The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

Featured Articles - August, 2006

New Greeter Co-Chairs Boost Church Welcoming System

The Membership and Leadership (M&L) Committee would like to welcome and thank Judy Federick and Grace Phillips, who have volunteered as co-chairs for the Greeter and Membership Center programs. They take over from Arvid Knudsen and Richard Boothe, each of whom contributed enormously to sustaining these two important programs. Judy and Grace are now tasked with implementing many of the ideas that have come through interviews and focus session with our community. This input has driven new efforts to sustain, grow, and integrate the Greeter and Membership Center, as well as coordinate with the chairs of all the programs — including ushers, Ask Me, and coffee hour, and some small group ministry activities — that make up the church’s welcoming system.

As co-chairs, their appointment also represents the emerging philosophy to “lighten the load” in becoming a volunteer. Using co-chairs with term limits and reducing perceived “big commitments” into manageable tasks or activities, the M&L Committee wants to provide opportunities for volunteers to make meaningful contributions without feeling that “if I touch it, it becomes a life-time commitment.”

In getting started, Judy and Grace will focus on developing an orientation and training program for everyone in the welcoming system, raising community awareness for every individual to become involved in welcoming guests and members, improving the content and packaging of church information that is given to our visitors, (which will be available on our web site), and increasing the number of volunteers for these programs. Please join us in welcoming Grace and Judy, and in giving a big thank you to Arvid and Richard for all of their contributions and hard work.

If you would like to learn more about how you can become involved in our church welcoming system, please contact Laurel Bleak or to learn about how you can become a greeter, please contact Judy Federick.

— Laurel Bleak and Marsha Smith Membership & Leadership Committee Co-chairs

Living Green

Here is another gem of information from our UU Sustainability class. Many of our members and friends live in Los Angeles and are able to use the LA DWP’s residential Green Power program.

The workbook from Sustainable Works, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Center for Environmental and Urban Studies on the Santa Monica College campus, explains the DWP program. You can choose 100% renewable energy with 20% coming from new sources. The extra cost for the package is 6% or approximately $3 a month for the average customer with a monthly bill of $50. This extra cost can be offset by free energy-efficiency products and services provided by LA DWP. Check out http://www.ladwp.com and click on “Green LA.”

Sorry to say that in Santa Monica and other nearby municipalities, Southern California Edison does not offer a similar program. The best you can do is to offset your energy use through an organization such as Native Energy, which invests in Wind Power on Native American Lands. Visit www.nativeenergy.com.

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