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A publication of the Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council
Connect ing Uni tar ian and Universa l is t congregat ions around the g lobe
Volume 20 Number 2 Autumn 2013
(Continued on page 3)
UUPCC’s 20th Anniversary celebration took placeat General Assembly. See page 4 for more photos
Letter from the Board Chair
Greetings to the UUPCC World
by reV. gary SMith, uuPcc PreSiDent
the uuPcc board has moved backinto our tempo of monthly confer-
ence calls, following a more relaxedsummer for some of us. the board saidfarewell to some members followingour annual Meeting in June, and wehave also greeted new faces, but thegood work continues.
one very exciting project for usthis year is the increasingly-likely new
The Mission of the Unitarian Universalist Partner Cand congregations in all other countries whe
(Continued on page 2)
partnerships between unitarian congre-gations in the united Kingdom and uucongregations in the united States andcanada. the joke is, of course, that, inthe words of george bernard Shaw, theunited States and great britain are“separated by a common language.”We, for our part in the uuPcc, aredetermined to give lie to this joke andto explore the roots of our common
Travel to the PhilippinesVirtual Conference Calls, schedule 2
General Assembly 2013 (photos) 4
Empowering Communities to FightPoverty 5
News from Partners; “Long StrangeTrip” Part VI 6
Visit to India; Student Needs New Sponsor 7
New Web Site for UUPCC.org Balázs Scholar 13-14 8
UUPCC Regional Conference 9
Diary of an American Seminarian 10
Reports, News & Travel Stories 11–14
Pilgrimage Postings 15
UUPCC Travel Services 16–17
Gift Form / “How to Send Money” 18
Membership Form / UUPCC Contact Lists 19
Vision & Mission 20
Inside News...
and notes.
in early July, rev. rebecca QuimadaSienes stayed with the MVuuc fam-
ily of Jackie and Dave albay-yenney.Jackie is a native of agoo, luzon andthe original instigator of the partnershipwith calapayan. her mother Violetacurrently lives with them, so rebeccahad fine Filipino family hospitality.
rebecca’s first full day coincidedwith two regular monthly congrega-tional events, the buuK gruuP andevensong. For the first, the book thathad been selected earlier evidencedanother startling coincidence: The
Favored Daughter: One Woman’s Fight
UUCP’s Rev. Sienes
Visits Monte Vistaby Julie Steinbach; Monte ViSta uucongregation, Montclair, ca
hurch Council is to foster and support partner church relationships between North American congregations re partnering is sought and welcomed. This includes countries where partners are already active.
Rev. Seines lights a conch chalice—created byCalapayan children early in the partnership.
Rev. Seines Visits MVUUC
(Continued from page 1)
(Continued on the next page)
travel to the philippines
This year we are trying something different—the March trip to the Philippineswill be broken into THREE different segments, making it easier to arrange for trips that will suit your time and interests. If you are interested in learningmore, see page 16 of this newsletter—or contact Lee Boeke Burke,
to Lead Afghanistan into the Future byFawzia Koofi is also the story of a sin-gular woman whose father was mur-dered and has risen in his wake to a keyleadership role in her culture. rebeccahad read the book in preparation for thediscussion which was enhanced bytales from her own life.
at our semi-monthly evensong,rebecca led the circle of musicians,readers and singers in particularly rous-
2
issn 1936-0517
Partner ChurCh news is the newsletter ofthe UU Partner Church Council, an independentaffiliate organization of the Unitarian UniversalistAssociation, started in 1993.This newsletter supports the mission and goalsof the Partner Church Council. Editor: Nancy DaughertyPublication Advisors: Barbara Kres Beach,Cathy Cordes, Leon Hopper, Emery Lazar, andPat Rodgers.Articles for the next newsletter may be mailed tothe editor at PO Box 88, Bedford, MA 01730; or emailed to [email protected]. Telephone: 781-275-1892 Fax: 781-271-9254The UU Partner Church Council is a 501(c)(3)charitable tax-exempt organization.
For information about membership, contactCathy Cordes in the UUPCC office,
PO Box 88, Bedford, MA 01730.
For any other information, contactthe UUPCC office at 781-275-1710, or
[email protected], or PO Box 88, Bedford, MA 01730
Visit the web site at: www.uupcc.org
Next PCC Deadline:
January 8, 2014
(
Left: a parol
decorationmade by folksfrom SanMateo.
ing versions of the two songs writtenby her father, uu church of the Philip-pines (uucP) founder toribioQuimada—“Maglipay universalist!”and “o, the beauty in a life.” She alsobrought, presented, and taught the song
to register for a
[email protected] or caat 781-275-1710.
Include * your name * attend. You will be sendays before the call (paccess to email).
Feel free to submit queemail: [email protected]
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
(
Keep up to date on the latest partner c
v i r t u a l C o n f e
Topic suggestions from UUPCC m
november 13, Wednesday 8:00 pm easte
handling ministerial and other Church tTransitions in church life can be both problesame time. This call will focus on the time aUS/Canada, the minister or ministers of thewhen the same thing happens in the partnemight be helpful too when a lay leader whoship is leaving. Rodger Mattlage, Cathy Peto share recent experiences. Cathy Cordes
reCorded previous ConferenCe
Call for pC Committee ChairsSeptember 25. Are you a PCC committee csome new ideas for your committee? ListenExecutive Director Cathy Cordes. See instr
* Announcements of upcoming calls will be
Facebook page; keep a lookout for dates a
Recordings of most previous conference cal
Virtual Conferences and post them on the webs
download them from the UUPCC conference ca
conferences—and listen to them on your compu
[email protected] or call her at
she wrote in cebuano that won theuucP’s 50th anniversary Song Writ-ing contest. after evensong, congre-gants enjoyed their first evening of Fil-ipino treats from nearby West covina’s
Call, send an email to
ll the office 9–5 Eastern Time weekdays
city/state * the topic/date of the call you willt an email with the call-in information 2–3lease let the office know if you don’t have
stions to the speakers ahead of time byrg.
Partner Church News
hurch news without leaving home!
r e n C e C a l l s
embers are always welcome!
rn
ransitionsmatic and great opportunities at theround ministerial transitions—in the congregation either leave or retire; orr church in other countries. This call has been a key leader in the partner-rry and Carol Cook will be on the call will be moderator.
Calls*
hair? Are you new, or do you need to this call with presenter UUPCC
uctions below.
made on PCC-CHAT and on our
nd details!
ls are available. We routinely record our
ite about one week after the call. You can
ll page—www.uupcc.org/media/virtual-
ter.
920-915-1667.
Partner Church News
Greetings to the UUPCC World
(Continued from page 1)
Rev. Seines Visits MVUUC
(Continued from page 2)
Rev. Gary Smith, Chair of the Board of Directors,leads the UUPCC Annual Meeting during GeneralAssembly in Louisville, KY last June.
At Monte Vista (left to right): Julie Steinbach,Jackie Albay-Young, Rev. Ann Schranz, and Rev.Rebecca Quimada Sienes.
religious history, to learn from eachother, to put faces to a worldwide uni-tarianism in all its expressions.
but the best part of these emerginguK/north american partnerships is theembodiment of the mutuality of rela-tionship there—and in all of our part-nerships: in eastern europe, in india, inthe Philippines and beyond. “Who areyou?” we ask each other. “Who do youcount as family? What do you love?What do you believe?” in a faith thatcelebrates the horizontal of holiness,found in the sparks between us, asmuch as in the vertical, we to thesplendor of the heavens, this year willbe the beginning of Really Something.let us know if your congregationmight be interested. ••
Rev. Steve Dick (UK), Rev. Árpád Csete (Transylvania), Cassius Shirambere (Burundi), Rev.Diane Rollert (Canada), Rev. Rebecca Sienes (Philippines), Rev. Gary Smith (US), Rev. Dr.
little Manila, sweet rice cakes andtropical juices.
the next evening, our major eventhonoring rebecca, the “Filipino Fiesta”featured special décor to set the scene:colorful sarongs on the tables to invokeSouth Seas and a parol from the SanMateo partner church fundraiser. Violeta had made adobo, veggies, otheryummies —Jackie explained the dishesfor everyone. tom thorward from theanaheim church brought a tray ofshrimp pancit he made—he’d done aPeace corps gig in the Philippines—and wore a beautiful cream barong. Filipino ice cream (avocado, halo halo,mango, coconut, ube, cheese-corn) fordessert.
after rebecca lit the coconut-shellchalice that our calapayan children hadsent early in the partnership years, shespoke about partnership as bridge-building, and made a Powerpoint pres-entation showing the calapayan con-gregation, plus the builD dormitoryproject.
Jackie had brought a bamboo wish-ing well from her hometown, agoo— itwas set up on a table by the door fordonations (and attracted contributionsthat exceeded the target given by theuua international office!)
in the Q&a, “how did your fatherbecome a liberal?” rebecca spoke of
Petr Dolák Samojský (Czech Republic), Rev. Adél Nagy (Transylvania)—co-led the Coalitionof International UU Organizations worship session, “Come Sing With Me.” (photo by Nancy Pierce Photo, used with permission.)
her own historical take on the story.tom thorward talked about his time inthe Philippines (“the best job i everhad”) and John Schaibly from Firstchurch San Diego reported on hisPhilippine visit. interested internation-alists also joined us from the riversidechurch. the evening was topped offwith another round of rebecca’s inim-itable leading of her dad’s songwrit-ings.
added to these official events,rebecca enjoyed lunch with rev. annSchranz, then on sabbatical— “if
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
rebecca can come this far to see us, ican come off sabbatical to meet withher!”
in addition to all this meeting andgreeting, gifting and hugging, weattended to the business of partnership:communication and problem-solvingabout student support and health con-cerns, grade reports and honors, hopesand dreams. that sort of business isalways so much richer when done inperson. and it leads to stronger antici-pation of our next time together —hereor there! ••
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4 Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org Partner Church News
General assembly 2013
Six recipients of the steward of partnership award attended General Assembly. They received their awards during theUUPCC Annual Meeting, presented by Cathy Cordes. From the left: Dean McKinnon, UU Church of Greater Lynn,Swampscott, MA; Monty Low, First Unitarian of San Jose, CA; Carol Findling, First Unitarian, Louisville, KY. Second photo, from the left: Michael Fosberg, First Religious Society, Newburyport, MA; Elaine Gerard Climo, UU Congregation of Castine, ME; and John Schaibly, First Unitarian Universalist of San Diego, CA.
Three of the original Founders of the UUPCCcelebrated 20 years: Rev. Richard Beal, BarbaraKres Beach, and Rev. George Beach.
Celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the uupCC—
during the annual meeting and lunCheon
Rev. David Keyes accepted the louis C. Cornish award for 2013. Aspart of his acceptance speech he said, “I've been trying to figure out whyLouis Cornish spent so much of his life traveling to distant and difficultplaces... what motivated him to do this largely thankless work? Theremay be many parts to the answer, but what I have come to suspect isthat, in his reaching out to 'the other,’ Louis Cornish found God. So it isthat, for those of us deeply engaged in this work of partnership, we too,may find God. What fills the vast space between us and The Other is anexperience of the holy. In global partnership, we find God."
A cake, replete with flags and candles,was enjoyed by all.
The Annual Meetinglunch crowd.
empowering Communities to fight Poverty
The following is a recent article written by Richard Ford, Research Professor of International Devel-
opment and Social Change at Clark University. For 7 years, Dr. Ford has worked with UUPCC inter-
national partners to train facilitators in the U.S. and overseas in the Community Capacity Building
methodology. The tools they use help communities help themselves. They identify their strengths and
needs, work together to form consensus about the most pressing needs and then develop action plans
to address those needs.
This article provides an example of the process in action in one community and shows what can
happen—long term when the community initiates solutions rather than being handed solutions by an
outside, international development organization.
(Continued on page 6)
by richarD ForD
P overty is more than insufficientmoney, though money is an impor-
tant factor. equally relevant, from a vil-lage or an urban neighborhood point ofview, are the cultural, social, and politi-cal dimensions of a community’s well-being. For the last 30 years i have beenfortunate to work in more than 25countries in africa, the Middle east,asia, and the Pacific islands. i havejoined with dozens of local and profes-sional colleagues to ask residents toselect community goals that reflectlocal views of their highest priorityneeds.
using group planning tools thatenable outsiders to “listen to the peo-ple,” our field teams have helped com-munities come to consensus on theirpriorities without conflict. the secret isa decision-making tool called pairwiseranking. it enables groups to participatein open discussion and allows the peo-ple to set aside their differences andcollectively decide what their commu-nity most needs to develop. i shouldadd that many of these communitieswere in post-conflict situations inplaces such as Somalia and iraq.
consensus on the peoples’ highestpriorities leads to creation of actionplans to share with development part-ners. Working in this fashion, the needsare developed by the community andthe solutions are worked out jointly bythe community and external develop-ment partners. a brief anecdote from avillage in Somaliland—the breakawayrepublic that declared its independencefrom Somalia in 1991—may help.
in 2001 the village was destitutedue to ravages of a 15-year brutal mili-tary campaign and subsequent civil warinitiated by the late Somali dictator,
Partner Church News
Siyad barre. i joined with a team ofSomali facilitators to conduct a five dayplanning workshop to help the despon-dent community set its priorities. Wesoon learned that the men were spend-ing much of their time chewing qat (ahallucinogenic with after effects muchlike lSD) and, as was the tradition inthe village, forbidding the women tomake contact with local ngos or gov-ernment offices to rebuild their com-munity. on the second day of the work-shop we used an exercise called agender calendar. the men and women(there were about 50 of each present)broke into separate groups and madecalendars of an average day of theother group. in the plenary session thatfollowed, the women described twokinds of men: responsible and average.the women’s spokesperson describedthe fully irresponsible behavior of theaverage man because of the qat chew-ing. in closing, she said, “but we havea problem here because we have onlyone responsible man.” you can imaginethe chaos that erupted. this confronta-tion, ironically, led to a detailed andextended conversation between themen and women about the condition oftheir village, the prohibition of thewomen to work for its improvement,and the stubborn attitude of the menupholding a generations-old traditionthat women did not participate in vil-lage politics. i learned later that the vil-lage had never had such a conversation.
the workshop continued the nextday. by the end, the men had agreedthat women could negotiate with localngos and government offices torebuild the devastated infrastructure ofthe village. Within three years thewomen had succeeded in expanding thevillage water system, building a new
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
health clinic, constructing a dam to irri-gate their farms, and renovating the vil-lage school. i visited the village just afew months ago, 12 years after theplanning workshop, and was astoundedby what i found: a replacement schoolfor the one previously repaired; a sec-ond dam farther downstream; a solar-powered water pump; a new boreholethat brought clean water to the center ofthe village; many shallow wells alongboth edges of the river for crop irriga-tion; an enlarged clinic; a Koranicschool; a newly formed women’s soli-darity group; a micro-credit programwith loans for the women; and a newcommunity center now used for villagemeetings and social gatherings.
there are other communities withsimilar accomplishments in Kenya,india, the Philippines, Madagascar,botswana, and baghdad as well as afew test cases among refugee commu-nities in the united States.
there are no miracle cures forpoverty alleviation nor is there any sil-ver bullet that will fit all cases. anyconversation about international inter-vention in local poverty alleviationshould include locally supported com-munity-based analysis, planning, andaction as a complement to traditional“outside agency” driven solutions.results from examples such as thosepresented here can inform policy mak-ers and concerned citizens that theimpoverished know a lot and haveresources they can call upon.
Most impoverished communitiesare bogged down in local conflicts—just like the uS congress these days—and need to open dialogues in whichthey can analyze their own needs, cometo consensus about their most importantpriorities, and design action plans toaddress them. they then own theirsolutions. ownership opens the road tosustainability. the long term goal is forcontinuous and locally initiated povertyalleviation.
in the Kenyan village of Kathekaour team observed the village install ahand pump and hand-dug well in 1986.We provided no money. i visited that
5
Empowering Communities
(Continued from page 5)honolulu uu Women's federationIt has been a good experience working with Rev. Rebecca Sienes in regard to our relationship with the Caican congregation in the Philippines and our sponsorship of a student there. She and her assistant Angie Legaje have been
helpful in communications, and provid-ing insight into the lives of our sisters inthe Philippines.
We appreciate the special attentionand continuing emails and hard copyletters we receive.
—Sheila O'Keefe
The photo at left is of Roche Quimada, theWomen’s Federation’s sponsored student, who isan enthusiastic Religious Education teacher fortheir Caican partners.
Long StRange tRip:
neW Chapter available
part vi—unitarian
NeWS from PartNerS
village in 2012—22 years after theinstallation. the hand pump was still inactive use. Why? because the commu-nity owned it. it was their solution to alocal problem. it was their device tomaintain. therefore it was still in usefive pump-lifetimes later. long termpoverty alleviation needs more localownership. Planning tools exist that canencourage that local ownership. Weshould all learn how to use them. ••
richard Ford, research ProfessorDepartment of international Development, community, andenvironment; clark university
To learn more about these tools, read
the Facilitators Handbook, and see
case studies of communities when the
tools have been used go to
www.uupcc.org/partnerships/ccb
6 Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org Partner Church News
universalism
This film tells the story of the century-long “courtship” betweenUnitarianism and Universalism as aclassic love story—”boy meets girl,boy loses girl, boy gets girl.” Itdetails how they “courted” eachother, sought out other partners,and finally consummated themerger. It discusses how Human-ism helped bring the two move-ments closer together, and the rolethat Liberal Religious Education,especially Sophia Lyon Fahs’ influ-ence, had on laying the groundworkfor the merger. It then follows Uni-tarian Universalism through the first50 years of its existence and endswith some personal comments onwhat its future might hold.
The films are available through theUUA Bookstore—or directly at UUFilms.com.
part i—In the Beginning (0–1553
a.d.); part ii—The Birth of Unitarian-
ism (1553–1794);
part iii—American Unitarianism
(1620–1860); part iV—Universalism
(1600–1860);
part V—Evolution (1861–1961)
fox valley enjoys a Week With rev. sienes
Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, WI enjoyed a week of activities with Rev.Rebecca Sienes in late June, following GA. We visited the UU Fellowship ofDoor County and took in some of the beautiful natural areas of the Door Countypeninsula. High Cliff State Park near Appleton was one of the local sites weenjoyed. A Partner Churches-sponsored picnic at a local park was anotherhighlight of the week—especially the lively outdoor "Zumba"session.
We were all grateful for Rebecca's"Question Box" sermons on Sunday,June 30, which brought greaterunderstanding and appreciation of herefforts to support and empower theUUs of the Philippines, and to buildpartnership.
We all thank you for your fun-lovingattitude and positive energy,Rebecca!
NeWS from PartNerS
Right: Rebecca and Vickie Milde at the statueof "Red Bird" at High Cliff State Park.
a replaCement sponsor needed
She likes ice cream, dancing and her favorite
subject is math. She is 11 and lives with her
three siblings and her mom and dad who are
both farmers and members of the UU
Congregation of Samoyaw on the island of
Negros Oriental.
This is the profile of a UU student in the Philippineswho has been sponsored through the UUPCC Student Sponsorship Programfor the past two years. Unfortunately, her sponsor can no longer continue in theprogram, and we are seeking an individual or small group to finish out ourcommitment to her.
The cost of sponsoring this particular UU student is $330/year for 4 years.
If you or your congregation, small group, or RE kids want to help the UUPCCmake a difference in this girl's life, we would love to hear from you. Please callthe UUPCC Office 781-275-1710, or email [email protected]. We would behappy to give you more information.
by cathy corDeS
b y the time you are reading thisnewsletter, i will be traveling to
india to visit with our partners in theKhasi hills. traveling with me will beeileen higgins and ann gary, bothuuPcc board members. ann is thecurrent uuPcc co-Vice-chair andeileen higgins has been one of our vol-unteer consultants, working with thecommunity capacity building (ccb)program for many years.
there are several reasons to go—most pertain to working with theadministration of the unitarian unionof northeast india (uunei)—but thetiming of this trip is because of aunique and exciting opportunity to col-laborate on a project of significance forKhasi women.
For several years the uuPcc hasbeen working closely with the interna-tional convocation of uu Women(icuuW). our community capacitybuilding process forms the basis fortheir global Sisters process. thisprocess was used at both icuuW con-vocations during which attendees iden-tified four areas of particular interestand importance to women: health careand nutrition, safety and violence pre-vention for women, economic liveli-hood issues, and education. each of theattendees was challenged to return totheir own communities and initiatesomething there.
the delegation from the uunei tothe icuuW convocations includedthree officers of the Women’s Wing ofthe uunei—Seng Kynthei (SK). theywere familiar with the ccb processbecause uuPcc has worked exten-sively with the uunei and has trainedover two dozen uunei facilitators init. one of the SK officers, creamlimonnongbri, has spearheaded the effort towork on the issues identified at theconvocation since returning to theKhasi hills.
the members of SK represent allvillages in the Khasi hills that have
exeCutive direCtor
Visit to India
Partner Church News
unitarian churches. they have beendiscussing what they could do to takeaction on some of the priorities identi-fied at the icuuW convocations. Withthe encouragement of the administra-tion and board of icuuW, they havedetermined to involve communities—including non-unitarian women andmen—on an initiative. i have been rep-resenting the uuPcc in planning callsover the past year, and when it seemedlike a good plan was in place, i offeredour services for facilitation and trainingwith the process, and both icuuW andSeng Kynthei responded positively.
So what is the project? Seng Kyn-thei gathered together women fromseveral dozen communities to discussthe women’s issues from the convoca-tion to determine if indeed they werealso issues that indian women had. theanswer was yes, and so they organizedthemselves into four committees basedon the four issue areas. each committeewas comprised of about 10 people.using the global Sisters process usedat the icuuW convocations, they arecharged with developing backgroundknowledge about the issue and provid-ing support for communities in each ofthese areas.
Meanwhile, the longer-term strat-egy evolved into working with entirecommunities on these issues, with thegoal of having that effort driven by the
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
members of SK. So they identified sev-eral communities that were potentialccb workshop sites. the communityhad to be at least somewhat familiarwith the ccb process, and had to seeksupport from the village government tohave the meetings in the community.Finally they had to have an activeWomen’s group interested in leadingthe way.
Kyrdem was chosen as the locationfor the first ccb workshop, which willtake place on october 11 and 12,2013. their partner church, river roaduu church in bethesda, MD is excitedand waiting to see the outcome of themeetings. eileen will be working withSK facilitators and other facilitatorstrained in the past. She will be trainingthem to take leadership roles not just intheir own community, but with othersas well. these will become the facilita-tors who help other communities andother women address some of theseimportant issues.
We are pleased to be a part of thiscollaborative effort and admire andrespect the initiative of the women inthe Khasi hills to join their voicestogether, and to provide the leadershipin their communities to address identi-fied needs. i will update you in the nextnewsletter.
as they say in the Khasi hills “tonangroi”—Keep on Progressing. ••
7
8
New UUPCC.org Website
HOME WHO WE ARE PARTNERSHIPS PILGRIMAGES MEDIA GET INVOLVED
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTPARTNER CHURCH COUNCIL
uupCC launched a re-designed website in june. We hope by now you have visited. If not here is why you might want to:
1. See the new 5 minute movie about UUPCC in the righthand corner of the home page. www.uupcc.org This movie is onYouTube so you can show to your partner church committee orshow it to your church. There are even instructions for how todownload a copy to your own computer on the Media Videopage www.uupcc.org/media/videos
2. Check out the passport game for RE classes. Classescan explore a different country each week and learn about Unitarians around the world. They fill their passports withstamps from each country as they learn. www.uupcc.org/who-are-our-partners-curriculum#overlay-context=who-are-our-partners-curriculum
3. See the pilgrimage opportunities that are open to alltravelers. Read about the Philippines trips in March 2014—orthe Transylvania Spring Pilgrimage in early April 2014.www.uupcc.org/pilgrimages/pilgrimage-opportunities
4. See photos and descriptions of all the churches that arecurrently looking for partners in Transylvania, Hungary, thePhilippines and Kenya. www.uupcc.org/partnerships/churches-seeking-partners
Autumn 2013 •• w
Rev. Károly “Kari” Vass anGyöngyi, with 2-year-old VBenedek, who is 3 years o
5. Is your committee in need of some new ideas? Check out some of these ideas from others.www.uupcc.org/healthy-suggestions
6. If you or your partner is in transition to a new ministerthere is a new section with resources and ideas for you to con-sider. www.uupcc.org/suggestions-ministerial-transitions-partnerships
7. If you missed the annual meeting and want to know whatbusiness we conducted, read the annual meeting packet.www.uupcc.org/who-we-are/organizational-documents
8. See award winners for both the Cornish Award and theSteward of Partnership Awards. www.uupcc.org/uupcc-awards
9. Do you have questions about partnership? Check outour frequently-asked-questions section. www.uupcc.org/who-we-are/faq
10. Would you like to sponsor a unitarian student in India,the Philippines or Transylvania or just want to know more aboutthe program? www.uupcc.org/get-involved/student-sponsorships
We hope you enjoy the new website. If you have resources
to share, or photos—or if you find a broken link, let us know
by sending an email to [email protected]
NoTE: the best way to read this article is to go to the online version of this newsletter.www.uupcc.org and click on READ THE NEWSLETTER. All the links in this article will be live and you can just click to see the pages referenced above.
Welcome the Balázs Scholar, 2013-14
d his family: wifeeronika on her lap, andld.
the balázs Scholars Program atStarr King School for the Ministry
each year brings a transylvanian uni-tarian minister to study at the schooland to preach at unitarian universalistcongregations. these scholars becomethe new religious leaders in their home-land. this year we welcome our 19thScholar, reverend Károly “Kari” Vass.rev. Vass finished his initial theologicalstudies in 2010, and has been servingas assistant minister in his home con-gregation in Sepsiszentgyörgy whilecompleting a master’s degree in theol-ogy. before committing to ministry, hestudied economics at babes bolyaiuniversity. “i am,” he says, “particu-larly interested in social ethics, but alsoin how unitarian universalist churchesare organized, how religion is reflectedin your daily lives, and how you wel-come newcomers and share your valueswith them.”
rev. Vass is joined by his wifegyöngyi, a former teacher in the uni-
tarian kindergarten in Kolozsvár whoruns the Sunday School program inSepsiszentgyörgy, and their two chil-dren, a girl, Veronika, who will be twoin october 2013, and a boy, benedek,three years old. Kari and his familyhope to include a trip to cleveland atchristmastime to visit his grandparentswho live there.
ww.uupcc.org
an important part of the balázsScholar’s education here is preachingin uu churches and talking with thepeople in the congregations. it is awonderful way to enliven Partnerchurch programs. if you would like tohave him preach at your congregationor meet with interested congregants(especially in mid-December and January, or in June, if you are not incalifornia), contact Jay roller at [email protected]. ••
The $46,000 it costs this year to supportthe family is raised by donations, includ-ing $5,000 from the UU Partner ChurchCouncil (for which we are very grateful),honoraria where he preaches, churchcollections, and donations from individu-als. Please consider your church takinga special Sunday collection or Share-the-Plate for the Balázs Scholars Pro-gram. For more information contactArliss Ungar, Chair, at [email protected].
For more information on the pro-gram, the Scholars, and how to donate,see the Starr King School web site:www.sksm.edu/balazs/balazs_scholars.php.
Partner Church News
Partner Church News Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org 9
You are invited! SAVE THE DATE for a UUPCC Special Event
uuPCC regional ConferenceJanuary 18, 2014 Bedford, ma
“the most radical thing We Can do:introductions and Beyond ”
one day of Workshops, Worship, learning and sharing on international partnership
hosted by the first parish in bedford, 75 the great road, bedford, ma
program saturday, january 18, 2014, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Workshop options:
track 1: partnership track 2: travelKeeping it Fresh, Passing it On; Partners Travel Many Ways: Choir & YouthUnderstanding Economic & Cultural Issues Trips; Planning a Visit from your Partners
registrationRegistration fee: $30 per person includes breakfast and lunchRegister online at www.uupcc.org or by using the form belowMake checks payable to “UUPCC” and return with your completed form to:
UUPCC, PO BOX 88, Bedford MA 01730, Attn: Conference Registration
the uupCC board is delighted to announce the 2nd annual uupCC regional Conference. This one-day conference will be a repetition of the very successful event that was held last January in Bethesda, MD. It is intendedto provide Partner Church folk from all over the northeast region an opportunity to deepen their experience of partner-ship, share best practices and learn more about ways the UUPCC can help support this important work.
Board members and some very special guests will present workshops. They include: Elizabeth Norton, Director ofMusic at First Parish in Concord, MA; Rev. Jennifer Emrich, Minister at First Universalist Church in Yarmouth, ME;Channing Rusher, member at All Soul's Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK; UUPCC Travel Coordinator John Dale, andUUPCC Executive Director Cathy Cordes. We hope to see you in Bedford!!
uu
PC
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ion
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iStr
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Name ________________________________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip __________________________________________________________________________
Email______________________________________ Phone ____________________________________
payment information: my check for $________payable to “UUPCC” is enclosed
($30 per person) please charge my MasterCard/Visa a total of $__________
Credit Card Number:______________________________ Expiration Date (required): __________________
3-digit security code (required):_____________
lunch option (how many each): non-vegetarian (_______) vegetarian (______)
home stay: I need a home stay OR I’d like to host. I have room for ____ guests.
A limited number of home-stays will be available on a first-come/first-serve basis.
cut or copy and send#
Diary of an American Seminarian
Journeying through Transylvania
The Balázs Scholars Program has a program
(different funding than for the one UUPCC sup-
ports) that sends a Starr King Student to Tran-
sylvania for a month. It is coordinated by Balázs
Scholars. Here is the report Jo Green, the first
of two students to go this year, wrote for Rev.
Robert Bálint for the newsletter he edits.
— Arliss Ungar
Week 1—End of April
the journey begins. it has a two-foldpurpose, one to explore the history ofunitarianism, and the other, the past ofmy own hungarian family—aboutwhich i barely know anything.
landing in budapest, my first stophas been two generations in coming. Mygrandparents were from a small townoutside of budapest. My committeemember Jay has a friend who drives usout to the cemetery of that small villageand we speak with a woman who caresfor it. none of my family lives there anylonger she says, but if we come back,Jay’s friend can research it for me andmaybe find out where my family hasgone. We proceed to do some touristtype adventures in budapest and onwardto Kolozsvár!
My wonderful coordinator robert(bálint) takes me around and i visit thenotable spots on the main street. i’mamazed to see the churches and learntheir histories. i’m invited to attend aparty honoring mothers a week beforeMother’s Day! i loved seeing how thefamilies interact and noticed that chil-dren here are shown much more affec-tion than they are in the u.S.
i’ve learned to eat meat and pota-toes every day, which i don’t normallydo. and there is so much eating goingon! i’m not used to eating such bigbreakfasts or lunches! We never have 3-course meals in the middle of the dayand this was a complete surprise. i findmyself acquiring a taste for food herethat i don’t have at home.
Week 2—1st Week of May
Kolozsvár: i am here to attend thefuneral of the father of a colleague. i amgrateful to be here to support him and
by Jo green
10
his family. Death here is dealt with dif-ferently than our methods in the u.S.We seem to have a very sterile and anti-septic approach to dealing with thedeath of our loved ones. i was surprisedto learn that with permission it is accept-able to bring the body home after death.in america we would never be allowedto do this. When my parents passedaway, they were whisked away quicklyand we didn’t see them again until theywere presented, embalmed, in their cas-kets. i believe it takes some of thehumanity away from it. We all eventu-ally die, but in america it’s a cleaned-upversion.
Week 3—2nd Week of May
i must say my host families have beenamazing. children give up their bed-rooms so that i, the guest, can stay inprivacy. Meals are provided; i’m takenon excursions to see different unitarianchurches. i am learning the history ofmy religion—which is so different inthe united States. it’s important to havea sense of what was given up for us sothat this faith could survive. i have seenthe lands of balázs Ferenc, i’ve climbedthe citadel on a special pilgrimage tosee the memorial to Dávid Ferenc, ihave stood in prayer on the site wherehe died. i marvel at all the history here,and i am very grateful to have seen it.
i have attended services in lupény,in homoródújfalu, in Mészkõ. i haveseen the members of unitarian congre-gations worship in Sunday services,watched them honor their mothers andthe women of this country on Mother’sDay, stood in the communion line onPentecost. i have felt the reverence ofthe spirit of god, and i have learned somuch about not only the history of uni-tarianism but the history of this land. ihave learned of the years of commu-nism and have tried to imagine whatthat must have been like. Without expe-riencing it i know i cannot imagine it,but i have a greater sense of the sacri-fice so many have endured, and thecourage it took to do so.
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
Week 4—3rd Week of May
i have seen the torda gorge and theplaque commemorating the Diet oftorda in 1568. i have met the bishop!We had a wonderful conversation and inow hold a copy of the Diet of torda ofmy very own. he was very gracious togive some of his time to my visit.throughout this journey i have experi-enced wonder at seeing what i had onlyread about before. i have seen buildingsand churches that were built before mycountry was born. these are the amaz-ing things i will take home with me. ihave made new friends who have beenso helpful to me: abigail who attendsthis school and helped to translate,robert bálint who helped make thisjourney possible by arranging all of mystops and sights; his family and the fam-ilies of Zoli and Mária and lajos andÁrpád and belu and Kinga who allowedme into their homes and helped me tosee what living here is like.
i will remember the quiet nights,listening to the crickets, milking a cow,petting a donkey that was plowing! iwill take back with me the visions of thechurch steeples, the kopjafak and theSzékely gates. i will especially takeback with me the warmth and generos-ity of the people here who gave sofreely of themselves to me—a perfectstranger.
i am more informed now about the col-lective history of unitarianism that willonly serve to enhance my ministry inthe future. i feel so much more preparedto teach congregations in the u.S. aboutthe origins of unitarianism, how theancestors of our religion fought and diedfor us, how we can become inspired bythe work they have done and are doing.i especially am grateful for the opportu-nity to see unitarian ministers here inaction, to witness their preaching, theirinteraction with their congregations, andtheir undying dedication to their ownministries. Ministers here give com-pletely of themselves and it is inspiringto watch and learn. all of this i takeback with me from this amazing pil-grimage through this land. ••
Partner Church News
R e p o r t s , N e w s & T r a v e l S t o r i e s
The group of visitors and hosts at the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts in Summit.
Barót/Summit
17 transylvanians visitSummit, New Jersey
by Jean crichton, chair, Partner
church coMMittee
barót youth advisor Árpád egyedprobably said it best:“Just seeing the two churches'
youth together, their growing friend-ships and their gestures, smiles andbright eyes tell us the value of this trip.i think this partnership between ourtwo churches made us discover our-selves in ways we didn't even think of.”
Árpi was talking about the firsttwo weeks of august when 11 youthand six adults from the unitarianchurch in barót, transylvania, visitedthe unitarian church in Summit, newJersey. More than 100 members of theSummit congregation participated inmaking the trip a success by housingguests, providing transportation, host-ing dinners and/or donating cash.
More than 20 Summit youth joinedthe visitors on the jam-packed itinerarythat included canoeing down theDelaware river, lunching in a WallStreet skyscraper, visiting the 9/11Memorial, riding the roller coasters at 6Flags, jumping the waves at the newJersey Shore and more.
Partner Church News
The entire group in front of our church just before they le
after 21 years of our barót-Summit partnership, it seemed we werefinally beginning to achieve the people-to-people relationships that we hadalways yearned for but had not really
thought possible. the two youth groupsare continuing to be in touch throughFacebook and monthly Skype sessions.
“We had so much fun while gettingto know each other better,” recalled
“it was a whole new world for us,
and we wanted to discover
as much as possible.”
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
ft to go back home.
andrea bardocz, a recent college grad-uate and member of the barót delega-tion. “it was a whole new world for us,and we wanted to discover as much aspossible. thanks go to the ucS mem-bers, who made it happen. not a daygoes by without thinking about themand talking with them, with the help ofthe internet.”
the visit was the bold dream ofrev. emilie boggis, Summit assistantminister in charge of youth, and rev.alpár Kiss of barót, following a verysuccessful multi-generational trip tobarót in 2012. the six american teensin the group spent three days at a forestretreat with about a dozen barót youth,under the watchful eye of rev. boggisand the two barót youth advisors (andenglish teachers), Árpi egyed andMelinda Fazakas.
the teens bonded amazingly,helped along by the english-languageskills of the transylvanians (picked upfrom tV shows like “gossip girls”)and the hungarian-language studies byseveral of the Summit youth (who usedPimsleur tapes). as a result, we had toreciprocate and invite them to visit us.
“it was awesome to take our part-ners to see these sights,” commentsrev. boggis, “especially since i
11
(Continued on page 12)
Reports, News & Travel Stories
(Continued from page 11)
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Visiting Centennial Park in Atlanta.
thought their country was one of themost beautiful places i had ever experi-enced. When i witnessed their positivereactions, it made me appreciate myhome country more.”
Perhaps most memorable for Sum-mit adults was the Sunday worshipservice august 4 led by youth fromboth congregations. Summit youthleaders Jesse Klein and hayley luggled the service. the barót group per-formed several songs, and Klaudiabuda and réka biró, two of the bestenglish speakers, articulated theirhopes and dreams for the trip.
after understandable worries aboutthe language barrier, finding enoughdrivers, providing enough food forhungry teenagers and the weather, onlyone problem arose—a 15-year-old girldeveloped severe stomach pain and hadto have an appendectomy. luckily, allthe travelers had travel/medical insur-ance, and thanks to Skype, the girl’smother, a nurse, was able to talk to herdaughter and to the surgeon before andafter the operation. the patient wasquickly released from the hospital andwas able to participate in most of theremaining activities.
looking forward to 2014, thebarót travelers have invited a Summitdelegation for a return visit. “i feel asthough we are members of a big familysurrounded by people who care abouteach other,” said advisor Árpi. “Wecan’t wait to see you all again nextyear.” ••
NOTE: Most of the visitors paidfor their own tickets (huge wiretransfer to a travel agent in Cambridge, MA, from a bank inBarót—that had never before hadsuch an experience). Some ofthe travelers received partialscholarships funded by membersof the Summit congregation andby one member in Barót.
12
atLaNta, GeorGia
transylvanian andatlanta Youth Share aSpecial Bond by eliZabeth b. hicKMan, DrenorthWeSt uu congregation
i n the summer of 2012, four of ouryouth and two chaperones traveled
to hungary and transylvania for a pil-grimage that was unanimously lifechanging. (See last autumn’s story inV19n2 of PCNews.) this past august,they hosted several of the young peo-ple they met while abroad, along withsome new friends and the lovelywoman who hosted them, Éva Kelemen.
the four young members whotraveled abroad last summer—nathan
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
ylh
At Piedmont Park.
barbagallo, cole hick-man, hannah Johnsonand Katie Kilbourne—were in atlanta to hostthe visitors, along withJordan Dale and Wesleyhickman. everyoneenjoyed a busy andexciting week with theirguests.
activities included apool party, where rev.terry Davis met them;the Martin luther KingMemorial; the georgiaState capitol; and thecarter center, wheresome of the transylvani-ans were lucky enoughto meet rosalyn carter.the youth also visited
he cnn center, World of coke, cen-ennial Park, underground atlanta, andtone Mountain, and they went on anmazing tour of the Fabulous Fox the-tre. Whew! and that wasn’t all!
our visitors experienced a South-rn dinner of fried chicken, coleslaw,orn bread, pasta shells and cheese andhocolate cake (with sweet tea, ofourse). in a lovely exchange of culi-ary arts between friends, Éva Kele-en reciprocated with a traditionalungarian dinner for us of paprika
hicken, pasta, pickles and deliciousold cherry soup.
eva teaches and runs an englishamp during the summer in oklánd,ransylvania, where her husband heads
he unitarian church. that is where oureens volunteered last year and first metnd bonded with our visitors. the visit-ng young people continually amazednd enchanted us. they were polite,nterested, and appreciative of every-hing they experienced. What a delight!
When we took them to athens forhe next leg of their u.S. journey, iouldn’t help but think what a blessinghe week had been. i hope that theoung people who came to atlanta willeave our country feeling like they, too,ad a life-changing experience! ••
Partner Church News
Pa
Reports, News & Travel Stories
(Continued from page 12)
notes from the 2013 Choir trip
Another Festival Choir tour has come and gone. The 2013 edition was a multi-generational, multi-cultural, life-changing
gem. Here is that two week journey through the eyes of three of the Transylvanian high school singers. Enjoy—and start
making your plans for 2015.—John Dale, UUPCC Travel Coordinator
WE NEED MUSIC
When you sing alone, it can be relaxing. When you singwith someone, you know that you aren’t alone. Butwhen you sing with 25 persons—you feel that you areable to make miracles. During these two weeks I real-ized that with music you can do everything: we couldshow our feelings, we could chat a smile to people’sfaces, we could heal the old wounds.
The times when we couldn’t formulate the English wordsor they the Hungarian—a short song helped us under-stand each other.
Since we got home a lot of people asked: what didthese two weeks mean to you? I always smile, becauseI could talk for days about what we learned from ouradult friends. However if I try to put it into a few words itsounds like this: Something new. New, because we metsome special people and now we can say “They are ourfriends.” New, because at concerts we lived somemoments that we hadn’t lived before. New, because welearned that patience helps us every time. We couldfeel: if someone near you felt sad, you felt sad too. Welearned to work as a family and we realized how won-derful it is to do something for someone.
I feel Epicurus’ words fit here: “Of all the things whichwisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much thegreatest is the possession of friendship.”
—Melinda Csete
Music. Hungarian. American. Hotels. Hostels. Tradition.Food. Dracula. Castles. Churches. Comfy beds.Uncomfy beds. Hot weather. Bears. Singing. Crying.Kids. Boys. Girls. Women. Men. Confusion. Bus rides.Laughs. Hallelujahs. Friends. Cities. Jokes. Concerts.People. Fun. Us.
All these words describe our tour. Even though thesewords are just puzzle pieces, fractions, put themtogether and you’ll get the best two weeks of summer.
—Abigail Marko
On the first day I was full of excitement. I was wonderingwhat these Americans are like, what are their habits andso on. When we arrived at the hotel, we were alone thewhole day. My roommates and I enjoyed our time until
rtner Church News Autumn 2013 •• w
that night, when we were about to go back to ourroom—we heard someone speak English. We didn’tknow what to do, so we went back to our room andthought that there will be enough time tomorrow. Thenext morning we had to go to get breakfast. On our waywe noticed an elderly couple walking to the dining room,so we followed them. In the dining room we took ourseats. The Americans were very kind. They asked a lotof questions, and we answered them in short sentences.It’s true, they say that the first step is the hardest, andwith time we got used to it.
And so the first rehearsal came, and the first concerttoo. By that time we became really good friends. Welearned more about each other. They told us about livingin the US, the dangers and the advantages. I have beena Chicago fan for a long time, so I was more interestedin finding out about that city. Luckily my tenor partnerwas from Chicago, and I had a chance to know a verykind woman, who was also from Chicago. So I got toknow the city better, and I enjoyed the time we spenttogether. Over time we didn’t really care where we were,the community was more important. Slowly, more con-certs became a thing of the past.
Finally we arrived in Kolozsvár, my hometown. Duringthe concert, I gave it my all, just like everyone does it infront of their hometown.
After a long journey, we arrived in Budapest. This wasthe last place where we were together. I thought that Icould do this my entire life. I am going to miss every-body so much so I had to make the remaining timecount. Two days were left for us to spend together. Wehad a lot of free time, but that passed in a blink of aneye. The last concert came. During the concert I lookedaround and I knew that we were singing for the last timetogether. Everyone was happy and full of love. After thatcame the farewell Danube dinner cruise. The Americanssurprised us with gifts—it was an unforgettable moment.But unfortunately everything has an end: it was time tosay goodbye. It was a very emotional farewell, but wepromised that we are going to keep in touch and hope-fully we will meet again.
I have got a lot of experience from this tour, my voicehas got stronger too, but the most important thing is thatI’ve acquired new friends, and we have drawn the circlewide.
— Sandor Pop
ww.uupcc.org 13
Reports, News & Travel Stories
(Continued from page 13)
SaN JoSe/homoródSzeNtmártoN
San Jose hosts 10 visitors from PartnerChurchby connie bloch, FirSt unitarian, San JoSe
t his summer the First unitarianchurch of San Jose, ca hosted a
very successful visit from our Partnerchurch for two weeks. the groupincluded rev. József Szombatfalvi, Jr.and nine members from their churchincluding high school and college stu-dents and adult members of the congre-gation. rev. József’s trip was partiallysupported by a Pcc travel grant. (Seepage 15 for a “thank you” note fromrev. Szombatfalvi.)
From the airport arrival to theFarewell church dinner this visitincluded many large and smaller eventsfor the respective members of our con-gregations to get to know each other.
During our 2013 visit we traveledtogether in the bay area to San Fran-cisco, the high tech Museum, google,Pixar Movie Studios, the oakland Zoo,
14
Partner Church villager visitors and FUCSJ members wDome. On the right in the background is Mt. Star King.
the Monterey bay aquarium, Santacruz beach, and big basin redwoodsState Park. We had camping trips toyosemite and the channel islandsnational Park.
the camping trip to the channelislands, off the coast of Santa barbara,is a yearly trip for our high schoolyouth. this year it included the oppor-tunity for our youth and Szentmártonhigh school and college-age youth toget to know each other and go hikingand kayaking together exploring seacaves.
We had many opportunities forcultural exchanges and we were treatedto a performance of their folk dances.later we went to a dance rehearsal ofthe eszterlánc hungarian Folk ensem-ble. here our visitors got to meet withmembers of the local hungarian com-munity. We shared music together atchurch services and many other times.
We also traveled to Watsonville toattend a reality farm tour of how ourproduce is raised and to hear abouthardships and working conditions fromthe workers who pick our fruit.(www.farmworkerfamily.com/california.html) this was an interestingparallel experience since both farm
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
ho hiked up Sentinel Dome. On the left background, is H(Photo, courtesy Monty Low.)
worker families and some families inSzentmárton send members out of theircountries to find work.
one high school student, whowants to become a school teacher,stayed an additional two weeks to vol-unteer in a pre-school and tour localgrade schools.
our visiting villagers stayed withlocal host families and we shared get-ting to know each other and overcom-ing the awkwardness of a lack of flu-ency in each other's language andknowledge of customs. the traveling isa way for us to get to know each oth-ers. We feel our exchanges are becom-ing deeper as they have developedmore fluency in english and we havegotten to know each other. the timewent by very fast and at our Farewelldinner, it was sad to see our newfriends go home. We are truly makingfriendships and “have faces” as revJózsef says, on both sides of the ocean.
Since rev. József’s trip in 2005,we have alternated every two yearswith sending a group to Szentmártonand bringing travelers here to San Jose.Sixty-three adults and youth have trav-eled from San Jose to our Partnerchurch in Szentmárton during the pastsix years. in that time 16 villagers have
visited San Jose.We are now planning for a
return visit to homoródszentmár-ton in 2015. ••
Partner Church News
alf
new uupCC Website
www.uupcc.org
An attractive, easily-navigatedsite with new and improvedresources about Who We Are,Partnerships, Pilgrimages,Media (newsletters, photos,videos), and how to GetInvolved.
Try it—we hope you’ll like it!
(More information is on page 8.)
P i l g r i m a g e P o s t i n g s
an open letter to the uupCC travel Committee.
by ann gary, uuPcc boarD MeMber anD chair oF the traVel coMMittee
Rev. Jószef Szombatfalvi, Jr. also paid a visit to the River Road UU Congregation in Bethesda, MD in hisrole as minister in Fiatfalva. Here he is pictured on the train between the Capitol and one of the Senateoffice buildings, flanked by Partner Church Committee members. (Photo courtesy of Joel Schrag)
Twice a year in April and October theUUPCC Travel Committee considersapplications for TRAVEL SCHOLAR-SHIPS up to $500. Our goal is to bringpartners closer together. And we cando this with the help of contributions tothe UUPCC. We are always open toapplications AND to contributions! Hereis a letter from one recipient that isproof positive that visiting one anotheris the best way to make and sustainstrong partnerships.
Faces
Since i arrived home from my journeyto the San Jose church with nine mem-bers from homoródszentmárton, i havebeen trying to order all my memoriesand to consider again and again thefriendship and love of those whoworked on our visit with them.
i have seen a few partnerships betweentransylvanian unitarian and uuchurches, and i can say that the onebetween First unitarian church of SanJose and the unitarian church ofhomoródszentmárton is very special.those who consider this partnership orfriendship important are giving it theirfull hearts to keep it alive.
as the minister of the homoród-szentmárton church i saw the dedica-tion as our friends stood there to builda bridge over the ocean. this bridgehas been built from much strongermaterial than we can find on earth; itwas built from friendship.
years ago, when i was asked what ithought to be most important about thepartnership of our churches, i said: it isimportant to get faces on both sides.
i considered this important,because i know that unless both con-gregations get a real face of the other,this whole thing will struggle. butwhen we move beyond the point ofwriting letters with more and more
Partner Church News
people meeting on both sides, friend-ships will be built up and will carryon—because there is no longer just achurch somewhere in the world, but weget real people with faces. Faces weknow, whom we care for, we love andwe want to see again.
this was my third and most recentvisit to San Jose, as the minister ofhomoródszentmárton, and the secondtime when i was visiting with myparishioners. We experienced manyspecial treats during our visit, such asvisiting yosemite, google, Pixar, SanFrancisco, big basin, etc., but beyondthose—there are also very special ones,when we had the opportunity to enterfriendly homes and open hearts.
We—leaders, ministers—often think ofour presence as a must. During the visit
our small world is the place we live in, but the whole worldgot a bit smaller knowing your
faces, our beloved friends.
Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org
i saw many great moments whenparishioners from both sides wereenjoying the time together, learningabout our religions and cultures, and ihad to imagine the feeling of a parentwho is letting his child go alone on hispath.
there would be a very long list that iwould have to thank for all the benefitsof this year’s visit, too.
i consider very important to men-tion the ministers, nancy Palmer Jonesand geoff rimositis, from San Jose,who are supporting this whole project,and the Pcc co-chairs, connie blochand Monty low.
our small world is the place welive in, but the whole world got a bitsmaller knowing your faces, ourbeloved friends. because of this i con-sider that this partnership is going to bemuch stronger and it will strengthen allthe values we have.
at the end i would like to saythank you for all you do, working withthe uuPcc.
Sincerely, rev. József Szombatfalvi Jr.
15
U U P C C T r a v e l S e r v i c e s & R e s o u r c e s
International Travel for 2014
Philippines Journeys with uuPCC—march 2014
For more information visit our website at www.uupcc.org and click on “Go On a
Pilgrimage” and scroll down to OUR CURReNT PILGRImAGeS. We need to have a
minimum of 8 travelers to make this trip a go.
Pre-trip: march 7–10, 2014 manila $460/person Registrations close January 3, 2014
Enjoy the warm hospitality and lively culture of Manila. Visit one ofthe newest congregations of UUs in the Philippines. Learn aboutthe history of this amazing country that has seen so much—fromthe Spanish who colonized it to the Japanese who invaded duringWW II and the Americans who rebuilt the city after the war. You will
explore the unique heritageand architecture of Manila andget to know the energetic,young UU presence in Manilafor an experience you won’tsoon forget.
march 10–16, 2014From $870/person + $150registration fee
Travel to NegrosIsland from Manila to
16 Autumn 2013 •• w
Congregational Pilgrimages–Travel
with us on a life-changing visit to your part-ner church in Eastern Europe, India, Africa,or the Philippines. Low-cost all-inclusiveland packages include ground transporta-tion, meals, lodging, guide(s), interpreter(s),and entry fees. Our in-country experts willwork with groups of 4-50 to develop a cus-tomized itinerary that fits your interests,budget and time frame.
Concert tours for Choirs and musical Groups–Looking to expand the
horizons of your music program? The
UUPCC Pilgrimage Service has 10 years
of experience facilitating international con-
cert tours for UU choirs and a variety of
other musical groups. Buses, performance
venues, advertizing, musical instruments,
hotel arrangements and
part of our large-group
Youth Service tripsgroup on a low-cost/hig
to Transylvania. They c
David’s footsteps in Tor
Deva, perform a servic
partner village, cement
years, and come back
Group tours for ind“Space available” tthat not every UU cong
of organizing their own
small churches, church
and interested individua
year several public trips
Central Europe, India, a
w w w . u u p c c . o r g
For almost two decades the UUPCC Pilgrimage Service has helptheir partners overseas. We provide multiple and varied pilgrimagmore details on any of the following services or to begin planningJohn Dale, at [email protected] visit our website at www.u
U U P C C P i l g r i m a g e s : B r
the heartland of Unitarian Universalism in the Philippines. Here youwill learn how Unitarian Universalism developed and meet thecourageous UUs who are working very hard to grow their faith andthe welfare and hope in their communities. Enjoy the warmth of thisbeautiful country and the amazing hospitality of your hosts. We willvisit with many congregations—some of which need partners—andalso enjoy the beautiful tropical environment of these lovely islands.Some of the oldest coral reefs in the world lie just off the shore.Dumaguete, home of the headquarters of the UU Church of thePhilippines (UUCP), is a college town known as the friendliest cityin the Philippines. Our hosts from UUCP welcome us with openarms and smiling faces. You will have the opportunity to makefriends to last for a lifetime.
If you have a partner church in the Philippines, sponsor a student,are considering partnership, or would just like to know more aboutthe UU faith in this culture, join us for this memorable pilgrimage.
Post-trip: march 18–21, 2014 (can be extended as desired)
expenses to be arranged with the UUCP
Extend your visit with an opportunity to spend a few daysin your partner village or to explore the beauty of theIslands, home to some of the world’s most beautifulbeaches and premier dive sites.
ww.uupcc.org Partner Church News
side tours are all
portfolio.
–Bring your youth
h-return pilgrimage
an follow in Francis
da, Kolozsvár and
e project in your
your partnership for
better people.
ividuals andravel— We know
regation is capable
travel group. For
es without partners,
ls we offer each
to Eastern and
nd the Philippines.
The itineraries for these are posted on the
main travel page of the UUPCC website at
www.uupcc.org/trips.html. If the dates or
destinations of these public trips do not fit
your needs we often place individuals with
one of the many congregational pilgrim-
ages that has space available. Contact
John Dale for a list and short description of
the current opportunities.
À la Carte Services for individualsand independent travelers include:
Guides & Interpreters, Car rentals or Car &
Driver, Airport—village—airport van/car
transfer (Budapest BUD, Bucharest OTP
& BAN, Kolozsvár CLJ, Marosvásárhely
TGM) Hotels, B&Bs, Unitarian Guest
Houses and home stay accommodations.
/ p i l g r i m a g e s
ed to cement the bonds between North American UUs ande opportunities for Unitarian Universalists of all ages. For your pilgrimage opportunities contact our travel coordinator,upcc.org/pilgrimages .
(Continued on next page)
i n g i n g P e o p l e T o g e t h e r
U U P C C T r a v e l S e r v i c e s
uu transylvania Pilgrimage (on a budget) Spring aNd fall of 2014
two life-Changing weeks in transylvania for under $1,150
april 5–17, 2014 & September 20—october 2, 2014
13 days/12 nights from $1,140/person
Due to the growing popularity of our Spring “budget” pilgrimage (theMay 2013 trip is sold out) the UUPCC Pilgrimage Service will add amirror image tour beginning in the Fall of 2014. This tour visits all ofthe major Unitarian heritage sites in Transylvania as well as a num-ber of tourist destinations and UNESCO World Heritage sites. Aperfect itinerary for first time visitors! This is the same quality Unitar-ian pilgrimage experience the UUPCC has been facilitating foralmost 20 years, but at 60% of the price. We have simply replacedhotels with B&Bs and guest houses, substituted village meals for
Partner Church News Autumn 2013 •• w
“
Call f
The UU Partner CUUPCC Travel Grthat benefits partn
The purpose of thgrams that would lives of individualsoverseas individuand Canada. Recbroadcast to the wChurch movemen
Examples of past sabbatical travel tBuilding programsmunication, and yages associated w
The application prtions, both oversea partnered congrPartner Church C
Deadlines for the year.
The Travel Grant http://www.uupcc.
Questions? Call (7
neW partners needed
UUPCC is working hard to findpartners for all the churches over-
seas that have requested one.
At this time we have four churchesin Transylvania, three in Hungary,
four in the Philippines and one in Kenya.
Our website has photos and a profile for each of these churchesif you are curious to know about
them.
www.uupcc.org/partnerships/
churches-seeking-partners
IF YOU KNOW A CHURCH THATHAS NO PARTNER
that might like one, or if yourchurch would like to consider asecond partner, please let us
know. Write [email protected]. We are
happy to work with any church tomake new partnerships.
restaurants, eliminated the long van ride from Budapest, and takenadvantage of shoulder-season rates. There is an accommodationupgrade option for travelers who would like the creature comforts of3&4 star hotels. In addition to the base pilgrimage both the Spring &Fall tours offer a Budapest pre-trip extension and a Maramures &Painted Monasteries post-tour extension.
For more information and registration materials visit the UUPCCwebsite at www.uupcc.org and click on “Travel”.
For registration and complete itinerary visit our website,
www.uupcc.org/trips.html or call (781) 275-1710.
ww.uupcc.org 17
Like” us onfacebook!
If you have a Facebook account,simply search on “Partner ChurchCouncil” to find us.
or travel grant appliCations
oCtober 15 deadline
hurch Council is pleased to solicit applications for theant Program. Grants of up to $500 are available for travelership.
ese grants is to serve as a catalyst for travel and pro-otherwise not occur but would make a difference in the and their congregational partnerships. Priority is given to
als who would like to travel to visit their partners in the U.S.ipients are encouraged to write, preach or otherwiseider community the benefits and value of the UU Partnert.
applications include: youth leadership travel, ministerialo visit partners, travel to support Community Capacity, visits from overseas travelers to enhance partner com-outh/adult travel to volunteer in schools, camps, or orphan-ith overseas UUs.
ocess is open to all qualified individuals and congrega-as and in North America. Applicants must be affiliated withegation and receive the endorsement of their minister orommittee Chair.
two funding rounds are October 15 and March 15 every
Application is available at org/pilgrimages/travel-grants
81) 287-1710 or email [email protected].
18 Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org Partner Church News
P a r t N e r C h u r C h t r a N S f e r f o r mFOR TRANSFER OF FUNDS THROUGH THE U U PARTNER CHURCH COUNCIL
Please fill out and enclose a form with each check for funds to be transferred. Please type or print clearly.
Note: Funds transmission is a benefit of institutional membership in the UU Partner Church Council
Make check payable to: UU Partner Church Council Mail to: UU Partner Church Council, PO Box 88, Bedford, MA 01730
donor information: Date____________________
Name of Church____________________________________________________________ Phone (____)__________________________
Address ___________________________________________________ City/State/Zip_________________________________________
Contact Person____________________________________________________ E-Mail _________________________________________
transfer amount enclosed: US$t_______________ Check #______________
recipient information: Country (Please check one) o Transylvania o India o Philippines
Name of Church _________________________________________________________________________________________________
City/Town/Village _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Contact Person at Church _________________________________________________________________________________________
purposes: Specify amount and purpose of contribution (required)
Amount(s) designated for congregation: _______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Purpose(s) of contribution to congregation: ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Download the Transfer Form from our web site: www.uupcc.org/services.htm (or use the form below)
note: Funds transmission is a benefit of UUPCC membership. A transferor of funds should make sure that her/his/its dues are up to date.
If your church is not a UUPCC member, dues will be deducted ($50 for churches under 100 members, $150 for churches over 100 members).
iNdia
uuPcc is now processing transfersfor churches partnered with uuneichurches in the Khasi hills in india.We will process checks as they comein, and will do the actual transfersevery 3 months. the schedule in 2011is the end of January, april, July andoctober.
the PhiLiPPiNeS
NEW: the regular schedule for trans-fers is February, May, august andnovember. Please make sure checksand forms are mailed by the first of themonth so that we can transfer on the10th of the month.
traNSYLvaNia
transfers are done monthly from theuuPcc office between the 26th and30th of each month. transferred fundsare wired from headquarters directlyinto the local church bank account.
Please make sure that you contact
someone in your partner village/
town/church to let them know that
the money is coming.
aLL traNSferSchecks must arrive at the uuPccoffice at least one week before thetransfer date. Please use the abovetransfer Form or download one fromwww.uupcc.org/. click on Programs &
Services, then Fund Transfer. thenselect the Fund transfer Form. Pleaseinclude this form along with the check.Please send whole dollars only—nocents. Make checks payable in u.S.dollars.
Please NOTe: This Transfer Form isfor use by the office staff in preparingthe bank transfer, which is done electronically. Paper copies of theforms are not sent. Therefore, pleasemake sure that you contact someone inyour partner village to let them knowthat the money is coming. It takes aslong as 5–7 business days for thetransfer to arrive there.
Transfer Process: How to Send Money
Partner Church News Autumn 2013 •• www.uupcc.org 19
U U P a r t n e r C h u r c h C o u n c i l
Board of Directors
rev. gary Smith, chair Term to 2015
belmont, Ma [email protected]
rev. roger bertschausen, co-Vice-chair Term to 2014
appleton, Wi [email protected]
ann gary, co-Vice-chair Term to 2016
upton, Ma [email protected]
beverly Moore, Secretary Term to 2015
louisville, [email protected]
george Davenport, treasurer Term to 2014
tulsa, [email protected]
rev. Kelly crocker, Term to 2015
Madison, Wi [email protected]
rev. Jennifer emrich, Term to 2016
yarmouth [email protected]
eileen higgins, Term to 2016
new york, [email protected]
rev. bruce Johnson, Term to 2016
Duluth, [email protected]
cathy Perry, Term to 2014
bellevue Wa [email protected]
rev. Diane rollert, Term to 2015
Montreal, [email protected]
richard Van Duizend, Term to 2014
Falls church, [email protected]
Staff
cathy cordes, executive Director
P.o. box 88 • bedford, Ma 01730781-275-1710 fax: 781-275-7008 [email protected]
Margot Fleischman, Program Administrator
John Dale and csilla Kolcsár, Travel Coordinators
libby hanna, Bookkeeper
Volunteer Staff
nancy Daugherty, Newsletter editor
richard Ford and eileen higgins, Community
Capacity Building Trainers/Advisors
Pat rodgers, membership Database, matching,
and PCC-Chat
If you or a friend wish to receive this newsletter three times a year and to support and participate in
Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council programs and goals, please fill out this form to join us.
DATE: _________________________ —o n e y e a r m e m b e r s h i p s— ¨ New Membership ¨ Renewal
¨ $30* individual membership ¨ $50* family** membership ¨ $_______ individual or family membership pLuS giftfor UUPCC program support
Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Telephone _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
City/State/Province _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip/Postal Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
E-Mail _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Church Affiliation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
o Please add my email address to the PCC-Chat list so I can keep up to date on the latest UUPCC news! ****
o Please send my/our newsletter to the above email address.
¨ $50 Congregational*** (under 100 members) ¨ $150 Congregational*** (over 100 members)
UUA Church Name/City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* Canadian members please send $28 for an individual membership or $47 for a family membership
in U.S. funds by check or USD money order to the UUPCC address below.
** A family membership consists of two adults residing at the same address (receiving one newsletter).
*** A “congregational subscription” provides you with up to four newsletters mailed to the church.
**** Your contact information will be used solely by the UUPCC and will not be shared with other organizations.
Make your tax-deductible check payable to Mail your invitation and check to: uu partner Church Council UU Partner Church Council / P.O. Box 88 / Bedford, MA 01730-0088
I n v i t a t i o n t o M e m b e r s h i p
buildingglobal Community
one partnershipat a time!
ENTER ADDRESS ABOVE, WITH MINISTER’S NAME OR PCC CONTACT’S NAME
Partner Church NewsPUBLISHED 3 TIMES A YEAR
P.O. Box 88Bedford, MA 01730-0088 USA
Vision:
We envision a worldwide unitarian and unitarian universalist community that promotes peace, justice,and liberty for all, supported by partnerships that areintegral to congregational life.
Mission:
the mission of the unitarian universalist Partnercouncil is to foster and support partner relationshipsbetween uu congregations and individuals in theunited States and canada with unitarian and unitarianuniversalist congregations, orphanages, schools andstudents in all other countries where partnering issought and welcomed. these will be mutually beneficial, responsibly sustained, and linkedby joint and mutual covenants.
We will:
• be a bridge that connects congregations around theworld;
• reach across boundaries to collaborate with oldand new partners;
• create transformational opportunities for pilgrim-age and hospitality, for learning and for service;
• challenge ourselves theologically and openourselves to changed values and behaviors;
• initiate partnerships that promote global friend-ships, international awareness, human rights, and abetter world; and
• SuStain this global vision, enlarging and renewingit as new occasions teach new duties.
aDoPteD at the
annual Meeting oF the uuPcc June 26, 2010
U U P a r t n e r C h u r c h C o u n c i l V i s i o n & M i s s i o n S t a t e m e n t
