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10:00 AM in the Auditorium

July 6 — Holidays Around the World

How do people in other countries celebrate their patriotic holidays? Returned volunteers from groups like the American Peace Corps will share their stories from around the world.

Service Leader: Julie Huddle
Music: Bill Carpenter, piano

July 13 — Rhythm in Community

Get grounded in a solid groove and find your “inner wild” at the same time! We’ll see how voice, drum, and dance can create a magical path toward community. No drumming experience necessary!

Leaders: Deb Eisloeffel, with Michele Dobszewicz and Lynn Janese
Music: Boom Chicka and Friends

July 20 — “Doubt,” by John Patrick Shanley

Truth is never simple. Certainty is a dangerous state. What’s under a play? What holds it up? Excerpts from the Nebraska Repertory Theatre production of “Doubt” will lead us into discussion.

Actors: Judith Hart, Sean Schmeits and Stephanie Dodd
Worship Leader: Becky Seth
Music: Bill Carpenter, piano

July 27 — This Nature

An essay by the same name, written by the poet Pattiann Rogers, upended the way I think of and will ever speak of nature. I’ll share from her essay and my own writing (fruits of my MFA work these two and a half years) to continue my encounter with her essay and to give all who come the chance to begin one.

Speaker: Christine Starr
Worship Leader: Becky Seth
Music: Bill Carpenter, piano

Religious Growth and Learning News

By Hope Colt, Religious Growth Director

Big Bouquets of Thanks!

The Children’s Arts Festival was a wonderful success and fun for everyone. The event was: Advertised on 10 radio stations, TV, community posters and we were featured on the front page in the Value section of the Lincoln Journal Star!

Our name went out into the Lincoln community, as a family-friendly and artistically inclined co-operative congregation! Yes, we sure are!

We welcomed many new people to the Festival & String Beans Concert :

Thanks to ALL of YOU!

Big Problem: To thank everyone who helped would fill this page! So please fill your name in here_____________:

ADULT RGL EARLY WARNING SUMMER BOOK DISCUSSION:

• EVENINGS in August: T.B.A

I will lead lively discussions about the book Difficult Conversations

How to discuss what matters most by Douglas Stone

Check it out: Google “Difficult Conversations”

*Highly recommended by PSD Executive Nancy Heege

"Take me out to the ball game…”

Hey, Hey, Holy Mackerel! We (RGL Families and Friends) are going to the Saltdogs home game in fabulous Haymarket Park:

July 18, 7:05 p.m.

I have 24 FREE tickets for the grass berm general admission area: Bring a blanket (lawn chairs not allowed), enjoy the game and plan to stick around for the:

Spectacular Fireworks show!

BATTER UP: First 24 people to contact me receive FREE tickets (4 free tickets per family)! When those are spoken for and if we have 20 additional people we can get a group rate of $6.00 per person, berm (no chair), $8.00 per person lower seating (w/chairs). Full price tickets are: $6.25 berm and $9.25 lower seating — still a great deal. *Give me the money (cash only please) I’ll purchase tickets. You can pick them up at church

Contact Hope ASAP: 483-2213 “Oh buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks…”

FREE Outdoor Family Movie Night

Under the stars on Church Patio • 6:30 p.m. • FRIDAY August 1

Hey there everybody, it’s summer! Let’s get outside together! Bring out your Frisbees, balls, and outdoor play-things Don’t forget lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray. Pack a picnic dinner and join us for a very entertaining evening:

The movie will start at dusk:

Now Showing:

The Spiderwick Chronicles:

Note for Parents about Summer Sunday RGL Safety Concerns

We are lucky to have many summer event leaders and assistants! Many have not worked with our children in the past. Please help them by being extra attentive to all of our children’s safety:

Please sign-in all children attending our Summer Program with the RGL Greeters. Pick up children immediately after the service. Children (8 years and over) will be released from our activities and instructed to find parents in the fireplace room at 11:15 a.m.

Children (under 8 years) MUST be signed out. If you wish your older children also be signed out notify the RGD in advance. Reminder: Do not allow children to roam the church/grounds during the service. We require that children under 16 yrs be supervised by an adult at all times on church property because we care about our whole church community! <Hope

Our Community — Working Together

Kitchen Renovation Committee

· We are pleased to announce that a plan has been developed for renovating the church kitchen.

· There is partial funding from church members for the project. We are seeking additional funding sources, including the Lincoln Unitarian Foundation.

· The committee has worked months on researching designs and cost-effective options.

· The design includes many long-wished for improvements, including a commercial quality dishwasher.

· We are instituting a process to inform the congregation about the design and timeline.

· The committee members are: Jackie and Bob Egan, Harry Heafer, Jack Furgason, Cyn Monohon, Peg Pelter, Penny Urwiler, and Orvis Wall.

· We are excited about the whole project and hope to move forward with it very soon.

· Please don't hesitate to contact any member of the Kitchen Renovation Committee for more information.

June 29 Town Hall Meeting RE: Kitchen Renovation

THE CHURCH KITCHEN RENOVATION COMMITTEE now has a plan from a general contractor and invites you to attend a Town Hall Meeting June 29 following Sunday Service in the Auditorium.

Look on the Fireplace Sunday, June 22, and Sunday, June 29, to peruse what we have come up with. Committee members will be at a table to answer questions.

Hot Potato Anyone?

Calling all UUs for the first "Hot Potato" luncheon and discussion on Sunday, July 27, at 11:30 a.m. Potatoes will be provided. Bring a topping to share. We will have a conversation on an issue on which there is disagreement (e.g., music at the services). Lois Hansen will be the "Common Tater."

Look for Mrs. Potato Head in the fireplace room and place a topic suggestion in the Easy Bake Oven. Please let Lee Manns (lmanns1@unl.edu or 484-7061) know if you plan to attend so we know how many potatoes to bake. It's a very a-peeling idea. Don't let this spudder out.

Flooded Iowa UUs Need Our Help--

Can You Donate to Disaster Relief?

At least 15 UU families in Iowa have been flooded out of their homes. Some have lost everything. The general destruction in eastern Iowa is extensive, though it appears at present that UU church buildings have escaped. Our Prairie Star District has established a disaster relief fund to accept donations to assist Unitarian Universalists whose homes were damaged or destroyed, or whose livelihoods were affected, and their congregations who are working on ways to help their own members and their larger communities.

Our Denominational Affairs Committee is asking for your help to support this relief effort. The Committee will be collecting donations for the PSD disaster relief fund at church on June 29 and July 6. Any check given to the church with "flood relief" on the memo line will be included. PSD officials are monitoring the situation and will allocate the monies for clean-up and reconstruction. It is possible that volunteers will be needed once flood waters recede. For the latest information or to donate online, go to http://www.psduua.org/News/MidwesternFlooding.

Meet Helen Greene

Helen Greene was born into the Lincoln Unitarian Church, and has now returned as a full-fledged member. Her parents and before them her grandmother were faithful attendees of the church under longtime pastor Arthur C. Weatherly, but never actually joined because of political differences with the minister.

Helen dropped out of college during World War II and moved to San Francisco, becoming a writer for the Office of War Information -- and also a member of a Disciples of Christ church. She had to promise her father that SOMEDAY she would return to college and get her degree. (Forty years and six children later, she kept that promise.)

In 1945 she married her college sweetheart, William H. (Hank) Greene, in the First Christian Church of Colorado Springs. When they returned to Lincoln, she worked as a reporter for the Lincoln Journal newspaper. A bit later, she served as Nebraska Publicity Director for John F. Kennedy, then Traffic Safety Coordinator for Governor Frank B. Morrison. After moving to her husband's farm near Ashland, Neb., the family became members of the Ashland Congregational Church, later joining the Greenwood Methodist Church.

While living the life of a farmer's wife, Helen edited the Nebraska Democrat newspaper and was elected to three terms as a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education.

Thus it was a long journey, religious and otherwise, ending at the doorstep of the Lincoln Unitarian Church. Partly it was Helen's cousins, Philo and Ruth Prell, who brought her back. And partly it was Fritz Hudson, who had performed the marriage of their youngest son, Alex Greene, in 1999. After her husband's death in 2004, Helen returned to live in Lincoln at the Legacy Terrace Retirement Center, and it seemed only natural to resume attendance at the Unitarian Church. When Fritz asked if she would like to become a member, she very quickly said "yes." And so she did, on June 8, 2008.

Our Community — Playing Together

July Game Night

Saturday, July 12, at the church. Potluck at 6:30 p.m., games at 8:00 p.m. Come for either or both. All UU adults are welcome. This is your invitation to join us.

Flute Choir News

We are working on several pieces (including a trio written by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier) to play in the fall. If you are interested, please join us for practice at 7:00 p.m. at the church on July 15 and July 29.

Flute Choir rehearsals:

• Sunday, June 29, 9:00 a.m.
• Tuesday, July 15, 7:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 29 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 15, TBA

Men’s Discussion Group

The Men’s Discussion Group will be meeting July 8 and July 22. We meet the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at the church at 7:30 p.m. We meet to discuss men’s issues and concerns. This is an open group. We welcome your participation. Join us in July.

Strictly Social Potluck a Success!

Nearly 60 people gathered in the Fireplace Room on June 1 for a “strictly social” potluck sponsored by the Newcomers’ Committee and in recognition of those who completed UU101 in April of this year.

Good food, good company with good conversation made for an enjoyable evening for all.

Those who helped make set-up and clean-up easier were James Bennett, Orvis and Sheila Wall, Kathy Stastny, Sandy Scott, Joan Anderson, John Lindquist, Kathie and Mark Hiatt, Karen and Dick Dienstbier, and Tim Johnson. Brooke Downing, Chair of the Newcomers’ Committee and Jan Buffum chaired the event with the help of the Committee. Thanks, too, to all those who brought such great food and helped make the evening such a success.

Those who completed UU101 were Julie Gibson Gary Colvin, Dan Nelson, Jodi Nelson, Meredith Griffin, Joan Harvey, Mark Hiatt, Kathie Hiatt, and Kathy Treichel. We’re glad to have them join us in any events and activities to come.

Thanks to Volunteer Weeders and Wine Drinkers!

Several church members gathered on Saturday evening, June 7, to pull a lot of weeds, saw up dead fall, trim edges, sweep up some messes and share wine and snacks. It was a lovely summer evening to work in the garden and the efforts of many hands made the work go quickly.

Thanks to Rick and Penny Urwiler, Becky Seth, Orvis and Sheila Wall, Deb Stephen, Priscilla Handy and Ed Long for their time and effort, to Penny and Becky for snacks, and to Deb and Becky for wine.

We’ll do it again and you can join us next time!

Summer Arts Festival Raises Excitement!

If you love art, the Unitarian Church is the place to be every Sunday this summer.

The summer Religious Growth and Learning program for this summer is The Art of Being Huuman. Each Sunday the children’s Sunday school program focuses on a different form of art – including music, craft projects, theater and dance.

The kickoff event was held June 8 and featured a concert with the String Beans and a free hot dog lunch. The warm-up acts were all church members – Michele Dobczewicz teaching children about rhythm, and music group Two-and-a-Half Cream Puffs, Roger Geery and daughters Schuyler and Keelin Geery-Zink. RGL Director Hope Colt said the intention of the kickoff event was to create interest from the community in coming to our church in a positive, upbeat way.

Kids attending the RGL program during church services, prior to the String Beans concert, were able to make their own poems, either with their own words or cut-out words, make sun prints with photo-sensitive paper, get their faces painted and take part in a community sculpture, among other activities.

“It allowed every adult person in our community the opportunity to contribute,” Colt said.

Public service announcements on eight radio stations and a small article on the front page of the Values section of the Lincoln Journal Star helped boost numbers of children attending to around 90 for the String Beans and 35 in the RGL program. Colt said 150 tickets were sent out, but volunteers were kept so busy that they were not able to get an accurate count of the total attending.

Those interested in attending could call the church and get tickets and that gave Colt the opportunity to speak to people about what our church has to offer. Being able to speak to people was a way to dispel beliefs about what our church is about. One person calling said she didn’t know the church had anything for kids – that it was more of an adult church experience.

Colt focused this summer not only on the arts but also so that kids can learn more about the seven principles.

If you missed the first few Sundays, there are still plenty of opportunities left to share an art experience with your children. July starts off with “The Play is the Thing,” featuring a children’s theater production from planning to performance. The program will be given by Evelyn Weymouth, who used to run a children’s theater near Detroit.

One of the programs with a direct correlation to the seven principles is on July 20, when the manager for 10,000 Villages comes to speak about fair trade arts from around the world they sell in the shop.

Examples of the children’s art projects made throughout the summer will be the art program in the fireplace room in September.

Our Community — Learning Together

Unitarian Heretics: Transcendentalism & Unitarian History

July 27 at 11:15 a.m. in the Gathering Place

FORMAT: Taped half hour lecture by Professor Ashton Nichols, Dickinson College, produced by The Teaching Company and followed by 30-45 minutes of discussion.

• Session 6: Emerson’s Influence
• Reading: “Divinity School Address”
• To find the reading online: google “Emerson’s Divinity School Address.’

UUWF Book Club Book Selections

Meet at Edgewood Lee Booksellers, 10:00 a.m. on these Saturday mornings:

• 7/12/2008 The Ominivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• 8/02/2008 The Little Heathens by Mildred Kalish
• 8/23/2008 Loving Frank by Nancy Horen
• 9/13/2008 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• 10/04/2008 Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx

Keep Reading! ~ Cindy Maly

Children's Books Needed

Our Bookstore is seeking donations of children’s books in good condition. If you have some you'd be willing to share, please bring them to the church office.

Thinking Green

by Doris Bingham and the Green Sanctuary Committee

Earl Proulx has written a book of "tricks that do the impossible around your home without the use of harsh chemicals." Here are some hints he offers for using vinegar:

To prevent grease on oven walls, wipe them occasionally with a cloth dampened with a little vinegar and water.

Washing machine: You can give your washing machine an annual cleaning by filling it with hot water, adding a quart of white vinegar and running the machine through the wash and rinse cycles.

Dishwasher: To clean a dishwasher place a bowl containing 2 to 3 cups of vinegar on the bottom rack. Leave all the racks in place, but don’t put any dishes in them. Run through the wash and rinse cycles only, shutting the machine off before it goes into the drying cycle. The vinegar will slosh about as the dishwasher runs, cleaning the whole thing.

Air conditioner: To clean a filthy filter on an air conditioner or humidifier filter, take the foam filter out of the grill and soak it in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and warm water. If you clean the filter regularly, an hour of soaking will be plenty. A dirtier filter will need to soak longer. Just squeeze the filter dry when it’s clean.

Windows: Clean windows with a mixture of 1 part white vinegar and 10 parts warm water. Get in the habit of using vertical strokes on one side of the glass and horizontal strokes on the other. That way if you see streaks you’ll know which side they’re on.

Shower curtains: Clean shower curtains without taking them down by wiping them with a sponge dampened with white vinegar.

Drinking glasses: One way to clean a badly discolored glass is to soak it in vinegar with the contents of a tea bag, then wash and rinse.

Refrigerator: One way to rid a refrigerator or freezer of bad odors is to clean the inside with a solution of equal parts vinegar and water then wipe dry.

Sink drain: Pouring vinegar down the drain is an effective way to eliminate odors there.

Summer Sanghas (Meditation Group)

Our gatherings for meditations, readings and discussion, and conversation with tea and oranges — and cookies! — to end the evening will continue throughout the summer, on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, as well as the fifth Wednesday in July. Discussion facilitators alternate between Duncan Case, Kipp Lanning and LauraLee Woodruff — sometimes with music, sometimes without.

Sanghas will be held June 11 and 25, July 9, 23 and 30, and August 13 and 27. We continue to begin with the shorter meditation at 7:00 p.m. If you arrive late, please just leave your shoes in the library, come in quietly through the in between door, and take a seat. Newcomers are always welcome and we learn as we go.

Questions? please call Duncan at 474-0472 or LauraLee at 474-3272.

Thursday Meditation Groups

5:30-6:30 p.m. — Eckhart Tolle group

7:00-8:30 p.m. — Zen Meditation

Newcomers to the Zen group should come at 6:30 p.m. for an introduction.

Our Chosen Faith Book Discussion

Karen Dienstbier, Membership Associate, will be offering a book discussion group during the month of July — exact dates are yet to be determined. (see below)

The discussion group is mainly for people new to the church or those interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalist beliefs. The book we will use is Our Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism. Karen will be taking orders for the book this next week. The cost of the book is $15.

Possible dates open for discussion are:

• Tuesday, July 1, 15, 22, 7-9 p.m.
• Thursday, July 10, 24, 31, 7-9 p.m.
• Saturday, July 12, 19, 26, 1-3 p.m. or 3-5 p.m.
• Sunday, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

All meetings will be held at the church.

To sign up call the church office, e-mail Karen at kdien@neb.rr.com, or talk to Karen on Sunday.

ADULT O.W.L. CLASS

August: 16,23 & September: 6&13

4 Saturdays: 11:30am –3:30pm

With Certified OWL Instructors : Bruce Raymer & Stephanie Peterson

OUR WHOLE LIVES is a comprehensive lifespan sexuality education series grounded in the understanding that sexuality is an essential part of every person which affects our identity, relationships and decisions throughout our lives. Our Whole Lives offers:

• Up-to-date information and answers to all participants' questions
• Activities to help participants clarify values and improve decision-making skills
• Effective group-building to create a safe and supportive peer group
• Education about sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment
• Opportunities to critique media messages about gender and sexuality
• Acceptance of diversity
• Encouragement to act for justice

Attendance at all sessions is required: Childcare will be provided for a fee based on need and #s. Space is limited Register ASAP: Hope 402-483-2213.

FYI: Our previous life-span O.W.L. event scheduled for AUG 1,2 &3 was cancelled.

Unsung UU

Thank you to everyone who had a part in naming me the 2008 Unsung Unitarian. The person who nominated me (with compliments I hardly recognized — I figured they must have mixed up the nominations!), the trustees who selected me, and all of you who made the award real through song, kind comments, and otherwise. It was a surprise, and I was very touched, especially because many in our church community are certainly as or more deserving of the honor.

With great appreciation,

Mary Sommermeyer

P.S.—the reserved parking spot is great.

Art Gallery

The July Gallery Show features works from artists associated with the Noyes Gallery. The Noyes Gallery is located in Lincoln’s Haymarket District at 119 South 9th St. It is a cooperative type art gallery, and features approximately 24 artist members who show their work and volunteer their time to help operate the business. The Gallery features a variety of original paintings, photos, pottery, and jewelry. Artwork from 16 artists is included in the Noyes Outreach Travel Show.

The Noyes Gallery has a new show each month and a reception the first Friday evening of every month from 6:30-9:00 p.m. We hope that you will join us for a first Friday Evening.

FOR COFFEE HOUSE!

THIRD FRIDAYS 7:30-10:30 p.m.

• July 18: Game Night
• August 15: Two Thousand Years of Women: A One Man Show by Hope Colt and Others

Milestones, Millstones and Stepping Stones

Our thoughts are with Mary Ann Meisner and her family on the death of her brother Toby Meisner. A memorial service for Toby was held at the church on June 14.

Congratulations to Barbara Dewey and Robert Spaulding on their marriage, at the church, on June 21.

Thanks...

To Harry and Karen Heafer for purchasing and hanging a new shade to keep the sun off our greeter team on Sunday mornings.

To Denise Dickeson for her valuable help in the office in May during Norm’s absence.

To Peg Pelter for donating the beautiful cut glass punch bowl used as a vase for our flower service on June 1.

To Phyllis Higley for loaning another of her quilts for display behind the pulpit. We appreciate her artistry and her willingness to share it with all of us!

Bryan Backhaus Memorial

A memorial has been established for Bryan Backhaus through the Nebraska Trail Foundation, 5000 North 7th St., Lincoln, NE 68521. The funds will be used to create a picnic area located at the Jamaica North Trail Head (near 25th & Saltillo). The Jamaica North Trail area was one of Bryan’s favorite places to ride.