CUUCSA On-Line Newsletter/ VOL. 12, NO. 12/December 2000

Editor: Margaret Batschelet, typea45@swbell.net

Nosotros, las congregaciones miembros de la Asociación UU, convenimos en afirmar y formentar el valor y la dignidad propria de cada persona.

Holiday Celebration

Saturday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. at CUUCSA, we'll have a holiday celebration. All ages are invited to come and enjoy an evening of shared: crafts, games, music and decorating. Each family is asked to bring: finger food, old white buttons (any size) to make a garland and any all-white ornament, on loan, for the Season. Cider and donuts will be provided. Contact Sally Weisen, Lisa Kuntz or Joan Bradshaw if you wish to help or initiate an activity.

December Worship

On December 10, Mary Grace Ketner will address "Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Other Ladies." The service will be about some of the images of the Virgen which are important to people in South Texas. Besides Guadalupe, Mary Grace will also discuss Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos and the Black Madonna (Panna Maria Polish), along with others. On December 17, Margaret Batschelet will lead an all-music holiday service, "Christmas Jam I." On December 24 there will be a very informal morning service led by John Wiesen for those who want to sing carols and talk with friends. Our formal service will be on the evening of December 24 when we have our usual Christmas Eve service.

Business Membership in KSTX Texas Public Radio

The good news is we have such a membership, and you may have heard us mentioned on the air. The other news is that we need to finish covering the $850 pledge. So far we have contributions from June Kachtik, John Bradshaw, Margaret Batschelet, Lisa Kuntz, Mary Jean Reynolds, Phyllis Katcher and Sandi Boyd. We have $260 to go. If you are willing to contribute to this initiative please make a check to CUUC marked in memo section "For TPR". $50 to $100 would help and as soon as possible to get the business settled. Thanks John Bradshaw 341-8506 Treasurer.

Small Church Conference

I have been on a committee led by Jonalu Johnstone (SW District Growth Consultant) to help plan and organize a conference just for small churches. You should have received by now the program brochure describing the event. I would like to personally invite you or others in your congregation to attend this event. The organizers have worked hard to make this conference beneficial to you. We really have some great speakers and good topics. This will be an opportunity to meet with others and share stories, successes and gain new insights and information. I hope to see you there. The event will be at Horizon UU Church in Carrollton, TX on January 19-20. Steve Rice e-mail: ricepad@home.com

New Women's Heritage Calendar Now Available

"Liberating Faith" is the title of the 2001 calendar published by the Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society, and now available from the Heritage Society Office. Introduced at the 2000 General Assembly, the calendar features 12 important Unitarian Universalist women. Biographical sketches highlight their lives and emphasize their accomplishments.

The women of the calendar are: Sandra Mitchell Caron, first woman to serve as the Moderator of the UUA; Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman licensed to practice medicine in the United States; Sarah Billings Doolittle, the woman who gave her home in Foxborough, MA, to serve as a residence for the elderly; Anna Carpenter Garlin Spencer, the first woman ordained to the ministry in Rhode Island; Florence (Chris) Bailey, who followed her dream into the ministry at mid-life; Caroline Wells Healey Dall, who was instrumental in establishing the American Social Science Association; Anna Linzee Tilden Gannett, the strong wife who rescued Ezra Stiles Gannett from debilitating depression; Margaret Moseley, who risked her life to register voters in Alabama; Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson Gaskell, the writer who dared expose conditions in factories in Manchester, England; Sarah James, the vivid character whose passion for UUism was legendary; Dorothea Foote Merriman, the unlikely reformer who changed the structure of governance in King's Chapel; and Hannah Hill and Joanne Prince Edwards who began what was probably the first Sunday School in the United States.

The calendar gives the birth dates of over 200 additional Unitarian Universalist women. These dates can be used for dedications at chalice lightings during Sunday services. "Every church office and every religious education office should have this calendar hanging in a prominent spot where every one can see it," said Rev. Dorothy Emerson, Executive Director of the Women's Heritage Society. "These women are among the prophets and leaders whose efforts have made the Unitarian Universalist Association into the unique, empowering organization it is today."

To order calendars, call the Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society, 781-321-3979, email: uuwhs@aol.com. They sell for $13.00 each, but can be ordered in shipments of 15 or more at a 15% discount and resold to make a profit for your organization. For a limited time, the Women's Heritage Society is absorbing the costs of shipping calendars, so now is the time to order. To learn more about the UU Women's Heritage Society and the current 2000 calendar, go to our website at www.uua.org/uuwhs. For additional information contact Rev. Dorothy Boroush at 508-824-2953 or dboroush@aol.com.

RE Corner

Tips for De-Stressing the Holidays
Carleton Kendrick Ed.M., LCSW

1. Keep cherished childhood traditions and consider establishing new ones for your family. Involve everyone, including your children, when creating new traditions. Sometimes traditions lose their importance for a family. Recognize when it's time to let them go.

2. Plan, organize, and prioritize to avoid burnout, disappointment and fatigue. Create a holiday-planning task schedule. Ask others to share the responsibilities and assign tasks to family members.

3. Create some time alone for yourself. Reflect on what is precious to you about the holidays and reconnect with your spirit.

4. Examine the differences between your holiday expectations and what is really possible. Establish realistic holiday goals. Share with family and friends any worries about meeting your holiday expectations.

5. Before getting together with family or relatives, anticipate and prepare for any difficulties. Don't expect your family or relatives to change their personalities because they are visiting your home. Don't bring up old family quarrels during the holidays.

6. Don't feed into the commercialism of the holidays. Plan free or low-cost activities and celebrations. Create and practice a holiday family tradition that helps those in need.

7. Don't spend money beyond your means. Consider gifts of help or special times together rather than gifts of things. Discuss gift-giving costs and realistic expectations with all family members well before the holidays.

8. Create a new family tradition to keep the post-holiday blahs at bay. Talk about the fun you've had and what the holidays mean to your family, then think about what you might do differently next year.

For the original of this article see http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,20-20058,00.html?email REgards, Anita

Dates to Mark

December 10: "Our Lady of Guadalupe and Other Ladies," Mary Grace Ketner, Speaker and Coordinator
December 16: All ages holiday celebration, 7 p.m.
December 17: "Christmas Jam I," Margaret Batschelet, Coordinator
December 20: Women's Group, 7:30
December 21: Men's Group, 7:30
December 24: "Christmas Jam II," John Wiesen, Coordinator
December 24: Christmas Eve service, 7:30 p.m.
December 31: "New Year's Resolutions," Henry Halff, Coordinator

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