This Week at Unity Church March 25–31, 2012
Welcome visitors! After the service today, please stop by the Welcome Table in the Parish Hall to introduce yourself and learn more about Unity Church.
Capital Campaign Challenge Gift
The challenge is this: if total Capital Campaign commitments reach
or exceed $5,750,000, this group will add $250,000 to bring the
total to at least $6,000,000. We are asking everyone to consider or
reconsider their own financial commitment to the campaign and add
to the total so we can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
Thank you to everyone that has made a commitment!
Partner Church Team Plant Sale • Last chance for orders!!
Order beautiful blooming plants in the Parish Hall and Cloister
following services today and have them in your home for Easter!
The plants will be available for pick-up on Palm Sunday, April 1.
Phone orders are also gratefully accepted. Call Karen Abraham at
651-699-5590.
OutFront Minnesota’s Day of Action
Thursday, March 29 • Minnesota State Capitol
One of the largest lobby days in the country and the most important
day for Minnesotans to show their support for LGBT equality.
• MORNING: Workshops on legislative developments and
effective lobbying techniques
• NOON: Rally for Equality
• DAYTIME: Appointments (with a group) with your legislator
• 5:30 p.m.: Interfaith Service at Mount Zion Temple, 1300
Summit Avenue. Fellowship and snacks start at 4:30 p.m.
Come to one event or all! OutFront requests that you register in
advance at www.outfront.org/takeaction/lobbyday. Contact Laura
Smidzik for more information at [email protected].
Unity Singles Event
Saturday, March 31
Unity Singles invites you to join them for a beverage and pairing
event at a member’s home. Please contact Bonnie Reiland at
[email protected] or Rick Ahern at 651-636-5836 or
[email protected] if you would like to attend.
Marriage Equality Conversation Trainings
These uniquely Unitarian Universalist workshops will prepare
you to have real conversations with friends, colleagues, neighbors
and family about why you care about the Minnesota Marriage
Amendment and why you are voting “no” in November 2012.
Please join us at Unity Church on Sunday, April 1, 15, and 29,
from 12:15-2:15 p.m. for this powerful opportunity. The trainings
work best if you commit to all three but no one will be turned
away if you come to just one or two.
RSVPs are appreciated but not required to Steve Lewis at
[email protected] or Laura Smidzik at laura.smidzik@
gmail.com or by phone at 651-308-1830.
Maundy Thursday Service
Thursday, April 5 • 7:00 p.m. • Ames Chapel
Please join us for a service of ritual and community, sharing in
traditional holy week practices of Eucharist and Foot Washing.
In the Memorialist tradition, we join to remember the life and
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, which include welcoming all
people to a meal of love, giving thanks for the gifts of life, and
serving each other in humility.
Special Meeting of the Congregation
Saturday, April 7 • 10:00 a.m. until noon • Sanctuary
This meeting called by the Board of Trustees will include information on the capital campaign and a detailed proposal for how best
to finance the project. All voting members of the congregation are
strongly encouraged to attend.
the library and bookstall team present
Café Unity
Poetry & Music Salon
Reading of original prose and poetry, music and
singing, refreshment and fellowship.
Childcare available upon request—contact
[email protected].
Friday April 13, 2012
7:00 p.m. — free
Where? At Unity Church, of course.
This Week in Religious Education
Spirit Play: This week as we continue to explore families, we
will talk about what divorce is and the changes divorce can
make in families.
Workshop Rotation: This is the last week of the Community
unit with our focus on families. In Story, youth are creating
stories about families together.
Jr. High: “High Feasts and Holy Days” is preparing for Holy
Week by practicing small informational mini-workshops they will
present to the Workshop Rotation youth. In “Extreme Religion,“
the youth will view the first half of the film “Jesus Camp.”
COA: The youth will be beginning work on their Credos!
Tower Club: Youth will have a super fun time hanging out with
Hallman Intern Rachel Lonberg!
UU Families Table Talk: Have you ever struggled with how to
talk with your children about Unitarian Universalism? Join us
at Wellspring Wednesday on March 28. Look for tables marked
“UU Family Table Talk.” Adults and children of all ages will
discuss Unitarian Universalist values that connect to Unity’s
monthly theme. March’s theme is “Suffering” and we will
discuss the following: Most people and religions believe that
everyone hurts or suffers. Is it always bad to hurt or suffer?
2012-2013 Religious Education Registration
Families planning to enroll children and youth in next
year’s Sunday School program MUST attend ONE in-person
registration session. Childcare provided at all sessions.
Wednesday, April 18, 7:10 p.m. • Sunday, April 22, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 24, 7:10 p.m. • Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m.
At all sessions, parents will sign up for their volunteer
roles. At all sessions, pledging families will have priority
registration, followed by returning teachers, followed
by open enrollment. Classes are filled on a first-come,
first-served basis. Contact Mary Blouin Auffert at kerri@
unityunitarian.org or 651-228-1456 x104.
732 Holly Avenue • Saint Paul, MN 55104 • 651-228-1456 • www.unityunitarian.org • [email protected]
Upcoming Worship Service • April 1, 2012
This Week at Unity Church
9:00 a.m. • 11:00 a.m. • 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 25
Children’s Choir Rehearsal
Afterthoughts
Lectio Divina
Welcome to Unity
Mirabilis Concert
Soup Supper
Tower Club
10:00 a.m., Foote Room
10:15 a.m., Gannett Room
10:15 a.m., Ames Chapel
12:15 p.m., Center Room
2:00 p.m., Ames Chapel
5:45 p.m., Parish Hall
6:00 p.m., Robbins Parlor
Monday, March 26
Grandparents Unitots Playgroup
9:30 a.m., Nursery
Job Transitions/Networking Group 9:30 a.m., Anderson Library
Men’s Retirement Group
1:00 p.m., Gannett Room
Marriage Equality Programming Team 5:30 p.m., Robbins Parlor
Library Team
6:30 p.m., Anderson Library
Mano a Mano Ministry Team
7:00 p.m., Gannett Room
Tuesday, March 27
Unity Sangha Meditation Group
Finding Yourself at Unity, Part 3
Committed Couples Class
Clarity, Force & Grace Writing Class
OWL for Adults
Unity Singers
5:30 p.m., Ames Chapel
6:30 p.m, Center Room
7:00 p.m., Ames Chapel
7:00 p.m., Robbins Parlor
7:00 p.m., Parish Hall
7:30 p.m., Foote Room
Wednesday, March 28
Wellspring Class
Former Wellspring Class
Our Whole Lives
Wellspring Wednesday
7:10 p.m, Robbins Parlor
7:10 p.m., Spirit Play West
7:10 p.m., OWL/COA Room
See box below
Thursday, March 29
Restorative Justice Team
Unity Choir Rehearsal
6:00 p.m., Gannett Room
7:30 p.m., Parish Hall
Friday, March 30
Unitots Playgroup
OWL Overnight
9:00 a.m, Nursery
7:00 p.m., Parish Hall
Wellspring Wednesday: March 28
6:00 p.m. Dinner: Fish sticks, tater tots, salad, dessert
$7/adult, $4/child ages 5 to 12, $2/child ages 2 to 4, $20/family
6:45 p.m. Worship service in the Ames Chapel
7:10 p.m. Programs: childcare is available in the Parish Hall
The Gordon Park, Shaft and Super Fly: The Inner Meaning of
Social Power in Blaxploitation Films
Super Fly is a 1972 film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr. Parks,
Jr. was born in 1934 and died in a plane crash in Kenya seven
years after his landmark film was released. He was survived
by his father, Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks.
Gordon Parks, Sr., who lived from 1912 until 2006, was a
groundbreaking photographer, a musician, a poet, a novelist,
a journalist, an activist and a film director. In 1971, a year
before Super Fly, Parks Sr. directed Shaft. Russell Ballenger,
another member of this esteemed family lives here in St. Paul
and is a longtime friend to Unity Church and staff member of
Unity’s community partner Amicus. Come and join Russell as
he reflects on the legacy of these films in a special, behindthe-scenes look at one of the most fascinating and enduring
moments in American filmmaking.
OWL Parents Group
Tween Youth Group
Yoga: $10/class or $50/6 classes
CompassionLTD A Meditation on the Loving Enemy — Leon Dunkley
“At what cost would you allow me to purchase this beautiful
robe?” The young man asked this question with a glimmer in
his eye. The young man knew no reasonable price would satisfy
the merchant but he pretended otherwise for the sake of the
conversation. The two men took a walk to talk things through.
Both were uncomfortable. The merchant knew the young man as
an enemy of the state and the young man knew the merchant as
an enemy of the people. This was the source of their discomfort
with one another. What they said when they were walking was
a mystery, indeed, but the young man returned carrying every
single robe in the merchant’s store. He returned with the merchant
himself who had a great, big smile upon his face. The young man
returned laughing because he had not spent a dime! The townsfolk
wondered how this could be so. Have you figured out the answer?
Come find out if you got it right!
Our Ministry of Generosity
Each Sunday, thirty percent of the offering goes to support the
Community Outreach Ministry at Unity Church and seventy
percent is given to the chosen community non-profit recipient.
Please make checks payable to Unity Church.
On March 18, Unity Church collected $1,825.25 in the Sunday offering.
The Immigration Law Center will receive a donation of $1,277.68.
Today’s offering recipient, Dayton’s Bluff Early Childhood Family
Education Advisory Council, builds connections between families
and Early Childhood Family Education programs. The Council
supports learning experiences for pre-school children and their
caregivers/parents. The Council serves about 80-90 pre-school
children and parents/caregivers primarily from St. Paul’s East Side.
Unity member Christi Saari serves on the board of Dayton’s Bluff
Early Childhood and Family Education Council.
The offering recipient on April 1, the Wildlife Rehabilitation
Center of Minnesota (WRC), provides quality medical care and
rehabilitation services for all injured, sick and orphaned wildlife
and promotes the healthy cohabitation of people and wildlife
with the goal of releasing animals back into the wild. The WRC
information helpline responds to more than 15,000 yearly calls
with approximately 170 species of wild animals and birds receiving
medical treatment and rehabilitative care each year. Unity Church
member Becky Rose supports the work of WRC.
Prairie Star District Annual Conference 2012
Lessons from War and Peace: Stories of Hope, Faith, and Courage
Bloomington, Minnesota • April 13-15, 2012
http://www.psduua.org/AnnualConference2012
Annual Used Book Sale! April 14 and 15
Benefit from our congregation’s shared love of reading while
supporting Youth Ministries! Donations for the sale can be dropped
off in the Religious Education office through April 13.
UNITY MEMBERS ONLY SNEAK PREVIEW: Midnight to 1:00
a.m. on Saturday, April 14, before the sale opens to the public!
SALE HOURS: Saturday, April 14: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. and Sunday,
April 15: 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., $5 Fill-A-Bag from 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Ordination of Leon Dunkley
Saturday, April 21 • 2:00 p.m. • Sanctuary
The sermon of the ordination will be delivered by Reverend Dr.
Rebecca Ann Parker, the President of the Starr King School of the
Ministry in Berkeley, California.