Volume 49, Issue 04

December 2015

Interim Thoughts Dear ones,

I come to this holiday season aware of the combined sense of loss and anticipation

that presently grace the MSUS family. Amidst the dying and the memorial

celebrations for our dear Christine Spiritwolf and D’Ann Prior has been the

continued work of the church. The Holiday Bazaar; the start of Coming of Age; the

ongoing efforts to accommodate an early service along with the practicing of the MSUS band. There have

been committee meetings and the hiring of Anna Paquette as Acting DRE; we have been encouraged to

challenge our categorical thinking and to engage in a partnership with Alexandra House. The MSUS

Ministerial Search Committee has submitted the congregational profile to the UUA and soon they anticipate

hearing from ministers interested in the possibility of being your new minister.

And now it is December with the coming of the Men’s Group Holiday Brunch and the Choir’s Holiday

Concert and the traditional Christmas Eve Service. There is so much that you offer one another.

As your interim minister I have been impressed by the ways in which your wonderful Search Committee has

engaged you in creating a profile that will attract your first full-time mister. I have supported the efforts of

your leadership to make the Committee structure more efficient. Together we have managed to add a

service which has been credibly attended. You have a governance structure that would be the envy of any

mid-sized congregation.

And all of this is way more than you need to have if MSUS is to remain a congregation of about 100

members. You are such a welcoming and generous congregation and one of the best kept secrets in the

northeastern region of the Twin Cities metro. Your Search Profile indicates that you are interested in

growth. If this is the case, we need to put some more intention behind making that happen.

Anna Paquette has graciously agreed to help develop a publicity/outreach plan. She will be available after the

service in the social hall on Sunday, December 13 to field ideas that you might have about how to get the

word out about this great congregation. If you want to send her an idea by e-mail, please do so at

msus.religious.education@gmail.com.

Thank you for all of the efforts that you make to create this UU congregation. Be proud. Spread the word!

May your holidays be safe and include the best of all that matters most in your lives.

In love and gratitude,

Karen

6565 Oakley Drive NE, Fridley, MN 55432

P a g e 2 M i c h a e l S e r v e t u s U n i t a r i a n S o c i e t y

Inside this issue:

Interim Thoughts 1

President’s Letter 2

Meet our Acting DRE 3

Christmas Eve Service 4

Women’s Book Group 4

Children’s RE 5

Sunday Book Group 5

Search Committee 6

50th Anniversary Trivia 7

Trivia Answers 8

Social Action News 9

Celebrate the Sounds of

the Season! 9

December Services 10

December Calendar 11

Holiday Brunch 12

President’s Letter As Unitarian Universalists, we challenge ourselves to be:

OPEN, loving, and inclusive;

INSPIRED by many sources of wisdom;

COMMITTED agents of compassion, service, justice and joy;

SEEKERS at all ages engaged in questioning and learning.

When you hear the MSUS vision statement read on Sunday mornings,

what do you think? If you see our Vision posted online or on the Social

Hall wall or written in the newsletter, what comes to mind? Is it something that resonates

with you, or is it just something that sounds pretty good but really doesn’t touch your life? If

you haven't given it much thought, I challenge you to seriously think about it.

The Board of Trustees has been doing quite a bit of thinking about the Vision and is making an

effort to frame our work around it. We're also talking about our role in including the vision in

the work in all areas of church. How would we do that, and what would that look like? We

know that is already a factor in much of the church life, and we decided to talk about a number

of ways it is being manifested. For the next few newsletters, I would like to touch on a few.

This month I'd like to hold up D’Ann Prior as someone who exemplified the Vision both in her

everyday life and in her work at MSUS. I thought that she particularly exemplified “Committed

agents of compassion, service, justice and joy" fully.

As I mentioned at her memorial service, D’Ann was a very intense woman, and when she took

something on, she did it with all her heart ...and with a little bit of push. Her involvement here

was no exception. She was involved with Social Action, a natural extension of the many causes

she supported in her life. She gave of herself with time, talent, and money. She spoke up, even

when it wasn't easy or popular. D'Ann was the chair and co-chair of the Caring Committee,

but she really was involved so much more deeply than that. She provided food, gave rides,

offered encouragement, gave comfort. She took classes so that she could do it even better.

And D'Ann was joyful. She had a wicked sense of humor, and she loved a good book.

Especially children's books. She enjoyed sharing stories during church services, and especially

at the Christmas Eve service. D'Ann touched many people's lives and had many friends and

acquaintances all over the country.

D'Ann was a Open, Inspired, Committed Seeker. I think she met the challenge of the Vision

head on.

In Community and Remembrance,

Lisa

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 4 9 , I s s u e 0 4

Get To Know Our New Acting DRE!

Anna Paquette

While I have been attending MSUS since the summer of 2006 and am well known to some,

many of you may be interested in the background, education, and work experience, which lead

to me becoming acting Director of Religious Education. My father became a Lutheran minister

when I was ten years old so I have spent the majority of my life with the understanding that

one’s life is, and should be, deeply intertwined with that of their spiritual community. This belief

has resulted in my having been willing to eagerly jump into a variety of roles at MSUS over the years including

member of the board of trustees, member of various committees, bookkeeper, RE teacher & team lead coordinator,

and hospitality team lead. With the sudden loss of Christine Spiritwolf, I felt that the position of acting DRE was

another opportunity to live the vision of MSUS and to deepen my commitment to the church and its members.

My work experience in the Twin Cities includes a position as an executive assistant in a corporate office,

bookkeeping/HR/payroll, preschool teaching assistant, and, currently, homeschooling parent. While I do not have a

theological degree as of now, I did graduate with a BA in Communications from Bethel University in St. Paul in 2014.

I am a Fridley resident, living almost exactly one mile door-to-door from MSUS, with my husband Mike, three

children (Ada, Mina, and Eli), and four cats.

In the coming months, I look forward to having conversations with Rev. Karen, the children, their parents, and the

rest of MSUS’ members and friends to discuss how we can work together to engage and develop deeper connections

to each other and our spiritual community. If you have ideas you’re eager to share, I would welcome them at any

time. I can be reached via email at anna.paquette@gmail.com, by phone/text at (763) 439-9196, or in person Sunday

mornings at the church. The next RE Committee meeting will be held at the church at 7:30 PM on Thursday,

December 10th, and we would welcome anyone interested to attend. I would like to thank all of you for your

support during this unexpected transition and look forward to working alongside each of you as we move forward

and navigate how to best support each other and our congregation’s youth.

Children’s Religious Education

P a g e 4 M i c h a e l S e r v e t u s U n i t a r i a n S o c i e t y

Christmas Eve Service

Join

us

at this year’s

Christmas Eve Service!

You are invited to join us at 5:00 p.m.

on December 24th for a

celebration of the season.

If you would like to be a part of the

program, please

contact Lisa Monson-Hokenson at

mnsnhoken@usfamily.net so that she can

add you to the Order of Service.

Join us for an evening of songs,

stories, treats, a little bit of magic, and

of course, the Gift of each

other's

company.

MSUS Women's Book Group The MSUS Women's Book Group is a gathering of female MSUS members and friends who meet the first

Saturday of each month to discuss women-authored books. The group alternates between fiction and non

fiction works recommended by one or more of the members. Contact Lois Burnett to be added to the

email list. Meetings are 9:00 AM in the Club Room at 20 Windsor Lane;.

DECEMBER MEETING: December 5, 2015

-Book for discussion: Book for discussion: Members share children's picture/chapter books special to

them. Selected books may be donated to an organization such as SACA or Alexandra House.

-Treats will be provided by: TBD

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 4 9 , I s s u e 0 4

December News

I would like to thank our November volunteers and Coming of Age classroom assistants for their time and efforts

over the past month: April Anderson, Jenn Bouchey, Allison Champion, Chris Greene, Jamie Hubbard, Katie

Johnson, Connie Metcalf, Marie Phillips, Lynne Schuman, Hailey Shager, Steve Shager, Chad Snyder, Carlotta

Stomberg, Michele Wallace, and Laures Young. We could not have held things together without your concerted

efforts during this tumultuous month.

Due to low attendance levels, the RE Committee decided at their last meeting to combine the Preschool/

Kindergarten classroom with the 1st – 3rd grade room. This decision has, to a certain extent, mitigated our

continued lack of teaching volunteers (though we are still in need of more) and guaranteed that teachers who

planned a lesson would have students in their classroom to teach.

One of the projects the children did in RE this month was based on Rev. Karen’s reading of The Tenth Good

Thing About Barney, written by Judith Viorst, during the November 1st service. Grades preschool to third

worked together to create a list of good things about Christine Spiritwolf to be shared at her memorial service and

I would like to share with you here what they came up with, as they quickly exceeded ten. It’s clear from their

feedback that I have a lot to live up to!

Children’s Religious Education

Fun lessons

Patient

Good person

Environmentally friendly

Made memories with us

Always smiling

Good teacher

Happy

Super nice

Total optimist

Kind

Confident

Helpful

Encourages others

Loving

Caring

Sunday Book Club

The Sunday Book Club will be meeting on Sunday, December 13, at 7:15 p.m. to discuss Gilead, by

Marilynne Robinson. Gilead won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and a National Book Critics Circle

Award in 2005. For those who like to read ahead, we will be discussing Flight Behavior, by Barbara

Kingsolver, on January 10.

The December meeting will be held at Michele Wallace and Doug Root’s home at 2468 Hamline Avenue

North, Roseville, MN 55113. We generally meet in the second Sunday of the month, and we select an

eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary works for discussion. If you would like

to find out more about the group, contact Michele Wallace, or feel free to just show up!

P a g e 6 M i c h a e l S e r v e t u s U n i t a r i a n S o c i e t y

Search Committee Update By Michele Wallace, Search Committee Co-Chair

You’ve Talked, We’ve Listened: Now What?

By the time you read this, our Congregational Record will be on line and available to any minister in search

to review.

This was a huge effort, and we thank all of you for all you have done to get it completed, including your

participation in the focus groups, interviews, response to the survey, questions and comments, attending

the recent Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop, and the comments and feedback you provided on the

draft Congregational Record. While many made great comments, I want to especially thank Brock Ray,

Andrea Zander, Ed Burek, and Rev. Karen for the level of detailed feedback they provided us. We

undoubtedly have a stronger product thanks to all of you!

We are now shifting into the next phase of our work, most of which is required to be strictly confidential.

It is also the phase that is the most nerve wracking! We are told by the UUA Transitions Office that the

average number of applicants we can expect for a position like ours is about ten. We are hoping that we

get something like that response, but have just been told that the number of congregations in search is now

66, up from the 50 we knew about when we first started this process! Anyhow, if we have something close

to the average response, the process of getting down to one candidate to recommend to the congregation

will take most of January, February and March.

That being said, we are often reminded that a failed search is NOT failing to find a candidate to recommend

(however disappointing that would be), but one where we settled for someone to recommend who was

not a good match for the congregation. We have heard those horror stories and will do our best to avoid

that.

We will let you know what we can, when we can. Thanks for the faith you have shown in us, and for your

continued support.

Yours in community -

Michele Wallace, Co-chair, Search Committee

P a g e 7 V o l u m e 4 9 , I s s u e 0 4

50th ANNIVERSARY TRIVIA

REIGIOUS EDUCATION

MSUS has had a Religious Education (RE) program since 1967. As many as 60

children were enrolled in ‘Sunday School’ in the first years. MSUS rented space

at nearby Riverwood Elementary School (now torn down) on East River Road

to accommodate classes. The nursery was in the basement of the church so

parents were close. After moving to the current location, four RE classes were

conducted in the current Social Hall separated only by particle board partitions.

MSUS has had both paid and unpaid Directors of Religious Education. Members volunteered for the job

until the first Director of Religious Education (DRE) was hired. Whether or not we had paid staff

depended on the number of children registered in RE. Child participation waxed and waned over the

decades with high points in the late 1960s, early 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.

Barbara Hughes, Historian

50th Anniversary Trivia !!

TRIVIA QUESTION!! Which member(s) served the longest as a volunteer DRE? ?

BONUS QUESTION!! Name the PAID DREs - both members and non-members. And

why is one name all lower case letters?

STILL ANOTHER BONUS QUESTION!! Who was the youngest DRE ever named?

Answers Appear on Page 8

What do

you know???

P a g e 8 M i c h a e l S e r v e t u s U n i t a r i a n S o c i e t y

50th Anniversary Trivia Answers!!

TRIVIA QUESTION!! Which member(s) served the longest as a volunteer DRE?

Sarah Greene was Chair of the RE Committee from 1980-86 essentially fulfilling the role of

DRE. The Sunday School thrived – resulting the decision to hire a part time DRE. Chad

Snyder was Chair of the RE Committee for 6 years from 2005 to 2011.

BONUS QUESTION!! Name the paid DREs - both members and non-members.

** tom kunesh chose to spell his name this way because his Native

American heritage framed his view of his place in the world.

* MSUS members

ANOTHER BONUS QUESTION!! Who was the youngest DRE ever named?

Elizabeth Hughes Hitomi was appointed as DRE in July 1973 when she was starting her senior year

at Fridley High School. In the 72-73 church year, Dick Shope was DRE and Beth helped with the

preschoolers and primary grade children. When the Dick and family moved to South America mid-

year, Beth was nominally in charge until June. No adult volunteers could be found as DRE for the

next year so the Trustees appointed Beth who tried valiantly to recruit teachers. No one wanted

to help so ‘Sunday School’ was cancelled, and no classes were held for two years. Members began

to notice that visitors with children came once and never returned. That restarted interest in

supporting a religious

education program.

Meg Wilson (now the Rev. Meg Riley) 1986-87

Lisa Doege (the Rev. Doege, Hanska) 1987-89

tom kunesh ** 1989-90

Nancy Sogabe* 1990-92

Sharleen Stueland* 1992-97

Andrea Pearson* 1997-99

Dale Handeen 1999-2006

Christine Spiritwolf (died 10-15) 2011-15

Anna Paquette* - acting 2015-

LEFT: 1967 Spring RE Sunday

program with the Youth Choir

and cast of ‘Mr. Owl’s Easter,’

directed by Connie Metcalf

RIGHT: 1997 Spring RE Sunday

which culminated with a parade

around the pond in

Meadowlands park

P a g e 9 V o l u m e 4 9 , I s s u e 0 4

Social Action Committee By Brock Ray, Social Action Committee

SACA thanks MSUS members and friends who

donated 43# of food items and especially the personal

care items that were delivered on November 30.

REMINDER that the MSUS MITTEN TREE is waiting

for "decorations": Items from the tree will be

delivered to SACA after the Music concert and the

Men's brunch on December 12 and 13

respectively. You may donate hats, mittens and

gloves, scarves and warm socks that will be given to

clients of the SACA food shelf. If any questions, see

Carlotta (Member of the SACA board of directors).

CELEBRATE THE SOUNDS OF THE SEASON!!!

You are invited to join the MUSICIANS OF MSUS for their annual

Holiday Concert. It will be Saturday, December 12, 2015, starting at

7:30 PM, at MSUS. And YOU will also have the chance to participate

in our carol singing!

There will be refreshments and socializing after the concert. And

there will be child care provided!

So, bring your friends and relatives to join us December 12 for an

entertaining evening of holiday fun.

December Theme: Joy (Source: Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to

God's love by loving our neighbors as our selves)

December 6, 2015 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM Attitude of Gratitude

Speaker: Leonard Jacobs Special Music 10:30 AM: Violin Quartet

Service Leader: Carlotta Stomberg Hospitality: Anna Paquette’s Team

What is gratitude? Today's speaker Leonard Jacobs, will provide a religious perspective on gratitude from a Jewish point of view. He will share selected readings and poetry to that end and will contrast his perspective to other religious and secular points of view.

December 13, 2015 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM In Light of Forgiveness

Speaker: Rev. Karen Gustafson Special Music (10:30 AM): MSUS Choir

Service Leader: Lynne Schumann Hospitality: April Anderson’s Team

MEN’S GROUP HOLIDAY BRUNCH FOLLOWS THE 10:30 AM SERVICE

The Source of the Living Tradition for December is, “Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as our selves” .As the sometimes much anticipated and sometimes compulsory holiday gatherings begin to occur, the challenge of unfinished relationship business can cast a shadow across even the most joyous of occasions. Our Jewish and Christian fore bearers addressed the unfinished business of forgiveness with intention which, for many, has opened hearts and minds to the possibility of healing. How do UU’s do that? How might Jewish and Christian teachings guide us?

December 20, 2015 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM Now I Need Joy

Speaker: Rev. Karen Gustafson Special Music (10:30 AM): MSUS Band

Service Leader: Doug Root Hospitality: Laures Young’s Team

The MSUS Vision challenges us to be, among other things, “agents of….joy”. As we approach this season where joy seems to be the order of the day, let us consider together what this might mean.

December 24, 2015 5:00 PM Christmas Eve Service

See Page #4 for details

December 27, 2015 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM Begin at the Ending

Speaker: Chad Snyder Special Music (9:00 AM & 10:30 AM): Chad Snyder

Service Leader: Amy Luedtke Hospitality: Andrea Zander’s Team

As the year turns over, MSUS member Chad Snyder will consider beginnings, endings, and the paths between. One path we will follow during the service is a time of remembering loved ones we have lost. Join us for this last Sunday of 2015.

December 2015 Services

DECEMBER 2015 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

Community Use Women's Book

Group

Rentals 9 AM (offsite)

Music

Events String Band 730 PM Choir 730 PM Chalice Quartet 730

Meetings

6 7 Chanukah 8 9 10 11 12

Band 8:30 AM Community Use 9-

12 Community Use 9-5 Community Use 9-5

Services 9:00 AM Ministerial Search

Services 10:30 AM Restructuring 7:30 PM Setup for Concert

Member Rental Committee 7PM RE Committee Web Committee 5:30 - 7:30PM

Member Rental 1230

50th Anniversary String Band 730 PM Choir 730 PM 7:30 PM Comm Oversight

Meet Holiday Concert

Delphi 2 PM Committee 7PM Chalice Quartet 730 5:30 PM 7:30 - 11PM

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Services 9 & 10:30 AM

Holiday Brunch 11:30 Outside Rental

Mom's Group 12 PM

12 PM Social Hall

Member Rental 1230

Social Action Membership Committee

Delphi 2 PM 7:30 PM Bd of Trustees 7 7:30 PM

Sun Nt Book Club String Band 730 PM Choir 730 PM Chalice Quartet 730

7:15 PM (Offsite)

20 21 22 Dec. Solstice 23 24

Christmas Eve 25

Christmas Day 26

Kwanzaa begins

Band 8:30 AM

Services 9 & 10:30 AM Newsletter Deadline Outside Rental

Newcomers Gathering

Christmas Eve 12 PM Social Hall

12:00 AM Land & Facility Services 5:00PM

Member Rental Committee 7:30 PM String Band 730 PM Choir 730 PM

Delphi 2 PM

27 28 29 30 31 New Year's Eve

Services 9 & 10:30 AM

Member Rental 1230

String Band 730 PM Choir 730 PM Chalice Quartet 730

Delphi 2 PM

Minister:

Rev. Karen J Gustafson RevKaren@msuu.org

Office hours are flexible to meet the needs of the community.

Please call 763-571-9697 to schedule appointments.

MSUS is a vital and vibrant congregation where religious liberals of different

religious, political and social beliefs can join in loving community to explore

religious and ethical questions and serve the community beyond our walls.

The mission of Michael Servetus Unitarian Society is to:

Promote Unitarian Universalist traditions of liberty and respect, justice and compassion,

and the use of reason; empower our members in their search for meaning by fostering

intellectual and spiritual growth; support our members in living ethical lives based on

integrity and service; celebrate together and minister to one another in good times and

bad; and work, as individuals and as a congregation, to improve the larger community

and our natural environment

Submissions for the Newsletter need to be emailed to

office@msuu.org. Deadline for January Newsletter is

noon, December 23, 2015.

Announcements for Order of Service: need to be

emailed to office@msuu.org no later than Thursday

evening; if a late breaking event causes you to miss the

deadline, hand your legibly written announcement to

the Service Leader no later than 10:15am.

Phone: 763-571-5229

E-mail: office@msuu.org

Michael Servetus Unitarian Society

6565 Oakley Drive NE, Fridley, MN 55432

We’re on the Web!

MSUU.org

Office Administrator / Bookkeeper:

Elizabeth Hughes Hitomi office@msuu.org

Office hours are most Wednesdays 12 - 4 pm, most Fridays

from 8 -11 am and Sunday from 10:30 - 11:30 am. if you need

assistance outside these hours, please email office@msuu.org

Director of Religious Education:

Anna Paquette DRE@msuu.org

Please Contact Anna by email

Music Director:

Bruce Van Bronkhorst music@msuu.org

President: Lisa Monson-Hokenson Trustees: Christopher Greene

2015—2016

Board of Trustees

Vice-President: Kate Burek Connie Metcalf

Recording Secretary: Laures Young

Treasurer: Gerald Wichmann Jennifer Ray

Chad Snyder

A M e m b e r o f t h e

U n i t a r i a n

U n i v e r s a l i s t A s s o c i a t i o n o f

C o n g r e g a t i o n s

MSUS Men’s Group

Holiday Brunch The members of the MSUS Men’s Group are ready to don

their Santa hats, break out those holiday ties and host

their Seventh Annual Holiday Brunch following the

morning service on

Sunday, December 13, 2015

All monies raised will be donated to Alexandra House,

Anoka County’s only shelter for victims of domestic and

sexual violence.

Diners will enjoy a hearty repast with holiday music

setting the mood for this annual event. Mark your

calendars! You won’t want to miss it!

Tickets available before and after services and at the

door

Adults $10, Teens $5, Children free

Can’t Make the event? Your donation is greatly needed and equally appreciated.