Minister's Message
It's not easy to get Unitarian Universalists to agree on anything. But our congregation overwhelming adopted our new covenant statement in April (you can see it elsewhere in this newsletter).
Our covenant calls us to a high level of community -- we are to be welcoming and loving and offer fellowship, sanctuary and a joyful spirit to one another. What better ideal of community could there be? Friendship, sanctuary, inclusion, safety, happiness and love.
The little word "all" in the third line, is deceptively large. All means all: We seek justice and peace in all our deeds and relationships, this means with children, the elderly, the middle aged, the young and the young at heart, those with special needs, those with whom we disagree and with people of different religions, cultures, sexual affections, politics -- any of the ways we use to label and define someone else as different from ourselves. We will offer them our best attempts at justice and peace as we work to be in relationship. This is the part of our covenant at which we humbly acknowledge, I believe, that we are not always right. This is where we seek, instead, to be our kindest selves, especially when faced with controversy, adversity or difference.
We respect and honor the individual and the collective search for sacred meaning and truth. Here, we acknowledge our individualism as separate people on our own spiritual journeys and the individualism of our particular liberal religious community. But, as we know, to keep all that individualism going requires a great deal of mutual respect and honoring. As we remember to honor and respect someone else (or some other group), we, counter-intuitively, keep our own individualism intact. True relationship doesn't mean that someone necessarily wins in the war of ideas; it means that each grows stronger through mutual respect. In other words, the way we behave is often more important than even our highest ideals. At least, that's what the big meaning of the second sentence is to me -- justice, peace, respect and honor define who we are more than any of our particular differences.
Finally, a comment on the two capitalized words: Earth and Spirit. These may be difficult for some of you. To think of our earth as something to be capitalized is to name it, make it a pronoun, and to address it as something independent. There was a large number of you who made it clear in our focus groups that we need to stand up for our planet and our home. So strong was this sentiment, in fact, that the covenant writers decided to capitalize Earth. I am proud of that decision and grateful that it was accepted by our church.
Spirit. Many of you are comfortable with the word spirit, while, I know, some of you are less comfortable. This word acknowledges that something larger than simply our individual selves binds us together. It can be the spirit of humanity, the spirit of life or love, the spirit of the earth or nature, the spirit of any religion -- Holy Spirit, Buddhist Spirit, Brahman Spirit. This simple capitalization is an agreement that we are bound together by something that connects all of us to life; that we are part of something larger; that we are guided by something more.
Our covenant process convinces me that we will all strive to continue to offer our best to ourselves, our community and our world.
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
As I've discussed in previous editions of this newsletter, we set some pretty aggressive goals for this years Canvass and our goal budget for 2007 / 2008. Our primary goals were 1) to move our annual auction and other fund-raisers out of the operating budget, and to dedicate these events entirely to increasing our building fund, 2) to fully fund the first portion (3 of 6 months) of our ministers' sabbatical, and 3) to increase our Religious Education Coordinator to 20 hours per week.
To accomplish these goals, we set a target for the Canvass of approximately $123,000. We arrived at this number by estimating a base amount for the Canvass, considering our increase in membership, of $100,000. Next, we factored in the amount we had previously allocated from the auction and fund-raisers. And finally, we included what we felt was a relatively small cost of living increase.
Based on the results of the Canvass so far, it is evident that we were too aggressive in our projections. At this point, the projection for the final results of the Canvass will be in the neighborhood of $85,000, an increase of 5% over our previous amount. We should all feel good about our continued growth, both in number of members and in our total financial support.
Based on these results, we have begun the process of finalizing the 2007 / 2008 Budget. Of our three primary goals, we believe that we will still be able to increase our RE Coordinator's hours to 20 per week. However, we will have to keep both the auction and other fund-raisers as part of our operating income. In addition, we are unable to fund the first three months of our minister's sabbatical, which we had projected for January - March of 2008. As a congregation, we are still bound by our written agreement regarding this sabbatical, and I will continue to make this a priority item in future budget discussions.
The next full meeting of the Board is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15. This meeting will be held in the Conference Room at Prairie Crossing. Among the topics we will be discussing will be any final changes to our 2007 / 2008 Budget before our annual Spring Congregational Meeting. The board meeting will begin at 7:00 pm.
Speaking of the annual Spring Congregational Meeting, we have set that for Sunday, May 20, 2007. We will present the final budget for 2007 / 2008, as well as elect the Board, Committee on Ministry, and Nominations Committee for the coming year. The meeting will be held at Prairie Crossing Elementary School, and will begin immediately after our regular Sunday Services.
The Boulder Denver Cluster last met in March, and plans are moving forward for metro-wide UU participation in this years Pridefest celebration. This year, Pridefest will be held on June 23rd and 24th. The Cluster, along with our Mountain Desert District, will be sponsoring a booth on both days, and participating in the parade on the 24th. Last year, Prairie had some 20 plus participants in the parade, and we hope to top that number this year. Please let me know if you are interested in helping to coordinate Prairie's participation in this year's event.
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Prairie's Covenant
(adopted Sunday, April 15, 2007):
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 Jann 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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| Dear Eric,
Please join us for an important Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 20 after the service. We will vote on next year's budget as well as new officers for the church.
Our snack schedule for Fellowship Hour:
May 6: A-D
May 13: E-H
May 20: I-M
May 27: N-Z
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Sunday Services
All services are at 10:30 a.m.
May 6
"Confessions of a Mystic Thinker "
The Rev. Jann Halloran will deliver her annual update on her theology and how it pertains to Unitarian Universalism. A self-confessed mystic, she will talk about how it is to walk the road between atheism, humanism, agnosticism -- and all the various isms of our community.
May 13
"Flower Communion"
Join us for this beautiful, historical Unitarian Universalist tradition this Mother's Day. Everyone is invited to bring a flower to church to give as an offering, and we each will receive these flower blessings during the service. We also will have a bridging service for graduating senior, Rebecca Schwab.
May 20
"Work as a Spiritual Practice"
In the old Christian debate, Unitarian Universalists fall squarely on the side of works vs. faith as our spiritual path -- we believe it is our works that count upon this earth, not how we believe. Come let us think together of all the ways we can live out a faith of works. We also will say a fond farewell to Catherine Wang, who has been our pianist for the past five years.
This service will be followed by our spring congregational meeting at which we will approve next year's budget and elect our church officers.
May 27
"An Agnostic Takes on the Unholy Trinity of Atheism"
Member Amy Phillips speaks. In the past year, atheism has been declared a vogue item. Featured as the cover story in Wired Magazine and the topic of several best sellers, atheism is a word that is often on the lips of people. Writers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett have created a new debate over this subject. What are these writers' message to the public? Are they truly an unholy trinity as some claim and are there other voices that may be drowned out by these three? Find out what is making atheism the vogue topic.
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Religious Education - Youth
On Sunday, May 6, our Middle and High School youth groups will be taking a field trip to the Highline Rehabilitation and Care Community in Denver. After volunteering with the seniors, we will have lunch together. We will leave from Prairie at 10 a.m. (please be at church by 9:45 a.m.) and will return by 1:30 p.m. A permission slip is required. Contact Janita Mann or Kristin Famula.
There are still a few open dates for Funshops this summer. Share a hobby or activity with our youth. Topics so far include paper recycling, drumming, circle dancing, karate, and card making. Contact Kristin Famula to sign up!
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Caring Circle
Our thoughts are with Linda Eller as she grieves the loss of her former husband, Guy E. Eller, the father of her two sons.
And our thoughts are also with Jerri Hill and Charles Bucknam, who lost their home to fire on April 20.
Happy Birthday to Lew Dunlap and Bridgit Ross!
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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 they always welcome new members or those who are simply interested in attending their meetings. (Members of the board, the Committee on Ministry and the Nominations Committee are elected, but you are also welcome to attend these meetings by contacting their chairs.)
Welcoming Congregation: Wednesday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. at Gail Barr's home
Committee on Ministry: Thursday, May 17, 1:30 p.m., at Cindy Hanna's office conference room
Book Group: Thursday, May 10, 7:00 p.m. (Second Thursdays) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Contact Chris Zanoni or Carole Furnish.
Circle Suppers: Saturday, May 12 (Second Saturdays)
Buddhist Group: Monday, May 14 and May 21 (2nd and 4th Mondays) at the home of Sue Goodhard. Contact Cindy Hanna.
Board Meeting: Tuesday, May 15, 7:00 p.m. at Prairie Crossing
Caring Circle: Thursday, May 24, 7:00 p.m., at Prairie Crossing (Fourth Thursdays)
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New Pianist & Choir Conductor
From Jann Halloran:
The Board and I have asked Prairie member Sheldon Berrett to become our pianist and choir conductor. I hope everyone will welcome and congratulate him!
Catherine Wang, who has been with us for five years, will be deeply missed. She is pursuing her career path to become a pharmacist, and we wish her the very best. She will occasionally be back as a guest pianist.
Sheldon has been helping to lead our choir since October and he has demonstrated what a gifted musician he is. Paul Ermisch will remain our volunteer music director as we continue to build our wonderful choir and music program.
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Covenant Statement
On Sunday, April 15th, members overwhelming voted to approve a covenant statement. Thanks to the many church members who participated in one of our facilitated sessions (including our middle and high school youth), and the work of the Committee on Ministry - Jennifer Drybread (chair), Karen Bacon, Bill Hanna, Joe Francis and Susan Roberts.
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 respect and honor the individual and 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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Memorial Weekend BBQ
There is still room at the Simpkiss' home for the All-American BBQ and Golf Tournament. Test your skills on the Rolling Spurge "golf" course with croquet mallets, balls, and lots of rough.
This was an auction item last fall. Adults $15, kids free.
Sunday, May 27 from 3:00 until ???
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Cloth Grocery Bags Ordered
We have had an increased demand for more cloth grocery bags! My hope is that this is due to our congregation increasing their awareness about the horrible environmental impact paper and plastic bags cause the environment. More than 380 million plastic bags are thrown away in the United States every year, and those plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills. And while paper bags do eventually biodegrade, an estimated 14 million trees a year have to be cut down to make 10 billion paper bags. The solution? Bring your own bag where 100% of it is made of 100% recycled soda, water and food containers. These bags will also have the longer handle to go over your shoulder as you've requested! Get your order in ASAP so you are sure to have them when they arrive. Call or email Lisa Stull (check directory for contact info).
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Habitat for Humanity Golf Classic
Join us for our 3rd Annual Golf Classic at:
Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
4900 Himalaya Road
Denver, CO
Friday, June 22, 2007
7:30 AM Shotgun
Four Person Scramble 100 Players Maximum
All money raised through our 3rd Annual Golf Classic will go directly to the cost of building a home for the Luna family in Denver at 3511 Williams Street.
Ways to participate:
Be a tournament sponsor
Play in the tournament
Donate an auction item
Make a tax-deductible cash donation
Sponsor a corporate "Build Day" -- a terrific team building event!
Prizes and Gifts:
Complimentary items for all players
Team prizes for top 5 teams
Longest drive contest for men and women
Closest to the pin contest for men and women
New car giveaway or $25,000 cash for a hole-in-one!
Random drawings during lunch for awesome prizes!
Silent Auction Items:
Foursomes at some of Denver's finest private golf courses
Sports memorabilia and collectibles
Restaurant gift certificates
Much, much more!
For more information, or to register, visit Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Alliance
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Welcoming Congregation
Upcoming Events:
May 19, CAFE Social Justice gathering, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, United Methodist Church, Highlands Ranch.
CAFE, Colorado Alliance for Family Equality, is committed to full social and legal equality for the Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) community and their families.
Keynote Speaker: Benjamin Reynolds, former pastor of an African-American Baptist church in Colorado Springs who resigned when he came out as a gay man. Benjamin is a student at Iliff Theological School. For more information, contact Gail Barr or Chris Zanoni.
June 24, Denver PrideFest parade. Prairie UU is proud to have a large number of our members march in this event each year. You won't want to miss this unforgettable and uplifting experience!
The parade begins at 9.30am and proceeds down Colfax Avenue. Recognized as one of the top ten pride events in the country, Denver's PrideFest is a celebration of community and culture. More than 200,000 people from Colorado and surrounding areas come out to enjoy the parade, rally, music, entertainment, food and much more.
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Small Group Ministry
An important part of Prairie's community is the offering of small groups to our members and guests. Anyone is welcome to contact facilitators at any time if you want to join or learn more about a group. Everyone is encouraged to find a group that meets their needs. In September, the congregation will have the opportunity to start new small groups. Please contact Jann for more information.
Our groups include:
* A Day-time small group, Phoebe Stayton
* A New Men's Group, Neal Simpkiss
* Spirituality for Busy Lives, Kristen Gentala
* A Buddhist Meditation Group, contact Cindy Hanna or Chris Zanoni.
* A Small Group for Parents, contact Patti Kyne, (with child care)
* A Book Club, contact Carole Furnish, Chris Zanoni or Amy Phillips-Haskett
* A Woman's Group, contact Elizabeth Hancock
* A Musical Group, contact Paul Ermisch
We also have Circle Suppers on the second Saturdays of the month which are open to everyone. Contact Jenny Rodman.
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Secular America Under Siege
Dear Fellow UU,
As you may know, our UU heritage shares much in common with humanism,
as the humanism movement was founded by UU ministers. Our local organization invites you to the following event:
Journalists and Best-selling Authors Michelle Goldberg and Damon Linker discuss "Secular America under Siege - The Rise of Christian
Nationalism" on May 22nd. If you value preserving the separation between Church and State, you won't want to miss this!
WHAT -
Boulder International Humanist Institute (BIHI) and the American Humanist Association (AHA) present an evening with Michelle Goldberg and Damon Linker. This includes a Discussion and Book-signing. Goldberg will discuss her best selling book, Kingdom Coming - The Rise of Christian
Nationalism, and Linker will discuss his book, The Theocons - Secular America under Siege. Goldberg will be receiving a Humanist Pioneer Award from the AHA at the event.
WHEN -
Tuesday evening, May 22nd, Registration at 6:00 pm, Discussion and Book-signing 7:00-9:00 pm.
WHERE -
The Glenn Miller Ballroom at the University Memorial Center (UMC). Located on the corner of Broadway and Euclid in Boulder on the CU campus. Parking next door in the Euclid lot.
COST/ CONTACT -
$7.00 in advance online, $10 at door with cash/check only. Visit www.bihi.infoto buy online and for more information.
Warm regards,
Jan Cheney
Member UU Fellowship in Lafayette
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Bulletin Board
For Sale:
2001 Toyota Sienna
58,000 miles
Lift included, or may have seats if desired.
Contact Cory Leddy.
Wanted:
Experienced accountant/financial analyst. Accenture is currently recruiting for an experienced accountant. This role is primarily a hands on accounting and financial work but includes some supervisory duties. A CPA is not required but several years of experience is. Join this dynamic team working in downtown Denver supporting project-level financials for our client-service teams. Contact Kevin Singel (see directory for contact details) for more information or to apply. Please note this text is not the formal job posting, you can see that at www.accenture.com if you like.
The UU Church of Boulder is looking for a half-time Director of Religious Education. They are accepting resumes from April 15th to May 7th. More info available at http://uucboulder.org
Wanted: Office Administrator
First Unitarian Society of Denver has an opening for a self-motivated Office Administrator beginning May 21st, 2007. Call or email the church office for a thorough job description. Applicants encouraged to respond by May 9th, 2007. http://www.firstunitariandenver.org
This feature is open to MEMBERS ONLY and/or UU related positions. Post skills or talents you have to share, help with a job search, etc. Items will be posted for a maximum of three months. Items WILL be edited for space. Send postings to
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