February 2012 Newsletter of the Keweenaw
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship We affirm the
inherent worth and dignity of every person.
__________________________________________________________________________________
February 2012 Newsletter of the Keweenaw
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship We affirm the
inherent worth and dignity of every person.
__________________________________________________________________________________
February 5: "The
Kindom in Our Midst: in honor of Black History Month, - Rev. Morris. Children's
Religious Education will explore equality and the work of Henry Hampton
(producer of "Eyes on the Prize") with teacher Barry Fink.
February 12:
Forum: Living Greener. How do heat pumps work; what veggies should I plant?
February 19:
"Practical Theology IV: Contemplation," - Rev. Morris. The many
paths of contemplation invite us to practice connecting not only with people of
the ages but also our own deepening. As E. M. Forester writes, "Only
connect." POTLUCK and BOOK SALE today! Laurie Bornhorst will teach the children
about astronomy and Unitarians Maria Mitchell and Edmund Halley
February 26: MUSIC SUNDAY -- Between choir, congregation and instruments we will take an adventurous excursion into our hymnbook - both theologically & musically.
Childcare is available
every Sunday.
Our minister is The Reverend Dr. Sydney A. Morris, ph. 370-3927, samorris@uuma.org. ____________________________________
February birthdays: 2nd, Mary Jane Williams;
4th, Helen Clanaugh; 6th, Shirley Galbraith; 8th, Elaine Young; 9th, Ralph
Horvath; 10th, John Johnson; 12th, Audrey Frair; 13th, Craig Kurtz; 14th, Lisa
Dunnebacke; 15th, Mengya Li;16th, Amlan Mukherjee; 17th, Diane Shoos; 20th,
Linda Rulison; 21st, Debbie Makkonen; 22nd, Roxanne Dobbs; 28th, Al
Baker, Roger Held.
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Green Sanctuary Report – Carol Ekstrom |
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The Green Film Series:
Issues and Dialog has a website http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/news/2012/2012GreenFilmFestival.html.
Barry Pegg's film summaries are still being posted on KUUF webpage under
Environmental Resources,
http://www.kuuf.net/EnvironmentalResourcesforthewebsite.pdf
January was a busy month.
Jim Boyce's talk on the Economy and the Environment was appreciated by
170 people, and the discussion was great. This was the best attended of
all our programs since they began Sept. '10. We continued the economic
theme the following week with the Film "The Economics of Happiness".
Thanks to Laurie Bornhorst, Linda Belote, Linda Rulison, Jeanne
Sewell, Val Pegg, Nanno Rose, Mary Kuure, Barry Fink, Joan Chadde, and Carol Ekstrom for the delicious desserts; and a
big Thank You to Alice and Jim Boyce for having such wonderful kids who are
willing to give their time and expertise!!!
The Green
Film Festival Schedule:
February 16 Addicted to
Plastic ‐ Reveals the history and
worldwide scope of plastics
pollution, investigates its
toxicity and explores solutions. (85 min.) Discussion facilitator: Dr. Judith
Perlinger, MTU Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
March 15 Blue Gold:
World Water Wars ‐ This award winning
documentary posits that we’re moving closer to a world in which water –a
seemingly plentiful natural resource—could actually incite war. (90 min.)
Discussion facilitator: Dr. Alex Mayer,
April
19 Carbon
Nation A
documentary movie about climate change SOLUTIONS (82 min.). Discussion facilitator:
Dr. Sarah Green, MTU Dept. of Chemistry.
May 17 Food is a local issue, a
global issue, and a development, health, political and
economic issue. How can we design
a food system that ensures health, accessibility and affordability for
everyone? (49 min.) Discussion facilitator: Sara Salo, School Food Tour.
June 21 Into Eternity explores the mind-boggling
scientific and philosophical questions
that long term nuclear waste storage poses. (58 min.) Discussion facilitator: Dr.
Wayne Pennington, Dept. of Geological Sciences & Engineering. #
Experimental Archaeology – Bob Wheeler.
Archaeology is generally seen as a data recovery field, in which archaeologists
recover fragments of the past. However, one area of the field is a data
generating process, Experimental Archaeology. What can and cannot be done with
experimental archaeology? How is experimental archaeology different than Living
History? At the next meeting Dr. Carl Blair of
KUUF Board meetings are open to all. The next one is Sunday, February 19 from 1 to 2:30 pm
at the KUUF office at Trinity Episcopal Church. - . Harriet King, President of
the Board.
Linda Belote and other members of the Membership Committee have prepared an
information booklet about KUUF. It will be enclosed with printed copies of this
newsletter or emailed to those who get their newsletter in that form. If you
fail to receive this information, please tell Linda. #
In 2011, KUUF contributed $560 to the UUSC by participating in the Guest at Your
Table program. Thank you all for participating and for
your thoughtful contribution. - Chuck Young
#
Two Books. - Ken Kraft.
Lazlo
Valentyik brought me two books about religious beliefs published in 2011 that
he asked the Portage Lake District Library to purchase. The two books are quite
different but both are very interesting. One was "The Believing
Brain" by Michael Shermer This book contains much information about recent
discoveries on how the brain works including how the brains of skeptics and
believers differ. Shermer speculates that natural selection may have given us a
brain with a strong tendency to believe in the supernatural. The other book was
"Man Seeks God" by Eric Weiner. The author claims to have no
religious beliefs and sets out to try to obtain some. First he goes to
Bob Fiandt’s report on a book from the KUUF library: For the
Sake of Clarity: Selected Sermons and
Addresses, by Stephen H.
Fritchman, (1992, 431 pages)
How do Unitarians Think of Jesus? “Unitarian Time” [radio
address—12/25/1949] Fritchman attempts
to answer the following: “How do
Unitarians think of Jesus? Do they think
of him as God or as a man? Have liberals
a right to celebrate Christmas with sincerity?”
He thinks that it is absurd to claim that Unitarians don’t believe in
Jesus. We believe profoundly in the
historic Jesus –the great teacher and prophet.
We should “take Jesus with the greatest possible seriousness.” Jesus “gave men a sense of their own dignity
and promise, the kernel of truth that later blossomed as the democratic
faith.” Fritchman gives numerous quotes
attributed to Jesus—seeds brought to flower by Jefferson, Paine, and
Lincoln. Concluding, he quotes
Emerson: “The history of Christ is the
best document of the power of character which we have.”
Should the Church Stay Out of Politics? “Unitarian
Time” [radio
address—4/23/1950] The answer that most
Unitarians in
How Do Unitarians Face Death? “Unitarian Time” [radio
address—1/28/1951] Fritchman will not
discuss immortality or the nature of the afterlife because he knows nothing
about them. He
states one basic Unitarian attitude toward death: “If this life be all, it should be lived the
better, not the worse.” “We must confess
the simple truth of nature—that all that is born must also die.” He adds, we should tell our children that it
is not evil that men die (except by violence or greed). Quoting Socrates, “No evil can befall a good
man, either in life or in death.”
Fritchman continues, “When Unitarians talk about facing death, they talk
about life and make mighty affirmations.”
We think of life’s unfulfilled possibilities; “living life for life
itself, rich, full, and free.” We
believe in living as though each day were our last. Also, Fritchman comments, we believe that
there is power in the life and teaching of Jesus. “We have found immortal qualities of goodness
and justice and joy, which speak eloquently for themselves.” “Let us proclaim our high confidence in man’s
infinite possibilities here on this green and fragrant earth.”
The Church and Anticommunism. “Religion and
Modern Life” [radio
address—1/16/1955] (The reader should
understand the historical perspective; this address was given during the early
days of the Cold War, and does not necessarily reflect modern society.) Fritchman begins by explaining his position
on Communism: “Anticommunism is a very
weak battle station for a clergyman working for a principled dedication to a
better world.” “Millions of the citizens
in communist countries are members of the same churches and faiths as ourselves
in
My most interesting magazine – Ken Kraft.
It is Free Inquiry, the
publication of the Council for Secular Humanism. Here is how the Council
describes itself: For many, mere atheism (the absence of belief in gods and the
supernatural) or agnosticism (the view that such questions cannot be answered) aren’t enough. It’s liberating to recognize that
supernatural beings are human creations, that there is no such thing as
“spirit”, that people are undesigned, unintended, and responsible for
themselves. But what’s next?
For the questions that remain
unanswered after we’ve cleared our minds of gods and souls and spirits, many
atheists, agnostics, skeptics and freethinkers turn to secular humanism.
Secular means pertaining to the world or things not spiritual or sacred.
Humanism is any system of thought or action concerned with the interests or
ideals of people. It is the intellectual and cultural movement characterized by
an emphasis on human interests rather than religion. Secular humanism is a
comprehensive, nonreligious life stance incorporating a naturalistic philosophy,
a cosmic outlook rooted in science, and a consequentialist ethical system in
which acts are judged not by their conformance to preselected norms but by
their consequences for men and women in the world. The Council for Secular
Humanism is
Keweenaw Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship
