We have an amazing core of volunteers who provide activities for young people on Sunday mornings while we await the return of a full children’s religious education program. Golly, they sure could use some more help. Please feel free to jump in. Talk to Laurie, Cary, or Cheryl.
Our Sunday Safety Monitor helps us feel secure in our gatherings, indoors and out. We have a diligent group of volunteers providing guidance and looking to the future of religious education in our church family. We have a wise group of equity ministry volunteers coordinating our examination of how we relate with one another in our church community and beyond.
Our social events are slowly returning and even growing. We held a swell auction dinner to kick off a successful auction activity. The craft fair returned. We now have a ukulele ensemble gathered each Sunday.
And we are looking forward. The congregation has brought on board a contract minister, the Rev. Carolyn Price, who is already serving us. Rev. Carolyn will serve as our Sabbatical Minister when Rev. Dana takes an overdue sabbatical beginning in March.
Later this month, the Ventura City Council will formally recognize the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura as a Green Business, the first house of worship in the city to achieve that status. We can also look forward to a mid-year meeting with the Finance Ministry to give us the big picture of how we’re doing, budget-wise.
Oh, and yes, we are heading into pledging season, but that’s for a different message.
Jim Merrill, UUCV Board President
Good People,
I have found myself signing off missives with: Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. This is, indeed, the reason people have taken to saying Happy Holidays! Late December is especially crowded this year as the 8 nights of Hanukkah include both the Solstice and Christmas.
Here is what lies ahead:
Saturday, December 24, 5:30 pm – Lessons and Carols
We will have a simple, traditional Lessons and Carols service. Lots of favorite and familiar carols, including singing Silent Night by candlelight. Among the lessons will be one from the Grinch and his dog Max.
This service will be on Zoom and YouTube. If you are zooming in, be sure to bring a candle for each member of your family, and be ready to turn down the lights and sing Silent Night together.
The offering will be for the Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness Moving In Ministry. You can text to give or give checks or cash at the service. This offering will not be covered for those who have set up autopay.
Watch Christmas Eve Service here via Zoom. Meeting ID: 919 9469 3437 / Passcode: 576710 Dial by your location: +1 669 900 9128
Watch Christmas Eve Service here via YouTube.
Sunday, December 25
The Cluster Colleagues have created a video service for you all to view whenever fits into your Christmas Day happenings. Appearances by the Grinch, Scrooge, lumps of coal, Jingle Bells, and the spirit of the season. The Sunday offering is for Camp deBenneville Pines. It will be covered for those on autopay. Watch Christmas Day Service here.
Sunday, January 1 – Singing in the New Year
We’ll sing lots of favorites from our hymnals, and folks will offer reflections on why their musical faves are their faves.
Sunday, January 8, 10 am – Fire Communion Service
Our Annual Fire Communion service will invite us to leave the old year behind and enter the new, refreshed and renewed.
So, Happy! Blessed! Merry! Happy!
May your days be merry and bright.
With warmest holiday cheer,
Rev. Dana
Dearest Congregants,
We are a new group convened to help our congregation become more conscious of ways that power dynamics, of which patriarchy is a part, affect our culture within UUCV, and to provide opportunities for us to learn new ways of being together. Following the work done by the Committee on Ministry and the themes which emerged, our group was formed as an “Equity Ministry” consisting of 3 men and 3 women with guidance as needed from Rev. Dana.
Our time together has already been rich and has led us to recognize that the collective hearts of our congregation are open to growth and can tolerate a bit of discomfort in addressing these issues. The plan is to bring these issues to the congregation with a variety of offerings. Our group strives for compassion and respect for one another amid differing views. Our hope is that we, as a congregation, can relate to one another in a similar way by expanding on the spirit of the UUCV Right Relations Covenant.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
· Facilitated discussion groups on topics of patriarchy and other hierarchical cultural systems
· Book group on issues in the works of Toni Morrison, (to be led by Susan Franzblau and Ryyn Schumacher)
· Workshop to explore how to unlearn patriarchy facilitated by Julie Moore, Gary Zinik and Celia Ortenberg
POTENTIAL FUTURE EVENTS
It is possible that some will experience discomfort during these discussions. If or when this happens, we of the Equity Ministry all have agreed to make ourselves available to our members who want to have private discussions. Our email addresses can be found in the church directory.
In faith,
David Henkel and Neal Ortenberg on behalf of the rest of the Equity Ministry: Kathleen Wheeler, Kitty Merrill, Gary Zinik, and Diana Kubilos
Good People,
This missive is to bring you up to date on efforts to rebuild and sustain our Religious Education program. UU Ventura is not alone in having a disruption in RE programs, not alone in having to rebuild or needing to re-envision what our programs for our children, youth and families will look like.
Where we are now
RE is offered now, but in a different way. This, written for the website by the RE Advisory Group, explains what people with children can expect: We are currently in transition and recruiting a new Religious Education professional. During this transition, please bring your children to church so that they can experience connection with other youth their age through play and UU rituals. Activities are being planned by our dedicated, long-term RE volunteers.
What We Need Now
To keep the program going until a DRE is in place, we need a few more people to support Sunday mornings.
** If you have a fun program idea for children and youth, please let Laurie Lemson know.
** We also need 1-2 more folks who can help organize the RE schedule and support the volunteers who do the programs each Sunday.
Progress So Far
Board President Jim Merrill and Committee on Ministry member Krista Mendelsohn convened an RE Advisory Council with David Henkel, Kim Prieto, Francesca Ferrara, Laurie Lemson, Paul Grabowski, and Erica Duffy. A fine team.
They relaunched the RE program on Oct. 2 with a grand barbecue and party, with bouncy houses. The kids came forward for a story in the service, and the adults formed a Bridge of Love. Tears and laughter intermingled.
Since then, Laurie Lemson, Cary Davis, and Cheryl Gilbert have been offering fun RE session. For the present, Laurie and Francesca are organizing and coordinating Sundays with staff support from Jennifer Luce and Rev. Dana.
The Council is planning monthly events, especially for our children, youth, and families, though the whole congregation will be invited. The Council has also reached out to our RE families to find out how they and their kids are feeling about our programs and what they hope for in the future.
We are aware that this is the beginning of a process of regenerating our programs that will take us time to do well. We want a new religious educator as soon as possible, and we want that person to be a partner re-imagining RE. Do we want/need another DRE or a Director of Family Ministry or a Director of Lifelong Learning. Those are not just different names for the same job. They are different, if overlapping, ways of holding the congregation. Religious Education is a program of the whole congregation.
Search for our Next DRE
David Henkel and Kim Prieto are taking the lead in our search for our next Director of Religious Education with resources from the association. They will soon have a job posting up, aiming for a new
DRE in the new year. We will be seeking an Acting DRE at least ¾-time to help us transition and rebuild and be eligible to apply for the permanent position.
While we are not yet post-Covid, we are now discovering what the world looks like going forward. Perhaps we can call it the Big Reset.
As we enter the 3rd fall in Covid Time, at last I have space to get myself ‘up on the balcony’ to get a wider perspective of all that has ensued in our beloved congregation. The rebuilding of our RE program is a process that will evolve over time. We do have significant immediate needs to address. I encourage you to help as you can and to engage in a longer-term process of imagination and innovation.
With Faith in Community,
Rev. Dana
Hello UUCV Community,
Exciting News: an Intern Minister Search (IMS) Team has formed, consisting of Gary Zinik, Jim Waldron, Krista Mendelsohn, and Rev. Dana! The opening sentence of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Internship Manual states, “The internship requirement is one of the more critical formative experiences for those who seek to become fellowshipped Unitarian Universalist ministers and for the congregations that are committed to supporting our ministry.” The IMS Team has met a couple of times, and created a timeline to hopefully secure an Intern Minister for our church starting September 2023. Additionally, the IMS Team met with the UUCV board of trustees in May, who passed a motion to officially support the effort to bring an intern minister to our church. This is a win-win situation all around. We provide a rich hands-on learning experience for a minister in training, while the congregation reaps the benefit of a temporary new staff member with new energy and resources.
The IMS Team will be confirming funding for an Intern Minister, including UUCV budgeted money as well as a UUA grant. We are creating a profile for our church and the Intern Minister we are seeking to post on the UUA Internship Clearinghouse. With Jimmy’s assistance, we will also post that information on an Intern webpage on our church’s website.
What can you do? One of the most difficult aspects for a potential Intern Minister coming to work in our area of the country is finding affordable housing. If you have a rental property, granny flat, or other independent living space (e.g. NOT a room in your home that would require shared kitchen/bathroom, etc.) that you would be willing to offer to an Intern at no or low cost from Sept. 2023 to June 2024, please get in touch with Krista (kmendels7@gmail.com, 858-229-1414).
For some historical perspective, the last time our church had an Intern Minister was approximately 10 years ago when Rev. Kristen Rohm interned with us. Also, the UUCV 5 Year Vision Plan (adopted in March 2020), put forth the goal that our church become a Teaching Congregation and provide an internship, and that funds could be made available for this purpose from the existing Assistant Minister Fund and the Legacy Fund.
Please look for the Intern Minister item on an upcoming congregational meeting agenda as a way to share your support and ideas.
Warmly,
Krista Mendelsohn and The Intern Minister Search Team