From Our President Archive
School’s out! Literally, for our children, and figuratively, for thoseof us who work year round. As summer hits its stride, life around the churchmay seem quieter or slower. But don’t let the droning bees outside thewindows on Sundays fool you. There are many ways that we are reaching out toeach other, and involving our church members, friends and visitors.
Responses to the all-church survey have been very gratifying, with about 175in hand. The survey results will allow us to tap into the energy and creativityof our members in a more thoughtful way. We have already been able to identifyvolunteers who can revitalize our Building and Grounds Committee and keep thechurch looking beautiful. It is never too late to fill out a survey and getinvolved!
Liz Fuller, the magician who keeps our website fresh and up-to-date, is workingwith the subcommittee on committees team to develop an onlinecommunications survey that will find out how our members, friends and visitorsuse the website, the online version of the newsletter and the Faithin Action bulletin. The survey can be done electronically; so it is fast,fun and helpful.
The Religious Education department will spend the summer working with the directorof religious education at the UniversalistUnitarian Church of Riverside, CA, to develop a program and curriculum forthe fall so we can hit the ground running when we hire our new director of religiouseducation. There are always opportunities to get involved with the children,and Liza Cranis, our acting DRE for the summer, can certainly use help on Sundays.Reach out to the children upstairs!
Dining for Dollars dinners, outingsand events continue throughout the summer and offer our members wonderful chancesto get to know each other better (and to enjoy some wonderful food).
The Business Network Committee is gathering steam, and will be reaching outto our members who have their own businesses or interesting services. The ideais to have a better forum for advertising the talents and resources of our members,both in a business directory and perhaps through a bulletin board. If you areinterested, please contact Phyllis Kory.
If Forbes Hall seems a little more spacious this summer with vacation schedulescalling people away on Sundays, use the extra elbow room to say hello and towelcome visitors and new members. Remember your name tag!
-- Carol Kerr
Hello!
I thought I would use the president’s column this month to introducemyself and our family, and to share some thoughts about the opportunities andchallenges ahead in the 2003-04 church year.
Although I grew up in Los Angeles and attended this church as a child, I movedaway for college and law school, and eventually settled in San Francisco topractice law. After I married Shawn, we were moved to Guam (courtesy of theU.S. Navy) for three years and did not return to “the mainland”until January 1999.
Returning to Los Angeles was both fun and unnerving. Shawn and I missed thestrong sense of community we had enjoyed living on a naval base, and we lookedfor a way to regain that sense of closeness in a city as big as this one. Westarted attending UUCCSM in the summer of 1999, mostly because I had fond memoriesof my childhood Sundays. We became members that fall. Our daughter has enjoyedthe religious exploration classes from the start and adores the friends shehas made. (We do, too.)
I have served on the pledge committee, the finance committee, and on the boardas treasurer. I have also worked on the capital campaign, and taught RE withsome amazing volunteer teachers. Shawn has served as chair of the RE committeeand is now a member of the nominating committee. Our daughter likes to ringthe bell on Sundays. Participating in the life of the church in these ways hasbeen challenging, but also incredibly rewarding, as these activities have beena source of enduring friendships for all of us.
What can we expect from this year? There are many exciting opportunities ahead.The results of the all-church survey can expand the participation of our membersin the myriad volunteer opportunities this church offers. We can survive theSanta Monica City Council approval process and continue realizing the visionof our building program. We can support the boundless enthusiasm of the religiousexploration program and help our children learn about their spiritual placein this world. We can see the tremendous energy of FIA continue to give ourchurch a collective voice on the important issues of the day. We can explorethe depths of our faith with the help of an inspiring senior minister.
Of course, there are challenges, too. As 2003 promises to be another tumultuousyear on both the economic and political fronts, the demands on this church tooffer a spiritual home are ever increasing. We need to accommodate our membersand visitors in both a physical and spiritual sense. It is clear, however, thatthe resources of our church have not kept pace with the demands made on it.So, the biggest challenge of the year will be to find ways to increase thoseresources. The all-church survey offers a chance to improve our volunteer resourcesby matching the talents and skills of our members and friends with the volunteerneeds in our programs. The stewardship committee has begun developing a thoughtfuland comprehensive approach to making this church a truly generous congregation.
The opportunities for this congregation certainly outweigh the challenges, andI look forward to the year ahead.
-- Carol Kerr
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A Time for Unitarian Universalist Principles
The presidential election results have left us with a plethora of questions and disbeliefs. I see profound anxiety, grief, and fear in our community and in the world at large.
It behooves us to speak our Principles to the world. It behooves us to practice those Principles with ourselves and with the world to provide impetus to what we believe is a way to grow a better world.
Our Social Actions of the past are called forth again for defense of what we thought had been accomplished. It is in our actions that we will find community and in turn respite from the anxiety, grief, and fear.
For example: Stop looking to the Right Relations process as a vehicle for getting others to change. Start now in living Right Relations yourself. In each of our personal actions of Right Relations, change will occur.
For example: Give your time, money, and skill to programs of the church. We need to stop jockeying for power and control and get busy with the practice of joint effort.
In times when the larger world is in disequilibrium and we feel impotent, there is a temptation to increase our focus on smaller organizations in which we can feel we have the possibility of being heard and influencing others toward our view of change. We’ve been doing this and it doesn’t work.
I challenge all of us to return to living our principles and working together to make the world a better place. Especially now.
— Ron Crane