by Kitty Merrill | Sep 29, 2017 | Minister
I just seem to grow more deeply in love with this congregation every day.
I love the way people show up, bringing (almost all the time) your kind hearts and best selves to this endeavor of community.
I loved seeing 15 folks from the church at Bep Hogen-Esch’s memorial at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home. Someone said they wished it had been at the church because it feels more like home, and yet they were there. Often, I see people who didn’t know the person who died well or maybe not at all. They come because the community has lost someone, which means they have. Now that’s what I call church people.
We had 30-40 people show up after church a few Sundays back to share thoughts about whether or not to take down a tree as part of the Outdoor Sanctuary Project. Earlier in our process, concerns about removing a canary pine had not gotten a full enough airing. There was some frustration felt on many sides. So the board decided people needed a time to give full voice to those many sides. The conversation was thoughtful and respectful. People shared their thoughts about the tree and also about the process of getting to this decision point. Folks reported that they felt heard.
By the time you are reading this, a decision about the tree will have been made by the hard-working Outdoor Sanctuary Team. I loved hearing folks express their support for the team’s work and leadership while offering their decided (and undecided) opinions. The work of the church is sometimes slow and a little messy. It is that way because living in covenant can be slow and a little messy.
Y’all show up for all generations services. The Water Communion was joyful and fun. I suspect that most of you missed my favorite part of all because it was happening mostly behind you. As we sang “Blue Boat Home” as our final hymn, a gaggle of girls were dancing – twirling and swinging their arms gracefully – by the west alcove. I loved how much fun they were having, how at home they seemed.
One Saturday in September, only a few UUCV people showed up for a coastal clean-up day. Yet that was also the day of a choir retreat, Open Mic Night, a Building and Grounds work party and Bep’s memorial. We show up, though it seems that five events in one day may more than we can manage.
You are a congregation so very easy to love!
Rev. Dana
P.S. – The next place for people to SHOW UP! is for the auction on October 14. It’s an important fund raiser and a really, really good time for all.
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 18, 2017 | Stewardship Report
Did UU Know?
When you make a donation to the church in memory of a member or friend, these donations will be gratefully added to the church operating fund. However, you may choose to direct these memorial donations to one of the following instead by indicating it on the memo line of your check:
- Endowment Fund
- Inreach/Outreach Fund
- Church Improvements
- An active capital drive (currently it’s the Outdoor Sanctuary).
- Or you can allow the family to choose. An email is sent to the family contact listing the names (but not amounts given) of those who made donations in honor of their loved one. In the email, the family is given the option to direct any undesignated donations to one of the above four options. .
Contact: Maura Raffensperger maurapics@gmail.com
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 18, 2017 | Building and Grounds
by Linda Pietrzak
I hope you have seen the new refrigerator in the kitchen. It looks so nice. There is extra temporary storage across from it where the extra refrigerator was, soon it will become permanent pantry storage with added counter space (Thank you Mike Sixbey).
The one part you may not notice is the money it is saving us. If it was just a replacement of one refrigerator for another it would be a saving of about $77 a year, BUT we replaced two refrigerators with one large one so we are saving so much more.
Thanks to Rob March for painting the whale’s tail. Darryl Marquez helped clean it last month. It has been a lot of work but it should look good for quite a while.
We had two new people at Building and Grounds Work Party, Chris Chalquest and Peggy Anders. They cleaned and changed the sign out front. It will be nice to see what inspiring words appear each month.
The rest of the crew was comprised of Geoff Dann, Mike Duffy, Michael Akseven, Cindy Camillucci, Joyce Sattler and Damian. They were so busy with a number of chores.
A large picture was hung in Rev. Dana’s office, the soiled recliner was moved out of Berg Hall, the fluorescent lights and emergency lights were checked, the olive tree garden was watered, the lost and found was organized, old flowers were removed from the sanctuary, the garage and the front entry were swept, trash was picked up and cans in the garage were emptied, pine needles swept up, trash was picked up around the property, the front entry swept, and weeds were pulled from around the sign out front.
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 18, 2017 | Finance Committee
- Most pledge payments are dropped in the offering bags each Sunday, but sometimes we don’t make it to church on Sunday. This creates a need to remember when to write a monthly check for our monthly pledge payment. You can order monthly checks sent from your bank’s bill paying system, or you can have the church order monthly payments for you (See instructions below.)
- The benefit to you is you have one less task to remember and one less check to write each month. The benefit to the church is that your pledge payments will match your pledged amount, and that will reduce the accounting tasks and follow up phone calls needed to balance the church books.
- Our most important financial goal is to increase annual pledges by approximately $40,000 per year by April 2019 when the 2019-2020 budget will be constructed. This is an average monthly increase of $16 per pledger.
- You can change your future pledge amount at any time by notifying Jennifer Seale, UUCV Office Administrator, at 805/644-3898, extension 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.
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 18, 2017 | Justice Actions
Dear UUCV Community,
The amazing and dedicated RE team have gotten us through this summer beautifully. The kids had so much fun making cookies, art, exploring meteorites and fossils, and so much more. We had a lovely welcome back BBQ and pool party hosted by the Brinkmeyers! Thank you so much to all the RE committee and teachers that kept this program afloat!
Thank you also for your loving welcome and patience as I learn the ropes! Much gratitude to Rev. Dana and the staff, the RE committee who spoiled me with an amazing dinner and Welcome to Ventura care package, and the teachers I’ve enjoyed getting to know one by one.
September is a big month for us as we finish out the summer, enjoy an all generations service with water communion on September 10, and then launch the 2017-18 RE program on September 17! This includes a Harry Potter curriculum. Coming of Age for teens and so much more.
With recent traumatic events and prevalent violence, here are some highlights about how to talk to your children about Charlottesville. Please ask if you’d like the full articles!
- The biggest message to get across for children is that others may have a different point of view but that doesn’t mean it should reach the point of violence.
- The most important part of helping children deal with news of people being hurt or hurting others is to reassure them that you will always do anything and everything you can to keep them safe.
- “Always look for the helpers.” Mr. Rogers
May we stand and learn together in a church of compassion and love! One of my colleagues made backpack charms for the kids at her church with the message: “You are loved! You are valued. You are never alone. You have an important role. You have inherent worth and dignity.” What a beautiful and true message, applicable to all people!
With love and light, Emily Carroll, DRE
emily@uuventura.orgSeptember
