Mary Beth Writes

If you have a heart for new immigrants among us and are open to another way to support them – Listen Up.

Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Racine, WI, is sponsoring a refugee family from a far-flung nation. They are not from Afghanistan; people fleeing that nation need much support, but they also already have some legal advantages and support from our federal government, which other people fleeing other enormous difficulties do not have. The family OBUUC is supporting is a mom and dad with two kids. They are doing everything they legally can to move forward, but at this time it is still a lot for one small congregation to support. OBUUC is protecting their identity because they have at-risk family and friends back in their homeland.

We can help.

OBUUC is hosting a concert on October 15th to raise funds to continue to assist with the rent and support of the asylum family.

The concert will be Darlene Rivest (more about her here) and Anna Kojoic-Frodl (listen to her here) plus one piece sung by a member of the asylum family.

Right NOW organizers are looking for support. If you are able, would you contribute to them?

  • Send (big!) checks made out to OBUUC.
  • Write Asylum Fund Concert in the memo.
  • Mail your check to OBUUC Annex, 619 Sixth St, Racine, WI 53403

 

If you want to donate by credit card, go to their website. https://obuuc.org/justice/asylum-seekers/

Len and I just donated. I think it’s a gift to us in uncertain times to know a place to send money where we absolutely know the donation will help real people.

And hey! The concert will be beautiful. Attend!

.....

A couple years ago I preached this sermon about Old Testament Ruth, about immigrants and refugees and powerlessness and how to live with lovingkindness in unkind times. Read it here. 

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As a member of OBUUC, I thank you very much, Mary Beth, for posting this and for your donation. Being very familiar with these musicians, I heartily confirm that it will be a wonderful concert!
Mary Beth's picture

Thanks for your confirmation!

We had a successful concert that was thrilling on multiple levels! Our family felt the love, the musicians & bakers contributed amazing talent, we grew our community financial partnership base, and our audience enjoyed the concert immensely! Thank you for your early support of the event!

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Be a (bit of a) Scientist This Summer!

3/23/2023

This is an updated rerun of a story I posted last spring.

This is about Stream Monitoring and How to Do It. You don’t have to be a man to do this, but many are and that’s as close to the obvious joke as I’m going to go.

Len and his volunteer pal Tom enjoy this volunteer gig a lot. Once each month in the summer they go to the same stretch of the same stream to check water quality and to discover what creatures are lurking in the water and muck.  

A-Z Ice Cream & Marco Polo

DQ will never look the same. This photo is of a patio where one eats their gelato, somewhere in Italy. 

...

3/22/2023

What is the thing most people spend a great deal of time, energy, and money keeping off our necks and out of our homes?

Chilly air

What is ice cream?

Chilly air with sugar.

Igloos

3/16/2022

We are working our way through an Alphabet of Topics and we are currently considering the letter I. Two days ago, I wrote about Idiosyncrasies. Today is Igloo. Next up is Ice Cream.

So here we are again with nervous banks and a jumpy stock market and we “commoners” quietly peruse how many bags of beans we have in the pantry. I hope by the time I finish and post this the news is more stable, but I doubt it. “May you live in interesting times.” Right?

You know what I learned while researching igloos?

I is for Idiosyncrasy - "I'm not goofy. You are..."

3/14/2023  (Happy Pi Day)

Idiosyncrasies are like cave drawings; enigmatic clues that say once upon a time something happened here. A story unfolded. Someone tried to solve a problem. The solution worked, or at least it kept the person comfortable or comforted long enough for the idiosyncratic habit to form.

A-Z Humor Me

Humor 3/8/2023

I heard this joke in a sermon in 1974. I heard that highly revered minister preach at least a hundred sermons and this is the ONLY thing I remember him saying.  

A guy loses his job and is desperate for a new one with which to support his precious family. Nothing turns up until one day the newspaper Help Wanted Ads (so now you know how old this jokes really is) says the zoo has an opening. Guy applies. The HR person looks worried and then says the zoo changed its mind, the job is too demeaning. Guy says he’s desperate, will take anything.

A-Z Heaven ...

3/3/2023

First of all, you should realize that tomorrow is March 4th which is the only date of the year which tells you what to do. Hah.

This week I was amazed by this map/representation of the process of the creation of a new star. A year ago, there were no visuals of this process. What you are looking at is cutting-edge stuff observed and collaborated by 90 astronomers worldwide.

That + in the middle is the new star that right now is bigger than our sun. We know it’s young and new because it’s growing.

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