Minister's Message
Our church is preparing to offer its first sabbatical to its minister -- me.
The sabbatical tradition is part of how our churches develop their ministry and it is a common practice in many denominations, academia and even in some businesses. A month of sabbatical is earned for every year served in a Unitarian Universalist church for up to six months of sabbatical time. We are planning a three-month sabbatical for me, probably in early 2009.
The sabbatical will be a time of renewal and reflection for me. Options I'm considering, besides rest, include taking an advanced course on spiritual direction, compiling my prayers and meditations, and exploring and perhaps beginning work on a Doctorate of Ministry degree.
The Prairie Board has appointed Joe Francis to chair the church's Sabbatical Committee and he welcomes all your thoughts, ideas and questions. Prairie's Board, Committee on Ministry and I believe the church will flourish during my absence.
We will have professional religious speakers in the pulpit each Sunday of the sabbatical and we will continue to offer outstanding music and worship for our members and visitors. The Sabbatical Committee and I also will select an outside religious professional to be present and available to meet the congregation's pastoral needs while I'm gone.
I hope that all of you will support this important step in the development of our congregation and its institutional integrity. I am confident that Prairie is ready for this challenge, and, when I return, we will share with one another the lessons we have learned to continue building our community.
In Peace,
Jann
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How to reach the minister:
303-840-5928 (church number)
Jann's day off is Monday, so please only contact her on this day if it is an emergency or critical. Her sermon writing and study day is Friday.
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The Board's Message Board
I'd like to say Thank You to everyone who was able to attend and participate in our Annual Winter Congregational Meeting, which was held on Sunday, January 20th. I especially appreciate the efforts of Mike Rodman, our Treasurer, for his fine presentation regarding the status of our current year budget. I also want to thank Jennifer Drybread and Bill Hanna from the Committee on Ministry, for their update regarding the process of formalizing our Vision Statement, and assisting with the beginning of our Strategic Plan. Also, thanks to Joe Francis, the new Chair of our Sabbatical Committee, for an excellent update regarding the planning for our Minister Sabbatical.
I'd also like to correct a statement I made during the discussions regarding the 2008 / 2009 Goal Budget. I incorrectly stated that the increase from the 2007 / 2008 Final Budget to the 2008 / 2009 Goal Budget was approximately $35,000. Actually, the increase from last years Final Budget is approximately $27,000, from Total Expenses of approximately $127,000 to approximately $154,000. I apologize for that inaccuracy.
The majority of our increase in expenses for our upcoming Goal Budget is directly related to our continued growth. We've seen a significant increase in the number of visitors to our services on a weekly basis. Our projections for Sunday Religious Education attendance is to grow from approximately 30 children last year to an estimated 50 children next year; thus, we need to ensure we have adequate classroom space, and we've added a new Childcare Attendant, Abby Pyle. We also plan to compensate our Church Administrator, we hope to be able to give well deserved increases to our paid staff, and we will be funding our Ministers Sabbatical. I am also optimistic that we will be able to pay for two of our members to attend the Russell Lockwood Leadership School this summer.
The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Tuesday, February 19th, at Prairie Crossing, at 7:00 p.m. As always, please let me know if you have any business that you'd like the Board to consider.
Yours in service,
Mike
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Board Members 2007-2008
Mike Spooner,
President
Mollie Cullom,
Vice President
Linda Eller,
Secretary
Mike Rodman,
Treasurer
Brendan Egan
Peter Faris
Maria Galloway
Cory Leddy
Eric Jorgensen
Trustees-at-Large
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Prairie's Covenant
We covenant to be a welcoming and loving community,
Offering each other fellowship, sanctuary, and a joyful spirit.
We seek justice and peace in all our deeds and relationships,
And we respect and honor both the individual and the collective search
For sacred meaning and truth.
We revere and celebrate the diversity of our Earth
And are guided by the Spirit that connects all life
As we reach out to offer our best to ourselves,
Our community and our world.
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Our Meeting Space and Mailing Address:
Most of our meetings and classes are held at the Prairie Crossing Conference Room:
11605 S. Bradbury Ranch Dr., Parker.
Please contact Diane Long to reserve it. Please also contact Pam Olmstead 2 weeks prior to a meeting if childcare is needed.
Our mailing address is: 17011 Lincoln Ave., #205, Parker, CO, 80134
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Sunday Services
All services are at 10:30 a.m.
February 3
"Echoes from the Earth:
Stories of the Hopi and Navajo People"
Fred Cole, member of the UU Church of Boulder, will use his knowledge of Hopi and Navajo culture and lore, personal artifacts, and experiences of the Ninth Grade Trip to tell stories honoring our presence and our ancestors.
February 10
"Themes on Friendship"
At this special service, our children will perform a play on prejudice and friendship; Brad Wood, from Hunger for Justice, will talk about children's issues and needs before the Colorado Legislature, and the Rev. Jann Halloran will speak on what our principles tell us about true friendship. There also will be a New Member Recognition Ceremony and the Prairie Band will provide special music.
February 17
"Thank God for Evolution"
The Rev. Jann Halloran will explore how religion and science need not be incompatible. "Thank God for Evolution" is the latest book written by Michael Dowd, an ordained United Church of Christ minister and liberal religious "evangelist" for evolution and the story of the universe through science and religion. The Prairie Choir will provide special music.
February 24
"Knowledge and Synchronicity"
The Rev. Jann Halloran has been challenged by Prairie member Mitch Albert, who won "name a sermon" at last fall's auction, to talk on the nature and quality of synchronicity in our lives. Jann will look at the phenomenon of interesting coincidences from a practical and spiritual perspective. The Prairie Band will provide special music.
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Religious Education - Youth
Each week we will be profiling one of our wonderful teachers so you can get to know them!
TEACHER PROFILE: Meet Melissa Bishop
Teaches Prairie's Kindergarten-2nd grade class
Hobbies: Cooking, gardening, and spending time with the family
I'm from upstate New York and have lived in Colorado for the past 10 years. I taught Special Education for 14 years in New Mexico and Colorado. Now, I have my dream job; I teach elementary general music at Mammoth Heights Elementary in Parker.
Why teach Religious Education? It's really important to me to give my daughter, Sami, a spiritual base from which to draw and explore. I love learning about UU right along with her. It's such an inclusive approach; I really value it.
Favorite Religious Education Experience: I remember when I was 9 or 10 in Catechism class and we were discussing baptism from a Catholic perspective. I'll never forget standing up in class outraged saying, "You mean to tell me that if there's a man in some place that has never even heard of religion and he's a good man and does good things to help his people, he can't go to heaven because he hasn't been baptized?" Fortunately, I had a priest who allowed me to develop on my own terms. . He was sympathetic and talked about how some things were hard to understand. It would have been easy for him to respond forcefully as was the practice at the time. But, in that moment, I felt his love and respect for me. I'm extremely grateful and understand now how he's helped shape who I am today!
WHY FROGS AND SNAKES NEVER PLAY TOGETHER
During our Martin Luther King Jr. Fun Shop, our Prairie youth learned about prejudice and how to promote tolerance and acceptance, using a play called, "Why Frogs and Snakes Never Play Together". This Sunday, February 10, we will perform the play for the congregation, complete with a possible alternate ending!
WISH LIST
We are up to 50 children and youth in our Religious Education program. As we continue to grow, we develop new needs to ensure that our program is safe, fun, and educational!
Here is our wish list:
- RE Council members (meet once a month to help shape the RE program
- Fun Shop leaders (plan just ONE Sunday activity for our youth
- Field trip chaperones
- Healthy snacks
- RE moderators (help set up our RE program one Sunday per month
HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER TRIP
YRUU SUMMER CAMP
(Open to all youth who will be in 9th-12th grade by August 2008)
What: YRUU SUMMER CAMP
When: June 6th-June 12th*
Where: Winter Park, Colorado
Why: High school youth group bonding, social justice, spirituality, UUism and FUN!
*final details will be determined as we get closer
to the date.
Please let Kristin Famula know if you are interested in driving, providing food, being a chaperone, helping organize, being a chaperone, etc!
YOUTH ADVISORS WANTED
We hope to raise enough money to pay 1-2 advisors for our youth group starting in September. Please let Kristin Famula know if you are interested in leading our high school group next year. We need your energy and enthusiasm for our terrific group of youth!
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Caring Circle
Happy Birthday to these members who celebrated in January:
Connie Berrett, Taylor Cullom, Linda Eller, Jann Halloran, Skye Konrad, Mac Konrad, Emery Kozar, Aisling Kyne, Erik Peterson, Kerry Romano
Happy Anniversary to:
Melissa Bishop
Congratulations to Spenser Lee who started college, and to Angie and Brendan Egan who have learned their new baby is a boy.
Our thoughts are with Jenny Rodman, still recovering from infections, and with all those who have friends or loved ones who are ill or in the hospital.
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In this space every month, we want to remember and think about Prairie members and their families who are going through some particular difficulty. Please contact Diane Long, head of the Caring Circle, or Jann Halloran.
Needs and concerns of the Prairie community are coordinated through Prairie's Caring Circle, chaired by Diane Long. If you would like to write cards, visit people in the hospital, make telephone calls or bring dinner to families and persons as they go through life changes, please contact Diane to join the Circle. Also, if you know anyone with an illness, a death in the family or other loss, or if there is a significant anniversary or celebration, please contact Diane.
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Upcoming Meetings
All of Prairie's committees are open to members and friends and new members are always welcome!
Most of Prairie's committee meetings and classes will be canceled if there is inclement weather conditions, especially icy roads that often develop in the evenings or visibility problems. Please double check with the committee chair, the minister or your facilitator when in doubt. When possible, cancellations also will be noted on our church phone and by email.
Board Meeting: Tuesday, February 19, 7:00 p.m., at Prairie Crossing
Book Group: Thursday, February 7, 7:00 p.m. (Second Thursdays) NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR THIS MONTH ONLY. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Host - Diane Wachter. Contact Chris Zanoni or Carole Furnish.
Boulder/Denver UU Church Cluster: Tuesday, February 12, 7:00 p.m., Columbine Church
Buddhist Group: Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. at the home of Sue Goodhard. (First Wednesdays) Contact Chris Zanoni.
Caring Circle: Thursday, February 7, 6:30 p.m., at Prairie Crossing (First Thursdays) NOTE TIME CHANGE.
Circle Suppers: Second Saturdays. Contact Jenny Rodman for details.
Committee on Ministry: Thursday, February 21, 6:00 p.m., Gail Barr's home
Lay Ministry: Thursday, February 7, 7:30 p.m. at Prairie Crossing (First Thursdays)
Parent's Group: Tuesday, February 19, 6:30 p.m. Meet at Susan Ermisch's home
Religious Education Council: Sunday, March 2, 8:30 a.m., at Panera Bread
Social Justice Committee: Sunday, February 10, 12:45 at Tea Leaves
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Lay Ministry Program
The Caring Circle is sponsoring a new Lay Ministry Program for Prairie. Our first meeting is Thursday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Prairie Crossing. We are looking for people who want to view their service to the church as a form of ministry. Our Lay Ministry Team will meet monthly and develop together a plan of further education which will include active listening, grief and dying counseling, the worship arts, spiritual development, non-violent communication and social justice outreach. Please join us, or to learn more, please contact Jann Halloran.
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Prairie Sangha
Prairie's Sangha group recently had a meeting to determine how we want to proceed as a group. We agreed that we were interested in, and committed to, continuing to learn more about Buddhism and how to integrate its philosophy into our lives as well as to cultivating/strengthening our meditation practice. We also wanted to continue to meet as a group for discussion and shared learning.
We thought the most effective way to learn more about Buddhism was to take advantage of a local resource that Cindy Hanna has found in her neighborhood, the Avalokiteshvara Buddhist Center at 1081 Marion St. Denver, Colorado USA 80218, Tel: (303) 813-9551. Here's the link to their website: www.meditationincolorado.org/index.htm
(Check it out.)
Among the classes they offer is a series on a wide range of Buddhist topics on Wednesday nights through June. They also have a Sunday morning service. We plan to attend sessions based on our own schedules and interest areas for the next few months.
We also felt it was important to stay connected in our own Sangha and agreed to meet once a month. To keep some consistency with the available Wednesday night sessions, we agreed to switch our "Sangha night" to Wednesday instead of Monday. For now we will meet the first Wednesday of the month from 7-9 p.m. at Sue Goodhard's home. We plan to use that time for more meditation and to discuss what we've learned in our classes and through other resources.
I will be glad to be the contact person for any questions.
Thanks,
Chris Zanoni
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Parent's Group
The next meeting of the Parent's Group will be held on Tuesday, February 19. We will meet at Susan Ermisch's house in Stonegate at 6:30. We choose a restaurant and go while the kids are with a babysitter at Susan's house.
Let us know if you are planning to come, so we will look for you - also we need to know how many children and ages, so we can plan for babysitting.
Contact Patti Kyne or Susan Ermisch.
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Game Night Group
How about a quick game of Gin Rummy? Or Balderdash? Or Mexican Train? Do you love playing games? We sure do.
We are forming a new group that plans to meet monthly and have a little fun. Please contact Laura Simpkiss for more details.
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| Parker Task Force Needs
As we learned at a service in December, the Parker Task Force is always in need of donations. The things they currently have most need for are:
Bakes with Meat
Cooking Oil
Juice
Coffee/Tea
Salad Dressing
Crackers
Canned Fruit
Mayo/Miracle Whip
Hot and Cold Cereal
But of course they will take any food, cleaning products, or personal products that people would like to donate. www.parkertaskforce.org.
A bin is available on Sunday mornings to collect items. Thanks to Jeannene Bragg for taking these items to the Task Force.
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Conversation/Study Group on Anti-Racism and Multiculturalism
Our Social Justice Council is sponsoring a conversation/study group on Wednesdays in March, beginning March 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Prairie Crossing. This new group will read and discuss together the issues of racism and classism in our society and how we can, as a religious people, effect change. Prairie also will begin preparing to join with a district-wide Unitarian Universalist effort to address these issues in the larger community. Everyone is invited to be part of this conversation. Contact Jann or sign up during Fellowship Hour.
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World Religions Class
Mark Your Calendars -- the Rev. Jann Halloran will offer a six-part World Religions class on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. beginning April 9 at Prairie Crossing. This is a fun and informative class which covers Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism and Confucianism as well as a look at the development of religions and indigenous religions. Child care will be available. Please contact Jann or look for the sign up sheet during Fellowship Hour. |
Columbine UU Anniversary
Columbine UU Church in Littleton, CO will be celebrating its 15th Anniversary on Sunday, February 10, 2008. Our celebration Service begins at 10:30 a.m. with a special service featuring our Minister Rev. Bloom, a special visit by Rev. Stephan Papa (formerly at 1st Universalist now at the UUA) who presided on our Charter Sunday 15 years ago, and other special guests. After the Service, besides our normal coffee & donuts, we will have a PARTY with refreshments, a walk down memory lane, and music. We cordially invite EVERYONE who has had connections to Columbine over the years -- as alumni, counselor, friends, colleagues, local UUers from all churches, fellow seekers -- to join us on 2/10/08. For directions, go to
www.columbineuuchurch.org/directions.html
For more information or to RSVP YOUR SEAT, contact the church at 303- 972-1716). Come join our celebration.
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| Women Gathering Spirit
Women Gathering Spirit: Empowering Women to Heal Ourselves and The Earth is a women's spirituality
conference co-sponsored by the Mountain Desert District-Justice Ministries, the Denver-Boulder Cluster, the First Unitarian Society of Denver and the Jefferson Unitarian Church of Golden. This conference will be held on Saturday, March 8th at Jefferson Unitarian Church from 9:00 a.m .to 5:00 p.m.
First is a panel discussion about the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of being a total woman. Twelve dynamic spirit-centered women present eleven afternoon workshops. Topics include Spirit Weaving, Womanyst Spirituality (for women of color), a Medicine Walk, Handless Maiden: From Helplessness to Creative Empowerment, Laughter Yoga, among others. Refresh yourself in the Red Tent, a round, pillowed room with an altar for quiet reflection beneath stained glass windows.
The conference offers a talented henna artist. Use her intricate designs or your imagination! Want more? Don't miss our musical and dance presentations.
If you register before February 23, you will pay $45. After that date, the cost will go up to $50. Registration includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Childcare will be provided. Please call to let us know how many children will need care. Some scholarships are available. Home hospitality may also be available.
The conference was planned by Unitarian Universalist women of Front Range area churches in the Mountain Desert District. Jefferson Unitarian Church is located at 14350 W. 32nd Ave., Golden, just one mile west of I-70 at the Youngfield exit. Explore, learn, relax and heal your spirit with us!
For information call Virginia Savage in Greeley on 970-978-1728, or e-mail her at
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