Newsletter for December 2018
From Our Minister:
To the Glory of Life: About “Mystery”
Dear Friends,
Has anyone noticed? It feels like we’re a little off-center! And it’s our off-centeredness that’s being reflected in the faces of the people… that’s why it’s dark and we’re all bundled up tight, bracing ourselves against the coldness all around us.
I’m talking about our planet being tilted on it’s axis and facing away from the sun. Our tilt – our off-centered-ness is, of course, the reason we have seasons. It’s why we have more darkness. Why this time is a time of coldness.
But you might have also thought I was talking about our political climate, rather than our seasonal, northern hemisphere climate. Because, if we were honest, we’d admit it’s true – we’re a little off-centered with one another too. A little tilted, facing away from each other. The anger and pain and hunger of the world is a lot to bear. We’re abound in a mystery and know not how to respond. It’s a mystery that leaves us questioning one another’s intentions… questioning our own… wondering what we could do. Unsure if we have what’s really needed… or enough.
There is a story written by the Director of Religious Education (Dawn-Star Sarahs-Borchelt) of Mainline UU in Devon, PA. that was shared with me this week. I thought it well worth passing on.
Once upon a time there was a family. Maybe this family had not quite enough to eat. Or maybe they had just about enough. Or … perhaps they had MORE than enough.
You might not have been able to tell. THEY might not have been able to tell. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you have enough or not. It’s hard not to want more or different things than you have.
In any case, this family came together one autumn day for a celebration. A feast. A time of gratitude.
They gathered, as we have done, around a table. There was food. There was drink. There were flowers to remind them of beauty.
And then there was a call from the gate outside their door.
“Hello! We’re hungry and thirsty and we see you have a feast. May we come in?”
Well, the family didn’t know at first how to answer.
Who were these people at the gate? Was it safe to let them in? ‘Do we have enough?’ they asked. ‘Was there room?’
But they remembered. They remembered that most of them had come to this family, to this celebration, from someplace else.
They remembered that even they, who were there at that table, had not always been kind to each other. There had been times when they hurt each other. When they turned away, sad or angry or afraid. There is no way to make life completely safe.
They remembered times when others had shared with them, even when the others might not have had quite enough of their own.
They remembered when each new member of the family had been born, or come to stay, or married in. They remembered that they had always found a way to make room.
And they remembered an old, old saying: when you have more than you need, it is better to find a longer table than to build a higher fence.
We have enough, they said. We might have more than enough. We are many, and strong, and we can hold a safe space here in our home for all who come.
And so they went out of their door and to the gate. They opened it wide. They invited the people who were there in. Inside, they pulled out another table and made the space for newcomers. They covered it with a cloth. And the newcomers set upon it a dish full of something fragrant and delicious which was strange and wonderful to the family. Everybody shared. And there was enough.
I want us to notice that we only heard one part of that story. We heard the story of the people who were in the family in the house, ready to feast. We didn’t hear the story of the people at the gate, wanting to come in. We don’t know who they are or why they are there or what they bring to the table other than the strange and wonderful food! So when you hear other stories this Thanksgiving season, I want you to think about whose stories they are. And whose stories they aren’t. And what those other stories might have been.
This season of darkness is only upon us because we are tilted away from the light. And in our off-centeredness, the abounding mystery of such a season feels foreboding instead of ripe with possibility. When we respond from a place of fear, it’s hard to recognize what is inevitably true: we do, indeed, have room. In fact, if we just squeezed together a little, we might be close enough to hear the choir of angels singing. Reminding us that even a tyrant’s cold and callous hand cannot suppress the light of people called together.
To the Glory of Life.
From Our President:
On Gratitude and Year-End Giving - Open Your Heart and Support the Community that Nurtures You
Dear Friends,
I’ve recently developed a gratitude practice as part of my spiritual development. Since it’s the season of gratitude, I thought I would share it with you. It’s also the season of giving. But we’ll get to that later.
Jacki’s gratitude list for 2018:
- My closest UUSM friends who model what unconditional acceptance looks like;
- The colleagues whom I’ve come to love as we work together helping make this a more joyful and vibrant faith community;
- Every one of you committed to love and service within and beyond our UUSM walls;
- The children who provide hope for the future;
- Our Minister, Rev. Greg, for choosing to spend his life building a stronger Unitarian Universalist faith;
- The countless blessings that I do nothing to do deserve, including life itself, my family, my health, my able-bodiedness, my privilege, and more.
What are you grateful for? I would like to know. Please drop me a line. I’m just a text or email, phone call, or holiday card away.
Now comes the giving part. Considering your own blessings and your gratitude for this congregation, would you please make a special year-end gift to UUSM? Yes, it’s your last chance to give this calendar year, and your contribution may be tax-deductible. Better yet, giving for generosity’s sake feels good.
Thanks.
Wishing you and your loved ones a merry and bright holiday season.
– Jacki Weber, President
Featured Articles:
Second Sunday Supper Sings for the Holidays!
News & Announcements:
Adult RE Book Group
Please join us for "Recognizing and Resisting Racist Responses," a discussion of academic and whiteness studies lecturer Robin DiAngelo's new book, "White Fragility." We will share our responses to the author's perspectives on implicit bias and structural racism, and explore the unconscious strategies that white folks engage in to defend against the notion that they are complicit. Books are available for purchase at the Lifespan R.E. table. For further information, please contact Roberta Frye or Audrey Lyness.
Save the Date
Sunday, January 13, 6pm - 8pm, Second Sunday Supper, Forbes Hall
Second Sunday Suppers are informal social events for all ages held in Forbes Hall on the second Sunday of each month at 6 pm. Initial set up time is followed by communal meal. Attendees should bring a main dish, side dish, salad or dessert to share. Please join us! Children are absolutely welcome! To save on waste and promote green living, we kindly ask that you bring your own plates, cups, utensils, and cloth napkins. We will have extra dishes if you cannot bring your own. Happy hour begins at 5:45 pm.
Second Sunday Suppers are informal social events for all ages held in Forbes Hall on the second Sunday of each month at 6 pm. Initial set up time is followed by communal meal. Attendees should bring a main dish, side dish, salad or dessert to share. Please join us! Children are absolutely welcome! To save on waste and promote green living, we kindly ask that you bring your own plates, cups, utensils, and cloth napkins. We will have extra dishes if you cannot bring your own. Happy hour begins at 5:45 pm.
Sunday, February 17 & February 24, Dining for Dollars Auctions
We proudly announce that due to your amazing generosity and participation, the proceeds from last year's D4$, after expenses, was a record-breaking $37, 343. Our campaign for 2019 is about to start and soon you will hear from one of us as to how we can make 2019 another banner year. Time to start thinking about what event you might host in the coming year. If you want new ideas, please let us help, though we do love repeats! With sincere gratitude to all those who host and to all those who bid.
We proudly announce that due to your amazing generosity and participation, the proceeds from last year's D4$, after expenses, was a record-breaking $37, 343. Our campaign for 2019 is about to start and soon you will hear from one of us as to how we can make 2019 another banner year. Time to start thinking about what event you might host in the coming year. If you want new ideas, please let us help, though we do love repeats! With sincere gratitude to all those who host and to all those who bid.
Garden of Eternity. Donate a brick engraved with your loved one’s name.
Engraved bricks at $500 per brick.
Download the order form or get one from the church front office. You may leave the completed form and your contribution in the Church Administrator’s mailbox.
Holiday Office Closures
Church Offices will be closed on the following dates:
Monday, December 24
Tuesday, December 25 for Christmas Day
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 for New Year's Day
December Worship Services Include Seven Holiday Celebrations
DECEMBER THEME: MYSTERY
Join us each Sunday as we celebrate and worship as a community. This month, we welcome the public to seven special holiday services of spirited celebration, quiet reflection and forward-looking inspiration.
Sunday, December 2
Millennials are Ruining Everything
SERVICES AT 9 AM AND 11 AM
Robin Stillwater, preaching
Abby Arnold, Worship Associate
Millennials can seem like a separate species from the older adults in congregations. How does one even talk to these strange creatures? More importantly, as Unitarian Universalism ages, how do we welcome in millennials; offering them sanctuary and hope in a too-often toxic and attacking world?
Sunday, December 9
Confessions of an Apocaloptimist
SERVICES AT 9 AM AND 11 AM
The Rev. Greg Ward, preachingRima Snyder and Natalie Kahn, Worship Associates
The Urban Dictionary defines an apocaloptimist as “someone who knows it’s all going to s–, but refuses to lose theirs in the process.” We can all find reasons to panic about the environment, the economy, the rise of corruption and greed, or the collapse of human civility. How can we look at the world earnestly – with its capacity to break our hearts – and not lose hope? A person who can stand amidst impossible odds and still be engaged and idealistic is an apocaloptimist.
Sunday, December 9
Heart and Soul Service: Mystery
SERVICE AT 5 PM
Catie Grasso, preaching
Heart and Soul is a quiet, contemplative service held each month on the second Sunday evening. It is a time of fellowship and sharing, with more silence than many services. All are welcome to join us in the sanctuary for this vespers-like experience.
Sunday, December 16
A Star is Born
SERVICES AT 9 AM AND 11 AM
The Rev. Greg Ward, preaching
James Witker, Worship Associate
There are religions of every kind that explore birth. Because birth is such a miraculous and sacred event in our lives, it has become a hearth at the center of many religious stories. A buddha’s birth (as opposed to ‘the Buddha’) is the central story of Buddhism – how a devotee begins their path of enlightenment. Jesus’ birth as an agent of the world’s salvation is a central story of Christianity. Science and Cosmology also have a birth story involving the origin of the universe, including each and every galaxy, star, solar system and planet. This service is the sacred story of this planet’s birth and it’s ability to call into existence a radical array of life.
Sunday, December 16
Winter Solstice Celebration
SERVICE AT 5:30 PM, ANGELINE FORBES HAL
Rima Snyder, Worship Leader
This year we commemorate the solstice by learning about the Iranian festival of Yalda, the longest night. Join us to celebrate the beginning of winter and the emergence of the light with music, poems, and shared community.
Sunday, December 23
The Star of Bethlehem
SERVICES AT 9 AM AND 11 AM
Kathleen Hogue, preaching
Margot Page, Worship Associate
Why do we celebrate Christmas? As Unitarian Universalists, most of us believe that Jesus was a human being, that he was an inspired spiritual teacher and compelling social revolutionary. For some of us, we do celebrate the story of the only Son of God come to save the world, and that belief is welcome here today. For others, the culture in which we live tells this story, over and over, and we gather to experience it once again. But it is not only the Christian religion that needs to tell this story, over and over. As a Unitarian Universalist people of faith, we, too, need to tell this story over and over because, like all great religious myths that have been told through the ages, this night and this story hold essential spiritual truths. Come and experience the story once again, with all the characters you know and love including our congregation’s beloved Friendly Beasts! Join us for a Christmas Nativity pageant in word and song with the timeless story of Mary and Joseph, the kings, and the shepherds.
Monday, December 24
Ring the Bells and Light the Lights
SERVICE AT 4 PM
Kathleen Hogue, Worship Leader
Teri Lucas, Worship Associate
Join us for a multigenerational worship service complete with holiday music, story, and ritual. You are invited to bring an ornament (either a bell or a star) to trade with someone else. Our interactive story, The Sounds of Christmas by Deb Brammer, gives everyone an opportunity to make joyous noise. Cookies, cider, and hot chocolate will follow the service.
Monday, December 24
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
SERVICES AT 6 PM AND 8 PM
The Rev. Greg Ward, preaching
Margot Page, Dorothy Steinicke, and Robin Stillwater, Worship Associates
We’re all familiar with the traditional story the describes a particularly dark moment in humanity’s existence, and the birth of a child that grows up to be a great light. We are certainly in dark times today. This traditional Candlelight Christmas Eve service of lessons and carols will be a contemporary adaptation of a sacred story based on Unitarian educator Sophia Lyon Fahs’ prophecy that “every night a child is born is a holy night.” We will imagine what it would look like if the prophet called to bring light to the world were born today. Come to sing, hear stories, light candles, and rejoice in the shared calling for us all to create Peace on Earth. The choir will perform at both services.
Sunday, December 30
A Sense of Purpose
ONE SERVICE ONLY AT 11 AM
The Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching
Leon Henderson-MacLennan, Worship Associate
Making meaning of the old year and the new year to come.
Faith in Action News:
FIA Winter Clothing Drive
The Religious Exploration classes will be assembling Winter Care Kits for The Homeless on Sunday, December 16. The following items are needed:
Hats (100)
Gloves (100)
Protein bars (100)
Chap Stick (100)
Travel size tissue packs (200)
Wipe packs (100)
Socks (100)
Kathleen Hogue writes “During the pageant on the 23rd of December, instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh we will be having the wise ones bring up these gifts to the Holy Family (practical gifts). The plan is to donate the kits after the second service.”
RE News:
Cookies needed!
Kathleen Hogue is seeking cookie/brownie donations for our Christmas Eve Services. Please bring in either home made or store bought holiday cookies no later than Sunday December 23rd. Let her know that you will be bringing them ahead of time by sending an email to uusmdre@gmail.com.
RE Events
December 22, 8:30 am, Forbes Hall, RE Pancake Breakfast for Parents, children and friends! Join us for pancakes and all the fixings along with a bouncy castle for the kids! Donations of $5 per person are requested to cover the costs and to go toward our Spirit Grant fund for the RE Assistant. No one will be turned away.
Thursday, December 20 7:30 – 11 pm (7:30 – 9 pm “Kid Safe”) Join our staff and members for another community service opportunity: "Volunteer With One Voice" : 3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica Airport Santa Monica, CA 90405 (The Santa Monica Air Center) We will be sorting and packaging the food for needy families. This is the night that is most appropriate for children as well as adults. We continue long into the night, usually finishing around 11:00 PM. Please register online in advance and have a copy on your phone to show at the door when you arrive between 7:30-8:30 PM. REGISTER HERE: https://www.onevoice-la.org/volunteer-sign-up/
January Adult RE Offerings
Humanist Voices
“Is God a White Racist?” by Rev. William R. Jones. In this examination of the early liberation methodology, Jones questions whether the belief in an omnibenevolent God who has dominion over human history—can provide an adequate theological foundation to effectively dismantle the economic, social, and political framework of white oppression.
Date , time, location TBD. Contact: James Witker
Collage Group with Stan Bemis
Do you wish to express yourself creatively in art, and yet may feel inadequate or untrained? Do you yearn to make an artistic statement, yet not sure how? We welcome you to create your own collages with Stan Bemis!
Sat Jan 12 and Sat Jan 26, 10-12 pm; NE Cottage. Contact:Stan Bemis
Conversations and Connections
Our guiding intention is to provide structure and opportunities for meaningful connections between individuals in our congregation. As the number of one-to-one connections grows over time there will be an expanding web of connections in our community based on trust and acceptance.
Sat Jan 19, 10-12 pm. Contact: Bettye Barclay or Sue Stoyanoff
Come Dance with Us!
Learn international folk dancing with instructors Sandy Helperin and Teri Hoffman. Folk dancing is for anyone who loves to move to traditional music. No partners needed! New dancers are welcome.
Sat Jan 12, 7:00-8:30 pm; Forbes. Contact Ellen Levy
Monday Night is Meditation Night:
An Enjoyable Dive into Who and What We Are
We endeavor to answer the questions Who am I? (attitudes and beliefs) and What am I? (Essence or True Nature). This class will include meditations which explore participants’ spiritual goals.
Mon Jan 7 and Mon Jan 21, at 7:30-9:00 pm; Classroom 3. Contact: Bill Blake
Open Meditation Group
We sit quietly for 20 minutes, walk with gentle awareness for 7 minutes, and explore the integration of meditation with ordinary life through journaling, readings and sharing. Anyone who senses they would benefit from 20 minutes of silent, non-guided sitting is welcome to join us.
Mon Jan14 and Mon Jan 28 at 7:30-9:00 pm; Classroom 3. Contact: Beverly Shoenberger or Carol Ring
Women over 60 Group
Want to enhance your life? Want more personal and spiritual growth? Want to be with other women who can relate to what you are going through? Then this group is for you!
Tues, Jan 1 and Jan 15, from 10-11:30 am; Forbes. Contact: Sandra Beebe
Other Offerings in January
AAHS: Jan 27, 1-2:00 pm
Disability Support Group: Jan 27, 12:30-2pm NE Cottage “Sports Activities and Opportunities”
Body-Mind Tune-up for Seniors: All Fridays, 10-11am Forbes Hall
UU Men’s Group Jan 3 and 17, 7:30-9pm NE Cottage
Fiction Reading Book Club: Jan 21, 7-8:30pm Classroom 1 -- "Pachinko," by Min Jin Lee