by Admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Stewardship Report
Building a New Way
“How fun to meet the new folks (new to me) on this list. I look forward to getting to meet with them.”
That’s a quote from one of our canvassers this year. It perfectly describes why we are conducting a member-to-member canvass this year.
What’s a canvass, you ask? In one way, it’s another word for pledge drive, but more than that, it is an intent to connect with every member and friend of UUCV. It is as much about growing and deepening relationships as it is about asking you to renew your pledge for the coming year.
Every canvasser is a pledging member of UUCV, just like you, and is volunteering their time to meet with you both because this is important to the health of our congregation AND because they also are looking to deepen (or begin!) their relationship with you.
So look forward to the call from your canvasser this month to find a time to meet. Make it easy for them and answer your phone. Please return their call promptly if they leave a message. To paraphrase from Casablanca, “This may be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Contact: Maura Raffensperger: Maurapics@gmail.com
by Admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Finance Committee
• We are not a gym, social club, or a governmental body. We do not levy fees, dues, or taxes. We are a loving community, and if you need love or have some to share, you belong with us.
• The average cost per month per pledger for the expenses of this church is about $165, but we do not expect that from everyone. What might be impossible for one person might be too easy for the person sitting next to them.
• Financial support for our community comes primarily from pledged gifts, good for one year at a time. “Love is our religion,” and so is generosity.
• You can make one time donations or set up automatic pledge payments at www.uuventura.org, by clicking on “Give” on the right side of the masthead area, then, click on the picture of the mouse and following the instructions; or by contacting contact David Smith at 805/216-9331 or davidpaseo@verizon.net.
by Admin | Feb 2, 2018 | Minister
Have you noticed yourself start to date things from before and after the fire? Such happens when we’ve been through such a major and collective trauma. I also have realized that somewhere in there I lost December. So now we get to pick up and carry on.
Sometime Before the Fire, the Board of Trustees held a Congregational Conversation to hear from folks about how things are going in church. The question we posed was: What ways do we want the church to grow? The point was not to dwell on numerical growth, but to consider all the aspects of growth within the church. Folks responded with all sort of ideas about how we can grow in spiritual depth, in being a congregation of many diversities and generations. There were ideas for worship and religious education and for how we might improve our sanctuary’s aesthetics and acoustics.
Have you noticed, in the mean time, we are growing like gangbusters? Some Sundays we are filling up nearly every seat. We now are singing “We Hold You In Our Love” three times through before all our kids make it through the Bridge of Love. People have been finding their way through our doors. We will welcome 30-35 new members in just four months. Our RE program is close to doubling in size in 6 months.
It could just be that what we offer in a free church with progressive values and an openness to spirit and possibility resonates more profoundly in our times. Perhaps the fires served as a powerful reminder of the importance of community. It becomes clearer how much we need each other and the power we have when we come together.
We are now growing in all the ways we spoke of in November and in numbers of people seeking a spiritual home.
Such growth is simultaneously wonderful and challenging. We have bought more chairs for the sanctuary and more tables for Berg Hall, which will help.
Yet more important is that we keep our hearts and arms open, that we remember the gracious art of hospitality. We offer a profound message of freedom, resistance, hope, possibility, and joy, even as the world swirls around us. We may, each of us, need this community. And we must keep the doors open behind us and offer to others the same sense of home we have found.
So that we may ever say, Welcome home. We’re so glad you’re here.
with love,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Feb 2, 2018 | Justice Actions
Writers Block
That’s what it feels like for me this month. My guess is that the events of the last few months are having an effect all of us may share. The politics, lack of civility, poverty, the fires that took so much, and the rain, can leave one feeling over whelmed and numb. What’s a person to do? Where’s the life preserver? How about a rock to help stay grounded? What or who can lift me up? I believe the answer is Unitarian Universalism and the community that is the UU Church of Ventura.
Our church is growing. You can see that on Sundays. The Sanctuary is filled with many new faces. Particularly evident are young parents and their children, and simply more folks of all ages. We are reaching people with our faith message of inclusiveness by drawing a wider circle. We are reaching people with our faith message of Justice for All, whether it be about uplifting the homeless or shining light on other human rights issues. We are reaching people through our efforts to improve lives and make a difference in the world.
You may remember a few months ago being asked; What are the ways we want to grow? It is one of the questions the Board has been considering this year. It was not intended to be a question about numeric growth but more about personal and spiritual development. Yet what we are currently experiencing is dynamic growth in numbers as a response to not only who we are as Unitarian Universalists, but also because outside events are so very troubling to so many. It tells us that people are in search of community. Which means another, different question, should be asked: How do we accommodate the growth we are experiencing?
At last month’s Board meeting we found ourselves in a “muddle.” This arose over the Vision and Mission work the Board is beginning. Our church has not done this work for many years. On many levels it seems this should be simple. But it turns out that it’s not. To me it feels like trying to hold vapor. So, what are we doing to move past our “muddle?” The Board recognized we needed help and decided to reach out to our contact at the Pacific Western Region, the Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong.
On January 20 the Board met with Rev. Kwong for five hours to get clarity on how to proceed. It was a very successful meeting. We learned Vision/Mission work will take many months to accomplish and it involves strategic planning. That led us to reviewing our current 5-year plan which comes to an end this year. The current plan is on our website and available for review. There has been much progress made and it presents a worthy vision. But it also means it is time to develop a new 5-year plan. When we do, it will be a formal process that involves everyone. In the months ahead, the Board will determine how that work will begin. In the meantime, as we move forward, please consider what you hold dear and love about the UUCV and what your hopes are for the future of this congregation. Feel free to let me know those dreams with an email to bryanabuck@hotmail.com.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Admin | Feb 2, 2018 | Climate Action
Let the Sun Shine!
by Jim Merrill
At the January 7, 2018 meeting of Seventh Principle Environmental Action Team (7PEAT), we learned that the installation of our solar panels in 2015, our church rooftop generation plant has produced 74,750 kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity. To put that figure in perspective, the average California home uses 6,684 kWh annually. Our rooftop panels have generated enough power for 11.2 California homes per year since 2015!
The 7PEAT team is glad to share with anyone how our congregation is reducing our carbon footprint through photovoltaic generation and through our many other sustainability initiatives.
Contact: Jim Merrill:
merrilly@verizon.net
