The Rev. Robin L. Zucker is the consulting minister at the UU Fellowship of Storrs, CT. Robin received her MDiv from Harvard and was ordained in 2000. After several years in settled parish ministry, Robin worked as a hospice chaplain and then began her current community ministries in the areas of marriage, divorce and family life counseling and education. She lives in Concord, MA and is the mother of two young adults.

Steeple Lighting: The steeple lighting for this week has been donated by John and Joan Harwood in celebration of their grandchildren; Jonny, Thomas, Connie, and James Harwood.

Flowers: The flowers for today's service are donated by Ben and Linda Labaree in memory of Beth Roughton.

Ushers: Jay Iannini and Rebecca Brodish.

Coffee Hour Hosts: Eileen Fitzgerald, Richard George and Laurie Christiansen, Erika Marquardt Cohen, and Nancy Colby.

The sermon will look at the past and present role of social responsibility in the church. Unitarian Universalists have a long and laudable history of participation in social justice causes, dating back to the abolitionist movement in the 19th century. Our recent visioning process uncovered wide consensus around the importance of congregational engagement social justice work.

There will be Circle in Big Church this morning. I look forward to seeing you in church!

Flowers: The flowers for today's service are donated by Amy Weickert and Peter Cullinan in loving memory of Barbara Shaw Weickert whose birthday is April 7.

Ushers: Jessica Brown and Brent Mitchell.

Coffee Hour Hosts: Ned McClung and Anne Comeau, Jenny Coyle, James and Nancy Warner, and Laurie Evans-Daly and Richard Daly.

FRS Current Events Forum: 9:30 a.m. in Lower Meetinghouse Conference Room. The topic is "The Iraq War and the Spitzer Debacle - Any Connection?"

Collection for Cause: One half of the loose plate in April will go directly to Community Action of Amesbury, which empowers individuals, families and communities to overcome poverty through education, training, advocacy and prevention, and services to meet basic human needs.

And thanks to everyone who contributed food and cash to the February Pettengill House food drive. We were able to deliver two carloads of food, for which they were very grateful. Thank you all.

At the end of World War I, Czechoslovakia had become independent, inspiring Maja and Norbert to return to Czechoslovakia where they founded in Prague a Unitarian church that still exists today and was once the largest Unitarian congregation in the world with 3200 members. Maja was ordained there as a Unitarian minister in 1926. Norbert Capek created and introduced the flower communion service in their Czechoslovakia Unitarian church on June 4, 1923, because he felt that some symbolic ritual would bind people more closely together and not alienate any one who had abandoned other religious traditions. In 1939, shortly before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Maja Capek left for the United States to lecture and raise funds for a joint Unitarian-Friends program to assist endangered refugees and internees. While in America, she introduced the flower communion at the Unitarian church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and throughout her twenty-seven years of travel throughout America, she slowly spread this ritual and spoke about the religious liberalism of her fellow Czechs.

Unable to return to Prague due to the outbreak of World War II, Maja served the Unity House in New Bedford, Massachusetts, from 1940 to 1943 while waiting for word of her husband who was imprisoned by the Gestapo. Maja did not find out until 1945 that her husband had died in the Dachau Concentration Camp in 1942 by poisonous gas. From 1944 to 1950 she worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, helping displaced persons settle in Yugoslavia, Egypt and Palestine. Maja retired in 1950 to Ben Lomand, California, and moved to the Palos Verdes peninsula in 1963 to live with her son. She died December 1, 1966.

Rev. Mrs. Maja V. Capek, Letter to the Rev. Dr. Ernest Kuebler, American Unitarian Association, June 1, 1961:

Delighted to hear that there are intentions of releasing a pamphlet on the Flower Communion. While I do not care what and how the individual churches perform this service, as I told before, I was a bit dismayed recently over the fact that some churches (the San Francisco one included) use it as a substitute for Easter or any other myth. Norbert never meant it to be this nor was it ever and is not to this day held at Easter. Capek's only motivation was to stress and bring about BROTHERHOOD. As a symbol he used flowers because in the name of a flower or flowers no wars were waged, as was the case with the Cross or the Chalice. The flowers are used as symbols of the gifts, which each person can make to the church and through the church to other persons. Because of the large variety each person is able to express his individuality. The exchange of flowers means that I shall walk, without reservation, with anyone - regardless of his social status, or his former religious affiliation, as long as he is ready and willing to go along in search of truth and service to man.

Where's Caleb? Who Is He and Why Has History Forgotten Him?
Tuesdays April 8, 15, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Led by Jim Dyer
Lower Meeting House
Caleb Cushing was a statesman, soldier, jurist, negotiator, diplomat, ambassador, linguist and scholar-- Newburyport's most distinguished citizen of the 19th century. But he has virtually disappeared from view today. Come look back through the mists of time, get to know Cushing as he was and discover the reasons for his disappearance. Call the church office to enroll.

Vegetable Gardening for Health and Happiness
Thursday April 10, 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Led by Greg Garnache
Lower Meeting House
The main topics of discussion will be crop rotation, plant groupings, using flowers for plant protection and garden appearance, integration of garden into everyday lifestyle, and an overview of a typical gardening season. All are welcome. Call the church office to enroll.

Performers

• Donal Fox - http://www.myspace.com/donalfoxprojects
  
• Berklee College "NextGen" Ensemble under the direction of Terri Lyne Carrington
  http://www.terrilynecarrington.com
  
• Ashanti Munir Band - http://cdbaby.com/cd/ashantimunir
  
• The Actual Proof - http://www.myspace.com/theactualproof
  
• Emily Greene - http://www.myspace.com/EmilyGreeneMusic
  
• Zili Misik - an 8-piece, all female world music band - http://www.zilimisik.com/

Is Social Action important to you? Do you feel that it is an integral part of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist? Would you like to increase the capacity of your congregation to organize for social justice with oppressed communities? The Mass Bay District of Unitarian Universalist Churches is offering a half-day training workshop in collaboration with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry and the Unitarian Universalist Association's Program for Advocacy and Witness and UU Mass Action. Presentations focus on a three-part training of the underlying philosophy of grassroots community organizing and social justice principles and how your congregations can become more effective and more involved.

Please get in touch with Christina Sillari if you are interested: omkrimkali@aol.com or 978-465-0602 ext.410

Dear Friends:

Please thank the members of your congregation for supporting the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee with the Guest at Your Table gifts of $695.48, which we received on February 26, 2008.

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.

Sincerely, Charlie Clements President and CEO

Our Neighbors' Table
Sunday School Children,

Thank you very much for your donation to our meals and pantry program. We appreciate your support a great deal.

Bard College
Dear Friends at First Religious Society,

We couldn't do it without you! Please accept our thanks for your contribution of $350 to TLS, in support of the Nicaragua Project. Your support helps Bard to achieve its goals and look to the future.

Sincerely, Matthew Soper, Director of Development

To RSVP and reserve lunch, go to www.uumassaction.org and click on "Lobby Day."

Celebrate the spirit of giving along with 43,000 other concerned citizens by participating in this historic Massachusetts experience. For more information, call 617-723-5000 or visit www.proectbread.org/walk.

The theme will be "Being of Service: Path to Fulfillment." Specific topics will include the distinctively Universalist notion that doing good is the key to a fulfilling life, the career of Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross), and the work of the Barton Center for Diabetes Education.

North Oxford is a village in the town (i.e., township) of Oxford, Massachusetts, where the Universalist denomination was organized in 1793 and where its most important leader, Hosea Ballou, was ordained in 1794. The building where these events took place still stands and is the oldest Universalist church building in existence (constructed in 1792), but it is no longer used as a church.

People from out of state who intend to stay a day or two longer might want to click here for a list of things to see in Massachusetts.

The organizing committee is composed of Jan Bowering, Jackie Magazu, Doris Tivnan, and Richard Trudeau. Questions and suggestions should be sent to Richard at RJTrudeau@verizon.net.

• 9:00 am - 11:00 am Pre-Meeting and Congregational Teams Breakfast
• 11:00 am Registration
• 11:30 am Keynote Speaker ~ Dr. Jeff Howard
• 12:00 pm Lunch/Business Meeting
• 1:30 pm Meeting Adjourned

Amid endemic gang activity, high drop-out rates and limited public school resources, inner-city education presents a significant challenge for the 21st century. Urban education expert Dr. Jeff Howard has devoted his career to helping inner-city children do more than just survive -- he wants them to thrive. Dr. Howard's work is based on the idea that intelligence can be developed and is not fixed and immutable. He founded The Efficacy Institute, a not-for-profit education-reform organization, to promote the academic and social development of children by helping educators, parents and human service providers operate from a simple belief: All children can learn at very high levels if the process of education is effectively organized. Since Fall 2007, the UU Urban Ministry has been an enthusiastic participant in the Boston Campaign for Proficiency, a city-wide initiative that employs The Efficacy Institute's curriculum.

Dr. Howard, who serves as President of The Efficacy Institute, also founded J. Howard and Associates, a corporate training and consulting firm that is now part of the Novations Group.

Four day trips are featured to Garden of the Gods, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Sange de Cristo National Forest and Mountains, the Royal Gorge, Bent's Old Fort on the Santa Fe Trail, the Koshare Indian Museum, the Sangre de Cristo Art Museum, a boat ride along the historic Arkansas River Walk, and other attractions.

The excursion package includes:

1. Pick up and drop off at the Colorado Springs Airport
2. Bed and Breakfast with a UU host family
3. Welcoming dinner, three restaurant dinners, and BarBQ on a working ranch
4. Lunches on day trips and day of departure
5. Air-conditioned van for day trips with tour escort
6. All admission fees

For further Information and registration forms: Phone Pat Spahr (719) 543-5249 or Dan Stone (719) 542-4882 or e-mail uucop@Juno.com.