Feb. 3     Waiting for Spring (Lay service)

Feb. 10   Thoughts on Love

Feb. 17   The Seven Weeks of Lent

Feb. 24   Do you hear what I hear?

                 (Guest speaker Bill Walsh)

 From Severn

Wow! A real Maine winter! And as in past Maine winters, I find my mailbox filled with seed catalogues, my head filled with visions of how my gardens will look, and my fingers itching to begin. I love winter, I really do, and I live in its moment too. But there’s just something about all those over-bright color photos in the catalogues that sets me off! I’ve already put in my Fedco tree order.

 I will shortly be heading south to North Carolina to visit my No. 1 grandson et al for a week. They currently live right on the beach (in Carolina Beach, off Wilmington) and Lang has promised to take me there for a walk. He’s already 4 ½, and I can hardly believe it. They are closing on a house, also on Carolina Beach, on February 15, and are very excited – and a bit nervous – to be buying their first house. For them the timing is good.

 We have been hearing some marvelous music in church lately, from the young musicians’

 group, to the “Three Young Men,” to our varied combinations of vocalists and instrumentalists. I hope each of you will take the time to thank them and express your gratitude for all they do for our worship and celebration. So much talent!

 Message from the President
We are continuing to move along with our plans for the church. By the time you are reading this our clockworks will have been removed from the tower.  Jim Bryant who purchased and removed them has said that he
will be trying to keep them in Maine and will let us know where they end up. ( If he can get them running again!) Also, the cupola and
weathervane have been consigned to James Julia's  and will be auctioned on Feb 1st. The auction commences at 10am if anyone is interested in going.
    Many thanks to our "Three young men" for the lovely concert. It was a special treat to hear them. We are so lucky to have such talent in
our congregation!
   And in this month of Valentine's Day- remember  what a gift it is to love and be loved.
                                                                       
    Diane Wheeler 

First Sunday Charity Donation

 January:  Our congregation donated $186 to Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area.

 Among Ourselves

Thanks to five year old Sarah Jarosz for her animated reading of "The Pigeon Eats a Hot Dog" during the Children's Focus on Sunday January 6th. Earnest and poised, she easily captured the attention of all who were there to hear the story. Sarah, a Mt. Merci kindergarten student, is the eldest daughter of Jim and Kerri Jarosz.

 Please keep Chuck and Dot Cleaver in your prayers as Chuck tries to get some answers in Boston.

 I was pleased to be able to offer a blessing on Dick and Margrit Thomas’ new home, which is both lovely and environmentally sustainably built. Welcome home!

 Connie & Ray Winship will be in Florida during February and March, returning in early March. In that interim, they can be reached at rayandconnie@roadrunner.com

Welcoming Congregation

As stated in last month’s first of three columns, churches who wish to become certified as Welcoming Congregations are required to demonstrate progress in each of three broad areas of church life: education, congregational life and community outreach.

This month’s column lists the Action Steps in congregational life

* Form a broad-based Welcoming Congregation committee to offer programs and monitor progress. [present Welcoming Congregation members include Ellie Adams, Carol Basen, Peter Burgher, Jan Mathieu, Bruce O’Donnell, Maria Timberlake, and Ray/Connie Winship]

* Adjust congregational bylaws and other relevant documents to include an affirmative nondiscrimination clause concerning membership, hiring practices, and the calling of religious professionals.

* Use inclusive language and content as a regular part of worship services

* Provide main worship space and ministerial services for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender rites of passage, such as services of union and dedications of children.

* Welcome bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender persons in the congregation's brochure.

* Ensure that publications, public information, and programming reflect the requested status of any individual as s/he sees appropriate; recognize same-gender couples in directories and other publications as they desire.

Greeting and Catering

 Please consider signing up be a greeter some Sunday morning and/or to cater a coffee hour after the service. If you haven’t done it before, we’ll be happy to pair you up with someone who has!

 Greeters for February:
Feb. 3^rd:   Ave Vinick and Sarah Seder
Feb. 10^th:  Bruce O'Donnell and Gi Reed
Feb. 17^th: Nick and Lorraine Cloutier
Feb. 24^th: Blanche Davison and Beth Schiller

 As of this writing (Jan. 20^th), the coffee-hour caterers for February are:

Feb. 3^rd:   David and Nancy Wynne
Feb. 10^th:  nobody!
Feb. 17^th:  nobody!
Feb. 24^th:  nobody!

Please consider volunteering for this task. If you’re unfamiliar with our kitchen, you can  just bring the juice, snacks (home-made OR store-bought), and cream for the coffee, and I’d be happy to join you and help make the coffee, set up, fill the dishwasher afterwards, etc. Just let me know, or put your name on the sign-up sheet on the Averill Parlors bulletin board facing the stairs. Thanks!

Claire Prontnicki
cprontni@colby.edu
873-5894 (h), 859-5106 (w)

Elementary RE Teachers This Month
 
Feb. 3:   Tina
Feb. 10:  No R.E. – Intergenerational Service        (Teachers Recognition Day)
Feb 17:   Scott
Feb 24:   Tina
 
Women’s Groups Sponsor Pot-Luck Brunch
 
Are you interested in connecting with other women on a regular basis, for mutual support, inspiration, fun, or just plain company?  There are currently four Women’s Groups associated with our church, including one that was started just a year ago, and another that's been meeting every other week for 15 years. Church members have formed the nucleus of these groups, but church membership is certainly not a requirement for joining a group.
 
Every year or two we sponsor a pot-luck meal to talk with any women who are interested in forming a new group to connect for a shared purpose.  It’s also a good time for each group to touch base with the others, and see what common goals we might accomplish together.  This year we’ll be having a pot-luck lunch on Sunday, March 2, after church, from about 11:15am to 12:30pm.  Please spread the word to folks you know, and come join us for a fun shared meal pure pot-luck.  If you have questions or comments, please contact Sarah Seder, 877-7621, or sseder@roadrunner.com.

 Honoring Our Past, Strengthening Our Future: Capital Campaign Update

 WHEW!! This is quite the undertaking! We have been honored to sit with many of you and hear your stories as we discuss your commitment to the Capital Campaign. Everyone is so busy. Everyone has responsibilities and obligations. Still, every person has responded thoughtfully and reasonably to our quest for making our church reflect the vibrancy of our congregation. There is a lot of soul-searching going on and we can feel it while we’re talking with you over coffee and when you hand us your completed commitment form. This is serious and exciting. Now, think about yourself. Now think about this church. Don’t those two descriptors fit both you and the church?
 

We have received campaign commitments of $70,350 already toward the $150,000 goal. We continue to make connections with you. It’s taking a little longer to meet with you than we expected but it’s good work with great rewards, personally and spiritually.
 
We’re having a great time and look forward to talking with more of you very soon.
 
Take care,
Jody Rich, Rosemary Winslow & Sue Cook

 Nursery volunteers

 Thanks to the following people for taking a turn as the "adult presence" in the nursery during the month of February:

February 3 – Keenan Yang
February 10 – Kerri/Jim Jarosz
February 17 – Lassandra Yang
February  24 – Lisa Lichterfeld

 Garden Project

We are hoping to improve our grounds and gardens this spring. We were thinking about a memorial space and also a sign inviting people to come in. We'd like to make our entrance a more welcoming area and maybe place some benches and new plantings further out on the point. If anyone is interested in helping with  planning, labor, plant donations, or what have you, please contact Diane Wheeler- 877-8586.

Equality Maine Awards Dinner

 Ray and Connie Winship have been chosen by Equality Maine to be the 2008 recipients of the F.E. Pentlarge Award. This award, named after a prominent member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, is given for “exceptional work that upholds and promotes family within the community”. It will be presented at the 24^th annual Equality Maine Awards Dinner at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland on Saturday March 8^th.  (Ray and Connie will be flying up from Florida for the occasion.)

 The Winships were active in the 1995, 1998, 2000, and 2005 referendums, working at both the local and state level with Maine Won’t Discriminate. In this role, they phone banked, wrote letters to the editor and state legislators; some of you may remember that they marched with other members of this church in the Winslow 4^th of July Parade (Maine Coalition for Equal Rights) as well as in Portland Pride. As Civil Rights team advisors in their respective schools, they were able to work with assistant Attorney General Thom Harnett in planning workshops and trainings for middle school and high school students. In 2000, the Winships joined the Welcoming Congregation and eventually became trainers for other UU churches who wished to become Welcoming Congregations.

 If anyone is interested in attending this Awards Dinner, call (207) 761-3732 or email www.equalitymaine.org. Reservation deadline is March 3, 2008. Photocopies of a flyer about this dinner will be downstairs during coffee hour.

 Worship Committee

As the committee plans lay services throughout the course of the year, we try to involve members of our worship community. Our congregation has grown and we want to make sure that anyone who would like to contribute a message or a talent to a worship service has the opportunity to do so. Please let a member of the worship committee know if you would like to be involved in some way.

Our Advent quiet times were so successful, that there has been a request to incorporate more of such times during the year. Quiet times will be scheduled for Wednesday, February 27, and Wednesday, March 26, from 7:00-8:00.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding worship please contact a member of the committee.

Edie Keller, chair
Peter Burgher
Mary Matson
Bruce O'Donnell
Gi Reed
Margrit Thomas
David Vaughn
Nancy Wynne

 Address Change

 The UU Church of Ellsworth has a new mailing address: 121 Bucksport Rd., Ellsworth, ME 04605-2257.

 “Three Young Men of the Church” Concert

 Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

 To write about something perfect is a risk lest we detract from the perfection. Of course, we're talking about the "Three Young Men of the Church" concert. 

Here are some audience quotes:   

"The performers were all very invested in the pieces they performed and brought character to them that let their own lights shine.”

 "Fabulous opportunity. It is wonderful that UU young people, past and present, would take time during their holiday vacation to perform for us.”

 "The concert was fabulous: variety, inclusive of many talents, great blend of piano and voice, each skill so well presented. A great treat!"

 "Superb! Wonderful so see each performer in his own element."

 "Wonderful -- awesome, literally. When is the next concert?"

 "Exciting, dynamic."

 "You guys brought us all to tears. How talented and gracious you are!"

 "Let's do this again!"

 "Three outstanding musicians, three standing ovations -- our own "three tenors" equivalent, performing before a rapt and emotionally moved audience" 

"It was an event not to miss; it was THE place to be at 11: 00 Sunday morning, December 30, 2007." 

Our unending thanks to Sam Duplessis, Evan Thomas, and Chris Ganza, our three professional musicians. Thanks to Sarah Seder and Sam particularly, and to Margrit Thomas and Melissa Ganza for making this happen. Kudos and appreciation to guest guitarist Jeff O'Donnell, for the beautiful part he played.

Thanks, too, to Dick Thomas and Edie Keller who performed important technical tasks.

 Lastly, a special thank you to Severn for coming in on her Sunday off!  

Nancy Brooks