[Council] Worship & Music Committee - Minutes of November 4 2020 meeting

[Martha McGovern]

Minutes for November 4, 2020 Meeting of the Worship & Music Committee
In Attendance: Adeline Bailey, Rev. Kat Hawbaker, Martha McGovern, Suzyn Mills

Chalice Lighting: “The Psychic” by Victoria Redel  from American Poets, The Journal of the Academy of American Poets, Fall-Winter 2020, Vol. 59
He said I must pay special attention in cars.  He wasn’t, he assured me, saying that I’d be in an accident but that for two weeks some particular caution was in order, &, he said, all I really needed to do was throw the white light of Alma around any car I entered & then I’d be fine.  & when I asked about Alma, he said, Oh, come on, you know Alma well.  You two were together first in Egypt & then at Stonehenge, & I nodded though I’ve never been – in this life at least – to Stonehenge; then I said, Shouldn’t I always throw the white light of Alma around a car? & when he said, Well, it wouldn’t hurt, I said, What about around planes, houses?  What if I throw the white light of Alma around anyone who might need protection from the reckless speed of driving or the reckless swerve & skid of the world? & the psychic opened his hands & shrugged up his shoulders.  So despite your doubt or mine as to why I’d gone there, to a psychic, in – I kid you not – a town of psychics – in the first place, right now, as you read this, let me throw the white light of Alma around you & everyone you pass close to today, beloved or stranger, the grocer, the bus driver, the boy on his longboard, the lady you stand silent beside in the elevator, & also I am throwing it around anyone they care about anywhere in the spin of the world, because, we can agree that these days, everywhere, particular caution is in order &, even if unverifiable, the light of my dear sister Alma, couldn’t hurt.
1. Minutes of  October  meeting were approved.
2. Theme for 2020- 2021:  How can we be mindful and authentic in cherishing all life? 
3. Sharing:  Committee members will bring “anchor readings” for the theme as resources for development of worship services.
482 – Jacob Trapp “half of language is to listen”
576 – A Litany of Restoration – Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley  “It will not matter.”
437 – Let Us Worship (and let us learn to love) – Kenneth L. Patton
484 – “To live content with small means;” – William Henry Channing
679 – Buddhism “Be ye lamps unto yourselves”
505 – Thich Nhat Hanh “Let us be a peace”
4. Moving Forward with Virtual Worship and Return to In-Church Services:  What are next steps??
• Providing both in-person and virtual worship services:  After much discussion, the committee settled on the following pilot approach:
o One in-person service will be offered per month.
o Timing will be 11:00 a.m. for virtual service, 12:15 p.m. for in-person service.
o Both services will usually be held in the Sanctuary.
o Safety protocols will be followed at all times.
o The Safety Committee (in cooperation with the Membership Committee) will provide Greeters and Ushers to implement those protocols.
o The in-person service will emphasize participation/interaction of attendees and will be light on incorporation of elements requiring technology.
o The in-person service will feature Randall Kidder’s live music.
o The first in-person service will be November 22 for Thanksgiving; the Christmas Eve service will be the in-person service for December.
• MUSIC:  Kat shared information about a service called Worshipcast that deals with copyright issues for music. The cost per year is $235.  One concern is that the covered pieces are primarily from the Christian tradition.  Another alternative is purchasing rights to use one piece in perpetuity.  For example Emma’s Revolution charges $250 for “Peace, Salaam, Shalom.”  We will consult with Martha Webster about other alternatives.
• GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING/PREPARING WORSHIP SERVICE: Martha will prepare a draft and will submit it to Committee members for feedback.
• Using Report from Adeline and Martha on Holiday Planning/Brainstorming sponsored by Appalachian Cluster as resource for planning:
What is the key thing we are hoping to accomplish with our holiday services?
	Provide the experience of traditional rituals
	Deepen the meaning of the rituals
	Create a sense of belonging
	Appeal to all ages, especially children/families
	Use the power of music
	Aim to mix-up the approach rather than water-down the usual
	Incorporate an outside component
	Cooperate with other congregations, especially in the areas of music & technology
How can we – in a pandemic-friendly way – reach those goals?
	In virtual services, include pictures of the Sanctuary
	Scavenger Hunt – look for items within Zoomed service display, distribute items 
		and ask congregation members to hold up at certain times within service, 
		have congregation members/friends display item for community spotting 
		(teddybears, candy cane, chalice)
	Celebrate St. Nicholas – empty shoes to accept candy  (tie to carbon footprint?)
	Use UUA selections of high quality, coordinate a virtual choir
	Organize a display of “green” luminaries
	Plan for virtual candlelight service by having participants sit in dark at home with 
		candle
	Create a candle-lit labyrinth  (where – park?  FUUSM courtyard?)
	Set up tree outside
	Decorate fence around church – greens, lights, ribbons
	In virtual service, share object of significance to holiday
	At beginning of service, share sorrows/fears that letting go of; at end, share 
		joys/hopes
	Distribute “pick-me-up kits”  (e.g., legos to create chalice)
	Plan community service project (e.g., Community Card Project, food donation)
	Vary Communion (Thanksgiving – cornbread and cider; Christmas – cocoa)
       What steps do we need to take to reach these goals?  What is realistically possible?

5. Reflection on Service – Day of the Dead   We did not specifically address this assessment.
What went well:  
What to refine:  
Thematic/coherent:  
Spirituality/Faith Tradition:
Life Span: 
6. Financial Matters:  None
7. Choir/Music Update:  Martha Webster and Choir are preparing several pieces.
8. The Committee decided to ask committees/groups to reflect on how they are, or intend to be, mindful and authentic in cherishing all life and then to be a part of, or to take responsibility for, a worship service on that 2020-2021 theme.  The Committee hopes that this approach will deepen insight into the purpose of the committee/group, will increase involvement of members/friends, and will inform the congregation of the activities of the committees/groups.  Adeline included information about this initiative in The Confluence for October.  
Martha and Rebecca Phillips have asked for feedback from women of the congregation.  Women’s Group will plan and lead the November 15 service.  Martha will report as she makes follow-up contacts with the Board, Board of Trust Governors, Green Sanctuary, Caring Committee, Men’s Group, Building & Grounds, Membership, BRIDGES, Finance, and W & M Committee.
September - December:  
Possible Topics and Speakers:  
Committees reflect on being mindful/authentic toward cherishing all life in time of pandemic
Swap/Share with Charleston UU, Athens UU – Kat  
>From Interfaith Power & Light – Democracy Values & the 2020 Election: A Reflection Guide for Faith Communities 
Women & Vote Empowerment – Annie
History of Voting – Jann Adams ??
Black Lives Matter (Panel -- Moni, Geroge B, Darryl T, Ted G) – Kat ??
Gospel Music and/or Blues -- Sadie Johnson 
BLM and Sumner School in Parkersburg -  Peg 
October 
	4	Annie Warmke & Suzyn Mills  – Experiences of Voting     
       {Blessing of Animals in Courtyard}
	11	Kat - Indigenous People’s Day  (“This Land Is My Land” – MW)
	18	Kat - Robin Bozian & colleagues – Ending Violence for Everyone – EVE, 
       National Domestic Violence Awareness Month  (“We Sing of Hope & Joy” – MW)
	25	Kat – Gather the Spirit, Harvest the Power  video-UUA’s UU the Vote
November
	1	Kat, Jane T-S, Martha McG  -  Day of the Dead & All Souls
	8	Kat - Sources of Spiritual Sustenance
	15	(Kat) Rebecca, Martha – Together Apart: Our Pandemic Year   Women’s Group, 2020-21 theme
		Suggested song:  “The Keep Going Song” by the Bengsons on Youtube
	22	Kat – Thanksgiving: Let’s Tell a Truer Story   
       [Kat will lead first in-person service at 12:15 p.m.]
	29	Advent begins  Kat – Making Each Day Count   (Card Project, Ribbon Ceremony – fence, virtual)
			Adeline will investigate planning of Community Card Project.
December
	6	Suzyn Mills – Worship Leader, Martha Webster “Healing Power of Music”
	13	Kat & Martha – Winter Holidays (Interfaith content)
	20	Kat – Winter Solstice Spiral
		24  Christmas Eve – Ringing Bells for two minutes, starting at 6:00 p.m.
			Martha will inquire about accessing database from MOV Interfaith to 
			encourage other churches to participate with large church bells/chimes and/or 
			congregation participation.
	27	Kat – Kwanzaa, a Cultural/Community Look 
January 2021
	3	Fire Communion – Martha will contact Jim Rapp about being involved.
	10
	17
	24
	31

Possible Topics and speakers for future services:  
• ***Wenda Sheard from Athens UU proposes collaboration, perhaps in spring 2020, in which Athens and Marietta would do a joint service, at Athens church one Sunday and Marietta church another Sunday.   Offer came via Robin at bozian.com
• Jim Rapp – idea to connect historical events/movements to FUUSM -  “From These Pews”
• Martha will communicate to Rev. Elizabeth Teal of the Jacksonville, Florida UU congregation that we will welcome her as a guest speaker and will coordinate dates, probably in the summer.  904-874-0047  reverendteal at gmail.com
• Kat will open discussion with Rev. Elizabeth Maleke , Williamstown Presbyterian, about a pulpit exchange or team preaching.  
• Forgiveness as recurring service – connected with Yom Kippur “We forgive ourselves and each other.  We begin again in Love.”
• clarification of various service/outreach activities of the local congregation and endeavors with UUA, UUSC, etc. and their relationship with FUUSM principles, mission
Need for tracking and regular reporting? For example in Finance Committee records and Annual Meeting  report??   Do our church finances align with our mission?
• Possible speakers:  artists: Dani, Morgan/Owen
• Mind maps may help the congregation identify how they are active in FUUSM efforts/activities and what additional options they would like.
• Moral leadership:  Truman and Berlin Air Lift
• Rancho Mirage Writers Festival (published on February 17, 2017) – Questions from Bret 
		Stephens:  Are we a country that seeks and attracts human capital and believes in being 
		fundamentally open to the world?  Are we a self-critical country or a country of blamers?  
		Do we define our interests according to our values or vice versa?  Do we have a healthy 
		innovation culture?  Do we have a healthy civic culture?  Are we still a nation of 
		optimists?  What are our attitudes toward foreigners, failure, global leadership, change, 
		each other? 
• Touchstone REACH Packet, Hungry Town, multiple intelligences with additional one - existential-spiritual, powerful children’s stories, ages of women, This I Believe, family stories as carriers of family values, June Teenth celebration, reflections of people who grew up in UU congregation (Jay Phillips, Mike Bailey, Dean Banziger), Bill Bauer and Peg Clifford on suicide and kindness,  reflections of former ministers, Living Mindfully – Prepare for the Unexpected (Robin Bozian, Anita Newhart, Sue Montera, Virginia Mayle), Quill as a storyteller, Quakers on consensus, morality of artificial intelligence. 
• Hal Walker – Suzyn	Catherine Roma – Kat	
• Peg Clifford – What does democracy look like to whom?, We are all brothers (Day of the Dead), 
		5 words for learning in Hebrew, immigration – world map of our origins
		Cooperation with other churches – bus trip to African-American Museum in DC or 
		Underground Railroad in Cincinnati
• Protest – contrast burning cross & burning flag  (Barb Kidd)
• Diversity: awareness of brain injury – (Beverly Bradley)
• Summer Institute:  Encouraging attendance, using resources  e.g., Non-Violent Communication 	
• Peg Clifford – “Where did I come from & why?” testimonials from members/friends
• Visual Arts (social justice, spirituality)
• Shelley Graffs – Singing in Sacred Circle, etc.  graffs at cinci.rr.com
• Trauma-Informed Care/ Trauma-Informed Schools                                                  

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