Unifier » March 2002 » EUU Spring Retreat 2002

EUU Spring Retreat 2002

Saint Prix (near Paris)

April 5-7, 2002

Former UUA Moderator Denny Davidoff

EUU and the members of the Paris fellowship cordially invite you and your family to come to St. Prix and join together in fellowship and community for the semi-annual retreat on the weekend of 5-7th April 2002 (the weekend following Easter). We are delighted to have Denise (Denny) Davidoff as our theme speaker. The title of her keynote speech is The Covenantal Life We Share. She will also be organizing the Sunday service around the theme To Be of Use. The retreat will be held at the same site as in 1999, but there have been improvements, including more rooms with private facilities and an upgraded menu. More details can be found below. We are doing all we can to make the weekend stimulating and enjoyable and open to as many of you as possible. We hope to see a big group on that spring weekend in the outskirts of Paris.

Guest Speaker: A Powerhouse of Service

Ms. Davidoff graduated from Vassar College in 1953 and spent the next six years writing sales promotion for The New Yorker, Time and Life. Her advertising agency career began in 1959 and she formed her own agency in 1967. She sold Davidoff & Partners in January, 1990 to devote more time to the UUA. As Moderator of the UUA from 1993 through 2001, Denny Davidoff occupied the highest position held by a volunteer in that organization. Her primary duties were presiding over the annual General Assembly, chairing the quarterly Board of Trustees meetings and representing the Association at special events. In those eight years, Denny traveled widely, visiting as many congregations as a hectic schedule would allow. Since stepping down in June, she has become a director of the Church of the Larger Fellowship.

Denny's service in the UUA had previously included serving as president of the UU Women's Federation and membership of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, the UUA's Ministerial credentialing body. Her larger community activities include serving as a trustee of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and as a founding member of The Interfaith Alliance, a national organization formed to respond to the message of the Religious Right. She is also the Chairperson of Workplace, Inc., the Regional Development Work Force Board of Southern Connecticut and of the Corporate Video Center, a subsidiary of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, and is active in Democratic and feminist politics. She and her husband Jerry live in Westport, Connecticut and have two grown sons and four grandchildren.

Dine with views of the Eiffel Tower

The CPCV is about 20 km. northwest of the center of Paris, in the beautiful forest of Montmorency. On a clear day you can see the Eiffel Tower from the dining room!

Because of dissatisfaction by some with the quality and service of the food at the last retreat in St. Prix, we have opted for upgraded menus and expect to enjoy high-quality French cooking throughout the weekend. Vegetarians will also be well provided for. The people arriving late on Friday need not worry that they will be left with what amounts to the contents of a bachelor's fridge.

The center has only 48 rooms and 120 beds. There are 24 rooms with 3 beds, while the other 24 have 2 beds each. There are no single rooms. To a very large extent, it is the 3-bed rooms that have showers and toilets, while the 2-bed rooms do not. All rooms have sinks. Note that towels, tooth mugs and soap are not provided. Either bring your own or you will have to pay 3 euros per day extra to the center. We cannot guarantee that everyone will get their first choice of accommodation. Therefore, since rooms will be assigned in order of registYration, we suggest that you register as soon as possible. Let the organizers know with whom, other than family, you would like to share.

For price information, please refer to the retreat website or contact Peter Jarrett.

Our Stimulating Weekend Program

The weekend begins with check-in, starting from 3 PM on Friday afternoon and the EUU Coordinating Council meeting at the same time. After dinner, there will be the usual "icebreaker" organized by Lynne Chaillat. Each day begins and ends with a ceremony led, in turn, by each of our EUU fellowships and At-Large members. The children's Religious Education program gets under way Saturday after breakfast. A babysitter is assured for those under 3 years of age.

For the adults, Saturday morning will be fully taken up with Denny's theme talk: The Covenantal Life We Share, using the premise that "We are united not by common beliefs but by common purposes and intentions. The essential difference is between the words Ôwe believe' (a creed, a statement of common belief) and Ôwe unite' (a covenant, a statement of common commitment)." Denny will help us share our views of the UUA Purposes and how each of them impacts our daily lives in work and play, in family and community. "This keynote will be an exploration and a conversation among us."

Two workshop sessions come after lunch and a reasonable amount of choice is assured. Saturday evening will lead off with the kids' R.E. performance, always a marvel. An entertainment program is in the works.

EUU Instrumentalists

If you are planning on bringing a wind instrument to the retreat and would like to play in the wind ensemble, please let Martha Hicks know as soon as possible. (See contact persons on the right.) You can also make a note on your registration form. This will make music organization much easier.

On Sunday the EUU Annual General Meeting will precede our worship service. After lunch we will close the retreat and bid one another adieu.

Workshops

The workshops on Saturday afternoon are led by volunteers from among retreat participants. The list already includes "The Tibetan Fountain of Youth" (the five energy rites that will keep you young) by Claire Harrison. We are especially interested in workshops that involve movement or meditation. Please send your proposals on the registration form or contact Bruce Epstein.

Sunday Service: Olivia Holmes joins Denny

The climax of the weekend is when we gather together in community for a UU service, one that is especially prized since they only occur every six months. This one, entitled To Be Of Use, is being organized by Dorcy Erlandson and will also benefit from the participation of Denny's good friend, Olivia Holmes, Director of International Relations, UUA.

How To Register

Registration is now open at our website or contact the organizers for a paper registration form. Registration is due by Friday 15th March. There is no guarantee that space will be available after 22nd March (the date at which we have to provide final numbers to the site). Registration will be effective when a check is received in the mail by the organizers and NOT when the forms are simply posted or submitted electronically. We will send you a confirmation (electronically, if possible), with detailed directions, when your check arrives. We encourage you again to get your registration in early if your want a room with shower and toilet, as this will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis and there are a limited number with private facilities.

If you cannot sign up for the whole weekend, we will charge you a rate for one day, a meal or any part of the program, ask us for a non-resident registration form. You will note that with the advent of the euro, we are offering a rebate if you come to the retreat and pay us in euro cash (i.e. buy back your check - which we will not have cashed) which therefore reduces bank charges.

Grants

Nobody should miss a retreat for lack of funds. That is why we are returning to a retreat center with reasonable rates and why there is a grant fund. If you you'd like to apply for a grant, please write to Gevene Hertz (address below) as soon as possible. All requests are confidential. Also, please consider adding a little extra to your registration fee towards the grant fund.

Contacts/Questions

Please refer to the retreat website or contact Peter Jarrett.

Great R.E. Weekend Planned for our Children and Youth

As with all EUU retreats, religious education for our young people is of great importance for the Paris Spring Retreat 2002. The R.E. classes will follow the theme of the Sunday service: To Be of Use. Learning how to decide what contribution to make and that every contribution (no matter how small) is important, will help us to understand what being of use is all about.

Our Treasure Hunters (age 4-6) will be guided by Vicki Roberts-Gassler and, as many of you know, Vicki loves to tell fairy tales. Some of our favorite heroes are helped by a variety of characters and the Treasure Hunters will try to understand what motivates them to help the prince or the princess in their quests.

The Explorers (age 7-9) and Preteens (age 10-12) will join forces and be aided by Janie Spencer and Laura Johnson. Making crafts for a special fund-raiser will keep the Explorers and Preteens busy when they are not preparing a play for the Saturday evening R.E. presentation.

With Cynthia Whitehead and Nanette Graves, the teens will spend the weekend looking at the different ways the religions of the world handle the concept of charity and assistance to their own people and to the stranger. Each teen can also look forward to a fun way of finding out what his/her special talents are and acting in a skit for the R.E. presentation. This will be Nanette's last time to serve as R.E. Coordinator. Janie Spencer will be the weekend's R.E. Director.