WELCOMING CONGREGATION: UPDATE FROM CARIBOU, MAINE
Hi all, just wanted to bring everyone up to date on what is going on at the northern outpost of civilization.

Although we have not been able to attend the gatherings due to the costs associated with travel and prioritizing meetings, we have not been inactive in regards GBLT issues.

I attended the Equality Maine Symposium at the request of the church, and was the only representative from Aroostook. I had been part of the County forum hosted by Equality Maine back last spring, and was surprised that no other participants went to Rockport. Since the symposium, we have worked out an agreement with EMAN to site a food pantry at the church for County sufferers of HIV/AIDS. In addition we met with Northern Lambda Nord to schedule joint activities on an ongoing basis.

Initially we will be hosting a Valentine's Day dance for the GBLT community here in the County. We are looking for an underwriter to fund a public showing of "For the Bible Tells Me So" a movie that debunks the Christian rhetoric against homosexuality. We hope to show it in the spring.

We are doing this after completing some major self examination in the congregation over the past 18 months. As a result of the process a few people decided unfortunately to separate themselves from the church. This has allowed the church to begin growing again with new families beginning to take part in the church. It also set the stage for the church to affirm its community "mission" by creating the position of Community Minister as part of the congregation's ministry and call me to the position.

The need for support for the GBLT community up here expressed at the Symposium, the Board felt, necessitated moving ahead in that area without formally going through the Welcoming Congregation Curriculum.

If you check out our website, you will see a new banner in the header expressing our new life and purpose.

Max Soucia, Community Minister, Caribou UU Church
www.caribouuu.org

Subject: Release: V-Day Auburn in Feb.
Two anti-violence shows will be staged at the First Universalist Church of Auburn. V-Day presents:
Friday/Saturday February 1/2, 7 PM "Vagina Monologues"
Saturday/Sunday February 9/10, 7 PM "A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and a Prayer"
to benefit the church. A portion will also benefit Women of New Orleans.
Tickets are $10 for each show, or $15 for any two performances.

In addition:
Sunday, February 3, 1 PM The documentary, "Until the Violence Stops" will be screened on Sunday. A brief sharing time will follow.

Due to mature content, viewers must be 16 or older.The First UniversalistChurch of Auburn is located at 169 Pleasant Street, across from Dairy Joy.
For tickets or FMI, call 783-0461 or uuauburn@verizon.net.

"The universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice. The language is not Narn or Human or Centauri or Gaim or Minbari. It speaks in the language of hope. It speaks in the language of trust. It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion. It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul. But always it is the same voice. It is the voice of our ancestors speaking through us and the voice of our inheritors waiting to be born. The small, still voice that says: 'We are one. No matter the blood, no matter the skin, no matter the world, no matter the star. .. We are one. No matter the pain, no matter the darkness, no matter the loss, no matter the fear. .. We are one.' Here, gathered together in common cause, we begin to realize this singular truth and this singular rule that we must be kind to one another. Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us and each voice lost diminishes us. We are the voice of the universe, the soul of creation, the fire that will light our way to a better future. We are one." - G'Kar: "The Paragon of Animals

Provincetown's Zoë Lewis will play at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco and Biddeford on April 28 at 7:30. $10 donation in advance, $12 at the door.

"If I take a lamp and shine it towards the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth, for understanding. To often we assume the light on the wall is God. But the light is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. The more intense the search, the brighter the light on the wall. The brighter the light on the wall, the greater the revelation upon seeing it. Similarly, someone who does not search, who does not bring a lantern with him, sees nothing. What we perceive as God is the by-product of our search for God. It may simply be an appreciation of the light, pure and unblemished, not understanding that it comes from us. Sometimes, we stand in front of the light and assume we are the center of the universe: God looks astonishingly like we do. Or we turn to look at our shadow and assume all is darkness. If we allow ourselves to get in the way, we defeat the purpose, which is to use the light of our search to illuminate the wall in all its beauty and all it flaws. And in so doing better understand the world around us." - G'Kar: Meditations on the Abyss

The site is currently getting a much needed facelift, as well as some better navigational features. It will take a while for this to be completed for the entire site, so some parts won't be fully functional. Please bear with us while these changes are happening. Thanks.