Barry Salad

Trevor’s invitation list continues to grow.  Here is where he will be traveling next:

2007
January - Follen Church Society, Lexington, MA
February - Storm Lake Area Unitarian Universalist Association, Cherokee, IA
March - Emerson UU Chapel, Ellisville, MO
April - First Unitarian Church, Oklahoma City, OK
May - First Unitarian Society, Minneapolis, MN
July - The First Unitarian Church of Dallas, Dallas, TX

Trevor would like me to thank the 27 churches throughout the US and Canada who have already invited him to visit.  At our current schedule, that is over 2 years of travel already accounted for.  WOW!

I have already emailed the first group of churches that Trevor will be
visiting through July.

Each month, Trevor will arrive at a UU church before the 2nd Sunday of the month.  He will be able to stay through the 3rd Sunday and will then need to return home for a brief visit before heading out again on his next trip.

Trevor travels pretty light.  He currently has his autograph book for
friends to sign, his journal, photo album and prayer beads.  Hosts are
encouraged to read and write in his journal, add pictures to the album and sign the autograph book.  Please include Trevor in as many activities as possible.  He is very curious and eager to learn about UU kids and their
churches.  The kids at First Parish in Taunton would love to receive a post card while he is away.  If photos are sent via email, they will be added to this website along with a summary of journal entries.

Thanks so much in advance for everyone’s help and please feel free to visit the website with your Sunday School classes to see what Trevor is up to.

Here is his first journal entry

Happy 2007 everyone!!

I am so excited.  In a day or 2, I will be leaving on my first trip to meet new friends at Unitarian Universalist churches around North America.  First stop - Follen Church in Lexington, MA.

I was so surprised to see that I have been invited to 27 churches so far in 14 states in the US.  I’ve even been invited to Ontario, Canada.  I hope my passport is ready!!

Hey, check out my house!  The kids in Taunton, MA decorated my house for me.  Doesn’t it look great!

So…

Let me tell you a little about me.  My name is Trevor and I’m a Unitarian Universalist.  My birthday is December 27th and I’m left-handed.

I think Sunday School is wicked cool!!

I don’t talk much, but I love to meet new friends and learn new things.

I am a big proponent of acting on ideas.  You just never know where something is likely to go until you get it started.  That is how First Parish Church’s penny drive for the Southeast Asian Tsunami survivors’ started.  That idea took on a life of its own and ended up being one of the things in my life of which I am the most proud.

Trevor is another one of those ideas.  The idea is to send a stuffed animal bear to Unitarian Universalist churches around the country as a sort of pen-pal experience for the Sunday School class at First Parish Church in Taunton.  On December 27th, my wife and daughter and I went to the local Build-A-Bear Workshop and created ‘Trevor’ - a 16 inch golden brown stuffed bear with an adorable little maroon and tan outfit with matching hat and a blue backpack.  My daughter named him.

I posted my idea on an email list for Unitarian Universalist religious educators.  Within 2 days I have already received 10 requests for Trevor to visit churches from an hour up the road to across the country.  I couldn’t be happier.  Sunday, at church, I will introduce Trevor to our congregation and get the Sunday School kids involved in getting Trevor ready for his first trip.

Stay tuned on this site for regular updates on Trevor’s travels.

Now its 18 requests.

On October 25, 2003, my friend and mentor, Jim Codega died after a lengthy battle with Mantle-Cell Lymphoma.

Jim was my first boss and hired me right after college.  Jim really laid the groundwork for my career in social work by instilling core beliefs about our work that I still hold dear today.  Whether I am just talking with a colleague or training a large group, something Jim has taught me usually has a way of coming up as just the right thing to say.  Here is a collection of things Jim said that I will always remember.  I can’t say for sure whether they are original to Jim or if he repeated something he heard from someone else.  It’s not really important.  What is important is that he gave them to me.

(more…)

My new favorite website is www.snopes.com.  This site is a tremendous resource for checking out all those urban myths that plague our email inboxes trying to outrage us with some latest injustice or simply to prove that our elected officials are corrupt, stupid or both.

I have been fooled by a few of these lately, but this one didn’t get by me.

Subject: Social Security Benefits - Do It Or Lose It.
This is so important and I am begging you to please read, sign and forward- By not responding we are simply helping give away what we, as citizens, have worked so hard to achieve .
As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow illegal aliens to access to Social Security benefits.
Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires
citizenship for eligibility to that social service.
You can Agree or Delete. Instru ctions are below.
PETITION FOR:
(more…)