by Admin | Dec 16, 2020 | Between Sundays
Dear Ones,
It’s amazing how the holidays can sneak up on us, even while in the midst of madly planning for them. I am grateful to the gentle soul who mentioned that they really didn’t know what was going on at church for the holidays. Was there some way they could help? Of course, we’re still ‘having Christmas’ in Covid Time, though I realized we need to write it all down in one place and get the word out more fully. We have actually already started the holiday season with services for Advent and Hanukkah.
Here is what is coming next.
Tonight! December 16, 6 pm – Midwinter Contemplative Vespers
I will be joining my clergy colleagues in another cluster collaboration – a gentle service of song, silence, words of wisdom, and candlelight. Join with UUs from Thousand Oaks to Santa Paula to San Luis Obispo to find some moments of respite. Join via Zoom here
Sunday, December 20, 10 am – Seeking the Stillpoint of Solstice
Our next Sunday service will celebrate the longest night of the year and our return to the light. This service will be a bit more interactive, including a holy ‘science demonstration’ with Fidelity Balmer, our RE coordinator. Please be sure to bring a free-standing candle and matches so you can join in. Join via Zoom here.
Thursday, December 24, 5:30 pm – Lessons and Carols
We will have just one service on Christmas Eve, especially for the ‘carol-starved.’ All are invited to sing along with many of our talented musicians and music director Carolyn Bjerke to many old favorite carols. We’ll hear words to bring forth the spirit of this holy day, including a reflection on the lessons Rudolf, rendeer of red-nosed fame, has to teach us. Some of the service is pre-recorded and some will come to you live from our beloved sanctuary. Please 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. Join via Zoom here
Friday, December 25
Plans are in the works for a church Zoom gathering on Christmas Day. Be on the lookout for more information in the usual places – UUCV This Week, our internal Facebook group.
Sunday, December 27, 10 am – Everything is Holy Now
Tanner Linden, who grew up in the church, will be our guest speaker again.
Sunday, January 3, 10 am – Fire Communion Service
We will be adapting our annual Fire Communion service to the Zoom platform. Be ready to leave 2020 behind (good riddance) and great the New Year.
May your days be merry and bright. May the warm spirit of these holidays find you somehow, even in the midst of our Covid shutdown. May you all be safe and healthy, taking care of yourselves and each other.
With warmest holiday blessings,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Oct 29, 2020 | Between Sundays
Dear Ones,
I am hearing from so many people both within and beyond the church that they are feeling Election Anxiety and/or Covid Fatigue and/or Simply Overwhelmed at so many things so amiss in the world.
Of course, you are!
It’s anxiety producing, exhausting, and overwhelming to have so many Big Things happening that are largely out of our control or influence. Anxiety, fatigue, and overwhelm are perfectly rational responses to irrational times. I’d be worried for anyone who didn’t feel that way at least some of the time.
So what to do?
- First, acknowledge those feelings and any of the other less-than-pleasant emotions that often acco
mpany them – irritation, despair, rage, or ____________. Fill in your own blank here. It’s not exactly comfortable to sit with any of it, though it is ultimately better than denying or (worse) sublimating it. That’ll come back to bite you eventually.
- Second, take small steps. A friend told me he was obsessively logging onto FiveThirtyEight.com – Nate Silver’s geeky election statistics website. He was checking it at least once an hour. I gently suggested that maybe he could check it every other hour…
- Next, do the healthy things that work – exercise, sleep, eating well and not too much, seeking belly laughs.
- And hang on. Time will pass and we will be on the other side of this election – soon. The other side of the pandemic – eventually, the other side of systemic racism – with dedicated effort, the other side of the Climate Crisis – maybe not in our lifetimes, though we can still be the ancestors who made a difference.
Here are a few things you can do as Unitarian Universalists.
** Come to the Dia de los Muertos, Day of Remembrance service on Sunday, Nov. 1. Honor the ancestors who helped you get this far, and those you have lost more recently. May it remind us all of love and connection, which we cannot survive without.
** On Tuesday, Nov. 3, drop in at Spiritual Grounding for Election Day, led by UU ministers from around the country. Here’s the link for it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/728150507736666. A place to share with our comrades in faith.
** On the day after the election, Wednesday Nov. 4, whatever the result, join the vigil and demonstration being planned by several community groups. More info still to come.
** Come to church on Sunday, Nov. 8 for Beginnings and Endings: a Healing Service. No matter the outcome of the election – even if we see the end of an awful era – our work will just be beginning.
Alas, we are in for more of the same for an unknown length of time. Yet the anxiety, fatigue, and overwhelm are reaching a particular crescendo as Election Day is finally upon us. We can get through this next week together. Which means we can get through it all, together.
With love, Rev. Dana
by Admin | Oct 22, 2020 | Between Sundays
Going Once… Going Twice…
Yup, it’s auction season again, and it’s sure going to be different this year. Why would our Annual Auction be exempt from the effects of Covid Time? The auction – which is still our biggest fund-raising and community-building event of the year – will be all on-line from Oct. 23 through Nov. 8.
The intrepid Auction Team is grateful for all the donations people have already made. Even though we won’t be bidding on in-person events this year, we’re still focusing on service and community connections. The deadline to submit items is today! (as in Wednesday).
New Things to Pay Attention To:
Everyone needs to register in order to bid on items. The link to register is: https://bit.ly/30qYvRx Once you have registered, watch This Video which gives step-by-step instructions on how to place a bid. As in our usual silent auction, you will want to check in from time to time to Protect Your Bid!
The catalog is on-line. Here is the link to view all the amazing items: https://bit.ly/34ga5RH
Hot Tip – All items in the Bookstore will be Sold At Cost!
The whole shebang kicks off with an Auction Happy Hour on Oct. 23 from 7-8:30pm. Bring a beverage of your choice and join on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/6231913668.
Cool Things we’ll be doing at Happy Hour are: Answers to all your (auction) questions, a tutorial on the whole auction process – including how to bid, and ‘musical’ breakout rooms so you’ll have a chance to connect with many different folks.
Trick-or-Treating is still curtailed this year, though everyone is invited to dress up in your most telegenic Halloween Costume for a party on 10/30 at 6:30pm. Zoom link here: https://zoom.us/j/6231913668. No costume? No worries. Come as you are.
Questions? Ask Jen Luce – administrator@uuventura.org or Katie Turner – hutchins.kate@gmail.com
As it does every year, our auction becomes a wonderful way to bring us together and a fun way to raise money for the congregation that is important in many lives. Covid Times are changing so – much making the familiar feel out of joint as well as opening new possibilities. These times put into stark relief the importance of staying connected.
Bid well and strong, my friends,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Oct 8, 2020 | Between Sundays
Good People,
Our families need you.
I think the Covid Shutdown may be hardest of all on families with school-aged children. They are balancing most everything they did pre-covid, and adding in what amounts to homeschooling.
Our new Religious Education Coordinator is planning and leading 4-5 on-line RE programs each week. She’s finding curricula and keeping it as lively and engaging as possible. She has a lovely spirit and presence that ids and families are already connecting with. Yet she can’t do it alone.
The UUA has released safety protocols for on-line RE classes – which align well with our own safety policies. This means that we still need two adults present for groups – in person or on-line. In the past, we had a lot of parents serving as teachers and volunteers to ensure enough adults are safely with our kids. All those parents are now spending plenty of time with their kids and on-line learning. Kids and parents need a break.
Helping with RE is easier than ever now that we’re on-line because RE isn’t on Sundays, so you can help out and still come to Sunday services.
Fidelity is looking for six or more volunteers who are willing to help facilitate Zoom meetings with our elementary and youth groups. We need two adults present in each Zoom room. The UUA guidelines also suggest having a volunteer on stand-by in case a facilitator loses internet access or must leave.
Here are the programs:
CartUUns Zoom for 2nd to 6th-graders, Wednesdays @ 6:30 – 7:30 pm.
The kids will watch Disney and Pixar short films together, then move out age-grouped Zoom rooms to discuss, play games, art projects, etc. The volunteers would lead break-out room discussions, games, and activities. There will also be 30-minute planning meeting each week to discuss the curriculum Fidelity prepares for the session.
Youth Group Zoom for 7th grade and up, 2nd and 4th Tuesday @ 7:30 – 8:30 pm
Activities, reflection, games, discussion. The second adult assists with moderating discussion, making sure youth aren’t talking over one another, monitoring the Zoom chat, etc. I can attest that it is all great fun!
Because it’s no longer on Sundays when I’m usually leading worship, I have been able to help out with all these age groups. It is such a treat to get to know our kids mostly by hanging out and having fun with them!
Last week, the Youth Group gathered for a safely-distanced, in-person Movie Night in the driveway of Janice and David Frank. We watched the movie ‘Up’ and all brought our own popcorn and snacks. Parents dropped kids off and had a kid-less evening. Some even reported having a lovely dinner out. The Youth Group facilitators are hoping to continue such safe gatherings every month or six weeks.
Living through this pandemic is so challenging. We help each other as best we can, and there are only so many ways to help in the midst of a shutdown.
Volunteering with our RE program is a way for those of us who don’t have children at home to support our children and youth – and their parents through times that are piling particular stress on families. A small(ish) way to help that can have a big impact. We are such a Grand Community (a technical term for the fun part of being a Beloved Community.
With love and gratitude,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Sep 30, 2020 | Between Sundays
Good People of UU Ventura,
In October, we will be sharing worship with fellow UUs from three other local congregations.
Though I hesitate to call anything a silver lining in the midst of so much upheaval, holding worship completely on-line has opened opportunities for new connections within and among our communities.
Our theme is The Spirit of Democracy. The ministers from Live Oak UU Congregation in Goleta, the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, UU Ventura, and UU San Luis Obispo will each preach on democracy. This theme reflects an urgency in our time and helps us address the sacred and participatory ritual of voting and the power and fragility of our democratic institutions.
This is a kind of collaboration and support across congregations that we can’t do when meeting at the same time and in separate buildings miles apart.
Perhaps we will pick up some ideas – and share some of our own – in addressing the conundrum of creating a meaningful worship experience on-line.
The collaboration will also give four hard-working Worship Teams and Ministers a bit of a respite.
And we get to live more deeply into our relationships within this association of congregations.
I’ve told y’all before that we are technically not a ‘denomination’ but an association of religious communities that freely enter a covenant, ‘promising to one another our mutual trust and support.’ We all help create the UUA, which is short for the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Each Minister and Worship Team will be responsible for a service in October. The ministers will have a roll in two other.
Each church will also do separate Offerings, Joys and Sorrows, and Coffee Hours.
Leave Worship Zoom after each service, then join everyone ‘back at UUCV’ for our usual virtual Coffee Hour where we will also do Joys and Sorrows.
Also note that we still be giving our collection away each Sunday. The link will be shown each Sunday, though you can give any time through the week.
Here is the lineup:
- Oct. 4 – Democracy as our Spiritual Practice, Rev. Tamara Casanova Suzuki, Live Oak UU Congregation
- Oct. 11 – Expanding the Franchise, Rev. Julia Hamilton, Santa Barbara. This service will also have music Emma’s Revolution, activist folk/rock singers from Oakland.
- Oct. 18 – The Best-Worst Form of Government, Rev. Dana Worsnop, Ventura
- Oct. 25 – American Pie: The Day Democracy Died (Again), Rev. Rod Richards, San Luis Obispo
I am so looking forward to worshiping with 400-500 UUs from the Central Coast, and still getting to see y’all in community afterward.
With anticipation,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Sep 10, 2020 | Between Sundays
Water Communion and Renewal in Covid Times ~
The rhythm of the church year ‘begins’ for most UUs with Water Communion (which some congregations call Homecoming Sunday) on the Sunday after Labor Day. And as Covid Time has no clear ending yet in sight, we continue to transfer treasured community rituals and remembrances on-line.
- In keeping with these rhythms, our theme for September is Renewal.
- Though the season is fall and the year is waning, there is a sense of renewal and new beginnings…
- Though this is the end of a summer like no other, and the beginning of a school year like no other…
- We still gather anew and recommit to our community and to our ideals and to the promises we make to each other and the world. We renew our energy for another year of journeying together.
And it will be a momentous year!
We begin a new church year with our Water Communion ritual in a service for All Generations this Sunday, September 13 at 10 am.
I don’t want to give it all away, though I will say we’ll be pouring waters, taking some refreshing sips, and blowing some bubbles.
Here’s what you need for Water Communion:
- A bowl of water water mixed with dish soap.
- A straw for each member of the family.
- A glass of water and an empty cup for each family member.
- You can substitute the empty cups with a single larger bowl for the whole family.
These times are still swirling, spinning and spiraling into eddies and whirlpools, predictable only in being so unpredictable, reminding us over and over of how little in our lives we can control.
This is a great time to hold up the great questions – the old standards about the meaning of life, and new ones for a new time. Here are a few questions created by the folks at Soul Matters who give us monthly themes for worship:
- Are you sure it’s your body that’s tired, or could it be your soul?
- What if “time away” isn’t about restoring ourselves in order to return to our work, but instead about making space to decide if it’s time to reconfigure ourselves and re-imagine what our true “work” is?
- Is it time to renew your responsibility to those who will come after you?
- Is it time to renew your commitment to carry on the work of those who came before us?
- What if you saw your daily living and loving as an opportunity (even a calling) to renew others’ faith in humanity?
- Could it be that continual self-improvement is not the path to renewal but instead compassionate acceptance of who you already are, warts and all?
- What if renewing our common future isn’t just about moving forward, but instead requires a return to an honest telling of the past?
These times are still swirling, spinning and spiraling into eddies and whirlpools, predictable only in being so unpredictable. Let us continue to gather, continue to wonder, be open to what it possible.
Knowing that we are still in this together.
With Anticipation,
Rev. Dana
