May Schedule

Sunday, May 6: No covenant group due to triathlon.

 Sunday, May 13: Service at JCC. Speaker Dolores Fielding: “A Celebration of Mothers and Flowers”. (Please bring at least one flower or plant for the Flower Ceremony.)  

Music: Cat Franks and Shirley Ziegler will play guitar and mandolin, accompanying choir members singing “Whispering Hope.”

Sunday, May 20: Covenant Group will meet at the home of Marge Tonks. If you need directions call Marge at 778-2880.

 Sunday, May 27: Short service with speaker Bruce Spector (subject TBA) followed by ANNUAL MEETING.

Music: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, duet by Bruce Spector and Natalie Collins.

Painting Day: Gail wishes to thank everyone who offered to paint or bring food to the painting session that was postponed at the last minute because the JCC wasn’t ready for us. We hope to reschedule for the fall.

Greetings and News from the Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman

April 31, 2012 – Year of Transformation and Love

Dear UUFSC Friends: I trust this brief update finds everyone well and in good health and spirits and enjoying life on St. Croix. I am pleased to report that not only are Ms. Lili, my cat, and I on track with our packing and relocation plans to St. Croix but our departure date has been moved to the end of July (instead of August). My books, art, knick knacks and papers are slowly being sorted, wrapped and boxed for shipping. My bike was recently stolen and so I am debating if I should bring my bike rack and helmet since I don’t currently have a bike.

I am continuing to job hunt and I expect to intensify my efforts when I arrive if I haven’t already secured employment. I appreciate the gracious offers from some of you to host me. But with a rather large cat and my various belongings I do not want to impose. Hence, I have been looking at one bedroom apartments. If any of you hear about some possible housing options please keep me in mind. I have continuously been checking rental listings.

I am so excited about the prospect of being back in St. Croix working with you all along with the Women’s Coalition, the Interfaith Coalition and the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council  and the writers group (to name a few). I look forward to setting my feet on St. Croix soil soon!

Keep me in your prayers and hearts as I make my way to St. Croix!

warmest regards, Qiyamah 

Again, I expect to be in St. Croix by August 1! Many of you will have departed for the mainland and so I look forward to your return in October!

Summer Hiatus:  After the annual meeting the fellowship will not meet again formally until October. However, we hope to have a couple of social events during the summer. Let us know what appeals to you: a beach day at Tamarind Reef (no picnic tables), Cramer Park on the East End or Mason Park in Frederiksted? Kayaking at Salt River? Day or night (for the phosphorescence)? Other ideas?

                 HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!                                           

The UU Fellowship of St. Croix meets October to May on the second and fourth Sundays at the Jewish Community Center in Hermon Hill (Route 83) at 10 AM. Sunday School is held simultaneously. Refreshments follow the service. All are welcome. For information call Gail Nealon 277-8354 or email her at gailnealon@gmail.com.

Newsletter April 2012

APRIL CALENDAR

April 8: Service on “The Environmental Movement: From Woodstock to SEAstock and Beyond” by Paul Chakroff, UU member and executive director of the St. Croix Environmental Association.

April 15: Covenant group meets at Emy’s house, 10 AM

April 22: Service on “Spirituality, Politics and the Environment” by Guest Speaker Carlos Tesitor.

April 29: No service or meeting.

Heads Up: In May we will hold our last two services of the fellowship year and our annual meeting, following the last service on May 27.  

The UU Fellowship of St. Croix meets October to May on the second and fourth Sundays at the Jewish Community Center in Hermon Hill (Route 83) at 10 AM. Sunday School is held simultaneously. Refreshments follow the service. All are welcome. For information call Gail Nealon 277-8354 or email her at gailnealon@gmail.com.

MARCH SCHEDULE

March 11 Service, 10 AM: Visiting Minister the Rev. Robert Rierson,  a retired Moravian Church minister, will talk about the history of the Moravian Church in the Virgin Islands in his sermon, “The Restlessness of the Human Spirit.” The story of the Moravian missionaries is one of faith, persistence and hope for the future.  Their mission was to educate the slaves and baptize them into the Christian faith. They began by teaching them to read and write and to educate them in the skills of trade in preparation for their freedom, which would come one hundred years later.

After the service we are all invited to stay for a Naming Ceremony for Lillian Roznowsky (the little redhead in our Sunday School, daughter of David and Kimberly). It will begin at noon and last half an hour and be followed by refreshments.

March 18: Covenant Group, 10 AM at Emy’s house.

March 25 Service 10 AM: Guest Speaker Susan Kraeger will relate her connection to Ghana and the organization World Class- Ghana in “The Power of Intention: Women and Water”.

After the service please stay for a Very Important Meeting at which we will discuss future plans for the fellowship and the role our February Visiting Minister the Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman might play in it. Since this will probably run through lunch time, please bring lunch food to share.

Services and Sunday School are held at 10 AM at the Jewish Community Center, Hermon Hill (Route 83) the second and fourth Sundays of the month, October-May. All are welcome.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF ST. CROIX

February 11, 10 AM-2PM: Workshop and potluck lunch at the Nealons’. (This is a schedule change from Feb. 4): “Coping with the Challenges of Living in a Community in Crisis”. 

Please bring a dish to share.

Directions to Nealons’: They are in the rain forest on the road just to the right of Mount Victory Camp. Get there from Mahogany Road onto Route 765 or from the shore road north of Frederiksted onto Creque Dam Road – Route 58. Their road is rough so if you have a low-slung car you probably want to leave it in the Mount Victory parking lot and arrange for someone to pick you up. Drive to the top of the hill and you will see a white  gate and driveway on your right.

There will be another workshop or two while the visiting minister is here. Dates and subjects to be announced.

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. Croix

Newsletter February 2012

FEBRUARY SCHEDULE     

Wednesday 2/1: The Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, our visiting minister for the month of February, arrives. She will present a sermon each of the four Sundays in February and will lead a couple of workshops. She will stay with Jim and Gail Nealon for the first two weeks, then one week with Sondra Catts and the last week with Emy Thomas. She will have a rental car.

 (WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE TWO WORKSHOPS WHILE SHE IS HERE. PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL IF YOU HAVE PROVOCATIVE IDEAS FOR WORKSHOPS OR WOULD LIKE TO HOST A DINNER OR OTHER ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE MINISTER.)

Saturday, 2/4: WELCOME THE MINISTER Potluck Lunch and Workshop at the Nealons’ home, 10-2. Subject TBA. (Directions to Nealons’: They are in the rain forest on the road just to the right of Mount Victory Camp. Get there from Mahogany Road onto Route 765 or from the shore road north of Frederiksted onto Creque Dam Road – Route 58. Their road is rough so if you have a low-slung car you probably want to leave it in the Mount Victory parking lot and arrange to be picked up by someone else.)

Sunday 2/5: Service, “A Spiritual Odyssey”, her personal story.

Sunday 2/12: Service, “The Ties That Bind,” a Valentine message.

Sunday 2/19: Service, “Black History from a UU Perspective”.

Sunday 2/26: Service, “Violence Against Women from a Global Perspective.”

Here is Qiyamah’s photo and bio.

Qiyamah A. Rahman currently serves as the Director of Contextual Ministry and Senior Lecturer at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, IL. She coordinates field education experiences for seminary students and  helps them navigate the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Credentialing Process that leads to fellowship . She also identifies and matches Teaching Pastors and students in mentoring relationships that enriches the ministerial formation of the students. She also works with community site supervisors in the students experiential service learning and she co-teaches the  Community Studies Sequence during students first years.

Qiyamah received her doctorate from Clark Atlanta University’s Africana Women’s Studies with a major in Women and Development and a minor in Womanist theory. She also has a Masters in Social Work with a minor in administration and a Bachelor’s in Education with a specialization in Social Studies and Psychology from the University of Michigan.

 Her dissertation research , titled, “ By the Shores of Babylon We Wept: An Exploration of the Institutional Response of the Unitarian Universalist Association to Clergy Sexual Misconduct Between 1992 to 2005” focused on her interests with personal and institution. She taught an on-line course in 2009 titled, Unitarianism: A Global Vision,  that included students from Nigeria, Mexico, Argentina, Canada and the United States. She currently teaches a course od n Professional Ministerial Boundaries titled, Safe Congregations:  Exploring and Creating Safe Congregations, which addresses situations that potentially compromise the safety of Unitarian Universalist communities. In addition she draws on her life’s experiences and taps into her deep insights about interpersonal violence, healing and reconciliation. Maintaining quality of life for sassy seniors has become of personal interest as she personally experiences aging.

Qiyamah has several published essays: “Frances Ellen Watkins Harper” in Darkening the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism” by Mark D. Morrison-Reed, ed. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2011.

“Fatima Meer Bio” Encyclopedia of Women in World History (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. 

“Healthy and Safe Congregations” in The Safe Congregation Handbook: Nurturing Healthy Boundaries in Our Faith Communities by Patricia Hoertdoerfer and Fredric Muir, eds. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2005, p.1-3.

“In My Sisters’ Gardens: A Celebration of Women’s History Month,” Glorious Women: Award-Winning Sermons about Women ed. by Dorothy May Emerson (New York: iUniverse, Inc. 2004), pgs. 162-169.

“Frances Ellen Watkins Harper,” Standing Before Us: Unitarian Universalist Women and Social Reform 1776-1936 ed. By Dorothy May Emerson (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2000) pgs. 102-105.

Qiyamah is a member at First Unitarian Church of Chicago and served as Visiting Minister at Third Unitarian Church.

Qiyamah served as District Executive for the Southeast District from 1999 to 2005. She is conducting research on the presence of black women in Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalism.

Her hobbies include movies and traveling. She has three adult children, Libra Malika, Kaleema Haidera and Askia Muhammad Tariq Abdur  , and a grandson, Brandon who is in his freshman year at Pennsylvania State University. She currently lives with her long time companion, Lili, a white long haired cat of dubious pedigree.

The UU Fellowship of St. Croix meets October to May on the second and fourth Sundays at the Jewish Community Center in Hermon Hill (Route 83) at 10 AM. Sunday School is held simultaneously. Refreshments follow the service. All are welcome. For information call Gail Nealon 277-8354 or email her at gailnealon@gmail.com.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF ST. CROIX

JANUARY 2012 CALENDAR

January 8: Service on Crime Stoppers by Guest Speaker Judy Fricks

January 10: Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 PM at Emy’s house.

January 15: Covenant group meets at Emy’s house, 10 AM

January 22: Service on “Traveling with  Emerson: ‘We take ourselves with us’”  by Guest Speaker Evelyn Barish, Emerson scholar and author.
A friend of Nina York’s, Ms. Baris has written two books on Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Emerson: The Roots of Prophecy” and “Emerson in Italy”; and one on Victorian poet Arthur-Hugh Clough.

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion which welcomes people of all beliefs and backgrounds. There are no creeds.

AIMS & PURPOSES:

1. To provide fellowship for persons desiring freedom of thought.

2. To strengthen one another in searching for truth and striving for a growing philosophy.

3. To promote individual freedoms, including, but not restricted to, freedom of thought, expression, the pursuit of happiness and social ministry.

4. To further the democratic process in human relations and to serve the universal human family.

5. To strive for a world fellowship of peace.