Rev. David Hutchinson, Minister, 446-6858 Rev. Martha Newman, Minister Emerita Karen Klahr, Moderator, 532-4051 Susan & Bruce Glick, Co-Treasurers, 538-9264 Leigh Griffith, Clerk, 532-2455 Karen Klahr, Newsletter, 532-4051 Church Phone, 532-9269 Ministerial Relations Committee, Walter Goodrich, Debra Frazier, John Pasquarelli Newsletter - December 2004

First Church of Houlton, Unitarian-Universalist 61 Military St. Houlton, ME 04730

Excite the soul, and the weather and the town and your condition in the world all disappear, the world itself loses it's solidity, nothing remains but the soul and the Divine Presence in which it lives.
                                Ralph Waldo Emerson - Journal Entry, 1834

They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse.
                                Emily Dickinson

This is the time of year when the cold begins to dominate. Everything from the family pet to your car battery starts to feel the effects. Even nature appears to lie dormant, biding its time in the cold north environment. As we settle into our reutilized schedules we can also get lulled into the mundane and gray predictability of how we have done things before. The human spirit thrives on discovering and doing things in new ways. Life is not static. It may appear to be frozen for periods of time, but life is always moving around even on the coldest of days. The human spirit is no different. Each of us are sitting on the edge of potential, just an inch away from dropping off into it!! Yet this latent capacity of the soul remains unrealized until it is activated by ____________.

The undisclosed blank is the key to your enlightenment. Fill in the blank and you will begin to see your life take on meaning, or at least take on a little excitement as Emerson puts it. What is it that sparks a certain aliveness, that wakes you up to the world around you?! This is a good question for the new year. God is much larger than we usually think. God is not far away. The divine will show up in as many places as we allow. Fill in the blank and reality expands and disappears into itself all at the same time. Try that out the next time you're waiting in line at the drive-through window! Or take a close look at the natural world and see how it comes and goes without end.

Live well, embrace the new year !!

                In Ministry,   Dave

So, in the absence of numerous committees, our board serves as our "everything committee" at least in terms of conceptualizing and planning. During our board meetings we deal with the A to Z of church function; finances, church building repair and maintenance, Sunday services, religious education, activities, interaction with NED and UUA etc. Fortunately, we do get (and always welcome) help with the "nuts and bolts" from the congregation.

Since our last newsletter we have taken over the task of conducting the pledge drive. When that is complete, we (or most of us) will meet to plan the budget for 2005. Then, we will help plan the annual meeting where it is presented to the congregation for approval.

Sometime soon we plan to erect a marker stone at the site of the first church building in Aroostook county.

We are always considering the needs of our church building. Prior clearing out being necessary, the rummage sale we had in early June was the beginning of the process of basement fix-up. Several years ago we refinished (hired out some of it) the wainscoting on the greater part of the basement. The start of the project will happen as inclination and time permit, but we are feeling the need to extend that into the remainder of the basement, the part behind the folding screens.

Closing this peek into the workings of the board I want to remind everyone that board meetings, far from being secret, are open to members of the congregation.

Happy Holidays to all!     Karen