Second Congregational Meeting House Society
Unitarian Universalist 11 Orange St. ~ P.O. Box 1023 Nantucket, MA 02554 (508) 228-5466 (Office)
Newsletter of the Nantucket Unitarian Universalist Church
FROM THE MINISTER’S DESK by Rev. Jennifer Brooks
MAYPOLES AND DAFFODILS This year Nantucket’s Daffodil festival falls on a weekend that includes Sunday, May 1, an ideal date to celebrate the coming of Spring. May 1 is also the day that is in many places and traditions celebrated as May Day, or Beltaine, marking the point in the year halfway between the winter solstice and midsummer. In medieval Britain, the dance around the Maypole was a time of celebration. The Maypole tradition seems to have had its start in Germanic and perhaps Norse pagan traditions. The joyful dance around the Maypole seems to have flourished in Britain until opposed by baleful Protestants—a notable first during the reign of Edward VII, when an evangelical preacher successfully persuaded the villagers in Cornhill to demolish and burn the Maypole. The Long Parliament’s decree of April 6, 1644 outlawed the Maypole dance as “a Heathenish vanity, generally abused to superstition and wickedness.” It seems that mixedgender weaving of ribbons around the Maypole, perhaps accompanied by the serving of festive beverages, shocked and dismayed the puritanical lawmakers. In America, New Plymouth’s governor William Bradford wrote of a Maypole festivity forcefully disrupted by colonial authorities in 1628. Although British Maypoles made a comback after the demise of the Long Parliament in 1660, a stern Presbyterianism seems to have prevented their return in Scotland. And in New England they were not much in evidence except in Duxbury, where there seems to have been a fondness for the celebration. On Nantucket, we have Daffodil Weekend but not a Maypole tradition. It’s not surprising, perhaps, given Nantucket’s Congregationalist tradition (they were the Pilgrims’ churches, after all), along with the influence of the Quakers, whose practices would not be friendly to pagan-style festivities. For Nantucketers, who fervently express their relief and joy at the advent of Spring each Daffodil Weekend, the Maypole dance seems a natural fit. The human spirit craves sunlight, flowing water, and green, growing things. It’s no surprise that people in the northern hemisphere long for Spring and for warm days after a hard winter. The expression of joy through communal gatherings involving flowers and outdoor dancing seems like a natural outpouring of human spirituality. It’s no surprise that spring festivals like May Day and Daffodil Weekend pop up on the human landscape (despite puritanical best efforts). I’m grateful to be part of a religious faith that is open and flexible enough to welcome all celebrations of Life. Let us don the garlands and cheer the renewal of life on this glorious Earth.
~ May 2011
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SERVICES 10:45 a.m. Sunday School for Children Each Week
Sunday, May 1 “A Bouquet of Daffodils” Rev. Jennifer Brooks Sunday, May 8 “Dry Bones” Rev. Jennifer Brooks Sunday, May 15 “Standing on the Side of Love” Rev. Jennifer Brooks and Children’s Choir Sunday, May 22 “The Interdependent Web of UU and Buddhism” Fourth Sunday Lay Led Service Sunday, May 29 “Roots and Wings” Restoration Celebration and Memorial Day Sunday Rev. Jennifer Brooks
The Trustees and Congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church Request the honor of your company at gatherings to celebrate the Restoration of the Historic Trompe l’oeil Painting in the Great Sanctuary Saturday, May 28, 2011 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Music & Restoration Process Narrative & Acknowledgements Sunday, May 29, 2011 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sanctuary Open House
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MUSIC NOTES
by Marcia Hempel, Music Director May 28 Restoration Celebration The Unitarian Choir, joined by additional singers from the community, and conducted by Dr. Gerry Mack, will sing “The Heavens Are Telling” by Haydn. Soloists will be Jessie Lambrecht, Al Fuller, and Jim Sulzer. I will provide accompaniment at the newly restored Goodrich organ. I will also play Bach’s “Fantasy in G” on the organ, and the Honors Chorus from Nantucket High School will sing. There will be various speakers during this event and the choir will also sing “The World Stands Out on Either Side” by Barbara Elder, written for the 200th Anniversary of the church. May 29 Special Service at 10:45 a.m. and Open House at 1 p.m. In celebration of the many groups that call the Unitarian church their home, the choir will sing “Hine Ma Tov” by Elliot Levine in honor of Shirat Hyam. I will play some of Peter Susser’s organ music written for the 200th Anniversary of the church. Other special music is still being planned, but it is sure to be a great service. At the afternoon open house, pianist Matt Hutchinson will play jazz in the sanctuary as people come to the church to see the beautiful restoration.
SUMMER 2011 CALENDAR OF CONCERTS Thursday Noonday Concerts at the Unitarian Church Half-hour concerts every Thursday at noon during July and August ($5 at the door) July 7 UU Choir sings“Music with a Beat” featuring calypso, jazz and country. July 14 Bob and Diane Lehman, vocal and piano, perform jazz with a French theme in honor of Bastille Day. July 21 Robert Behrman, piano, plays music of Philip Glass. July 28 Matt Hutchinson, piano, plays jazz. August 4 Junyi Fitzgibbon, classical piano (young artist), plays classical masterworks. August 18 Meghan Trainor, singer/songwriter (young artist), plays original music. August 25 Andy Bullington and Cary Hazlegrove, guitar and vocal, play rhythm and blues. Friday Organ Concerts at the Unitarian Church Organ concerts every Friday during the summer from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on the historic 1831 Goodrich organ, which was recently renovated and improved. Played by Marcia Hempel, Music Director at the Unitarian Church, beginning July 1. Guest organists will be featured on Friday, July 29 (Bernadette Nadeau) and Friday, August 19 (Carson Cooman). Classical, jazz and ragtime included in every week’s concert. The series begins Friday, July 1 and ends on Friday, August 26. FREE.
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BUILDING AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE UPDATE by Bob Lehman, Chair
Your building and grounds committee has not been idle through the cold winter months. Our results are not as flashy as the trompe l’oeil, nor as noticeable as the clock tower. But the parsonage has a new storm door, leaky faucets are dry, door stops have been installed around the church, and the most impressive of all, the condom machine has been removed from the bathroom, netting a red hot $76 in quarters. These and other minor miracles are just a few of the wonders achieved by the building & grounds committee. You, too, can be involved doing small but significant things around the church and grounds. Come give our committee a look. We meet at 5:15 the first Wednesday of each month. May 4th is our next meeting. As an aside, I would like to personally thank Dr. Les Ottinger for his years of leadership and service to this committee of which he was founder.
fyi.... Selected sermons are available on our website, www.unitarianchurchnantucket.org or get in touch with Rev. Jennifer Brooks, (508) 228-7597 or nantucketminister@comcast.net. Copies of readings used in a Sunday service are available upon request. The deadline for the monthly Weathervane newsletter is noon on the fourth Sunday of each month (for the following month’s publication date). Please e-mail newsletter items as a Word document attachment to Linda Spery at linda@sonnpr.com and put “Weathervane” on the subject line. For an announcement for the website, send it to Georgen Charnes at curiositykeeper@gmail.com or provide it as an announcement for the Sunday Bulletin or the Weathervane newsletter. To put an announcement in the Sunday bulletin, please call Patti Demarest in the Church Office at (508) 228-5466 by noon Thursday, or e-mail nantucketminister@comcast.net no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday. Office hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to noon. To reserve space for an event, call the Church Office. Our Minister and the volunteers who make up the “Care Network” stand ready to help with pastoral care or other support during an illness or family crisis. Call the Minister at (508) 228-7597. May each of us reach out in love to offer support when it is welcome. To volunteer, sign up on Sunday or call the office.
Forsythia and daffodils are in full bloom on the church grounds.
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES REPORT by Craig Spery, Board President
As the weather warms, we look forward to welcoming back our seasonal members and friends. With the busy summer right around the corner, there are lots of exciting activities planned at 11 Orange Street and we welcome people to volunteer and get involved, whether you’re here for the entire summer or just a few days. Consider being a docent, or provide the refreshments after a service, or help out mornings in the church office, or sign up to help prepare the parsonage for the interim minister in August. For more information on any activity, ask me or any board member. By now, the Interim Minister Search Committee, co-chaired by Chris Lohmann and Brian Girard, has received names of interested candidates from the Unitarian Universalist Association. The committee will carefully consider the applicants and, hopefully, will decide upon one candidate to present to the Board of Trustees for approval. We are still looking for delegates to the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association, held June 22 to 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina. For the first time, we will be live-streaming the events on the big screen in the activities room, giving people the opportunity to experience GA without leaving Nantucket. I attended a Finance Committee meeting last week where the first quarter of 2011 financial statements were reviewed. At this point, income and expenses are on track with expectations. While other fundraising efforts are underway, including the new Bed and Breakfast program, the importance of pledge income cannot be understated. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the beautiful original work of art in the Activities Room near the kitchen? Thanks to Libby Oldham, we now know the story behind the painting. Other works by the late Nantucket artist John Austin (1918-2001) can be found in the Nantucket Historical Association collection and private island homes.
JOHN AUSTIN’S PAINTING: UNTITLED by Libby Oldham
In 1982, shortly after the South Church Preservation Fund was established, Reggie Levine, proprietor of the late-lamented Main Street Gallery, offered to mount an exhibition of art relating to the church—paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs, whatever— and to donate half the proceeds from sale of the artifacts to the SCPF. Nantucket artists responded generously, creating works that filled both rooms of the gallery at 50 Main Street. The exhibition was the first of several public fundraising events that occurred during the period 1982–86. Opening day, a Saturday in the fall, was horrible: torrential rain made a river of Main Street, but people swarmed into the gallery and partook of champagne and elegant eatables while viewing the extraordinary works of art with a single theme. Among the paintings displayed was John Austin’s acrylic, showing the patch of deteriorating corner board on the southeast façade that was a factor in the decision to begin the restoration project. All the other works in the exhibition were realistic, sometimes dreamy, images of the familiar landmark with the clock and the golden dome. John’s painting recorded one aspect of the work that would have to be done to preserve the historic building. The painting caught the fancy of choir members, who decided to purchase it and donate it to the congregation as a reminder of the most comprehensive, and costly, preservation project undertaken on Nantucket up to that time.
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religious education news
By Sally Ure and Lizie Hagenstein
Our series of once a month spaghetti dinners has now come to an end as we welcome spring weather and lighter nights. We enjoyed cooking and eating such yummy comfort food and also loved working with our team of cooks and servers. The great company and conversation helped get us through another Nantucket winter and we are extremely grateful. Our “First Friday” potluck series has also now concluded.
In Sunday School, our Comparative Religion component has come to an end. For May, the children will be learning a bit more
about our church and its way of doing things, as we wrap up our our year-long curriculum, “What is religion, for others and for us?” Primrose Sunday was under attended due to it coinciding with the school vacation, but the donors were matched with our regular attendees and the last few plants are being given to the recipients by the end of April. Huge thanks for the donations. The plants (shown on the front page of the Weathervane) will continue to brighten people’s lives for years to come if they are planted outdoors.
SOUTH CHURCH PRESERVATION FUND (SCPF) UPDATE by Leslie W. Ottinger – President, SCPF
The restoration work in the auditorium and the general cleanup of the space is to be completed before the second week in May. Then, there will be the task of putting the space back in order for summer use. Craig Spery ably coordinated the team that got things ready for the restoration and he will also do so for this; our own minor restoration effort. There will be quite a lot of busy work along with some moving and lifting. If you are willing to help, please let him know. Due to a defective undercoat, there has been bubbling up of the gilding on the surface of some of our new clock hands. Alan Androuais, of Americlock, Inc, and one of his workmen will be here for five days in June to install new hands and do maintenance work on the yoke that holds the bell. We need to find them a place to stay from Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17. If you can help with this, please speak to me or give me a call at 508-228-8710. The next task of the SCPF is to formulate a plan and then raise the funds for a final phase of work on the auditorium. Also we have now begun planning for the establishment of the permanent maintenance fund for the building.
a bUSH IS GREEN by Rev. Jennifer Brooks
A bush is green in the spring and summer, fruitful with blossoms when the sun is hot —or not, as the bush is, some disdaining flowers, others fragrant with them and thick with berries, each variety knowing its own way. A gardener chooses some that bloom or bear fruit to delight the human eye or tongue. But when winter’s
Leading the Youth Service entitled “Humor” on April 10 were (left to right) Samantha, Alana, Lisa, Sabrina, Leah, Chloe and Abby, with assistance from Sally and Lizie.
end draws near and I am gloomy with brown and dry sticks and hard ground, then how I long for green, green, spring’s shy pale pastel green and summer’s bold glossy green. A bush is green. ©1987 Creative Commons 3.0
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May events May 1 10:45 a.m. Sunday Service “A Bouquet of Daffodils” - Rev. Jennifer Brooks (Hendrix Hall) The May issue of the Weathervane is posted on the church website on or before today with full color photos at www.unitarianchurchnantucket.org. May 4 5:15 p.m. Building & Grounds Committee (Activities Room) May 5 5:15 p.m. Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) 6:30 p.m. Youth Group (Activities Room) May 7 9 a.m. “Governance as Ministry” Spring Conference (Sturbridge, MA) 2 p.m. Children’s Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) May 8 10:45 a.m. “Dry Bones” - Rev. Jennifer Brooks(Hendrix Hall) May 10 5:15 p.m. Board Meeting - Open to all members of the congregation who wish to attend (Activities Room) May 11 6:15 p.m. Welcoming Committee (Activities Room) May 12 4:15 p.m. Fundraising Committee (Activities Room) - Fundraising ideas are welcomed. 5:15 p.m. Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) 6:30 p.m. Youth Group (Activities Room) May 14 2 p.m. Children’s Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) May 15 10:45 a.m. “Standing on the Side of Love” - Rev. Jennifer Brooks and Children’s Choir (Hendrix Hall) May 19 5:15 p.m. Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) 6:30 p.m. Youth Group (Activities Room) May 22 10:45 a.m. “Fourth Sunday” Lay Led Sunday (Hendrix Hall) May 24 5:30 p.m. Board Meeting - Open to all members of the congreg attend (Activities Room) May 25 5 p.m. LRE Committee (Activities Room) 6:15 p.m. Welcoming Committee (Activities Room) May 26 5:15 p.m. Choir Practice (Hendrix Hall) 6:30 p.m. Youth Group (Activities Room) May 28 4 p.m. Restoration Celebration (Upstairs in the Historic Sanctuary) May 29 10:45 a.m. “Roots and Wings” Restoration Celebration and Memorial Day (Upstairs in the Historic Sanctuary) 1 p.m. Historic Sanctuary Open House May 30 MEMORIAL DAY
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Second Congregational Meeting House Society 11 Orange St. ~ P.O. Box 1023 Nantucket, MA 02554
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Second Congregational Meeting House Society Unitarian Universalist 11 Orange St. ~ P.O. Box 1023 Nantucket, MA 02554 (508) 228-5466 (Office) www.unitarianchurchnantucket.org uuchurchnantucket@verizon.net Rev. Jennifer Brooks, Minister / Rev. Edward B. Anderson, Minister Emeritus Marcia Hempel, Music Director and Organist - 508-228-3802 Lizie Hagenstein & Sally Ure, Lifespan Education Co-Directors - 508-228-0188 Craig Spery, President, Board of Trustees - 508-228-7892 Sissy Girard, Vice President, Board of Trustees - 508-257-9982 Jack Weinhold, Treasurer - 508-228-5242 Patti Demarest, Office Administrator - 508-228-5466 Mimi Jones & Dennis Santangelo, Sextons Board of Trustees: Craig Spery (President) Sissy Girard (Vice-President) Bob Hall (Clerk) Jack Weinhold (Treasurer) Bertrand I. Briere III, Larry Miller, David Hall, Joan Ottinger, Christine Sanford