Showing up. The spiritual practice of

“presence.” That is what is on my mind as I

write to you on this clear fall day at the end

of September. Getting out of my car this

morning, the sun is warm on my face and I

can smell the salt in the air. The gulls wheel

overhead. It’s good to be here.

Showing up. I appreciate how many

of you are showing up. For one

another, for this community. It is not

easy for a church to be in a time of

transition. There is much that feels

unsettled. There are changes. You may like some, you may not

like others. What will happen next? Who will our new minister

be? There is ambiguity. One of the things that matters most

of all during a time of transition is that you show up. Simply,

be there for one another, on a personal as well as a collective

level.

And I see you doing that. You show up for worship, you show

up for choir. I appreciate how many of you have signed up

already for our All-Church Retreat on October 5th. I’m sure the

delicious catered lunch is a draw and the big pleasant “room

with a view” at Maritime Gloucester on the harbor where we

will meet (thank you, Karen! For making all the arrangements).

But I think as well you instinctively know that this is an

important year in the life of this church, and you want to be

present. You want to show up.

It was a little more than a quarter of a century ago that this

church had dwindled in numbers, so that it was in danger of

closing. Your last settled minister, Wendy Fitting, began as an

Extension Minister, her salary paid in part by the UUA in an

attempt to revive things here. And revive them, you did and

she did, in a ministry partnership together. This time, you are

established enough to have a real Search

Committee, using the “regular search

process” to find a minister. That is a big

deal. It will culminate in the Search

Committee bringing one candidate to

you in early May 2015 for your vote.

But first, a few things have to happen. On October 5th, you will

show up and help put into words the guiding spirit and mission

of this church. Your work will be invaluable to the Search

Committee as they tell prospective ministers about this

community. Who are you? What do you most deeply care

about? Where do you want to go? Later in the fall, you will

show up and make a pledge. Your pledges will pay the salary

of the new minister (you voted last January to increase the

minister’s time to 3/4). All fall, winter and spring, I know you

will show up—cooking, singing, teaching, visiting, leading.

Showing up. The spiritual practice of “presence.” I look

forward to practicing, with you, this year.

Jenny

Interim Musings

October, 2014 Volume 5: Issue 10

Newsletter of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church The First Universalist Church in America

Organized in 1779 as The Independent Christian Church

THE REVEREND JENNY RANKIN, INTERIM MINISTER Worship Service: 10:00 am

10 Church Street [corner Middle & Church Streets] Gloucester MA 01930 (978) 283-3410 new email: info@gloucesteruu.org

www.facebook.com/

pages/Gloucester-

Unitarian-Universalist-

Church/205512609487543 www.gloucesteruu.org

Accessible Entrance at Corner of

Pine/Proctor & Church Streets

AND off Gould Court lot

Minister’s Hours

Wednesday and Thursday, by appointment.

Please call the church office (978) 283-3410 .

revjenny@comcast.net

Meet our new Interim Director of Religious

Education: Rose Sheehan email Rose at:

DRE@gloucesteruu.org

Rose comes to us with experience in leading a

Unitarian Universalist religious education program

in Greenfield, Massachusetts and has had years of

experience in teaching, leading child care

programs and running groups for parents and

children in a variety of settings including parent/

child playgroups, Head start classrooms, private

nursery schools, summer programs and Waldorf

schools. She has worked with children from

infancy through middle school. While at All Souls

UU in Greenfield, she co-founded a junior youth

group whose members went on to participate in

District Youth Conferences.

Rose will have registration forms available and will

be soliciting teachers and co-teachers when

classes formally begin on Sunday, October 5th. If

you are interested, please contact her via email at

rose.siochain@gmail.com

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Rose is a life-

long Bay-stater. She’s lived in Boston, Greenfield

and Cape Cod. Gloucester has been her home

since 2004. Rose has had a lifelong passion for

children, learning and creative expression. She

studied early childhood education at Greenfield

Community College, holistic education at UMass

Amherst and Waldorf education at Sunbridge

College. Rose is a licensed early childhood

educator and holds a certificate in Waldorf

Elementary Education. During the early 1990’s,

she served as Director of Religious Education for

All Souls Church, a Unitarian Universalist

Congregation in Greenfield. During her tenure

with All Souls, she participated in the UUA’s

Renaissance Program for religious educators and

completed the Ministry with Youth, Teacher

Development and Worship modules.

In addition to her work in education, Rose is an

active folk performer. She plays music for Morris

Dance ensembles and sings at a variety of venues

from small coffee houses to festival audiences.

Adelphi Records is producing a CD of Rose singing

with her two sons Owen and Colin. A release date

in late 2014 is anticipated.

Rose is also a founding member of Folk Life Studio,

whose mission is to keep folklife vibrant in our

contemporary culture. She has organized a series

of contra dances on Cape Ann and has developed a

series of traditional music classes for children

called “Sing through the Seasons”.

Page 2

Welcome! Rose Sheehan

Interim Director of

Religious Education

Church member, Willie Alexander and

his group entertained an appreciative

audience recently in the courtyard of

the newly renovated Cape Ann

Museum. … photo by Karen Bell

Janet Young (our

Facebook administrator),

has just concluded a

successful Facebook ad

program that is likely to

draw more visitors on

Sunday mornings.

From now on, she plans to promote each

Sunday service on Facebook and Twitter,

by giving the title or theme of the

sermon, a headshot photo of the minister/

preacher, and a two-sentence bio. She

would also like to feature -- in a separate

post -- the composers/titles of the music

pieces and the names/photos of guest

musicians, if any.

Filling Our Pulpit During October

Page 3 You Told Us What You Thought! Now What?

October 5 Rev. Jenny Rankin

October 12 Rev. Edwin Lynn

“Banana Cream Pie and a Band-

Aid: Kindness as a Daily Virtue”

The Reverend Edwin Lynn is Minister Emeritus of

the Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church in

Danvers, MA, where he had served the

congregation for 33 years. He is a recipient of a

first place prize in the Unitarian Universalist

Borden Sermon Awards, has served on the Borden

Sermon Award jury, and for many years had been a

member of the Billings Preaching Prize jury at the

Harvard Divinity School.

In 1986 Harvard University awarded him a Merrill

Fellowship, after which he served there as both

Denominational Counselor to Unitarian

Universalist students and as a Visiting Lecturer for

22 years, which included teaching the course

“Unitarian Universalist Polity and Practices.”

In addition to his serving as a Unitarian Universalist

minister for over 40 years, Reverend Lynn is also a

registered architect. He is the author of the book

Tired Dragons: Adapting Church Architecture to

Changing Needs and has served as a lecturer and

architectural consultant to over 70 Unitarian

Universalist churches. His newest book, published

in 2011, is Shore Lines: Life Lessons From The Sea,

in which he creates a connection between the

seaside environment and human experience

through imagery and story.

He is a graduate cum laude of the Syracuse

University School of Architecture and received his

MDiv from the Thomas Starr King School for the

Ministry. Rev. Lynn and his wife, Marj, live in the

coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

October 19 Rev. Jenny Rankin

October 26 Lindsey Crouse

This service will be led by a representative of the

UUA who will speak to us about the ministerial

search process. The theme is "Beyond Categorical

Thinking." Later there will be a workshop to help

our congregation find the best minister match.

Please check the official calendar on our website

for updates. As soon as we have titles for the

homilies, they will be posted on the calendar.

NEW Church email: info@gloucesteruu.org

As we work on the search for our next

settled minister, your thoughts about

the church and our next minister are

very important. We have gathered a lot

of information and opinions about who

we are as a congregation, where we

want to go, and what kind of person will

best help us do that, and we thank all

who have participated in this effort.

Now it’s time to put together a truthful,

dynamic and positive picture of our

church that will attract potential

candidates to look at us. We will do this

by creating a “packet” of information

for prospective candidates and by

enhancing and updating our website.

We will update photos of the church,

church activities and the congregation.

There will be an enhanced section on

our church history, another on the

Gloucester community and a summary

of our survey results. We plan to add

information on our building and include

a description of the music program.

The mission statement that comes out

of our retreat on October 5 will be

included, and will help us show

prospective candidates what the

congregation’s priorities are. This

picture of our church and congregation

is our principal recruiting tool and we

are working hard to get it right. We

have asked various members of the

congregation

and staff to do

some of this

work for us in

the next few weeks. And then we edit,

redo, evaluate and revise the website.

Look for this to go live at the end of

November.

If you have questions or input, please

speak to any member of the Search

Committee.

Gloucester Meetinghouse Benefit Concert & Lecture Series

Page 4

The Fall Concert scheduled for October 11 has been

cancelled.

The next event in our MMM series will be held on

Sunday, October 26th, at 7:30 pm in the

Sanctuary. The meditation leader will be Lama Jesse

Fallon, from the Rockport Buddhist Center. Music

will be provided, but the name of the musician was

not available when we ‘went to press.’

A free will offering of $10 is suggested but everyone

is welcome. There will be a reception afterwards in

the Entrance House with light refreshments.

The meditation leader for the November 30th Music

& Meditation will be Lanesville Yoga instructor Janet

Green.

On November 15th at 7:30 pm, Bob Wech, Music

Director at the Gloucester UU Church is giving an

organ concert which will include Introduction and

Toccata by William Walond, Prelude and Fugue in G

Major, and other selections by J. S. Bach, Organ

Sonata #2 by Felix Mendelssohn, Choral #3 by Cesar

Franck. This concert is a Benefit for the Meeting-

house Preservation Fund, suggested donation at the

door is $15.

Green Initiative Roundtable on

November 2 at 7:00 pm in our

sanctuary. This is a shared event

with the Cape Ann Forum. The title

of the event is The Global Climate

Change Crisis and Making

Gloucester Carbon Neutral, "Where

do we go from here?" The event is

open to the public — there will be

a free-will offering which will

benefit either the Cape Ann Forum

or the Meetinghouse Preservation

Fund.

We especially thank our Event Sponsor

for this event, Harry Hintlian from the

Superior Nut Company — a firm that

has gone beyond carbon neutral. Harry

will join the roundtable to explain the

work of a foundation called Reforest

the Tropics, which plants trees and

manages forests in Central America as a

means for Americans to offset carbon

use and help combat climate change.

The motivation for our city to

participate and even subsidize

Gloucester going carbon neutral is the

benefits to economic development.

Based on the experience of European

towns and communities that have gone

this way, that benefit is considerable.

The cost of utilities are lowered, eco-

tourism booms, business are attracted

to locate here, especially those with

clean energy products. Gloucester’s

brand as an innovative and beautiful

place where creative people live and

work, would only be enhanced.

Our public goal for our Green

Community Plan for Gloucester will be

to reduce our carbon footprint, by 80%

in a decade. But things are moving so

fast, that a 100% or even a net positive

reduction of carbon, could be a possible

goal soon.

Looking Ahead

We need Concert & Lecture Series gifts in order to go forward with our proposed schedule.

Please consider making a tax deductible gift as a Series "Friend" ($10-499), Series "Supporter" ($500+) of the

Series, or as an Event "Sponsor" (varies with cost of event). All contributors will be acknowledged in our

programs. We are also willing to name the Series for a personal or corporate "Guardian Angel"...please

contact the church office for more information about this.

All levels of giving are needed for us to continue presenting concerts whose proceeds will benefit the

Meetinghouse Preservation Fund and sustain the ongoing restoration effort.

The current need is to fund the repair and re-installation of our 1918 stained glass windows with new external

protective glass panels.

More on Page 7

Reaching for the Future

Page 5

THIS IS AN

ABSOLUTELY

PIVOTAL YEAR

FOR OUR

CHURCH.

When You Give Something … You Should Get Something

Did you vote in support of a three quarter

time minister?

Did you vote for the search committee?

Do you plan to vote when a candidate for

settled minister is presented?

Do you want to see religious education

strong and growing?

Would you like to see fewer or no

withdrawals from the endowment?

This is an absolutely pivotal year for our church.

If we all reach for the future with our dollars as

well as our work we will show prospective

candidates and ourselves that we have the means

Read the Canvass Brochure when it comes in the

mail. It will tell you where we stand and why this

is such a crucial year. It will ask you to think anew

about your pledge before making a decision.

You have a new choice about how to pay your

pledge. You can choose automatic fund transfer

from your bank account, an easy way to keep up

with your pledge which will greatly benefit the

church. (See the Karen in the Church office for

details.)

Together we are the church. If you and I don’t

step up, who will?

Come to the canvass celebration the weekend of

November 22 and 23 at George Smith’s

wonderful house in Manchester. You will receive

an invitation when you make your pledge. If you

haven’t by then, you can still make your pledge at

the party. Exact date and time to be determined.

Going into the fall, we're

continuing the practice of

having various committees and

groups take turns hosting

coffee hour. To help you

remember when your turn is,

the committees will go in

Building & Grounds 9/21

Care 9/28

Choir 10/5

Finance 10/12

Membership 10/19

Music & Liturgy 10/26

Religious Education 11/2

Social Justice 11/9

And now for that sweetener...

You get a chance to engage the

congregation and tell them

about your committee -- except

if that day a congregational

meeting, discussion, or other

event is taking place.

A table will be set aside in the

Vestry for your committee to

use to introduced yourselves,

let people know about a

project you're working on, sign

up volunteers for an upcoming

event, or ask people a question

relevant to your work.

On a recent Sunday morning,

the Social Justice Committee

was asking people "What do

you think is the most important

social justice issue right now?"

The only caveats about your

engagement table are :

(1) that it be opt-in, not

mandatory (people must

come to you on their own)

(2) that it not interfere with

anyone's enjoying coffee

hour in their normal way.

Janet Ruth Young

Chair - Membership &

Communications Committee

alphabetical order.

The 2015 Canvass Launches on October 12

Pledging is your chance to express your heartfelt

commitment to all of that and more.

and the will to fulfill our goals.

Nearly forty members of our congregation posed on the

church steps on Sunday, September 7, to send a group

blessing to the Unitarian Universalist Association in their new

headquarters.

The UUA has moved from Beacon Hill to larger quarters in

Boston's Innovation District.

The church photo, in which several members wore

fishermen's slickers and sou'westers and held fishing rods,

was also used in the church's recent Facebook ad that went to

over three thousand people.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Karen Rembert

Janet Young

Membership and Communication Chair

“BLESSINGS

FROM OUR

HOUSE TO

YOURS”

Page 6

Our Photogenic Congregation

Photos from all UUA churches to be

used as a video which the UUA will

produce to introduce their new

digs.

Ready ...

Set ...

GO!

Choir member, “G” (Georgeanne

Hyatt) has finally received a

voucher for Section 8 housing.

She needs a one bedroom

apartment. If you have one

available, or know of a source,

please call her at 978/876-7689.

OUR TURN TO HOST

AN OPEN DOOR MEAL

Saturday, October 18 (3—7 pm) ...

You don’t have to stay the entire

time. Any help would be welcome.

Contact: Heidi Forrester

hlforrester@comcast.net

for taking the photo.

Lecture on Cape Ann’s Participation in

the Slave Trade, November 9 at 7:00

pm.

Lise Breen’s talk will be the second she

has given at our church. Her first

talk, “To Light the Fires: A Sketch of the

Daltons- Black Citizens of Gloucester

and the World” was delivered at a

service on Sunday, February 9, 2014,

and was supported in part by a grant

from the Gloucester Cultural Council, a

local agency which is supported by the

Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state

agency.

Lise’s research is supported by the

Peabody Essex Museum Phillips Library

and the Munson Institute at Mystic

Seaport.

The event is open to the public and

there is only a free-will offering to

benefit the Meetinghouse Preservation

Fund.

Religious Education: We have a

talented new Interim Director of

Religious Education who will begin the

church school year on October 5. We

are in search of a new Chair of

the Religious Education Committee. If

you are interested, please let Karen

(church administrator) or the

nominating committee know.

Music and Liturgy: Bob Wech, our

newly selected Music Director had his

first rehearsal with the choir on

September 24. He and the choir enjoyed

it greatly. It looks to be an excellent

year for the music program.

Membership:

Our new Social

Justice chair,

Janet Young, is

off and running

with ideas

about coffee

hour, engaging visitors and attracting

new members.

Social Justice: Heidi Forester has

stepped into the position of Social

Justice chair. We are grateful and

excited about her enthusiasm for social

justice programs. We look forward to

another year of community involvement

led by the social justice committee.

Finance: The Finance Committee has

been hard at work on the canvass, in

support of the canvass chairs, Holly

Tanguay and Doug Smith. Finance Chair,

Ken Belanger and the church staff has

worked very hard developing new

building use policies that will clarify our

expectations of renters. Ken will be

meeting with representatives of the

Grace Center this month.

The finance committee believes a

representative from the church should

be in the Church Street foyer to monitor

comings and goings during Grace Center

hours. We will need volunteers to do

this. Please let Karen or Ken know if you

are interested.

Our One Man Technology Committee:

Ken Belanger has also been functioning

as a one man, ad hoc committee on

technology. He just supervised the

installation of a high speed internet

system throughout the church. Security

cameras will be coming soon. Hallelujah

and many thanks to Ken.

NEW Church email: info@gloucesteruu.org

Building and Grounds: As fall begins

and B&G Chair Newt Fink returns from

his honeymoon, action on the building

and grounds will step up.

In case you haven’t noticed there is a

new sign donated by George Smith sign

just outside the main sanctuary

entrance porch on the Church Street

side. The insert is temporary; a final,

weather-resistant insert will be installed

later this month.

Newt Fink commissioned the

reproduction of the wood frame, based

upon the historic version in the

Entrance House. It’s made of Spanish

cedar and should last a very long

time. He also oversaw painting it in the

matching buff trim color with black trim

on the edging. Newt also did the wood

sign installation, including cement

footings and electrical work for the

light.

The first of five donated granite

benches was installed in the front yard

recently, because of the efforts of Shep

Abbot.

Care Committee: The Care Committee is

in transition as Peggy Kimball, former

chair, has resigned to be active on the

Ministerial Search Committee. Please let

Karen or the nominating committee

know if you are interested in being the

new chair. Committee work for those

who are ill or otherwise in need goes on

nonetheless.

Holly Tanguay, Clerk

Page 7

Board Notes

Looking Ahead Continued from Page 4

September 14 Given by Dennis and Janis Daulton in loving memory of

Dennis’s parents, Everett and Marion (Sammet) Daulton, and to honor

the late Harold N. Pike Sr., Dennis’s mentor and friend, and a good friend

of this church.

September 21 Given by Ann Leamon in loving memory of her Grandmother Moore, whose birth-month this is.

September 28 Given by James Schoel and Nicole Richon-Schoel in honor of their mothers, Georgia Brantingham Schoel and Doris Johnson Graham.

Page 8

2 Joanne Taveira

4 Linda Kidder

10 Tish Thornley

11 Dick Wilson

14 JoeAnn Hart

19 Kerry Mullen

20 Lucy Garberg

23 Charles Nazarian

24 Megara Wood

27 Barbara Wilson

Walk to End Homelessness

Saturday, October 18th!

Gather your friends, family and coworkers and join us for

The 1st Annual Family Promise North Shore Boston Walk to End Homelessness

The walk (rain or shine!) begins and ends in Beverly’s historic Lynch Park.

8:00 am: Registration Confirmation/T-Shirts/Coffee/Breakfast Items -- Arrive Early!

9:00 am 5K (3.1 miles) Walk Begins!

11:00 am Food, Raffle Prizes, Music and much more!

To register on line, click here http://www.familypromisensb.org/

Becoming a Pilgrimage Destination … Little by Little

The latest addition to our upstairs hallway are the first two of a group of

small framed portraits of most (if not all) the ministers here since John

Murray in 1774.

Thank you to Holly Tanguay who arranged for the framing. Take a look!

They are a great addition as this community takes steps towards

becoming a “pilgrimage destination” for the wider world and the UU

movement.

--Jenny Rankin

Page 9