Newsletter for September, 2012
From Our Minister:
Dear ones,
At the beginning of August, a white supremacist murdered six members of a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. Three others were injured that Sunday morning, including a police officer. And as soon as they heard the news, members of our church were looking for ways to express solidarity with our Sikh sisters and brothers.
It turns out our Neighboring Faiths religious education class of 6th and 7th grade students had visited Guru Ram Das Ashram in West Los Angeles earlier in the spring. When Catherine contacted the ashram’s community coordinator to ask how we could help, here is what she said:
The outpouring of support and solidarity is absolutely amazing. I had to sit and cry for a while yesterday — those good deep cleansing tears, the kind that just well up from that deep deep space inside, leaving you clear and ready for more. I need another term for the kind of thanks I want to express, but I haven't found it yet in a dictionary.
Our national UU community reached out as well, as over 1,800 of us wrote messages of love via www.standingonthesideoflove.org, and addressed them to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. My parents, members of UU congregations in Washington DC, spent a Sunday morning sitting with dozens of other volunteers at tables in coffee hour, copying the emailed messages onto handwritten cards. The cards will be strung together in a “love” chain and hand-delivered to the temple.
Reading the SSL blog, I learned that the notes, cards, and artwork of love sent to the Tennessee Valley UU church after the 2008 shooting are still on display in their congregation. For as long as they choose to display it, I hope our love chain will remind the Sikh community in Oak Creek they are not alone.
One of the gifts our community offers to the world, and to one another, is to respond to senseless tragedy and violence with meaningful love and support. This is a place of sanctuary and hope in hard times, a place of spiritual deepening and grounding in confusing times, and a place where we can put our faith into action to build a better world.
Until I see you back at 18th and Arizona this fall, I’ll keep looking in the dictionary for a term for the kind of thanks and love I want to express.
Much heart,
Rev. Rebecca
From Our President:
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
Featured Articles:
The New UUSM Website - What’s in it for YOU?
This is the first in a series of articles about the new church website and some of the new features of interest to our members.
One of the most notable features of the new website is the ability to create your own account and secure log-in information. Most of the website is public, and most features are available to anyone, whether or not they’re logged in or whether or not they’re either church or website members. But church members who create accounts on the site do have additional privileges and access to additional features and information. They include:
1. Access to the full PDF version of our monthly newsletter, which is now behind a members-only firewall. (We’ve increased security for the full newsletter to protect the privacy of church members whose personal information, of one sort or another, appears in each edition.) People who are not logged in, or who do not have “church member”-level website accounts will have access to an edited version of the newsletter, in a slightly different format.
2. Access to our newsletter archive, going back to 2000.
3. Access to our weekly announcements, published each Thursday.
4. Access to classified ads from church members — and the ability to post your own classifieds, whenever you want.
5. Information on how to make stock contributions to UUCCSM.
Also, approved church members who are members of certain groups and committees can be given special account statuses that will allow you to read private group posts, participate in group discussions, access group files and/or update and manage content for your groups. (More on that set of features in a future article.)
It’s important to note that you do not need a website account to make donations with our new online donation system (accessible via the “Make a Donation” link on the front page), but you will need to create a donation account (which is separate from your website account) to donate online. Donations and donation accounts are managed by Vanco Services, LLC (http://www.vancoservices.com/vancoservices_whoweare.htm), which the church has chosen to handle all our secure congregational financial transactions, including bank account and credit card monthly pledge payments.
We will be adding more members-only features in the future such as a directory and joys and sorrows.
But it all starts with creating your own account. Here’s how:
- Go to uusm.org.
- Click either the “Log In” link in the upper right-hand corner of the front page, or the large orange “For Members” button on the left-hand side of the page, followed by the “Log In” link that drops down from the button.
- When the white pop-up box appears, click “Create Account” and follow the instructions from there. (If you have already created an account but have forgotten your password, you can also get a temporary one here.)
- Finally, since all accounts require moderator approval, and church member-level accounts require verification of church member status, please use your real name somewhere in your account profile (it’s much easier to verify “John Smith” as a church member than it is something like “j22sm3lw.”
- Activation of your member account may take a few hours since all accounts are approved by Liz or Pam based on information from the directory and office.
Once your membership status is verified and your account approved, you can begin enjoying your members-only website features each time you log in to the site. Finally, one last note: once you're logged in and begin exploring the site, there may be some items, tabs, etc. whose functions aren't immediately obvious. You can just ignore them for now...and we'll explain more in further articles and tutorials.
News & Announcements:
CareNet offers meals, rides, and cards to church members and friends. If you have such a need or know of someone who does, please call the church office, email carenet@uusm.org or call Karl Lisovsky.
Building News:
Roof News
As Cynthia discusses in this month’s president's report, the cost of a tile roof will be much more than we anticipated when we discussed roof replacement in February.
The basic issue is that if we replace the current roof with one that is significantly heavier, as tile would be, the city will require the entire building structure to be reengineered to meet the current building code. The reengineering is much more costly than the roof itself. Making reasonable allowance for soft costs such as engineering and permits, the total cost for an all-tile roof might be around $370,000. (Because reengineering is a complex operation on a building that may present surprises when it is opened up, we should regard the $370,000 as a relatively uncertain number at this time.) If we continued with the current tile-asphalt combination the roof cost would be about $65,000. So the difference between all-tile and tile-asphalt has gone from being about $25,000 in February to being maybe about $305,000 today. It is church policy that decisions involving spending more than $50,000 outside of the church budget require a congregational vote. To start the process, the board has scheduled a town hall to discuss this.
Some people have expressed concern that if our current building is not up to the current building code it is therefore unsafe. Building safety is important to not only our community but also to the California government. If our building were unsafe, meaning a threat to human life, it would be red-tagged and we would be forbidden to occupy it until we fixed the problems to the government's satisfaction. This is very unlikely to happen because our sanctuary is a one-story wood-frame building and therefore inherently safe against structural collapse. None of the engineers we have hired to study our structure have reported it to be unsafe in its current condition. It just isn't up to code.
Our situation is hardly unusual. Building codes change every year, so if you live or work in a building that is more than a few months old, you are spending time in an outdated, but, I hope, still safe, building. Of course, if evidence emerged that any church building was unsafe the board would take immediate action. Indeed the government would force the issue by closing the building.
(While wood-frame construction is generally structurally safe, it is vulnerable to fire, which earthquakes can cause. During the Forbes remodel the church greatly improved fire safety in both Forbes and the sanctuary by installing sprinklers and a new alarm system.)
But aside from safety of life concerns there is the economic issue. Buildings like ours can certainly be damaged. For example they can slip off their foundation. That isn't dangerous on a flat site like ours but it is still expensive to fix. As it turns out we are able to buy earthquake insurance to financially protect against this risk for much less than $305,000. So there is no economic argument for reengineering the building.
Safety and economics lend themselves to engineering analysis. History and beauty don’t. Whether the restoration of a historic site to its original appearance is worth this or that sum of money is a personal decision. No professional expertise is relevant. The opinion of every church member is equally important. As we always do in this church, there will be a democratic process, including expressions of opinion in newsletter articles, town halls, and ultimately, if the board wishes to proceed, a congregational vote.
I hope that church members will take the opportunity to express their views about this major financial decision in the next few weeks. I particularly urge people to express themselves in the newsletter, so that people who cannot attend the town hall can feel that they are not excluded.
— Tom Hamilton
Faith in Action News:
UU Legislative Ministry
Did you know that there are only 13,000 Unitarians in California out of a population approximately 37 million? How do we have a say in public policies that speak to our principles? For the past 10 years, California Unitarians have had a resource in Sacramento to advocate UU values. The Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry (uulmca.org) is a statewide justice ministry that cultivates and connects leaders and communities to empower the public voice of those who share UU values and Principles. From the UULM website:
UULMCA is building a statewide education and advocacy network that:
- is anchored in our UU faith, and informed by its history and principles
- shares information and policy expertise, particularly from member UUs
- can inspire and mobilize coordinated action through a network of mutual support and accountability
- trains new leadership, with special attention to involvement of youth and young adults
- is celebratory, sustainable, and fun
- raises the visibility of Unitarian Universalism and its values to policy makers and the larger community
UUCCSM is now part of a cluster of congregations in Southern California (First Church and Pacific Unitarian Church) who will work together on the following action issues:
- Human Right To Water (Assembly Bill 685 Eng)
- Sustainable Communities Campaign (SB375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act
- Immigration Reform (The TRUST Act Assembly Bill 1081 Ammiano)
Please consider signing up with the UULM Network from their website: uulmca.org and select the link, “Join UULM California.” By providing this information you will receive updates on action items, and their staff can keep track of Unitarians in the state by legislative district.
Look for more information on the UULM in future Newsletters, at the Faith In Action table and in weekly Announcements.
FIA UULM Ambassador
— Cathie Gentile
The Hunger Task Force Needs YOU!
The Hunger Task force is dedicated to serving those in need right here in Santa Monica. Each month we collect frozen food and deliver it to Daybreak, a women's drop-in center on Ocean Ave. We also prep and serve an afternoon meal at Step Up on 2nd, an agency helping mentally ill homeless folks on their way to recovery. What's involved? Daybreak Sunday is the 1st Sunday of the month. You can drop off your frozen donation anytime to the freezer in the kitchen - just tag it for Daybreak. Denise Helton collects the items and gets them promptly to Daybreak. The meal at Step Up on 2nd is the 4th Saturday of the month. It is roughly a 2-hour time commitment. We prepare a salad and get a few other things ready before serving the full meal. All ages are welcome to participate; teens can get community service credits. Rhonda Peacock coordinates the volunteers - please contact her if you'd lik to help. Can't physically participate? Your monetary donations are always appreciated and put directly into the hunger fund for immediate use! Just write "hunger" on the memo line of your check, or mark your envelop "hunger" for the offering collection. You can also donate online on our website: uusm.org!
— Rhonda Peacock
Jericho Road Project
At UUCCSM, we say that service is our prayer. So how’s our prayer been coming along? Could we maybe pray a bit better? Can we pray in a way that helps more, that does more and that lets more of us friends and members of UUCCSM make full use of the skills and talents we have to make the world a better place? And, finally, might the Jericho Road Project be a way for us to do all of the above?
These are the questions we’ll be discussing in the cottage on Sunday, September 2, at 1 p.m. Won’t you please join us?
But first, what is the Jericho Road Project? It's an organization that bridges communities by matching the professional talents of volunteers (that's us!) with the needs of community-based nonprofit organizations (that's the folks all around us!) to promote community development, strengthen social services, and enrich the lives of volunteers (that's us again!). You can read all about it in a recent UU World article: tinyurl.com/UUJerichoRoad
And once you've read about Jericho Road, we really hope you'll join us for a chat about whether or not this might be right for UUCCSM. Our guest for this discussion will be John Blue, the Board Chair of Jericho Road Pasadena... the newest (and nearest) affiliate of the Jericho Road Project. Once again, this discussion happens in the cottage on Sunday, Sept. 2nd, at 1pm. A light lunch will be served. For more information, contact Patrick Meighan.
— Patrick Meighan
Splinters from the Board:
Back from maternity leave, the Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur has enjoyed attending 10 a.m. Sunday services when the usual 9-o’clock crowd mixes with the 11-o’clockers. She explained that this fall, during her third-year of fellowship with UUCCSM, a UUA-sponsored ministry feedback will be due in Boston on November 1. Rev. Rebecca’s conduct of worship, administration, and pastoral care, along with other matters, will be evaluated by the Board and the Committee on Ministry; a self-evaluation is also included in this feedback ritual. The Committee on Ministry includes Dan Patterson, a continuing Committee on Ministry member, and Gerrie Lambson and Alan Brunell, who have replaced retiring committee members Karen Canady and Barbara Gibbs.
Director of Religious Education Catherine Loya enthusiastically reported on the establishment of a UCLA campus ministry; Ric Hoyt, minister at First Church and friend of UUCCSM, was active in the foundation of a UU campus ministry at USC and can provide advice as the UCLA ministry proceeds. Among YRUU Catherine sees a “renaissance” of enthusiasm and leadership potential following several of our youth’s return from the June General Assembly. The church’s adult education is healthy and growing, and Catherine, along with the Adult Program Subcommittee, looks forward to sponsoring facilitator training for those who wish to have leadership roles in adult programs.
Church administrator Nurit Gordon explained that irrigation for courtyard and planters is guided by state-of-the-art satellite readings; “when it rains,” she says, “irrigation would automatically shut off.” Another reduction in expenditures comes from a smaller Santa Monica water and refuse resources bill; our vigilant Finance Assistant, Nancy Thompson, noted an extra refuse bin that we do not use, and she doggedly pursued an overage with the city, which finally agreed to reduce our annual bill about $2,000.
Nurit reported that the Rental Committee proceeds with brochures for weddings and other events at UUCCSM. Event planners, designers, and web sites have been consulted in order to present the church as a very inviting place.
UUCCSM members now have a time- and resources-saving option for pledges and other donations to the church: using just a few keystrokes on the new website, instead of mailing checks or using the small pew envelopes, will reduce paper consumption and save much time for office staff and for members.
Treasurer Kit Shaw’s monthly report indicated that, although non-pledge contributions were lower in July, rentals of church facilities were on target, two office employees waived health insurance, and the church has had no facilities or equipment rentals. It’s hard to tell at this point how much UUCCSM’ income and expenses reflect the plans for this fiscal year. A Finance Committee appointed by the Board will be charged with a review of the budget.
Discussion of the roof replacement, our current most urgent capital expense, continues. A special Board meeting in late July welcomed Tom Hamilton and Bryan Oakes to summarize their current work; the Board continued its own discussion during its regular meeting in mid-August. Due to rising costs for the roof project, further congregation-wide discussion becomes necessary (see President Cynthia Cottam’s newsletter column). There is much to learn and debate – about earthquake insurance, for example, and about options for raising funding. Will we proceed with a roof replacement alone, a seismic retrofit, a beam reinstallation, or a full sanctuary expansion? A Town Hall will be held at 12:30 p.m. after the second service on Sunday, October 7. (An additional Town Hall may be scheduled if more information and discussion are required.) Our UU democratic process will continue at a Congregational Meeting to be scheduled.
-- Jennifer Westbay
Other UU News & Events:
You don’t want to miss this year’s UU Service Committee Southern CA Unit’s
Latin American Encuentro
at Throop Memorial Church in Pasadena, 300 S Los Robles Ave
Saturday, October 13,10:00-4:00
We are proud to feature 3 locally famous speakers:
· Blase Bonpane from KPFK Radio and Director of Office of the Americas
· Gustavo Arellano, editor of the OC Weekly, author of several books, and editor of column “Ask a Mexican”
· Sociology Professor Norma Chinchilla, Long Beach State University, author of several books and articles about Latin America and Women
The theme for the day is
The Mexico/U.S. Border: Immigration Issues Affect Us All
After the speakers and lunch (vegetarian options included), there will be time for breakout groups including
· DREAM students
· Immigration detention visitation and bonding out programs
· Taking Action / UU Legislative Ministry
To register mail your completed registration form with a check to UUSC before Friday, October 12th (for a discount) to Ruth Shapin, 2000 E 4th St. #120, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
Reserve by phone: (714-567-0188)
Suggested donation: $20 with pre-registration, $25 at the door, Students $5.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Please use a separate sheet for each attendee with a different address.
Name(s): ________________________________________ How many attending? _____Amount Enclosed? ______
Address: ________________________________________ Phone: ___________________
City and Zip: ____________________________________ Number of lunches required? _____ Student? _____
Email(s): ___________________________________________
Sponsored by: UU Service Committee, Southern California Unit
RE News:
From Our DRE
As the summer heads toward its close, we come together once again to launch our 2012-13 program year with our Ingathering Sunday on September 9th. In the Jewish tradition, the New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on September 16th this year. The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark a time of self-reflection and making amends to any you have wronged in the last year. Our congregational ministry theme for this month is Forgiveness, something that many of us may struggle with. We live in a culture that does not encourage either self-forgiveness or the forgiving of others. It’s easy to fall into castigating ourselves for small failures and mistakes, to go meekly along with our consumer culture’s prevailing assumption that being wrong or at fault equates with being weak or lesser than we ought to be. Maybe that’s why it’s so very hard, at times, to accept or to offer forgiveness.
It may seem like a funny match, this focus on forgiveness as our theme for the month of our Ingathering celebration. But cultivating a culture of forgiveness fits right in with my understanding of what it means to be part of a spiritual community. And while certainly we as a congregation don’t always get everything right, every fall we join hands and hearts yet again and in the words of UU minister Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, “We forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.”
I am so excited about what this year will bring to our educational programs for all ages here at UUCCSM. Take a look at the Lifespan RE page in this newsletter for an overview of what’s in store. I’ve decided that the overarching theme of my year here at UUCCSM is “deepening.” That is the core purpose of our educational ministry to all ages: to provide opportunities for our members to deepen their spiritual lives, to deepen their understanding of our UU history and values, to deepen their ability to live with compassion, integrity and joy. I think we’re going to have a fabulous year together, and I look forward to getting it started.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
LIFESPAN RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION
Children
On Ingathering Sunday, September 9th, we’ll celebrate the beginning of a new church year together as one community of all ages – all will attend the service in the sanctuary. RE Classes will begin on Sunday, September 16th. No matter the age of your child, we have something exciting in store this year. We’re offering some wonderful new programs for our elementary and middle school youth, including the brand new Theme Play program, a hybrid model which integrates the very best components of last year’s Spirit Play and Theme Workshops classes, for 1st-2nd graders. 3rd-5th graders will take part in the second year of our science-based UUniverse Story class, developed by UUCCSM members Ian Dodd and Margot Page; year one of the class received rave reviews from kids and parents alike. In our 6th-7th grade class we’re taking a year off of Neighboring Faiths in order to review and revise that curriculum, and will instead be offering Compass Points, a program designed as a lead-in to Coming of Age which will help young people explore their selves, their beliefs, their UU faith and their relationships with others and the world. Be on the lookout for program materials and registration forms coming your way soon!
Youth
Coming of Age (8th grade) and YRUU (9th-12th grades) will kick off with a special teen movie night and & concurrent parent orientation on Sunday, September 9th at 6pm in Forbes Hall. Bring a pizza or a few dollars to contribute for dinner; we’ll provide the movie and popcorn. Don’t miss it! In the orientation, we’ll discuss the calendar for the year, and how parents can take part in making this year’s youth programs the strongest they’ve ever been. We’ll also introduce our COA and YRUU advisors, as well as the members of the Lifespan RE Committee’s Youth Programs subcommittee.
Adults
There’s a lot to look forward to from the Adult Programs committee during the 2012-2013 church year. Monthly Patio Chats with Leon Henderson-MacLennan will continue in September along with new workshops including a workshop for writers (current or aspiring) with Bettye Barclay and an evening with Patrick Meighan when he will talk about “Stumbling Into Activism.” We can also look forward to another series of discussions with Ernie Pipes, more on UU history and theology with Catherine Farmer Loya, “Lesson of Loss” and a new ethics workshop with Leon Henderson-MacLennan. Back by popular demand, Rick and Peggy Rhoads will reprise “The New Jim Crow.” And that’s just the beginning! You will also be hearing more about vision boards, drum circles and labyrinths, the new UUA Common Read, “Living the Welcoming Congregation” and other ways to make the world a better place.
Be sure to visit the Lifespan Table in Forbes Hall on Sunday mornings for the latest information on what’s happening in Lifespan and to register for the programs that interest you. It’s a good time to tell us about programs you would like to see in the future, too.
-- Emmy Cresciman
Patio Chat
Monthly UUCCSM Theme Discussions
with Leon Henderson-MacLennan
@ 10:10a.m. on the Patio
September 30 -- Forgiveness
Ministry Theme Quotes for September: Forgiveness
Our ministerial theme for September is forgiveness. Bettye Barclay has provided this list of daily thoughts about forgiveness for the month of September.
September 1- Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. Mark Twain
September 2 - Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom. Hannah Arendt
September 3 - Forgiveness means letting go of the past. Gerald Jampolsky
Sept. 4 - "When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free." Katherine Ponder
September 5 - "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." Bryant H. McGill
September 6 - "A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." Robert Quillen
September 7 - "Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time-just like it does for you and me." Sara Paddison
September 8 - "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." Louis B. Smedes
September 9 - "We are all on a life long journey and the core of its meaning, the terrible demand of its centrality is forgiving and being forgiven." Martha Kilpatrick
September 10 - "To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness." Robert Muller
September 11 - "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Mahatma Gandhi
September 12 - "Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting." William Arthur Ward
September 13 - "Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." Paul Boese
September 14 - "It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." William Blake
September 15. - "If you can't forgive and forget, pick one." Robert Brault
September 16. -"He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass." George Herbert
Sept. 17 - "Without forgiveness life is governed by — an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation." Roberto Assagioli
September 18 - "Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future." Louis B. Smedes
September 19 - "Life is an adventure in forgiveness." Norman Cousins
September 20 - "Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom." Hannah Arendt
September 21 - "Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave." Indira Gandhi
September 22 - "Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on." Alice Duer Miller
September 23 - "As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind." - Isabelle Holland
September 24 - "Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were." Cherie Carter-Scott
September 25 - "Only the brave know how to forgive. — A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature." Laurence Sterne
September 26 - Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace. Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
September 27 - “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude. Martin Luther King Jr.
September 28 - “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.” Khaled Hosseini
September 29 - “The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either -- or both -- when needed?” Gordon B. Hinckley
September 30 - Forgiveness is the finishing of old business that allows us to experience the present free of contamination from the past Joan Borysenko
RE Teacher Training
Each year we offer a Teacher Training for all of our RE volunteers working with children and youth at UUCCSM, which is an important opportunity for sharing of skills and tips for working in classrooms, as well as providing a time for our teaching teams to meet together to begin to plan their schedule for the coming year. It is important that we have some time together before the start of the program year so that we are well prepared and know how we will work together in our teaching teams.
UUCCSM RE Teacher Training
Saturday, September 15th
8:30 am -1:30 pm (Includes lunch together – please bring your own brown bag lunch; we will provide drinks as well as snacks/breakfast for the morning.)
Make sure to bring your calendar for the fall!
In store for the day:
- Welcome & Introductions
- Opening Worship with Rev. Rebecca Bijur
- What is RE & Why do we do it?
- Teaching Skills Workshops
- Team meetings
- What Everyone Needs to Know – Nuts & Bolts of RE
- Lunch with the Lifespan RE Committee
We are more than happy to offer childcare, but will only book caregivers if we know it will be used. Therefore, childcare is available ONLY IF REQUESTED by September 9th.
Please RSVP for the training at catherinedre@yahoo.com or 310-829-5436 x105.
Date / Time:
Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 8:30am - 1:30pm
Room:
Contact Name:
Catherine Farmer Loya
Listening for Love
Theme:
Forgiveness
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
On Apology
Theme:
Forgiveness
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
Standing on the Side of Love
Theme:
Forgiveness
Sunday, September 9, 2012 - 9:00am
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur and Catherine Farmer Loya
Intergenerational and Ingathering services at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
Labor in the Pulpit
Theme:
Forgiveness
Sunday, September 2, 2012 - 10:00am
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE)
Worship Associate:
Patrick Meighan
Town Hall Meeting: Roof
An informational meeting to discuss roof replacement options. Topics to be covered include historic preservation,
seismic retrofitting, structural upgrades, and sanctuary expansion.
Date / Time:
Sunday, October 7, 2012 - 12:30pm - 3:00pm
Room:
Contact Name:
Cynthia Cottam
August, 2012
Venice Beach regulars: Painting the Unseen Faces Around Us
Stuart Perlman continues his life mission as a psychologist and psychoanalyst helping people in private practice in
West Los Angeles for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in clinical psychology and a second Ph.D. from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute, and has been a faculty member at both. He is a training analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. He has published many articles in psychoanalytic journals, and has authored the book, “The Therapist's Emotional Survival: Dealing with the Pain of Exploring Trauma.”
After a hiatus of many years, Stuart has returned to one of his early passions, creating portraits and landscapes with lush colors and emotional tones. His current project of two years is Venice Beach Regulars: Painting the
Unseen Faces Around Us. He has been illuminating the faces of the homeless, and their humanity and pain. Stuart paints them on location, and he also collects their stories, histories, art and music. This project has been featured on KPCC Radio, and the front page of the Los Angeles Times for June 11, 2012. He has had a number of shows and sells his artwork.
Links: LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mehomeless-portraits-20120611,0,4347380.story
Stuart's website: www.stuartperlman.com
A reception for the artist will be held on Sunday, August 5, at 11 a.m.
Member Photo Shoot
Sunday, August 12, Forbes Hall (southwest corner), 11 to 12 p.m. Come join Charles and Christine Haskell
to take new member photos and photos of old members with outdated or nonexistent photos in the directory. For further information call Charles Haskell.
Date / Time:
Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 11:00am - 12:00pm
Room:
Contact Name:
Charles Haskell