Welcome – June, 2018

With gratitude we introduce our newest members: Linda Hillman, Trish Ann Isom, Sam Jefferson, Xina Kingshill, John Moore, Gary Noreen, Alison Oatman, Claire Rithner, Henry Urick and Jane Van Note.
We look forward to getting to know these folks through church related programs and service in the wider com­munity. We are so glad you have chosen UUCV as your spiritual home!
The next series of Membership classes will be offered in October. Email me if you’d like to be added to the list of interested folks. (Beverly@uuventura.org)
Seth Fisher in the book Upcycle Your Congregation (edited by Sarah Lammert) writes: “We need to take a step back and distinguish between “church” and church. “Church” is candles and piano music and vestments and readings. Church is community where people grow together and help each other create lives of meaning. “Church” is great if you are into that sort of thing. We’re not in the business of getting people to sing hymns and listen to sermons. We’re in the business of transforming lives. And this is something that is in demand.”
If we view UUCV as a container for transformation, how might that change the approach we take to program development, membership, leadership and welcome? How might UUCV attract people who are not interested in “church?” Fisher suggests coffee hour could become a social event with live music, an art display, social action volunteers hosting a booth with resources for community involvement. And advertise coffee hour on Social Media and as a community Meet Up. I envision the Connecting Committee in full swing, listening to people’s stories and connecting them with UUCV programming. Seth shares her experience: “What we ended up with didn’t look a whole lot different from our usual coffee hour. It was just a new and improved version – a little more vibrant, a little more deliberately connected with our larger mission, and consequently a little more like the Beloved Community that we strive for.”
What ways do you see UUCV continuing the transforma­tional aspects of church and how can we strengthen that?
– Beverly Jordan, Community Life Coordinator