Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship ~ BUF.org

November 20, 2019

BUF Endowment News

Our Endowment fund passed a milestone this past fiscal year (ending June 2019). Thanks to two very generous gifts, the value of the fund reached $79,453. The Endowment Fund Charter requires the fund to retain all capital gains until the fund exceeds $50,000. After that, we can disburse 50% of the capital gains for use by the fellowship. The year-end capital gain on June 30 was $3,742. So we can distribute $1,871 for use by the congregation. The BUF Board of Trustees has approved a recommendation from the endowment committee to purchase an automatic external defibrillator (AED.) Dr. Ken Gass has offered his recommendation for a good quality, user friendly unit. Once we have purchased the AED, there will be several training opportunities. Stay tuned for more on this.

All assets of the BUF endowment are invested in the UUA Common Endowment Fund (uucef.org) which manages the assets of the UUA and 331 congregations ($151 million). The UUCEF provides Socially Responsible Investing and a first rate management team.

Gifts to the BUF Endowment can be made outright at any time, or through estate gifts, which includes making a gift to BUF in your will. Please contact the Endowment Fund Committee chair Gil

Baker (endowment@buf.org or admin@buf.org.) Our endowment committee currently has three members: Ken Gass, Wendy Bohlke and Gil Baker. We would like to have another member — perhaps someone younger. Anyone who would be interested, please contact Gil.

Partner Church Program is our Special Collection Recipient in November Kopjafa Dedicated November 3rd

These pictures are from the dedication of our brand new Kopjafa, or Transylvanian style memorial pole. Inscribed on the pole are the logos and name of BUF, the Unitarian Universalist Association, Magyarszovátí Unitárius Templom

(the Magyarszovat Unitarian Church) and Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház (Transylvanian Unitarian Denomination) Pictures by Mark Allyn, who also has a video of the pole dedication on line at https://youtu.be/UAcffhzuMaI

Upcoming Sunday Services

Sunday, November 24 The Base, Cup, and Dancing Flame – Revs Paul Beckel and Barbara ten Hove Consider the base upon which the chalice cup is held, the cup itself holding the fuel, and the flame which dances above. How might we use this 3-part metaphor to frame memories, our experience-of-now, and our vision for the future? December 1 Pause Time – Rev Paul Beckel Today begins the traditional christian season of advent. The time of waiting. What’s so hard about waiting? Perhaps the feeling of being in-between. I’ve let go of what I had, but I don’t yet have anything new to hold onto. December 8 BUF Choirs: An African Christmas December 15 Children’s Holiday Pageant: Uun-Frozen December 22 Solstice Quiet – Rev Paul Beckel The winter solstice brings us into direct encounter and inescapable awareness of the rhythms of nature — within which the sacred circle of life turns and turns. December 29 From Mystery to Possibility This service will be a bridge from our December theme of “Mystery” into our January theme of “Possibility.” We’ll weave together the musical and poetic inspirations of several BUFsters on this cusp of the new year.

Pastoral Care Note I’m sorry to share the news that Andy Backus has late-stage lung cancer. Andy is grateful for our care and support, and wants us to know that at this point they feel well supplied with assistance and are focusing on spending as much time as possible just with one another. The Bridge from Mystery to Possibility Seeking your Music and Poetry What does this image bring to mind? Imagine for a moment what music or poetry you have inside of you that you could share. Our Sunday service on December 29 will weave your music and poetry including any “I am From” poems that you’ve been working on. If you have something to share please contact Paul Beckel (paul@buf.org) or Steffany Raynes (stefandlin@gmail.com).

Christmas Eve—Candlelight Service and Gorgeous Music

BUF will be holding a Christmas Eve service on Christmas Eve, December 24, at 7pm. The service will be led by the Reverend Barbara ten Hove and Carrie Koehnline, and the choir will be directed by Kevin Allen-Schmid with collaborative pianist Melanie Rieck.

For this occasion, we will form a one-time special choir, which will rehearse from 6:45pm until 8pm on two Wednesdays, Dec 11 and Dec 18. Then on the 24th itself, the choir will meet at 6pm to rehearse before the 7pm service.

We are inviting singers from BUF and the wider community to join this one-time special choir, and we hope that those singers will invite their singing friends as well. Participants need to commit to both Wednesday rehearsals, and to arrive on the 24th by 6pm.

The choir will prepare two utterly gorgeous but simple pieces: “Gesu Bambino” and “In This Very Room.” Printed copies are available now at regular BUF choir rehearsals or from Ann Stevenson, choir librarian, or you can email Kevin to send you PDFs of the scores.

I hope you are able to join us! Please RSVP via email Kevin Allen-Schmid at kevin@buf.org.

Music to look forward to at BUF: There is some incredibly wonderful music coming up at BUF, with a great variety of vocal and instrumental selections on Sundays and two special Saturday evening concerts. Mark your calendars, and we’ll see you there! ~BUF Music Director Kevin Allen-Schmid November theme: Memory Saturday 23 3pm and 7:30pm, BUF Chalice Choir performs as guests on Choir of the Salish Sea concert entitled “Sing Your Way Home: Songs of Origin, Flight and Sanctuary”

Tickets $20/$5, available online from brownpapertickets.com

Sunday 24 Andrew Schoneberg & Elie Friedlob sing “An American Hymn” December theme: Mystery 1 Special Music provided by Reverends Barbara and Jaco ten Hov 8 Special Holiday Music Service celebrating Christmas choral music from Africa,

with three choirs singing the following songs: African Noel, Amavolovolo, Betelehemu, Bonse Aba, Jabula Jesu and Kumbaya

15 BUF RE Pageant “UUnFrozen” 22 Special Music provided by the Kusick Family 24 One-time, volunteer choir for Christmas Eve Service (with rehearsals on Dec 11 & 18)

will sing “Gesu Bambino” and “In This Very Room” 29 Special Music coordinated by Melanie Rieck

SPECIAL INVITATION FOR BUFSTERS - “A Christmas Carol” Did you know that Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” soon after joining a Unitarian church? This may explain why the enduring tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s personal transformation from hard-hearted miser to open-hearted giver has always resonated so deeply with me. I have read and seen this story many, many times now, and I still cry at the end. Every. Time. This year your Stewardship Team is focusing on the many ways in which BUF transforms lives, thanks to your generosity. In this spirit, we invite all BUFsters

to join us on Thursday, December 5, for opening night of iDiOM Theater’s “A Christmas Carol.” The folks at iDiOM are kindly offering a special 20% discount that night, just for UUs! Innovative and hilarious, this minimalist, 3-person production is like no “Christmas Carol” you’ve ever seen before.

My kids and I saw it last year, and everyone gave it a big thumbs-up. Enjoyable for older kids and up. (The show is not scary, but the text is the original Dickens, so might be a slog for younger kids.) In order to get the discount, you’ll need to buy tickets online using the discount code SCRUUGE. If you don’t do online transactions, contact me and I can do it for you. And if you can’t make it for UU discount night on the 5th, don’t worry, there are eight other performance dates to choose from. Dates, tickets, and details available at this link: https://sylviacenterforthearts.org/event/a-christmas-carol/2019-12-05/ If you’re interested in the connection between “A Christmas Carol” and Unitarianism, check out this article from UU World: https://www.uuworld.org/articles/scrooges-conversion Thanks for supporting your local performing arts, and your local UU congregation!

-Roz Reynolds, for the Stewardship Committee mama@mamafoo.net

We Are A Generous And Justice-Minded Congregation! I am writing to report on the congregation's SEJC (Social and Environmental Justice Committee) justice collections so far this year. We have been generous, and on behalf of these oh-so-important organizations that go through a significant process with the SEJC to become recipients, I thank you. July $743 for REsources August $896 for jUUstice WA September $1,948 for Humanitas October $2,202 for Community to Community Development, our partner organization Last church year (July '18-June '19) a total of $16,763.73 was given by the congregation in justice collections (this does not include additional special contributions such as food banks, Paddle to Lummi, Family Promise, etc.). If you have any questions about the selection process SEJC uses, or any other aspect of justice collections, please contact Kara Black 360-676-2300 karab@treefrognight.com. Thank you again for supporting the community beyond BUF.

Climate Reality Project Bellingham Chapter Supporters and MNCJ Members, Each year, Vice President Al Gore organizes 24 Hours of Reality and this year November 20-21, Climate Reality Leaders will be giving presentations all over the world for 24 Hours. We have a few in our area! Attend one and invite a friend! We have a movement to build!! "Truth in Action - Climate Action and You" 1. November 20 4:30-5:30pm Bellingham Downtown Library Conference Room downstairs 210 Central Ave., Bellingham 98225

*Learn about climate crisis, what the City is doing with the Climate Action Task Force and what you can do. "Spiritual Climate Activism in the Face of Challenging Conversations" 2. November 20 6:30-8:30pm Stillpoint at Beckside 1625 Huntley Rd, Bellingham, 98226 *This will be an evening of open discussion and sharing on how best to navigate these challenging conversations with hope and integrity as an activist. Presenter: Betsy Gross "24 Hours of Reality - Truth in Action" 3. November 21 6:30-8pm. 495 East Bakerview Road, Bellingham, 98226 Come learn more about the climate crisis and the moral call to act. Presenter: Jill MacIntyre Witt Facebook event page to share: https://www.facebook.com/events/479854836076619/ Hope to see you for 24 Hours of Reality. Please share the presentations with your networks!!!! We have a crisis emergency and the youth are calling for our help!! Also, mark your calendar for Dec. 6, Bellingham Climate Strike! Check here for emerging details! The youth are calling for us to show up and support them! https://www.facebook.com/events/704616430049240/

Native American Heritage Day Concert at BUF - November 29th

NOVEMBER The month of Memory

November 24 FROZEN Rehearsal Rehearsals continue - come join in the Frozen fun! We will have Preschool for kids needing a break from being snowflakes or reindeer.

Passing along the flaming Chalice Some alert congregants may have noticed we’ve been lighting an extra chalice on Sunday mornings and carrying it out with the children as they are released for Religious Education (RE). This is part of our effort in RE to teach, model, and practice our UU values and rituals every week. Once upstairs we set the chalice on an altar and children from Kindergarten on up gather around to sing a song or two. This is followed by an opening reading and an opportunity to share joys and concerns. Just as with adults, this simple, powerful weekly ritual sets the tone for the lesson or activity of the day and is just one way we are preparing the younger generation to carry on the UU flame. You will be hearing more about how families can help teach and model these same rituals and values at home as I begin to develop, and send home, activity packets for parents so they can build on what we’re learning on Sunday mornings.

Fond farewell to Bri - Welcome to Marissa Bri Gardiner is heading back to Spokane to be with their family this coming semester and sadly has to leave us. Bri will be deeply missed by all of us; they were always cheerful and added so much to BUF on many fronts. Bri plans on returning to Western next Fall however and hopefully we’ll see them back at BUF in some capacity at that point. We wish them the best of luck. Fortunately we’ve been able to hire Marissa Quintanilla as our new Childcare

Coordinator. Marissa is a freshman at Western and is studying Early Childhood Education. You may have already seen her smiling face around as she’s been training with Bri the last couple of weeks and has helped with our Parent’s Night Out. Please reach out, introduce yourself and welcome Marissa to BUF.

Community Life

Interfaith Coalition Notes Over 100 members of Interfaith Coalition gathered for the Annual Hope Celebration to review the work and business of Interfaith programs. Heidi Ohana and Ann Stevenson were there to represent BUF. Interfaith leaders presented reports on Housing, Family Promise, Kids Need Books, Project Warm-up, the Winter Warmth Drive along with Board nominations, election of new board members, a bylaw change vote and the treasurer’s report. One report that was especially moving told the story of a 5th grade girl, reading at a 2nd grade level, who became an avid reader surpassing her grade level, after receiving horse books through “Kids Need Books”. Copies of the 2019 Interfaith Annual Report will be available at the Social Justice kiosk in the BUF social hall.

Looking to discuss and reflect on the Sunday morning service? All are welcome to participate. We meet in the Meditation Room (just off the library downstairs) for 30 minutes every Sunday. Grab some coffee and join us promptly as we close the doors and begin 10 minutes after the service ends

Thanksgiving Potluck set for Thursday, November 28th Each year, BUF opens its doors to members and friends who want to gather together in community for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This year, Mark Allyn will host, as he did last year. We plan to arrive any time after 1 PM and have dinner at about 3 PM. More volunteers are needed to help cook the turkey, set up and decorate before dinner as well as clean up after dinner. Many hands make quick work!

Enjoy the beautiful new art on display in the Narthex, from Bellingham artist Jenna Goodman. The Sunspot Series, handpainted art with an emphasis on the beauty of wood. Inspired by nature, adventure, friends and family.

“FIND WHAT MAKES YOUR HEART SING, AND MAKE IT SING LOUDER”

Raid Relief to Reunite Families will be holding their Second Annual Gratitude Dinner at BUF on November 27, 2019. You can show your solidarity with these families while enjoying foods from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, prepared by the families themselves. Information about tickets will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, we are looking for ten volunteers to support this dinner, two ticket takers, two bartenders for wine and beer service, four clean up, one to solicit donation, and one backup

Also RRRF Winter clothing and Toy Drive, collections through December 18th.

Humanitas: HUMANITAS: Becky tried to do everything right. After working to put three daughters through college, she'd begun saving for retirement. Then misfortune struck. She fell and broke her collarbone badly enough to require surgery and a hospital stay—during which she contracted MRSA, an infection that consumed a considerable amount of bone. Now on a complex regimen of IV antibiotics, she faces another surgery. Unable to work, she has applied for disability benefits, but the approval process can take months, and the outcome is far from guaranteed. Meanwhile, medical expenses not covered by insurance have consumed her resources. Still trying to do things right, Becky asked for help to pay for an oil change, as she must drive extra miles to and from Seattle for specialized medical treatment. Weeks later, Becky is still on our minds.

—The Humanitas Team

Lummi Food Bank: Lummi Food Bank is operated and staffed by members of Lummi Nation’s Commod Squad. It is a commodity food program for low income Tribal and non-Tribal people who live on the reservation. BUF collects both financial and material donations (see the red shopping cart in the foyer); however, a financial donation allows the Commod Squad to purchase needed food items in bulk, like beans. They also provide food stuffs like milk, cheese, peanut butter and vegetables. When available, it also provides food for pets. The Commod Squad also provides nutrition educational activities for LFB clients; including gardening for fruits and vegetables. Each Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season it provide food baskets to the Lummi Community.

~ Native American Connections Committee

Family Promise: Another BUF Family Promise week is over successfully due to all the wonderful volunteers. We welcomed a dad and his 3 young children at the end of our week. Thanks to BUFsters: Kathy and Jim Fonte, Barbara Davenport, Isa Werny, Bharti and Tom Kirchner, Murray Bennett, Rebecca Cowen, Carol Dukes, Carol and David Smith, Patricia Ashby and Troy Dillard. You all bring such wonderful energy to our guests. Thank you! There is always a need for more volunteers. If you are interested in joining the Family Promise team as a volunteer, contact Ann Stevenson: ann.v.stevenson@gmail.com ~ Family Promise T=

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Fall and Winter Office Hours at

BUF Monday through Thursday, 9am-3pm

Minister’s Schedule Tuesday through Friday

BUF Board of Trustees and Officers Rory McLeod, President • Murray Bennett, Vice President • Melissa E. Swift, Secretary • Sky Hedman, Treasurer • Angie Lindquist, Trustee • David Curley, Trustee Rod

Haynes, Trustee • Debbie Boots, Trustee Bharti Kirchner, Trustee • Rev. Paul Beckel, ex officio

AT A GLANCE: BUF WEEK ACTIVITIES AND MEETINGS

Wednesday, November 20

10:00 am Humanitas

12:00 pm Writers Group

4:30 pm Stewardship Meeting

5:00 pm BUF Youth Ukulele

5:00 pm Financial Oversight Committee

6:00 pm Community Night Dinner

6:45 pm Chalice Choir

7:00 pm Name Change Brainstorming Mtg

8:10 pm Phoenix Ensemble & Treble Voices Thursday, November 21

12:00 pm Gabriel's Art Kids-After School Program

2:00 pm Flowering Cherry Sangha Mindfulness Meditation Group

6:00 pm BUF BOT Meeting Friday, November 22 – No events or activities Saturday, November 23:

9:00 am 12 Step Group – A

3:00 pm Sing Your Way Home Concert

7:30 pm Sing Your Way Home Concert

Sunday, November 24

10:30 am Worship Service

11:30 am Coffee Hour (Social Hall)

11:30 am Post-Service Reflection Discussion

12:15 pm BUF Men’s Group

12:30 pm Dungeons and Dragons

3:00 pm Middle School OWL

3:00 pm High School OWL

6:00 pm ASL Women’s Support Group Monday, November 25

4:30 pm Life Exercise Tuesday, November 26

12:00 pm Lunch with Paul

1:30 pm Where I am From Writing Group

2:00 pm Enso Chalice Circle

4:30 pm RRRF Gratitude Dinner prep

7:00 pm 12 Step Group – B

Wednesday, November 27

7:00 pm Gratitude Dinner in Social Hall

Thursday, November 18

3:00 pm Thanksgiving Potluck

WEDNESDAY NIGHT COMMUNITY DINNER Spaghetti with Green Salad and Ice Cream for dessert

SUNDAYS, SPECIAL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

NSEA Work Parties for October - December

For details on the work of creek and watershed restoration critical to our salmon, check out NSEA’s work party schedule at https://www.n-sea.org/work-parties. Put a work party date on your calendar! Also check out their Habitat Restoration Tours on October 18th and November 15th (https://www.n-sea.org/upcoming-events).

Saturday, November 23

Sing Your Way Home: Songs of Origin, Flight and Sanctuary

3pm and 7:30pm.

Choir of the Salish Sea, with guests Thunderbirds Raised Her (The Jefferson Sisters, a Coast Salish Trio) and the BUF Chalice Choir, invite you to a thrillingly varied choral program of healing and reconciliation for all the diverse people who call Whatcom County, Washington home. With songs from the Latinx, Japanese, Punjabi, Chinese, Indigenous and European communities, and music representing movements for peace and social justice in America, Africa and the Middle East, this concert will have you singing, crying, laughing and dancing in the aisles. Marisol Chapina, of Raid Relief to Reunite Families will recite the powerful poem, "Home" and promote RRRF's November 27 Gratitude Dinner at BUF. Director Kevin Allen-Schmid says "There could hardly be a more "UU" concert than this. We are singing about peaceful coexistence and immigrant

rights, issues of great concern to the BUF community." Tickets are available online through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door.

Sunday, November 24

10:30 am The Base, Cup, and Dancing Flame – Revs Paul Beckel and Barbara ten Hove Consider the base upon which the chalice cup is held, the cup itself holding the fuel, and the flame which dances above. How might we use this 3-part metaphor to frame memories, our experience-of-now, and our vision for the future? 11:30 am Coffee Hour (Social Hall) Post-Service Reflection Discussion 11:30 am. Looking to discuss and reflect on the Sunday morning service? All are welcome to participate. We meet in the Meditation Room (just off the library downstairs) for 30 minutes every Sunday. Grab some coffee and join us promptly as we close the doors and begin 10 minutes after the service ends

12:15 pm BUF Men’s Group The regular 2nd & 4th Sunday meeting of the BUF men's group will be this coming Sunday, from about 12:15 to 1:30pm in the conference room. All men -- members, friends, visitors -- are welcome to join us. Feel free to bring your lunch or a snack to share. Contact Jeff Copeland (jeff.copeland@gmail.com) for additional details. 12:30 pm Dungeons and Dragons, I Street Vestibule 3:00 pm Middle School OWL, Library 3:00 pm High School OWL, Social Hall 6:00 pm ASL Women’s Support Group, Classroom 4

UUA GA Early Registration begins!

Rooted, Inspired, & Ready!

We Are Rooted. To know where we are headed, we must be in touch with our theological and historical roots. A major focus of General Assembly (GA) will be partnership with Indigenous leaders in the Northeast to explore how to co-exist in right relationship with one another and the land we occupy. We will deepen our understanding of Unitarian Universalism’s role in European settlement, 400 years since our direct religious ancestors on the Mayflower landed in Plymouth and began the colonization of what is now New England. GA will delve into our theological and historical roots. Read more at

https://wp.buf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/UUA-GA-Early-Registration-begins.pdf

Wednesday, November 27

Raid Relief to Reunite Families will be holding their Second Annual Gratitude Dinner at BUF on November 27, 2019. You can show your solidarity with these families while enjoying foods from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, prepared by the families themselves.

Thursday, November 28

Thanksgiving Potluck

Each year, BUF opens its doors to members and friends who want to gather together in community for the Thanksgiving Holiday. The door will be open around 1pm, with dinner planned for 3pm.

Hosted by Mark Allyn, for the second year. Volunteers very welcome; check with Mark.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29

Monday, December 2

Taizé Service with Rev. Tessie Mandeville

7:00 pm. Taizé services were founded by a monastic community in Taizé, France in the 1940s.At BUF, we have created our own UU-style Taizé service that draws from one of our sources — direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder

Thursday, December 5

6:30 pm. As the chaos in the world increases, most ideas of the future become fatalistic. Yet, the situation only seems “hopeless” when viewed from the narrow logic of a collapsing worldview. Old ways of seeing the world are blocking more vital paths of imagination, vision and healing.

The point is not simply evolution or progress, rather there needs to be a collective rite of passage that transforms our worldview. Transformation is required to move us from despair and overwhelm to awakening and imagination. We are either on the way to transformation or on the road to greater tragedy.The agony of the earth calls for each of us to defeat the growing alienation and isolation of life in order to become more human and be more present. The issue is not the pretension of “saving the planet,” but rather finding deeper ways of serving the earth. This world, despite all its troubles, remains a place of ongoing creation. Yet, creation can only work through the souls of those alive at a given time. What we learn from mythic stories and imagination is how our human nature can make us part of the ground of being and the vital pulse of the living world.

Join us for an evening of myths of renewal, tales of transformation, and a resounding call to find unity and wholeness in this time of conflict and confusion.Tickets: $15 General / $10 Student. Doors open at 6:30 pm

Monday, December 9

1619 Project – Black Lives Matter

August 2019 marked four hundred years of when a ship carrying the first African slaves landed in what would become Virginia. The arrival of these twenty West Africans people, were the beginning of what would become 250 years of slavery in the Americas. The 1619 Project examines the many ways the legacy of slavery continues to shape and define life in the United States and seeks to reframe the country’s history and places the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the American story.

The project is made up of 5 podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1619/id1476928106) that BUF’s Black Lives Matter will be reviewing and discussing over the next several months. The December 9th (6:00 pm) meeting will be discussing “Episode 3: The Birth of American Music.” All are welcome to view the episode prior to the meeting and then join in the discussion.