Concord UU Calendar - All Church Events

Yoga is a multipurpose tool for improving a lifetime: the essence of Yoga is nonphysical inner development. To varying degrees for each individual, Yoga brings inner quiet, peace of mind, character strength, and spirituality. We each relate to it and its many physical and inner benefits in ways that suit our individual needs and personalities.

This Mindful Yoga program cultivates the abstract benefits. It encourages a quiet, mindful awareness while doing a full range of classical postures. Postures improve health through strengthening, purifying, and toning of the body, as well as of the nerve, and energy systems. Improved health, self-confidence, and a feeling of well-being, foster the inner results. Although the postures are a valuable tool, their improvement of the body is a byproduct, not the goal of Yoga practice.

Appropriate for a range of students, the approach is sufficiently safe, gentle, and even-paced for new students, while providing depth, variation, and practice options for experienced students.

Led by Beck Anamin
Meets Thursdays, weekly
An Adult Enrichment Program

The service will offer a time for meditation, reflection, and renewal through music, brief words, and silence. Come sing, light a candle, and nurture your spirit during this nontraditional worship experience - and bring a friend! There will be a rehearsal from 6 to 6:45 pm for singers who would like to learn the harmonies to the chants we will sing.

We are also looking for instrumentalists interested in participating, but would need to know in advance who is able to come. For more information, please contact Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at 603-410-4830 or michael@concorduu.org.

Come, come, whoever you are! Please join us for the Dances of Universal Peace @ Concord UU, an alternative worship service, held the third Sundays of each month from 7 - 9 PM. Mark your calendar with the following dates for the Dances of Universal Peace: February 19, March 18, April 15, May 20 and June 17, 2012.

The Dances of Universal Peace are based in mantras from many world religions. Walking practice, prayer, sound current vibration, and gentle full body movement create an atmosphere of heart centered peace. The Dances of Universal Peace are lead by Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb and Jane Jenaabi Finlay. We have musical support with guitar, harp, flute, recorder and drum. Bring your beginner self. All mantras and dance movements will be shared with interpretation.

The Chapel will be open a half hour prior to beginning in order to allow for centering time for the leaders and musicians. All are welcome to join us as we connect and create space together. Bring yourself, an open heart and a friend to the circle!

For more information please contact Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb at sarah_elizabeth@me.com or 603 365-0852 cell or Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at michael@concorduu.org or 603 410-4830.

Days are lengthening, minute by minute. Imbolc is the gentlest of pagan holidays, celebrating the signs of spring that are just beneath the surface of the frozen earth. Join the ECSG as we honor the Goddess Brigid and the growing light, with candles, song and dance.

Stay afterward for snacks, and bring something to share if you'd like.

We'll gather to share news of our various committees, and explore leadership skills such as money-handling for fundraisers and how to publicize your events to maximize participation. We also hope to plan a Committee Fair to share our committee work with the larger church community. Committee chairs and other church leaders (and anyone interested in being a leader!) are requested to attend. A light lunch will be served - please RSVP to cheryl@concorduu.org so we know how much food to prepare.

Instead of the Special Friends program, this year we will hold an “Everyone's Birthday” party during Social Hour. There will be 12 tables, one for each month. Kids and adults with birthdays during the same month will be welcome to sit at a table and decorate cupcakes together. They'll also find out about a famous UU who shares their birthday month, play some games, and get to know each other.

The intent of the “Everyone's Birthday” party is the same as the Special Friends program, just a different format. We hope this new way will encourage more adults to participate who might not sign up for Special Friends. We hope both kids and adults will feel more comfortable in a group setting, and spend a little more time getting to know each other and having fun together.

Greetings from the Ethnic Diners, an Adult Enrichment opportunity. We meet the third Fridays of the month at 6 pm, September through June with the exception of December. The dinners are informal pot luck affairs. You’re invited to come with or without food & beverage. Join us for dinner and conversation at your convenience.

The following is this years’ schedule of countries:

September: Vegetarian Local Fall Harvest, USA

October: India

November: Spain

January: China

February: Russia

March: Chile

April: Poland

May: Mexico

June: Syria

Any questions feel free to “ask Bob” at 228-6264.

Restorative Circles are designed to help people work through conflicts, new and old, and to restore or heal their relationships. Maybe you’ve been thinking about asking for a Circle, but are just not sure if it’s the right direction to go. What to do? Now, you can get a private consultation with a Restorative Circles facilitator, with no obligation or pressure to continue with a circle. Talk through your conflict, ask questions, learn more about the process, then decide what to do next. Facilitators meet twice a month at the church. If you drop by, one of us will be happy to meet privately with you. Just find us and come on in. Alternatively, send an email to circles@concorduu.org, and we’ll set up a time to call or meet with you.

This Adult Enrichment offering has been cancelled due to lack of attendance.

Discussion issues will include relatively narrow and practical ones -e.g. the permissibility of suicide to deal with intractable pain; and broad ones- e.g. what we mean by philosophy and whether, in principle, philosophical issues are ever answerable. The text for each meeting will be up to the members. Group meets last Monday of each month and is coordinated by church member John Cunningham.

Inner Vacations. Do you wish you could turn off all the hustle and bustle, the issues and problems, the stress and worries in your mind, if only for a short while? Through this Adult Enrichment offering, instructor Mary Surprenant offers relaxation through the use of progressive relaxation and guided imagery. Come and take one hour for yourself, to let go of the stress, and worries and negative feelings within you. We will offer four sessions of relaxation--come try one or all four. The only thing you have to lose is some of the stress you have been carrying!

Yoga Is About Your Evolution, Not Your Body

Free talk and potluck dinner

6:30 Pot-luck dinner- Non-veg, Vegetarian, or Vegan - please label it

7:15 Speaker - Beck Anamin, Yogi

Sign-up is optional, but it would be helpful.

Call 776-3525 or email to beckanamin@hotmail.com

Informative handouts will be provided.

Many wonderful Yoga-enhancing postures exist, but they are not mandatory to a full Yoga life. In the modern versions of Yoga, the emphasis on postures has veiled and distracted from the rich and amazing underlying philosophy, the heart of Yoga. In plain, easy to understand language, Beck will describe key aspects of that enduring 4000 year-old philosophy, documented at 250 BCE as the Yoga Sutras (Union Threads).

In 1972, when Beck arrived at the Integral Yoga ashram for teacher training, Swami Satchidananda sent a message about the Yoga Sutras. “This is Yoga. Study it.” Beck accepted that charge and has been studying translations for forty years while teaching Yoga, having a family life and career, retiring, and earning additional teaching credentials. Finding great variation across ten translations, he returned to the original Sanskrit to obtain a uniquely accurate view, now in a yet-to-publish book.

Children, adults, families, singles, come one and all! On Saturday, February 4th, the Family Ministry Committee is sponsoring UU Bowling at Boutwell's in Concord. $5 per person gets two hours of bowling and shoe rentals (which is an excellent deal)! More importantly, you get to have fun and hang out with your UU family. If you are interested, please email Carin Plante at carinplante@gmail.com and let her know how many - that way she can make sure there are enough lanes. Feel free to stop by without RSVPing to hang out and watch!

Jane Berlin Pauley, our choir director, will teach a free workshop entitled "Introduction to Singing." This workshop will provide information about breathing and physical preparation for singing as well as beginning vocal exercises for the breath and vocal production. If you are interested in participating or have questions, please email jane@concorduu.org

Are you interested in joining our church?
You are invited to officially join our church on Sunday, February 12 during the service. If you have attended Pathway to Membership or are a long-time UU and have decided to make the Concord Unitarian Universalist Church your spiritual home, this is your opportunity to do so. Feel free to contact Michael if you would like to talk about this decision. Contact membership@concorduu.org if you want to sign-up and we will contact you with further information.

Postcard writing campaign for HB 437

Our status as a state that grants full marriage rights to all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation, is at risk. If passed, HB 437 will repeal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. On Sunday, Feb. 5th, stop by the Outreach Ministry table during social hour to write a postcard to your representative. Majority Leader Bill O'Brien often makes it hard to know when a vote is coming; if this bill passes out of the House, as expected, before the 5th, we'll instead direct our cards to the our NH Senators. We'll have postcards on hand, as well as a computer to help you determine the names and addresses of your representatives.

Are you surprised to learn that we have an Outreach Ministry? The goal of this ministry is to coordinate the many ways that our church tries to have an impact on community life in the greater Concord area. If you are interested in getting updates from time to time, let me add you to the Outreach group email; no fear, this is used to let people know about events such as this, or to ask for help on short term projects. You can also 'friend' the UU Church Outreach Facebook group.

An afternoon community outreach for the children at the the after school program held at the community center for Jennings Drive, one of the child care programs that Merrimack Valley Child Care Services offers. We will make and decorate chocolate dipped pretzel sticks and create lovely Valentine’s Day cards with the children. This project is perfect for adults and families with children who are old enough to be helpful. Please go to www.concorduu.org/volunteer.php to sign up to participate.

“Growing a Generous Heart”

Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger & Kristin Nelson

Generosity can be learned. Generosity needs to be modeled. A generous heart is a healthy heart. A generous heart is a growing heart. We need to grow generous hearts.

“The Strings Attached to Power”

Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger
All relationships are defined by power and the difference in power between those in relationship. Power is the ability to impact relationships based on the choices we make. Power is necessary yet power implies responsibility. Both are proportional to each other. To act morally good, those with power need to act responsibly. To act responsibly and as a force for good, we need to embrace the power we have.

“Leave a Light On,” Rev. Misty-Dawn Shelly

Unitarian Universalism is a faith of abundance. What do we have to share with the world as faith communities? When Sunday worship, coffee hour and committee meetings have ended, do we shut the lights off and return the following week, or do we keep a light on for the weary traveler? Let us explore the abundance of our faith and what keeps the light of Unitarian Universalism burning for the weary traveler in need.