March 2023 Vol. IV Issue 9
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Well, it's here. The month of March. When I was growing up in the northeast, it was said that the month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. It appears that climate change may have something to say about all of that. When the weather is really cold, March reminds us that Spring is on the way, although there are many times we get two seasons in one day.
Nevertheless, the days are longer, and the flowers are blooming. No matter, March is still a wonderful month.
With that being said, I want to share some fun facts about March. March is the equivalent of September in the Southern Hemisphere. Every year, March and June finish on the same day of the week. March is the time of year when animals start waking up from hibernation.
What does the month of March symbolize? The month of March symbolically represents new growth, fertility, and procreation in humans, plants and animals. Its meaning embodies a kind of reigniting of the hearts: like our ancestors, we are quickened… our souls long for new conquests. “March” is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. However, we think of it as the beginning of spring, as March brings the vernal equinox, the Full Worm Moon, Women's History month, the beginning of the Muslim Holiday of Ramadan, and the return of Daylight Saving Time!
Whatever March means to you, I hope you can fully enjoy it and the transitions that will most surely arrive with it! Wishing you all a Gentle Peace.
I leave you with the wisdom and insight of author Max Coots.
There's something pagan in the way I feel. It's almost as if I could believe, as ancient people did, that along in March or April, Winter fought with Summer for the earth and finally compromised with Spring....But I grow pagan the end of March and start to take the seasons too much to heart. Too much? Maybe not...Maybe we ought to take the seasons personally; Identify ourselves with ancient, primal hungers of history---to know the past, though past, is never really dead. That we are now what we were once, and what it has meant to be alive and human, Winter, Fall, or Spring.
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Music Schedule for March 2023
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March 5th - Sue Stone, piano: prelude, postlude, 3 hymns and offertory.
March 12th - Second Sunday, "Encore" (Ro Broome, Deb Evenchik and Spence Foscue); Linda Metzner, piano: 2 hymns
March 19th - Linda Metzner, piano: prelude, postlude,
3 hymns and offertory
March 26th - Two Choir Anthems, Linda Metzner, director; Sue Stone, piano: 2 hymns, prelude and postlude
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Michael Donnan, UUCSV Office Manager
To keep your mind sharp, take this little True or False quiz!
Which one of these statements do you think are true and which are false about our Office Manager, Michael D.? Be truthful, don’t peek ahead at the answers.
- He has been in our employ for about one year. T F
- He grew up on a farm in central Illinois, which has been in his family for over 150 years. They farmed corn and soybeans and raised livestock. T F
- He worked at a digital map company for over 10 years, with extracurricular assignments in New Zealand, Spain, and Slovenia. T F
- He holds a certificate in Professional Cookery and worked in 5 star restaurants. T F
- He has really enjoyed getting to know Rev. Michael and he couldn't ask for a more thoughtful supervisor. They work very well together and as a friend/member said, the two Michael’s are like peas & carrots. T F
- He has always aspired to work for a church. T F
- He is allergic to animal hair. T F
- Michael thinks that communication is key to a well run office. T F
Answers:
- False, he has worked as our Office Manager for 19 months. Can you believe it? Where does the time go?
- True. Periodically, Michael returns “home” to the farm to visit with and help his parents.
- 3. True, he was an administrative assistant for the digital cartography company, Navteq, reporting to the VP of the field org. His most interesting experience was the one which took him to the three big cities in N.Z.
- Partially true, he is trained as a French Chef and cooks for special friends, not wealthy patrons of 5 Star restaurants.
- True, peas and carrots they truly are!
- False, working for a church is never something he thought he would do in a million years. He reports that UUCSV’s office is a fun and interesting environment. It's great to work for an organization that very closely aligns with his own personal and political beliefs. He loves coming to work!
- False. Michael is a doting “pet parent”.
- True! During his tenure, he has certainly seen things change since he started with regard to cross communication amongst the different committees. Continuing the trend of increased communication would definitely be helpful to him and the congregation at large, as we continue to grow in membership.
So, how did you do on this little quiz? Perhaps you know Michael a little better! The more you know of him, the more you love him. Now that we know you a little better, we love you even more and hope we can continue to provide a satisfying work environment for you, Michael!
By Carolyn Shorkey |
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Change...take your pick.
Photos by Marti Saltzman
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Beyond Land Ackowledgement
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After reading our Land Acknowledgement statement every Sunday for over a year, many of us are feeling a need to take our NEXT STEPS BEYOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the Indigenous Peoples who lived on and cared for this land before us.
Several members of the congregation attended the powerful and moving online workshop "Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change" in February, and they highly recommend we all attend one of the online sessions coming up soon.
Sessions are available on these dates:
Sunday March 12, 4:00 to 6:00 pm EDST
Saturday April 15, 4:00 to 6:00 pm EDST
Created by the national project, Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples, this interactive workshop will help us to:
- Learn the real history of our country through the voices of Native peoples, European colonists, and historians
- Understand why this history matters to all Americans today
- Interact and experience this history as you never have before
- Learn to respect Native Americans' rights, culture, and presence
Registration is limited to 60 participants, on a sliding scale from $20 to $50, minimum $5. Please register asap at
Please also let Maggie O'Neill know that you have registered for one of the sessions by emailing her at oneill.maggie9@gmail.com.
This is to help her plan for a live followup discussion this spring. Maggie will communicate with you directly about that event.
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The world is changing
Has changed
My world is changing
Has changed
I don’t like it….don’t want it
This feeling of melancholy…darkness…..anger
This is not me
I don’t like it….don’t want it
But does it matter what I want, what I like
Or is it just what it is?
No….NO…..NO!
I can choose
Will choose
Do choose
And I choose something different.
Not going back to what was
What I did like, did want, thought was Me
But allowing something new, something higher, something transcendent to appear
Always denied the pronouncement that light required darkness
That joy required sadness
That wholeness required pain
Let that denial go
Accept what was unacceptable
Embrace the unembraceable
Then go through the darkness, through the sadness, through the pain
And see what will emerge from the chrysalis.
Let the becoming turn into Being
Allow the birth and discover who I Am
And truly Let Love Radiate
Larry Pearlman, 2023
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| David Wells |
7th |
| Kenny Phillips |
8th |
| Ann Lutz |
14th |
| Rochelle Broome |
17th |
| Linda Metzner |
18th |
| James Sheeler |
19th |
| Elizabeth Bryan |
20th |
| Mamie Hilliard |
23rd |
| Lee Reading |
23rd |
| Su Temesrisuk |
23rd |
| Anna Marcel de Hermanes |
24th |
| Diane de Grasse |
27th |
To be listed in your birth month, just let the Tidings editor know by sending your info at any time to tidings.uucsv@gmail.com
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Meinrad Craighead, Praying with Images will be shown by Inanna's Daughters about the life and work of the visionary artist, Meinrad Craighead. Inanna's Daughters are stretching their offerings to the community beyond the usual seasonal meetings on "cross-quarter days" of the agricultural calendar.
Friday, March 17th
6:00 pm EDST
UUCSV
The film is an hour long, followed by discussion and snacks.
More info: Meinrad Craighead (1936 to 2019) worked in a variety of media, including block prints, gesso relief prints, scratchboard, charcoal, painting, drawing and watercolor. Her early life was deeply influenced by her 17 years in a monastery in England, after which she followed her dreams and guidance to New Mexico where, like Georgia O'Keefe, she felt deeply at home.
Recurrent themes in Craighead's art include the Divine Feminine, motherhood, the Black Madonna, sacred animals, landscapes, and thresholds. German Romanticism and Expressionism, Catholicism, ancient Egyptian and Greek art, southwestern Native American spiritual traditions, dreams, and animal guides influenced her work.
We hope you can come, and invite friends, men and women!
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What UUCSV means to me:
As a founding member I have invested 20 years of my life in this congregation. UUCSV has provided me a huge return on my investment. I’ll share some of my rewards:
- Refurbishing this sanctuary and later dividing the office to make a space for our minister.
- We early members not only pledged to support this church but separately pledged to pay for this building across three-years. We paid off our debt so that our operating budget wouldn’t have to include paying for a mortgage.
- When we began we could only afford a ¼ time minister. Then we brought Michael Carter on at ½ time and soon increased his salary to full time with all the UUA minister benefits.
- Educating ourselves to become a WELCOMING CONGREGATION to better include LGBTQ friends and to become a GREEN SANCTUARY.
- Attending Kim and Deb’s wedding here long before their marriage was legal in the US.
- Participating in classes, covenant groups and the Men’s Group.
- In class watching Bill and Su meet and grow their relationship into a beautiful marriage.
- Helping provide Sunday services and living our principles including joining our church team to build an inter-faith house with Habitat for Humanity each fall.
- Serving on committees over the years from the board to helping provide Religious Education for our youngest members.
- Taking a group of teenagers to Boston for their coming-of-age trip and baptizing ourselves in a lake where my favorite author once lived – some of you may have heard of Walden Pond?
- Receiving your support when Aline and I recently became foster parents. Fynnley, Jace and Khadafi have so benefitted from your warmly welcoming them into this community. During our last Christmas Eve service, Khadafi was even welcomed up front by Michael when he became 2-year-old restless.
- Potluck Sundays, Round Robin dinners, mowing and raking the lawn, and other occasions where we get to personally know each other.
- Introducing myself to visitors and welcoming them warmly does as much for me as hopefully it does for new prospective members of this congregation. Thank you all for being there with and for me.
As a member of the stewardship team, I invite you to join me in providing your time, talents and treasure to become even more invested in this community. Please complete the pledge and give generously to this congregation. We are asking for a 7% increase in pledges from our veteran supporters. If you are new to this community, please join me with a pledge for this coming fiscal year: July 1 through June 30 of 2024 so all of us can and choose to invest in this congregation.
Put your completed pledge form in a box that our Treasurer Larry will have in the lobby.
I thank you and look forward to even more of you joining me in becoming fully involved in this warm community. Our children and their children will thank you as well.
Jim Carillon
February 2023
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The Climate Conversationalists meet every 4th Saturday at 10:30 at the church. All are welcome to come and share your ideas.
This month we considered various ways to "Save the Planet" as was printed by the NY Times in August 2022. It was very educational and "playful" as a hands-on activity that encouraged cooperation, not competition.
Thanks to Swannanoa Watershed Action Network for sharing this game with us!
We are in planning stages for the Earth Day event at Lake Tomahawk. See next article...
Ethical Companies and Products List: Some alternatives to plastic (this is an in-progress draft)
We’re looking for more suppliers to add to this list and are also considering creating a buyer’s collaborative in order to avoid the use of plastic. Please send the names of any other companies that you order from, or know of, to Bette at blbates@mac.com
Please share this draft list with others who may be interested or have suggestions – even though it’s a work in progress!
ZERO Plastic in products and shipping:
Bestowed Essentials (they are moving to Oregon and will be concentrating more on dish soap and laundry powder) Eco-friendly home and body products, a neurodivergent-female-veteran-owned social enterprise in Rapid City, South Dakota. Plastic-free shipping.
bestowedessentials.com
Brush with Bamboo – Toothbrushes with biobased, castor oil bristles and silk dental floss. Soft bristles and compostable. Plastic-free shipping.
brushwithbamboo.com. (909) 265-4ECO
Dental Lace – Eco-friendly oral care, silk and plant-based floss, refill floss and glass containers, toothpaste tablets, plastic-free shipping and based in Maine
dentallace.com
Divine Chocolate, a B Corp company, plastic-free wrapping, first farmer-owned fairtrade chocolate product. Ghana, does not use palm oil,
divinechocolate.com 855-972-0527
Eco Girl Shop – Wide range of products, plastic-free shipping, based in Massachusetts
email: customerservice@ecogirlshop.com
ecogirlshop.com 413-345-6381
French Broad Food Co-op – Anyone can shop here, and you can also join as a member. Member-owned since 1976. They have a lot of unpackaged produce and many bulk items. You can bring your own containers, and they have paper and cellophane bags, also plastic products.
90 Biltmore Ave. Asheville, NC
828-255-7650
If You Care – No paraffin, petroleum products or toxic coatings on paper snack and sandwich bags, they are home compostable, recycled box, FSC certified paper products
Made in Sweden, importer is Source Atlantique, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
www.ifyoucare.com
Life without Plastic – Cotton bags, stainless steel utensils and take-out containers etc. Ships without plastic packaging. B Corp. Canada and US
Lifewithoutplastic.com
Email: info@lifewithoutplastic.com 1.888.898.0369
Maggie’s Organics – Organic cotton and wool clothing and socks, some are made in NC, and some in India by union workers, fair trade. Still plastic for shipping sometimes, but you can request no plastic shipping and usually they will do that.
maggiesorganics.com
800.609.8593
Not!ce Hair Company (formerly Unwrapped Life) – Shampoo bars and conditioner, plastic free shipping
Noticehairco.com
Wowe – Silk dental floss, floss is in a little bag made of corn starch, bamboo toothbrushes
This company has perhaps been bought by Amazon? China. www.wowelifestyle.com
Package Free – Wide range of products, shampoo and conditioner bars, cleaning and stainless, products shipped plastic free, NYC
packagefreeshop.com
Plaine Products – Liquid, plastic-free bath and body products, refillable. Carbon neutral shipping.
orders@plaineproducts.com
513.248.2017
To the Brim – Local refillery, BYO bottles to refill with bath, body and home cleaning products
145 Charlotte Hwy (74) suite 60
brim@gmail.com
tothebrimrefill.com 828.552.3332
Who Gives a Crap –Recycled toilet paper, bamboo, tissues and paper towels. No inks, dyes or plastic. Ships plastic free. B Corp company. Send love letters to: 8605 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 62559 W. Hollywood, CA 90069
whogivesacrap.org
Zefiro – Non-plastic kitchen, cleaning supplies, personal care, and pets. Chicago based
Zefirowaste.com
carley@zefirowaste.com
LESS Plastic in products and/or shipping:
Country Trading Company – Stainless yogurt maker. Making yogurt saves buying so many plastic yogurt cartons. New Zealand based, but sells in US, UK, Canada and Australia
hello@countrytradingco.com
484-512-9843
Dolphin Blue – B corp. Wide range of products and information. An online green general store.
Richardson, TX
www.dolphinblue.com
800-932-7715
Elevate Packaging – https://elevatepackaging.com/products/
1-773.276.4554
Compostable stickers and cello bags, also poly products :(shipping?)
Gardener’s Supply Company – B Corp, 100% employee owned, gardening supplies, they have plastic products also, and am not sure yet whether you can request no-plastic shipping
128 Intervale Road, Burlington, Vermont
1-888-833-1412
Little Seed Farm – Goat milk and botanical skin cream and soap, plastic-free shipping
Some products have plastic lids and bottles. Great goat pictures. Farm is in east Tennessee
hello@littleseedfarm.com
support@littleseedfarm.freshdesk.com
Pact – Organic clothing + plastic elastic, sometimes uses plastic for shipping
3200 Carbon Place, Suite 102 Boulder, CO
wearpact.com
800-662-7228
Radius. Offers silk and vegan (nylon) dental floss and plant-based toothbrushes, woman-owned
Kutztown, PA
contact@madebyradius.com
Simply Gum – gum made with chicle, instead of plastic, and packaged in paper
Ships in plastic bag
New York
Sow True Seeds – Local open-source seed company
243 Haywood R. Asheville, NC 28801
828.254.0708
Sheets Laundry Club – Laundry sheets, soap and detergent, ships plastic-free. PVA (a fossil fuel) is used in the laundry strips. Mooresville, NC
Sheetslaundryclub.com 833.274.3387
Tru Earth – Laundry strips, there is pva in the sheets, but this involves a lot less plastic than buying a plastic container of detergent.
Contact Bette at blbates@mac.com for additions or questions
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Welcome to an Earth Day event sponsored by UUCSV Climate Conversations Group on April 22 from 10-1 at Lake Tomahawk's
picnic pavilion. Join us for some earth day celebrations including:
Information from different community groups which are working to help in ways to honor our Earth Mother.
Can you live with less plastic? Information on products that are non-plastic.
Information sharing about gardening, climate change and more
Seed and plant sharing. We need donations of surplus or leftover flower or vegetable garden seeds and potted house or garden plants. Seeds not more than 2 years old and healthy plants for our plant give away.
Making art from recycled materials
Trying a plant based diet
Sharing clothing and miscellaneous household items - you may donate, but please stay around to take home what hasn't been given away (thanks!)
Let's celebrate Earth Day together with music by Annelinde Metzner.
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by Susan Enwright Hicks, DRE
Change. is. so. hard.
I know that growth mindset experts suggest that we should reframe our thinking to see change as an opportunity, not a threat, but it’s so difficult (for me anyway). Harder yet, is internalizing that notion enough to pass the lesson on to children. (Children who grow up entirely too quickly!) I keep working on it though.
Here are some tips from Neuroleadership.com along with a link to the article where I found them on how to help yourself develop a growth mindset and respond to change in a healthier, more productive way.
“Below we’ve listed a handful of strategies to get started on your own growth-mindset journey:
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Try reframing your thinking to view change as a challenge, not a threat
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Celebrate moments of progress during the change — including baby steps
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Give yourself permission to start experimenting along the way
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Learn from peers who seem to model the growth mindset well
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Look for ways to lead by example, even if you aren’t always confident”
That last one is key for us parents and grandparents, I think. Let’s help the next generation live more creative, expansive, resilient lives by giving them tools to embrace novelty, and thrive in unpredictable circumstances. After all, “the only constant in life is change”*. Right?
https://neuroleadership.com/your-brain-at-work/growth-mindset-deal-with-change/
*Attributed to Heraclitus
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Change is freedom, change is life.
It's always easier not to think for oneself.
Find a nice safe hierarchy and settle in.
Don't make changes, don't risk disapproval, don't upset your syndics.
It's always easiest to let yourself be governed.
Usula Le Guin, in book "The Dispossessed"
(Syndic is "one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative" Wikipedia)
There have been many hands behind the news distribution (aka newsletters) at UUCSV. I've tried to list most of them here.
Spence Foscue
Norm Kowal
Tim Perry
Emory Underwood
Barb Rogers
Trisha West
Myra Schoen
Ginny Moreland and Jackie ?
Damaris Pierce (with the Current as separate from Tidings)
Barb Rogers again - Tidings monthly
Michael Donnan doing Current weekly
Some of these people were staff, but the majority were volunteers. A big thank you goes out to all of them!
And a special word of thanks goes to the proofreaders. Our team has lately consisted of Sue and Ken Stone, Tina Rosato, and Susan Moore. They gave up some hours on the last day of many months, over 4 years!
If you have authored an article, or submitted poetry or a song, or sent in photos, or just reported on an event, many many thanks for sharing here. A special thanks to Carolyn Shorkey who has written an article about a member/volunteer/employee almost every month!
My health is up and down, and I want our Tidings publication to continue to be a quality representation of UUCSV and its many talented members. So this will be my last issue to edit. I'm not sure when the next one will be published. A huge hug of thanks to all of you who have contributed to Tidings.
With a heart full of love,
Barbara Rogers
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Board of Trustees:
Rochelle Broome - President
Sally Smith - Vice-President
Larry Pearlman - Treasurer
Rose Levering
Jackie Franklin
Marti Saltzman
Dan Hadley
Non-board officer:
Deb Evenchik – Secretary
Committee Chairs:
Building & Grounds - Deb Evenchik
Social Action - Jane Carroll (rotating)
Finance - Lee Reading
Nominating - Evan Yanik
Congregational Care - Carolyn Shorkey
Membership - Heidi Blozan
Personnel – Linda Tatsapaugh
Communications - Marti Saltzman
Governance – Evan Yanik
Religious Education - Contact RE Director Susan Enright Hicks
Coffee Hour Hosts Coordinator - Carolyn Shorkey
Sunday Service Associates - Diane Graham (rotating)
Strategic Planning Task Force - open
Memorial Garden - Dawn Wilson
Safety Committee - Marti Saltzman
Stewardship - Dan Hadley
Sunday Service Production:
AV producer/editor - Evan Yanik and Deb Evenchik
Music director and piano - Annelinde Metzner
Sue Stone, piano
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley
500 Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
(828) 669-8050 (email preferred during pandemic)
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