What is the Meaning of Life? [23:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the second of our “Big Questions” series, we explore perhaps the most popular philosophical question of all time. People have pondered the meaning of life for millennia, but the answer remains elusive. Be excellent to each other? 42? What is the meaning of life? Is this even a valid question?

Presented by: Rev. John Cullinan.

If you’ve spent any amount of time in Unitarian Universalist circles, you’re aware of the “Seven Principles” of the Unitarian Universalist Association—those values that our associated congregations profess to affirm and promote.  The Principles can be seen at the front of our hymnals, on posters in our hallways, taught as lessons in our children’s classrooms, and preached from our pulpits (see our Principles series from last year on line for some empirical evidence on that point).

The Principles are part of a larger document known as Article II of the by-laws of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which includes the Principles, our Sources (the theme of one of this year’s sermon series), and the Purpose of the Association.  The by-laws state that Article II should be revisited no less than every fifteen years.  The Association fell a little behind the schedule, and when it handed review of Article II to the Commission on Appraisal (CoA) in 2006, twenty-one years had passed.  But, review and revise the CoA has.  At our next General Assembly in Salt Lake City (June 2009), the Commission will present revised Principles, along with the rest of Article II, for the first of two annual votes by the delegates of the Assembly.

Now, the time has come for Unitarian Universalists across the country to review the draft and give their input.  The Commission on Appraisal has created an on-line survey for UUs everywhere to read and comment on the proposed draft of the new Article II. Go to http://www25.uua.org/coa/ to begin the survey.  On page 14 in this issue of the Voice, we’ve included the proposed text for your perusal and discussion.  Feedback is due to the Commission by the 16^th of October.  For anyone interested in a deeper discussion, we’ll set up shop on Wednesday, October 8^th at 7 p.m. for a group feedback session.

This is everyone’s chance to have their say in the future of Unitarian Universalism.  I urge you to take the time and make yourself heard.

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On the topic of the future of Unitarian Universalism, I invite you all to take part in this year’s “Association Sunday,” which will be held on October 12^th.  “Association Sunday” is part of a multi-year capital fundraising effort by the UUA titled “Now is the Time.”  The campaign is focused on several areas of growth in the denomination.  Last year’s theme was “Growth in Numbers,” and funds raised were focused on national outreach efforts, including four full page ads in Time magazine and a sponsored partnership of the magazine’s religion archives.

This year’s theme is “Growth in Spirit” —funds raised this year will be used to improve the spiritual development of lay leaders and professional clergy throughout the movement.  Half the funds raised will be used to administer grants for various lay theological education efforts throughout the country.  The remainder will be used for district grants and scholarships for our most promising ministerial students.

Unlike our usual special collections, Association Sunday works as a pledge drive rather than a cash collection.  Envelopes will be made available at the service to note your pledge to the Association for this year’s effort.  If you’re not able to attend on the 12^th, envelopes will be available for you in the office.

While this congregation did not participate in Association Sunday last year, the Program Council found this year’s focus so compelling that we felt the need to take part.  Please visit the UUA’s website for further information on the campaign.

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Continuing on the subject of giving, our “Share the Plate” program continues in October with the Roadrunner Food Bank as our recipient.  Roadrunner Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in New Mexico, and has distributed nearly 170 million pounds of food in their nearly three decades of operation.  As we approach their busiest time of year with the coming holiday season, the food bank is in need of funds to help offset the rising cost of diesel fuel needed to deliver food to the hungriest communities in New Mexico.  During the month of October, half of all cash and undesignated checks given at the offering will be sent to this deserving organization.  Please give generously at the offertories this month.

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October 26^th marks our second annual “Question Box” service, your chance to ask me anything.  Come prepared with your questions to turn in at the beginning of the service.  I’ll spend about twenty minutes answering as many questions as I can.  Be forewarned, however, I might have a question for all of you, as well.

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Adult RE will begin again on Wednesday the 15^th at 7 p.m.  This fall, I’ll be representing “Owning Your Religious Past”—a five week course that explores the ghosts of church life past and gives participants an opportunity to grab onto those positive experiences of those lives that they can carry forward into their current spiritual development.  A sign up sheet will be available in the church foyer on Sunday, or give me a call in the office to register.  I look forward to seeing you there.

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Please join me in welcoming our two newest staff members!  Sarah Rose Dickens began September 1^st as our new Youth Program Coordinator.  Shuangyi Ju began September 7^th as our new Coffee Hour Host.  Say “hello” and give them a warm welcome when you see them.

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Finally, I’ll be out of the office from the 17^th to the 22^nd of this month while I attend the Mountain Desert District Assembly in Albuquerque and the fall retreat for the local chapter of the UU Ministers Association.  I hope to see as many of you at District Assembly as possible.  Our keynote speaker will be Rev. Bill Murry, former president of Meadville Lombard Theological School and minister emeritus of River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda, MD.  Rev. Murry will be speaking on his latest book, Reason and Reverence.  Our two candidates for UUA president will also be speaking, and some guy named Cullinan will be presenting a workshop and reprising his response to Rev. Christine Robinson’s Berry Street Lecture from Ft. Lauderdale this past June.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Rev. John Cullinan

September was a busy month!  Our regular programs, activities, and committee meetings are in full swing.  The two morning services, two Religious Education programs, and Adult Forum are running well and keep the church buzzing on Sundays.  The Wednesday Night Book Group has been meeting each week and is about to embark on their next book.  Other events this past month include the Committee Fair, the Parking Lot Sale, and the Knife and Fork potluck.  In addition, sign-ups for Covenant Circle groups are being taken and the groups should begin meeting sometime in October. 

On September 14^th, the congregation met to hear the report of the Building Our Future Task Force (BOFTF) based on their research over the past year into the needs of our congregation in terms of options for the long-term future of our building.  The BOFTF recommended that we begin to move toward building a new church.  Several town hall meetings followed to give members additional opportunities to ask questions and talk with the BOFTF prior to the October 5^th congregational vote on the recommendation. 

The kitchenette in the Hearth Room was finished in time for the new church year so that we could have coffee hour and it has been serving its function beautifully.  And soon, the newly remodeled kitchen will be open for business.  The walls are painted and the cabinets are installed.  The work is expected to be complete sometime in October.

The Board and Council met for their annual retreat on September 12 and 13.  There are two main topics I want to pass along.  First, we discussed our essential values and our mission, and how they form the basis for our goals, our efforts, and how we work together.  Second, we discussed growth in terms of the fundamental qualities that must precede growth, such as the factors that bring people to our church, why they stay, the keys to congregational growth, and what our unique strengths are as a congregation.  These discussions were assisted by our “invited experts” in the form of two DVDs presenting the highlights of separate workshops that took place in 2007. 

Our retreat programming focused firstly on a DVD of a workshop called “Ministry Matters, Strengthening Lay and Professional Leadership,” recorded at the New England Conference on October 27, 2007 in Worcester, MA.  Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, senior minister of the Unity Church of St. Paul, Minnesota and President of the UUA Minister’s Association, and UUA moderator Gini Courter led the participants through a series of questions, each building on the one before it, to examine our values, our mission, and our covenant.  The last question was the most intriguing—”If our congregation were ten times as bold, what do we envision for Unitarian Universalism in our community in ten years?” 

We examined some of the issues related to congregational growth by viewing and discussing two sessions of a workshop called the “Louisville Growth Consultation” sponsored by the UUA Growth Team in Louisville, Kentucky in November 2007.  Twelve ministers whose congregations had all undergone significant and sustained growth were invited to share their wisdom and experience, including Rev. Christine Robinson of the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque and Rev. Peter Morales of the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado.  We viewed sections of their conversation focusing on the topics of why people come to our congregation and the nuts and bolts of growth. 

Our church is making some changes, and considering others, that should allow our own congregation to grow significantly.  However, while growth may be the logistical outcome of some of the changes we are contemplating, it is not, or should not be, the basis for these changes.  Our congregational life and community are very precious and important but we need a balance between the haven many of us find here and our outreach efforts.  This balance can be sought by striving for significant and meaningful change that will allow us to be more welcoming, more inspirational, and more involved in expressing and serving the values that we uphold.  Rev. Thom Belote, minister of the Shawnee Mission UU in Kansas and participant in the growth workshop DVD, describes this as striving to be more of a beacon, rather than a bunker, faith. 

This is an exciting time to be a member of our congregation.  We have a wonderful past together but the future is arriving every day. 

Kersti Rock
2008-2009 Church President

9:15 a.m. Religious Exploration Schedule for October

Theme:  Unitarian Universalist Source 2—Prophetic Men and Women

• 10/5   Story Sunday
  Kindergarten/First grade—Drama Room
  Second/Third grade—Science Room
  Fourth/Fifth grade—Game Room
• 10/12 No Sunday school—Intergenerational Service
• 10/19 Workshops
  Kindergarten/First grade—Drama Room
  Second/Third grade—Science Room
  Fourth/Fifth grade—Game Room
• 10/26 Workshops
  Kindergarten/First grade—Science Room
  Second/Third grade—Game Room    
  Fourth/Fifth grade—Art Room  

Preschool class—See Preschool/Kindergarten below.  The 9:15 a.m. preschool class follows the same lessons as the 11:15 a.m. Preschool/Kindergarten class and meets in Room 13.

11:15 a.m. Religious Exploration Schedule for October

Theme: Unitarian Universalist Moral Values

• 10/5   Preschool/Kindergarten—Room 13; Fall Plantings
  First-Third grade—Assembly Room; Moral Tales—Welcome One and All
  Fourth/Fifth grade— Science Room; Tools of Faith—Expression (Paint Brush)    
• 10/12 No Sunday school—Intergenerational Service
• 10/19 Preschool/Kindergarten—Room 13; The Chalice Cookie
  First-Third grade—Assembly Room; Moral Tales—Seeing Others with Awe
  Fourth/Fifth grade—Science Room; Tools of Faith—Democratic Process (Chalk)
• 10/26 Preschool/Kindergarten—Room 13; Chalice Flannel Board
  First-Third grade—Assembly Room; Moral Tales—Do Unto Others
  Fourth/Fifth grade—Science Room; Tools of Faith—Power (Hammer)

Halloween Party
Our annual Halloween Party will be held October 26th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Robinson Hall.  There will be carnival-type games such as dart balloons, duck pond, go fish, and much more.  A wizard will appear to tell ghost stories, and a gypsy to tell your fortune.  If you would like to help in the preparations, contact our CDRE Joyce Zaugg.

Christmas Pageant
On December 21st we’re planning to perform a Unitarian Universalist Christmas Pageant.  The pageant is called “The Spirit of the Christmas Tree.”  We need a couple of people to help with the organization.  We have a narrator, a storyteller, and music director, but we need someone to help coordinate the costumes and someone to help with stage direction.  The program we’re using has detailed step-by-step directions that make the job easy.  Please contact CDRE Joyce Zaugg if you can help.

If you’re a child or teen and would like to be in the pageant, please come to a meeting in the Assembly room on October 19^th at 12:30 p.m. (after the second service).  The meeting will last about 30 minutes.

New Youth Program Coordinator
This past month the Board of Trustees hired Sara Rose Dickens to be our Youth Program Coordinator.  Sara was hired to work 10 hours a week with the YRUU and Uniteens youth groups.  She has been busy this past month attending youth advisor training, getting a tour of the van and test driving it, attending the Youth Adult Committee meeting, and getting acquainted with our young people.  Sara will be writing a monthly column in the Voice about youth activities. To learn more about Sara, see her column below in this Voice.  If you have any questions about the Uniteens and YRUU youth groups, please contact Sara at the church.

Joyce Zaugg
Director of Religious Exploration
662-2346
dre@uulosalamos.org