The Chalice, Newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven, MA

ANNUAL MEETING
of the
Unitarian Universalist
Society of Fairhaven

Sunday, May 18
12 noon
Parish House

All are welcome. Childcare is available

Finance Committee Meetings

Thursdays, May 1 & May 8
7:00 pm
Parish House

Please come join the Finance Committee as we work on preparing the 2008-2009 budget. We will be meeting in the Auditorium. All are welcome.

There Is Still Time to Submit a
Gardner Scholarship Application

Applications are available for the William B. Gardner Family Scholarship. They can be picked up in the church office or mailed to an applicant by calling 508-992-7081. The application deadline is May 18, 2008. Scholarship recipients will be announced to the congregation on June 1, 2008. Besides the application, students must submit their most recent academic transcript, an essay on their academic goals, and show financial need. An information sheet is attached to all applications.

Toby Dills, Religious Education Committee & Student Assistance Sub-committee

The Men's Group meets at 9:00 AM on the third Sunday of the month for about an hour. All are welcome.

We are looking forward to having a end of the spring cookout that was so successful last year. This of course will be on the NEW grill. The exact date has yet to be set. Hopefully we will have some booths and games like last year

Please return your financial commitment card, if you have not already done so. The Finance Committee is planning next year’s budget. If you have any questions, please call Carol Oliva.

Thank you to everyone who has made a financial commitment for the July 2008-June 2009 fiscal year.

Bring your favorite vegetarian dish to a potluck supper on Friday, May 16, at 6:00 pm in the dining room of the Parish House. The film, "The Recyclergy: 33 minutes of Garbage" will follow the supper at 7:00 pm. Come to either or both events. A children’s movie will be shown in an adjoining room.

For decades the San Francisco Bay Area has been a hub for the recycling movement. Even the garbage companies have a long history of recycling practices. After the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, community, non-profit recycling centers appeared in schools, garages, and neighborhood centers—with the goal of bringing recycling organizations to their cities. By 2006, only two non-profit recycling organizations remained in San Francisco. Despite the lack of surviving community recycling centers, the Bay Area is still home to a unique community.

Bring a friend. Refreshments provided.
“Green” books and other items for sale.

The green questionnaire will be available to you this Sunday, May 4. We are sorry about the delay in reporting the results, but we were hoping to get a few more responses. We have about forty and would like to see fifty. With the return of Ann Fox, we expect a higher turnout in church this week and we hope to see a few more folks participating in this important survey. Why is this important? It will give us vital feedback on your level of interest in the Green Sanctuary process and the areas where you have highest interest. If you don't care about the process, we want to know that too. The Action Plan that has been posted at coffee hour is only a brain storm list. Your feedback will help us to shape the list into a series of projects in the fall. The questionnaire will be available at coffee hour and Harrop Center. Thank you.

Voluntary Simplicity is a seven-session course that will be offered to our church members, friends and the greater community. Two simplicity circles are available on Tuesday and Fridays at evenings beginning on May 13 and 16. This course addresses the distractions of modern society that keep us from caring for ourselves, our relationships, and our environment. Short readings and discussion will to help us move toward a higher quality of life by reducing consumption and life choices that have a negative environmental impact.

To sign up or for more information, please call (508-992-7081) or email (uufairhaven@aol.com) the church office today. Let us know which evening you prefer. We need a minimum or eight participants in either or both groups to run this. A booklet of readings is available for you to borrow for free or to purchase for $20.

Spring is a good time to divide plants in your garden. Pot up some extra flowers and herbs and bring them to church on Sunday, May 18 for a Plant Exchange. You may swap plants with other gardeners and bring them home for your garden. Plants may be left on a special table at coffee hour before the service. After the service, take an equal number of plants home. There will also be some plants available for any one to take with out exchanging.

1751 - Ezra Ripley was born in Woodstock, Connecticut. He studied at Harvard University and was known as "holy Ripley." He succeeded William Emerson (Ralph Waldo's grandfather) as minister of First Parish in Concord and married Phebe Bliss Emerson, William's widow. Throughout his 63-year tenure (yes, 63 years in that pulpit!) at First Parish, Ripley was a hard working minister. His preaching was pastoral and he did not engage in controversy. He persuaded the town to set up a school committee, which he served on. He also helped to found the Concord Lyceum and wrote History of the Fight at Concord (1827). Active to the end, Ripley was composing a sermon on the day he died, Sept. 21, 1841.

First, I would like to thank everyone who has honored the financial commitments that they made to this church last year. We had a very ambitious goal of $101,000 and it looks like we will be very close to making that goal. Congratulations! Please get those last pledge payments in and any receipts you have for items that need to be reimbursed as soon as possible, and again THANK YOU!

For the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2008, our overall finances are in GREAT SHAPE. This is largely due to a reduction in our Energy Costs for the year. I expect we will finish out the year spending about $3,000 less on Utilities than we had anticipated. As you can see below there are some other areas we have had decreased costs and a few areas that we have had increased income.

Because we are running a surplus, we will be able to payback the entire $6,995 for the six month budget shortfall (from last year’s fiscal year conversion). Additionally we will be able to increase our capital reserve amounts (which are very low) and reserve money to enable the staff to participate in some professional development (money they did not use this year will be reserved).