November Parish Messenger

Rev. Justine’s Message

The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. ~ Mark Morrison-Reed

Dear Ones of UUCB,

I am writing this to you from Evanston, Illinois (just outside Chicago) where I traveled to be part of the Installation of a dear friend and colleague as the Senior Minister of the UU congregation in Evanston. In the Service of Installation I had the honor of offering the reading I excerpted above, reminding us that as Morrison-Reed writes

“There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice.”

We act, we fight for justice not out of hate for what is, but out of love for our fellow beings. It is from that love that our commitment to work for our mutual liberation arises.

It was good to be with colleagues, to celebrate with my friend, to be reminded of that central teaching of our Unitarian Universalist Faith: that we belong to each other and so we must care for one another. And yet, as I sat there on that chancel (church word for ‘stage”) and looked out at the loving faces of the congregation, so excited to formalize the commitment to walk together with this wonderful minister, I thought of you dear ones of UUCB. I could imagine you all one day in the not-too-distant future, celebrating your continued ministry with your newly called minister. What a joyful day that will be!

During the service here in Evanston a wise, senior colleague gave the charge to the congregation (a reminder of the commitments the congregation makes to support the newly called minister) and in her remarks she made an important observation. We are all called, she said, minister and congregation, to share our light, our divine spark to make the collective light shine more brightly. For a time, your minister whom you have installed today, will share her light with you. And then one day, she will withdraw her light and take her leave of you, but she will leave the lamp with you. You, the congregation, hold the lamp, and each of us who comes to be with you as member, friend, or minister has the privilege of sharing our light with you for a time. May your lamp shine brightly!

As we enter fully into our second and final year together, we may notice some things shifting, and this is as it should be. Your search committee is working to create your Congregational Record – the materials that will tell your beautiful, rich story. There will be increasing amounts of activity and energy directed toward the ministerial search and to your future. We may find that as we shift our focus toward the future, which as of right now is unknown in so many ways, anxiety may increase. This is completely normal and to be expected; we humans worry about the things that are important to us. The key is to notice the anxiety and to be curious about it, not to jump too quickly into “fixing,” thereby eliminating (or trying to eliminate) the anxiety. There is information in our emotions, and if we can sit with them a bit before we leap into action, we can learn more about what is most important to us. And remember, this search is happening at a time when we are all swimming in a sea of anxiety related to Covid. So I would remind us all (including your interim minister) to take an extra breath or two before we leap into things. To that end, your transitions team (Jud Caswell, Carol Evans, Mike Heath, and Cathey Cyrus) and I will be offering some opportunities to gather (in person and online) just to delight in one another’s company, to remind ourselves of the joy we feel when we gather in community. The transitions team’s charge is to help the interim minister engage the congregation in the work you need to do in the interim time, and I am grateful for their counsel.

The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen, and our strength too limited to do all that must be done. Together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed.

~ Mark Morrison-Reed

I am blessed to be here with you for a time, to share my light and whatever gifts I have in service of your ministry to and with each other and to our beautiful, aching world that so needs our care.

Peace and love to you,

Justine

UUCB Services in November

Sundays at 10:00 a.m.

Nov 7— Let Us Wage Peace: In Honor of Veterans Day

Rev. Justine Sullivan.

Nov 14 — Living Our UU Values in the Larger World

Rev. Justine Sullivan.

Nov 21 — Beyond Categorical Thinking

This service is sponsored y our Ministerial Search team and will be jointly led by Rev. Keith Kron from our UUA Transitions office and UUCB interim minister Rev. Justine Sullivan.

Nov 28 —Kindness

Maryli Tiemann. We’ll focus on the power of a simple act of kindness and look at why there’s a sort of magic there. Also we’ll look at how some world religions build in practices of generosity.

Join us in the sanctuary or watch us live on youtube at UUCB AV .

Religious Exploration

In late October, a small group of families came together for a Pumpkin Decorating event sponsored by the Religious Exploration Committee.

Pastoral Care Notes

Joys

Betsy Roper had successful knee replacement surgery Wednesday, October 20. She is on the mend and appreciates all the food and well wishes she received.

Mike Heath spent a week in Flagstaff, Arizona, taking in the indigenous history and stunning beauty of the landscape and visiting with UUCB snowbirds Skip Brimlow and Andrea Sinclair.

Sorrows

Judy Smith asks us to keep her in our thoughts as she passes the second anniversary of her husband Mark’s passing. She appreciates the support of the church as she continues to cope.

Louise Gephart asks us to send healing thoughts and light for her cousin, Jo Schneider, who is fighting acute leukemia and experiencing set-backs in preparation for a stem cell transplant.

Membership

New Members Celebration

During our worship service on Sunday, October 17, we formally welcomed seventeen new members to our congregation, many of whom joined UUCB during the time the church was closed.

Following the church service twenty of us gathered on the Brunswick Town Mall to enjoy a brown bag lunch and one another’s company. It was a wonderful opportunity to be together.

Thanksgiving Circle Supper

Save the Date

Our first HOLIDAY Circle Supper on Thanksgiving Day, November 25.
Gather with old and new friends for a Thanksgiving Pot Luck.

More information to come.
Membership Committee.

Cookbook Sales

Remember the great soups and chilis we had at our SoUUps On luncheons?

Many of those recipes are in the Church’s cookbook that we published during the pandemic. If you haven’t bought yours yet, they make great Christmas gifts!

Buy your copy for only $10 at the membership table after church services.

Art Gallery Committee

The Art Gallery Committee invites you to share some images of your artwork in the Parish Messenger. We’d like to feature an artist a month. Encourage your children and youth to share their work, too! If you are interested in showing photographs, painting, sculpture, collages, crafts or drawings please contact Joanne Allen at

UUCB Board Update

At the Board’s annual retreat in September, we adopted “Keeping us Together and Meeting our Financial Goals” as our focus for the coming year. In that light, we continue to monitor and finetune the return to the building. With almost two months of in-person services under our belts, we’re slowly finding our way to a new normal that we hope will indeed “keep us together.” For those of us attending in person, small steps forward are important—like delighting in the unmasked smiles of speakers and musicians and encouraging people to stay and chat (still masked) after the service. For those watching the live-stream from home, we hope you’re also able to feel part of the community and will return when the time is right.

Another way of jumping back in is to consider serving on a committee. Several are re-forming or in need of new members: the Safety Committee will be revisiting building protocols around security and could use help, the Personnel Committee has been asked by the Board to take a larger role in overseeing staff salaries and benefits, and Jud and other techies are looking for volunteers to learn about live-streaming. And there are more—just ask.

The second Board focus is “Meeting our Financial Goals.” I’m pleased to report that pledges are coming in as budgeted, and the “plate,” split between Charities with Soul and the church, is slowly working its way back towards pre-Covid levels. In addition, in-person fundraising returns with the first Concert for a Cause scheduled for November. Pledge statements for the first quarter of this church year were recently mailed; if you didn’t receive one or find errors, please contact the church office.

At the same time, we still face significant challenges. Our budget remains in deficit, to be supplemented again this year by dipping into our reserves and investment account. We anticipate asking the congregation’s approval to use more of these savings to pay for a new Music Director position not previously budgeted. We are fortunate indeed to have these resources to fall back on, but using them necessitates a successful pledge drive in the Spring and a return to fundraising as soon as possible.

Typical Treasurer Question: So what’s the bottom line?

Answer: We’re fine as long as you’re with us in body, spirit, and/or pocketbook!

For the Board of Trustees,

Cindy Parker, Treasurer

Ministerial Search Team Update

I imagine many of you are wondering, “Just what is that search team doing?” Much of our work is out of view, so on behalf of the search team I am writing to give you a general sense of our process.

The UUA has a detailed protocol for search. We participated in two summer trainings, developed our working covenant, and set our meeting schedule. Currently, we are in the search phase called Building The Structure to Search. The Negotiating Team (a search team member plus two Board members) has developed a minister contract which will be presented to the Board for approval. By the time you read this, the Congregational Survey will have closed, and we thank you for your help in taking it. Cottage meetings followed four church services in October to gain more input from the congregation. All of this information helps to fill out our Congregational Record. The Congregational Record is the “big picture” of our congregation, including our culture and mission, demographics, history, programs, and so much more. It is a HUGE undertaking which must be submitted to the UUA at the end of November.

In November we invite the congregation to a workshop called Beyond Categorical Thinking (BCT) being held via Zoom on Friday evening, November 19th, and Saturday morning, November 20th. Searching ministers are hopeful we have participated in BCT training, designed to promote inclusive thinking and prevent unfair discrimination during a congregation’s search for a new minister. We hope you will join us! More details will be coming.

In addition, neutral pulpits are being arranged for February and March. These are opportunities for the search team to meet and interview our prospective candidates and hear them preach. We won’t have the names of any candidates till January, when we receive and review applications, consider choices, and check references. We hope to announce a recommended candidate in mid-April.

Thank you for understanding that much of our work must remain confidential. I hope this bare bones summary gives you an idea of, “Just what is that search team doing?”

Irene Austin

Choir Director Resigns

Hi all,

In case you haven’t heard, I have resigned as choir director of the UUCB. Though it was a difficult decision to make, I believe it is the right one for everyone. My reasons are three-fold:

Firstly, do you realize I’ve been choir director since 2006? This is my sixteenth year! How did THAT happen?!! It started to feel like I was repeating myself and struggling to keep things fresh.

Secondly, I have to admit that Covid-19 played a part. I was excited to learn how to do virtual choir productions and keep the choir in front of you for 20-21, but as another year of restrictions loomed, my spirit broke a bit.

Finally, the music program is in transition (as is the church as a whole). We were in need of an accompanist and a music coordinator. It seemed to me that stepping down would make space to combine all the music positions into one, and make our music program more streamline and accessible.

I truly have enjoyed my time as your choir director. I will still be around – eventually as a choir member, in small ensembles, and working behind the scenes. Thank you for all the kind words and support you have shown me over the years. See you around campus!

Sincerely,

Heidi Neufeld

Congregational Meeting

Sunday, November 14 – Following Worship Service

Dear Members of UUCB,

UUCB has a wonderful opportunity to hire a Director of Music, someone who will both direct the choir and play piano in worship. Over the past 18 months of living with this pandemic, we have had several capable guest accompanists, anchored by Heidi Neufeld’s leadership as Choir Director. In addition to the Choir Director and accompanist positions, we have also had Stephanie Bernier as Music Coordinator, who recruited and communicated with multiple musicians to make sure that each Sunday service had excellent music. Stephanie has stepped down as Music Coordinator to serve on the ministerial search team, and after 16 years, Heidi has decided to step down as Choir Director. This is the perfect time for us to create a Director of Music position – one person to oversee and coordinate the entire music program, increasing continuity and simplifying communication.

We have a strong candidate for this new position. By eliminating the Choir Director, Accompanist, and Music Coordinator positions, we will be able to mostly fund the new 20 hour per week Director of Music position for the remaining 7 months of this fiscal year, though it will require us to increase our budget for future years. Please attend the congregational meeting and vote immediately after worship on Sunday, November 14 to approve creation of this new position. People watching the service online will be able to vote online.

Your Music Committee, Board of Trustees and your Interim Minister feel that this is a good move for UUCB, something we can afford to do, and something that will make UUCB even more attractive to ministers in search for a congregation to serve. We are available to answer any questions you might have both before and during the congregational meeting on November 14th.

The Board of Trustees will present the following motion at the meeting:

The UUCB Board of Trustees moves to eliminate the positions of Choir Director, Accompanist, and Music Coordinator and to create a new Director of Music position.

UUCB Music Committee
Louise Gephart, chair
Sue Michaud, Glenn Williams, Rev. Justine Sullivan

Working for Justice

Indigenous Awareness

The most Important thing people can do right now to support Maine’s tribes is to become informed about and support the passage of LD 1626 – legislation pending in the Maine legislature. This legislation would help restore Wabanaki rights for self determination – rights recognized by every other state in the country. For information about the legislation and actions you can take, go to the Wabanaki Alliance website at https://wabanakialliance.com. Look for the Take Action Tool Kit https://wabanakialliance.com/take-action/ .

Gun Safety

Teen Center

This month, teens were outside playing basketball or indoors playing music, video games, and keyboard playing. Some are also busy with jobs or playing sports.

The back-to-school letter continues to bring in donations, half-way to a $20,000 goal with about 8 ½ months to go. In October a gentleman donated some guitar songs and how-to books.

In October the UUCB support team, the “Magnificent 6,” provided their first third-Wednesday Teen Center meal since the Covid shutdown. If you would like to provide a meal or snacks, here are a few suggestions:

meatball subs, pizza, mac/cheese, chicken tortillas, bagels with PB and cinnamon/sugar, milk and juice cartons, frosted flakes, fruit snacks, homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Now that the church is open for services, the Teen Center support team will collect snack donations on the first Sunday of the month as they had before COVID-19. The first collection will be on November 7^th. We will set up a table in the Friendship Hall for the snacks and then deliver them to the Teen Center on Monday.

Thanks to UUCB and community support, the Teen Center has been able to provide a safe, supportive, and comfortable place for the teens to go after school.

Charities with Soul

November’s Charity: Bruswick Area Teen Center

Program Goal: “To provide a safe environment for young people to socialize, explore cr eative outlets, share their talents and gain exposure to diverse people and ideas, thus creating a well-rounded generation of youth in grades 6-12, regardless of race, religion, gender identification, social/income status or mental health diagnosis.”

The program provides snacks and meals, mentoring and a place to socialize free of charge to area youth who need it most. Many of our members are from low-income households and have a “difference” (race, gender identification, learning disability, mental health diagnosis) or have less than ideal family/living circumstances and very much appreciate (and need) having safe place to be when they are not at school.

During the long period of Covid 19 the Teen Center has remained open and in touch with our youth, some physically at the Teen Center and some over social media. We enrolled 16 new members since last September and new youth continue to enroll. Since the beginning of the 2021/2022 school, we are seeing an increase in kids who can attend the program in person again. Last year was a difficult and isolating one for youth and they are so happy to be able to be together again!

Due to special funds available last year for Covid 19 needs we were able to create a very safe environment physically – which we still utilize (plexiglass, masks, sanitizer, daily cleaning, air filters, etc.). This year’s funding will support the staffing, food program needs, activities and other general expenses of the program.

Grants, along with the support of the Town of Brunswick, United Way of Mid Coast Maine, other foundations as well as that of area churches and dedicated volunteers, continue to help us serve and feed a growing number of our area’s youth. Thank you!

Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network

MUUSAN, the state advocacy network, is comprised of 25 UU congregations in Maine. Brunswick is one of the most engaged and active!! Many of you have signed on to the legislative alerts list and received regular updates on bills going for a hearing, provided testimony, and written to your legislative representatives in the Maine House and Senate.

From UUCB, four members attend monthly meetings related to these four areas of focus: Climate Change – Faith Woodman; Democracy in Action – Betsy Williams; HealthCare – Lynn Ellis; and Racial, Native and Immigrant Justice – Rob Stuart. Faith has recently become a member of the MUUSAN Steering Committee and Rob served as Congregational Legislative Liaison.

Why does it matter? MUUSAN provides an important vehicle for UUs to have a voice in state legislation and advocate for UU values in the legislative arena.

BIG NEWS

Thanks to everyone who has been involved, we are now taking a bigger step to engage more of the congregation by getting our own UUCB/MUUSAN email, list-serve and google docs. If you are interested in joining the list of people already participating, we will soon have a sign-up link. You can also talk with any four of us on the team.

JOIN

In the meantime, we encourage you to join the MUUSAN state network at

https://facebook.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=199901c5903119f799e5596bc&id=f1ad3c57e0

FUNDRAISING

MUUSAN is currently restructuring and in the process of hiring a new Administrative Coordinator to help manage the day-to-day activities of running things. We are now fundraising for this position, and your donations will help meet this goal. You can donate one-time or monthly.

http://www.muusan.org/donate.html

Covid Response Team

The team met 10/21. Stephanie B, Toben C, Bill C, Mike H, Leigh P, Justine S, Betsy W

The Task Force’s primary goals are to minimize infection risk, and to continue exploring methods to maximize a sense of warmth, spirituality and connection to UUCB. Several important “guidelines” decisions were made, after considerable discussion.

Regarding sanctuary services:

Updated “singer” policy: allow 2 unmasked singers on chancel, at least 10’ apart. We anticipate future updates, as circumstances allow.
Continue: masked congregants; contact list; no food; distancing; streaming of story and choir on video. Continue to attend to experience in other venues, and learn from them.

Regarding Religious Education:

RE Dir currently anticipates 2 Sunday meetings/mo. Outdoors if warm, dry; otherwise indoors in RE space.
Contact list, masks, 6-feet spacing, hand washing and sanitizing, ventilation, air purifiers in place.
Only one person enters the building through the front door
No singing or eating.

Regarding other group meetings:

Contact list, masking, spacing for all group meetings. Shirley to develop simple form
If a COVID case/ exposure is traced to UUCB, TF will decide action steps.

Regarding other in-building meetings:

Vaccinated UUCB members may meet in the building, following these guidelines:

Choir (masked) may practice inside.
Meetings must be scheduled in advance through Shirley- in her absence Justine; no ad hoc, “spontaneous” meetings!
One meeting in Sanctuary and one in Merrymeeting B room at a time. MMB meetings not to exceed 10 people. Sanctuary meeting size not limited. Seats to be at 6’ spacing (or family pods). All attendees masked. Limit to one meeting per day in each area. (this could be increased, pending experience and discussion)

Ministerial Search Committee meetings to be given priority

Contact list to be generated by group leader (Shirley to develop simple form) and stored by Shirley (length of storage TBD)

Recent example: Working for Justice presented a movie & discussion with only UUCB folks in attendance- no problems were encountered for this session

Regarding Non-UUCB Groups:

A few non-UUCB group(s) policy allowed:

Concerts-for attendees and for musicians, proof of vaccination or recent negative test; in addition to masks (except when musicians playing/singing on stage), no food, distancing, contact list. For CD/paraphernalia sales, masks, minimize crowding at sales table as possible.
Thurs afternoon Hebrew School already approved, whenever they are ready to begin
Justine, Bill and Shirley will meet to discuss/establish administrative procedures
Air purifiers have been purchased, for when RE moves indoors

Regarding updates:

The TF will update guidelines monthly, and ad hoc.

Regarding suspension of indoor activity:

No firm guideline can be constructed. Crises, if any, will be discussed and acted on, on an ad hoc basis by the TF

Respectfully,

Bill Clark, Chair

Concerts for a Cause

Novel Jazz Septet

Saturday, November 13 at 7:30 pm

After cancelling 13 concerts because of Covid-19, UUCB is excited to reopen its doors for Concerts for a Cause live concerts. The last concert before the pandemic was in January of 2019. Maine’s own Novel Jazz Septet will kick off the 2021-22 Concert series on Saturday, November 13th at 7:30 pm. To avoid a long wait at the door, concert goers should arrive early. Doors will open at 6:30 pm.

The musicians of “Novel Jazz” have been performing straight-ahead jazz around Maine and New England for over three decades. They draw from the Great American Songbook and specialize in the works of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Together Ellington and Strayhorn wrote some 3000 compositions over their musical careers.

The band members hail from all over Maine, and they have recorded 3 CD’s. Maine Public Radio’s has featured Novel Jazz several times on their two-hour show, “Jazz Tonight.”

MASKING IS REQUIRED, AND ALL PEOPLE MUST SHOW PROOF
OF COVID VACCINES OR NEGATIVE TEST AT THE DOOR.

Tickets: Adults: $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Students & Children: $10

Tickets are available after church services, at the church office, during office hours, at Gulf of Maine Books, or online at https://ticketstripe.com/noveljazz.

November Parish Messenger

Rev. Justine’s Message

UUCB Services in November

Religious Exploration