PEACE NEWS is a place to post current peace-related events which might be of interest to the FUSN congregation:

In the context of this Web site, the word "program" is being used to mean any activity other than the official programs of Sunday service, religious education, music and, with the exception of the Social Action committee, the activities of individual committees. What you see described below are programs open to participation by both members and friends of the Society.

Social Action
Social Action coordinates FUSN’s efforts to improve social justice and the quality of life in our extended community, in the Boston area and around the world.  Members are active in the following areas, and the committee welcomes FUSNites' participation in these as well as new projects and areas of concern:

• Monthly food sorting at the Greater Boston Food Bank
• Collecting and distributing quality used clothes, furniture, medical supplies and equipment, books, toys, and household items to more than 30 agencies and programs
• Providing a monthly lunch at the Women's Lunch Place
• Organizing donation of food and volunteer time for the Newton Food Pantry
• Sponsoring and participating in workdays at Boston Habitat for Humanity worksites
• Organizing FUSN's Second Collections (5 each year) to benefit organizations that have been nominated by FUSN members (See appendix for criteria for choosing Second Collections)
• Sponsoring field trips, mentoring, and tutoring for members of Stand High/Stand United, a youth program of the UU Urban Ministry
• Sponsoring a Mental Illness Issues group thatworks to increase awareness and acceptance of people with severe and chronic mental illness
• Supporting two prisoners in the College Behind Bars program of Partakers, Inc. through monthly visits and regular letters to them; teaching courses in prison; and increasing awareness of criminal justice issues
• Participating in Communities Without Borders, developing long-term relationships through travel, work service, educational financial support, and correspondence with children who have been orphaned by AIDS and their caregivers in the community of Chawama in Zambia
• Supporting the Coalition for a Strong United Nations, which provides information and fosters dialogue about the work of the UN
• Participating in 20/20 Vision, which sends action postcards to members who influence policy makers concerning issues of world peace and the environment
• Addressing environmental concerns through organizing the FUSN recycling program and through sponsoring forums
• Participating in the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the UU Massachusetts Action Network, and Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries

Adult Religious Education
FUSN’s religious education program is life-span in scope and Anne Bancroft, director of religious education, collaborates with the minister, James Ford, and the chair of the Adult Ed committee, Bob Zeeb, to provide a program of courses that is based on the goal of expanding the spiritual and religious education of adult members. The two courses described below occur regularly. Other courses, such as this year’s Voluntary Simplicity, Sustainable Living, and the Gifts Discovery Workshop may be given on a one-time only basis.

• Welcoming Congregation. FUSN, after having run the Welcoming Congregation curriculum numerous times for members, and having taken a congregational vote in favor, registered as a Welcoming Congregation with the UUA a number of years ago. This adult education program is offered regularly to help maintain the Society as a "Welcoming Congregation." The 10-week course helps individuals learn how they can make the Society more welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people by promoting diversity and inclusiveness. Members Arlene Duelfer and Sue Allen formed the 2001-2002 Welcoming Congregation class, which began in March of 2002.
• Everything UU is a three-evening course usually taught over a period of three weeks by the minister and the director of religious education. It is aimed specifically at new members, although longer-term members often participate. The course is a prerequisite for those seeking membership in the congregation who do not come to FUSN from another UU congregation.

Child Dedications, Weddings, Memorial Services,
The Society offers a wonderful space for members to celebrate life events and the staff is accomplished at helping families make arrangements for appropriate services. Members are not assessed any fee for these services although many members choose to offer donations on the occasions of weddings or memorial services. Members and friends should arrange for services with the administrator and the minister and in addition, contact Jackie Colby, the Society’s space administrator, to reserve space.

Coming of Age
This program is intended as a special passage in the religious and spiritual education of 8th-grade boys and girls. Participants select an adult mentor from among members of the congregation (not their parents) and that mentor will companion the youth throughout the year-long program. Classes, a retreat, a series of required activities and commitments, and a graduation ceremony in which the candidate affirms his or her personal credo to the congregation, make up the curriculum. The program is extremely rewarding for both the youth and the adults who participate as mentors, and the service at which the young people read their credos is regarded as a highlight of the congregation’s year. click here for a photo album

Membership

• Newcomers are encouraged to meet with the minister and parents with a child/ren in the religious education program are encouraged to also meet with the director of religious education. Newcomers who sign the guest book receive the newsletter for six weeks and then are asked if they wish to continue receiving it by real mail or e-mail as a subscriber (free) or if they wish to become a member. As newcomers begin to feel comfortable in the community, we hope they will consider pledging to the annual every-member canvass fund that supports the work of the Society and its services to members.
• Members are those who choose to make a commitment to the Society. FUSN does, however, have friends who attend services regularly and who make a financial pledge to the Society each year, but who have not taken the step of becoming a member. After you’ve attended services for a while, we invite you to consider membership. If you become a member, you have the right to vote at official meetings of the Society, the advantage of participating in the governance of the Society by holding one of the elected offices, and the privilege of representing the Society as a delegate at district or national Unitarian Universalist events. To become a member, you need to take three steps. First, you should speak to the minister, the coordinator of member services and development, or one of the people on the membership committee. Or, you can simply serve notice of your interest by signing a member card--they are available from the church office or the newcomer’s table at coffee hour. Next, unless you’ve come to FUSN from another UU congregation, you should arrange to take the "Everything UU" course taught by the minister and the director of religious education. This course offers a very brief survey of UU history, the basic tenets of Unitarian Universalism, and information about this Society. Finally, the Board of Trustees will vote for you to become a member of the Society upon the recommendation of the minister. The congregation welcomes new members into the Society at a brief ceremony during the service on one of three official welcoming Sundays during the year. Because the three-session "Everything UU" course is taught only twice a year, you may be voted into membership and asked to take the course afterward.
  
  Committees
  The Society has a number of committees (currently about 30) created to organize members to accomplish a whole range of purposes. From participating in spiritual discussions to managing group weekends at the beach, there’s a committee that will take advantage of your skills, teach you new ones, or just help you to make a contribution to the community. For a complete list of committees and their current chairs, get a copy of the "Big List." For a list of committees with brief descriptions and goals, get a copy of "How Our Society Works." Each is available from the Newcomer’s table or from the coordinator of member services and development.
  
  Holiday Fair
  The Fair is conducted on the first Saturday of December every year and is the Society’s second largest fund-raising event after the annual canvass. Members plan and manage the Fair, starting in the summer and working through the fall by making jams, jellies, relishes and vinegars; sewing a quilt; crafting ornaments and other artifacts; collecting books, jewelry, china, glassware, furniture and other objets d’art to sell; purchasing trees and wreaths, and opening the fair to the entire community. Usually the Fair raises more than $12,000. Chairs for the Fair are appointed in the spring by the Committee on Committees.
  
  Art Fair
  This event occurs at FUSN every other year and, whenever possible, is held in conjunction with the New Art Association’s Newton Open Studios weekend. During the 2001-2002 church year, the Fair dates are Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19. FUSN artists and craftspeople will display and sell works in a variety of media in the Parish Hall to members of FUSN and the community at large. The artists contribute 25% of the revenues to the Society’s annual budget.
  
  Social and Support Activities
• Coffee Hour following worship each Sunday is a valued time when members and friends meet and mingle. Members and friends wear nametags to make socializing easier for newcomers and visitors will find temporary nametags at the newcomers table just inside the parish hall. The Coordinator of Member Services and Development sits at a Visitors’ and Friends’ Table during coffee hour to be available to members and visitors who want to learn more about the Society or to get information about different programs or committees.
• Social Events occur throughout the year. Once each month, the Women’s Alliance prepares a brunch after the Sunday service that allows members and friends to stay and visit. The Membership Committee sponsors Dinners for Seven that occur at least twice during the winter months and they also run two or three potluck suppers for newcomers. Sandra Teare, member and mother of a young family, runs monthly family potluck suppers in the Parish Hall to which all are invited—with or without children. Look for notices in the newsletter or on the FUSN e-mail list. In the spring and fall, there are all-church weekend social retreats.
• Careful perusal of the newsletter reveals occasional notices that give witness to a rich, small-group life with like-minded people gathering in a book group, a bridge group, a singles group, and a quilting group, among others. There are also a number of men’s and women’s support groups and a member or friend wishing to join one or begin a new one should get in touch with the Lay Ministers. Anyone caring to develop a social group centered around any social activity from hiking to play reading is welcome to meet with the coordinator of member services and development to explore the notion.
  • Dinners For Seven: These potluck dinners, usually hosted at the homes of members, are aimed at introducing those new to FUSN to others in the Society.
  • Spring and Fall Social Retreats: Every fall, on Columbus Day Weekend, FUSN members of all ages have a three-day social retreat at Ferry Beach , a UU camp and conference Center in Saco, Maine, click here for a photo album. Each spring, on Memorial Day Weekend, FUSN members of all ages have a three-day social retreat at Sandy Island, a YMCA family camp on an island in the middle of Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire, click here for a photo album.
• Women’s and Men’s Groups: A number of support groups for men and women exist within the church. Anyone wishing to join such a group should watch the newsletter for notice that a new group is forming or, better yet, notify a lay minister that you are interested. There may be a group attempting to form or the lay minister may be willing to begin the search for other members to join you.
• Singles’ Group: The singles’ group is currently coordinated by Ruth Comstock, Doug Kohn, and Arline Thomas who plan and carry out a variety of informal social activities.
• Spirituality Group: This discussion group meets at FUSN at eight on the first and third Tuesday of the month.

Spirituality Programs

• Small Group Ministry provides a place for members to explore significant questions and to experience community through deep, intentional listening. It has been called the UU spiritual practice. Within a simple ritual format, each member responds personally to a topic and is heard. The purpose is not to problem-solve, offer advice, or reach consensus but rather to hold and witness the amazing diversity of experiences and journeys. In the process members come to know and care about one another as they provide this particular kind of intimate company in the search for meaning.
• Meditation Practice at the Society consists of two sitting Buddhist meditation groups that meet weekly in the Chapel at 7:30 on weeknights. On Monday nights at 7:30, the Rev. James Ishmael Ford, who is a Zen teacher as well as a UU minister, leads the Henry Thoreau Zen Sangha. Named for the great Unitarian Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who in many ways anticipated Zen practice and thought, this Sangha seeks to honor both the eastern traditions of Zen practice and the western and particularly Unitarian Universalist traditions of social concern and engagement. On Thursday evenings, the Insight Meditation Group meets at 7:30.

Annual Canvass
The largest source of church funding (over 70% of church income) comes from the annual pledge drive among all members and friends. The Sunday collection contributes only 2% of the budget.

Volunteer Opportunities
FUSN has a long history of helping members discover—and exploit—their talents and skills for their own satisfaction and for the benefit of the Society and the larger community. From singing in the choir to tutoring inner-city children to stocking food pantry shelves or participating in spiritual discussion groups, you’ll find there is good work for you here that will compensate you handsomely for any effort you invest. To find a way to participate that will offer you scope for your particular skills, contact the minister or the society’s coordinator of member services and development about committee work in the Society or get in touch with the chairs of Social Action for involvement with a broader scope.

About Second Collections:  Five times each "church year," we hold a Second Collection during the Sunday morning worship service.  Unlike the regular weekly offering, which supports FUSN operations, each Second Collection is dedicated to a specific need, organization, or cause selected by the Social Action Committee.  We have an open process for nominating and selecting candidates for Second Collections.  Anyone may nominate a candidate at any time by contacting Randy Block (davisblock@rcn.com), chair of the subcommittee that reviews nominations and recommends candidates for approval by the Social Action Committee.  Nominations are evaluated on the following criteria:  a compelling story; consistency with UU principles; a demonstrated connection to FUSN, usually through the active participation of members of the Society; concrete impact of funding; urgency of need; capability of the recipient organizatoin to achieve the intended goal(s); variety (in terms of geography and purpose); inspiration to further social action; and efficient use of the funds.  The remaining dates for the 2006-07 year are January 7, March 14, and April 29.