by Kitty Merrill | Oct 2, 2016 | Justice Actions
Two months in, and I’m still having a grand time with you all here at UUCV. I appreciate all your help, the warmth of your welcome, your responsiveness in worship … and your patience. I have graduated from drinking from a fire hose to feeling just a step or two behind in all sorts of tasks and conversations. This is actually progress.
I have three top priorities, then a list of about five significant matters/ issues/tasks just below that. There are at least two more shelves worth of priorities below that. This framework is helping me prioritize and resist the tug to take on too much, too fast. I appreciate those of you have encouraged me in resisting the temptation of over-functioning.
The top three are:
- Leading meaningful and engaging worship
- Supporting the Religious Education program through a(nother) time of transition,
- Being part of the Safe Sleep and Homelessness Task Group.
I’ve also been doing things like meeting with the board and finance committee and establishing weekly staff meetings.
Places you can help on the next shelf:
Pastoral Care
Beverly Jordan has done a wonderful job holding the pastoral care of the congregation during your time of transition. She has been indispensable in helping me get up to speed on pastoral needs. I have been happy to be invited into your lives and to feel like I have offered support and care. Beverly is now able to give more attention to her work as Membership Manager. Please now refer pastoral needs – your own or others you know about – to me.
In the next few weeks I’d also like to get underway creating a Pastoral Care Team to share this ministry. Please share with me people you think would be good at this – folks you trust, who listen well, who have the tenderness and strength to accompany others through challenging times.
Worship
We need a couple more “magical” people to help with MAGIC – Media and Graphics in the Congregation. These are the folks who create the slide shows that accompany worship services. Familiarity with technology as well as good visual sensibilities would be handy. One Magical Someone says that PowerPoint can be both ministry and art form.
Installation
My installation service as your minister will be on Sunday evening, Feb. 19, 2017. An installation is a recognition and celebration of the covenant between a newly settled minister and the congregation. There is some pomp, circumstance and ceremony. Clergy are invited, as are people from the wider community. The last time UUCV had such an event was when you ordained and installed Rev. Jan Christian. It would be great to have a team of 3-4 to help plan the event, which should be a good time for all. If you can help in any of these areas (or volunteer some likely suspects) I would be grateful.
Blessings and love, Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Lift Up Your Voice (LUYV) To End Homelessness
Strike while the iron is hot is good advice for blacksmiths. But I think it also is advice we who have been working so long to make progress on issues of homelessness need to follow. Ventura City Council is finally getting the advice from staff we have been waiting for, and Council at long last appears to be ready to heed it. They move at a glacial pace, however. Council has asked staff to report back in March 2017 with recommended changes to zoning that will make a year-round shelter with services possible and with processes by which exorbitant fees on service providers could be reduced or subsidized. Bravo and hallelujah!
Oxnard is moving ahead with a winter warming shelter and plans for a year-round shelter with services in the future. Downtown business supports the idea.
We need to rally advocates in churches and service clubs in Oxnard to support these plans. Watch your email for meeting dates and plan to come whether you live in Oxnard or not, to support a Council that wants to do the right thing.
Affordable housing is the true solution to homelessness, yet some on Ventura’s City Council continue to resist it. The latest attack will come at Ventura City Council on Monday, Sept. 12, at 6pm, as a proposed General Plan refinement eliminating affordable housing from the Montalvo area. We contend upward mobility is enhanced when affordable housing is throughout the city, and those living in affordable housing can attend better schools and count those who are better off among their friends and neighbors. Though we want to make this point on September 12, our bottom line must be, Council must provide for affordable housing sites elsewhere in the city BEFORE they eliminate them in Montalvo. Mark your calendars and plan to show up.
Finally, mark your calendars for Sunday, October 23. when SACC will host an all-church luncheon at which the congregation will set their priorities for social action moving forward. Should the church continue its current areas of focus on homelessness, the environment, women’s issues, and education? If so, what aspects most appeal to you? Are there other causes you want to put your time, talent and treasure behind? Think about these questions and plan to come to be part of the decision making. If you can’t come, please send your ideas with a friend or email them to suebrinkmeyer@earthlink.net .
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Our Mission Statement
I began preparing this month’s column well in advance of when it was due
and as I started, another tragic loss of life occurred; this time in Nice,
France. Didn’t we just endure the events in Dallas, in Minneapolis, and in
Orlando? It seems we are constantly inundated by sad and sorrowful events
because when it comes to the media that’s what sells. I am reluctant to raise
these issues in our newsletter. You are going to have to let me know what
you think about that. However, I mention these local and world concerns
because they speak to me about why the Mission Statement of the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Ventura is so important.
“We the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, united
by our liberal religious tradition, seek truths and meaning, and commit to
right action. We will nurture our congregation and carry our principles forth
to better ourselves our community and our planet. To these purposes, we
pledge our hearts and hands, our minds and means.”
Seek truths and meaning: We have a new minister, the Rev. Dana Worsnop,
to help us as a congregation spiritually, and to help us in our individual
struggles to live lives of meaning and purpose as we try to make sense of
this world in which we live.
Commit to right action: We are a beacon of light and of hope to anyone in
need. We are the prophetic voice of liberal religious values. We change lives
for the better and we do, in fact, make a difference in the world.
Nurture our congregation: We have each other for the comfort of community
and non-judgmental love. We build relationship with each other through the
many small group ministries available for you to participate in at the UUCV.
Carry our principles forth: We make the world a better place by sharing our
time, our talent and treasure. We volunteer. We organize. We donate money.
We bear witness. We bring attention to injustice. We shine light on dark
places. We reduce feelings of fear. We build the common good. We make the
effort to “Show Up” and that effort is our faith, your faith, in action.
I do not know why bad stuff happens to people. When it does I am resolved to
not be discouraged. There has to be a counter to injustice. In our community
it is the UUCV. Please take the time to reflect on our Mission Statement. It is
the product of many hours of a collective undertaking by this congregation.
Consider how it inspires and encourages you to live out our values daily and
what you can do to make a difference.
As we all move forward in this year of new relationships please reach out to
those you do not know. Become a welcoming presence not only on Sunday
but every day, and help create a better world.
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
by Beverly Jordan, Membership Manager
How wonderful to have Reverend Dana on board
at UUCV! I am enjoying the beginning weeks
of building a strong staff collaboration as we embark
on this shared ministry adventure. I’d like to inform
you of a few shifts in my current portfolio.
As Membership Manager my predominant responsibilities
include facilitating the transitions from
visitor to member to integrated member. This currently
includes staff leadership for Covenant Groups
and Acting Chair of Spiritaul Grown Programs. I
also facilitate the monthly Caregiver support group.
Reverend Dana is now taking the lead on Pastoral
Care. I am delighted for the opportunity to continue
contributing sermons a few times a year.
My predominant focus on Sunday mornings will be
to meet new guests, offer a welcoming presence and
connect with the larger church community. Dana
will now be giving Sunday morning announcements.
(Deadline is Friday prior to the Sunday service.)
This is the first ministerial transition I have experienced
as a staff person. It takes time to let the circle
of transition turn its wheel. Dana brings fresh eyes
to this community. I value her insights, observations
and experience. It is important to let the flow of
vision and discovery take its natural course. Dana
and I will be collaborating on the leadership of the
Covenant Groups to be offered again in the winter
or spring of 2017.
The Covenant Group pilot program, completed in
July, was successful and provides a starting place
from which to establish a strong Covenant Group
ministry. Dana, myself and the Covenant Group
Steering Committee (Pam and Jim Waldron and
Gina Norstedt) are beginning our visioning and
planning of the next steps for this vital small group
ministry. Please join us Sunday, September 18, at
11:30 to experience a sample of a Covenant Group
meeting.
Each person in this sacred community is vital to
the life of the church. Whether you are a founding
member or have recently graced us with your presence
– EACH OF YOU brings a unique set of gifts
and ideas and thoughts. We need it all. I hold great
anticipation as we step into our co-creative dance
into the future.
Embracing Sacred Community,
Beverly
by Kitty Merrill | Sep 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
I write to you having just led my first official service as the called
and settled minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Ventura. I had a simply wonderful time Sunday morning. And
then you threw a magnificent potluck to welcome me.
My initial impression – that you are a strong church committed
to one another and to what Unitarian Universalism can mean and
accomplish in the world – continues to grow and deepen. Each day
I am finding more and more to love about this congregation and
about Ventura County. My dog Scout and I have already found
a couple of favorite beaches, and I continue to delight getting to
know the many people of the church and learn more about the
good work you are about. We’re going to have fun together, even
as we take on serious, thoughtful work both within and beyond
the congregation.
My aim these first weeks and months is not to leap into getting
lots and lots done. I was raised with a strong Protestant work ethic,
and I need to resist being led into that particular temptation. I
know also I represent change just by being here. Yet this time
around – different from the interim work – the change isn’t about
stirring things up so you see new ways of doing things. Rather it is
about how we will come to do things newly – together. Ultimately
we’ll find the way to discovering how we do things together in
ways that last. So, I am taking things slowly, finding out how you
are used to doing things, considering in the light of what I have
found works, and talking with folks about it all.
All that said, you will note some changes right away, most notably
in the worship services and in this very newsletter.
Your newsletter will not longer lead with sermon titles and
blurbs. I find it difficult to know what I want to preach about up
to six weeks ahead of time. Part of this, no doubt arises from my
early training on a daily newspaper. I will be discussing services
with Worship Associates, Music Director Carolyn Howard and
Director of Religious Education Joyce Faber. We will be letting
folks know about upcoming services – especially in ways that are
welcoming to newcomers. Yet we will also be leaving room to let
the “spirit move,” so to speak. And that means no more blurbs!
On September 11, the service will be an All Generations Water
Communion, my favorite way to begin the program year. So please
bring a small sample of water from a place that has meaning for
you – perhaps a place of spiritual refreshment or sustenance. Mine
will be from the coast of Oregon. Also bring a small stone or rock
to add to the waterfall we will create for the service. The stones
will become the ones we use for Joys and Sorrows, the water will
become the ‘holy water” of the church.
It is so wonderful already to be among you.
With love,
Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Aug 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
General Assembly 2016 by Jim Merrill, Association District Representative
If you attended the July 24 “Nuggets from General Assembly” service led by Beverly Jordan, you will have heard many interesting impressions and details about this year’s General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Vel Linden-Akseven and Kitty and Jim Merrill represented UUCV as delegates, and Tanner Akseven participated in the Youth Caucus and carried our banner in the traditional banner parade.
A few major themes ran throughout this year’s GA: Interconnectedness, Covenant, and the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalists movement. We were joined in two services by the Rev. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ; by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism; and by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, whose energetic evangelical style lit up the halls during worship and a witness service that was moved indoors because of the threat of thunderstorms.
These faith leaders’ interfaith participation reinforced the theme of interconnectedness that we are better together when we collaborate for social justice. The theme of covenant permeated several discussions of our polity, at the congregational and the associational levels. Topics ranging from pledging and fair share offerings to how we conduct business at our assemblies were framed by the precept of covenant as more than a promise or a contract, but a commitment to walk with one another in mutual support, when that is easy and especially when that is hard.
At the 2015 GA, the delegates adopted an Action of Immediate Witness supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This year, GA participants were called to examine whether the association and its congregations have committed action more than lip-service. A Responsive Resolution calling the Association and congregations to accountability – the “Reaffirmation of the Commitment to Racial Justice” – was the final order of business taken up by the delegates.
Other business included a forum for the three candidates for UUA President. Our first female UUA President will be elected next year at GA in New Orleans! The delegates also took the following actions, in addition to the Responsive Resolution, trustee and other elections, and routine budget business:
- Adopted the Congregational Study/Action Issue “Escalating Inequality and the Corruption of our Democracy” (establishing a four-year study period)
- Adopted three Actions of Immediate Witness: “Build Solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors”; “Some Guns, All Guns: Legislating Appropriate Restrictions”; and “Stop theHate: Protect and Support our Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Family”
- Rejected a Business Resolution on investment screening of certain types of corporations doing business with Israel (The Association has already screened out all investments in types of corporations that the resolution addressed and has ongoing screens in place.)
- Adopted a Business Resolution on Reconsidering Thanksgiving
You can read about these topics in future issues of the UU World magazine or online at uua.org .
