FLAME 4501 Walnut Street, KC, MO 64111 816-531-2131 www.allsoulskc.org Like us on Facebook; open to all: All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Kansas City, MO For complete calendar: http://allsoulskc.org/ happenings/calendar/ Dec. 2017 Sunday Service From the Minister Children Education Adult Education Church Admin Hours Volunteers Auction & Poetry Holiday Yulebocks Men’s Group Upcoming Events cont’d Fellowship Coffeehouse NeedleHearts Financials Table of Contents 2,3 4 5 6 7 8 9,10 11 12 13 14 14 14 15 THE ALL SOULS CHOIR ANTHONY T. EDWARDS MUSIC DIRECTOR December 3rd, 2017 11:15am All Souls Unitarian Church 4501 Walnut Sarah LaBarr, soprano Shanna Jones, mezzo-soprano Tom Lancaster, tenor Chris Cobbett, baritone By Robert Schumann
Transcript
FLAME4501 Walnut Street, KC, MO 64111 816-531-2131 www.allsoulskc.org
Like us on Facebook; open to all: All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Kansas City, MO
For complete calendar: http://allsoulskc.org/happenings/calendar/
Dec. 2017
Sunday Service From the Minister Children Education Adult Education Church Admin Hours Volunteers Auction & Poetry
December 3rd, 2017 11:15am All Souls Unitarian Church 4501 Walnut
Sarah LaBarr, soprano Shanna Jones, mezzo-soprano
Tom Lancaster, tenor Chris Cobbett, baritone
By Robert Schumann
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Dec.
Sunday Services, Forum
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11:15 Service: “Who Would Do That” Rev. Kendyl Gibbons As women (and men) once again try to break through the silence surrounding sexual harassment and abuse in our culture, how do we learn together what cons tutes appropriate, or unacceptable, behav-ior? Have the rules really changed, or were there ever really rules? Some vintage ideas about ethics might help us unravel this dilemma. We will share Joys and Sorrows.
Dec.
Dec. 17 11:15 Service: “Seasons of Candles Holiday Service for All Ages” Rev. Kendyl Gibbons, Jack Gaede, Judith Cady The human impulse to turn toward light in the darkest part of the year, and to come together in the cold season, appears to be universal. The sols ce fires, the Hanukkah lamps, the Advent candles, all beckon us to be part of a larger community, and to rejoice in our connec ons, as nature se les in to dormancy. Let us take a clue from the old stories, and celebrate together, even as we renew our com-mitment to the ancient dream of Peace on earth, goodwill to all. We will welcome our newest mem-bers, and the choir will sing.
11:15 Service: “Requiem” All Souls Choir and Music Director Anthony Edwards We begin the holiday season with an opportunity to recall our own lost loved ones, and a moving per-formance of Robert Schumann’s inspiring Requiem. The offering will support our Music & Religious Edu-
10:00 Forum: “Good Governance vs. Gimmickry in Kansas City, MO” Patrick Tuohey
Patrick Tuohey is the Director of Municipal Policy for the Show-Me Ins tute, a Missouri organiza on that promotes responsibility market solu ons for Missouri public policy. He will speak about good governance versus gimmickry and about several Kansas City issues including KCI and the misuse of tax increment financing.
10:00 Forum: “To Help K.C. Area Refugees—and Why” Sophia Khan
KC for Refugees is a Kansas City organiza on for helping find homes, language skills, employment, edu-ca on and transporta on for refugees in the Kansas City area. Central to this busy organiza on, Dr. Khan, an M.D. and U.S. ci zen for several decades, is an ac vist for jus ce and the U.S. tradi on of wel-coming refugees
10:00 Forum: “White Privilege: Mo ves, Expecta ons, and Be ering Early Literacy” Mullins & Norton Literacy emerges from a broad range of factors that include early childhood learning opportuni es, de-velopment stages at which children are ready to learn abstract skills, and the flexibility of schools and teachers. Rita Norton will describe one white child’s decades long route to reading proficiency. Bill Mullins will discuss winning the literacy ba le in several local, contemporary primary schools.
10:00 Forum: The All Souls Forum pauses for the holiday. Renae Price
Happy Holidays to each and everyone of you. Happy Holidays to each and everyone of you.
Dec. 24 6:30 Service: “Christmas Eve Celebra on for All Ages” Rev. Kendyl Gibbons, Jack Gaede
Share the magic of story telling, carol singing, candle ligh ng, and Christmas joy with friends and the whole family. Perhaps Santa will even stop by.
11:15 Service: “The Giver and the Gi ” Rev. Kendyl Gibbons A Humanist perspec ve on the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the meaning of Christmas in a secular society. Charles Dickens was a Unitarian, with a shrewd understanding of human psychology, and the transforma on that occurs in his Christmas ghost story is anything but supernatural. This morning will be a me for though ul reflec on amid the bustle of the season.
Sunday Services, Forum (Cont’d)
10:00 Forum: Soap Box Sunday All Souls members & Friends The Forum for New Year’s Eve will feature as many All souls talkers and speakers and maybe even sing-ers and poets as we can fit into our 57 minutes. Choose your 4 to 5 minute gi for us, and contact and name it to our organizer, Linda McNicholas at [email protected] by the 27th of December—earlier if you can.
11:15 Service: “Golden Oldie: Glass Ceilings and Locker Rooms” Rev. Kendyl Gibbons This sermon was first preached on October 16, 2017, and was chosen by popular vote for repeat as this year’s Golden Oldie. Our next presiden al elec on, in 2020, will mark the hundredth anniversary of women being able to vote in the U.S. The current one is the first in which a woman has been a major party’s nominee for president. A wave of revulsion and revela on has been sweeping the country in reac on to comments about how it is appropriate for men in power to deal with women. How does our faith call us to understand and respond?
Dec. 31
5:30: “Tradi onal Dinner” Parkinson and Cassity Families There are many tradi ons that help make the holidays such a special me. One of our tradi ons is a Christmas Eve service with tradi onal carols and a candle ligh ng at the close of the service. For the last 16 years a very special all Souls tradi on has been gathering before the Christmas Eve service for a light meal of soup and salad prepared by the Parkinson and Cassity families. We hope you will part of this tradi on. Please join us at 5:30pm in Conover Auditorium. Following the service we will have cookies provided by the Wells’ family and friends in the lobby.
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As the many folks who have from time to time helped me to pack and unpack the contents of my office can attest, I love books. Visitors sometimes assume that the first door on the left as you enter the All Souls building must be the church library, because it is so full of books. And yes, I have read nearly all of them -- there are usually a handful of new ones waiting their turn, and there are some reference works that I wouldn’t just sit down and read through -- but mostly they have earned a place on my shelves by giving me information and insight and new ideas. We do have our own All Souls library, which contains many important works about Unitarian Univer-salism, both introductions for newcomers, as well more in-depth historical and theological works about our tradition. There is also a lovely collection of children’s books, for helping young minds grow into free, critical, and compassionate thinkers. Recently, we received a very special gift to add to our collection, from our long time member Ben Kjelshus. It is a copy of Our Unitarian Heritage, by the renowned 20th century historian Earl Morse Wilbur. This is now a rare volume, long out of print, and it is a great resource for our congregation to own. I have been familiar since seminary with Wilbur’s two-volume academic history of the movement, but this is the first opportunity I have had to read his account of our history written for the literate lay person. It is a splendid gift, for which we are all grateful! Our library has been tended over the years by a series of loyal librarians, who are a special breed of folks, and close to my heart. They are radically discreet; their official motto reads: Scimus quae legis, et non dicimus (We know what you read, and we’re not saying). They are devoted to physical order, and the well-being of books, while cherishing the greatest adventures of the mind, spirit, and imagination. Addie Dietrich has been the latest to fill this role, ever since I have been here at All Souls, and she longs to retire, and leave our literary heritage in good hands. If you are a person who loves books, and liberal religion, and could spare a couple of hours a week to help keep our library accessible, both to visitors and members, please talk to me, or to Addie. It would be an important and meaningful service to our congregation. As we pursue our efforts to understand the history of racism here in Kansas City and in our congregation, a new opportunity lies ahead in the new year. Five congregations in the area -- All Souls, SMUUCh, Lawrence, Topeka, and Manhattan, Kan-sas, have come together to sponsor a weekend Beloved Conversations training in March of 2018. Ten delegates from each congregation will gather with two facilitators from Meadville/Lombard seminary and the UUA, to learn how to deepen our un-derstanding of white supremacy specifically in our UU culture. We will strengthen our commitment to helping our congrega-tions dismantle these inherited structures and practices that get in the way of the churches we aspire to build, and the conver-sations we have with each other as we seek our own personal transformation. The five congregations have committed to raising funds to bring two facilitators, which means we can have a total of 50 par-ticipants in the workshop, which works out to ten representatives from each group. If you are interested in being a delegate from All Souls, and can commit to being present for the entire program on March 9 and 10, please talk to me. If we have more participants than we can accommodate, we will consider scheduling another date, but we need to see how this event goes first. Pursuing our conversation about racism and white supremacy closer to home, the Wednesday afternoon class has decided to continue meeting after the first of the year and explore a series of books on the subject, beginning with Waking Up White by Debby Irving. We will have four gatherings arising from each book, one per month through May, led either by our intern min-ister, Jack Gaede, or by me -- we aspire to alternate, but schedules will determine how that works. If you are available on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00, consider joining us. Meanwhile, best wishes to everyone for a beautiful and fulfilling holiday season! — Rev. Kendyl
Sunday Sermons in lobby and online: http://allsoulskc.org/category/read-sermons/
From the Minister Rev. Kendyl Gibbons
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Children & Youth Sunday Morning Schedule 10:00—12:15 Nursery service is provided for babies and toddlers. 10:00—11:00 A time of creativity, conversation, and community for all ages. 10:00—10:30 Children’s Choir, grades 1-6 lower level. 11:15—12:15 Sunday School classes for all ages to explore our Unitarian Universalist faith and principles through storytelling, discussion, creative experiences, and service projects.
Children, reStart, & Youth Education
The Religious Education Board Meets The First Sunday of Each Month Anyone is welcome to attend
Rev. Judith Cady
Family Days on December 24th and December 31st
There will be family days at All Souls on December 24th and December 31st. There will be no Sunday School classes so that our teachers can spend the holiday weekends with their own families. Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!
Mi ens for reStart Homeless Shelter
The mitten tree is waiting for your contributions in the lobby. We want to be sure your gifts to the residents of reStart reach the families who need them well before Christmas. Some mittens and hats will be added to the Christmas store, where residents can shop for gifts for their families. Some will go directly to children and adults who need them im-mediately. We need warm gear for babies, kids of all ages, and adults who are working or going to school. reStart's goal is to help every family they work with find a permanent home and a reliable income. So gloves, hats and scarves all help the kids get safely to school and the parents to work or to training. Many men there need winter work gloves especially in large sizes. Hang your gifts on the tree or drop them in the basket. We'll pack them up and deliver them on December 10. And pick up a star for your tree for eve-ry gift you leave on the tree. Thank you for your generosity!!
December Tax Deduction
Invest in our future—our Coming of Age Youths!!!
The culmination of our Coming of Age program is a trip to UU world headquarters in Boston. Traveling
to Boston requires significant fund raising efforts by our youths. We are asking for your help in supple‐
menting their efforts. Become a Question Sponsor for the Coming of Age program! Any and all financial
contributions are welcome. Make checks payable to All Souls and note that this is a COA pledge. Invest
in the religious growth of our future Unitarian Universalist leaders.
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Easy Ways to Get Involved at All Souls
Sunday Lunches: Delicious meals from various church chefs boost All Souls’ coffers and create a casual environment for sharing and caring. Contact Mark Gibbons.
Wear your Nametag! Nametags help newer members feel part of our community because they can put names with faces – and prompt any of us who may have a “senior moment.” Lost nametag? Email [email protected]
Adult Educa on Classes Women’s Sacred Circle: 2nd and 4th Mondays, 4-5:30; women share in a safe and confidential environment. Facilitator: Carolyn Connor. Yoga: Tues, Wed & Thurs, 5:30 – 6:30, Bragg, Contact Marilyn Carpenter, [email protected]. Agnostics AA Meeting: Tues & Thurs, 7-8 pm, Lower Level; Fri & Sat, noon Gnawing for Knowledge: Wednesdays, noon: philosophical discussion. All Souls Movie Group: Wed, Dec. 6, 6:30pm: Jane, Lady Bird, Murder on the Orient Express, Thank you for your Service HUUmanist Book Club: Monday, Dec. 11th, 7 pm: Elizabeth Kolbert: The 6th Extinction
Adult Education, Faithify, YuleBook
You know crowdfunding. Did you know UUs do it too? Support projects from a special needs play-ground to a kitchen expansion to feed neighborhood people in need, to getting kids through Coming of Age. In a way, this is like our special offering, but you get to choose the cause to support. And of course all contributions are deductible. Faithify sends an itemized list at the end of the year of all mon-eys given .The link is faithify.org. Try it, you'll like it.
“YuleBOOK” SAVE THE DATE
Dec. 10, 2017
Immediately following the service
The 150th Anniversary committee invites you to come cele-brate the publication of Tending the Flame, a riveting histo-ry of All Souls written by Jim Grebe and Kay Jones. Come
enjoy a snack and toast our history!
You can pick up your preordered book or buy a copy.
Will You Mentor A New Member? Join a small group of dedicated mentors who make contact with and interact with new members of All Souls. Introduce them to parts of the church that are special to you, help them find their fit to serve in some way, bring them into the fold by being at least ONE person they know by name when they come to church. Contact Anna Sajovic for more information: [email protected]
Adult Education, Caring Connections, Volunteers
Want to give a Christmas or Hanukkah gift that doesn't involve Walmart or Amazon? Alternative Gifts International is back at All Souls this November. Pick a gift of clean water, microloans, care for newborns, recycling out of poverty. Those are only four of the twenty five projects to choose from. Stop at the table in the lobby to read the catalog, find a gift that fits your strong interest and of the recipient. Choose a card to send with the gift description, and add your own message. The amount you spend is up to you. Check it out at the table, next to a world map with project locations.
Do you know an All Souls member or friend who could use some extra attention and support -- someone who's had surgery, is ill, or is coping with another challenge? If so, alert Bonnie Schwarzenholz, chair of the Caring Connection.
Do you need or know of an All Souls member or friend who could benefit from a supportive Caring Circle? If so, call Dori Bader, Caring Connection volunteer, for information on Caring Circles and how to initiate one.
Music & RE Special Offering—December 3rd
The Offering on the 3rd will go to support the Music and Religious Educa on Programs. We are behind this
year in our fundraising efforts. For the budget we need to raise $12,000. To date we have only raised
$394.00 toward our goal. Please consider giving to help the church maintain these vital programs. It is im-
portant that we maintain the dynamic educa onal programs for our children and youth. And, our wonderful
music deepens the worship experience for all of us on Sunday mornings. Both programs’ successes are indic-
a ve of vibrant church life. During this service the All Souls Choir and Music Director Anthony Edwards will
present Robert Schumann’s beau ful Requiem. Our Choir Sec on Leaders will be the soloists for the Requi-
em - Sarah LaBarr, Shanna Jones, Tom Lancaster and Chris Cobbe .
UUA Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge. The Unitarian Universalist Association is sponsoring a matching gift program for all ‘new’ legacy gifts made to All Souls (and other UU congregations and institutions) between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020. Legacy gifts will qualify for a 10% match, up to $10,000 per donor. The matching money will be distributed to the UU congregations and organizations as unrestricted money in 2019 and 2020. (This program is made possible because of a grant of $5 million from the Shelter Rock UU congregation to the UUA.)
Many types of legacy gifts (bequests through a will or trust, retirement accounts, life insurance, charitable gift annuities, etc) will qualify for this matching opportunity.
If you previously made a legacy gift intention to All Souls (i.e. through The Heritage Society), your legacy gift intention may still count for a matching gift. For the purposes of the Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge, legacy gifts will qualify as ‘new’ if they are made between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020 OR if the receiving institution is unaware of the intention. If you have already notified the receiving institution, you can still participate in the Legacy Challenge by increasing your legacy intention and/or by including additional UU organizations or congregations.
More information about the UUA Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge campaign is available in the Communications Center. We will also have educational chats, additional Flame articles and other information available in the next few months. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting offer.
For questions, please contact a member of the Legacy Giving Task Force – Diann Spencer (chair), Lee Ann Bergin, Rev Kendyl Gibbons, Jane Gilbreath, John Maher, and Bonnie Schwarzenholz.
Attend GA for FREE!!!!
Kansas City will host the national UU General Assembly in 2018, June 20—June 24. If you can commit to volunteering for 18 hours during these 5 days, your registration fee of $395 will be waived and you can enjoy most of GA for free! We need 21 vol-unteers to welcome people to the convention center, answer questions about what to do and how to get around Kansas City, and help them find events within Bartle Hall Conference Center. If you are interested, please email Bob Miller at [email protected] by January 30th. You will also need to register for the conference when registration opens March 1, but getting your name to me now gets you priority on the list of volunteers to serve as local ambassadors.
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Poetry Contest for Auction 2018
This is a significant year in the life of our congregation as we celebrate our 150th Anniversary. We are where we are because of the planning, effort, and sacrifices of those who have gone before and those who now actively work and lead in our church. Our challenge is to take up the torch, contribute to the work being done now, that strengthens the foundation for future generations.
The Auction 2018 theme of We’ve Only Just Begun is an optimistic assertion that we can go forward, not tired and exhausted from 150 years of existence, rather strengthened with a solid foundation to stand on and renewed in direction and purpose.
The goal of the poetry contest is to encourage congregants to give expression to ideas tying together our legacy, our debt to those who came before us and to those now actively work and lead the congregation. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to give voice to how we can move confidently, purposefully, and joyously into our future. The poetry goes beyond the Auction to the whole anniversary year.
The Rules:
Bill Trowbridge has consented to be the poetry judge.
We will have Adult and Juvenile Divisions. The Juvenile Division be those eligible to be in classes on Sunday morning.
One poem per person,
The submitted entries will be typed or in an electronic file.
The entries will not be returned so entrants need to keep a copy.
Deadline for entries is Sunday February 4th, 2018.
Adult Prize: A good bottle of wine or several of rotgut, winners’ choice.
Juvenile Prizes: $25, $15, $10
Winners can read their poems, or have them read, at the Auction.
Poems, not just entries, can be posted.
Congregants are not limited to writing just one poem. There is simply a limit for of one poem for submission to the contest. Poems will be posted on the bulletin boards around church and possibly among the art works in the gallery may inspire others to write. There will be a Member Show in the Gallery in November and December then Auction Art in January and February. Posted poems from congregants will be a natural fit.
Auction, cont’d
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Holdiay Yulebocks cont.
2017-18 Holi^[y Yul_\o]ks ([s of 11/28/17) A Yulebock is a gathering of All Souls Folks where those who come bring an appe zer and the hosts provide drinks (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic). It can be come and go or stay for the me listed. Please join in the holiday fun!
12/3 Board Yulebock at Simpson House a er church 12‐3
12/9 Mark and Kendyl Gibbons’ Yulebock 5‐9
12/10 150th Book Celebra on Yulebock a er Church
12/14 Men’s Group Yulebock and Concert. 5:30‐8:30 in Conover
12/15 Trowbridge’s Yulebock 5‐8
12/16 Lee Ann Googe and Dori Bader’s Duo Yulebock 6‐9
12/22 Jane Henderson cohosts with Carolyn Connor’s Yulebock 5‐8
12/23 Johanna Fisher and Erick Salnave’s Yulebock 6‐9
12/25 Carol Fields and Chuck Downing’s Yulebock 4‐7
12/29 Chuck Gowans and Anna Sajovic’s Yulebock 5‐8
12/30 Kathy While cohosts Claudine Thomas’ Yulebock 5‐9
1/6 Ruth Robarge cohosts Dana DeMasters’ Yulebock at Dana’s new home 5‐8
1/14 SRB Yulebock a er Church in Conover 12‐3
Addresses may be obtained from your directory or the Office. The calendar will be updated as you let Sue know of your desire to have a Yulebock. Contact her: 816.518.0925 or [email protected]
Please join us for our Holiday Open House where a unique selection of gifts and images from my internation-al travels will be available for sale.
Date: December 8th Time: 3-7pm Location: Melagrana Editions Jonathan Associates 4520 Main St. Ste. 220 Kansas City, MO 64111 Food and Refreshments provided - Please RSVP to [email protected].
NeedleHearts NeedleHearts will meet Saturday, December 9th at 10AM. We will put together another afghan and share our holiday knitting and crochet projects. New to knitting or crochet, this is the place to learn some practical tips and to sharpen your skills. Join us for conversation about books, movies, crafting and share your holiday plans. Contact: Sue Coy or Sharon Cassity, [email protected]
Holiday Dinner
Tuesday
Dec. 12th
6 pm,
Simpson House
Sunday Plus Lunches, 12:15pm—2pm $7 per person/$20 per family
Dec. 17: Coming of Age Build your own pot pies! Turkey, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free – as you wish! Salad and dessert.
All Souls Men’s Group Yulebock and Concert by:
George Moss & Anne Biswell Dec. 14, 5:30-8:30pm
Conover
Coffeehouse & Game Night, Friday
Dec 22nd, 7:30 pm, Bragg The All Souls CoffeeHouse Committee presents live music at our church on the 4th Friday of every month. A featured Musician opens at 7:30 with an open Mic for music and spoken word fol-lowing. On December 22nd we will be pre-senting Jim Herrmann - now from North Carolina. Bring your music, instruments, words, voices, and friends. Table games are available or bring your own to share. No cover admission, but donations for the Harvester's barrel are welcome.
Pizza, cookies, other snacks, soft drinks, and of course coffee available for a donation.
RSVP: Ginger Powers
Bridge Tue, December 8th, 7 pm
At the home of
Ginger Powers
Snacks Welcome
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Financials, Attendance, Special Offerings
Attendance Figures for October 2017: Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Service 96 143 102 122 95 Sunday Forum 66 49 58 40 54 Sunday School 46 49 49 51 47
October 2017 Pledged Income is $15,484— $10,849 under budget (-41.2%). Total Dona on Income is $18,243 — $12,640 under budget (-40.93%). Total Income is $26,102 — $13,767 under budget (-9.61%). Total Expenses are $43,912 — $1,011 under budget (-2.36%). Total Income exceeds Total Expenses by $17,810 —$14,808 over budget. Year to Date: Pledged Income is $98,807 -- $6,526 over budget (-6.20%). Total Dona on Income is $113,431—$10,455 over budget (-8.44%) Total Income is $143,008 - $14,563 under budget (-9.24%). Total Expenses are $178,624 - $1,913 under budget (-1.06%). Total Income exceeds Total Expenses by $35,617 - $12,650 over budget. A complete report can be found in the Communica ons Center.
All Souls Affirms and Promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. How? 2-3 Sundays a month, a designated cause will receive a special offering. All checks with the memo line “special offering” and one half of all undesignated cash will be forwarded to the service organization, demonstrating our values. Please make checks to All Souls; note on the memo line “special offering.”
Dec. 3rd: Music & RE Dec. 10th: UU UNO Dec. 17th: Music & RE Dec. 24th: All Souls Dec. 31st: All Souls
November Special Offerings UU UNO - $676.06 BLUU—$751.00
Thank you!
A convenient way to contribute: To donate to All Souls please type allsoulskc.org/giving/ into your browser or use this QRC. (please note the purpose of the gift)
