UUCGV NEWS
Welcome to the month of
Wisdom
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley — Newsletter
March 2020
We are an affiliated congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Mountain Desert District of the UUA.
From Our Minister, Reverend Wendy Jones There is a voice that doesn’t use words. LISTEN. ~ Anonymous Wisdom is knowing something on the deepest level and then having the discernment to know what to do with it; bridging the gap between intellect and true inner knowing. Anne Wilson Schaef says, “Wisdom is knowledge that has been tested with time and has the pattern of the ages up on it.”
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The best monologue I have heard about wisdom comes from the movie Good Will Hunting when Robin William’s character is trying to break through to a young angry genius. “So if I asked you about art you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo? You know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientation, the whole works, right? We are a Welcoming Congregation
But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. (Continued on page 2)
In This Issue
#grandvalleyuu A Place for Liberal Spirituality Diverse Thought and Community Action
Among Us 1-5 Revelations 6-7 10-11 Children/Youth Religious Education 8-9 Leadership 12-13 UUCGV News 14 Worship Calendar 15 Calendar 15
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You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. You’re a tough kid. I ask you about war, and you’d probably, uh, throw Shakespeare at me, right? “Once more into the breach, dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watched him gasp his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love you could probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone could level you with her eyes. Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you…who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel and to have that love for her to be there forever. Through anything. Through cancer. You wouldn’t know about sleeping sitting’ up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term visiting hours don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss, because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much. I look at you; I don’t see an intelligent, confident man; I see a cocky, scared kid. But you’re a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine and you ripped my life apart. You’re an orphan right?” Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don’t care about all that, because you know what? I can’t learn anything from you I can’t read in some book. Unless you wanna talk about you, who you are. And I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t wanna do that, do you, sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.” Wisdom is much more than having intellectual knowledge. This month, let us think about what it is we really KNOW on that deep soul level. ~ Rev. Wendy Jones
Message from the DRE By Chelsea E. Craine, Director of Religious Education for Children and Youth (DRE) dre@grandvalleyuu.org In this program children and adults are paired together for a fun way to make new friends from another generation! Participants exchange notes and small gifts each Sunday without revealing their identity for six weeks in April and May. Buddies meet each other at our end-of-year intergenerational service on May 17th. After the buddy identity reveal, keep in touch with your buddy throughout the summer by doing fun activities together. This is a great way to make new connections within our congregation and to strengthen our sense of community. Sign up by March 29th to participate by contacting Chelsea at dre@grandvalleyuu.org. 2
Time Talent Treasure Showcase - Stewardship Kickoff Party March 7th 6:00pm Reception begins 6:30 – 8:30pm Talent Show begins Are you an artist? Are you a musician or a magician? Do you have a really stupid joke to share? J oin us for a fun night celebrating UUCGV’s multitude of talents. All ages welcome! All talent levels welcome! Angie Ecker is organizing the talent show and is looking for team members to help. If you are interested in helping out with the organization of the talent show or would like to be part of the it, email Angie at akitchenfairy@gmail.com. 3
Care-Full Conversations Is this world getting you down? Are you worried about climate change, the state of our world politics, or just experiencing an unexplained sense of anxiety in general? Would you like to have a space to talk about some of these issues with like minded people in a healthy and intentional way? The Care-Team is hosting a series of conversations this year, called Care-Full Conversations led by Rev. Wendy. Don’t sit alone at home and deal with the craziness of this world all alone. Come discuss it with us on Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 am the church.
UUCGV Meditation Groups
Aging Gracefully Duane Carr is facilitating a wonderful new group in the new year called Aging Gracefully. This group will meet monthly on the fourth Thursday at 1:30 pm at UUCGV. We meet next on March 26. Our topic for discussion will be the stages of our lives as we have experienced them, with the added metaphor that life is a journey.. It is based on Chapter 1 in the book, The Oxford Book of Aging. However. you can join in the discussion even if you haven't read the chapter. All are welcome to join in the discussion of these important ideas. Please join us or for more information, email Duane Carr at duane.carr@gmail.com.
Soup Kitchen Saturday This is a reminder that Soup Kitchen Saturday is the second Saturday of every month at Catholic Outreach, located at the south end of 1st Street between Pitkin and Ute Avenues. We need your help on Saturday, March 14 from 8:30 am to 1:15 pm. We need 10-12 people from 8:30-10:30 am to help prepare and cook enough food for 150+ people. Another 7-8 people are needed from 11:45 to 1:15 pm to serve and help clean up the kitchen. Anyone with an interest in helping to prepare or serve this meal is welcome; teens included, but please let us know if you plan to volunteer this month. Please contact Chris Jauhola (chrisjauhola@aol.com; phone 703-216-6479) for more information or to volunteer. Please bring a scarf or hat to cover your hair. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped prepare Mexican pork loin for 151 hungry people in February.
Laughter Yoga It's not really Yoga... come work out your spirit with laughter! Join us in this amazingly fun and energetic session! Every Wednesday at 10:00 am at the church. Laughter Yoga will not meet on March 4. 4
Loving Kindness Meditation Metta Meditation, otherwise known as Loving Kindness Meditation, is a specific practice within Buddhism that cultivates an open, generous and loving heart. There is a formula of phrases to use, but once you've tried it, it becomes more second nature to you. It is said that the antidote to fear is not courage, but Love. This practice can be life changing, as well as enjoyable. We will meet , Monday, March 16 at 5:00 pm at the church.
Men’s Cooking
Morning Meditation Join us on Friday mornings at 9:00 am for meditation with intentional breathing with Robintix at UUCGV. Contact Robintix for more info at
Peaceful Meditation We meet the second Thursday of every month at 11 am. The next “vibration raising” will be on Thursday, March 12.
Meditation & Qigong Bobbie and Boz will be offering sitting, walking, and moving meditation at our home, at 185 Bevan Lane, on Sunday, March 1 at 5:00 pm and at UU on Monday, March 2 at 5:00 pm. This is in the tradition of zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Beginners and all are welcome.
UUCGV’s Men’s Cooking Group is the longest standing group in the church. We meet and cook the third Thursday of the month. If you’re new to the church and are maleidentifying, please join the fun! The next Men’s Cooking night will serve as preparation for the Men’s Club Dinner that was auctioned in the last UUCGV auction. For more info and location, contact Mark McKenney at 970-256-7907 or email mckenneyd@qwest.net
Who Are UU? Rev. Wendy leads a monthly informal gathering for friends, members and guests who would like to learn more about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. This is an ongoing conversation, usually on the second Sunday of every month after coffee hour. All people are welcome! All questions are welcome. Join the conversation on March 8, at 11:30 at the church.
Goddess Group Goddess Group will meet Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 pm. If you are a goddess who identifies as a woman, you are welcome! After a simple opening, we will begin to explore the goddess within using Part 2 of Cakes for the Queen of Heaven: On the Threshold: feminist theAlogy in affirmation of the wisdom of rediscovering the divine in female form as a way to bring peace and justice to the Earth. We will take a journey into the past to reclaim the stories of powerful women, examine the rise of patriarchy, and celebrate the emerging worldview and theAlogy. We will explore personal and social changes and the complex process of telling a new story. Goddess Group explores feminist theAlogy by giving voices to women in the biblical tradition and voice to our own experiences as the basis for a new theAlogy. Feel free to bring a snack or a drink to share. For more information contact Barbara Beth Wolf by emailing works90@hotmail.com.
Black Canyon Discussion Group The next Black Canyon Discussion will be held in the Cedaredge/Montrose area on Wednesday, March 4, at 5:30 pm in the Cedaredge area. The topic will be "What is the one concept or thing that you wish never should have been invented and how would you have prevented it?" Contact E Heuscher at 970-856-4226 for more information. 5
Revelations This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us. The world is a masterpiece. With each step she takes, the light changes. Color unfurls as different hues unfold. With each step the angles shift, presenting a different perspective. She is surrounded by such breathtaking beauty! At ease, she simply allows each new breath to come, grateful. Swaddled in beauty she moves through the world with an artist soul. Motherhood completed her like never before. Yet, there was also an aspect of diminishing. It felt like much of her life was suddenly put on hold. She had to let go of her art studio, her aspiration to earn a living as a working artist. She felt a loss without the time and place to create. Yet, she’s come to realize that being an artist is not something she can give up – it is an essential part of her being. Artist is her essence. She has learned that being an artist is about more than producing objects of artwork. She is now weaving an artistic path into life. She has learned that the most important thing in realizing her artist soul is to pay attention to her immediate environment, and appreciate the beauty in the world around her. She enlivens her artist soul by so thoroughly absorbing her surroundings that she becomes a part of it – moving creatively within the masterpiece. Experiencing the beauty allows creativity to flow into her interaction with the world. She can take a morning walk into the great outdoors and fall into the masterpiece, into a world of awe. She’s come around the bend to a place where she feels more complete than ever before. She is now able to lean more fully into motherhood, into her children’s lives, and welcome the responsibilities that it demands. Maya Kraushaar comes from a family of artists. Grandpa Art was a pharmacist, and owned his own pharmacy until he retired – Nichols pharmacy. (Nichols, Maya’s maiden name – is derived from Nejaim and was changed to Nichols after Maya’s great-grandfather immigrated to the US from Lebanon.) But Maya remembers the special time that she spent with Grandpa in the garden and his little woodshop. Grandpa loved to spend time in his garden, and he created beautiful wood furniture of the Shaker style. Grandma was a writer. She wrote for the Berkshire Eagle. Maya has precious memories of grandma teaching her to sew, and long walks just the two of them. Aunt Maris is a writer. Uncle Arthur is a blackand-white photographer. Uncle Joe was a musician – a singer/songwriter, and played the piano. Maya and her mom got together with them all on most holidays, and visited the grandparents on special occasions. Mom is a painter, and was a singer/songwriter and played the guitar. She performed in the LA and Boston areas. Maureen Nichols, Mom, raised Maya by herself, other than the brief period living in LA. Though Maya’s upbringing was not typical, she had a good childhood. Maya was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, located in Western MA. When Maya was three, Mom decided to move to Hollywood to try and further her singing career. Maureen met Paul – and they all moved in together. He was a good man, and Maya would become strongly attached to him. They all lived in a tiny single-family home. She remembers bars on the doors and windows. An orange tree in the backyard. A beloved goldfish. A new swing set. Going on hikes and playing on the beach. Playing with a friend across the street in a big apartment building. Playing with snails on the wall. Earthquakes – watching Dennis the Menace when suddenly the house starts rocking in waves, her child-mind thinking that it was Paul hurling boulders at 6
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the side of the house with a catapult like something out of the Flintstones, and then mom comes crawling into the living room on her hands and knees with a big pillow over her head, yelling for Maya to get under the pillow with her, both of them crawling to the front door, mom yelling to a man walking down the sidewalk, “is this an earthquake?!”, and he simply replies yes and keeps on walking and Maya and Mom get under the kitchen table. After living in LA for 3 ½ years, mom decided that they needed to move back home. Yet, LA was Maya’s home. Maya loved Paul. She did not want to leave, and the move was very hard on her. When Maya and Mom arrived in Massachusetts they found out that the van carrying all their earthly belongings had caught fire and burned, including Mom’s guitars. All they had were a few clothes in a suitcase. They settled in Watertown, near Boston. They were extremely poor for years. In the fourth grade they moved to Cambridge, which became Mom’s permanent residence. Maya got involved running track with a small youth team. They practiced on the MIT indoor track. Maya continued with indoor and outdoor track, and cross-country in high school. Maya has always loved being creative, and in the fourth grade she realized that she was an artist. She loved painting, drawing, sewing, and making things from clay. In middle school some of her peers started viewing her as artistic. The summer after high school Maya was able to meet with her mom’s past partner, Paul. Paul from her childhood in California. This was a curative experience for Maya. Being able to reconnect allowed her to bring some closure to that period of her life. Around this time Maya was also able to contact her biological father. He is Lebanese, but currently lives in Saudi Arabia. Over the years she has kept in touch by using face-time applications such as WhatsApp and Skype. After high school Maya attended the Massachusetts College of Art, in Boston. It is located near Fenway Park and the Museum of Fine Art. Her focus was sculpture. A multitude of general education requirements consumed most of her time when she first began. She was excited to take welding and forging class her freshman year. She loved it until the day she had a bad accident on the stationary metal grinder. The metal piece she was grinding caught, and was suddenly tugged into the opening along with her thumb and forefinger. She had reconstructive surgery on her thumb, and missed the remainder of the semester. She was back in school the following semester, and focused on ceramics from that point forward. The favorite part of her freshman year was a two week trip to the Southwest. She was one of 12 selected to participate in a cultural education program. They painted a mural in the Boys and Girls Club at Shiprock, New Mexico. The group toured the spectacular landscapes in the Four Corners area. They were even escorted by a Navajo guide onto the base of Shiprock, where non-tribe members are generally not allowed to go. They were invited to a pow-wow, and Maya was amazed with the drumming circle of men from young boys to elderly, singing in unison. She saw wild horses for the first time. The experience dramatically changed Maya. The wide-open vistas, the contours and the shapes shifted 7
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Children’s Religious Education Wise Up, Join RE! This month we will be exploring what it means to be a people of wisdom. We will delve into this theme in our three classes (preK-1st grade, 2nd-5th grade, and 6th-8th grade) through art, games, music, service projects, and stories. See below for a brief description of each Sunday’s themes. If you have a high schooler who has previously considered themselves too cool for church school, ask them if they are interested in being a Teen Assistant and helping the teachers downstairs with the little kids. Remember, it’s never too late to teach! Please contact dre@grandvalleyuu.org if you are interested in working with our amazing children and youth, or to register your own children for RE. The Wisdom of Simplicity Sunday, March 1 We will begin to understand the wisdom of simplicity. Together we will learn how finding simple solutions to misunderstandings can help build bridges among us. The Wisdom of Clowning Sunday, March 8 We will remember that clowning invites wisdom. When we clown around we look at the world differently and we can learn a lot from turning the world upside down. Joseph Center Day Shelter ALL AGES SERVICE Sunday, March 15 Join us for a morning of music and dancing with the band from Handy Chapel! In this intergenerational service we connect with our third spiritual source of collecting wisdom from the world’s religions by sharing our worship with people of a different faith tradition from our own. The Wisdom of Story Sunday, March 22 We will remember that many stories teach us ways of living well. In addition, we will learn that a shift in attitude often changes how we interpret a situation. The Wisdom of Our Bodies Sunday, March 29 We will remember that our bodies know what they know. Today we will listen to what our bodies are telling us and embrace loving ourselves and each other for who we are.
UUCGV Childcare: Childcare for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers is provided during Worship on Sunday mornings from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and during UU Night on Wednesdays, from 5:30 –7:30 pm. Childcare is provided by Robintix Perryman. 8
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Other Important Dates UU Family Jump Time Saturday, March 7, 9:30am-12:30pm Join us at Get Air for some fun family jumping time! Toddler Time is from 9:30-11:00 (children under 46" and their parents). Open jump for taller kids and adults begins at 11:00. There are other activities available for when your kids aren't jumping. Visit http://getairsilo.com/ for more details, including pricing. RE Check-In Sunday, March 8, 11:45am All members and friends are invited for a 6-month check-in with Chelsea and the RE team. Parents and RE teachers are especially encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided. Parents’ Night Out Friday, March 13, 5:30pm-8:30pm All children and youth are invited to our monthly Parents’ Night Out! Come to UUCGV for dinner, a movie with popcorn, and games while grown-ups take the night off. This month we will have a burrito bar dinner and watch Song of the Sea. $10/child with a $20 family cap. UU Game Night Saturday, March 14, 5:00pm Come out for a night of food, friends, and games! Whether you prefer classic board and card games, RPG's and video games, or euro-style strategy and cooperative games, we have something for everyone. Bring a game, a friend, and a plate of food and come have fun at this all ages event. RE Team Meeting Tuesday, March 17, 5:15pm Join the team! We meet the third Tuesday of the month at 5:15pm unless otherwise noted. All meetings will take place at UUCGV. RE teachers invited. Teen advisers welcome. All members and parents who have ideas or input for the program are encouraged to attend. Teen Night at Spin City Friday, March 27, 7:00pm-10:00pm Join us from 7-10pm and choose skating or laser tag for $10 per person. Visit http://spincitygj.com/ for more details.
Growing Greener Children: In the Discovery Garden Saturday, March 28, 1:00pm-2:30pm Join us as we revitalize the soil in our plot at the Discovery Garden. We will plant cold-weather seeds, make a three-season plan for our garden bed, and learn about compost! 9
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something inside her and rocked her world. It fed her and became a part of her being. It called to her. It took her three years to make it happen, and her time spent at the Massachusetts College of Art was valuable; yet, Maya transferred to the University of New Mexico. Albuquerque was magical. She loved the sun, the food, the way it smelled. She had a good experience at UNM. She really got into Raku firing and that was her focus in ceramics for the year. She met a boy, and the boy introduced her to Grand Junction and Mesa State College (Colorado Mesa University). The ceramics department at Mesa was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ! The art building was practically brand-new. It was three stories, and the entire bottom floor was ceramics and foundry. After a year at UNM, Maya transferred to Mesa. The boy didn’t last long, but she fell in love with the Grand Valley and surrounding area. Maya’s senior project was a set of slab and coil built candy machines etched with comic-book style images and words advertising the pills inside. The machines theoretically vended pharmaceuticals from a fictional company called Remedex. One machine dispensed antidepressants, the second diet pills and the third male enhancement pills. Yes, contemporary American society – popping pills like candy. Maya’s degree was in ceramic sculpture. After graduation Maya worked as a server at the Redlands Mesa golf course and then tended bar and served at the downtown restaurant The Winery. During that time she had her own art studio, with a wheel and kiln. She also worked with mixed-media, textile fabric, and painting. Maya demonstrated her artistic techniques at the Art Center, taught at their youth camp, and modeled. She had art exhibits at GJ City Hall, at what used to be Planet Earth Four Directions Art Gallery, at the Art on Trout Annual Show, and at Studios on Kennedy. For the exhibit at City Hall, Maya casted body parts of her friends with plaster and then used the molds to create ceramic replicas of the body parts. Then she glazed them to look like they were decaying or almost becoming petrified. She nestled each part in a bed of sand and rock, and planted thyme beneath and around the parts. The message was: life from death, cycle of life, beauty in death, life in death, etc. Maya remembers going to City Hall once a week for three months with a watering can to keep the thyme growing. “People waiting in line to pay their utility bills would watch me watering these body parts. One lady commented to another person in line how disgusting the installation was. That actually put a smile on my face because it meant people were noticing the work and not just passing it by.” Maya met Paul (Kraushaar) at The Winery, where they both worked as servers. They worked together for about five years, becoming close friends, but didn’t get together romantically until after they stopped working together. They would socialize with the rest of the staff, and at one point joined CrossFit Red together and became work-out freaks for a while. They enjoyed talking with each other, cooking elaborate meals together, rollerblading together. Their romantic relationship grew very naturally from their friendship. (Continued on page 11)
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Maya and Paul moved in together, and when Maya became pregnant several months later they thought they may as well make their commitment official – they got married. Tobias was born in 2014 and Phoebe joined the family in 2015. Three years later the marriage fell apart. There was a large financial burden, including student loans. And they had two young kids, parenting for the first time. They had no outside support. It felt like they were living isolated on an island. They were both feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Maya and Paul separated. They filed for divorce. During this period they both remained firmly committed to the children, and put the children first. The separation allowed Maya and Paul a different perspective on things, and about a year later they both started attending UUCGV Sunday Services, partly for the sake of the children. Then began a slow, gradual process of reconciliation. As the date for their divorce to be finalized neared, they discussed whether they wanted to go through with it. Ultimately, they decided to end the marriage, because it truly had been broken. Now, they are beginning again, living together, joining in a happy home. Looking back, Maya wonders if much of the angst in the marriage might have been avoided if they had had the support of a stronger community all along. Maya and Paul are grateful to have found this special community at the UUCGV. Maya and Paul and the children enjoy their time at church. It is wonderful to have found a place that nourishes their spiritual needs. A place that supports young families. A place where they feel that they truly belong. Many of you already know that Maya is our UUCGV Community’s fabulous, multi-talented multitasking administrator. Her work is the glue that holds it all together. Maya has been working for our Grand Valley UU congregation since November 2018. All who have come into contact with her know how capable she is, and how lucky we are to have her. Maya is looking forward to 2020, excited to see what the next decade holds. She is hoping to one day meet her father in person. She also has five siblings, ages 9-26, who she would love to contact and perhaps meet. When Maya and Paul find time for just the two of them, they love going on long drives, just talking and enjoying the scenery. Maya is turning the page to a new chapter, embracing motherhood and cherishing the simple things like watching her children learn to read. It has been delightful to witness the artistic development of her children. Tobias loves art – painting and constructing, seeing how things fit together. Phoebe seems to lean more into dancing and singing. Maya finds joy, peace, and fulfillment when spending time outdoors with Paul and the kids – exploring, hiking, planting and tending to the plants. When forced to be indoors, she loves making crafts with them, cooking with them, and dancing with them. Maya also loves doing these things on her own as well. She recharges during her times of quiet and solitude. Life goes on…
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From UUCGV Board President, Elizabeth High, Thank you to everyone who participated in our Vision 2030 Town Hall meeting in January! Maya has posted the minutes from the meeting as well as pictures of the flip charts in the Member Zone of our webpage; I invite you to take a look. In the “Mission/Vision Dot Activity” I was struck by how evenly people put their dots next to all of the different lines of our mission and vision statements. We as a congregation want equally to nurture each other, the earth of which we are a part, and to reach out to our larger community. We strongly value lifelong learning and spiritual growth. If we emphasize any one of these facets too much over another, we will feel out of balance. We did not leave the meeting with a clear plan forward from here to 2030, but I believe that our conversing clarified our values, and will alert us to when a “good fit” collaboration opportunity comes up for us. The “Living into our Inclusivity Proclamation” event that was hosted at UUCGV on February 11th may be one such opportunity. We found many people in the Grand Valley who share our passion for an inclusive Grand Junction community that celebrates diversity. Two comments from that night’s brainstorming especially stood out in my mind. One person suggested having activities in which diverse groups would be brought together: not as spectators, but working side by side, having fun together. Another person said that we need inclusive gathering places in Grand Junction; places where people from all backgrounds can congregate. Reflecting on these comments, I wondered: Could we help Mesa County Libraries to shape the Discovery Garden (next door to UUCGV) into a place where people from different walks of life can work side by side, congregate, and feel true ownership and welcome? If so, what would be the steps to accomplishing this? Maybe the first step would be to listen to the voices of those who are more marginalized in our community, and get their ideas of how to accomplish this. You may have additional ideas stirring in your hearts. Share the ideas that you feel passionate about helping bring into fruition. Let us continue to “foster lifelong learning, diversity, and spiritual growth”. Let us “live our Unitarian Universalist values of justice, reason, and compassion” into the next decade by “reaching out to the larger community, nurturing one another, and the earth of which we are a part” at a whole new level. ~ Elizabeth High 12
2019-20 Leadership Board President Elizabeth High Vice President Laurel Carpenter Past President Janet Cummings Treasurer Steve Watson At-Large Duane Carr At-Large Richard Hyland At-Large Herb Feinzig At-Large Abbey Leinbach Leadership Development Team (LDT) Melissa Humphrey Team Leadership Circle (TLC) Worship Robin Cyr Religious Education (RE) Jan Hyland Membership Bill Conrod Celebrations Kathleen Hedlund Celebrations Mary Delbecq Care Laura Jeffries Honorary Member Green Team Audrey Brainard
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 provide support to the teams if they need it. TLC meets the second Thursday of the month at noon. The TLC met on Thursday, February 13, 2020. The following was discussed at the meeting. TLC will meet again on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 12:00 pm.
Below are the highlights of the Board meeting held on Thursday, February 13, 2020 Our UUCGV Board will meet again on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 7:00 pm. We welcome and seek direct dialogue with members and friends of our congregation.
Email tlc@grandvalleyuu.org for questions and comments.
If you would like to discuss a matter at the Board meeting, please contact Board President Elizabeth High at elizabethahigh3@gmail.com by March 6, 2020
The OWL training was a fantastic success! Thank you to Chelsea for her amazing working organizing the weekend and our wonderful team of cooks who helped feed everybody!
Playground Team:
In 2017, $2,450 was raised to create a playground fund. Those funds are still available and reserved for the playground.
Abbie has compiled playground brainstorming plans from the past 6 years of playground visioning, and is starting a team to move forward.
Board is enthusiastic about this new momentum forward on the playground!
Keep your eyes open for the Mystery Buddy Program. Chelsea will be pairing up children and adults as “secret friends” this spring. More information forthcoming. Plans are underway for our yearly Easter Potluck at Devil’s Kitchen. If you have a State Park pass and are able to share your vehicle for a carpool please let Mary Delbecq know.
KWSI Sponsorship:
Finance Report
KWSI has invited UUCGV to host a free/ volunteer monthly show with the short range radio station KWSI. Discussion of advantages: reaching a new audience, invigorating our membership, promoting our programming. Board seems to be unanimously in support and is thinking through dynamics and nuanced details.
We are now 7 months through our fiscal year and are doing well thanks to the generous support of our friends and members. In March we'll start our Stewardship Campaign for 20202021 and we are looking forward to an warm response. ~ UUCGV Treasurer, Steve Watson 13
Big thank you to our greeters in February!
Thank You!
Chris Coolidge, Maggie Eagleton, Duane Carr, Barbara and Laird Milburn, Will Harman, and Pooka. Don’t you love seeing that beautifully friendly UU face handing you the order of service each Sunday morning? Being a greeter at UUCGV is a simple way you can contribute to the life of the congregation. If you’re looking for a short term commitment, please sign up on the clipboard in the foyer, or email administrator@grandvalleyuu.org.
UU Night: It has been so joyful to have our basement brimming with joyful laughter, people conversing, wonderful food, and community on Wednesday nights. The good news is we are gratefully fortunate to have Bre and My Green Junction shopping for and preparing the main course of our dinner. And . . . , the success of our Wednesday nights means that we are feeding more people, which means that our UU Night fund is becoming depleted. Now, more than ever, financial donations are gratefully appreciated to help sustain this program. If you would like to financially support UU Night, City Market gift cards or cash donations are welcome throughout the week. All are welcome on Wednesday nights starting at 5:30 pm.
Sunday Hospitality The Worship Team would like to invite our members and friends to bring snacks and goodies to share after the service on Sundays. We have many requests for healthy items like fruits and veggies but cookies and cakes are always welcome too! Since we do not have a signup sheet for Sunday Hospitality, sometimes we won’t have anything. And that is ok! We all enjoy “just” coffee, tea and conversation too!
Coffee Hour Cleanup Crew: We need two individuals each Sunday, willing to stick around and help clean up by to dumping the coffee, wiping off the kitchen counters, and sweep the floor. 14
Change for Change Each month we collect change (coins) from the offertory baskets and donate it to a local charity. This effort usually brings in about $100/month. Our February Change for Change went to The Joseph Center with a mission to empower lives with purpose in order to build hope and restore families, individuals and the community. Our March Change for Change will go to the CMU chapter of Nurses for Sexual & Reproductive Health. NSRH is a national organization that advocates for the inclusion of sexual health and reproductive rights in nursing education. Our campus chapter is called CMUNSRH, and we're the first pro-choice student organization at CMU. Our group is the first voice bringing reproductive rights to the forefront of the conversation on campus.
UUCGV Calendar
Worship Schedule
March
Worship Services are held Sundays at 10:30 am
2020
March 15: Ramona Highline The Joseph Center
March 1: Rev. Wendy Jones Joy of Prosperity
March 22: Paul Teerlinck Self Care is World Care
March 8: Rev. Wendy Jones Wisdom & Wisdom Keepers
March 29: Rev. Wendy Jones Auction Sermon: Sacred Texts
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. Sunday 1 10:30 Worship 11:45 Green Team 5:00 Meditation & Qigong at 185 Bevan Ln.
Monday 2
12:00 Worship Team
22 10:30 Worship
16
Wednesday 4
Super Tuesday
10
Thursday 5
10:00 Care Team 5:30 Black Canyon 5:30 UU Night 6:30 Adult Choir
12
Rev. Wendy at Ministers’ Retreat
6:00 Suicide Support
10:00 Laughter Yoga 4:30 K-1 OWL 5:30 UU Night
11:00 Peaceful Meditation 12:00 TLC 7:00 Board
17
18
19
Saturday
6
7
9:00 Morning Meditation
9:30 UU Family Jump Time! 6:00 Stewardship Party
Chelsea Out
11
12:00 Finance Team
Friday
13 9:00 Morning Meditation
14
5:00 Parents’ Night Out
8:30 UU Serves at the Soup Kitchen 1:00 MCG’s Rehearsal 5:00 UU Youth Game Night
20
21
Rev. Wendy Out
5:00 Loving Kindness Meditation
5:15 RE Team
23
24
11:45 Green Team
29 10:30 Worship
3
5:00 Meditation & Qigong at 536 Ouray
8 9 10:30 Worship 11:30 Who Are UU? 11:45 RE Check-in
15 10:30 Worship
Tuesday
6:00 Suicide Support
30
31
10:00 Laughter 6:00 Men’s Yoga Cooking (off 5:30 UU Night site) 6:30 Adult Choir 25 10:00 Laughter Yoga
April Newsletter Deadline
9:00 Morning Meditation
26 10:00 Care-Full Conversations 1:30 Aging 4:30 K-1 OWL Gracefully 5:30 UU Night 6:30 Goddess 6:30 Adult Choir Group
27 9:00 Morning Meditation
1 2 10:00 Care 10:00 Laughter 4:30 K-1 OWL 5:30 Black Canyon 5:30 UU Night 6:30 Adult Choir
3 9:00 Morning Meditation
15
6:00 MCG’s Auction Dinner/ Auction Item 28 1:00 Growing Greener Children
7:00 UU Teen Night @ Spin City 4
5:00 UU Youth Game Night
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”
Office is open Tuesday-Thursday 9 am-2 pm Minister: Rev. Wendy Jones Tue 9-1, Wed & Thu 9-12 or by appointment 257-0772 x2 or minister@grandvalleyuu.org Church Administrator: Maya Kraushaar Tuesday—Thursday 9-2 257-0772 x1 or administrator@grandvalleyuu.org Director of Religious Education: Chelsea Craine 257-0772 x3 or dre@grandvalleyuu.org Music Director: Amadalin Hunter music@grandvalleyuu.org Facilities Manager: Sterling VanWagoner facilities@grandvalleyuu.org
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” - Audrey Hepburn
www.grandvalleyuu.org Find us on Facebook & Instagram @grandvalleyuu
We meet Sundays at 10:30 am for Worship