In the Psalms we are urged to “make a joyful noise” with singing and dance and with various musical instruments or varying types and sounds. People, too, like musical instruments, come in various sizes and types and pitches and volumes and voices. When we come together in community we join in a unique kind of Jazz. See you in church.

Rev. ROD THOMPSON

Mother’s Day has always been hard for us male ministers. Of course we’ve all had mothers and many of us are married to mothers; but we can
never quite pull off a Mother’s Day Service. So, I’m going to focus on parenting from my point of view as a grandpa. Come and see what happens.

A lot of the people I know, especially at this time of the year, are tired – a demanding job, family responsibilities, friends, civic, community, and cultural activities – no wonder almost everyone is tired! So, on this Sunday I will offer something to counteract the command to “hurry up and rest.” Come and relax in church.

This will be my last Sunday with you as your Interim Minister, so I want to talk about the transition from me to your next interim minister, reload my tub, and sing our swan song (so to speak). You will be changing ministerial partners as I will be changing church partners. Come, let’s celebrate together and take the next steps (dance metaphor intended).

Note: This program will begin at 1:00 in the sanctuary.

Although our democracy has never worked perfectly, it has worked far better in the past when the wealth inequity was much lower, producing a stronger economy and healthier government in many ways compared to what we have now.

We’ll begin with a slide presentation entitled “Reviving Democracy”, created by the grassroots group in Santa Fe, We Are People Here. It sets the stage for a conversation about the disastrous effects that wealth inequality has had on our politics, our Congress, our legislation and our local democracy.

Elaine Sullivan is an educator and long-time activist for social and economic justice. Sheila Vaughn is a psychologist whose focus is social and institutional change.  Craig Barnes is the author of the book Democracy at the Crossroads

John Hamilton is a former member of our church who has environmentally caused Parkinson’s Disease.  John will discuss the link, found by several medical studies, between 5 pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease. He will include in his talk Pesticides currently used in New Mexico.

David has been active in the movement to protect the Organ Mountains from real estate development.  His presentation will be on Historical, Cultural and Natural aspects of the Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks National Monument Proposal.

Jean is a long-time citizen advocate for Mexican gray wolf reintroduction. Over the past fourteen years, she has spent over 280 nights camping in occupied lobo home ranges in New Mexico and Arizona, and has observed 41 Mexican gray wolves in the wild. She has also led small groups of friends on camping outings in wolf territories. (You can see photos and stories from some of those trips at www.mexicanwolves.org in the feature entitled “Follow the Pack,” which is located in the Kid Zone–in the lower right-hand corner of the home page.)

President Rich Richins

Underneath the Stars

As I pen this month’s column, I find myself at the Texas Star Party, a gathering of astronomers from throughout the world, conducted each Spring near Fort Davis, Texas. The star party is a spiritual event for me. It’s a chance to unwind from the day-to-day grind, a chance to relax with friends, and a chance to spend a little time with the cosmos – a big chunk of real estate of which we are a (small) part. Being out under the stars gives me a feeling of peace, and with an estimated billion inhabitable planets now estimated to exist in our galaxy alone, it gives me a weird feeling of fellowship, power, and awe.

In some respects, I see the members and friends of our congregation in much the same light. I sit in awe of the incredible dedication that you regularly put forward to make this world a better place for all of its inhabitants. I feel the power when we come together and commit to transforming ignorance, prejudice and despair into knowledge, love and hope. And I feel a tremendous sense of fellowship. Each one of us really does have a little light, and when they shine together, it’s like being out under the Summer Milky Way (hint – that’s when the brightest band of stars pass overhead).

It seems that we’ve all been working so hard this spring, sprucing up our campus, searching for our next Minister, hosting fund-raiser after fund-raiser to help more of our congregants attend GA/Phoenix. All this, while still running one of the top social action programs in the nation, and (to quote one of our snow birds) being the most welcoming UU church to be found. May we always find joy and fulfillment in what we do – even when it seems like we’re burning the candle from both ends.

2012 Auction Donation Form

UUs Join the UU-UNO in Celebrating UN Sunday

In celebration of the founding of the UN on October 24th, 1945, the UU-UNO invites congregations and individual UUs to deepen their understanding of the United Nations by devoting one service in October to reaffirming the connections between Unitarian Universalist principles and vital issues dealt with at the UN.

This year, congregations throughout the United States and Canada celebrated United Nations Sunday. At the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto, ON, Children grade 1 and older were invited to stay and learn about the importance of their UU voice at the United Nations and their responsibilities as global citizens. In The Woodlands,TX, youth envoy Alex Sherwood presented his sermon ”UU-UNO: Advocate for Worldwide Girl Power and Women’s Rights.” At the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, NM, the congregation celebrated being the first Blue Ribbon Congregation in New Mexico. In Port Charlotte, FL envoy Rosemary Hagen, educated her congregation about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through photos and costumes. In the photo on the right, UU-UNO Director, Bruce Knotts presented the UN flag to the children of the Unitarian Church of  Montreal, QC with help from their minister Rev. Diane Olenick Rollert.

The gallery is booked through December 2011, but artists are encouraged to apply for showings in 2012.

2012 planned exhibitions

In May, The Tombaugh Gallery presents Lyle K. West’s – “unsplintered,” life sized expressionistic self portraits.  The exhibit, running from April 29th to June 1.

West’s self portraits are unique in many ways. He works in ways that fragment the image, either physically or conceptually, to create artwork that is evolving in time rather than being a static portrait. In earlier watercolors he used melting ice to push and drip the pigment in unpredictable ways. Some drawings were done as blind contour sketches from mirrors where not looking at the image adds a level of distortion of its own. Recently West began to collage his portraits from torn up watercolors, sometimes using as many as 27 individual paintings to complete a single work. His pieces are painted or composited on unstretched canvas hung from grommets. This adds a third dimension as the canvas buckles and bows. Newest works include actual built up three dimensional facial features. “This work symbolizes the ways I reinvent my identity to adapt to my constantly changing psychosocial and cultural environments. By shifting between multiple mediums I can explore fluid spaces that promote contemplation for solving problems,” West explains. West’s work connects with the viewer through universal themes of identity, growth, mortality and empathy.

West was born in Maplewood, New Jersey and moved to Conifer, Colorado at age twelve, where he resided for 22 years. He received an Associate of Arts degree from Red Rocks Community College in 2006 and a Bachelor of Fine Art from Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2010.  He then moved to Las Cruces, where he is in the second year of a 3 year program at NMSU to earn a Master of Fine Art degree. Since his arrival, he has instructed four semesters of both the Drawing I and II courses at the school and is known for his engaging teaching style. He has also been recently featured in the “Art Focus” column for the NMSU newspaper, “The Round Up.” His work has been exhibited at the Auraria Library, Emmanuel Gallery, and the MSCD Art Gallery in Denver and the The Center for the Arts in Evergreen, Colorado, and at the University Art Gallery in Las Cruces, NM.

The Tombaugh Art Gallery is located at 2000 S. Solano and is open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 am until 2 pm.

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NMSU Unitarian Universalists

NMSUU meetings, events, dates, and more

NMSU Interfaith Council

Our Vision

• Share and promote Unitarian Universalist values on the New Mexico State University campus;
• Provide spiritual support through alternative worship experiences, regular meetings, helping students in times of need, and through fun, frequent, spiritual and social fellowship for like-minded NMSU individuals, groups and our wider community;
• Support service opportunities through social justice activism;
• Promote inclusion among our diverse campus community through increasing awareness and understanding of a variety of needs and beliefs, both in our smaller group as well as the larger community;
• Connect campus and community, while networking with campus groups (both secular and faith-based), and organize off-campus and out of state trips, teaming with other groups to promote common causes;
• Have regular monthly meetings, maintain a chartered campus group, and always plan fun, social activities together; and
• Nurture both our spiritual and physical bodies and always keep in mind our UU values throughout all we do together.

Our Schedule

1st Thursday of the month

Worship on campus at 6:30 pm at Garcia Hall La Vista Learning Center (2nd Floor-NMSU). For more information, contact us at NMSUUs@nmsu.edu or visit our website. There will be free food!

3rd Sunday of the month

Free lunch and a Great Conversation (topics TBA) from noon until 2 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S Solano, in the Religious Education building Blue Room. For more information contact us at NMSUUs@nmsu.edu or visit our website.

Upcoming Events (check here for details as they develop)

Participation in Justice General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Phoenix in June 2012

WomenSpirit Will Be Sep 9-11, 2011 – Save The Date

WomenSpirit will be held this year from Friday to Sunday, Sep 9-11. We welcome adult women from the community and the congregation to join us at the Sacramento Methodist Assembly grounds near Cloudcroft. The weekend will feature an expanded program beginning on Friday afternoon, with time to relax in the beautiful natural setting before dinner and a formal opening ceremony.  We invite you to engage in community building, art, music, dance, crafts, spirituality, and just plain fun. For more information contact the Planning Committee Chair Teri Gillen: terigillen@yahoo.com.

We are a church whose mission is to live and to spread our Unitarian Universalist values in the world.

Our church members give generously of their time and money to the human service organizations that make life better in our community and in the world. These organizations meet environmental, educational, health, or social service needs or they promote the democratic process: all are important.

These are some of the many local organizations our members are supporting with their time and money:

Education:

• Alameda Elementary School
• Booker T. Washington Elementary School
• Central Elementary School
• Dona Ana Elementary School
• MacArthur Elementary School
• Valley View Elementary School
• Educational Outreach Program of the Las Cruces Symphony Association

Environment:

• Southwest Environmental Center

Health Care:

• St. Luke’s Health Care Clinic
• Mesilla Valley Hospice
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (Dona Anna County)

Human Services:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Las Cruses
• Casa de Peregrinos Food Program
• Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico
• El Caldito Soup Kitchen
• Jardin de Los Ninos
  RSVP (Rio Grande Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
• UU Friends of the J. Paul Taylor Center
• Women’s Intercultural Center

Affordable Housing:

• Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity
• Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation

Democracy:

• League of Women Voters
• Southern New Mexico Common Cause

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, that moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life
• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men that challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world’s religions that inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings that counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions that celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

We are grateful for the religious pluralism that enriches and ennobles our faith and inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

Reverend Peter Morales, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association

The Unitarian Universalist Association and President Peter Morales are pleased to present a new video series, “A Religion for Our Time.” These short videos will highlight inspiring work in Unitarian Universalist congregations, including innovative projects relating to worship, religious education, social justice, membership, and fellowship.

Below, is the first episode describing the Ogden OUTreach Center, the UU Church of Ogden’s drop-in program for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender youth and young adults.