Featured Articles Archive
Celebrating the Completion of Renovations
Bowling Break
New board members and some of our staff went bowling on May 25 to mark the end of the church year. Left to right: Pat Wright, Barbara Gibbs, Jacqueline Schwab, Pat Gomez, Catherine Farmer Loya, Rob Briner, Leonard Cachola, Rev. Rebecca, Beth Brownlie, Emily Hero, Gabriel Paredes, DeReau Farrar, Jyvonne Haskin, and James Hayden. Photo by Charles Haskell.
Volunteer Day
Volunteer Day took place on Saturday, June 7, right at the end of the school year, a perfect time to clean out RE rooms. We also put teak oil on some of the benches in the courtyard, began cleanup of the newly-enclosed yard facing Arizona Ave., weather-proofed the two cottage doors looking out onto the play yard, put in a spring garden, and washed the large windows where Forbes Hall looks out onto the courtyard.
Another Volunteer Day is being planned for the fall. Stay tuned.
Photos:
Clockwise from upper left: Angela Lisovsky washing windows; Dorothy Steinicke and Emily Hero taking a rest break; Patricia Wright and Greg Wood put teak oil on benches in the courtyard.
— Karl Lisovsky
From Our Intern Ministry Committee: A Home Away from Home
Our intern minister, Nica Eaton-Guinn, will be arriving in August to complete the last phase of her ministerial training and to work among us for the following ten months. She is looking for a place to stay during her internship, and perhaps someone reading this article can offer her the gift of a small home away from home.
As Nica lives with her family in Santa Barbara and her internship here is part-time, she needs a temporary home somewhere on the Westside where she can live and sleep two nights a week, probably Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and spend whatever portion of Sunday she is not on our 18th Street church campus. If you can offer Nica the use of a mother-in-law apartment, a room with en suite bathroom and perhaps a private entrance, or some other arrangement that will allow her privacy and some separation from your household, we would like very much to hear from you. Please contact any member of the Intern Committee with your ideas.
Many thanks from your Intern Committee,
— Barbara Kernochan, Joe Engleman, Pat Gomez, Karen Hsu Patterson, and Bill Nunan
How are Earth Day and Easter Related?
Lay Sermon on Easter/Earth Day, April 20
by Laura Mathews
Some of you may know me as a climate activist with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the group I went to Washington with to lobby for a carbon tax. Others might know me more from my spiritual journey, that of striving to practice the teachings of Jesus. I’m honored to be here today to talk about them both.
And I’m here to pose a question: How are Earth Day and Easter related?
Easter, as one of the central celebrations of Christian teachings, and Earth Day, on Tuesday, a celebration of the planet we all share and need to care for — what do these have in common?
To my view, they share similar themes. They both celebrate life and they both encourage us to think of others.
This earth teems with life. In the five mass extinctions over hundreds of millions of years, many species were lost to us forever. But life as a whole bounced back, eventually evolving this last time to include us.
Yet now we face a possible mass extinction of our own doing due to climate change. The earth, as many have said before me, will be fine. It will adjust back to its normative temperature as it has done repeatedly, and life will again cover the planet as it always has.
But what will happen to us? That is the question. We may be facing radical changes to our way of life, where we can live, the foods that are available to us, even how long we can shower.
Beyond that, we will see upheaval as nations around the world struggle for survival. In many cases, as we’ve seen in the Sudan, Egypt, and Rwanda, fighting has started already, sparked by climate alterations that led to drought and rising food costs.
How can we ensure that this does not get out of hand, that we retain the best of ourselves while shedding the evils that have brought us to the brink?
This is where the meaning of Easter might bring some hope.
If you’re familiar with the Easter story you know that after being executed for activism against the regime at that time, the story says, Jesus came back to life. It goes on to say that after this resurrection, Jesus appeared to his fishermen friends on the beach one morning. He fed them a breakfast of fish and charged them to likewise "feed [his] sheep,” or tend to those he had shown the most love, as he would himself.
The story of rebirth and the call to be a shepherd, whether you believe it literally happened or not, has meaning for us today as we strive to discern how we should care for those most impacted by the changing environment, but who are the least to blame.
Some of you might be aware of the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change detailing how the degradation of the earth’s climate is already impacting all the nations of the world. The report concluded that the brunt of it will be felt most by those who had the least to do with causing it. Unfortunately, the nations most responsible for the damage resist helping poorer nations adapt and cope. And unfortunately, those poorer nations often turn to violence and upheaval to defend their children and their future.
This could be a story of slow or sudden death, of the human race crucifying itself by turning a blind eye or drowning itself in conflict over resources. But like the story of the earth, the story of humanity has always been one of rebirth and renewal. I believe the Easter story has seeds of this promise in it. “Feeding the sheep” is a metaphor that has meaning to me as I consider my obligation to those on the other side of world.
I remember meeting a young woman from Bulgaria on a trip to Greece several years ago. She wound up saving me from missing a connection and being stranded for several days.
We subsequently had dinner together. She ate the humble meal she had in her bag. I ordered the seafood pasta, from which I proceeded to pick out the squid and the octopus. She watched me for a moment, then said, “Are you going to eat that?”
I said no, I didn’t like it. She bluntly said, “In Bulgaria, we would never waste good food like that. Can I eat it?” Taken aback, I said, “Sure,” and got her another fork. She happily devoured all my leftovers.
This blew me away. I really had to analyze it to figure out what had happened. My initial inner protest was, “Well, I paid for it, I don’t have to eat it.” Immediately following that was the realization that this is probably a uniquely American attitude. “If I can pay for it, I’m entitled to waste it.” I discovered to my chagrin that this was a value I had completely absorbed. I felt it was my right to do whatever I please with whatever I had bought and paid for.
I started noticing how much that assumption colored my actions. I would buy too much produce and let it go bad. I would drive to a store two blocks away so I wouldn’t have to carry things home. I would leave lights on because I didn’t like to walk into dark rooms.
But isn’t the fresh produce about more than the kale or the oranges? It’s also the trucks bringing the produce to market, the water used to grow the plants, the labor that had harvested it. When I threw out that orange, I was wasting all of that. Was I really entitled to do that just because I’d paid the eightynine cents?
It was when I realized that somewhere, someone was burning a chunk of coal to get me those lights that the switches were finally changed to “off.”
That encounter with my Bulgarian friend changed me. I still take way more than my share compared to the rest of the world, because I’m still living in America. I can’t do much about that. But I also have something that Bulgarian girl doesn’t have. I have a voice in the most powerful political landscape in the world.
My voice, just by virtue of the fact that I was born and live here, can reach farther and do more than millions of voices in Bangladesh, in Sudan, in Bulgaria. This is the thing I should not waste. Since I am enjoying more than my share of what the earth has to offer, I also should speak up more than my share to balance that. If everyone on the earth had an equal voice, this would not be necessary. But, they don’t. I have to be active for the earth and my brothers and sisters in faraway lands who cannot speak for themselves.
A couple weeks ago I attended a forum for those running for retiring Henry Waxman’s seat in Congress. In the Q&A period, I got up and asked, “Waxman has been a giant fighting against climate change and for the environment. How do you plan to fill those very big shoes?”
One of those six will probably go to Washington in Waxman’s place. By asking the question, I let them know that I’d be holding them accountable. I let them know that I expect them to make this issue a priority. I let them know I’d be watching.
In this election year, each of us has multiple opportunities to speak up for our brothers and sisters across the globe — with our questions, with our being educated on the issues, with our vote. Even our one vote, here in the U.S., can do way more than we know.
Today, too, there are hundreds and thousands of earnest people — scientists, activists, even politicians — working to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate. They deserve our support for research and our educated influence on policy-making. I encourage everyone to think about what aspects of this challenge most move you, and take that energy and turn your passion into action. The more of us who speak up, the better.
When we talk about saving the earth, we are really talking about saving ourselves. The earth will be fine, with or without us. What each of us needs to decide is what aspects of humanity are worth allowing to continue.
Do we continue with rampant consumption and the waste that goes along with it?
Or do we become reborn as a civilization that values ideas over objects, relationships over possessions, giving over receiving?
Do we continue to claim, as Americans, “If I can pay for it, I am entitled to waste it?”
Or, even if it means we have to learn to consume less, do we become willing to share?
The rebirth and resurrection that humanity must undergo will change us from what we are today into what we need to be tomorrow. We must welcome that change. Wasteful practices must be left in the tomb, and seeing ourselves as part of a larger whole is due for resurrection. We can resurrect it first in our own hearts, and then look for ways to “feed the sheep.” In the process, we might just save ourselves.
Annual Report of the UU Santa Monica Newsletter Team
Editor-in-chief : Charles Haskell, (present term: July 2013 to June 2015)
Editors: Laura Eklund, Liz Fuller, Joyce Holmen, Rima Snyder, Jennifer Westbay Calendar: Laura Eklund
Art Directors: Charles Haskell, Wendell Pascual, Carol Ring, Pam Teplitz
Photographers: Charles Haskell, Carol Ring
Distribution: Elizabeth Fuller (electronic edition) and Peggy Kharraz (paper edition)
Staff changes in 2013-2014: Geralyn Lambson and Carol-Jean Teuffel retired from the committee after many years of service. We will miss them both. Wendell Pascual has joined the team as a graphic designer. He is a highly creative professional from UCLA. We welcome him warmly to our newsletter team.
Charge: The primary function of the newsletter is to inform the congregation and visitors of church issues, programs, and activities. The Newsletter Team is responsible for production of the newsletter, including making reasonable discretionary decisions relating to content and design. The team chooses its own editor-in-chief for a two-year term, subject to approval by the board of directors. Space and emphasis in the newsletter is allocated according to priorities that are available on request. All newsletter items should be emailed to newsletter@uusm.org by noon on the 15th of the month. Articles received by this deadline are published, provided they are considered appropriate material for the newsletter. Articles received after the deadline may or may not be published, depending on available space and whether the material can be added to the issue without disrupting our publication schedule. The editor-in-chief may edit material for length, style, grammar, etc., and refuse material that is not appropriate. Any questions or problems concerning the newsletter should be addressed to the editor-in-chief. All material published is copyrighted and is the property of the church.
RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN OTHER COUNTRIES: Carol Ring shares photos from her recent trip.
Left, a monk bows at the gate of a Buddhist stupa in Nepal; right, a Hindu woman offers flowers and candles at an Indian roadside shrine during the Spring Holi celebration.
March was Dining for Dollars Month
Dining for Dollars Committee members present on the first day of bidding on March 16. From left to right: Garland Allen, Barbara Gibbs, Linda Van Ligten, Nancy Howell, Sue Moore, and Farrokh Allen (chair). Rhonda Peacock and Pat Gomez are also members of this committee. Photo by Charles HaskellEmpty Bowls
The Empty Bowls event on March 8 was very well attended by church members and members of the public. We raised over $2,000 for Westside Food Bank to help with their work alleviating hunger in our local communities. Due to generous donations from local merchants, potters, and others, the only expense for the day was $75 for parking.
Chef D. Brandon Walker from St. Joseph Center made, delivered, and served a delicious lentil soup. He told us about St. Joseph Center, his training program in culinary arts, and the meals served at Bread and Roses by the students in the training program. We also heard how he became a celebrity chef on the TV program “Chopped” by making cookies from hamburger buns.
Santa Monica Seafood, El Cholo, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s all donated soups for the day. Panera, Earth Wind & Flour, and Fromin’s each donated bread or rolls. Bob’s Market made a donation that allowed us to get other items needed.
Jon MacCulloch, Laura Matthews, Sabina Mayo-Smith, and Karl Lisovsky each made delicious soups.
Many local potters donated over 200 beautiful handmade ceramic bowls. People seemed happy to have such a large selection and happily chose the one they wanted to take home.
Kirk Attebury, Bettye Barclay, Gena Garrett, Ellen Levy, Rhonda Peacock, and Rima Snyder worked together starting in September to plan the event. Joanne Brownlie, Beth Brownlie-Oakes, Bob Dietz, and Lois Hutchinson helped with publicity and in other ways.
A special thanks to the young people who were helpful in so many ways: Alex Michaelson, Paice Van Ooyen, Katie Mayo-Smith, and Ada Meighan-Thiel and her scout friends.
Volunteers too numerous to mention individually helped with set up, serving soup, doing kitchen duty, greeting people at the sales table and the bowl tables and lending a hand wherever needed. Every member of the Backyard Bounty committee showed up to help.
The kitchen crew was a very important part of the effort. Jon MacCulloch, Laura Matthews, Diana Spears, Linda van Ligten, Sherry Handa, Paice Van Ooyen, Lynn Ricketts and Toni (a volunteer from the Clayhouse) all helped with the kitchen duties.
The overall feeling of the day was one of celebration, from the time people arrived to set up until the end of clean-up! Thanks to all who participated in any way to make this a successful day.
— Bettye Barclay
Dining for Dollars 2014 Roster of Events
This is the list of the events offered for the annual fund-raising silent auction. Bidding will take place on March 16th and 23rd after the early service from 10am to 11am, and after the second service, from noon to 1pm.
Please note the money donated (paid) for the winning bids is non-refundable. Email and mailed in bids are not part of this year’s D4$ silent auction.
No. Day Date Time Event Description Host(s)
1 Sat Mar 29 7p “Duetti” A Presentation of Beloved Duets - DeReau Farrar & Choir Section
Leaders
2 Sat Apr 5 6:30p Mama Mia Singalong with Hot Dogs & Theatre Food - Patrick Meighan & Amy
Thiel
3 Sun Apr 6 7p Dinner with a Persian Accent - Faz & Lucy Elahi
4 Sat Apr 12 5:30p Hollywood Whenever- An Outdoor Barbeque at the Movies - Marsha Smith &
Laurel Bleak
5 Sun Apr 12 2p A Wee Bit o’Scotland - Katie Malich & Helen Brown
6 Sat Apr 26 6-8p Cocktail Party/Professional Bartender - Delicious Hors d’oeuvres & Canapes -
Abby Arnold
7 Sat May 3 7p Dinner at Sake House Restaurant - Sushi & other Japanese Specialities - Resa
Foreman
8 Sat May 10 6:30p Enjoying the Beatles with Gourmet Pizza - Janet Goodwin & Karl Lisovsky
9 Sat May 10 1-3p Science at the Playground for Children & their Parents - w/ STEAM educator
Jonathan Bijur. Light snacks provided.
10 Sat May 17 1p Beads & Bon Bons - Bettye Barclay
11 Sat May 17 1p 3-hour Day Sail & Light Snacks - Kenn Mengert
12 Sat May 31 10a Dean & Bob’s Fabulous Pancake Breakfast & Pancake Games - Bob Deitz &
Ellen Levy
13 Sun Jun 1 tbd Ladies Night at the Heated Pool - Julie Nyquist
14 Sat Jun 7 7p “Wandering and Wondering” Music of Faith and Life - Reception Following -
DeReau Farrar & Choir
15 Fri Jun 13 7p Mexican & Margaritas - David & Gretchen Goetz
16 Sun Jun 22 1p Bridge Buffet with a few rounds of Party Bridge, switching partners - Karl Lisovsky
& Janet Goodwin
17 Sun Jul 13 Afternoon Movie at Arclight Hollywood followed by Arclight Restaurant Dinner -
Bonnie Brae
18 Fri Jul 18 tbd Scrabble & Snacks Joanne Brownlie & Alex Michaelson
19 Sat Jul 19 6:30p Mediterranean Dinner with Food Chemistry Explanations - Rebecca Crawford
20 Sun Jul 27 11a Country Club Sunday Buffet Brunch - Mark Huberman
21 Sat Aug 2 6:30p Summer in Spain - Cynthia Cottam &Tom Early
22 Sat Sept 13 11a Brunch in the Garden with Hats - Cynthia Cottam & Farrokh Allen
23 Sun Sept 14 5p 10th Annual UUCCSM Scrabble Tournament & Alphabet Soup Dinner - Elizabeth
Fuller & Dan Kegel
24 Sat Oct 4 6p Provencal Evening (dinner) - Ken & Crystal Alexander
25 Sat Oct 11 6p Fall Harvest Celebration - Ned & Patricia Wright
26 Sat Oct 18 2p Sugar Skull Decorating - Katie Malich
27 Sat Oct 18 6:30p Epicureans Unite: 6-Course Food & Wine Pairing Dinner - Rhonda Peacock
28 Sat Oct 25 7-10p Dinner with our Unitarian Founding Fathers and Mothers - Beth Brownlie & Bryan
Oakes, Spencer, Alex & Ian
29 Sat Nov 1 7p Dia de los Muertos Celebration - Beverly Alison
30 Sun Nov 2 3-5p Snaps & Snacks - Charles & Christine Haskell
31 Sat Nov 15 12p Mexican American Lunch & Museum - Katie Malich & Peggy Kharraz
32 Sat Dec 13 4p Dinner and Marina del Rey Boat Parade - Haygo Salibian & Bill Blake
33 Sat Dec 13 6:30p Feast of the Seven Fishes - Barbara Kernochan
34 tbd tbd 6:30p Music, Dinner, Jazz at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill - Rick & Peggy Rhoads
35 tbd tbd 12-3p A “Balanced” Lunch - Barbara Gibbs
36 Sat tbd 6-9p Family Dance Party with DJ Teri Bond - Amy & Alan Brunell
37 tbd tbd 5p Famous Louisiana Crawfish Boil - Jacki Weber & Lorenzo Pelayo
38 Baked Goods - Mike Monte
39 2 deliveries of Banana Bread - Sylvia Young
40 Hand Knit item of choice with Box of Candy - Karen Patch
41 Basket of Goodies for Movie Night at Home - Wendi Gladstone
42 Exercise Program & Personal Training (2) - Kirk Attebury
43 Gift Certificate for Sunday Brunch for two at the Casablanca Restaurant - Analee Haro-Simon
44 $100 Discount on Weekend at deBenneville Pines UU Camp (2) deBenneville Pines - Janet James
45 Jam & Marmalade Basket - Katie Malich
46 2 Cream Scones & 1 jar Homemade Jam
More events are being added each day – the full and complete event roster will be available March 16.
Updates on Welcoming
The Membership Committee has been brainstorming ideas for becoming an even more welcoming community than we already are. To that end, we want to share some of the initiatives recently implemented and ask for your help with bringing them to life.
First, the ushers have graciously stepped up their excellent welcoming work by making sure every person is helped to a seat. You may have noticed the note in recent Order of Services stating that “latecomers will be seated” after the chalice lighting. This allows for the service to get underway without too much seating disruption and also allows the ushers to survey the sanctuary to determine open seats. Please join us by helping visitors find seating.
Second, an Interest and Skills survey has now become part of the Membership packet. When new members let us know how they’d like to become involved with our community, Peggy Kharraz will be contacting those of you who can help facilitate that involvement. Please be responsive to Peggy’s calls or emails, and reach out to any new members who have expressed an interest in any group you chair or organize.
Third, please WEAR YOUR NAME TAGS! We are making a concerted effort to become a community where it is easy to start a conversation with someone new. Name tags help tremendously.
Thank you for the warm welcome so many of you offer to our newest members, friends, and visitors. Please let anyone on the Membership Committee* know if you’d like to join us in our efforts to make UUCCSM a place where all who enter feel welcomed.
— Beth Rendeiro, co-chair
--- Barbara Gibbs, co-chair
*Committee members: Amy Brunell, Leonard Cachola, Liza Cranis, Wendi Gladstone, Margot Page, Rhonda Peacock, Carol Ring, Linda van Ligten
20 Things I Like About UUCCSM
In conjunction with celebrating 20 years of the Friendly Beasts, new members Ed, Lily, and Mary Sais compiled this engaging list and presented it as a Chalice Lighting.
Lily: 1) That love is the doctrine of the church and that everyone is welcome. 2) The values and principles mirror
ours. 3) The services inspire me and spark conversations. 4) That it allows me to connect to my community. 5) That it allows me to grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. 6) Hearing from people from different sexual orientations. 7) Donating to different organizations. 8) Mediation time.
Ed: 9) Seeing the work of the different artists showcased in Forbes Hall. 10) Wide variety of engaging guest speakers. 11) Friendly people in the congregation and meeting new people. 12) The arts and crafts at the Haunted House (which was a bit too scary this year for us).
Mary: 13) I get to do classes. 14) You get to do things and you don’t have to sit with your parents the whole time. 15) That I get to go up and be part of the service. 16) Hearing and seeing the choir. 17) Everybody that you meet says “hi” and you meet new people just by sitting next to them. 18) Other people get to ring the bell. 19) In the winter classes you get to make ornaments and you’re sharing dough. 20) You are welcome to sing all the songs.
Recent Events
Melanie Sharp is among many pledging members who enjoyed the benefits of Spa Day sponsored by the Stewardship Committee on January 12.
Rev. Rebecca interviews Edna and Phil Bonacich about their 50 years of marriage during the 11:00 a.m. Service January 12.
Kerry Thorne and Cicely Gilman relax at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center during the spiritual retreat led by Rev. Rebecca on January 18.
Welcome to our ministerial intern, Nica Eaton-Guinn
You may have read in the December 2013 newsletter that your Minister and Board of Directors have decided to become a Teaching Congregation once again, and invite a ministerial intern to join us in 2014-2015. We now share with you exciting news:
Please join your Minister, Board of Directors, and newly-formed Intern Committee in welcoming Nica Eaton-Guinn, who will be our Intern Minister beginning in August 2014.
Nica is a third-year M. Div. (Master of Divinity) student at Starr King School for the Ministry and a Candidate for Unitarian Universalist ordination. Raised in Germany and England, Nica came to the United States to study at Princeton University, where she graduated magna cum laude in sociology with a minor in theater. She brings to her internship a rich and diverse background that includes work in the performing arts, managing classical musicians, creative arts therapy, and life coaching.
Nica is now based in Santa Barbara, CA, where she lives with her husband and son. Nica’s UU background includes experience as Membership Coordinator at her home UU congregation in Santa Barbara. In addition to her formal M. Div. studies, Nica works as a Hospice Spiritual Counselor. Nica says, “My call is to celebrate and honor life in all its mystery, beauty, and complexity.” Nica is excited to bring her “passion for all things UU” to UUCCSM, and looks forward to deepening her proficiency in the areas of social justice, religious education, and creating and leading worship.
Although UUCCSM won’t formally welcome Nica to the church until next fall, we couldn’t wait to share this exciting news. We also wanted to introduce ourselves as your Intern Committee: Joe Engleman, Barbara Kernochan (Chair), Pat Gomez, Bill Nunan, Karen Hsu Patterson, and Kris Langabeer (liaison from the Committee on Ministry).
An Open Letter to the UUCCSM Community
In May of this year, our congregation was informed of bequests left by two of our beloved church members, Drew Still and Judy Federick. We learned that the total amount of these bequests could reach as high as $800,000.
This is the kind of generosity I hope we all will think of when we do our own estate planning. Of this amount, $200,000 was specified for the building fund, and the congregation voted to use that amount to pay for a renovation of the office wing. Another $50,000 was voted for a new wall and memorial garden along the Arizona Ave. side of the church.
That leaves us with a very large bequest, and I am asking the congregation to think about how that money will be best put to use. In the coming months there will be meetings to report on the results of our visioning process, which about 20% of you took part in. I am encouraging the church leadership and the congregation to include a discussion of the use of these funds at that time or soon thereafter.
How do we see this money being put to best use? As a chance to make repairs in the church? (we have already learned of a major increase in the cost of the office project due to termite and water damage to the exterior walls as a result of neglected maintenance over the years). To create new salaried positions to run some of our programs? To help make up the deficits that our operating budget has run for many years? To upgrade the sound and lighting in the sanctuary and Forbes Hall? To replace the pews in the sanctuary with single movable seating? To create an endowment for the future that will help us ride out economic downturns that are sure to come?
All these and more should be part of our churchwide discussions. Bequests such as these are rare and provide us with an opportunity to reflect on what is important to our community. Let’s all get involved with making sure that these bequests are put to the best use.
I am writing to ask you to start thinking about putting some of this money away for the future, in the form of an endowment. Other UU churches of our size have endowments (see http://www.uua.org/interconnections/interconnections/56773.shtml), which provide a certain cushion for lean years, as well as a chance to have greater ongoing impact in community work. We have a chance to make careful, conservative long-term investments, as other UU churches have done, that we have never been able to
consider before these generous bequests.
Let’s all reflect on this singular opportunity, do some research, and start talking. This is a rare and wonderful circumstance. Let’s use it to talk, listen, and share and in the process to build an ever-stronger community. I look forward to continuing this conversation.
In peace,
— Steven DePaul
Holiday Craft Fair in Action
The Holiday Craft Fair on November 17 was hosted by the Art Committee. There were ten participants with a variety of items including pottery, jewelry, cards, fabric items, plants, bike girl bloomers, paintings, soaps and recycled Christmas items. Donations and a percentage of sales totaled $875.00 into the general fund of the church.
2013 Thanksgiving Feast
OUR ANNUAL PLEDGE DRIVE
“You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.”
The Fundraising Committee kicked off the 2014 Commitment Campaign on October 20 with a wonderful crepe meal. Shown here (L to R) are committee members Nicole Henderson-MacLennan, Leon Henderson-MacLennan, Teri Bond (cochair),
Jila Tayefehnowrooz, and Lucy Hahn (co-chair). Also shown are key advisers Patrick Meighan and Beth Rendeiro.
YRUU event workers included Maxwell DeVita (shown) and Parsa Tayefehnowrooz (not shown because he was busy in the kitchen). Photo by Charles Haskell
Camp de Benneville Pines — An awesome retreat all year round
With winter around the corner and Thanksgiving coming up, now is a great time to figure out how you will escape Los Angeles and head to Camp de Benneville Pines — a little slice of paradise just 100 miles east of church in the San Bernardino Mountains on the back road to Big Bear.
Winter Youth Camps are as follows:
•.Junior High (grades 6 to 8) Camp MUUgle runs Friday, November 15 to Sunday, November 17.
•.Senior High (grades 9 to 12) Camp SeUUs runs Friday, December 27 to Wednesday, January 1, 2014.
•.Family/Elementary (currently K to 6 + adults) Choose Your Own Adventure runs Saturday, February 15 to Monday, February 17, 2014.
Last but not least, and not actually last either, Thanksgiving Camp is an all ages retreat that runs Thursday, November 28 to Sunday, December 1. Enjoy all the fun of the Thanksgiving Holiday (friends, family, food, fun) with none of the hassle (cooking, cleaning, running yourself ragged).
Find out more about each of these camps — and about Camp de Benneville Pines in general — online at uucamp.org. Got questions? I’m our church’s “camp champion.”
— Jacki Weber
We Started a New Church Year on Ingathering Sunday, September 8
Director of Music DeReau K. Farrar, the Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, and Director of Religious Education Catherine Farmer Loya welcomed our congregation back to the new church year on Ingathering Sunday, September 8. 
Ingathering Sunday was a multigenerational service centered around a fable about a generous, wealthy man who invited his entire town to a feast, asking only that they bring the wine. This story, entitled “What Will You Bring to the Feast?” was adapted from “Story, Song and Spirit” by Erika Hewitt. The social and moral onsequences resulting from the town’s failure to contribute to the feast were dramatized. Shown here is the Town Council discussing the matter. From left to right: Brigham Johnson, Edna Bonacich, Richard Scher, Babatunde Akinboboye, Diane Fletcher-Hoppe, Cynthia Kelly, James Zinner, Sue Bickford, Teri Bond.My Experience at Camp de Benneville Pines - September 2013
I’d like to share what I experienced at the once-a-year UUCCSM weekend at Camp de Benneville Pines (“de Benneville”). Although I’ve been a church member for over 10 years, this was my first experience staying there overnight (eight years ago I visited for a day). It was terrific. How so? In June of this year I was fortunate enough to travel to Scotland to sing in a festival choir for a week and then tour the west coast of Scotland. It was a great two-week trip, but I enjoyed the weekend at de Benneville just as much (at less than 5% of the cost). How could that be? At de Benneville the environment reminded me of childhood vacations to nearby Lake Arrowhead and YMCA’s Camp Round Meadow (next door to de Benneville); I reconnected with a former church member who moved away and has returned; I talked with a half dozen people trying to figure out a historical mystery; I learned more about OWL; I hiked to a beautiful lake; I participated in a workshop about money and values; I met some UUs from the Palomar Fellowship who were at de Benneville along with UUCCSM; I saw some children play like they were on Tom Sawyer’s Island; I met some new and “new-ish” members who I’ve never met before; I deepened my connection with and appreciation of many veteran church members; I enjoyed a talent show on Saturday night; I was reminded how patient and wise UU parents are; and I witnessed a small miracle or two of growth and development in others.
All of this in a mere 44 hours from 4 p.m. on Friday to noon on Sunday (I had arranged to leave my job at 1 p.m. on Friday and it took me three hours to drive from L.A. to de Benneville). None of that happened a couple of months ago in Scotland, and if I had to choose between the two experiences — de Benneville was more personally enriching. I’ll make sure to visit de Benneville again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.
— Rob Briner