by Kitty Merrill | Apr 7, 2017 | Justice Actions
Volunteers Needed
To fulfill a years’ long need, the City of Ventura has installed storage units on Front Street (behind the Vagabond restaurant) for homeless people to store their belongings during the day. The storage units will be open during a window of time in the morning and in the afternoon for folks to drop off and retrieve their belongings. Volunteers are needed to be at the storage units. Peter Brown, Community Services Manager of City of Ventura, said the park ambassadors and police cadets will staff this for the most part and he needs volunteers. If interested, contact Kathy Powell, Park Outreach coordinator, at kathypurpleprincess@gmail.com. She will forward your information to Peter. He will have an orientation meeting soon.
UUCV Members At Work
We want to recognize and thank UUCV members working for social justice.
• The AIDS Walk Ventura 2017 on March 4, to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS was organized by the Diversity Collective Ventura County and Ventura County Public Health with many volunteers and sponsors like Macy’s, Starbucks, and H&R Block. UUCV participants included Kathy Powell and Darryl Marquez, volunteer coordinator and assistant, respectively, and Chris Chalquest and Beth Potts-Mee, volunteers.
• Under the direction of a social worker, Cindy Camillucci, Kathy Powell and Beth Potts-Mee helped a homeless man obtain a small apartment which involved months of work.
• A group of rotating volunteers from UUCV went weekly for the past four months to Food Share and shopped for 400-600 pounds of food for the winter warming shelter.
• Over 600 people attended the 2nd Justice for All meeting, including many UUCV members. The meeting broke into smaller groups with people joining the cause they felt most committed to. The groups will continue to meet and focus on their issues to keep these things in the public’s eye during these turbulent times.
You Are Invited!
The Social Action Coordinating Committee (SACC) invites church members interested in pursuing social justice endeavors to form Action Groups. Join us on Monday, April 24 at UUCV, at 6:30pm. Come at 6 and bring food to share to participate in a potluck.
by Lety Ball, Chair of SACC
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 7, 2017 | Justice Actions
During the past month you have been hearing about the upcoming Celebration Sunday on April 9. This event will follow our Sunday Service and is for all Members and Friends of the UUCV. From our founding in 1958 to today, the legacy that is the UUCV was accomplished not only with time and talent, but also with a financial commitment. We make that commitment in order to seed our tomorrows with opportunities to live out the values of Unitarian Universalism.
During the March 5 Sunday Service, Darryl Marquez gave his reflection on how the UUCV has changed his life.
“The first face of the UUCV I got to meet was Harold Cartlidge. I was living at Riverhaven and he was working on our water supply line for the camp. My partner at the time liked to get involved so he and Harold worked on it together. It wasn’t long before we were invited to church. Not knowing what I was getting into I brought a bible. LOL. As a child, I went to a Catholic school (not by choice) during the week, and a Baptist church (by choice) on Sunday. Now a church that doesn’t need a bible; this is my kind of place.
The Rev. Jan Christian took the pulpit. I was captivated and immediately hooked on this new place. I don’t recall much about the sermon or my first visit but the members I would eventually meet would become my friends and my family.
Wow! That was almost ten years ago. In that time, I have been encouraged and supported by so many; and certainly blessed. Some things I’ve been able to be a part of: I participated in the first Lift Up Your Voice (LUYV) photo project. I have been a volunteer for LUYV from the beginning.
Our advocacy for the homeless has meant so much to me. I help with our safe sleep program and I’m currently working with Rev. Dana as a pastoral associate.
I’m so supportive of our parks outreach team. So very proud of everyone that helps at VCMC One Stop, another program that has helped me in the past. I could go on and on.
This community has warmed my heart in ways I never thought possible. In turn, I have been able to grow, to turn my life around and truly feel my own inherent worth and dignity. Along the way, I discovered that a church is not its building, it is the community of people gathered and what they do together to make a difference in the world. I am proud to be a Unitarian Universalist and member of this church. Looking forward to the next chapter.“
We can see in each other the stories of lives changed by our presence in the community as a voice of liberal religion. There are letters posted in the hall near the copy machine that speak of our generosity and how we have been able to give aid and hope to those in need. We change lives.
Our Annual Pledging event gives you the opportunity to commit your personal resources in support of the mission of the UUCV. I hope you will consider raising yours.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 7, 2017 | Notes from President's Desk
During the past month you have been hearing about the upcoming Celebration Sunday on April 9. This event will follow our Sunday Service and is for all Members and Friends of the UUCV. From our founding in 1958 to today, the legacy that is the UUCV was accomplished not only with time and talent, but also with a financial commitment. We make that commitment in order to seed our tomorrows with opportunities to live out the values of Unitarian Universalism.
During the March 5 Sunday Service, Darryl Marquez gave his reflection on how the UUCV has changed his life.
“The first face of the UUCV I got to meet was Harold Cartlidge. I was living at Riverhaven and he was working on our water supply line for the camp. My partner at the time liked to get involved so he and Harold worked on it together. It wasn’t long before we were invited to church. Not knowing what I was getting into I brought a bible. LOL. As a child, I went to a Catholic school (not by choice) during the week, and a Baptist church (by choice) on Sunday. Now a church that doesn’t need a bible; this is my kind of place.
The Rev. Jan Christian took the pulpit. I was captivated and immediately hooked on this new place. I don’t recall much about the sermon or my first visit but the members I would eventually meet would become my friends and my family.
Wow! That was almost ten years ago. In that time, I have been encouraged and supported by so many; and certainly blessed. Some things I’ve been able to be a part of: I participated in the first Lift Up Your Voice (LUYV) photo project. I have been a volunteer for LUYV from the beginning.
Our advocacy for the homeless has meant so much to me. I help with our safe sleep program and I’m currently working with Rev. Dana as a pastoral associate.
I’m so supportive of our parks outreach team. So very proud of everyone that helps at VCMC One Stop, another program that has helped me in the past. I could go on and on.
This community has warmed my heart in ways I never thought possible. In turn, I have been able to grow, to turn my life around and truly feel my own inherent worth and dignity. Along the way, I discovered that a church is not its building, it is the community of people gathered and what they do together to make a difference in the world. I am proud to be a Unitarian Universalist and member of this church. Looking forward to the next chapter.“
We can see in each other the stories of lives changed by our presence in the community as a voice of liberal religion. There are letters posted in the hall near the copy machine that speak of our generosity and how we have been able to give aid and hope to those in need. We change lives.
Our Annual Pledging event gives you the opportunity to commit your personal resources in support of the mission of the UUCV. I hope you will consider raising yours.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 7, 2017 | Justice Actions
Back when the Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961, they considered briefly a wholly new name: the Liberal Church of America. Both denominations considered themselves religious liberals so the name made some sense.
Here are a few definitions of the word liberal (which have nothing to do with politics!): Marked by generosity, bounteousness, open-handedness, not stinting. Abundant, ample. Broad-minded, open-minded, not bound by authoritarianism or orthodoxy.
We value such qualities not just in our religious lives, but in the manner we try to move with our families, at work, in our community and, yes, in church. In these days, when il-liberal forces are working hard to make us afraid of one another, we need to live into our liberality as a great and conscious choice.
Being generous, abundant, ample, open-minded and open-handed becomes a spiritual practice. Fear makes us want to turn inward and tighten our hands around what we have – to protect and even hoard. In such times being open-handedly generous is practically countercultural.
I invite you to practice generosity in your lives and here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura. It never ceases to amaze me that you create this liberal, abundant, bounteous, broad-minded and heartful church community by the sheer generosity of your spirits. You give to the church and you extend your liberal hands and hearts to the community.
On Sunday April 9, you will be invited to practice generosity by making your pledge to ensure the continued existence of your liberal religious voice in Ventura County. The church is moving into the future with confidence and commitment – to our families and children as we hire a new Director of Religious Education; to the glowing and growing spirit in each of its members and friends as we continue to gather in a community of broad minds and open hearts; to those in need in the wider community. Our liberal religious voice will be called upon to speak for the homeless, the immigrant, the refugee, the LGBTQ community.
Answer your invitation to Celebration Sunday with a resounding Yes!
Exercise your liberal, bounteous and generous hearts. Be the Liberal Church of Ventura.
With Abundant Love, Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 7, 2017 | Minister
Back when the Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961, they considered briefly a wholly new name: the Liberal Church of America. Both denominations considered themselves religious liberals so the name made some sense.
Here are a few definitions of the word liberal (which have nothing to do with politics!): Marked by generosity, bounteousness, open-handedness, not stinting. Abundant, ample. Broad-minded, open-minded, not bound by authoritarianism or orthodoxy.
We value such qualities not just in our religious lives, but in the manner we try to move with our families, at work, in our community and, yes, in church. In these days, when il-liberal forces are working hard to make us afraid of one another, we need to live into our liberality as a great and conscious choice.
Being generous, abundant, ample, open-minded and open-handed becomes a spiritual practice. Fear makes us want to turn inward and tighten our hands around what we have – to protect and even hoard. In such times being open-handedly generous is practically countercultural.
I invite you to practice generosity in your lives and here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura. It never ceases to amaze me that you create this liberal, abundant, bounteous, broad-minded and heartful church community by the sheer generosity of your spirits. You give to the church and you extend your liberal hands and hearts to the community.
On Sunday April 9, you will be invited to practice generosity by making your pledge to ensure the continued existence of your liberal religious voice in Ventura County. The church is moving into the future with confidence and commitment – to our families and children as we hire a new Director of Religious Education; to the glowing and growing spirit in each of its members and friends as we continue to gather in a community of broad minds and open hearts; to those in need in the wider community. Our liberal religious voice will be called upon to speak for the homeless, the immigrant, the refugee, the LGBTQ community.
Answer your invitation to Celebration Sunday with a resounding Yes!
Exercise your liberal, bounteous and generous hearts. Be the Liberal Church of Ventura.
With Abundant Love, Rev. Dana
