WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH KERMIT THE FROG, that lovable Sesame Street Muppet, and his signature song, "It's Not Easy Being Green". In the song he pours his heart out to the listener about the difficulties he faces being green.

Three decades ago, when our son was growing up, I was imprinted with these cute, expressive Muppets. Today, we use the term "going green" to indicate that we are more aware of our environment and our role in creating a better environment for our children and future generations.

Tampa Unity's recent energy fair, the brain child of Judie McKown, was a great success and reminded me of the importance of "going green". Sesame Street and Earth Day are about the same age and I became aware of ecology and pollution when the first Earth Day took place in April 1970, just weeks before Allen & I were married.

Celebrating the first Earth Day was quite a wake up call about pollution and energy consumption. At the time, pollution was a large issue and I remember all too well the commercial with tears from the face of the Indian as he stood in front of a pile of garbage. Perhaps it is partly due to my Indian heritage that the image has stayed with me and I felt the sadness illustrated by the commercial.

Our family expanded with the birth of our son in 1972 and, being ecology minded, I used cloth diapers and a diaper service. Research indicated that disposable diapers would take 500 years to decompose in landfills! We bought one of the first Toyotas that got really high gas mileage for the time. Watching people throw trash out of their cars was terribly upsetting and spoiled the beauty of the highways, so I started a program through the Jaycees and Jaycettes to hand out garbage bags for use in cars. Three decades later, the Energy Fair reminded me how many of my concerns about the environment and our Earth had taken back seats to other life issues.

Since the Energy Fair I have discovered that, unlike Kermit the Frog's sentiment, it is easy to be green! We changed all of the light bulbs in our home from incandescent to the lower energy use compact florescent light bulbs (CFL). A pleasant aspect of the CFL bulbs is that they burn much cooler allowing the use of less air conditioning. We also unplug any electrical devices that are not in use and my next car will most likely be a Toyota Prius.

These are just a few things we can do to improve our environment and even save a few dollars while doing it.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the Energy Fair and especially to Judie who birthed the idea. So, Kermit, see how easy it is to be green!

Love & blessings,
Rev. Debbie

I HOPE EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT A GREAT STAFF WE HAVE AT TAMPA UNITY. I just completed a project at TU, the One Ton Challenge Energy Fair, and the staff provided an incredible amount of help and assistance, all with a wonderful, cheerful attitude. Debbie and Allen gave the blessing for the fair and monitored its progress, Janet Stanley made the great posters and signs and purchased the items we needed, and Jim Atkins was invaluable in planning the set up of the fair. But the biggest, brightest star as far as I'm concerned is Carol Ferguson.

Carol's title is Volunteer Coordinator at Tampa Unity but she is much, much more than that. For the fair, she was involved from start to end, from the planning, to the research, to the set up, and was at the fair all the way through the clean up stage. She wrote the quiz for the fair and was responsible for all of the great looking signs and displays we had. She definitely took the quality of the fair "up another notch."

I'm sure you've seen Carol after the service on Sundays cheerfully hosting the hospitality hour. She's also the one at Unity events making sure everything is taken care of. So please give Carol a great big "thank you" next time you see her.

And don't forget that hosting activities requires the efforts of willing volunteers. Many hands make successful events that are fun and rewarding for everyone. Please talk with Carol after Sunday Services and see how just a small commitment of your time and talents can make a big difference for your spiritual family at Tampa Unity.

THE FIRST ANNUAL ONE TON CHALLENGE ENERGY Fair took place on Saturday April 21, 2007. The point of the fair was to educate people on what they can do on a personal level to help stop global warming. We had over 50 people sign a pledge to reduce their own carbon emissions by at least one ton this year!

There were a lot of fun give-aways, including compact fluorescent light bulbs sponsored by Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center, reusable shopping bags from Sweetbay, water reduction items from the City of Tampa Water Conservation Department and fun kid stuff from the City of Tampa Recycling Department. Other exhibitors included the Sierra Club, Tamp Electric, Nature's Harvest, Hillsborough County Coop Extension, Creative Recycling and Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. Thank you to all.

We also had an exhibit of hybrid cars and environmentally friendly lawn equipment, a bake sale and plant sale and we showed An Inconvenient Truth. We also learned to make cute hats from recycled newspaper.

MANY THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEERS who made the energy fair possible. They included Pat Adams, Omar Almodovar, Luis Alvarez, Julie Beamer, Penelo Clopton, Trisha Davies, Carol Ferguson, Gail Gibson, Keith Guntert, Julie Helms, Shelia Hensley, Chris Hubbard, Noreen Maier-Harnley, Harry and Diana McAlister, Judie and Steve McKown, Karen Murphy, Wendy Plant, Rindy Price, Debbie Rowe, Richard Walther and Angelina Woodard.

Next year's Energy Fair promises to be even bigger and better so mark your calendars now! Until then, remember to conserve energy and recycle whenever possible. Let's make everyday Earth day.

Judie McKown

THE INFORMATION AGE HAS CREATED A VIRTUAL TIDAL WAVE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES that become obsolete or wear out at an increasingly faster rate. The demand for newer, superior technology has increased the pace at which current devices reach the end of their useful lives. As a result, what to do with obsolete electronics has become a global problem. Disposal is not the answer due to the toxic heavy metals found inside of them. Computers, computer monitors, televisions, phones and other electronics need to be properly handled by a recycling company.

Since 1994, Creative Recycling Systems, Inc. has been an industry leader in asset management and the recycling and reuse of a vast array of end-of-life and obsolete electronic equipment. In a continuing effort to offset the rapidly increasing burden on the environment, Creative Recycling addresses these issues through innovation and integration of the latest state-of-the-art recycling systems into our processing facilities.

With locations in Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee, Atlanta and Raleigh, the company has expanded throughout the Southeast. Utilizing the most sophisticated recycling technology, Creative Recycling has unparalleled experience serving small and large businesses, and local, state and federal government agencies.  The company has become an industry leader in providing data security and environmentally sound methods of processing electronics.

In order to help our community properly recycle their unwanted electronics, Tampa Unity will hold an electronics collection on Sunday, July 15th.

Please bring in your unwanted computers, laptops, phones, cell phones, printers, fax machines, ink cartridges, stereos and gaming equipment. Televisions and CRT monitors will also be accepted for a $10 love offering to cover the cost of properly handling the leaded glass. Please join us at Recycle Sunday and help make a positive impact on our environment.

Wendy Plant

DANCING, SINGING, LAUGHTER AND TEARS were the basic menu of Tampa Unity's first retreat of the year. Twenty four individuals left work Friday night with many, or with no expectations. They all met for dinner at the beautiful Chinsegut Hill Retreat Center in Brooksville, Florida, to begin their three day journey into self, spirit and community.

Led by facilitators, Sandie and Gerry Rumold, and joined by the leaders of our church, Rev. Allen and Rev. Debbie, and John and Tanya McEwen, the experience was one that those who attended will not soon forget. There were many hearts opened and many bonds formed amongst all that attended.

The setting was breathtaking and the trails and grounds of the facility were above the expectations of the planners. Each day was started with wonderful singing and ended with much laughter and discussions on the front porches of the cottages.

The days were full of activities but provided for down time as well. The group bon fire scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to the rest of Florida being on fire, but the night was saved with the music of John and Gerry ( keyboard and guitar ) and the strained vocals of the rest of the group. Yes we even sang the theme song to Gilligan's Island!

Tampa Unity's next retreat is already in the planning and will probably be sometime in the fall. There is discussion on making the next two retreats a Woman's Retreat and a Men's Retreat.

Anyone having interest in helping with the planning of our next retreat, contact Dr. Scott Barry at 813-690- 7015.

THE YOUTH OF UNITY WENT TO SPRING RALLY over the weekend of March 16-18 in Fruitland Park, FL. Over 250 youth and adults from the Southeast Region were in attendance. The theme for the weekend, Expand Your Impact, was designed to empower the participants to experience spiritual expansion by shifting their focus outward and becoming a catalyst for change.    

We began the weekend by learning that to impact the world we must first understand our own power and how to harness it, so had a board breaking session.  Later that evening, in family groups, we learned how we impact our world in our daily lives.  We realized that even the simplest of acts can change someone's life, so we need to be mindful of words and actions.    

On Saturday, we explored our ability to have an impact on the world.  We discussed our responsibility to work in hope for helping to heal world conflicts.  We heard about three organizations working to create healing and harmony in our global community, The International Campaign for Tibet, The ONE Campaign and Amnesty International.  We learned about their goals and we were invited to sign petitions of support. 

Later in the weekend we were given the opportunity to make love offerings to these campaigns.  We also created cards for patients in a local hospital, wrote messages of love on donated blankets and blessed their new owners.  We each created a plan for expanding our impact in our family and community.  The ideas shared helped each of us expand our horizons to see new possibilities to create change. 

Of course the best part, about attending rallies, is reuniting with old friends and making new ones.  We are so blessed and grateful for the love and support that you, our church family, give us so that we are able to attend these special weekends of spiritual growth and loving acceptance.  The simple acts of buying our pies, eating our ice cream and pancakes are ways you are Expanding Your Impact.

Thank You!
Linda Taylor

GREETINGS,
GOOD PEOPLE,
I'd like to begin the first newsletter column from the Tampa Unity Music Team with a big hearty thank you. My wife and Tampa unity pianist, Tanya, the members of the choir, the boys in the band, and I have received a steady outpouring of support from this congregation through the years, and I want you to know what a joy it is to share our music with such wonderful people as you. Thank you, thank you, thank you...

New Thought music is growing at an exponential pace, both in quality and quantity. When I went to the Unity music conference in the Autumn of 2005, I met about a hundred other songwriters, published and unpublished, recorded and unrecorded, all converging on Unity Village with a common purpose: to expand the Unity message with our music. When Tanya and I went to the conference in 2006, there were about two hundred. The annual conference is orchestrated by a team of volunteers, all great songwriters, musicians, recording artists, and music directors, who spend countless hours cultivating this vision.

The Unity Association Music team has published many songbooks of great new thought music for use in Unity and other churches. This involves listening to hundreds of songs, choosing those deserving of publication, many times transcribing the music from a CD (or rough take) to a computer program (this is tedious, trust me), and then publishing and distributing the result. They publish two such books per year. One of my songs was chosen for one of the 2006 editions (ah, fame at last). Much of the music we do at Tampa Unity these days is taken from these compilations.

Two of the music association members have formed Itoi, which is a separate organization dedicated to finding and promoting the best in new thought music. Each year, a welcome goes out for songwriters to submit music to Itoi for consideration, and the best of the best are nominated. A compilation CD is made and a concert tour is arranged for nominees. This concert tour is called PoziPalooza, and Tampa Unity, in case you haven't heard, is hosting a concert on June 2nd at 7:30 pm. Please come out and support this effort.

I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the larger forces at work that affect the music at your church. I will keep you abreast of any major happenings in the future as well.

John McEwen,
Tampa Unity Music Director

I was quite surprised when I received a call from Reverend Debbie concerning my success with the complaint free bracelet. I guess it is harder than it seems to go 21 straight days without complaining. I suspect my quick success at being complaint free had something to do with my timing.

I have been going through a very difficult divorce for the past 3 years, which was a big part of my searching and finding the Unity Church. I am grateful that I recently started a new relationship in December with someone I met through Eharmony. I asked Clark, the new person in my life, to participate with me.

We both found it easier to go through the experience of not complaining with someone that could help the other to stay focused. It is similar to a work-out partner that you know is counting on you to show up at the gym. We would talk about our day and the events that challenged us and we would remind each other to handle the day in a positive way. Both of us are positive minded people, but it is interesting how events can change your thinking quickly.

I believe my success came from my ability to raise my awareness of how events were affecting my attitude, so I could shift my focus back on my good. Since Clark and I are still in the new, exciting and fresh stage of our relationship, it seems much easier to do this. I was caught up in the wonderful feeling of being with someone that I admired and respected and it was easy to focus on the flow of good I was experiencing.

The biggest challenge I have had recently in maintaining this thought process was when my home was damaged with a water leak. I had just arrived home from a weeklong business trip to find parts of my home filled with water. Clark was out of town and I immediately started to feel alone, just like when I went through my divorce. I did not know what to do as water was leaking from behind the refrigerator, so I called my next door neighbor, Mark.

Mark was home and he ran over and shut the water off. His company just started doing water damage repair work and he had someone over in one hour. The refrigerator needed to be replaced and my niece works for Whirlpool, so I received a nice "family discount." The next day, I listened to David Owen Ritz on my Ipod and he was talking about looking for the good, even in the negative. I am still doing work around that principle as I repair my home.

I think that one of the defining moments for me was starting to work with a spiritual coach and joining a weekly prayer group. My spiritual coach has been able to help me to see the things in my life I was unable to see for myself. My prayer group has been my support, even in the most difficult times. And the best part, I have this wonderful, new person in my life that has demonstrated an authenticity I have been praying for. I feel truly blessed to be at the place I am right now and feeling complaint free!

Trista Clements

SOME PEOPLE CHOOSE THEIR CLOTHING BY THE LABEL. They favor one designer or another, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor, etc.

Designer clothing is a mystery to me and I couldn't tell you one logo from another. I have a hard time selecting clothes off a rack. I lack imagination when it comes to judging a limp garment on a hanger. This is not to say I never buy clothes. I buy lots of clothes... for my daughter, and my husband, for my mother, in-laws even - just rarely for myself. My closet is a gypsy trove of old and older, relics from as long as 10 or even 20 years ago.

Fortunately, when my wardrobe is waxing flat, fate often comes to my rescue in the form of friends who bring me cast-offs from their closets or thrift shop finds ("I saw this and thought it was 'you.'"). Separates and dresses, some of which I would have never chosen for myself, but when I put them on, I find they are just what I needed, a sweater that just matches a favorite skirt - or vice versa, an unlikely dress that somehow fits perfectly.

When I was a child, my grandmother sewed many outfits for me, and with the left over scraps she made quilts. Although those cunning frocks and sun suits are long gone, the quilts remind me of them and of her. My second-hand clothes are like that, they remind me of my friends. I wear no designer label. My wardrobe is from the "Roz" collection. It is a "Madelyn" or a "Noreen."

My young daughter seems to have inherited my infatuation for "found" clothing. She, too, is a collector of cast-offs. She excitedly holds a T-shirt to her face and inhales the scent of it, "This is Sydney - or Emma - or Helena." She will wear a "new" item for days before discarding it in the laundry, savoring her friend's clothing, like a trophy. It's a small reminder that, after all, it is the simple things, a little worn, a bit faded perhaps, all the rough edges smoothed away - replaced with memories - that offer the most comfort. And I have always preferred comfortable clothes.

Janet Stanley