by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Justice Actions
Ventura County Home Share
Ventura County manages a home share program linking people with an extra room in their house to people needing housing.
Simply put, HomeSharing is an arrangement where two or more unrelated people share a dwelling, each having her or his private space and sharing certain common areas.
Both the provider and seeker of housing are screened by the Agency. Empty nesters widowers, widows, or folks with extra rooms may be interested in co-housing.
The housing seekers could be college students, recently relocated professionals, newly divorced people, people needing low-income housing, etc.
Some providers charge rent and other providers arrange for housing in exchange for pet/house sitting, maintenance chores, help with utility costs, after school care, etc. Some situations may even allow companion animals.
This program is not intended to provide housing in lieu of medical assistance.
Sign up for the program at Ventura County Home Share at http://www.ventura.org/vcaaa/homeshare or 805/477-7324
Monthly Dinner for Riverhaven
Thank you to all who have contributed to the monthly dinner UUCV provides for Riverhaven residents. Pam and Jim Waldron have offered to oversee this program. Sign up at the Social Action table. Contact Pam or Jim at pimandjam@roadrunner.com or 805/647-5650.
July 2nd Mindful Eating Potluck Barbeque
Are you planning a 4th of July barbeque and would like to offer sustainable, earth and health friendly vegetarian or vegan dishes? Now is your chance to find out how. The 7th Principle Environmental Action Team will be hosting a Mindful Eating Potluck Barbeque on Sunday July 2nd right after church. More info in July newsletter.
by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Stewardship Report
by Yukio Okano
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura is happy to announce two of our members, Krista Mendelsohn and Bob Newman, have made most generous donations to the church. Both Krista and Bob have been actively involved in church activities.
Krista’s gift of $20,000 was given in memory of her father, Jack Pease. Krista’s donation will be used towards the rebuilding of the church’s outdoor playground to create an Outdoor Sanctuary. Plans for this wonderful project will soon be shared with the congregation.
Bob served as a member of the search committee to select a new Director of Religious Education. His gift of $20,000 has been designated to further develop children’s religious education, especially to build programs for teenagers. Bob’s gift will also be used to help the new Director of Religious Education move and settle into her new office.
We thank Krista and Bob for their deep generosity and demonstration of love and support for the values and work of this congregation.
by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Justice Actions
It’s hard to believe that we’re coming on a year together. There has been so much goodness and many things accomplished. A new ministry is full of changes. It’s a time of transition, which has its challenges.
We are on the brink of one of the biggest changes of all – our beloved Becky Burnham will be retiring in a month. She has been the beating heart of this congregation for more than a decade. She knows every nook and cranny in the church. She knows where things go, where to find things when they’re not where they’re supposed to be. She keeps track of stacks of numbers. It sometimes feels like she gets tasks done five minutes before I even ask.
Becky is a bright spirit who brings much humor and even playfulness to the world. Though I grumble about it sometimes, she almost always has something sweet to offer – a bowl of candy at her desk, a clear Christmas ornament filled with candy. I treasure the sea glass necklaces she makes, and find myself trolling the beaches for tempest-tossed glass to keep her supplies fully stocked.
By the time you are reading this we will have a new person hired and Becky will be training her or him. This is simply the kind of dedication and thoroughness she has always brought to her work at UUCV. I wish there were a way to download her institutional memory directly into the mind of our new administrator.
We will miss her greatly, and we’ll even feel a bit lost at first. We will find our way, in part because Becky has set up clear and efficient processes and procedures.
As we will be welcoming two new staff people – our new administrator on July 1 and our new DRE on August 1 – we have some big thank you’s to express. So be sure to come to church on June 4 when we will formally thank and acknowledge Becky and Acting DRE Joyce Faber for their service to the church. Neither of them wants any particular fuss made – of course – but I’ve explained that we need to fuss over them at least a bit. We need to offer them our heart-felt thanks as much (or more) than they need to be thanked.
It will truly be a new era in the history of the church. Both of their memories and their gifts will be a part of any success we have going forward. I wouldn’t have made it through my first year here in Ventura without Becky’s and Joyce’s hard work and unwavering support.
So much love to you both,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Minister
It’s hard to believe that we’re coming on a year together. There has been so much goodness and many things accomplished. A new ministry is full of changes. It’s a time of transition, which has its challenges.
We are on the brink of one of the biggest changes of all – our beloved Becky Burnham will be retiring in a month. She has been the beating heart of this congregation for more than a decade. She knows every nook and cranny in the church. She knows where things go, where to find things when they’re not where they’re supposed to be. She keeps track of stacks of numbers. It sometimes feels like she gets tasks done five minutes before I even ask.
Becky is a bright spirit who brings much humor and even playfulness to the world. Though I grumble about it sometimes, she almost always has something sweet to offer – a bowl of candy at her desk, a clear Christmas ornament filled with candy. I treasure the sea glass necklaces she makes, and find myself trolling the beaches for tempest-tossed glass to keep her supplies fully stocked.
By the time you are reading this we will have a new person hired and Becky will be training her or him. This is simply the kind of dedication and thoroughness she has always brought to her work at UUCV. I wish there were a way to download her institutional memory directly into the mind of our new administrator.
We will miss her greatly, and we’ll even feel a bit lost at first. We will find our way, in part because Becky has set up clear and efficient processes and procedures.
As we will be welcoming two new staff people – our new administrator on July 1 and our new DRE on August 1 – we have some big thank you’s to express. So be sure to come to church on June 4 when we will formally thank and acknowledge Becky and Acting DRE Joyce Faber for their service to the church. Neither of them wants any particular fuss made – of course – but I’ve explained that we need to fuss over them at least a bit. We need to offer them our heart-felt thanks as much (or more) than they need to be thanked.
It will truly be a new era in the history of the church. Both of their memories and their gifts will be a part of any success we have going forward. I wouldn’t have made it through my first year here in Ventura without Becky’s and Joyce’s hard work and unwavering support.
So much love to you both,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | May 27, 2017 | Justice Actions
The Fifth Principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and society at large.”
On June 11 following our Sunday Service we will be holding our Annual Meeting. By now you should have received a packet in the mail containing informational materials on the issues we will be addressing and voting upon at the meeting. This is our opportunity to fulfill the Fifth Principle and consider in the process that this action is part of one’s own spiritual practice as a Unitarian Universalist. In our society voting is an event that comes up often enough that many people do not even bother with the process. They think their vote does not matter or others will make the right decisions. On another level voting rights are under attack and it is all anyone can do to preserve them. Whenever you have the opportunity to have your voice heard please take the time to be informed about the issues and speak out with your vote.
Much of the Annual Meeting is routine and yet essential to our Mission. There is a budget to be voted on by the congregation. The budget comes to us after having been prepared by a sub-committee. It was reviewed by the Finance committee and previewed by the Board for recommendations. After all of that it was then revised and finalized by the sub-committee and Finance Committee. Finally the Board gave its approval for presentation to the congregation. Our budget represents many hours of work by people who have thought deeply about the future of our church. It is easy to get caught up with details and minutia with a budget. I ask that you trust that portion of the process to those we have entrusted to do the preparing of the budget. Consider instead the big picture. Does this budget help us live out our values?
There is a “Slate” of candidates to vote upon for positions on the Board, on the Leadership Committee and on the Endowment and Memorial Fund Committee. Even though these positions are filled by a democratic process, facilitated by the work of the Leadership Committee, the folks who will fill the vacancies are just like you. They are dedicated and willing volunteers who will be trying to help the UUCV fulfill its Mission and Vision. They deserve our support.
We will be voting on a change to the By-Laws. This request is the result of work undertaken earlier in the year by the sub-committee on Major Maintenance. Based on that work the Ministry and Operations Team drafted a By-Law change that permits the Board to authorize projects to be funded with money from the Major Maintenance Fund. Currently there is a 2% cap on the Board’s authority to spend any money without a vote of the congregation. A cap on discretionary spending makes sense for the Operational Budget of the church but not for the ongoing and repetitive maintenance of our facility. We are asking that the 2% cap not apply to the Major Maintenance Fund.
These are only some of the issues we will be deciding as we prepare to begin the 2017-18 year. Thank you everyone for all you do to make the UUCV the beacon of light and prophetic voice that it is. See you at the Annual Meeting.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
