Flowers: The flowers this Sunday are given by Nathan and Merryl Maleska Wilbur, and Liam, in loving memory of Merryl's parents, Eugene and Jean Maleska.

Steeple Lighting: The steeple lighting for this week has been donated by Mary Rizzo in loving memory of her husband, Frank, and daughter, Lisa.

Ushers: Sally Foskett and Beverly Logan.

Coffee Hour Hosts: Philip and Pat Hurzeler, Chris and Veronique Hyde, Lance Wisniewski and Donna Johnson, and Sue Johnson and Kelly LeComte.

Current Events Forum: Lower Meetinghouse Conference Room at 9:30 a.m. -- "What should be the role of government in our lives?"

Flowers: The flowers this Sunday are given by Ben and Linda Labaree in memory of Beth Roughton.

Steeple Lighting: The steeple lighting for this week has been donated by the Blagg-Staples family in loving memory of Deb's father, Durward O'Neal Blagg.

Ushers: Amy Badger and Steve Bowditch.

Coffee Hour Hosts: Scott and Rebecca Jordan, Susan McIntire Kaplan, David and Heidi Kelleher, and Tim Kelleher.

We'll gather on March 25 after church. A light lunch will be provided. Bring yarn (of natural fibers) and needles. More details will be available for those who register. Please sign up on the sign up sheet in the lower meetinghouse, or contact Julie Parker Amery if you plan to attend.

Young Church Quilts
Be sure to check out the quilts in the lower meetinghouse, which were put together by Carole Bisgrove. The squares were created by some of the Young Church children during our holiday term-the same group who made 50 fleece blankets. All blankets and quilts are being donated to The Linus Project, which distributes them to children in hospitals or otherwise in need. Thank you, Carole! They look beautiful.

Since 1939, supporters like you have helped UUSC become a leading voice in advancing human rights worldwide. We pledge to honor your commitment to us through our efforts to defend the human right to water, to abolish U.S.-sponsored torture, to ensure workers' rights, and to preserve the rights of vulnerable people after disasters. You can learn more about our work, our courageous program partners, and ways you can become involved in the struggle for human rights at www.uusc.org. Thank you again for your generous contribution to our work promoting human rights and social justice. Your support will make a real difference in the lives of people in the United States and around the world.

America's Morality Tales - Classic Westerns
High Noon (1952) - "Do not forsake me . . ."
Friday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Led by Lynn Kettleson & Catherine Garnache - Lower Meeting House
Children often get their ideas from movies. For those growing up in the years of the classic western - from 1948 to 1962 - the movies affected how they looked at the world. The main characters of many of those movies set out expected standards of behavior, but they also reflected a particular world view of the time. Please plan to join us for some fun and discussion.

Wording: _____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

I wish to pick up my plant or plants after the service. _____ Yes _____ No

Name:_________________________________________________________________

Telephone or e-mail: _____________________________________________________

What it Means to be Human: Creativity, Mental Illness and Religious Experience
Thursday, March 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Harvard Divinity School, Sperry Room

For more information on these lectures, see http://frsuu.org/200702_Minns Brochure.pdf.

We arrived seventeen months after the hurricane, not knowing what to expect. We drove in vans from the airport to the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans - our housing for the next week. The downstairs was mostly gutted from having been flooded by five feet of water. Being cold and damp, we headed upstairs to huddle in around space heaters in four rooms - a kitchen, dining and sitting area and two sleeping rooms. After a spaghetti dinner and orientation, we all retired early to bed.

The next morning I was surprised at how well twenty-four people navigated the kitchen to make breakfast and lunch. Most of us attended a UU service in the Presbyterian Church across the street - the temporary sanctuary for the First Church until they can restore their own space. We were warmly welcomed and thanked by several of the local parishioners. After lunch we had time to explore the immediate area and write in our journals. Later we had a training session on "A Dialogue with Race and Katrina." Much of what is happening in New Orleans is racism - the misuse of power against certain classes and races by the government systems and institutions. The lack of rebuilding in parts of New Orleans is a direct result of the disadvantaged having fewer resources and no power. In Hurricane Katrina everyone was affected, but some people were "comfortably devastated while others were disastrously devastated." Ninety percent of the African Americans lost their homes and ninety percent of the whites did not. Infrastructure services such as water, sewer, and electricity have returned to some of the wealthier areas, but several districts like the Lower Ninth Ward are still waiting for water and electrical hookups as well as schools, local churches, a health facility and support businesses.

Our week began with an extensive tour of the devastated areas of New Orleans.

Almost every house had a spray painted X on the front, with letters or numbers noting the date and group searching and the number of bodies (human or otherwise) found. Mary, our guide from People's Institute for Community Organization (PICO), spent several hours taking us through numerous New Orleans parishes. She became our symbol of hope as we saw piles of rubble and destroyed houses. The next day her energy and empowerment became an inspiration for us as we started emptying and gutting houses.

It was an eerie feeling to walk into a ruined house, knowing that the contents was someone's destroyed life. We dragged out soggy, moldy furniture, clothing, linen, rugs, curtains, etc. and left these lives in heaps of trash out front. A few porcelain, glass, and metal objects, and moldings were salvageable. The rest we discarded. Then the gutting began: walls, ceilings, tiles, counters, cupboards, moldings, nails and fixtures were removed. By the end of the week we had fallen into a rhythm. This tacit communication developed a strong bond between us supporting us in our tasks and our sadness of working together and separately. I found security and comfort in these group activities.

From one community leader we learned about a most disturbing issue - an influx of immigrant and migrant laborers have come to New Orleans in hopes of finding work at what is now the largest construction site in the world. In a series of decisions the federal government has helped to create a very difficult situation for the city. It suspended the Davis Bacon Act that requires the payment of "prevailing wages on public works projects" and the affirmative action requirements for employment in reconstruction jobs. "Guest workers" imported by local "pickers" often will work for less than minimum wage so they can send back money to their families abroad, leaving Blacks and poorer Americans unemployed and stranded in New Orleans. Even more upsetting is that they have paid the "picker" a large sum of money, $5,000 to have their VISA papers cleared to come to the US. When here, they are unable to earn enough money to pay back their debt or to return to their country and they essentially become indentured servants to the construction companies in New Orleans. The City Park, cars and parking lots have become refugee camps for many of these displaced persons creating additional racial tension and undue stress on the city's already limited resources.

I have to commend the three women from UUSC who organized this Justworks program. They worked hard to accommodate individual needs, make us home cooked meals and keep us on track. The community leaders that we met were dynamic, informative, welcoming and appreciative. I am inspired by their resilience. In spite of the difficult odds these grass root leaders with their dogged determination, positive outlook and diligence are making progress. Their faith and hope are helping some devastated families to return to their homes and hopefully future neighborhoods. Both ACORN and Common Ground are impressive organizations helping the more disadvantaged people rebuild in New Orleans, and it was a privilege to work in partnership with them.

If you would like to read more facts about the present situation in New Orleans, then check out, The Right to Return to New Orleans by Bill Quigley at this website: http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley02262007.html.

Check out these websites for joining a work camp: http://www.uua.org/news/gulfcoastrelief/; http://www.commongroundrelief.org/node/314; www.quakerinfo.org; and www.uusc.org.

And keep in touch with your representatives and senators about issues affecting New Orleans.

As the Arab-Israeli conflict escalates, with US involvement, to concerned citizens the need to understand the history and the root causes of the conflict became more vital then ever. Join us to see an audio-visual presentation that you'll never find in the main stream media.

Helmy Mostafa is a local activist and volunteer for the Muslim American Society- Boston Chapter. He is a member of the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights and the Arab American Antidiscrimination Committee. For more information, contact: minister@firstparishbeverly.org or call 978-922-3968

The show will be held in the Parish Hall of the First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA, across from the underpass in Belmont Center. For directions and information about First Church, go to www.uubelmont.org

"Home" explores transgenderism, gender identity, family, and faith. The play delves into a family whose faith is rocked with the death-bed revelation that the minister's grandfather was born biologically female. Queer Soup suggests that this show is appropriate for people age 17 and over.

In January 2006, Queer Soup premiered "Home" at the Boston Center for the Arts. It grew to be an incredibly powerful show that created a safe space for varied communities to come together to discuss, educate and hopefully, to heal. It is because of its unique power and subject matter that "Home" has just received an Independent Reviewers of New England Award Nomination for "Best New Play," small theater division.

The show is a fundraiser for Queer Soup to take "Home" on the road as an educational tour to churches, colleges, LGBT centers, and conferences. The tour will raise awareness about transgender and queer identity issues. This performance is a fundraiser. For more information about Queer Soup, go to www.queersoup.net.

Tickets will be available at the door. Suggested donation is "pay what you can," but please come regardless of your ability to donate. If you have questions, please call Gladys Unger at 617-489-5957 or Kim Hoff at 339-368-1537.

June 7 - June 24 - World Premiere - Our Son's Wedding - by Donna de Matteo - Directed by Eric C. Engel
Sparks fly as an Italian-American plumber and his strong-willed wife check into Boston's Ritz Carlton Hotel on the occasion of their son's nuptials -- to another man! The feisty couple discover as much about their own marriage as the new world in which they find themselves. An hilarious, timely, and poignant new play.

June 28 - July 15 - New England Premiere - Ponies - by Mike Batistick - Directed by David Sullivan
Thousands of miles from his war-torn, native Croatia, Drazen spends his days gambling on horses at a Lower East Side Off-Track Betting shop. His friend Ken, a Nigerian no longer welcome in his own country, joins him to learn how to win at the ponies. But, in this dark and funny new play, both men quickly discover that no matter what part of the world you come from, America can be a dangerous place.

July 19 - August 12 - The Belle of Amherst - by William Luce - Directed by Eric C. Engel
Featuring Academy Award nominee Lindsay Crouse, based on the writings of Emily Dickinson

August 16 - September 2 - The Widow's Blind Date by Israel Horovitz
Building steadily, this gripping play begins with the seemingly lighthearted reunion of three former high school classmates and then moves on, inexorably, to a shattering, explosive denouement.