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 Christina Moves On Ministerial Intern Christina Sillari's last day at the FRS was July 31, 2008 Photo courtesy of Matt Muise |
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a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport, MA 01950 Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday Church Phone: (978) 465-0602 - Minister's Line: (978) 465-6504 - Fax: (978) 462-0384 Web Page: www.frsuu.org - e-mail: frsuu@netway.com The Rev. Harold E. Babcock, Minister The Rev. Bertrand H. Steeves, Minister Emeritus Christina Sillari, Ministerial Intern |
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For the week of August 3 by Mary Wilkins Haslinger in memory of her father, Dr. Robert Wallace Wilkins. FRS member Bruce Ford passed away at the Kaplan Family Hospice in Danvers on July 12, of cancer. Our hearts and our support go out to Wendy Ford and Westy and Lindsay Ford on the death of their dear husband and father. Known for his quick wit and his sturdy character, Bruce was never more brave than when he met the challenge of his life in his final illness, still overseeing family matters from his hospital bed, still being positive and constructive, against all odds. We will remember him for his love of life, his salty nature, and his ability to inspire. His teachings, seamanship, teamwork, and tales brought much joy and laughter, and brought them often. He encouraged all around him to appreciate the reality of their situations and take pleasure in present moments. Bruce taught physics for many years in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and more recently in Salem, New Hampshire. In his career, he was an inspiring mentor to younger teachers; his approach to teaching the complexities of physics became a curriculum model. The Fords had their summer base of operations in Tenants Harbor, Maine, where Bruce was devoted to the St. George sailing program. He loved Maine and was delighted that his family attached themselves to the many pleasures of a coastal Maine summer. Wendy has promised her children that this beloved tradition will continue. Bruce brought his family and friends the joy of laughter - even to the end, and with that, he will live on in all of us. He has left his children a legacy of ideas and values through which they will know the fine man he was. A memorial service will be held at the FRS on August 28 at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in Bruce's honor to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, Mass. 02215, or to St. George Community Sailing Foundation, P.O. Box 435, Tenants Harbor, Maine 04860. Great Marsh Tour Bring your whole family to the Yankee Clipper from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., on Saturday, September 13, for an ecological tour of the Great Marsh behind Plum Island. With the fall bird migration underway, it will be absolutely beautiful in the marsh. We can drift nearly silently along for as long as time and tide allow. The cost is $10 for adults; children under 6 free. The boat holds 48 people. Call the church office to sign up; the deadline is September 11. Watch this space! The next Steeple Biweekly will have the full catalogue of Adult Education courses for the fall semester. This catalogue will also be included in the order of service for our opening service on September 7. The book sale, held during Yankee Homecoming on July 31 and August 1 and 2, was an unprecedented success, yielding to the FRS $2530, 67% above expected receipts and 37% above the previous record level. Thanks to this year's lineup of volunteers: Setup: Rob Burnham, Marise Fraser, Ann Kemp, Bettina Turner, Judith Grohe, and her daughter, Laura Cattel, as well as Fred-who-always-helps-with-the-setup. - Barbara Owen, FRS Booksale Chair
- John Mercer, Sidewalk Huckster Summer Schedule The First Religious Society is closed for services from June 15 until the Sunday after Labor Day, September 7. In the summer, many of our parishioners attend, either regularly or occasionally, The First Congregational Society (Unitarian) in Hampton Falls, NH. Services there are at 10:45 a.m.
The First Congregational Society (Unitarian) is a separate church from the First Religious Society. While our own minister and minister emeritus are among the speakers and many of the other speakers will be familiar to FRS members, the forum is an open pulpit and thus will likely include a broad range of views. The church is on Route 88, just past Applecrest Farms: take Route 95 North to Route 107 East to Route 1 North. Go through Seabrook to Hampton Falls. Turn left on Route 88 at the center of Hampton Falls. Go about 3 miles down Route 88 to the church just past Applecrest on the right. Parking is in the rear of the building.
from the FRS Historical Committee This summer, committee members have been enthusiastically plunging through oceans of Newburyport-related information from the years 1847 through 1849, when Thomas Wentworth Higginson was minister here at the First Religious Society. Our next Historical Sunday, February 1, 2009, honors Rev. Higginson. The period prior to the War Between the States was a time of dramatic change: economic, demographic, scientific, philosophical, and religious. We are working on a bulletin board which should be in place to welcome and intrigue you when you return to church in September. from the FRS Music Committee Would you like to contribute your musical talent to a Sunday service this fall? The Music Committee is coordinating the music for Sunday services this fall and would like to make a list of volunteer musicians of all instruments and genres we can call on. Interested? Please speak to Bettina Turner or e-mail her at bettinatu4@comcast.net. We would love to hear from you! from FRS member Lusann Wishart Being blessed with the adventurous spirit and the opportunity to work and play on the Big Island of Hawaii, I have decided to give it a try. I am on a travel assignment for three months in Hilo, as an OT in a Skilled Nursing Facility. This will give me time to decide whether or not I will permanently reside in Hawaii. I love the outdoors and want the opportunity to live in a different part of the country and experience a different culture. And is it ever different! Hilo is very much "Old Hawaii." It has a blend of all ethnicities and very laid back. My goal is to become a type B rather than type A-minus. The Big Island has a diverse ecological environment from rainforests to desert flora, white, black, green sand beaches, volcanoes, and even a mountain with snow for snow boarding. I saw my first rainbow today when I was out running. It actually was a double rainbow..incredibly beautiful. Hilo means "Rainbow" . . . how perfect a place to be. I have not yet found a UU church. The only one I could find is in Honolulu . . . a bit far so I am church shopping. I will truly miss my UU family and being so involved in a wonderful church community. I feel blessed to have made many good friends and to have experienced such a warm and welcoming community. I am scheduled to return in November and will at that time know if Hawaii is meant to be for me. Meanwhile, if anyone is interested in chairing the Membership Committee, please let Vicki know. I will be tying up loose ends with the committee from a distance. - Lusann Wishart
On August 8 Harold Babcock will be returning with a group of FRS teens from a visit to our Partner Church in Transylvania. During the remainder of August, Harold will be on call in case of emergencies. During his absences, ministerial coverage for emergencies will be available by calling the church office. As shown above, Harold will be preaching in Hampton Falls, NH, on August 24. Providing the flowers at a church service or lighting the steeple for a week are splendid ways to memorialize a family member, friend, or event. Steeple lighting weeks available in 2009 are May 31 and August 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. Dates open for supplying flowers are November 2, 2008, and May 31, 2009. Lighting the steeple for a week requires a donation of $50.00 to the FRS, and the flowers are usually arranged through Denise's Flowers in Newburyport, though you may, of course, supply your own arrangement if you wish. To arrange for any of these dates, please call Vicki at (978) 465-0602 x401. Join our Garden Ministry. Work alone (meditation) or with friends (small group ministry). Gather as a group to discuss needed work around the property (weeding, trimming, small gardening jobs). Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Use your hands to do the Great Spirit's work to make the church property neat and trim. Call Vicki at (978) 465-0602, x401, to make this commitment. FRS Heroes Whatever way it went, our accolades go out to Brother Baker and Sister Fraser. Pacific Intercultural Exchange My name is Laura Walta and I am the Area Representative for the Pacific Intercultural Exchange. We facilitate the placement of high school exchange students from around the world. In addition, we are contracted by the US Dept. of State to place scholarship students from the Middle East and the former Soviet states. I myself just finished hosting two boys - one from Yemen and one from Kyrgyzstan. It was a wonderful experience that has changed my life! Newburyport High School has agreed to accept our students, and we are now in a search to find families to host them. Families provide a bed, meals, and a parent's love and care. Scholarship students come with health insurance, a monthly spending stipend, and financial assistance for school supplies and incidentals. They also come with a great deal of enthusiasm, a wealth of cultural knowledge to share, and the curiosity and awe you might expect of a teenager from another culture. We have found that church members are excellent host parents and seem to have room in their hearts for strangers-especially children. I have placed several children here in Massachusetts with local UU members and thought you might share this opportunity with your congregation. - Laura Walta Laura@Walta.org from the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Global food prices are at a 30-year high, up by 58 percent in some regions, causing severe food shortages all over the world. More than 100 million people have been pushed into hunger, and food protests, riots, and violence plague developing and developed communities alike. What is behind the food crisis? The causes are many, including increased demand, food tariffs, ethanol production, terms of "free trade," agricultural subsidies in developed countries, and crop failures. In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon created a Task Force to "promote a unified response to the global food price challenge." The UN convened a summit in Rome in early June to address the crisis and received $7 billion towards food aid and agricultural investments. On July 2, the Secretary-General urged the global community to further "support the world's farmers by removing export restrictions and levies on food commodities . . . and cut agricultural subsidies in developed countries to free new resources for agricultural investment in low income, food insecure countries." UU UN Office interns Chris Benson, Raman Kumar, Jaclyn Majewski, and Reid Robinson attended a June 19 discussion panel in New York City hosted by Doctors Without Borders and moderated by Christiane Amanpour. The panel emphasized the urgency of the crisis and called for increased food aid, noting that nutrition programs provide only $2 per child per year for children in food insecure regions. In addition to the obvious issues of hunger, access to an adequate and nutritious food supply supports gender equality, low child mortality, and societal development. Taking Action: In May the US Congress passed a Farm Bill that reduces international aid and only slightly reduces ethanol subsidies (these subsidies have increased the price of corn, wheat, and soybeans). We encourage UUs in the United States to lobby their Senators and Representatives to increase aid and further reduce ethanol subsidies. At the UUA General Assembly held in Fort Lauderdale June 25 - 29 delegates voted decisively that the Congregational Study/Action Issue for 2008-2012 will be "Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice." This Study/Action Issue lists the following steps:
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