News & Announcements
August 2022 Theme: Ambiguity
This month our theme is Ambiguity, which may feel like the opposite of certainty. The words we use and the way we gather them into sentences can clarify our meaning or create communication problems; cultural context or nonverbal cues might have a role in making things better or worse. Anxiety, confusion, distrust, or anger may arise in someone faced with not having enough information but needing to take action or make a decision. It takes practice to learn to deal with ambiguity: considering options, learning to act without knowing all the details, taking some risks, communicating, and embracing change. Kazuya Akagi writes, “With risk, a decision has clear-cut goals and the outcomes are left to chance. With ambiguity, the problem to be solved is not even known.” That sounds like life during a worldwide pandemic. So let’s lean into our community and explore Ambiguity in worship, small group discussion, and personal reflection this month.
August Generous Congregation Recipient: Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday Offering to organizations doing work in the world that advances our Unitarian Universalist principles; the other 50% of the offering is used to support the life of our church. This month, half of our Sunday Offering will go to Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. This local nonprofit has been serving those most in need and least able to pay for more than 75 years. They provide high-quality mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention services to children, teens, and adults throughout Los Angeles. The new Dial 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline just went nationwide; Didi Hirsch is part of this national program and offers bilingual (English/Spanish) counseling 24/7 and 365 days a year.
Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. To give $10 right now, text “$10 GCC” (or another amount) to 844-982-0209. (One-time-only credit card registration required.) Or visit uusm.org/make-a-donation.
Register for Our Sept. 16-18 Camp de Benneville Pines Weekend
THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING
Registration is still open!
UU Santa Monica Church Camp Weekend at de Benneville Pines
Friday to Sunday, September 16 to 18
The annual weekend retreat is coming up really soon, when we venture to the beautiful Angeles National Forest and refresh our spirits and nurture our community at our rustic retreat in the mountains.
Camp de Benneville Pines is shared by the UU congregations in Southern California and Arizona where weekends for art, music, yoga, and ideas happen, as well as programs for elementary, middle school, and high school kids take place. It’s just 100 miles from the corner of 18th and Arizona, and we’re gathering there the weekend of September 16th to 18th, beginning with dinner on Friday.
Families and adults of all ages will get together to enjoy a weekend of music, hiking, worship, puzzles, games, art, workshops, and UU conversation and community. All while just being in the spaciousness of the trees and sky.
If you have not been to Camp, ask around; probably the first person you ask will share a story. And take a look at the article and photos of our weekend last Fall.
Look for the de Benneville Pines poster on Sundays in the Courtyard and talk to planning committee members in person. You can sign up then and there, or you can register online here. And we hope you will. Note the “Comments” section at the end of the registration form: please tell us about any special circumstances. We want to hear from you!
We’ll certainly accept checks mailed to the office (Memo: de Benneville). But if you’re paying for your camp registration with a credit card, please make sure to add 3.5% to your payment; otherwise, the church ends up paying your credit card fee.
Proof of COVID vaccination will still be required for all participants.
We collaborate to create the weekend’s activities ourselves — and encourage carpooling. We can also help people financially, so everybody who wants to go to Camp can go to Camp; if you need help, please talk to us.
Questions, concerns, program ideas and offers: email us at debenneville@uusm.org.
The mountains are calling. Let’s go together!
— Amy, Karl, Sunni, Judith, Chela, Larry, Greg, Linda, Joyce
