by Jaime Castle

It’s amazing to me to think that we are already at the half-way point of the church’s fiscal year. The past months seemed to have flown by. I’d like to hit a pause button and catch my breath. Let’s all hit that metaphorical pause button together. Inhale. Exhale. Good!

In this space of pausing and contemplation, I want you to know that even though the ground is frozen outside, there are still seeds being sown. It is a good time of year to plant our seeds – what do we want to grow this year? What do we want to hold in our hands come September? If we plan now, the year can be fruitful in so many ways.

In my life, there are many improvements that I’ll be making this year regarding my home. I am sowing the seeds that will bloom into sacred spaces – inside and outside. I give much of myself to many worthy causes, so to not wear myself out, I’m planting seeds now that are quick sprouting. They will bloom bright and cheerful and tell me to remember to practice self-care. As I pinch off each fading blossom, more will bud in its place reminding me that my little ones will not be little for long so I better take the time to be with them and enjoy them.

Seeds are being started for you all now too! There are many things in the works that will be taking place here at Heritage Church in the coming months. I would like to share with you all what is planned so far and perhaps you will want to don your own trusty garden gloves, or bring along your polished tools? You can jump in and help with these events or perhaps you’ve got seeds of your own you’d like to sow – a fun event you want to organize or a service project like a blood drive?

Getting right to it – the second half of the church year brings us to our main fundraising event – the Spring Auction. Last year this event, named The Gala of Benevolent Deities, was a big party of mythological proportions. We dined to live harp music and feasted on delicious Greek fare while attired in regal togas. There was a theater production and athletic trials, storytelling, fortune telling, and crafts. At the end of the evening, the theme for the next auction was revealed. And today, a small but mighty team (Joelle Tunning, Ellie Lamb, Shannon Murley, and myself) met to get this year’s event started. The theme that won was Sci-Fi and the auction this year will be on the evening of Saturday April 27th! So, save the date for: The Intergalactic Gala! I can surely promise you that this year’s party will be out of this world!

Another fundraiser that will be planned for May, will be the Heritage Plant Sale. Many people last year took advantage of preordering flats of plants, hanging baskets, herbs, perennials, and vegetables. Additional inventory of plants was available to buy for those who did not preorder as well. Sadly, our drive-by plant stand (hoping to bring in neighborhood folks) last year suffered from being held on a cold, unrelentingly rainy day. But it was all still a success and we will be bringing it back this spring.

The auction service Everything But The House worked with us at the end of the last fiscal year and the proceeds ended up counting as a part of this current year. It was a learning process but was very worthwhile. Many folks stepped up and donated items, some with strong sentimental value, some just things that were cleaned out of the home. The major advantage of this fundraiser was that it brought in money from sources outside of our pockets. Barbara Rohrer is ready to help take on the next round of EBTH fundraiser when the time comes -perhaps this summer? We are evaluating the timing currently.

So, let me know if you would like to help in any way. Do plan to start seeds of your own in your life as well? What will our harvest look like? What will be our bounty? Prepare your soil, lovingly add in your seeds. Tend to and nurture your objectives and weed out any obstacle or worry. This year we face a garden of beautiful possibilities!

Ok. Are you ready? Great! Unpause! Go!

Jaime

February 2019.

by Jaime Castle

I’m writing this at the end of December right before the holidays. It’s a time for joy and celebration when boughs of holly and glittering lights adorn our homes. But it is also a time of year that can easily stress one out as well. We have “To Do” lists miles long and the days are flying by, and will it all get done in time? Well, I’m no different and I still need to check off all my boxes on my list. So, this month I can only give you a short little written contribution. I call it my Ode to an Orange – it’s a magical spell – a way for you to pause time – a Zen meditation – a destressing ritual.

Firstly, have you ever wondered what came first: the name for the color orange or the orange citrus fruit? Why do we not call “yellow” “lemon?” Have you ever considered how ridiculously lucky you are to be living in modern times? One of the reasons you are so lucky is that you can go to a grocery store nearby and there you will find all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Consider the lowly peasant hundreds and hundreds of years ago in England and how their minds would have been blown to have in their grubby worn out hands a single, bright, glorious orange!

The history of the orange goes back to ancient times in Asia and it’s spread across the world was relatively slow. There are many, many, many different kinds of oranges too. For our ritual, I prefer a jumbo navel orange, but a clementine or mandarin (although not technically oranges) will work too. Fun facts: The navel is named thus due to its human belly button looking bloom end and was a genetic mutation kept in existence due to humans agreeing that it was special. It is a seedless fruit so in order to keep it around, one must graft its budding branches onto other citrus trees!

So, for this ritual, you will need your chosen citrus and you will need solitude. There are some other optional ingredients that I like to have and I like to practice this magic on a bright morning. I like to have a cup of dark coffee (no sugar or cream) and some music playing. My music choices vary but always are something that is grounding. Like, you want to sit and take it in. But maybe silence or birds outside do that for you? Ok, now back to our orange.

Hold the orange in both hands, let it rest in your palms. Feel its weight and its bumpy shiny skin. Now – with both hands still around it, bring it up to you and SMELL IT! (I know right? So good!) Breathe it in deeply a few times.

Now this next step you can customize as well. You can have a knife to open your fruit, or you can use your bare hands. But now, open it up, expose its sweet golden bulbs of juicy splendor! If you have a navel orange, you’ll probably need the knife and a cutting board as its skin is thicker, but a clementine you can peal up bare handed. At this point, I like to put a slice of the peel in my coffee – the oil just infuses it so nicely. Seriously – it’s so heavenly.
I’ll not tell you exactly how to eat it, but I like to only eat up the pulp parts. The key is to take your time and REALLY savor it. Think on just completely being in the moment. In the end, you will have a stinky mess. But let the cleaning of your hands be a washing away of the goo of life too. There is so much goodness that comes with your delicious sweet orange. Let it become a part of you and let in renew and invigorate you – because we’ve got a lot of good to do in this world of ours and you’re gonna need to take good care of yourself to get it all done!

Go ahead and check off another box on your list; the one that says: take some time to relax, ground, and reenergize yourself! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year All! Take Care!

Jaime Castle

January 2019.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

Happy New Year!

For many of us, 2018 was a difficult, challenging year. I know there are those who are glad to see it fade into the history books. My wish is that 2019 will be a much better year for those of you who feel that way. And for those who had a wonderful 2018 – well, may your new year be even better!

Here are a few things I am looking forward to in 2019:

• Traveling to New Zealand with Jennifer to visit our son Patrick!
• The return of Rev. Leslie Woodward to our church community at the end of her sabbatical.
• New folks coming into the church. It is always one of the great joys of my ministry when people discover Heritage Church, Unitarian Universalism, and a new church home.
• The beginning of the next presidential campaign (I know; I’m weird!).
• Our son’s return from his year in New Zealand.
• Cleaning up my church office. (I can dream, right? But it has gotten quite cluttered…)
• The opening of Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary. (We are confident this might even happen in the next few months – stay tuned for more news, including a capital fund drive to make it possible.)
• Several neat conferences and professional gatherings that are on the horizon in my world.
• The return of blue skies and warmer weather!
• March Madness (my alma mater is actually a contender this year).
• The return of blue skies and warmer weather!

Of course, the new year will bring sadness and sorrow as well. “Joy and woe are woven fine,” said Blake. And that is why I believe communities such as Heritage are so important. In the year ahead, let us hold one another, share the Love that is the spirit of this church, and welcome others into the fold – just as we have done now for – can you believe it? – 192 years now!

Happy New Year!

Namaste,
Rev. Bill

January marks the end of the Sabbatical Team’s task, to hold down the fort until Rev. Leslie’s return! Join us on January 13th as we welcome back Reverend Leslie from her sabbatical. It seems just like yesterday that we were trying to figure out how we would manage. We finished off the summer RE program of “Building community” and then set out to recruit teachers for the fall term. We had a Halloween party and a Pajama Day and a Holiday Party. We’ve been in the classrooms and had a wonderful group of Guardian Angel rovers each Sunday checking on the teachers and playing “Leslie.” Our junior and senior youth leaders have taken on production of a theater show. Our Pop-Up Christmas Pageant was another hit and now we are planning another all age activity for the kids to do for the final Sunday of 2018.

It definitely took a team to pull all of this all – and that extends beyond just us folks to those who helped teach and lent us a helping hand along the way! We are very happy to welcome back Rev. Leslie this month! Won’t you join us? 😉

Jaime Castle
Feriel Feldman
Ellie Lamb
Robert Lamb
Ann Roberts
Steph Tacy

January 2019.

It is a joyous time, not only for our youth but for everyone right now, as the fun events coming up are welcome to all! After service on Sunday, December 2nd, in the Heritage sanctuary we decorate our big Christmas tree. It is quite an all-hands-on-deck process, requiring small and tall alike to help with things like pine bough fluffing or ornament hanging. The results are enjoyed by all as our tree helps us welcome in the season.

On Saturday, December 15th from 5 to 9 p.m., all are invited to celebrate the season at the Heritage Holiday Party. It will be a potluck dinner and there will be crafts and singing.

Also this month, the RE Sabbatical Team, led by Steph Tacy, will be presenting once again the Pop-Up Christmas Pageant. During service on Sunday, December 23rd, come be a part of the Christmas miracle retold, or just come and enjoy being a witness to the pageantry and music. It’s a fun time for all ages!

Happy Holidays from your RE Sabbatical Team!

Jaime Castle
Feriel Feldman
Ellie Lamb
Robert Lamb
Ann Roberts
Steph Tacy

December 2018

by Jaime Castle

So many memories flash and dance across my mind when thinking of past Christmases and Decembers: my mother’s homemade sugar cookies and the Sears Wish Book, lavishing silver tinsel around the tree and waking up my older siblings at the first sign of light on Christmas morning. But I would have to say the one Christmastime memory that “takes the yule cake” as far as being in the forefront of my mind, would be the year that I was almost smashed to death in the sake of love!

To be quite honest, it was not really love’s fault at all. It would actually have been pride’s fault or maybe a case of one-upmanship? Regardless of the almost cause of my almost death, it can be stated with complete certainty that it was hunger that saved my life that Christmas Eve in 2003.

I was 26 years old and I had just left teaching that spring before and was trying on being a Realtor. While I worked to grow my business, I was back at waiting tables at the swanky sushi restaurant in Hyde Park. The holidays bring in good money for tipped workers but the shifts can be brutal. Sure enough, I was scheduled to work Christmas Eve. I was in a predicament however in that I still needed to buy a gift for my boyfriend. And this was a big deal because that boyfriend was about to become my fiancé

This guy (we’ll call him Ben) and I had talked about marriage casually before. He would joke that it really wasn’t fair that “the girl” got a nice shiny ring whereas “the guy” didn’t get anything when proposals happen. Ben would continue this line of reasoning and persuasion and leave me hints in the form of gifts that he wanted circled in catalogs. I wasn’t sure if I should take him seriously though until one day when he was not home, I answered the phone to receive a message from a jewelry shop that “the ring was ready!”

So, I knew, but he did not know I knew and now I needed something fast to give him because I wanted to be the one delivering the big surprise! And you bet, it was definitely going to be big! One of the items that he had hinted at was a ridiculously big rear-projection television. He probably was kidding on this one as it was big and not cheap. But – I had been working a lot that December and I had funds!

Now I don’t know if you have gone shopping the day before Christmas before – at an electronics store – but it can downright chaotic! But off I went to the Tri-County shopping mecca and I was very confident because I was driving my new big SUV (perfect for a successful Realtor to be – and perfect to fit in a big TV). When I got to the store I was in luck, not one, but two former students of mine came bouncing right on over to help me right away (which was super great because remember, I am trying to do this before my work shift started). Ben had circled a 42” screen sized one of these monsters. But oh no! I was going to show him! I pointed to the 47” one and said “I’ll take that one!”

Here is where things started to go wrong. I pulled up my SUV but then realized that I had not taken into consideration the size of the box that this great beast came in. The former students looked very worried and apologetic. However, lucky again, I had a connection to a pick-up truck! So, I called up Ben’s dad (my future father-in-law – although he didn’t know it yet!) and asked him to bring up the truck right quick. He, excited to now be privy to my great scheme and the impeding engagement, did just that.

When he got to the store, the workers helped to load up the box. This box was taller than myself and who knows how much it weighed? Ben was going to freak out for sure. A lady sitting on a bench nearby on her break was watching us with a sideways glance. “You best tie it down,” she said. My future father-in-law grinned dismissively. The box was serious so big and heavy and was going nowhere. The plan was that I would follow the truck back to his house and help him unload it and we would store the TV in his garage where it would be all ready as a Christmas surprise come morning when we would go over there for breakfast.

It was a good plan, but I was running out of time before having to go to work and was getting hungry. So instead of following him close behind, I took a detour to a nearby Wendy’s. I ate my late lunch in the car on the way to Ben’s parents’ house in Mount Lookout but was surprised to not find my future father-in-law there with his truck and Ben’s giant TV. I went inside to ask his mother where Bill (Ben’s dad) was and was immediately struck by the worried look on her face.

She sat me down and proceeded to tell me that Bill had to go back to the electronics store to get a new TV.

Bill would tell me later about how while driving south on I-75, he felt a shaking in the truck bed and then, like magic, the whole box just rose right up. It rose right up and flew up into the air only to come right back down with a great smash. The great box still being mighty then rolled top over bottom again and again until it ended with another great smash into the medium where it lay there a heap of cardboard and glass, and whatever else a giant 47” rear-projection TV is made with.

There are many lessons here folks! Be careful what you wish for?! Don’t give the jewelry store your landline phone number?! Keep your pride in check?! Don’t wait until the last minute to shop?! Maybe most importantly though: listen to wise ladies sitting on benches when they tell you to tie it down?!

I am so very thankful that I did not follow his truck that day. It was super fortunate that no one was directly behind him when the TV smashed. Bill and I were very shaken up that day and my mood was still sour when later, after work, Ben brought out a little box. “I don’t want this to be a cliché, done on Christmas thing. So here. Will you?”

Now I knew that Ben was not going to go down in history as one of the great romantics of our time, but it was good enough. He picked out the ring and I love it and the rest is history.

Happy Holidays my Heritage Folks! Enjoy the magic of the season, but make sure to take extra care too!

Jaime Castle

December 2018

by Rev. Bill Gupton

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

So goes a popular Christmas song, now more than half a century old, which cites the joy of this season. Most of the time, I can agree with the sentiment. Opening our home to loved ones from our church community, bright lights on cold winter nights, the simple beauty of a Christmas Eve service in our sanctuary – all these things are truly joys in my life. But this Christmas will be very different in our home. Patrick will be in New Zealand, where it is the middle of summer. This marks only the second Christmas we have ever been apart (the other was when he was in India; what a traveler!)

It is true for many people, each year: This can be a very difficult season to navigate. Some memories are painful. Losses abound, and can seem more prominent, than at other times. Disappointments can run deep. It can be very hard, being reminded of those who are not with us, or of those things that did not come to pass. There are those who carry a lot of pain with them this time of year.

Thus it is important to be gentle with one another. To not make assumptions, whether about a person’s mood, or what holiday they celebrate (or don’t). So if you wish someone “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” (and please, don’t let yourself get drawn into the manufactured controversy over such greetings), do so with sincerity and compassion. Do so as a simple, loving reminder that you see that person, even at this time of year when it is hard to see clearly, in spite of (or perhaps because of) all the many lights.

One antidote to seasonal sadness that I have found is being with others – others who are genuinely interested in how you are doing and what you are feeling. Heritage Church is such a community – and this month, we offer many opportunities to connect with others and feel the loving spirit of this church.

Stop in for worship on the first Sunday of December (December 2nd), and stick around afterward as we decorate our sanctuary Christmas tree – a tradition that includes people of all ages, who come with or without children, with or without partners. Women are invited to the annual Clara Barton Guild Holiday Dinner (December 5th) at church. All are invited to the Holiday Open House that Jennifer and I offer each year at our home in Anderson Township (December 9th, after church). Again, everyone is invited to the HUUC Holiday Party on Saturday evening, December 15th. Then there’s the Heritage Winter Solstice Celebration on Friday evening, December 21st – the longest night of the year. There’s the Sunday morning that our children perform their “Pop-Up Christmas Pageant” (December 23rd). And finally, of course, our Christmas Eve candlelight service on Monday evening, December 24th at 7 o’clock.

As I have said before, at this time of year, while the days grow shorter, and sunlight wanes, be sure that you get an adequate dose of “Vitamin C” (community!) I hope to see you at church many times this month, and to offer you a warm hug. Blessings and light to you all.

Namaste,
Rev. Bill

December 2018.

Fall and winter holidays are fast approaching! Every year around Thanksgiving, the children of our Religious Education program get together during service and have a Pajama Party! In past years, we popped popcorn, watched movies, did our nails, and played games. This year, our party will be on November 25th and if you have fun ideas to add to our party or want to help with the kids that day, let us know! You can contact Jaimecastle@me.com.

Save the Dates:
On December 15th, Saturday 5-9pm, Heritage is planning a Holiday Party for all ages co-hosted by RE and the Music Committees. There will be a potluck dinner, crafts, and holiday music karaoke!

December 23rd, during service, we will be planning on having our annual Pop-Up Christmas Pageant. Steph Tacy is the point person for that fun event if you have questions or would like to help!

We have already passed the halfway point for Rev. Leslie’s sabbatical and time continues to fly by. We have said it before, but we are so thankful to the many who have stepped up to help by teaching, subbing in to teach, or by being our roving guardians during class time. The junior high and high school youth have been very active – especially for our recent pot luck lunch after church where they learned some culinary skills and set up the tables and chairs. Thank you to Miranda Fash and Garry Wilson for coordinating that and for being such great mentors!

That’s all for now!

The RE Sabbatical Team:
Jaime Castle
Feriel Feldman
Ellie Lamb
Robert Lamb
Ann Roberts
Steph Tacy

November 2018

by Jaime Castle

Finnegan, my eight-year-old son, went on a trip this past weekend to West Virginia with his father and grandfather and the menfolk of two other families. They go every year to a schoolhouse converted into a cabin in a narrow mountain valley called Shook Holler. It is very rustic there and remote. I’m told that the stars there are much brighter and when you climb to the tops of the mountains, the views take your breath away.

When they go, my heart goes on high alert and all the things to worry about jump around in my brain. The menfolk roll their eyes at me and my fussing so I just throw out warnings as they go that if any harm should come to my boy…you can imagine the rest! And so, I wait four days to hear how their trip went. They emerge back on “the grid” after descending about an hour away from “camp.” Sometimes they can get a phone signal from the top of one of the mountains. They do not stay there long so sometimes I do not talk to them. My mother-in-law did touch base with them and sent me a text saying: “All is ok. Finn was stung by a bee but ok.” I was kicking myself for not making sure that they had bee sting wipes in their kit, but felt a little at ease that all was fine. When they came home, the report of their stay to me was mundane – everything went fine. When they came home, however, Finnegan gave me a different report.

Away from the rest of the family he started at a whisper “Mom, I don’t ever want to go back there!” Tears were threatening to rise. I asked him to tell me what happened. The last time that he went he cut his hand and proudly showed me his bandage but this time there were no physical signs of harm. He then proceeded to tell me about how he had been “dead scared.”

He and two other boys (ages 13 and 9), decided to venture out on their own. Armed with a machete, they told the men that they were going on a hike to a place that they call the bear cave. Don’t worry – no bears emerge in this tale nor have they ever seen one there. Along the way there is an old abandoned house they want to explore – it is mostly just log walls left – so do not worry about floors or the roof caving in! I am imagining what could have scared him so as he is telling me where they were headed though.

Finn and the boys went down a dirt road and then climbed up into the woods. After a while he says that he felt uncomfortable with the distance that they had traveled. He told the boys that he was going to head back, but they did not want to return. So, Finnegan turned around and headed toward the road alone. He followed the road thinking he knew the way but then, unexpectedly the road ended. Looking around he decided to go into the woods and find his way. It was not long though that he realized he was lost. Very lost and very alone. He continued through the steep woods with tears flowing and breathing hard. He stumbled on a rock and fell hard into the mud. Covered in mud, he just kept going at one point finding himself in a field of grass taller than himself, running full speed. He found a little house that he thought that he knew. There is a local man who goes by “Golden” and Finn thought that he lived there so he went to knock on the door and ask for help. No one was there. Finn saw another dirt road and climbed over a fence to get to it.

It is hard for me to guess how long this miserable journey lasted him, but to a boy alone in a mountainous wood, it must have seemed endless. But following that little dirt road, he did find camp and muddy and tear soaked, he walked up to the men. They removed his muddied pants only to give him a clean pair which housed a hidden bee – thus the sting – adding insult to injury.

I told Finn that if he does decide to go again, that he should carry a whistle to blow if he should ever be lost. That was just the beginning of “changes” to suggest if he goes on this trip again.

I tell you this story as it relates to something that was alluded to once in service years back. It was about the Three Essential Prayers as explained by Anne Lamott: Help, Thanks, and Wow. The idea being that those three things can be the most important things that we can say. Each on their own can illicit great examples of how life changing each word can be. But for now, let’s focus on Help.

For a little boy lost in the woods, it would not be a hard thing to say if there was someone to say it to. But something happens when we grow up where it gets harder to ask for help. Maybe there is a shame in it or embarrassment or maybe the help we need is something little – too little that we do not think it worthy to mention. Or maybe the help we need we see as too big – something we do not want to burden others with.

But it is ok and important to ask for help – big or small – for whatever reason needed. You are not lost in the woods but you are here with friends and your church family. Reach out for help when you need it – there are many people that can help you! Have radical trust in that people will help you when you ask. You have a voice that can be heard, you have a whistle.

I am going to gift you this proverbial whistle. Imagine it shinning in a golden cast – small and sleek. It is affixed to a necklace of soft silky satin cord which is black but if you hold it to the light, it looks a little blue. Put the lanyard cord around your neck and then take a couple of practice breaths on it. What does it sound like when you put your energy to it? What is it communicating to others? Get used to that sound and fortify yourself with the knowledge that your whistle is there and its sound is true. It will always be there when you need it. It will bring you help. When you are lost or so helpless and you cannot see the light, blow child! Blow!

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Finnegan describes getting lost.

 

November 2018