Dear Members and Friends,

The past six weeks have been challenging for me.  During the first three weeks of February, three friends died unexpectedly.  The first was Joe Hutchins, a beloved member of the UUCV community.  Joe and I were in the same men’s group.  The second friend was a former co-worker with whom I worked for many years.  He was killed in a car accident while driving to work.  The third was my barber, who died of Covid.  Each loss caught me off guard and left me feeling shaken.  

These losses, on top of the stresses of the pandemic, forced me to think about the big questions of life:  the kinds of questions we hope to understand better by coming to church.  What is the meaning of life?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Am I taking life for granted?  Am I doing the things most meaningful to me?  How can I live a more skillful life?

As one who thinks of himself as a Buddhist Unitarian, I immediately thought about the concepts of suffering and impermanence.  Most of the unsatisfactoriness in my life comes from things not going my way, often in a material sense or just not getting the outcome I want.  Losing people is a shock.  Yet, impermanence is a fundamental Buddhist concept often set aside.  How often we take for granted that people we know will always be there or a situation will not change!   

During times of distress, I am thankful to be part of a community that exists to help its members navigate the vicissitudes of life.  That is one of the blessings of being part of UUCV.  The church provides resources to help us cope with the difficult moments and to live more joyfully and fully.  Services and sermons inspire us to learn from spiritual ideas and practices.  Church groups and fellow congregants provide connection and support.  There are opportunities to practice compassion and promote social justice.

A religious community like UUCV is a gift to all who enter its doors.  At any moment, we are all in different places in our life journeys.  Some of us are doing well; others are in physical or emotional pain.  But all of us can share being part of a community where people care about one another.  

How do we ensure that UUCV is able to thrive and remain a healthy resource for all of us?  As we are in the midst of our annual pledge drive, let us consider what UUCV means to us and how we can support it.

Dan Hotchkiss, a UU minister and writer, suggests that people often act like consumers when they choose their church. It is as if we are shopping at “a buyer’s club…that delivers maximum religious benefit to members at the lowest cost.”  When asked about why we chose this church or another one, we quickly share our likes and dislikes.  We love (or don’t love) the music, we enjoy (or don’t enjoy) the sermons, or we like (or dislike) the people.  When it comes time to financially support the church, we think about making the lowest payment.

But church is not just about what we like and dislike.  It also offers the opportunity for transformative growth.  A place where we can become our best selves and be of service to others.  A place where we can put into action the 7 Principles (and hopefully the 8th) that define Unitarian Universalist values.  What a gift to be able to actually practice what we believe in and help make the world a better place!  

So, as you consider how you want to support UUCV during this pledge drive, please don’t think about church as just another bill to pay.  Consider how much UUCV means to you and how it can play an even larger role in your life.   Remember, with gratitude, all that you have.  And then be as generous as you can.

Be well,
Yukio Okano
Board President
 

Good People,
Our church community is beginning to ramp back up as the risk of catching and spreading Covid is falling. 
With any luck, the church will be able to open up in person more and more over the next weeks and months. 

None of us will be quite the same again, and yet we are coming alive again. 
In this springing of the year, we are poking our heads above ground like crocuses, daffodils, and calla lilies.

There are a few small tasks that will help the community feel more like itself. 
We are all weary, and so I set before you small(ish) things that can help us be together with heart open, faces smiling, hands willing hands, and maybe even arms hugging (with renewed care and permission).

The Caring Committee
This committee’s biggest task is helping with receptions after memorial services at church. They come early to set up and stay after to clean up. It is a great gift to a grieving family and allows the minister to focus on the service. The group also supports the Pastoral Associates, writing cards, organizing meal trains, offering a ministry of simple care.
With Joe Hutchins memorial coming up on April 9, this is a great time to pitch in and give this team a try.
Contact Madelaine Okano – maddyokano@yahoo.com.

Kitchen Kabinet
For now, Coffee Hour is a simple(r) offering of coffee and hot water for tea or hot chocolate on a cart wheeled outside after the service. In the spirit of more hands makes lighter work, it would be great to have 2-3 people to take this on one Sunday a month. Then you can be on the inside track for helping shape the Coffee Hour of the Future..!
Contact Yukio Okano – yukio.okano@yahoo.com.

Greeters
Yes, people are returning to church and someone needs to greet them at the door. 
Our mode of greeting may need to shift a bit, though the warmth and invitation will be the same.
If you can sign-up to come a bit early just one Sunday a month and smile happily as you welcome friend and newcomer alike, it would be a particular ministry of its own.
Contact Gudrun Eastham – druzel@msn.com 

Counting the Offering
Though many are giving to our offering online, some prefer the ritual of giving cash or writing a check. So, we still need two people to count the money after church. It only takes a few minutes, though this is a significant position of trust.
Contact Dennis Charles – dennischarles987@gmail.com.

RE Set Up & Clean up
Another time to come a bit early and help with the set up and preparation for our RE program. Others can stay a litte after to clean up. For now, RE activities are outdoors, though this help will still be needed when our kids are back in their classrooms.
Contact Fidelity Ballmer – fidelity@uuventura.org

Building and Grounds
We are having a B & G “Work Party” on Saturday from 9 until 12. It is every third Saturday. We encourage and challenge others to come out and work on making the outside look better. We have some hand tools but it helps if folks can bring some of their own.
Contact Linda Pietrzak – linda.w.pietrzak@gmail.com

2 women in 2 hours. If we had 5 or so groups think of what we could do.

I still find myself resisting the word ‘normal,’ particularly in the context of ‘getting back to normal.’ 
(There are just too many ways that our previous ‘normal’ was not great for too many people.) Yet I also know that there is comfort in familiar ways of doing things. 

As we come together again after more than two years, we have a chance to be thoughtful and intentional about which ‘old’ practices we pick up again, which we let go, and which we adapt and change for a new moment. 

Still so glad to be in this with you all.
With love,
Rev. Dana

Dear UUCV Community,

The UUCV Religious Education program has a new safety policy to continue keeping our children safe as COVID-19 risk factors & restrictions are easing in California. See below for a summary of the most important changes.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, UUCV’s Religious Education program has done as much as we could to keep our kids as safe and socially connected as possible. Though we recognize that the path forward has not always been easy, we are grateful for our community’s commitment to safety measures like masking, moving kids and classes outdoors, asking RE teachers for verification of full vaccination status, and encouraging social distancing.

Very often, I’ve heard caregivers & families remark that UUCV has been much more serious about our COVID safety protocols than other youth organizations they participate in. There are no easy answers in how to make these decisions, but we always begin with the questions, “How do we do the most for the least of us? How do we protect the most vulnerable?”

Following the science, checking in with families & RE teachers, and taking great care in making these decisions have all been central to the process.

On Monday, the UUCV Board of Trustees approved a new Religious Education COVID-19 Safety Policy moving into the Spring. This policy was written by Fidelity and the UUCV Reopening Team considering several factors including: the latest announcements about ending mask requirements in California schools (link), continuous survey results from UUCV families, and the decrease of COVID-19 cases in Ventura County.

You can read the policy in full here (link). Though much will look familiar, there are some significant changes. Please read the policy in full and let us know what questions you have.

Below are the most important changes summarized.

General Safety Changes under the Spring Policy:

• The Spring 2022 policy no longer restricts group sizes to 15 children or less.
• Caregivers no longer need to RSVP for RE classes.
• Children ages 0-4 will be invited indoors for a nursery.

Location:

• Religious Education classes will remain outdoors for children ages 5-17. Children 0-4 are invited indoors for a nursery.
• The UUCV Youth Group (middle school & high school) & adult advisors can use Berg Hall for special events while wearing masks. Attendance is limited to 20 for these events.

Social Distancing, Masks, and Vaccines:

• Social distancing is no longer required.
• Masks are encouraged but optional for outdoor Religious Education.
• Children ages 2-4 in the nursery are required to wear a mask indoors. Children ages 0-2 are not asked to wear masks indoors.
• Adult staff and volunteers working with the 0-4 group indoors will be required to wear masks.

Though it will take some time to get the indoor nursery fully staffed & up and running again, we hope this next step will help in the path forward to having our children and youth once again return indoors.

Thank you for bearing with us in the messy & difficult process of continued changes.

With care,
Fidelity Ballmer
Director of Religious Education
Fidelity@UUVentura.org

Dear Members and Friends of UUCV,

We are again reopening our church doors to in-person, indoors Sunday services on February 20th. Using our reservation system, up to 75 people will be allowed in the sanctuary.

After the pandemic emerged in early 2020 and forced closure of the church, a Reopening Team was formed to monitor pandemic news, read and discuss CDC, State, and local advisories, and make recommendations to the Board. The Reopening Team has met frequently to keep up with a great deal of information, much of which seemed contradictory at times. To give credit to this dedicated group, here are their names: Priscilla Akin, Kent Brinkmeyer, Melissa Ruiz, Cassie Tondro, Jim Waldron, and Bryan Buck (chair).

Recommendations made by the Reopening Team are further evaluated and acted on by your UUCV Board. Your Board members are Ron Dallas, Ray Escobedo, Rebeca Fassett, Cassie Tondro, Xenia Young, and Yukio Okano. Rev. Dana is an ex officio member of the Board. During the early stages of the pandemic, the Board decided to be cautious and closed the church. The decision was made to open gradually.

Starting in September, 2021, following an all-generations outdoor church service, in-person attendance was limited to parents of our RE children. This was done to not only limit the number of people attending, but to protect RE children, who at the time could not be vaccinated. About 20 people attended live services.

In early November, the number allowed to attend services in person was increased to 50. To promote fairness, a first-come, first-served reservation system was put in place. The reservation system also helped us to keep track of the number of people attending services. In mid-December, the Board approved a Reopening Team recommendation to increase the number allowed to attend in person to 75. Services were again closed on January 9th due to the surge of the Omicron variant.

As we again reopen the church, here is a reminder of some basic principles followed by the Board in making decisions:

• Outdoors is safer than indoors.
• COVID virus transmission risk increases in crowded settings, especially indoors.
• Masks are needed indoors and even outdoors when there are many people and/or there are unvaccinated people present.
• Many children, especially those under 5, are not yet vaccinated.
• Vaccinations are vital to controlling the pandemic.

While public health data indicate the Omicron surge is decreasing, the Reopening Team and Board believe it is best to resume gradual reopening. Here are some specific actions that have been taken:

• We ask that anyone entering the sanctuary be vaccinated unless there is a medical reason not to be.
• Half of the seating normally in the sanctuary has been removed, leaving 130 chairs. This allows for greater spacing between non-related groups.
• Recognizing the importance of ventilation, the HVAC system has been inspected and tested.
• Windows and doors are open during services to increase fresh air.
• Fans are used in the sanctuary to promote air flow.
• CO2 levels have been measured to confirm that there is a good flow of fresh air.
• HEPA air filtration units have been used to further promote fresh air flow. The Board purchased 11 new units for use throughout the church.
• Wearing of masks is required for those in the sanctuary.

The Reopening Team and the Board recognize that people may not agree on how to proceed with reopening the church. We also believe that our church members and friends are self-selective in their decision-making. Some will feel comfortable in coming to church under these conditions. Others may choose to stay home and attend via Zoom or You Tube.

We have learned that flexibility is essential in adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic. We are trying to move forward cautiously, knowing that we can make changes as needed. We will not hesitate to make changes needed to protect the health of the staff and congregation.

As we enter yet another phase of the pandemic, we wish you serenity and good health.

Yukio Okano
UUCV Board President

Bryan Buck
Chair, Reopening Team

Dear Ones,
 
   The Omicron wave has crashed upon the shore and is receding again.
 
So, let’s celebrate by coming together for an All Generations, In Person, Outdoors Animal Blessing service fittingly called Puppy Love on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day!
 
We’ll come together as a community – complete with our dear Animal Companions, the dear pets who helped us survive the isolation and repeated shut downs of the continuing Covid Time. 
 
Bring your (mostly) well-behaved pets who can be on leash or in crates to join us for worship, which will include stories and music and conclude with a Pet Parade.
 
We will also have an altar for photos of pets who have died or who it’s best to leave home.
 
It will be so good to be together again. 
 
Given that the Omicron wave has passed, the Reopening Team and the Board are consulting about reopening for hybrid services soon.  Our current plan will be to again ask people to RSVP for church, likely beginning with a sanctuary capacity of 75. 
 
I have learned ever more viscerally over the last two years to hold the words ‘current plan’ very lightly. It is my fond hope that we won’t have to shut down again, and eventually we will be able to open our doors again without restriction, while keeping a window open, too, for those who can join us on Zoom. 
 
Throughout the pandemic, the UUA has offered guidance to our congregations, researching and recommending practices to reduce the risk of Covid transmission at each stage of this pandemic. 
Because the virus is going to be with us for a long time, the UUA advises each congregation to “decide for itself how it will gather given the risks and needs in its community … as the virus surges and dissipates. The UUA supports congregations that make the decision to suspend all in-person gatherings, and we also support congregations that decide to combine in-person and online engagement…. [basing decisions on] your community, your building, and your people” and how in-person gatherings can be adequately safe.
 
Onward together,
Rev. Dana