Torch Articles

YRUU Recycling Fundraiser YRUU is still collecting ewaste for recycling each Sunday at the Environmental Ministry table. Please donate your used printer cartridges, old phones and ipods. They do not take any cables, large electronics, or batteries. See planetgreenrecycle.org/slcuyruu for details. Thank you!

Refugee Resettlement Committee “All dogs secretly speak the English language and subscribe to the morals and beliefs of the Unitarian Church.” So asserts a character in Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel, Generation X. English-speaking, Unitarian dogs are if two minds when it comes to an aging sofa. One group favors retaining the old one for naps. Another advocates recycling it to benefit refugees. Call dog whisperer Joe Dubray at (904) 527-9773 to consult about furniture donations.

The Open Minds Book Group’s next meeting will be on December 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the Haven Room at the Church. The book is “I Am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes. All are welcome.

Dinner and Dialogue Dinner and Dialogue is going strong! There have already been several dinners, and we have many more in the works clear through May. Feel free to sign up in the white binder in Eliot Hall at the Congregational Life Table to host or attend a dinner in order to connect with people in our congregation. If you have any questions, please call Darlene Thayne at 801-455-6553 or send me an email to . 

Mindfulness Group Sundays Following the end of the first service, in the Parlor.

UU Lunch Bunch A family-friendly group for anyone and everyone who would like to get together for lunch and chat with like-minded people. Meet at the Restaurant on Sundays at noon during the summer. For more information contact Sonia Carnell at (801) 262-1151 or .
November 20: Manoli’s Greek (402 East Harvey Milk Blvd. [900 South])
November 27: Lokal Kitchen (1429 South 1100 East)
December 4: Mellow Mushroom (1080 East 2100 South)
December 11: Pho Thin (2121 McClelland)
December 18: Current Fish & Oyster (279 East 300 South)
December 25: No lunch bunch
January 1: No lunch bunch

Solstice - First Church’s annual Winter Solstice Celebration and Supper is on Wednesday, December 21. The worship service is open to all and the dinner following (a fundraiser for youth service trips) requires a ticket. Tickets available in Eliot Hall on Sundays, on-line through the church website.

High School - our 10th-12th graders continue in their exploration of current events and religious living under the facilitation of Derek, Jillian and Cooper. Weekly meetings 10:45-12:45 on Sundays in room 218 and monthly evening meetings 6:30-8:30. Contact youth coordinator, Jillian O’Karma () for more details.

• Martin Luther King Weekend Conference - January 14-16 - UU community building with other area high school UU youth. Workshops focused on racial justice and civil rights.
• Our Whole Lives - lifespan sexuality education
  two overnight weekends, February 3-4 and 17-18
• Cost - $40 - scholarships available
• Mandatory Parent orientations - January 22 (3-5 p.m.) and January 26 (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
  Snack/meal help requested
• Contact Rev. Matthew Cockrum ( or 801.582.8687 ext. 205) for more information

6th & 7th Grade - We have all learned a lot in the last month about Christianity. From its Judaic roots, the early church, the Catholic Church, through the reformation, and over to the Episcopal Church.
NOW IT’S TIME FOR A FIELD TRIP!
This coming Sunday we will be visiting St. Stephens/San Esteban’s Episcopal Church, 4615 South 3200 West, West Valley City, UT. We will gather outside or in Eliot Hall at the First Unitarian Church at 10:15 and leave at 10:25. Service Begins at 11am. The Service will last about 1 hour. We will return to the church between 12:30 and 12:45.
Please inform us if your child will have other transportation plans.
WE MAY NEED DRIVERS SO LET US KNOW IF YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT SOME OF THE KIDS. (The Church will need a copy of your driver’s licence and insurance.) Please ensure you have already signed the Permission and Liability Release for Off-Site Activity Form for your child. (contact Religious Education Assistant, Lissa Lander at or 801.859.6878 for permission slip.)
Things to keep in mind as a guest:

• Wear Appropriate Attire: “Sunday Best” (As a sign of Respect)
• You are usually expected to sit, kneel, and stand with the congregation, read prayers, and sing with congregants, so long as this does not compromise your personal beliefs. The only behavior that would be considered “offensive” would be not to stand for the reading of the Gospel.
• Parts of the service you should not participate:
  If you are not an Episcopalian/Anglican, do not receive the Communion. (As a note: Only baptized Christians may receive Communion) You do not have to say any prayers contrary to your beliefs.
  See you next week.

“To see a face or body that looks like your own is powerful in its effect to simply validate you as a worthy human being”
-Eric Anthony Grollman, PH.D.

YRUU is sponsoring an LGBTQ book drive for the Salt Lake County Youth Services group homes. Please bring either book donations or cash donations to the Religious Education table November 27th-December 17th. Most sought after titles are listed below.

• AJ and Magnus: Night of the Roach, Bryan Steel (Author) Simon Steel (Illustrator)
• Red: A Crayon’s Story, Michael Hall
• I’ll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson
• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin
• Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, Kristin Cronn-Mills
• The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth
• Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen, Arin Andrews
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green, David Levithan
• Me being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You, Todd Hasak-Lowy
• Her Name in the Sky, Kelly Quindlen
• Fat Angie E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Call for Solstice Singers:
We need singers for the annual Winter Solstice service here at First Unitarian Church. Teens and adults from our congregation are encouraged--and needed!--to join with members of the Chancel Choir to sing at this special event. Four rehearsals are scheduled, each Tuesday beginning November 29, at 7:00 p.m. The Solstice celebration will be Wednesday December 21, at 6:00 p.m. (Note the different day of the week.) If you enjoy singing, can make it to most of the rehearsals--and the performance!--and would like to join this fun and rewarding experience, please email Holly at to get involved.

Refugee Resettlement Committee “All dogs secretly speak the English language and subscribe to the morals and beliefs of the Unitarian Church.” So asserts a character in Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel, Generation X. English-speaking, Unitarian dogs are if two minds when it comes to an aging sofa. One group favors retaining the old one for naps. Another advocates recycling it to benefit refugees. Call dog whisperer Joe Dubray at (904) 527-9773 to consult about furniture donations.

The Open Minds Book Group’s next meeting will be on December 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the Haven Room at the Church. The book is “I Am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes. All are welcome.

Dinner and Dialogue is going strong! There have already been several dinners, and we have many more in the works clear through May. Feel free to sign up in the white binder in Eliot Hall at the Congregational Life Table to host or attend a dinner in order to connect with people in our congregation. If you have any questions, please call Darlene Thayne at 801-455-6553 or send me an email to .

Mindfulness Group Sundays Following the end of the first service, in the Parlor.

UU Lunch Bunch A family-friendly group for anyone and everyone who would like to get together for lunch and chat with like-minded people. Meet at the Restaurant on Sundays at noon during the summer. For more information contact Sonia Carnell at (801) 262-1151 or .
November 6: Red Moose Coffee (1693 South 900 East)
November 13: Finn’s (1624 South 1100 East)
November 20: Manoli’s Greek (402 East Harvey Milk Blvd. [900 South]
November 27: Lokal Kitchen (1429 South 1100 East)
December 4: Mellow Mushroom (1080 East 2100 South)
December 11: Pho Thin (2121 McClelland)
December 18: Current Fish & Oyster (279 East 300 South)
December 25: No lunch bunch
January 1: No lunch bunch

Religious Education Column -  Julie Miller, Director of Religious Education

Do you dread it or embrace it? There’s no escaping the fact that from October through January, our church routines are chock-a-block full of events and celebrations. Last week, our families with younger children attended our annual Halloween Party in Eliot Hall. We hosted nearly 100 people who truly enjoyed an evening of food, crafts, music and, of course, some very inventive costumes. Money raised during this event goes to the lower and upper divisions of the RE program, either for Sandwich Sunday supplies (lower) or the service trip (high school youth). The evening culminated with a group sing-a-long at Friendship Manor led by David Owens and our Junior Choir.

The next two events we’re heavily involved with are the Christmas Pageant followed by the Winter Solstice service. This year, the Pageant is based on a children’s book The Last Straw by Frederick Thury. The Pageant is set for Sunday, December 18th at the 11am service only. We need gifts or trinkets for our camel to carry to the Baby King plus any costumes that reflect the early Christian era—think desert inhabitants. Please bring your donations for our Pageant play to the RE office or to a box marked PAGEANT in the Little Chapel.

The beauty—perhaps it’s a curse!—of doing these pageants is that there are very few rehearsals. This year, the most likely rehearsal dates are December 10 and 17—Saturdays 9:30am to noon. We’re encouraging children and youth to participate this year. You can sign up online or the old-fashioned way by paper and pencil in the classrooms or at the RE Welcome Table.

Soon after the Pageant, we hold our annual Winter Solstice Service on Wednesday December 21st. The service begins in the Sanctuary at 6pm followed by another excellent communal meal served in Eliot Hall and hosted by our high school youth. Plan to celebrate with your immediate clan and extended family as we gather to embrace the season of returning light. This ancient cultural phenomenon is a multi-generational event that incorporates music, dance, poetry, reflection, food and drink, and is appropriate for all ages.

Further, the Solstice Service lets us recognize our role in the Web of Life, affirm our earth-centered values and revel in the beauty of the coming light. This is also a fundraiser for our high school youth trip in 2017. Ticket sales start soon and a word to the wise: buy early as this event is sold out every year!

Just Around the Corner

• Remember our clothing drive. Donate gently-worn clothing items for infants through teen years. Donation boxes will be located in the Little Chapel or bring your items on Monday November 7 for Family Fun Night.
• Sanctuary Sunday, November 6th: Family Chalice Lighting shared by Megan Anderson, Steve Boyer and the children Jaxon and Asher.
• Family Fun Night, Monday November 7, Eliot Hall, 6pm. Service Project hosted by Lissa Lander Play rehearsal runs concurrently with the family event.
• Remember: Daylight Savings ends on Sunday November 6

In the Life - Rev. Matthew Cockrum

On the cusp of the national presidential election I have two quotes to offer you, Friends. The first comes from the pop 80’s band, REM:

“It’s the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine.”

The second comes from the 14th century Christian mystic, Julian of Norwich:

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”

There’s an innocent, obnoxious and possibly infectious optimism in both of these sentiments. And it is that optimism I hope to impart to you. Perhaps it’s naive, but I continue to trust and believe in the evolutionary processes of which we are a part. They’ve gotten us this far, haven’t they? And though there’s plenty wanting in the way things are, there’s a lot to be grateful for - even in our awareness of injustice, inequality, oppression and privilege.

The oft-cited quote of early Unitarian Theodore Parker (later cited by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” is just as often followed up with the reminder that we must take an active role in doing the bending. I see that happening all around me - on-line, in person, at bus stops, signs in windows and front yards, bumper stickers. Even in the difficult, frustrating, seemingly pointless conversations between opposing parties.

There is a continued engagement.
There is an unwillingness to just let things go and continue as they are.
There is an impatience.
There is a deep desire...a hunger for justice, change, improvement.

It’s been said that our tradition is part of a version of liberal idealism that may have outlived its usefulness. I disagree. We are an embodiment of determined creativity. We cannot always know or predict how that creativity will take shape. But we can choose to collaborate with it.

Here’s to The Work, Friends...of optimism, creativity and the infinite possibilities of love.

Peace, Faith & Passion,
Matthew

More from Matthew

High School OWL - Save the Dates
Make sure your youth benefit from accurate, comprehensive and faith-inclusive sexuality education by participating in Our Whole Lives.
2 Overnight Weekends - attendance at both
Friday, February 3 5:30 p.m. to Saturday, February 4 9:00 p.m.
Friday, February 17 5:30 p.m. to Saturday, February 18 9:00 p.m.
Cost - $40
Ages - grades 10, 11 and 12
Parent Orientations - must attend one or clear with Rev. Matthew Cockrum
Sunday, January 22 - 3:00-5:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 26 - 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Additional Needs
Snacks
meal organization and delivery - breakfast, lunch, 2 dinners
Overnight chaperones - background checks required, previous experience preferred
For more questions contact Minister for Congregational Life, Rev. Matthew Cockrum at or 801.582.8687 ext. 205

Room Switches - to accommodate group sizes, the 10th-12th and 8th-9th grades will be switching rooms. Effective November 6:
High School (10th-12th grades) - will meet in room 218 - still 10:45-12:45
Jr. High (8th & 9th grades) - will meet in the Haven (room 214) - still 10:45-12:15

Reverendly Yours - Rev. Tom Goldsmith

It doesn’t take a bona fide oracle (even of Greek vintage), to forebode an ominous future for our nation. Angst permeates the air, whispering in the wind an unraveling of both democracy and civility. The writing is certainly on the wall, clear as day, waiting for its prophecy to be fulfilled. And yet we seem paralyzed to thwart the pending doom despite advanced warning.

America’s love affair with guns, flaunting and shooting them, appears ready to play a major role in the drama unfolding. The signs are ripe with pending significance. The acquittal of the Bundy brothers, whose armed take-over of an Oregon Wildlife refuge, needs to be placed in context of other highly disturbing violent proclivities. A precedent has now been established for future militants to use violence in their irrational grumble with the government. God seems to factor into this craziness as well, as though civil law does not apply when God is on your side. And the jury acquittal might even be interpreted as a divine sign: not guilty of possession of firearms despite the capture of 30 guns and 16,000 live rounds of ammunition. This is totally surreal. The astounding dismissal of clear evidence harks back to young black men being shot in the back by police officers, with no accountability. Camcorders be damned! Second amendment rights now leap to the fore, but don’t let Black Lives Matter protesters carry as much as a toy pistol. The second amendment, apparently, applies only to whites.

The rise in crime against Muslim Americans has taken a page from the KKK. A “militia,” aka vigilantes, from west Kansas has been the most recent display of terror unleashed in a minority community. And Trump supporters vow violence if their candidate is not elected. The sound rationale offered is that the election is rigged and stolen. But rigged only if their candidate loses. Reminds me of flipping a coin: heads I win; tails you lose.

My mind is scrambled trying to figure out what this all means and what lies ahead. Regardless how the election turns out, countrymen will turn against countrymen as violence gains new legitimacy. The mocking of a disabled reporter, the smears against immigrants, the extra policing in black neighborhoods, the shocking treatment of women, all advocated by a man with a real chance to become president, sanctions an aggressive and vicious tone in our nation’s discourse. And when language uttered by civic leaders spews hate the center cannot hold.

I’d like to say, especially as we approach the holiday, that the light of hope will see us through the darkness. But the strong winds howling nearby threaten the light that yearns to pursue the welfare of all beings. My spirit is grateful for our church community, which offers shelter through its caring, and also never wavers in its commitment to make the world better. I believe that in the weeks and months ahead, other concerned people who feel lost in this maelstrom of violence and injustice, will come seeking shelter in our community. Let us welcome them, build a larger and stronger community, affecting change throughout our nation. TRG

We need singers for the annual Winter Solstice service here at First Unitarian Church. Teens and adults from our congregation are encouraged--and needed!--to join with members of the Chancel Choir to sing at this special event. The Solstice celebration will be Thursday December 21, at 6:00 p.m.  If you enjoy singing, can make it to most of the rehearsals--and the performance!--and would like to join this fun and rewarding experience, please email Holly at to get involved.

UU Lunch Bunch A family-friendly group for anyone and everyone who would like to get together for lunch and chat with like-minded people. Meet at the Restaurant on Sundays at noon during the summer. For more information contact Sonia Carnell at (801) 262-1151 or .

November 6: Red Moose Coffee (1693 South 900 East)
November 13: Finn’s (1624 South 1100 East)
November 20: Manoli’s Greek (402 East Harvey Milk Blvd. [900 South]
November 27: Lokal Kitchen (1429 South 1100 East)
December 4: Mellow Mushroom (1080 East 2100 South)
December 11: Pho Thin (2121 McClelland)
December 18: Current Fish & Oyster (279 East 300 South)
December 25: Holiday - No lunch bunch
January 1: Holiday - No lunch bunch