By Chris Smith The name “Katherine” is a combination of the words “Kath” and “Er-In”. Neither of those words mean anything individually. But when you put them together, you form an amazing woman.
Katherine Smith was born somewhere in the boonies of Ohio, surrounded by a loving but certainly goofy family. But despite the uh… SUPER EXCITING happenings in Troy, Ohio, Katherine went to school at the University of Pennsylvania. (That’s the one known for academics, not football.) There Katherine met the love of her life… something called “abstract mathematics.”
Kate pursued that love throughout most of her life. First in
graduate school at the University of Washington, studying Computer Science, and
later at Microsoft where she now works as a Program Manager for the SQL Server
product.
Of course, abstract math won’t help you open jars or keep
you warm when it is a — at least to Katherine — chilly 77 degrees out. So she
decided to get married to a guy named Chris.
Now, her heart is no longer stirred by “formal operational semantics,” but instead by her “Smith boys”: Grant (5), Neil (3), and Chris (no seriously, the legos are for the kids, put those down).
Katherine is a kind, loving woman who strives to fill her family with the same sense of love and goofiness that she grew up with. (Although in a much more awesome place than “wherever” Ohio.)
She is thrilled to become member of WUUC, and relishes the sense of tight-knit community. All of her Smith boys love her greatly, and are confident that you — the WUUC congregation — will love her too.
From the WUUC Worship Team UU’s are a ”people of liberation.” We can profit from interpreting the many holidays that occur during the month of April through our UU traditions.
The Rev. Suzelle Lynch of the Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield, Wisconsin writes, “Our freedom to find inspiration in many different sources is breathtaking and cherished… What it means is that in our congregation, we are liberated from the tyranny of “one right path.” An atheist might share a hymnal with a person who believes in God as the “spirit of life,” and a humanist might drink coffee after the service with someone who believes in reincarnation and the power of prayer. A person who finds great comfort in the teachings of Jesus might serve on the Board of Trustees with someone who maintains a steady practice of Buddhist meditation, or one single person might equally value both of these things.”
May you find inspiration in these ideas created from many traditions and sources.
Passover: “We are liberated together and liberation takes time.” Easter: “Loss and defeat never have the last word. We can be liberated from hopelessness.” Earth Day: “Saving the Earth is saving us. Our interdependence liberates us.” Ramadan: “Make room for and remember what matters most. We are liberated from the material into the spiritual world.”
Additionally, in this time of stress caused by the unknown impacts that may be experienced from the COVID – 19 virus, may you experience moments of liberation from the isolation, anxiety and concern you may be feeling.
By Donna Johnson Being part of WUUC’s first online worship service on Sunday, March 8 was an amazing experience. On Wednesday afternoon, March 4, the health department recommended avoiding large in-person gatherings as a way of minimizing exposure to coronavirus. By Thursday, WUUC staff, worship team members, musicians, tech savvy people, and others were swinging into action:
? The previously planned service with its interactive and experiential components just wasn’t going to work in an on-line format, so we developed a new service that included Soul Matters resources for the themes of Wisdom, Courage, Persistence and Resilience and familiar hymns for singing along at home.
? Staff and volunteers came to church on Saturday to develop and test a plan for setting up the pulpit area and the technology.
? The special music musicians, our new choir director, the chair of the minister search committee, stewardship leaders, and a stewardship testifier all agreed to show up in person on Sunday.
? All these people came to church early on Sunday (on the day we switched to daylight savings time no less), and because of all the planning and practice, the service came together beautifully.
? At 10 a.m. all of us at church were pleased-as-punch to see that members of the congregation were joining us from home.
? At the end of the service, the church crew applauded and virtually high-fived each other, and many of the people who joined from home stayed online to enjoy each other’s company in a virtual coffee hour.
Thank you to Bridget Laflin, Karen Hyams, Rachel Eddy, Mark Apland, Phil Archibald, Rebecca Guthrie, Kambria Tabor, Rob Katz, Lanny Commeree, Ava Priest, Kermit Sprang, Matt Smith, Terry Levitt, Lori Varosh, Rev. Diana Smith, and others who helped to make this service happen.
From the WUUC Worship Team The March 2020 theme for worship, RE, and small groups at WUUC is: What Does It Mean to be a People of WISDOM? Our monthly themes and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations. Following is a small sample of thoughts about wisdom:
Dictionaries give us definitions of wisdom saying that it involves knowing about veracity or truth. These are usually linked with action, especially achieving justice. When we read about wisdom, we see words such as enlightenment, understanding, sagacity, discernment, or insight – often as based on experience. Experience brings in the concept of self-transcendence and the matter of being reflected in, and reflective of, everything around us (recall the UU Seventh Principle of the interconnected web of all existence).
Wisdom does not mean being simply smart. According to author Louise Penny, wisdom involves being fully comfortable embracing and making statements such as: I’m sorry. I was wrong. I don’t know. I need help.
Some pertinent quotes:
— “Things are more integrated than they seem, they are better than they seem, and they are more mysterious than they seem; this is the vision that the wisdom traditions bequeath us.” – Huston Smith
— “[everything] is a microcosm representing in itself the entire all-inclusive universe.” – Alfred N. Whitehead
— “We speak of coming into the world. We didn’t. We came out of it…” – Alan Watts
— “So many people say that they have ‘fallen off the path.’ I say to them, ‘No, you didn’t fall off the path. This is all the path, and once you have begun to awaken, you can’t fall off the path. There’s no way. Where are you going to fall to? Are you going to make believe it never happened? You can forget for a moment, but what you think you have forgotten will keep coming back to you. So, do not be upset. Just go ahead and be worldly for a while.’” – Ram Dass
— “All the suffering, stress and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
— “…. every being in the universe is universe-referent for its origin and destiny and its proper role in the great community of existence.” – Thomas Berry
Some worthwhile links related to wisdom (poetry, etc.):
