June will be a very busy month at the UU Church of Ventura.

Lo many years ago, many Unitarian and Universalist churches would actually close down for the summer. UU Ventura has always been a ‘year-round’ church, yet every church year has its rhythms.

Summer does tend to be a slower time for many programs and positions in our community, even as others – like our Finance Folks and Administrator – are even harder at work. Given that one fiscal year ends on June 30, and the next begins July 1, there is a flurry of financial accounting (mostly done quietly in the background).

Our theme for June is Celebrating Blessing, of which there will be many throughout the month. So, hold onto your hat, here are the blessings that June will bring, in chronological order.

June 5
Our service this Sunday – Blooming and Growing and Blooming Some More – will include our Flower Communion, a Baby Dedication, and our Bridging Ceremony as we send off our graduating seniors to the next phase of their lives, complete with singing Joni Mitchell’s Circle Game. Following the service will be our annual All Church Picnic at Arroyo Verde Park.

What to Bring
For Flower Communion bring a flower (or two or three) for the ritual. Expect to take with you the gift of a flower brought by someone else.
For the Picnic bring something to grill and grilling utensils, a dish to share, and your own re-useable plates and such. Provided for everyone will be a grill fired up, drinks, and condiments.

June 12
Our service will be about Counting Blessings, which is something our human selves need to actively practice given that our inherited wiring tends to have us scanning the horizon for all that could go wrong. After the service we will hold our Annual Church Meeting, in which the members of the church will vote on the budget and next year’s incoming officers.

What to Bring
For the service, bring your wounded, brave, and/or joyful heart.
For the annual meeting, bring an open mind and heart, and willingness to engage in participatory democracy.

June 19
The service will be celebrating Juneteenth, our most recently designated federal holiday, which recognizes the day that the last enslaved people in the United States learned that they were free. This is a particularly full time as it is also Pride Weekend and Father’s Day.

What to Bring
An open mind and heart, willing to learn and grow.

June 26 – Join thousands of fellow UUs in worship beginning at 9:30 am!!
For the service, we’ll be joining the live stream of the service from General Assembly in Portland – The Deal on Those Days lead by Rev. Gretchen Haley, Rev. Shari Halliday-Quan, Rev. Sean Neil-Barron, Lea Morris, Adam Podd, Joseph and Aimee Santos-Lyons, and Allison King with the GA Choir.

This promises to be a stirring service about the future of this faith. For more detail on the service, see this link: June 19: GA Worship

PLEASE NOTE: This service will be live-streamed beginning at 9:30 am!!!
Church will host a watch party or you can join in from home. With any luck you might be able to see Carolyn Bjerke, Fidelity Ballmer, Cindy Piester, or me (our UUCV contingent at GA) when the camera pans across the GA congregation.

DON’T FORGET: This service will be live-streamed beginning at 9:30 am!!!
Whew! How’s that for a month of Blessings?

With love,
Rev. Dana
Did I mention that worship for June 26 begins at 9:30!!

Good People,

As the pandemic is receding and/or we are learning to live with the changes it has wrought in our lives, we get to see what life will be like AC – After COVID.

I will continue to resist speaking of anything as ‘normal’ again – neither in the sense of returning to what was or in what will be new. The most I will say is that we will eventually take up habits that are predictable enough that we can begin to count on them – even make plans based on recognizable patterns…

As we are coming together in person with fewer and fewer restrictions, we have a chance to revisit facets of church life and decide whether to return to them, adapt them, or let them fall away. Which patterns or habits do we want do we want to revive and what can we let go so we are free to reimagine what ‘doing church’ can look like?

And the Board of Trustees wants to hear from you. This is what they asking at their Happy Hour with the Board on Thursday, June 5 at 5 pm. Zoom number 707 277 4205. As UUCV reopens, what should we keep and what should we change?

One example is already kinda decided – printed orders of service.

For years our Environmental Action Team has been proposing that we stop printing orders of service to save paper and ink and labor. I have deliberately said nothing about this when we re-opened in person. Several people have mentioned that they are glad to be done with them, though one person asked about printing them again. As an elegant compromise, our MAGICians have started listing the names of each of the service elements on the slides. 

And there are more.

• We haven’t had a printed monthly newsletter for more than a year. The Publicity Team is exploring options of having a lengthier website-based newsletter that UUCV This Week will link to. What else might work?
• Singing the children out under the Bridge of Love after a story in the service. So far, I have heard one person who prefers the service without it. Several say this is one of their favorite elements that they miss a lot. Yet the idea of people breathing into each other’s faces as they form an arch does seem a bit iffy. How might we adapt this practice?
• Coffee Hour. Being in break out rooms on Zoom confirmed some of the limitations of Coffee Hour. Some reported having deeper conversations with a variety of people in Zoom breakout rooms. Meeting outdoors has also been sweet. Is there a way to adapt Coffee Hour? Can we make it hybrid? Or find ways to invite people to circulate more indoors?

We have a chance to look at church with new eyes.

There is very little that we absolutely must do. 

So, what do we want to do and why?

As folks who love the questions at least as much as we love answers, we have another opportunity to practice our faith.

So attend Happy Hour on Thursday or let me or Yukio Okano, Ron Dallas, Xenia Young, Rebeca Fasset, Ray Escobedo, or Cassie Tondro know.

As the Buddha noted that everything is always changing, yet as Octavia Butler tells us we can also shape change.

Let us continue down this spiritual and congregational path together,

Rev. Dana

Dear Members and Friends,

The past six weeks have been challenging for me.  During the first three weeks of February, three friends died unexpectedly.  The first was Joe Hutchins, a beloved member of the UUCV community.  Joe and I were in the same men’s group.  The second friend was a former co-worker with whom I worked for many years.  He was killed in a car accident while driving to work.  The third was my barber, who died of Covid.  Each loss caught me off guard and left me feeling shaken.  

These losses, on top of the stresses of the pandemic, forced me to think about the big questions of life:  the kinds of questions we hope to understand better by coming to church.  What is the meaning of life?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Am I taking life for granted?  Am I doing the things most meaningful to me?  How can I live a more skillful life?

As one who thinks of himself as a Buddhist Unitarian, I immediately thought about the concepts of suffering and impermanence.  Most of the unsatisfactoriness in my life comes from things not going my way, often in a material sense or just not getting the outcome I want.  Losing people is a shock.  Yet, impermanence is a fundamental Buddhist concept often set aside.  How often we take for granted that people we know will always be there or a situation will not change!   

During times of distress, I am thankful to be part of a community that exists to help its members navigate the vicissitudes of life.  That is one of the blessings of being part of UUCV.  The church provides resources to help us cope with the difficult moments and to live more joyfully and fully.  Services and sermons inspire us to learn from spiritual ideas and practices.  Church groups and fellow congregants provide connection and support.  There are opportunities to practice compassion and promote social justice.

A religious community like UUCV is a gift to all who enter its doors.  At any moment, we are all in different places in our life journeys.  Some of us are doing well; others are in physical or emotional pain.  But all of us can share being part of a community where people care about one another.  

How do we ensure that UUCV is able to thrive and remain a healthy resource for all of us?  As we are in the midst of our annual pledge drive, let us consider what UUCV means to us and how we can support it.

Dan Hotchkiss, a UU minister and writer, suggests that people often act like consumers when they choose their church. It is as if we are shopping at “a buyer’s club…that delivers maximum religious benefit to members at the lowest cost.”  When asked about why we chose this church or another one, we quickly share our likes and dislikes.  We love (or don’t love) the music, we enjoy (or don’t enjoy) the sermons, or we like (or dislike) the people.  When it comes time to financially support the church, we think about making the lowest payment.

But church is not just about what we like and dislike.  It also offers the opportunity for transformative growth.  A place where we can become our best selves and be of service to others.  A place where we can put into action the 7 Principles (and hopefully the 8th) that define Unitarian Universalist values.  What a gift to be able to actually practice what we believe in and help make the world a better place!  

So, as you consider how you want to support UUCV during this pledge drive, please don’t think about church as just another bill to pay.  Consider how much UUCV means to you and how it can play an even larger role in your life.   Remember, with gratitude, all that you have.  And then be as generous as you can.

Be well,
Yukio Okano
Board President
 

Good People,
Our church community is beginning to ramp back up as the risk of catching and spreading Covid is falling. 
With any luck, the church will be able to open up in person more and more over the next weeks and months. 

None of us will be quite the same again, and yet we are coming alive again. 
In this springing of the year, we are poking our heads above ground like crocuses, daffodils, and calla lilies.

There are a few small tasks that will help the community feel more like itself. 
We are all weary, and so I set before you small(ish) things that can help us be together with heart open, faces smiling, hands willing hands, and maybe even arms hugging (with renewed care and permission).

The Caring Committee
This committee’s biggest task is helping with receptions after memorial services at church. They come early to set up and stay after to clean up. It is a great gift to a grieving family and allows the minister to focus on the service. The group also supports the Pastoral Associates, writing cards, organizing meal trains, offering a ministry of simple care.
With Joe Hutchins memorial coming up on April 9, this is a great time to pitch in and give this team a try.
Contact Madelaine Okano – maddyokano@yahoo.com.

Kitchen Kabinet
For now, Coffee Hour is a simple(r) offering of coffee and hot water for tea or hot chocolate on a cart wheeled outside after the service. In the spirit of more hands makes lighter work, it would be great to have 2-3 people to take this on one Sunday a month. Then you can be on the inside track for helping shape the Coffee Hour of the Future..!
Contact Yukio Okano – yukio.okano@yahoo.com.

Greeters
Yes, people are returning to church and someone needs to greet them at the door. 
Our mode of greeting may need to shift a bit, though the warmth and invitation will be the same.
If you can sign-up to come a bit early just one Sunday a month and smile happily as you welcome friend and newcomer alike, it would be a particular ministry of its own.
Contact Gudrun Eastham – druzel@msn.com 

Counting the Offering
Though many are giving to our offering online, some prefer the ritual of giving cash or writing a check. So, we still need two people to count the money after church. It only takes a few minutes, though this is a significant position of trust.
Contact Dennis Charles – dennischarles987@gmail.com.

RE Set Up & Clean up
Another time to come a bit early and help with the set up and preparation for our RE program. Others can stay a litte after to clean up. For now, RE activities are outdoors, though this help will still be needed when our kids are back in their classrooms.
Contact Fidelity Ballmer – fidelity@uuventura.org

Building and Grounds
We are having a B & G “Work Party” on Saturday from 9 until 12. It is every third Saturday. We encourage and challenge others to come out and work on making the outside look better. We have some hand tools but it helps if folks can bring some of their own.
Contact Linda Pietrzak – linda.w.pietrzak@gmail.com

2 women in 2 hours. If we had 5 or so groups think of what we could do.

I still find myself resisting the word ‘normal,’ particularly in the context of ‘getting back to normal.’ 
(There are just too many ways that our previous ‘normal’ was not great for too many people.) Yet I also know that there is comfort in familiar ways of doing things. 

As we come together again after more than two years, we have a chance to be thoughtful and intentional about which ‘old’ practices we pick up again, which we let go, and which we adapt and change for a new moment. 

Still so glad to be in this with you all.
With love,
Rev. Dana

Dear UUCV Community,

The UUCV Religious Education program has a new safety policy to continue keeping our children safe as COVID-19 risk factors & restrictions are easing in California. See below for a summary of the most important changes.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, UUCV’s Religious Education program has done as much as we could to keep our kids as safe and socially connected as possible. Though we recognize that the path forward has not always been easy, we are grateful for our community’s commitment to safety measures like masking, moving kids and classes outdoors, asking RE teachers for verification of full vaccination status, and encouraging social distancing.

Very often, I’ve heard caregivers & families remark that UUCV has been much more serious about our COVID safety protocols than other youth organizations they participate in. There are no easy answers in how to make these decisions, but we always begin with the questions, “How do we do the most for the least of us? How do we protect the most vulnerable?”

Following the science, checking in with families & RE teachers, and taking great care in making these decisions have all been central to the process.

On Monday, the UUCV Board of Trustees approved a new Religious Education COVID-19 Safety Policy moving into the Spring. This policy was written by Fidelity and the UUCV Reopening Team considering several factors including: the latest announcements about ending mask requirements in California schools (link), continuous survey results from UUCV families, and the decrease of COVID-19 cases in Ventura County.

You can read the policy in full here (link). Though much will look familiar, there are some significant changes. Please read the policy in full and let us know what questions you have.

Below are the most important changes summarized.

General Safety Changes under the Spring Policy:

• The Spring 2022 policy no longer restricts group sizes to 15 children or less.
• Caregivers no longer need to RSVP for RE classes.
• Children ages 0-4 will be invited indoors for a nursery.

Location:

• Religious Education classes will remain outdoors for children ages 5-17. Children 0-4 are invited indoors for a nursery.
• The UUCV Youth Group (middle school & high school) & adult advisors can use Berg Hall for special events while wearing masks. Attendance is limited to 20 for these events.

Social Distancing, Masks, and Vaccines:

• Social distancing is no longer required.
• Masks are encouraged but optional for outdoor Religious Education.
• Children ages 2-4 in the nursery are required to wear a mask indoors. Children ages 0-2 are not asked to wear masks indoors.
• Adult staff and volunteers working with the 0-4 group indoors will be required to wear masks.

Though it will take some time to get the indoor nursery fully staffed & up and running again, we hope this next step will help in the path forward to having our children and youth once again return indoors.

Thank you for bearing with us in the messy & difficult process of continued changes.

With care,
Fidelity Ballmer
Director of Religious Education
Fidelity@UUVentura.org