Inreach/Outreach News – November, 2017

“Give without the expectation of receiving anything in return.” Roy T. Bennett
Members and pledging friends voted in October to determine which organizations will receive our Sunday offerings during the months of November through February. Results of the vote and a schedule of Sunday offering dates are posted in Berg Hall on the We Care/We Share bulletin board.
Dinners for the hungry, mental health, outreach to homeless in our parks, and housing homeless families were causes the congregation generously supported in late September and early October.
We collected $533 for Bread of Life, “Feeding Oxnard’s Hungry,” the program that provides 80-100 hot, three-course dinners to anyone who comes through the door each Sunday evening all year at this Oxnard site.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) Ventura County received $723 to help continue to offer without cost their classes and presentations throughout the county. NAMI provides emotional support, education and resources for families affected by mental illness, and advocates at the local, state and national levels for a maximization of services for persons who are afflicted.
Donations to Lift Up Your Voice: Park Outreach Team amounted to $608 which allows the volunteer team to continue to provide outreach to the homeless community in Ventura’s parks.
Family Promise of West Ventura County received $677. This nonprofit houses newly homeless families with children at a different host congregation each week. During the day the families stay at a centrally located day center where they receive social services and work on issues to help them gain stability. The funds will buy bedding and beds to use at the houses of worship and will travel with the families to each host congregation.

7th Principle News – November, 2017

7PEAT, RE & Kitchen Angels Team Up to Green our Dishware
by Mark Mendelson
A UUCV collaborative effort is underway to make reusable dishware second nature, instead of disposable paper/plastic goods, at our on-site and off-site church events. For all-church potlucks, and any other events, you’re always encouraged to bring your own place setting (dish/es, utensils, cup and napkin), however we wanted to have on hand a set to use for the smaller gatherings, like RE events at parks or pools.
The RE Committee recently purchased a 30-person set in durable, midnight blue plastic, conveniently kept in a great tote bag. This new set, together with the plastic dishes RE already had on hand, means we have service for 60. There are also plastic glasses.
Because there is not room to keep this dishware in the kitchen, a plastic bin containing all event dishware will be available in the storage room across from the Green Room. Chinaware and cloth napkins, also available to all, will be kept in a bin or bins next to the plastic-ware as well. Metal silverware and serving utensils will still be stored in the kitchen drawers.
Guidelines for using the dishes:
• Use the reservation sheet on the plastic bin so groups wanting to use dishware can be sure it will be available and know who has it at the moment if it’s in use. All will also know who needs it next and when they need to make sure it’s back, clean and ready for use.
• Clean and return borrowed dishware, glasses, silverware, and utensils to the appropriate storage spot. It is the responsibility solely of the committee or group that checked them out.
• While the church kitchen may be used to wash dishes for on-site events (but not on Sunday mornings please) they should never be left in the kitchen for our Kitchen Angels to deal with (not even in the drying racks)!
A subset of dishes and silverware will remain in the kitchen for easy access on Sunday mornings, or for the occasional meeting that occurs at church. Please return all items to the location from which they were taken, clean and ready for use.
We hope you enjoy using this new resource, and thank you for helping us thrive as a Green Sanctuary, incorporating sustainability in all church activities!

Finance Facts from the Finance Committee – November 2017

• There are three primary sources of income for our church. Everyone is familiar with pledge payments because we review and renew ours every year. The other sources are planned gifts, and contributions for capital campaigns, such as the Outdoor Sanctuary Project. The most common planned gifts come to us from members and friends wills and trusts.
• This year we have a unique program called Wake Now Our Vision. For those who have named UUCV and other UU entities in their will or trust, or as beneficiaries of a, retirement plan or life insurance policy, we will get matching funds from UUA/Shelter Rock grants. Contact Maura Raffensperger at 805/984-6121 maurapics@gmail.com or David Smith for information about participating in this special, one-time matching grant program.
• You can change your future pledge amount at any time by notifying Jennifer Seale, UUCV Office Administrator, at 805/644-3898, ext. 100 or administrator@uuventura.org. You can make one time donations or set up automatic pledge payments at www.uucv.org , by clicking on “Give” on the right side of the masthead area, click on the picture of the mouse and follow the instructions; or contact David Smith at 805/216-9331 or davidpaseo@verizon.net.

Buildings and Grounds News – November, 2017

by Linda Pietrzak
One of the wonderful things about the people who come out for B&G Work Parties is their willingness to pitch-in and take on a job when they see a need.
In the middle of October there was a windstorm. The next day, Monday, Bryan Buck, the president of the church board, stopped by to check on the amount of needle fall there had been. He filled three toters (trash cans) and called Harris to do an extra pick up. On Tuesday Bryan came back to fill them again. He found Merle Oberg out raking pine needles. They filled the three toters and then just raked the needles into massive piles that were placed as out of the way as possible.
Another example that really impressed me was when Beverly Jordan, Community Life Coordinator, introduced me to Haibiba Peterson and Wil Devine, prospective members who wanted to get involved in B&G. Haibiba had already decided she wanted to take on sweeping the entry of the church each week but needed to find out how to make it happen. She figured out how to make it work and I helped fill in the other parts. That is such a generous offering to the church. Please thank her when you see her.
There are many areas I am sure you notice need attention at the church. We are willing to work with you to help make our church home a more welcoming place. You can have the feeling of accomplishment that you have added to the enjoyment and appreciation of us all.

NEWS from Religious Education • November, 2017

Dear UUCV Community,
Each of us has abundant gifts through which we can be of service to the world, but if we are too busy comparing or not feeling good enough, we’ll push situations away and miss our opportunity. The idea is the job, relationship, and every encounter that is already happening in our lives is exactly where we are meant to inhabit fully, show up with love, and ask to be a blessing to those around us and thereby the world.
I recently asked Marianne Williamson why it didn’t feel like I was ever doing enough to save the world and she asked what I do for a living. When I told her I’m a DRE at a UU church, she said nothing could be more important than offering spiritual teachings to children and nurturing spiritual growth of the teachers, especially in a Unitarian church which is known for being active! It was a major pat on the back and yet…
Does it give me a pass on political activism? Operating from a sense of abundance and enoughness with the interactions of love and service in my daily life and inhabiting every space I’m currently in to my fullest capacity will enable me to do more. But if I am constantly looking to the horizon to see what more I could be doing instead of showing up fully where I already am, I’m going to not only miss out on the future growth, but miss the opportunities right in front of me where I’ve been called to show up with love!
She also told me to drop the violins and give up my trembling lip because there are women around the world who would be stoned for standing up and speaking at a microphone to ask a question like I did! That’s been playing in my head over and over again.
So I hope each of us will celebrate and recognize the abundance of opportunity to share love, do good, build each other up, and serve everyone we encounter in our communities, even amid the despair and heartbreak.
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. ~George Bernard Shaw 
With love and light, Emily Carroll
emily@uuventura.org

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