by Admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Justice Actions
Dear UUCV Community,
This month’s theme is “what does it mean to be a people of balance?” There is an astronomical event March 20 relating to balance – the Spring Equinox. Equinox from ancient Latin, means day and night are equal length. Being in touch with the cycles of the Earth and moon relates to our program and our faith.
As mentioned in an article recently shared by Meaghan Lawrence to UUCV’s Facebook group, Sharon Hwang Colligan writes: “UUism, at least in the form it takes in our camps, conferences, and Sunday Schools—which I believe are the heart of our spiritual community—is in my perception a Pagan religion. It is circle-based, earth-honoring, and present rather than distant in spirit. It honors human sexuality, and female leadership. It seeks harmony rather than domination. In a Cross-cultural perspective, that is pretty much the definition of Paganism.”
As we turn toward Spring, there is much to celebrate and partake in within our walls and beyond. From the high school walk out for gun control, district-wide youth conference hosted at UUCV, to Coming of Age program with mentors in full swing for teens! In the children’s program, we’ll send a petition to Hershey to stop using child labor (we’ll let you know if we get a response!), discuss death of loved ones and animals, and await the reveal of the beautiful new Outdoor Sanctuary space! Our balance comes from justice work, growth, beauty, and gratitude.
All are invited to join the Easter canned food drive! Bring in small canned goods every Sunday in March to the regular Sunday food collection for Project Understanding. Then on Easter, April 1, rather than plastic eggs filled with candy, the cans will be labeled with a particular shape and hidden! The children will be assigned in teams to a particular shape, and will hunt for cans with their team shape! All children receive a potted flower and tasty treat! We hope to see you after church to join the festivities and appreciate your support.
“Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come up where you are.” Rumi
Emily Carroll, Director of Religious Education emily@uuventura.org
by Admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Justice Actions
Lift Up Your Voice (LUYV) To End Homelessness
by Kathy Powell
Last month we held the Annual Homeless Neighbor Memorial. I always look to that day with admittedly some dread but also anticipation. It is a time for so many in this community to honor and grieve for the folks who died in our county. We had a full house this year and people who weren’t able to have a proper funeral for their loved ones were able to memorialize their people. Many thanks to all the clergy who celebrated this day, to the volunteers who organized this and made the day happen and the people who came just to bear witness and honor our holy souls who left us this year.
There are many of our congregation assisting at the warming shelter this year as volunteers. We have people working night shifts setting up, serving food and helping with showers. We also have a team who weekly go to Food Share and collect a week’s worth of food to give out for dessert and breakfast as people leave. Our teams are having a bit of friendly competition as we only can use the food that is free at Food Share and I think Yukio, Madeline, Kent and Sue may be winning with 800+ pounds one week they gathered and delivered.
Lift Up Your Voice has two boxes in Berg Hall for donations to our homeless outreaches. We need freshly laundered clothes, jackets, shoes, blankets, sleeping bags, backpacks or luggage. These things are so valuable as we go out into the community.
Please remember our folks live outside with no access to electricity. Lately we have been getting donations of dvds, electronics and other things they wouldn’t be able to use. I will speak for myself that as I get older my energy level isn’t what it used to be so trying to find good places for those things is a bit difficult. Please keep this in mind and perhaps contact a thrift store or a shelter that can use those precious things.
For anyone interested in seeing how they may help with our homeless efforts in our community please contact Kathy Powell at kathypurpleprincess@gmail.com.
by Kitty Merrill | Feb 2, 2018 | Justice Actions
Have you noticed yourself start to date things from before and after the fire? Such happens when we’ve been through such a major and collective trauma. I also have realized that somewhere in there I lost December. So now we get to pick up and carry on.
Sometime Before the Fire, the Board of Trustees held a Congregational Conversation to hear from folks about how things are going in church. The question we posed was: What ways do we want the church to grow? The point was not to dwell on numerical growth, but to consider all the aspects of growth within the church. Folks responded with all sort of ideas about how we can grow in spiritual depth, in being a congregation of many diversities and generations. There were ideas for worship and religious education and for how we might improve our sanctuary’s aesthetics and acoustics.
Have you noticed, in the mean time, we are growing like gangbusters? Some Sundays we are filling up nearly every seat. We now are singing “We Hold You In Our Love” three times through before all our kids make it through the Bridge of Love. People have been finding their way through our doors. We will welcome 30-35 new members in just four months. Our RE program is close to doubling in size in 6 months.
It could just be that what we offer in a free church with progressive values and an openness to spirit and possibility resonates more profoundly in our times. Perhaps the fires served as a powerful reminder of the importance of community. It becomes clearer how much we need each other and the power we have when we come together.
We are now growing in all the ways we spoke of in November and in numbers of people seeking a spiritual home.
Such growth is simultaneously wonderful and challenging. We have bought more chairs for the sanctuary and more tables for Berg Hall, which will help.
Yet more important is that we keep our hearts and arms open, that we remember the gracious art of hospitality. We offer a profound message of freedom, resistance, hope, possibility, and joy, even as the world swirls around us. We may, each of us, need this community. And we must keep the doors open behind us and offer to others the same sense of home we have found.
So that we may ever say, Welcome home. We’re so glad you’re here.
with love,
Rev. Dana
by Admin | Feb 2, 2018 | Justice Actions
Writers Block
That’s what it feels like for me this month. My guess is that the events of the last few months are having an effect all of us may share. The politics, lack of civility, poverty, the fires that took so much, and the rain, can leave one feeling over whelmed and numb. What’s a person to do? Where’s the life preserver? How about a rock to help stay grounded? What or who can lift me up? I believe the answer is Unitarian Universalism and the community that is the UU Church of Ventura.
Our church is growing. You can see that on Sundays. The Sanctuary is filled with many new faces. Particularly evident are young parents and their children, and simply more folks of all ages. We are reaching people with our faith message of inclusiveness by drawing a wider circle. We are reaching people with our faith message of Justice for All, whether it be about uplifting the homeless or shining light on other human rights issues. We are reaching people through our efforts to improve lives and make a difference in the world.
You may remember a few months ago being asked; What are the ways we want to grow? It is one of the questions the Board has been considering this year. It was not intended to be a question about numeric growth but more about personal and spiritual development. Yet what we are currently experiencing is dynamic growth in numbers as a response to not only who we are as Unitarian Universalists, but also because outside events are so very troubling to so many. It tells us that people are in search of community. Which means another, different question, should be asked: How do we accommodate the growth we are experiencing?
At last month’s Board meeting we found ourselves in a “muddle.” This arose over the Vision and Mission work the Board is beginning. Our church has not done this work for many years. On many levels it seems this should be simple. But it turns out that it’s not. To me it feels like trying to hold vapor. So, what are we doing to move past our “muddle?” The Board recognized we needed help and decided to reach out to our contact at the Pacific Western Region, the Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong.
On January 20 the Board met with Rev. Kwong for five hours to get clarity on how to proceed. It was a very successful meeting. We learned Vision/Mission work will take many months to accomplish and it involves strategic planning. That led us to reviewing our current 5-year plan which comes to an end this year. The current plan is on our website and available for review. There has been much progress made and it presents a worthy vision. But it also means it is time to develop a new 5-year plan. When we do, it will be a formal process that involves everyone. In the months ahead, the Board will determine how that work will begin. In the meantime, as we move forward, please consider what you hold dear and love about the UUCV and what your hopes are for the future of this congregation. Feel free to let me know those dreams with an email to bryanabuck@hotmail.com.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | Feb 2, 2018 | Justice Actions
Let the Sun Shine!
by Jim Merrill
The new year seemed like a great time to check in on our church’s rooftop solar electric production. At the January 7 meeting of 7PEAT (Seventh Principle Environmental Action Team), we learned since the installation of our solar panels in 2015, our church rooftop generation plant has produced 74,750 kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity. To put that figure, 74,750 kWh, in perspective, the average California home uses 6,684 kWh annually. So our rooftop panels have generated enough power for 11.2 California homes per year since 2015.
If you are wondering if solar power is right for you, keep an eye open for a panel talk on solar power from 7PEAT group this spring.
The 7PEAT team is glad to share how we as a congregation are reducing our carbon footprint through photovoltaic generation and through our many other sustainability initiatives.
Contact: Jim Merrill: merrilly@verizon.net
by Kitty Merrill | Feb 2, 2018 | Justice Actions
Strong Bones 1
(Beginning Class):
Monday • 1:30pm • Sanctuary
Wednesday’ • 1:30pm • Sanctuary
Strong Bones 2
(Intermediate class):
Monday • 2:30PM • Sanctuary
Wednesday • 2:30PM • Sanctuary
Designed to build strength, flexibility, and balance while having fun! Exercises are performed in chairs and standing, using hand weights and stretch bands.
Open to men and women, Work at your own pace. $4/class, bring light weights, and stretch bands if you have them.
Contact: Suzi Axtell, Adult Ed certified exercise instructor, suzi@axtell.com
