Between Sundays 1-25-24

by | Jan 25, 2024 | News (home)

Finally!   
I get to be the Minister in Residence at Camp de Benneville Pines this summer – at Family Camp from July 21-27.  This is something that’s been in the works since before the pandemic, and finally(!) the timing works.
 
Camp de Benneville, which we fondly just shorten to Camp, is our UU camp in the San Bernardino Mountains. Nestled among the pines, scattered with chalice symbols everywhere, Camp is a spiritual home for so many UUs from the southwest part of the country. It is a place for our folks to connect with our faith and with each other, year after year.
 
Camp has also been struggling mightily for the last four years, what with a pandemic shut down, fires that burned right up to the edges, and debris flowing in the rains that followed the fires. This makes me all the happier to serve as the minister at one of our summer camps.
 
I hope that many UU Ventura families will join me. Camp defines family very broadly, so all are welcome. Family Camp still fills up fast, so we will be sure to let you know when registration opens. I encourage you all to consider going to camp at some point this year – maybe more than once! 

 

Upcoming camps to consider:
The Women’s Retreat on May 3-5. There is already a group planning on this one.
     The UU Men’s Fellowship on April 19-21
     June 30-July 6 – Elementary Summer Camp
     July 7-13 – Junior High Camp
     July 14-20 Senior High Camp

All are amazing ways to build our youth connection to our faith and each other. Also, our ‘Cluster Camp’ with nearby UU congregations is on September 27-29. In between all of that there are also artists camp, music camp, Thanksgiving camp, yoga camp. (To keep up with them all, you can always check the post in our online newsletter, UUCV This Week.)
 
We do have church funds that can help folks pay for camp registration, so please ask if that will help you make it. Let’s make it a great year for UU Ventura at Camp de Benneville Pines! 

 

In faith,
Rev. Dana

UUCV's Rev. Dana Worsnop smilling

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Between Sundays 12-20-23

by | Dec 21, 2023 | News (home)

Dear Ones,
 
     The December crush is full upon us. 
Some of us adore it.
Some despise it.
Some are loneliest at this time of year.
Some manage to tap into the love, magic, and mystery.
 
None of us are alone in whatever we are feeling.
 
I send you warm holiday, holy day wishes through it all. 
I invite you into the wholeness of the season – joy, the overwhelm, the quiet, the raucous celebrations.
 
I invite you to church on Christmas Eve, which is on a Sunday this year!
So, we will have a 10 am all generations service Jingle All the Way, exploring the Unitarian origins of that favorite holiday song. There will be bells to jingle for all. At 5:30, we will have a traditional Lessons and Carols service Making Room, when we will make room for Christmas in our hearts, and then all head home to await Santa. 
 
Both services will also be Zoomed and streamed on YouTube.
For those joining from afar, here’s how you can prepare:
For the morning service, bring something to jingle along with.
In the evening, make sure you have a candle, and be ready to turn down your lights for singing Silent Night. 
 
Our collection at both services will be for the Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness Motel Fund which helps pay for motel rooms for people who are left out in the cold, at Christmas and through the year. 
 
I was one who leaned more to the dislike of Christmas and all its fanfare, until I found a UU church, that is. I love the way we celebrate this holiday. I love being with you all on Christmas Eve.
 
So come with your whole self in the morning or the evening or both!
 
Warmest holiday wishes to you all!
Your grateful minister,
Rev. Dana
UUCV's Rev. Dana Worsnop smilling

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Jan 26, 2023

Dear Ones,    As a Living Tradition and an Evolving Faith, the Unitarian Universalist Association has been undertaking a revision of Article II of the UUA...

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Between Sundays 12-13-23

by | Dec 13, 2023 | News (home)

Good People,

     One of the enduring legacies of the UU Church of Ventura will be its advocacy for our unhoused neighbors, its influence over policy and practice on issues of homelessness, and direct assistance to people in need.

Under the auspices of Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness, one of the centerpieces of our work has been the hosting and organizing of a Memorial Service for our Homeless Neighbors. The service honors all the souls who died in Ventura County while living without shelter. Too often they have been forgotten and overlooked in life, and so we do what we can to honor their memory. 

For more than 15 years, this service (inspired by the Longest Night tradition that began in 1990) has been held in Ventura on the weekend closest to the Winter Solstice. For the last three years, a twin service has been held in Oxnard as well, sponsored by the City and faith community of Oxnard.

The 2023 Longest Night Memorial Services for our Homeless neighbors will be held on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 3:30 pm in Ventura’s Plaza Park and on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3:30 pm in Oxnard’s Plaza Park.

These services honor the lives of those who died without shelter and offer solace to their family and friends, as well as to their unhoused companions. We read the names of those who have died, ringing a bell and lighting a candle for each.

Even as we honor the lives we have lost, the memorials also serve to raise awareness of the larger issues of homelessness and the plight of those who are still struggling to stay alive without shelter. There are many reasons why people reach this point in their lives. Many more people than we know live on the edge, and then are pushed over it by economic or medical tragedies.

This undertaking needs many hands to bring it into existence each December. We collect clothing, create headstones, need ‘day of’ help setting up, and have opportunities for youth to create items (like hygiene packs) to distribute at the memorial. If you would like to help with the Ventura Longest Night service, please contact Gale Naylor at galejnaylor@gmail.com. If you would like to help with the Oxnard Longest Night service, please contact Yukio Okano at yukio.okano@yahoo.com.

Perhaps the most significant way to help out with this service is simply to show up, honor the lives we have lost, and open your heart to the humanity—and heartbreak—of our neighbors living without shelter. 

The number of homeless people is growing in our county, in our state, and in the whole nation. The solution is beyond any of us as individuals. Yet, we can still show up, remember how deeply we care, bear witness.

This work is central to the mission and vision of this congregation. You have all been at it for so many years, that in some ways it has slipped into the background: a familiar, beautiful, and powerful part of our Tapestry of Love.

Let us remember its power and its purpose together.

In Faith,
Rev. Dana

UUCV's Rev. Dana Worsnop smilling

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Re-inhabiting the Church

by | Nov 11, 2023 | Between Sundays

RE-INHABITING THE CHURCH

Dear Members and Friends,
 
A few weeks ago, Rev. Dana and Yukio Okano shared the first in a series of Between Sundays posts about Re-Inhabiting the Church. Part one can be read here. I am here to share part two.

Reserving church spaces
 
How wonderful that we are gathering in-person again! That said, all meetings and events held at the church need to be reserved. Whether you are a new group or were meeting before the pandemic and are wanting to meet in-person again, let’s make sure you have a designated space. To reserve space, please send me an email.
 
Updating the calendar
 
Did you know that you can view the UUCV calendar on our website any time? Here it is. Every reserved group and event are on the calendar, along with upcoming events such as memorial services and holiday gatherings. Our calendar is also linked in UUCV This Week each week. I encourage all groups to look at the calendar to make sure everything is accurate. If anything needs updating, please send me an email.
 
Database
 
If ever your contact information changes (mailing address, phone number, email), please send me your revised information via email so I can update our records. 
 
Updating your pledge
 
Did your account number change? Need to update your pledge? Want to switch to automatic deductions? Please contact me, and I will contact you. If ever account information needs to be discussed, I will always call you for confidentiality.
 
Churchwide communications
 
Each Thursday we send out our weekly e-newsletter, UUCV This Week. On Saturdays we send out worship service information for the following Sunday. During the week we periodically send out Between Sundays messages (like this one!), along with other important messages. Should you need to update your contact information or have questions about e-communication, please contact me via email.
 
How to best contact staff members

  • Rev. Dana Worsnop: The best way to contact Rev. Dana is via email at rev.dana.worsnop@uuventura.org or via text to 503-312-0401. Emails anytime and texts preferred between 9 am and 9 pm Tuesday through Saturday. She also wants to hear about urgent and emergency matters whenever they happen. 
  • Carolyn Bjerke, Music Director: The best way to contact Carolyn is via email at carolyn@uuventura.org. 
  • Lily Rappaport, Acting Director of Family Ministry: The best way to contact Lily is via email at lily@uuventura.org or via phone at 516-322-4221.
  • Jennifer Luce, Congregational Administrator: The best way to contact me is via email at administrator@uuventura.org. I can also be reached via the office phone at 805-644-3898, though because of my hybrid schedule, messages are checked three days a week.

In-person office hours

  • My in-person office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am – 12 pm. I am available to meet at other times by appointment.
  • All other staff is available by appointment.

Should you have any questions, please reach out. I am happy to help how best I can.
 
 
With much gratitude, 
Jennifer Luce, Congregational Administrator

 A Message from Jennifer Luce
Congregational Administrator

Between Sundays 11-10-23

by | Nov 10, 2023 | News (home)

Winter is coming:  How can we help our unhoused neighbors?
 Each night there are over 1600 people on the streets of Ventura County looking for shelter.  The Point-in-Time count earlier this year showed at least 2,441 people were homeless in Ventura County.  Of this number, only 808 were sheltered.  There simply are not enough shelter beds.
 
The end of daylight savings signals that nights will come earlier and become colder.  You may recall the severe rains and cold weather this past winter.  More of this weather is again forecast this winter.
 
Think about the suffering that severe rain and cold bring to our homeless neighbors.  Some of us may get caught in the rain for a few moments, but none of us endures hours of pouring rain.  Let us remember that at least 158 unhoused people died in Ventura County in 2022.
 
For the first time, the cities of Ventura and Oxnard will each be opening separate Foul Weather Shelter (FWS) programs during the coming winter.  In addition to the 24/7 shelters both cities currently operate, the FWS programs will provide motel rooms for unhoused people when the weather becomes severe.  Between December 1st of this year to the end of March, 2024, the FWS programs will be triggered when predicted temperatures fall below 40 degrees or over 
½ inch of rain is anticipated.
 
The Foul Weather Shelter programs in Ventura and Oxnard will protect about 40 of the most vulnerable homeless folks.  Priority for FWS beds will be people over 65 and/or those with serious health conditions. Remaining rooms will be on a first come/first served basis.  For those who cannot get a room, “stay warm packs” will be provided.
 
How can you help?
 The FWS programs in both Ventura and Oxnard will rely on the generosity of faith communities.  River Community Church in Ventura and All Saints Episcopal Church in Oxnard will serve as program centers.  You can help in the following ways:
 
1. For the Ventura program, offer to provide meals.  Each FWS participant will receive a warm dinner and breakfast for the following day.  UUCV will be on standby to provide meals for specific weeks.  If you would like to help provide meals, please contact Sue Brinkmeyer at suebrinkmeyer@earthlink.net.
2. Donate items for the “stay warm packs.”  Unhoused folks who do not meet the criteria for motel rooms will receive supplies to assist them during the weather event.  The packs will include rain ponchos, tarps, blankets, jackets, hand-warmers, socks, toiletries, snacks, and bags for the materials.  
– If you would like to donate items for Ventura, please contact Kappy Paulson at kmp160@sbcglobal.net.  The River Community Church also has an Amazon “wish list” for donations.  
– If you would like to donate items for Oxnard, please contact Yukio Okano at yukio.okano@yahoo.com
 
3. Monetary donations.  This coming week’s UUCV plate collection will go to the Ventura and Oxnard FWS programs.  You can also mail checks as follows:
– For Ventura, send checks made out to River Community Church to 859 E. Santa Clara Street, Ventura 93001.  Put “Foul Weather” in the memo line.
– For Oxnard, send checks made out to All Saints Episcopal Church to 144 South “C” Street, Oxnard 93030.  Put “Foul Weather” in the memo line.
 
4. Volunteer when the FWS is triggered.  Volunteers are needed to help support the FWS programs by hosting participants at gathering centers and distributing “stay warm packs.”   If you would like to volunteer, please contact the following:

For Ventura, contact Kappy Paulson.
For Oxnard, contact Yukio Okano.  

Foul weather shelters will not solve the problem of homelessness.  But they will help protect the most vulnerable members of our community.  Please do what you can to help.

A Message from Yukio Okano
Member… Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness

MORE BETWEEN SUNDAYS…

Between Sundays 1/25/23

Jan 26, 2023

Dear Ones,    As a Living Tradition and an Evolving Faith, the Unitarian Universalist Association has been undertaking a revision of Article II of the UUA...

read more

Between Sundays 1/17/23

Jan 18, 2023

STUDYING TONI MORRISON Intimate Conversations about Experiencing Patriarchy and White Privilege With guidance from Dr. Susan Franzblau and Ryyn...

read more

Between Sundays 1/10/23

Jan 10, 2023

A New Year’s Same-Year Reflection Hoo boy, we are halfway through the church year that began July 1, 2022. It is a good time to reflect on where we have been and to...

read more

Between Sundays – Holidays

Dec 22, 2022

Good People, I have found myself signing off missives with: Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. This is, indeed, the reason people...

read more

Between Sundays 12-14-22

Dec 14, 2022

Dearest Congregants,We are a new group convened to help our congregation become more conscious of ways that power dynamics, of which patriarchy is a part, affect...

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