April 16, 2009 – Free Congregation Newsletter
Dear Members and Friends, April 16, 2009
I trust everyone’s looking forward to this Saturday’s special event at Park Hall, whether you’re able to join us or not. Bring your square dancing shoes. (Perhaps, to avoid damaging any more feet-not-belonging-to-our-own-legs than we have to, I should say bring your square-dancing shoes!) Of course, there’s just a little more business to be done Saturday night than banqueting and dancing, and we’ll have an update on all that in the coming weeks. Michael
This Sunday at the Free Congregation
Sunday, April 19, 10:00am: Free Thought Forum
Community Supported Agriculture: Toward More Local Eating and Living
Increasingly, people are turning away from the grocery store, and looking for local and organic food. People want food that is healthier and more sustainable, but they also want the whole experience of food to include more personal connections: connections with the farmer, with neighbors, with the land itself. Join Barbara Perkins, owner and operator of Vermont Valley Community Farm, as she discusses the Community Supported Agriculture model (CSA) as one means to provide good food and local connections.
Please Check Out our New Website! www.freecongregation.org
Our overhauled and redesigned website is now live on the web. The home page always features the “upcoming Sunday program”; the “Green Box list of events” and the calendar, both on the home page, are clickable to tell you about upcoming events. Beyond that: explore! We still have several pages to fill, and several features to add – especially those for use by members and friends (as differentiated from web visitors) – and some to tweak, but this is a big step forward. Please don’t hesitate to provide feedback, either via the many comment (or “leave a reply”) opportunities on the website or to the Website Team: Andrew Kerr, Lori Schaefer, Scott Raasch, and Michael Whaley. You can do so via email (please copy all the team members) or snail mail to Park Hall (307 Polk Street, Sauk City, 53588) or suggestion box (at Park Hall).
Andrew Kerr andrewjkerr@live.com
Lori Schaefer lori.schaefer@charter.net
Scott Raasch sraasch@chorus.net
Michael Whaley spikeyboy@earthlink.net
We owe a special thanks to Jim O’Neill for the ton of work he did maintaining the old website. We look forward to tapping his wisdom and imagination for the new one.
Our Volunteers Are at the Food Pantry this Saturday
From 9 to 11:15am this Saturday, April 18, Free Congregation volunteers will be at the Sauk Prairie Area Food Pantry for our annual work-service day there. We appear to have the minimum number of volunteers, but if one or two more are able to participate, please contact Michael as soon as possible. The Pantry is located in a small office building at 1906 North Street in Prairie du Sac, a stone’s throw south-and-west from the St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store. The pantry itself is on the lower level, around the back of the building.
No Newsletter Next Week
The newsletter will be on hiatus next week, as your editor has a stint at Taliesin-West. Please do check the website for details about upcoming programs. Michael’s back in the office on the 29th.
125th Anniversary Celebration Begins with… Dancing, May 22nd
This being the 125th Anniversary of Park Hall (built 1884), and because Park Hall was built to a scale and purpose greater than the needs of the congregation itself – that is, it was conceived as a community cultural center, as well – we’ve decided to celebrate its birthday in a special way: by offering a series of diverse and FREE events. These will include talks by notable persons, e.g. the newly re-elected Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Honorable Shirley Abrahamson, debates (Andrew Kerr will spar with a redoubtable adversary on a topic having to do with God), we’re flirting with the idea of an historical reenactment, and… dances! The first dance date will take place on Saturday night, May 22nd. Dance instructor Matt Baumgartner will put on his DJ hat and spin a rich variety of dance tunes: numbers suited to waltz, swing, fox trot, country and night club two-steps, Latin dances, and more. RuthAnn Corrao and Matt will offer free dance instruction before the show begins. Price of admission: bring an item for the food & snack table. The public is welcome. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!
Upcoming Programs, Meetings
Saturday, April 18, 5:30pm to ?? – Free Congregation Pledge Dinner & Dance at Park Hall!
Sunday, April 19, 10:00am – Free Thought Forum - Barbara Perkins, owner and operator of Vermont Valley Community Farm, will speak on “Community Supported Agriculture: Toward More Local Eating and Living.”
Sunday, April 26, 10:00am – 4th Sunday UU Program – Andrew Kerr will preside and speak on the topic of “Is God Necessarily Disturbing?”
Sunday, May 3, 10:00am – 1st Sunday Spiritual Reflection Hour – Mary Ann McKenna will lead the roundtable discussion on the topic of “COMPASSION: Where Do We Encounter It in our Lives?” Based on the book On the Day Everybody Ate: One Woman’s Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti by Margaret Trost. (FMI: Reece Donihi, 643-8326; ramphoto@verizon.net)
Sunday, May 10, 10:00am – 2nd Sunday UU Service & Mother’s Day Breakfast - It’s our tradition to do a Mother’s Day Breakfast in the community room downstairs. Breakfast is served (by the guys) at 9:00am sharp. At about 9:45 we’ll have a special presentation by our R.E. youth. Then we’ll go upstairs at 10:00 for the regular Sunday program. Scott Prinster will lead the service and provide the Reflection.
LOOKING AHEAD: Joint Meeting of UU Congregations scheduled for July 26. We’ll have a program in the Hall – the theme is “Simplicity” – followed by a picnic potluck in the Park.
Community News and Events
Tuesday, April 21, 7:00pm - Guatemalan Human Rights Activist, Domingo Tum Mejía. The Shed Restaurant (upstairs), 256 N. Lexington Street, Spring Green. Domingo will speak about the importance of historical memory in informing our understanding of ongoing repression against marginalized peoples. Domingo Tum Mejía was born in a small village near Sacapulas, Quiché, in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala. (The Quiché area was particularly hard-hit by the civil war that ravaged Guatemala for 36 years; over half of the 629 wartime massacres committed by the Army took place in that one region.) Today, at the age of 35, Domingo has reconstructed his memories as a child, as well as the history of his family, his community, his region, and his country. He is currently fighting nationally and internationally to achieve justice for the genocide that took the lives of his parents and wiped out entire Maya communities. Contact info: Melinda Van Slyke 608-588-5223.
Sunday, April 26, First Unitarian Society, Madison - Rev. Peter Morales, one of the two candidates for President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and a representative for the other candidate, Rev. Laurel Hallmann, will be available during the forum time slot between the 9am and 11am services at FUS. After the second service, there will be a light lunch followed by a more formal presentation with time for questions. For more information, contact FUS Denominational Affairs committee member Gordon Olson (olson99@tds.net, 836-1779) or FUS staff person Alice Delaquess (aliced@fusmadison.org, 233-9774).
