Between Sundays

by Admin | Sep 10, 2020 | Between Sundays

Water Communion and Renewal in Covid Times ~

The rhythm of the church year ‘begins’ for most UUs with Water Communion (which some congregations call Homecoming Sunday) on the Sunday after Labor Day. And as Covid Time has no clear ending yet in sight, we continue to transfer treasured community rituals and remembrances on-line.

• In keeping with these rhythms, our theme for September is Renewal.
• Though the season is fall and the year is waning, there is a sense of renewal and new beginnings…
• Though this is the end of a summer like no other, and the beginning of a school year like no other…
• We still gather anew and recommit to our community and to our ideals and to the promises we make to each other and the world. We renew our energy for another year of journeying together.

And it will be a momentous year!

We begin a new church year with our Water Communion ritual in a service for All Generations this Sunday, September 13 at 10 am.

I don’t want to give it all away, though I will say we’ll be pouring waters, taking some refreshing sips, and blowing some bubbles.

Here’s what you need for Water Communion:

• A bowl of water water mixed with dish soap.
• A straw for each member of the family.
• A glass of water and an empty cup for each family member.
• You can substitute the empty cups with a single larger bowl for the whole family.

These times are still swirling, spinning and spiraling into eddies and whirlpools, predictable only in being so unpredictable, reminding us over and over of how little in our lives we can control.

This is a great time to hold up the great questions – the old standards about the meaning of life, and new ones for a new time. Here are a few questions created by the folks at Soul Matters who give us monthly themes for worship:

•  Are you sure it’s your body that’s tired, or could it be your soul?
• What if “time away” isn’t about restoring ourselves in order to return to our work, but instead about making space to decide if it’s time to reconfigure ourselves and re-imagine what our true “work” is?
• Is it time to renew your responsibility to those who will come after you?
• Is it time to renew your commitment to carry on the work of those who came before us?
• What if you saw your daily living and loving as an opportunity (even a calling) to renew others’ faith in humanity?
• Could it be that continual self-improvement is not the path to renewal but instead compassionate acceptance of who you already are, warts and all?
• What if renewing our common future isn’t just about moving forward, but instead requires a return to an honest telling of the past?

These times are still swirling, spinning and spiraling into eddies and whirlpools, predictable only in being so unpredictable. Let us continue to gather, continue to wonder, be open to what it possible.

Knowing that we are still in this together.
With Anticipation,
Rev. Dana

Between Sundays

by Admin | Aug 27, 2020 | Between Sundays

Open Questions:  An Opportunity for Collaboration

In our topsy-turvy world caused by the pandemic, economic stresses, racial strife, and ecological disasters, all of us are seeking safe havens of connection and meaning.  We need each other more than ever.  How is the UUCV Board striving to meet these needs?

At a recent retreat, the church board created a vision of ministry: “The UUCV Board of Trustees will guide the congregation through the current COVID-19 situation to come out on the other side healthy, engaged, and vital.  We will be flexible and open to what a healthy, engaged, and vital church will look like in a new post-coronavirus reality.”

In addition to this vision of ministry, the Board created a set of “open questions” at the retreat.    Open questions are meant to foster serious thinking about the mission of the church as the Board creates agendas and goals for the year.   

Here are the Board’s “open questions” for this 2020-2021 church year:

• “How do we continue to create and then sustain a community that is more racially and culturally inclusive?”
• “How do we develop financial and spiritual resources to support our vision, especially in the time of COVID-19?”
• “How do we support our professional and volunteer staff, especially in the time of COVID-19?”

These questions cannot be answered by simple “yes” or “no” responses.  Rather, they require contemplation and they may generate a range of answers.  It is important to note the Board does not have any pre-determined answers.    

The idea of open questions comes from Dan Hotchkiss’s book Governance and Ministry.  He sees these questions as calling for a “wider, longer conversation than a quick goal-setting process can accommodate.”  Importantly, Hotchkiss believes open questions provide an opportunity for boards to collaborate with the congregation to think together about the future. 

Good communication between the Board and the congregation can be challenging.  Posting of minutes, newsletter articles, and announcements about policy send information in one direction.  Rather than the Board choosing the direction of the church and making decisions in secrecy, discussion of the open questions is a way for the broader church community to express its ideas and opinions about how the church is doing and what goals should be pursued.  It is an opportunity to influence the board as well as a way for the board to share its thinking.

In the spirit of collaboration, then, the UUCV Board wishes to invite the congregation to participate in discussions about the open questions.  We want to hear your thoughts and ideas, not only as they relate to the questions, but to any other concerns you may have. 

Beginning Thursday, September 3^rd, a monthly Zoom Board “Happy Hour” will be held at 5:00pm—Zoom ID is 707-277-4205.  As President of your Board of Trustees, I will commit to hosting these sessions each first Thursday of the month, unless a better day and time is identified.  Everyone is invited to be part of this meeting.  There is no agenda other than to discuss the open questions and any other concerns you wish to bring up.

Additional Zoom meetings may be hosted by other Board members as the church year proceeds.

Be well,
Yukio Okano
President, UUCV Board of Trustees

Between Sundays 7-14-20

by Admin | Jul 14, 2020 | Between Sundays

Good People of UUVentura,

Yesterday, I sent the letter below to the members of Ventura’s City Council. They will be holding a second on-line hearing tomorrow evening. I encourage you to join in and share your own thoughts – either as a Chumash descendent or as an ally Chumash peoples.

In faith and solidarity, Rev. Dana

My Letter:

Dear Mayor LaVere, Vice Mayor Rubalcava, Council Members Brown, Friedman, Heitmann, Nasarenko, and Weir,

I write to you as a faith leader in Ventura to thank you for taking up the situation around the statue of Father Junipero Serra that stands before City Hall.

Yet first I want to express my thanks and admiration for the courage shown by Mayor Matt LaVere, Father Thomas Elewaut, and Tribal Chair Julie Tumamait Stensile who spoke together for hours to discuss this emotional, historical, and fraught issue that is far older than this particular statue. In our divided times when so many grow loud and angry and accusatory so quickly, it takes true courage to sit and speak and listen with open hearts, open to different perspectives, willing to be changed by another’s story.

I hope the entire council will follow their courageous leadership.

When I saw the statue on my first visit to Ventura as I was considering ministry here four years ago, my heart sank. Yes, it is an impressive and even majestic work of art, yet that is part of the problem. Before ministry, I spent a decade teaching California history in elementary school. I know that the story of the Native Peoples of California and of the Missions is complicated, including cruelty to the point of genocide. The majesty and the placement of this statue completely covers up, silences, and causes deep pain to those who are descendants of a people nearly wiped out by Spanish and later American settlers.

It was clear to me then, and my conviction only grows stronger, that this statue dishonors the first peoples of this land. And now I have heard their voices telling of their pain and the multi-generational trauma the statue re-triggers. Telling only one side of a multi-layered history disrespects all of us, though most especially the Chumash peoples.  If their voices are not as loud as some and their numbers perhaps smaller, it is largely because of a history incompletely told.

After years of being marginalized and silenced, it is time for all to listen well to their stories, their pain, and their request. I ask that the council accept the agreement made by the two most direct two stakeholders in these stories – Tribal Leader Tumamait Stensile and Father Elewaut. Please move the statue from in front of City Hall to the grounds of Mission San Buenaventura.

Also, please resist any suggestions that you put this on the ballot. Making such controversial decisions is a significant part of your responsibility in this representational democracy. For the voice of the people most directly harmed can so easily be drowned out, essentially silencing them once more. That would simply compound the damage already caused and do nothing to address the deeper issues, which won’t somehow just go away.

Moving this statue does not erase history. Rather it teaches a more complete history. In telling the fullness of our history, we gain a chance for deep human meeting and the possibility of reconciliation of centuries-old wounds.

In our fractured times, with so many loud and divisive voices, I ask that you find ways to embrace the truths of the past that our future may bring healing and reconciliation. We can then move on together.

Respectfully,
Rev. Dana Worsnop, Minister
Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura

Between Sundays 6-18-20

by Admin | Jun 18, 2020 | Between Sundays

Friends,

I write to share some of the really cool things that have been happening in the church in some cases in spite of Covid-19 and in others because of it.

Before your read on about Many Cool Things, please respond to a new Community Needs Assessment Survey. We will be on line for a while yet. We want to know the kinds of online offerings you would be interested in to nurture your souls and keep us connect in the weeks and months ahead.

This is a moment that I am happy to belong an Association of Congregations that have pledged mutual support to one another. Below* you will find an explanation that we are not an officially a ‘denomination,’ but rather an association of congregations pledging mutual support. Ultimately, We are all in this together.

Here are Several Cool Things going on at UU Ventura aided by being a part of the UUA:

** For worship on Sunday, June 28 at 10 am, we will be joining the service from our virtual UUA General Assembly – Rooted, Inspired & Ready. This is a chance to worship literally with thousands of UUs from around the world. We’ll probably join the service from our own Zoom link. Keep eyes peeled for more info in the next week.

** Moving In Project – We received a $5000 grant from the UUA Disaster Relief Fund

The Disaster Relief Fund was created in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey to help congregations and congregants who experience loss due to disaster. A key component of the grants is so churches can make contributions to local partners, deepening our relationships. In this Covid Time, the grants go to churches “responding to the crisis with systemic, collaborative approaches, partnering with local organizations to provide assistance … to people who are at significant risk to health and livelihood because of Covid-19.”

            Here is our grant application in part: Since the pandemic has been upon us, we have been working with partners in the community to support programs housing our homeless neighbors in local motels. Because they are in one place, it’s been easier for case managers to place them in housing. Members of a long-standing church committee – Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness – started a program called Moving In which accepts donations of furniture, kitchen essentials and bedding, and then moves them into the apartments of the newly housed. It is a community collaboration including the local synagogue, other churches, the police department, city staff, and a local farmer with a truck. Our grant request is to cover the cost of two storage unit for a year. 

In just over two months Moving In has moved in 14 people into 8 households. 

** Spirit Level Grant for $9000

            The Spirit Level Foundation offers grants for “the health and growth of UU congregations in Southern California.” I actually got a call encouraging us to apply for a grant set up especially for these Covid Times. It’s unusual to get a call saying, “We have some money we’d like to give you. Just ask.” We did and received something over $9000. An association of congregations, indeed!

            And it didn’t stop there.

** UU the Vote

            Spirit Level also offers matching funds to support UU the Vote efforts. We are already participating, under the leadership of Debbie Norris and Jimmy Vasquez. Now, if we can raise $2600, Spirit Level will triple our gifts for $7800. We are almost half-way there. The funds will cover expenses and pay for administrative work. Look for an on-line donation link.

UU the Vote is a voter registration drive. All are invited to join letter-writing Parties on Zoom every Thursday at 2pm. The goal is to write 15,000 “get out the vote” letters to traditionally underrepresented registered voters. Thus far, 2055 letters have been prepared by 30 congregants. Recently, Chalice UU Fellowship of Conejo Valley partnered with us. We’ll keep going into October. More mutual support between and among our congregations!

More Cool Stuff We’re Doing

** The Mask Project has been enthusiastically supported by a whole team who sewed and delivered something more than 300 masks to the congregation. And they couldn’t stop. They have now made and given 130 ‘mask mates’ to Ojai Hospital, 26 masks to the Oxnard Homeless Shelter and Staff, 46 masks to Step Up Ventura, and are soon to deliver another 110 masks to Family to Family at their lunch event. 

            And all that doesn’t include the 275 masks that were recently mailed to the Navajo Nation.

** Summer RE Curriculum: The Freedom Fighters

Inspired to action by the new Civil Rights Movement we are experiencing, Emily Carroll created a curriculum using the anime cartoon Avatar to help our kids explore justice, respect, kindness, integrity and the 7UU principles.

Times are very challenging and we are still doing Very Cool Stuff.
With love,
Rev. Dana

*  We are organized under Congregational Polity which means that we are an association of self-governing congregations. The Unitarian Universalist Association is actually all of us. The staff of the UUA – including the president we all elect – are there to offer resources, leadership, and guidance. The UUA cannot tell us what to do, though it is made up of people devoted to our tradition who know whereof they speak most of the time.