Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Tupelo

Newsletter September 2002

Upcoming events:

September1 Discussion: "Labor" led by Margi Koranek

T.O. Sheffield is Service Leader

September 15 10A.M. Adult RE

11A.M. Linda Foshee, Lay Minister from Our Home Church in Ellisville, will be guest speaker

There will be a business meeting following the Service. We will have pot luck.

October 6 Discussion: Chapter 10, Challenge of a Liberal Faith

October 20 Rep. Steve Holland speaks on "Good Things Happening in Mississippi"

Hank Jaeckel is service leader

From the Mi-South District Office:

Mid-South District’s 2002 HEALTHY Congregation Conference – designed to be a "how to do it well" event for congregations of all sizes and sophistications -- will be held in Marietta, Georgia, on OCTOBER 12,2002.

The Saturday conference will begin at 9:a.m. and finish by 4:00p.m.

If you can go see Hank or me for further information. It would be good if several from our group could go.

President’s Message

My favorite season is approaching-Fall I love the thought of cooler weather, football, and Fall colors. I also love Fall golf, but I must confess it is harder to find my ball in the leaves when I hit into the trees.

I am also excited about our coming church year. I believe our Board of Directors is now intact and has already started with several committee meetings. We have exdellent committee chairmen this year. They have dedicated their time, talent, and perserverance to improve our services and programs. This will help to continue our liberal religious in the community.

Our next Board of Directors meeting will be September 15^th following our Sunday program and a "pot luck’. All members are invited to attend.

I will be out of town for our September 1 and October 6 Sunday Services. On September 1 I will be returning from the "boot heel" of Missouri where I grew up. I am attending a 50 year high school reunion. In October I will be in French Lick, Indiana; famous only for being the home of Larry Bud, the basketball Hall Of Famer. It is also the site of our time share condo. We are there every year at this time. I hope the rest of you do better with your attendance than your President.

Fall is a great time to renew again our commitment to our fellowship by supporting our group with attendance, money and time. There are still positions available to serve on one of several committees. Please sign up in an area of your interest.

News of Members and Friends

Ruth and Hank Jaeckel are keeping the roads to Iowa hot this summer. The trips are due to some special class reunions. In early August they drove to Corydon for Ruth's 55th high school class reunion. Of course getting to see the grandchildren was a very important side benefit! In September they plan to return to Iowa for another high school alumni reunion. This time to Hamburg where Hank grew up. It will be the 65th class reunion for Hank's sister Lois who will fly into Kansas City from Missoula, MT. The Jaeckels will pick her up at the airport on their way north.

Margi Koranek bought her beautiful house and is busy getting settled.

Denise Backstrom has had a busy travel schedule. She went to cooking school in New York City for a week in June and recently returned from a 2-week trip to Ireland with 12 members of Jim's family. It was delightful, and everyone is still speaking to each other. Early in Sept. Denise will spend a week on Cape Cod.

Our Fiscal Year runs from July 1 To June 30^th. The first of July our new officers, committee chairs, with their members took over their responsibilities. The list of officers and chairs can be printed separately on one sheet.

The Membership Committee met and discussed their goals and each were given a list of the duties of the greeters.

The Communications Committee met and they went over their revised goals. We have a new member, John Wages. Robert Shinn will have the web site up and going the week after Labor Day.

The Social Committee met and they will work out a survey to be given out Sept. 1^st so please be sure to fill this out if you didn’t send it in electronically

The Program Chairman requests a brief meeting after the October 6 meeting. Also if you have any suggestions for future speakers please let Louise know.

We have the following changes in email addresses: John Wages is

Robert Shinn’s is

New Members: John and Gwen Wages signed our membership

book during service on August 18, 2002.

Welcome John and Gwen and thanks for the

sharing this information with us.

John Wages

Born 1960. Grew up outside Tupelo, in the Palmetto community. Attended
Tupelo Public Schools all 12 years, graduated Tupelo High in 1978. B.S.
biochemistry Miss. State Univ. 1983, M.S. biochemistry Miss. State 1985.
M.A. biology/biophysics Johns Hopkins University 1988. Worked 16 years
in biotechnology, primarily small companies in the field of molecular diagnostics (DNA-based testing), for whom I developed new tests: 7 years in Maryland, 1 year in Oregon, and 7 years in northern California--- the last 3 years in the San Francisco Bay Area as Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Etiogen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Gwen and I decided in 2000 to make a major course correction, dissolve Etiogen, sell our home, begin to work for ourselves, and do some of the important things in life we had neglected for the 16 years we worked for others. Returned to family farm in 2001 to look after parents and begin our newlife.
Currently consulting for Gentra Systems, Minneapolis, MN, developing
new, nontoxic methods for DNA and RNA isolation. Part-time market
farming: vegetables and free-range eggs, sold at the Oxford Farmers
Market (and sometimes at Tupelo's Downtown Farmers Market). On-farm
research into permanent cover crops, deep mulches, and interplanting
technologies for no-till organic agriculture.

Favorite authors: Daniel Quinn (Ishmael, After Dachau, others), Derrick
Jensen (A Language Older Than Words, The Culture of Make Believe). In
the field of sustainable agriculture and permaculture: Bill Mollison
(Permaculture design and theory), Masanobu Fukuoka (The Natural Way of
Farming, The One Straw Revolution), Wes Jackson (www.landinstitute.org).

State Executive Committee and Platform Committee, Green Party of Mississippi. Founder, Tupelo-Pontotoc Greens. Board, Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG). Member Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood, National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Supporter Earth First!, Friends of the Lee County Library, Heifer International, Friends of Pacifica Radio, Emily's List, and MoveOn (www.moveon.org).

Gwen's Brief History:

Born and raised in Starkville MS. Went to Mississippi State University
before transferring to University of Maryland(Baltimore County).
Received a BA in biochemistry and molecular biology in 1990. Worked for both small and large pharmaceutical companies on the East and West Coast for 10 years before becoming a Technical Sales Rep for 3 years. You can following John's chronological description of locations to match us up as my move to Maryland was a direct result of our marriage. That auspicious occasion was Dec. 28,1985.
Also a member of the following groups: Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG). Member Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood, National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Supporter Earth First!, Friends of the Lee County Library, Heifer International, Friends of Pacifica Radio, Emily's List, MoveOn (www.moveon.org), Green Party of Mississippi.
John has a son Phillip(from his first marriage) and a daughter-in-law Amber both attending Southwest Missouri State University. I am the one usually found at the farmers market and John is the farming expert in the family. Though with his help I did do a medicinal plant project (growing catnip) with Ole Miss. I am joining the MS Medicinal Plant Board

The "Alternatives to the War on Drugs" Statement of Conscience passed at GA in Quebec City. You can read the final version of the Statement at Please read the Statement and the "What UUs Can Do"

link on the web page or UU for Drug Policy Reform {UUDPR}at –hyyp://www.uudpr.org. If you do not have a computer and want to see the article call me and I will run off a copy for you. 620-7344

You will note I titled us as in Tupelo not of Tupelo because we have 9 different towns represented, and it can’t be of Lee County as so many are not in Lee County. Are there objections to this?

The list of Board Members and Committees are on a separate sheet. It might be wise to print out this newsletter so you can refer back to it.

Barbara Fournie

bfournie@netbci.com