Sunday Forum Discussion and Leader -- Bill of Rights with Colin McNickle

Colin McNickle, Trib editor, is to talk with us about the Patriot Act and the Bill of Rights. You may wish to review the Bill of Rights, particularly Amendment IV.

See you at 10:15 a.m. this Sunday at LifeCraft.

Benefit concert at UU of the North Hills

FREEDOM TO MARRY BENEFIT

February 11th at 7:00 pm, UUCNH (Unitarian Universalist Church of the North
Hills) kicks off Freedom to Marry Week with a Musical Revue by Proudly
Presents Productions. There will be refreshments in a cabaret/dinner
theatre setting. All proceeds will benefit Marriage Equality Pennsylvania
Chapter and Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh. Tickets are $10
if purchased in advance. Tickets purchased at the door are $12 ($10 for
students). Celebrate Valentine's Day a few days early with your special
someone, and join us for an evening of music and merriment as we raise money
and our voices in support of the freedom to marry for all. Visit
www.uucnh.org for directions to the church. For advance tickets, see Betty
Luff between services.

This Little Light Of Mine....

Sing it loud.

Calling in time

Traditionally, Sunyhill's Caring Committee has used a "telelphone tree" to alert members and friends to time-sensitive information. One person calls several others on a prearranged list. Those people call others, and so on, until everyone has the news.

The committee has the opportunity to automate the largest portion of the phone tree.

The proposed system will work like this: By telephone, members and friends in the 412 area will receive a short prerecorded message that alerts them to check their e-mail for details. For those without e-mail, the message will provide telephone numbers to call for details.

The Caring Committee will test the automated system, in the 412 area code only, in the middle of the week of Feb. 12. The 724 and other area codes will still be personally called.

Please help the committee work the bugs out of the system by calling Margaret Lindquist (412-563-4764) or Emilie Marlier (412-343-3235) about any problems you have in receiving the telephone call, the e-mail, or responding to the message.

Sunnyhill member, Mark Rauterkus, hosting a house concert on Feb 2 at South Side

Our musical friend, Johnsmith, we we had the please of meeting at SUUSI, is going to be in Pittsburgh and performing two sets at a fun evening at our home / office. Details are at the site, S6.CLOH.Org.

I hope to see a lot of Sunnyhill members here.

Phone booth in China. I don't think they'd like the prayer station, shown in the other photo, so much.

This is a photo I took in a Chicago park. It is a "prayer booth." You fold out the kneeling pads and pray, much like a phone booth. No need to insert quaters. What are the things you might pray for in 2006?

How's your blood?

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King:

One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves...How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds!

Worldview V - Insights from lecture on I.D.

Worldview V Intelligent Design Honors Council Lecture
Last night I delivered a BSU Honors Council lecture on Intelligent Design -- and even got my 15 seconds of fame on the BSU marquee! (thanks to student Jeremy for the photos) Huge crowd for this sort of thing...probably around 120! I based my talk on a series of inter-linked concept maps that I am developing to provide a relatively comprehensive overview of various aspects of intelligent design -- its historical origins, its scientific vacuity, its apparent appeal to large segments of American society, and the cultural/political motivations of some of its most ardent proponents. Have a look...this will remain a work in progress for some time so I welcome suggestions.

Childrens' Choir

Eight at Eight Dinners for spring, 2006

You are cordially invited to join the traditional Eight at Eight Dinners. This is a great way to meet people. Each person or couple hosts once, providing the main dish, and attends 3 dinners bringing a dish assigned by the host. You can also sign up to be a substitute. This is a superb way to dodge the gloom of winter and brighten your evening with the light of Sunnyhillian food, drink, and conversation.

Dates: February 4, March 4, April 1, May, 2006.

RSVP Dennis Sweeney or sign up using the sheet in the Church dining room.

Banner from UUA and a ring for funds from locals

I got an interesting phone call today from a telemarketing firm. They were asking for donations to the new UUA fund on issues. There was a letter from October that called upon more coordination and organization of efforts on issues that would lead to actions in the nation's capital.

I've got to learn more about that.

But, what was wildly interesting was that the call came from a few blocks away. A South Side firm has the business. They are making the calls to UUs throughout the nation. And, many UUs are on the phones too. A gent from the North Hills church was calling me. He said he thought my name was familiar.

I'm going to meet him, I hope, to talk about this further.

Interesting. Very interesting.

S.W.I.M. 2005 -- Heavenly Bodies

Southeast Unitarian Universalist Winter Institute, Inc., in Miami goes from December 26th - January 1, 2006.

Vacation with UUs in South Florida!

S.W.I.M., the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Winter Institute in Miami, is all about having fun in a supportive UU community in the warm Miami sunshine! S.W.I.M.'s annual intergenerational retreat for UUs and like-minded people of all ages happens every year from December 26th through Jan 1st.

S.W.I.M. offers south Florida hospitality, outdoor adventures (including tours, hikes, windsurfing, canoeing, and sailing), workshops (including spirituality and personal growth), special programs for youth, teens, and young adults, fantastic food, and a new community of friends from across the continent.

Play, laugh, sing, and celebrate New Year's Eve at S.W.I.M.! Join UUs from all over North America for a week of fun in the sun!

For more information, please visit us online at http://www.swimuu.org

S.W.I.M. is a member in good standing of CU2C2, the Council of Unitarian Universalist Camps & Conferences, an Independent Affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

You can find more UU retreats featured on the inside cover of the Spring 2006 Issue of the UU World.

So, we have an election policy now? Where it that.

Can someone please post the new election policy to this blog or via email to Mark -at-Rauterkus.com. It was mentioned in the Nov edition of The Drummer. But, it was not presented there. Was it published in the past editions? Did I miss it?

If you know of it, what do you think?

Reactions on bylaws session from Peter Konke

I attended a bylaws session, and my thoughts were duly noted, but I would like to give a wider airing of them.

The driving force for the bylaws update is apparently to give the president a 2 year term instead of a 1 year term. Along the way, the entire bylaws are being updated, which is a great idea.

But there are more paradigms than just 1 vs 2 years. I am familiar with an entirely different approach from my work on the Montour Trail Council. First, I was almost shocked that there were an even number of people on the board. I have never heard of such a thing, presumably as it permits the possibility of tie votes. But my main point is that the officers are elected each year by the board, NOT the congregation. Also, the president is limited to 3 consecutive one-year terms. This allows for 1, 2, or 3 year tenures. Great flexibility.

Works fine for the MTC. Don't know about Sunnyhill. My purpose in bringing this up is to stimulate conversation and thought.

Peter Kohnke

Cheaper for you.

Mt. Lebanon dollar store plans find some chilly attitudes

Mt. Lebanon dollar store plans find some chilly attitudes 'That's right, folks, soon we'll have our very own Dollar General store. Ugh,' posted Josephine Posti on a Mt. Lebanon blog under the headline 'In the ghetto.'

Pledge Drive Kick Off

Saturday, October 22, 2005 @ 7 PM

To Celebrate the 2006- 3 week only Pledge Drive

What’s Happening: Appetizers, Music, Fellowship, Rousing excitement regarding this year’s pledge drive

Babysitting Available
RSVP a must: George Williams. Or sign up sheet in the coffee room. Please notify us of babysitting needs.

Snap from Hong Kong museum. Humm...

Some concerts updates

There are still seats left for the Mt. Lebanon House Concert featuring Clarke Buehling, master of the finger-style banjo. Mr. Buehling blows the dust off some fine old banjo tunes and songs about `possums and raccoons on Wednesday, Oct 26 at 8:00 at Curt and Annie's house in Mt. Lebanon.

Clarke Buehling is a phenomenal entertainer. He is widely recognized for his interpretations of late 19th century, classic finger-style banjo music. Clarke is also in the forefront of the recent resurgence of interest in the earlier minstrel banjo style. He presents the music and humor of those times.

Clarke will also be offering PRIVATE LESSONS on the afternoon of SUNDAY, OCT 30--if you want to learn minstrel style or old-time three-finger style banjo, he's your man. He has taught private and group lessons since 1972 at venues including the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Augusta Heritage Center, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute.

For more information or reservations for the house concert or private lessons, please reply to this email or call me at 412-343-0498.

Hope to see you at the concert!

Annie Trimble

Upcoming concerts:

Oct 15 Tommy Emanuel (Calliope)
Oct 23 4 pm Eric Schwartz, hosted by Llouise and Jim altes@potomacnetworks.com
Oct 26 (Wed) Clarke Buehling (workshop), hosted by Curt and Annie AnnieT@southwind-pa.com
Nov 6, 4p Kate McDonnell, hosted by Llouise and Jim altes@potomacnetworks.com
Nov 6, 7:30p Great Bear Trio, hosted by Curt and Annie AnnieT@southwind-pa.com
Nov 8 (Tues), 7:30p Chuck Suchy, hosted by Cindy cah@lonewolf.com
Nov 9 (Wed), Freebo & Jim Photoglo, hosted by Ken Batista & Tica Hall folkradio@earthlink.net
Nov 19 Andy Statman Trio (Calliope)
Dec 2, 8p Dwight Diller, hosted by Cindy cah@lonewolf.com
Dec 10 Del McCoury (Calliope)

2006
Jan 21 Odetta (Calliope)
Feb. 25 Paul Rishell & Annie Raines (Calliope)
Mar 18 Flook (Calliope)
Apr 5 (Wed) Harvey Reid, hosted by Cindy cah@lonewolf.com
Apr 22 Tom Rush (Calliope)