News & Announcements Archive
Shop at Ralphs; Get Church Rebates
Here's an easy and important way to help our church: Take advantage of Ralphsfast and easy "Community Contribution Program."
Bring your Ralphs Club Card to the church office and add your name to UUCCSM'sparticipation list. Every time you use your Ralphs Club Card, UUCCSM receivesa 4 to 5% rebate based on the dollar amount of total eligible purchases. Themore of us who sign up, the larger the rebate to UUCCSM.
Summer Vacation
Minister Judith Meyer will beon vacation during July.
Summer services in July and August will take place at 10:00 a.m. (one serviceonly).
Calling All Food Sorters: You're Needed June 3
The Westside Food Bank again needs our help for a food sort on Thursday, June3, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Food Bank, 1710 22nd Street, Santa Monica. LastDecember, 26 people from our church broke the food bank's record for sorting- filling 29 pallets with food weighing 16,800 pounds. We also had a good timeorganizing the food so that those who need it can receive it. The groceriesgo to 70 local social services agencies feeding more than 50,000 people everymonth.
If you can join the food sorters, please contact Paula Bernstein.
Directions to the food bank: From the Cloverfield exit of the westbound SantaMonica Freeway 10, exit onto Cloverfield, and immediately enter the left laneheading north. After one block on Cloverfield, turn left on Michigan St. Goone block on Michigan to 22nd Street; turn right on 22nd. Follow 22nd St. nearlyto the end of the block. Westside Food Bank is on the left. Park on the street.
Join the Newsletter Staff
Would you like to write, edit, take pictures or do layout? Please contact CarolAgate or e-mail newsletter@uusm.org.
Coming Soon: A Bigger Kitchen
With the wonderful acquisition of the property next door, eventually we'llget a bigger kitchen, and all of us who use it will celebrate.
In the meantime, we have a very limited storage space. If you or your groupneeds food supplies, please contact me. Sometimes we have enough stored in anotherspace or are changing brands. I appreciate your cooperation.
- Ellen Boag
Introducing the Pulpit Committee
The Pulpit Committee works with the minister on theSunday services and helps recruit guest speakers and pulpithosts. The members of the Pulpit Committee are KathleenCook, Alison Chipman, Vilma Ortiz, Susan Bickford,and Phillip Bonacich. Please talk with them if you havesuggestions about the service or possible guest speakersor themes to recommend.
Q: What do Disneyland, the Grand Canyon and UUCCSM Have in Common?
A: Postcards!
All member households shouldbe receiving two new postcards of our church in this month's newsletter, includedas a gift. Duplicates will be sold for $1 each after both services during themonth of June in Forbes Hall (and thereafter in the church office during businesshours). 
All money collected will go into UUCCSM's general fund (courtesy of our archivistand photographer, Rob Briner). Now all we need is a steam train from the courtyardto the property next door.
Peace Committee Creates PR List for Everyone in Church to Use
A public relations list is now available to anyone who wants to get the wordout about a church event that is open to the public. The peace committee wasfrustrated because some of our public events were under-attended, so we gatheredall of the PR information we could find, and made this master PR list.
Several members of the peace committee (S.J. Guidotti, Charles Haskell, MyraWald) had lists of public relations contacts. We also got a news organizationlist from Jim Cadwell, a PR list for music events from Peter Van den Beemt,and a list of local UU churches from Marie. We put it together in an Excel spreadsheetand it's broken down into the following areas: Within our Church, Calendar Listings/Newspapers,Calendar Listings/Online, Calendar Listings/Radio Stations, News Announcements,TV Stations, Music Press Releases, Local UU Churches, and Other Local Groups.If you wish to use the list or have any additions or corrections, please contactMarie in the office or Bob Dietz.
- Bob Dietz, Member of the Peace Committee
Save Time and Stamps
Get regular! Sign up for the Church’s new automatic bill paying serviceand have your pledge deducted from your bank account at regular intervals (monthlyor quarterly). Save energy and stamps. Pick up an application in the churchoffice.
New Record Set by Dining for Dollars
Due to the generosity of our many donors (approximately 70) and our bidders(about 150 bidding units) we are pleased to announce that the 2004 Dining forDollars auction has generated over $22,000 for the church coffers. The committeeis so grateful for your enthusiastic participation in this event and the hostsand guests will also benefit from the sense of community enhanced by these gatherings.
—Dining for Dollars Committee
Want to Represent Our Church?
There are opportunities to be a delegate from our church to two conferences,the Pacific Southwest District Conference in Ventura on Friday and Saturday,April 23 and 24, and the UUA conference in Long Beach from Thursday, June 24,to Monday, June 28. We are allowed 10 delegates to each conference. If you’dlike to be a delegate to either conference, contact Carol Agate.
Nominating Committee Wants Your Suggestions
The Nominating Committee is beginning deliberations to prepare the slate forthe new Board of Directors and the new Nominating Committee that will be presentedat the annual meeting in May. If you have comments or recommendations regardingthe composition of the board or the committee, please contact a member of thecommittee: Sue Bickford, Nancy Shinno, Shawn Kerr, Kathy Cook, S.J. Guidotti,or Audrey Lyness. You may also email Sue Bickford and she will forward emailresponses to the other members of the committee.
Join the Membership Team
Meet interesting people and help them to become church members. We are acceptingapplications for a new Membership Center volunteer, for the early service coffeehour on the second Sunday of each month. Contact Richard Boothe.
Our Coffee and Tea Help Small Farmers
You may have noticed the Equal Exchange poster next to the coffee pots in ForbesHall on Sunday mornings. We are now buying all our coffee and tea through theUUSC Coffee Project, a program to help small farmers in Latin America, Asiaand Africa. For every case we purchase, Equal Exchange makes a contributionto UUSC programs which support the human rights and social justice work of communitybasedcooperatives in coffee-growing regions. So we are sharing fellowship with ourglobal neighbors as we help them to help themselves. “Every cup is a cupof justice!”
It would be greatly appreciated if everyone using the kitchen would returnthings to their original places. There is a list on the wall that is still prettyaccurate. I do come in once a week to check supplies and the cupboards. Somedays it is discouraging and takes me nearly two hours, but if the kitchen getscompletely out of order, it will be frustrating and a waste of time having tosearch for what you need.
Thank you for your cooperation.
—Ellen Boag
Undy Sunday Was a Big Success
Thanks to all who contributed so generously to the underwear collection onJanuary 11. While the need could be endless, we were able to contribute: formen 74 pairs of briefs/boxers, 22 crew neck shirts, and six pairs of socks;for women 91 pairs of underpants, six pairs of socks/hose, one bra; for childrenone footed sleeper, one one-piece romper, six onesies shirts, 30 pair girl’sbriefs, 15 pair boy’s briefs. The underwear will go to the Cold/Wet WeatherShelter.
— Gerrie Lambson
Who Wants to Be an Editor?
The newsletter needs new editors. We have a wonderful staff of writers, designers,and proofreaders. We now need someone to coordinate their work and put eachissue together. Two people who can alternate months would be ideal. Requirements:the editors be computer literate, experienced in writing/editing, able to meetdeadlines, able to coordinate and organize, and able to devote a good portionof seven days each month to edit, headline, and make a rough page layout ofthe newsletter copy before sending it to the designers. If you are interested,or have questions, please email us at newsletter@uusm.org.
—Carol Agate and Paula Bernstein
‘Undy Sunday’ is Coming; Bring Packs of Underwear
A woman taken from an abusive or dangerous situation with her children mustleave with the clothes on her back, and so must her children. A homeless personwho gets access to a shower may have to dress in the underwear that he or shejust removed.
“Undy Sunday” on January 4 and 11 is intended to meet at leastone of the needs of these people: new and clean underwear. Other social servicesgroups provide body soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries. Thisis an attempt to meet a need that is just as vital to making these people feelthat their needs are valid and respected.
Many garments will be distributed through some agencies for the homeless ofall ages and both sexes, so warmth may also be a consideration for some purchases.The January sales will offer an opportunity to buy much more for the same amountof money. Here is a great chance to serve those less fortunate than we are.
On both January 4 and 11, we will be collecting new, packaged underwear inForbes Hall. Since the people we seek to serve come in all sizes and shapes,the underwear can be in any size for men, women, or children. Tops, bottomsand stockings are needed.
— Gerrie Lambson
The December Food Sort Set New Food Bank Records
Our December 10 Food Sort at the Westside Food Bank was a great success. Themen, women
and children set a new record for any food-sorting group: filling 29 palletswith 16,800 pounds of food,
surpassing last year’s record of filling 11 pallets with 14,400 pounds.The groceries go to 70 local social services
agencies feeding more than 50,000 people every month.
There’s Room for More Dining for Dollars Hosts
The following fellow church folks have felicitously favored us with fascinating,formidable offers for the next Dining for Dollars, bidding for which will beon February 22 and 29:
Nannini/ Bickford
Lisovsky/Goodwin/Wood/Van Ligten
Cranis
Voegtlen/Dietz/Levy
Goetz
Hallinan
Nyquist/Gates
Horan/Losh
Kory
Pulliam
Jain
Arnold/Prichard/Lane
Loran
Lim
Giffen
Kerr
Van den Beemt/McDonald/Ewen/Guidotti
Agate
church choir
Bickel
Chipman
Rendeiro/De Paul
Donahue/Murphy
Foster
Kernochan
Lambson
Mengert
Snyder/Nakajima
David Olson
Paddock/Patch
Poirier
Ward
Hanson
Jung
Levesque
Machnik
Kashmer-Stiebing/Malich/Ring
MacQueen
March/Clark
Nardoni
McGuire
Stone
Trutt
Bamford
Beckett
Berry
Bogart
Bleak/Smith
Bonacich
Boothe
Cadwell
Fels/Crane
Crawford
Wright/Frank
Anderson.
Additional offers are welcomed. Complete details will appear in the Februarynewsletter.
-- With gratitude from the Dining for Dollars Committee:
Helen Burns, Shirlee Frank, Peggy Kharraz, Sue Moore, Sandra Trutt
You’re needed December 10 The Westside Food Bank again needs our helpfor a food sort on Wednesday, December 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Food Bank,1710 22nd St., Santa Monica.
Last December, 26 people from our church broke the food bank’s recordfor sorting — filling 11 pallets with 528 boxes of food weighing 14,400pounds. We also had a good time organizing the food so that those who need itcan receive it. If you can join the food sorters, please call PaulaBernstein.
Buy Books and Music for Holiday Gifts
For holiday gift giving be sure to check out the church’s book cartin Forbes Hall. Many wonderful books and a variety of CDs, by members of thechoir and other talented church members, are available for your selection.
Join Women’s Alliance Before Dec. 15
Women’s Alliance memberships for the calendar year are still only $20and cover dues to both the continental and district Unitarian Universalist Women’sFederation (UUWF). If you’re interested, it’s important to signup before December 15, since we must mail our group’s dues to Boston.Please make check for $20 payable to UUCCSM and write in the corner “Women’sAlliance.” Put it in an envelope with the Sunday morning offering, ormail it to the church office. For information please contact Joyce Holmen,president,or Sue Moore, treasurer.
We have a new UU neighboring church
At the recent board meeting the UUA trustees welcomed the UnitarianUniversalistsof the Santa Clarita Valley as an affiliated congregation.
Now That We’re a Welcoming Congregation,
How Do We Show It? Your Ideas are Needed.
A sign on the front of the church has “A Welcoming Congregation”notice on it. Would we, as a church, like to display more, for instance, a hanging“window,” a flag, a framed poster? What design would we like onit? A chalice, a rainbow, something completely unique? Give us your ideas, maybeeven your art, and help us decide. Contact Judy Federick.
The Music Committee Needs You
The reconstituted Music Committee will meet on Sunday, October 12, at 12:30and invites new members to participate. You do not need to be a musician, butneed simply to have an interest in music. Call Gaye Follmer Deal forfurther information.