by Kitty Merrill | Jul 10, 2017 | Building and Grounds
by Linda Pietrzak
If you want to meet some new people at church, come on out to a Building and Grounds Work Party held on the third Saturday of each month. Get to know someone new while doing something nice for the church.
In May, we cut down an Australian willow tree before it fell down, planted some shrubs by the church sign, swept, raked, and watered. Those who helped were Shirin Anderson, Lisa Connolly, Michelle Allen, Bryan Buck, Mike Sixbey, Mike Duffy, Merle Oberg, Kitty Merrill, Rob, Cindy Camillucci, Joyce Sattler, and Linda Pietrzak.
Joyce Sattler, Bryan Buck, Kitty Merrill, Mike Duffy, Mike Sixbey, Cindy Camillucci, Rev Dana Worsnop, Bill Peltola, Geoff Dann, Alan Peters, and Mia Michaels attended the June workparty.
They worked on many small projects: tightening a base on the wobbly gong, moving last month’s firewood to a location near the bike path so that anyone can help themselves, checking fluorescent lights, and adjusting a door stop.
The Lost and Found was updated, weeds and dead shrubbery were removed, plants were watered, the glass tables were moved to the trash, things were swept up, and pine needles raked.
I hope everyone who comes out feels good about the gift they have given the church. They are also welcome to come to a B&G committee meeting on the second Wednesday of the month. It is another level of commitment to the church and a really great group of people to work with.
by Kitty Merrill | Jul 10, 2017 | Justice Actions
“Summertime and the livin’ is easy”- Gershwin
I hope everyone has plans to enjoy the summer months with family and friends. These are the long sweet days before the harvest. Summer also marks the beginning of a new church year starting July 1. There is so much to look forward to. We are now fully staffed in a changeover of personnel that has taken us through several years. The time and work involved was all part of a natural and intentional process that has brought to us a great staff.
Our new Director of Religious Education, Emily Carroll, will be starting in August. All of us should be looking forward to getting acquainted with Emily and helping to begin revitalizing our RE program. Our young families and their children have been patiently waiting for a new, permanent, DRE. That day has arrived.
There are many volunteer opportunities available that need to be filled in support of our children. That’s right, Our Children! They are the future and paraphrasing Bob Dylan, I would much rather lend them a hand then get out of the way. Remember, it takes a village. Helping this vital program needs all of us. So, don’t be shy, please ask how you can help. Be a part of the solution and the success. This is how we change lives and make a difference in the world.
Jennifer Seale is our new Office Administrator. She began training with Becky Burnham in June. Some of you may already have met Jennifer and have been able to introduce yourselves. Jennifer will be our first impression, our ambassador, to anyone calling or visiting our church on weekdays. It will take some time for her to get settled in, so please be welcoming and encouraging.
Thank you to all who attended our Annual Meeting last month. The approving of the budget, the Open Sanctuary project, the amendment to the by-laws, and the slate of candidates, sets the stage for much of what we will do together this year.
As I write this column, General Assembly is about to begin in New Orleans, Louisiana. UUCV Representatives are Rev. Dana, Jim and Kitty Merrill, and Tanner Linden. My hope is that they bring back new insights and inspired vision for what is possible and challenging for our congregation to explore in living out our values.
With that in mind the Board will soon begin in earnest a process of visioning. With all the changes that have taken place these last few years, it is time to again look at who we are as a congregation.
In these troubled times our country and world need the message of Unitarian Universalism. What then calls to us? How shall we respond with love? These questions and more will be considered and shared as we begin our 2017-18 journey together.
I welcome hearing from you what your dreams and aspirations are for the UUCV. Unitarian Universalism is a faith that asks you to explore questions about what is meaningful and true for you. This is a place that “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” Please email me your thoughts, your vision of what we can aspire to be. (bryanabuck@hotmail.com)
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | Jul 10, 2017 | Justice Actions
I write just a few days after our Annual Meeting where we approved the Outdoor Sanctuary Project, made a bylaw change, approved a budget and voted in new officers. A lot accomplished in an hour and a half!
I wanted to clarify one thing about our finances. More than once at the meeting people said church finances are healthy. This is true both in the immediate and long term. Yet it is also true that in the next 2-3 years we will have some decisions to make.
Long-term financial health comes from both operating reserves and the legacy funds. While our policy is to have 3 months operating expenses in reserve, due to careful stewardship by the Finance Committee, we presently have nearly 5. The Legacy Fund has been well cared for and still has well over $200,000. Indeed, I have never served a church with such healthy reserves, so well-stewarded for the long term.
The immediate financial health is funded by 3-year “bridge pledges” made last year. These have allowed us to continue “staffing for growth.” The bridge pledges give us about another $40,000 for two more years (including 2017-2018). Coming to the end of that bridge, we arrive at the crossroads. The vast majority of the budget is made up of staff salaries, and we may well have some staffing decisions to make.
This year we had a very successful Celebration Sunday and pledge drive. We increased pledging by about 5 percent, which is to be applauded. You are a very generous congregation. Yet you can see that we’ll need to grow our resources significantly more in the next couple of years.
Often people think of growing in numbers of members, yet there are many ways to grow a church. We grow in spirit, in generosity, in commitment, in engagement, and in numbers. We are looking for growth in all these qualities.
We have many resources, yet there may be some hard choices ahead. I’m reminding you of this now, not to induce panic. We will not be falling off a cliff in two years. I just want to paint the fuller picture so that we are all holding it.
Ultimately the questions we need to ask are about the mission of this church and how we sustain it for the future. If we continue to grow in depth and clarity of mission, we will be the church we are called to be. That’s the very best we can do.
In faith and in community,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Jul 10, 2017 | Minister
I write just a few days after our Annual Meeting where we approved the Outdoor Sanctuary Project, made a bylaw change, approved a budget and voted in new officers. A lot accomplished in an hour and a half!
I wanted to clarify one thing about our finances. More than once at the meeting people said church finances are healthy. This is true both in the immediate and long term. Yet it is also true that in the next 2-3 years we will have some decisions to make.
Long-term financial health comes from both operating reserves and the legacy funds. While our policy is to have 3 months operating expenses in reserve, due to careful stewardship by the Finance Committee, we presently have nearly 5. The Legacy Fund has been well cared for and still has well over $200,000. Indeed, I have never served a church with such healthy reserves, so well-stewarded for the long term.
The immediate financial health is funded by 3-year “bridge pledges” made last year. These have allowed us to continue “staffing for growth.” The bridge pledges give us about another $40,000 for two more years (including 2017-2018). Coming to the end of that bridge, we arrive at the crossroads. The vast majority of the budget is made up of staff salaries, and we may well have some staffing decisions to make.
This year we had a very successful Celebration Sunday and pledge drive. We increased pledging by about 5 percent, which is to be applauded. You are a very generous congregation. Yet you can see that we’ll need to grow our resources significantly more in the next couple of years.
Often people think of growing in numbers of members, yet there are many ways to grow a church. We grow in spirit, in generosity, in commitment, in engagement, and in numbers. We are looking for growth in all these qualities.
We have many resources, yet there may be some hard choices ahead. I’m reminding you of this now, not to induce panic. We will not be falling off a cliff in two years. I just want to paint the fuller picture so that we are all holding it.
Ultimately the questions we need to ask are about the mission of this church and how we sustain it for the future. If we continue to grow in depth and clarity of mission, we will be the church we are called to be. That’s the very best we can do.
In faith and in community,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Inreach/Outreach News
Inreach/Outreach Recipients for June
June 4: River Haven Transitional Housing Community Funds help with expenses the budget doesn’t cover at this supportive community where homeless individuals can live in harmony and learn to overcome obstacles preventing them from maintaining housing.
June 11: Ventura Homeless Prevention Fund Funds prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless due to a one-time event such as accident or illness and pay the rent so a temporary loss of income or unexpected expense does not result in loss of housing.
June 18: LUYV: Park Outreach Team Funds make it possible for the team to continue outreach in the homeless community in Ventura’s parks.
June 25: UUCV Inreach/Outreach fund Funds assist those in our own local and church community when the need for help arises.
Thanks for your donations, Anne Escobedo
Inreach/Outreach News
In late April and early May your donations went to help families that care for foster and kinship children, homeless who live in our parks, individuals and families in danger of losing their housing, and those in our local and church community who need assistance.
The congregation collected $664 for Heart 2 Heart, which will increase the supply of furniture items this Ventura County non-profit has available to foster and kinship families who “shop” for items they desperately need to provide for the children placed in their care.
The Park Outreach Team received $538 to allow these volunteers to continue outreach in the homeless community in Ventura’s parks.
The amount of $610 went to Ventura Homeless Prevention Fund to be used to prevent Ventura families and individuals from falling into homeless because of a one-time event such as an accident or illness. Funds pay the rent so a temporary loss of income or unexpected expense does not result in eviction.
The offering of $1,163 was collected for the UUCV Inreach/Outreach fund which is available when need arises within our local and church community.
