Between Sundays

by Admin | Jan 21, 2021 | Between Sundays

Dear Ones,
What an amazing and auspicious day has dawned. 
Yet into this new day I still carry the image of 400 pillars of light lining the Reflecting Pool between the Washington and Lincoln Memorials at dusk last night. 

Each light representing 1,000 lives lost. These times we are living through continue to ask us to have ‘supple hearts.’ Hearts that can somehow hold inspiration and heartbreak; fear and hope; relief, resilience and resolve all at the same time. 

My own first response was of relief, which began the night before at the memorial. The relief was that we were as a nation acknowledge these losses together, and that those about to lead us were naming and holding our collective grief. The ceremony was simple and beautiful. As someone named it today, a beauty that has been missing in our public life. 
 
I hadn’t realized that I had been missing it. At the inaugural my sense of relief grew, as I saw a small but diverse crowd gathered on the Capitol steps and the beaming smile of Vice President Kamala Harris after taking her oath of office. Her hand lay on two Bibles as she took the oath from Sonja Sotomayor, the first Latina Justice of the Supreme Court. One was a family Bible and the other had belonged to the first Black Justice, Thurgood Marshall. 
 
As the inaugural continued, my relief grew resolve. As the 46^th President of the United States Joe Biden said, ‘This is a time of testing. We face an attack on our democracy and on truth, a raging virus, growing inequity, the sting of systemic racism, a climate in crisis, America’s role in the world. Any one of these will be enough to challenge us in profound ways. But … we face them all at once, presenting this nation with one of the gravest responsibilities we’ve had. Now we’re going to be tested. Are we going to step up? All of us? It’s time for boldness, for there is so much to do. And this is certain … we will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era.’
 
Yet when Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet ever, stood at the podium my relief and resolve grew into gratitude, inspiration, and some combination of awe, hope, and possibility. 
 
She began,
‘When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished…’
 
And she closed, 
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
 
May we rebuild and reconcile and recover.
May we be so resolved and inspired and brave. 
 
There is yet a very long road ahead for us as a nation and as individuals to realize the promise of this day. Yet let us take some time to release some of the weight we’ve been carrying though we may not have realized it. Let us release clenched shoulders, make room for deeper breaths. 
Take in the beauty and sorrow and possibility. 
 
Let us never forget the lives we have lost to the coronavirus aided by a government that did not live up to its duty and promise.

May that lights that reflected last night, and the ones lit and relit in our supple and brave hearts carry us through the harshest dangers and into the promise of this day.
May it be so.
 With love,
Rev. Dana

Between Sundays

by Admin | Jan 14, 2021 | Between Sundays

Dear Ones,
 Be sure to stick around after church this Sunday for our 3rd annual Mid-Year Budget Review, at 11:30am. It will be in the same Zoom Room as the Sunday service, accessible through the same link. 
 
When we did this review just 12 months ago, we were looking ahead to a year when it appeared, after several years of careful work and planning, we would finally get to a place of sustainable financial stability with our operation budget. It felt especially good to our Finance Folks who are the ones who sweat these details. I remember telling people that the budget team had put together the most beautiful church budget I’d ever seen. 
 
Of course, less than two months later the Covid Shutdown began and all certainty – financial and otherwise – went out the window.
 
There are several pieces of good news in the midst of continued uncertainty and a projected deficit for our 2021-2022 budget. 

1. We have significant savings and reserves in the bank – indeed the most of any church I have known. These funds exist for many reasons, including the visionary generosity of devoted members and incredibly careful stewardship of those funds by our boards and finance people over nearly a decade.  
2. We did not need to dip into any of those funds for our current fiscal year, even though the 2020 pledge drive was essentially canceled.  
3. Because of lowered expenses and the PPP small business loan in 2020, we will probably end the current fiscal year with a surplus. 

Whew!
While we are still in strong long-term financial shape, the immediate- and medium-term will present challenges. Which is why you should come to the Mid-Year Budget Review.
There you will:

• learn how we are doing financially this church year.
• learn how we are positioned for the on-going impacts of the Covid-19 recession for next year.
• give the Finance Committee input for our 2021-2022 budget planning during still-unprecedented uncertainty. 

In January 2019, the Board of Trustees and Finance Committee instituted these budget reviews to make the whole budget process to be open and accessible to all our members. Ultimately, our annual budget is a moral document, roadmap for us to realize our mission.
 
I hope to see many of your there.
In faith,
Rev. Dana

Between Sundays

by Admin | Jan 9, 2021 | Between Sundays

Dear UUCV Community,
I am overjoyed to share with you all that UUCV’s long anticipated Children’s Chapel is on it’s way! I hope to see our Religious Education community on Jan. 17 at 9 AM for our very first Chapel titled “Imagining A New World” in celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is an honor to reimagine sacred space together on this most sacred of days.

The Children’s Chapel is a space for families, parents, guardians, grandparents, children, youth, RE volunteers, and the broader RE community to join together in sacred space a few Sunday mornings each month. Each Chapel will begin with a chalice lighting, a time of Joys & Sorrows, and a Welcome. Our time together will be about 25 minutes and include interactive activities, children’s books, music, meditations, guest speakers, and space for families to just be together.

I remember my heart immediately leaping up in joy when Rev. Dana shared the Children’s Chapel idea with me way back in June: “Yes, yes, yes! Let’s do THAT!” I looked towards my many poetry, worship, and UU Youth materials and knew that creating a space for children to gather and reflect was a project I would gladly take on.

Right from the beginning, a Children’s Chapel has been central to my intention for my time in this position. RE community members have responded positively to this idea. And then… life got in the way, as it tends to do, as I learned the ropes of the new position, navigated the holiday season, and juggled competing responsibilities. I am overjoyed to be getting this project up and running!

I am joyfully seeking and happily accepting any offers of volunteers for this Children’s Chapel project! If this idea excites you, please reach out and let me know – big or small, any contributions are welcome. Attending our first Chapel will give you a good sense of what a Children’s Chapel entails and if you are interested in this new volunteer opportunity.

I am so looking forward to sharing this new adventure with you all. Our upcoming Jan. 17 “Imagining A New World” chapel will include a guest visitor, a beautifully illustrated story, music, and a meditative body prayer. I hope to see you there.

With care,
Fidelity Ballmer
Religious Education Coordinator
Fidelity@UUventura.org

Between Sundays

by Admin | Dec 16, 2020 | Between Sundays

Dear Ones,
It’s amazing how the holidays can sneak up on us, even while in the midst of madly planning for them. I am grateful to the gentle soul who mentioned that they really didn’t know what was going on at church for the holidays. Was there some way they could help?  Of course, we’re still ‘having Christmas’ in Covid Time, though I realized we need to write it all down in one place and get the word out more fully. We have actually already started the holiday season with services for Advent and Hanukkah.
Here is what is coming next.

Tonight! December 16, 6 pm – Midwinter Contemplative Vespers
I will be joining my clergy colleagues in another cluster collaboration – a gentle service of song, silence, words of wisdom, and candlelight. Join with UUs from Thousand Oaks to Santa Paula to San Luis Obispo to find some moments of respite. Join via Zoom here

Sunday, December 20, 10 am – Seeking the Stillpoint of Solstice
Our next Sunday service will celebrate the longest night of the year and our return to the light. This service will be a bit more interactive, including a holy ‘science demonstration’ with Fidelity Balmer, our RE coordinator. Please be sure to bring a free-standing candle and matches so you can join in. Join via Zoom here.

Thursday, December 24, 5:30 pm – Lessons and Carols
We will have just one service on Christmas Eve, especially for the ‘carol-starved.’ All are invited to sing along with many of our talented musicians and music director Carolyn Bjerke to many old favorite carols. We’ll hear words to bring forth the spirit of this holy day, including a reflection on the lessons Rudolf, rendeer of red-nosed fame, has to teach us. Some of the service is pre-recorded and some will come to you live from our beloved sanctuary. Please be sure to bring a candle for each member of your family, and be ready to turn down the lights and sing Silent Night together.  Join via Zoom here

Friday, December 25
Plans are in the works for a church Zoom gathering on Christmas Day. Be on the lookout for more information in the usual places – UUCV This Week, our internal Facebook group. 

Sunday, December 27, 10 am – Everything is Holy Now
Tanner Linden, who grew up in the church, will be our guest speaker again.

Sunday, January 3, 10 am – Fire Communion Service
We will be adapting our annual Fire Communion service to the Zoom platform. Be ready to leave 2020 behind (good riddance) and great the New Year.

May your days be merry and bright. May the warm spirit of these holidays find you somehow, even in the midst of our Covid shutdown. May you all be safe and healthy, taking care of yourselves and each other.

With warmest holiday blessings,
Rev. Dana