Good morning, and welcome to the First Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical, and social issues in an accepting and nurturing environment. Unitarian Universalism supports the freedom of conscience of each individual as together we seek to be a force for good in the world. My name is Leslie Ross, and on behalf of the congregation I would like to extend a special welcome to all of our visitors today.  Newcomers are encouraged to stay for fellowship hour after service, and to look for persons holding teal, stoneware, coffee mugs. These are FUS members who are knowledgeable about our faith community and who would love to visit with you. Experience guides are generally available to give a building tour after each service, so if you'd like to learn more about the sustainably designed addition and our national landmark meeting house, please meet near the glass windows over there on the left side of the auditorium immediately after service. We welcome children to stay for the duration of the service, but if you or your child needs to talk or move around, the Child Haven or Commons are a good place to retire. The service can still be heard and seen from those areas. This would also be a good time to turn off all electronic devices that might cause a disturbance during this morning service. I would like to acknowledge the many individuals who help run our services smoothly. They include Karen Perrin, who is our greeter this morning, John McEvna and Ken Gage, and Ann Ostrom, who are ushers this morning.  And a couple of announcements. We learned on Friday that long time FUS member Lillian Redding passed away following a lengthy struggle with dementia. A memorial service will be held this Thursday, May 11th, at 4.30pm in our landmark auditorium. Also, we learned that some of you received perhaps the wrong program for this morning service. We have one program for 11 o'clock and one for 9 o'clock. If you check out your program, and it says 11 o'clock towards the bottom of the cover, please turn that in on your way out so that we have enough for the 11 o'clock service. And we apologize for that little snafu. And now we have a quick but lively message from Steve Goldberg. Thank you, Leslie. This announcement is brought to you by the number 5. Five days until Cabaret, Friday evening right here, 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock, where we will spend the night in Ireland. And we'll have a chance to bid on some wonderful silent and live auction items. Here's some nice Irish music. There will also be Irish food, but please don't let that keep you away. We are selling tickets in advance. Those are $35 if you wait in the Unitarian fashion until the last minute. And by tickets at the door, those are $40, but well worth it. And we also would invite people to volunteer for this event. We need a few more volunteers to make it run smoothly. And the attraction for those of you who volunteer is that you'll get a discount on your admission ticket as well. And if you would like to bring kids to Cabaret, we're going to have childcare. This is an adult event, and we will have childcare available, but you need to register in advance for that. So I hope to see many of you here on Friday evening because Cabaret is coming.  We'll spend the night in Ireland and we'll dance to some Irish tunes. We'll have a silent auction and a live one wait and see. And we'll raise a lot of money for our first society. I told you it would be lively. In addition to those announcements, please check out the announcements that are on the red floor's insert in your order of service, which describe upcoming events at the society and provide more information about today's activities. And now, welcome to our annual Coming of Age Worship Service. Today we are privileged to hear from a really impressive group of teens who have spent that past eight months in our Coming of Age program. As many of you know, Coming of Age is the final class in our Children's Religious Education program and is our rite of passage marking the transition from childhood to youth. The Coming of Age program offers experiences that help our teens to better understand who they are, who they hope to be, and what beliefs ground and guide them on their way. They've explored beliefs about God. They've spent hours in the wilderness without electronics and with no one to talk to but themselves and a few bugs along the way. They've talked with their elders about their spiritual evolution and they've looked more closely at our Unitarian Universalist principles and how those relate to their own lives and the choices that they make. After many hours of conversation and contemplation, they set themselves down to writing their own belief statements which they will courageously share with you today. You're probably wondering about these decorative poles that are leaning against the podium. These bamboo poles are walking staffs that were created by the Coming of Age elders and gifted to each youth at their wilderness retreat. The staffs were given to remind them that as they walk this journey of life, our FUS community is always here to support them along the way. We have them here today to remind them of that support and to share with you how awesome they are. Feel free to come take a look after the service. And now let's welcome our Coming of Age team of youth facilitators and elders. Not hearing, not hurrying to nor turning from the goal. Not mourning for the things that disappear in the dim past or holding back in fear. From what the future veils but with a whole and happy heart that pays its toll. To youth and age that travels on with cheer. So let the way wind up the hill or down or rough or smooth, the journey will be joy. Still seeking what I sought when but a boy. New friendship, high adventure and a crown. My heart will keep the courage of the quest and hope the road's last turn will be the best. Please rise in body or spirit and join in the words of affirmation as we light our chalice. To be of the earth is to know the restlessness of being a seed, the darkness of being planted, the struggle toward the light, the pain of growth into the light, the joy of birthing and bearing fruit, the love of being food for someone, the scattering of your seeds, the decay of the seasons, the mystery of death and the miracle of birth. And now, before we join in song, please turn and greet your neighbor. I invite anyone who would like to come forward for our story to join me down on the carpet. Okay, ready? Okay, so we're going to read you a book about the day you were born, okay? On the eve of your birth, word of your coming past from animal to animal. The rainduers told the arctic turns who told the humpback whales who told the Pacific salmon. Who told the monarch butterflies who told the green turtles who told the European eel who told the busy garden warblers and the marvelous news migrated worldwide. While you waited in darkness, tiny knees curled to chin, the earth and her creatures with the sun and the moon all moved in their places, each ready to greet you the very first moment of the very first day you arrived. On the day you were born, the round planet earth turned toward the morning sky, whirling past darkness, spinning the night into light. On the day you were born, gravity's strong pull held you to earth with a promise that you would never float away. While deep in space, the burning sun sent up towering flames lighting up your sky from dawn until dusk. On the day you were born, the quiet moon glowed and offered to bring a full, bright face each month to your windowsill. While high above the North Pole, Polaris, the glittering North Star, stood still, shining silver light into your night sky. On the day you were born, you were born, the moon pulled the ocean below, wave by wave, a rising tide washed the beaches clean for your footprints. While far out at sea, clouds swelled with water drops, sailed to shore in a wind and rained you a welcome across the earth's green lands. On the day you were born, a forest of tall trees collected the sun's light in their leaves where, in silent mystery, they made oxygen for you to breathe. While close to your skin and as high as the sky, air rushed in and blew out, invisibly protecting you and all living things on earth. On the day you were born, the earth turned, the moon pulled and the sun flared and then, with a push, you slipped out of the dark quiet where you could suddenly hear, a circle of people singing with voices familiar and clear.  Welcome to the green earth, the people saying, as they wrapped your wet, slippery body.  Okay, now the children can head to their classes. All right. I never expected to be into sports in high school. But the time I spent on my school's swim team and tennis team have pleasantly surprised me. I've discovered and developed interests that are important to me and made friends doing it. Despite the swim team being small with only eight people total this year, we managed to become very close and have memorable moments created by all of us, such as the time that some of us stayed at school past closing time and proceeded to run around in one of the school's gyms and get caught by the janitors. Not just that, we were also one of the best teams, at least in how loud we cheered for our swimmers. Throughout the season, we have supported each other to the best of our abilities and helped each member grow. The school's tennis team is a lot larger, but I've made a lot of friends on it as well and had just as much fun. We also support each other as much as we possibly can on the tennis team as well. Coming of age is a lot like these teams, and that we support each other through a lot, and I always look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday every week. All in all, these experiences have led me to one core belief. The belief in the power of communities to support each member and help them grow. No matter what community I find myself in, I always feel appreciated and supported, and different communities have helped me get through some rough patches in life. Being a part of communities in my life is important to me, as well as joining and creating new communities. These things are important to me because they help me feel supported and help me feel like I'm helping out other people because I enjoy seeing people happy and knowing that they are there for me whenever I need it. Having a caring and enjoyable community is one of the most necessary things to have in life, and I hope to continue having communities in my life as long as I live. Next year, I'm planning to join Youth Group and have high hopes for that. I'll never forget how this coming of age class has impacted me and helped me grow and meet a whole ton of great people. In my opinion, having a caring and enjoyable community is one of the most necessary things to have in life. This is my belief. I believe in the power of our choices. When I first started writing this, I found myself staring blankly at a piece of paper with jumbled thoughts in my head about what I truly believe in. I wondered if sitting out in the wilderness for six hours straight would help me gather my thoughts, and if some ideas would come to me about what to write about, but in reality, they did not. And although my beliefs are constantly changing as I continue to grow into the person I'm becoming, I found that there are some that have stayed the same, and one of those is the power of our choices. From the start of my understanding of the world to write at this very moment, I've wondered, what do I believe in? When I was younger, I gathered the belief through others that it was God, the big old man in robes that waits for you upon your arrival to the golden gates that I should believe in. I seem content with this until my maturing mind started realizing that, in fact, it is us, humans, that I actually believe in. As humans, all seven billion of us, we all share one thing, that this being that we are all born with two very important organs, the brain and the heart. With our heart, we share an unexplainable bond with others called love, a bond that is truly miraculous and can essentially be stronger than any other tangible thing on earth. With our brain, all 100 billion cells, we are given the power to make choices that shape us into who we become. I believe each and every one of us as humans is responsible for our own lives, not a higher power. Although I find uneasiness in the belief that every decision I make could impact my life so greatly, I also find comfort in this. The thought that I am given the choice to make the world a better place, that I have the choice to be who I want and choose who I become, and the thought that I have the power to make all these decisions gives me such confidence and hope. After all, I wouldn't be on this beautiful planet today if it wasn't for the decision my amazing parents made to have me. For my dad, I have gathered the belief that all things on earth are beautiful and wonderful in their own way, even trees, and that sometimes it's the little things, like going on a drive or just stopping to admire the stars that matter most. And for my mom, I have gained the crucial belief that kindness is one of the most important things to spread to others in life. The world is an enormous, scary, and confusing place, but with the belief that I am in control and I have the power to impact it and make change through my decisions, I think I can handle it. I believe in the quest for happiness. Ever since I can remember, I've always been coming up with crazy ideas and starting ambitious projects. That has always been my thing. It's what makes me happy. I think that most people, if not everyone, have something that makes them happy or will make them happy when they reach it. When I'm working on a project, I'm happy because I enjoy what I am doing. And I know that when I'm finished with my project, I will enjoy having the end product. And if I'm not happy with the end product, I will still feel happy that I had commitment to doing this project. I think that the same thing can apply to many people. They are either doing something that is making them happy right then, or they are doing something that in the end will make them happy, even if they're not enjoying doing it in the moment. I believe that most things, if not everything, revolves around happiness. Because in a lot of cases, it's what motivates people. But in some cases, a person's quest for happiness can be harmful to other people. It can be very destructive. This is why it is important to promote productive ways to be happy. I find that in most cases, though, quest for happiness is a good thing and will have good results. I think that a big part of having a happy life is being a good person. Being honest, kind, and empathetic can lead to being a very happy person. It can lead to be very happy and satisfied with your positive contribution to your community and to this world. And so I believe that happiness is the most important thing in life, and I should never be forgotten. This is why I believe in the quest for happiness. I believe in the power of storytelling. After we were born and once we are ready to listen, we begin to be told stories. And eventually we begin to create stories as well. I am a descendant of storytellers. My parents and my sister are storytellers too. When we were little, my sister weaved the story that when everyday things in the house went missing, it was because Rose, the ghost girl scout who lived in the forest behind our house, was borrowing them and that she'd give them back eventually. And sure enough, a few days later they'd show up again. That was the most exciting part. As I was growing up, my mother tirelessly read me each and every Laura Ingalls Wilder and Anna Greengable's book, and my father taught me the older stories, constellations, ancient legends, and mythology, as well as how to write my own stories as he writes his, and not just as an author. As humans, stories are our first line of defense. At some point we all learn that we are going to die someday, and it can be difficult to face, that nothing lasts forever. So we create things to make ourselves last longer. We try to give ourselves certainty of what comes after we are gone with an all-powerful God that awaits in the heavens, our prayer, sacrifice, reincarnation. We tell the stories of our lives to our descendants to pass down. We give the stories in our heads to the public to criticize and enjoy. We tell stories of all-knowing vengeful gods that watched over us and immortalized the great heroes and heroines and the stars. But even the brightest star eventually flickers out, and nothing is lovely because it lasts. Truth be told, I don't know what I believe comes next, but I do know that I believe that as long as we have stories to pass down and comfort ourselves with, to tie ourselves together and remember our past or vision our future, we are going to be okay. I am going to be okay. I believe that through the power of storytelling, I can become not only the person I want to be, but a person worth telling about. I believe in the moments in life that sustain us. Like a couple years ago, when I got my dog, I saw this time of the thing running me, jumping around and yipping, wanting to meet new people and wanting to play with those new people, and I put a smile on my face. It gave me happiness that I got to take home that little bundle of joy, and she would be there to greet me every time I got home. That little bit of happiness can go a long way to make the rest of your day just a little bit better, rest your league just a little bit less than notness. Another moment that could be helpful is walking in the park, the afternoon light shining through the gaps in the trees, the songs of the birds drifting on the breeze. A small creek gargling by next to you, and in that moment, you'd find some peace and quiet in your mind and just relax and look at a pair of squirrels chasing each other, or an RV man crawling over a leaf. And after you return home, maybe that problem that's been eating away at you, or the deadline that's been weighing you doesn't feel that bad after all. Or you give out a front porch, talking to your close friends about the times that long since passed and those that come in the future, and you once while you laugh or make a joke, but you get a sense of belonging, a sense of perseverance that you're able to get to this moment. To be here among friends, you have made it through a tough day at work, or at school, or a day when nothing went right, or even a few years where life wasn't so great, but this moment makes those other moments worthwhile. For if there are no bad times, then nothing would seem good. And don't these moments recharge us and give us strength to persevere through hard times, but sometimes these moments aren't obvious. Sometimes you won't get a perfect moment. You just have to take a second to look around you, find something that makes you happy, or somewhere you find peace. There must be a whirlwind of responsibility and pressure, moments that slow that whirlwind to breathe, those are the moments I'm talking about.  Remember that little life is bad right now. There's always hope to find those special moments. That's why I believe that the little moments in life sustain us. Being utilitarian means I validate the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and I am free and responsible to search for truth and meaning. I believe in God, the face of love, compassion, and good in the world. I believe Jesus was sent as the bridge between God and us. Jesus came to TSS and show us God's love. My faith in life stands from these beliefs. I believe God has most easily experienced in nature. Its open space and beauty helps me be a piece of myself and experience of their life forms. Service is a big part of me, and I've often found ways to serve where needed in my life. Service is a lived experience that helps me renew my faith by taking actions into what I believe. I believe that I am the hands of God as I work towards good. Living a good life means having a strong connection to family, friends, and the world around me. I believe an ethical person lives the integrity of what they believe, what they say, and what they do match. I learned the once omniverse from the Bible in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures. The prophet Micah says, But to live justly, walk home elite, and love mercifully. My mother said, If you would only want to page the Holy Scriptures and you follow this, then you'd be doing most of what the Bible asks of you. You'd be a person of integrity, and you'd be a person of law. My purpose is to be who I was created to be and help others in trying to do this. Because in the end that is God's plan. My goals are to grow into a strong person like my grandpa, who I thought of when I read, if it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you. And I'd like to continue to learn from my stepdad, Scott. He makes life an adventure and is hardworking. He teaches me attention to detail matters. In the end, I was faithful and as loyal as my grandma and my dad with our family, and I will feel happy with my life. Finally, I'm anchored in my life by love, and as we all know, God is love. When I was 10, I did a report on Mother Jones. You can imagine me, four and a half feet tall, in an oversized dress and hat, talking to my bored to tears class about something I barely understood. But I was on top of the world. Obviously, I had proved my intelligence. Success was sure to come my way. In Sunday, a nerdy little fifth grader was going to do a report about me.  One of the many strangers who kept taking over our house was the campaign manager. He was 20, had been a super active high schooler, then graduated college two years early. Basically, my dream life. That I learned that he wasn't a doctor or a lawyer. He was a substitute teacher. This brings me to my belief. I believe that making the world a better place is more important than recognition. In short, I believe in the power of substitute teachers. Substitute teaching is questionably one of the most difficult jobs out there. At short notice, you have to be ready to teach in an unfamiliar school to 30 antsy kids with virtually no way to make them listen to you. But somehow substitutes manage to do it. I've had substitute teachers who have turned boring classwork into impassioned discussions. They'll never get biographies or statues and parts, but every day they'll change lives. And I don't know what happens after we die, but I do know that what we leave behind is important. And this is why substitute teachers are just as honorable as positions with Nobel prizes. So what should we focus on in place of recognition? I believe that it is most important to actually step out into the real world to volunteer where help is needed. It's also easier for me to get caught up in virtual worlds, also known as the internet, where recognition is the goal. Online, I can read articles about problems we face, such as hunger and homelessness. But I only help to fix those problems when I volunteer with Savory Sundays to help serve and prepare food for the needy. There, I can see the homeless as who they really are, as human as everyone here, not just an abstract social phenomenon. It is these human interactions that I believe help us leave behind a better world. So instead of obsessing over awards and Facebook friends, just take the time to thank your substitute teacher. I believe in the power of reading. For me, books are windows tinted to give the reader a glimpse of the world that surrounds them. They're like fragments of another's mind that helped me to piece together the bigger picture of our universe.  One thing that struck me as I was whisked around on that crowded bus was how much the entire city resembles a living book, like pages ripped out of history. I still remember that to this day. Every monument I passed screams with the triumphs of past heroes, and every war memorial is crushed with the weight of countless boys dying for a long forgotten cause. When I stood at the foot of the Washington Monument or ran my hand along the Vietnam Wall, I felt the stories of the past coming to greet me. They shook my hand, gave me reassuring smiles and sometimes cried on my shoulder until I moved on. In a way, we are all like that. Well, we might not all get Chinese statues commemorating our lives, all of our stories are woven into the same intricate tapestry of the ages. We all have fears and flaws, hopes and dreams, and we're all along for this ride, whatever we make of it. In this way, life is sort of like a book on its own. Its countless pages, yellowed and dusty with age, bound with memory, written and scribbled in steady and flowing hands, each narrative winding together into the same overarching story. Perhaps this is why I love books so much. When I read, I'm really seeing sentences out of that same ancient book. With them, I see the people hidden in the names of the chapters of old, hear their words described in vivid detail through the decades in the sentries. I hear the messages they thought were important enough to send forwards through time to me. Books are lenses that help us see the world in all of its glories and shortcomings and learn from the lives of those who came before us. And I hope that with my reading, I will eventually write my chapter in the book of mankind. I now invite you into the giving and receiving of today's offering, which supports our coming of age program. Thank you for your generosity. Christianity, Islam, Shinto, religion. When I was younger, I was never told my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, or anyone else I talked to what to believe in. I've even taught all that much about the different religions of the world. The only thing I remember is once I got a little bit older, my mom telling me that it was just as important to be a nice person as it was to get good grades. Occasionally, I was asked by a friend or a distant relative if I believed in God and nobody had really ever told me if there was or wasn't one. I usually just said yes because that's what they believed in too and I really didn't know an alternative. I started going to FUS with my mom when she would take my sister to class and my mom and I would listen to the service. There was always a different topic, but like my friends and family, they never really told me what I should believe. When I started taking classes at FUS, I thought it was always fun, especially when we got to play outside. As I got older, we started talking about celebrations. Building bridges in sixth grade was a class that really focused on that. We went on field trips to other churches in places of worship which helped me understand their beliefs better because I experienced them. Besides building bridges, we touched on learning about how different religions were formed in history class at school. As you can imagine, we really only learned about these religions in their historical context. Like rituals of how people and animals so they would have those things in their next life. Of course, everyone, including me, knew that they were wrong in sacrificing yourself or other beings would not help you in any way and we were confused on why anyone would think something so crazy. But when I thought about it for a little while, I realized if someone were to go back in time and hand them a Bible or Quran and teach them one of our modern religions, they might think that we were the crazy ones and that we were the ones who were wrong. I thought it was just so weird that so many people could be so sure that their beliefs were right even though other people thought very different things. If someone was 100% sure of something, obviously, they have to be right. But if another person is 100% sure they're wrong, does that make them wrong? I just couldn't wrap my mind around it so I decided for myself that I didn't believe in a God in afterlife or anything besides what we can prove to be true with no inconsistency or error. Because of this, I believe that everyone has to make their own decisions and that no higher power than God can do to them. People should be nice and do good things for the earth, the people and the animals around them because it is the right thing to do, not because they think they are going to get punished or rewarded in some afterlife if they don't. I believe that through kindness, respect, responsibility, reason and science we will all have better lives and improve the world.  I'm sorry, I can't do that. Life is all about or what everything means or what our purpose is. I can't explain why we are all here or why we are who we are. The odds of you existing are the same as 2 million people, each rolling a trillion sided dice and all getting the same number. But that happened and you exist. And as crazy as it seems, all the decisions in your life have led you to this very moment in one way or another to listen to me tell you what I believe. I believe in many things. I believe in long walks and enjoying the smell of the sidewalk after a thunderstorm. I believe in smiling and I believe in not smiling when you genuinely don't want to. I believe everyone is loved and is capable of loving. I believe in rolling down your car windows in the rain and worrying a little less about water getting in. In all, I believe about living in the moment. Living in the moment isn't being careless or only doing what you want to do. I believe in a lot of people in the sky while you're stuck in traffic. It's pausing what you're doing for even a few seconds to tell someone you love them. I'm well aware this is easier said than done. There's always that ticking clock in our heads allowing time to control us. But time is simply a constant, perfect measurement of how long this world has been spinning. Which in case you're wondering is around 4.54 billion years. In the grand scheme of things 78 years isn't very many. But in those years, there are countless perfect moments. Moments that make life such a wonderful thing. Moments that are easily missed when you're living in the past or stressing for the future. Instead, be here, live in the now and let some things go. Letting something go isn't admitting defeat. It's not forgetting about what happened. It's lightening your load so you can open your eyes and see the world. World is a breathtaking place but it doesn't matter how gorgeous the view is. If your eyes are closed, you'll never see it. I believe in living with your eyes open. Unfortunately, it's very easy to find yourself stuck on the same track. Eyes closed, only worrying about tomorrow. Allowing yourself to become afraid of the unknown. Allowing yourself to stay on that same beaten path that everyone else is. So I urge you, stray off the beaten path a little bit more and stress less about what means for tomorrow. The sun will still rise. Some things never change but some will and when they do don't try to stop it. It's heartbreaking when people say you've changed as if change isn't okay as if you should be ashamed of it but you shouldn't. You should be glad you've changed because the person you are now isn't any worse than the person you once were. Just different. Things can't stay the same. Whatever stops the moment is always changing. It's always moving forward with or without you. I promise, life will be much more enjoyable if you open your eyes and move forward with it. Self-affirmation and exploration of faith. Though many like me have been fortunate enough to truly explore ideas and philosophies of faith, many others have not been so lucky. Take my grandfather for example. He, like many others of his generation, was raised to be a devout Catholic. One who believed in the glory and presence of God as portrayed within Christianity. However, also within his childhood he was taught not to question any ideas or break any rules of his faith as doing so was a mortal sin and he would be eternally punished for doing so. This core fundamental belief of his faith would eventually clash with himself as he proceeded to marry his non-Catholic fiance. As during the wedding ceremony the Catholic priest demanded that she convert and accept its teachings. However, when she made it clear that she was not willing to do this, my grandfather was forced to choose between his love for her and the faith of his childhood and ultimately his family who refused to attend the wedding after he chose to marry out of the faith. My grandfather's tragic relationship with his faith has showed me the terrible, terrible effects that an environment oppressive or free thinking or question can oppose upon his members. After he left the church for several years that cloud of guilt haunted him that he would be unable to retain a place in heaven and he would be eternally damned. My religious suffering has been completely the opposite. I have been free for all of my childhood to constantly question various ideas and faiths. It is this way of going about religion that has bestowed upon me the ability to choose my own path, my own way of thinking and has given me many countless things. Among these I have been able to choose my own goals, aspirations likes and dislikes and most importantly beliefs without the judgment or guilt of others. It is this great gift that I thank you, the FUS community for giving me. What a joy it is to be celebrating another coming of age ceremony and the culmination of another coming of age year. This is truly a moment to stop and give thanks for our youth for the gift of their insights and their wisdom and to acknowledge that although their classroom learning here may be over their journey of lifelong learning on their own has just begun. Throughout this year our youth have begun in earnest to study themselves to get to know themselves examining their beliefs and values, ideals and aspirations with their belief statements our youth have given us a glimpse of where this process has led them and we would pause for a moment to thank those who've walked with them on this journey. We begin with those who served as the adult facilitators for coming of age who have given our youth direction, insight wisdom and guidance throughout the year. They brought patience, good humor and much love and compassion. Davis, Chitola Anne Galebspie and Jay Ranny. We also pause to give thanks to our elders each youth is matched with an elder who was carefully chosen to embody the thoughtfulness kindness and commitment we hope to encourage in our youth throughout the year our elders were steadfast they took this challenge cheerfully and joyfully and we owe them great thanks if you would please stand as your names are called Michelle Reese Bob Ault Bill Crawley Helena McGevna Emily Cusick Putnam and if our youth will come forward and so to all of you here on this fine May morning thank you for being here to help our youth celebrate this achievement and so we ask you to remember your own important role in the spiritual and the moral development of these youth you see before you where they journey from here is not entirely up to them it is also clearly up to us we must remember that deepening their experience of our tradition, unitarian universalism is not the responsibility of their mentors or their parents alone helping them to blossom as loving and conscientious human beings that is a responsibility we all share and now that they have indeed completed their coming of age year that responsibility becomes even more relevant and more immediate for these young men and women you can serve both as an example and an inspiration of how people live out today their spiritual values through you they can observe unitarian universalist faith in action there can be no greater or more effective teaching than your good example and so now we would ask will you continue to encourage the spiritual growth of the youth that you see before you will you recognize their insights their emerging convictions and also recognize the gifts and the talents that they bring and the enthusiasm and the hope that they bring to our larger world and if you are willing to continue to assist them in this adventure that they have begun please say we will and now to our youth we recognize today the work you have done we're grateful for the gifts and the talents you've brought to us in your time here will you continue this journey you have begun to grow as an individual expressing your beliefs growing in faith and continuing to question and explore if so please say we will and now will the parents of these articulate and talented young men and women please stand good job folks but you beyond everyone else you have been the witnesses to the unfolding and maturing of your child from their day of birth until this very moment in the beginning of this our coming of age year we ask that you give permission for your child to participate in this program and to come of age we ask you now will you continue to open your hearts in order to receive your child into your family for all that they have become in the course of this past year do you promise now to continue your journey together with respect, patience, guidance and if so please say we will you may be seated at the dedication of a child we give to each a rosebud fragrant symbol of beauty promise and love the rose we give then has no thorns symbolizing the better world we would like to give to our children we hope that these children will learn to recognize the beauty and the goodness which exists that they'll grow in wisdom and passion adding their own beauty to the world our hope is that as each rosebud unfolds in all its natural beauty so may their life unfold today we give to each of these young people a rose in full bloom symbolizing the beauty and the gifts that they already give to our world and the natural beauty that is found in each of them yet this time the thorns are still intact when you were a child we could do our best to shield you from the harshness and cruelty of the world but now as a youth we can no longer protect you from all that you encounter both the beauty and the brutality but no matter where you may go and how far you may travel you will always be with us in spirit and we will always bless your way so accept these roses knowing that there are harsh realities in this world but there is much beauty as well may you choose to see the beauty and now as we did when you were young we ask that you be granted clarity of thought integrity of speech and a compassionate heart may the blessings of strength integrity of purpose love received and given be yours today and remain with you as you go forward into ever fuller life if you will join me in congratulating our youth and if you will rise and body your spirit to join in our closing hymn number 288 it is now that we end our time but we as students would like to give thanks firstly our facilitators who have organized each lesson, retreat and discussion and allowed us to delve into the vast sea of beliefs which you have explored in this past year parents it is you who have taken a noble action in the best interests of your child to allow them to come to their own conclusion and be satisfied with their own religious truth I would like to thank my peers who have given their class its unique personality and made it the experience that it is elders perhaps you most of all have given this class its unique touch as you have provided your mistakes your advice and countless other things to help us make our way through our journey thank you


Hey everyone, welcome to today's day trading recap for Tuesday July 13th a nice day today plus 981 dollars, let's go these I'll show you what we did Starting with Pete on our one mighty 90 Booked 490 on that one did a small pairs trade in gold versus silver. That was a small loser for 133 and then on the runners seven different runners Baba minus 57 Pete on plus 220 Square minus 330 snow plus 150 Roblox plus 246 Roku plus 380 and the Nasdaq basically a scratch minus 15 so I was actually getting ready to record this recap And then all of a sudden the market started really moving If I take a look at the futures just like at the nasdaq and the s&p I mean nasdaq really started flushing s&p was coming down hard And so I said, okay, maybe I'm not quite done yet The market was screaming at me that it wanted to give me more money. So I said, okay You know, I mean, that's what that's what you do and it's yelling at you to give you more money You just take it, right? So Let's start with the uh, let's start with the mighty 90 and peton. I'll show you what we did here starting with This flush down in peton right into this uh, key level here had a nice spike in volume got long And caught this bounce right back up to unchanged cut out of my last piece right there plus 490 in peton Onto the runners baba baba. I did have a nice profit in Had this uh initial weakness and then bounced all the way up above the high start consolidating got long right here Looking for another push, which I got it. I got out of most of my position there and then when it pulled back Uh, I got back in with some more looking for some more Upside and it just started to fall. So I ended up cutting out net net took a loss of minus 57 in baba Uh, peton back to peton that did that mighty 90, but then I also had a runner Uh, so when peton started to pull back here got in got out Uh of some there. I think I I think I can't remember where I held my last piece until I think I got out Right around this area here.  Actually, this was a couple different trades One of which was a winner had this nice volume spike here. So when it pulled back I got in and it actually bounced uh intra bar and caught may have been right here Caught closed half of my position out for 10 and then when it started to come down Uh closed the last piece out booked a small winner on that and then uh after the big market flush Peton or a square bounced up to yesterday's low. I thought we had more downside So I got short here looking for a rollover and it just kind of chopped started chopping higher So I cut out and took a loss on that. So between those two trades minus 330 in square Uh snow don't trade this one too often but One of our fellow trade hackers in the room Pointed it out had a nice big, uh, man Which was the one who pointed out has a nice big volume spike And so when uh snow just pulled back a little bit. I think it was maybe right here Uh, I just caught that caught that move higher. Uh, very small position, but booked a quick 150 and got out Roblox Roblox roblox roblox Plus two 46 in roblox Um roblox had some real A lot of weakness here I got in I believe Right in this area short caught this move down held on to one last piece Uh, it looked like it was going to push through and so I cut out of my last piece here Obviously exactly the wrong time in hindsight because it started to trade back down, but that's okay Still booked a nice profit of 246 Uh, Roku Roku Where are you Roku? All right, so Roku, um, I was watching Roku all morning had a super tight range just chopping chopping Uh, when it broke down finally into negative territory and bounced back up I got short right here thinking okay, we're gonna see some downside in Roku Uh, and it just it just pushed up and I just so I just got out right there Now so that was one that was a small loss and then the the market flush happened So when it started to flush here it broke down again and on this bounce I got short again and cut this entire move down Uh, so really nice, uh moved there so net net plus 380 in Roku And then last of all the nasaq futures. I took a little A couple little runners here. So when the market started to flush and when it bounced I got short here Got a nice move there. I think I got out of my last piece real close to the bottom right down here Then when it bounced up, I thought there's more downside in it looking for it to roll over So I added back in and then it pushed up So, uh, I think I got out of my last piece right around here Just about 10 15 minutes ago So netted 15 bucks. So basically a scratch overall on the nasdaq So that's the uh, that's the day plus eight 91. I think I said yeah, no 981 plus 981 on the day We stream in the rest of this week Wednesday Thursday Friday We're offline on monday. So look forward to seeing you in the live room. See you then


This is Chichou. Welcome to my channel and welcome to another video and what we're gonna do in this video is I'm sort of gonna show you some of the physics books that I have in my book collection and the books that I use to reference material and the books that I use to actually learn physics, okay? And this is a video that I've been meaning to make for the last couple of years at least and And thanks to one of the people that's been following us on YouTube They reminded me a couple of times that I had promised To put this video out and this is this is videos sort of a result of that coming out at this point because I promised them as soon as we got back into a full-blown Video editing production. This was going to be the first one of the first videos that we're gonna put out, okay? and This is related to a lot of content that we created in the past as well, right? Because book recommendations is one of the first types of questions that Started coming my way when I started putting out the language of mathematics videos and One of the first videos we put out actually I don't know who was at the end of series one of the language of mathematics or it was the end of series two of the language of mathematics where I made Five book recommendations because people at that time were asking me for math book recommendations, right? And since we've done a certain amount of physics since then I promised that I would put out a physics book recommendation as well, right? Because my background is really Geophysics with a minor in mathematics. I'm not math major. I'm a physics major, okay? And I sort of went through my book collection and pulled out the books that I have as references for physics and a couple of these books Actually three four of these books that I have here are the books that I used way back in the day to learn physics Okay now one of the books the main book that I have is One of the books that I showed in my first book recommendation videos, right? where People were asking me to give them math book recommendations and I pulled out a math book Which I showed you guys and I pulled out this physics book Okay The math book that I use and this is I'll show you this because math is just basically that the foundation of physics really, right? So it's a good idea to have a math book handy as well if you're studying physics But this is my to-go-to math book. It has been for the last 30 years, right? And it's calculus Howard Anton third edition and this is you know the one of the books that I showed in my first Book video recommendation, right? And it's a fantastic book I have stuffed bookmark and I've gone through this through university years I went through about 75% of this book learning calculus doing getting my math minor, right? So I have this and this is the book that I've referenced most in terms of Maths and physics sciences in my life, okay? I Still very much love it As far as my main physics books that I use to learn physics and What I reference, okay? This is one of the other books that I showed in that first video that we put out About the math book collections, and I believe it was in 2009 or something like this 2008 2009 Maybe 2010 2009 though, I believe so like 10 years ago, right? And this is physics for scientists and engineers with modern physics second edition and it's Seaway, okay? This book I've probably referenced just as much as this next book that I'm gonna show you this one probably more So I probably referenced this book more than any of the other physics books that are about to show you Maybe equivalent this next book. I'm gonna show you is gonna be equivalent to this one, okay? And this book came out When did this book come out? This is Copyrighted 1986, okay, and the author for this is Raymond A. Surway, okay? I'm sure you the name here just in case you want to look it up So here's The info for this book, okay? If you're interested in looking this up Is it a phenomenal book? It's what I learned physics on, right? I Know where the information is. I know how to read this textbook because each test textbook really I don't know if it's science, but even fiction every textbook has sort of a Rhythm to it, right? So I'm familiar with this rhythm. I'm familiar with this tone So this is the book that I reference I find it well enough for me. Okay, like I even have pieces of paper in here where I'm You know talking about Magnetic fields and stuff like this. I have little things that are stuck in there that I drew just for me to Appreciate what was going on, right? With magnetic fields, right? So I have little bits of notes in this Okay, and that's what's something you need to do when you're Learning when you're acquiring a textbook that you're going to be using for a long time Bookmark it put little notes in there Mark up the book if you need to or if you want to write highlight things I really haven't highlighted too much in this Because at the time I wasn't really into highlighting bugs and I didn't realize that this book Was going to stay with me for like 30 years, right? so this is my Main one of my main to go to books right for physics anywhere The other book that I probably reference just as much as this book is this one Fundamental physics second edition Extended and it's holiday and resnick This is the book I hope You can read that fine and again with this one I have things Areas that I've marked off and some of these are marked off a long time ago, right? I got little notes in here and when you're looking to Find a book I find out when this was put out Find a book that you're going to use A lot And this one came out the last edition of this Which is I believe this is a third edition. This is a second edition the extended second edition is 1981, right? So this guy was 1986 this guy is 1981, right? so the age of the book really doesn't matter because physics what we know so far from the You know just introductory physics a lot of the stuff is preliminary physics where you encounter in grade 11, grade 12 First-year physics and second-year physics, right? You haven't really specialized in anything yet because physics specializes in things, right? You can learn the basic physics and then Decide that you want to go into fluid dynamics. You want to go into electromagnetic and magnetic methods. You want to go into Specialized on the geophysics from going to seismic refraction and reflection or whatnot, right? So you can Really narrow your focus when it comes to physics What we're talking about here really is an introduction to all the different disciplines and physics, right? But what we talked about previously a video that we put out Which was how to read a textbook, right? And in that video I sort of had multiple points laid out of How I go about reading a textbook and what I find important to be in a textbook, right? So when you're choosing a textbook, maybe physics, maybe mathematics, maybe chemistry, maybe Any other discipline that you want to study what I personally look for is an extended large table of contents, right? Something that spans every chapter and gives you a nice overview of what's in those chapters and a Extended detailed bibliography, right? Or index, my apologies. Extended index where you can look up a certain field, right? When you want to look up a certain topic and find out exactly which pages That information can be found, right? So if you're choosing You know, we're trying to choose a textbook that you're going to learn from and hopefully keep with you for Decades. And again, this one has been with me for 30 years as well Just as long as this one, right? So if you're trying to Find the book that you're going to keep in your book collection That is a discipline that you want to study for an extended period of time Make sure those books have a nice table of contents And a nice index, right? And what's inside Is something that you can relate to that you find easy to read. You like the rhythm The flow of the information, right? And it is very personal and the other thing that we mentioned in that video we put out You know how to read a textbook what I personally look for when it comes to physics and sciences in general I look for detailed drawings, right? This is something that you definitely want especially in a physics textbook and other sciences as well Are detailed drawings with nice little footnotes description of what's going on In the diagrams and references in the text to the diagrams So these are My two main physics textbooks that I use Okay, and of course Always have this guy handy Now There's a little bit more to this Physics is not just about reading the textbooks and understanding the concepts Physics is about doing problems. You need practice when you're learning physics, right? and A lot of these textbooks or any textbooks that you find should have a lot of Solve problems examples that they walk you through the process of How they went about solving the problem and explain to you what the system is all about, right? Because physics is really about different types of systems and systems are really about units So when you're studying physics, what you really have to appreciate what you really have to wrap your head around Are the units involved in that specific field that you're studying at the moment, right? And physics has multiple different fields that you can study Okay Now the best way to learn about these units to learn about these systems is to read the examples and follow through what the thought process was In the books in the textbooks, right? And a good textbook is going to explain to you why they did everything they did When they're providing you with an example of how they do something, right? And a good textbook is going to have supplementary problems questions at the back of your chapter with At least the answers in the back of the book. If not the solutions of how they went about solving those problems. Okay Usually though The questions they have in the textbook that you're studying are not enough or they weren't enough for me Okay So when I was studying physics, there is series of books That that I ended up buying and I have these are the physics ones that I pulled out these are I don't know if these guys are around anymore, right? But these are shums outlines Okay, and what they are are basically here. I'll read you the title for this. This is the seventh edition This is shums Outline series theory and problems of college physics and this is the same one college physics This is the sixth edition Okay, I did for some reason. I didn't use this as much as the seventh edition Right, and let me read you what it says here. It says and this is by Frederick this one is by Frederick Bushett here. Let me bring this up so you see it I don't know if these are these are around right now these series, but There's something called Cole's notes. I don't know. I'm pretty sure Cole's notes as physics as well but I'm pretty sure I've seen other types of series of books that have basically exercises and solutions just straight up exercises and solutions and summaries of each of the concepts for these books for these Disciplines that are going to be showing you how to solve the problems, right? And this thing basically says Including 833 solve problems and 998 supplementary problems That's what physics is about. It's about sitting down and doing problems sitting down and Having having a system explained to you and you having to think about what the problem is Modeling that problem according to the functions the formulas That you know Understanding the units at play and being able to Quantify that system to answer questions That's what these books allow you to do. Okay, unfortunately this thing that the covers come undone, right? And this edition is one that this won't come out This one is a 1979 edition and I believe this one should be the 19 The sixth edition is 1961 wow So there was uh Is this the same author? So fourth edition check this out This is how popular these things are, right? So the fourth edition of this Came out in 1942 the fifth edition came out in 1946 the sixth edition and came out in 1961 right and If this is the same author and should be For some reason Oh, no, this is check this out this sixth edition of shams outline theory and problems and uh of college physics Is daniel sham bs Right bachelor of science. That's who was the main author of this. I believe Okay And it was edited by edited by carl w van der Merwood phd production of physics, right? So this one Is Daniel sham that came out with this book, okay And this one Is the seventh edition and it doesn't have the previous editions to this listed here Actually, the previous editions. It's got copyright 1936 1939 1940 1942 46 61 and 79 so I guess it's the same one But this one the author is credited With frederick j bosch phd, right? Is credited by a different person And these books basically they You know, they have a nice table of contents right in general Okay, or these ones did anyone They should have a nice index They have a nice index right Which is Exactly what you want, right? they have Old school four-place logarithmic tables Man, that is awesome. That is pure awesome, right? They have Extremely important any good physics textbook is going to have your physics constants in there Right, you need the constants in there you need Your factors for conversion to si units Okay, these are the international units. So you need a table like this in your physics textbook Look for it if your book that you're Going to acquire or use to learn physics doesn't have this Put that book away or it doesn't have the constants or doesn't have The formulas now this one should have the formulas or it shows up And actually you usually have the formulas in each chapter the summary of the formulas They'll have They have the greek alphabet prefix for multiples of si units and these ones are Pretty basic. You don't necessarily need this one Okay, this is If you know your mathematics, you should know how that works Yeah, and this one doesn't have the formulas All of them in one area because there's so many disciplines in Physics right so many different fields you can go into but here. Let me show you this one This is current resistance in ohms law chapter 26. It's going to have the definitions of the words, right? It's going to have the formulas It's going to talk about the units right and Additional formulas, right in here and then solve problems Which is fantastic, right, which is exactly what you want And then it'll have supplementary problems that you couldn't do And to solve problems They're going to show you how they went about solving all of them Either at the end of each chapter at the end of the book Okay, so Sean's outlines is something that I used Uh In addition to the textbooks That I used to learn physics, okay And as I mentioned physics has Specific disciplines that you can go into right like the physics textbooks if you're learning them in grade 11 grade 12 even college physics first year You're going to notice that There's so many different chapters that cover so many different things maybe kinematics dynamics Uh Hydrodynamics Or electric circuits and I studied a little bit of electric circuits And I used the shone's outline I found the electric circuit stuff more difficult for me to grasp when I was learning physics And there's different chapters that you're going to have a harder time with than other chapters, right? Like for me kinematics dynamics Just like many other people kinematics people in general tend to Find it easier to understand grasp than electricity than fluid dynamics Or water flow basically that one I Tended to have a hard time with as well, but this one I really needed to I wanted to understand so electronic Circuits and I can't remember why I ended up grabbing this book and this is sort of the same format of things, right? Now once you learn Initially when you're learning physics, right you're going to learn And initially getting into physics is difficult, right? I tell most of my students I find physics 11 way more difficult than physics 12 because physics 11 tries to encompass so much that you get overwhelmed with all the units and all the Assumptions and all the laws and all the constants and all the names of the people involved and coming up with these approximations really because that's what physics is is an approximation of the Physical world around us, right? We're trying to understand so for me I tend to find the Initial stage of trying to learn physics very difficult, right? But slowly once you get into the terminology and understand certain systems We don't constantly have to look up the units or look up the definitions of words and Constantly try to Force yourself to visualize what's happening in a certain situation, right? Once you go deep into physics Once you start specializing in stuff you go beyond these initial textbooks and you start going into more Much more complicated physical concepts, right? And there's a lot of books that I do have in my book collection where They're Realizing in a certain type of physics, right? But one of the ones I'd like to show you and It's basically a textbook for physics, but it's The next type of textbook you would get into, okay? That covers a fair bit of information But it's way more in depth and way more intricate and lays down the foundation for future Studies and physics, right and again this book is something we looked at in the video we put out when we said we're going to talk about Or how to read a textbook, right where we put out that video. I actually added up Editing it into two different formats a longer version and a shorter version, right? Both of them sort of laying out the 20 steps that we had to Reading a textbook I believe and this book is The physics textbook that we took a look at and it's a Feynman lecture, right? The Feynman lecture lectures on physics and this is In volume number two, right? And I flipped through this book. I haven't I really didn't go too deep into higher level physics other than specializing in Physics required to do geophysics, right? And that's going very specialized and I have some geophysics books that Once I graduated from the basic Physics the introduction from grade 1112 first and second year physics. We started really just delving into Physics tech textbooks that really just specialized In geophysics, right? But so I didn't really get a chance to go into this too deep But this is a phenomenal book Okay, it's fantastic. Now. This is Richard. This is Richard Feynman, right playing the bongos Right, awesome. And there's a video on him online Him playing the bongos. Okay, I highly recommend and I highly recommend Listening to his lectures and his philosophy on life if you've never have Um a fantastic teacher if you're looking for one Okay, so this book is fantastic as well if you get, you know, if you have the opportunity and at some point I plan on getting my hands on volume one and volume three of Five and lectures on physics. I don't have them in my collection, right? But you can tell that this thing's got Detailed detailed Table of contents, right? Very nice table of contents The drawings in this books are fantastic Okay, here's one that's related to what I showed you before, right? Magnetic fields and whatnot Okay There is A ridiculous amount of information in this book And if you're going into hardcore physics Where you need to really appreciate the mathematics and Understand The systems Beyond just the basic rudimentary level, which is basically the introduction what I showed you with these textbooks This is the type of textbook you want to get your hands on And just go deep into it, right? And This book again has got a nice index as well So I just wanted to share that I wanted to show you guys These books and I do have a couple other Textbooks physics textbooks that made their way to me But I really haven't used them. There were either books that Friends had that they were taking physics and they weren't going to pursue it any further And they didn't know what to do with the books and they asked me if I take them Find them a home and I said for sure And you know, if I come across any students that want to study physics that Want to get their hands on eating book just as a hobby or they're thinking about going to physics I'm definitely Going to be passing these books on to them and hopefully they'll make use of it in the future for themselves, right until then these are going to be sitting here And I might give give them a look if I find them Useful maybe we'll do a future video and add these as a physics book recommendation as well. Okay So aside from that My apologies for taking so long to come up with this physics book recommendation or just basically show you what I Use the books that I use to learn physics, right? For sure, let me know if there's any other videos that I promise to do that I still haven't got to and I will get to them Thank you for the person that Reminded us a couple of times to put this video out and again the two main textbooks Are this guy right physics for scientists and engineers with modern physics second edition survey and fundamentals of physics second edition extended by holiday and Resnick Don't forget Workbooks Right like shums outlines or coals nose for college physics and stuff like this and if you're going to go into You're going to delve deep into physics the final lectures on physics I found interesting right and at some point I will read them a little bit further. Okay Aside from that, thanks for being here. Thanks for supporting this work. I hope I hope you're having a phenomenal phenomenal day and I'll see you guys in the next video Bye for now