02/01 “Salvation – Here and Now”
Diana McLean, Ministerial Intern
Lou Mazzola, Worship Leader
02/08 “Blessed Are the Children” – Full Church Worship
Janen Wright, Lifespan Faith Development Director
Diana McLean, Worship Leader
02/15 “Letting Your Life Speak”
Rev. Howell K. Lind, Developmental Minister
Danielle Fuller, Worship Leader
02/22 “Unitarian Universalist Values and Climate Change” – a Two Voice Message
Tom Denkenberger and the Rev. Howell K. Lind
Diana McLean, Worship Leader
Deepening Faith, Living Well, Enacting Justice: These goals continue to guide your Ministerial Search committee as we move in to an exciting and busy time as our search moves forward. In early January we began the next phase of our search process, starting with the Beyond Categorical Thinking (BCT) workshop facilitated by Eddy Carroll. We were thrilled by the turnout, 36 UUCB members and friends who accepted the challenge to examine our own biases and the ways in which they might affect the search process and cloud discernment. Thanks to this experience, the Search Committee is confident that we are prepared to consider our applicants as complete, complex people and evaluate them based on ministerial skills rather than our own assumptions. We are now fully engaged in evaluating candidates and will be moving to the interviewing phase over the next several weeks.
As our chairperson Jim Rowe described to the congregation on January 11th, the numbers tell the story of both where we have been and where we are going.
104: The number of you that met face to face with us as you welcomed the Search Committee to your various groups and Search Light gatherings…
159: The number of members and friends who took the Ministerial Search Survey….
11,102: The words used to capture the character and desires of our church in our Congregational description, known as the Packet—-Please read it on the website (can we add the link here?)…
38: The number of Unitarian Universalist congregations seeking a full time, settled minister this year…
86: The number of UU ministers that expressed interest in one or more congregations…..
21: The number of ministers who have expressed interest in becoming our next minister, nearly one quarter of the ministers seeking a settled parish!
2: The number of chalices we have lit during the search process. Our second chalice has remained lit to remind us of the important work we are doing and to hold a sacred space for our next minister…
May our hearts be open, our minds keen and spirits welcoming as we evaluate all our potential next ministers and move to our final number, One, our new settled minister.
Yours in Faith,
The Ministerial Search Committee
We are again putting out the call to have all of you with digital photos of UUCB activities/events/groups to please put them on a cd or jump drive for us so we can add them to our growing collection. Of course, the more identifying of dates/events/people you can do before giving them to us, the better! Many thanks to those of you who have already agreed to send them.
–Tessa Davis, Archives
Do you recognize the photo below? Do you know where it is in our building? Who made it? What the writing says?
While we were preparing the slide show for our January presentation to the Wise Elders, Ginny Black and I realized that this lovely piece of artwork, created by Elsa Deutsch, who also made the copper doors and chandeliers, had not been included in the Treasures of UUCB book. Covered with blue transparent paper, it fills the diamond-shaped skylight in the back of the Earth Room (originally called the Hearth Room and the only socializing space in the building before the Sky Room was built). If you look closely, you will see that on the bottom is carved the words “Thus Our Religion Shall Be.” Make sure to look for it next time you are at church!
–Tessa Davis
Tessa Davis
2015 Description of the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
The Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2015! The Center was founded to help community members address issues of citizenship and immigration status, while maintaining roots in community organizing. As a non-profit the Center provides educational programs for immigrants and the broader community, focusing on the many inconsistencies in U.S. immigration policy and the need for change. As a law office the Center has provided assistance to more than 3,500 clients, and has helped hundreds obtain lawful permanent resident (or green-card) status. Following President Obama’s 2012 announcement of “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA,) the Center launched a clinical program to provide affordable legal assistance to more than 350 DACA-eligible community members. With a clinical program already running smoothly the Center is ready to implement the new “Deferred Action for Parental Accountability” (DAPA) program that was announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014. There are estimates that between 20,000 and 50,000 Colorado immigrants may qualify for DAPA. The Immigrant Legal Center intends to be ready for the May, 2015 start date with help from additional community volunteers. Our organizational goal, however, is to provide legal assistance related to a long-overdue comprehensive immigration reform. Thank you for sharing your plate with the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County, and we would love to talk with you about volunteer opportunities!
This year’s General Assembly will be in Portland, Oregon, June 24th thru June 28th! This year’s theme is centered on Building a New Way. Portland is a wonderful city and provides a very welcoming environment to all UUS. All registration activities will become available on March 1st.
These include; General Registration, Housing/Hotel availability, and Volunteer applications. An outline version of the program schedule, is currently available at uua.org/ga. Volunteer applications must be submitted by April 1st, for consideration. Volunteers are reimbursed for their General Registration fees, for 24 hours of effort (1/2 time positions are also available, but limited). This year the General Registration fee will be $350 for an adult full-time attendee. Addition financial assistance information can be found under Registration at the Website above.
Access from Portland International Airport (LDX), to downtown, is convenient and economical via their Light-rail system. Additionally, the City of Portland will be providing “free downtown use” of the Light-rail, during our stay. See Travel, for other options — already on the GA Website.
The Ware Lecturer will be Dr. Cornel West. He speaks often and passionately about the divides between the “white culture”, and those considered to be people of “color”, in that culture! His, “…is a legacy of telling the truth, and also about being a witness to love and justice!”
Please visit the UUA Website, or talk to Barbara or me, if you want more information.
Fred M. Cole
UUCB Denominational Representative
The UUCB Climate Action Ministry (CAM) sponsored a January 25th Faith Development class for our kids, featuring special guests with a message of inspiration and empowerment. Xiuhtezcatl (14 years old) and Itzcuauhtli (9) Roske-Martinez, and their father, Siri Martinez visited our classes to teach them about climate change and respect for Nature and the Earth. They represent Earth Guardians, their international environmental activism organization with Boulder roots.
The Martinezes are of Aztec ancestry, and so began the class with an interactive Native American chant invoking the presence of Spirit for the proceedings. After showing a brief video, X. and I. spoke about their love of Nature, how that inspired them to take action to protect the Earth, and how each person—even children—can make a difference. Then our multi-age class joined X. and I. in a spirited rap song, “Be The Change”. Seeing young people near their age in action totally engaged our UUCB kids for 45 minutes!
Earth Guardians will be the Share Our Plate recipients for the month of April, so the congregation will get a chance to find out more about their activities.
Blessed Are the Children
I am looking forward to our Full Church service this month on Feb. 8th. It is titled, “Blessed Are the Children.” Whether or not you have children of your own, I dare say that the majority, if not all of our lives, have been touched and blessed by a child or two that we chose to love. Another thing that we all have in common is that everyone is now or has once been a child. Childhood is such a unique season in life and so important in shaping the people we become. We can learn so much from children because they come naturally knowing so many important life lessons that we tend to forget, as we get older. Indeed, it sometimes feels like we spend all our adult years trying to get back what we had and were as children.
Some of the lessons that children have to offer, (aside from the practice of patience) are how to live spontaneously, how to be in the moment, how to ask questions and have an open mind, how to imagine and dream big, how to express feelings openly, how to value happiness and play and freely give love and trust. These things tend to come so naturally to kids and if you spend any length of time with them you benefit from the exposure.
Children are not just small adults. We know more now about their developmental stages than we did in the past. How we treat kids personally and as a society is a good measuring stick of our own health and the health of our culture. As a society we have not always done so well by our kids. There were laws in place to protect animals before there were laws to protect children. However, looking at the big picture, we can be grateful that the Universalists were one of the first churches to insist on the innocence of children in an age that believed that if babies died before baptism they would go straight to hell.
I had a happy childhood and some of my favorite memories of being young lie in the realm of imagination. As a child I had a severe speech impediment so I didn’t talk to anybody any more than I had to at school. At recess I always went to a certain corner blocked by the wind and imagined that I was the Queen of Venus. On Venus I had two children, Lena and John, and I was married to Donny Osmond –of all people. (My Uncle was one of his producers so I figured that made him sort of mine.) It was very exciting being the Queen of Venus because I was a good queen and that world was very real to me. I know this because once I lost the ring that I twisted on my finger in order to transport myself to Venus and I remember, acutely, how worried I was about the war and all that was going on in my absence. (Happy was the day that I found my ring and saved the planet.)
As an adult if I lived in such a fantasy land I would not be a healthy person but I believe that these childhood imaginings empowered me and gave me a positive sense of self in a world where I actually didn’t really fit and had little control. Many children imagine themselves to be Super Heroes and that serves the same purpose. Blessed are the children! Let’s celebrate the light that children and youth bring into all of our lives and look for ways to allow young people to be a bigger part of our lives if they aren’t already. I feel very blessed to get to work with the children of UUCB and I know I speak for the teachers as well in thanking the parents of our congregation for sharing them with us.
We all recognize that worship is just one part of what we do together as a church. Yet it is the cornerstone of our religious community. It is what brings many people in the door for the first time (or the hundredth), and it is the part of church life the largest number of us regularly participate in. It is, if you will, the heartbeat of the church.
Worship looks different from one Unitarian Universalist church to another, and within one congregation over time. Each person has favorite parts of worship, and preferences about how we do things.
As I’ve moved around the country and been involved with congregations of varying sizes and characters, I’ve discovered my own preferences, and missed favorite details when they weren’t part of the service. (One of my preferences, for example, is ending worship in shared singing while holding hands, as we do here at UUCB.)
Some of us like to chat with friends until the service starts; others want to come into the sanctuary and sit quietly while listening to the gathering music. I lean towards the second—the sanctuary is, as the name implies, a refuge from all the busy-ness of daily life, a place to sink into a different kind of experience. A few moments of quiet are a transition into sacred space and time.
Similarly, not having announcements in the service allows us to remain in that sacred time, rather than interrupting the flow of worship for the business side of church life.
Worship is a time to go deeper than we are often asked to in the rest of our week. It’s a time to connect with my own spirit and with something larger than myself, whether I’m preaching or participating as a congregant.
It’s also a time for connection with each other. That’s something we do by having our full church community (including our kids) together at the beginning of each service; by having regular full-church services in which the kids are with us for the full hour; by affirming our covenant out loud together; and by singing together. We also connect with each other through Candles of Community, whether our joys or concerns are spoken or unspoken.
Worship, done well, engages our minds, our hearts, and our spirits. It comforts us, challenges us, inspires us. Ultimately, the gifts we give and receive during worship are more important than whether any of us get to have worship exactly the way we want it to be. This, like so much else in church life, is part of how we live out our covenant, walking together whether or not we agree on every detail.
Come, let us worship together.
We honor members, friends, visitors
Our thoughts and good wishes continue to be with: During December we received a card and letter from former longtime member, Vic Barnard’s family in Florida. He has relocated from his Son’s home, into a care facility. They were able to secure respite care for Vic while they were on a vacation. Upon their return, they found Vic had adjusted well to his new surroundings, taking on a “leadership” role among his peers. Victor is now a resident of Emeritus Senior Living (ESL). It has worked out well for the three of them. ESL is located 1 1/2 miles from their home so they are able to spend time with him almost every day. He will celebrate his 92nd birthday April 2015. He loves to get mail: Lt. Col. Victor Barnard, Emeritus, Rm 121, 150 Mariner Health Way, St. Augustine, FL 32086. For all the other thoughts that are left unsaid, and unknown to me, but are being held in hearts.
Congratulations, Good Luck, Blessings, and Thanks to: Kristyn Christman-McCarty graduated from CU with her Masters of Music the end of December. She was invited to sing the Alma Mater at her commencement exercises! Jenny Fitt-Peaster celebrated her 65th birthday on Sunday, December 21st, and her family called her our “Winter Princess”. Darla Anderson, daughter of Lois and Dan Anderson, is now a Full Professor of Geography, at The Ohio State University. Heather Ogren who received her Masters of Library Science, from Emporia State in Kansas.
Random Thoughts: Recently I talked about many changes that have occurred — as I am also a member of our Search Committee — I understand full well that soon real change will happen at the UU Church of Boulder. For a short walk through my history at UUCB (starting in 1982) I want to explain why I call myself an Institutional Unitarian Universalist. I became President of the Board, for the first time, in June 1993 after the departure of our Minister (Forrest Whitman). Our congregation and my Board were split down the middle, and it is safe to say that emotions were high! It was during this period that I was struck with the importance of UUCB, and what it has meant to my life, and why! I realized that as much as you love, or dislike. a Minister — they are not the Church! I have already experienced eleven different Ministers in my life as a UU. Following Forrest’s departure, Fred and I committed ourselves to “keeping these Church doors open”! To keep this community functioning, and to be open and welcoming for everyone who stayed, who returned, or has joined since — now and into the future. Rev. Stan Stefancic stressed, to us the importance of “staying at the table” when conflict or change arises. Through the years people have left, but others have returned. Fred and I always try to greet everyone warmly at our Greeter’s Table, and extend a true and sincere “Welcome”. We have all worked hard to become the Church we are today. We have “walked the walk” with Rev. Howell K. Lind, and I will be forever grateful to him for what we are today! When I was on the last Search Committee I knew in my heart that he had the skills to move us forward. Being on the current Search Committee, I hope I will again know in my heart, who can take us beyond our wildest dreams. We have “Broken Through”, and I am excited to see what is next to happen. It is up to all of us!
With Love & Care, Barb
February 21, 2015 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Feb. 8 Sunday 7 to 9 PM Doors Open 6:30 at UUCB
Speaker: International Journalist Reese Erlich
Returning once again from the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and troubled areas in the Middle East, respected reporter, author and broadcaster.
Reese Erlich presents his insightful analysis to a Colorado audience.
The Winter quarter book for discussion will be I Promise Not To Suffer: A Fool for Love HIkes the Pacific Crest Trail, by Boulder author Gail Storey. The session will run for three weeks (a fourth could be added, if desired) on Monday evenings, from 7:00 to 8:30, February 2, 9, and 16. As a special treat, the author will join us for our conversation on Feb. 16.
Gail’s third book, I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail, has won multiple awards.
Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, writes: “Witty, wise, and full of heart, Gail Storey’s winning memoir of her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail at the age of fifty-six is a book for every one who ever dreamed of taking the road less travelled. I Promise Not to Suffer is as inspiring as it is hilarious, as poignant as it is smart. It’s one of those oh-please-don’t-let-it-end books. I’d carry it in my backpack anywhere.”
Beside the physical challenges Gail writes about, there are also themes of spiritual and personal growth, the inspiration of nature, marriage, aging parents, and the occasional life-and-death situation. Get your book and please join us to read and discuss this wonderful book.
We’ll read through page 71 for the first session on Feb. 2.
Sign-up in advance at the Adult Lifelong Learning Classes table at coffee hour.
Visit the Colorado Legislature on February 9, 2015. For more information, go to http://interfaithallianceco.org/event/2015-day-at-the-legislature/
The WC Committee will meet on Sunday, February 1, about 12:45, in the RE wing. Food to snack on is welcome! We will be finalizing our calendar for the spring and perhaps into the fall. All are welcome to attend the meeting. We try to keep our meetings to one hour or less. We are looking for a committee chair or a team to chair the group.
The Welcoming Congregation (WC) is an official program of the UUA, originally planned to make UU congregations more welcoming to people in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities. Today, we also particularly include transexuals as well as members of any group that experiences discrimination at times. This program began more than ten years ago, and UUCB was one of the first congregations in Colorado to receive official recognition as a “Welcoming Congregation.” We had to complete many educational activities and other requirements, such as updating our by-laws to make them gender neutral. We are now beginning the process to renew our Welcoming Congregation status. We are planning to put a rainbow flag outside of our building where passersby will see it and recognize that we are friendly to gays as well as all other people. And we hope to have an adult education class to address the issues faced by GLBTAIQ* people. Join us on February 1 to think about other ways we can show that we are welcoming.
*Note: Previously we used initials in our committee name, but it is too many letters now, as we seek to be as inclusive as possible, so we have defaulted to “Welcoming Congregation.” GLBTAIQ is quite a mouthful! It stands for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, asexual, intersexed, and queer. We’ll tell you how some of these terms are defined and provide you with some other WC vocabulary words in future newsletter articles. Stay tuned!
On Tuesday, February 3, UUCB will provide dinner for members of the Progressive Really Inclusive Student Ministry (PRISM) near CU. We need volunteers to cook or purchase parts of the planned meal. No is expected to bring more than one dish to feed 6 to 8 people (although you can contribute more, if you like). There will be items that can be prepared or purchased early and brought to UUCB on Sunday, Feb. 8. Other items may be picked up or delivered to a UUCB home near UUCB (the church office is closed on Tuesdays). We can reheat things at PRISM that evening. Look for the sign-up sheet on the front counter at UUCB on February 1.
Sunday, February 15, Laurie Duncan invites us all for tea and conversation from 3 to 5 p.m. She lives near UUCB. Laurie has a lovely home with many items from her world travels. Bring finger food to share.
On Saturday, February 7, Helene and Jon Bond invite us to a traditional pot luck dinner at 6 p.m. at their central Boulder home. Bring something you like—if we all bring desserts, we’ll have a sweet evening! They will not be trying coordinate the meal!!!! Sign up at UUCB or call them. Seating is limited.
Mark your calendars: it’s time for the annual UUCB cake auction in support of the front range UU ninth grade trip. This year we have 2 UUCB youth attending the trip, Sophie Hughes, and Ali Burgess. Get on your creative baking caps and join us March 15 at noon in the Earth Room, to buy yummy cakes and baked goods to support this annual trip to the Hopi and Navajo reservations. Questions? Contact Lisa Hughes.
February 15, 2015
Location: UUCB
Doors Open: 6:30pm
Program 7:00pm
Free of Charge – Open to All
Topic: “Gender, Sexuality, and Faith”
Presenter: Nicole Garcia (http://www.nicolegarciacounseling.com/)
Nicole Garcia has facilitated workshops and participated in panels concerning gender identity and spirituality in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Nashville, Duluth, Minneapolis, and throughout the Denver/Boulder area. Nicole has a Master of Arts in Counseling from the University of Colorado Denver and is a Nationally Certified Counselor. Nicole is in private practice at Nicole Garcia Counseling, LLC, in Longmont CO. Nicole is also a pro bono mental health clinician at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado. Nicole has been granted entrance to candidacy to ordained ministry in the ELCA and is pursuing a Master of Divinity through the Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN.
Reception and Meet & Greet in Sky Room following the presentation.
For Information Call UUCB @ 303 494 0195 or Forum Chair @ 720 987 3288
Back in 2011, the idea for a garden on the premises arose from the group looking at Green Sanctuary certification. Using some of our unused land to grow fresh produce and herbs was a way to apply locavore philosophy, i.e. lowering carbon footprint by eating local food, in line with a sustainability focus and more green or eco-consciousness. Last year we had abundant crops and were able to donate to the Community Food Share warehouse, where local non-profit organizations shop for their constituents in need. These are some of the ways our delightful prolific community-building beautiful earthy green glowing jewel of a church garden connects to and reflects our church’s social justice values. And, it’s fun!
We gather together soon to start off another gardening year. We are always looking for more people to join us, with or without any gardening experience. It’s a great way to way to learn from others, and to learn by doing. It takes many hands to make it a success, and there are many way to be involved. Some people show up for workdays for camaraderie and community, some are gaining experience and tips to apply to their own gardens, others enjoy the dirt and plants they can’t have at home. We will be reviewing last year’s experiences, decide on which plants this year, and make plans for planting seedlings soon, preparing the soil, putting in a drip line system, and establishing a schedule of shared leadership. This year we will be finding new ways for our children to be involved, including their own small area to work.
We will have a handout and signup sheet during coffee hour at the Climate Change/Green Sanctuary table. Our efforts are cooperative, each person doing what they have time to do. Every person who works on the garden is welcome to take home whatever produce they can use. The remainder is made available to the congregation at coffee hour or for CFS donations.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday Feb 8 from 12-1 pm. If you have an interest but cannot attend, or wish to be put on the mailing list for updates/schedules, or have any questions, please contact Deb Hoff.
UUCB members participated in one of the largest Denver Martin Luther King Jr. Day marades in years.
Tessa Davis was the speaker for UUCB’s Wise Elder Luncheon in January. Tessa is our church’s defacto historian/archivist who spends 2 hours each week with fellow member and archivist, Ginny Black, organizing and inventorying the church’s growing number of documents and photos. Tessa and Ginny developed and presented a slide show highlighting church events, celebrations, buildings decor/additions and photos of past members of the congregation who are no longer with us.
