The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

Featured Articles - February, 2004

A Minister's Work is Never Done

Our Rev. Judith Meyer is called to serve our congregation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Indeed, she works days, nights, weekdays and weekends – in solitude and in service – to minister to and lead our congregation in a variety of ways. But it’s easy to miss that if you’ve only seen her in the pulpit on Sundays.

As the Stewardship Committee sat down to try to understand what our church budget really goes for, we realized it would be helpful to first draw a picture of the work of our minister, who celebrated her tenth anniversary here in August 2004.

We’ll start the week on Saturdays, when one can often find a semi-public culmination of the most gratifying aspect of Judith’s work with the church – rites of passage.

Memorials, of course, are never planned; but often Judith will spend weeks or months in pastoral care, working through an illness. After a passing, Judith will spend time with the family, helping members to craft a service that memorializes the life.

“We try to get at what this life was really all about and I try to put that into words,” she says. She reveres the opportunity to help people grieve, and to be of service to them when they especially need it. At the same time, it’s not just labor; it’s emotional work, and if it’s someone she knows, Judith has to attend to her own emotional recovery.

Commitment and Dedication ceremonies are other rites of passage for Judith. In the first case, she meets with a couple to find out what brought them together and what would create a meaningful service. She creates a service and meets again to polish it. Then there is a rehearsal and, of course, the ceremony itself.

Dedications are not as involved, but again she meets with the family before planning a dedication. “Dedications are such a joyful experience to share with the congregation,” she says. “I’d love to do more of them.”

Sunday morning comes and the service has been planned for weeks. Of course, there are the sermons. “From week to week I am asking the question, ‘How do I convey a message about becoming our best selves?’” (Imagine writing 30 or more term papers a year on different aspects of becoming our best selves!) But preparation includes much more than the sermons; it's a matter of coordinating music, chalice lightings, appreciations, community service work, and so much more. (By February 1, music is already planned for some of the April services.)

Monday is her day of rest, but she’s back in the office Tuesday mornings, tending to church and community business. She’s meeting about newcomer orientations, personnel issues, building progress, and the children’s RE programs. She’s meeting with the Coming of Age Group, the Pulpit Committee, Adult Religious Growth and Learning, Faith in Action, Stewardship, and the Executive Committee, to name just a few. Daytime. Nighttime. At church and at home.

“I’m really there to support and encourage leadership rather than attempting to specifically contribute something at these meetings,” she says. “Everyone here is a volunteer and what they’re giving needs to be acknowledged.” In our congregation, this kind of support is vital for our health.

Then she represents the church to the community, working with groups like Amnesty International, Santa Monica Bay Interfaith Council, the LA Coalition to End Homelessness, the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition, and many more.

We end the week on Fridays. That’s when Judith sits down to write a sermon. “I’m always thinking about sermons,” she says. “Some are seasonal, some are related to what’s going on in the church. I think about points I want to teach about our tradition.”

In the past six months, Judith has served as minister through more than 15 rites of passage, overseen nearly 30 services, written more than 15 sermons, sat in on dozens of church committee meetings (each month), led the search for our current Director of Religious Education, and represented the church in the larger community on a range of human rights and interfaith issues. And there’s still more… .

“What’s really wonderful (about my job) is how creative it is,” Judith says; “it’s gratifying to have the creative power.”

May we support her in her vision, as she supports us in our spiritual journeys.

—Jacki Weber

We Need to Talk About Money

Planned giving is part giving and part receiving. As a church we have not decided how to go about the receiving. Many UU organizations have an endowment fund. Other UU organizations use a reserve fund. Some allocate according to the governing board. Some allocate according to an Endowment Committee. Both forms require the eventual approval of the church membership.

What are we going to do?

The board of directors distributed a recent bequest in the way they considered to be the best form of allocation. There was disagreement about that decision and discussion about the process that we use or don’t use in such situations.

In a forthcoming revision of the bylaws, the issue of planned giving and allocation of received monies will be formulated. Proposals will be made. Discussion will be promoted. We will vote on bylaws and resolutions that will provide for the will of our democratic community.

What is your opinion?

What are our choices?

If you give money to the church in the form of a planned gift, how do you want it to be used?

If you receive money given to the church, how do you want it to be used?

There is much to be learned about giving and receiving. We’ll probably learn something about ourselves in the process.

We need to talk!

For further information contact Ron Crane or call the church office at (310) 829-5436.

—Ron Crane, Chair, Planned Giving Committee

2004 Dining for Dollars Dinners

Bidding Dates: Sunday, February 22, and Sunday, February 29, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.; 12:00 to 1:15 p.m.

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