Dearest Congregants,

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

• Guest presentations from outside UUCV to broaden our perspectives, such as Rev. Rod Richards, Sr. Minister of the San Luis Obispo UU congregation, or consultants from the UUA and beyond 

• Create a “library” of resources to share with the community such as TED talks, YouTube videos, etc. 

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

• Tanner Linden who grew up in the church and is blossoming as a UU Young Adult. He’s making a summer stop back home and will be in our pulpit in August.
• Fidelity is also eager to try her hand at creating a lively All Generations service in July. 
• And Carolyn will preach for one of her first times ever bringing us all a sense of what she has been learning from her first year (virtually) at United Theological Seminary, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. 
• I will round out the summer preaching a couple of services in August. 

Dear Members and Friends,   
As we approach the end of the church year, I want to share some thoughts about my tenure as your Board President and express thanks to all of you who have contributed to maintaining our church community over the past two years.  As I have said, church governance is a team effort. 

There are so many people to thank for how well we have survived the past two years.  We have wonderful, capable staff.  Led by Rev. Dana, our valiant staff includes: 

• Jennifer Luce, Congregational Administrator
• Fidelity Ballmer, Director of Religious Education
• Carolyn Bjerke, Music Director
• Jimmy Vasquez, Membership Coordinator
• Brian Fortune, Audio/Visual Technician
• Russell Seveney, Safety Monitor

In the summer of 2020, a few months after the pandemic started, the Board created an Annual Vision of Ministry, basically a goal for the 2020-2021 church year.  This vision stated:
 
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura Board of Trustees will guide the congregation through the current COVID-19 situation to come out on the other side healthy, engaged, and vital.  We will be flexible and open to what a healthy, engaged, and vital church will look like in a new post-coronavirus reality.
 
Little did we know that the pandemic would continue far beyond 2020.    Many of us thought (at least hoped) the pandemic would last a few months and we would be back to normal, but we have experienced wave after wave of COVID variants and it is still not completely over.
 
We have survived the worst of COVID and have reason for optimism.  We are beginning to reopen more fully.  We have learned to adapt to changing conditions and been able to maintain our sense of community.  We are not back to pre-pandemic normal, but there will be a “new normal” that we are still defining. 
 
We will look back a few years from now and realize these were historic times.  With crisis comes both danger and opportunity.  As a church we have shown great resilience.  We have the opportunity to make UUCV a stronger and more vital place as we have learned to cope with the ups and downs of the pandemic.
 
It was my privilege to work with a terrific Board of Trustees.  Over the past two years, the Board has included:

• Xenia Young, Vice President
• Cassie Tondro, Secretary
• Ron Dallas, Treasurer
• Ray Escobedo, Trustee
• Rebeca Fassett, Trustee
• Lisa Connolly, Vice President in 2020-2021
• Silvia Hutchins, Secretary in 2020-2021
• Gary Norris, Treasurer in 2020
• Kent Brinkmeyer, Trustee in 2020-2021

 We have many volunteers.  There are too many to name individually, but I want to recognize several groups and leaders that helped keep us together: 

• Reopening Team, chaired by Bryan Buck
• Generosity Team, chaired by Bryan Buck
• Leadership Development Committee, chaired by Gary Zinik
• Finance Committee, chaired by David Smith
• Worship Team, including Worship Associates and Tech Team

I thank Bryan Buck, our previous Board President, for his steadfast support.  I have greatly appreciated his thoughts and encouragement.  Many thanks to all of you who have offered words of support to me over the past two years.
 
Most of all, I thank Rev. Dana for her positive energy and vision. It has been a privilege and pleasure to work with her. 
 
I am optimistic that the coming year will bring increased reopening and vitality to UUCV.  We will have a capable new Board President in Jim Merrill.  Please give Jim the same support and encouragement you have given to me.
 
See you in church!
 
Be well,
Yukio Okano
UUCV Board Presidentt

Dear Mrembers and Friends,   
This is a good time to look back over the church year and reflect on where we are.  We have survived another challenging year.  COVID fatigue was settling in when we entered the current church year.  We were still grappling with many unknowns, including how the pandemic would affect members, church membership, church programming, finances, and our sense of community.
 
Little did we know that the pandemic would continue for another year and more.  Many of us  thought the pandemic might last only a few more months and we would be back to normal.  Although we are not fully through COVID misery, we have survived the worst of the pandemic and have reason for optimism.
 
In fits and starts, we have reopened more fully.  We have adapted to changing conditions and  maintained our sense of community.  As a church, we have shown great resilience.  We are not back to pre-pandemic normal, but we are defining a “new normal.”  
 
So how will things look as we enter a new church year?  A recent Board Happy Hour discussion focused on what we should keep and what we should change.  Here are a few concerns that were raised:

• As we reopen our in-person worship services and other in-person activities, how do we greet one another?  Do we allow or discourage hugging and touching?  Is there a way we can signal to others our preferences?  Do we continue the “bridge of love” with children? 

• Change has already come to our worship services.  Hybrid services (in-person and virtual via Zoom and YouTube) are here to stay.  It is unlikely that we will again have 175 or more people back together in the sanctuary.  Hybrid services are a good thing for those who cannot come in person.  Can we expand our hybrid technology for small groups.

As we reopen more fully, can we resume having members light the chalice, reinstate a flower committee, having people bring food for food banks?  Can we broaden our musical offerings?  Should we return to passing the offering basket?

• Can we redefine how we do coffee hour?  Many have complained that our former Berg Hall coffee hour felt intimidating and unwelcoming.  Those of us who have been members for a while find our friends and take a table.  We look forward to our weekly visit with church friends.  But those who are newer may experience coffee hour as a gathering of cliques and feel left out.

Our coffee hours held outdoors have a different feel.  There are no tables and fewer chairs.  Being outdoors and having less structure make it easier to mingle and interact with different people.  Can we preserve this if we move back indoors?  

• The pandemic has shown us the importance of social contact, particularly for those of us who may live alone and/or have limited family nearby.  How can we promote social interaction in a safe and meaningful way?  Some ideas raised include having low-cost or free lunches after the service, having a free “pie” event where people would bring desserts or other foods to share, church-wide events such as the recent picnic, and resuming circle suppers.

• Volunteerism at many churches has suffered during the pandemic.  How do we develop new leadership for important church roles?  How do we reinvigorate our important social justice programs that address environmental and immigration issues?  How do we address racial justice and 8^th Principle concerns?  Can we strengthen our homelessness initiatives? 

More questions than answers have been raised in this article.  But coping with crisis offers opportunity along with danger.  We have the opportunity to make UUCV a stronger, more resilient, and more vital community for us all.
 
Be well,
Yukio Okano 
UUCV Board President