Author: Jude Genereaux

On Sunday, September 20th, as part of our Blue Hills UU service, fellowship member Jude Genereaux will share with us the ways she finds “Sanctuary in the Natural World.”   As we continue our journey in this strange time zone , we seek ways to cope with changes in our lives and gatherings.   Fortunate as we are to live in the northwoods, the many ways to seek understanding and peace for the soul are abundant.   Sometimes one just needs to hold still to recognize them.

What do you find in the out-of-doors that brings you solace?   Be ready to share an experience or solution to the claustrophobia that comes when life feels limited.

We begin at 10:00 a.m. The Zoom link will be sent to members by Saturday, although all interested are invited to sign in. Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation and want to join in, are invited to meet IN the church, masked and distanced ~!~ to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Several group discussions regarding Racial Justice will take place on September 21st and 30^th at 6:30 p.m.  Based on the book “White Fragility”, April Neilsen serves as facilitator, encouraging those interested to take part whether the book has been read or not.  A link will be sent to members the day before, noting the time of meeting. 

Sunday, September 6^th, Blue Hills UU’s will continue the discussion begun last week, considering how we, a small congregation, should think about our place in the community.  Dividing into smaller groups through the magic of Zoom, the following questions were focus:

• What three or four basic values should be reflected in all our activities?
• What difference do we want to make in the world?
• What specific ends do we want to reach?
• What projects would move us toward these ends?

We will continue this important inquiry on September 6^th by hearing from each group as we seek to provide the foundation for building a consensus on how to live out our mission as UU’s.   Three additional questions will be asked of individual members to aide in our continued planning:   What is my passion?  What am I willing to give up (or have given up) to make this happen?   What am I looking for in BHUU?  What am I getting out of it?  What more do I need?  Am I willing to give more?

We begin at 10:00 a.m. The Zoom link will be sent to members by Saturday, although all interested are invited to sign in. Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

Those who want to participate, but lack cyberlink connection or equipment to enable, are invited to meet IN the church, masked and distanced ~!~ to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Several group discussions regarding Racial Justice will take place September 2, 9, 14, 21, and 30^th, at either 10:00 a.m. or 6:30 p.m.  Based on the book “White Fragility”,  April Neilsen will serve as facilitator, but encourages all who are interested whether the book has been read or no.  A link will be sent to members the day before, noting the time of meeting. 

Your Blue Hills UU Board members began their new term by meeting together (in person!) July 18th at our newly elected Chairman, Dr. Mark Van Etten’s home.   First order of business for Mark, was to launch a discussion on a rethinking of our “Missions and Goals.”  Earlier this year, some of our members participated in a series of webinars given by the UUA to help small congregations like ours build on their unique strengths. Now it’s time for us to discuss these ideas among ourselves and set priorities for our fellowship.

This approaching Sunday, August 30, after we light the chalice, we’ll divide into small groups (yes, we can do this on Zoom!) and seek your input to these questions:  

• What three or four basic values should be reflected in all our activities?
• What difference do we want to make in the world?
• What specific ends do we want to reach?
• What projects would move us toward these ends?

We’ll reassemble in our larger group to conclude the service.   On September 6th we’ll hear the conclusions of each of the smaller group, and plan to continue working together toward establishing the direction and activities for BHUU for the coming year.  This effort will provide the basis for what committees/action groups we need.    

Remember,every voice is important!

Order of Service

Sunday morning, August 23^rd, Blue Hills UU member Brian Rude will poke the sleeping bear by asking us “”Questions of Pride”.

This will be an informal discussion focused on just what do we mean by “pride”?  Is pride a good thing?  Is pride a bad thing?  Is it sometimes both?  What are proper subjects of pride, and what might be improper?  Brian says “No hard and fast rules of pride are anticipated, but the subject raises many interesting and, I think, worthwhile questions.”  

One of the advantages of gathering on “Zoom” is that all participants can be given time to interact and respond to Brian’s provocative inquiry.  We begin at 10:00 a.m.  The Zoom link will be sent to members by Saturday, although all interested are invited to sign in.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org  for the link needed to join the service.

Order of Service (Docx, “Word” file)
Susan O’Leary of Madison WI will spend the morning with the Blue Hills UU’s Sunday, August 16^th. to speak on “Kindness in These Times.”  As a member of Madison’s Snow Flower Buddhist Sangha, Ms. O’Leary has practiced in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, and will share with us insight and wisdom acquired through over twenty-five years of practice. 

An author of several books, the most recent “Delight in 1000 Characters,” is co-authored with calligrapher and Buddhist scholar, Kazuaki Tanahashi.   The text addresses the 1000 Character Essay, brushed by monk Zhiyong, which for 1500 years was the standard calligraphy text in East Asia for teaching writing.

As one of the first in a group of women admitted to Yale University as undergraduates, after completing her degree, Susan returned to the Midwest to earn a Ph.D in French at the UW Madison where she & husband Jim continue to make their home and are active in Madison’s diverse culture. 

Be with us Sunday to share Susan’s rich experience;  we meet in cyber space at 10 a.m.  The Zoom link will be sent to members by Saturday, though all interested are invited to participate;  visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

Our own Kent Shifferd is plotting to bring the real dirt on “Dirt” to our Blue Hills UU’s this coming Sunday, August 9^th.  “Dirt”, Dr. Kent tells us “is not only amazing, but is quite literally the ground of our being.”   

We simply refer to the substance as “dirt”, but there is a significant difference between soil, loam and dirt:   dirt is what you get on your clothes and hands while working in the soil.  Soil is “made up of elements that have been decomposing since the earth was created, composed of bedrock and mountain stones broken down over eons by wind and rain.”   Be with us as Kent leads us to discover the importance of this element, and, as he would remind us:  “No dirt /no Us”

     We meet in cyber space at 10 a.m. Sunday.  The Zoom link will be sent to members by Saturday, though all interested are invited to participate;  visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

Recently elected BHUU Board members will meet in regular Board session after the conclusion of the service, 11:00. New officers are Chairman Mark Van Etten, Vice Chair Pat Shifferd, Treasurer Jude Genereaux and members at large: Judy Barisonzi, Valerie Rude, Linda Tollefsrud and Ken Hood. Board meetings are always open to all BHUU members.

Rice Lake’s Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist fellowship will once again depend on the magic of ZOOM to bring us Eva Apelqvist, our guest speaker for the approaching Sunday service.    As a writer, a librarian, an aggressive reader and a Unitarian, Eva has recognized the ways our UU principles and purposes are in sync with the point of view of public libraries.  Observing that “These principles work very well in a public library context”,  Eva will share this perspective with us beginning  at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, June 7^th.

BHUU members will find the link needed to connect on ZOOM sent to them by email later this week.   We welcome all to participate at Blue Hills UU;  serious parties wanting to take part may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

This coming Sunday, May 31^st will mark a new beginning for Blue Hills UU’s – and an ending of sorts as we conclude the 2019-2020 year of activity.   A first will be holding this, our ANNUAL MEETING on Zoom.   While we hope this won’t continue much longer (Zoom) it has at least brought us opportunity to hang together through the mutual strain and anxiety of living through a pandemic, learning how to cope with it on many levels.

We will have a shortened Service, then enter into the Annual Meeting to bring members information on the activities BHUU has been involved in (which are pretty darn notable considering our size!) by way of reporting from our officers and committees.   And perhaps most important, we elect new officers and adopt a Budget for the coming year.  

All current members received snail mail correspondence from Treasurer, Pat Shifferd in the last few weeks addressing these matters.   As not everyone is able to participate via Zoom,  the mailing gives all an opportunity to review both the proposed budget  and the slate of new officers suggested by the Nominations Committee.  Voting on these matters will take place during the Zoom meeting on Sunday, or your ballot sent via snail mail. 

We will begin at 10:00 a.m.  The Zoom link will be sent to members later this week.  “See you” then!  

This coming  Sunday, May 24^th.,  our BHUU Service will be conducted  by member Judith Barisonzi, as we consider “My God and Your God.”  Judy will lead us in continuing the ongoing discussion from last week “on the possibly problematic nature of belief and the origins of religion.”   Offering a slight shift this Sunday she will talk about the Old Testament as well as some personal experiences, and assures “We’ll have plenty of time to share our multiple viewpoints.” 

With a more stable ZOOM link in the world of cyberspace this week, we’re all looking forward to gathering again at 10 a.m.   Members will find the link needed to connect on ZOOM sent to them by email later this week.   We welcome all to participate at Blue Hills UU, so serious parties wanting to take part may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.

May 17, 2020

“Incoherent Rants!” ~?~

Our friend, visiting pastor Dennis Peters, returns to Blue Hills UU this coming Sunday, May 17 as we once again gather on ZOOM for our service at 10:00 a.m. Dennis warns us ahead of time: “I’ll be taking apart some cherished ideas, beliefs, and emotional ties here, walking down corridors that we’ve all visited… but with an axe this time.” Further explaining that “sometimes there is a need is for clarity – the clarity after lightning strikes, and the air is newly fresh, and the building you were standing in is now in charred ruins around you” his topic meshes with the times we are living through.

Those unafraid to challenge their beliefs will find the link needed sent to them by email later this week. All are welcome to participate however — serious parties wanting to take part may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org for the link needed to join the service.