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Dr. Linda Steiner

SYNCHRONICITY IN OUR DAILY LIVES:
DO THINGS REALLY HAPPEN FOR A REASON?

We have all experienced events that appear to have miraculously coincided at meaningful times in our lives. While many attribute these experiences to random chance or mere coincidence, it has been argued that synchronized occurrences may be forms of divine intervention – designed as signposts to capture our conscious attention and guide us through the maze of life.

Dr. Steiner’s presentation will explore the concepts of synchronicity in our daily lives and highlight the value and importance of remaining mindful of these unique and inspirational experiences.

Dr. Linda Steiner holds a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology from Loyola University. Over the last 18 years, she has worked as a university educator and is currently an associate lecturer at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is known in Door County as the author of, “Why Is It…? , a regular column featured in the Peninsula Pulse from 2008-2011.

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Jodie DeSalvo

Award-winning pianist and conductor Jodie DeSalvo will pair up with mezzo-soprano Cynthia Stiehl for an evening of spectacular music May 18 at the UU Fellowship, Ephraim.

DeSalvo of Naples, Florida is a perennial favorite during the summer Birch Creek Performance Series. She has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe as a piano soloist. She has produced 10 CDs of solo piano literature, chamber and choral music. She serves as a director of choirs and artistic director of concerts for two schools, as well as director of the Seacrest Performing Arts Academy, all in Naples, Florida. She will perform works of Mussorgsky, Liszt, Chopin and skits of Victor Borge.

Assisting DeSalvo is Cynthia Stiehl of Ephraim, an American music specialist. Stiehl has performed in numerous Door County venues. Recently she premiered works by acclaimed composer Richard Cumming that he wrote especially for her. She can be heard on the CD “The Peninsula Music Festival Presents” singing Moravian Songs with the Ad Hoc String Quartet and has produced two of her own CDs with John Browning at the piano.

This Emerson Series performance will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 10341 Hwy. 42 (Water St.), Ephraim beginning at 7 PM. Admission at the door is $20 including a post-concert elegant reception providing an opportunity to meet the performers.  For more information, call (920) 854-7559.

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Karon Winzenz

By Jane Delcarson

An exhibition of Maya textiles titled “Hand Woven Textiles of the Living Maya” will be on display at the UU Fellowship Gallery May 6- 30.

The garments featured are from the collection of UU Member Karon Winzenz, an art historian and  Maya scholar, publishing and teaching in the field.  She earned an M.F.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has taught traditional textile art including that of the Mayas.

Prof. Winzenz stated, her collection is of “garments that were woven on back-strap looms by Maya women living in the mountainous area of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico.

After the Spanish conquest, the Maya experienced 500 years of cultural disruption brought on by the decimation of their population through disease, hunger, racial discrimination, and war faring verging on genocide.  Yet this resilient people have endured and some traditional practices have survived.

Mayan Textile

In the highlands, many women still wear traditional hand-woven clothing. As in many cultures, women are the ones who preserve and pass on traditional knowledge and practices.  Although most men have adopted western style clothing for daily wear, many still wear traditional hand-woven regalia in religious and civic ceremonies.  Each village has unique designs that are specific to the community.  Clothing for both daily wear and ceremonial use from several villages will be displayed.”

Mayan Textile

The UU Gallery is open to the public on Mon., Wed., Fri. from 1 -3 pm and on Sundays from 11 am until 12:30 pm, no charge.   The UU Fellowship is located on Hwy. 42 (Water Street) Ephraim at the south end of the Green Gable Shops. For more information, call (920) 854-7559.

Continue reading »]]> On Wednesday May 2, the UU Book Club will meet at 1:30 pm at the UU Fellowship to discuss The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht, hosted and moderated by Dottie Gerrits. This is the first book by this Belgrade-born novelist who is ethnic Bosniak/Slovene. She has lived in the United States for several years and writes exquisite English. Set in an unnamed Balkan country, the narrative weaves between the present and the recent past and interweaves fact and folklore, ritual and superstition with an immediacy that is totally convincing. It features a young woman doctor’s relationship with her grandfather (also a doctor) and the stories he tells her, about the ‘deathless man’ who meets him several times in different places and never changes and about a deaf-mute girl from his childhood village who befriends a tiger that has escaped from a zoo. In an interview, the author said; “It’s a saga about doctors and their relationships to death throughout all these wars in the Balkans.” In 2011, Obreht won the prestigious Orange Prize for this novel, the youngest novelist to receive the award to date.

In June we will discuss So Much for That by Lionel Shriver.

Continue reading »]]> There will be a Women’s Luncheon held at Scandia Village on Thursday, May 24. Plan to gather in the Meadows dining room at 11:30 am to socialize! Lunch will be served at about noon and the menu includes chicken salad on a croissant, four bean salad, fruit garnish, lemon bars and coffee, tea or ice tea. The cost is $8 dollars and must be paid in cash or check made out to Pam Goode. Sorry no credit cards!  Reservations must be made May 17 through Dottie Gerrits or Pam Goode. So far, 31 women have already commited to being there!

In addition to a fun and informative trivia contest about Scand, there will be door prizes and a small gift from Scandia Village for each person attending. Two of the staff will attend the luncheon and share information about all that is currently available there and about the big plans that are in the works for this amazing place! Following the luncheon tours of the facility will be available.

Continue reading »]]> MONDAY, MAY 14, 3:00 – 5:00 PM

A one-session discussion for Members and Friends, facilitated by the Rev. Cynthia Johnson.

This is for YOU if you find your life enhanced/deepened through images and language that refer to God, when your individual spiritual journey connects you with an ultimacy that you name God. We’ll talk about that, about spiritual practices, and individual journeys that have brought us to this place.

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A one-session discussion for Members and Friends, facilitated by the Rev. Cynthia Johnson.

This is for YOU if your individual religious journey has led you to speak the language of humanism, which may be characterized by understanding the most important relationships are between/among humans and you are fluent in the language of science and everyday practicality.  We’ll talk about your individual religious journey and identify words and images that most deeply express your beliefs.  We may talk about the language of awe and what you think about religious stories/myths.

Continue reading »]]> “We’re number one! We’re number one!”

“War stands for We Are Right.”

Chants like these are heard across America at sporting events, religious activities and in schools.

Named Best Documentary at the Santa Cruz Film Festival in 2008, The Listening Project attempts to uncover answers to the question, “What does the world think of the United States of America?” To find out, filmmakers Dominic Howes and Joel Weber traveled to fourteen countries around the globe, listening to people. Individuals from all walks of life and myriad cultures freely express their stark opinions — both complimentary and condemning — of a nation that may not be loved by all, but leaves few lives untouched. One man said there are many good aspects of the US but it is like complimenting the delicious food served in the restaurant of a sinking ship.

You will not want to miss this film on Tuesday, May 15 at 4:30 pm.

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Larry Eriksson

Larry J. Eriksson will read his works…exploring life’s mysteries through poetry… at the May 9^th Dickinson Poetry Series, 7 pm.

Eriksson is a Wisconsin writer and poet living in Madison and Ellison Bay with his wife, Karen. He has shared his poetry at the UU Fellowship of Door County and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. His poems preserve memories, clarify thoughts, explore feelings, or simply have fun with language. They have appeared in The Capitol Times, the Peninsula Pulse, the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Poets’ Calendars of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, the chapbook No Breath is Lost published by the Dickinson Poetry Series, Verse Wisconsin, and Equinox, He has written the chapbooks Moonlight, Moments, Mysteries, Music, MindGames, and Marching that are available at www.quartersectionpress.com.

For over 30 years, he worked as a research engineer and manager specializing in acoustics, noise control, and signal processing. He is the author of many published technical papers, chapters in two engineering books, and two books on sociopolitical issues:Business Decisions: the impact of corporate mergers and global capitalism on our lives (2002) and Broken Strings, Missing Notes: strengthening democracy and seeking justice in a nation out of tune (2005). In addition to writing, he enjoys reading, playing the violin, swimming, and cycling.