Dec-08
From Our Minister:
December is a busy month with family andfriends. Some of the busyness can be quiteexhausting. I notice the stores are already havingsales. I am sure some people are getting the jump onholiday buying. Some of the busyness enriches our lives.The sights, smells, and delights of the season are apparentall around. It's a time for reconnecting with peoplewho live at a distance. It is a time for deepening connectionswith those who live both close and faraway. But,even the fun can leave us spent.
Let's declare an island of serenity in the midst ofbusyness. I hope you can find a place of refreshmentright here at UUCCSM during this holiday season. Theseason of light and darkness invites us to pause andreflect. From age to age, when the nights became longerour ancestors sat by the hearth, built a fire, gatheredround, and told stories to stoke their courage to face acold world. Come to UU Community Church ready tostoke a hearth fire of warm community. Come out of thecold. Tell the stories of wonder and love to each other.Tell the stories that create a more peaceable world.Come alone or with family or with friends to relax, toenjoy one another's company, to forge a place of calmserenity, and to find a still point in this spinning world.
My favorite seasonal song, written by Unitarian UniversalistEdmund Hamilton Sears, is "It Came Upon aMidnight Clear." The historical context was the Mexican-American war. It has become especially poignantover the years, as when I have introduced this hymn ateach Holiday service, I have also been able to identifythe specific arena of human warfare active in the world.In 2008, the message rings out anew from a midnightclear: "Peace on earth. Good will to all." May the world"in solemn stillness" grant us peace within our selves,our families, our friends, and the entire Earth.
Blessings on our holiday time together,
- Roberta
Featured Articles:
There are Stars among usAre you wondering why somechurch members' nametags are adornedwith a star? You too can be a Star.
Stars is a program that was developedby Dennis Haskin and has beensuccessful in other UU churches. The goal of Stars is tocreate member awareness of visitors to UUCCSM andprovide you with tips on making visitors feel welcome.To learn more about this, chat with any Star or contactDennis Haskin or Pat Gomez.
Coffee time following Sunday services can be challengingfor visitors and newcomers. UUCCSM is anactive community. Many of you wear multiple hats,often at the same time. Maneuvering through ForbesHall can be daunting. Too often we get caught up in thebusiness of UUism - committee meetings, planning forevents and activities, sign-ups for workshops, classes,special events, and catching up with friends. All areimportant and part of the life of UUCCSM. But while weare busy with all of this we are missing the opportunityto connect with newcomers and visitors.
The Stars program will be explained in a future one-hoursession that will give you the tools to reach out tovisitors to create a warm welcome and a desire to return.
- Pat GomezMembership & Leadership Chair
Commitment Sunday
Lisa Cahill and the Rev.Roberta Haskin celebrated CommitmentSunday from the pulpit
The congregation celebrated commitment to the churchwith brunch on the patio
Becoming a Member of Our Church is Simple
Becoming a member of our church is simpleTo be a member you must live within the PacificSouthwest District (PSWD) of the Unitarian UniversalistAssociation. You also must be at least 18years of age or have successfully completed thechurch's "Coming of Age" program, and plan to make afinancial contribution of record, or a pledge to do so, tothe church.
Having met these criteria, the specific path tomembership is outlined in the following steps:
- Pick up a membership packet at the office or askthat one be mailed to you (office@uusm.org).
- When you receive the packet you will be contactedby phone by our membership coordinator to setup a membership appointment.
- Complete the various forms included in yourpacket:
1) statement of intent to participate as a memberin the community life of the church,
2) financialcommitment,
3) contact and other personal information,
4) short "getting involved" survey and a one-paragraphbiography. - Attend a brief meeting where you will officiallysign the book of record and turn in your completedforms. At that time church activities in which you mightlike to participate will be discussed.
- Have your photo taken at a time convenient foryou.
- Have your name read into the minutes as a memberat the next board meeting.
- Receive an invitation letter from our interim minister,the Rev. Roberta Haskin, to personally meet withher if desired.
- Receive a confirmation letter of your membershipfrom our president, Ron Crane.
- Be introduced by name in the newsletter and tothe congregation at a Sunday service.
Marion Holmen Passes
Marion E. Holmen, a long-time member ofUUCCSM, died on Saturday, November 15, at the age of88, after living with Alzheimer's for over 20 years. Amemorial was held at the church on November 22.
Marion was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, on October 16,1920. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Milton;their daughter Rachel, of Berkeley; their son Bruce, ofWest Hills; their daughter Joyce, of Sherman Oaks; andtheir son Scott, of Silverdale, WA. In addition, she is survivedby her sister Ardis Read, of Sacramento; herbrother Roscoe Patton, of Idaho Falls, ID, and her sisterBeverly McAlpine, of Thatcher, AZ. She was preceded indeath by her sister Lorraine Whitaker, of Riverside.
She earned BS and MS degrees in Chemistry fromthe University of Arizona, where she was Phi Beta Kappaand where she and Milton met. During World War II shetaught chemistry at the University of Arizona thenworked for Polaroid in Boston. Following this, sheworked as Director of the Religious Education programat UUCCSM, where she also served as President of theBoard of Directors for three years. While raisingfour active children she found time to chairthe PTA, go square dancing, learn howto sail, and travel the US visiting family,friends, and national parks. Herleadership style was inclusive andself-effacing. She was artistic, creative,warm, shy and outgoing at thesame time, devoted to her husbandand family, always inquisitive, andgenerous with her time and affection.
News & Announcements:
Since their inception I have been managing three ofthe church's e-mail lists: newsletter/announcements,sermons, and board. This is not a big job. If you wouldlike to take on a relatively small responsibility with nocommittee meetings, let me know.
The person who does this job does not have to be atechie, but must check e-mail at least daily. There areothers who handle any technical problems that arise.The job means e-mailing the sermons once a week. Allyou have to do is take the sermon Roberta sends you,paste it into an e-mail message, and send it to the subscriberlist. The way Roberta formats her sermons theentire thing takes less than a minute. The office takescare of e-mailing the weekly news and Liz Fuller sends anewsletter link.
The actual job is replying to people's subscriptionrequests. Although they can subscribe and unsubscribethemselves, most people don't know how. Also, newcomersnotify the office when they want to subscribe, soyou'll get messages asking you to add them to the list. Ifthat task takes 15 minutes a week it would be a lot.
The board list requires minimal maintenance.Sometimes a person will try to post a message to theboard list. Since messages can be posted only by boardmembers, the manager gets a notice of the attempt atposting. I forward those to Ron and he can decidewhether he wants to post them. When a new board iselected the former members are switched to read-onlyand the new members are added.
List maintenance is an interesting way to beinvolved in the community without taking on an overwhelmingtask. Contact me if you have any questions.
- Carol Agate
Child Dedications
If you would like to haveyour child dedicatedat the December14 service, pleasecontact the Rev.Roberta Haskin beforeDecember 7.
Faith in Action News:
Promote Tolerance
Promote toleranceWe all need to be active participants in fighting prejudiceand stereotypes. The Southern Poverty Law Centersuggests ways we can promote tolerance and fight hate.Here are two things we can do:1. Speak up when you hear slurs. Let people knowthat biased speech is unacceptable. Apathy can be asdangerous as hate.2. Complain to media outlets when they promotestereotypes.Let's be active in speaking out for the inherent worthand dignity of every person.
- Sandra TruttMultiracial Development Committee
Undy Sundays are Coming
Undy Sundays are comingWhile you are doing your holiday shopping,remember to look for underwear. During January UndySundays collect new underwear of any size for men,women, or children. For several years, our church hasbeen able to provide new underwear for those in needin our community. We have contributed throughOPCC, Daybreak, the Salvation Army, Step Up on Second,the rape treatment center at SMUCLA hospital,and others. Please remember how valuable it is to havesomething new to put on when you get clean and offerthat feeling to others.
Green Living Committee:
We are Nminated for an Energy Oscar
Susan Stevenson of the Interfaith Power and Light,Regeneration Project, called in November to reportthat our church has been nominated for an EnergyOscar with their association. Each year I fill out a surveyform from California Interfaith Power and Light,telling all the things we have done to save energy.We are nominated because of our church's energyefficiency. Changing most of our light bulbs to compactfluorescent bulbs, remodeling our cottage toLEED standards, employees' taking the bus to work,training our staff for awareness of saving energy -these steps have added up to a reduction of the energyour church uses. Our efforts stood out compared toother faith congregation members.The winners will be announced on December 4 inBerkeley, CA. What an honor for all of us.
Rethinking Bottled Water
We all love individual-sized water bottles. They areso easy to use, to bring along, and they're recyclable.However, according to the Environmental DefenseFund, bottling water has major environmental consequences.The 30 billion plastic bottles produced in2006 used the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oiland created 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. Inaddition, three gallons of water were wasted for everygallon bottled. That is something to think about.Hauling water has high costs, too. An EDF reportfinds that 25% of bottled water is shipped acrossnational borders. Fiji Water must travel 5,000 miles ormore from its source in the South Pacific to the supermarket.Manufacturing and shipping a one-liter Fijibottle produces half a pound of global warming pollutionand uses almost seven times as much water as thebottle contains. All bottled water is transported fromits place of production to markets all across the U.S.According to Consumer Reports, water filters,such as Brita, are a good way to remove the chlorinetaste from tap water.Try tap water again for your drinking needs.Reusable bottles filled with tap water or filtered tapwater will be a significant way for you to have a largeenvironmental impact. Let's rethink our bottled waterhabits and make a change for the better.
-- Sandra Trutt
Splinters from the Board:
At the board meeting on October 11 Patricia Wrightreported for the Long Range Planning Committee.She provided the mission statement for thecommittee and shared a draft of a questionnaire to bedistributed to committee chairs and other congregationalleaders to assess the needs of various groups andtheir desire to assist in long range planning.
Phil Bonacich reported for the Stewardship Committeeon final plans for Commitment Sunday.
Victor Paddock, Chair of the Personnel Committee,distributed a revised job description for choir sectionleaders. Action was tabled to the next meeting.
Tom Hamilton, Co-Chair of the New Building Committee,reported on work completed and scheduled forthe landscaping project. Except for the area that must beleft open for the Forbes remodeling and the specificationsfor trees to be along the wall next to the parkingspaces, work should be completed in two to three weeks.The trees cannot be ordered because the city mustapprove the selection.
Tom pointed out that the Forbes Hall projectrequires congregational input. In order to present realisticoptions for consideration, it will be six to eight weeksbefore the committee can hold a town hall meeting toseek opinions for setting priorities.
The board appointed an ad hoc committee to overseenaming, donations, and gifts. The committee willconsist of Warren Mathews, Ofelia Lachtman, Beth Rendeiro,and Alan Brunell.
The board agreed to nominate both candidates,Peter Morales and Laurel Hallman, as president of theUnitarian Universalist Association.
Beth Rendeiro reported that she is getting responsesto her request for volunteers to assist with websitedevelopment.
Treasurer Gene Balas reported that pledge receiptsare $17,000 below budget and that non-pledge contributionsare also down. While expenditures are also slightlydown because of reductions in spending on administrationand facilities, we are still drawing on unrestrictedsavings to meet expenses.
As part of getting to know our church, Interim MinisterRoberta Haskin has been attending most committeemeetings. A general observation was that the boardis, perhaps of necessity, over-involved with administrativedetail. Hopefully, as the building program windsdown, there will be more time for exploring implementationof broader goals.
Director of Religious Education (DRE) CatherineFarmer Loya reminded us of the importance of theNovember 30 social justice program to support progressin meeting the needs of Common Ground, the onlyorganization to serve the needs of gay, lesbian, andbisexual teens in our community. She reminded us thatcollection is available weekly for toiletries, clothing,books, and art supplies.
Music Director Steve Wight reported that membersof the choir, along with section leaders, participated in aconcert of social justice music presented at Cal StateL.A. by the American Communities Association. Studentsand faculty members participated, and the eventwas well received.
Director of Administration Melinda Ewen reportedthat a gift of $10,571 was received from the estate ofJames McElmell. The funds were placed in unrestrictedreserves as policy requires.
- Geralyn Lambson
Other UU News & Events:
Save on Travel; Stay with UUs
Do you dream of inexpensive vacation travel tointeresting destinations where you can stay in thehomes of friendly people who share your ideals and arehappy to provide directions and advice for their area?
The UU bed and breakfast directory "UU're Home"(formerly "Homecomings") can fulfill your dream. For29 years, it has provided a network of hosts in the UnitedStates (and a few abroad) who enjoy meeting newfriends and who are happy to open their homes to likemindedpeople.
You can also become a host and be listed in thedirectory. Contact us at info@uurehome.com, or at (828)281-3253, and we will gladly send you informationabout listing your accommodations.
Host listings on the UU're Home website atUUreHome.com are updated whenever changesare made or new hosts are added. The paper edition ispublished once a year in April. For a copy of the 2009directory and a year's access to the website listings,please click on "become a member" to pay by credit cardor send a check for $25 and your e-mail address to UU'reHome, 43 Vermont Court, Asheville, NC 28806.
RE News:
From Our DRE
Can you believe that it's December already? The holidayseason is almost upon us. On the 21st we'll becelebrating twelve different winter holidays fromreligious traditions around the world with our "TwelveDays of Winter" pageant. While each of these holidayshas special rituals and stories, you'll find that they havemany similarities. All celebrate, in their own ways, thereturn of light and hope in the dead of winter, and allbring families and communities together to rememberand celebrate the things that are truly important.
We are a family, we members and friends ofUUCCSM, and this month is a time for rememberingthat bond. I'll say it again: we are a family of faith, folks,and even though we don't always agree, even thoughthere might be one person who just rubs you the wrongway in every encounter (like in every family, right?), wemust treat every church member who walks through ourdoors as a member of the family, and every visitor as aguest in our own home.
In my own family, sometimes we hurt one another,and sometimes we say the wrong things in frustration orconfusion or anger. But we also know that there's somethingthat's more important than any argument or hurtfeelings - that no matter what we do or say or think,we'll always be family, and we owe it to one another tolook beyond our differences and work them out. Even ifwe think the other person started it. Even if we thinkwe're more right, more logical, more deserving. Thisview is very important in a family that includes bothUUs and Southern Baptists.
The same holds for us at UUCCSM. May we all, aswe make our way through December, be mindful of thetrue spirit of the season: celebrating life and living, lightand laughter, as one family. Happy holidays.
- Catherine Farmer Loya
Holiday Cookie Bake
All are invited to the Holiday Cookie Bake on Saturday,December 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Forbes Hall. Bringan uncooked batch of cookies and we'll bake and decoratecookies together - and sample a few. Then we'llpack up our cookies to provide a little extra holidaycheer for families in need this winter. Bring cookie cutters,cookie sheets, rolling pins, aprons, and your batchof cookie dough. Bring the whole family. Please RSVP, sowe know how many people to expect, to Catherine
Winter Pageant Update
Winter pageant updateThe "Friendly Beasts," preschoolers through 5thgraders, will continue their rehearsals of "The FriendlyBeasts Song" for the holiday pageant, which occursDecember 21 at both services.Below is the rehearsal schedule:
Dec. 6, 7, and 14 - Preschoolers and K-5 during RE
Dec. 20 - Saturday dress rehearsal in sanctuary(9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.)
Dec. 21 - Pageant (both services; please arrive at8:15 a.m.)
We realize that the pageant day is a long one for thechildren, so please contact me if you can help by:
Music News:
Our Saturday Spotlight last month was a blast. It isalways a friendly environment in which we canall strut our stuff. And the Louis Durra Trio'sopening concert for the season, twisting well-knownBeatles tunes, was a sensation. It is really a treat to hearsuch great jazz within our sanctuary walls.
This month's main music event is A Celestial Christmas.The Celestial Opera Company (Michelle'sMcWilliams' group) and our UU music committee areco-sponsoring this delightful evening to be held on Saturday,December 13, at 7 p.m. Local opera singers andcompany members perform in this special evening ofseasonal classical favorites and traditional carols withan audience sing-a-long. Yay! See ad for more info.
During December, the music committee will reintroducethe Music Table in Forbes Hall after church.Come and stock up on Louis' CDs and DVDs, and thechoir's CDs for all your holiday needs.
We welcome Judith Straw and Victor Wylie to themusic committee. Judith will be covering PR for ourevents. Victor is going to launch a whole new music program- Sunday afternoon jam sessions and chambermusic readings in the cottage. Folks will be invited tohang out to play and/or listen to music, just for fun. Norehearsal essential.
- Rima Snyder and Bronwen JonesCo-Chairs,Music Committee
A Celestial Christmas
Mark your calendars for a very special concert and singalong of holiday music performed byThe Celestial Opera Company Singers.
Saturday, December 13, 7 pm atThe Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica
Tickets: $15 or $10 with a non-perishable food donation at the door.Call our ticket hotline (626) 628-3305 for more information,or to purchase tickets online, visit our website atwww.celestialoperacompany.org