UUCGV NEWS Welcome to the month of
Beloved Community
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley — Newsletter
From Our Minister, Reverend Wendy Jones But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform oppressors into friends. The type of love that I stress here is not eros, a sort of esthetic or romantic love; not philia, a sort of reciprocal love between personal friends; but it is agape which is understanding goodwill for all men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.
February 2021
We are an affiliated congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Mountain Desert District
:
- Martin Luther King Jr. from “The Role of the Church in Facing the Nation's Chief Moral Dilemma,” 1957
I invite you to take a moment of quiet, perhaps close your eyes and go back to your childhood.
Who were the adults in your life? Quietly name some of them to yourself. Who were the adults you knew you could turn to in times of crisis or fear?
We are a Welcoming Congregation
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In This Issue
#grandvalleyuu
A Place for Liberal Spirituality
Diverse Thought and Community Action
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Among Us 1-5 Children/Youth Religious Education 6, 10-11 Leadership 13 Community 8, 9, 12 & 14 Worship Calendar 7 Calendar 15
(Continued from page 1)
How many of those adults were not part of your immediate family? If you have children or teenagers in your life so, how many adults outside of yourself do they interact with on a regular basis? Would you be one of the people that is named as a safe place for a teenager outside of their immediate family? If so what do you think you’re doing right now that is working? If not, what are some changes you might make to become one of those people named?
This month we will be talking about beloved community. As we approach almost a year of having gone virtual as a faith community, I am reflecting on what beloved community means in the times of a pandemic. How do we stay connected? How do we reach out to one another and show that we care? How successful have we been at this? In some respects, I think we have been successful, in other respects I miss seeing everybody in person. It is so hard especially when it is time to say goodbye to beloved friends and we aren’t able to come together in the “traditional” ways to grieve. This year we have had to say goodbye to a number of our UUCGV family virtually. There is an added layer of grief in that. That said, I am optimistic. Every Sunday when we connect virtually more and more people are announcing that they have received the vaccine. Just as it took us a little while to get used to connecting virtually, it will take us a little while to remember how to reconnect in person, and that is a learning curve I am looking forward to practicing. In the meantime, let’s remember that we are still a beloved community. We do still need one another, and reaching out through cards, phones calls, and virtual hugs are still of utmost importance. With Love, Rev. Wendy
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A Heaven Filled with Hugs
Marcia Bilbao Duane Carr
Jack Eagleton
Three of UUCGV’s beloved members will be greatly missed. 3
UUCGV Meditation Groups
Join the UUCGV Goddess Group as we discover the hidden forces within. All who identify as women are welcome to join us at any or all of the dates below. We meet every other Thursday, at 6:30 pm via Zoom. As women, we are stronger together through support and love. Each meeting we will experience sisterhood, exploration of a particular chakra, a meditation and a whole lot'a love. For more information contact Barbara Beth by emailing works90@hotmail.com. February 4: Brow Chakra February 18: Brow Chakra Pt 2 March 4: Crown Chakra March 18: Crown Chakra Pt 2 Go to www.grandvalleyuu.org/goddess-group for the
Laughter Yoga will not meet for the month of February ~ Daily laughter is still encouraged!
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Silent Meditation for Healing Our World Join us at the church on Wednesdays at 10:30am for 20-30 minutes of silent meditation for healing our world. We will have chairs arranged six feet apart and we ask that you please bring a mask. ____________ Morning & Evening Meditation Join us on Monday evenings at 7:00pm & Friday mornings at 9:00am for meditation with intentional breathing with Robintix via Zoom. Contact Robintix for more info at
UUCGV's Virtual 20th Annual Service Auction Saturday, February 13, 2021
~ Cupid's Love Boat ~ Virtual Silent Auction Feb 7th 12:00pm - Feb 13th 12:00pm Make sure to create your free bidder account through Bidding Owl, before the auction opens. www.biddingowl.com/auctions.cfm (type in Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley) Virtual Cocktail Hour - Feb 13th 6:00pm Floyd Joramo will continue to amaze us with his signature Mai Thai recipe available to pick up at the church from 5:00pm to 6:00pm and enjoy once you get home! Be sure to email Floyd at floyd@joramo.com with your Mai Thai order by 12:00pm. https://zoom.us/j/6527061359 Virtual Live Auction - Feb 13th 7:00pm https://zoom.us/j/6527061359 (same as link above) Angie Ecker will be Cupid's Love Boat auctioneer! Get ready for some fun! More info: www.grandvalleyuu.org/auction 5
Message from the DRE By Chelsea E. Craine, Director of Religious Education for Children and Youth I am eternally grateful for this month’s theme of beloved community. January was an especially trying month for me and my family personally and I am so thankful for the support from this beloved UUCGV community. When hard times come, and they will always come, what a gift it is to have a group of compassionate people to love and take care of you. We see this in our immediate and extended families and in our church family as well. With your commitment to this ever-changing, ever-loving group, you create a sacred space of light. It is felt here, in my body, mind, and heart, and in the bodies, minds, and hearts of all those in this congregation. In this beloved community we believe that all people are worthy of love and support. We live our values daily as individuals and collectively. As children grow up surrounded by this unconditional love, they learn to live courageously and to walk with light in their hearts and doing so will transform our world. So this month I would like to thank each of you for the point of light you contribute to this blinding star that is UUCGV. Love and Light, Chelsea
UUCGV Photo Challenge
Photo Challenge: Beloved Community How do you find community through UUCGV? How do we achieve community during the time of COVID? February is our month of exploring what it means to be a beloved community. As you consider this, take pictures inspired by the theme and send them (with a brief caption if desired) to dre@grandvalleyuu.org by Friday, February 26th to be included in the slideshow during the service on Sunday, February 28th. 6
Soulful Sundays Welcome to Black History Month
February 7th Beloved Community
February 14th Love Will Guide Us
February 21st Stronger Together
February 28th When Things Get Hard 7
Navajo Nation COVID Crisis Support
Donations for the Navajo Nation poured into the sanctuary last week. Through community efforts, the organization of Mutual Aid Partners, Sandy Dorr, and numerous local volunteers, several vehicles and a U-Haul delivered all of these supplies to the Four Corners area. We would like to thank you for your contributions and support!
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Raise Funds for UUCGV Through Your Regular Purchases at City Market & Amazon Smile
City Market Community Rewards Program
Amazon Smile
This program makes fundraising easy by donating to local organizations based on the shopping you do every day. Once you link your loyalty card to an organization, all you have to do is shop at City Market and swipe your Shopper’s Card.
Did you know that by simply going to smile.amazon.com instead of to amazon.com, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to UUCGV.
Here’s how it works: Go to http:// www.citymarket.com and log into your King Soopers or City Market account Search for “Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand V” either by name or KA151 and then click "Enroll" New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a loyalty card
Here are the steps: Go to smile.amazon.com Click the menu symbol at top left (stack of short lines) Go down to "Your Amazon Smile" and click Fill in: "Unitarian Universalist" in the space provided Scroll a LONG way down to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Grand Junction Click "Select" button
REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your organization until after your register your loyalty card. You must swipe their registered King Soopers or City Market loyalty card or use the phone number that is related to your registered King Soopers or City Market loyalty card when shopping for each purchase to count.
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Important Dates in Religious Education Youth Game Night! Friday, February 5th, 6:00pm-8:00pm All middle and high school youth are encouraged to join us for a night of games, food, and friends. Feel free to bring a guest (or two or three). Pizza and drinks will be provided. A variety of board games will be available, but if you have a favorite game please bring it and teach it to the group. We look forward to seeing you! (This event will take place in the UUCGV Sanctuary. We ask that all participants please wear face masks, use the provided hand sanitizer, and observe social distancing.) Valentine Gram Recordings Saturday, February 6th, 9:00am-12:00pm The RE program is making virtual valentine grams as a fundraiser in conjunction with our UUCGV Annual Auction. Please help support our community by donating a few minutes of your time and stopping by the church to record a valentine gram. Please RSVP by Friday the 5th to dre@grandvalleyuu.org to reserve your 20 minute time slot to ensure we have all of our community’s valentine requests covered. Dress in pink/red/white if possible. Props will be provided. (This event will take place in the UUCGV Sanctuary. We are asking families to sign up for 20-minute time slots to avoid a crowded sanctuary. All participants should wear face masks and use the provided hand sanitizer.) Family Movie Night! Saturday, February 20th, 7:00pm-8:00pm Families of all ages are invited to attend our movie night. We will be watching the 30minute PBS kids special on Race and Racism with youngest ever poet laureate Amanda Gorman. The special will be followed by a brief conversation and activity related to the film. Popcorn will be provided. Feel free to bring a blanket or pillow and dress in pajamas! (This event will take place in the UUCGV Sanctuary. We ask that all participants please wear face masks, use the provided hand sanitizer, and observe social distancing.)
Photo Challenge: Beloved Community How do you find community through UUCGV? How do we achieve community during the time of COVID? February is our month of exploring what it means to be a beloved community. As you consider this, take pictures inspired by the theme and send them (with a brief caption if desired) to dre@grandvalleyuu.org by Friday, February 26th to be included in the slideshow during the service on Sunday, February 28th.
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February - BELOVED COMMUNITY Where Black Leaders Are Honored: Anti-Racism and Black History Month Sunday, February 7th We honor our Black leaders.
Where Love Grows Beyond Boundaries: Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 14th Expand our love in wider and wider circles for everyone!
Where Wounds Are Healed Sunday, February 21st We want to heal the hurts caused by racism.
Where We Don’t Run Away When Things Get Hard Sunday, February 28th We don’t run away when things get hard.
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2020-21 Leadership Board President Elizabeth High Vice President Laurel Carpenter Past President Janet Cummings Treasurer Sue Brown At-Large Melissa Humphrey At-Large Richard Hyland At-Large Herb Feinzig At-Large Abby Leinbach
Team Leadership Circle (TLC) Worship Robin Cyr Religious Education (RE) Jan Hyland Membership Bill Conrod Celebrations Mary Delbecq At-Large Angie Ecker At-Large Laura Jeffries
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Living Into Leadership Board Highlights
TLC Highlights
The Board's primary responsibility is to carry out the UUCGV mission through wise governance of the physical, financial, administrative program, and operational resources of the Congregation.
TLC maintains the Programs of the church and the church calendar and hold on close to the Mission, Vision, and Principles of UUCGV. TLC communicates with each other and the board about the day-to-day operations of the church and provides support to the teams if they need it. TLC meets the second Tuesday of the month at noon. The TLC met on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. TLC will meet again on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 12:00 pm. The following was discussed at the meeting. Email tlc@grandvalleyuu.org for questions and comments.
Below are the highlights of the Board meeting held on Thursday, January 14, 2021 Our UUCGV Board will meet again on Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 7:00 pm. We welcome and seek direct dialogue with members and friends of our congregation. If you would like to discuss a matter at the Board meeting, please contact Board President Elizabeth High at elizabethahigh3@gmail.com by February 5th, 2020 Finance: We recently cashed out Vanguard shares with notable profit of $6,800. We still have $36,000 in Vanguard.We will not qualify for the second round of PPP loans because we did not have a 25% drop in receipts in any quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. YTD bottom line in the black by more than $10,000. Reopening to In-person Worship: The board is beginning preliminary discussions about when and how to begin transitioning in to in person worship once again as more people get vaccinated. Paddle Auction: The board voted unanimously that the paddle auction item will be repairing/replacing the front awning of the church building. Estimated cost will be $20,000 -$30,000. Mutual Aid Partners has offered to reimburse us $300 for utility overage this month and $15 to add an additional trash can, because our trash containers are full most of the week after MAP’s Tuesday distribution events.
Membership: Shared ideas to continue to be welcoming to visitors and guest at our virtual services. We talked about members and friends who we have not seen for a while, and Bill will reach out to those people. There was also an idea to create a special breakout room for visitors or guests after the service if they have specific questions about the congregation. There was also a suggestion to invite people to sign a “virtual guest book” and what that would look like. Worship: Amandalin has submitted her resignation as our music director. So there was a conversation about ways to fill the gap as we enter into the process of hiring a new director of music. Religious Education: Chelsea and the RE team continue to offer quality virtual RE programming for the elementary & younger children, and are planning some in person activities for the older kids. Virtual Auction: The auction team is planning to meet weekly on Fridays to continue to plan the auction. Things are coming together. We have a virtual auction app that we will be using this year. Maya has looked into it and thinks it will work well for us. 13
GJ Mutual Aid Food & Resource Distribution (970) 316-2019 Every Tuesday at 536 Ouray Ave, Grand Junction, CO 10 am – 1pm drop off. 11am - 1:30 pm pick-up Due to heightened COVID restrictions, strict safety guidelines are being followed in order to keep our guests and volunteers safe. In person human resources are now being scheduled by appointment only, these include Barkley's Hope for dog/cat vaccinations, GV Peace & Justice & Vote Positive for resource navigation, Solidarity Not Charity for street outreach, 970 Medicare & Seguros Pa'ti for health insurance plans. Non-perishable foods and fresh produce are still available through our partnership with Food Bank of the Rockies and Catholic Outreach Soup Kitchen. Premade food boxes are being delivered to veterans as well as low income & senior housing. Find Grand Junction Mutual Aid on Facebook! If you'd live to make an urgently needed tax deductible donation, please go to www.MutualAidPartners.org
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UUCGV Calendar
February
Worship Schedule Worship Services are held Sundays at 10:30 am via Zoom
2021 Sunday 31
Monday 1
9:30 Children’s RE via Zoom 10:30 Worship Via Zoom
Tuesday 2
Wednesday 3 10:30 Meditation
10:00 GJ Mutual Aid
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8
9:30 Children’s RE via Zoom 10:30 Worship Via Zoom
10:00 GJ Mutual Aid 12:00 Finance 12:00 TLC
12:00 Virtual Silent Auction Opens
7:00 Evening Meditation
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15
9
10
28 9:30 Children’s RE via Zoom 10:30 Worship Via Zoom
5
6
9:00 Morning Meditation 11:00 Auction Meeting
9:00 Valentine Gram Recordings
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12
13
9:00 Morning Meditation 11:00 Auction Meeting
8:30 UU Serves at the Soup Kitchen 12:00 Silent Auction Closes 6:00 Virtual Cocktail Hour 7:00 Virtual Live Auction
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20
7:00 Board
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17
10:00 GJ Mutual Aid
10:30 Meditation
18
9:00 Morning Meditation 11:00 Auction Meeting 6:30 Goddess Group via Zoom
23
24
10:00 GJ Mutual Aid
10:30 Meditation
2
3
10:00 GJ Mutual Aid
10:30 Meditation
Saturday
6:00 Youth Game Night!
10:30 Meditation
7:00 Evening Meditation
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Friday
6:30 Goddess Group via Zoom
5:30 RE Team
9:30 Children’s RE via Zoom 10:30 Worship Via Zoom
9:30 Children’s RE via Zoom 10:30 Worship Via Zoom
Thursday 4
7:00 Evening Meditation
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Please Remember that all meetings & events MUST be scheduled through the administrator (257-0772) or administrator@grandvalleyuu.org. See full calendar, renters and all, at grandvalleyuu.org/calendar.
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March Newsletter Deadline 7:00 Family Movie Night!
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27
9:00 Morning Meditation
7:00 Evening Meditation
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4
15
5 9:00 Morning Meditation
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley P.O. Box 1053 Grand Junction, CO 81502
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 118 GRAND JUNCTION, CO “Return Service Requested”
“Vitally Inclusive Justice-Centered Spiritually Alive”
Minister: Rev. Wendy Jones 257-0772 x2 or minister@grandvalleyuu.org
“Strength lies
Church Administrator: Maya Kraushaar 257-0772 x1 or administrator@grandvalleyuu.org
in differences,
Director of Religious Education: Chelsea E. Craine 257-0772 x3 or dre@grandvalleyuu.org Facilities: Cameron Jordan facilities@grandvalleyuu.org
536 Ouray Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501
not in similarities” ~ Stephen R. Covey
www.grandvalleyuu.org Find us on Facebook & Instagram @grandvalleyuu
We meet via Zoom on Sundays at 10:30 am for Worship
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