People, Places and Things I Didn’t Know I Loved
The title comes from a story from Rob Brezsny who writes the syndicated column "Freewill Astrology." Brezsny told of a man who used to lead him into new areas of town in search of lessons they didn’t know they needed. He called this going on a Whirlygig. Brezsny suggested this activity and said we should then write an essay entitled, "People, Places and Things I Didn’t Know I Loved."
In the summer of 2011, I planned to preach a sermon with this title, but first I was going to General Assembly in Charlotte, NC and then I was going to be traveling for a few weeks.
I am a bit embarrassed to say that this mindset of seeking "people, places and things I didn’t know I loved" set up a whole new approach for me. I usually went to our General Assembly with a somewhat cranky and critical mindset and I always found plenty to criticize.
But that year I was going to GA with new eyes. I was going with the purpose to find people, places and things that I didn’t know I loved. And guess what? I found all three.
For those of you coming to our Regional Assembly next week, I invite you into this way of approaching our time together. Bring your holy curiosity, your spirit of appreciation. For those of you sticking closer to home, it still works.
And if you are there and you see me, feel free to let me know how it’s working for you!
In faith,
Rev. Jan Christian
Pacific Western Region
Congregational Life Staff
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April 19, 2018
In this Issue
- People, Places and Things I Didn’t Know I Loved
- Regional Assembly Updates
- Events, Training & Webinars
- District and UU News
- Job Postings
- Youth News
PWR Quick Links
PWR Field Staff
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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.
Many of the materials for your district’s meeting are now available, and are posted in the District Business Meetings section.
Banner Parade for the 21st Century
Get your photos in by April 20!
The good news is that banner bearers will be packing considerably lighter this Assembly! We are moving to a video of our banners that will be shown throughout the assembly. You can send an additional picture representing your community, too. We are collecting all pictorial contributions until April 20 at 2018 Regional Assembly Banner Parade. Questions? Contact Tandi Rogers.
Let the Banner Parade begin!
UUCSJ Off-site Experiential Learning Fieldtrip - Details
The UU College of Social Justice Experiential Learning activity with Living Cully, an innovative community-development and anti-poverty project in NE Portland’s Cully Neighborhood, has more details online including the schedule, what to bring, and background on experiential learning, Living Cully and UUCSJ. UUCSJ also invites you to please watch this video [28:42] to introduce you to a general context of racism and housing in Portland.
Justice Training at Regional Assembly
Do you want to engage with other UUs around meaningful justice-making? Join UURISE, UU Service Committee, district justice ministries and others on April 27 from 1:00-5:00pm at the DoubleTree Hotel for a free program that will provide a deep dive into expanded sanctuary and immigrant justice engagement through Love Resists. There will also be time and space dedicated to gathering, networking and sharing ideas around issues specific to our passions - such as climate justice, economic justice and racial justice. Immediately following the workshop, representatives from the UUA's Commission on Institutional Change will be on hand for a one-hour discussion and Q&A session on the newly released report. Learn more and register.
Choir at Regional Assembly
Regional Assembly Choir is a high profile, intense and short-term commitment. We are enormously excited to have Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout as Choir Director, bringing dynamic energy to our work and worship.
Mandatory rehearsals are:
Friday rehearsal: 5:45pm-6:30pm
Saturday choir/band rehearsal: 4:00pm-5:30pm
Sunday choir/band rehearsal: 8:00am-9:00am
If you are interested in participating in the Regional Assembly Choir on April 29, please complete this form.
Music at Regional Assembly
We are incredibly excited about the music offerings at Regional Assembly this year. With Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout leading the RA choir, the Darrell Grant Trio and Emma's Revolution performing, and a worship band that includes Mel Kubik, Bernardo Gomez and Frankie Linderman we are sure to be inspired in many ways. Learn more about the musicians at Regional Assembly.
Enjoy taking pictures?
We would love to have participants who enjoy snapping photos share them with us at the region and in the Facebook group for Participants. If you like to take photos and would be interested in helping out in documenting Regional Assembly, contact Andy Chirch (achirch@uua.org) or Christopher Wulff (cwulff@uua.org).
Regional Assembly is a fragrance-free event
Help us make this event accessible to everyone. Many presenters and attendees have dangerous and debilitating reactions to chemicals. We ask that all participants avoid using perfumes, scents, body sprays, essential oils, scented laundry products, and any products that produce a smell (even if it smells nice).
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.
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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.
- May 19 at Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (Pagosa Springs, CO)
- August 4 at Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, NM
Register Now
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.
Stewardship Resources
Budget Shortfall?
Watch this recorded conversation on Creative Solutions to Budget Shortfalls and then contact Rev. Jan Christian if you would like to discuss your congregation’s situation.
Stewarding Loans for your Projects
Join Barry Finkelstein & Kay Crider of Stewardship for Us for a webinar on loans. We’ll cover best practices for how to calculate the right size loan for your congregation, discuss UUA versus private loans, and address when and how member loans can be effectively solicited and managed.
April 23, 2018, 5:00-6:30pm Pacific • Register now to participate!
The Yearly Stewardship Calendar
Just what does a stewardship team do the rest of the year, outside that 4-6 week annual campaign? A good stewardship team does a lot, as a matter of fact, throughout the year, and all that effort pays dividends when it’s time for the annual campaign. Join Bill Clontz and Mark Ewert of Stewardship for Us as we discuss how best to use your time and energies throughout the year so that your team is not overworked, and the campaign arrives as the culmination of well-developed preparation.
May 22, 4:00-5:30pm Pacific • Register now to participate!
May 30, Noon–1:30pm Pacific • Register now to participate!
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: 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.
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Newsletter Update
The Pacific Western Region Newsletter (which you're reading right now!) is going to go from the twice-monthly schedule that it's been on since we launched and move down to once a month. Watch for the next edition of the newsletter on the third Thursday of May, and each third Thursday to follow. Questions or something to share? Contact Christopher Wulff at cwulff@uua.org
2018/19 District Assessments and UUA Annual Program Fund
The 2018/19 fiscal year will bring a change to how congregations fulfill their pledges to their districts and to the UUA Annual Program Fund.
Contributions will no longer be made separately to both the district and the UUA. Single payments will be sent directly to the UUA, and the UUA will disburse each district’s share at the close of each month.
Per-member assessments remain unchanged for MDD ($26), PNWD ($27) and PSWD ($28). PCD has proposed lowering their rate by $2, to $27. (Pending vote on April 28 at the PCD annual meeting.) The UUA APF level remains at $60 per member again this year. Pledge forms mailed to congregations in early spring will reflect the combined district/UUA total. These pledge forms need to be returned to the UUA by May 31.
When congregations affiliate with the UUA, they pledge their support to the Association. Each congregation’s gifts to their district and to the UUA Annual Program Fund are the fulfillment of a promise that has already been made. The 2018/19 combined pledge is designed to help make clear the fact that we are all one Unitarian Universalist Association – bound together in a network of mutual support as an Association of Congregations.
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: May 8 and June 12. Each webinar takes place at 2-3pm Pacific, 3-4pm Mountain
Learn more about the webinars.
Changing Systems, Changing Ourselves
Beginning May 1, Love Resists and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) are offering a new program to explore how an anti-racist framework can deepen our activism and solidarity work, with a focus on immigrant justice and deportation defense. Changing Systems, Changing Ourselves: Anti-Racist Practice for Sanctuary, Accompaniment, & Resistance is a four-part, monthly interactive e-course for groups to explore, reflect, and act for social change. The deadline to register is April 27. Register online.
Funds are Available to Take Your #PowertothePolls
The Fund for UU Social Responsibility is pleased to announce that grants of up to $500 are available for your 2018 Get Out The Vote projects!
Unitarian Universalist congregations frequently support the democratic process in a nonpartisan manner by participating in voter registration drives, providing nonpartisan educational materials or forums for voters, or by volunteering to help registered voters get to the polls on election day.
The deadline is rolling and you can apply through Nov. 1, 2018. Grants will be available until the fund is depleted. Applications and more information are available at UUFunding.org. You can also contact them at uufunding@gmail.com or (617) 971-9600.
Scholarship Funds are Available for Religious Educators
The Barbara Marshman and Ann B. Fields Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a religious educator who is engaged in graduate study and currently serves a Unitarian Universalist congregation. This prize, at least $1500, is made possible through the generous contributions of those who wish to memorialize and honor the work of these two great religious educators and through the ongoing financial support of the UUA. Learn more and apply. The application deadline is May 1, 2018.
PWR Congregations in the News
Unitarian church votes to become sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation - LA Times
The First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, which has campuses in Hillcrest and Chula Vista, has voted to become a sanctuary for immigrants who are trying to fight their deportation cases in court. "This isn't a political decision," said the Rev. Kathleen Owens, lead minister of the church. "This is a humanitarian crisis that we've created, and we need to be responding to it."
Giving up the hope of a better past, one day at a time - Auburn Journal
I’ve been thinking about the serenity prayer since the Rev. Mike Walker mentioned it in a recent service for the Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalist congregation. I was surprised to hear that the prayer didn’t originate as an AA motto, and I had never thought about why it became associated with recovery, so I re-read it through the recovery lens:
PWR Job Postings
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MDD Chalice Lighters Spring Call
The Mountain Desert District's spring call is to assist the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (UUCB) with a building project.
On October 29, 2017, UUCB voted to offer Sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation. For several months prior to the vote, the congregation entered into a process of discernment and education within the congregation. They reached out to the tenants, including the largest tenant, a pre-school, and communicated in good faith and with substantial notice to them about sanctuary. UUCB offered to fund changes to the rental space to assure smooth operation of their childcare center and also renegotiate the monthly rent.
The week after the vote, the tenant elected to terminate the lease and walked away with 10% of the church’s budget and two months’ rent in arrears. The congregation knows that courageous love means taking risks, and they rose to the occasion and decided to go ahead anyway. Their sanctuary guest, Ingrid Encalada Latorre, arrived on December 16, 2017.
They are raising funds to fill the budget gap, but also need to renovate the building space quickly and professionally so that it can be rented again. This Chalice Lighter’s Grant will be used to replace flooring in the rented space.
You can read the full call letter on the MDD website and make your contribution at the online donation page through May 7. Or mail your check, payable to MDD Chalice Lighters to: MDD Chalice Lighters, 7511 Greenwood Avenue North, #414, Seattle, WA 98103-4627. Please write MDD CL on both the memo line of your check and on the payment envelope.
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PCD Chalice Lighters Spring Call
The UU Society of Sacramento (UUSS) has been growing in attendance and membership since completion of its major building expansion in 2015. To mark its 150th anniversary in 2018, UUSS members are giving funds to build a new patio cover structure to reduce crowding during coffee hour and make large outdoor programs possible while being shielded from rain or hot sun.
UUSS is grateful for whatever you can contribute. Payments will be accepted towards this call through June 4, 2018. Ten percent of each call reimburses expenses to administer the program. Any donations that come in after June 4 will go toward the PCD Undesignated Fund. You can read the full call letter on the PSWD website and make your payment online. 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. Questions may be directed to your PCD Chalice Lighter Coordinator, Karen Urbano at pcdchalicelighters@pwruua.org.
PCD Chalice Lighters
Attending the Regional Assembly? If so, please stop by the Chalice Lighter table near where you register. Pick up your Chalice Lighter ribbon if you are already a donor. If you aren’t already one, sign up! Get inspired by the current PCD call letter that came out on Monday.
What project could your congregation come up with that would merit a Chalice Lighter Grant? Ask me! I will be there.
Karen Urbano
PCD Volunteer Chalice Lighter Coordinator
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PSWD Chalice Lighters Spring Call
Sky Island UU Church, located 80 miles southeast of Tucson, has a vision that includes creating community through a caring ministry and building bridges with people from all backgrounds and beliefs, joining forces for the common good. The funds from Chalice Lighters like you will help their congregation move forward in that vision. The funds raised will go toward expanding their minister’s time from half time to three-quarter time, increasing the capacity of their building by adding a minister's office and providing expanded RE space, and addressing a few safety issues like adding emergency doors.
Sky Island UU Church thanks you for your donation. You can read the full call letter on the PSWD website and make your contribution at the online donation page through May 21. Or mail your check, payable to PSWD Chalice Lighters to: PSWD Chalice Lighters, 7511 Greenwood Avenue North, #414, Seattle, WA 98103-4627. Please write PSWD CL on both the memo line of your check and on the payment envelope.
Camp de Benneville Pines Bylaw Revisions
De Benneville Pines, Inc. board of directors is updating Camp’s bylaws. Here’s the full legislative markup comparing proposed changes with current bylaws, along with an overview of changes. Delegates from the 50+ PSWD member congregations will be voting on changes at Camp’s annual business meeting on April 28 in Portland, OR as part of the PWR Regional Assembly.
Interested in learning more or offering comment in advance of the meeting? Email development@uucamp.org to set up time to talk.
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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.
Goldmine admittance is competitive, as we have a limited number of spots. Deadline for applications is May 15, 2018.
Apply to attend Goldmine now!
Upcoming Youth Events
Trainings
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Sarah Lammert, Skinner House Books, 2018
Creative Ideas for Transforming Faith Communities - Engaging essays from Unitarian Universalist leaders in the field show creative ways to transform and "upcycle" the main ingredients of our congregations into something relevant, innovative, and new.
Features essays by RA Worship Leader Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern and PWR Congregational Life staff Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh. |
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Aviva Chomsky, Beacon Press, 2018
And 20 Other Myths about Immigration Expanded Edition - Revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking book that demystifies twenty-one of the most widespread myths and beliefs about immigrants and immigration. |
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