The last film we viewed dealt with a person whose brain was normal, but had lost the ability to use his body; Monday's film is the story of another real person, Temple Grandin, whose body functions normally, but whose brain is another story. At the age of four, Ms Grandin has virtually no vocabulary. The professionals say she is hopeless and needs to be put away in an appropriate institution. Her mother balks and begins intensive language training. Temple masters several sentences she comes to use repeatedly, and earns the nickname "tape recorder". It turns out that she's autistic. Things are touch and go until in her late teens when she spends the summer at a cattle ranch. It turns out she has an uncanny ability to understand animals and animal behavior; to quote Ms Grandin, "I think like a cow". With the support of her loving family, Temple dedicates herself to learning and becomes a famed animal behaviorist. Her brain's animal like programing gives her a unique ability to understand them, and she fulfills her love of education by teaching about autism and the most humane ways to treat livestock and pets. This is a great story of recovering the genius that hides behind learning disabilities in the standard areas. Five star rating all around.

Time:  Dinner: 6:30 PM with Movie Viewing to begin at 7:30 PM
Place:  3915 St. Charles Ave., Unit 613  (New Orleans)
Questions?  Need directions?  Call Max at (504) 895-5185 or 220-2616. Please RSVP to Max if you plan to join the group dining in oeschgerm@yahoo.com.

And of course, there will be hot, buttered popcorn for movie viewing!

The Interim/Developmental Minister Search Committee, comprised of Katie Gelfand, Henry McCarthy, and Linda Reine has begun its work. The committee met earlier this week to generate and compile interview questions with written input provided by several church committee chairs. A conference call was held with Rev. Kenn Hurto, Lead Executive of the UUA Southern Region to help the committee more fully understand the search process and resources to facilitate it.

Currently we have two candidates from the Southern Region Transitions Office via Rev. Kenn whose interviews are being scheduled for next week. The committee will obtain written information, including resumes and sample sermons, in addition to interviewing the candidates. We will then make a recommendation to the Board by the end of the month. Rev. Hurto will be in New Orleans, working with church leaders and interested church members and friends on June 8th, as well as preaching from our pulpit on June 9th.

In January 2012, the UUA Board decided to meet in New Orleans, LA to engage the leadership of the local congregations in conversation about the post-Katrina response of the UUA and UUSC.  After nearly seven years, there were still hurt feelings and unanswered questions about how the monies raised by the UUA/UUSC joint campaign were distributed and accounted for.  The Board listened deeply, asked difficult questions, and left New Orleans with a commitment to address the issue.

In addition to speaking with the congregational leaders in New Orleans, the Board entered into conversations with a number of UUA staff and volunteers who spent time in the Gulf Coast area after the storms.  As a result of this process, at our April 2013 meeting in Boston, the UUA Board approved and sent a letter to the three Greater New Orleans UU churches, acknowledging the pain caused by the lack of clarity in the initial UUA/UUSC fundraising campaign and the well-meaning yet at times unhelpful assistance the UUA provided. Here is a copy of the letter.

In addition to the letter, the UUA Board voted to designate funds raised from the GA plenary collection to go to the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists to use and distribute as they saw fit.  The UUA Board would like to thank the New Orleans area congregations and everyone who helped out in these difficult years since the storms and flooding of 2005.

The next quarterly congregational meeting of members and friends of First UU Church of New Orleans will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2013, immediately following services.

Agenda items will include:

• Minutes of the February 2013 meeting
• Treasurer's report
• Proposed by-laws amendment. Church members should have received a copy of the proposed revisions to the bylaws via email. If you didn't get it please contact the Board Secretary.
• Nominating team report
• Election of new board members
• Approval of delegates to General Assembly
• Update on ministerial search
• Upcoming visit of Rev. Kenn Hurto, UUA Transitions Office (Saturday, June 8th and Sunday, June 9th)

Please plan to attend this important meeting.  We will aim to finish the business within 90 minutes.  Church leadership will be available after the meeting for anyone who wishes to convene in circle to discuss the ministerial transition process and ways to help our congregation move forward.

Thanks for your dedication to our church community.

Your Board of Trustees

Dates: June 10th, 2013 – August 11th, 2013
Hours: 5hrs/week, 1-2 planning and on site from 9 am until 12:30 pm each Sunday.
Compensation: $600

Description: The Summer Director of Religious Education(DRE) is responsible for planning a “one-room schoolhouse” program for First UU's children aged 4-14 to meet Sundays during the summer. The Summer DRE is also responsible for securing nursery childcare workers as well. Bart Frost, the Director of Religious Education, will be available for consulting on activities before the start of the working period and occasionally during. The Summer DRE will also be in communication with the Religious Education Committee co-chairs.

Qualifications:

• Great with children of all ages
• Self-motivated
• Creative and caring
• Experience with teaching children of differing ages and abilities

There will be a background check.

Cover letters and resumes should be submitted to Bart Frost at dre.fuuno@gmail.com. Paper copies can be mailed to 5212 S. Claiborne Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Cathy Cohen's family has asked the church for recommendations of good, reasonable, delicious local caterers for the reception that will be held after the memorial service on June 15.  Please contact Rev. Melanie or the church office with your referrals.

At its April meeting in Boston, the UUA Board of Trustees voted to include a special voluntary donation to the Greater New Orleans UU churches at a plenary session at this June's General Assembly in Louisville, KY.  This is a direct result of the UUA Board's experience of touring the three congregations and hearing the personal sharing by local UUs that happened at the January meeting held in New Orleans.  The collection will be officially announced in a letter to be sent to all three congregations' leaders, but was released informally this week on the UUA website.

During the meeting, held April 18–21, the UUA board also agreed to send a letter to the members of the three congregations in the New Orleans, La., area about the UUA’s response to them in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005—a response that generated controversy and misunderstandings about the way emergency relief funds raised jointly by the UUA and the UU Service Committee were allocated to UU congregations and to non-UU agencies and organizations.

Dear friends, I know that this transition period at the end of a ministry can be very emotional. Some people actually go through the classic stages of grief (denial, bargaining, anger and so on) at such times.

While First Church doesn't yet have a Right Relations Policy, I strongly urge you to act AS IF the church had one.

That means, speak TO people you have an issue with, not ABOUT them. Do not vent on Facebook or Twitter or YouTube or even private emails and phone calls to your friends. Go directly to the person with whom you have a conflict. If you are nervous, you can ask a member of the Committee on Ministry to sit with you. But don't go on a campaign against the person or group you have a problem with. Be direct and honest.

If it happens that I am the person you have a "bone to pick with" by all means let me know directly. I welcome the chance to hear your views before the ministry ends. There never was any reason not to tell me if you were unhappy, and even less reason now.

Remember, you are the church, and how the church behaves in challenging times defines it.

In faith,
Rev. Melanie

Now that the congregation has made its decision, I have about 33 days in which to make farewells to First Church members and friends, and to clean out the office for the next minister.

UUMA Guidelines strongly suggest that former ministers refrain from intentional formal contact with former parishioners, in order to clear a spiritual space for their successor minister. This does not mean that I can't speak to you after the ministry ends on May 31, but it does mean I cannot perform any pastoral functions or do social things with First Churchers after that time.

If you'd like to spend some time with me before I leave on May 31, please call me on my cell or at the office to make an appointment, or email me at melanie.morelensminger@gmail.com (I will be transitioning away from using minister@firstuuno.org). If you have time to come help box up books and clear out the office, that too will be gratefully received.

Please know that I will always be glad that I was able to come home to serve First Church and New Orleans, and honored to have been your minister. I will always be happy to greet you at GNOUU and CELSJR events, or if we should see each other at festivals or the grocery store. My time serving you has been a joy.

Rev. Melanie