Tucsonitarian - Home Page
November 2018
The monthly newsletter of the
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson
4831 E. 22nd Street, Tucson, AZ 85711, 520-748-1551, www.uuctucson.org.
To view previous editions of the newsletter, click here.
Newsletter editor: Craig Rock at newsletter@uuctucson.org.
Send us your editorials, stories, poems and photos.
November Worship Schedule
Nov.4 Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe -- Making America Actually Great
Worship Associate: Brenda Lundt
Voting is not a one-day event. How do we make our country great with our actions every day?
Nov.11 Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe -- Moral Injury: the Effect of War on the Spirit
Worship Associate: Preston McMillan
The spiritual and religious effects of PTSD.
Nov. 18 Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe -- Creating a UU Household (intergenerational)
Worship Associate: Bob Gordon
How to implement UU practices and principles in your everyday life.
Nov.25 Kristine Bentz -- Casa de la Luz Hospice
Worship Associate: Celeste Rogers
What are the challenges and rewards of working with people at the very end of their lives?
Dec.2 Rev.Matthew Crary -- The Baja 4 pulpit exchange brings Rev.Matthew back to UUCT.
Worship Associate Kat Nickola
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UUA Press Release - October 27
Mass Shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, released the following statement in response to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh:
We grieve with those who are mourning the horrific mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
We grieve the lives lost to senseless violence at the hands of domestic terrorism. We grieve for those who were injured in body and spirit during this shooting.
In our grief, we will also speak truths that need to be named. This was anti-Semitism. This was extremism. This mass shooting was a hate crime. This mass shooting reflects unapologetic bigotry that we are all called to denounce and resist.
May Jewish communities, both within and outside of Unitarian Universalism, feel especially held in tender love and care today and in the days to come. We are in this together.
May we all hold each other especially tight, knowing this life is tender and precious, and love will help us find a way.
UUA Press Release - October 6
Denouncing Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Confirmation
We believe Professor Anita Hill. We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. We believe survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Because we believe survivors, we cannot be silent about the profound harm in confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The Senate’s decision to confirm Kavanaugh is an affront to every survivor of sexual harassment and assault. His confirmation tells survivors that their pain and trauma do not matter. How can survivors believe in justice when sexual assault is normalized by our elected leaders?
Although we are profoundly disappointed with this confirmation, we are not shocked.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation mirrors the unapologetic toxic masculinity of this political moment and the Trump administration. President Trump openly mocked Dr. Ford after her testimony [1], which isn’t surprising considering cavalier remarks he has made about women and sexual assault [2].
In response to this confirmation, and the blatant sexism and toxic masculinity it represents, we know it is time, first, to mourn and recharge. This confirmation process has been extremely triggering for many survivors, and we encourage survivors to listen to their spirits that may be calling for care.
Those of us who are are not survivors, but allies, commit to making space for your pain.
We will mourn.
And then, we will resist.
New to Tucson
Don't Miss the All Souls Procession November 4
Together we walk to remember our dead. Please read the information below carefully to be ready to participate mindfully in this year's Procession.The Procession is an enormous community-created, non-commercial event to creatively honor and celebrate our dead. Open to all cultures, all traditions, all art forms, all people. Free to participate. Everyone who attends is responsible for helping to create a safe, positive, celebratory, and respectful experience for themselves and everyone else. This guide is intended to help create that experience for yourself and the 100,000+ other people who will be in the streets with you. And please help us reach as many of those 100,000 people as we can by sharing this information!
Newsletter Contents
Page 1 - Worship Schedule; Updates from Reverend Bethany and Board President Frank Valdes; UUA on Mass Shootings at Tree of Life Synagogue and Kavanaugh Confirmation; Don't Miss All Souls Procession; Update from No More Deaths.
Page 2 - Finance Report; Membership Update; Quilters Show; SAZCUUPS Update; Community Food Bank; More Announcements; Social Justice News.
Page 3 - Mata Ortiz Sale; Tucson Museum of Art Exhibit: 30 Americans.
Page 4 - Four Things You Should Know About the Central American Caravans (from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC); Local Actions on Refugee Relief.
Page 5 - Volunteer Opportunities and Donations - Refugee Assistance Center
A Message on Memories
by Reverend Bethany Russell-Lowe
Our Soul Matters theme this month is Memory. In worship, we will be looking at memory through a number of different lenses: how we remember our country, how memory of war impacts the spirituality of veterans, and how we can create new memories by creating intentionally Unitarian Universalist households.
In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a couple who had recently separated is presented with a quandary. If given the choice, would you choose to have the memory of your love taken away, or would you live with the pain of the loss of that love. The movie illuminates the quandary itself, and is a fascinating exploration of memory and loss and the human desire to avoid real grief. I encourage you to watch it.
And it offers the viewer an opportunity to reflect on that question: ignore your memories, or address the pain? Leave your memory behind (so far as you can do that…), or hold onto that memory in order to grieve? Ignore how your memory of our world is different from the memory of another, or address the pain of acknowledging your own unknowing ignorance?
There is no right answer. There rarely is. I hope that we can each find ways to hold our memories tenderly, and also address the individual and collective pain associated with them. It is hard work. Thankfully, we have each other. It is a privilege to be in this work with you.
Updates from Reverend Bethany
Shared Ministry Start-Up on Saturday, November 17th 9 AM – 12 PM
Everyone is invited to participate in this one-time opportunity – a start-up! What is a start-up, you might ask? Good question. When a congregation has called a new minister, it has become best practice to have a facilitated workshop to help express expectations about our hopes for our work together and to start building a strong foundation for the budding shared ministry. Start-ups are covered by our dues to the UUA's Pacific Western Region. Rev. Anne Hines, who is familiar to many in the congregation, will be facilitating this workshop. This is an important event and is open to all members and friends. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend this event. Light snacks and drinks will be offered by our Kitchen Ministry. Childcare will be provided. Please RSVP to our Administrator, Mary (office@uuctucson.org), if you plan to attend and if you will need childcare.
SAVE THE DATE: Installation of Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe on Saturday, January 19th at 2 PM
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson will formally install Rev. Bethany Russell-Lowe as their settled minister on Saturday, January 19th at 2 PM in Holland. An installation is an age-old tradition in congregational churches. It basically formalizes the shared ministry, and celebrates the potential of this budding relationship. It is a liturgical fiesta! Ministers and UUs from around Arizona will be coming to UUCT just for this event. Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe, a former staff member and colleague of Rev. Bethany, will be preaching the sermon. Add this to your calendar so you can be sure not to miss out! Listen for more information as this event nears.
UU Topics Discussions from 12 to 1 on Select Sundays
About twice a month from September through June, Rev. Bethany will lead a discussion of a spiritual and/or religious concept. Think Torah/Bible/sacred text study with a Unitarian Universalist twist! She will bring a reading, song, or short article for discussion and attendees will have the opportunity to share their personal beliefs on the topic, even (and especially!) if those beliefs are still evolving. This is an opportunity for newcomers, and long-timers alike, to consider what they believe to be true, and what is true for someone else. Here are the upcoming dates and topics: November 11 - Peace, November 18 – Prayer, December 9 – God, December 23 – Grace.
Updates from UUCT's President
by Frank Valdes
Calling and welcoming our new settled minister, Rev. Bethany, is not the end of the transition process. We need to work together to understand our shared commitments and responsibilities in forging a new ministry at UUCT. The next step along this path is a “Start-Up Workshop.” This will be facilitated by Rev. Anne Hines and will occur on Saturday November 17th from 9am to 12pm here at the church. This is important, and you are strongly encouraged to attend and share your hopes and concerns. The longevity of our ministry with Rev. Bethany depends on how well we plan together.
You may have noted the Sanctuary filling up during services. We hope and expect this to continue as our winter residents return to UUCT and new members continue to join. The Board of Trustees and the minister invite you to tells us what you think about this and what you might suggest to deal with this happy challenge. Please send your thoughts to BOT@uuctucson.org and Minister@uuctucson.org. You can also communicate directly with one of your Board representatives and/or your president (President@uuctucson.org). We, the Board and minister, will be considering ideas in our upcoming meeting in November.
Update from No More Deaths
You can watch from the sidewalk or join a group and march with them. For example, this group of Nuclear Resisters is looking for volunteers to join. They have been protesting war and the making of war munitions for years. Contact Georgia Conroy at:
georgiafluter@aol.com
More information on the Procession route can be found by clicking here.
Update from No More Deaths
For nine volunteers facing misdemeanor charges for humanitarian-aid work on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, trials will wait until next year.
Volunteers are fanning out to homes and businesses in Tucson with these yard signs, inviting people to display their support for dropping the charges against our volunteers.
The volunteers recently filed a series of pretrial motions to dismiss the charges. One motion argues that criminalizing humanitarian aid violates international law. Read more and share
Thank you for supporting the Urrea Event!
What a wonderful event. On October 18, Luis Alberto Urrea, critically acclaimed author of The Devil’s Highway and sixteen other books, took the stage in Tucson to raise funds for No More Deaths. Tucson journalist Ernesto Portillo Jr. led the conversation with Luis about his writing process and his stories. And what a storyteller Luis is. He and Ernesto made us laugh while discussing the serious issue of immigrants traveling through the desert.
Desert Aid volunteer Scott Warren updated the packed house on the charges he is facing. Paige Corich-Kleim, also a Desert Aid volunteer, told a gripping story from her work in the desert.
We thank Luis for donating his time as well as the cost of his travel expenses. Mil gracias to Janie Foy, Suzanne Myal, Jim Marx, Jean Rooney, and Holly Lachowicz for their incredible organizing of the event. We thank the sponsors for making the event possible. And we thank all who attended or donated in support. At this point we have raised about $14,000!