Generosity in All Things
Albert Lovejoy was a member of my Internship Committee in Prescott, Arizona. The committee was talking about some of the personal preferences that people expressed when it came to worship services. He said, "Well, when I come to church, I always hope there are elements that don't really speak to me, because I figure they are likely to speak to someone not like me and that is the point!"
Early in my time as parish minister in Ventura, California, we found that a young Religious Education Assistant had been stealing on-site. Because our board had known there were thefts, I began a conversation with them about next steps. One of them said, "What would we want to have happen if she was our daughter?"
Years later, I let our board president, Tom Berg, know that some stranger I helped with our Inreach/Outreach Fund turned out to be spinning a false story to congregations all over town. He replied, "I would rather you take the chance of helping someone like that as opposed to not helping someone you should help because you are overly suspicious."
Before his death, Tom spoke to me about leaving a large bequest to the endowment fund. But he didn't want money to be tucked away when the immediate mission called us to great things. When he died, we created a Legacy Fund to be used "to grow the generosity of the congregation and/or the capacity of the congregation to live out its mission."
A few years ago, in my capacity as Congregational Life Staff, I was working in a congregation in which the board and minister were in conflict. The board president, reflecting back on her role, said, "I keep wondering what I could have done differently."
These stories are all about generosity. Generosity can be giving people the benefit of the doubt, setting aside personal preferences for the common good, looking for the best in people and situations or giving freely of the gifts given to us. Research tells us that generosity in its various forms is tied to a sense of joy and meaning in life.
What would your congregation look like if it practiced "Generosity In All Things?" What would be different? What new and creative ways can you think of to nurture generosity in your midst?
Next year, we are inviting ten congregations to join in a four-year adventure on that very topic: Institutionalizing a Ministry of Generosity. Find more information and submit your application here.
But becoming more generous is something that is available to each of us in every moment. Our hymn "I Wish I Knew How" has the line, "I wish I could give all I'm longing to give." May we all become as generous as we are longing to be.
Warmly,
Rev. Jan Christian
Pacific Western Region, Congregational Life Staff
|
|
March 15, 2018
In this Issue
- Generosity in All Things
- Regional Assembly
- Events, Training & Webinars
- District and UU News
- Job Postings
- Youth News
PWR Quick Links
PWR Field Staff
|
|
Regional Assembly is for the Whole Family!
We have fantastic options for UUs of all ages, with a UU Kids Camp for ages 5-14, a Youth Assembly for ages 14-18, and high-quality childcare for infants to age 4. Families can spend time together, too, sharing the experiences of the opening ceremony, the Sunday morning worship, mealtimes, and more.
Exhibitors at Regional Assembly
We will be offering a limited amount of exhibitor space at Regional Assembly. Artisans and craftspeople, professional services, social action groups and educational exhibitors may all appreciate being able to interact with Assembly attendees. The cost to exhibitors is $25 for one 6’ x 30" table.
Learn more about applying to exhibit at RA
District Business Meetings
The District Annual Business Meetings will convene at 4:00 Saturday afternoon, April 28, during the 2018 Pacific Western Regional Assembly. If your congregation wishes to have delegate representation at your district’s annual meeting, please have a minister, board officer or their designee submit the Delegate Certification Form by April 20.
As materials for your district’s meeting become available, they will be posted at the District Business Meetings site.
Right Relations and Chaplaincy Teams
The PWR Regional Assembly will have both Right Relations and Chaplaincy teams to support the gathered community. The members of the Chaplaincy team work to support a vibrant pastoral ministry, caring for the spiritual health of individuals participating in Regional Assembly. The Right Relations team is charged with maintaining right relationship and countering oppressions in the Regional Assembly community.
The PWR is seeking people interested in serving on one of these teams. Position descriptions for each are linked below, as well as the application form.
Chaplain Team Description • Right Relations Team Description
Application form (for both positions). Application deadline is April 2.
Facebook Group for Regional Assembly Attendees
One of the common questions that folks ask after submitting their registration for Regional Assembly is, "How do I find someone who might like to rideshare or be my roommate?"
We've set up a Facebook group for Regional Assembly participants who want to share information or try to arrange ride/room sharing. We'll also be posting updates about the programs there as we have them.
Stay a little longer
Members of the Mid-Columbia UU Fellowship (MCUUF) are offering home stays for a few days either before or after RA. Stay in Hood River, with easy access to shops, restaurants, wineries, and brew pubs. Or spend a few nights out in the countryside, with stunning mountain views, abundant wildlife, and starlit nights.
Either way, your friendly UU host will offer you a clean, comfortable bed, breakfast, and lots of expert advice. Cost is $70 single/$80 double sharing a room. We are also happy to accommodate kids. All proceeds will benefit MCUUF.
View the MCUUF flyer [PDF]
|
|
|
PWR Webinar: Multicultural Religious Education for Children
Apr. 18, 2018 at 10:00am Pacific
Rev. Dr. Sherri Prud'homme and Laila Ibrahim
You want to create a more inclusive, more multicultural children's program in your congregation, but there's no roadmap. Join educators Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud'homme and Laila Ibrahim for this webinar that helps us know where to start, exploring essential questions like: How do we create culturally-inclusive spaces? How do we bring in cultures other than our own without committing cultural misappropriation? How do we help children develop intercultural competency as they grow up in our faith?
Register for Multicultural Religious Education for Children
Board Development Days
A day for congregational teams (board members and clergy) to explore and learn together. Note: This day may supplement your traditional Board Retreat, serve as part of it, or provide the foundation for it.
- March 17 at University Unitarian Church (Seattle, WA)
- March 18 at Two Rivers UU (Carbondale, CO)
- April 7 at South Valley UU Society (Cottonwood Heights, UT)
- April 14 at UU Fellowship of Bozeman (Bozeman, MT)
- May 19 at Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (Pagosa Springs, CO)
There are still opportunities to bring a Board Development Day to your area. If you are interested in hosting a Board Development Day in the coming year, let your PWR Primary Contact know.
Talking About Money as Pastoral Care
A call-in conversation on May 14 from 6:45-8:15pm (Pacific) with Kay Crider, Stewardship Consultant with Stewardship for Us, and Rev. Jan Christian, PWR Congregational Life Staff
Our wounds are often deep when it comes to money and our sense of inherent worth and dignity. The power of money in our own lives often goes unexamined. This plays out in our congregations in all sorts of ways. What would it mean to your congregation to be able to talk about money in ways that are life-giving and healing?
No need to register. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/594750233, or telephone at +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656. Meeting ID: 594 750 233.
Our Shared Future: Legacy Giving in UU Congregations
Would you like to learn how to encourage your members, friends, and supporters to shape the future of Unitarian Universalism and to make a difference through legacy giving? Join us for a webinar to be presented once a month beginning in March!
Jay Pacitti, UUA Legacy Gifts Officer will present the basics of legacy giving and best practices for building a healthy legacy giving program in your congregation, and Laura Randall, Legacy Campaign Director will discuss the Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge.
All are welcome! There is no fee to attend this workshop. This workshop is designed for board members, ministers, fundraising volunteers, legacy giving committee members, and finance committee members who want to learn about soliciting, managing, and stewarding legacy gifts to ensure that Unitarian Universalism is answering the call of love for generations to come.
We will be hosting this free webinar on the following Saturdays from 10:00am-12:00pm Pacific: March 17, April 21, May 12, and June 9, 2018
The material presented will be the same at each webinar; this is not a series. Each workshop will consist of a presentation followed by Q&A.
Each webinar will use the Zoom video conference platform. To join a webinar, click here, or to join by telephone, call 408-638-0968 and enter the meeting ID number, 651 592 1651.
Meaning Makers
Do you know an 18 to 24-year-old UU who would love to connect with peers over spiritual issues? Are you in that age range and lacking in UU young adult community after bridging out of your youth experience, or wanting to go deeper in certain areas of your faith? Meaning Makers is a program for UU emerging adults from the U.S. and Canada that starts with a retreat in early June, continues with virtual sessions and mentorship for 6 months, and closes in January with another retreat. There are three brand new focus areas this year: spiritual practices, navigating community and living our values. Financial aid and travel subsidies will be available as long as you register by March 15!
Learn more at uua.org/meaningmakers.
|
|
|
PWR Congregations in the News
Residents honor those murdered for having a disability - Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Rev. Elizabeth Stevens of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse and about 15 others gathered Saturday at Friendship Square in Moscow to honor people with disabilities who have been murdered by a family member or caregiver. The vigil was in response to the national Disability Day of Mourning, which occurred Thursday.
Four longtime Colorado residents currently in sanctuary rally support for legislative help - Boulder Weekly
"We realized that uniting would give more strength to the movement," says Ingrid Encalada Latorre, who has been in sanctuary in three different churches in Colorado since November 2016. She’s been at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder since mid-December. "And the reason unifying the four of us is more powerful is it unifies the state from north to south, unifying the churches that support us as well as the communities."
Unitarian Universalist Congregation puts faith to work - HeraldNet
Near the end of the worship service, people lined the sides of the sanctuary to make their way up front, toward a large bowl filled with water. As their turn came, each plucked a pebble from a small bowl and gently dropped it into the water. The reflections ritual at the Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation was a chance to make a promise, remember someone or mark an important event.
Program Aims To Teach White Liberals How To Talk About Race - Oregon Public Broadcasting
Sharon Toliver, a social work student at Eastern Washington University, attended part one of the course at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver, WA in December and returned for part two with a story about how she used the "connect" method to talk with her father about immigration over the holidays. They were discussing the uncertain future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and her father’s frustration with immigrants who entered the country illegally with small children.
UU Fellowship becomes ‘Immigrant-Welcoming’ - Hood River News
Hood River’s Mid-Columbia UU Fellowship (MCUUF) has become the third Gorge church to declare itself immigrant-welcoming, following similar declarations made by Hood River’s Riverside UCC Community Church and White Salmon’s Bethel Congregational UCC Church. The MCUUF congregation voted unanimously Feb. 4 "to recognize the Seven Principles of our faith, (which) call us to protect and support the vulnerable, affirm their inherent worth and dignity, and take action when injustice occurs."
Commission on Appraisal Survey: What Should Our Next Topic Be?
As the Commission on Appraisal prepares to select a new issue to address over the next few years, they would like to have input and feedback from people in leadership to both expand and narrow the range of topics to be considered. The Commission’s mission is to provoke deep reflection and to evoke timely, creative transformation of Unitarian Universalism, our congregations, and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Learn more and complete the survey.
Monthly Annual Program Fund (APF) Webinar
Do you want to know more about how APF works? Please bring your questions to our monthly APF Webinar, when you’ll get to meet with staff from our Congregational Giving Team and ministers, treasurers and congregational leaders from around the country. Our APF webinars will take place on the second Tuesday of every month.
Dates: April 10, May 8, and June 12. Each webinar takes place at 2-3pm Pacific, 3-4pm Mountain
Learn more about the webinars.
PWR Job Postings
- Acting Faith Development Educator - UU Congregation of Las Vegas, NV
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Congregational Administrator - All Souls UU Church in Colorado Springs, CO
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Director of Religious Exploration - Evergreen UU Fellowship in Marysville, WA
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Director of Religious Education - Pacific UU Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Choir Director - UU Church in Livermore, CA
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Choir Accompanist - UU Church in Livermore, CA
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Membership Coordinator - UU Fellowship of San Dieguito, CA
Applications open until the position is filled.
- Interim DRE - First Unitarian Portland, OR
Applications accepted through March 15, 2018.
- Interim Director of Religious Education - UU Church of Boulder, CO
Applications due by March 19, 2018.
- Interim Director of Religious Education - First Unitarian Church of San José, CA
Applications accepted through March 18, 2018.
In Memoriam - Rev. Dr. Phillip Hewett
February 10, 1925 - February 24, 2018
Rev. Dr. Hewett carried out a vast array of service to the denomination. He was President of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Unitarian Ministers’ Association, and he was later President of the UU Ministers of Canada (UUMOC). Phillip served three terms on the board of the Canadian Unitarian Council, and was Chair of the CUC’s Ministerial and Chaplaincy Committee. He also chaired the UUA’s Program Committee and the board of Meadville Lombard Theological School. And Rev. Dr. Hewett was Vice President of the UU Historical Society and President of both the British and Canadian Unitarian Historical Societies.
During his ministry in Vancouver, Rev. Dr. Hewett was noted for challenging the inclusion of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools, advocating for reproductive rights, founding the BC Memorial Society to provide an alternative to the funeral industry, sheltering Vietnam War draft resisters, helping establish the BC Civil Liberties Association, and promoting LGBT rights. Philip was also the longest-standing "Elder" in the David Suzuki Council of Elders. Phillip was very active in the International Association for Religious Freedom, and in 1983 he and his wife Margaret were jointly presented the annual award for distinguished service from the IARF’s American chapter. In 1992 Rev. Dr. Hewett was presented the Distinguished Service Award of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
A full obituary can be found on the UUMA website.
|
|
|
PCD Chalice Lighters
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada (UUFNN) will be the recipient of your generous donations to the Winter 2018 Pacific Central District Chalice Lighter call to provide a new sound system.
The sound system in their Great Room has outlived its usefulness. The congregation wants and needs to better serve all who would hear their messages and music as well as better serve the hearing impaired. A new sound system would also raise the level of professionalism of their worship, capitalize on the current growth opportunity, and demonstrate the high value they place on inclusiveness.
You can read the full call letter on the PCD website and make your contribution online at the donation page through March 26. Or mail your check, payable to PCD Chalice Lighters to: PCD Chalice Lighters, 7511 Greenwood Avenue North, #414, Seattle, WA 98103-4627. Please write PCD CL on both the memo line of your check and on the payment envelope.
Thank you for your donation!
Regional Assembly Funding Support from the PCD Board
All PCD congregations are encouraged to come to Regional Assembly in Portland, Oregon, April 27-29, 2018. To facilitate attendance, the PCD Board voted to provide all PCD congregations attending Regional Assembly a $500 grant to offset the costs of attendance. There are no strings attached. If your PCD congregation needs a grant to attend, send an email to Diane Brinson (dbrinson@uua.org). Diane will arrange for a check to be sent to your congregation.
Each congregation can use the money as best suits their needs. Send youth; send staff; or use the money to rent a bus and take a busload to RA. Each congregation should determine which approach best fits with their mission.
|
|
|
Camp de Benneville Pines Bylaw Revisions
De Benneville Pines, Inc. board of directors is updating Camp’s bylaws. We’ll be sharing the complete legislative update with delegates in mid-April and voting on changes in April in Portland, OR at our annual business meeting to be held as part of the PWR Regional Assembly.
Interested in learning more? Check out the overview of changes and sign up for an informational webinar. We’ll be setting up at least two Zoom calls to review the most recent bylaws and proposed changes and to invite comment.
Thanks for your interest in Camp de Benneville Pines governance!
|
|
|
Youth at Regional Assembly!
Regional Assembly (RA) has a Youth Assembly: three days of faith, frivolity, and fun for Unitarian Universalists in grades 9-12 from all over the western United States.
To make this experience affordable, the cost is only $90 per youth. That's $30 off the regular registration price!
The program runs from Friday, April 27 at 5:00 pm until Sunday, April 29 at noon.
Youth are invited to participate in the RA programs with the rest of our community when the Youth Assembly isn't gathered.
PWR RA Youth Assembly's focus is on Making CoUUrageous Connections! Icebreakers, games, community building activities, workshops, identity caucusing, small group ministry (touch groups), and worship will all be featured as youth from across the Pacific Western Region—Kari Gottfried, Elliot Ferrell-Carretey, Byrne Crandell, Zoe Johnston, Tanner Linden, Harriet Wright, and many more—will lead transformative youth ministry experiences in the context of the broader Assembly.
Workshops will be led by members of the YaYA office, the PWR Multicultural Team, PCD MUUG's (middle school) ministry, and others!
Learn more and register!
Goldmine Youth Leadership School 2018
July 7-12, 2018 • Seattle, WA
Goldmine Youth Leadership School is a week-long community building and training space for high school youth interested in leadership, activism, and spiritual growth. The model is one of intentional community building created and nurtured by paying attention to and bringing forth what makes spiritually and socially conscious communities work.
In the process of deeply listening, through exploration and learning, students and staff examine Unitarian Universalist Covenant, Religious History and Values, Worship Skills, Spiritual Practices, Leadership Development, and Counter Oppression, with each lesson purposefully incorporating the lenses of activism, advocacy, and the building of Beloved Community.
Goldmine admittance is competitive, as we have a limited number of spots. Deadline for applications is May 15, 2018.
Apply to attend Goldmine now!
Thrive Youth West
August 1-5, 2018 • Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, CA
Join other Unitarian Universalist Youth of Color (People of African Descent, Caribbean, Native/American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latina/o and Hispanic, Middle Eastern/Arab, and Multiracial) for a five-day gathering to deepen our faith, lift our spirits, and build critical skills for leadership in the face of our uncertain, broken and beautiful world. Thrive participants will be guided by experienced co-facilitators as we worship, feast, play, explore our racial and ethnic identities, practice transformative leadership skills, and create authentic, supportive community. Thrive Youth is for any youth of high school age who is in 9th-12th grade during the 2017-2018 school year (or the equivalent for homeschooled). It’s also open to any youth who bridges into young adulthood in the summer of 2018.
Learn more about Thrive Youth and apply before the March 15, 2018 priority deadline.
PNWD Youth ProUUd Con
This Spring's Pacific Northwest Youth Con theme is ProUUd. Over the course of the weekend we will be exploring ways to strengthen our own personalized connection to Unitarian Universalism, going deeper on what being a Unitarian Universalist really means, celebrating our pride in our faith and con community and looking at ways to take the empowerment we find here out into our wider communities.
March 23-25, 2018 - Camp Cispus, Randle WA
Find more information and register
Upcoming Youth Events
Conferences
Trainings
|
|
|
Michelle Oberman, Beacon Press, 2018
On the Frontlines of the Abortion Wars from El Salvador to Oklahoma - With stories from the front lines, a legal scholar journeys through distinct legal climates to understand precisely why and how the war over abortion is being fought. |
|
Mary Frances Berry, Beacon Press, 2018
How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times - Historian and civil rights activist proves how progressive movements can flourish even in conservative times. |
|
|
|
