Newsletter for January, 2014
From Our President:
The year has turned, and if I were back home in Wisconsin, we would be in the deep of winter. So I begin the year grateful for the warm sun of the southern latitudes. Not everyone feels this way; my husband actually loves a good chill, a pile of snow, a winter slope to ski on. This might be a good metaphor for our visioning process. We agree that we all enjoy being together. We want to share our lives together more deeply. We enjoyed gathering together to talk about our experiences of church and our aspirations for our future together. Still, we don’t agree about everything; in fact, there are probably no details of our life together on which we agree completely. We have lots of interesting ideas, but there is no burning issue among us and no clear direction towards which we wish to turn. Over the next two months, your Board will be formulating two goals to present and discuss with you at a Town Hall meeting on Sunday, February 23. The meeting will take place at 1 p.m. in the Sanctuary following the conclusion of Dining for Dollars bidding. There are many Sunday scheduling conflicts this time of year, and I apologize in advance for these inconveniences. Still, I look forward to beginning this discussion with you.
Our building project is currently in a waiting phase; I am hoping that the 12th Day of Christmas will bring us a new building permit from the City of Santa Monica. As the south wall of the sanctuary building was opened for installation of the new windows, we discovered that the wall and 6 feet of the floor beneath it were badly damaged by termites and water, requiring removal and rebuilding. If you look through the holes in the ivy, you will see that there are only studs and plastic separating the office from the elements. The wall had to be rebuilt according to current earthquake code, and we are required to obtain a new, all-inclusive permit for the wall, windows, and electrical work we are doing. We will also need a special inspection. This process may take a while, especially considering the delays of the holiday season. Once work begins again, it should go fairly quickly. This was a large, unforeseen condition and will not be repaired within the cost of the original budget. On the bright side, if we have a really bad earthquake, perhaps we will have one standing wall. That is a joke, perhaps not to everyone’s taste (see paragraph one above), but humor helps me keep things in perspective.
Wishing you all a jolly start to the New Year.
— Cynthia Cottam
Featured Articles:
Welcome to our ministerial intern, Nica Eaton-Guinn
You may have read in the December 2013 newsletter that your Minister and Board of Directors have decided to become a Teaching Congregation once again, and invite a ministerial intern to join us in 2014-2015. We now share with you exciting news:
Please join your Minister, Board of Directors, and newly-formed Intern Committee in welcoming Nica Eaton-Guinn, who will be our Intern Minister beginning in August 2014.
Nica is a third-year M. Div. (Master of Divinity) student at Starr King School for the Ministry and a Candidate for Unitarian Universalist ordination. Raised in Germany and England, Nica came to the United States to study at Princeton University, where she graduated magna cum laude in sociology with a minor in theater. She brings to her internship a rich and diverse background that includes work in the performing arts, managing classical musicians, creative arts therapy, and life coaching.
Nica is now based in Santa Barbara, CA, where she lives with her husband and son. Nica’s UU background includes experience as Membership Coordinator at her home UU congregation in Santa Barbara. In addition to her formal M. Div. studies, Nica works as a Hospice Spiritual Counselor. Nica says, “My call is to celebrate and honor life in all its mystery, beauty, and complexity.” Nica is excited to bring her “passion for all things UU” to UUCCSM, and looks forward to deepening her proficiency in the areas of social justice, religious education, and creating and leading worship.
Although UUCCSM won’t formally welcome Nica to the church until next fall, we couldn’t wait to share this exciting news. We also wanted to introduce ourselves as your Intern Committee: Joe Engleman, Barbara Kernochan (Chair), Pat Gomez, Bill Nunan, Karen Hsu Patterson, and Kris Langabeer (liaison from the Committee on Ministry).
An Open Letter to the UUCCSM Community
In May of this year, our congregation was informed of bequests left by two of our beloved church members, Drew Still and Judy Federick. We learned that the total amount of these bequests could reach as high as $800,000.
This is the kind of generosity I hope we all will think of when we do our own estate planning. Of this amount, $200,000 was specified for the building fund, and the congregation voted to use that amount to pay for a renovation of the office wing. Another $50,000 was voted for a new wall and memorial garden along the Arizona Ave. side of the church.
That leaves us with a very large bequest, and I am asking the congregation to think about how that money will be best put to use. In the coming months there will be meetings to report on the results of our visioning process, which about 20% of you took part in. I am encouraging the church leadership and the congregation to include a discussion of the use of these funds at that time or soon thereafter.
How do we see this money being put to best use? As a chance to make repairs in the church? (we have already learned of a major increase in the cost of the office project due to termite and water damage to the exterior walls as a result of neglected maintenance over the years). To create new salaried positions to run some of our programs? To help make up the deficits that our operating budget has run for many years? To upgrade the sound and lighting in the sanctuary and Forbes Hall? To replace the pews in the sanctuary with single movable seating? To create an endowment for the future that will help us ride out economic downturns that are sure to come?
All these and more should be part of our churchwide discussions. Bequests such as these are rare and provide us with an opportunity to reflect on what is important to our community. Let’s all get involved with making sure that these bequests are put to the best use.
I am writing to ask you to start thinking about putting some of this money away for the future, in the form of an endowment. Other UU churches of our size have endowments (see http://www.uua.org/interconnections/interconnections/56773.shtml), which provide a certain cushion for lean years, as well as a chance to have greater ongoing impact in community work. We have a chance to make careful, conservative long-term investments, as other UU churches have done, that we have never been able to
consider before these generous bequests.
Let’s all reflect on this singular opportunity, do some research, and start talking. This is a rare and wonderful circumstance. Let’s use it to talk, listen, and share and in the process to build an ever-stronger community. I look forward to continuing this conversation.
In peace,
— Steven DePaul
News & Announcements:
In the Beginning: 2014 Spiritual Retreat
On this day-long retreat we will welcome the new year by considering anew our purpose and direction in life. Sometimes what we call “retreats” wind up being forums, workshops, or meetings. This will be an honest-to-goodness retreat. Our unstructured, self-directed day together will include time and space for reflection, silence, meditation, movement, prayer, journaling, and other practices of the heart. The gardens and chapel of Holy Spirit Retreat Center will be open to us. The Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur will lead a brief opening worship and closing worship time. We will share a simple lunch.
Please wear comfortable clothing and bring personally meaningful or religious texts, journals and pens, yoga mats, and anything else that might help you ground yourself and reflect on new beginnings in your life. A fee of $35 covers lunch and rental of the comfortable facilities at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. If this fee creates a barrier to your participation, please contact Rev. Rebecca (minister@uusm.org). Sign up at the Lifespan RE table in Forbes Hall between services, or contact Rhonda (volunteer@uusm.org) by January 12.
— Rhonda Peacock
From Our Pledge/Fund-Raising Committee — Refuel * Restore * Rejuvenate -- Kick off the new year with a massage!
Are your shoulders stiff? Your neck tweaked? Your jaw tight? In appreciation of the entire congregation and your generous support of the 2014 pledge drive, the Fundraising Committee invites you to be pampered at our Sunday, January 12 Spa Day. After each service, you will be guided to a soothing environment in the courtyard where we will greet you with some tender loving care. A team of massage therapists will be waiting by their massage chairs to help you relax and fully feel the renewal of the start of 2014. Massages will be available continuously from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. All are invited to enjoy a 10-minute massage in our restorative haven. This is our way of thanking you for your ongoing loving support of our shared community, and encouraging you to pledge if you haven’t done so. Childcare will be provided.
— Teri Bond
Second Sunday Supper & Sunday Spotlight
Supper: Tacos and More (Meat, Veggie and Vegan options)
Sunday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m. in Forbes Hall
Co-hosted by two groups from Small Group Ministry. (Facilitators: Dan Patterson & Janet Goodwin)
Sunday Spotlight - at 7:00 p.m. Immediately following the Second Sunday Supper Share your talents or just come and enjoy the show! Open Microphone for All Ages! In the Sanctuary. Sign up during Coffee Hour
Faith in Action News:
MLK Jr Day of Service
MLK Jr Day of Service is a powerful day of activism and reflection. Each year volunteers across the nation commemorate this day with meaningful service, learning, and remembrance. On Monday, January 20, volunteers from our church will join L.A. Works and more than 1,000 community and corporate volunteers to make MLK Jr Day of Service a “Day On, Not a Day Off.” We will revitalize the campus of Title I school Hillcrest Drive Elementary in South Los Angeles whose physical grounds are in great need of care.
Research has shown that children learn better in an environment in which they feel proud and comfortable. School gardens and gardening have an impact on science, math, social studies, language, and visual arts. In addition, the students have the benefit of learning teamwork and responsibility by caring for the garden. The students will also see firsthand the wonders of fresh food, healthy nutrition, and benefits of exercise.
Hillcrest Drive is a Title I school; 40% or more of students at the elementary school come from families that are low-income. What to expect: Murals across the campus that are dated and peeling will be repaired or replaced, school buildings and grounds will be painted, and landscaping will be rehabilitated. While volunteers will work across the entire campus on the day, the focus will be on building an enlarged school garden.
The fine print: The volunteer commitment is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Lunch will follow. Volunteers must be at least 5 years of age. Children under the age of 14 must have a parent/guardian with them. To participate, sign up at the Faith in Action table in Forbes Hall on Sundays or contact volunteer@uusm.org
— Rhonda Peacock
Remembering Nelson Mandela
Edna Bonacich lit the chalice in honor of Nelson Mandela on Sunday, December 8. She lived in South Africa from 1950 to 1960 (ages 10 to 20, so she attended part of elementary school, high school, and college there). Her father had taken his family to Durban to be the first Rabbi of the Reform Jewish Congregation there. The experience of living in South Africa at that critical period shaped Edna’s career towards an interest in race and labor. Photo by Charles Haskell.
Support Workers’ Rights via Facebook
In cooperation with CLUE-LA and the Clean Carwash Campaign, we have created a Facebook page to spread awareness about the boycott of Millennium Car Wash and (now included) Santa Monica Car Wash. As you may know, workers at these two businesses have alleged a host of abuses including unfair pay and denial of rest and water breaks. They also claim that fellow workers who have spoken up or attempted to organize for better conditions have been intimidated and/or fired. The family that owns these two car washes is currently the defendant in a class action lawsuit to recover stolen wages. This congregation has been involved for some time in standing up for the worth and dignity of car wash workers, who are among the poorest and most vulnerable members of our community. We have joined with other local faith and community groups in calling for a boycott of these businesses until the owners agree to sit down and negotiate with their employees. Now, with weekly pickets at the car washes currently suspended, social media is an important tool we can all use to spread the word to our friends and neighbors. Please go to www.facebook.com/boycottcarwashes, ”like” the page, share it and encourage others to do the same.
— James Witker
Peace and Social Justice Committee Review of 2013
Activities of the Peace and Social Justice Committee during 2013 included specific events as well as long-term campaigns that reflected concerns in several areas: peace, including support for alternatives to war; economic justice, with a particular emphasis on labor issues; immigration, particularly issues related to immigrant detention; and racial justice, focusing on incarceration and alternatives to prison, which particularly affect African Americans and other ethnic and minority groups.
PSJ continued to support peace vigils on the first and third Fridays of each month at the corner of Barrington and National. In January, the committee co-sponsored, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, a film and presentation which covered the production and use of drones for domestic surveillance as well as targeted killing in several countries. PSJ also supported campaigns to close prison facilities at Guantanamo, Cuba. On Sunday, October 13, there was a discussion of Syria; there will be a follow-up event in 2014, probably with a guest speaker.
Efforts on behalf of economic justice have focused on supporting carwash workers in their struggle for the right to freely organize and for better wages and working conditions as part of the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, which targets carwash owners in the Los Angeles area. With the exception of Bonus Carwash, on Lincoln and Ashland, none of the carwash workers in Santa Monica — for the most part Latino, including many undocumented workers — are unionized. PSJ has worked with CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) and the Clean Carwash Campaign in targeting two carwashes in Santa Monica owned by the Damavandi family, which has been guilty of numerous labor violations and has resisted unionization, including firing many pro-union workers.
Members of the congregation have participated in pickets, vigils, and delegations to owners and managers of the carwash facilities. Beginning October 13, members of the congregation have joined CLUE in picketing Millennium Carwash every Sunday. The pickets have had some success in convincing would-be customers to turn away, but the owners, who are facing a class action suit to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages, continue to resist the workers’ demands. After the sixth Sunday picket completely closed the carwash, the owners organized a group of workers to confront picketers with anti-union signs. Not wanting to give the owners a media opportunity, we suspended the picketing and will spread news of the boycott by other means.
On August 18, PSJ presented the film “Without a Home,” depicting homelessness in the United States. On October 22, the ACLU of Southern California and PSJ co-sponsored a film, “Two Americas,” which demonstrates the vast inequality in the United States by focusing on two families, one wealthy, the other barely getting by, both parents having lost their jobs and seeking new ones. The film was followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.
On the issue of immigration, members of the congregation are working with CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) and with the Friends of Orange County Detainees. Beginning in March, several members of the congregation have been visiting immigrant detainees at the James Musick facility in Orange County, in some cases establishing ongoing relations with the detainees they visit. PSJ has also supported the Trust Act, a California legislative initiative in opposition to a directive by ICE (Immigration Control and Enforcement) requiring police to send fingerprints of all those they pick up to ICE, which could then request that anyone suspected of being undocumented be held an additional 48 hours to enable ICE to check their status. The Trust Act, which would require that the police officials issue ICE detainers only to those accused of serious or violent crimes, or who could be considered dangerous, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in early October.
With respect to racial justice and incarceration, the PSJ participated, with other Unitarian Universalist congregations in Southern California, in raising funds for textbooks for incarcerated students who were taking courses through a community college program. The fund-raising campaign originated with a letter sent by an inmate, who is himself a Unitarian Universalist, to all the UU congregations in Southern California requesting help in obtaining books for inmates. He pointed out that while courses are free, textbooks are not, and some inmates cannot afford them. UUCCSM and several other congregations contacted the college, which agreed to set up a textbook fund in its foundation, and the respective churches collected funds to be sent to the foundation, which would in turn make them available to qualified students. At UUCCSM, the PSJ established a target of $750, which would provide textbooks for one course for five students; but through the generosity of the congregation, over $2,000 was raised. The hope is to make this an annual event in order to expand the number of students receiving books.
Last winter Peggy and Rick Rhodes led two discussion groups of Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Era of Color-Blindness.” In April, the PSJ sponsored a talk and PowerPoint presentation by Mary Sutton of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics on the prison industrial complex and particularly its growth in California. At the UUA General Assembly in July, Peggy and Rick joined several others in presenting a resolution condemning the “Stop and Frisk” policy targeting people of color, which passed unanimously. PSJ also sponsored or cosponsored several films highlighting issues related to incarceration and racial justice, among them “The House I Live In,” “The Central Park Five,” and “Unlikely Friends.”
Other activities included responsibility for the service for the Thanksgiving dinner on November 23, and a discussion of the Affordable Care Act led by Angie Jimenez of CLUE on December 7. PSJ has also worked with other organizations such as NRCAT (National Religious Coalition Against Torture) on issues related to solitary confinement and prisoners at Guantanamo, CLUE-LA on the car washers campaign, CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) on visitation to detained immigrants, and CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget) on alternatives to prison in the context of realignment.
The next meeting of the Peace and Social Justice Committee will take place on Sunday, January 19 at 12:30 p.m. Please join us!
Conference Addresses Re-Entry Programs for Incarcerated Women
How has California’s realignment affected women in the criminal justice system? This was the subject of an all-day conference sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California on December 5 at Loyola Law School. Roberta Frye and Nora Hamilton of the Peace and Social Justice Committee attended the conference as an expression of the committee’s concern with issues related to incarceration and, in the context of realignment,
with alternatives to building more prisons.
Much of the conference focused on the process of re-entry, whereby women released from incarceration (as well as other vulnerable populations) are provided with the services and support they need to become healthy and contributing members of society. Several re-entry agencies were represented, including some focusing on such issues as health, housing, and employment and others providing a wide range of services. All stressed the importance of coordination among services to ensure that the individual re-entering society has full access to all the opportunities available. In some cases, the founders and leaders of these agencies, as well as members of their staff, had themselves been incarcerated, some of them recycling through the system several times before finding the help and treatment they needed.
Other issues raised at the conference included the need for agencies to establish relations not only with other service providers but also with officials in the criminal justice system, the challenge of connecting women released from incarceration with the services available, and the need for increased resources that would enable service providers to expand the range of their activities.
According to one speaker, in Los Angeles less than 20 percent of realignment funds are spent on services. The information provided by the speakers and panelists provided strong support for shifting these funds from prison construction to services that will provide support and treatment for women leaving prison and also help reduce recidivism, thus limiting the total population in prison.
— Nora Hamilton and Roberta Frye
Splinters from the Board:
As of this month’s meeting the church has 375 members; Mark Christiansen has joined us. Pat Gomez will be helping to facilitate the next Newcomer Orientation, on January 5.
Church Administrator Nurit Gordon said that the 2014 Pledge Drive result to date is $312,000 pledged by 180 out of 289 households. During the month of November, the UUCCSM Generous Congregation Contribution gave $672 to the Westside Food Bank and $254 to Philippines Relief. Nurit also reported that two new bike racks will be installed in front of the cottage.
Catherine Farmer Loya reported that we have more than a dozen youth in the YRUU program this year. Adult Programs are launching “Wednesday Workshops” to start in February. This will be a chance for religious exploration that will include semi-monthly writing workshops, monthly vespers, and the second half of Building You Own Theology: Ethics, a UU history documentary series.
Director of Music DeReau Farrar reported that we have 10 congregations lined up to participate in the Second Annual M.L.K. Choral Festival in January.
Kit Shaw updated the board on our current financial situation which continues to run at a smaller deficit than expected.
The Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur was delighted to announce that Nica Eaton-Guinn has accepted our offer to be our Intern Minister. Nica is completing her studies at Starr King School for Ministry and comes from a rich background in theater arts, administration, and entrepreneurship. She received unanimous support from the Intern Committee — Barbara Kernochan, Joe Engelman, Bill Nunan, Karen Hsu Patterson, Patricia Gomez — and, of course, Rev. Rebecca your minister.
The Board of Directors authorized the Congregation President to engage an attorney to advise the church in employment law, and to expend up to $5,000 in fees associated with this consultation. According to our Treasurer, Kit Shaw, this employment law consultation was also recommended by the Finance Committee.
A congregational meeting to discuss the vision plan will be held at 1 p.m. on February 23. The next board meeting will be on January 14 at 7 p.m. in Forbes Hall.
— Bronwen Jones
RE News:
From Our DRE:
Evan Patrick Loya is introduced to the congregation by parents Catherine Farmer Loya and Eric Loya. Photo by Charles Haskell.
A new year is arriving, and with it comes a new
month’s ministry theme — Simplicity. This theme resonates with me as I turn toward 2014 and think about my intentions for the year ahead. I don’t want to make a long list of things to do for my New Year’s Resolutions. No, my aspiration this year is, as articulated by author and artist Sue Bender, “…to simplify and then go deeper, making a commitment to what remains. That’s what I’ve been after. To care for and polish what remains till it glows and comes alive from loving care.”
My son has given me many lessons in simplifying this year. I’m not sure it’s possible to be more narrowly focused than my husband and I were on our child in the first few weeks of his life. Everything that was not Evan fell away; the whole universe was a tiny open mouth, a cry, the feel of his body curled against mine. But slowly, the world has come creeping back into focus, with all its noise and bustle and busy-ness. I’m glad to have it back, but at the same time I miss the clarity of purpose of those early days with him. And so as we move into January and embrace this month’s theme, I find myself looking for ways to focus myself a little bit more, to make sure that the rare open spaces in my day — those moments when Evan is sleeping and I’m not working — are not frittered away with games on the phone and idle internet surfing but are reserved for things that nourish my spirit.
Evan’s still just a tiny little guy, but I think too about the pervasive keep-busy culture that families are faced with these days. I want him to grow up in a home that feels peaceful, not harried. But he’ll learn from us only what he sees us doing, and right now I certainly find myself rush-rush-rushing around, feeling so very busy and so behind on all of the things I mean to do, all of the time. So it’s time for me to simplify. Partly that means letting go of feeling like I ought to be able to get as much accomplished in a day as I did prekid. And partly it means making sure I’m using my time efficiently and choosing to spend it on the things that matter most to me.
I don’t know yet how it’s all going to work out, but today my to-do list is five pages long. Here’s my promise to myself for this month: I’ll whittle it down and maintain it at a single page of things that really deserve my attention, and that page will include self-care as well as working and parenting. And now it’s your turn — what will you do this month to find your own center of calm and clarity of purpose? I invite you to join me this month in the spiritual practice of simplifying.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Ministry Theme for January: Simplicity
Bettye Barclay has provided this list of weekly thoughts about our ministerial theme for January. Daily thoughts are published in the weekly email announcements.
Week 1. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius —and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction. E. F. Schumacher
Week 2. Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. Lin Yutang
Week 3. Some of the greatest poetry is revealing to the reader the beauty in something that was so simple you had taken it for granted. Neil deGrasse Tyson
Week 4. Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion. The Talmud Week 5. A vocabulary of truth and simplicity will be of service throughout your life. Winston Churchill
Children’s RE
This month in the children’s RE program, preschoolers will “celebrate me and my world” by exploring ways of being in community with others through asking, listening, helping, waiting, and remembering. We are pleased with our 1st to 5th grade “children’s chapel” experiment for the fall, but are planning a return to our separate 1st and 2nd and 3rd to 5th grade classes this month. The younger elementary-schoolers in 1st and 2nd grades will explore the UU principles in the context of Beloved Community with a brand new UUA curriculum called “Love Surrounds Us,” while 3rd to 5th graders will take part in the “Sing to the Power” curriculum, which affirms our UU heritage of “confronting powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love.” Middle-schoolers in the “You the Creator” class will explore music and the role of meaning in nonverbal art, will consider sense and nonsense in relation to spiritual matters, and will share ideas about building friendships and friendly communities.
Adult Programs Subcommittee
The Adult Programs Subcommittee is excited about new ground that it plans to break, offering Wednesdays as a “destination day” for an increasing proportion of its offerings. Stay tuned for more information as ideas and actions crystallize between the months of February and April 2014! The Subcommittee is no less excited about offerings that will continue to thrive on other days of the week as well, of course.
This past month has seen Natalie Kahn’s wellreceived Joseph Campbell “The Power of Myth” series evolve, and it will continue to thrive on first Sunday afternoons 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Cottage. Recently concluded was Leon Henderson-MacLennan’s Building Your Own Theology (BYOT) — Ethics series, and the group will re-convene this spring and hopes to welcome additional participants.
We’re looking forward to Kerry Thorne’s Parenting workshop: “Positive Parenting Education of Children” to be held for 10 consecutive Sundays, January 26 to March 30, 1 to 3 p.m., in Forbes Room 2. Other future offerings will include, amongst many other topics, discussions of religious humanism, becoming a welcoming and supportive community for people dealing with mental illness, screened documentaries, and the monthly themes in the Patio Chats format each fourth Sunday.
— Liza Cranis
Spiritual Growth and Small Group Ministry
I’ve been thinking about the word “spiritual.” I turned to my go-to source, Google, and did a “spiritual” search. It showed 80,700,000 results. The top search, Wikipedia, says that “the term spirituality lacks a definitive definition.” I had to laugh. I’d have to figure it out for myself — and isn’t that what being a UU is about anyway?
Spirituality for me is connection. Connection with the “what is” that feels bigger than me. The “what is” is often the beauty I experience in nature — on a hike or on my snowboard. It’s me and the mountain and the elements. It’s awesome, breathtaking, and humbling. It’s what I experience with music, all kinds — from hypnotic progressive house music to sacred a cappella — I’m transported to another place outside of myself. It’s amazing human creations — the art we create to communicate what words too often can’t. And for me, the “what is” is also humans themselves.
One of the things touted in Small Group Ministry is “Spiritual Growth.” Sitting still and giving 100% of myself to listening to another person share their voice has been a powerful experience for me. The connection I have felt with that person, holding the space for them as they share their thoughts on our monthly topic — euphoric or heartbreaking — has become a sacred time for me. It has allowed me to develop new ways of reflecting. And likewise, being held by others when I speak my thoughts, to know everyone is giving me that time — their time — it’s an amazing thing. I leave the time spent with the group feeling humbled and empowered — and a better human. That kind of connection is, for me, spiritual growth.
President Obama, in his eulogy for Nelson Mandela, had this to say: “We are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye. There’s a oneness to humanity. We achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others and caring for those around us.” This is exactly what Small Group Ministry is all about.
— Rhonda Peacock
What Is Small Group Ministry?
Small group ministry offers an opportunity to connect with others in the church who wish to explore their values and their ideas of spirituality in an intimate setting and who wish to make a difference through service to the church and to the larger community. Small group ministry programs are thriving all across the country in UU churches. They have been very successful in creating a true sense of community in UU churches, especially ones whose congregation has grown to the point where it is difficult to know everyone by Sunday morning attendance alone. Each group:
• Meets monthly
• Has 8 to 10 members with a facilitator
• Follows a specific meeting structure
• Is bound by a covenant of interaction to which each member agrees
• Encourages listening as well as sharing on the part of each participant
The goal is to connect in a meaningful way with other members and friends of our church community. The spiritual and social connection, by which we measure our sense of belonging, isthe purpose of the SGM program. Often people seek a church community in order to find deeper meaning in their lives and to find relationships with others who share their values. For people new to the church community, the groups offer an opportunity to form friendships with others and to more easily become involved with the church.
Small Group Ministry — New Sessions begin February 2014
Registration for 2014 Small Group Ministry will take place the first 3 weeks in January. Registration will conclude Sunday, January 19. Groups are formed based on the availability of the participant; we have groups meeting at morning, afternoon, and evening times throughout the month. The participant’s commitment will be one 2-hour meeting each month, plus time for the group’s community service project and church service project.
Participants in the 2013 groups who would like to continue in the program must re-register for the 2014 session. Registration is easy! Scan the QR code below and you will be taken directly to an electronic registration form. Or you can sign up via paper form — the paper forms will be at the Lifespan Education table and in the church foyer. You can also sign up electronically with this link: http://tinyurl.com/sgm2014 Questions? Contact sgm@uusm.org or Reverend Rebecca via the church office.
Mini-Sessions: “Test-driving” Small Group Ministry
On January 19 “mini-sessions” will take place after the second service. Participants will get a feel for what happens in a Small Group Ministry session in a condensed time frame; sessions will last about an hour. Curious if SGM is a good fit for you? Come and check it out! You can sign up to participate in a “mini-session” at the Lifespan RE table through January 19.
What participants are saying about their experience in Small Group Ministry:
I realize I have something to contribute.
Small Groups has widened my ability to listen with respect to people very different than myself, without trying to change anybody. Just listen and see how another feels without trying to fix things. This is challenging to me, but I’m learning.
There are a few people in the group who have revealed their innate kindness in reaching out to me… I was put in touch with how special they are.
Small Group Ministry is an opportunity to speak my truths and hear other truths — it is unique from other platforms in our church.
This is a good way for people to know each other better.
At first I didn’t think I would get that much out of it, now I know I will benefit every time.
I’m deepening my ability to be human and to allow others to be human, with all our flaws, and loving unconditionally no matter where a person is on their journey.
The group bonded more when we were sharing more personal and emotional things.
It’s a great part of church.
20 years of Friendly Beasts
Group photograph of the assembled Friendly Beasts, including alumni, taken on Sunday, December 22. Photo by Charles Haskell.
Music News:
Daniel Gledhill is our new Church Organist
Daniel Gledhill began studying the piano at the age of 5 with Dr. Irene-Peery Fox in Provo, Utah. He has become an accomplished pianist, winning first prizes on both national and international stages. At the age of 11, Daniel began to supplement his regular piano lessons with chamber music instruction from accomplished teachers such as cellist Roger Drinkall and Igor and Vesna Gruppman from the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. These teachers helped him to develop a very deep love for collaboration, and from there he began to work constantly with a string trio that he formed, which performed consistently until he began his college education.
Daniel has worked as a nearly full-time collaborative pianist since the age of 16 and has studied at institutions such as the Idyllwild Arts Academy and Yellow Barn in Vermont. His college career began at Brigham Young University, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance. Immediately following that, he was accepted to USC, where he pursued music with an emphasis in composition, receiving instruction on how to create music, greatly increasing his musical sensibilities. Daniel currently works as a recommended accompanist for the University of Southern California and also as a staff accompanist for the Colburn School of Music.
— DeReau K. Farrar
Come, Sing a Song with the Women’s Alliance on January 19
UUs gather for services each week, all of us creating the worship together of many elements, words, music, and customs. All my life I have studied this process, and songs by UU women resonate strongly for me. You are warmly invited to the first in a heartfelt series called “A Year of Living Musically.”
Three of Carolyn McDade’s wealth of songs you know from our hymnal: “Spirit of Life,” “Come, Sing a Song with Me,” and “We’ll Build a Land.” At annual women’s retreats across what she has called “a continent in song” she has taught dozens more. These are insightful, healing, empowering works to cherish each soul, build community, honor the earth. Come taste a few of these on Sunday, January 19, 10:10 to 10:55 a.m., in the Courtyard. All are welcome, whether you think of yourself as a singer or not.
Carolyn is leading an annual women’s retreat nearby on Friday and Saturday, February 21 to 22, at the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley. Recordings: carolynMcDadeMusic.com
— Joyce Holmen