If you happened to drive by the church this week, then you may have noticed the double-sided vinyl sign announcing the UUHoulton Eclipse Fair. Only two weeks to go to Eclipse ’24! A BIG thank you to Holli for designing the entire series of vinyl signs that we will be using during the event. They look amazing!! More merchandise also came in this week and you will see a merch poster in today’s Eclipse ’24 section. The excitement is building…This Sunday is Palm Sunday. Rev. Dale Holden was scheduled to lead the service but will not be able to do so. That being said, we will still have a Palm Sunday Service with a portion of Dale’s sermon being read, palm fronds present and the balance of the service as “open-pulpit” like we did a couple of weeks ago. Please bring a reading or poem or personal word to share related to the interplay of light and darkness during this period of Holy Week and the upcoming eclipse event. YouTube Channel content for this week is an abbreviated service due to our Annual Meeting, but it’s well worth checking out. Dale Holden plays an Irish medley during the offertory and our usher Mac dances along…
We hope you can join us for one of the services.
In case you’ve been watching the forecast, possible snowfall amounts for Saturday and overnight into Sunday are high. There may not even be a service on Sunday. Keep an eye out for possible cancellation. The notice will go out by Saturday at 7PM.
In Ministry,Dave
Eclipse ’24
13 more days until the UU Houlton Eclipse Fair Begins!!!
With only 13 days left to prepare for this once in a lifetime event, I am proud to say…..The UU Houlton Eclipse Committee is ROCKING THE HOUSE and we are very close to ready to go!
The Cup Cafe is looking great, painting is just about complete, art goes up this coming Tuesday, T-shirts are onsite, signage is ready to go….all we need now is more volunteers!
The UUH Eclipse Committee is an incredible group of dedicated volunteers respectively working together for the Highest Good! I have planned too many events to count in my 20+ years of event planning – but NONE of them have been like this….so many moving parts and unknowns and a dedicated crew of people to navigate all the ins and outs – it truly amazes me!
That said, we are still in need of more happy hearts and hands to make this experience a smooth and successful event for all involved. Open positions include Greeters for the Concert Series and Metaphysical Tent, Popcorn Leaders & Cosmic Cleaners! Once you complete a 4 hour shift, you receive a free meal with a drink ticket or a free concert ticket – your choice! Of course multiple shifts equal multiple tickets!If you have not yet signed up to for a volunteer shift, you can do so on our LIVE sign up sheet here… https://docs.google.com/document/d/11NBMmwdAB-z3HkfQkEuTUIHFKnEfE2iXUacJHrzGrIY/edit You can also sign up this Sunday Morning after Services with Randi and/or myself for specific shifts during the event.
Alternatively, If you want to “head for the hills” during the event, we still need help to get ready for the big weekend, so please plan to join us for our official Church Clean Up Party – next Saturday, March 30th from 10:00-3:00. Bring a potluck item to share for lunch, wear your comfy cleaning cloths and let’s make our Church sparkle and shine! If it’s a nice day we will work inside and outside so come dressed for your preferred activity. We’ll be doing yard clean up, hanging lights, dusting, vacuuming, sanitizing, organizing and truly putting on all the finishing touches for the event.
For folks excited to help prepare Dave’s Curry and Jodi’s Chili, there is a “chopping vegetables day” on Thursday at 10AM in the kitchen. For more information contact Jodi via email at raw2therescue@gmail.com
Oh and of course I can’t forget the most important thing……TP! Yes….more toilet paper, unscented trash bags and paper towels are greatly appreciated! Thanks for bringing them on Sunday!
With SOOOOO much gratitude and anticipation for the big event,
Your dedicated Eclipse Committee CO-Chair,
Holli
hnicknair@gmail.com
P.S. Don’t forget to get your tickets for the Concerts too on the newly updated church website https://uuhoulton.org/ and share the event on Facebook… https://www.facebook.com/events/1420898368511183/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7DThanks for helping us get the word out!
THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE:
HERE IS THE SERVICE LINK FOR THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE
(Please note it won’t be active until 10AM on Sunday morning)
HERE IS THE ZOOM LINK FOR SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR:
Topic: UUHoulton coffee hour & check-in
Time: Mar 24, 2024 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/85289611131?pwd=GmLkHtxaEQ4oJerv1jKm8wVLHJs7Se.1
Meeting ID: 852 8961 1131
Passcode: 580457
Calendar of Events @UUHoultonMarch 24 Sunday Service: Open-Pulpit Service Palm Sunday
(Eclipse planning in the cafe during the afternoon)March 26 Meditation Group 4PM (online)March 31 Sunday Service: David Hutchinson Easter Sunday
(Eclipse planning in the cafe during the afternoon)April 5-8 UUHoulton Eclipse Fair (see events on church website) April 7Sunday Service: Eclipse Service in the SanctuaryApril 8 Totality Solar Eclipse April 9 Meditation Group 4PM (online) April 13 LGBTQ+ luncheon 12 noonApril 13 Houlton Coffeehouse 7PMApril 14 Sunday Service: Randi Bradbury & Ira DyerApril 21 Sunday Service: David Hutchinson (Earth Day Service)April 23 Meditation Group 4PM (online)April 28 Sunday Service: Jodi Scott
Virtual Offering Plate
If you would like to send in your pledge or donation simply drop an envelope in the mail. The address is listed below. You can also send your donation electronically with our new payment system on the church website. Simply go to uuhoulton.org and click “Donate” on the menu and it will explain how the system works. You can set up a regular monthly payment plan or donate in single transactions. Thank you for your generous support!
UU Church of Houlton
61 Military StreetMore Newspaper coverage of Eclipse ’24 in Houlton, Maine
A Quiet Maine County Braces for the Eclipse
Reporting from Houlton, Maine
March 22, 2024
For generations, visitors to Maine have flocked east to the rocky coastline, with its lobster boats and crashing waves, or west to ski resorts, peaceful lakes and mountains. Few ever set foot in Aroostook County, a remote northern expanse where residents are prone to suspect — not without reason — that no one south of Bangor even knows that they exist.
So the news that “the County,” as it is known in Maine, would be smack in the path of totality for next month’s solar eclipse — making it a destination for potentially thousands of visitors — has generated mixed emotions in this proudly unpretentious place. Accustomed to ceding the spotlight to showy spots like Bar Harbor, some in the county are not sure how they feel about its fleeting status as the place to be.
“It’s a little new for us here, so it is stressful,” said Lindsay Anderson, manager of Brookside Bakery in Houlton, a town of 6,000 that borders Canada, where the plan for eclipse weekend includes baking 500 whoopie pies, Maine’s official “state treat.”
Next door at Market Square Antiques and Pawn, a compact shop watched over by several mounted deer heads, Tom Willard, a co-owner, had worries of his own.
No one knows how many people will travel to Aroostook County for the eclipse on April 8, making planning a bit of a roulette spin. Estimates range from 10,000 to 40,000, though the turnout may be curtailed by sheer distance. Extending north beyond the end of Interstate 95 to the Canadian border — where the little-known, combat-free Aroostook War raged from 1838 to 1839 — the county is about as large as Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. Caribou, near its northern apex, lies 400 miles north of Boston, a drive of more than six hours.
For eclipse fanatics, though, it might not matter. Dan McGlaun, 60, who has seen 15 eclipses and runs a website dedicated to the one next month, said he had once traveled to French Polynesia and hiked “eight miles through banana plants into the middle of nowhere” in order to be — for 1.5 seconds — the only person on earth in the path of the eclipse, by his own estimation.
“Eclipse geeks, we’re a weird lot,” he conceded.
Northern Maine is not the only remote corner of the country expecting an influx. The path of totality also crosses places including the Ozarks, the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, and sections of South Texas, all of them hoping to capitalize on the fleeting attention.
In Aroostook County, where potato farms abound and practicality is paramount, tales like Mr. McGlaun’s only add to the general wariness. It does not help that the eclipse will take place during northern New England’s infamous mud season, when the thawing earth turns into tire-sucking muck, heightening concerns that unsuspecting drivers “from away” will get stuck on rural roads and have to be pulled out.
Also not helping: memories of the last major influx, in August 1997, when an outdoor concert festival by the band Phish drew 65,000 fans to a former air force base in Limestone, a town of 1,500. Locals who had scoffed at attendance projections were caught off guard when the crowds materialized, causing traffic gridlock and emptying grocery store shelves. (“Like locusts,” one county resident recalled.)
Conditioned by decades of population drain, some again doubted predictions of crowds when talk of the eclipse began two years ago. That’s when Houlton’s eclipse committee sprang into action, convincing the town that it needed to start planning — and capitalizing on the fact that it will be the last American town in the path.
“The biggest challenge was people not taking it seriously — saying, ‘What’s the big deal, it’s three minutes of darkness, who’s going to come here for that?’” said Johanna Johnston, a lead organizer of the town’s eclipse events. “We needed to explain that it’s not like anything you’ve ever experienced, and it’s an opportunity to show what we can do and what we have to offer.”
Many businesses have seized the opportunity. Ivey’s Motor Lodge in Houlton received its first eclipse booking in 2022, its manager said; when the hotel realized what was happening, it tripled its rates for the nights around the eclipse and tightened its cancellation policy. Most area hotels are fully booked for the event, but Ivey’s still had vacancies earlier this month, possibly because it was charging $650 per night.
Mindful that their 15 minutes of fame will last for only three minutes and 18 seconds (the phase of totality, when the moon will completely block out the sun, begins at 3:32 p.m. in Houlton), the eclipse committee has planned four days of festivities meant to entice travelers to arrive well ahead of the main event — and maybe even come back for another visit.
The town will have six designated “star parks” for eclipse viewing and a crew of welcoming “eclipse ambassadors” to offer guidance. To help feed crowds if restaurants are overwhelmed, several churches plan to offer traditional Maine suppers with baked beans and chowder.
Jane Torres, executive director of the Houlton Chamber of Commerce, has hired a performance art troupe from Rhode Island for the occasion, assisted couples looking to get married in town during the eclipse, helped arrange a NASA broadcast in a historic downtown movie theater that will show the eclipse as it moves across the country, and enlisted her yoga teacher to fill a “metaphysical tent” with tarot card readers and healing demonstrations.
She has also rented 100 portable toilets, a number she acknowledged was a hopeful shot in the dark.
“The challenge is the unknown,” Ms. Torres said
The unknown that looms largest is the weather in northern Maine in early April. Among the 15 states in the path of totality, Maine has some of the slimmest odds of clear skies — and the best chance of snow — a factor likely to drive hard-core eclipse aficionados, known as umbraphiles, to locations where cloud cover is less likely. (Ironically, perhaps, Aroostook’s name comes from a native Mi’kmaq word that means “clear.”)
According to Priscilla Buster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Caribou, the chances of cloudy conditions at the time of the eclipse are between 60 and 70 percent.
“It’s not looking good for us up here,” she said.
The threat of clouds drove Lynda Mitchell to cancel her hotel reservation in western Maine — Franklin County, part of which will see totality — and book plane tickets to Texas instead.
“It could be awesome in Maine, but I just don’t trust the weather,” she said. “I’m not really a bucket list person, but this isn’t going to happen again in my lifetime.”
Still, Houlton’s eclipse committee is keeping its chin up. Its hopes were recently buoyed by an article describing an “eclipse cooling effect,” observed by scientists, that causes clouds to dissipate when the sun dims and temperatures drop.
Kevin McCartney, a retired geology professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, will be focused on another sun on eclipse day. That morning, he plans to unveil a new 3-D model of the sun at the campus entrance, standing 40 feet high. It will serve as the new northern terminus of the Maine Solar System Model, a sprawling roadside attraction installed 20 years ago along 100 miles of rural U.S. Route 1 in Aroostook County, with “planets” spaced at intervals proportional to their actual distances from one another in space.
“Ready to travel the solar system from the comfort of your car?” its website asks.
The largest such model in the Western Hemisphere, and a top tourist attraction in the county, it attracts families and, “believe it or not, solar system model enthusiasts,” Mr. McCartney said. The new sun, visible from Route 1, will be easier to find than the old, two-dimensional one, painted on the walls inside the university’s science museum — and it will shine even when the county’s skies are cloudy.
“People are always wandering the campus asking, ‘Where is the sun?’” he said. “Now they won’t be able to miss it.”
Jenna Russell is the lead reporter covering New England for The Times. She is based near Boston.
2 of the best cities for viewing the total solar eclipse on April 8 are in New England, according to Architectural Digest
They are in Vermont and Maine.
By Kristi PalmaMarch 18, 2024
A total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8, and two New England cities are among the best places for viewing it, according to Architectural Digest.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking the face of the sun from the Earth. The publication recently released a list of the 13 best cities to see the 2024 total solar eclipse and included Burlington, Vermont, and Houlton, Maine.
While southern New England states will experience a partial eclipse, parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are located on the path of totality and will see the total solar eclipse.
“Burlington is among the best places for those in the region to travel to, as it will experience three minutes and 19 seconds of darkness, starting at 3:26 p.m.,” wrote Architectural Digest.
Houlton, Maine, the last U.S. town in the path of totality, is bracing for about 40,000 visitors.
“Houlton will be among the best places in the state to watch the sight, and darkness will begin at 3:32 p.m. and last for three minutes and 20 seconds,” wrote the publication.
Check out the list of 13 best cities to see the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Earliest ice-out ever declared on Lake Winnipesaukee
“Usually I take my vacations now, and then ‘ice out’ is when I get home. But not this year.”
By Dialynn DwyerMarch 18, 2024
Boston Globe
An official ice-out has been declared on Lake Winnipesaukee, a sure sign that spring is around the corner in the Granite State.
The declaration was made by Emerson Aviation on Sunday at 4:37 p.m. An “ice-out” means the lake is free of ice enough for the MS Mount Washington steamship to navigate all five ports, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
According to the company, it is the earliest ice-out on record. The previous record was March 18th, 2016 at 11:30 a.m.
Matthew Gianunzio, a pilot and flight instructor at Emerson Aviation, made the declaration on Sunday, according to NHPR. Dave Emerson, the owner of Emerson Aviation, told the station he usually makes the determination and has been doing so since 1979, but he was on vacation this year when the call was made.
“Usually I take my vacations now, and then ‘ice out’ is when I get home,” he told the station. “But not this year.”
This week’s Teaching
Beginning Anew
A meditation instruction by Thich Nhat Hanh on starting over.
Beginning Anew is not to ask for forgiveness. Beginning Anew is to change your mind and heart, to transform the ignorance that brought about wrong actions of body, speech, and mind, and to help you cultivate your mind of love. Your shame and guilt will disappear, and you will begin to experience the joy of being alive. All wrongdoings arise in the mind. It is through the mind that wrongdoings can disappear.At Plum Village, we practice a ceremony of Beginning Anew every week. Everyone sits in a circle with a vase of fresh flowers in the center, and we follow our breathing as we wait for the facilitator to begin.
Your shame and guilt will disappear, and you will begin to experience the joy of being alive. All wrongdoings arise in the mind. It is through the mind that wrongdoings can disappear.
The ceremony has three parts: flower watering, expressing regrets, and expressing hurts and difficulties. This practice can prevent feelings of hurt from building up over the weeks and helps make the situation safe for everyone in the community.We begin with flower watering. When someone is ready to speak, she joins her palms and the others join their palms to show that she has the right to speak. Then she stands, walks slowly to the flower, takes the vase in her hands, and returns to her seat. When she speaks, her words reflect the freshness and beauty of the flower that is in her hand.During flower watering, each speaker acknowledges the wholesome, wonderful qualities of the others. It is not flattery; we always speak the truth. Everyone has some strong points that can be seen with awareness. No one can interrupt the person holding the flower. She is allowed as much time as she needs, and everyone else practices deep listening.When she is finished speaking, she stands up and slowly returns the vase to the center of the room.In the second part of the ceremony, we express regrets for anything we have done to hurt others. It does not take more than one thoughtless phrase to hurt someone. The ceremony of Beginning Anew is an opportunity for us to recall some regret from earlier in the week and undo it.In the third part of the ceremony, we express ways in which others have hurt us. Loving speech is crucial. We want to heal the community, not harm it. We speak frankly, but we do not want to be destructive. Listening meditation is an important part of the practice. When we sit among a circle of friends who are all practicing deep listening, our speech becomes more beautiful and more constructive. We never blame or argue.Compassionate listening is crucial. We listen with the willingness to relieve the suffering of the other person, not to judge or argue with her. We listen with all our attention. Even if we hear something that is not true, we continue to listen deeply so the other person can express her pain and release the tensions within herself. If we reply to her or correct her, the practice will not bear fruit. We just listen. If we need to tell the other person that her perception was not correct, we can do that a few days later, privately and calmly. Then, at the next Beginning Anew session, she may be the person who rectifies the error and we will not have to say anything. We close the ceremony with a song or by holding hands with everyone in the circle and breathing for a minute. Sometimes we end with hugging meditation.Hugging meditation is a practice I invented. In 1966, a woman poet took me to the Atlanta Airport and then asked, “Is it all right to hug a Buddhist monk?” In my country, we are not used to expressing ourselves that way, but I thought, “I am a Zen teacher. It should be no problem for me to do that.” So I said, “Why not?” and she hugged me. But I was quite stiff. While on the plane, I decided that if I wanted to work with friends in the West, I would have to learn the culture of the West, so I invented hugging meditation.Hugging meditation is a combination of East and West. According to the practice, you have to really hug the person you are hugging. You have to make him or her very real in your arms, not just for the sake of appearances, patting him on the back to pretend you are there, but breathing consciously and hugging with all your body, spirit, and heart. Hugging meditation is a practice of mindfulness. “Breathing in, I know my dear one is in my arms, alive. Breathing out, she is so precious to me.” If you breathe deeply like that, holding the person you love, the energy of care, love, and mindfulness will penetrate into that person and she will be nourished and bloom like a flower.At a retreat for psychotherapists in Colorado, we practiced hugging meditation, and one retreatant, when he returned home to Philadelphia, hugged his wife at the airport in a way he had never hugged her before. To be really there, you only need to breathe mindfully, and suddenly both of you become real. It may be one of the best moments in your life.After the Beginning Anew ceremony, everyone in the community feels light and relieved, even if we have taken only preliminary steps toward healing. We have confidence that, having begun, we can continue. This practice dates to the time of the Buddha, when communities of monks and nuns practiced Beginning Anew on the eve of every full moon and new moon. I hope you will practice Beginning Anew in your own family every week.From Teachings on Love, by Thich Nhat Hanh. © 1998.
Two familiar faces on the latest Equality Maine pamphlet 
Prayer List
For those working for social justice and societal changePray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nationThe war in Ukraine continues
Prayers for those in Palestine and Israel as the war continues into its fifth monthPrayers for the worsening humanitarian crisis in GazaContinued prayers for Stephen Kinney who had surgery last week
The Four Limitless Ones Prayer
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.
May we not be separated from the great happiness devoid of suffering.
May we dwell in the great equanimity free from anger, aggression and delusion.
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