BUUFers,
Please join me in welcoming Gretchen Ohmann back into the Berrien UU leadership fold as Womyn’s Program Leader. Renee and I are thrilled to have Gretchen in this role and feel it will bring a special richness to our program offerings. Gretchen has a long history with Berrien UU and is tightly connected in the UU world. In addition to working professionally for the Mid America Region UUA she has served in leadership roles with UU Women and Religion and the UU Women’s Federation. She is a treasured keeper of UU women’s herstory and stories of our UU foremothers. We are truly blessed to have Gretchen at the helm of this new Berrien UU program.
Lisa Marie Fuller – BUUF President
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Green Sanctuary and Community Outreach & Social Action Committees: Fresh Start Children’s Garden Project
Wednesday, August 31 @ 7pm (and every Wednesday)
BUUF through the Green Sanctuary Committee and the Community Outreach & Social Action (CO/SA) Committee has agreed to provide volunteers to assist with the Fresh Start Children’s Garden in Benton Harbor. The neighborhood children’s garden has been led by Emma Kinnard for 10 years. The garden is located at the corner of May and Pearl Streets in Benton Harbor (1104 Pearl Street). The garden has been planted and volunteers are needed to weed and lay fabric and hay between vegetable rows. Come for 5 minutes or come for an hour, but come see the beautiful garden and visit even if you are not able to assist. This event is weekly.
All are also welcome every Thursday from 5-7 to assist neighborhood children in harvesting vegetables.
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**There will be no service on Sunday, September 4**
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St. Joseph Buddhist Sangha
Sep 6 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm in the Community Room at St. Joe Library
The mission of the St. Joseph Buddhist Sangha is to create a community to support Buddhist Meditation and Practice.
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Planning Ahead: Sunday Service and Pot Luck
Join us Sunday, September 11 for our annual Water Ceremony. All who attend are encouraged to bring water from around the world to contribute to our ceremony. Start thinking now about where you might have an opportunity to gather some water in anticipation of this service!
Our First Sunday of the Month Potluck will follow service. Bring a dish to share or just bring your appetite!
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Environmental Justice Film Series
presents
September 15, 2016 – 7 PM
4340 Lincoln Avenue, St. Joseph (269-470-1470)
FREE (popcorn included)
Disobedience is a new film about a new phase of the climate movement: courageous action that is being taken on the front lines of the climate crisis on every continent, led by regular people fed up with the power and pollution of the fossil fuel industry.
Join us for a free screening of “Disobedience”, a new, fast-paced film on the courageous history of civil disobedience for the climate across the globe, and the future of the movement to defend our planet from fossil fuels and climate change.
The movie is about half an hour long, and after we watch it we’ll have a discussion about what we can all do together on this important issue.
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September Book Club
September 16, 2016 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
September’s book is The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Book Club will meet this month at the home of Gloria Weberg, on September 16.
The Boys in the Boat celebrates the 1936 U.S. men’s Olympic eight-oar rowing team—nine working class boys who stormed the rowing world, transformed the sport, and galvanized the attention of millions of Americans.
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A Red Tent Event
Sep 17, 2016
3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dear Wonderful Women,
“The calling a woman feels to gather in Sacred Space with other Sisters starts first as a low and slow warmth that begins to burn. If left unfed, it rises quickly to a raging fire of desire. It will not be denied and can only be quenched by the nourishment of Truth, Candlelight, Song and Sisterhood.”
-Ayla Mellani (Founder of Chrysalis Woman)
I could not express how I feel any better than those words of Ayla Mellani. I am reaching out to all my Sisters, Sisters I love and Sisters I have yet to meet, to come together in Sacred Space! The inspiration to gather women in ritual was born last winter when a few of us came together at Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (BUUF) and watched www.redtentmovie.com. The seed was planted for us to host a Red Tent event at BUUF!
What’s a Red Tent event? If you have time, I encourage you to watch the Red Tent Movie referenced in the link above. It will give you a detailed explanation of “The Red Tent” or you can google Red Tent Movement and you should find plenty…it is a Movement! At BUUF, we are hoping to use Red Material to transform our space into a “Red Tent” that is Sacred, festive and exotic.
“Inside the Red Tent women feel comfortable to open up to address common personal, cultural, and social problems. Behind the walls you may see women dancing, singing, and telling lively stories with laughter and tears. Being together regularly gives women an opportunity to celebrate being women, to have our voices heard, to discuss issues about body image, self-respect and empowerment, or to simply relax and take care of oneself…It is in this safe environment that conversations take place that enable us to speak openly of our traumas and losses that need healing…All in all, it is a place where women can truly be themselves and talk about anything if they want to.”
-Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost (author “How to Start a Red Tent”)
We are still forming the outline of the event and welcome all ideas and contributions. It could be a meditation, a craft activity, a discussion topic/facilitation, a song…endless possibilities!
Please let me know if you are interested in this event. Thank you so much for your input, your ideas and mostly for being wonderful, beautiful, strong women!
Renèe Kauffman – BUUF Programs Director
