Aug-06
From Our President:
We've reached an interestingand exciting time in thehistory of our church. Weexpect to break ground soon on Phase 1 of our buildingprogram. The Long-Range Planning Committeeand the Membership and Leadership Committee areseeking ways of making our church more welcoming tovisitors and new members. One proposal under considerationwould call for investing in a new paid staffposition.
Faith in Action starts the church year with new andinvigorated leadership; this, too, could challenge us toraise money for new programs. The Finance Committeeand our treasurer, Warren Mathews, are working totransform our financial operations from a volunteerdrivenprocess to one that is driven by paid professionalstaff. Stewardship and Capital Campaign Committeesare working to maintain fund raisingmomentum for our ongoing operations, for possiblenew programs, and for new construction plans.
How shall we balance competing needs and prioritiesas these programs evolve? We'll certainly be talkingabout this at board meetings and we'll be having townhall meetings and open committee meetings to assurewide input from the congregation on setting priorities.We also have the core values expressed in the seven UUPrinciples and our church covenant. But are theseenough? What can we learn from other institutions thatmay help us set priorities and achieve institutionalexcellence?
In 1982 Tom Peters and Robert Waterman publisheda book entitled "In Search of Excellence." Theydescribed eight attributes of institutional excellence -established by extensive interviews with business leadersfrom 43 of America's best-run companies. Morethan three million copies of the book have been sold,and it is considered by some to be the "greatest businessbook of all time." The eight attributes held in commonby these excellent institutions are as follows.
Featured Articles:
New Greeter Co-Chairs Boost Church Welcoming System
The Membership and Leadership(M&L) Committee would like towelcome and thank Judy Federickand Grace Phillips, who have volunteeredas co-chairs for the Greeter and MembershipCenter programs. They take overfrom Arvid Knudsen and Richard Boothe,each of whom contributed enormously tosustaining these two important programs.Judy and Grace are now tasked withimplementing many of the ideas thathave come through interviews and focussession with our community. This inputhas driven new efforts to sustain, grow,and integrate the Greeter and MembershipCenter, as well as coordinate with thechairs of all the programs - includingushers, Ask Me, and coffee hour, andsome small group ministry activities -that make up the church's welcoming system.
As co-chairs, their appointment also represents theemerging philosophy to "lighten the load" in becominga volunteer. Using co-chairs with term limits andreducing perceived "big commitments" into manageabletasks or activities, the M&L Committee wants toprovide opportunities for volunteers to make meaningfulcontributions without feeling that "if I touch it, itbecomes a life-time commitment."
In getting started, Judy and Grace will focus ondeveloping an orientation and training program foreveryone in the welcoming system, raising communityawareness for every individual to become involved inwelcoming guests and members, improving the contentand packaging of church information that is givento our visitors, (which will be available on our website), and increasing the number of volunteers for theseprograms. Please join us in welcoming Grace and Judy,and in giving a big thank you to Arvid and Richard forall of their contributions and hard work.
If you would like to learn more about how you canbecome involved in our church welcoming system,please contact Laurel Bleak or tolearn about how you can become a greeter, please contactJudy Federick.
- Laurel Bleak and Marsha SmithMembership & Leadership Committee Co-chairs
Living Green
Here is another gem of information from our UUSustainability class. Many of our members and friendslive in Los Angeles and are able to use the LA DWP'sresidential Green Power program.
The workbook from Sustainable Works, a non-profitorganization affiliated with the Center for Environmentaland Urban Studies on the Santa Monica College campus,explains the DWP program. Youcan choose 100% renewableenergy with 20% coming from newsources. The extra cost for thepackage is 6% or approximately $3a month for the average customerwith a monthly bill of $50. Thisextra cost can be offset by free energy-efficiency productsand services provided by LA DWP. Check outhttp://www.ladwp.com and click on "Green LA."
Sorry to say that in Santa Monica and other nearbymunicipalities, Southern California Edison does notoffer a similar program. The best you can do is to offsetyour energy use through an organization such asNative Energy, which invests in Wind Power on NativeAmerican Lands. Visit www.nativeenergy.com.
News & Announcements:
Socks and T-Shirts Sought by Interweave
Interweave is again collectingdonations of clothing for theteens in "Common Ground,"the homeless youth programon the west side. The two items of clothing they alwaysrequest - both men and women - are socks and Tshirts.We'll be collecting now through August 13th.Please bring your donations to church or contact JudyFederick.
Peace Corps Experiences are Wanted
Did you serve in the Peace Corps?Did the experience inform yourworldview, your commitment tovolunteer service, your career choice?These are some interesting themes toaddress in a Sunday service. If wouldlike to participate (or contribute yourPeace Corps experience in any way),please speak to Judith Meyer.
Splinters from the Board:
After approval of the minutes of the June meeting,Melinda Ewen, Church Administrator, reportedthat with new members Rhonda Peacock, KristenHolmquist, and Scott Wheeler, church membersipnow stands at 464.
The Bylaws and Policies Committee presented andthe board approved motions to:
Other UU News & Events:
The UU-oriented nonprofit Pacific Southwest Instituteof Religious Liberals welcomes you to its annualadult week at Camp de Benneville Pines. Relax, swim, ortake part in a wide variety of workshops and activitiesfrom Sunday, August 20, through Friday, August 25.
The rich program (including a list of workshopsand their facilitators) is available at pswirl.org withan associated registration form.
USAS Victory: A Model for the Church
The United Students Against Sweatshops, a countrywideuniversity student organization, has just wonan impressive victory at the University of California,along with several other campuses. What they are tryingto accomplish could be a model for us in terms of how arelatively small, but determined group, can actually makea difference in increasing social justice.
The USAS campaign focuses on the fact that theglobal production of garments (as well as many other consumerproducts) is mainly occurring in sweatshopsaround the world. These factories typically employ youngwomen, often teenagers, for long hours under coerciveconditions and for very low pay. The system depends onsecrecy (no one knows where the factories are located)and mobility (if "labor trouble" arises in a factory, orwages go up in a country, production can easily be moved,resulting in a "race to the bottom"). The beneficiaries ofthis system are U.S. and European manufacturers andretailers (like Nike, the Gap, and Wal-Mart), who makehigh profits from the labor of the world's cheapest andmost oppressed workers.
USAS leaders realized that students have some leverageover this issue. U.S. universities "produce" the apparelthat bears their logos and is sold in their bookstores, aswell as campus uniforms of various kinds. Manufacturersacquire licenses from the universities to produce thesegoods. USAS decided that they could pressure universityadministrators to make sure their licensees did not producecampus-wear in sweatshops.
The process of eliminating sweatshops fromuniversity-related production started with campusdemonstrations that culminated in universities agreeingto develop Codes of Conduct for their licensees. Thesespecified such things as: publicizing lists of factorieswhere goods are produced (transparency), and settingstandards regarding child labor, hours of work, pay, theright to form independent unions, etc. The next step wasto create an organization, the Worker Rights Consortium(WRC) to ensure that the Codes were being enforced.Several successful worker organizing drives were conductedin global factories as a result.
Now the limitations of this model have been revealed.Licensees still shifted orders away from factories whereunions were established or wages were increasing. So nowUSAS has developed a "Designated Supplier Program"which ties the universities to a limited number of factorieswhich have an independent union and that pay a "livingwage." After major campus disruption by students,UC and others have finally agreed to this program.
What is important about this endeavor is that it is notonly symbolic: it actually changes an institution of globalcapitalism. If successful, it may create and sustain a set ofglobal factories that have escaped the "race to the bottom,"proving that it can be done. The challenge for thechurch is to find areas where we have real leverage tomake a change in institutions. Do such options exist forus? And do we have the political will to pressure thesechanges into existence?
- Edna Bonacich