The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

Featured Articles - October, 2004

Our Congregation Votes 108-34 to Proceed with Plan; Sell 17th St.

In a crowded sanctuary on Sunday, September 19, the congregation as a community voted to move forward on development plans outlined in the Building Committee’s M-1 design. It then voted to renew the capital campaign to raise additional money to pay construction costs. Finally the congregation voted to authorize the immediate sale of the 17th Street property.

In a respectful, orderly, and issues-oriented special congregational meeting, over 130 members heard and spoke about maybe the most important choices to be made in many years by the congregation.

The final vote on the first motion, to authorize the Building Committee to “proceed immediately with the development and submission of an application” on the M-1 design to the Santa Monica planning commission, was nearly unanimous. But before the vote was taken, there was plenty of discussion and questions to the Building Committee. The M-1 design would include enlarging the sanctuary, adding RE classrooms on the 18th Street property, and moving the existing house forward and refurbishing it as church office space.

Alison Kendall, the chair of the committee, outlined the steps leading up to the congregation’s vote on the M-1 design. These steps included three workshops since the purchase of the 18th Street property in March, surveys of church members, research, and conversations with city, community, and UU Association officials. She also stated the urgent needs of the congregation for better RE facilities and for a larger sanctuary.

Alison said that although the M-1 design may be a compromise based on financial and time constraint issues, it was a good plan that had fewer constraints than building on the 17th Street property. Keeping the old house on 18th would remove time-consuming preservation issues. She said that after congregation approval, the Building Committee could fine-tune the design and work with interested church groups to make sure their needs were met.

Many of the questions raised centered on the vision for the church, what size congregation was desired (550 to 600, acknowledging that more could not be fit on the property in Santa Monica), open space for the children and for the congregation (an important consideration), and whether keeping and moving the old house was a good idea (the house would be brought up to code and the rear rooms removed, making the house a good space for church offices).

Warren Mathews presented a financial picture that showed that the church did not have a lot of money currently available to support capital construction. He also stated that the budget for 2004-2005 anticipated a $13,000 budget deficit. He had indicated earlier that it would be difficult to get loans for construction when the church could not show that it was consistently meeting its current expenses.

The second motion, to authorize the Board of Directors to “renew the capital campaign to raise construction funds from the members and interested friends of the Church…” was also almost unanimously approved, with little discussion.

The final discussion, to sell the 17th Street property, brought out the strongest differences in opinion. Beginning the discussion, Richard Boothe noted that real estate prices may dip, even in Santa Monica, and that the church could lose out by delaying a sale. Rob Briner wanted to hear discussion on ways to both keep the 17th Street property and proceed with the M-1 development. Ray Goodman, Bonnie Brae, and Rebecca Crawford strongly opposed the sale. They felt that the congregation was rushing into a vote on the property, that there was enough of a possibility that loan guarantees could be developed, and that the church was ignoring and would forever lose the benefits that keeping the 17th Street property would bring. They suggested that waiting a little longer before selling the property would cause no problems and would allow time to pursue fund-raising and loan possibilities.

Some of the congregation left before the vote on the motion, but when tallied, the vote was 108 in favor of selling the property, 34 opposed, and 1 abstaining. The vote included a number of absentee ballots.

The church now has a focus for its next steps, plus a lot of hard work still to do. And after that a lot of construction dust.

– Nels Hanson

Help Make Our Finances as Strong as Our Programs

It’s pledge drive time – the time we raise the dollars that will keep our doors open and programs going through 2005. Here’s how the drive is going to work:

In the next few weeks, you’ll receive an overview from our minister, Judith Meyer, appealing for your help in making our congregation as fiscally strong as it is programmatically strong. A few weeks after that, you’ll receive information that may be helpful to you in making your financial commitment for the year. In conjunction with the drive, many of us will meet face to face to talk about the intersection between our own spiritual paths and the covenants we make with this church. This canvass will be an opportunity to connect with fellow church members and talk about what really matters to you in this church. I think it’s going to be a positive experience for everyone involved – enlightening, empowering and enriching.

If you want to find out more about the canvass, contact me. I’ll be happy to talk with you about it.

Whether you are new to the church or a longtime member, here’s an appeal to consider making a substantial increase this year. Our Religious Exploration classes are growing in size and popularity. Our Adult Religious Growth and Learning offerings are stronger than ever. Faith in Action is acting in ways it hasn’t before, and our Sunday worship just keeps on getting better. Small Group Ministry is off to an amazing start, and there’s a real movement afoot to bind ourselves together for both personal spiritual transformation and community transformation.

When you support UUCCSM in a way that is meaningful, you are participating in this transformation. That support comes in both time and money—time spent at Sunday services, time spent volunteering both at church and in service to the community, and money in the form of an annual pledge to support UUCCSM’s work.

Your dollars mean that Marie Kashmer-Stiebing can keep the church doors and lines of communication open; that Judith Meyer can minister to all who ask; that Catherine Farmer can tend the spiritual lives of our children; that our church is not just clean, but that we have the music and landscaping to enrich our experience here.

Thank you in advance for making UUCCSM stronger so that we may serve you and make a positive mark on Santa Monica and beyond.

– Jacki K.Weber
Stewardship Committee chair

For Personal and Spiritual Growth, Covenant Groups are Powerful

Members of the implementation team for the Covenant Group program have profited personally during the learning, planning, and training period of our being together. How do I know? I am one. This safe space has allowed me to express my true self honestly, feel heard fully, and assist in shaping our Small Group Ministry program. During our working meetings, others have told of realizing the power of the group to help them grow and to feel respected and appreciated.

I want to share with you comments other UUs have made:

“Covenant Groups are transforming Unitarian Universalism, giving churches a new way to serve their congregations’ need for spiritual uplift and connection.”
– Robert L. Hill, executive, Southwest District of UUA

“No one is better qualified than Bob Hill to make the case that, at a time when big fears, big bucks and big missiles seem to rule the world, small really is beautiful because small, done right, can lead to the large and glorious.”
– William F. Schulz, past president, UUA, and director, Amnesty International USA

“Small Group Ministry is one of the great grassroots movements in Unitarian Universalism today. It is also one of the healthiest. It is helping us shape a faith that affirms real, lived human experience in all its complexity. It is helping us live out our individualism in ways that not only support but enhance our sense of community.”
– William Sinkford, current president, UUA

At UUCCSM, two groups of 10 adventurers each will be gathering in October to participate with heads and hearts to hopefully enjoy the process of moving toward the large and glorious. Please bring your gifts to share them with others.

– Carol-Jean Teuffel

Thanks to the Yard Sale Donors, Movers and Sellers

Taking advantage of our new yard, we had a yard sale. In fact, unlike many yard sales, ours was primarily indoors. The public who came to our sale were puzzled to wander through our empty rooms, wondering who was living in a house devoid of furniture except for folding tables holding items for sale.

Thanks to Ren Renshaw and his van, we were able to pick up and transport furniture to the sale, with hours of muscle-power provided by Jim Cadwell, Greg Wood, George Armondo, Dwight Flowers, and Phil Bonacich. Many hours of advice and labor were provided by Liz Fuller, who is enough of an expert on yard sales to have published instructions on her web site (http:// www.zilf.org/saletips.html). Carol Ring designed and printed ads for the sale, and Liz and her husband, Dan Kegel, posted them on nearby streets. Liz also made huge "yard sale" signs for our yard and the street corner, and she placed ads in newspapers and on the internet.

And thanks to the crews of people pricing and selling: Sylvia Berke, Liz Fuller, Jan Folick, Lyn and George Armondo, Helen Burns, Ofelia Lachtman, Ron Crane, John Fels, Megan Watson, Greg Wood, Shirlee Frank, Gerald Saldo, Ruth Robinson-Deen, Anne MacQueen, Pat Gomez, Jean Allgeyer, Heather Smith, Bob Dietz, Ellen Levy, Pat Wright, Kathy Cook, Nancy Miller, Janet Goodwin, John-Michael Lisovsky, Jeff Greenman, Gene Murray, Susan Higginbotham, Melinda Ewen, and Marv Pulliam. Thanks also to the many donors, too many to list here.

The sale was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. As those with yard sale experience had warned me, people, mostly dealers, begin to arrive early. Our first customer arrived at 7:45, wanting to know if we had costume jewelry. Assured that we did—but that she would have to wait until 9 to see it—she persistently kept trying to sneak into the house. By 8:30 we had about a dozen people wandering onto the lawn, despite our efforts to tell them we were not yet open for business. Finally some of them accepted our offer of chairs that we lined up on the sidewalk for their use while they waited. By 8:47 our setup was complete, so we let customers in, and they came charging. The rest of the day the customers were less frantic and the shopping spread out more evenly.

So far the proceeds from the sale come to $1,779, to be placed in the building fund. We will continue selling some of the more valuable leftovers through ads on Craig's List and other local listings. The yard sale was a lot of work for the amount it brought in, but the experience was fun for most people who participated. If you are interested in coordinating a Round 2, let me know.

– Carol Agate

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