Nov-04
From Our Minister:
Every fall I set goals for the coming year. The purpose of establishing goalsis to focus my attention, to enlist the support and cooperation of church leadership,and to provide measurable achievements for evaluation. I like to share my goalswith members and friends of the congregation, to convey my priorities and toinvite your assistance.
My ongoing work - leading Sunday services and rites of passage; providing pastoralcare, staff supervision, and being a presence in our larger community; and workingwith you on ongoing programs such as Religious Exploration and Faith in Action- will still take most of my time and attention. Goals are always part of alarger vision and related to ongoing commitments. I keep in mind the missionof our church and our shared ministry as I set specific tasks for myself. Hereare the goals and some of the work I hope to do this year.
Provide leadership and support to new church programs, especially SmallGroup Ministry. For me this includes co-leading the facilitator trainingsessions and convening the facilitators in a monthly covenant group of theirown. I will also work closely with Small Group Ministry leadership in developingthe program.
Plan for the future. In the coming year our board and congregationwill need to do some planning, not only to move forward on our building program,but also to look ahead to the time when that work is finished. My goals includeparticipating in a long-range planning process and researching growth strategiesfor our church. I will also support our Stewardship Committee and its ongoingwork to educate the congregation and encourage our generosity.
Broaden our ministry. There is always a lot to do. This yearI have selected three areas for the focus of my attention: find new ways forolder members to share their lives with the congregation; face the challengesin our church presented by mental illness; strengthen the young adult (21 to35) presence and program.
I ask for your help in strengthening my ministry and the shared ministry ofour church.
--Judith Meyer
Featured Articles:
Reality Programming, UUCCSM Style
Once again this year, we approved a budget entailing a modest deficit. I thinkall of us are pleased with the quality and vibrancy of our church communityand its programs; we just somehow aren't quite bringing ourselves to pay forit in full.
Like any family, our church has a host of expenses. And over a number of recentyears, those expenses have tended to increase by around 5% each year due toinflation, modest salary increases, and growth in the scope and depth of ourprogramming.
Again, like most families, the overwhelming source of our income is that providedby our own members and friends (primarily in the form of pledges), and eachof us is fully welcome regardless of how much of that income he or she contributesdirectly.
The question then is, in fairness, how much of the church support should eachmember or participating friend contribute? The answer to that question dependson two primary factors: (1) the ability to contribute (depends on income, sometimesoffset by unusual expenses), and (2) the degree of interest in the church relativeto other factors in one's life.
We have recognized the ability-to-contribute factor by adopting fair sharepledging guidelines that are a progressive percent of one's income, but no setguideline can quantify the degree-of-interest factor. And we do sincerely appreciatethe donations of those whose interest is limited, for whatever reason, but stillwant to make some contribution to a community and institution that they considerworthwhile.
A result is that each of us who does have a continuing active interest in thechurch needs to contribute a bit more than would be considered his or her fairshare based simply on the total membership number. We also need to be mindfulof the continuous, though relatively modest, growth in the church's expenses,and be prepared to increase our pledges each year correspondingly.
Wouldn't it be nice if our annual budget could be an expression of what wewant to do, instead of a striving to almost pay for what we're already doing?
-Warren Mathews, for your Stewardship and Finance Committees
The Rewards of Virtue: Fundraising Must Start with a Generous Spirit
One of the core purposes of a religious community is the cultivation of virtuein its members. That seems like an old-fashioned way of talking about what wedo here at our church, but I think it is worth looking at our annual canvasscampaign as a way of helping each of us to cultivate virtue, in this case, thevirtue of generosity.
We cannot fairly expect generosity from our members unless the church practicesthat same virtue. As you know, we have begun giving a portion of every Sundayoffering to an organization that shares our ideals of a more just and compassionateworld. I'm happy to put extra dollars over and above my pledge into the collectionbecause I want our church to be known as a religious community that liberally(and literally) shares its bounty with the larger world.
Likewise, our approach to fundraising starts with a spirit of generosity; wedo not specify a certain level of giving as a test of membership or set a numericstandard of generosity. Instead, we put our faith in the good will and conscienceof members to make a pledge that meets their own definition of generosity.
Giving to our church is the best way to cultivate the virtue of generosity.Starting from the standpoint of virtue puts aside questions of how much it "costs"to run the church. Instead, we ask how our giving to the church embodies thequality of heart and spirit that we want to see at work in the world. Thereare guidelines, formulas and devices to answer the question of "How much shouldI give?" but thinking in terms of generosity moves the inner dialogue to thelevel of conscience. That means more work for each of us, but I think that suchstruggles are the way we deepen our faith.
What is that faith? Simply stated, a confidence that the good emerges whenpeople act on their conscience after deep and careful reflection.
My faith is that if we respond to the invitation from the Stewardship Committeewith generosity, our church will be financially healthy, and we'll have plentyof money to do all the good things our collective imagination can come up with.
-Rev. Silvio Nardoni, Affiliate Minister
Come Join, Share and Enjoy Pilgrims' Feast on Nov. 20
Our church's annual Pilgrims Feast will be held on Saturday, November 20, at6:30 p.m. in Forbes Hall. Make reservations for this pot-luck event right awayby contacting Lyn Armondo or on Sunday morning during coffee hour. Hurry, thisevent sells out early. Donations are welcome, and a portion of funds go to StepUp on Second.
The original draft of this service was written by Rev. John F. Hayward withthe help of his family, and first used publicly on November 18, 1965, at a communitymeal at First Unitarian Church of Chicago. Since then, it has undergone extensiverevision in Chicago by the Rev. Jack Mendelsohn; in Albuquerque by Elaine Lehmannand Sherry Lincoln; and in Muncie, IN, by the Rev. Drew Kennedy (1980), theRev. Bruce Lakin and Mary Johnson Robey (1992), the Rev. Angie Theisen (1998)and the Rev. Thomas Perchlik (2000).
Introduction: Those who have participated in Passover serviceswill recognize the pattern of this Harvest Feast. Like Passover, which celebratesthe escape from slavery and the building of a new life and culture in a promisedland, our American Thanksgiving celebrates "exodus" from tyranny in which pilgrimsaccepted the risks of the sea and all the dangers of an unfamiliar continent.For generations Americans have celebrated the event with a festive meal. OurUnitarian Universalist Harvest Feast celebrates the various and diverse experiencesof escape from bondage and emergence into new hope. Voices of adults and childrenwill bring us the prepared text.
The Symbols: The meaning of the salt water, bitter herbsand maize on your table will be made clear in the service that follows. Glassesof wine or juice will be sipped together after the words of blessing are spokentogether. After the initial blessing, each person may sip at will, though itis not necessary to empty the glass between each refilling.
The Spirit of the Service: This service, which deals withserious matters, is essentially a festival of rejoicing and the giving of thanks.It works best when seasoned with laughter and lightheartedness.
-Melinda Ewen
Ride, Ricky, Ride!
Hoyt Raises $5,700 for AIDS Programs
The Rev. Ricky Hoyt hadn't been on a bicycle for 20 years and didn't even owna bike when he registered last November for AIDS/LifeCycle3, a 600-mile sevenday,bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for AIDS programs.When he completed the ride this June, he had raised AIDS awareness among UnitarianUniversalists and over $5,700 for AIDS programs in Los Angeles.
Before he entered seminary, Ricky had been a member of UUCCSM and worked forAIDS Project Los Angeles. After entering the ministry his focus shifted butAIDS continued to have a large hold on his emotions and on the lives of hisfriends. Ricky saw the bicycle ride as a way to get back into the AIDS fightand as a way to integrate AIDS work with his ministry.
To that end Ricky looked for ways to involve other Unitarian Universalists.He wrote an article for the Camp de Benneville Pines newsletter and the campdonated $100. He took his idea to the District Ministers Association and inspiredthem to create a fund to support social justice projects among the ministers.They made Ricky the first recipient, with a $250 donation. Individual ministersalso made personal contributions, as did many UUs from congregations where Rickyhad preached and talked about the ride. Most inspiring for Ricky was the responsefrom his own Santa Clarita congregation. A month before the ride, the churchorganized a mini-bike-a-thon of its own and raised over $1,000. News items linkingthe principles of the UU church to Ricky's involvement in the ride appearedin Santa Clarita papers, and he was interviewed on local radio.
In June, over 1,200 cyclists raised over $5 million for AIDS programs in SanFrancisco and Los Angeles. Ricky had such a great experience he has alreadyregistered to do the ride again next June. He's confident that Unitarian Universalistchurches will again show their generosity by supporting his ride. To donateonline go to aidslifecycle.org,click on "home pages," and type in "Ricky Hoyt."
Our Policy is Openness of Church Management
In the spirit of openness, the UUCCSM Board of Directors, at its July meeting,adopted the following policy regarding the conduct of all board and committeemeetings:
Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica
OPENNESS OF CHURCH MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
(Approved by the Board of Directors, July 13, 2004 )All church boards, commissions, committees and task forces shall makemeeting dates available in the newsletter. Draft minutes shall be made availableto church members within a week of the time they are given to committee members.All meetings shall be open to observers, except when sensitive matters suchas personnel actions or litigation are discussed. Church members who wishto address a church board, commission, committee or task force shall contactthe chair to be placed on the agenda. Before any vote is taken, members inattendance shall be given an opportunity to address the issue. Board of Directorstentative agenda shall be posted in advance of the meeting.
This new policy is effective immediately. Please direct any questions regardingthe policy to Carol Kerr, Board President, or Charles Haskell, Chair of theBylaws and Policies Committee.
News & Announcements:
Work Party is November 20
The November 20 work party will focus on RE needs. Join us to clean the children'splay yard, scour cookie sheets (Cookie Bake will be here soon.), put a lockon the RE closet and paint the door, clean the toys used in the nursery, ortake a look around to identify a job you would like to do. Continental breakfastat 8 a.m. and lunch when we finish at 12 noon. Call Marie at (310) 829-5436,ext. 100, to RSVP or to ask questions.
Please Delay Buying UUA Books
If you are buying books for a committee, please don't go ahead on your ownand make purchases from the UUA Bookstore. We get a volume discount, so checkwith me before buying anything. There may be purchases planned by the book cart,the RE department, or others from our church. We can't combine them if we don'tknow about them.
-Carol Agate, treasurer
Donkey? Cow? Dog? Dove? Mouse? Children Will Choose Which One to Be
Once again, our preschool through elementary-aged children will sing "The FriendlyBeasts" song at our holiday pageant on Sunday, December 19, at both services.
As in years past, all involved children will sing the first and last versesof the song. Small groups of children will sing the middle five verses dressedin a costume appropriate to the animal speaking in that verse (brown donkey,red and white cow, dog, dove, and mouse).
We have a few costumes from previous pageants, but parents are encouraged tocreate their child's costume (don't panic - we have easy suggestions). Olderkids who don't want to dress as an animal but do want to sing are welcome tobe shepherds.
The children pick which animal they want to be, but generally, the preschoolerssing the mice verse.
Religious Exploration teachers please note: I will lead Sunday rehearsals (about10 minutes long) that will occur in the RE classrooms/17th Street lot duringboth services. Below is the rehearsal schedule:
Nov. 14: Pre-schoolers at start of RE
Nov. 21: Pre-schoolers - at start of RE K-5 - 10 minutes each classroom
Nov. 28: Pre-schoolers - 10 minutes during class K-5 - start of RE Social Justiceservice
Dec. 5: Pre-schoolers - 10 minutes during class K-5 - start of RE Worship Sunday
Dec. 12: Group rehearsal in mural room for all at start of RE
Dec. 18: Saturday Morning dress rehearsal in sanctuary from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30a.m.
Dec. 19 (both services): Pageant!
Call or e-mail me with questions. I look forward to working with your friendlybeasts once again this year.
-Kris Langabeer
Building News:
Come Help Refine Our Building Design, Saturday Afternoon, Nov. 6, ForbesHall
Come help refine our building design Saturday afternoon, Nov. 6, Forbes HallOn September 19 our congregation voted overwhelmingly to proceed to developan application for the Planning Commission based on Option M-1. This optionincludes a few key features:
Faith in Action News:
Once again, it's time for our December Food Sort at the Westside Food Bank.Here's our chance to respond to a real need to help hungry people by sortingthe cans and boxes of food collected by the Food Bank, and putting them intoboxes for the agencies that distribute groceries. Please plan to join us onThursday, December 2, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Westside Food Bank, 1710 22ndStreet, Santa Monica. Last December, we sorted 11,250 pounds of food. It's afun and worthwhile project for the entire family. For more information, callPaula Bernstein
.
From the Archives:
Let the Full-Voic'd Organ Sound!
I can't remember how or when my love of the pipe organ began. Perhaps its genesiswas at church in Summit, when as a late teenager I began to question some ofthe Presbyterian theology and found the organ and choir as uplifting to my spiritas the sermons - or more so. It was nurtured during my time at the Universityof Michigan, where I sang in a chorus that performed some of the great choralworks, accompanied by a fine organ. Later, my friend John Cater gave me a greatrecording of the Poulenc Organ Concerto. In Utica I asked the organist at ourchurch, George Wald, to play Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor after the serviceone day. He played it magnificently, and we became good friends. In Prague Iheard Bach's organ play just for me one day when I walked into the cathedralwhile the organist was practicing.
In my church in Santa Monica we had an electric organ of great complexity andflexibility built by two electronic geniuses. At that time the transistor hadnot been invented, so the organ was powered by electron tubes with thousandsof resistors, capacitors, relays, and connectors. However, it had one majorproblem: it was difficult to keep in tune, and soon our organist almost refusedto play it. We then acquired a small pipe organ, a gift from one of our members.It was awkwardly stacked away in a front corner of the sanctuary and did notcontribute to the aesthetics of the church.
I wanted a real organ, one with a sound I could feel in my bones, one thatwould lift my spirit. I became chairman of the Organ Committee; and thereinstarted a two-year campaign (1980-1981), to convince the congregation that they,too, wanted the finest instrument that we could fit into the building, and thatthey wanted to pay for it.
Our Organ Committee went all over the area listening to organs large and small.Gradually, we narrowed it down to just a few, and arranged for members of thecongregation to hear them. We had lecture-demonstrations at our church in whichwe would play records and tapes over our sound system and demonstrate the soundsby holding up real pipes and blowing into them. There were pipes as small asyour little finger and others over eight feet long that would make your stomachvibrate. The interest of the congregation gradually began to grow, and at theannual meeting on May 10, 1980, they voted to go ahead. The church would matchall gifts of church members from the interest earned on a recent bequest.
I began negotiating with Abbott and Seiker, a wellestablished firm in WestLos Angeles, and we agreed on a price of $34,600. The instrument would incorporatemany of the pipes from our existing small organ and also provide for more ranksto be added in the future.
A flyer and letters to the congregation solicited funds for the project. Wehad Sponsors at $1,000, Donors from $100-$999, and Contributors at $1-$99. Themoney arrived in time to pay for the organ. We have subsequently added severalmore ranks, bringing our investment to around $55,000.
For me the highlight was our organ dedication concert on September 26, 1981,featuring Tom Harmon, head of the UCLA organ department and internationallyknown organist.
I call it my organ, and no one ventures to dispute it, perhaps because theycan't be sure of my reference.
-Dean Voegtlen, from the archives
Then let the pealing organ blow
To the full voic'd quire below,
In service high and anthems clear...
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies.
-Milton
The 25th anniversary of the UUCCSM organ will be in September 2006.
Splinters from the Board:
At its emergency meeting in September, the board established responsibilitiesfor the sale of the property on 17th Street. Responsibility for signing alldocuments was assigned to Carol Kerr, our president, with decisions to be madein consultation with Patrick McGuire and Warren Mathews.
At the board's regular October meeting: Marie Kashmer- Stiebing, Administrator,reported that she had met with Seventh Day Adventists to settle the contractfor use of their facilities for our religious education program. In SeptemberMarie organized work party volunteers and extra garage sale volunteers in cleaningtables and windows in Forbes Hall and patching the plaster in the kitchen andsanctuary. She is working on cross-training everyone in the office so therewill be no problems when one person is away. The office staff thanks Carol Agatefor contributing beautiful, functional, and privacy-providing office furniture.
Pledge collections are still behind, but that problem should correct itselfas people get ready for the new church year. There is concern that we continueto operate on a deficit budget. The board voted to combine the offices of treasurerand chair of the Finance Committee, subject to study of the bylaws and policiesto determine whether the combination is allowed.
Catherine Farmer, DRE, invites church members and the board to attend ReligiousEducation Council meetings to be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on the second Sundaysin November and December. The social justice project, "Empty Bowls," will beextended through the church year. The young people will make, decorate, andglaze the bowls, and guests at a fundraiser will pay for the soup and to takethe bowl with them. Proceeds will go to the Westside Food Bank. The 7th and8th graders launched their interfaith program with a Shabbat dinner and attendedservices at Beth Shir Sholom. YRUU groups are interested in joining them invisits to neighboring houses of worship.
Steve Wight, Music Director, reports a continuing need for male voices in thechoir. Steve is working with Music Committee chair, Peter Van Den Beemt, toprepare music appreciation evenings that will provide a relaxed explorationof such questions as "Does music mean anything?" and "Is music a universal language?"
Charles Haskell, Faith in Action Chair, reported that the congregation votedto continue support for projects concerning hunger, economic justice, peace,and aid to the homeless. There was also strong support for the UU LegislativeMinistry, particularly in supporting same-sex marriage and healthcare legislation.
-Gerrie Lambson
RE News:
From the Desk of the DRE
Recently, on an e-mail discussion list populated by UU religious educators,a seminary student sent out the following question: Are we raising UUs? Thediscussion has been fascinating. This summer at General Assembly, I picked upa copy of a newly-published book "Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow LifelongUUs." Clearly, lots of people are thinking about this.
What does it mean to be "raising UUs"? And is that what we really intend todo, anyway? One of the most interesting points raised in the e-mail list discussionwas that talking about "raising UUs" implies that the children in our churchare not already UU, that you can't really be a Unitarian Universalist untilyou've finished RE and signed the membership book.
One of the things I love most about the Way Cool Sunday School (WCSS) modelof RE that we've adopted is that it challenges that assumption at its very core.Undergirding the structure of the program, with its rotation of Worship, Classroom,Social Justice, and Arts Sundays, is the recognition that the children and youthof our faith are at least as much, if not more, UU than we adults are. At itsheart, WCSS is about lived faith, and our program ought to reflect and engageand celebrate that. Our kids are UUs, and know it, when we worship together,when we take action together to change the world, when we get messy and makeart together. We all learn best what it means to be Unitarian Universalistswhen we do, then reflect on what it means. Greg Stewart, originator of the WayCool Sunday School model, calls this "putting our hands and feet on our UU Principles."
In some sense, I am a second-generation Way Cool Sunday School UU. In additionto having worked with Greg in his program at Neighborhood Church in Pasadena,I was in high school in Cleveland when Greg arrived and created the programthere that was the precursor to the one he developed at Neighborhood. As someonewho grew up UU, I know that I could never be anything else. As someone who hasexperienced WCSS as participant, teacher, and now DRE, I will say this: thata program that is experiential, that recognizes leaders and learners as fullparticipants in our own exploration of faith, and that celebrates being UU by"living UU" will grow people who know who they are and why they're here. Thisgoes for adults as well as children: just ask our RE teachers who they thinkhas learned more in their classes, the adults or the kids. We all have giftsto bring, and we adults could learn much from the children and youth in ourchurch about what being UU is really all about.
-Catherine Farmer
What's it Like to Be a Teen at UUCCSM?
An Interview with Amelia Harati
How long have you been going to UUCCSM?
Since 1992. My parents started coming right after the LA riots. My mom hadgrown up a UU and they wanted a community after the riots to get support. Iwas two years old and went to the nursery. Now I'm in YRUU.
What is YRUU?
That stands for Young Religious Unitarian Universalists. It is the high schoolprogram in the UUA.
What do you do in YRUU?
At our church, the first half is business and the second half is a rap session.Raps are deep, confidential discussions. What is said there, stays there. Itis a safe environment - no putdowns allowed and everyone is heard. We have adultadvisors who are mandated reporters who help us stay safe.
What do you rap about?
Social issues, politics, spirituality, basically anything. Spirituality canbe the seven UU Principles and what they mean to us, and general UU stuff likewhat our "elevator speech" would be.
Where do the rap topics come from?
After the business is completed, we do check-in and something might come upfor rap then. We also keep in touch during the week on the listserve. That isalso where the business items come up. I'm serving as moderator now and I drawup the agenda. I also try to keep the group on topic during business so we canget things done.
What sort of business do you all do?
Right now we are doing the haunted house for the UNICEF carnival, AIDS Walkon October 17, and helping with the Pilgrims Feast. Chris Marten and Jesse Figueroacoordinate the social action activities for the group. Advisors also bring ideasfor things we can do for the church. We have a policy that if you want the YRUUto help with an event, you have to come to our class and ask us in person.
Where do you meet?
We are so big now we have to use a room at the Seventh Day Adventist Churchdown the street. We meet during the 11 a.m. service. Many of us also go to DistrictCons, which are for YRUU teens in the PSWD. These are weekend events at variouschurches.
What do you get from being in YRUU?
A sense of community, much like the adults get who come to the services. Thisis an open place to talk - it's safe to be yourself. It is hard to be a teenager,so it is great to have somewhere to talk, and have fun. We have monthly eventssuch as beach BBQ or rock climbing with the Coming of Age class just to havefun.
-Karen Patch