Volume XXXV • Issue 7 July 2013 · guest this Sunday. About her sermon she says: “In 1953, Ray...

THE UNIFIER Volume XXXV • Issue 7 July 2013

OLYMPIA BROWN UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 625 College Avenue • Racine, Wisconsin (Mailing: 419 Sixth Street • Racine, WI 53403)

www.obuuc.org • [email protected] • 262/634-0659

A “Welcoming” Congregation • A “Green Sanctuary” Congregation • Handicapped-Accessible

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Schedule of Religious Services

Our services with Kid’s Club and Nursery are at 10 a.m. – Summer Schedule – unless otherwise indicated

Sunday, July 7, 2013 “New/Old Views of Jesus” Erik Gunn and Mark Sommer will present a service on Progressive Christianity. There’s a movement among some professed Christians to proclaim a Gospel of inclusion and pluralism, endorsing values that we share as Unitarian Universalists. In fact, some scholars suggest those were the real message of the man from Galilee. We will also have a Beyond-These-Four-Walls presentation on the HOPES Center, which is our offertory-outreach recipient for July.

Sunday, July 14, 2013 “The Sound of Silence” We welcome one of our own who was raised in OBUUC, the Rev. Morgan R. McLean, who will be our pulpit guest this Sunday. About her sermon she says: “In 1953, Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’ warned of a society dulled by television and constant noise in people’s ears. Now 60 years later, technology has expanded more than this dystopian novel could imagine. Is it possible for us to unplug and enjoy silence?”

Sunday, July 21, 2013 “Everything Is Holy Now – A HUUmanist Perspective” Members of our OBUUC HUUmanist Group will lead this service in celebration of our humanist beliefs and values. Music will be provided in many forms by Ellen Schmidt, John Schnidt, Bob Teska, and Whitney Teska; speakers include Andrea Bumpurs, Courtenay Teska, and Eileen Teska.

Sunday, July 28, 2013 “Chakras: The Universe is Inside You!” Mark Sommer, Linda Bestor, and Laura Feider will lead this service exploring the chakras. The chakras come from ancient Indian traditions and have evolved to include the practice of Yoga and meditation. Today the tradition has become the source of body awareness, balance, and healing. When the chakras are open it allows energy to flow and we can experience the fullness of the Spirit of Life. The service will end with a guided meditation. Members are encouraged to wear their favorite color to amplify our energy connections.

LOOKING AHEAD … Sunday, August 4, 2013 “Spiritual but not religious? or Religious but not spiritual?” A growing number of Americans describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” (especially younger folks). Yet there are probably some UUs who would call themselves “religious but not spiritual.” What’s the difference – and what are you? (And is it possible to be both?) This will be Tony’s first Sunday back with us after his July vacation. We will also have a Beyond-These-Four-Walls presentation on Peace Learning Circles, which is our offertory-outreach recipient for August.

CPR TRAINING – OLYMPIA BROWN UU CHURCH Sunday, July 28, 12-4 p.m. Diane Lange will be teaching this class and while we are hoping staff will participate, it is open to others who are interested. Fee is $25 (includes book) with part of the fee going to HOSA. See full flyer of information at the end of this Newsletter which includes a form to print, complete and return with your fee. Scholarships may be available.





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Parson to Person “A Little Visioning”

On June 1, OBUUC members and friends came together to participate in a “visioning” process (as suggested last fall by

Mary Gleason, our UUA consultant), led by trained community facilitator Esther Letvin. Esther noted five distinct

qualities that the forty-five (45) people in attendance generally emphasized as “elements of our congregation that make us

proud”:

• A welcoming and supportive community that values diversity and inter-generational relationships.

• An acceptance of religious diversity and spiritual search.

• An engaging religious education for all ages.

• A deep commitment to justice thorugh “deeds, not creeds,” locally and throughout the world.

• A joyfulness in programs, services, and relationships, including music and life-cycle events.

The two elements above that most resonated with me were:

1) our “deeds, not creeds” emphasis (which we share with all UU congregations), and

2) our respect for religious diversity (which, while shared by all UUs to some degree,

is something we do uniquely well, I think, in both Sunday services and religious-education programs).

I believe the world happens to need these two qualities now more than ever, and that there are many people (especially in

the younger generation) who are searching for the very things we do so well. Some of them may not know it yet, but I

trust that they eventually will, and as they do, I look forward to joining with them to build together what Martin Luther

King Jr. called “the beloved community.”

“Deliver us from email”

I’ll be on vacation during the month of July, so I will generally not be checking emails or phone messages. However,

Brenda will monitor these for me and will deal with most church business that can’t wait until August (her summer office

hours are generally 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday – Thursday).

“Water Communion”

Since some of you may be traveling out of town sometime this summer, remember that the Sunday on Labor Day

weekend (September 1st this year) is an opportunity to share water from your trip, so you might want to bring a little jar or

vial with you wherever you go, to be “comingled” with water that others will bring.

peace and unrest,





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Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Present – BOT Linda Flashinski (P), Ken Follensbee (VP), Jerry Hershberger (T), Lisa Friedrich (S), Jan Clum, Bill Garvey, Jeff Horbinski, Leann Pomaville, Jody Spencer

Others Present Tony Larsen, Deb Rostorfer, Kelly Horbinski, Luanne Frey, Gregory Mason,

Jeff Siuta, Cynthy McCrory, Esther Letven

I. Welcome and Call to Order at 7:03– Reading from President. II. Joys and Concerns III. Report on Visioning Process – Esther Letven talked about a Systematic Planning Framework and what the next steps can be towards our vision for the church. There will be a meeting open to the congregation on June 1 from 9am to noon with refreshments. The meeting will be held at the church. IV. April minutes were accepted without objection. V. Reports

A. Minister’s Report – Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen 1. Tony reported on his recent trip to Indonesia and Japan. He may do a First Friday presentation on the trip. 2. Deb Rostorfer’s last Sunday with OBUUC will be June 9

th (Revival Sunday). Tony and the board thanked Deb

for all that she has done for the church. B. Membership Report – Kelly Horbinski

1. Lisa moved, Jan seconded that we approve new member applications. Motion passed unanimously to approve Emily Koepnick, Matthew Koepnick, Mark Sommer, Martha (Marti) Palmer, Andreanna Follensbee, Susan Allen, and Melissa Taylor. Some of these people were previously listed as ‘Friends’ and have now moved to ‘Member’ status.

2. Kelly reported on the accomplishments of the Membership Coordinator in the last year and reported on the UUA guidelines for a church our size.

C. Treasurer’s Report – Jerry Hershberger 1. Financials update 2. The budget discussion was deferred until the end of the meeting. D. President’s Report/ Board Discussion – Linda Flashinski

1. The fundraising policies revision discussion was tabled until next month. 2. The Bylaws proposals have been available for review. 3. Thanks to the Nominating Committee, we have great candidates for the 2013/14 Board of Trustees. 4. The Pledge Drive was very successful and the visionary idea was very effective. Andrea will give a report at

the Annual Meeting on Sunday. 5. Report on District Assembly: Deb Rostorfer, Luanne Frey, Jan Clum and Ellen Schmidt found it to be well

worthwhile, exciting, inspirational, and electronically progressive. 6. Request from Communications Committee to forward remaining funds of $500. Jody moved and Jan

seconded the motion to forward funds as the Communications Committee recommended. Motion passed. 7. Discussion on the Annual Meeting: Agenda will include undesignated bequests. Jeff moved and Lisa

seconded that this year’s undesignated bequests be placed in the General Fund. Motion failed, 8-1. There was discussion on moving the Annual Meeting in the future to an earlier time to accommodate younger families.

8. Update on Porter’s property offer: Extended offer expired on May 9th. Information regarding this offer has

been emailed to the congregation and is included in the Annual Report. E. Program Council Report – Ken Follensbee





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1. Discussion on consumable items. F. Religious Education Report – Leann Pomaville

1. LeAnn Pomaville submitted a letter resigning her position on the Board as of June 30th. She will continue to

attend as ex-officio for RE per the Bylaws. Her resignation was accepted unanimously, and the board thanked Leann for her service, and also thanked Bill Garvey for serving out her remaining 2-year term.

VI. Old/New Business 1. Deb Rostorfer appreciated learning from the Board and seeing the dedication. Linda thanked Deb for all that she has done for the church. 2. There was discussion on nursery costs. LeAnn requested that the budget to show two line items. Leann moved and Jeff seconded that the nursery remains as a second line item in the budget. The motion passed. VII. Closed Session A motion was made at 9:15 to adjourn to Closed Session to consider a Personnel matter. The Board of Trustee members without a conflict of interest, the ministers, and other invited members of the Personnel Committee and Finance Committee at the meeting were: (Board Members) Linda Flashinski (P), Ken Follensbee (VP), Jerry Hershberger (T), Lisa Friedrich (S), Jan Clum, Bill Garvey, Jody Spencer; Personnel Committee Members Jeff Siuta, Cynthy McCrory, and Gregory Mason; Finance Committee Member Luanne Frey; and Minister, Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen and Intern Minister Deb Rostorfer. A. A personnel issue was discussed at length and a decision passed unanimously from the board members (7-0) with the concurrence of the supervisor and those present. The terms and conditions are in the personnel file. B. The board moved to open session. Jody Spencer moved and Jan Clum seconded a motion to pass the recommended budget. There was some discussion on deleting the changes on the shared plate, but the change was not made. The motion on the budget passed unanimously, 7-0.

The meeting adjourned at 10:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jody Spencer Secretary

FAMILY CAMP 2013 COORDINATOR NEEDED! Camp Edwards, East Troy on Friday-Sunday, October 11, 12, 13 The reservation is made and the forms for registration and other information is available from last year, so all we need is a willing volunteer to coordinate with the Camp Staff to confirm the details of programming and meals; circulate the registration information and collect registrations. All who went last year told us they had a good time, liked the facility and would go back again. We hope the nearby destination will be appealing to even more families this year and that it will be on your fall calendar early. Call the office and talk to Leann at x104, email her at [email protected], or leave a message with Brenda if you would like more information or are interested in being our Coordinator. Thank you!

METAL FOR MONEY

First Sunday Recycling of Aluminum Beverage Cans and other Recyclable Metal The first Sunday of each month (July 7th) is a time set aside for collecting items Dennis Walker will take to the Recycling Center for cash. Bring your cans (tabs removed) in bags and place in Dennis’ truck outside of church along with any other metal that can be recycled. All proceeds go the church.





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HOSPITALITY TEAMS – Summer Schedule To join a team or be a Team Leader for a new team, contact the office. We are having each current team take a Sunday in the summer to provide assistance at the Sunday service. There are almost as many teams as there are summer services so we will have only a couple weeks that a team will need to serve again. While there may be changes needed,* the following schedule has been suggested for our Team Leaders to consider: June 2 – Joe/Sharon Cushing July 7 – Sarah Dowhower August 4 – Diane Walker June 9 – Craig Matheus July 14 – Gregory Mason August 11 – Clif/Jean Gidlund June 16 – Lee Roberts July 21 – Andrea Bumpurs* August 18 – Sharon Erwin June 23 – Shirley Reynolds July 28 – Sue/Mike Goelz* August 25 – Craig Matheus* June 30 – Jessica Smith Sept 1 – Doug & Jan Clum*

*Teams may need to change to a different date

5th TUESDAY COMMUNITY MEAL It is OBUUC’s pleasure once again to help with the Racine Community Meal at Headstart School on Tuesday, July 30. We are asked to prepare half of the food: 7 hot meat casseroles (10-12 servings) and 5 green salads. Donations of $5 or $10 can be made for purchase of gallon-sized cans of fruits and vegetables, the milk and bread or you may purchase and deliver these items yourself. 8 helpers are needed to work alongside helpers from St. Paul Baptist and other churches. Food and workers arrive by 4:40 p.m. and can expect to be done by 6:45 p.m. A sign-up sheet, flyer, and aluminum pans are available at church throughout July. Contact Marge Miller at [email protected] with any questions.

2ND ANNUAL MEDITATION RETREAT This retreat, designed to take beginning meditators to a new level in their practice, will be held from 6 p.m. Friday July 26 through 9 a.m. Sunday July 28 at OBUUC, 625 College Avenue, Racine, WI. The retreat features three teachers, each from a different meditation tradition, and one yoga teacher. Suggested donation for the non-residential retreat is $50. Checks may be made out to OBUUC. Simple vegetarian meals are included. For further details or to make your reservation, please contact Niiti Gannon or Pamela Smiley. Your place will be held upon receipt of payment.





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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE RE PROGRAM A Message from Leann Pomaville, Director of Religious Education I'm back from UUA General Assembly which was once again a fantastic experience; I recommend it to each of you. Each year I learn so much not only about other UU churches, and the UUA, but also about all the different social justice issues the UUA is involved in. Stay tuned for my monthly Unifier articles, I've decided to share what I learned at GA each month. First off, what do any of you know about Mountaintop Removal mining? Think it doesn't affect you because there aren't mountains in WI? Well, how do you feel about the Appalachian Mountains being flattened so there's coal for power plants? Are your lights burning bright tonight? Is that worth a mountain? Mountaintop Removal mining (MTR) has been called strip mining on steroids. Not only does the process remove mountain ranges, it annihilates ecosystems, transforming some of the most biologically diverse temperate forests in the world into biologically barren moonscapes. The first step in the process is to clear-cut the forests; often scraping away topsoil, lumber, and all other forms of life that do not move out of the way quickly enough. Wildlife habitat is destroyed and vegetation loss often leads to floods and landslides. Next explosives, up to 100 times as strong as ones that tore open the Oklahoma City Federal building blast up to 800 feet off mountaintops. Giant machines then scoop out the layers of coal, dumping millions of tons of “overburden” (former mountaintops) into the narrow adjacent valleys, thereby creating valley fills. Coal companies have forever buried over 1,200 miles of biologically crucial Appalachian headwaters streams. Coal companies are supposed to reclaim land, but all too often mine sites are left stripped and bare. Even where attempts to replant vegetation have been made, the mountain is never again returned to its healthy state. This is just the beginning of the devastation MTR causes. Twenty-one scientific studies show residents living near mountaintop removal coal mining suffer higher cancer rates, more birth defects and have shorter life spans than other citizens. While the solid waste becomes valley fills, liquid waste is stored in massive, dangerous coal slurry impoundments, often built in the headwaters of a watershed. The slurry is a brew of water used to wash the coal for market, carcinogenic chemicals used in the washing process and small particles laden with all the compounds found in coal, including toxic heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. Frequent spills from these impoundments choke the life out of streams. One “spill” of 306 million gallons that sent sludge up to fifteen feet thick into resident’s yards and fouled 75 miles of waterways, has been called the southeast’s worst environmental disaster. Of course, it’s not only the people who suffer. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has written that mountaintop removal’s destruction of West Virginia’s vast contiguous forests destroys key nesting habitat for neo-tropical migrant bird populations, and thereby decreases the migratory bird populations throughout the northeast U.S. What is your connection to Mountaintop Removal? If your home or business is on the electric grid in Wisconsin or Northern Illinois, you are connected to mountaintop removal in the Appalachian Mountains. For my zip code, 53405, coal from Mountaintop Mining in West Virginia, powers the plant in Oak Creek. Check your zip code here:http://ilovemountains.org/my-connection Visit iLoveMountains.org to find out how you can take action, and tonight, turn off those lights and air conditioners when they're not needed, reducing our energy use by 20% will have an impact and leave many mountains intact.





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MANY UU HELPERS TO THANK!! Members and friends (and Brenda’s husband, too!) have provided a helping hand in and around the church and annex of OBUUC. Thank you goes to: • Sara Bublitz (belated) for leading a successful Rummage Sale in May • Hospitality Teams for serving as Greeters, Ushers, Hearing Device assistants, and Coffee Hour Hosts for a summer Sunday service • Joe Cushing’s offer to be Hospitality Team Coordinator • Betsy Tower, Jessica Smith and David Roszkowski, Gregory Mason for helping with various office/online tasks • Bunny Bugnacki, Jo Ann Franzke, Gregory Mason and Sue Seitz for being our regular Friday Folders • Stan Flashinski, Jerry Hershberger, David Roszkowski, Rich Benson, for helping to move furniture and other items in preparation for delivery of the new desk for Brenda, our Congregational Administrator • Contributors to Christmas Gift to the Church making it possible to acquire Brenda’s new desk • Carl Hipp for tightening our toilet in the Annex lower level and Stan Flashinski for getting our lights working again in the Annex • Marty Katch for cutting down the tree/bush by the church’s front door • Cynthy McCrory, Jeff & Mary Siuta for working on the landscape around the church • Religious Education (RE) volunteers

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Thank you to those who have offered and helped with tasks large and small. Do you have an hour or 2, on one or two days per week? Or maybe you can help once per month. Perhaps our Youth would like to help in the summer or after school.

Some small tasks that will provide opportunity to get involved as much or as little as you are able might include:

Attendance recording, hand addressing envelopes, assisting with copying projects, assisting with sorting/filing projects, take periodic inventory of supplies, change the sermon sign each week, trash/recycling day prep on Mondays, dusting of delicate artifacts in the office.

We would like to have as many people involved as possible and will begin to track the volunteer hours of our members and friends who assist us. Your time is very valuable to us! Call the office to sign up today or put your name on the Volunteer Sign-Up clipboard in church.





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NEIGHBORHOOD GATHERINGS This is a time when friends and neighbors gather at the home of a friend or neighbor (a Member, Friend, or Visitor) for a social time, a discussion time and refreshments. If you are not sure which is your neighborhood, call the office at 262/634-0659 to find out.

Kenosha: Thursday, September 5 @ 7:15 p.m. – Carolyn Churchill

Downtown: Tuesday, August 13 @ 7:00 p.m. – Marti Palmer

West/South: Thursday, August 22 @ 7:00 p.m. – Barb & Tom Mehnert

All Saints: Thursday, August 29 @ 7 p.m. – Nora & Tony Pavao

Near North: Tuesday, August 6 @ 7:00 p.m. – Jane & Paul Seggelink

Far North: Thursday, August 1 @ 7 p.m. – Nancy Hennessy

Northwest: Thursday, September 19 @ 7 p.m. – Shirley Reynolds

UNIFIER ARTICLE SUBMISSION & CIRCULATION Items for The Unifier may be emailed to the office at [email protected], by the 10th day of the month for the following month’s issue. Church-sponsored news and related activities may be submitted as an email message, a WORD document or a rich-text file (RTF). Each issue is distributed by email from our OBUUC-Newsletter email list. We realize that some do not have email and may like to receive a printed copy by mail. To offset the cost of postage and printing, we ask for a contribution of $15 per year. Send your Name and Current Address along with a check payable to OBUUC with a note in the memo line “Unifier.”

Mail this information with payment to: Name OBUUC Church Office

419 Sixth Street Street Racine, WI 53403

City, State, ZIP





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Volume XXXV • Issue 7 July 2013 · guest this Sunday. About her sermon she says: “In 1953, Ray...

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