In Farid ud-Din Attar's Sufi fable The Conference of the Birds, we learn that on the journey to God, one should take only "the ardor of love" and "the longing of the spirit," because "no one can offer more than this." The Islamic observance of Ramadan begins on October 15. The sermon will investigate the meaning of this holy time and the truth of Attar's claim. The Young Church Choir will sing. There will be no Young Church classes this morning, but there will be childcare. I hope to see you in church!

Steeple Lighting - The steeple lighting this week is donated by Mary Wilkins Haslinger in memory of her parents, Peggy Morrill Wilkins and Dr. Robert Wilkins.

This morning's sermon will look at some of the ultimate questions which religion always seeks to answer: why was I born? What am I meant to do? Why must I die? What is the meaning of life? And what if rather than having a meaning, life turns out to have many meanings? My colleague Forrester Church has said that religion is our human response to the dual reality of being born and having to die. The sermon will consider the meanings of life in the face of birth and death.

Steeple Lighting - The steeple lighting this week is donated by Carol Young in memory of Kenneth H. Young.

New Member Luncheon -- The annual New Member Luncheon is scheduled for Sunday, November 14, following the worship service in the lower meetinghouse. If you joined the FRS between November 2003 and November 2004, you will receive a personal invitation by mail. Please RSVP to Ann Kemp and let her know if you will attend and need babysitting services. We look forward to getting to know one another better over brunch and good conversation.

Good news on the space front, as well-we've doubled in size! Many thanks to the volunteers who helped make our enlarged space so great: Laela Bisgrove, Julia Chatfield, Avery Cullinan, Brian Cullinan, Katherine Dyer, Riley Gallagher, Fiona Keane, Phoebe Lanham, Hannah Raddatz, Shannon Seidel, Liam Sheehy, Dylan Wack, Claire Zarakas, Ben Ryan, Ethan Chase, Hannah Sheehy, Katherine Sheehy, Ellen Foley Sheehy, Stephen Sheehy, Kelly McNamee, Gen Gootkind, Paul Healy, Alicia Raddatz, Gary Raddatz, Carol Kilty, and Beverly Logan. Special, special thanks to Cecilia Healy, who headed up the project and spent countless hours over the summer working on it.

Senior Youth Group -- The senior youth group, for youth in grades 9-12, meets every other Sunday during church. The group will have a social action focus this year and will also plan activities such as a pizza and movie night. Upcoming meeting dates: Oct. 3, Oct. 17, Oct. 31, Nov. 15, Dec. 3, and Dec. 19. Meetings are in the conference room in the Lower Meeting House.

Youth Trip to Transylvania -- Any youth who are interested in exploring the possibility of doing some fundraising for a UU youth trip to Transylvania next summer are encouraged to come to a meeting on Sunday, October 24 at 10:30 in the conference room. A letter about this was sent to high school youth, but if you need more information please contact Julie Parker Amery, the Director of Religious Education.

Ministry to Youth Committee -- The new Ministry to Youth committee, charged with the mission of reviewing the youth program of the church and considering ways to reach more youth in meaningful ways, will begin meeting in October. The committee, which will be composed primarily of youth, will meet one Sunday a month from 9:45-10:30 a.m. If you or a youth you know is interested in serving on this committee, please speak with me.

Young Church Choir and Teen Choir rehearsals are off to a great start this fall! It's good to see old friends again, and to welcome some new singers as well.

Dates we'll be singing in church:

• October 10 -- Young Church Choir
• November 7 -- Teen Choir
• November 14 -- Young Church Choir (Please note that this date has been changed to better accommodate the RE schedule.)
• December 19, Candlelight -- Young Church Choir and Teen Choir

Thank you to Lisa Johnson for agreeing to be our "robe mom" again this year. Lisa does such a great job getting the Young Church Choir members fitted for robes.

The sheet music for both the Young Church Choir and the Teen Choir has been moved to the archive room. A special thank you to Barbara Owen for helping to carry the music from the choir room to our new filing cabinets.

New members are always welcome to join both the Young Church Choir and the Teen Choir. No previous musical experience is necessary. We are here to help you learn! Parents, if you have a young one who would like to join Young Church Choir, but might be a little shy about coming, this is not a problem. Parents are welcome to stay for rehearsal.

Happy Fall!

Following the ideas in Harold Babcock's sermon of September 26, you will, in this workshop, identify four windows of opportunity to take time for yourself and choose how you will use that reclaimed time. For further information and inspiration, go to the website of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University or read Harold Babcock's sermon, "Taking Back Your Time."

Sign up for this program by calling the church office at 978.465.0602 and leaving a message at extension 401.

• The Open Book Group will meet October 20 in the Lower Parish Hall at 7:00 p.m.
• The Friday Morning Discussion Group meets every week in the Lower Parish Hall from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. They will be discussing Karen Armstrong's book for the next six weeks.

If you would like to work sorting clothes on Thursday and Friday afternoons, selling clothes on Friday evening and Saturday morning, or helping bag leftover clothes on Saturday from 11:30 on, please get in touch with Florence Mercer at florencemercer@hotmail.com or Anne Verret-Speck at avs@massed.net.

If you would like to make a donation for flowers, you may call the church office or fill in the form below.

You may honor someone or an event by donating the cost of a plant.

Name:

Person or Event to be Honored:

Choice of planting (circle one)

Boxwood $25	Azalea $35	Hardy Mum $10
Rhododendron $35	Yew $35	Rosa Rugosa $25
General Garden Fund $_______ (any amount, thank you!)

OR:

You can help plant or maintain the gardens from time to time throughout the year.

Name:

Phone:

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From the Social Action Committee . . .

Call to Action

Action Opportunity: For information on how you can help drive voters (literally, in your car!) to the polls on election day, e-mail Liss Campbell at lisscampbell@earthlink.net.

Loose Plate Update

The next organization we will be supporting with one third of our loose cash from each week's offering in October will be the YWCA of Newburyport. The YWCA is one of the oldest and largest multicultural women's organizations in the world. The goal of the YWCA is to eliminate racism and empower women. The Newburyport Y serves over 30,000 people in our community each year, offering financial assistance, literacy programs, affordable child care, low-income housing, racial justice programs, and programs specifically for girls and families. The YWCA also offers Breast and Cervical Cancer Education and Outreach for the underinsured or uninsured in Greater Newburyport, as well as support, resources, and fitness opportunities for Seniors. Our church's contributions in October will help support the Y's daily operations. For more information about the Newburyport YWCA visit www.ywcanewburyport.org or call 978.465.0981.

The Social Action Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, November 9, at 7:00 p.m. in the lower meetinghouse. We welcome and encourage new members to come find out what this committee is all about! Please address any questions to Liss Campbell at lisscampbell@earthlink.net.

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Unitarian Church of Sharon to Host "Portal of Prayer" during Family Week 2004 - In conjunction with Sharon Family Week 2004, the Unitarian Church of Sharon is pleased to host a public exhibit of "Portal of Prayer," a modern artwork by contemporary Brookline artist, Ellen Band, that uses the sound of prayers from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian congregations, among others, to create an experience for listeners. The work, which lasts for 78 minutes, was commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and was always intended not for gallery space, but rather for public spaces. The work was installed, in addition to other public locations, at Logan Airport this past summer.

Portal of Prayer will be in the meetinghouse of the Unitarian Church of Sharon, 4 North Main Street, and open to the community on Sunday, October 3 from 12:00-2:00p.m.; Monday, October 4, 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, October 5, 10 a.m.-noon, Wednesday, October 6, 6-8 p.m., Thursday, October 7, 10 a.m.-noon, Friday, October 8, 7-9 p.m., Saturday, October 9, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday, October 10, noon-2 p.m.

Admission is free; members of the community are encouraged to bring a canned good which will be donated to the Sharon Stoughton Food Pantry.

The congregation's minister, the Reverend Deborah Cayer said, "We're very excited to offer Portal of Prayer in our meetinghouse to the larger community during Family Week, especially since this year's celebration is dedicated to the memory of Father Bob Bullock, a leader in Interfaith relations."

The exhibit is open to all ages, though children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. For more information about the exhibit or any of the church's programs, call the church office at 781.784.3652.

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General Assembly Report, Long Beach, California, 2004
Alexandra Mezey, delegate

As I sit in mid August to write my report of GA (General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association held in June in Long Beach, CA), it's beginning to feel like the obligatory "What I Did Last Summer." Or rather "…at GA." However, I hope to present you with some interesting items that may benefit our church community. What follows is a brief report on most of the workshops I attended; there will be more information on a couple of of them in forthcoming Steeple Biweeklies.

I invite you to skim through it and see if there is something that interests you or moves you to action. If you don't want to read further, what trumped almost any workshop I went to was reading the book, The Almost Church: Redefining Unitarian Universalism for a New Era by Michael Durall, a UU church consultant. Not all of the book relates to our church, but it has a lot of good information in it and if you're interested in a larger view of Unitarian Universalism and how it bodes for the future, FRS has two copies: it's a quick, easy, and fascinating read. Call the church office if you are interested.

Before I launch into all I experienced in Long Beach, I'd just like to express my appreciation to the congregation for sending me to what is really a "full UU experience." I don't know how else to describe it. Total immersion with UUs and in Unitarian Universalism -- some of it great, some disappointing but nevertheless a learning experience I hope more from our congregation will be able to take part in. Any member of our congregation can attend. Next year it is in Fort Worth, Texas, June 23-27; save the dates. See Sue Creed, Chair of the Denominational Affairs Committee, if you are interested.

Something New -- Small Ministry Groups at GA: This is the first time GA has offered Small Ministry Groups (SMG) to attendees, and it was deemed a great success by the 250 or so who made up 20 or so groups (including me). Why? For exactly the same reasons the SMG are a growing phenomenon at churches all over the country -- you get to know people, and you get to know them on more than a superficial level. Truth be told I felt a little bit like an orphan being the only FRSer at GA this year, but in the small (8) group experience I got to know UUs from Colorado, various places in California, and Delaware. In sharing our stories, not only did I learn first hand some of the issues their congregations are dealing with, but I also got to know them on a personal level. So, between workshops, even at mealtimes when the 4,700 of GA attendees milled about, there was often someone I knew, a smile, acknowledgement and easy conversation. GA may seem at times like a giant coffee hour experience where you don't know anyone, and people seem too hurried to connect with, but being part of a Small Ministry Group made the difference. And they can make a difference in the life of our church. FRS will start its version this fall, under the name, Shared Ministry Groups this fall. Talk to Harold if you'd like more information.

As a member of the Parish Committee I chose workshops I thought relevant to the needs of our church, as well as one or two for personal reasons. So let me preface all this by saying there is a lot here about change and growth. I think we're all aware FRS is growing -- and that is good as we are reaching out to people with our liberal religious message, one that is so little known and yet makes sense to so many once they get to hear it. But please keep in mind as you read that it is not so much about growth as it is having a vital congregation that is a welcoming religious home that meets people's spiritual needs and will prosper for years to come. Here are some worskhops I attended, besides the worship services, plenary sessions and lectures:

Breaking Through the Growth Barrier Without Breaking Up
This was probably the most useful workshop I attended. It was presented by the Annapolis (MD) UU church, members of which shared their story of moving from a pastoral sized church (50-150 average attendance) to a program size (150-300), and what they learned along the way. A lot! Because FRS has been growing in a similar way, I thought this would be useful. A longer report will be in a forthcoming Steeple Biweekly, or see the UU Annapolis website for more: www.uuca-md.org.

Harvesting the Wisdom of the Years: From Aging to Saging
Based on a wonderful book, From Aging to Saging: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, this workshop focused on "how to become spiritual elders rather than simply grow old." It could make a good topic for a discussion group. One church reported starting a "Wisdom Group" as a result of the book and hosting a worship service from the experience.

On Being on a Board Religiously
This was presented by a member of the UUA Board of Trustees and addressed what they mean by, and what they do to be, a board religiously. What they had to say is applicable to any church committee. A longer report will be in a forthcoming Steeple Biweekly.

Transforming a Congregation's Gifts into Mission and Ministry
A lot of churches revisit their mission statements during growth, and this presentation was about using a gifts-based approach (what do we naturally do best together? What are the obvious passions of our church?) to ground a congregation's mission, vision -- in other words, a strength-based approach. The presenter was Roy Reed, a UU minister in Atlanta.

Learning Lay Leadership from Megachurches
Some of the 400 nondenominational "megachurches" in the US attract as many as 8,000 worshippers each Sunday. What are they doing that UUs are not? One thing is small ministry groups (and we're already doing that with our new Shared Ministry Groups), but there's a lot more. See www.uua.org/ga/ga04/3118.html for more information.

Covenant Groups: Some Glorious, Some Gone Bad
Covenant groups, another name for what we call Shared Ministry Groups, are growing and well received. Apparently the major way they seem to go bad is by not sticking the stated covenant -- how group members will be in relation to each other.

If You Offer It, Will They Come?
The answer is yes, said the presenter from First Parish, Concord, MA, and director of its Wright Tavern for Spiritual Renewal. People will come if you offer diverse and interesting courses by committed presenters. The Tavern's classes, which must have a spiritual component, range from Tai Chi to Choices for Sustainable Living to Lighten Up: Space Clearing for the Home and Heart to Cakes for the Queen of Heaven (a UU curriculum they say is always popular), These classes draw church members as well as people from the community. The Tavern also collaborates with community organizations like local museums or the Concord RiverFest. First Parish started its Wright Tavern Center for Spiritual Renewal in 1997 with $3,000 donated by three families.

Retreat Planning Toolkit
Want to plan a retreat for your committee? A church retreat? One for your group? While I collected information, you can download very helpful guidance from: www.murraygrove.org.

I hope this information has been helpful. For much more information on GA 2004, see the UUA website at www.uua.org/ga/ga04/ or contact me at alex@lifeclaritycoach.com.

-Alex Mezey

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Dukakises To Be At First Parish in Bedford -- Kitty Dukakis will be the guest speaker at Bedford's First Parish this Sunday, October 3, at 10:00 a.m. She will deliver the annual Spirit of Democracy sermon. Former First Lady of Massachusetts and author of Now You Know, Ms. Dukakis is a public citizen, social worker and passionate advocate for those who suffer mental illness and addiction. She will also speak to the children before they leave the sanctuary for their classes, telling them what "opened her eyes to issues of democracy" when she was a child. A discussion period will follow the service from 11:30-noon.

The Spirit of Democracy sermon honors the activist legacy of Jack Mendelsohn, minister emeritus at First Parish, and was inaugurated a year ago with an address by Bill Schulz, former First Parish minister and executive director of Amnesty International USA.

At 9:00 a.m. this Sunday, former governor Michael Dukakis will be at the Bedford Lyceum that meets in the Common Room at First Parish. The Lyceum is a weekly forum on the arts, spirituality and justice, hosted by Rev. John Gibbons.

First Parish, on Bedford's Town Common, is a Unitarian Universalist congregation with an historic tradition and a progressive faith. All are welcome and all facilities are fully accessible. For more information, call 781.275.7994 or see www.uubedford.org.

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