by Admin | Jun 11, 2018 | Justice Actions
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” Seneca
Riverhaven Update
If you are new to UUCV you may not be aware our congregation provides dinner to the residents of Riverhaven on the fourth Monday of every month. Members of the congregation sign up to provide a dish (main dish, salad, dessert or “other”), bring it to the church by 3pm on the 4th Monday or on the Sunday before. Be sure to label it “Riverhaven.“ Dates for the next few months are June 25, July 23, and August 27.
If you want to support this important project please sign up at the Social Action Table.
Questions? Call Pam or Jim Waldron at 647-5650.
Thank you for supporting our friends at Riverhaven!
Lift Up Your Voice (LUYV)
by Kathy Powell
As our city reeled from the horrible killing and the backlash that followed, we at Lift Up Your Voice had to take a collective breath and figure out how to go forward.
Many of us were at the horrible city council meeting with the Angry People ready to attack every homeless person in sight and they were especially frustrated with any person who they thought helped the homeless in town.
The day after the meeting was our regular Park Outreach day and we had to weigh our safety going out. We decided to go and my son said we were the true anime definition of courage.
We went and we listened. We heard the voices of the homeless who were being vilified for something they didn’t do by a man they didn’t know. The city was turning against them and we were there, personifying the principals put forth in our faith of the inherent dignity of all.
Sometimes socks and baby wipes take on a whole new meaning. Thank you for supporting us as we do our work.
by Admin | Jun 11, 2018 | Justice Actions
Dear UUCV Community,
Being a people of blessing too often overlaps with being a people of privilege. Since UU young adult camp last year, these issues have particularly been on our minds in terms of how to hold that we are a predominantly white congregation who so eagerly strives for inclusion. I wonder if we want to look different but not be different, feel better but not do better.
Nonetheless there is so very much to be grateful for and appreciating all of the small and big ways that our life is supported and that abundance is acknowledged is a powerful practice.
How do we come from a place of gratitude and work so that all beings are blessed?
A similar seemingly paradox came up at the parenting group last month when parents shared that as much as they want their children to have empathy and be kind, they also want them to stand up for themselves and speak up when they don’t like something. How do we teach children to come from a place of kindness and while listening to their inner voice to stand up for themselves?
These are some of the guiding questions at the core of our program, along with so many more! Let’s talk more about this at the many events this month! We are so excited to enjoy a picnic/BBQ with all of you after the service on June 10!
“Give hope to those you encounter, that they may know safety from inner and outer harm, be happy and at peace, healthy and strong, caring and joyful. Be the blessing you already are. That is enough. Blessed Be; Amen.” Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh
by Admin | Jun 11, 2018 | Justice Actions
by Mark Mendelsohn
Get the free Recycle Coach app (https://recyclecoach.com/residents), which includes complete information and schedules for our Ventura waste and recycling program, available now for App Store Download or Google Play Download, as well as your Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, or simply their website. Now there’s fantastic and extensive info about recycling, pre-cycling, and other waste diversion techniques immediately available at your fingertips or voice command! The information is catered to your street address; Ventura has the most info already loaded, but Ojai, Camarillo, Oxnard, and other communities are not far behind! The Recycle Coach platform will help transform our cities into even greater stewards of the planet and increase our landfill diversion rate, currently at 74%. Email mmendels33@gmail.com any questions.
Global Big Day Report-back: eBird recently emailed us, “On 5 May 2018, you helped set a birding world record. Your eBird lists joined reports from nearly 30,000 fellow eBirders, tallying 6,924 species as a global team: 2/3 of the world’s birds in 24 hours. This is a new world record for the number of bird species reported in one day. Thank you.” We observed 26 species in less than an hour at the Ventura Settling Ponds.
by Kitty Merrill | May 3, 2018 | Justice Actions
“FLAWS”
The word was in all caps at the center of a collage that a Coming of Age youth and her mentor were creating. All youth and mentors were focusing on collages representing Unitarian Universalism, and I was happily circulating among them all watching and listening to the collaborations. The word piqued my curiosity.
“Why FLAWS?” I asked.
“Because we don’t have to be perfect in this church,” came the response. “We get to be who we are.”
I could not have said it better. One of the things I loved about our faith from the first was that I felt accepted in my full humanity. I wasn’t a sinner in need of saving, but a complex human being seeking meaning, trying to live with purpose and compassion. I was appreciated for my gifts and blessings and encouraged to deepen them. I was fully accepted with my failings and foibles and encouraged to learn and grow.
I have loved working with Emily, our Coming of Age crew of facilitators and mentors, and eight of our magnificent youth. Our UU youth always delight me. They often surprise me with their wit, insight and sensitivity. We grow great kids in our faith and in our church. I can’t wait till the Coming of Age service on June 10 when they will read their Credo Statements to the congregation.
These kids are just one more reason I am falling more and more in love with the church and all our people. It’s hard to believe we are coming to the end of our second year together. In some ways it feels like I just started yesterday, in other ways I feel I’ve been here forever. I’ve told anyone and everyone who asks that I am happy as a clam, here in Ventura, serving this congregation. It’s still true.
And by now we are coming to know each other’s gifts, quirks and a few flaws. Folks now know that I don’t always reply to emails right away. And I’m an external processor, meaning that I don’t always know what I think until I hear myself say it, meaning I sometimes blurt out wild and impractical ideas.
I realized that I was even more a goner for y’all recently when I had encounters with a number of folks with their particular quirks and idiosyncrasies, and all I felt was an upwelling of affection. I realized that I love them not in spite of quirks and foibles but because of them.
We don’t have to be perfect in this church. I prove that on a daily basis. We simply get to be who we are.
And what a wonderful group of folks we are.
With love,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | May 3, 2018 | Justice Actions
Budgets
Budgets are moral documents that reflect our commitment to our values and principles. They are aspirational expressions of our hopes for the UUCV. This year’s Budget is just one of several important issues we will discuss at the June 17 Annual Meeting. “But wait a minute, that’s Father’s Day!” Why did the Board pick that day for a meeting? Well, because that’s the day that was available, sandwiched between our Coming of Age program, the Church Picnic on June 10 and the UUA General Assembly on the 24th. Next year we will schedule the Annual Meeting earlier as part of our first ever Grand Master Calendaring meeting on May 7.
The Budget for 2018-19 is manageable and in keeping with the last 2 years during which we have benefited from a very generous “Bridge Pledge” that enabled the UUCV to maintain our current staffing level. We will have a relatively small deficit, around 2%, for a budget that is about $500,000.00. That deficit is easily covered from our reserves. The creation of “Reserves” comes from prior years when budgets were not fully spent. We saved those monies for a “rainy day” and that day has arrived!
The real angst at the Annual Meeting will come from the “projected” budget presentation for the year 2019-20. That’s when the “Bridge Pledge” Funds will be depleted. That budget makes clear just how much we have been living off the generosity of others, including those who came before such as Tom Berg and Nick Williams whose legacy continues to inspire us all. So, we will be facing a “Cliff” deficit in 2019-20 and Leadership is considering ways to “ease” into that year with a combination of reserves and other funds. It will also require your help!
What we do next will affect us for years to come. The last six years the UUCV has pursued a vision based on the idea of Staffing for Growth. It has involved the generosity of two Capital Campaigns from a few members and Grant money. We are clearly benefitting from having a very strong staff. There is improved adult programming, R.E. has tripled in size, we have women’s and men’s covenant groups, we have amazing music and much more. The result is we are absolutely growing! This dynamic growth affirms that the UUCV is the Prophetic Voice of Liberal Religion in Ventura. We offer the radical message; “You do not need to think alike in order to love alike” that people want to hear. We are an inclusive, loving, faith community.
Capital Campaigns are not the way to sustain our current level of staffing. We must have Pledge Income to support that vision. In the past 6 years we have never asked for a specific commitment from the Congregation. Instead we tried everything else to generate revenue and it is not enough. Ours has always been a “soft” request for the financial support of what you value. So, what comes next is a very big “ask” of everyone. Including new members, we will need an 18% increase in pledging income between now and June 2020. That is two years away. If you believe in the UUCV and what we stand for, then begin now to take your own personal steps to fulfill this request, and please, make our Annual Meeting a priority. We can do this together.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Justice Actions
by Edith Ball, Chair
We will have a basket placed at the back entrance of our church during May to collect blankets for CAUSE, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, in Oxnard. These blankets will be donated to their clients who are farm workers.
As we can see when we visit the CAUSE website (causenow.org), “CAUSE is working to pass a Farmworker Bill of Rights, a comprehensive policy in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to tackle the harsh labor conditions all too common for workers in the fields of the Central Coast,” along with other campaigns.
Your donation of blankets will be greatly appreciated.
Contact Michael Akseven makseven@yahoo.com or text 805/208-0344
