Volume 15, Number 8 –February 2014
We Are a Welcoming Congregation
Upcoming Services
Services are on alternate Sundays at 10 AM
February 9: Richard Olson Grace Happens. As difficult as it may be to define, bestow or receive, human inspired grace is more common than we realize.
February 23: Shish Sheth, ENT Doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital, Rhinelander Tales from the Mahabharata: Lessons for Modern Times from Ancinet Myths
Events:
Adult R.E.: Adult RE is on alternate Sundays at 10 AM. We are studying “Conquest of the Americas” taught by Professor Marshall C. Eakin, Vanderbilt University
02-02 Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas Europeans and Africans
02-16 European Overseas Expansion Christopher Columbus—Path to Conquest
Chew On This: Food For Thought: The Campanile Center has just begun Chew On This: Food For Thought, a lunch-and-learn series. On February 12th from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., we have been invited to participate as a panelist in their program "Northwoods Social Justice." This program will explore area religious and spiritual institutions, what social justice means to them, and how they are practicing social justice in our community. They have invited leaders from area churches, organizations and fellowships to join in the discussion. Each panelist will have an opportunity for 5 to 10 minutes of dialogue. The program will then be opened up to questions and comments from the attendees. It is an honor for us to be asked and the social justice committee will have a representative there.
Frederick Place 3rd Anniversary Benefit: Saturday February 1, beginning at 5:30 pm at the Quality Inn in Rhinelander. Tickets begin at $40. Call 715-369-9777 for more information.
Home Concert at the Woolpy's: Mark Dvorak is back for another home concert at Tara and Jerry’s
Saturday, Feb 15 at 7 PM It’s a sweet treat for Valentine’s weekend. Listen: http://www.markdvorak.com/someonetowatchoverme.mp3. WFMT calls him “Chicago’s official troubadour”. The Tribune says he’s “Masterful”. The Old Town School of Folk Music, where Mark has taught since 1986, calls him “Funny, passionate, intimate & unforgettable”. He is now their “artist in residence”. Last year’s audience at Tara and Jerry’s was delighted and wants him back! If you missed it, here’s another chance. If you were there you’ll want to reserve seats now. For reservations email jerryw@earlham.edu
$10 per person all to the performer. Directions from Paul Bunyan’s in Minocqua. Take “Old Hwy 70” West to “Dr. Pink” on the left. Take “Pink” 0.8 mile south to “Woolpy Dr.” on the right. Take “Woolpy” 0.2 mile to the end at 8395. Call 715 356 6276 if lost.
Dinners at Frederick Place
We will be fixing and serving dinners at Frederick Place on February 23, 24. Please contact Diane Reupert if you can help.
Book Group Meeting Dates:
Thursday, February 27, 2014, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, 6:45 p.m., Conference Room, N.U.U.F.
Thursday, April 24, 2014, Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman, 6:45 p.m., Conference Room, N.U.U.F.
Thursday, May 29, 2014 They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars by Ann Jones, 6:45 p.m., Conference Room, N.U.U.F.
Questions: Contact Rich Uspel
Mardi Gras North Benefit for the Lakeland Food Pantry: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 beginning at 5:30 PM at Norwood Pines Supper Club. There will be a Cajun Buffet courtesy of Norwood Pines; cash bar. Dance to the music of the New Orleans Jazz provided by the Dixie Six. Costumes encourages; donations requested.
Regional Assembly will be held the weekend of April 12-13. There will be four gatherings across the region, linked electronically for the key note address and business meeting. One of those gatherings will be in Wausau! This is a great, convenient opportunity to attend meetings about our new region. Please consider attending for a day or a weekend. More details later.
25th Anniversary NUUF Photo Directory: It's been 5 years since our last photo directory and there have been many membership changes. So, this year, as a part of our quarter century celebration, we will be creating a new one. Barb Mochan will be our photographer. She will be announcing when she will start taking pictures, probably this month. Don't worry if she misses you initially; she'll catch up with you in the coming months. We intend to have the directory ready for all the festivities in August.
We received the following letter from Sally O’Brien (and Dan Padberg) dated December 17, 2013: “Holiday Greetings to a wonderful group of friends. With deep unhappiness we’ve reached a point where we do not expect to continue our wonderful summers in the Northwoods. We cherish the memories of many very special friends we’ve enjoyed thru the UU Fellowship (16 years). Affectionately, Sally O’Brien”
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Event: Around 100 folks braved the cold on January 20 to hear Emilio De Torre from the ACLU Wisconsin speak about the history and current issues surrounding voting rights. Our event was the lead story on WJFW that night. For more information, visit www.aclu-wi.org or visit them on Facebook at ACLUofWI. Congratulations to the Social Justice Committee for another fine event.
Meet Your Board Member--Barbara Logan
My twin sister and I were quite a surprise for our parents. They were expecting a large baby boy, not twin daughters. For the first seven and half years of our life, we lived in Baltimore, Maryland. There we were baptized and attended an Episcopal Church, the Church of the Redeemer. My father got a promotion at Western Electric, which required our family to move to Winston-Salem, N.C. There my family attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where my sister and I were confirmed. It is interesting to note that the bishop who confirmed us was the minister, who baptized us in Baltimore.
My father died suddenly my senior year in high school. Fortunately my twin sister and I were able to get day student scholarships to Salem College, a Moravian college, which was located in Winston-Salem. The scholarships covered our tuition for all four years. Salem College at that time was an expensive liberal arts college for young women. It now also accepts males. In the summer, my sister and I got summer jobs on the second shift at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. We were frugal with our summer salaries and were able to buy our books, clothes, and appropriate gifts for our family members at birthdays and Christmas.
While working at my summer job, I met a young man, who was also a college student. We married after I graduated from college with a degree and a teaching certificate. His family had attended Home Moravian Church, which had very close connections to Salem College. I eventually became a Sunday School teacher there, working with the four year olds.
My first marriage eventually did not work out. I became very active in the teacher movement and eventually helped to bring the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO to my school district and to several other districts in my state. My twin sister taught in Minneapolis where teachers had collective bargaining, which we did not have in North Carolina. When I found out that she had planning time, a minimum of non-teaching duties, district sponsored workshops to keep teachers up-to-date in the latest research and teaching techniques for their field, money from her district for supplies and educational materials to enrich her classroom instruction, I wanted those benefits for myself and my students. She also received a higher salary and better benefits. My husband worked for anti-union R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and could not understand my passion to improve public education for North Carolina students and teachers.
After my nine-year marriage ended in divorce, I eventually became president of the AFT’s state federation in North Carolina, as well as the president of my local union, which was one of the two fastest growing unions in the South for the American Federation of Teachers. I was a member of the State AFL-CIO Executive Board and served as Volunteer In Politics chairperson for my Central Labor Union. I was twice offered the opportunity to become a national field representative with the AFL-CIO. I turned down both opportunities to stay in the teacher union movement, The AFT’s Florida state organization called me every month about becoming a state field representative for that organization. I eventually decided to accept the job. That is where I met my husband, Dwight, who was Executive Director of the AFT’s affiliate in Sarasota County, Florida. He was the best friend of one of the other state field representatives, who arranged our first date.
When we decided to get married, I wanted very much to be married in the Episcopal Church. Dwight and I met with the minister, who agreed to marry us but did not want us attending his church. He had had some internal problems, that he had managed to survive and felt that two people, who were trained to organize dissatisfied people, were not the people, whom he wanted to see every Sunday. After being surprised at the minister’s comment, we decided to have Dwight’s office manager, a notary, marry us. We have been happily married for 32 years.
For the first nine years of our marriage, we did not belong to any church. We eventually became Bahais. Dwight’s younger daughter was at that time a very active Bahai and introduced us to that faith in St. Pete, Florida, where we spent a winter while selling our sailboat. (We had decided to give up sailing in the Abacos [Bahamas] and the Florida Keys in the winter to enjoy winter sports in Winchester, Wisconsin, where our summer friends said that winters were as much fun as the summer.)
We were active Bahais in Winchester, where there were several other members of the faith. We also met frequently with Nick and Charlotte Hockings in Lac du Flambeau and with another couple at the Conserve School. We were fairly good Bahais, but not perfect. Bahais are not supposed to be active in politics. We just could not sit back when we felt that there was a movement beginning to weaken the state’s public education system. We had some bumper stickers on our car, which supported two candidates whom we felt wanted to keep a strong public education system in our state. Some Bahais thought we should remove the stickers. We were also volunteering once or twice a week at the Democratic headquarters on the corner of Highway 51 and Highway 47. While at the headquarters one evening, a volunteer told us about the NUUF. He said that he did not go to church on a regular basis. But when he did, he went to the Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. We decided to go the next Sunday. When we drove into the parking lot and saw the bumper sticker “Jesus was a Liberal” and read other bumper stickers with which we agreed, we knew we had found a place where we would not be criticized for our beliefs and where there are many people who care about the needs of others and the world in which we live.
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Milestones
Bob Hanson 02-01
Mary Beth O'Halloran 02-02
Barbara Beutler 02-03
Myrle Wasko 02-03
Pam Thul-Immler 02-04
Cora Holt 02-04
Mark Bruhy 02-05
Andrea Billings 02-06
Jerry Buerer 02-07
Judith Maloney 02-12
John Viste 02-12
Catherine Parker 02-13
Wenda Sheard 02-13
Jim Rusak 02-14
Kate Egan Bruhy 02-14
Terri and Terry Hoyt 02-14
Ron Reupert 02-16
Claire Polfus 02-17
Sophie Singleton 02-22
Billy Hurlburt 02-22
Elaine Strite 02-21
Jack Hafner 02-21
Ardis White 02-25
NUUF and NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
P.O. Box 1881
Woodruff, WI 54568-1881
John Viste, President
The NUUSLetter is published monthly. Newsletter Deadline: 27th of the month. Please send submissions to Elinore Sommerfeld at esommerf@aol.com.
For distribution of announcements between newsletters or email/address corrections, contact Candy Sorensen at sorencan@yahoo.com.