Title: Sunday Service: Befriend Thyself
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: Sunday, October 18, 10:30 a.m. \”Befriend Thyself\” Erik Resly
Ever since the infamous exhortation Know Thyself was inscribed on the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Western subject has wrestled with the quest
for self-understanding. \”The soul of things is in thee,\” Emerson writes -
uncover it! But is introspection sufficient? Harvard Divinity School
seminarian Erik Resly explores the implications of a new mantra: Befriend
Thyself.
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2009-10-18
End Time: 11:30

Title: UUCiA Pasta Pot Luck
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: Friday, October 2, 6:30 pm at 6 Locke St. join us for a wonderful evening
with friends and great food. Lorraine and Vinny Luisi will provide one of their
famous pasta dishes please bring salad, bread, beverages or dessert to
share. It is a great way to start the weekend.
Start Time: 18:30
Date: 2009-10-02
End Time: 20:00

Title: UU Stitchers
Location: Home
Description: The UU Stitchers will meet at the home of Elinor Mondale on Tuesday, October 13
from 7-9 p.m. Join us for stitching and conversation.
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-10-13
End Time: 21:00

This Sunday, September 27th, we will be holding our religious education kick-off. Come to the service at 10:30 am. Bring your children and their friends, and while you attend the service, the children and youth will be having fun tie dying, and getting to know each other. This is an opportunity for parents and other guardians to come and meet Reverend Lara Hoke and me.
We will both be around after the service during coffee hour to answer any questions you may have about religious education. Please join us and bring your friends!

Peace, Thea Shapiro
Director of Religious Education
Reply

The Rev. Dr. William Ellery Channing, the nationally-renown Unitarian minister of the early 19th century, wrote: “The great end in religious instruction, is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own; not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own; not to give them a definite amount of knowledge, but to inspire a fervent love of truth…”

I grew up a Unitarian Universalist, and so I have experienced Unitarian Universalist religious education (UURE) all my life. One of the most distinctive elements of UURE is how nurturing it can be, gently guiding people of all ages to examine our own beliefs, our own values and ethics – never forcing creeds or mandatory beliefs upon us, but encouraging us in the task of undertaking “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning” (our 4th UU principle).

We are very lucky at the UUCiA when it comes to religious education. First of all, Thea Shapiro is a gifted Director of Religious Education, and we are blessed to have her. But Thea is just the start. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child” (often attributed as an African proverb from the Nigerian Igbo people). You, the members and friends of the UUCiA, are a wonderful village for all of the children and youth who cross our threshold. This is a congregation that clearly loves children and youth – a congregation that takes great joy in its role in helping to raise wonderful, thoughtful children into wonderful, thoughtful adults.

This coming Sunday, September 27, we will have a “RE kick-off”. After the service, Thea and I will talk to those interested in learning more about Religious Education at the UUCiA. I hope to see you then… I’m plumb excited to be a part of it.

In faith and hope,
Lara

We have begun a new year with much hope and anticipation. Rev. Lara Hoke led a fine Water Ceremony to begin her time here and handled our recalcitrant microphone with grace and humor. Some old friends spent some time with us and we hope to see them again. Our second service was led by Lynn Batcheler and David Wilbur. It was a fascinating, spiritual tour of central China during a solar eclipse.It was a great service!

We have much to look forward to this year. Our association with Lara promises to be everything we had hoped for and more. Our Worship Committee is doing their magic behind the scenes. CUPS has already sponsered a wonderful evening of wine tasting combined with a pot luck that was a joy to attend. We have a Habitat Build Day coming in early October. Circle dinners are starting to form. So, I encourage you to join in and particpate at whatever level you can. This is your community and it is here for all of us but only works if all of us do our part. Thank you!

Bob Rougvie

Title: Sunday Service: Andover Community Trust
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: October 4, 2009 at 10:30am. Why ACT (Andover Community Trust) Matters: Why permanently affordable homes and the families who own them are important to Andover.

Susan Stott, a long-time member of UUCiA, was the spearhead for the creation of the non-profit Andover Community Trust in 1992. She was president until 2005, and has served as part-time executive director on a volunteer basis since then. Her talk will focus on what ACT is all about and its connections to UUCiA, Lawrence and Chapter 40B.
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2009-10-04
End Time: 11:30

Title: Sunday Service: Yom Yippur
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: Sunday, September 27, 10:30 a.m. Yom Kippur, with Rev. Lara Hoke. Come and experience the Day of Atonement from a UU perspective, and hear the shofar blow! This Sunday will also include a special Religious Education “Kick Off”, led by Thea Shapiro. After the service, Thea and Lara will talk to those interested in learning more about Religious Education at the UUCiA.
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2009-09-27
End Time: 11:30

Title: Sunday Service: The Sun-Eating Dragon: A Celebration of the Spirituality of Solar Eclipse Viewing
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: Sunday, September 20, 10:30 a.m. Lynne Batchelder and David Wilbur will describe their trip to China In July to view the total solar eclipse with other members of Dave’s astronomy club. The worship service will connect this natural phenomenon with the thoughts, spiritual musings and universal connections that such an event may engender.
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2009-09-20
End Time: 11:30

Title: Yoga and Play
Location: 6 Locke Street
Description: Weekly yoga sessions for children ages 3 to 6 years with an adult will be led by Thea Shapiro, an instructor certified in Radiant Child Yoga.

We will breathe, move, stretch, make some noise and have fun!

Yoga sessions will be held every Wednesday morning 10-10:45am for six weeks, September 23 through October 28.
The cost is $20 for six weeks. Drop-ins ($5 per session) are welcome.

If you have questions or would like to sign up, contact the UUCiA office at 978-475-4454 or email Thea at dre@uuandover.org
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-09-23
End Time: 10:45