The Chalice News Unitarian Society of Menomonie
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The Chalice News
Unitarian Society of Menomonie
A Welcoming Unitarian Universalist Congregation
105 NE 21st Street—Menomonie, Wisconsin
(Alano meeting room—across from Mayo Clinic)
www.menomonieUU.org August 2019
Find us on Facebook!
Calendar
(Sundays beginning at 10 a.m. in our meeting room unless otherwise noted)
August 4—What goes well with a summer evening? You guessed it—ice cream with lots of
toppings! You’re invited to an Ice Cream Social at John and Annette Taylor’s on August 4th,
at 6:30 p.m. Come sit on the deck and enjoy this Social time with fellow UU’s. The address is
1202 North Shore Dr. and phone is 715 505 2540.
We look forward to seeing you when I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!
August 11—Service—Rachel Carter “Disabilities: Inclusion, Accessibility, & Identity”
Rachel will share her experience with a life-altering identity change and how UU influenced her
journey of healing and ministry. She is intern minister at UU-Eau Claire and third year seminary
student and has served as broadcast journalist assigned to Network-Korea and the Wisconsin
National Guard. Rachel identifies as a person with multiple disabilities.
Facilitator: Paul Greeter: Lynn Shaw RE & Childcare: None today Setup: Chris & Judy
Also, August 11 beginning at 3 pm—Gathering of UU Women at Jake’s Tiki bar. Live music
from 3-5, followed by dinner at Jake’s. Please RSVP to judyferber625@gmail.com by Aug 9.
August 18—Socrates Café. A wide ranging discussion, a forum for members and visitors, an
attempt to flesh out our understanding of a topic selected at the beginning of that meeting. All
thoughts are valid and lifted up for consideration! Socrates Cafe is held in the meeting room.
August 25—Service—Karen Hutt "Is there Sanctuary?" What does this word mean to
you? Is it a peaceful garden view? Is it a trip to an island for vacation, or maybe a comfy chair at
home. This is a word that is filled with lots of political angst these days and this message will ex-
plore sanctuary in American history and our present day challenges.
Facilitator: Dennis Greeter: Antoinette Childcare & RE: None today Setup: Dave & Dennis
September 1—Go Forth! Do good! Enjoy the long weekend!
September 8—In-Gathering Service lead by Karen Wiliams at 10am.
At 3:30, Casey Green and Simone Perrin will present “Traveling Campfire”. This program
of original poetry, songs, and stories emphasizes the commonality of people whose differences
could be a source of separation. Instead, it will focus on making friends. Please mark your calen-
dars for this very special event.
Juliana Schmidt,
Board Chair
As I was driving away from a UU service recently, I
thought to myself, “UU makes me a better person.”
When I attend a service, I have the privilege to experience
many things including making music, thinking deeply about a subject,
meditation, having time with friends who are of like mind but also diverse in
their thinking, and those aha moments – epiphanies about religion and
spirituality. UU services are usually (thanks to our programming committee) rich buffets of involve-
ment; food for thought about oneself, others, and the world, and an opportunity to take a mental
breath in an often chaotic and scary world. Our services very often lift me up, inspiring me to be
better.
An epiphany I had recently after leaving a service was that we are stewards for each other and for
the earth. I thought this could probably be an elevator speech* since it is so brief. Stewardship for
each other means to me that we are all in this journey together, and we can’t go it alone. Humans
need other humans to survive, to thrive.
Working toward the betterment of our fellow earth travelers (that stewardship of others I men-
tioned) is conveyed in our UU principles. The humanist component of Unitarian Universalism is well
represented. Some of the principles aren’t easy. For example, belief in the inherent worth and dig-
nity of every person is often tough. Striving for justice is also not always easy. And world peace? As
you often hear people say, “it’s complicated.” But we must continue the work in our daily lives.
That’s what religion means -- how you live your life. Nobody ever said that stewardship was easy.
But a UU service can inspire positive action to live out those principles, and “let our light shine” out
into the world.
And in the last UU principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a
part,” good stewardship of the earth is expressed. With climate change, we are made very aware
every day that the earth is getting warmer, and we are told the increase in temperature is having
devastating effects. This is a huge problem that seems insurmountable. What can any one person
do about it? Probably not much alone, but if everyone collectively does small things like walk to the
store instead of drive, change the lightbulbs at home to LEDs, conserve energy, consume less,
these seemingly small things can make a difference. I saw a quote recently that really says a lot –
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
By living out the UU principle relative to that interdependent web of all existence, we can be
inspired to make small changes that have huge consequences.
Louise Hay, American author, said it well: “We are all family, and the planet is our home.”
Peace,
Juliana Schmidt
*Elevator speeches are those you make to inquiring others on your brief contact on the
elevator. They sum up something quickly before you get off, as you’re riding from one floor to the
next.
Social Action Chair Please email items for the newsletter—stories,
Chris Kvalheim poems, events, news— Next Deadline: Aug 26
judyferber625@gmail.com
The fall highway pickup will be
October 5th at 10:00. ************
More information to follow but “Healthy Minds at 65+”
mark your calendars!!
August 14 from 10:30am—1:30pm.
We will still be packing for Sam every 2nd and Memorial Student Center Ballroom
4th Friday starting in September. Packing starts
at 10:00. For anyone interested in maintaining a healthy
mind throughout their life. This event will talk
WestCap Senior Commodity Boxes about the benefits of adopting a growth mind-
set and learning how to utilize storytelling as
Please consider joining Dave and Dennis the first one tool for developing and maintaining a
Tuesday after the second Monday in Boyceville growth mindset as we age.
where they help pack 600-700 boxes of food for
TO REGISTER: www.bit.ly/HealthyMindsat65
qualifying seniors in two shifts. It is fairly fast
paced, but with lots of conversation and friendly Free lunch provided
banter, so has a nice social component.
First shift loosely 8-10am — 823 Main Street **********
*********************** Make a blood donation?
Menomin Meander
Saturday, August 17, 9 a.m. Currently, the Red Cross has less than a
three-day supply of most blood types
Mark your calendar for a free, family-friendly bike available and less than a two-day supply
ride around Menomonie's Lake Menomin. The of type O blood.
ride starts at the Dunn County Fairgrounds.
If you are able to give, there are many
The route is the mostly separate bike paths
which circle Lake Menomin, a total of 8.3 opportunities in the Menomonie area:
miles. There's a rest stop half way around at www.redcross.org
Wakanda Park (where there are toilets and a
playground for kids) for some food, water and ********
Culver's custard cups for the first 50 riders. Menomonie Adopts
Co-sponsored by the Menomonie Optimist Club Indigenous Peoples Day Recognition
and the Tainter Lake Menomin Improvement
Association, the ride is a relaxed and family-
Menomonie joined a growing list of cities
oriented outing. And FREE!
We have partnered with the Sadistic Century which have adopted recognition of an
Ride, which is geared to serious distance Indigenous Peoples Day in place of the
bike riders, to offer a less intense bike ride which traditional Columbus Day celebration. At
showcases this new bike path. their July 15 meeting, the City Council
You can preregister by going to the Sadistic Cen- unanimously adopted a resolution making
tury website, though you can also just show up this important change. The effort to
on Saturday. We do ask that riders wear bike change the recognition began with the
helmets during the ride.
local Menomonie Cares committee.
Hope you can join us!
Our mission is to engage people in an open, nurturing spiritual community,
promoting intellectual curiosity, honoring human rights and religious differences,
and providing service to just causes.
*************
THANKFUL DOGS: A STORY FOR ALL AGES
By Naomi King
Once there was and once there was not a family of dogs. Like many
dog families, there were dogs that had wandered off the street and
dogs with fine pedigrees and dogs from the shelter and dogs who had
been born into the family. They ran together. They played together.
They tumbled together in great furry masses of tails and snouts and paws. They loved each other
very much—even if sometimes they growled at one another, even if sometimes they worried
about enough biscuits from the tin on the counter, even if some dog didn’t feel good and
snapped at another dog—they loved each other very much.
Each night as the moon rose, the family of dogs went outside and sat in a great circle on the soft
grass and watched the moon rise and looked into each other’s eyes and wagged their tails. It
was a doggy thing to do. Then, when the moon was a dog’s tail above the horizon, the eldest dog
would bay loudly at the moon. And what do you think that dog was baying about?
The eldest dog was telling the other dogs and the moon and the whole world what he was
thankful for. He was baying, “Thank you for this day! For the running and the jumping! Thank you
for the biscuits and the tasty treats! Thank you little brown dog for nosing the ball my way!
Thanks for being able to sing! Thanks for this and everything!”
Then the youngest dog would point her nose to the moon and begin to bay. And she was saying,
“Thank you wonderful sun that warmed my back! Thank you fragrant frangipani so sweet! Thank
you pack of dogs for wiggly dances! Thanks for the ringing ice cream truck! Thanks for this and
all my luck!”
Then one dog after another would join the baying, saying their thanks, until they were singing
together and to the moon. But they saved the best for last and howled together: “Thank you
mother and thank you father! Thank you sister and thank you brother! Thank you neighbor and
thank you friend! Thank you stranger and thank you world! We share our thanks for every being
whether near or far, no matter who, no matter where, no matter what you are. THANKS!”
They did this no matter what the weather, no matter how many or how few of the family was
home, no matter how they felt. The dog family gathered together each and every night to greet
the moon and share their thanks!
Let’s share their circle of gratitude in our own lives everyday, too!
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