From Our Minister Archive
Oct 2004
I invite you to come hear longtime member Dean Voegtlen talk about his lifeon Friday evening, October 29. Dean has served our congregation in many leadershipcapacities, including president. He has guided our music program and performedas a soloist. He has chaired pledge drives, the Personnel Committee, and theCommittee on Ministry. He has led a popular intergenerational dam-building activityat Camp de Benneville Pines for many years. And this is only the short listof his contributions.
I asked Dean if he would be willing to share some of his life stories and wisdomwith us and he agreed to do so. As many of you know, Dean has written up someof his memoirs. He has some great stories to tell.
I hope you will plan to join us as we honor Dean and thank him for his serviceto our community. The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. and conclude with a receptionat 9 p.m. Childcare will be provided.
The gathering for Dean will kick off a series of reflections from our octogenarianchurch members. Last year several of our younger church members told us thatthey wanted more opportunities to learn from the wisdom and example of our olderpeople. Many members of our congregation live far from their own parents andmentors. Their children do not get to know their own grandparents. These familieslook to the church to provide the intergenerational experiences they would nothave otherwise.
If you're over 80 and would like to offer a pulpit message during a Sundayservice, please let me know. We'd like to hear how your Unitarian Universalistfaith has helped you live your life. We'd like to know what hopes you have forour church. We want to hear from you.
--Judith Meyer
Sep 2004
You will notice some changes in our Sunday services when we return for IngatheringSunday, September 12. The changes are intended to improve the quality of ourworship experience, but it takes time for a large group to adapt to change.I ask for your patience and your cooperation as we enter our new year together.
One change is in the sharing of joys and sorrows during our service. Few peopleare comfortable sharing personal news in front of a large group. People whoare shy or overwhelmed by a crisis find it difficult to speak. Many of us havetrouble hearing.
Our congregation is too large for individual sharing since time allows onlya few to speak. I have been asking myself for a long time how to make the sharingof joys and sorrows more accessible to everyone and have made a decision aboutwhat to do.
In the coming year, joys and sorrows will be shared with the congregation throughwritten announcements in the order of service and from the pulpit during thewelcome and the meditation. If you wish to have a joy or sorrow mentioned inthe Sunday service, please call me (or anyone on the church staff) with yournews. I will render the news into a written or spoken communication to be sharedwith everyone on Sunday.
This approach offers several advantages. Both the 9:00 and the 11:00 congregationswill hear the same news. I will have a chance to hear directly from you aboutwhat is going on in your lives. We will also free up time in the service fordeeper reflection in the meditation, reading, and sermon, which many of youhave requested.
Your participation in the service, through chalice lighting and pulpit messages,will increase. I'd like to hear a series of pulpit messages in which churchmembers share how their Unitarian Universalist faith has influenced the waythey live their lives - at work, at home, in relationships, and daily life.If you have a message you think others might like to hear, please let me know.
Another change is to heighten the contrast between the 9:00 and 11:00 services.The 9:00 service has always been quieter and more contemplative. This year wewill strengthen this quality by asking people to refrain from applause duringthe early service.
This change addresses the reality that our congregation is evenly divided aboutworship and applause. About half of you love to applaud and do so enthusiastically.The other half feels that applause undermines the worship experience and thesense of reverence you seek in church. Now you will be able to choose whichworship style you prefer. The 11:00 service will remain as expressive and livelyas always.
It will take time to become accustomed to these changes. If something doesn'twork, we can always change again. Our worship life reflects the message of ourfaith: that we grow and change throughout our lives. This year we will practicethat message together in many ways.
Thank you for your trust in me as your minister. I am excited to begin anotheryear with you. I look forward to seeing you at Ingathering Sunday, September12.
-- Judith Meyer
Jun 2004
Here are excerpts from my annual report, delivered May 16:
This year brought us dramatic events, some long-awaited and others sudden.The Santa Monica Planning Commission meeting went better than we could havehoped, a friend of the church left us a generous bequest, and we bought thehouse next door. Though I can take no credit for any of these windfalls of goodwill and opportunity, they have absorbed my share of attention.
They have also deepened my appreciation for the good leadership that has guidedus through these eventful times. Barbara Kernochan, Building Committee chair,and Carol Kerr, president, deserve our gratitude and praise. And, without ourcapital campaign team, including Jim Cadwell, chair, Ofelia Lachtman, many volunteers,and all of you donors, none of these happy developments could have ever takenplace.
It has helped, during transition times, that our staff has grown so strong.The arrival of our full-time Director of Religious Education, Catherine Farmer,has brought a new dimension of skill and collegiality to our team. Finally ourRE program is getting the guidance it deserves.
Our experience of ministry grew this year, as Intern Minister Stefanie Etzbach-Dalecame to work with us for nine months. Stefanie has contributed greatly to thelife of our church. She has brought to us her spirituality, her pastoral sensitivity,and her enthusiasm for Unitarian Universalism, as well as her experience incovenant groups, among her many gifts.
This year I made a few additions to my practice of ministry. I began meetingindividually with our new members (51 of you), time well spent. I held severalcommunity dialogues to invite discussion about spirituality. I accepted an opportunityto serve our larger community as a member of the Fund for Unitarian Universalism,a grant-making panel that meets twice a year in Boston.
Here are the names of members and friends of our church who have died in thepast year. With each name is a lifetime of remembrances and gratitude for thetime they were among us:
George Kashmer, Member
Susan Benne, Earl Morgan, and William Passera, Friends
May the spirit of these companions live on in us, as we carry forward our commoncommitment to a Unitarian Universalist way of life, faithful to the words ofour covenant: love is the doctrine of this church.
-- Judith Meyer
May 2004
Each year our annual meeting covers the business of our congregation: hearingreports, approving the budget, making bylaws changes, electing officers andspeaking on issues. The quorum needed to conduct business (78 people) is usuallypresent, but we rarely have a large turnout for this event. It's hard to giveup a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon to tend to church governance.
And yet the right to hold a congregational meeting is a core value of our faithtradition. Our predecessors in Puritan New England created the autonomous, selfgoverningchurch because they wanted to be free from religious hierarchy, which they associatedwith corruption and excess. Authority is vested in the congregation.
Conducting church business is not the primary reason most people join our congregation.But the right to govern ourselves is precious, as is the freedom to think forourselves and determine our own spiritual path. Congregational self-governanceis what gives us that freedom.
This year's annual meeting will cover the usual business. We also will thankour intern minister, Stefanie Etzbach-Dale, for her service to the church. Andas is our custom, we will remember the members of the congregation who havedied in the past year. Please join us as we practice our free faith together.
-- Judith Meyer
Apr 2004
After years of slow, deliberate planning, our building program was finallyon its way to approval. Then shortly before the longawaited March 3 meetingwith the Santa Monica Planning Commission, the house next door went up for sale.Our board held an emergency meeting, consulted with as many members of the congregationas possible, and submitted an offer. The planning commission voted their approvalof our building program. The house offer was accepted hours later. And in justa few short days, everything had changed.
You can find the details of the transaction elsewhereon this website. What strikes me as worth reporting is how well everyone workedtogether to act quickly and decisively on the opportunity. Knowing that we hadprecious little time, Board president Carol Kerr sought out the help of realtorsin our congregation, and Pat McGuire worked closely with her to structure thebid. The Building Committee, which had invested years in creating a design tomaximize the potential of our 17th Street lot, quickly embraced the change ofplan and supported it enthusiastically. Our congregation responded to the newswith joy and appreciation.
This fortuitous turn of events could not have happened if it were not for theskill of our leaders and the time they gave to bring about this happy result.Thanks go to Carol and Pat for their hard work. Thanks also go to Barbara Kernochan,Building Committee chair, and all the members of the Building Committee, fordemonstrating flexibility and vision. All the wisdom they have gained from yearsof planning can now be applied to this new challenge.
It will take time to understand what our options are now. But we can be confidentthat we know how to plan, design and secure approval for whatever we choose.That confidence comes from the strength of our leadership and the breadth ofour vision. Let’s be thankful for both.
-- Judith Meyer
Mar 2004
Every winter, the Personnel Committee receives performance evaluations of allour church staff. It’s a rigorous process, but well worth the time andeffort. The reviews help each of us to grow and develop our skills. This yearI am particularly aware of what a competent staff we have and how grateful Iam for all the work they do.
The Committee on Ministry conducts an evaluation of my performance. This yearthe committee produced a seven-page report, based on interviews with nearlyten percent of the congregation. The committee gathered responses to questionsabout my involvement with religious education, my sermons, pastoral care, communityoutreach, work with committees, staff and volunteers, my approachability, workwith new members, and leadership abilities. Other opinions were solicited aswell.
A member of the Committee on Ministry conveys the report to the Personnel Committee,the Board of Directors, and me. The report is a good tool for my development.It notices my strengths. It identifies areas that need attention. Sometimesthere are issues that need better communication, or organizational problemsthat need leadership. The report also helps me to see the positive impact myministry and our church have on people’s lives, and that is always gratifyingto read.
Members of the Committee on Ministry are Audrey Lyness, Felicity Nussbaum,and Karen Raiford, with help from past president Jerry Gates. We meet regularlythroughout the year. Audrey and Felicity’s three-year terms expire thisspring, so the board will be adding new members to the committee soon. I amgrateful to the committee for their conscientious, sensitive, and thorough work,and for their willingness to engage with me about the quality and directionof my ministry.
-- Judith Meyer
Feb 2004
One Sunday morning in January, I met with our Coming of Age group, young people(13 to 14 years old) in our congregation who are learning about what it meansto be Unitarian Universalist. It’s a time when religious identity andindependence merge and they begin to claim our tradition for their own.
There are 10 participants in the program this year. They are a bright, thoughtful,and creative group. One of them chose the program and our church entirely onher own. She is the only member of her family who is a Unitarian Universalist!
During the time I spent with the group, we talked about how we became UnitarianUniversalists. I asked them, “What is your story about how you came toour church?” And I told them my story.
As I listened to them, I realized how formative this Coming of Age year is.This is the time when the meaning of belonging, of being accepted, of formingopinions and values, all comes together. For me, it was a time when I beganto understand how much the Unitarian Universalist community meant to me. A lifelongsense of loyalty was grounded in my experience.
Who can say what will come of the experience our Coming of Age group has thisyear? Perhaps one of them will become a minister. More important, each of themwill become aware of the values that shape their lives and community. If theylearn how to enter fully into both, the program will have achieved its goal.
-- Judith Meyer
Jan 2004
The Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association has asked meto serve on a UUA funding panel, the Fund for Unitarian Universalism. I acceptedtheir invitation and will serve a two-year term, beginning this month.
The Fund for Unitarian Universalism is one of four panels that award fundsprovided by the UnitarianUniversalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, a generous UU benefactor. It makesgrants to strengthen UU institutions and community life. It distributes about$300,000 a year.
I am looking forward to reading proposals and learning what projects otherUnitarian Universalist congregations and groups are undertaking. The panel meetsin Boston twice a year and does some business at General Assembly, so I willalso be doing my part to strengthen our ties to our larger community. I am honoredto serve the larger UUA in this way and expectthat we will all benefit from my appointment.
-- Judith Meyer
Dec 2003
By now most of you have met our intern minister, the Rev. Stefanie Etzbach-Dale.Her presenceon our church staff this year brings added skills and perspectives to our ministry.It is also an opportunity to participate in the formation of a new minister.An intern minister agrees to serve as well as learn, and Stefanie is eager todo both during her time with us.
To determine how Stefanie could best serve our congregation, we looked forareas in which she couldmake a contribution right from the start. Her introduction of “CovenantGroups,” small groups that meet for spiritual exploration, is one wayin which she is serving us. Stefanie is also working with the Caring Network(see her column this month for more on that topic) and the Adult Religious Growthand Learning Committee.
Stefanie is learning about leading worship and preaching, religious education,church governance and organization, and what life in a Unitarian Universalistchurch is all about.
Stefanie and I meet each week for two hours of supervision and communicatefrequently throughout the week. We debrief on her activities, review her goals,and reflect on what it means to be a parish minister.
What I have discovered in the first three months of her nine-month internshipis that this is a learning experience for me as well as for Stefanie. It’sgood to have someone ask me what it means to be a parish minister and why Ido what I do. The process allows me to revisit those questions, grow in my ownvocation, and perhaps even make some changes in the way I work.
I didn’t expect that my own ministry would change and grow as a resultof supervising an intern, but I can see now that it has and will continue todo so throughout the year. For example, I have learned that the addition of“Covenant Groups” to our church program will allow us all to extendministry to one another. I’ve had a chance to share with another ministerwhat my experience of ministry is and why it matters so much to me. I’velooked at my leadership style and thought of ways to be more intentional andfocused in what I do from day to day.
I’m happy for this opportunity to teach and to reflect and to have apart in the shaping of a new minister. I’m also happy for the opportunityto learn. As it turns out, the internship experience is for all of us.
-- Judith Meyer
Nov 2003
In the service each Sunday, I offer a few words of appreciation for our volunteers.This custom dates back several years now, when Helen Brown, as chair of theAdministration Committee, suggested that we institute regular volunteer recognitioninto our church life. I always appreciate tips from you about people who deserverecognition, so let me know if you have a suggestion.
Our staff deserve recognition from time to time as well. Peggy Butler, whoserved the church for more than a decade as church administrator, and assistedour current church administrator, Marie Kashmer- Stiebing, for a couple moreyears, has retired from our staff. It is time to thank her for her service toour church and to honor her in her retirement.
During Peggy’s time on the staff, she touched so many people in variousways. She worked closely with a cadre of volunteers and the staff, but her influenceextended far beyond that small group. She greeted the many people who come toour church each day, some of them church members, some not, looking for helpof every imaginable kind.
It was Peggy’s friendly voice that answered the phone, explained UnitarianUniversalism to countless seekers, and gave the first response to every query.
More often than not, Peggy was the one who told the ministers about an importantneed or crisis in a church member’s life. Her sensitivity and discretionwere always impeccable.
Since we are fortunate enough to see Peggy at church on Sunday, we still havethe benefit of her warm and caring presence among us. But that is not sufficientacknowledgment of the transition that has taken place, or of the place Peggyhas occupied in our church lives and in our hearts. To mark this occasion mattersnot only to Peggy, but also to those of us whoknow her.
I invite you to a tea in honor of Peggy Butler on Friday, November 14, at4 p.m., in Forbes Hall. There will be refreshments and some words for the occasionfrom some of us who have worked with Peggy as staff and as volunteers. Ernieand Maggie Pipes will join us. I hope you will, too. Please plan to attend ourcelebration and tell Peggy how much her service and friendship have meant toour church.
-- Judith Meyer