The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

Featured Articles - November, 2004

Reality Programming, UUCCSM Style

Once again this year, we approved a budget entailing a modest deficit. I think all of us are pleased with the quality and vibrancy of our church community and its programs; we just somehow aren’t quite bringing ourselves to pay for it in full.

Like any family, our church has a host of expenses. And over a number of recent years, those expenses have tended to increase by around 5% each year due to inflation, modest salary increases, and growth in the scope and depth of our programming.

Again, like most families, the overwhelming source of our income is that provided by our own members and friends (primarily in the form of pledges), and each of us is fully welcome regardless of how much of that income he or she contributes directly.

The question then is, in fairness, how much of the church support should each member or participating friend contribute? The answer to that question depends on two primary factors: (1) the ability to contribute (depends on income, sometimes offset by unusual expenses), and (2) the degree of interest in the church relative to other factors in one’s life.

We have recognized the ability-to-contribute factor by adopting fair share pledging guidelines that are a progressive percent of one’s income, but no set guideline can quantify the degree-of-interest factor. And we do sincerely appreciate the donations of those whose interest is limited, for whatever reason, but still want to make some contribution to a community and institution that they consider worthwhile.

A result is that each of us who does have a continuing active interest in the church needs to contribute a bit more than would be considered his or her fair share based simply on the total membership number. We also need to be mindful of the continuous, though relatively modest, growth in the church’s expenses, and be prepared to increase our pledges each year correspondingly.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our annual budget could be an expression of what we want to do, instead of a striving to almost pay for what we’re already doing?

—Warren Mathews, for your Stewardship and Finance Committees

The Rewards of Virtue: Fundraising Must Start with a Generous Spirit

One of the core purposes of a religious community is the cultivation of virtue in its members. That seems like an old-fashioned way of talking about what we do here at our church, but I think it is worth looking at our annual canvass campaign as a way of helping each of us to cultivate virtue, in this case, the virtue of generosity.

We cannot fairly expect generosity from our members unless the church practices that same virtue. As you know, we have begun giving a portion of every Sunday offering to an organization that shares our ideals of a more just and compassionate world. I’m happy to put extra dollars over and above my pledge into the collection because I want our church to be known as a religious community that liberally (and literally) shares its bounty with the larger world.

Likewise, our approach to fundraising starts with a spirit of generosity; we do not specify a certain level of giving as a test of membership or set a numeric standard of generosity. Instead, we put our faith in the good will and conscience of members to make a pledge that meets their own definition of generosity.

Giving to our church is the best way to cultivate the virtue of generosity. Starting from the standpoint of virtue puts aside questions of how much it “costs” to run the church. Instead, we ask how our giving to the church embodies the quality of heart and spirit that we want to see at work in the world. There are guidelines, formulas and devices to answer the question of “How much should I give?” but thinking in terms of generosity moves the inner dialogue to the level of conscience. That means more work for each of us, but I think that such struggles are the way we deepen our faith.

What is that faith? Simply stated, a confidence that the good emerges when people act on their conscience after deep and careful reflection.

My faith is that if we respond to the invitation from the Stewardship Committee with generosity, our church will be financially healthy, and we’ll have plenty of money to do all the good things our collective imagination can come up with.

—Rev. Silvio Nardoni, Affiliate Minister

Come Join, Share and Enjoy Pilgrims' Feast on Nov. 20

Our church’s annual Pilgrims Feast will be held on Saturday, November 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Forbes Hall. Make reservations for this pot-luck event right away by contacting Lyn Armondo or on Sunday morning during coffee hour. Hurry, this event sells out early. Donations are welcome, and a portion of funds go to Step Up on Second.

The original draft of this service was written by Rev. John F. Hayward with the help of his family, and first used publicly on November 18, 1965, at a community meal at First Unitarian Church of Chicago. Since then, it has undergone extensive revision in Chicago by the Rev. Jack Mendelsohn; in Albuquerque by Elaine Lehmann and Sherry Lincoln; and in Muncie, IN, by the Rev. Drew Kennedy (1980), the Rev. Bruce Lakin and Mary Johnson Robey (1992), the Rev. Angie Theisen (1998) and the Rev. Thomas Perchlik (2000).

Introduction: Those who have participated in Passover services will recognize the pattern of this Harvest Feast. Like Passover, which celebrates the escape from slavery and the building of a new life and culture in a promised land, our American Thanksgiving celebrates “exodus” from tyranny in which pilgrims accepted the risks of the sea and all the dangers of an unfamiliar continent. For generations Americans have celebrated the event with a festive meal. Our Unitarian Universalist Harvest Feast celebrates the various and diverse experiences of escape from bondage and emergence into new hope. Voices of adults and children will bring us the prepared text.

The Symbols: The meaning of the salt water, bitter herbs and maize on your table will be made clear in the service that follows. Glasses of wine or juice will be sipped together after the words of blessing are spoken together. After the initial blessing, each person may sip at will, though it is not necessary to empty the glass between each refilling.

The Spirit of the Service: This service, which deals with serious matters, is essentially a festival of rejoicing and the giving of thanks. It works best when seasoned with laughter and lightheartedness.

—Melinda Ewen

Ride, Ricky, Ride!
Hoyt Raises $5,700 for AIDS Programs

The Rev. Ricky Hoyt hadn’t been on a bicycle for 20 years and didn’t even own a bike when he registered last November for AIDS/LifeCycle3, a 600-mile sevenday, bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for AIDS programs. When he completed the ride this June, he had raised AIDS awareness among Unitarian Universalists and over $5,700 for AIDS programs in Los Angeles.

Before he entered seminary, Ricky had been a member of UUCCSM and worked for AIDS Project Los Angeles. After entering the ministry his focus shifted but AIDS continued to have a large hold on his emotions and on the lives of his friends. Ricky saw the bicycle ride as a way to get back into the AIDS fight and as a way to integrate AIDS work with his ministry.

To that end Ricky looked for ways to involve other Unitarian Universalists. He wrote an article for the Camp de Benneville Pines newsletter and the camp donated $100. He took his idea to the District Ministers Association and inspired them to create a fund to support social justice projects among the ministers. They made Ricky the first recipient, with a $250 donation. Individual ministers also made personal contributions, as did many UUs from congregations where Ricky had preached and talked about the ride. Most inspiring for Ricky was the response from his own Santa Clarita congregation. A month before the ride, the church organized a mini-bike-a-thon of its own and raised over $1,000. News items linking the principles of the UU church to Ricky’s involvement in the ride appeared in Santa Clarita papers, and he was interviewed on local radio.

In June, over 1,200 cyclists raised over $5 million for AIDS programs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Ricky had such a great experience he has already registered to do the ride again next June. He’s confident that Unitarian Universalist churches will again show their generosity by supporting his ride. To donate online go to aidslifecycle.org, click on “home pages,” and type in “Ricky Hoyt.”

Our Policy is Openness of Church Management

In the spirit of openness, the UUCCSM Board of Directors, at its July meeting, adopted the following policy regarding the conduct of all board and committee meetings:

Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica
OPENNESS OF CHURCH MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
(Approved by the Board of Directors, July 13, 2004 )

All church boards, commissions, committees and task forces shall make meeting dates available in the newsletter. Draft minutes shall be made available to church members within a week of the time they are given to committee members. All meetings shall be open to observers, except when sensitive matters such as personnel actions or litigation are discussed. Church members who wish to address a church board, commission, committee or task force shall contact the chair to be placed on the agenda. Before any vote is taken, members in attendance shall be given an opportunity to address the issue. Board of Directors tentative agenda shall be posted in advance of the meeting.

This new policy is effective immediately. Please direct any questions regarding the policy to Carol Kerr, Board President, or Charles Haskell, Chair of the Bylaws and Policies Committee.

Back to Features Index