Our Minister's Reflections

Reflections From Stacy Craig’s Desk

Where We’ve Been – Where We Are Going

Where We’ve Been—-Where we are Going
This year, in small groups, publications, and Sunday services, we’ve engaged with the language that the larger Unitarian Universalist Association is proposing as we reassess beliefs and how they are communicated in our living tradition. As a replacement to the language of the “Six Sources” and the “Seven Principles” a multi-year process has resulted in seven values with covenantal statements for each one. The values are captured in the image to the right. Below is a list of where we’ve been as a fellowship on this exploration, where we are going, and the UUA proposed statement (if/then) related to each value:
In November, we explored “Generosity”
We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources.
Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
In January, we explored “Liberating Love”
We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love.
Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.
In February, we explored “Justice and Equity”
We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and
inclusive communities.
In March, we will explore “Transformation”
We adapt to the changing world.
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
In April, we will explore “Interdependence”
We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility,
we acknowledge our place in it.
We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Finally, in May, we’ll explore “Pluralism”
We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
In June, at the UUA General Assembly, delegates from congregations and fellowships will vote on whether or not this language is adopted as the collective expression of Unitarian Universalism. If you are interested in being a delegate from CUUF, please contact your Board President, Beth Lowthian or Fellowship Assistant Adam Haecker for more information. For a full history of the process and the proposed changes (called the Article II Commission),
please visit: https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/final-proposed-revision-article-ii? mc_cid=818141a563&mc_eid=86f894c4e6
One of the reasons for these revisions is because lists are always incomplete. Multiple amendments over the years have proposed additional sources and principles. The current language also didn’t lead individuals or fellowships into action, which is what the covenantal statements are intended to do. One way I think of the proposed language is that it provides an answer to my least favorite question: what is Unitarian Universalism? With the new language, I may say, “we are a diverse religious tradition with shared values, who work collectively to live out those values, changing systems and consciousness, and making change that would be impossible by working individually. This is what we believe in.”
In community,

Mid-Winter Greetings

February 2nd is one of my favorite holidays. Some call it Imbolc, others Groundhog Day. Some celebrate with the Feast of St. Brigid, Ireland’s patroness saint who promises the gifts of spring: new life, abundance, protection. Going to wells is one of the practices of this day, as the well is that symbolic source of life-giving and life-sustaining energy. Before electricity, people brought their candles to Sunday Mass to be blessed. They needed the candles to last through the winter, thus, the first Sunday service in February is sometimes called Candlemass. No matter which way you say it, it is a cross-quarter day, meaning we are halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It isn’t exactly the season of hope. I would call it endurance. The black bears are giving birth in their dens, and both mother and cubs will live off the fat stores of her body from the fall. The rhythm of the seasons teaches us that if we burn through all our candles, all our energy stores now, there won’t be enough to get up through the spring.

I am trying to listen to the lessons of this season, but I still feel myself getting ‘fired up’ as we enter into an election year. I was at a gathering making small talk with someone who has completely given up on democracy. He is so disgusted and dismayed as to believe his only course of action for himself and his young family is self- protection. He asked me how I can still believe in democracy and although I hadn’t thought of this answer ahead of time, it came blurting out: because I am involved with religious fellowships and I see individual citizens using collective action to make a difference all the time. And in an elemental way, that is what democracy is: leveraging our collective power in the service on our values.

My hope is that this fellowship is one of the sources to help keep us all in that balance between dismay and burning out as we gather our collective power for another election year.

—In endurance, Rev. Stacy

Dear Ones…

Dear Ones,
I actually bristle at that salutation—dear ones. But I can’t help myself; it is the only way I can begin this column. You see, I’m still reeling from a recent experience. After the holiday service, I had to pull over on a gravel road on the way home because I was sobbing. This is rare for me, and not something I expected. It happens when something touches my heart so deeply that I purge a grief or sadness that has been lingering. It heals it all the way through. Was it the haunting music contrasted by the beauty of the dancing snowflakes during a perilous journey of the skiers? Was it the solstice spiral, effervescent with the everlasting green of needles? Was it the conversations or new connections?
The candles spanning from wall to wall at the conclusion? The 2023 holiday service volunteer hours and various contributions are too numerous to list here, but it’s safe to say, this is the power and promise of a spiritual community. Dear ones, I hope this fellowship offers the kind of hope and inspiration for you as it has for me.

I know there is a gap between services and many programs from December to January. May this provide ample time for reflection and to digest some of the connections and insights made in 2023 so they can be transformed into energy and awareness. Sending you blessings for the New Year and all the promise that flourishes when we take that which has been and marry it to that which may be, and find peace in the present moment.

—In communion, Stacy

December is for Reflective Practice

While there was no official tally, when I was in seminary, I believe the words “energy” and “mystery” were used most often to describe the notion of the holy. It did not matter if the student believed in God or what faith they identified with. When pressed to define what we meant by these words—does mystery have a consciousness? Can energy intervene in our lives? Most of us tried to explain through examples—often referred to as religious and spiritual experiences (RSE)—to describe that which we knew to be true, but could not define. For one, it was a miraculous recovery of a child. For another, a biochemist, it was the awe of emergence. Emergence describes phenomena, like how molecules of hydrogen and oxygen combine to make a substance, water, with properties neither individual contains. It was an opportunity to reflect not on what you believe, but on what you wonder about. As the season of longest night descends upon the Northwoods, I hope you find time to reflect on the wonder that you’ve encountered over the past year. I look forward to exploring the numinous, the ineffable, mystery and energy in services and small groups throughout the month.
In community,
Stacy

Statement from UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt Regarding the Conflict Between Israel and Hamas

Beloveds, I invite you to stop what you are doing if you can sit with me in the depth of this tragedy. How to reconcile the cost of occupation and war? How to nuance two very real histories of oppression and violence? I am holding close the words of U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland who said: “This is a dangerous precipice, and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”

We as a people of faith can condemn violence against civilians while at the same time
engaging the full legacies and histories of oppression that shape such devastating conflict.
As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalists have long worked for peace, and our principles and values call for the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

I pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. I pray for leaders around the globe who must respond to this latest flare of violence and the untenable ethical considerations that abound. I pray for Muslim and Jewish UUs who experience the impact of this long strife acutely. I pray that those of us less likely to know the trauma of unending brutality and harm will not turn away from generational loss, from the devastating realities and their root causes, or from the relentless tragedy of war and occupation. Be gentle with yourselves when you need to be, but do not turn away unless you must. We are one global family living tenuously on the same human-impacted Earth.
Let us center ourselves in justice as we call for peace.

I hope that this article finds you with the gifts of the season: a cup of tea, a window to the changing leaves or shorter days that provide pause and reflection.
When people ask me how I’m doing these days, I share (in complete honesty) that my work with CUUF is a highlight. I feel energized and inspired from working with Jenise Swartley and the Worship Committee. I receive hope and joy working with Andrea, Ashley and the Religious Education Committee. At the Water Service on Sept. 10, I was reminded of how spirituality comes so naturally to children, and I was moved by all the stories that folks shared, including Denise Bosak’s testimonial and Anne Chartier’s testimonial about working alongside Water Protectors.

I know CUUF asks a lot from members and friends. Requests for financial support, service on committees and participation in Sunday services are made repeatedly. The culture I hope that we can cultivate is one where your contributions are generative in that they give back to you. Term limits are honored and celebrated for work on boards and committees. It’s work that I love and I invite others to join by considering if one of the following opportunities calls to you.

Provide snacks for fellowship: June Bavlnka and Joe Fernandez (pictured) and Jan Perkins come early and stay late every service to set up and be on-hand at the hospitality table for fellowship services. They’re looking for three people to bring a snack for each service. By splitting it up, it means you only need to bring one thing to have a full table. Fellowship is a favorite time, especially for the kids, and these contributions are well-appreciated. Text June to sign up at: 715-209-1622.

Serve on the Worship Committee: The group meets about three times per year to brainstorm service speakers, plan special services and create policies for engaging, inspiring worship. Members oversee recruiting volunteers to be lay leaders and to create the altar. They invite and confirm speakers and often help set up worship services. This is a very engaged group and we are looking for two to three additional members to join Jenise Swartley (chair-pictured), Megan Perrine,

Provide Special Music: The Music Committee is asking for volunteers to provide a musical selection during the offertory during Sunday services when Joni Chapman isn’t with us. Strings, winds, percussion, a Capello singing, solo or group, novice or professional—please share your music. Contact Music Committee Chair Linda Calhan at: music@chequamegonuuf.org

Help Set-Up/Take Down: Having a shared worship space saves us thousands of dollars and reduces our carbon footprint, but it comes with a lot of heavy lifting. Are you able to help with set-up before a service and clean-up after the service? If so, contact Fellowship Assistant Adam Haecker at: cuufad@gmail.com

A big shout out to all nine committees and the CUUF board for the leadership and care they put into their work. Please know that if a ‘yes’ isn’t right for you, if this is a time when you need to receive or if you have already said ‘yes’ to too many other things, that too is part of being the fellowship. I find it helpful to plan out a few years for when my next ‘yes’ will be possible, and I hope that you’ll consider CUUF’s committees, board or other volunteer opportunities for that next ‘yes’. And, I hope that it becomes a highlight of your days as well. —In community, Rev. Stacy Craig

The Universe is Conspiring for Good, Right?

At the Sylvan Lake entrance, the park ranger took an extra minute to share updates about trails and to answer questions. At the end of the conversation, I said “thank you” and “take care”. She reflected the sentiment back to me. Then I hear my nephew from the back seat. “Take care? What does that even mean?” I explained that it is a well wish that you share at the end of a conversation with someone you appreciate. My nephew, whose arm was in a full cast from swinging on a vine that suddenly broke, scoffed, “Take care. Whatever. Why don’t you just say, ‘Send It?’”

My nieces and nephews let me see a summer vacation through child’s eyes, and it was an exquisite view! In their world, the universe is conspiring for good. Most of us are familiar with paranoia, or the belief that there are forces out to get you. Pronoia is the opposite and has risen to popularity as an attitude we can cultivate to see the good in humanity, nature, and the order of the universe. Yet, this trip had a bittersweet mission. It was a trip to remember.

Every year, my family went camping to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the most remote and beautiful places that my dad knew from his childhood growing up there. My dad would pick up overtime, saying he had to make the big bucks so we could get back to the hills.

In 1990, when his cancer had metastasized, he asked my mom to capture the trip with our video camera. That video captures our last family camping trip to the hills, showing all my siblings and I oblivious to anything but crossing creeks on logs and running up ponderosa-studded hills. I think he knew what was coming and wanted us to remember the joy and beauty. But honestly, his suffering and death later that year would become the defining event in our lives. It brought a shadow of paranoia: that everything good could be taken away, that love was too big of a risk to take again.

A lot of healing has happened since his death and this summer. My mom orchestrated a reunion tour to introduce the next generation to the special places in the Black Hills that shaped our lives. We hiked to waterfalls and plunged into the cold waters. We scrambled on rocks that I knew like old friends. We drew new stories from memories of the past, and in the process,
I felt an awakening pronoia about the world and our lives. Many receive this in church, but I have always felt it strongest in nature. The world is good. We are good. We can choose to live a good way.

My mom and I listened to Jan Goodall’s “The Book of Hope” as we drove across the plains. One of Goodall’s causes for hope is the human intellect. She shared that studying chimpanzees illuminated certain qualities of human nature that are truly unique that no other species possesses. For example, no other species can land a rover on Mars. This same intellect has caused great suffering. Human nature is often associated with plundering and devastation, but human nature is just as evident in kindness and joy. Hope is that our human intellect will be used in ways that lead to the latter.

There are a lot of worries in the world, and as we start this service year, I feel bathed in hope, the pronoia that perhaps the best is yet to come. As my nephew would say, “send it!”.

Your Kid’s Religious Program is about…Sex?

When I first heard parents at Chequamegon UU Fellowship talk about Our Whole Lives (OWL), this is what went through my head. I was confused. Why would a church be teaching about sex education? The teachers were so passionate about it, but I was too new and too shy to ask, so I regarded it like I did most things related to institutionalized religion in those days; with suspicion and skepticism.

How did I go from there to being the #1 fan of Our Whole Lives? It’s a long story, but more than anything, it was going to a seminary that held embodiment as sacred. Our bodies are not some second-class, sinful material vessel for the pure soul. We are bodies. Sex and sexuality are part of our bodies. For too long, especially in religion, we excluded talking about this, which often created a stigma or taboo that lead to shame and silence. OWL, which is developed through a partnership between Unitarian Universalism and United Church of Christ, celebrates bodies and educates about them in safe spaces. It incorporates parental conversations and offers age- appropriate education on sexuality and health. For example, our K-2 OWL participants learned the names of all body parts and did a craft making sperm out of pipe cleaners. If you feel suspicious, confused or perhaps even horrified by that fact, please pause, and without judgement, with deep curiosity, ask, where is that message coming from?

As summer approaches, we’ll be working to hire a Director of Religious Education and Our Whole Lives. CUUF doesn’t offer any summer programming right now. The Protestant faith collaborative, made up of several churches in Ashland and Washburn, reached out to invite CUUF kids to join their Vacation Bible School, and we’ve included their flyer in this newsletter. This will be their last program, as the churches are unable to continue funding The other option in Ashland is the Salem Baptist “Ocean Commotion: Diving into Noah’s Flood” with curriculum from the Creation Museum/Ark Encounter. You can read more about it here: https:// salemashland.myanswers.com/ocean-commotion/

I know I am a minister who is passionate about religious education and OWL. Not all UU ministers are, and some are even adversarial about the amount of resources kids and youth programs require. For me, it isn’t about offering programs. It isn’t about filling classes. The work RE does changes lives. It empowers. Teachers and students are transformed by the curricula. Thousands of volunteer hours have built this program and volunteer hours and donations continue to support it. It’s growing and it’s one of the only options in the region for progressive religious exploration. I hope that you are joining me in celebrating what a wonderous accomplishment this is for this day and age.

Equal Parts – Light and Dark

The Spring Equinox was more than a month ago, and although this year has had a slow spring thaw, the daylight is now noticeably longer. Some years, I didn’t even stop to recognize this global experience: the two annual equinoxes are the only times both the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere share the same amount of sunlight and night. In the northern hemisphere, since the fall equinox, there has been more night than day, and this is when that balance shifts. For several years, I’ve used the spring equinox as a meditation on equality and the ways that inequality shapes our world.

The trap that one can fall into when talking about equality around the equinox is to associate light as good and dark as bad. This construct, even subconsciously, can reinforce racial stereotypes. It also reinforces fear of the night, when the nighttime can be a source of restoration. After all, it is the time of dreams. The night reminds us that at the edge of where our senses know and experience is where mystery begins.

The construct of light and darkness as good and evil has a particular history. It can be traced back to Babylonian, Zoroastrianism, and Manicheism beliefs and philosophies, which all looked to solve the problem of suffering by affirming that a co-dominant force (evil) existed in the world. These beliefs were especially prevalent and influential for the early Christian community. Ideas of heaven in the sky, full of light, and hell as ‘down below’ as dark and fiery also likely took hold from these dualistic beliefs. This either/or, good/evil framework rarely accounts for the gray areas of this thing we call life, yet as a belief, it has proved tenacious. People John Paul II even tried to dispel this by teaching that heaven and hell are not physical places at all; they’re states of being. The impact of choices that hurt others is not about a future world of eternal damnation, but describes the consequences of living with injustice and moral anguish in this world now. Hell is the state of living
in disconnection.

I take the spring equinox as a time to meditate on the dawn and the dusk. I take time to consider how I am capable of doing harm and being harmed. My deepest grief allows me to be a comfort for those grieving. This is a time of year when I think of the nature of grace, and how we can be loved and loving despite doing that which is unlovable. I think of the paradoxes of forgiveness; it is so much harder than holding onto anger. If hell is a state of being and is caused by disconnection, where can I eliminate hell right now for myself or another?

Roots and insects, bulbs and worms are beginning to awaken. Frogs are crawling out of their frosty mud homes. It is a very dynamic time, and perhaps you feel the push and pull, the thaw and freeze, that all of life on this part of earth is experiencing. May the sacred dark and the energized light of this time of year inspire you on your path to keep healing, and keep mending yourself and the world.

Spring-ish Greetings!

I start with gratitude: thank you to all who planned, supported and attended the Service or Ordination on Feb. 26. I am beyond grateful to have been ordained by the Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship! The Alvord Theatre was transformed into a garden of delights. Thank you for the music, for the art, and for the technology investments that made this ceremony available across the country. Thank you for the reception, a feast that met every food allergy and need—all were welcome at this table. Thank you for your presence, in body or spirit, to mark this threshold for myself and CUUF, connecting us all more profoundly to the vision of a radically inclusive, deeply caring, liberating religion across time and across space. For this and so much more, I am forever grateful.

April and May hold many delights at CUUF—Easter rituals, the All-Music Service, an “All About Love” book group, and the Annual Meeting—just to name a few. Please read on and stay connected. As always, reach out with any questions or ideas for the fellowship at any time.

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Where We’ve Been – Where We Are Going

Where We’ve Been—-Where we are Going
This year, in small groups, publications, and Sunday services, we’ve engaged with the language that the larger Unitarian Universalist Association is proposing as we reassess beliefs and how they are communicated in our living tradition. As a replacement to the language of the “Six Sources” and the “Seven Principles” a multi-year process has resulted in seven values with covenantal statements for each one. The values are captured in the image to the right. Below is a list of where we’ve been as a fellowship on this exploration, where we are going, and the UUA proposed statement (if/then) related to each value:
In November, we explored “Generosity”
We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources.
Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
In January, we explored “Liberating Love”
We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love.
Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.
In February, we explored “Justice and Equity”
We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and
inclusive communities.
In March, we will explore “Transformation”
We adapt to the changing world.
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
In April, we will explore “Interdependence”
We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility,
we acknowledge our place in it.
We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Finally, in May, we’ll explore “Pluralism”
We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
In June, at the UUA General Assembly, delegates from congregations and fellowships will vote on whether or not this language is adopted as the collective expression of Unitarian Universalism. If you are interested in being a delegate from CUUF, please contact your Board President, Beth Lowthian or Fellowship Assistant Adam Haecker for more information. For a full history of the process and the proposed changes (called the Article II Commission),
please visit: https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/final-proposed-revision-article-ii? mc_cid=818141a563&mc_eid=86f894c4e6
One of the reasons for these revisions is because lists are always incomplete. Multiple amendments over the years have proposed additional sources and principles. The current language also didn’t lead individuals or fellowships into action, which is what the covenantal statements are intended to do. One way I think of the proposed language is that it provides an answer to my least favorite question: what is Unitarian Universalism? With the new language, I may say, “we are a diverse religious tradition with shared values, who work collectively to live out those values, changing systems and consciousness, and making change that would be impossible by working individually. This is what we believe in.”
In community,

Mid-Winter Greetings

February 2nd is one of my favorite holidays. Some call it Imbolc, others Groundhog Day. Some celebrate with the Feast of St. Brigid, Ireland’s patroness saint who promises the gifts of spring: new life, abundance, protection. Going to wells is one of the practices of this day, as the well is that symbolic source of life-giving and life-sustaining energy. Before electricity, people brought their candles to Sunday Mass to be blessed. They needed the candles to last through the winter, thus, the first Sunday service in February is sometimes called Candlemass. No matter which way you say it, it is a cross-quarter day, meaning we are halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It isn’t exactly the season of hope. I would call it endurance. The black bears are giving birth in their dens, and both mother and cubs will live off the fat stores of her body from the fall. The rhythm of the seasons teaches us that if we burn through all our candles, all our energy stores now, there won’t be enough to get up through the spring.

I am trying to listen to the lessons of this season, but I still feel myself getting ‘fired up’ as we enter into an election year. I was at a gathering making small talk with someone who has completely given up on democracy. He is so disgusted and dismayed as to believe his only course of action for himself and his young family is self- protection. He asked me how I can still believe in democracy and although I hadn’t thought of this answer ahead of time, it came blurting out: because I am involved with religious fellowships and I see individual citizens using collective action to make a difference all the time. And in an elemental way, that is what democracy is: leveraging our collective power in the service on our values.

My hope is that this fellowship is one of the sources to help keep us all in that balance between dismay and burning out as we gather our collective power for another election year.

—In endurance, Rev. Stacy

Dear Ones…

Dear Ones,
I actually bristle at that salutation—dear ones. But I can’t help myself; it is the only way I can begin this column. You see, I’m still reeling from a recent experience. After the holiday service, I had to pull over on a gravel road on the way home because I was sobbing. This is rare for me, and not something I expected. It happens when something touches my heart so deeply that I purge a grief or sadness that has been lingering. It heals it all the way through. Was it the haunting music contrasted by the beauty of the dancing snowflakes during a perilous journey of the skiers? Was it the solstice spiral, effervescent with the everlasting green of needles? Was it the conversations or new connections?
The candles spanning from wall to wall at the conclusion? The 2023 holiday service volunteer hours and various contributions are too numerous to list here, but it’s safe to say, this is the power and promise of a spiritual community. Dear ones, I hope this fellowship offers the kind of hope and inspiration for you as it has for me.

I know there is a gap between services and many programs from December to January. May this provide ample time for reflection and to digest some of the connections and insights made in 2023 so they can be transformed into energy and awareness. Sending you blessings for the New Year and all the promise that flourishes when we take that which has been and marry it to that which may be, and find peace in the present moment.

—In communion, Stacy

December is for Reflective Practice

December is for Reflective Practice

While there was no official tally, when I was in seminary, I believe the words “energy” and “mystery” were used most often to describe the notion of the holy. It did not matter if the student believed in God or what faith they identified with. When pressed to define what we meant by these words—does mystery have a consciousness? Can energy intervene in our lives? Most of us tried to explain through examples—often referred to as religious and spiritual experiences (RSE)—to describe that which we knew to be true, but could not define. For one, it was a miraculous recovery of a child. For another, a biochemist, it was the awe of emergence. Emergence describes phenomena, like how molecules of hydrogen and oxygen combine to make a substance, water, with properties neither individual contains. It was an opportunity to reflect not on what you believe, but on what you wonder about. As the season of longest night descends upon the Northwoods, I hope you find time to reflect on the wonder that you’ve encountered over the past year. I look forward to exploring the numinous, the ineffable, mystery and energy in services and small groups throughout the month.
In community,
Stacy

Statement from UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt Regarding the Conflict Between Israel and Hamas

Beloveds, I invite you to stop what you are doing if you can sit with me in the depth of this tragedy. How to reconcile the cost of occupation and war? How to nuance two very real histories of oppression and violence? I am holding close the words of U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland who said: “This is a dangerous precipice, and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”

We as a people of faith can condemn violence against civilians while at the same time
engaging the full legacies and histories of oppression that shape such devastating conflict.
As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalists have long worked for peace, and our principles and values call for the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

I pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. I pray for leaders around the globe who must respond to this latest flare of violence and the untenable ethical considerations that abound. I pray for Muslim and Jewish UUs who experience the impact of this long strife acutely. I pray that those of us less likely to know the trauma of unending brutality and harm will not turn away from generational loss, from the devastating realities and their root causes, or from the relentless tragedy of war and occupation. Be gentle with yourselves when you need to be, but do not turn away unless you must. We are one global family living tenuously on the same human-impacted Earth.
Let us center ourselves in justice as we call for peace.

I hope that this article finds you with the gifts of the season: a cup of tea, a window to the changing leaves or shorter days that provide pause and reflection.
When people ask me how I’m doing these days, I share (in complete honesty) that my work with CUUF is a highlight. I feel energized and inspired from working with Jenise Swartley and the Worship Committee. I receive hope and joy working with Andrea, Ashley and the Religious Education Committee. At the Water Service on Sept. 10, I was reminded of how spirituality comes so naturally to children, and I was moved by all the stories that folks shared, including Denise Bosak’s testimonial and Anne Chartier’s testimonial about working alongside Water Protectors.

I know CUUF asks a lot from members and friends. Requests for financial support, service on committees and participation in Sunday services are made repeatedly. The culture I hope that we can cultivate is one where your contributions are generative in that they give back to you. Term limits are honored and celebrated for work on boards and committees. It’s work that I love and I invite others to join by considering if one of the following opportunities calls to you.

Provide snacks for fellowship: June Bavlnka and Joe Fernandez (pictured) and Jan Perkins come early and stay late every service to set up and be on-hand at the hospitality table for fellowship services. They’re looking for three people to bring a snack for each service. By splitting it up, it means you only need to bring one thing to have a full table. Fellowship is a favorite time, especially for the kids, and these contributions are well-appreciated. Text June to sign up at: 715-209-1622.

Serve on the Worship Committee: The group meets about three times per year to brainstorm service speakers, plan special services and create policies for engaging, inspiring worship. Members oversee recruiting volunteers to be lay leaders and to create the altar. They invite and confirm speakers and often help set up worship services. This is a very engaged group and we are looking for two to three additional members to join Jenise Swartley (chair-pictured), Megan Perrine,

Provide Special Music: The Music Committee is asking for volunteers to provide a musical selection during the offertory during Sunday services when Joni Chapman isn’t with us. Strings, winds, percussion, a Capello singing, solo or group, novice or professional—please share your music. Contact Music Committee Chair Linda Calhan at: music@chequamegonuuf.org

Help Set-Up/Take Down: Having a shared worship space saves us thousands of dollars and reduces our carbon footprint, but it comes with a lot of heavy lifting. Are you able to help with set-up before a service and clean-up after the service? If so, contact Fellowship Assistant Adam Haecker at: cuufad@gmail.com

A big shout out to all nine committees and the CUUF board for the leadership and care they put into their work. Please know that if a ‘yes’ isn’t right for you, if this is a time when you need to receive or if you have already said ‘yes’ to too many other things, that too is part of being the fellowship. I find it helpful to plan out a few years for when my next ‘yes’ will be possible, and I hope that you’ll consider CUUF’s committees, board or other volunteer opportunities for that next ‘yes’. And, I hope that it becomes a highlight of your days as well. —In community, Rev. Stacy Craig

The Universe is Conspiring for Good, Right?

At the Sylvan Lake entrance, the park ranger took an extra minute to share updates about trails and to answer questions. At the end of the conversation, I said “thank you” and “take care”. She reflected the sentiment back to me. Then I hear my nephew from the back seat. “Take care? What does that even mean?” I explained that it is a well wish that you share at the end of a conversation with someone you appreciate. My nephew, whose arm was in a full cast from swinging on a vine that suddenly broke, scoffed, “Take care. Whatever. Why don’t you just say, ‘Send It?’”

My nieces and nephews let me see a summer vacation through child’s eyes, and it was an exquisite view! In their world, the universe is conspiring for good. Most of us are familiar with paranoia, or the belief that there are forces out to get you. Pronoia is the opposite and has risen to popularity as an attitude we can cultivate to see the good in humanity, nature, and the order of the universe. Yet, this trip had a bittersweet mission. It was a trip to remember.

Every year, my family went camping to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the most remote and beautiful places that my dad knew from his childhood growing up there. My dad would pick up overtime, saying he had to make the big bucks so we could get back to the hills.

In 1990, when his cancer had metastasized, he asked my mom to capture the trip with our video camera. That video captures our last family camping trip to the hills, showing all my siblings and I oblivious to anything but crossing creeks on logs and running up ponderosa-studded hills. I think he knew what was coming and wanted us to remember the joy and beauty. But honestly, his suffering and death later that year would become the defining event in our lives. It brought a shadow of paranoia: that everything good could be taken away, that love was too big of a risk to take again.

A lot of healing has happened since his death and this summer. My mom orchestrated a reunion tour to introduce the next generation to the special places in the Black Hills that shaped our lives. We hiked to waterfalls and plunged into the cold waters. We scrambled on rocks that I knew like old friends. We drew new stories from memories of the past, and in the process,
I felt an awakening pronoia about the world and our lives. Many receive this in church, but I have always felt it strongest in nature. The world is good. We are good. We can choose to live a good way.

My mom and I listened to Jan Goodall’s “The Book of Hope” as we drove across the plains. One of Goodall’s causes for hope is the human intellect. She shared that studying chimpanzees illuminated certain qualities of human nature that are truly unique that no other species possesses. For example, no other species can land a rover on Mars. This same intellect has caused great suffering. Human nature is often associated with plundering and devastation, but human nature is just as evident in kindness and joy. Hope is that our human intellect will be used in ways that lead to the latter.

There are a lot of worries in the world, and as we start this service year, I feel bathed in hope, the pronoia that perhaps the best is yet to come. As my nephew would say, “send it!”.

Your Kid’s Religious Program is about…Sex?

When I first heard parents at Chequamegon UU Fellowship talk about Our Whole Lives (OWL), this is what went through my head. I was confused. Why would a church be teaching about sex education? The teachers were so passionate about it, but I was too new and too shy to ask, so I regarded it like I did most things related to institutionalized religion in those days; with suspicion and skepticism.

How did I go from there to being the #1 fan of Our Whole Lives? It’s a long story, but more than anything, it was going to a seminary that held embodiment as sacred. Our bodies are not some second-class, sinful material vessel for the pure soul. We are bodies. Sex and sexuality are part of our bodies. For too long, especially in religion, we excluded talking about this, which often created a stigma or taboo that lead to shame and silence. OWL, which is developed through a partnership between Unitarian Universalism and United Church of Christ, celebrates bodies and educates about them in safe spaces. It incorporates parental conversations and offers age- appropriate education on sexuality and health. For example, our K-2 OWL participants learned the names of all body parts and did a craft making sperm out of pipe cleaners. If you feel suspicious, confused or perhaps even horrified by that fact, please pause, and without judgement, with deep curiosity, ask, where is that message coming from?

As summer approaches, we’ll be working to hire a Director of Religious Education and Our Whole Lives. CUUF doesn’t offer any summer programming right now. The Protestant faith collaborative, made up of several churches in Ashland and Washburn, reached out to invite CUUF kids to join their Vacation Bible School, and we’ve included their flyer in this newsletter. This will be their last program, as the churches are unable to continue funding The other option in Ashland is the Salem Baptist “Ocean Commotion: Diving into Noah’s Flood” with curriculum from the Creation Museum/Ark Encounter. You can read more about it here: https:// salemashland.myanswers.com/ocean-commotion/

I know I am a minister who is passionate about religious education and OWL. Not all UU ministers are, and some are even adversarial about the amount of resources kids and youth programs require. For me, it isn’t about offering programs. It isn’t about filling classes. The work RE does changes lives. It empowers. Teachers and students are transformed by the curricula. Thousands of volunteer hours have built this program and volunteer hours and donations continue to support it. It’s growing and it’s one of the only options in the region for progressive religious exploration. I hope that you are joining me in celebrating what a wonderous accomplishment this is for this day and age.

Equal Parts – Light and Dark

The Spring Equinox was more than a month ago, and although this year has had a slow spring thaw, the daylight is now noticeably longer. Some years, I didn’t even stop to recognize this global experience: the two annual equinoxes are the only times both the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere share the same amount of sunlight and night. In the northern hemisphere, since the fall equinox, there has been more night than day, and this is when that balance shifts. For several years, I’ve used the spring equinox as a meditation on equality and the ways that inequality shapes our world.

The trap that one can fall into when talking about equality around the equinox is to associate light as good and dark as bad. This construct, even subconsciously, can reinforce racial stereotypes. It also reinforces fear of the night, when the nighttime can be a source of restoration. After all, it is the time of dreams. The night reminds us that at the edge of where our senses know and experience is where mystery begins.

The construct of light and darkness as good and evil has a particular history. It can be traced back to Babylonian, Zoroastrianism, and Manicheism beliefs and philosophies, which all looked to solve the problem of suffering by affirming that a co-dominant force (evil) existed in the world. These beliefs were especially prevalent and influential for the early Christian community. Ideas of heaven in the sky, full of light, and hell as ‘down below’ as dark and fiery also likely took hold from these dualistic beliefs. This either/or, good/evil framework rarely accounts for the gray areas of this thing we call life, yet as a belief, it has proved tenacious. People John Paul II even tried to dispel this by teaching that heaven and hell are not physical places at all; they’re states of being. The impact of choices that hurt others is not about a future world of eternal damnation, but describes the consequences of living with injustice and moral anguish in this world now. Hell is the state of living
in disconnection.

I take the spring equinox as a time to meditate on the dawn and the dusk. I take time to consider how I am capable of doing harm and being harmed. My deepest grief allows me to be a comfort for those grieving. This is a time of year when I think of the nature of grace, and how we can be loved and loving despite doing that which is unlovable. I think of the paradoxes of forgiveness; it is so much harder than holding onto anger. If hell is a state of being and is caused by disconnection, where can I eliminate hell right now for myself or another?

Roots and insects, bulbs and worms are beginning to awaken. Frogs are crawling out of their frosty mud homes. It is a very dynamic time, and perhaps you feel the push and pull, the thaw and freeze, that all of life on this part of earth is experiencing. May the sacred dark and the energized light of this time of year inspire you on your path to keep healing, and keep mending yourself and the world.

Spring-ish Greetings!

I start with gratitude: thank you to all who planned, supported and attended the Service or Ordination on Feb. 26. I am beyond grateful to have been ordained by the Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship! The Alvord Theatre was transformed into a garden of delights. Thank you for the music, for the art, and for the technology investments that made this ceremony available across the country. Thank you for the reception, a feast that met every food allergy and need—all were welcome at this table. Thank you for your presence, in body or spirit, to mark this threshold for myself and CUUF, connecting us all more profoundly to the vision of a radically inclusive, deeply caring, liberating religion across time and across space. For this and so much more, I am forever grateful.

April and May hold many delights at CUUF—Easter rituals, the All-Music Service, an “All About Love” book group, and the Annual Meeting—just to name a few. Please read on and stay connected. As always, reach out with any questions or ideas for the fellowship at any time.

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Reflections From Stacy’s Desk

Congratulations to Stacy!

Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship’s new minister, Stacy Craig, will graduate with high honors on May 3 with a Masters of Divinity, Church Leadership and Religion and Theology, from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in St. Paul, Minnesota. She will be completing a Clinical Pastoral Experience (CPE) this summer as part of that program. This will include working with restorative justice in the prison system and with people working through addiction and recovery through The Recovery Church in St. Paul. A CPE is a supported experience where Stacy will be immersed in difficult work to find her own struggles and to build empathy and pastoral care skills for others while also learning to care for herself while doing difficult work.

Stacy’s course of study at United Theological Seminary has been challenging and inspirational. She has deepened her knowledge, expanded her search for the truth, and made lifelong connections. Her studies, though concluding soon at United Theological, will continue as she pursues the road to ordination over the next couple of years. Though the actual graduation ceremony is delayed until spring of 2021, let’s help Stacy celebrate her huge accomplishment now!