UUBCO Discussion & Message Forum

Present: Lucinda Manning, SAC Chair; Lorraine Keegan, SAC Co-coordinator; Brian Kahn, SAC Member; Susan Peters, SAC Member/Community Outreach Project Leader, Lunchtime Meal Program

Minutes:

The meeting commenced at 10:20 A.M. and the minutes of the September 20, 2009 SAC meeting were accepted.

UU Green Committee and SAC
Lorraine provided the UU SAC Committee with recent information regarding possible cooperation on a social action project with our UU Fellowship Green Committee –

Daria Gregg, Co-Chair of the UU Green Committee, told Lorraine that the Green Committee is working toward official congregational Green Sanctuary status following guidelines from the national UUA.  Towards that end, Daria asked that the UU SAC Committee meet with the Green Committee and Mannajo Green, (who received an environmental justice grant through the local Clearwater environmental organization (http://www.clearwater.org/) from the NYS Environmental Justice Department.

The purpose of the joint meeting would be to discuss a possible joint environmental project that will take place in Peekskill focusing on asthma. (Discussion re: need more information on what form this project would take, who in the Green and SAC committees are interested enough to work on this joint project, and who would volunteer to coordinate this project with everyone on both committees.)

Planning for UU’s SAC Sunday in 2010
Following up on earlier discussions/voting in the Sept. SAC meeting, Ethical Eating will be the focus for our Social Action Sunday next spring. (Update: Phyllis Tortora Okayed May 9th as SAC Sunday and put us on the UU program calendar for next year.).  Both Lucinda and Lorraine agreed on this issue because it is a UUA GA (General Assembly) social action issue for 2009-2010 and UU congregations are asked to study this issue and educate their membership on the issue throughout the year.

Both Lucinda and Lorraine will be working on background and proposed speakers for this topic for SAC Sunday with the UU Green Committee, the UU Ethical Eating Group, and with Peggy Clarke, as this is a major part of the current focus of her ministry (which includes environmental and ethical eating concerns).

Lorraine contacted Daria about Eric Scuccimarra’s Ethical Eating groups as Eric is involved with the food ethics and the local food movement. More background on program plans as we continue to gather information on this social action issue from UUA and from Peggy. (Update: Peggy has expressed interest in helping us to put together this program next May.)


Report on the Lunchtime Feeding Program (Peekskill Salvation Army)
Susan Peters contacted Shahan Islam, teacher of Senior Youth Group, about this month’s Lunchtime Meal Program.  She will place a request for pots, pans, knives and cutting boards in October 25 weekly announcements.  She suggested having shelves in the kitchen devoted to the Lunchtime Meals Program for storing pots, pans, foil, oil, etc.  Lorraine mentioned that on Saturday, November 14, SAC members could help clean the Fellowship kitchen then secure and label the necessary shelving.

UU SAC’s 2nd Collections Annual List
This month’s Second Collection was taken up for Hope’s Door, (formerly called the Northern Westchester Shelter – 24-hour hotline – (888)-438-8700) please see link here: .http://www.northernwestchestershelter.org/.  Lucinda wrote up the 2nd Collections blurb for the Newsletter and had also emailed Bearni for further procedures for carrying out the collections each month so that we can write up a policy guideline for our SAC policies.

In discussion with Rev. Jim during coffee hour, Jim mentioned that he needed to be informed of the 2nd collection each month so that he can announce it in his Friday email and from the pulpit at each service.  Lucinda was not aware of this procedure as she thought the 2nd collection is always put in the monthly Newsletter (and printed up in the services program) but ,nevertheless, Lucinda will tell Bearni about this too, in case she doesn’t know that Jim wants to be contacted directly about this beforehand.

Lucinda received a list of 11 charities/non-profits from Lorraine (that Bearni had passed along related to previous 2nd collections donations).  Lucinda is putting together a hand-out on this 2nd collections list – with information, addresses, contacts, and web-links, etc. so that the UU Fellowship and the UU Board Trustees (Greg Kullberg, Treasurer, etc.) will have this information in coming years.

Re: possible future 2nd collections 
Last March 29, at our UU SAC Sunday on The Human Costs of War, Lucinda passed out flyers on the ISP (the Iraqi Student Project) which is a humanitarian and educational funding effort sponsored by other faith groups and peace organizations around the U.S.  In Westchester, many groups are supporting donations for several Iraqi students at local colleges in the area. The link and more background for this group is at : http://iraqistudentproject.org/.

Lucinda had suggested in the Sept. meeting that the SAC November’s Second Collection support the ISP. (Update: Lucinda was unable to schedule ISP students for a Sunday services in November so she arranging this for a future 2nd collection in the months ahead.)  Lorraine and Bryan voiced concern about collecting for this project and Lucinda will send the ISP link for them to review.  Lorraine suggested a possibility for a joint collection with proceeds being divided between an Iraqi student involved with the project and a college student who is the child of an U.S. veteran.

Lucinda just reminded everyone that SAC took up a 2nd collection for the HOME AGAIN veteran’s fund (which provides support and funding for veterans and their families) last March for SAC Sunday.  Lucinda feels that we need to support all of our SAC members’ social action concerns and doesn’t think that we should avoid any controversy in SAC.  It  is important that we include support for peacemaking efforts (a UUA social action issue again this year) in addition to the other local charities that we support.  Susan mentioned that she saw a newspaper article that seemed to be about the Iraqi Student Project.  Lucinda has contacted the local ISP contacts and arrange to see if we can bring some of the students to our UU to speak with our members on the 2nd collection Sunday.  (Update: Lucinda emailed the link to SAC members about Iraqi Student Project for their review.).

Note re: SAC members attendance at meetings: 
There was discussion about low turnout at SAC meetings.  At the beginning of the year, both Lucinda and Lorraine specifically arranged for two times for SAC meetings – between the two services and following the 2nd services to encourage attendance.  (Note: The Program Committee has also done this -- alternating meeting times on Sundays -- with mixed success too.)

Lorraine reported that she had contacted Amadea Newman, a visitor at the SAC June meeting, about attending this SAC meeting and possible SAC membership, but she is attending choir practice at 10:30 a.m. today.  Lorraine had no contact information for Nora Mulligan, who had also attended a SAC meeting previously, but Nora is also a member of the choir now and so will not be available between services on Choir Sundays.

(Lorraine mentioned a need for follow up with Rita and the current SAC listserv, which is out-of-date.  Reminder -- Lucinda asked both Rita and Jan for updated lists several times last spring, but we now need to focus on new member sign-ups instead -- as many of the previous SAC members have moved away, dropped out or have different commitments in the UU now.)

The SAC meeting adjourned at 11:10 A.M.

Lorraine Keegan, for the SAC