Chalica

Meg Barnhouse's Words

2012-02-17T17:02:00.000-06:00

Today I drove my Prius to Des Moines to take Leigh to the airport. It was interesting to watch the gas mileage change as the speed changed and as we went up and down the rolling hills of Iowa. When we went down some of the hills the mileage would go up to 100 mpg! The average for the trip was 38 mpg.

As I came back by myself I decided to listen to my friend and fellow UU - Meg Barnhouse. First I listened to her album: Mango Thoughts in a Meatloaf Town; this album speaks to me. As a person from the West Coast I found that when we got here in Iowa, I was missing the variety of people and foods. (Yes, I was not a meatloaf and potatoes person). I have learned to make a good meatloaf but my mashed potatoes are actually mashed cauliflowers! One of my favorite songs on this album is - All Will Be Well which you can preview here.

Next I listened to her album: Heart of Compassion. This is an album of Meg reading her favorite stories. One of the best things about listening to Meg is that I always take something away from her words - in music or stories she seems to put into writing the way things are for many people. If you haven't had a chance to listen to or read her stories. For more info on Meg go to her website: Meg Barnhouse - Stories, Songs and Illuminations.

The two hours flew by and before I knew it I was home!

Thank you Meg for all you do!

Love to all,

Happy February.

Kathy

P.S. Here are some of her other works:

Discography CD's:
July Blue-2000
Mango Thoughts in a Meatloaf Town -2006

BOOKS:
Rock of Ages at the Taj Mahal
Skinner House, Boston, 1998

The Best of Radio Free Bubba
Hub City Writers Project, 1998

Waking up the Karma Fairy
Skinner House, Boston, 2003

Return of Radio Free Bubba
Hub City Writers Project 2006

Did I Say That Out Loud?
Skinner House, Boston, 2006

It Matters Not Your Religion

2012-01-30T23:56:00.002-06:00

“The purpose of all the major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
So it matters not what your religion is - Unitarian Universalist, Catholic, Jew, Muslim or a form of Christianity or an earth based religion but what does matter is that you work for love, peace, goodness and compassion.

Water Reminders

2012-01-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

Well I hope this works! I have installed water reminders on my iPad and phone to remind me to drink water. I hate water. I think it might have to do with drowning twice in my life as a young child. But maybe it is just one of those things that are good for you that we sabotage ourselves by not doing...We will see. I have a water bottle with marking on it for 8 oz. Here's to better health. I am reading a book called

Perfect 10 Diet: 10 Key Hormones That Hold the Secret to Losing Weight and Feeling Great-Fast!

by Michael Aziz (Author) it is all about the endocrine system which is out of whack in my body, It makes sense to me as it is very much like what I have been doing as I listen to my body tell me what to eat. (I didn't listen very closely over the holidays, but am back listening) My goals are to be able to bend, walk and just feel better.

The first three weeks are to be without any grains. I have done without wheat, but no rice? It is worth a shot, plus this book encourages food from other cultures! The negative is that is is big on rye bread, which is a no-no for me as I am very allergic. Oh well, there are other choices and I don't have to worry about that for 3 weeks.

How is your health? Have you had your vitamin D levels checked? Seen the dentist within the last 6 months?

take care.

Kathy

Blue Zones in Iowa

2012-01-02T22:45:00.000-06:00

So this year there are many different pushes to make us healthy. One that I have joined is the Blue Zones in Iowa. You too can join it at: Help Make Iowa the Healthiest State!
At that site it will ask you to make a personal pledge and to print out your list. You are given some choices to pick in different categories. One of the categories: Right Outlook did give me some pause. It was either sign up for MeYou Health℠ - something new for me, go to church 4 times in the next 90 days (my church is on-line Church of the Larger Fellowship (the site is called Quest) and I already do this, start a new hobby (I have enough hobbies) or volunteer (I already do this). The reason it gave me pause is that in the last month I have seen a lot of my UU friends and many are telling me they don't go regularly any more. I didn't press the issue, but this does disturb me. I know that going to church, synagog, mosque or a fellowship is not for everyone but these people were pretty regular attendees. So why aren't they attending? Like me did they not feel welcome there anymore by those in charge? And is anyone doing anything about the problems? Fortunately I have found a solution for me and will pass it on to them. I urge my Iowan readers to take the Blue Zone Pledge and make your city Blue!

My Personal Pledge Summary

I will use my current bicycle and a bike helmet. (& my Prius during the winter)

I will sign up for the FREE online MeYou Health℠

I will replace dishes in my kitchen with 10-inch plates, smaller bowls, and skinny glasses. (making this change over time - begin by replacing the plates, then the glasses, and then the bowls.)

I will continue "Family Dinner Nights" on three nights each week.

I will designate my home a "Smoke-Free Zone."

Love to you all.
Kathy

8th day of Chanukah

2011-12-27T17:12:00.005-06:00

Some rights reserved by oskay

8th day

* used with ghts reserved by idovermani

7th day of Chanukah

2011-12-26T19:40:00.001-06:00

Some rights reserved by moonlightbulb

Well I hope the season is finding you all healthy and happy. Today is the 7th evening of Chanukah. Isn't this an interesting menorah? The shamash is over to the left. and the lights seem to glow in the shape of Star of Davids.

Wes and Bethany left this morning to go back to Humbolt, IA. Bethany had to be at work this afternoon. Chris, Merri and Tyler came over to say goodbye. Jeff helped Wes put the smoker into the truck along with the presents and their suitcase.

After they left, Chris and Merri decided to go do some shopping with Merri's Birthday and Christmas gift cards, and then Leigh and Jeff went off to buy a new coffee maker. Yes we now have a Keurig. I gave Leigh the reusable filter cup for one so we don't have to just use the individual cups that you buy. Tyler and I spent most of the afternoon together. Then Jeff and Leigh came home and each had "Tyler Time".

Well have a great evening and day tomorrow. Happy Chanukah!

Oh if you are in the area on New Year's Eve - we are having the annual family friendly party at 7pm with New Year's Eve celebrations at 8pm, 10 pm and Midnight. It's a bring a dish and we always have a good time!

Love,

Kathy

Merry Christmas! and Happy 6th day of Chanukah

2011-12-25T01:30:00.002-06:00


Christmas Tree Menorah

Each Night is a holy night.

And so the children come.
And so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they come --
Born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginnings,
No prophets predict their future courses,
No wise men see a star to point their way
To find a babe that may save humankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.
Fathers and Mothers --
Sitting beside their children's cribs --
Feel glory in the sight of a new life beginning.
They ask: "When and how will this new life end?
Or will it never end?"
Each night a child is born is a holy night.
A time for singing...
A time for wondering...
A time for worshipping...
Sophia Lyons Fahs

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Wesołych Świąt!

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Sretan Božić!

Heri la Krismasi!

圣诞快乐

Un Crăciun fericit!

З Різдвом Христовим!

کریسمس مبارک

Some rights reserved by andydr

5th day of Chanukah

2011-12-24T17:21:00.003-06:00

Some rights reserved by SharonaGo

Happy Day!

Spent the morning getting my hair done, then to the store, then home to go through more boxes trying to find all the stockings and the stocking holders. Bethany finished up sewing one of the stockings and the names are drying on a few of them. Dena and Danielle stopped by for Christmas cheer and to drop off this year's cat calendar for us. Their cats, Daisy and Dolly are featured on November 8th, 2012. Dinner with Wes and Bethany, then they headed off to Chris and Merri and Tyler's house for a movie.Jeff, Ryan and Christopher stopped by for a chat - hoping to see Tyler. It is very quiet. Next step to organize the stocking gifts and make sure everything is wrapped! Oh and to record the book for Tyler and one for Miss Ella. I am so late getting the present together for everyone...

Happy Birthday to Merri
(the mother of my darling grandson!),
Happy Chanukah,
and
Merry Christmas Eve.

Peace,

Kathy

4th day of Chanukah

2011-12-23T17:01:00.012-06:00

Dec. 14, 2009*

Today was a busy day. Shopping for the weekend food. Going through decorations and weeding out. Make a box of the lights and other things that I will not be using in the future. Merri & Bethany went through it and made a box for each of them, and a small box was left to give a way, (I'll have to check with Heather to see if Jimy and family would like the lights and some of the decorations for next year.)

by Wes Zeitz

We had Reuben sandwiches in honor of the 4th day of Chanukah, then put decorations up in the living room and Merri, Jeff and Bethany decorated the tree. I went through the ornaments and Leigh feed and spent quality time with Little Tyler. Ryan H. joined us and did a great job holding Little Tyler. When we were all done with the tree, Chris and Merri spread out my fall leaves blanket on the ground and Wes took a great picture of Little Tyler in front of the Tree.

Happy Chanukah!

* used with Some rights reserved by Flavio@Flickr

3rd day of Chanukah

2011-12-22T22:44:00.000-06:00

Some rights reserved by SharonaGott

Happy 3rd day of Chanukah and Happy Winter Solstice!

So what did you do today to celebrate either of these festivals of light? Today I worked on our outside lights. I weeded through all of our Holiday lights and decided I was not going to let the thief of Santa get me down and so I put out some more lights and decorations. Not as much as in previous years at it was a very cold 30 degree F today. I still have a some lights I want to put out but decided that at 23 degrees F, I will write this post and go to bed hopefully it will be a bit warmer tomorrow during the day. The other things we did today was go to our friend Ping's house for a Chinese dinner. She is such a great cook! We made dumplings and talked and laughed with her, her daughter, Bingqing and Heather. The we tonight is Leigh, Jeff (our middle son) and myself. It was a great time. Too soon it was time to come home. We dropped Jeff off at Christopher Hardy's house for a reunion of the two. Tomorrow Ryan comes home and I am sure we will not see them for part of that time. Well good night all.

Happy Solstice and Happy Chanukah to all my friends.

Love,

Kathy

2nd day of Chanukah

2011-12-22T22:35:00.000-06:00

Some rights reserved by JMR_Photography

Happy Chanukah (חֲנֻכָּה )

2011-12-20T19:01:00.005-06:00

Snow Covered Chanukah Menorah*

Tonight (the 24th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar) at sunset starts Chanukah. This festival of lights celebrates the rededicated the temple in Jerusalem during the war with the Maccabees. As they rededicated the temple in Jerusalem they found a lamp with just enough oil to light for one night. But with a miracle the lamp stayed lit for 8 days and nights.
There is a special menorah for Chanukah with nine candles - one for the shamash (this one is lit and the others are lighted using the shamash) and 8 for all the days. There are no special colors for the candles. Most of the time the shamash is in the middle of the menorah but it can be at the beginning or set in front of it.
Last night President and Mrs. Obama, Vice President and Mrs. Biden started Chanukah early at the White house.

* image used with some rights reserved by Dominic's pics

More news of the kidnapped Santa!

2011-12-18T13:06:00.002-06:00

Have you seen this Santa in a sleigh? He was kidnapped from our home on Sat. Dec. 17, 2011! All but one of the "Flamingo reindeer" survived the mass attack! Two were badly injured but after surgery are recovering nicely. Three other suffered minor injury and are now back home. If you see our Santa he is unique in that all the lights had just been redone on the sleigh with one strand of red and two white strands of rope lights. Please bring our Santa home before Christmas!

Santa Snatched & Flamingo Homicide!

2011-12-17T12:17:00.004-06:00

Well Ho, ho ho... so who steals Santa and kills off his flock of flamingos?
"I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be." - Ken Venturi
Today the blog was suppose to be about how the reindeer didn't show up and "Team Flamingo" comes to the rescue with our old remodeled Santa in his sleigh being lead off to deliver packages by our collection of flamingos. Instead we woke up this morning to a missing Santa in his sleigh and then the following Crime Scene Photos:

Habits and Resolutions

2011-12-15T20:40:00.002-06:00

Picture by Chris KZ

"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." - Warren Buffett

Is it time to start thinking about New Year's resolutions? If so what will you resolve to do during the new year? Will you try to exercise more? Play games less? Spend more time with your family and/or friends?
I decided to research New Year's resolutions and find out what are the most popular. What do you think comes out number one?
Special more time with family and friends. What does this say about us? Are we not spending enough time with our families and friends?
Numbers 2 through 8 are self improvement: getting fit, tame the bulge, quit smoking, enjoy life more, quit drinking, get out of debt, and learn something new.
9 is help others and 10 is get organized. So what are you going to do in the New Year.

Fuel for the whole!

2011-12-14T10:20:00.000-06:00

Her Soup Kitchen

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
- Benjamin Franklin

The picture to the right is of "Her Soup Kitchen" a small place in Iowa City with great food and interesting photos inside. The food is mostly sandwiches, salads and of course soup. Leigh had a Pear, cheese and veggie sandwich. We are still not sure who came up with that idea (Mom, Dad or son?) but it was wonderful and Leigh enjoyed each bite. He had the wild rice soup with it and said it also was delicious! I had the veggie Club sandwich and it was great! And I really loved and appreciated the veggie tomato soup as it had little salt (you can always add more to your taste) but those of us on a salt free diet this was quite a find! Plus it had great big chunks of veggies. I was expecting a typical creamy tomato soup with small bits of tomatoes and was pleasantly surprise that this was not the case. Dick, the cook came to our table to ask us what we thought and of course we told him it was great. As for the interior it is charming and homey. If you are feeling like you are missing the sun, a trip to their unique bathroom is a must. I won't give it all away, but I felt like I was walking into sunshine. They do not have a huge menu, which I really appreciated/ they do have limited hours and close or open late because of private parties so check on their facebook page, their website or do like we did Yelp! them. (we used the smart phone version) We will definitely go back when we visit Iowa City. And next time I will not have as much on my mind. I am feeling hopeful about my University of Iowa Hospital visit, still thinking about it and not ready to write more than I feel like we have a plan of action and I don't feel as anxious about what all is going on inside my body. I really like my new doctor and love the fact that she wants me to keep in touch about what is going on via email...

As some of you know I have been a bit down about my health, my car and right now lack of a job. Well Leigh decided to do something about the car. He found out how much it would cost to get the dent (yes he caused it when he ran my car into his truck last August!) and estimated the brake cost and decided to cash in some stocks for a down payment on a car. He called our friend Troy Knapp at Toyota of Iowa and asked if he had any used Prius' and Troy had one! It is my favorite color RED! So after the doctor and lunch we went and signed the papers on it! It will be strange having a car payment again but it will use less gas and makes me smile. It is a dream to drive, although I feel some what like a pilot with all the screens. It is raining today, so I'll try to take a picture and post it tomorrow. (Oh and if you know anyone that wants a used (need TLC) dark green XLE Camry we will have one to sale soon.)

Blessed be

Kathy

Candle Lighting For Tyler

2011-12-12T12:08:00.000-06:00

Looks like a good turn out at Karen's for the Worldwide Candle Lighting remembrance of Tyler.

Chalica - Day 7

2011-12-11T00:30:00.015-06:00

Click to join Chalica
We have hit over 6,000 views!! If you want to be reminded of Chalica next year or share your story with others we now have group on Yahoo!

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Today I am having a hard time respecting the cold winter here in Iowa. This year because of my health issues I did not get the motivation to get the Holiday lights up outside our house. I did get Wes, Bethany and Leigh to bring them up to the living room after Thanksgiving and while I did get to fixing many we didn’t get them outside until today. We waited for the temperature to get up to a balmy 31 F (-0.55 C) Of course the ground is frozen, so Leigh took a large, long nail to pound holes into the ground for our first “Flamingo deer” pulling Santa. I’ll have to work on some harnesses for next year, but in the dark it should look okay! But just putting that up has zapped my enthusiasm for more. Believe when I say I usually do too much, but I so enjoy putting up the lights in this dark winter. I think after my break here we will put up the igloo and then maybe call it quits for outside this year. Remember tonight is also the Worldwide Candle Lighting for Children that have died. (see below for more info)

On the positive side my dear friend Sophia has been busy working on some new chalice designs. In addition to Chalice Palace she now has a shop at Zazzle called Sophia Rose Fine Art. She has given me permission to show you a few of her copyrighted items. There are just so many and so little space here that I had to pick just a few. Of course the first one is her new Chalica design!

This is the bumper sticker, it also comes on t-shirts,
mugs,ties, cards, aprons, bags, postcards and even a mouse pad.

Chalice Art

Madona Art

Some of the designs also come as stamps, on tree ornaments, iPhone skins, pendants, and jewelry boxes. And below for all my friends is a $10 off coupon at Zazzle!

Once a year candles are lit around the world at 7pm for the children that have died. The hope is that the light will go around the world one candle at a time. It is always the 2nd Sunday in December. This is the 2nd year for my family to celebrate the life of our blessed Tyler Joel Rudy that was taken too soon from us last October. His mom, my sister Karen opens her home on this day starting at 6:30 pm for his friends and family. We all miss you Tyler.

Love to you all,

Happy Chalica

Kathy

Chalica - Day 6

2011-12-10T00:28:00.003-06:00

The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. Here's what has been happening at the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon they put together Chalica kits. When I asked what are these kits - Mary-Anne Rose Parker sent me this answer: "The Chalica kits were basically gift bags, filled with a flower pot chalice, notepaper and envelope, notecard, penny, and the Chalica instructions that I believe I got from your blog!... I did get the booklet and printed them out for the children." What a great gift for the children!

I especially like the small child and the older one working together to light their chalice for their Chalica service. And then they had a part where the "Children's and Adult principles were brought together through candle lighting and colour". Mary-Anne will be writing up how things went and we will post that here next week. So how is your Chalica going? Are you taking time to reflect?
I have agreed to help my friend Heather with her project of helping a family that is coming back to the USA and our area on an U.S. Department of Immigration's U-Visa program. One member of the family, Jimy was only 14 years old, had been working 10+ hour shifts and was deported in our famous Postville Immigration Raid in May 2008. He is almost four years older and his family includes 7 others. They have decided to stay in the Cedar Valley instead of going back to Postville. The team will be looking for clothing, furniture & housewares, food & incidentals, money and advocates for the family to help them get settled in a home and school. The family consist of Jimy (18), Reyben (brother, 17), Ruby (sister, 13), Marlene (wife, 18), Alexis (son, 7 months), Esperanza (mother), Pablo (brother, 14), Gerardo (father). They are coming from Guatemalan and thus will not be bringing a lot of items with them. Click Here for more information about this project.

Chalica - Day 5

2011-12-09T00:27:00.004-06:00

.The day started at 9º F (-12.77º C) Brr… The last few days have been very busy with classes ending here at the University of Northern Iowa. Now the weekend and next week will be grading, grading, grading and more grading. But taking a few minutes each day to reflect on Chalica. Today two of the Republican candidates for President got to use their voices at UNI. I have to admit I didn't go see either...I think I just didn't think I would hear anything new, but they still had the right to speak.

I got this following video on my facebook wall from my good friend Chris today. Even little Elijah gets to use his voice. Note he is very quiet so turn on the Capture Captions (the CC) to read what he says.

Chalica - Day 4

2011-12-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

Happy Chalica! The days are moving quickly this year, it is already day four of Chalica. What does the 4th principle, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, mean to you?

Chalica - Day 3

2011-12-07T20:49:00.004-06:00

What will you do to celebrate our 3rd Principle - Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations? If you are looking for some ideas see below.*

Well last night I did attend "Actos Sin Ombre" it was a little different type of theater than I was expecting. It was a simulation on border crossings, the actors were the Coyotes, the border guards, Grupo Beta, Migra Mexicana Agents, Pandilleros, Casa del Migrante (safe haven), U.S. Border Patrol, Vigilantes and if you made it the person who has you fill out your papers. We the audience were the immigrants trying to cross the border. I have to say I was not really expecting to be part of the show, and really it was not enjoyable. But it was an eye opener and for some of the "audience" it was very emotionally. Two of my friends, Heather & Cindy showed up and we quickly became a group and as luck would have it we were the first group the coyote sent on the way. We were first "put into the trunk" of the coyote's car - this was simulated by putting a sheet over our heads and leading us into the theater. We were "found" by the Grupo Beta and given crackers, water and sardines to help keep up our strength. Next we meet the Migra Mexicana Agent who decided that only 2 of us could continue - Cindy opted to be deported. Heather and I continued, we evaded the Pandilleros, found safe have but then we got captured by the U.S. Border patrol - Heather was deported and I died!! I was able to sit and watch the rest of the "show". Heather and Cindy opted to try again. The actors were very much in character (actually apologized after the show for their actions and language!) The first person to make it and get a job turned out to be a former student of mine, so he joined me and we chatted as we watched what happened to the others til everyone had crossed or died. We then had a discussion with the actors, Jenny & Karen (UNI professors & the directors) about what we had gone through about what would be the differences for someone really going through this type of trip. I realized I had never thought about this aspect when I was teaching students in the California Juvenile system (read jail), who were only there because they were illegal immigrants. The audience was composed of UNI students, staff & faculty, members of the community and a group from Wisconsin that are wanting to do something like it for their community. The Jennie & the Wisconsin group graciously invited Heather and I to join them. We all headed to Soho and the one rule was you were not to sit next to someone you knew. It was a wonderful evening of sharing about the "play" and other parts of our lives. Here are some of the pictures: Turns out one of the Wisconsin group was Rev. Roger Bertschausen from the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (in the video below that is him looking at Chalica and Quest * on my iPad!)

**Ideas - check out - Just Do It! has some simple suggestions for each day, Lisa Schwartz has some daily ideas and check out the Chalica! on facebook. TheDays tab has some Adults Suggestions. And don't forget to check out the Children Chalica for ideas for the kids (remember you can freely print out my Kid's booklet also.

Quest * was the magazine for the Church of the Larger Fellowship and is now even more as the official website.

Chalica - Day 2

2011-12-06T13:00:00.021-06:00

Happy Chalica! What are you doing today to celebrate Justice, equity and compassion in human relations? I am thinking of attending "Actos Sin Ombre" as they present their simulation on border crossings it was presented last April at the White Privilege Conference in Minneapolis. Again, this is an event that has been well received across the Midwest and would be of interest to students studying intercultural communication and issues related to immigration. Tonight at the University of Northern Iowa, at 5:15pm in Lang 040 and then maybe heading over to a fellow UU's house for a short Chalica service.

Last night I went back to my former UU home to celebrate the first day of Chalica with a couple UU friends. We went around the circle and talked about something related to the 1st Principle. Amazing stories - Sheri had been doing an intake at the food pantry and a family came in and filled out the paper work. Sheri just happened to notice that there were quite a few kids in the household and that one child had just celebrated a birthday and another was going to celebrate one shortly. Sheri told the mother to wait just a minute, went into the back and a co-worker found two cakes for the kids. When she brought them back the mother was very touched and close to tears! And then Jo told about how a co-worker had come up and thanked her for her acts of kindness! Heather told us about the play above and then about her work with a Postville family that had been deported and was now able to come back on this new U-Visa (legally!!). When we finished a few old friends showed up for another meeting and it was good to say hello.
Well must run if I want to see the play.
Love, Kathy

Chalica - Day 1

2011-12-05T12:19:00.003-06:00

Happy Chalica! What are you doing today for Chalica? I am going to write some long due thank you notes to some people that have helped me in the past, not necessarily celebrating our differences, but acknowledging that they helped me by giving me their support. I am going to use the new updated Chalica image on them that dear Rose just made. If you are looking for some ideas - check out this blog - Just Do It! has some simple suggestions for each day, Lisa Schwartz has some daily ideas and check out the Chalica! on facebook. The

Days tab has some Adults Suggestions. And don't forget to check out the Children Chalica for ideas for the kids (remember you can freely print out my Kid's booklet also.

Daily services:
Unitarian Universalist Society of Black Hawk County (Iowa) today at 6:30 pm
South Fraser Unitarian Congregation (British Columbia) They will be having evening services using Jeff's Videos!

Other places celebrating a service and/or sermon about Chalica on Dec. 11, 2011:
South Fraser Unitarian Congregation (British Columbia) (Rumor is Daylene Marshall will be there?)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa

Check out the pictures of the Chalica celebration at the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon! They made up Chalica kits to take home.

Don't forget to checkout the Saturday's, Dec. 3 post for more info about this year's Chalica.

For those of you without a church nearby check out the Church of the Larger Fellowship's new online Quest website.

Chalica - Growing

2011-12-03T16:14:00.011-06:00

More candles are being light as Chalica catches on and more people are celebrating this fun, non-commercial holiday. All my resources are Creative Commons and so all I ask is that you make sure my name is on anything I have created and that you use.


candle road! by maclisa2

It's been just over a year since I started this Chalica Blogspot and I am happy to say we have had over 5000 hits from all over the world. I really hope to hear from you out there as to how you celebrated Chalica this year. You can leave comments here or let me all know at facebook (I'm the only Klink-Zeitz) or email me at klinkzeitz@hotmail.com.

We have new songs - see the song tabs. Many of the songs have also been recorded and are at ChalicaVids on Youtube.com and others so far we just have the words. The first couple of songs used tunes from others, but now we have some new songs with original words and tunes. These three were first sung last year at Chalica services and Celebrations: Light A Chalice, by evan austin, Chalica (Infinite Light) by Daniel Flores, and The Seven Days of Chalica by Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz

Jeff Liebmann has written a wonderful new children's story: Chesna, the Chalica Chipmunk. (Any chance it will become a picture book?) Jeff is the minister at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland. Last year Jeff made videos called: Chalica Readings for each day of Chalica - they are up on youtube and embedded here on JL's videos.

Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz has again been busy and written her third sermon "GETS BETTER, RUDOLPH" for her third chalica service. I can't wait to hear it and will link to it as soon as it is posted on her fellowship's web site. And don't forget her children's story, The Story of Chalica. She is putting together a new story for Dec. 4th based on Edward Harris' Meditation on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - she will be adding some "It Gets Better" ideas as inspired by Rev. Kent Saleska. She also told me she has a new song this year, but as she doesn't have a pianist for the service we will have to wait a bit more for the song.

Sophia Rose of Chalice Palace has reworked our original Chalica image see above and designed a new graphic at Zazzle for Chalica. Check it out and don't forget to look at her other wonderful things at Chalice Palace. She also has a Chalice Palace Facebook page for you social media people. I'll be wearing a pair of her chalice earrings this week and hope to use my chalice cookie cutter to make some gingerbread cookies.

Chalica! from Zazzle.com

www.zazzle.com

‎ Chalica! created by SophiaRoseFineArt.

Happy Day before Chalica!
Other places celebrating a service and/or sermon about Chalica on Dec. 4, 2011:
Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Washington County (Oregon)

Unitarian Universalist Church of Fargo Moorhead (N. Dakota)

Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon (Canada)

First Church Unitarian, Littleton (Massachusetts) facebook page
Unitarian Universalist Society of Black Hawk County (Iowa) adult program
Countryside Church (Illinois)
First Unitarian Louisville's First UU Senior High Youth Group will have a RE Chalica service (Kentucky)
Daily services:

South Fraser Unitarian Congregation (British Columbia) They will be having evening services using Jeff's Videos!

Other places celebrating a service and/or sermon about Chalica on Dec. 11, 2011:
South Fraser Unitarian Congregation (British Columbia) (Rumor is Daylene Marshall will be there?)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa

There is usually one at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura but I don't have verification as of this posting.
Blessed Be,

Kathy

Hope!

2011-11-15T22:29:00.001-06:00

Hello, Houston. This is Astronaut Tyler ready to blast off in Apollo 2011! Just close the hatch and on to the future.
After a very long day of medical testing, I just wanting to remember that there are people out there with illnesses and diseases are not curable or even treatable. And to remember that our children and grandchildren are our hope for the future!

Days end

2011-11-13T15:55:00.000-06:00

by Mohamed Malik

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
- Ernest Hemingway

Sunrise

2011-11-12T19:01:00.001-06:00

by SFB579

"I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity."
- Ulysses Grant

Forgiveness

2011-11-04T10:18:00.001-05:00

Mahatma Gandhi by pranav

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Mahatma Gandhi

I believe in forgiveness, but I have a question that I am pondering: "Do you need someone to ask for forgiveness or to say they are sorry before you can forgive them?"

I think that it is hard to forgive someone who does not apologize to you first. What do you think?
I do realize that sometimes you have to tell the person that they did something hurtful to you. But then the next step is theirs. But then how do you 'get over' the hurt or slight if they don't acknowledge that they hurt you? Hummmm........

Much to think about. Well it is less than a month now to the start of Chalica. Time to start planning.

Will you use one chalice or a group of chalices?
Will you do this as an individual or
Will you do it as a group?
What will you do each day to honor the principles?

Start thinking more to come in the near future.
Blessed be
Kathy

Hyperparathyroid

2011-10-16T18:45:00.001-05:00

I have what is called hyperparathyroid. It has nothing to do with the thyroid other than the parathyroids are 4 glands located behind the thyroid. Hyperparathyroid means I have at a tumor on at least one of my parathyroid glands. This tumor is almost alway benign. The usual serum PTH levels for parathyroids is 10-65* so if it is above 65 you might have hyperthyroidism. Mine is 252. (see chart below)

One of the website that I found says this: "When patients have PTH levels above 200 it is because their tumor is very old (usually this means over 10-12 years old) and the tumor is composed of MANY cells. If your PTH level is over 200, then some doctor somewhere was asleep at the wheel. This should not be allowed to happen, and the amount of destruction to your body is generally worse." * Wow do I know this!

Symptoms of Parathyroid Disease (Hyperparathyroidism)

	Loss of energy. Don't feel like doing much. Tired all the time. Chronic fatigue.
	Just don't feel well; don't quite feel normal. Hard to explain but just feel kind of bad.
	Feel old. Don't have the interest in things that you used to.
	Can't concentrate, or can't keep your concentration like in the past.
	Depression.
	Osteoporosis and Osteopenia.
	Bones hurt; typically it's bones in the legs and arms but can be most bones.
	Don't sleep like you used to. Wake up in middle of night. Trouble getting to sleep.
	Tired during the day and frequently feel like you want a nap.
	Spouse claims you are more irritable and harder to get along with (cranky, bitchy).
	Forget simple things that you used to remember very easily (worsening memory).
	Gastric acid reflux; heartburn; GERD.
	Decrease in sex drive.
	Thinning hair (predominately in middle aged females on the front part of the scalp).
	Kidney Stones.
	High Blood Pressure (sometimes mild, sometimes quite severe; up and down a lot).
	Recurrent Headaches (usually patients under the age of 40).
	Heart Palpitations (arrhythmias). Typically atrial arrhythmias.

Most people with hyperparathyroidism will have 4 - 6 of these symptoms. Some will have lots of them. A few people will say they don't have any... but after an operation they will often say otherwise. 95% of people with hyperparathyroidism will have 3 or more of these symptoms. In general, the longer you have hyperparathyroidism, the more symptoms you will develop.
Click here for a cartoon of the symptoms. While this is a funny cartoon remember hyperparathyroidism is not a joke is it serious and causes life changes.
Take care.

* Hyperparathyroidism: Disease of the Parathyroid Glands.

Shock

2011-10-16T18:26:00.001-05:00

I am in shock. I just got my records from my last visit to the "specialist" and the results of some of my blood work, and I will now always get copies. I just found out that this problem that I have may go back as far as 10-12 years. That surgery can fix the many problems cause by the problem some in just hours after the surgery and others within 4-6 months. But the biggest thing is that my headaches, bone aches, fatigue, brain fog, high blood pressure, and just the general feeling not quite right could soon be a thing of the past.

So I urge you all - take charge of your health. get copies of tests and doctors notes. and be the squeaky wheel. Good luck.

I am now starting to look forward in a different way to Chalica this year. I am hoping that I will have had my surgery and will be starting a "new life". I will be doing some more writing, as we get closer to Chalica.

Clarifying God's Laws

2011-08-10T17:25:00.000-05:00

A friend sent a copy of this email to me.

Clarifying God's Laws

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.
The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US man, and posted on the Internet.
It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's
Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that The homosexual lifestyle, for example:
I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other
Elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.
A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned
In Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a
Fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is
In her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem
Is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it
Creates a pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my
Neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I Smite them?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath.
Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally
Obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is
An abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
Homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there
'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if
I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses.
Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some Wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the
Hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by
Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig
Makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two
Different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing
Garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester
Blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really
Necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town
Together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to
Death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep
With their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
Considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and
Unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

James M. Kauffman,
Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,
Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
University of Virginia

PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)

Growing Our UU Churches

2011-06-30T15:06:00.003-05:00

On Friday at General Assembly (GA) I went to a session called: Church of the New Millennium: Scenario for Success by Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich, Senior Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. Dr. Guengerich told us that according to surveys 92% of the people in the USA believed in God (or a higher power). Thus if we, as UUs want to grow our churches we need to find a way to bring God into our UU group/church/society etc as 8% is not a large enough group for us to pull from and grow. Something to think about.

This does not bother me as I have always believed in one God or higher power or the force or what ever you want to call it. I have witnesses miracles and I was with my dad when he died and I felt his spirit or soul leave his body.

I went to the Ware Lecture with Karen Armstrong and she is a great speaker, but I was a little disappointed in that she had asked us to read her book, 12 Steps to a More Compassionate Life (paperback or kindle), and I was expecting more or an addition to the book. Her speech was great, but more for those that had not read her book. Oh well, I did enjoy her book and for the most part really agreed with it, but I think we do have a soul or a spirit.*

Then I read a posting about how DREs (Director of Religious Education for UU churches) are just staff. Really?!

And so I have been thinking for the last few days about: Why are we not growing? In the 1800's if we had merged we would have been the largest religious group in the USA. What has happened?

Maybe it is because I was a DRE and now I am not, but I think we need to look at ourselves first.

When I was the DRE I had some people that were great supporters and some that just took Religious Education for the children for granted and some that just treated me as staff others as a gopher and some that never thought about it. But this is not about me {but I do wonder about the experiences of other DREs} it's about what is happening in our UU group/church/society etc.

Have you looked at the qualifications of your DRE (or LDRE or DCRE or whatever the title) lately? They no longer are women or men that are just parents or adults. They are professionals with degrees. Some have BA or BS in Education or Religion; others have MAs or MSs in Education or Religion, and some even have doctorate degrees in Education or Religion. Many are over qualified for their jobs and have great ideas. But sometimes they lack support and personpower to implement them.

Some rights reserved by MAMJODH

So how does a UU group/church/society etc. grow?
Is with the older members of our group?
Is it with our families?
Is it our minister?
Is it whether we believe in God or not?
Is it our Principles?
Is it us?

We need our older members to help us remember the past and to help us not redo the mistakes of the past. But not to tell us that "we don't do that here" or "that is not the way we do it."
We need to have good programs for our children and youth starting with our nurseries.
We need to get families to come into the building and then we need to keep them.

So I have been thinking and researching (this will continue) and have come up with the following:

According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the "Unchurched Belt") report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%. **
On paper Unitarian Universalism looks wonderful.
But are we giving people what they need?
So we need to ask them "What do you want?"
Would it threaten you or the governing board of your UU group/church/society etc to send out a survey asking what people want?
So what do you need out of your UU group/church/society etc.? And are you getting it?
And maybe we should think about doing something about upping the status of our DREs. A start could be with the UUA/GA fees. Give them the same consideration that you give retired ministers.

* And to my friends that questioned why I was reading the book, my answer is that no one can be compassionate enough, even I sometimes forget that we are all human and need compassion.

** Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (2009). "AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (ARIS) 2008" (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Trinity College. Retrieved June 30, 2011. & Newport, Frank (2008-07-28). "Belief in God Far Lower in Western U.S.". The Gallup Organization. Retrieved 2011-06-30.

GA 2011 Charlotte, North Carolina

2011-06-25T17:40:00.002-05:00

for more info go to uua.org/GA

Well I managed to finish my volunteering for UUA at GA - 24 hours of teaching people about recycling, composting, and landfills. Plus I did 2.5 hours helping at the Standing on the Side of Love booth and an hour at the Church of the Large Fellowship booth. This did not leave much time for sessions, but I did get the the CLF's once-a-year service and saw Meg Riley get installed as Senior Minister.

I also attended part of Church of the New Millennium: Scenario for Success with Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich part of Friendly Presence: SocialMedia and Ministry with: Rev. Stefan Jonasson, Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein,Only part of those two as I had to go back to my volunteer jobs.

Rev. Meg Riley, and Andrea Lerner.

I did meet a lot of new people, made new friends, and visited with some old friends.

We saw history being made on Friday night with New York passing their same sex marriage law!

Tonight I will attend the Ware Lecture by Karen Armstrong and then go back to the hotel to pack and get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow Sunday I take the train to Raleigh to meet up with friends from the past.

Come back on Thursday as I will premier a great poster that I got at GA from my new friend Terry.

So all in all a great trip and a renewal of my faith in Unitarian Universalists.

Blessed be,

Kathy

Chalica: Not just a winter holiday!

2011-06-06T14:12:00.000-05:00


Phoenix Chalice

This last year was a tough one for me and I found myself thinking about the 7 Principles a lot of the time. The more and more that I think about it I have come to the conclusion that while the whole setting aside a special time and place for a Chalica celebration is a great idea; we should also think of using part of Chalica in times of need. One of the things that is helping me get through this year is been to think of helping others. I spent a lot of time in solitude wanting to not connect with people and I found that I didn't seem to heal, but then I started to read one principles each day and do something to exemplify that principle. Nothing on a grade scale, just taking contacting a friend, or helping someone out. And finally I began to heal. There are still issues I am dealing with but I will take it just one day and one person at a time.

Welcome to our new viewers! I must admit I had to look up the Republic of Mauritius!
Check down at the bottom left you will see I have added my Chalica Twitter feed. Please feel free to follow it and or this blog!
Blessed Be,

Kathy KZ

Home again

2011-03-03T15:03:00.003-06:00

Well I made it home from Beijing China, with lots of luggage and a very tired body! You can read more about it on Beijing Design.
The UUA Bookstore now has a page on Facebook information about books now on eGoogle and Kindle! And with this challenge and question to think about: A great challenge from the folks at UU@home: find time to light a chalice in your home. Does anyone have a chalice ritual at home, or another ritual that grounds you in your faith through out the week?

They are also holding a monthly Facebook Book Club, this month they are reading the brand new Skinner House book - The Sustainable Soul. (as an eGoogle book) For other kindle and ebooks check out this UUABookstore

Beijing, China

2011-02-26T01:17:00.003-06:00

I have spent 7 days in Beijing, China so far and have had such a great experience. I have met many people from different countries. People from: New Zealand; Oman; Indonesia; Georgia, USA; Korea; Japan; China; Australia; students from Taking it Globally; and many others.

I climbed (& crawled) up the Great wall and sat on it! These last steps were as high as my knees, so I felt like a baby on them. But I did it! By myself, I walked up to the closed cable car (just like Bill Clinton) and rode that up to the platform then up the graded trail to the steps on the right! For someone who is very afraid of heights this was a great achievement! On the way down I closed my eyes in the cable car and took a video of the trip down!

Winter Wonderland 2011!

2011-01-09T16:17:00.000-06:00

Today in Iowa it is very cold! 23 degrees Fahrenheit which equals -5 degrees Celsius! I have not got as much done I had planned today - just couldn't get warm. But I started boiling some water, turned on the small heater and put on a sweatshirt and am starting to get more activity. I did have a great meeting with my friend, Cindy today - way too short, but we will get together again soon. Is anyone celebrating Chalica this week? There's been a lot of discussion as to when to celebrate Chalica. Some people think it is too close to other holidays to celebrate it starting the 1st Monday in December. I found that this was probably one of the best Decembers I have had in quite a while. This year I just used the week of Chalica to step off the carousel of life and then to get back slowly on it. The time I spent reflecting, quieting and looking around I think made me appreciate what I have in the world. I started the process of mending a fence with a friend. Working better on my friendships with others and just enjoying who I am and my world. Okay I still am not happy about the temperature! But I try not to think about it too much. Right now I am planning my classes for Spring that start tomorrow! I have been so blessed! I have 4 classes this semester - 2 on campus and 2 online (these will be the challenge!).

I have been very cranky this past week as I had a tetanus shot on Wed and wow the pain, swelling and fever were terrible. It has finally gone down to the size of a large, shooter marble and is mostly only painful when someone touches it. The tetanus and 2 other shots were because I am going to Beijing China in February! My husband and I are taking some students to a conference there for the Flat Classroom project. It is one of the online classes I am teaching (he of course is presenting!). I am looking forward to the trip.

Many of you may have heard what happened in Arizona yesterday with the 18 people shot and the 6 that were killed. My prayers go out to those injured or killed and their families. What a great candlelight ceremony the UUs in Phoenix, Arizona held last night for these people.

I hope this wakes people up to really think before they say or do violent actions.

Keep Warm!

Kathy

Merry Christmas to All!

2010-12-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

Some rights reserved by HikingArtist.com

I hope that those of you that celebrate Christmas had a great day! or week depending on how you and your family celebrate Christmas. We finally got our Holiday (or end of the year) letter written this year and can be found above on the tab 2010 Holiday. We did it as a website this year and we actually feel pretty good as it has taken us years to get this one finally done!

As I look back on this year, I can't believe all the things that have happened to this family in one year to all of us. There were good and bad, happy and sad, new babies being born, our nephew Tyler Rudy dying. New friends and new relationships being made and some old friends leaving. Changes made and times are different. An old job gone and a new job started.

Pay It Forward

2010-12-16T22:03:00.003-06:00

from HelpOthers.org

Thanks to a friend on FaceBook I found a great new site on the web today. It is called Help Others. It works on the idea of doing good things for others anonymously. Not expecting anything back, but with the hope that the person you do a good deed for will do a good deed for another person. They suggest making it into a game and they even have "smile cards" to leave behind. One side of the card says, "Smile You've just been tagged!" See the card to the right. Some say "Experiments in Anonymous Kindness is the name of the game and now - you're It." The goal of the game is to do a random act of kindness once a week. And on the back of the cards it says:

Someone reached out to you with an anonymous act of kindness. Now it's your chance to do the same. Do something nice for someone, leave this card behind, and keep the spirit going! The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose. ~Gandhi

You can print out the cards yourself or order them from the website. (the catch is that you don't pay for yours but you pay what you can for the next person's set of cards.)
The cards that can be printed out come in English, Spanish, Greek, Hindi, Tamil, French, Japanese, Dutch Gujarati and coming soon will be in Portuguese and Romanian. So even if you don't have the cards, think about doing a random act of kindness for someone this week.

Searching

2010-12-15T23:10:00.002-06:00

Well I have been doing some searching for people that celebrated Chalica this year and have read a lot of interesting things that people think about Chalica. I have looked at the definition of holiday - which is time away from work. So I guess Chalica qualifies in that respect, but we don't dress up like Halloween, we don't talked about a miracle that has happened like Hanukkah or Christmas. We don't decorate the house, or eat special foods. We just think, talk, maybe sing and/or read about our Seven Principles. We might make plans to do things for the future in regards to our Principles and we think about how they might make us better people.

I did find a blog called Unitarian Everyday that talks about how one family practiced Chalica this year.

Chalica is over for the 2010 year!

2010-12-13T03:12:00.001-06:00

by Sophia Rose of Chalice Palace

Yes, Chalica is over for this year, but that does not mean we need to stop living the Principles. There is a group that has been working on Sources Suppers and I am sure there are other people doing other things out there that are examples of our Principles. I think I will keep blogging and looking and emailing people about our wonderful guiding Principles. I would love to hear from others - so either comment below or email me at klinkzeitz@hotmail.com

We had a wonderful large number of hits on this site: 3361 and people from 22 countries other than the USA! See below for the list.

On the Chalica! facebook page they got 2,373 Likes on the Page alone, hundreds of video views, thousands of blog visits from all over the world, dozens of excellent resources shared, untold numbers of meaningful services rendered...

So keep on telling people about it and remember YOU are a part of this living movement and have made Unitarian Universalist history this year!

Did you see that I started the count down for next year over on the left?

Below are the countries and the number of different spots in the country that visited this site in 2010!

Argentina (AR)1

Australia (AU)5

Belgium (BE)1

Brazil (BR)2

Canada (CA)36

Dominican Republic (DO)1

Germany (DE)1

Greece (GR)1

Guam (GU)1

Guatemala (GT)1

Hong Kong (HK)1

Indonesia (ID)1

Italy (IT)13

Korea, Republic of (KR)1

Netherlands (NL)3

Philippines (PH)1

South Africa (ZA)11

Spain (ES)1

Sweden (SE)1

Switzerland (CH)2

United Arab Emirates (AE)1

United Kingdom (GB)3

Day Seven - We Take Care of The Earth

2010-12-11T23:35:00.004-06:00

We light the chalice today for the 7th Principle - Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Today I am full of questions:

What does this mean to you?

Does this mean that we should recycle, redo, and reuse?

My kids always would laugh at their mom as I would walk along and pick up trash, do you do this?

How do you take care of the earth?

I look around and see earth being torn up for more buildings, sidewalks and roads and I wonder what the earth will be like for my grandchildren. I remember climbing the hills as a child and running freely in the grasslands. Those grassland are no longer there they are a housing tract and one of the hill is gone. The other I couldn't find an access to when I went back in October, 2010. Things have to change, but where will the kids find places to be explorers? And by destroying the earth are we hurting ourselves? I just heard about the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation it seems like new diseases are popping up like flowers.

Don't forget to light a candle tonight in memory of a child who has died, like my nephew Tyler.

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting

Join us on Sunday, December 12, 2010 along with other bereaved families, for the Fourteenth Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting.
Visit The Compassionate Friends website to find a formal service near you, or light a candle in your home at 7 PM knowing you will be joined by hundreds of thousands of people who are thinking about the children around the world who are gone, but continue to live on in the hearts that they touched.

A Remembrance Book will also be available on The Compassionate Friends' website on that day to post a message or tribute.

www.compassionatefriends.org

The Worldwide Candle Lighting held yearly the second Sunday in December

Blessed be

Kathy

Day Six - Build a Fair & Peaceful World

2010-12-11T11:28:00.002-06:00

Today we light our chalice for the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all and it that vane I would like to tell you about something that is happening on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 to bring world community together. It is the Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting. Compassionate Friends is an organization for people who have lost children in anyway. they have support groups and once a year on the 2nd Sunday in December they do this candle lighting that starts at 7pm in New Zealand and as different time zones turn to 7pm, they’ll light up for an hour - so candles will be lit for a full 24 hours across the globe.

This past Oct. 3rd our family lost a young person, Tyler Joel Rudy. Tyler was a very special young person. As a baby he contracted a terrible disease that left him a quadriplegic. He lived all his life in a wheelchair and could do some things with one finger - like make his wheelchair go. He had lots of dreams and managed even with the deck stacked against him to realize them - like going to concerts and going to college. unfortunately he is no longer with us as he died at 22 years old two months ago. So I'll be lighting the candle for him and also for his wonderful caring brothers and parents he left behind.

So I urge you to join the world in light a candle for a lost child, and if you have been fortunate not to have lost a child, light one for Tyler!

If you want to tell me about it, either add a comment here or email me at klinkzeitz@hotmail.com

See below for more information on Compassionate Friends and the world lighting event.

The Compassionate Friends

Worldwide Candle Lighting

Join us on Sunday, December 12, 2010 along with other bereaved families, for the Fourteenth Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting.

Visit The Compassionate Friends website to find a formal service near you, or light a candle in your home at 7 PM knowing you will be joined by hundreds of thousands of people who are thinking about the children around the world who are gone, but continue to live on in the hearts that they touched.

A Remembrance Book will also be available on The Compassionate Friends' website on that day to post a message or tribute.

www.compassionatefriends.org

The Worldwide Candle Lighting held yearly the second Sunday in December

Day Five - All people need a voice.

2010-12-10T00:55:00.003-06:00

Today we light the chalice for - the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. What does this mean? It is nice idea but who runs your congregation? Is it one person or a small group that makes all the decisions? Are you being heard or do you really not want to do the work and thus let others take charge?

Welcome to our new viewers from Argentina, Canada, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland!

Today on Chalica! (facebook page) Kat Morrell wrote, "Great new tradition. I love lighting a chalice before meals and meetings. If anyone is looking for little chalice for home or meeting use, I am a potter and make personal chalices and sell them on etsy I'm working on making some larger chalices now. You can see my personal chalices on my website www.personalchalice.com" There are some very nice chalices there. ~)c

Thank you to Freya Vass-Rhee and her latest Chalica song:

I have a little chalice

I made it out of clay

And when I have made seven

I’ll light one every day

...Oh chalice chalice chalice

I made it out of clay

Oh chalice chalice chalice

I’ll light one every day

It has a lovely body

A flame so pure and bright

And in the week of Chalica

I’ll light one every night

Oh chalice chalice chalice

With flame so pure and bright

Oh chalice chalice chalice

I’ll light one every night

Our chalice stands for goodness

For love that’s ours to share

And seven days and seven ways

To bring light everywhere

Oh chalice chalice chalice

The love that’s ours to share

Oh chalice chalice chalice

Let’s bring light everywhere

Day Four - and search for what is true

2010-12-08T23:21:00.003-06:00

Wednesday night we passed the 3000 mark for viewer of this site. That means we are getting the word out to people. We are being viewed not just in continental USA but all around the world. Here are some of the numbers from places outside the continental USA.

Canada (CA) 34; South Africa (ZA) 11; Italy (IT) 6; Australia (AU) 4; Netherlands (NL) 3; Brazil (BR) 2; United Kingdom (GB) 2; Belgium (BE) 1; Spain (ES) 1; Germany (DE) 1; Switzerland (CH) 1; United Arab Emirates (AE) 1; Guam (GU) 1; Philippines (PH) 1; Indonesia (ID) 1; Guatemala (GT) 1; Dominican Republic (DO) 1; Korea, Republic of (KR) 1; Hong Kong (HK) 1; Greece (GR) 1

So if this is your first time here or you are repeating you are in good company, please feel share this information with others. Remember you don't have to be a UU to celebrate Chalica! Our Principles are worth spreading around.

So what are you going to do today to celebrate Chalica. Day 4 - A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Here's some ideas of things that we have on the website under Just Do It! Thursday: Give gifts in honor of another tradition, or to honor education Examples: - go to a winter-time celebration at another church, temple, mosque, synagogue, etc. - agree to teach someone something you know and love (volunteer for the summer RE program, for instance) - learn something new from someone else, especially an elder. Or make a pact with yourself to do this at another time.
Or how about honoring our troops that are far away from home at this holiday season.

Day Three - We're free to learn together!

2010-12-08T01:30:00.000-06:00

Wow we just passed 3000 viewers! Glad so many are finding out about Chalica.
Day 3 we are free to learn together or acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations what do these two statements mean to you. The free to learn together to me means that not only are we able to learn things we can do it without being in a strict school setting. We can explore life and learn from it. We can do it alone or with others. Many UU places are taking the Religious Exploration out and putting in Sunday school. The reasoning is that people will better understand what we are doing. But are we really doing Sunday school? I hope not! I hope we are encouraging our children and adult to explore religion in a fun and interactive way. That we don’t use desks and lessons like the ones used in the public schools. That we find other ways of learning, that are fun and enjoyable. For by exploring ours and other religions we can find the similarities and differences and work, live and play together in healthy ways. One thing I didn’t know until I lived in Malaysia is that to the Islamic religion a dog is a very dirty animal. So from then on I was much more careful of my dog and the children of my friends that were Muslim.

Last year my friend Cindy, was the intermediate (3^rd, 4^th & 5^th ) grade teacher and she made learning come alive for the kids. She brought in a tub that the kids filled with strips of newspaper and some food scraps and water and then they put in worms. Every week she would bring it from home and the kid would open it and dig for worms. Then they would check the food and moisture and add what was needed and then pack it up and she would take it home so it wouldn’t get too cold in our building.

Are you a person interested in working with kids and having some fun? Then think about helping in your Religious Education classes at your place of worship, as a former DRE I can tell you we always need volunteers. Although I do have to warn you, Cindy started out as a helper and then became an awesome teacher!

Happy Chalica!

Blessed be

Kathy

Day Two

2010-12-07T03:25:00.000-06:00

So many new things happening right now with Chalica. Dan re-recorded his beautiful song Infinite Light with his congregation. And this time we get to see him in the video! I love the way he causally says lets stand up because we do this every year! On
Light A Chalice, by evan austin was performed for the first time on December 5, 2010 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura. you can see both these new songs on their tabs above or on the ChalicaVids at youtube. I am still looking for a videos of other songs.

I was inspired by Freya Vass-Rhee on the Chalica! facebook page she posted this: We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; And a week of good cheer!...anyone up for the next (child-friendly) verse? So I played with it during the day (between classes and grading papers) and decided one way to finish it could be this:

We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; And a week of good cheer! Good tidings to you; wherever you are! Good tidings for Chalica; And a week of good cheer! Oh, bring us a lighted chalice; Oh, bring us a lighted chalice; Oh, bring us a lighted chalice and a week of good cheer! We won't go until we get one; We won't go until we get one; We won't go until we get one, so bring one right here! We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; We wish you a happy Chalica; And a week of good cheer!

Vickie Sovereign is sharing Chalica resources she either made or pulled together from others. They include posters for the seven principles, some especially for kids. At the moment I just have a link to her chart but you can go to the Chalica! facebook page and find the rest.

I found a website by Connie Dunn and today she just gave me permission to link to her Momma Dee Stories these are stories that deal with each principle. This is a big job that I will start later today, so come back and check us out.

It is wonderful finding all the new things people have created for Chalica!

So I wish you a week of good Cheer and a very Happy Chalica!

Kathy

Day One

2010-12-06T01:48:00.000-06:00

Happy Chalica!

Well it is finally here, day 1 of Chalica 2010. What have you planned? Will you tell people Happy Chalica? Or will you be like my husband Leigh, he likes to say, "Cheerful Chalica!" Will you remember to listen to everyone today? Will you value the people around you? Are you going to try to forgive anyone? Have you noticed that a lot of holidays do have a day for forgiveness? If you can't think of what to do click on Monday of Just Do It! and follow it.
I can’t wait to hear evan's new song and Lisa's new song: The Seven Days of Chalica. I read Jeff's sermon: Mixed Emotions from yesterday, the link is also posted below.

Did you know on Sunday, December 5, 2010 many UU Fellowship Halls and Churches all over the world had Chalica Services? If you get a chance take a look at the map in the lower right-hand side of this blog. We have been looked at least once by every continent except Antarctica.
Unfortunately our golden counter showed 2476+ then died! We have a site manager that was added at about 400 views on the lower left. So just add 400 to that and you will have a general idea of how many visitors we have had since the middle of November 2010.

Well thanks to Sophia (Chalica Palace) I have new earrings that she sent me as a Chalica gift. I'll try to get a picture and post them later in the day.

Please let me know how you are celebrating Chalica or just that you are celebrating it this year. You can post in comments below or email me at klinkzeitz@hotmail.com

Happy Chalica!

Kathy

"Christma-Hanu-Rama-Ka-Dona-Kwanzaa" by Roy Zimmerman

2010-12-06T00:03:00.000-06:00

A good reason to celebrate Chalica. It makes the holidays less confusing as Roy found out with his song. "Christma-Hanu-Rama-Ka-Dona-Kwanzaa" by Roy Zimmerman

Thank you Daylene!

2010-12-05T11:02:00.001-06:00

Five years ago in 2005 Daylene Marshall came up with the idea of Chalica. I found out about Chalica in 2008 and thus this will be my 3rd year celebrating.

Thank you Daylene!

I have been interested in finding out more about Daylene so I have been looking for information on the web about her. She was the DRE at First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico from August 2007 until September 2010. I found this Puppet show on "What Unitarian Universalists Believe" at First Unitarian that she created while there. She has now moved back to Vancouver, Canada.

Why does Chalica appeal to us? I think That Rev. Dawn sums it up best at the end of her 2009 sermon. "We human beings crave ritual, and we crave identity, and this depth of meaning. This is precisely why the idea of Chalica came into being. Whether you decide to try this low-stress celebration or not, may you and yours find ways to explore and deepen your faith this holiday season"

Friday Thougths

2010-12-03T19:26:00.000-06:00

Sophia Rose from Chalice Palace >

I am just amazed at all the interest that is happening for Chalica this year. This is Wonderful! as of right now we have had over 2000 hits on this website since November 17!

So have you started to think about how you are going to celebrate Chalica this year? Will you do it as a family or as a group of friends or as an individual? Will you create the event for yourself with some of our helpful ideas on the site?

Follow a planned event see: Just Do It! or Lisa's daily ideas or Jeff's written document. Or will you turn on Jeff's videos and let him lead you through a short service? Have you checked out Sharon Barlow Palm's Seven Principles Resources on Netflix? She had listed movies for each principle.
Have you decided on a chalice? Will you have just one or one for each person?
Please let me know what you plan - there are two places you can do this. Under this post is a place for comments and there is also a place in the guestbook or you can email me at klinkzeitz@hotmail.com.

Happy Chalica!

Stop The Presses and Read All About It!

2010-12-02T09:44:00.000-06:00

Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz has just written a new Chalica song to the 12 Days of Christmas Tune.

Jeff Liebmann, Consulting Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Smithon and author of many UU curricula has put together "Daily readings for Chalica in video form and as an on online document"* - 1 for each day to lead you through a wonderful experience and all you need is a computer then click and listen!

Thanks Lisa and Jeff!

*Jeff Liebmann https://sites.google.com/site/uucsofsmithton/index/sermons

Gifts and other things

2010-12-01T22:26:00.000-06:00

Sophia Rose from Chalice Palace >

I have to write about Chalice Palace and Sophia the owner. I contacted Sophia to ask permission to use the clipart to the right. I had found it quite by accident and thought is was just a perfect fit for my blog about Chalica. Sophia graciously gave me permission and asked some questions about Chalica and then we both put links to each others sites on our sites. I really like the idea of a Chalice cookie cutter and so I ordered a set from Chalice Palace's website. Well it came yesterday and with it a Chalica gift from Sophia. So thank you to her and I urge you all to give her site a look. Not only does she have things she sells on it but she also has free recipes and ideas. She is a person that seems to live our UU Principles!

Rainbow Chalice

2010-11-29T22:09:00.000-06:00

Some people were asking about my new rainbow chalice that we used on Sunday at the UUSBHC. I have made a link to it from here. There are two different kinds one with pastels and one with the primary colors. Both have containers for seven candles. The one I have is the 7 cup Rainbow Arch Candle Holder from Amazon.
If you are interested you can click below each picture or go to the Chalice page for more information.

7 Cup Rainbow Arch Candle Holder

CHAKRA RAINBOW ARCH

Chalica at the UUSBHC

2010-11-28T20:04:00.000-06:00

Well I got through the Chalica service at the UUSBHC and I think it went fine. Quite a few people shared that they will celebrate Chalica this year, that they thought it was more complicated than we showed them today! We used my new rainbow chalice and it looked great.

We decided to have the service on each of the principles.

Check out the Order of Service under UUSBHC.

Preparing

2010-11-27T14:24:00.000-06:00

by Sophia Rose (See Chalica Palace>)

Well today I am going to start preparing my house for Chalica. In my studies of other religious holiday - ie. Chanukah, Chinese New Year and others. there is a period of time before the holiday where one cleans the house for the holiday. Today I am going to start with this, some organizing, some putting away special dishes we used for Thanksgiving, and then I am going to finish my story: A Holiday for Tyler.

Plus I need to make sure I have the projector in the car and get the booklets copies oh and finish and copy the handouts for families and adults! So much to do... maybe more later!

Friday

2010-11-26T23:45:00.000-06:00

Some people call this Black Friday, because it is the day that the retailers are suppose to end in the black. We we did our part on-line this year, not a lot just a bit. I am getting excited about Chalica now that Thanksgiving is over. I didn't get any decorations up yet for the holidays, so I have that to look forward to this week. Hopefully it will warm up. I am going to think about songs and things to do for each day of Chalica. will let you know when I figure some out. Monday will be a challenge as I have to work all day til 8pm!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T12:07:00.000-06:00

"We may not see each other often, but the times we share are close to the heart." Flavia
I could not say it better to those that are no longer with us and to those far away. This is a tough Thanksgiving as every year our family remembers the Thanksgiving that we called California to Grandma and Papa Lon's house to hear that what Tyler was thankful for was his new electric wheelchair. It was a very long time ago and many other good things have happened to all of us, but that was a very strong moment in time.
Tyler we miss you this year! Tyler Joel Rudy what an inspiration you were to many.
I am thankful for the wonderful sisters I have and the love they share and for their wonderful children they have raised. I am thankful for my very supportive family they have made a very difficult time easier to bear.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving to all!
And Happy Birthday to a great friend Dennis Smithe.

Quiet times

2010-11-24T14:41:00.000-06:00

I had forgotten how noisy children can be when trapped inside on a cold rainy day. Not bad noise, just noise from each and everyone, the computers and the t.v. They have gone home and now it is mostly quiet and I am taking a moment to catch my breath. We still have the table to set and some cleaning to do before tomorrow, but it will happen.

New to me song!!

2010-11-24T01:29:00.000-06:00

Just found a new to me song - The Seven Principles Song. it is great. check out the link on the songs tab. More later! Enjoy the day!
Oh and welcome to our viewers from Republic of Korea, Canada, the Philippines and all over the USA!

Day is done.

2010-11-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

Long day almost over. Spend the day with my little friend Jaxyn. He is a very smart little boy and very clever. It turns out he loves to vacuum so he had lots of fun with my vacuum and the floor. It was very interesting to watch him, he was so intense about getting up every little piece of fur and/or feathers. Yes we still had some stray pink feathers floating about from Ragbrai. Well the house is slowly getting ready for Thanksgiving. As I do some little preps for the Chalica service on Sunday. I hope we inspire more people to practice it this year. Dec. 6th will come too soon I think.

Do you have to be a UU?

2010-11-22T15:06:00.001-06:00

by Sophia Rose (see Chalice Palace Link)

Do you have to be a Unitarian Universalist to celebrate Chalica? No, but you do have to believe in and want to practice the Seven Principles. There are two different versions of the principles - adult version and the kids version. They come from our UU Sources .

Working on the Chalica Site

2010-11-22T15:02:00.001-06:00

Today is my birthday and I have had a great day working on my Chalica site! This past week I have made some new Chalica friends: Sophia Rose of Chalice Palace and Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Topeka, Kansas.
It is so great to see the idea of Chalica spread across the nation. I just want to thank evan for telling about Chalica and encouraging me to practice this new tradition.

Chalica

2010-09-09T21:26:00.001-05:00

by Sophia Rose (see below)

CHALICA is an unofficial holiday originally conceived by Daylene Marshall of Vancouver, BC as a way to celebrate and put into intentional practice the Seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist tradition - one a night, for seven nights. The celebration begins on the first Monday of December, and is marked by the lighting of a chalice each day (or evening). Gifts that reflect the particular day's Principle may be given, but the focus tends to be more on mindfulness and action.

The holiday has 3 specifically dedicated songs so far, thanks to evan austin and Dan Flores.

There's a booklet for the children. Another UU Sharon Camerell has made up a sheet on how to make your own recycled chalice.

Sophia Rose of Chalice Palace not only has the great flaming chalice clipart used above but lots of wonderful gift items for Unitarian Universalists. My personal favorite are the flaming Chalice Cookie cutters, the project ideas, earrings and the free items and...well you just need to explore this site yourself!