From the minister

Understanding the Thorns, Removing the Thorns

While doing some research into Shintoism, I watched a favorite film of mine called Spirited Away, by the Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the human girl who is working in the bath house for the Kami (nature spirits) is forced to serve a stink spirit. As she's helping to get the huge lump of moving mud into the stream of water, she feels something, a 'thorn' sticking in his side. Together, she and the rest of the staff of the bath house pull what turns out to be a bicycle out of the spirit's side. Along with the bike comes a stream of trash. When all the trash is removed, the water cleanses away the mud, and a vibrant, sparkling river spirit flies gracefully and gratefully from the bath house. This story reminds me of our task at the Fellowship. We seek to understand the thorns that are destroying the beauty and harmony of our world.

The next process is probably the more difficult one: how do we remove those thorns? As in Spirited Away, it takes a whole community. That community is made up of individuals who are seeking to create harmony and balance. And our theologies are an integral part of that search.

Here at the Fellowship we're halfway through our theological series. My sharing of my beliefs with you has helped me to better understand where I am at this point of my journey. Unitarian Universalists are sometimes accused of believing whatever we want or nothing at all. We are often better at articulating what we don't believe than what we do believe. My hope is that this will change as we develop the language of values and the spiritual resources that help us to more deeply experience and appreciate the world.

See you on Sunday,

November 6

A Harvest of Friendship

Deb Kline, Kitty Fisher, Ginny Huntington, Linda Barnes, Benette Sherman

We have sown the seeds of caring and concern for our partner church in Transylvania over the years, and we continue to reap a harvest of friendship. As we inch our way towards our Thanksgiving, we pause this day to consider and be grateful for the abundance of an Iowan harvest (as demonstrated with our Apple Communion) and compare it to the customs of our partner church in the birthplace of Unitarianism.
All-Congregational Service
Special Music: Zoe Pritchard

November 13

Are You Saved?

Rev. Brian Eslinger

One of the primary questions addressed by many religions has to do with salvation. What does it mean? What does it take for humanity to achieve it? Universalism, half of our Unitarian Universalist tradition, is named for this idea. How we shape the answers to these questions in our lives has implications for our faith.
Special Music: Danny Alexander

November 20

The Discussion Keeps Getting Better

Mark Witherspoon

November 27 (single service at 10am)

The Stories of Our Lives

Rev. Brian Eslinger

During the holiday season we retell stories of our culture and history that help us to understand who we are. What are the stories that shape us? How do we incorporate them into our lives?
Special Music: Fellowship Voices

From the Director of Youth and Children's Ministries

Dates to Remember

Keeping Your Balance in Chaotic Times

A few Sundays ago I offered a few ideas to the high school RE class about maintaining one's balance in a bumpy and unpredictable life. I asked them to imagine juggling five balls: work (or school), family, friends, health, and integrity. One day we discover that work (school) is a rubber ball, if dropped it will bounce back. But the other four balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these it will shatter. Once we understand the lesson of the five balls (what we really need in our lives) we have the beginnings of balance in our lives.

At this time of the year, expecting the cold and dark and "dealing" with the holidays, isn't it important to stay balanced on what is truly important? As I sit in my Fellowship office, I see the yoga practitioners come for their classes and imagine them in a tree pose or warrior pose, focusing their eyes on one spot, controlling their breath, balancing on one leg, using their strength to maintain a pose. Our children watch us, they catch our anxiety, and they imitate our impatience and frustration when we become unbalanced. As I told the high school students, the Fellowship can be seen as our center of gravity or the still point of balance in our lives. Sunday, the day of intended rest and rejuvenation, can help us regain equanimity and balance. The practice of yoga, integrating mind, body, and spirit, includes much of what we try to model in our RE classes-quietude, strength, balance, focus, flexibility, and determination.

- Benette

Children’s (Preschool - 6th) Activities

Nov. 19: Sacred Space Awareness Program 9-11 a.m.
This is one-time program designed to increase appreciation for our Fellowship and to understand the symbolism of some of the items and places in the Fellowship. We'll talk about the importance of symbols in life and tour the building. Registration accepted for K-5th graders on Nov. 6 and 13 in the Fireside Room or contact Benette.

Nov. 27: Multi-age RE upstairs (one service at 10 a.m.)

High School Youth Group

As part of our Art and Soul topic, we traveled to Cedar Rapids to see the Grant Wood exhibit and to walk the labyrinth at Prairiewoods Retreat Center. Walking the labyrinth elicited some interesting remarks from the teens. They found the experience calming, peaceful, suffocating, rigid, quieting, monotonous, and more. We will continue to discuss the possibility of creating a labyrinth somewhere in Ames (maybe when it snows??)

Newcomers to the RE program

Take time to welcome these new families. Let's make sure we all make them feel at home!

• The Perrin family: Zack, Dawson, and Grace and their parents, Jana and Chris. They attend the 9 a.m. service.
• The Preston family: Lucas and Jacob and their parents Robert and Sophia. They also attend the 9 a.m. service.
• The Lence family: Tomas and Sophia and their parents Marta and Sergio. They come at 11.
• The Moody-Hendricks family: Ty, Kirk, and Jamie and parents Kate and Don. They come at 11.
• We welcome back from sabbatical: Jasmine Ambrosio and her mom Linda. They come at 9.
• In the middle school group, we extend a warm welcome to Kaitlin Estill and Connor Kimrey.
• We're also happy to have Natasha Novotorova, daughter of Peter and step-daughter of Jane Barratt, join her step-sister Jane Barratt in the high school class. Natasha is from Russia and attends Ames High.
  

From the Office Administrator

Life-Long Learning and Loving It!

This month, Brian and a member of the Personnel Committee met with me to discuss the process of my job evaluation. Though a formal evaluation won't occur until next year, they encouraged me to think of some goals I would like to accomplish over the next months. The first thing that came to mind was to somehow get a grasp on the Institutional Wisdom of this place. It seems like every day I learn something new! Brenda has joked that soon I'll know more than she does about the Fellowship. A ping-pong table? We have a ping-pong table?

Right now, a lot of the info is random bits and pieces. I'm attempting to glue it together so that when I need a datum, I don't have to rely on my poor memory for recall. My challenge to all of you for this month is to see if you can come up with a bit of knowledge, a way of doing things, a location for something, etc. that I don't know as yet. (But, to tell you the truth, right now I think I'd be grateful just for the names of the committee heads!)

- Becca

Can You Find Our RE Kids?

Everyone likes to see their name in print, right? Well, all the first names of the kids in our RE programs are hidden in the grid below. They can go in any direction and have letters that overlap. Can you find everyone? If you need help, all the names are listed on page 6.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Thanks to Sebastian Donner for recycling our white office paper by taking it to Des Moines for several years. Now that the Ames Area Redemption Center on East Lincoln Way has greatly expanded its recycling, we need someone in Ames to volunteer to help make us walk the walk of a Green Congregation and bring in our recyclables, as well as our redeemable bottles and cans.

You may also be interested in home recycling, since the Ames Area Redemption Center now accepts white and colored office paper, cardboard, clean milk jugs, all plastic bottles (except motor oil), newspapers, magazines, clean aluminum and tin cans, cereal boxes, and grocery bags (plastic or paper). The recycling building is on the back of the lot, well behind the can and bottle redemption center.

Speaking of recycling: WANTED: issues of UUWorld Fall 2005 for the Kofords (but first read the article by Amelia!) Please drop them off in the Fellowship office.

CONSCIENTIOUS KNITTERS

Calling all knitters...and other needle arts practitioners! We're having our first "drop-in" knitting (or crocheting, hooking, embroidery, etc.) session from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6 in the Fellowship's Tower Room. Practitioners of all ages and levels of accomplishment are welcome. Feel free to bring friends from within or without the Fellowship.

- Mary Richards

DRUM CIRCLE

Though small, the inaugural meeting of the drum circle was successful. The next meeting (beating?) will be the fourth Sunday of this month, Nov. 27, from 3 to 5 p.m. No experience necessary, and all are welcome.

- Jennifer Klages

KINETIC SPIRITS

Kinetic Spirits provides the atmosphere to tap into your unique intuition, spontaneity, and creativity. All movements are the right ones to connect to your inner and universal energy. Join us for music and movement on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Drop in for all or part of the hour, no experience necessary. Music is provided, but your favorite CDs are welcome.

- Deb Kline

PRAIRIE SAGE: EARTH BASED/PAGAN SPIRITUALITY

Prairie Sage Circle is a multi-faceted group, exploring the spirituality within ourselves and the Nature that surrounds us. It is circle-oriented to promote self-awareness and facilitate connectedness among group members. The subject matter is largely based on group dynamics, but we will be working with the book Earth Spirit Warrior, a nature-based guide to authentic living, by John R. Stone. The group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Tower Room at 7 p.m.

- Tammy Hartmann

SCIENCE VIDEO DISCUSSION CIRCLE

Fritz Franzen and Sam Wormley host a Science Video Discussion Fellowship Circle at the home of Fritz Franzen on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. The Science Video Series is currently discussing the thirteen part COSMOS series (with updates) by Carl Sagan. On Nov. 15, it's Part III - "The Harmony of the Worlds". The topic for Dec. 6 is COSMOS Part IV - "Heaven and Hell"

- Sam Wormley

UUFA WOMEN'S BOOK GROUP

The UUFA Women's Book Group will meet Monday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Tower Room of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. We will be discussing Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. All our selections are in paperback and available in local bookstores. Please come join us we always welcome new members. The Book Group always meets the first Monday of the month. Our calendar for the year includes: Master Builder's Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (Dec. 5), Hoot and/or Flush by Carl Hiassen (Jan. 2), From Here You Can't See Paris by Michael S. Sanders (Feb. 6), Angry Housewives Eating Bon-bons by Lorna Landvik (Mar. 6), Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Apr. 3), Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers (May 1), and Mermaid's Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (June 5).

- Barbi Greenlaw

UUFA WOMEN'S WRITING GROUP

The UU Women's Writing Group meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Tower Room at the UUFA. Aspiring writers are welcome to come and share their writings. We will be writing some short pieces at the meeting as well as gently critiquing pieces submitted ahead of time by email.

- Barbi Greenlaw

WOMEN'S DAYTIME CIRCLE

Circles are a great opportunity for women who have a little daytime room in their lives for small-group fellowship. The members of the women's daytime circle (currently meeting every other Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m.) invite you to join us. Circles are a great way to make new friends and develop connections in the Fellowship. All ages and interests are welcome.

- Susan Franzen

FREE INTRODUCTION TO YOGA

On Monday, Nov. 7, 2005 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Bliss Yoga is offering a free class. It will present information and a short yoga practice to introduce you to the joys of yoga. Wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat and a thick blanket. Class will be held at the Fellowship. Space is limited, so pre-registration is required. Six-week sessions of yoga begin on Nov. 14. Classes are offered Mondays 5:30-6:45 p.m., Tuesdays, 9:15-10:30 a.m., Thursdays 9:15-10:30 a.m. and Thursday 5:30-6:45 p.m.

- Ruthann Hadish

• Remember that following the Sunday Program on Nov. 27, we will host a Thanksgiving potluck with member families of the Iowa Dialog Center. The potluck begins at 11:30 and ends when the conversation stops. Since there will be Muslims sharing in our meal, please refrain from bringing dishes containing pork or alcohol.
  
• Tired of shopping for the "perfect gift" for your friends and loved ones? Find perfect gifts this year by shopping the Alternative Gift Market (AGM). This year there are two ways to shop at the AGM. On Saturday, Dec. 3, the AGM will be at the North Grand Mall. We will sponsor musical entertainment at the courtyard near Penney's from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. While listening to the entertainment, you can purchase Alternative Gifts and receive gift cards. Alternative Gifts will also be available at the Fellowship between services and after the last service on Sunday Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 5, and Dec. 12. Choose from more than thirty local and global charities to honor your friends and relatives for the holidays, weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. Purchase mango seeds for food and soil stabilization in Haiti, anti-poaching patrols to protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda, oxen for a Bolivian family, or a fruit and vegetable voucher for a Beyond Welfare participant in Ames. Special Alternative Gifts will be available for children to buy for friends and relatives.
  If you have questions, contact Bonnie Bowen.
  
• Our night at Worldly Goods will be from 5 to 8 p.m.on Friday, Dec. 2. Worldly Goods will contribute 20 percent of its sales during that time block to the Fellowship. UUFA folks are encouraged to take cookies and treats to share; Worldly Goods will provide warm drinks.
  
• Please join us for the Annual Solstice Celebration at the Barnes-Runquist farm on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. Please wear a warm coat for the bonfire and bring a dish to share. Maps will be available at the Fellowship office. For more information, contact Linda Barnes.
  
• Currently, singer/song-writer Peter Mayer plans to perform at our Mooncookie Café on Friday, Jan. 27. More details will come in the next newsletter. He will have his new CD ready for sale at this time.

• Need a vacation destination for next summer? Explore the possibility of a visit to our Partner Church in Tordátfalva at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Tower Room. The meeting will be hosted by the Partner Church committee.
• The congregation of Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist invites you to join us for a weekend getaway to the city of Chicago, June 2 - 4, 2006. For the two nights of your stay, you'll be hosted by members of Countryside's friendly and welcoming congregation in the northwest suburbs. Your weekend includes hearty dinners with entertainment, breakfast at your host's home, and a full-day visit to the city.
  The highlight of the weekend is the city's celebrated architecture. Countryside has arranged for our guests to enjoy two of the best architecture tours the city has to offer. See the soaring towers of the downtown area, acclaimed landmarks, and the new Millenium Park, which features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists, and designers.
  After a busy Saturday in the city, you'll appreciate the peaceful setting of Countryside's award-winning building and prairie garden.
  

Current show: Fellowship Artists Next event: Art Committee sale on Dec. 4

WHAT THEN MUST WE DO?

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."

- Leo Tolstoy

As one person, we may feel powerless to affect deep and radical - at the roots - change in our society. But as a community, we can help create a broad power base to work for social change as part of AMOS, a Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy, an organization of faith communities in central Iowa.
On Nov. 6 from 3 to 6 p.m. the AMOS member congregations will meet at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines

• To hear stories of how AMOS helped with Hurricane Katrina evacuees
• To learn more about the dangers of disinvestment in our public sector
• To learn more of the myth and reality of a market economy
  

Our 5th UU Principle says: "We believe in the use of the democratic process." If you believe this and want to learn more about democracy in action, come to this important meeting. AMOS presents a vision for working on issues for the common good.

The Fellowship will soon make a decision to join AMOS (along with other faith communities in Ames) and we'd like as many of you as possible to attend this meeting. For more information, contact Marcia Brink or Benette Sherman.

INDUSTRIAL AREAS FOUNDATION (IAF) AND AMOS (A MID-IOWA ORGANIZING STRATEGY)
REVISITED

There is a growing group of us eager to share our knowledge and enthusiasm about IAF and AMOS with other Fellowship members. Briefly, AMOS is a organization of Des Moines faith communities, including the Des Moines UU congregation, who meet together to develop and implement strategies to effect needed social change as determined by these faith communities. We are hoping the Fellowship will agree to join AMOS or develop a similar organization focusing on Ames issues and concerns.

We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about IAF organizations to attend a forum on Nov. 20 or Dec. 11 between services in the Fellowship Hall from 10:15-10:45.

- Benette Sherman

URGENT UUSC-UUA APPEAL TO HELP EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS.

Thousands of people are in desperate and immediate need as a result of the earthquake disaster in the Himalayas. Your donation to a joint fund of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Association, together with UUSC's expertise in responding to humanitarian crises, will make a difference. (UUSC is already working with other organizations in the area.) Contribute online or by mail: UUSC-UUA South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund, P.O. Box 845259, Boston, MA 02284-5259,www.uusc.org.

- Marcia Brink

From the president

GOING, GOING... SOLD! (ON UUISM)

Auction, stewardship, DYCM credentialing

I'm thinking about selling my monthly newsletter space to the highest bidder. At the Fellowship Auction, our minister's offer to craft a Sunday service for the deepest pocket was a popular item, so there must still be some faces in the crowd with a burning desire to explore certain topics as a community.

Our annual auction was again a resounding success, both in the money generated for our operating budget and in the sense of community engendered - at the event itself and during the many opportunities we'll have to interact with each other as the dinners and trips and crafts take shape.

In the past few years, many of us have seen a growing need to better tap into the spirit of generosity that was so evident on auction night. The UUFA board, spurred by some thoughtful input from the Finance Committee (and from Liz Weber, who continues to share her insights from her work with the national association's annual fund), will soon formally establish a year-round Stewardship Committee to better frame our conversation about how we each support and are supported by the fellowship.

Shaun Keister has graciously agreed to co-chair that committee for three years, with the other co-chair held on a rotating basis by the board vice president, currently Sue Ellen Tuttle. The exact composition and charge of the committee are still being developed, but a critical role will be awakening a collective spirit of abundance in us all.

It is tempting to operate out of a sense of scarcity - that we sacrifice something when we spend our money, time and other resources - because it grows from that powerful place where we let fear and separateness drive our understanding of security. I believe that it is in community that we can best engage and experience a spirit of abundance and the rich relationships that result when we give and receive in that spirit.
Hand in hand with a spirit of abundance goes a culture of gratitude. The board - thanks to the contributions of excellent staff, well-run committees, and individual people who see and fill needs that most of us never know about - finds itself able to spend time talking about these seemingly esoteric "climate" issues, and that is a wonderful place to be.

This month, I want to highlight the work of Wayne and Anita Beal and the countless others who contributed to the auction, making it fun to find that spirit of abundance.

Also, please share your congratulations with Benette Sherman, who has earned the status of credentialed religious educator through our national association, the UUA. To reach that level, she had to complete seven structured learning experiences beyond the 75 hours of training she had already undergone to reach associate level, and she developed an extensive portfolio that was reviewed by the credentialing committee as part of her status evaluation.

This process has been several years in the making, and I'm sure she has many thoughts and insights. I suspect that - like many of us - she'd be only too happy to share with anyone who thinks to ask.

- Brenda

Next Board Meetings:
7pm Wednesday, November 16
7pm Wednesday, December 14