On this celebration Sunday we’ll remember Harm Jan Huidekoper and his courage when he faced "storm and stress" from his friends and neighbors as he began to publicly speak of theological controversies. We welcome to our worship service musical guests Pieces of East from Austin, Texas.

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In May of 1841 a young minister, infused with fresh ideas and dazzled by contemporary Ralph Waldo Emerson, delivered a sermon at an ordination that resulted in his banishment from Unitarian pulpits. What could this man have said that liberal minded clergy would shun him? How did it change the course of Unitarians for the next 100 years? Mark Cosdon is the pulpit assistant.

    Comedian Bill Maher said in an interview last summer that a lot of the world feels animosity toward Americans because we are so inward-looking, self-centered and narcissistic. I know I can’t turn on television these days with its plague of reality shows and not wonder what histrionic personality disorder gene has been released in the human cesspool of neurosis.

    Recently, Mark, Michael and I stayed in a very chic and trendy hotel in Times Square in Manhattan. The hotel chain proudly presented its advertising line "Whatever, Whenever," in all its promotion materials, pamphlets, and in case one missed it, on signs posted all around the hotel. The slogan was simple and to the point, whatever a hotel guest wants, whenever they want it, the hotel will supply it or find it. This includes gourmet pet food, beds and pet sitters for furry, four footed guests. The hotel was a narcissist’s dream come true.

    None of this is news. Many social and religious observers have noted that narcissism is rampant in America with our constant pursuit for material benefits. Whether this is the cause of hatred by other populations can be a source of considerable debate. But what is of note, more and more by many authors and political observers, is America’s continuing decline in civility.

    Take two examples from my life, simple in their eloquence of demonstrating the point. I was sitting in my car last summer at a full service gas station when I glanced in my rearview mirror in time to not miss a man step out his car with his pants unbelted and unzipped, resulting in a clear advertisement in his preference for boxers or briefs. Apparently the shirt was optional as well for it was nowhere in sight.

    Now, I can understand his reasoning, for it was clear he had just come from a softball game, his pants were what was left of a uniform, and it was a warm day. Yet, it was a warm day, not a hot day, so I had to wonder if he really was completely oblivious to his public demonstration, or if he just didn’t care. Either way, the result was the same, a lack of awareness of civility that left me aware that this man at least, was not interested in the issue of public etiquette. You know, the forms prescribed by custom for being in public.

    The second example is one of speech and brings up the issue of free speech. On the train to Manhattan, a young man of college years, or younger, was clearly unhappy with something. He was in the front row, so as he expressed his views by leaning over the back of his seat to face his friends in the seats behind him, he also faced the entire train. The problem was, even I three rows back and hard of hearing on the noisy train could make out the colorful language of his rant.

    I have to add, I’m not sure the other young men were his friends, because the ranter got off the train at the next stop with barely a glance to them. This was a good thing because I was mentally developing my diplomatic approach for why he should remember some ground rules of civil behavior, and wondering if I would incite a train-wide debate on the pros and cons of free speech. As long as it was civil that might have been a good thing.

    The young man with the colorful language, and the boxer shorts softball player both remind me that perhaps America is caught in adolescence, that developmental stage of inward-looking, self-centered and narcissistic behavior. To some degree this is an important development stage, but I’ve come to firmly believe, civility doesn’t have to be sacrificed in the process of maturation.

    On Sundays, December 11 and 18 from 12 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. an introductory class will be offered for anyone new to Unitarian Universalism or ready for a refresher. Led by Kate Walker with help from church lay leaders, we’ll cover topics such as UU history, governance style, religious education, liberal theology, financial support and what membership means. Bring a brown bag lunch. Please sign up in the office by calling 724-4023, or stop by. If child care is needed, please give one week’s advance notice.

    On Sunday, August 28 I entertained questions from folks at my annual Question Box Sunday. For the first time I wasn’t able to get to all the questions, not because of my inability to manage time, but because there were so many people attending church that morning, many with great questions. So, as promised here are my answers to those I missed. Recognizing that some questions could inspire a sermon, I will attempt to be succinct as possible.

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Q. Tolerance/Intolerance: I say I am a tolerant person, but am I? I am intolerant of right wing conservative views, Rush Limbaugh, G.W. Bush, war in Iraq, rap music ... What is the defining line between intolerance and simply standing up for and defining that which insults my sensibilities? Is the right wing/bigot intolerant of race/sexuality/religious freedom or just defining that which insults his sensibilities?

A. What a superb question, worthy of an entire book! The foundation of our American culture developed around the idea of tolerance when our courageous forbears sought religious freedom or a place where tolerance was practiced. Too bad they brought their own intolerance for Quakers and other religious faiths.

    Judging by our American ancestors, tolerance does have limits. The idea behind tolerance is of course the practice of allowing others of a differing measure to have their own space, time and ability to exist. This should apply even if those others offend our basic sensibilities. Tolerance doesn’t have to celebrate their existence, just allow the ability for their existence. Our current American culture has a broad tolerance for difference compared to the era when Quakers were publicly whipped.

    I agree with this broad tolerance, and see a need for even more. So, while I’m not personally wild about listening to Rush Limbaugh, I would protest if he was ever censored off the air waves by left wing bigots who can’t stand the man. I am a firm believer that the public forum must tolerate a wide variety of ideas, practices and beliefs. Without the stimulation of extremism, the result might be a narrow and dull blandness that suffocates the sensibilities with boredom, kind of like Wal-Mart.

    The real defining line of tolerance, I suggest, is a personal safety line. "Do no harm" should be the absolute line of defense. I have no tolerance for those who advocate harm to myself or others, which is why I do not tolerate the existence of the KKK, and I would stand up and object if anyone tried to harm a Quaker, or anyone else!

    In regards to certain extreme political and religious positions, right or left, I would say I do not AGREE with most of their ideas, practices or beliefs, but I tolerate their right to exist. With my sensibilities intact, I know that to tolerate does not equal agreement.

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Q. When and why did "God" become "Spirit of Life" in the Unitarian church?

A. In our current hymnal, number 123, "Spirit of Life," was written by Carolyn McDade in 1981. The song took off as a widely used hymn in UU churches, for many it became a doxology. However, McDade is both UU and United Church of Christ, and it was for the UCC’s that she wrote this song for a protest against a nuclear power plant. It was never meant for use during worship, particularly not as a doxology. McDade reluctantly agreed to allow the UUs to print it in our hymnal if we placed it in the section for commitment and action. It actually marks the end of that section, and the beginning of the love and compassion section.

    However, McDade did not come up with the phrase "spirit of life." This is a very old phrase used frequently in the Gospel of John (see John 4:23-24) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Unitarians used the phrase and others similar to it since our inception and in particular during the heated theist/humanist debates of the 1920s and 1930s. Today the phrase helps some name their experience of God, for others is does not come close, and still others it’s still too theistic. Maybe someday we’ll get the language down. The bottom line is UUs can’t take much credit for the usage of "spirit of life," although we did help shoot McDade to the top as a song writer.

    "Mom, do we have to go to Sunday School?" my son shouted from his bedroom.

    I flinched slightly. I don’t like the word Sunday School. I guess I just don't like the word school used in reference to religious education. Our children’s Sunday morning groups are not meant to be a classroom. They are meant to be a spiritual gathering providing a safe place to learn, question, search, doubt, and reaffirm. At the beginning of each session the children share their joys and concerns with their friends where they feel the support of their community. They are then presented with a spiritual/religious topic followed by discussion and usually some kind of hands-on activity. Occasionally, children practice some type of religious discipline such as guided meditation, quiet or musical reflection, prayer, meditative postures. It provides an opportunity for the child to reflect on the important things in life, and a time to think about their actions and how they respond to the larger world.

    Recently, our Adult Religious Education Committee came up with a new term which will be used for our Small Group Ministry. In early January the congregation will be starting UU groups. I like that term, and I think that might be a good term to use with our children. And so I responded to my son’s inquiry with...

    "Yes, Cullen, you are going to your UU group!"

_ Halloween party scheduled for Sunday, October 30 _

    Join us again this year for our annual Halloween party! Children are invited to dress up in their costumes and attend the party during the service in the Parish House on Sunday, October 30. There will be many activities planned such as pin the nose on the pumpkin, candy treasure hunt, leaf rubbings, apple bobbing, and more. Join us for a spooktacular time... ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...

_ Guest At Your Table scheduled for Sunday, November 20 _

    Mark your calendar for our annual Guest At Your Table celebration. Again, our RE program will be providing a delicious soup, corn cake, and salad for the entire congregation following the service on Sunday, November 20. Donations will be collected for the UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee). More information will follow.

    You may have heard the "buzz" that a new type of adult religious education is about to be launched at our church. We’re calling it the "UU Groups". Each group will have 6 - 12 members, including a facilitator and assistant facilitator. The groups will meet 1 - 4 times a month for 1 1/2 hours each time. Some groups will be thematic-based (i.e., formed around a common interest). Others will be more open ended. All of the groups will offer a forum for sharing, exploration, and growth with other UU members and friends. Furthermore, participating in a UU Group will bring a new level of intimacy and friendship to its members.

    The program that we’re modeling is from the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, Maine. The small group ministry there has been so well received that they have published a series of "session plans" to share with other churches. Each plan has opening words, activity suggestions and questions, and closing words. The work has been done for us!

    Please think about if and how you would like to participate in the UU Groups. We hope to launch at least six groups in January, 2006. In order to be ready to go with the new year, sign ups will be in November and December.

    If you have any questions or want to join a group, please see any of the members of the UU Group Committee.

    The Clothes with Character Booth hopes to sell a lot of clothing, but it has to be desirable, so dig into your closets and reach for that seldom or never-worn article that’s just taking up space or that doesn’t fit you anymore. We’d like men’s, women’s, and young adults’ clothing, and we are planning space for handbags and shoes in good condition. NO CHILDREN’S CLOTHING, please.

    Starting November 1, clothing on hangers with plastic protection may be left in either end of the coat rack at the parish house, marked "Bazaar." Also mark "Bazaar Clothing" on boxes and leave them in the Arthur Room. Donations also can be left at Wynette’s, which is convenient to the church – call 336-5014 for scheduling a drop-off.

    Two years go, someone donated a scarf to this booth that ended up as an item in the Silent Auction. That’s the sort of quality we seek. Let lightning strike twice!

    If you would like to please your pet, order Dutch or Duchess a new pet bed. The beds are made of sturdy material, have a separate filled liner, are completely machine washable and dryable, and have the pet’s name embroidered on them. Beds are $40 for large, approx. 32 x 42; $35 for medium, approx. 30 x 23; $25 for small, approx. 26 x 18.

    Color choices can be agreed upon. Call Carolyn Chase to place an order. Don’t forget Christmas is coming! All proceeds for first three go to the Bazaar.

Find those quilt tickets, sell them, get more tickets, sell them, and remember to turn your money in to the church office.

    On Saturday November 5 from 10 a.m. to noon, in the Parish House Lounge, Bill Smith, retired Registered Financial Advisor and member of our church, will present an overview of various products, such as annuities, mutual funds, insurance, common stock and bonds. Making decisions on which of these are best for your financial future is sometimes confusing, so come and learn in a comfortable environment, ask questions, and become better informed regarding your financial choices.

    As of today, there is only one date reserved for flowers for church services for the coming year!

    We need your support! You may honor someone with a bouquet of flowers that will be used for the service on a specific Sunday and acknowledged in the Parish House Times, then brought home to enjoy for the week. You may do the flowers yourself, or ask us to do them. If we do them, the cost is $25. Please contact Miriam Bowman mgbowman@earthlink.net or Mary Larson at 724-5952 or marniel@alltel.net.

    The Properties Committee invites all church members to participate in the Fall Workday to be held on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, FROM 9-12 NOON. This day will be devoted mainly to OUTSIDE projects like raking the huge amount of leaves that fall, mowing and edging the lawn, cleaning up the gardens, cutting the dead tree at the corner of the Parish House near the YMCA, and cleaning the gutters, downspouts, and drains.

    The upkeep of the church and parish house properties requires many hours of hard work. Remember, it is an important responsibility of membership to be stewards of this property. Please pledge your talents and labor to this effort.

    Bring your gloves, rakes, shovels, ladders, and don’t forget the good weather!

The members of the Properties Committee thank you!

    Our family was big on traditions – holidays, birthdays, major achievements – but I’ve reached the end of an era. My father’s ashes are in the ocean off the coast of Maine. My mother’s are in a cemetery near Boston. One set of grandparents lie in a graveyard in Peterboro, NH, and the other in Nova Scotia. My children and grandchildren are in Vegas, Cambridge and Syracuse. This doesn’t mean tradition has fled by the wayside. I have created my own traditions.

    Every year I treat myself to a birthday lunch at the Red Lobster. This is as close as I can get to the seafood restaurants along the coast of New England. My father would take us to Gloucester in the summer. My sister and I would beach comb while my parents sat and watched us. Then we would go to the harbor and watch the boats come in, loaded with fresh catches for Gorton’s Fishery, or with lobsters for the patrons of the restaurants. We would visit with the men unloading their catches (my father stopped to talk to anyone who would listen) and they would share their adventures. We would show them the treasures we had gathered and they would express patient admiration. Then we would go in to lunch.

    The smell of the boats was mingled with the smell of the ocean and the smoke from the kitchens frying up the fish. It was not a fishy smell – if that tempting piece of haddock in the supermarket smells like fish, it is not fresh! The sights and sounds and smells were those of people who loved their work. They would go out before dawn and work till the hold was full, then come home proud and smiling. It was the same at the fish market in Boston where I went with my father as a small child. We always bought fish right off the boats.

    We would go to Rockport, too. My father had been an artist before going into the ministry, and we would go to all the galleries on Bearskin Neck, often to see the work of his friends. Then we would sit on the huge blocks of granite at the end of the Neck and watch the yachts and the gulls. The smell here was different. It was quieter and sharper than the sweet scent where the fishermen worked. It had more of a tang to it. It was as wild as the surf breaking on the granite jetty.

    Boston Harbor smelled bad, but it was close to home and we went there often, visiting the ships’ chandleries and the little gift shops and eating in the Blue Ship Tearoom at the end of T-Wharf. When he died, I went to the park next to the Science Museum. I wrote letters to him on leaves, threw them into the Charles River and watched them drift out through the lock and into the harbor.

    That was forty or so years ago. Now I go to Red Lobster on my birthday, talk to the lobsters in the tank (there’s that weird old lady who talks to lobsters) and enjoy a lunch that brings back all those wonderful memories of so long ago. Happy Birthday to me.

    CUPPS of Mead invites you to a Celebration of Samhain on Friday, October 28. Ritual will be at 6:30, pot luck dinner at 7-ish.

    This is the time of remembering the loved ones who are no longer with us and of celebrating the beginning of a new year and the turning of the earth wheel from the harvest to the winter sleep. People of all ages, genders, lifestyles and faith journey are welcome. The ritual will include a memory tree to celebrate people and pets who have died, a non-scary story for the children, and something to take home.

    The results are in!! The people have spoken!! And ....... drumroll please ...... Christmas Eve services will remain at 5:30. No changes will be made. Fifty of you turned in our survey regarding the timing of the service. Five thought we were Santa hating Scrooges for even considering such a change, while another 5 thought we were sweet angels from heaven who were answering their prayers. I would really like to put all ten of these folks together in a room and let them work it all out!! Since this is not an option, we were left to examine the rest of the responses.

    All together, 25 fell on the side of keeping things as they are, while only 13 fell on the side wanting change. Surprisingly, 12 were neutral. Based on this, we are clearly not going to change a thing. For those who did want change (especially those who were in the "oh, you sweet angels from heaven" category) we offer our sincerest condolences and a cup of eggnog. We were prepared to make a change only if a clear majority had wanted to do so (for example, if the results had been reversed).

    Thanks to all who responded, and especially to those who even offered written comments! All your voices were heard, and we really do appreciate you taking the time to respond.

    As part of the One Book, One County project, Sue Curtin from Tattered Corners Bookstore and Professor of Education at Edinboro University, will offer a one-hour workshop to those interested in leading a book club discussion. The book chosen for 2006, by the community, to read as a community, is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. This workshop should provide an excellent starting point for interesting discussions. The workshop will offer suggestions and tips as well as provide resources to guide your book club. The workshop will also include a mini book club session so that you might get a sense of how you would like to run a book club event.

    The workshop will be November 11, 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Crawford County Read Office, 1002 Park Avenue, Meadville. Please call Tattered Corners at 337-7975 by Wednesday November 9 to reserve a spot.

    At last year’s annual meeting, the Social Concerns Committee asked that the name of their committee be changed to the Social Action Committee, to more accurately reflect their activities. As this would mean a change to the By-Laws, and would thus require that notification be given to the congregation with the call for the meeting, no vote was taken at that time.

    Long standing tradition within the church dictates that the congregation be given an opportunity to express opinions on any prospective By-Laws change. Though this one might seem a virtual no-brainer, we nevertheless request that anyone interested in commenting on this matter meet with the By-Laws Review Committee during coffee hour next Sunday, Oct. 23.

    Any opinions expressed at this time will be included with the call for the Annual Meeting in December.

Next deadline for submitting items for the newsletter is Friday, November 4, 2005, at 4:30 p.m.