Adult Faith Development: Love and Death
November 29, 2009
Beginning on Thursday evening, January 14, 2010, from 7-9pm and running every other week for six sessions through March 25, 2010, Phil Smith and Peg Boyle will be leading ” Love and Death: My Journey through the Valley of the Shadow” based on the book by the same title by the Rev. Forrest Church. With insightful Unitarian Universalist theology this book has opened up vistas for us to gain deeper appreciation of life, death and afterlife. During this course we will explore “Love and Death” and how we can accompany others on their journeys through the valley of the shadow and in turn learn about dying and living ourselves.
Visions of Bell Street
November 29, 2009
| December 27, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
Vision and Mission Task Force
The Mission and Vision Task Force will explore essential questions about who we are and what we want to be to help develop our common vision of the future.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
November 29, 2009
| December 24, 2009 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Rev. Jose Ballester
Our traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service will feature carols, stories and good cheer. Cookies and cider will be available following the service.
Service canceled due to blizzard
November 29, 2009
| December 20, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
Service canceled due to blizzard.
I’ll Have the Holiday Special, Please
November 29, 2009
| December 6, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
The Wiorship Committee
The Worship Committee lightly celebrates every holiday of the winter season in poetry and song.
Ethical Eating: The Truth About Water
November 7, 2009
Aggressive advertising by corporations has convinced many US citizens that drinking bottled water is healthier and safer than drinking tap water. Guess what! It’s not. And there are good reasons to drink tap water instead. Although there are some places where mineral content adversely affects the taste of tap water, the truth is that tap water is safe to drink all over the USA and Europe (don’t try this in India or Africa). In fact, public water supplies are much more carefully regulated and more frequently tested than the sources of bottled water, which is one of the least-regulated industries. And about 40% of the sources of bottled water are merely tap water from somewhere else! Recent studies by the National Resources Defense Council concluded that bottled water is not safer or cleaner than tap water. (Go to their website at nrdc.org/water for details.)
People, including those who can least afford it, spend 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than tap water. Providence Water recently pointed out in their annual water quality report to consumers (which you all received - remember?) that 8 glasses of water per day, including that used to make coffee, tea, juice, etc., costs $1400 per person annually if bottled water is used, whereas the same amount of tap water would cost 49 cents!
And then there are all those plastic bottles. Despite nationwide efforts to recycle, the Container Recycling Institute estimates that 90% of plastic water bottles end up in landfills. And if you need more convincing, there are the costs to the environment of moving all that water from one place to another. I am always surprised when I notice huge trucks delivering massive quantities of water to residences, stores, and restaurants.
Okay - once in a while a Pellegrino or Gerolsteiner is a treat - but, for every day use, drink water from your tap and be grateful for safe drinking water. It is a privilege that all too many citizens of this world lack. This is one ethical choice that is easy to make.
Winter coat exchange
November 7, 2009
Winter Coat Exchange: Bell Street Chapel will once again take part in the Winter Coat Exchange which takes place on the day after Thanksgiving (Buy Nothing Day) If you have a winter coat you no longer need, bring it in to Bell Street any Sunday between now and Thanksgiving. We will add it to those we have collected and bring it to the event which takes place on the State House lawn closest to the Providence Place Mall. Or if you prefer, you can drop off the coat yourself at the event on Friday, Nov. 27, after 9 a.m. at the site. This is an opportunity for families with tight budgets to see that they, and their children, have appropriate coats for the coming winter.
Service Auction
November 7, 2009
Nov. 22
After service
Greetings from Events. The major event for November is always our annual Thanksgiving potluck dinner and service/goods auction. We generally raise over $1000 with this fund raiser but our goal this year is to double that amount. We think it is possible by getting organized early. We want to solicit your ideas as to what you can donate in the way of desirable goods and services. Some popular past donations in the way of services have been: round trip limo service to the airport, train or bus station, babysitting, pet/house sitting, yard clean-up for spring and fall, garage or attic cleaning, baking offerings, lunch/ dinner parties for 4 to 8 people in your home, canoe trips, snow shoveling, donated entertainment for parties/special occasions, caretaking for Bell Street gardens, and steady supply of vegetables from your garden. We hope this list will spark your own creative juices and you can come up with many more unique and interesting ideas to add to the list.
We have a new concept to consider this year. If people have chores or tasks they would like to hire others to do, they can put that on the list with the amount they are willing to pay Bell Street. The goal will then be to ask someone in the audience to commit to doing that chore. For example, Ellen Kellner would pay $50 to Bell Street if someone volunteers to mow her lawn for 4 hours with her tractor on a Saturday afternoon once in the summer.
Some of the goods that have been auctioned in the past are: homemade candy, cakes, cookies, soups, and gift baskets. We are presently soliciting a number of tickets to auction, Trinity, Gamm, 2
nd Story, Festival Ballet, Philharmonic, and RI Chamber Series to name some. If you know someone who owns a club venue or restaurant and would like to donate a gift certificate to be auctioned, that would be great. Also, if someone has a nice summer cottage, or time share they would like to auction for a week-end holiday, that would be wonderful. As you can see, the possibilities are endless, and we know we can count on you to think of some unique offerings to get us to our $2000 goal. To make an offer of a service or some special food or gift, tell or call anyone on the Events Committee (Ellen Kellner, 949-3128, Jasmine Appleberry, 225-2044, or Tom Mack, 523-6601) before November 15 and we will put in on the master list.
Also, in December, save the date for the Providence String Quartet on Sunday December 20 at 3 PM. Program to be announced and tickets will go on sale early in December.
Habitat for Humanity
November 7, 2009
| November 29, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
Herman deKoe
The head of the Rhode Island chapter of Habitat for Humanity will speak about thechallenges of volunteer house-building from a religious perspective.
Gifts and Thanks
November 7, 2009
| November 30, 1999 | ||
| 12:00 am | ||
| November 22, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
Rev. José Ballester
We will give thanks for the gifts of this community and prepare ourselves, and our loved ones, to be conscious of the gifts and wants
of the larger community.