We will be making holiday cards for veterans in hospitals.

We hope you can join us.

Last year, one of the items in the auction fundraiser for the UUCiA was a tour of the State House and lunch with (longtime UUCiA member) Senator Susan Tucker.  I made sure that I won this particular auction item!  I invited the other staff members to come along.  And so, on November 3, Sara Hidalgo, Thea Shapiro and I went to the State House (Brett Hinkel was unable to come, unfortunately).  What a treat!  We had a wonderful tour of the State House – with Sue herself leading the tour of the Senate Chamber (to the delight of the tourists who were taking the tour that day).  And our delicious lunch was right across the street at The 21^st Amendment, a favorite haunt of legislators and their staffs.

Senator Susan Tucker gives the tour of the Senate Chamber on November 3, 2010

It was an interesting day to tour the State House, being the day after the elections.  The place was the quietest I have ever seen it.  One person who didn’t have to worry about re-election this year was Sue, who will be retiring in 2011 after serving the people of Andover, Dracut, Lawrence, and Tewksbury as their state senator since 1999.  (Prior to her time in the Senate, Sue was also a state representative from 1982-1992.)

And so, it is the end of one era, and the start of a new one.  Thank you, Sue, for your tireless work in public service.  Oh… and thank you for the tour and lunch, too!  It was a lot of fun, and a wonderful gift to the congregation’s fundraiser.

A bit of happy news is that Sue will lead our service on December 5.    The sermon title is “Keeping the Faith During Political Wars”.  Get ready with your best questions for the Q&A part of the service!

With gratitude,

Lara

If you happened to watch the National Prayer Service on January 21, 2009 (as part of the inaugural ceremonies), perhaps you caught the sermon of the Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins.  Dr. Watkins’ sermon had many excellent moments, but one moment that stood out for me was her telling of “a story attributed to Cherokee wisdom:

One evening a grandfather was teaching his young grandson about the internal battle that each person faces.

‘There are two wolves struggling inside each of us,’ the old man said.  ‘One wolf is vengefulness, anger, resentment, self-pity, fear… The other wolf is compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, love…’

The grandson sat, thinking, then asked: ‘Which wolf wins, Grandfather?’

His grandfather replied, ‘The one you feed.’”

So much rhetoric in the political realm is designed to make us feel fear; I’m sure you got an earful of fear during this election season just past.  But one of our most important roles as a community of faith is to stand on the side of love, rather than fear.  Or, in terms of the Cherokee wisdom that Rev. Dr. Watkins shared, an important part of our role is to feed the right wolf.

We have many opportunities to feed the right wolf together in the next couple of weeks.  If you like to feed the wolf, literally, join us at our potluck on Friday, November 5, which is always a wonderful opportunity for fellowship.  On November 7, the service will be “Gifts that Keep on Giving”, and you’ll have the opportunity to hear fellow congregants talk about some of their volunteer work in the community.  On November 9, I will be part of a panel for a newly forming Merrimack Valley PFLAG chapter – all are welcome to come and support this important BGLT organization’s start-up event.  On November 13, Day for Night will give a jazz concert/party in our 6 Locke Street home – music being one of the most enjoyable ways to feed the right wolf (at least for me).  And on November 14, I will preach on the positive peace movement in the personal sphere.  After the service on the 14th, the Congregational Family Committee will host a “New to UU” conversation (with a light lunch) for anyone interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism or the UUCiA.  (Details on each of these events – and more! – can be found inside this Plumb Line.)

Thank you for all you do to work for “compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, love…”

With hope, Lara