Central Coast Unitarian Universalist NUUsletter
February 2022 NUUSLETTER
Table of Contents (click on the live link below and it’ll take you to that post)
Monday, 2/7 at 1pm: CCUUF Board Meeting on Zoom
Sunday, 2/13 at 10:15am, Loving Yourself Into Healing: A Practice of Radical Compassion.
Sunday, 2/20 at 10:15am, First Hybrid - In-Person & Zoom Service!
The Power of Community
Sunday, 2/27 at 10:15am, First Outdoor Service
More info to come.
CommUUnity Connections & Resources
Monthly Feature of A UU Among You/”Better Know A UU”
February Spotlight: Connie Esmond Kiger!
Online Event: LaTosha Brown, Visionary Voting Rights Activist
Monday, 2/7 at 1pm: CCUUF Board Meeting on Zoom
February Agenda: link
Zoom: Meeting ID: 931 4932 7544
Link to Zoom meeting
January notes for reference: link
Contact Board Chair, Denise Ross, for any items to be added to the February agenda
Sunday, 2/13 at 10:15am, Loving Yourself Into Healing: A Practice of Radical Compassion.
Program Description: In this presentation, Dorothy Stern-Kucha will share the journey of self-exploration and healing and discuss the differences between a psychological analytical perspective and one of mindfulness. The work of Tara Brach, a psychologist as well as a teacher of mindfulness meditation who has written RADICAL ACCEPTANCE AND RADICAL COMPASSION will be explored as well as developing a roadmap for awakening compassion when it is needed most in the thick of our daily lives. We will look for the instances in our lives when being mindful has brought rewards and changes.
Presenter: Dorothy Stern Kucha
ZJ: CM Hall (503-888-7172)
Music: Rand Bishop
Sunday, 2/20 at 10:15am, First Hybrid - In-Person & Zoom Service!
The Power of Community
Presenters: Virginia Gibbs and Denise Ross
Sunday, 2/27 at 10:15am, First Outdoor Service
More info to come.
Presenter: Mike Broil
Celebrant: Gary Lahman
Bring snacks to this outside service at the Fisherman’s Memorial space at the Yaquina Bay State Park.
2021-2022 UU Theme: Repair
CCUUF is still subscribing to the “Service in a Box” Touchstone materials that provide monthly themes, structure, and options for conducting Sunday Services. More on the Repair theme can be found here.
How to access all Touchstone materials:
- Visit: https://www.touchstonesproject.com/
- Under left tab labeled, Introduction, scroll down and click on Subscribers 2021-2022
- Enter password: 21repair22
In UU News…
The UUA kicked off a 30 Days of Love campaign last month! It is an opportunity to collectively nurture our spirits, deepen our understanding, and take action on our values for collective liberation. Each week of 30 Days of Love a ‘playlist’ or ‘menu’ of activities for a multigenerational audience. There is a full playlist of offerings each week for families/communities in the categories of Read, Watch, Act, Listen, and Worship.
30 Days of Love:
Week One: January 17 - 23 – Reproductive, Gender, & LGBTQIA+ Justice
Week Two: January 24 - 30 – Democracy & Voting Rights
Week Three: January 31 - February 6 – Decriminalization & Racial Justice
Week Four: February 7 - 14 – Climate Justice
CommUUnity Connections & Resources
From Anne Sigleo: The reading during th 2/6 UU service was by the current US Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, featured in this issue of Mirage magazine.
From Rand Bishop: The song, Walking Wounded, was produced and performed by Rand during a recent service. It was inspired by the John Pavlovitz book. The video features our local natural beauty and (there may even be some UU cameos!) is on YouTube.
From Craig Sherman: The Stone Soup crew that came out last Monday served 60 meals of turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans with diced tomatoes, PBJ sandwiches, fruit, drinks and desserts. Thanks go out to Bill, Louis, Rebecca, Mary Ann, Leslie, Lee, Mike, Gary, (hope I listed everyone) for their efforts. We will be up once again in May (May 30th)!! PS, we did have our packaged mashed potatoes turn into a mystifying coagulated soup but prevailed in spite of it. Thanks also to Rand who entertained my dogs for over 8 hours.
From Rand Bishop: Here are 2 new pieces I wrote for Medium.com. One entitled Evangelizing 101: Some Do’s and Don’ts and the other entitled Despot in Waiting Takes a Hatchet to the Gospels.
From Denise Ross: A fun and funny cat story that will grab ya with this headline: They bought a blender. Three weeks later, their cats continue to hold it hostage. Come for the story, stay for the pics!
From Wendy Ware: A friend and valuable cultural contributor to our community, Jose Solano has passed. You may have heard him play flamenco guitar in his Newport home or Cafe Mundo. He also brought Spanish guitarists and flamenco dancers to the Lincoln City Cultural Arts Center.
From Anne Sigleo: A Weather Report on Newport Rain:
November 2021: 10.68” (70 yr average is 10.8”)
December 2021: 13.63” (70 year average is 11.36”)
2021 Year = 66” (70 year average is 74”)
January 2022: 6.18” (70 year average is 10.24”)
Although 2021 ended with normal rain, overall the year was below average and 2022 is beginning considerably below average.
From CM Hall: I was very pleased to share that on the January 5th episode of OPB’s Think Out Loud program, they covered my grant work’s lead consultant, Jelica Nuccio and the emergence of a new language, called Protactile, in the DeafBlind community. Jelica and Dave Miller’s conversation went the whole hour and it even got a huge signal boost from NPR’s instagram account - over 56,000 “likes” and it was on the front page of the Eugene Register-Guard, too!
Monthly Feature of A UU Among You/”Better Know A UU”
February Spotlight: Connie Esmond Kiger!
- What are three things someone who just met you would be surprised to know about you? 1) I am an introvert😊. 2) My Dad’s nickname for me was ‘horse’ because I was a runner—all based on a very cool birthday card he found for me when I was a teen. 3) I was the Director of the School of Accountancy at Ohio University for five years and an accounting professor for 26 years, but my first degree was going to be in PE and Coaching, which then turned into a degree in Interior Design. A bookkeeping job finally led me to Accounting.
- Do you play a musical instrument or sing? My Mom was a piano teacher, so I am a very rusty piano player, but trying to get back into it. I also played the clarinet in my school band and hated that thing. I should have chosen percussion.
- If we had a “Show & Tell,” what treasured item would you show us? Our Carousel Horse. I had always wanted one and imagined it would be painted up beautifully. But, on September 8, 2010 (also John’s birthday), I was in Springfield IL spending time with my Mom while in hospice care. I took a break to go grab some lunch downtown and walked into the Abe Lincoln Antiquities Shop and found the horse. It is bare wood with all metal clips and nails in clear view showing how it was carved and assembled. I was told it had been on a carousel that burned in Alabama—thus melting the paint off. It was plain and simple and exquisite. Given the date and the circumstances that led me to it, I knew it was meant for me. So, I called John back in Ohio and asked if he wanted a horse for his birthday…he said he already had one. Now he has two.
- If you could have dinner with 3 people, living or dead, who would it be and who’s doing the cooking? Any of our friends and John is cooking.
- Do you have a morning ritual? Take Luke out. Feed Luke. Pet Luke. Shower. Drink tea and eat breakfast. Play with Luke.
- Who or what is the greatest love of your life? Every animal I have ever had living in my house, including John.
- Favorite comedian? Kate McKinnon, but also love her serious side—i.e., singing Hallelujah for Hillary.
- Favorite newscaster? Rachel—I am going to miss her!
- Have you met any “celebrities”? If so, who? Any interesting circumstances? I was a waitress at the Springfield IL Holiday Inn East Coffee Shop every summer during college. The entertainers who came to the Illinois State Fair stayed there and I remember waiting on the Fifth Dimension--Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. et al. I also waited on John Davidson…I don’t remember the others at this point…except for a crew of Canadian Mounties.
- Favorite place to travel? Back home after traveling somewhere else.
- Have you attended a UU service outside of Oregon? Yes, DeKalb IL, Ogden UT, Huntington, WV, and Athens, OH—all very different. John and I were married by Mary Ann Macklin in Bloomington, IN before she was ordained as a UU minister—she got permission from her board of directors, and we were her first legal wedding.
- Do you have a favorite part of a UU service? Rand’s singing at our own CCUUF!
- What nonprofit organizations do you donate time or money to (outside of our Newport area)? Food Banks, The Arts, Animal Shelters.
- If you were to publish your autobiography? What would it be titled? I never traveled a straight line to get where I got.
- Who are your heroes? RBG, Mazie Hirono, Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama, My Mom—because she was such a good friend to all.
- Favorite flower or tree? Dogwood Tree, Red Carnation, Yellow Spider Mum, Passion Flower
- Where do you like to go in nature to revive? The Beach
- Lastly, a pic of Luke!
Thank you, Connie!
You are KNOWN!
Online Event: LaTosha Brown, Visionary Voting Rights Activist
OSU’s 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Keynote Event will feature LaTosha Brown. She is the Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter Fund and is a cultural activist.
Thursday, February 17th, 7pm @ OSU LaSells Center or Live Streamed Online
Register for Free: link
CCUUF Docs and Other Links
CCUUF Website: www.ccuuf.org
Recent Newsletters link
Board Meeting Minutes link
CCUUF Doc Links:
- CCUUF Google Drive: (link)
- Member Directory: (link)
- ByLaws: (link)
- Archived Board Meeting Folder 2019-present: link
Emails
To add or remove folks or update info, please contact CM at cmhallnewport@gmail.com
Newsletter
To add activities or announcements to our newsletter, please contact CM at cmhallnewport@gmail.com
CCUUF ListServe
To send emails, updates, announcements to everyone at once, email ccuuf@googlegroups.com
- CCUUF Facebook. Fellowship events will also be announced on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CCUUF.org/ as well as posted on the CCUUF website.
- Oregon UU Voices for Justice. Contact or join Oregon UU voices on social issues at: http://www.uuvoicesoregon.org/.
