It’s Leap Year! What does that mean be-sides a correction in the calendar? I suppose the answer to that can fall some-where between abso-lutely nothing and whatever you want it to. When I was a kid, I al-ways thought the no-tion of Sadie Hawkins day was exciting. Luck-ily, times have changed since I was a kid. These days we’ve moved be-yond the thought that a girl might ask a guy to a dance/date/life only once every four years! Progress. But still, I’ve always loved the notion of Leap Year — it’s so deli-ciously different. A whole extra day.

How do we make use of an entire extra day? (You know I’m going to have an answer to my question, right? Or at least a partial one.) What if on February 29, we were to Leap into Peace? I have only the vaguest glimmerings of what that might mean. I’ve been talking to the poet Chet’la Sebree about her take on that. Wondering with Terri Peterson about what we might eat on a day of Peace… There’s more to come… If you have some thoughts, let me know. In the meantime, we keep plugging along. New people keep com-ing and being wel-comed. We keep find-ing good work to do. Our neighbors are get-ting involved and invit-ing us to participate in justice-making. All in all, life is good here at UUCSV. Now that Sara and I are walking around the track at Bucknell three times a

week, we spend a lot of time talking about how lucky we feel to be working together with all of you. And… there are still lots of opportunities to be involved, so step right up! Blessings, Love, and let’s Leap into Peace. Ann

Ann Keeler Evans, M.Div., Minister, UUCSV

Ministerial Musings

Ann Keeler Evans, M.Div., Minister, UUCSV

February 2016

January 26, 2016

Worship Leaders

February 2016

7th—Lenoro Askew

14th—Service of the Living Tradition

21st—Ann Keeler Evans

28th—Kathy Hummel

Message from President 2

Spring Casino Planning 2

RGL News 3

RGL Birthdays 3

Hospitality Hour 4

News: New School for QLGBT Children

4

UUFFL 5

Janet Weis Fellow 5

Sound Tech 5

Zen Meditation 6

Zazenkai, 1/2 day Zen Retreat

6

“Springing the Sanctuary” 7

“Greening the Sanctuary” Pictures

7

Priestley Chapel News 8

2016 Priestley Chapel Schedule

8

News from Priestly House 9

2016 Joseph Priestly District Assembly

9

Worship Leaders 12

King Street Coffee House 12

Sunbury Together 11

Book Discussion Group 10

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

and run tables. And... we’ll need planning for food. If you are unable

to make the meeting but want to

make a con-tribution,

please see Lenore Askew

There will be a planning session for our Spring Casino Afternoon on Sunday, February 7, following the service. I need help putting this one together. We need to pick a date. We’ll need prizes. We need people to deal

(pandora@ptd.net or 570-286-7823). The tentative plan is to have it on a Saturday after-noon in early April. It really is a fun time and a good opportunity to raise some money for Love Flows. Thanks, Lenore

Spring Casino Planning

Fall has finally ended and we have had some seasonal winter. I know I’m in the minority, but I like cold weather and snow. You will hear me complain about heat and humidity, but I rarely complain about winter weather.

Even though we have five months left in our church year, we need to begin thinking about the next year. We will be electing a treasurer, secretary, and three board members at our Annual Meeting on May 1, 2016. Please con-sider running for one of these positions. Talk to our current board mem-

bers and officers to find out what the jobs entail. Let our Nominating Committee Chair Lenore Askew know if you are interested. It would make the committee’s work a little bit easier. We are also looking for

members to be on the Facilities Com-mittee. This commit-tee keeps our build-ing in good operat-ing order. Steve Olofson, the past chair, had to resign because of in-creased time com-

mitments. Talk to Steve for more information. We also need a new chair for the Social Con-cerns Committee. The committee is very well organized and active. Lois Passi, the current chair, has created a well-oiled machine that has done tremendous things for service agen-

cies in our area. Her leadership will be greatly missed. If interested in serving on the commit-tee, talk to Lois. Our congregation cannot function without mem-bers serving on our com-mittees and boards. Make your religious life richer by volunteering to serve. If you are not in-terested in Social Con-cerns or Facilities, we have many other ways in which you can help. See Ann or me and we will connect you with the committee of your choice. Carl Askew, UUCSV President

Message from the President

Carl Askew, UUCSV President

P A GE 2

“Need officers, board members, & different committee chairs &

members.”

UUCS V P HO E N IX

For so many reasons in the past few weeks, I've been reminded often of how much I love being part of this UUCSV com-munity. I hope you are feeling that way, and that we can continually work on having our kids feel that way. I think we're starting the year off right! See the chal-ices many of our kids painted the first week of January?

This winter the kids are busy with new curricula that will challenge them, excite them, make them think, and hopefully re-late their Sundays to the rest of their week each week. I am so grateful for all the teachers who are helping make those things all possible, in particular Claire Law-rence, Kathy Kristjan-son-Gural, Virginia Zim-merman, Cindi Hron, Mary Howe, Pat Willi-man, Jordi Comas, and Jennifer Sacher Wiley. I'm also thrilled that we've been able to weave social justice

work into the curriculum regularly, particularly on days like Martin Luther King, Jr., Sunday (thanks to Dawn Fisher, Chris Chew, Liane Kuhns, and Claire Law-rence), and the Great Backyard Bird Count in Febru-ary. Put-ting our Principles into action!

I was proud - as I know many of us are, and particu-larly her parents were – of Maggie Harrison being in the pulpit in Janu-ary. Part of grow-

ing lifelong UUs is listen-ing to our young people and hearing their thoughtfulness, their curiosity, their chal-lenges, and their pas-sions. Consider this a challenge to spend some time with our cur-rent yoUUth, or our recently graduated yoUUth, and find yourself enriched. There will be some social Sundays com-ing up, too; but dates aren't quite ready to put in the newsletter. Keep your ears open!

Our Flaming Ea-gles class began their winter think-ing about “Invitation” and how to be wel-

coming. This quote from Parker Palmer ties that to what I think we can all get from spending time with our children and youth: “Good teaching is an act of hospitality to-ward the young, and hospitality is always an act that benefits the host even more than the guest.” See you Sunday, Sara

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 6 P A GE 3

“Good teaching is an act of hospitality toward the young, and hospitality is

always an act that benefits the host even more than the guest.”

Sara Phinney Kelley, RGL

February 9 Olivia Greene

Coffee Hour Setup for February of 2016

February 7th The Askews February 14th The Willimans February 21st Lisa Gibson February 28th Tom Bresenhan For the entire month of Feb-ruary, no one is signed up to do cleanup. HELP!!!!

Please check the sign-up chart at the table for Febru-ary where food is served. As you all know, we usually have dirty cups and dishes that need to be cleaned. Please do not hesitate to call Patty Embick at 570-898-2167 if you have any questions regarding cleanup or coffee hour. It is not a difficult task, just takes a little time. She will be happy to walk anyone through the process. That way you can see where everything is kept, where it gets put back, and what needs to be cleaned. Everyone will be more knowledgeable and more comfortable.

Also for the month of Febru-ary, we need people or fami-lies to bring food for Coffee Hour. Without food to snack on during the Coffee Hour, a lot of our tummies would be gurgling, and I know the kids are especially hungry! If you are not sure what to bring and need to make lists, please do not hesitate to call Patty Embick at 570-898-2167. She will be more than happy to help you out. Thanks, Hospitality Committee

Hospitality Hour

NEWS: New School for QLGBT Children

any child that peers treat as though they should have the right to believe in their faith or because the child dresses differently. We've all heard or read about children who have committed suicide or dropped out of school be-cause of this kind of peer pressure. These children are bullied over social media. This is a phenomenal, eye-opening precedent for the country, especially when more UU Congregations see that they are able to do this in their community. I have a hypothesis that in the future hopefully most schools will open their eyes and make the bullying stop. Give the bullies conse-quences that are perhaps more in line with not just rules, but harsher punish-ment. A lot of teachers, plus anyone who works in a school, should stop any type of bullying instead looking away, because the staff are inept on how to deal with the

situations when QLGBT students are being bullied by peers because of the ideation of what is the normal. Teachers and any staff, including volunteers who help in classrooms, or any staff that works in a school should not be inept on how to handle these situations. Mandatory train-ing on how to deal with the bullying of any type and certi-fication should be in place before anyone can work or volunteer in any school. Written by Patricia Embick

News UU Congregation Atlanta, Georgia

New School for QLGBT Children

Beginning School Year 2017 Beginning in 2017, there will be a new school opening by the UU Congregation of At-lanta, Georgia, for children grades K through 12. The focus of the school is for any child who is being bullied for being QLGB or T. It is also opened for any student who is being bullied due to being different. The school will have teachers who are also from the QLGBT community as well as those who are committed to teaching all children. This is different and so badly needed all over the country, because too much peer pressure is being put on QLGBT children. Fortunately this school is also open to

P A GE 4

“We need HELP with Clean-up and Snacks for February and up coming

months! Please sign-up!”

UUCS V P HO E N IX

UUFFL

flows easily and laughter is plenty and you know the food is pretty good also. Come and join Thanks Barbara Schaffer

journeysbyschaffer.com

UUFFL, (UUs Free For Like lunch) is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 12:30 at the Lewisburg Hotel unless otherwise adver-tised. We invite all UUs who are free to join this fun and spirited group for lunch. Conversation

Elizabeth Kolbert has been named the University’s 12th Janet Weis Fellow in Contem-porary Letters. Ms. Kolbert will receive the award and give a talk on Tuesday, Janu-ary 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center for the Perform-ing Arts. The event will con-clude with a question-and-answer session and book signing. Ms. Kolbert received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Gen-eral Nonfiction for The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, which chronicles five previous mass species ex-tinctions and argues that the planet is now in the midst of

Thought you might like to know.

Janet Weis Fellow in

Contemporary Letters Lecture - Elizabeth Kolbert Tuesday, January 26, 2016

7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Weis Center for the

Performing Arts Acclaimed journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author

a sixth. In selecting the piece as one of the 10 Best Books of 2014, The New York Times Book Review called Ms. Kolbert’s work “… envi-ronmental writing at its most rigorous and richly detailed — and as riveting as any thriller.” In addition, her work as a writer for The New Yorker has earned her nu-merous awards, including the National Academy of Sciences Communication Award in 2006 and two Na-tional Magazine Awards. Sorry, but by the time you receive this newsletter this has passed.—Denise

Janet Weis Fellow in Contemporary Letters Lecture

Author; Elizabeth Kolbert

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 6 P A GE 5

Please contact Alan Marchiori, Robert Roush or Carl Askew. It's fun, it's tetchy! And you get to be a geek, and people will look up to you!

The UUCSV Commu-nications Group is seeking volunteers to learn the re-cording of our ser-mons and You Tube uploading proce-dure, so that we can cover all Sundays.

Learn to Be a Sound Tech!

UUFFL

Elizabeth Kolbert

Sound Tech

practice, both old hands and first-timers. A limited number of medita-tion cushions will be available and peo-ple are encouraged to bring their own, if they have them. There will also be chairs for those who would prefer not to use cushions. Zen invites us to look within our-selves, to seek out who each of us truly is, to find that "original face from before we were born." At the same time, Zen points us to the ordinary. As Layman Pang, an early Chinese Zen Master would say, "Wonderful! Marvel-

On Saturday, Febru-ary 27, the Rever-end Edward Keido Sanshin Oberholt-zer, practice leader of the Joseph Priestley Zen Com-munity, will lead a half-day Zen retreat (Zazenkai) at the Unitarian Universal-ist Church of Sus-quehanna Valley, 265A Point Town-ship Road, Northum-berland. The retreat will run from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon and will include a Zen Buddhist liturgy service and two hours of meditation and will conclude with a dharma talk by Rev. Oberholtzer. The retreat is open to all who wish to experience Zen

ous! I chop wood and carry water!" Sitting in Zazen, the practice of Zen meditation gives us the opportunity to find the miraculous within the ordinary through a method as simple as "Sit down, shut up and pay attention." Contact Rev. Ober-holtzer at Keidosanshin@ joseph-priestleyzen.com with any questions. Thanks, Ed

Join us each Wednes-day evening at 7:00 for ZEN MEDITATION!

Visit the New medita-tion website here: www.josephpriestleyzen.com

Each session will consist of two 25 minute periods of seated meditation with a 10 minute period of walking meditation. The eve-

ning will conclude with a brief talk and chanting, followed by questions and discussion. Ed Ober-holtzer, a Soto Zen priest from Boundless Way Zen, will lead the

meditation. If you have meditation cushions (zafu and zabutons) please bring them. Peo-ple are also welcomed to sit in chairs. If you have any questions or need beginning instruc-tion, contact Ed at eco-berholtzer@mac.com

Zen Meditation

Zazenkai, a Half Day Zen Retreat

P A GE 6

“Sit down, shut up and Pay attention.”

UUCS V P HO E N IX

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 6 P A GE 7

“Greening the Sanctuary” Pictures 2015

“Give everyone that helped with crafting and

decorating applause for a job well done.

will help make some of the items I’m thinking we can use for spring. I’m still collecting silk loose fall leaves for the fall decora-tions. Also, need some summer ideas. Please let me know if you would like to be on the committee. Thanks, Denise Eyster dreyster@verizon.net 570-742-2787 P.S. I would like to also start up an evening or afternoon at least once or twice a month to have a group scrapbook-ing/crafting get to-gether. I used to do this with friends on Sunday

Committee Meeting af-ter service on Sunday, February 14th, yes Val-entine’s Day. Unless I get feedback on chang-ing the date to maybe an evening during that week. I have some ideas, but please bring your own. Would like to decorate for spring after the ser-vice on March 6th. We may have some crafting for kids and/or adults to do. Will need a few to help hang things. Hope-fully I’ll be more organ-ized with everything. Lenoro has purchased a wireless Cricut Explore, which is a cutting ma-chine for us to use. I hope to have it up and running by March. This

nights when I lived in the Reading area. I’m looking to have it at the church or we can do at individuals homes if they want to host. There are a few of us that have tools and supplies that you can use, so if you haven’t done this before and want to try it you will be able to scrap without spending a lot. Please let me know if you are interested and what would work for you.

“Springing the Sanctuary”

Priestley Chapel Associ-ates present an informal program of words and music from 9:30 to 10:10 a.m. on the first Sunday at Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel, 380 Front Street, Northumber-land,PA. Programs begin at 9:30 a.m. and con-clude at 10:10 am. The next program is Sunday, February 7, 2016.

Music for the program is by the Bloomsburg Early Music Ensemble performing music from the 18th century and earlier. This is the an-nual return of the En-semble to Priestley Chapel. Guest poets are Susan and Richard Brook from Blooms-burg. Susan and Richard are founding members of the Bloomsburg River Poets. Priestley Chapel Associ-ates is a secular, non-profit 501 (c) 3 corpora-tion established in 1977 to care for and manage the Joseph Priestley Me-morial Chapel, the beau-

tiful memorial garden and the historic 1811 John Wind organ located in the chapel. This lovely country chapel was built in 1834 by descendants of Joseph Priestley and members of the Unitar-ian congregation in Northumberland. Cur-rently, the chapel is open to the public the first Sunday of each month for a program of words and music. The chapel is also used for wedding ceremonies, memorial services, and community events. For more information call 570-473-1688 or visit: www.priestleychapel.org

Priestley Chapel First Sunday Program

Date Musician Poet January 3, 2016 Hope W Kopf Dot Baumwoll

February 7, 2016 Bloomsburg Early Music Ensemble Susan and Richard Brook March 6, 2016 Molly Brown Chet'la Sebree

April 3, 2016 David Levengood David Bauman May 1, 2016 Lester Hirsch Lester Hirsch June 5, 2016 Larry Lawson David Brooks July 3, 2016 Hope W Kopf Raymond Cummings

August 7, 2016 Hope W Kopf Sharlene Gilman September 4, 2016 Al & Jean Lumpkin Abby Minor

October 2, 2016 Hope W Kopf Jan Pearson November 6, 2016 Alf Bashore Linda Godfrey December 4, 2016 Tom and Jina Rosencrans Ann Evans

First Sunday Program at Priestley Chapel Schedule for 2016

P A GE 8

“Music from the 18th century and earlier.”

UUCS V P HO E N IX

Bloomsburg Early Music Ensemble (l to R – Susan Swartz, Susan Brook and Richard Brook)

Help celebrate Joseph Priestley’s Birthday on

Sunday, March 13, 2016

The public is invited to Priestley House, North-umberland, to help cele-brate Joseph Priestley’s 282nd birthday on Sun-day, March 13. Admis-sion will be free between 1 and 4 p.m. Birthday cake and punch will be served in the Visitors Center. Joseph Priestley was born in England on March 13, 1733. The renowned scientist, po-litical thinker and dis-senting clergyman came to Northumberland in

1794 and lived there for the rest of his life. He died in

Priestley House in 1804. Ronald Blatchley, a re-tired chemistry teacher who portrays Dr. Priestley, will perform 18th chemistry demon-strations in the Pond Building on the grounds at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Visitors may tour the museum at their own pace, with guides in vin-tage costume to greet them and answer ques-tions. The Friends of the Jo-seph Priestley House operates the museum, which is owned by the Pennsylvania His-toric and Museum Com-mission. Sunday’s open

house will also be part of a statewide com-memoration by the com-mission to mark the signing of the state’s charter. Priestley House will then be open for the 2016 sea-son from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (except Easter Sunday) from March 13 until Sunday November 20. Tours are on the hour at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Tours at other times can be arranged by calling 570-473-9494 or by email at info@josephpriestleyhouse.org.

News from Priestly House

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 6 P A GE 9

“Joseph

Priestley’s 282nd

Birthday on

March 13.”

Ron Blatchley as Joseph Priestley

UUCSV Book Group resumes Wednesday

March 9, 2016 The next meeting of the UUCSV Book group is set for Wednesday March 9. The group will discuss The Paying Guests by Sara Walters with Sandy DeVault as discussion leader. The story is set in 1922, in a genteel house in a genteel neighborhood just outside of London. Here, the widowed Mrs. Wray and her 26-year-old daughter, Frances, pass each day very much like the day be-fore—with Frances busy-ing herself with house-hold chores, maybe a bit of needlepoint, and her mother nibbling on a lunch of cauliflower cheese while making notes for the parish newsletter. In less skilled hands, such pro-longed stage-setting would test even the most patient reader. But in Waters’, it’s mesmerizing, with every small but evocative detail serving to transport you further into this

place and time. Take a deep breath as you’re reading, because as soon as you are lulled into the calm cadence of these lives, the Wray’s tenants—the “paying guests” they have taken in to help with the bills—turn everything topsy-turvy, and by the novel’s conclusion, you have gone from straight-up period piece, to love story, to edge-of-your-seat crime thriller (and not the American kind “with a plot full of holes” that the Wrays suffer through on picture-house Wednesdays). For a story set just after WWI, some of the themes Waters touches on are surprisingly con-temporary. History does repeat itself sometimes, and so it goes for Sarah Waters, with yet another masterful novel. It’s a book of nearly 600 pages, so get a copy and get started now. Tale starts small, slowly, softly and then takes off. Be patient there is a ride ahead.

Schedule for 2015-16 season of the UUCSV

Book Group

Looking further ahead the dates of the Book Group meetings, titles of book(s) to be discussed and discussion leaders

are listed below. All meetings begin at 7pm and end no later than 9pm.

At the April 6 meeting, we will discuss The Rosemary Spell by Vir-ginia Zimmerman with Virginia leading the dis-cussion. A tale of books and young friends and a poet near the end of her life with a faulty memory - and everyone trying to remember. Oh, the lead character is named Rosemary, for remem-brance. This promises to be a great discussion with the author of the book, its origin, path to print and much more.

May 4, 2016 - The Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. Discussion leader is Barbara Schaffer. June 1, 2016 - The Plague of Doves: A Novel by Louise Erdrich. Discussion leader is Pat Williman. July 6, 2016 - The Plague by Albert Camus. Discussion leader is Gunilla Geise. August 3, 2016 - The Martian by Andy Weir. Discussion leader is Paul Schaffer.

P A GE 1 0

“The Paying Guests by Sara Walters, it’s nearly 600 pages. Get reading!”

UUCS V P HO E N IX

Author Virginia Zimmerman

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 6 P A GE 1 1

“A Listing Session!”

P A GE 1 2

Leader Associates

02/07/16 Lenore Askew George Manning

02/14/16 Service of the Living Tradition ------

02/21/16 Ann Evans Steve Olofson

02/28/16 Kathy Hummel Hope W. Kopf

265A Point Township Drive Northumberland, PA 17857

UUCSV

playing, no plates are clanging, no machines are making a racket and the audience is quiet because they are intent on listening to the music. It is

also known as the place where musicians comes to listen to musicians.

Each show has 3 acts, playing three different types of music including, jazz, folk, soft rock, old timey, R&B, etc. the au-dience leaves with smiles on their faces and feet tapping.

Come and join us: tickets are $10 at the door (12 and under free). Desserts and drinks are available to

The King Street Coffeehouse is begin-ning it's 20th season and it will return to the UUCSV's facility. What is the King Street Coffee-house?

It is the finest music venue in the Valley. The musicians are from the local area and we have lots of amazing talent in these valleys and foot-hills. It is a "Listening Room" which means when the musicians are

purchase. The doors open at 6 o'clock – mu-sic from 7 to 10 or a little later with 2 short intermissions to allow the change of acts.

Here is the schedule for the this month:

2/12/16 Fricknadorable Miller & Marks Gift, Troutman,

Gift 2/26/16 Musicraft Brad Z Brown Eyed Girls

www.uucsv.org