The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

Featured Articles - February, 2006

Judith and Catherine Launch Lifespan Religious Education

What does it take to launch a vibrant new adult program for religious exploration and faith development? The first step is to gather everyone who is interested in creating the vision. Please join us Tuesday evening, February 21, from 7 to 9 p.m., to take part in a dialogue about adult religious exploration in our church. Judith Meyer and Catherine Farmer will lead the meeting.

Our church has a long history of stimulating adult programs, from Psycratica to Adult Religious Growth and Learning. These programs have provided a wide variety of experiences, from lectures on world religions to workshops on “Building Your Own Theology” to contemplative spiritual reflection. The time has come to generate another phase of adult religious education, as a component of “lifespan religious exploration” for our entire congregation.

Lifespan religious exploration means two things: making sure that every person, no matter what age, has access to meaningful spiritual and intellectual growth opportunities and recognizing that we are all interconnected. The children’s program ought not to be completely separate from the adult programs of the church.

Our RE Council does a great job of making sure that we offer programs for nursery through high school, and at this point it would be unthinkable for us to skip a level — not offer anything, for example, for fifth graders. But are we offering programs meaningful to all of our groups of people? Young adults? Elders? College students? Parents? Women? Men? Families? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a planning structure for programs that carries this ethos into the work of putting together a comprehensive program for the members of our church?

Lifespan religious exploration acknowledges that as a congregation we’re all in this together. What is valuable for children to be thinking and learning about and experiencing is also valuable for adults to be thinking and learning about and experiencing. People of all ages grow spiritually. We have much to learn from one another. This awareness can help inform how we structure our programs and open up opportunities for creating links between programs. We are an intentionally intergenerational community, in a society that is increasingly age-segregated. We don’t always take advantage of the opportunities we have for meaningful intergenerational connections.

As we plan the adult component of lifespan religious exploration, we will keep what has worked so well in the past — our popular leaders and curricula that are part of the life of our church. We will also introduce some new ideas. But first, we want to hear from you. Please join us for a community dialogue February 21.

— Judith Meyer and Catherine Farmer

A Successful Pledge Drive Increases Our Possibilities

Thanks to the more than 300 community members who made pledges of support for 2006. Your stated commitments let us know exactly where you stand in support of this church and its work, both inside our four walls and beyond them.

The success of this year’s drive cannot be understated. Twice as many of you participated in 2005 as in 2004, and roughly half of you increased your support, many very significantly. Indeed, more of you took the time to think about your commitments, what it means to live your lives as Unitarian Univeralists and how you want to put your values into action by supporting our work than at any time in recent history. I hope this great progress is a harbinger of things to come.

Now I think we can go forward in the budgeting process asking some wonderful spiritual questions, namely: How can our 2006 budget reflect our vision of what our church and its impact on our community can be, and how can the church become a tool for spiritual transformation?

Very heartfelt thanks to those who have worked to make this year’s pledge drive a success: our stewardship committee of Phil Bonacich, Rob Briner, Sanjeev Jain, Charlene Langland, Ofelia Lachtman, and Pat Wright; special mailing army of one, John Fels; pinch hitters Carol Agate and Carol Kerr providing invaluable feedback throughout the process; in the trenches, Warren Mathews, and Charles and Christine Haskell for managing all those pledge forms; Anne MacQueen and her incredible cast of letter addressers for helping with mailings; and the many volunteers who helped with Commitment Sunday. Finally to office staff Melinda Ewen and Charles Craig, thank you. It is an honor to work with every one of you.

In faith,

— Jacki K.Weber
Stewardship Committee Chair

Dining for Dollars Events

Bidding Dates: Sunday, February 19, and Sunday, February 26, 2006. (8:30 a.m. -- 1:00 p.m.)

Join a Church Covenant Group and Experience the Rewards

Small Group Ministry has been in place at our church since autumn 2004, which is a little more than a year. We have four Covenant Groups meeting now. What attracts people to come to these small gatherings twice a month to spend two hours with six to ten other UU church members or friends?

I go because it gives me the opportunity to be present, to focus, and to listen. The format and setting of each session is intended to provide a calm and serene environment for the attendees. Members are encouraged to speak from their personal experience using “I” statements on topics that have a spiritual aspect. Members choose the topics in advance. Some typical examples are love, courage, learning from failure, expectations, hospitality, kindness, patience, justice, and joy.

Everyone usually has some personal experience and some point of view on the topics. The facilitator suggests some questions to explore further. Topics may continue for multiple sessions, if the members agree.

The objective of the Covenant Group process is to promote active listening to one another rather than engaging in a debate where one party seeks to present the most convincing argument. This is a change from a contentious intellectual UU arena.

Covenant Groups offer a forum in which to find common ground. With one person speaking at a time, the rest practice deep listening. This is how the members get to know each other at a deeper and richer level. Often, I make a connection in empathy with the speaker and gain a new insight. I have found that to suspend judgment is to open the door to learning and personal growth. In a few meetings bonding with the other members is inevitable (intimacy) and, after a particularly meaningful session, I feel really connected to my universe (ultimacy).

— Marv Pulliam

Greening Your New Year's Resolutions

It’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution to “Live Green.” The Unitarian Universalist Seventh Principal states: “We need to take care of the earth, the home we share with all living things.” (Kid-friendly version.) Have you made a “Green” resolution?

One very easy Green resolution would be to join the Living Green e-mail discussion group sponsored by this church. You can subscribe at LivingGreen@yahoo.groups.com or by writing church member Sandra Trutt at sntrutt@aol.com. Snail mail or messages can be left with the church office.

Even if you don’t join the Living Green discussion group, please share your Green resolutions with us. We hope to include them in our Earth Day newsletter article.

Looking for inspiration? Talk to fellow church members or your friends about how they live Green. Look for the book “50 Things You Can Do to Save the World,” or similar titles. Browse through any one of a number of magazines. Or check out UUministryforearth.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

— Katie Malich

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