by Kitty Merrill | Aug 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Our study of the Channel Islands continues this month with Mark and Krista Mendelsohn teaching about the National Park Service and their amazing programs to recover the life and habitat of our ocean. Then we’ll view the National Marine Sanctuary: the kelp forests, marine preserves and their essential role in the life of the ocean, including learning about how litter and trash destroy the life in the ocean and lead to weakening and disappearance of vital areas within our ocean. We will also be learning life sustaining ways to take care of our trash and litter.
We are thrilled with your response to our Teacher Recruitment Town Hall. Please save Saturday, August 27 for Teacher training that morning. We feel very fortunate that our newly arrived minister, Rev Dana will join us to lead our training along with experienced teachers and members of the RE Committee.
Please consider your volunteer teaching as an integral part of your spiritual work. Teaching Religious Education to our children can be as deepening for our spiritual life as attending our Worship service. In fact they both complement each other for most teachers. Our workable compromise is to provide for continuity with our children and at the same time to give our teachers two Sundays to attend the worship service – the best of “both worlds.” Our goal is to have two teaching teams for each class; each teaching two weeks per month. A substitute teacher will be a regular part of the team when needed.
In addition, our RE team has support for you: just give us a list of your materials, books, posters, music, charts, letters home, two weeks before you teach and we will have it all in your room before you arrive Sunday morning. We are ready to assist you in any detail of planning you need, questions you have about teaching children, using the curriculum, teaching songs, doing followup activities, dealing with special needs of children.
We welcome all your questions and will give you tours to acquaint you with our rooms, play yard, equipment, teachers library and children’s library. The sign up logs are on the table outside the RE Director’s office in Berg Hall. For more information please see Joyce Faber, Acting DRE
OWL Our Whole Lives Classes will begin in the fall for 3rd and 4th grade and Sr HS. See Vel Akseven, Coordinator, for info.
Children’s, Choir, led by Carolyn Howard, returns in the fall.
With Love and Faith, Joyce Faber, dre@uuventura.org
by Kitty Merrill | Aug 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
May the Love that overcomes all differences,[spacer height=”-10px”]
that heals all wounds,[spacer height=”-10px”]
that puts to flight all fears,[spacer height=”-10px”]
that reconciles all who are separated,[spacer height=”-10px”]
Be in us and among us now and always.[spacer height=”-10px”]
Amen.
— Frederick E. Gillis
I first heard these words last June when our own Chuck Samonsky used them to open the Worship service featuring members of our congregation telling their stories about participating in Religious Education. Telling our stories, sharing our views, our feelings with each other in the sacred space of our relationships is how we get close and gain understanding. The entire service moved me but my attention was caught by the power of love expressed in the opening words. How does one maintain an open heart in a world where there is so much in conflict?
In last month’s column I described how I think UU live in the gray. That is a place of tension and it is not an easy place to reside. I do not think Unitarian Universalism is an easy religion. You have to find your own answers. No one gives them to you. You have to put effort into your personal theology. No one tells you what you must believe. In our case we ask only that you be in sympathy with our 7 Principles and even then you don’t have to agree with them, much less interpret them the same as someone else. You don’t have to think alike in order to love alike.
By the time this column comes out your Board will have had its first meeting of the church year. The Board members are: Chuck Samonsky(Vice-President), Vel Linden-Akseven (Secretary), Jim Waldron (Treasurer), Kassy Erickson, Mark Gale and Kim Prieto (Trustees at Large). Our Minister, Rev. Dana, will be joining the Board this month and I am certain she will be offering all manner of advice and counsel as she gets acquainted with us and the life that is the UUCV.
At the July Board meeting we spent our time doing ordinary things like getting organized for future meetings. We began scheduling the calendar, and we took a look at a list of the likely issues we will need to address for the year. Among those issues are the proposed remodeling of the playground, the policy on major maintenance, our minister’s installation, the search for a Director of Religious Education, the upcoming auction and fundraising in general, the need for a Personnel Committee, the potential of a Cluster Gathering and cooperative work with the Conejo and Santa Paula congregations, and the upcoming Task Group work.
Expect we will aim high, boldly, as is the style of this congregation. We will look to reach to that which is beyond our grasp. And should we end up somewhere short of our goals we will still have been successful because we will have built upon our relationships with each other. That is true for the Board, for our Committees and for each of us individually as we all work together to support our church. I believe building relationships of mutual understanding and caring with each other is the most important work we can do together. It is a process that takes time.
Living in Paradise, Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | Aug 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Learnings, Musings, Observations of General Assembly by Beverly Jordan, Membership Manager
I embarked on my first General Assembly experience in June full of anticipation mixed with a little intimidation. It was awesome to be gathered in Columbus, Ohio with 3,800 UUs celebrating this tradition through worship, learning together in workshops, and dialoguing over important issues. Thank you UUCV for making it possible for me to experience this expansive and broadening event.
It was great to share this experience with UUCV members: Vel Akseven, Tanner Akseven, and Jim and Kitty Merrill. I have a notebook full of ideas, thoughts and hopes. The subjects range from Membership to Sabbath. I am just beginning to let these nuggets unfold.
So, for now, I share with you a few random gleanings:
- Some people research (mostly on-line) Unitarian Universalism and local churches up to 6 months or a year, before making their first visit to a church. (Membership Professional Day workshop)
- The truths from our past religious experiences may no longer hold true. When not healed these become like heavy baggage that weighs us down.
- “UU World” special edition – fresh off the press – is for seekers and is an introduction to Unitarian Universalism. The editor solicited specific feedback from the membership professionals.
- When resolving conflict, search for and disclose hidden assumptions. (Conflict Resolution workshop)
- Debate is about being right, it is combative, it is the defending of assumptions and one listens only to defend position.
- Dialogue is collaborative, the goal is to find common ground, assumptions are brought up for observation and one listens to understand.
- Sabbath is about stepping outside of social and economic systems to gain independence from those systems and connect with our higher power, deepest self, community and family. (Sabbath workshop)
- Stewardship previously meant “to save and protect.” Now it must be about investing spending that brings about impact. (Interfaith Perspectives on Stewardship workshop)
- The reason people contribute to non-profits: Belief in the mission, trust in the leadership and fiscal responsibility.
- “Voices of Humanism” edited by Gary Bauslaugh released in Fall 2016. This is a collection of writings that demonstrates humanistic thinking — independent, compassionate, rational and constructive explorations of various matters of human importance. (Humanism workshop)
- Mind truth as best we can, and let it be the compass for the way we walk through change. (Krista Tippett, “On Being” host)
- Our lives are raw material for wisdom if we are honest.
—- and so much more.
One highlight for me was the Membership Professional Day attended by 30 membership professionals. The networking was invaluable and my resource cache has multiplied. I have a deeper appreciation of the way we do church at UUCV, and the commitment level of our Membership Committee. There is much to live into.
Committed to Growth, Beverly
by Kitty Merrill | Jul 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
It Is You –Beverly Jordan, Membership Manager
Throughout Reverend Ed Brock’s interim ministry at UUCV he has emphasized that the congregation is the future of this church. When he first arrived he would say, “I know who your next settled minister is! (pause) It is YOU.” You as the congregation are the thread through each settled minister, each staff change, each building move and each evolution of growth. What do you envision for the future of UUCV? How would you define church growth?
I offer some thoughts on church growth borrowed from “Congregational Growth in Unitarian Universalism”, published by the UUA. I appreciate the broad, realistic and healthy perspective offered in this publication.
There are four distinct dynamics to church growth; maturational, organic, incarnational and numerical.
- Maturational growth is growth in wisdom. It is a stage when a congregation sees its life as a complex array of choices. Growth allows the congregation to challenge, support, and encourages each one of its members to grow in the maturity of their faith, to deepen their spiritual roots, and to broaden their religious imagination. Organic growth is growth in strength.
- Organic growth calls the congregation to strengthen the qualities needed to serve its essential purpose (mission) and to become equal to its future. Qualities and skills needed for this work include openness, flexibility and principled decision-making processes.
- Incarnational growth is growth in action. Recognizing the diversity of focus among congregants is important. There are multiple ways of authentically moving values into action thus there are different ways of being an active congregant. The key to healthy incarnational growth requires a trust in the wisdom of many types of action. For example, if a congregation is rich with activists, it must pay attention to keeping other types alive and vital.
- Numerical growth is growth in member numbers. One reason why numerical growth is valued is the recognition that our congregations are places of positive transformation. Our openness to persons of different spiritual journeys – our conviction that “we need not think alike, to love alike” offers welcome and encouragement to individuals seeking a spiritual home of diverse thought and free inquiry.
Each of these areas (maturational, organic, incarnational and numerical) relates to the others: as our congregation grows in health, maturity, and outward-focused values, we support our growth in numbers.
Considering these four areas, how would you comment on growth at UUCV? Where have we been, where are we now and where would YOU like to go?
See you in Church
In Faith, Beverly
by Kitty Merrill | Jul 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Change is the one Constant
This column has been written by former president, Carolyn Briggs, for the past four years. It has been a place where one could find important information on our church activities as well as inspiration on how this church changes lives for the better. Now it is my turn to provide information to you, the members and friends of our congregation, about matters of our church that concern us all. It may take me a while to get the hang of things and hopefully you will find my “notes” helpful. Please know that you can email your questions and concerns to me at bryanabuck@hotmail.com and I will try to answer them as best I can in a timely manner. If I do not answer immediately it may be that my other full-time job swallowed my remaining energy for the day. Most often I prefer face-to-face conversation. You are also welcome to attend our Board meetings.
Now back to that idea about change. I am very much an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of guy. Tradition holds that the title of this column should take on a naming convention similar to those from previous Board Presidents. Marcy’s Musings, Jim’s Jottings, David’s Diagonals and Tom’s Time are of the recent past. Bryan’s Eight Bits or Bryan’s Bulletin or Buck’s Bang do not really resonate with me in much the same way that Carolyn may have struggled and then came up with the current and classically simple, “Notes from The President’s Desk.” As I said, if it ain’t broke…
This church year marks the beginning of a new era. We welcome the Rev. Dana Worsnop, who will be starting in August. We, as a collective group, worked for two years with the aid of professional staff to reach this new place of opportunity. Everyone should be proud of what has been accomplished and filled with excitement for the days ahead.
We have new Board Members and we have Committee Chairs who are looking for help in providing the programs that add richness to our church life. These folks want and need your support. Seek them out, get to know them and volunteer to help in any way that you can. A big part of being successful is achieved by simply showing up, and sharing your time and talent. Sunday Services are always better when you are there. Children’s RE is always better when your kids are there. Committee work is always better when you participate. These are some of the ways you build upon your spirituality and, perhaps more importantly, discover what it means to be in relationship with members of our community.
Lastly, I am a believer in our Covenant of Right Relations. You can find it on our wonderful website. That Covenant helps define how we are to “be” with each other because we will not always agree with each other. In my opinion Unitarian Universalism is not a black or white, day or night, living faith religion. It is a religion that lives in the gray. It can be a messy and tension filled place. Which is why we are frequently called back by our ministers to become our best selves. Please read the Covenant and give it your thoughtful consideration. It is the foundation of good beginnings and to understanding that we don’t have to think alike in order to love alike.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Kitty Merrill | May 1, 2016 | Justice Actions
Rev. Dana Worsnop accepts the UUCV congregation’s call to become their minister.
Sunday, May 1, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura voted overwhelmingly to call the Rev. Dana Worsnop as their new settled minister. The 96.4 % favorable vote was the culmination of Candidating Week, during which Rev. Worsnop led services on April 24 and May 1, and met with numerous groups and committees, in order to begin to get to know members of the congregation.
The congregation celebrates the call.
The vote was taken during a special congregational meeting, and tallied immediately after. Following announcement of the 166 to 5 vote, the Rev. Dana Worsnop came to the dais and accepted the call.
Rev. Worsnop expressed her hopes for this shared ministry with UUCV. “Together, we will grow and build this new connection into a tapestry with shining thread, creating the bonds of community with intricate pattern.”
Board Secretary Joe Hutchins announces the results.
Search committee member David Henkel found Rev. Worsnop’s views on collaboration important for the church. “As we were getting to know Rev. Dana early in the process, I was heartened to learn that it has been her practice to collaborate closely with all the paid staff in creating a unified ministry. As she explained, the entire community joins in crafting a ministry that becomes our common identity and each person has a role to play that adds to the sacred whole.”
Rev. Worsnop brings a wealth of experience with her. She has been a parish minister for 13 years, 10 as the settled minister at Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City, Oregon and 3 years as an interim minister in Calgary, Alberta and Boise, Idaho.
Rev. Worsnop will begin her ministry with UUCV on August 1st, 2016.
UUCV Board Members tally the vote.
The Reverend Worsnop was chosen by the Ventura church following a nine-month search conducted by a seven-member settled ministerial search committee. In-depth research into the needs and desires of the members of the congregation began the process through surveys and focus groups. By the end of December, over a dozen candidates put their names forward to UUCV. After much scrutiny, three finalists were invited to come to Ventura for a pre-candidating weekend, during which the applicants and committee held deep conversations to determine their compatibility. Rev. Worsnop was notified that she was the committee’s chosen candidate on April 7.
Search committee member Gretchen Buck explained one factor in the decision, “Respect for diversity is critical for a Unitarian Universalist minister, but diversity has many facets. With Rev. Dana, I didn’t even have to ask the burning question ‘Are you a cat person or a dog person?’ because her website told us that she has one of each. I think that’s when I knew she would fit right in with our congregation.”
Rev. Dana hugs Search Committee Member Gretchen Buck after the meeting.
Photos by Neal Ortenberg.
