Newsletter for May, 2020
From Our Minister:
From Our Minister: One More Step
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet…”
—Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Our spiritual theme for community exploration this month is thresholds. Theme-based ministry invites the entire congregation to reflect upon universal themes of religious life in creative ways each month. A threshold can be broadly defined as a transitional period from one state or reality to another. They are often potent times in our lives that can evoke a variety of emotions. We may experience self-doubt. We may have to grieve leaving behind old parts of ourselves on the other side of the threshold. We will explore many aspects of thresholds in the context of worship this month as we consider the lunar month of Ramadan, motherhood, liminal space, and sabbath. I hope you will help us to cultivate a robust theme-based ministry in our congregation by bringing the theme of the month into your committees and other activities in the life of the church. A theme-based check-in question you might want to consider this month could be: “Please share a time when you moved through an important threshold of your life and briefly explore the feelings that characterized that transitional period.”
Developmental ministry is one form of a threshold period in the life of a congregation. It is the time when a congregational engages in a prolonged period of specialized ministry that strives to heal old wounds, uncover latent potentials, and grow the capacities of the congregation to prepare for another settled ministry. It is an opportunity for the congregation to engage in self-assessment and reflection, enhance individual and collective awareness, and strengthen the structures and systems of the congregation. Developmental ministers typically come with a special degree of experience working with the particular challenges and opportunities that are to be addressed in such a period. In addition to the expected functions of ministry, we discern with congregational leaders and our UUA partners some of the areas for growth in congregational life. Examples of some of the goals we are working towards in this developmental ministry include practicing our covenantal commitments, discerning the mission of the congregation, updating our bylaws, and implementing good financial practices–among many others! When we’ve passed through this threshold period there should be a sense of renewal and vitality in the congregation that will provide a solid foundation for a successful settled ministry.
Thresholds are commonplace in our lives and they are especially attended to by religious communities. Major lifespan thresholds such as the birth of a child, coming of age, young adulthood, marriage, divorce, elderhood, and death are all marked by religious traditions in different ways and to different extents. A new medical diagnosis, the loss of a job, moving to a new neighborhood, a new school, coming out as LGBTIQ , transitioning genders, or stepping into a new role in your life are all important thresholds many have to cross on life’s journey. Spiritual communities help individuals, families, and couples to navigate new realities with the wisdom, experience, and grace found in community.
Beloved community reminds us that we can find the courage to take one more step or push ourselves a bit farther — to use more inclusive language — with the love and support of those around us. It reminds us that even when facing an unprecedented threshold like navigating a global pandemic we do not have to do it alone. Crossing the many thresholds of life can be exhilarating, terrifying, and transformative but they are made a little bit easier with the love and support of those with whom we share this incredible gift of life.
Featured Articles:
Nom Com Readies Slate for Vote and Annual Meeting June 28
Volunteer and vote
Our beautiful campus is quiet, but the business of church goes on. We are staying at home; “attending” online Sunday services and committee meetings; and Zooming with friends and family. The spring stewardship drive is crossing the finish line, and the Nominating Committee has continued talking with members about serving our community. We’re working to present a slate of nominees for election at the Annual Meeting.
The Annual Meeting will take place June 28, 2020. The board, the Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, and numerous staff and volunteers are sorting out the details and logistics of how we will all come together and vote. Online town hall meetings and voting electronically and by mail-in ballot are all being discussed. Watch your email, your mailboxes, and the UUSM Newsletter for updates as plans firm up.
Please plan to join in and practice our 7th principle, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”
Who May Vote?
All members in good standing who have been members for at least 40 days prior to the Annual Meeting are eligible to vote. If you’ve been thinking about joining UUSM, contact Membership Committee Co-Chairs Norm Richey or Cynthia Cottam right away at membership@uusm.org or leave a message at the church office, 310-829-5436. In order to vote, new members and renewing members must be read into the church record at the May board meeting.
Let your voice be heard as our congregation elects members of the UUSM Board of Directors and Nominating Committee.
The Ballot
The Nominating Committee’s slate of nominees for the all the board officers (president, vice president, secretary and treasurer) and two members at large, plus three seats on the Nominating Committee, will be submitted to the board and read at a May board meeting: one nominee per eligible position.
Any member of the congregation who wishes to appear on the ballot may submit a petition for any eligible position on the board or Nominating Committee. To petition, you must be a member for 12 months and gather the support and signatures of at least 10 members of the congregation. This year, your petition can include an email from each of the 10 or more members supporting your candidacy. Your petition and accompanying emails should be submitted to Secretary Norm Richey, membership@uusm.org, for review and validation, by May 19; the final date to accept petitions is May 26.
Note that the board president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer (officers of the board) serve 1-year terms. Officers can be nominated to the same position for three consecutive terms. Members at large serve 2-year terms on the board and may serve for three consecutive terms. Nominating Committee members are elected to serve 3-year terms; we elect two committee members each year. This year there is an extra seat on the Nominating Committee, as Alison Kendall is stepping down. The person elected to that position will serve the remaining 2 years of her term. The Nominating Committee holds gratitude for all the volunteers who step up to serve in elected positions.
Look for updates
The forthcoming Nominating Committee slate and the final ballot with any petitioners will be announced here in the Newsletter. UUSM members will also receive final ballots in the mail; including information on all nominees, the budget resolution, and any other matters requiring a vote. These ballots will go out via USPS during the first week of June. Look also for frequent email blasts with updates on the budget and the Annual Meeting, likely including a new option to vote online. How ever it happens, our voices and hopes for the future will be heard.
Pat Gomez,
Nominating Committee Member
Church Member Bettye Barclay Interviewed for The Washington Post’s The Lily
In March of this year, Bettye Barclay responded to a questionnaire, posed by The Washington Post's publication, The Lily, inviting responses from women living alone. When The Lily Staff Writer Caroline Kitchener contacted her for an interview, Bettye was very surprised, and glad to share her experience! Part of The Lily’s interview focused on Bettye’s pastoral work during the pandemic. For the full story, please go to this link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/the-lily/coronavirus-women-living-alone/
Bettye reports to the Newsletter: “As chair of the Pastoral Care Associates, I have worked with the Caring Task Force, chaired by Kikanza Nuri-Robbins, to help set up Chalice Companions for 100 congregants who are elderly or have health issues. This is a way of keeping in touch with people during this time of isolation. Chalice Companions contact their people weekly to see how they are doing. I worked with Linda van Ligten to set up a Google Sheets document with names and contact information for the vulnerable group and their Chalice Companions. I am delighted to say that task has been accomplished and people are now being contacted regularly.”
We appreciate Bettye’s efforts towards mutual aid, as well as those of the entire Caring Task Force. Bravo!
Stewardship Snapshot: An Abundance of Opportunity
TO BE BLESSED, AND TO BE A BLESSING
First, in this unprecedented time when most of us shelter at home and stay safe, UUSM continues to co-create the community we aspire to be: beloved, uplifting and encouraging to each other, and caring for a world that hurts. We see in our community an abundance of leadership, resourcefulness, loving care, and patience. We’ve seen extraordinary online worship, 100+ people in a new Chalice Companions check-in program, and a chatty new UUSM Facebook Group. These are just some of the ways we have adapted to these strange days, ministering to one another.
Meanwhile,, the business of the church goes on. Our 2020–21 pledge drive is crossing the finish line, ensuring that transformative worship, enriching multigenerational programming, and connection to our larger UU faith and principles will continue.
This year’s Stewardship campaign theme, “Igniting Our Faith” inspires us to light our chalices of the heart and pass on that light of love and inclusion to those who touch our lives and to the world beyond. We, as individuals, our church, and the world face challenges. But the coming months will also present abundant opportunities to grow and share our blessings, while uplifting new priorities and marginalized voices—“to be blessed, and to be a blessing.”
Update
The best news is that we have received commitments from more than half of our congregational households, and 74 households have newly pledged or raised their pledge from last year. This level of “fired up” brings us within striking distance of our pre-COVID goal.
But the uncertainty is greater than we’d planned for. Currently, pledge fulfillment is trending downward and rental income and fundraising have virtually evaporated. (We miss Dining for Dollars!) We need for all of us to come together and pledge, to the very best of our ability, to build a strong UUSM, no matter what. We want every household to turn in a pledge form this year, and commit anew to our beloved community.
Please email Administrator Nurit Gordon at admin@uusm.org with your generous pledge right now. Or visit the Stewardship/Fundraising page to download the pledge form or fulfill your pledge online.
We’re excited to announce that about half of the $10,000 in matching funds has been released due to fresh automatic monthly pledges and increased commitments from our current steadfast monthly pledgers. There’s another $5,000 that can be unlocked, and just a few more days to double the impact of your 2020 pledge. Generous UUSM donors are matching all new, automatic monthly pledges, and increases in automatic monthly pledges, dollar-for-dollar through May 4. (If you’re an annual, lump-sum pledger, we thank you kindly and ask that you consider becoming an automatic monthly contributor today.)
In her recent message of gratitude and hopefulness, UU President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray said: “At fraught times such as these, we are reminded how much we need each other. How much we need communities of care, purpose, and spiritual depth…. I want you to know how much your giving matters. I want you to know that you belong in this spiritual community, whatever your financial capacity. We are a people in covenant with one another.”
UUSM Community Resource List - WHAT DO YOU NEED?
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Compiled April-May 2020 by the UUSM COVID-19 Pastoral Response Task Force, Cassie Winters, and the Newsletter Team.
For a huge list of resources on:
- TESTING FOR COVID-19
- GENERAL INFORMATION
- MASKS & PPE
- MEALS & FOOD
- HELP WITH UTILITIES
- ECONOMIC RELIEF
- MENTAL HEALTH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
- OTHER HELP
- RENTER PROTECTIONS
- ENTERTAINMENT
- HOMELESS SERVICES
- VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
- UUA RESOURCES
...see our UUSM Community Resource List at http://news.uusm.org/uusm-community-resource-list/
At Home, Not Alone
LIFTING EACH OTHER UP BY SHARING INSPIRING STORIES
Karl Lisovsky and Janet Goodwin heeded the newsletter’s call for stories of mutual aid during the pandemic. Here is their experience.
Our kids are gone, and we thought we would be empty nesters. Then we had the opportunity to house Caitlin, our daughter’s good friend since kindergarten, in Angela’s room when she moved out. It has been a joy to have our daughter’s lifelong friend here, for well over a year now. After Caitlin graduated college and got a job, she started paying rent for her disabled mother, whose income is very limited. Now that Caitlin has been laid off because of COVID-19, she still has a place to call home, with us.
Since our son John Michael has been teaching and living in San Francisco for five years, his room was mostly unoccupied. Karl’s cousin’s daughter Roxanne had been living with her boyfriend in Echo Park for the past five years, doing freelance work in arts and entertainment. The relationship broke up this past November, and Roxanne was planning to move back to North Carolina. When we invited her to live with us if she preferred to stay in LA, Roxanne thought about it, then in January she moved in to our home. Since COVID-19 hit, she has been sheltering in place with Janet, Caitlin and me.
We are happy to have these two lovely young people living with us as we collectively self-isolate, and are happy to have been able to offer them a place to live. They offer us a lot of youthful energy, and expert advice on technology and internet platforms. If Janet and I were alone in the house and did not go out at all, we might be rather lonely, but having two lively young women in the house makes things a lot of fun. It’s really a win-win situation!
— Karl Lisovsky
Sharing Stories of Mutual Aid in the Time of Virus: Calling all church members and friends! Do you have an experience of giving or receiving aid and support during the stay at home order? If so, the Newsletter Team would like to hear about it. Now is the time to lift each other up by sharing our inspiring stories. Please submit them, and any questions, to stories@uusm.org.
Longtime Church Member Sheila Bjornlie Is Remembered
— BY DAUGHTER ANDREA BJORNLIE
Sheila Lee Peterson Bjornlie was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on June 7, 1932, and passed peacefully on March 23 in Santa Monica, California.
Born to Ephraim Peterson and Madge Wallace Peterson, Sheila was the oldest of her three siblings, Walker, Penny and Aaron. The family moved to Montana when Sheila was 12 years old.
After high school she attended Colorado Women’s College. Home for summer break, Sheila met Harvey Bjornlie, a Montana native. In 1952, they married and moved to Santa Monica where Harvey began work at Douglas Aircraft and Sheila took a job at McMahan’s Furniture advertising department. They joined the Santa Monica Unitarian Community Church, making lifelong friendships.
In 1955 Dena was born, followed by Andrea two years later. The family then moved to Pacific Palisades. In 1962 Stuart arrived, followed by Kara in 1964.
As a dedicated wife and mother, Sheila was invested in the lifestyle she, Harvey and the children desired — cultural enrichment, artistic expression, enjoying the outdoors, entertaining, cooking and baking, and keeping the cookie jar full. Sheila loved music and played piano, string bass, and recorder. She enjoyed playing with friends, teaching, performing, and filling her home with the sound of the piano. Her love of knitting led her to interests in spinning and weaving.
When Harvey retired they became docents at Topanga Canyon State Park, leading children on nature walks and became active with the California Native Plant Society.
Since 1990, they split their life between Pacific Palisades and their cabin in the mountains outside Great Falls, Montana. There Sheila rekindled old friendships, made new ones, and involved herself in Montana’s natural and cultural history, and fiber arts. They found camaraderie at the Monarch-Neihart Senior Center.
In later years, Sheila kept active in the UU Church including volunteering during coffee hour, and served on the board of Chamber Music Palisades, regularly attended the LA Phil, resumed playing bass, and started countless knitting and weaving projects. Foremost was her devotion to Harvey, family, and friends.
Sheila’s deep commitment to everything she held dear — marriage, motherhood, democracy, nature and humanitarianism — inspired everyone she knew.
Sheila is survived by husband Harvey, devoted dog Aero, children Dena (husband Leon), Andrea, Stuart, Kara (husband Christopher), sister Penny Barnes, sister-in-law Jeanne Peterson, and grandchildren, Aaron, Garrison, and Anneli.
In remembrance of her life, she’d ask that you give to public radio, donate blood, and vote.
A celebration of Sheila’s life is pending. For information, contact the UUSM office for Kara Bjornlie’s contact information.
Appreciations and Thanks While We Remain Safer at Home
During a time when we no longer can meet each other on Sundays, and while some of us cannot leave home safely, many church members are offering mutual aid.
Thanks to Linda van Ligten, Bettye Barclay, Kikanza Nuri-Robbins and Reverend Jeremiah Kalendae for their work through the Pastoral Task Force.
The Chalice Companions, who stay in contact with and support as needed our more vulnerable members, are appreciated!
We thank the church staff members for their dedicated service and flexibility during these challenging times.
Bettye Barclay thanks Audrey Lyness for the many ways she is reaching out during this time. Bettye says, “She has shopped for me and others several times, she is one of the Chalice Companions, and reaches out to several people each week to see how they are doing. In addition she has made contact with many others in our community, keeping in touch and checking in with people. And she has shared delicious baked goods.”
Hugo Contreras and Sarah Mae Harper are appreciated for sharing their walnut chocolate chip cookies with church members, and for hosting a virtual gathering that included young adult UU’s.
Thanks to Sheila Cummins, Joyce Holmen and Rebecca Crawford for sewing beautiful and useful masks and providing them to friends and church members.
Bettye Barclay has offered delicious homemade gravlox, baked bread, a mask and chocolate-covered bananas to a grateful recipient.
Sue Stoyanoff is thanked for her sourdough bread-baking skills.
Roberta Frye has shared with fellow church members home-sewn masks purchased from a NextDoor neighbor.
Patricia Wright cleared out her library and not only invited her Heart to Heart group members to help themselves to books but also mailed them to lucky recipients.
Please let us know if you would like to share a story of mutual aid by emailing us at stories@uusm.org.
An invitation: Since the congregation no longer has the opportunity to contribute supplies to the Westside Food Bank, please let the Newsletter know if you would like to funnel your donations to Upward Bound House. The mission of Upward Bound House is to eliminate homelessness among families with children in Los Angeles by providing housing, supportive services, and advocacy. Upward Bound House accepts donations of food and one of our Newsletter editors will transport your donations to their Santa Monica food pantry. For more information on how to coordinate your donation, please email us at stories@uusm.org.
Splinters from the Board:
Board Highlights April 2020: Planning the Annual Meeting While Safer at Home
PLEDGE DRIVE WINDING UP
The UUSM Board of Directors met Tuesday, April 14, via Zoom. After the chalice lighting, members were asked to check in on their well-being and – following on this month’s theme of Liberation – to name a spiritual leader who had an effect on them and/or society. Responses ranged from Jesus, as seen in the Jefferson Bible, to ministers and relatives.
There were no new members to report. The board reported a previous email vote to move funds from Merrill Lynch to the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF). The motion was approved.
Our minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, reported that the church has been doing online services for 5 weeks and there are hundreds of people who have been able to view them, including Minister Emerita Rev. Judith Meyer. Some people have had difficulties accessing the correct link, but these details are being honed.
The 2020 Annual Meeting is being postponed until Sunday, June 28. With the timing of the stewardship campaign in the midst of a stay-at-home order, it has been more difficult to finalize the budget. Materials will be mailed to all members in a timely fashion, but the details of how the congregation will “meet” are still to be figured out. There will be town halls via Zoom to give opportunities for comment and discussion on, for example, the budget. Platforms for combining online voting and mail-in ballots are being explored. A limited time window for voting will be part of the solution. The UUSM bylaws specifically state that people have to be present: they don’t seem to include contingencies for pandemics. A subset of the board has been tasked with determining the best format under the circumstances. Hence, the late meeting date – to give time to create an inclusive solution.
Treasurer Vilma Ortiz reported that pledge receipts continue to trend down. As of the end of March, 75% of the pledge year has passed, but only 67% of the pledges had been received. Also, income suffers from the loss of the popular Dining for Dollars fundraiser: those receipts normally come in March. To the extent necessary, funds will be taken from emergency reserves. The church has applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to pay staff salaries – which would theoretically be forgiven if no staff are laid off. Staff continues working from home, with a few hours in the office and meetings via Zoom.
Stewardship has a goal of receiving a pledge from each pledging unit. Normally, many members simply do a “rollover pledge,” in which the church expects, in 2020–21, to receive the previously pledged amount. But this makes it difficult to understand each family’s true level of commitment. Outreach continues. If you have not yet pledged, email Administrator Nurit Gordon admin@uusm.org with your commitment or visit the Stewardship page on the website.