Newsletter for December, 2013
From Our Minister:
Dear friends,
As the spiral of the year draws us toward longer, darker nights, I hope you will experience the sanctuary of our church as a place of refuge from the anxiety, disappointment, and loneliness that can so often accompany the holidays. And, as we tell and retell ancient stories of joy, connection, and possibility that accompany the holy days of the season, may our church be a place of hope and promise for all of us.
Many of you know this is a time of transition for our church staff, as Associate Director of Music, Dr. Irene Gregorio-Stoup, has decided to leave her position. Her last Sunday with us was October 27. We will miss her fine musicianship, and we wish her and her family well. Our Director of Music will be working with me, our Personnel Committee, and our Board of Directors to fill this position early in the new year. Until then, we will benefit from the musical leadership of a variety of interim keyboardists at choir practice, on Sunday mornings, and for our Christmas Eve services.
Rima Snyder, our Office Assistant for the past five years, has also announced her plans to move on from this role at the close of the year. Rima has brought a generous spirit and devotion to the job and has helped to keep things running smoothly, sending out the weekly announcements and assembling the order of service every Sunday. She plans to remain a member of the church and will continue to be active in the choir and the music program. She hopes to find meaningful work using her skills as a sound editor to promote programs she believes in, such as child literacy or environmental action. Thank you to Rima for her years of service. Your leaders will also do our best to have a new or temporary hire in place in the office in January.
— Much heart, Rev. Rebecca
P.S. Your minister will be on vacation and traveling to the East Coast from December 26 to January 8. During this time our Committee on Ministry (Kris Langabeer, Gerrie Lambson, Dan Patterson, and Alan Brunell) and Pastoral Care Team (Ron Crane, Michael Eselun, and Bronwen Jones) will be on call for ministry and pastoral needs.
From Our President:
In the seasonal spirit of sharing and receiving gifts, your Board of Directors and your Minister have made the decision to accept a ministerial intern for the 2014-2015 year. Our congregation has a long history of helping to train future UU ministers, but it has been a decade since we participated in this process, which is critical to the health of our denomination. A ministerial intern is a student who contracts with a congregation to receive practical experience and supervision as they seek to develop the personal and professional skills of ministry.
An intern provides ministerial services to a congregation including preaching, teaching, counseling, administration, and rites of passage ceremonies. An intern also has other educational and supervisory requirements as they work towards becoming eligible for ministerial placement. After a person completes an internship, they are expected to refrain from contact with the internship congregation for one year, and the position should not be seen as any commitment to ongoing professional involvement.
An intern receives a stipend for their work. Just this week, we received the news that the UUA has awarded us
$7,500 dollars as a stipend grant to fund half the stipend for a ministerial intern for the 2014-2015 year. The Board has agreed to allocate $10,000 from our unrestricted savings to match this grant and pay taxes and related expenses.
The selection process can now proceed. The intern is supervised by the minister and meets with the minister
weekly. The intern also receives support and evaluation from an internship committee, which meets with the intern monthly and offers guidance; the intern has the responsibility to choose how to respond to the committee’s guidance.
The congregation also has an important role to play. The congregation is expected to give the intern direct ministerial responsibilities in a wide range of duties. The UUA states that a good teaching site:
• Is dedicated to excellence in ministry
• Perceives the formation of ministerial interns as part of its mission
• Gives an intern the opportunity to make a significant contribution
• Enables an intern to pursue learning goals in a supportive atmosphere
• Provides opportunities for a variety of professional experiences
• Understands the value of Unitarian Universalism in the larger community
Your Board and your Minister look forward with excitement to sharing the rich experiences our congregation can provide. We also anticipate the new energy and perspective and the deepened interaction with our denomination that a ministerial intern can bring. We will keep you posted as this process evolves.
With warm greetings for the holidays,
— Cynthia Cottam
Featured Articles:
Holiday Craft Fair in Action
The Holiday Craft Fair on November 17 was hosted by the Art Committee. There were ten participants with a variety of items including pottery, jewelry, cards, fabric items, plants, bike girl bloomers, paintings, soaps and recycled Christmas items. Donations and a percentage of sales totaled $875.00 into the general fund of the church.
2013 Thanksgiving Feast
News & Announcements:
Readers Wanted
Would you like to be a reader for Christmas Eve? Rev. Bijur is looking for readers of all ages to share the story of Jesus’ birth at our Christmas Eve services at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. on December 24. Please contact her at minister@uusm.org if you are interested.
Save the Date
We are delighted to announce that Minister Emerita Rev. Judith Meyer will be visiting Santa Monica as our guest minister for both services on January, 26, 2014. Please save the date for a welcome reception for Rev. Meyer on Saturday, January 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Cottage.
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.
This sculpture, Gestation II, located in Palisades Park in Santa Monica, was designed so that the setting sun would be centered in the slit created by the two halves of the sculpture on the exact day of the Winter Solstice. Photo by Charles Haskell, December 20, 2012.
Faith in Action News:
Boycott of Millennium Continues; Owners Feeling the Pressure
“I feel liberated,” said UUCCSM member Teri Bond as she picketed Millennium Car Wash November 3. “You’re helping me find my voice,” Teri added, noting that she was glad she’d finally been able to make it to the picket line, which has been going on every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. since October 13.
Our picket lines have significantly impacted Millennium’s business. By 2 p.m. there’s a lot of bare pavement
where there had been lined-up cars. Many of the cars that had started to turn into the driveway leave after we
tell the drivers about the conditions workers face and why they want to unionize.
On the fourth Sunday of picketing six police officers showed up. We suspect that management called them in an effort to intimidate us. The cops said that they were concerned that we might be struck by cars entering or
leaving the driveway. That hadn’t happened for the previous three Sundays, we said, and as we were careful to make a space for cars to go through, we didn’t expect that it would. When we firmly said that we had the legal right to picket in the driveways and that we were going to continue to do so, the cops backed down. “I never said you couldn’t picket,” said the officer who had been doing most of the talking.
During the cops’ visit, we chanted loudly to keep up our morale and let car wash workers, drivers, and passersby know we were not about to be moved. “What’s disgusting? Union busting! What’s outrageous? Poverty wages!” was among the calland- response chants that resounded on Lincoln Blvd.
The boycott is sponsored by Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA) and the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, in support of the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO.
Millennium has a history of firing pro-union workers and punishing them with fewer hours of work. About 20 UUCCSM members and friends have participated in at least one Sunday picket.
The owners of Millennium, part of a family that also owns Santa Monica Car Wash and Bubble Bee Car Wash in Long Beach, are defendants in a classaction lawsuit to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen wages.
Millennium is at 2454 Lincoln Blvd. in Venice, just south of Venice Blvd. An alternate destination for your dirty
car is Bonus Car Wash, the only unionized car wash on the Westside. It’s 1.6 miles north of Millennium, at Lincoln Blvd. and Ashland Ave. Drivers and passersby received a CLEAN Carwash Campaign flyer that itemized some of the notorious practices of the local car wash industry, including:
• Paying less than minimum wage
• Not paying overtime
• Violating labor laws requiring rest breaks and access to shade and clean water
• Not providing gear for protection against dangerous chemicals
Please help us keep the boycott going by showing up any Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. or signing up at the Faith in Action table in Forbes Hall for a particular Sunday. During December we plan to add windshield flyers to spread awareness of the boycott; we need volunteers for flyering as well.
Almost all car wash workers on the Westside are Latino immigrants, and many are undocumented. That the car wash owners get away with their illegal practices is an example of the ongoing institutional racism and anti-immigrant bias in our society. Car wash workers are fighting back. In this period of cutbacks in wages, benefits, and social services, they are an inspiration. Their fight is our fight. Join us!
— Rick Rhoads
Splinters from the Board:
As of this month’s meeting the church has 375 members. Jo An Gaines and Richard Powelson have joined us. Barbara Gibbs reported that there have been 27 new members from Thanksgiving last year to Thanksgiving this year.
Church Administrator Nurit Gordon reported she was able to arrange a courtesy (no cost) examination by a professional arborist of all trees on site, and agreed to forward by email to all Board members a copy of the arborist’s report.
The 2013 Pledge Drive result to date is $236,455 pledged by 107 out of 284 households.
Catherine Farmer Loya, Director of Religious Education, reported on plans to hold an early Christmas Eve family service beginning at 3 p.m., in addition to the traditional 6 and 8 p.m. services. The Neighboring Faiths curriculum is being revised to make it more interesting and relevant to children as well as adults. Sunday morning classes beginning in January should be able to return to the cottage after the main office remodeling
project is complete.
Treasurer Kit Shaw reported that the church still is running a deficit, but that it is smaller than anticipated.
Rev. Bijur would like Board members to thank the 107 households who have pledged so far this year and will forward randomly selected lists to do so. She also updated the Board on the possibility of hiring an intern minister.
The Board of Directors approved allocation of up to $10,000 from unrestricted reserves for expenses related to
hosting an Intern Minister in 2014 to 2015.
The Board of Directors voted that the UUCCSM will no longer hold the Will Wright Pulpit fund — established in or
about 1980 and currently containing approximately $14,000 — as an endowment fund. The principal will henceforth be used to pay guest Sunday pulpit speakers.
Bryan Oakes and Beth Brownlie Oakes of the Facilities Development Committee reported on the office remodel and other projects. First they reviewed an office renovation budget including expenditures for work done to date. The Board then approved a contract for $8,862 for office remodel millwork by Ralph Lopez. Future projects might include a parabolic shade cover for the children’s play area and outdoor lighting in the permanent shade structure. The Board approved entering into a contract with Oakmont Builders, Inc. to demolish and remove the existing south (Arizona Avenue) side perimeter wall and construct a new wall according to the plans currently
being reviewed by the City of Santa Monica, for $44,100.
President Cynthia Cottam said she will approve office remodel change orders that are within the remodeling plan, and will seek Board approval via email for change orders for work that appears to be beyond the plan. The Board approved an office remodel change order to relocate existing fire sprinklers in the middle office closer to the ceiling, in an amount up to $2,000.
The Board of Directors set the date of the next UUCCSM Annual Meeting as May 18, 2014.
— Bronwen Jones
Other UU News & Events:
Creating Family in CommUUnity - Regional Conference in January 2014
WE ARE GROWING!
Diverse, Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM)* and Allies for Racial Equity (ARE)** present a full weekend Regional Conference January 17-19, 2014 at First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Diego, California. Creating Family in CommUUnity sets the stage for intergenerational exploration of ways we examine, redefine and name ourselves in relationship to others. With openness and welcoming we build beloved community, sometimes grappling with tough issues of oppression and privilege, yet always circling back to celebrating with love, joy and compassion. Together we seek reconciliation of the human family.
Friday night's joyous celebration is open to all. Hosted by Christopher D. Sims, Alex Mack and Leah Goodwin, the evening features an all ages line-up of local and imported poets, spoken word artists, musicians, and dramatists. Saturday features workshops and identity caucuses for DRUUMM and ARE members and friends. Children may participate in activities planned especially for them. Youth and Young Adults have an opportunity to caucus separately. Saturday night's family gathering dinner lets multicultural, multiracial families of many definitions and configurations relax and unwind together.
All are welcome.
Registration information and details will be available online beginning Sunday, November 24, 2013. Some financial aid scholarships are available.
Find out more by contacting Jan Carpenter Tucker, roarwithsoul@cox.net
All are welcome.
Registration information and details will be available online beginning Sunday, November 24, 2013. Some financial aid scholarships are available.
Find out more by contacting Jan Carpenter Tucker, roarwithsoul@cox.net
RE News:
From Our DRE:
As December arrives, we move into a holiday season punctuated by great contrasts: the days are getting shorter and colder, but we draw warmth from the community we build together with our families, our friends, and in our congregation. Sometimes it seems like the overarching theme of the holiday season is excess — overfull bellies, overspending, overindulgence of many varieties. But there is also great need in these times. I think of those who are struggling to get by: those in need of love, those in need of shelter, and those in need of hope that things will get better.
Our Winter Holiday Pageant on Sunday, December 22 is patterned on the Las Posadas tradition that has been celebrated in Mexico for over 400 years. It follows the journey of Mary and Joseph, joined by additional pilgrims also seeking shelter, and represents not only the Christian story of Jesus’ birth but also those in our own time who come to us in need of help and hope.
Christmas is only one of the many winter holidays that carry messages of hope at this time of year. Yule, Hanukkah, Divali, Kwanzaa — all celebrate, in their own ways, the return of light in the dead of winter, and all are times when families come together to remember and celebrate the things that are truly important.
Our congregational ministry theme for this month is Joy. In the hardest moments in your own life, what has helped you to see that better times are still possible? What has brought you a bright moment of joy on the darkest of your days?
I’d like to invite each of us at UUCCSM to think this month not only of our hopes for ourselves and for our families, but what we can do to bring hope and joy into the lives of those who are greatly in need. May we all, as we make our way through December, be mindful of the true spirit of the season: celebrating life and living, light and laughter, as one family of all people. Joy to the world.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Children's RE
his month in the children’s RE program, preschoolers and kindergarteners will “celebrate me and my world” by exploring ways of being in community with others through asking questions, practicing being a giving person, and celebrating the winter holidays. 1st to 5th graders will engage this month’s theme of JOY by exploring winter holidays from many religious traditions.
Middle-schoolers in the You the Creator class will celebrate themselves as creators, will consider whether the diverse ways that people approach the creation of gods and goddesses help us understand the diversity within Unitarian Universalism, and will explore music and the role of meaning in nonverbal art.
And on December 22 members of our preschool and elementary RE classes will once again take the stage during our Las Posadas Winter Holiday Pageant for the twentieth anniversary of our beloved Friendly Beasts.
Adult RE
In the Bookstore
Check out the book tables after each service on December 8 and 15. The church has been gifted with a sizeable collection of high-end cookbooks which will be on sale, for these two Sundays only, at true bargain prices. Give them as gifts or expand your own culinary library. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity.
And speaking of books . . .
UUCCSM Reads, a Fiction Reading Group, will meet Monday, December 16, at 7 p.m. in Forbes Hall to discuss “The Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch, the 2008 selection of the Santa Monica Library “Reads” program. All are welcome. There should be plenty of copies available at library branches. The book jacket describes the book as follows: “One moonlit night, 13-year-old Miles O’Malley sneaks out of his house and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. When he discovers a rare giant squid, he instantly becomes a local phenomenon shadowed by people curious as to whether this speed-reading, Rachel Carson-obsessed teenager is just an observant boy or an unlikely prophet.” All are welcome. Please read the book before the meeting. For more information contact Melinda Ewen.
UUCCSM Reads, a Fiction Reading Group, will meet Monday, December 16, at 7 p.m. in Forbes Hall to discuss “The Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch, the 2008 selection of the Santa Monica Library “Reads” program. All are welcome. There should be plenty of copies available at library branches. The book jacket describes the book as follows: “One moonlit night, 13-year-old Miles O’Malley sneaks out of his house and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. When he discovers a rare giant squid, he instantly becomes a local phenomenon shadowed by people curious as to whether this speed-reading, Rachel Carson-obsessed teenager is just an observant boy or an unlikely prophet.” All are welcome. Please read the book before the meeting. For more information contact Melinda Ewen.
Joseph Campbell Returns
Come share the 25th Anniversary Edition of the PBS series entitled “The Power of Myth” on the first Sunday of each month in the Cottage at 1 p.m. Scholar and teacher Joseph Campbell talks with journalist Bill Moyers at George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch about myths as metaphors in our everyday life.
After viewing each episode, we will explore the myths and themes as compasses that shape and form our lives as individuals and as UUs on a spiritual path through life. Come “follow your bliss,” as Campbell puts it, as we explore the center of our unconsciousness, the part of the self that harbors repressed ideas, desires, and
potentials that society doesn’t always allow us to express. Discover the mystery of the dragon, the snake, and other mythical creatures that pop up in various religions and myths, representing both good and evil. It all depends.
Campbell offers no shortcut or ultimate “truth” in finding our way through the meaning of life, but plenty of material to discuss and interpret on our own journeys. Bettye Barclay, who lent us the DVDs, and Natalie Kahn, who leads the discussions, will be ready to greet you on these special Sunday afternoons. Please reserve a couple of hours of your time on the first Sunday afternoon of the month for these stimulating and meaningful
gatherings.
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Adult Programs Subcommittee members are always ready to hear your ideas for upcoming offerings at UCCSM. Please stop by the Lifespan Table in Forbes Hall to let us know what YOU want to know, what knowledge you’re willing to share with others in the congregation, what we’re doing right, and what we’re doing wrong. Or feel free to contact any of our members directly: Emmy Cresciman, James Witker, Karen Hsu Patterson, Leon Henderson-MacLennan, and Natalie Kahn.
— Emmy Cresciman
OWL
Grades 5/6 O.W.L. begins this month. The mandatory Parent Orientations for O.W.L. — Grades 5 and 6 will be held on Sunday, December 15 and Sunday, January 12 at 1 p.m. We look forward to meeting parents of children in 5th and 6th grades to begin this journey of development and connection that continues for Our Whole Lives. Please contact Beth Rendeiro, O.W.L. Coordinator, with questions or concerns.
Celebrating 20 Years of the Friendly Beasts!
Don’t miss our preschoolers through 5th-graders singing the Friendly Beasts song for the 20th year at our December 22 Holiday Pageant (both services). Beasts’ parents please note: A dress rehearsal for the Beasts will occur Saturday, December 21, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., in the sanctuary. Arrival time for Beasts on December 22, Pageant Day, is 8:15 a.m.
Special Guests this year: All former Friendly Beasts are invited to join our current Beasts to sing the last verse!
Receptions will follow each service.
It’s not too late to add your Friendly Beasts photos to our “20 Years of the Friendly Beasts” display on the bulletin board in the Forbes Hall alcove, north wall.
See “The Friendly Beasts – The Movie” in Forbes Hall December 22 during the receptions.
Cash donations are welcome to help for the cleaning of the Beasts’ costumes and food for the receptions.
If you can bring kid-friendly finger food or help set up or clean up on December 22, please contact Kris Langabeer.
— Kris Langabeer
Small Group Ministry
January will mark the end of the first year of UUCCSM’s Small Group Ministry program. There are 8 groups
meeting once a month on different days and evenings. The groups have bonded in various ways — by listening and sharing at the monthly group meetings and by doing service projects together at the church and in the community.
Service to the church has included helping at the Interweave Picnic and hosting second Sunday Suppers (several different groups in various months). Community service projects included produce sorting at Westside Food Bank, Lunches for Bunches, harvesting fruit with Food Forward, and helping at Step Up on Second.
Various participants from different groups provided feedback saying they feel closer to their fellow group
members, they value the time for reflection and sharing on the many different topics this past year, and they like
the focus on listening and being listened to that has been part of the groups. Many said they believe they are better listeners as a result of being in the groups. Some said they feel more at home and more connected to people in the church.
New groups will start in February 2014, with registration beginning on January 5. Mini-sessions will take place on January 19 for people wanting to experience a sample of what to expect in the Small Groups.
— Bettye Barclay
Ministry Theme for December: Joy
Bettye Barclay has provided this list of weekly thoughts about our ministerial theme for December. Daily thoughts are published in the weekly email announcements.
Week 1. To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with. — Mark Twain
Week 2. Joy and sorrow are inseparable… together they come and when one sits alone with you … remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. — Kahlil Gibran
Week 3. A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. She gives most who gives with joy. — Mother Teresa
Week 4. There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go. — Frederick William Faber
Week 5. I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. — Rabindranath Tagore
Music News:
Ken Alexander (flute) and David Gledhill (piano) performing the “Allegro from a Sonata for flute in E Major” by J. S. Bach during the Sunday service of November 10.
Tom Ahern, bass-baritone (soloist) and Daniel Gledhill, piano, performing “God Bless the Child” by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog at the 9 a.m. service on November 17.