Flowers: The flowers this Sunday are given by Laurie Christiansen and Richard George in honor of their fifth wedding anniversary.

Steeple Lighting: The steeple lighting for this week has been donated by Amy and Myles Badger in loving memory of Mark Badger on the tenth anniversary of his death. He is still missed daily.

Ushers: Lee McLaughlin and Maureen Adams

Coffee Hour Hosts: Leslie A. Lipkind, Jeffrey and Laura Litcofsky, Peter Litwin & Patrice O'Brien, and Aidan & Jo-Anna Lloyd.

Adult Education: "Exploring UUism," final session at 11:45 a.m. in the Lower Meetinghouse Conference Room. The focus is on UU history.

The sermon will consider what it means to live a "religious" life in the context of Unitarian Universalism. I look forward to seeing you at this special service!

Steeple Lighting: The steeple lighting for this week has been donated by Barbara Burnim in memory of her husband, Bernard H. Burnim.

Ushers: Peter and Candace Erickson

Coffee Hour Hosts: Beverly Logan, Mary Anne Macaulay, and Pat and Richard Ouellette

Current Events Forum: Lower Meetinghouse Conference Room at 9:30 a.m. -- continuing with the question of immigration and guest workers with regard to Anne White's material on New Orleans. Also, discussions will begin reviews of the upcoming Newburyport tax override.

Interfaith Peace Service: Today at 4:00 p.m. at the Newburyport Peace Pole in the waterfront municipal parking lot. If it is raining this event will be held in the Lower Meeting House.

Besides supporting the church, the auction is a terrific fellowship event and lots of fun. Please attend, and bid with spring fever. Don't miss this fun event.

Barefoot Books is an award-winning, independent publisher. You'll also find puppets, artwork, and CDs for sale on the website--all wonderful gifts for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, friend, or neighbor. Please contact FRS member Tina Rawson at tina@mybarefootbooks.com if you have questions, or if you would like information on placing an order in person by phone.

Volunteer Opportunity
We are currently seeking adults to help lead projects for our Young Church social service term, which runs May 27 through June 17. The commitment is Sunday mornings during church. Some of the projects we will offer include: beach cleanups, making crafts for Meals on Wheels, baking desserts for Our Neighbor's Table, and creating our Kids As Peacemakers mural. It's a great way to become more involved in FRS, do something good for the community, and get to know some great kids. Please contact Julie Parker Amery if you can help out. Thank you!

We are confident we'll reach our goal because we trust that you will follow through and make your pledge. Send in your pledge card, or even better, call John Mercer at (978) 465-0602 ext. 404 and leave a message.

Coffee!
The regular coffee you will be drinking during coffee hour through the end of the church year comes from Plum Island Coffee Roasters. Owner Joyce Coady has provided a variety of fairly traded organic coffee varieties for us at a 10% discount over the regular price, and we will enjoy these over the next couple months. Thank you, Joyce, and we will think of you as we act globally and buy locally. We hope our church members will patronize Plum Island coffee roasters too--it's a terrific place and well worth seeking out.

The rummage mavens, Florence Mercer and Anne Verret-Speck, thank their tireless workers: Lorraine Adelman, Barbara Bell, Ross Brady, Linda & Will Buddenhagen, Beth Cawley, Vicki Dyer, Pamela Erickson, Pam Fenner, Coleen Ferguson, Judith Grohe, Lucy Hopping, Rinda Iascone, Penny Johnson, Janet & Roxie Kalashian, Steve Krusemark, Leslie Lipkind, Karen McCarty, John Mercer, Alex Morris, Judith Niles, Barbara Owen, Ann Petersen, Marjorie & Jerry Peterson, Carrie Plumer, Jane Purinton, Joan Smart, Leanna & Nemesia Sorcar, John & Forrest Speck, Anne Spraker, Maxine, Debbie & Samantha Steeves, Cori Thurlow, Anne White, Shiela Willard, and Cynthia Williams. Thanks also go out to all of you generous donors and eager buyers. Start planning for next fall!

When I first came to the church after being married there, I became quite friendly with Bert Steeves, who was the minister. He called me one day and asked if I could come up and help him secure one of the pylon steeple ornaments which was hanging over the side and was in danger of falling on the children walking by on their way to a function in the Parish Hall. I went up and together we made it fast to the steeple. I was shocked at the deteriorated condition of the steeple. Pieces were strewn about in broken condition on the steeple, in the belfry, on the roof, and on the church lawn. Later I found more in the cellar.

I became interested and began repairing things. I was still in the Navy, stationed at N.A.S. Squantum, MA. I utilized the facilities of the hobby shop at the base. The base no longer exists.

The four pylons which adorn the corners of the belfry I made entirely from new material at the hobby shop. I brought them to the church and installed them. Then I covered them with fiberglass pigmented resin paint.

The broken ornaments I pieced together using lots of new wood, putty, wood dough, paper, sawdust, and lots and lots of glue and finally four coats of pigmented paint. That was years ago, and they are still there today. I guess I must have done something right.

There are twenty ornaments in all: four pylons on the belfry, eight acorns on the first level of the steeple, and eight candle flames on the second level. Each ornament has its own 150Watt flood light. The view from up there among them is very rewarding. I was fortunate one day to be at Ed Bartlet's sawmill when three huge logs came in. One was twenty-nine inches in diameter. I quickly bought them and had him mill them into wide boards which now form the exterior of the belfry and steeple-and my dining room table.

From then on the steeple became my personal project, and I have spent countless hours there and loved every minute of it. I am retired now and don't do those things anymore, but my love of the steeple has never lessened, and I hope some one will step forward to carry on. Recently Russell Perry-Platine of Plum Island has been very active in that respect. Anyone interested in helping should contact him or me.

Kidd sees the opportunity to use "Sigh/Omelas" as a vehicle to help middle school and high school students understand the importance of volunteer work in their worldwide and in their communities. Kidd has performed "Sigh Omelas" all over the New England area.

"Sigh/Omelas" interweaves Kidd's original text with an adaptation of the haunting and provocative short story "The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin about a fictional utopia called Omelas, where people live in perpetual happiness and joy . . . but at what cost? Kidd portrays four different characters and the narrator in a haunting and provocative performance for a unique educational and emotional experience.

"Perhaps you will be lucky enough to hear that "Sigh" is being presented again. If you get the chance, experience this hour and a quarter of theatrical excellence. It is rare that a performance can so remind us of the dangers, the beauty, and the obligations involved in being human."

PLEASE JOIN US: First time and experienced volunteers are needed and wanted for a relief and recovery service trip to the New Orleans area to do gutting, rebuilding, painting (homes and schools), spring cleanup (homes and churches) and lots of listening with residents in several neighborhoods that were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding.

WHEN: The next relief trip to the Gulf Coast will take place from Tuesday, May 15 to Sunday, May 20 (with options to travel on Monday, May 14 or return on Monday, May 21). You will be working with several experienced volunteers in a friendly, respectful, welcoming group of up to 20 people.

This will be the fifth trip we have organized since we began doing this work just two months after the storm. Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul is an outgrowth of disaster-related service work done by ministers and members of the Winchester Unitarian Society, Winchester, MA, and the North Shore UU Society of St. Tammany's Parish, LA. We are in the process of becoming a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. We welcome other UU's and people of all faiths or no religious affiliation to join with us.

TRIP COSTS: Participants are responsible for their own airfare and a requested $100 contribution to offset our expenses. Scholarships are available - don't let the cost keep you from participating! We will be staying on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain at St. Timothy's United Methodist Church in Mandeville, LA.

For more information or to sign up, contact Janet Parsons at jdparsons@alumni.tufts.edu. Space is limited so please contact Janet soon.

From 11:00 until 1:00 on May 3rd, we will be at the UUA to hear Reverend Bill Sinkford, the President of the UUA, speak. The issues Unitarians across the state chose for this year are Global Warming and Equal Marriage, and you will get all the training you need about what you can say to your legislator about those issues. At l:00 we will walk next door to the State House to visit our state Senator and Representative.

You will need to register this week to reserve a box lunch and to make sure appointments have been made with your legislator. Please RSVP to Nancy Banks at uumassactionnetwork@verizon.net.

This is a project that has been coordinated by UU Men Against Domestic Violence in the past and is now expanding to become interfaith. Join us in taking a visible stand against domestic violence, while we educate the public and provide some real material support for a local shelter. To learn more or help out, email Matt Meyer at Laghalot4@hotmail.com.