From Our President Archive
The 2013 pledge drive is almost over, and planning for the 2014 pledge drive has already begun. The pledge drive is an absolutely essential process that sustains everything we do. As a community, we are entirely self-supporting. Every day, every week, and every month of the year, the money we give pays the salaries and benefits for our staff and supports the programs we enjoy.
Despite challenges that were not of their own making (an understaffed committee and a late start due to difficulty finding a chair) the pledge committee conducted a successful drive. As of this writing, $395,814 has been pledged, which is near our goal.
We will continue to run a deficit budget, and we will be looking for ways to increase our income as well as increase pledges in the future. The projected total expenses for the current year are $522,000. We raise about $100,000 through fundraising, rentals, Sunday morning donations, and special contributions.
If the money we must raise from pledges were divided equally among the pledging units in our congregation, the amount would come to about $1,600 per unit per year. Expenses will undoubtedly be higher for the 2013/2014 year; we are working on that budget now. This is how the pledge levels break down for this year’s drive (a unit can be a person, couple, or family):
Under $200 - 31 units
$200-$499 - 52
$500-$1199 - 79
$1200-$1800 - 39
$1801-$2999 - 24
$3000 and up - 33
One of the challenges of the pledge drive is to make it life-enhancing, not only for the church, but also for the people who work on the drive. One way to do that is to eliminate the need for nagging — send in your pledge when the pledge drive starts. Failing that, at least answer the pledge caller cheerfully. Do not treat your fellow church members like unwelcome telemarketers. Remember that they are working for you in support of the community you care about. And in fulfilling your commitment, we encourage you to have your bank automatically
transmit your pledged amount monthly. This lessens the work for staff, adds predictability to the budget, and generally calms the chaos that can accompany our many different styles of contributing.
We will also be working to help you figure out how to make your giving life-enhancing for you.
Give until it feels good. Help others to do this. To me it is exciting to even imagine that we can create a community all on our own. We give, and our giving nurtures us and also others. We give, and our giving nurtures our wider community. Thank you to Abby Arnold, Natalie Kahn, Amy Lacombe and Lucy Hahn. Thank you to our wonderful office staff, Nurit Gordon and Nancy Thompson. Thank you to everyone who made a call or helped at a reception.
Thank you to each of us for our sustaining commitment to our values and our relationships.
See you in church,
— Cynthia Cottam
When I was asked to serve as president last year, I was asked to serve a one-year term. I might not have said yes, if I had been asked to do more. Now I am finally feeling comfortable that I understand what the job requires, and the year is eight months old. I find the work fulfilling in many ways, but my vision keeps expanding and I haven’t accomplished my goals. So I am going to run for another term. If you choose to elect me at the Annual Meeting on May 19, I will serve as your president for another year, and the nominating committee can breathe a sigh of relief.
Sometimes recruiting leaders to tend to the business of the church can be very hard work indeed. Yet these leadership roles can provide wonderful opportunities for growth and satisfaction. The church committees, the board, and the officers of the board are all working to help our community thrive. A thriving community is better able to care for its members and to do the justice-seeking work we all aspire to. A vibrant community is more capable of growth, of spreading our message of inclusion, of being a positive force in the wider world.
Leadership work can also be personally fulfilling. When you commit yourself more fully, you deepen the rewards of your involvement. You get to know more people. You get to know more about the church and the many interesting activities that take place there every week. You have conversations, and you begin to discover more about the forces that drew you to church in the first place. You interact with people from other generations and other circumstances, and you commit yourself to them, because they are a part of an intentional community, which you have joined, and which you are working to support. Church work is spiritual work; if you attend to it mindfully, it acquires purpose and meaning.
Unfortunately, there can also be a darker side to making this leap of commitment. You can be disappointed. Your efforts may be less successful than you had hoped. You may have a different vision from some of the people you are working with. You may not like some of them. Your feelings may be hurt. Your fellow volunteers may behave badly. You may behave badly. Risks abound. I encourage you to do it anyway. Church is a special place where you always have the opportunity to begin again in love. You may need a break.
You may need months of meditation. Still, your place at the table remains set, waiting for you to join the communal meal once again. We will all work harder to refrain from criticism, to offer help instead of judgment when we see people struggling, to be our better selves.
Those of us who recruit may not be aware of you and your special talents. Please make yourself known to
us. Call me, email me, or speak to me at church. I look forward to joining with you on a project that inspires
you.
— Cynthia Cottam
Recently I was sitting next to my son, waiting for the Moira Smiley concert to start, when he asked me if we still go to church on New Year’s Eve. I answered no, that normally church is not a New Year’s party venue. I knew why he was asking, though. We took him to church on the millennial New Year’s Eve, when he was only 11 years old. His older sisters were off doing something more exciting for them, and he, being only 11, had nothing better to do. Some of you were probably there with us; the sanctuary was full. What a nice thing that was, that we were all able to celebrate an event that seemed so momentous at the time.
It’s good to have a place to mark the passing of the years in community. It’s fun to watch the Christmas pageant and notice how the wise people and the mice grow up each year. For awhile, the church had neighborhood groups. It was for a Thanksgiving potluck of my group that I invented my pureed squash recipe, which has become a family staple at both our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. You never know what can be gained from your involvement with church.
Now another New Year has come — time for selfimprovement, for looking to the future, for making plans, for accomplishing the goals you set in the fall. For us at church, it is budget season, where we try to match our limited income to our expansive ideas. We will be working hard over the next couple of months and will present the final budget to you for your approval at the Annual Meeting on May 19.
So I have a few suggestions for you for the 2013 year. First, if you have not yet sent in your pledge, please do so. It is difficult to plan a budget without knowing the income. Budget cuts are extremely difficult in our organization, because over 80% of our expenses are salaries and related expenses for staff.
Second, commit to coming to church on a regular basis. I think you will be amazed how much more satisfying your church experience will be, if you make attendance a regular spiritual practice. Third, sign up for Small Group Ministry. This is a chance to connect more deeply with others: to support, to share, to explore. Perhaps you’ll invent a recipe.
Perhaps you’ll make a friend. Perhaps you will learn a new thing or two about being in relationship with
others. What could be more important than that?
-- Cynthia Cottam
We are now entering the last week of our pledge drive for 2013, which ends on December 9. These pledges are the money that will determine the budget the congregation will approve on May 19 at the annual meeting. These pledges provide 75% of the funding for our employees, facilities maintenance, and programs. They provide the financial sustenance for our church.
I have a 26-year-old daughter who lives in lower Manhattan, so our family spent a few days recently waiting for the hurricane to come. My daughter called me several times to discuss what things she should gather together and what she should do to prepare. Bottled water, canned tuna, flashlights and batteries, fill the tub with water, charge your phone — that’s pretty much what we came up with. The conversations were pretty pleasant until the last one, when it became clear that Edison was turning off the power, and then she really didn’t have time to talk any more. Somehow, probably because I love my daughter so much, all of this caused me to think more metaphorically. I realized that we are all waiting for the hurricane — always waiting for the hurricane, though we don’t realize it most of the time. So I began to ask myself: what do I really need? I need water, food, some kind of shelter, the ability to survive. Beyond that, it gets more murky. I thought about my family, and I do really need them, but we all know, sadly, that people can and do survive without their families. I thought about church.
Certainly I could survive if I never came to church again. But I decided that I have a feeling, an experience, which is very central to the purpose of my whole life, and that I access it most easily when I come to church. It involves connecting to values, emotions and beliefs, that are so important to me that I cannot imagine being who I am without them. Just recently, I came to church on Veteran’s Day and remembered my father, looking so handsome in his uniform on his wedding day in 1942. I remembered how he never talked about the war until a brief period after Alzheimer’s began setting in, when he seemed compelled to describe, over and over, a few of the horrors he had witnessed. I remembered what a kind man my father was and how much I loved him. I appreciated having that experience at church, with people to talk to and music, and the sun on the patio. I had another powerful experience on pledge Sunday when Rev. Rebecca spoke passionately about commitments and about being accountable. I thought about the promises I make and the promises I keep and how much they shape the meaning of my life.
What powerful experiences have you had at church? What kind of a commitment are you willing to make to have this place in your life? I look forward to seeing you in church.
-- Cynthia Cottam
Our church is an institution that exists solely because we want it to exist. It is rare in that respect. There is no “us” and “them” here. There is no federal or state bureaucracy, nor any federal or state aid. There are national and regional organizations, which offer us the benefit of their experience and facilitate our communication with other institutions throughout the country, but they do not dictate to us, or give us money. We must support them financially, if they are to continue to be there as a resource. Our volunteer leaders come from among us, and we take turns conducting the daily business and working to steer our ship in the direction of love and justice. Currently it is my turn to stand at the helm. I sign the checks and run the meetings and spend a great deal of time thinking about ways to make my decisions and actions count towards building an institution which is a transformative force in our lives and in the world. I can tell you that sometimes it feels lonely at the top.
On October 7, we will have a town hall meeting to discuss the replacement of the roof, and decisions related to the replacement of the roof and the future of our sanctuary building. This is your chance to become informed and to share your experience and insights with the other members of our congregation. This is how our governance system works. It is a democratic system. It works well only if we commit to it and understand that these decisions are ours alone to make. We elect a president and a board, and they handle many financial and policy decisions. The big decisions are made by all of us together.
Come to the meeting. Roof replacement is a practical matter—a matter of clay and asphalt, concrete and wood. As always, there are real choices to be made. How safe is safe enough? How beautiful is beautiful enough? How do we best and most responsibly confront the reality of our limited financial resources? Come to the meeting. Offer me your support. Let me know your thoughts. In this way, we will move forward with a decision, which will be good enough for all of us.
— Cynthia Cottam
Over the coming weeks, our congregation will be making important decisions about the future of our sanctuary building. The story begins with the roof, which has been leaking for some time and is unquestionably in need of replacement. At our congregational meeting in February we voted to support roof repair and begin fundraising. We also took an advisory, non-binding vote, which indicated a desire for an all-clay tile roof to replicate the original appearance of our historic building, and to provide greater roof longevity. Because a clay tile roof is heavier than the asphalt roof now in place on the sides of the building, we hired a structural engineer to determine whether the current building could support that load. The engineering report indicates that the lower roof will not support the weight of clay tile. It also indicates that the building could sustain significant damage in the event of a major earthquake. If we were to install a clay tile roof, we would be required to do the structural upgrades to bring the building up to current code. This requirement also pertains to any work we do inside the sanctuary building. At the May Board Meeting, the Board felt that the structural issues should be addressed and voted to pay up to $6000 for the engineering drawings required to seismically retrofit our sanctuary. These drawings were obtained, and Bryan Oakes prepared bid packages and sent them to three contractors.
Now the plot thickens. The low bid came in at $324,000, including $71,000 for the roof itself. The actual cost would likely be somewhat higher. The major component of this expense is pouring concrete and placing anchor bolts to reinforce the foundation and bolt the church to it. This is a high price tag and warrants careful consideration of our situation. In my mind, it is important to talk with an earthquake expert and inform ourselves more fully about the risks we face, so that we can make an informed decision.
A further complicating factor is that some of us have held the dream of expanding the sanctuary by opening the south side to be symmetrical with the north. This was the original vision that started our building program. We currently have a Conditional Use Permit, granted on 2/1/07, which entitles us to do that. This permit expires on 2/1/13. One six-month extension is permitted, but the work required to apply for that extension would need to be started soon. If we still want to contemplate the sanctuary expansion, we should consider two realities: 1) It would be significantly cheaper to do it while the walls are open and the other work is being done. 2) It is unlikely that we would be given another permit for that project in the future, because of neighborhood objections and parking space requirements. There were many difficulties, including significant expense, involved in obtaining the permit we have now. If we decide to let the permit expire, we are most likely choosing to keep our campus in its present form forever.
Finally, we would have to come up with money to do any of these things. We would need to explore all possible funding sources. These issues are complex. We will not all agree. Your Board is currently in the process of information gathering. We plan to hold a town hall meeting on October 7, at 12:30 p.m. to explore these issues together. A Special Congregational Meeting for further discussion and a vote will follow.
— Cynthia Cottam
As I think about our music town hall meeting, which was attended by 52 people, I am most impressed by the wide range of opinions represented there. No one who was paying attention could have left that meeting feeling as if everyone agreed. For every person who prefers one genre of music, there is a person who prefers another. For every person who wants more music, there is a person who would prefer less. For every person who wishes things were the way they used to be, there is a person who feels excited about the music we have now and is dismayed to witness the discontent among us. It is a sobering and also liberating realization. None of us will be able to get exactly what we want, unless we open ourselves to wanting a broader range of possible experiences.
Newness is often difficult. The LA Times from July 12 quotes Andy Babiuk writing about the moment 47 years ago when Bob Dylan plugged in an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival: “You think about it now — seeing him play ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ in 1965 — wouldn’t that be the best thing ever? But at the moment it’s devastating: People are booing him; Pete Seeger says ‘Unplug him.’ The fact of him electrifying it makes it so important. He was telling the world, ‘No, this is how I’m doing it now.’” I had a similar experience in college when a friend took me to see a John Coltrane concert. I had never heard of John Coltrane, nor had I any experience with his music. I found the concert absolutely electrifying; I still remember the amazing feeling that my reality momentarily shifted and opened up. I can report, however, that at least 25% of the audience got up and walked out while the musicians were playing.
Neither of these players may represent the kind of music that you enjoy, but I’m sure these reactions have occurred to groundbreaking performers in every genre. Our assessment of newness is simply not very accurate. I was certain I didn’t want a microwave; you can probably guess how that turned out.
Within the next few weeks, we will hire a new music director. We have received a large number of applications, and a committee comprising representatives from the Board, the choir and the personnel committee has read them and discussed them and chosen a small number for further consideration.
I served on the personnel committee for a year before accepting the presidency. I learned a great deal doing this difficult and important job. We are very fortunate to have Denise Helton as our chair. She is a Human Resources professional at UCLA, and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this task. She also brings dedication, wisdom, and integrity. I feel proud of the process we employ in the hiring of our staff, and I feel confident that
this process will yield a result that will provide us with a qualified person who will bring a unique set of talents and provide us with a new and unique set of experiences and opportunities.
When I think back on my Unitarian upbringing, which I often do these days, I realize that the one thing I remember most clearly is the singing of what we used to call “Old Hundredth” — the four line song [Doxology] printed in your order of service — that begins “From all that dwell below the skies.” I was amazed and comforted to discover, when I came to Santa Monica, that we sing that song too, though the words may be a little different. It turns
out that most UU congregations sing this song. Most UU congregations these days also express a commitment
to increasing diversity in our congregations. It occurs to me that music is an arena in which we already have a great deal of diversity among us. As we prepare ourselves to accept more cultural and economic diversity, music seems the perfect place to begin practicing tolerance and acceptance of the needs and desires of people different from ourselves.
The song from my childhood congregation goes “Let beauty, truth and good be sung, / through every land, by every tongue.” Let’s sing beauty, truth and good within our own congregation. See you in church.
— Cynthia Cottam
This past month has given us reasons to contemplate our history. The deaths of Gaye Follmer Deal and Maggie Pipes have taken two incredibly active and influential women from our community. It is difficult to really understand the degree to which these two have nourished and shaped the congregation we participate in today. Our memorial services have given us the opportunity to celebrate these remarkable lives; those of us who did not know them intimately have had a chance to learn about them and to consider the miracle that is the span of a human life well lived.
Ernie Pipes, Maggie’s husband and our Minister Emeritus, spoke eloquently at Gaye’s service. After the service, as he was receiving condolences, he said that he has always considered the church his second home. Rebecca Crawford, current Board member, Gaye’s daughter, and an active member of our congregation for years, came to church the Sunday after her mother died. She knew it was a place where she could share her grieving.
Our community is a place for fun, for contemplation, for learning, for discussion, for eating, for music, for crying, and for laughing. It is also a place for marking the most powerful of life’s events — our most meaningful gains and losses. My husband and I were married here by Ernie in 1981. I cannot help thinking about this as I think of the death of Ernie’s wife. Life goes on, in its circular fashion, and we feel gratitude for the connections that sustain us.
So come to church. I think that is the point of this message. Gaye Deal drove her family to church every Sunday from Lancaster for a while, car-sickness be damned, according to one of her sons. She started the choir and Dining for Dollars, among other things. Like Maggie and Gaye we are making the history of tomorrow. As we organize our largest group so far of Gay Pride Parade marchers or supervise the process that leads to the installation of a new roof, we are reinforcing the foundations of our community. The congregation of the future will arise from this work. So come to church. Let us build our relationships as we work and mourn and celebrate together.
See you in church.
-- Cynthia Cottam
First of all, I want to express another thank you to Bronwen Jones and the outgoing board. Even though they will continue to be active among us, especially since I will be constantly asking them questions, they deserve our special gratitude at this time. They have served us well for many years through times of challenge and transition, and we have accomplished several important goals during their tenure.
I also want to thank our Acting Minister, Reverend Erika Hewitt, for stepping so gracefully into our pulpit. Her intelligence, compassion, and good counsel will see us successfully through our minister’s family
leave.
I am proud to be elected your president and I am excited to greet the upcoming year. I am at a point in
my life where time seems shorter. I recognize the need to say what I want to say and do the things that
seem important. The opportunity to serve as your president feels like the culmination of a journey that began when I was a child, attending Unitarian church in Madison, Wisconsin.
Recently, I have been remembering an experience I had in high school. I was 14 or 15, and I chose to attend a UU leadership training camp for a week on a lake about three hours from my home. I went alone — I didn’t know anyone there — and slept in a cabin and went to workshops. I don’t remember the process of deciding to go, but I’m sure I was scared. I also must have been quite motivated. Interestingly, one of the main things I
remember about the experience is my new bathing suit, a one-piece made of orange and white stripes. I
was self-conscious, but apparently also excited about it. I remember the trees, and groups of kids and a volleyball game. I also remember very clearly a moment after I had returned home, when I had just
finished leading some kind of a group discussion, and I realized that I actually was a better leader and
that the techniques I had learned at camp were helping me be more effective. I am personally moved by
the symmetry of the idea that my high school camp trained me to become, 50 years later, the president of
my church.
We never know, really, all of the effects of our actions. Our community is special because it has the
ability to weave itself into the fabric of our lives and wrap itself around us from the beginning to the end.
I am especially looking forward to working with Reverend Rebecca during this remarkable year in her
life, when her family welcomes and gets to know Nathan, their second child. This is a unique opportunity for all of us in the congregation. As we continue to practice what it means to be human, we must surely know that a young family will need our support, and our generous giving of ourselves.We will be excited to have Rebecca back among us, and she will be excited to be back. Together we will embark upon the journey of nourishing new life, including the many possibilities for new congregational life, as Rebecca begins her third year with us.
This is more than a symbolic thought. We will have a new roof to keep the rain out, and give us shelter from the storm. We will have a new website. We have new staff people. I have most recently served on the personnel committee, and I am impressed by the many gifts these new people bring to us. We have one another, and
all the good work we do in our community and in the wider world.
I haven’t presented you with much of a platform. I do have opinions, which are sometimes open to discussion; I still have much to learn, and I have personal UU-shaped values, which will help me navigate the road I travel with you. In the end, just as President Obama explained when he expressed his support for same-sex marriage, the value I care about most deeply is how I treat other people. As your president, I care most about how we as a community treat one another.
— Cynthia Cottam
Minister EmeritusErnie Pipes shookthe hand of StuartMoore and said "Stu, wehave to stop meeting likethis."
Ernie and Stu were returning to their cars afterattending the graveside service of their dearfriend, John Raiford. Walking slowly over to thegraveside with Stu and his spouse Francine, I sawa whole generation of our elders making theirway as best as they could to say farewell. Andstanding near the casket was our minister,Rebecca, who we all knew was holding a delicatenew life inside of her.
What a remarkable spanning of time before myeyes. How touching our community can be whenwe allow it to be with us. For those who live along way from our original families or those whosimply don't have a big family, or those who cannotstand to be with their original families, thisis the one place we experience this kind ofbreadth of humanity all together.
My sister in Australia has done a marvelousjob at restoring the multigenerational Jones familyexperience. Although our parents are longgone, she married for the second time to a manwith three kids who are all about the same age asher three kids. She became a grandma at 52. Nowshe has six grandkids at 60. My son, Baxter, reallyloves visiting Australia as he gets to be with somany first and second cousins. He feels sad attimes that he cannot spend more time with them.But I know he really likes the church being hisother big family.
Our community is embarking on a whole newjourney in being a part of raising our minister'syoung children. I believe we are able to lovinglysupport Rebecca, Jonathan, and Miriam throughtheir transformation to a family of four. I congratulatethem, wish Rebecca good health, andlook forward with anticipation to the arrival ofanother Benefiel Bijur into this crazy world.And as a final comment, on that aforementionedday, Ernie remarked (with a sparkle in hiseye) that our minister is indeed increasing ourmembership. Isn't it delightful?
Yours,
Bronwen