking about what to give others. Well, while you’re at it why not take a moment to think of the gifts you already have. What I am talking about are your talents, your skills, and your interests. With St. John’s numerous committees and activities, there is always a need for people to share their talents with
the community. Simultaneously, members and friends who want to get more involved may be won-

dering how they can help. One of the tools com-mittees use in helping match members gifts with church needs is the Shared Ministry committee. To do this, Shared Ministry maintains a database of members along with their interests, talents and possible availability for service. When a committee needs new members, one way to look for them is to search that database. If you have not updated your Gifts Survey recently, please take a moment to do so. Perhaps, your work life has changed and now you have more time or less. Perhaps you’ve found a new interest or passion. Or perhaps you’re ready for a new challenge. Whatever the case, updating your
Gifts Survey will ensure we have the latest inform-ation on your ability to serve the St John’s com-munity. And if you have never filled out a Gifts
Survey, please do so. Gifts Surveys will be avail-able in the lobby every Sunday.

                                                          -John Fanselow

 

St. John to Host Youth Sexuality

Education Program

The “Our Whole Lives” (OWL) comprehensive sexuality education program for 7-9th grades UU youth in the Cincinnati area is underway. Five

UU churches are working together to provide this program which continues through March. St. John's will host OWL events January 5 & 6 and  Sunday afternoon Jan. 21. We will need lots of volunteers to provide meals and to chaperone youth in their free time at the Jan. 5-6 overnight. Please be generous with your time; volunteer to help with these St. John’s events. If you can help, contact Mary Darner 

                                                            -Mary Darner

The Wheel of Life

   Congratulations to Cassandra Burns on the birth of her new grandson and to Christopher Douglas on his recent marriage. In November, Dani Powley’s brother graduated from seminary.

   June Anderson is now at Maple Knoll Village

and Bobbie Mystrom is confined to her home. Both

June and Bobbie would appreciate your phone calls.

  Please keep the following people in your thoughts: Mira Rodwan’s mother passed away at age 95 after a long illness. Edie Holder’s children’s grandfather passed away in mid November. Sherry Tippey’s sister-in-law is facing surgery for breast cancer. Frances May Brooks’ nephew is recovering from a gunshot wound.

 

 

Friends of Szentlaszlo News

January 14th will be the date for the next Friends of Szentlaszlo luncheon. This luncheon of homemade soups and breads will begin immediately after the Sunday morning church service. The proceeds from the luncheon will go to our Bread for the Elderly Program at our partner church in Nyaradszentlaszlo, Romania. Under this program, each elderly Unitarian in Szentlaszlo is given a loaf of bread each week. Let Jim McDonough know if you’d like to make a soup for this event. We have received from our partner congregation a signed copy the covenant approved in June by the St. John's congregation. After framing, the covenant will hang on the Friends of Szentlaszlo wall in Krolfifer Hall.

Discussions are underway on a possible 2007

St. John's trip to Transylvania and to our partner congregation. If you would like to learn more about this possible trip, please contact Tom Darner  This year's Transylvania dinner is scheduled for March 10th. Mark you calendars now and plan on attending this festive affair. The next Friends of Szentlaszlo meeting will be Monday January 15 at 7pm at the church.

                                                                 -Tom Darner

 

  The Reporter _December 3,, 2006 __ PAGE 5