the Catalyst 1 July 2018 Vol. 1

In This Issue

July Theme First UU

Principle

July 1: Sonora Service

The 7 Principles of

Unitarian Universalism

Tech support backup

needed

Birthdays

UUA Bookstore selection

July 13: Skyline Discussion

Minister’s Column

July 24: Douglas Flat

Service

July 26: No Guilt Book

Club

Aug. 5: Green Bag

collection

UUFTC Newsletter the Catalyst First Edition of July 2018

Sunday Service with Rabbi Andra Greenwald

July 1, 10:00 -Fellowship House

19518 Hess Ave, Sonora

Rabbi Andra Greenwald will kick of our monthly series. July's

first service will explore Principle #1, The inherent worth and

dignity of every person. Titled "Just One life: What's It

Worth?", the talk will focus on how each of our lives has value

and makes a difference, pulling from examples in both remote

and more recent history with the desire that each find something

of value in it.

Greenwald is originally from Brooklyn, NY, is the mother of

three wonderful young women, and is married to her best

friend. She is the rabbi of the Mother Lode Jewish Community

and is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her passion, after

her family and many wonderful friends, is writing, and she

recently had three poems published in A Poet's Siddur, which is a Friday evening service prayer book. She

is on the board of Modesto's InterFaith Ministries and has spoken on many occasions to the interfaith

community in an attempt to bring us all a bit closer together. Her mission in life is to make the world

better one life at a time.

Potluck to follow

There are seven principles and six sources of faith

forming the backbone of our religious community. For

the next few months, the Sonora services will explore

each of the seven principles on the first Sunday of the

month. On the third Sunday of the month, Rev. Sonya

will discuss each of the six sources of our faith.

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The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism

We , the member congregations of the Unitarian Universlaist Association, covenant to affirm and

promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our

congregations;

A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

The right of conscience and the use of the democratic

process within our congregations and in society at large;

The goal of world community with peace, liberty,

and justice for all;

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources: Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which

moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and

structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as

ourselves;

Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science,

and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and

instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Tech Support Back Up - Help Needed

From Craig Mineweaser

We need your help! One or more people are needed to operate our audio/visual system on

OCCASIONAL Sunday mornings. No, I didn't say 'every Sunday', and no, I didn't say you'd

have to learn it all at once! I just need someone to back me up in case I'm not there. To begin, all

you'll need to do is operate the system. Later we can work on how to set it up. Other volunteers

will do the heavy lifting on this, so you should never have to do it all by yourself. It's really fun

and anyone with even a slightly technical bent will find that they get a kick out of doing this!

Please contact Craig Mineweaser (408.206.2990) for more information and a quick tutorial. Try it,

you might like it!

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www.uua.org/bookstore

Skyline Discussion Group, Friday, July 13, 3:30 pm,

Private Dining Room, Skyline Place

Landfill Harmonic with Rev. Sukalski

Music is one of the direct experiences all humans, even all beings, connect and respond to. No

matter if you have season tickets to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, or play just for yourself as

Rev. Sonya does, music can inspire mystery and wonder wherever it is found. Favio Chavez of

Cateura, Paraguay, has a unique approach to music, as his home town is not exactly a tourist

destination. A snippet of the story of Landfill Harmonic will kick off our discussion. As with

every month, we read together on a theme, and then grab a cup of our favorite drink and meet in

the private dining room. Skyline residents, visitors and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of

Tuolumne County members and friends are invited to this discussion. We also include other

timely topics of interest to those attending.

Douglas Flat Service July 24, 10:30

Douglas Flat Schoolhouse, 1358 Main St.

"You're in the Wrong Bathroom!" And 20 Other Myths and Misconceptions About

Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People

by Laura Erickson-Schroth and Laura A. Jacobs

Bringing together the medical, social, psychological, and political aspects of

being transgender today in the United States, "You're in the Wrong Bathroom"

unpacks the twenty-one most common myths about transgender people. The

book serves as a useful resource for the transgender community, educators, and allies.

Happy Birthday

*Peg Sheldon * Viola Haviland * Patricia Horsthuis *

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Minister’s Column -July 2018

There is an effort afoot in the congregation to reach out beyond our

usual ways, to welcome a wider circle, to introduce ourselves in new

arenas, and to deepen what it means to belong. Our leaders are always

seeking training. Most recently we had a retreat with Rev. Bonnie

Hollinger and interacted about the many ways she reaches beyond the usual. A subgroup of the

membership committee, Dusty Taylor, Ann Leonard, and Trudy Craig, has taken up the broad

and deep resources available to welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people (LGBTQ)

many of whom have been going to Murphys because they do not have clear welcoming from

congregations in Sonora. While we do welcome LGBTQ people, and we have for quite some time,

we want to make sure we are as current in our efforts as we can be. You will be hearing more

about this soon. There are simple things we can do such as specifically saying we welcome

people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Who you love, and being able to express

yourself authentically are part and parcel of our first principle – to affirm and promote the

inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Another effort is to take each of our UU principles and sources and examine them in depth

during worship over the next several months. I hope you will come and hear what Rabbi Andra

Greenwald has to say about affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every

person when we kick this off July 1. On the first Sunday of the month we will address the

principles, and on the third Sunday of the month when I come, I will introduce the sources.

Our first source is based on direct experience, which each human and each being has of

the world. Experience is the stuff of mystics who do not necessarily give a lot of weight to dogma

and ritual. Direct experience is also the basis of science, and many scientists I have known

communicate the wonder of life in ways that renew my spirit and uphold life. Consider Richard

Feynman’s quote from The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, “Life at its best is a daily practice of

finding things out.” As I drove up to Sonora last time, I listened to Nobel physics laureate, Frank

Wilczek talking about why the world is so beautiful in his latest book A Beautiful Question:

Finding Nature’s Deep Design. “Beauty is one of the things that inspires and rewards us about

direct experience, in science and beyond.”

One of the worship services which opened my heart to mystery and awe was by

astrophysicist and UU Galen Gisler in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It was something about the

vastness and order of the universe combined with the micro world each human has within - the

ability to see, hear, and feel. This is where our theme of beauty in June connects to the topics we

will take up in July – beauty is often about the contrasts we experience directly. As Wilczek

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expressed in his interview with Krista Tippett, often the opposite of one deep truth is another

deep truth.

Can we both broaden and deepen our welcome, engagement and belonging as a

community? I hope we will discover the beauty and contrast of exactly that!

https://onbeing.org/programs/frank-wilczek-why-is-the-world-so-beautiful/

No Guilt Book Club

Tuesday, July 26, 7:00 p.m. at the Fellowship House

All are welcome.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

We will start discussing the book then have refreshments and social time.

A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris

before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it

ranks amongst the most famous works in the history of literary fiction. The novel

depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in

the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated

by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the

revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time

period. It follows the lives of several characters through these events. The 45-chapter novel was

published in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens's new literary periodical titled All the Year Round.

From April 1859 to November 1859.

UUFTC: 19518 Hess Ave Sonora, CA 95370 / (209) 533-8883

Quick links: UU Fellowship of Tuolumne County/ www.uuftc.org ; Pacific Central District/ www.pcd-uua.org

UU World Magazine/ www.uuworld.org ; UUFTC Calendar/ www.uuftc.org/calendar

UU Service Committee/ www.uusc.org UU Association of Congregations/ www.uua.org

the Catalyst appears on our website twice a month. When each new issue is posted, notification of its availability is sent to all

subscribers via email. We do not share our list of addresses.

Linda DuTemple, Editor (209)928-4364 lindaldu@comcast.net

Laurie Livingston, Web Design

______________________________________

Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Minister / Rev. Craig Scott, Minister Emeritus

Board Members: Dusty Taylor, President; Linda DuTemple, Vice-President; Garnet McKeon, Treasurer;

Marilyn Graham, Secretary; Pam Taylor

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UUFTC Gallery

UU hikers, June 16 – Herring Creek area

Larry, Irene, Bob and Sonya

Ladies’ Lunch Bunch – 6/21 at CiBo Famiglia

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Father’s Day and Flower Service 6/17

Rev. Sonya >

J

< Adding flowers to the communal vase - Wendy

Rachel and Bob >

< Irene, Jim and Patti