Wrapping Up the Pledge Drive: A Vision for Next Year

By Rev. Roger Jones, Senior Minister

Every week through March 15, members and friends are turning in their 2015-16 Pledge Forms for the support of the operating budget next fiscal year.

As noted in the February 3 letter  from the UUSS President and yours truly, UUSS is aiming for an average pledge increase of at least 10 percent to expand on the momentum we have achieved and to have a budget that is balanced as well as visionary.

Consider... and Imagine:

--Rev. Lucy has brought great energy and talent to the staff and excitement to Sunday mornings.  Her Spiritual Deepening Circles have 100 participants and leaders.  Her class on Islam set an attendance record.  Her sermons get us all talking and thinking.  It's time to return to having two full ministry positions by raising her from � to full-time.

--With increased needs for pastoral care and visits to members in hospitals, nursing homes or their own homes, not to mention visiting proud parents and new children, I want to recruit and train a volunteer care team.  Together we can provide a listening ear and caring presence with visits more frequently than Lucy and I could do alone.

--Ina Jun and our volunteer musicians make our Sunday music so gratifying.  Now that our choir is flourishing again, thanks to the interim efforts of the wonderful volunteer leader, Meg Burnett, we have a chance to hire a paid music director next year!

--With a staff that loves working together and serving our volunteers with talent, grace, and good cheer, we want to keep compensation fair and competitive.  We also strive to continue our denominational dues to sustain the outreach and support services of our Unitarian Universalist Association and local District staff leaders.

I have raised my own pledge by $50 per month for 2015-16, an increase of 17 percent.  I do this not out of duty, and not because I anticipate a raise, and not because I expect the S&P 500 to keep rising.  I do it because I realize I can do it.  Also, I want to be part of making great things happen in our community in the coming year. 

We are not asking for equal giving, but for generous giving.  Join me in thanking our Stewardship Team for their efforts-by wrapping up the pledge drive March 15!

Please know your generosity makes a big difference!  Thank you.

Yours in service,

Roger

Where's Roger in March?

Sometimes I find an e-mail you sent me days ago, which I hadn't seen.  So, if you write but don't hear back from me, please contact me again.  I do want to connect!

I'm in the office on weekday afternoons.  I take Tuesdays off as my Sabbath.  Most Fridays, I study and write at home and avoid e-mail.  March 10 to 12, I take some of my study leave to attend a clergy study group meeting at St. Dorothy's Rest near Occidental. On Sunday morning, March 8, I am guest preacher at the UU Church of Davis ("Money and Real Life").  I'll be back in time for you to install me at 4:00 p.m.

Finding Your Voice

I took a preaching class this past month and found it useful and enjoyable.  One of the articles that we read was called "Voice as an Emerging Metaphor."  The article described speaking as the place where the physical and the spiritual meet.  In order to speak, our breath must move our vocal chords.  The sound is then amplified when it passes through the rest of our body.  Our brain controls the functions of articulation, inflection and vocabulary.  All of our body works in tandem to produce sound and meaning.

Each of our voices has a uniqueness that signals our presence.  But it is not just the sound.  It is the expression of our experiences, our needs, our ideas, our joys and sorrows.  The voice has the capacity to bring forth the deepest and most intimate expression of the soul.  Our voice can represent our most authentic self.

We also use the term voice to represent our authority or value.  Who is heard, who can contribute, or conversely, who is silent, is a question that we must address if we are to deal with oppression in our community and in our world.

In our Spiritual Deepening Circles we are striving for each participant to engage with his or her own authentic voice.  The structure of the circles is designed for each voice to have room for expression.  The covenant of our circles requires that there be no talk back, no questions, no advice, no dialogue.  Individuals can comment on what others have said, but only from their own experience.  The circles are meant to be a safe place for each person to express his or her authentic self.  I believe that through this process, the participants are serving our mission to deepen their lives and be a force for healing in the world. 

May It Be So.

Where's Lucy in March?

My office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons.  I serve the congregation 75 percent time and take the third week of the month as my furlough week.  Please call or e-mail if you would like to visit so that I can be sure to be available.  I will be with you on the Sundays of March 1, 15, 22, and 29.

By Mary Howard

April 18 is the annual UUSS Auction, our biggest FUNdraiser of the year. Where does the money go?  This auction is for the UUSS operating budget only.  We need to raise $18,000 (more would be lovely!).  Operations include staff salaries, lights, gas, grounds maintenance, water, committee budgets, speakers, and much more.  Last year we netted $21,000 on the auction.  Let's see what we can do this year!

We are making some changes to the event because we are limited for space at our rental facility.

What's new:

• This will be a silent auction only, offering only service items you provide (no physical items such as pictures, sculptures, knitting, or books).
• We're adding a cakewalk.  FUN and raising money blend together like a perfect pastry.  Dust off Grandma's recipes or ones your kids loved for you to make, and donate a cake, pie, loaves of bread, or other pastry (no cookies please).
• The price has been reduced!  $15 adults, $5 for kids 12 and under.  Purchase tickets any Sunday after services from March 15 to April 12.  You can also call or stop by the UUSS office to buy tickets.  This is a family event.  Child care will not be provided.
• For those who will be out of town the night of the auction or want to sleep at night knowing you've won a spot on that fabulous hike, we have the solution for you!  Submit a "guaranteed bid" (like eBay's 'buy it now'!) and you're assured of winning. For example, a dinner for six might be offered for a minimum bid of $50 a person. There may be two spots "guaranteed for $80" per person.
• Streamlined checkout and payment.  Make sure you have a credit card on file with UUSS.  If you win, your winning bid amount will be charged to your credit card.  No standing in line to check out after the event.  To facilitate checkout and keep you informed of your winning status, the Tallying Team will announce the winners throughout the evening as categories close.  Payment for winning bids is due that night.
• Starting and ending earlier:  5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Pilgrim Hall at Sierra Arden Church, 890 Morse Avenue.

What's not:

• We know UUs value community, getting together with each other, and meeting new people.  We encourage donations that involve multiple people, such as ethnic dinners at your home, biking trips, hikes to hidden gems, refreshing pool parties, scrumptious barbecues, and picnics.  Services, including yard work, travelogues, dispensation from Sunday services, rides to the airport, tax prep, investment analysis, ballet tickets, or ready-to-eat meals delivered to homes, handyperson services, art tours, and landscape consulting have also been popular.  We know UUers are creative, so submit your offers to the "Auction 2015" link on our website (uuss.org) or pick up a donation form after services or in the UUSS office.
• You can still pre-bid. You can begin bidding on all the great offerings on April 5 and April 12 after the Sunday services.  Get a head start on those coveted auction items.
• Our popular raffle is returning.  Feeling lucky?  Buy lots of raffle tickets and try your luck at winning a food or garden basket, dessert once a month, lunch and a movie with another UU, gift cards, or any number of great items.  If you or your committee would like to put together a basket of extraordinary items to be raffled or one of the above mentioned items, contact abbyrosenblum@comcast.net.
• Of course food will be in abundance.  Also coffee, lemonade, and water.  Beer and wine will be for sale.

 The leaders of the April 18 Auction are:  Glory Wicklund, Mary Howard, Abby Rosenblum, and Janet Lopes. You may hear from coordinators for the various tasks.  If you are interested in volunteering, or have questions, please contact glorywicklund@comcast.net.

Save the date!  Saturday, April 18, 2015, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in Pilgrim Hall at 890 Morse Avenue.

For UUs who have aged out of SHYG and any others in their 20s and 30s: Let's do lunch.  Gather in a corner of Pilgrim Hall at coffee hour on the fourth Sunday of the month and choose a place to go for lunch and UU fellowship.  Ride sharing encouraged.  All UU young adults and their guests are welcome.  Contact newcomer Derek at djczajka@gmail.com or Rev. Roger Jones with questions, and show up March 22!  Derek has reactivated the UUSS 20s-30s Facebook page, too.

If you have never attended a General Assembly (GA), this one is convenient to Sacramento.  We highly recommend that our members take an opportunity to go.

 Some 5,000 UU's from near and far will attend the 2015 GA, themed "Building a New Way."  Delegates learn about and vote on the business of our UU Association of Congregations.  We hear inspiring music, sermons, lectures, and reports from denominational officials, scholars, and commissions.  Contact Christine Gerwigif you plan to go; the Program Council is keeping a list to facilitate car pools or roommates.  The PC will organize a pre-GA orientation in May at UUSS.

Registration and hotel reservations on line start March 2.  Lodging goes fast!  See  www.uua.org/gato explore details about GA.  Volunteer shifts at GA can gain you a reduced registration fee, but those jobs go fast also.

 Based on our number of members, UUSS has eight lay delegate slots and two slots for our ministers.  Let Linda Clear know if you'd like to serve as a voting delegate.  Also, anyone may attend GA without being a delegate. 

 If finances are an issue, see Financial Aid for GA at the website, and contact Rev. Roger.  If you'd like to donate to UUSS to help some of our High School Youth Group youth attend as part of the GA Youth Caucus, contact Rev. Roger or Miranda Massa

By Judy Lane, Web site Committee member

We are getting close to launching the completed new web site! Check it out at uuss2.org/.  If you look at it on your phone, you'll see that the pages compress in a very readable way.  Please let us know if it doesn't display well on your device.

Completion now depends on response from groups and committees that want to have a presence on the web site.  Eighteen groups have filled out the form our IT guy Dirk Tuell designed to gather information from them.  Please contact Dirk at dirk@livinggraphics.com if you haven't already been in touch with him.

Samples:  See our Building Renovation Updates at uuss2.org/renovation.  These updates show excerpts of each post with a "See More" button to see the whole update post and leave a comment if you wish.  There is also an example of a gallery of photos. 

See Freedom Club at uuss2.org/freedom.  Notice the slide show of the kids' illustrations! 

You will be able to post documents: See the PDFs at uuss2.org/circles/.  (PDFs are recommended rather than Word documents, since they display properly on phones and are more secure.)

Next steps:  Dirk is creating training videos showing how to easily post updates and edit pages for your groups, with the Web Site Committee assisting in learning.  The first videos at uuss2.org/training will cover how to upload announcements, photos, and documents.

By Laurie Jones

UUSS Pagans and friends celebrate the Spring Equinox on Saturday, March 21.

5 p.m.             Indoor portable canvas labyrinth available (and outside one too)

6 p.m.             Pot luck dinner

7 p.m.             Program: reading of the short myth of Demeter and Persephone from Lost Goddesses of Early Greece by Charlene Spretnak and/or short discussion of Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.  To suggest any other ideas, please email Laurie Jones at laurievaljo@gmail.com or call (916) 342-322.  Free and open to all ages-babies through centenarians, wo/men or other gender spectrum, race, or blend.  Freewill donation to UUSS accepted.

Course donations:  If no fee is listed for an Adult Enrichment class, a freewill donation to UUSS is encouraged to help cover overhead expenses. 

Rides:  If you need or wish to offer a ride to any event, see the sign-up sheet at the Adult Enrichment table in Pilgrim Hall each Sunday.

Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:30p.m., February 26 to March 26, Room F3, Sierra Arden Church, 890 Morse Avenue.

Every session stands alone, but if you missed the first session, see a short video by Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core. Patel says that "religion is at heart a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division."

            February 26     Interfaith Cooperation in American History        

            March 5:          Interfaith Literacy (with Rev. Roger Jones attending)

            March 12:       The Science of Interfaith Cooperation

            March 19:       The Art of Interfaith Leadership

            March 26:       The Role of Colleges, Seminaries, and Houses of Worship

In 1959, Dr. M. L. King made a pilgrimage to India to deepen his understanding of Mohandas K. Gandhi's principles and was well received by Gandhian activists.  Back in the states during his Palm Sunday sermon, Dr. King said: "O God, we call you -- Brahma, Allah, Elohim, the Unmoved Mover."  Let us recognize the tradition of interfaith cooperation and recognize it is a key story of our American heritage.  No course fee, just come!  Roger will be there March 5.

Facilitated by Nancy Lust, Bobby Stewart, and Linda Hoganson

All are welcome the third Thursday of each month, 1:30 to 3 p.m., to discuss articles from the UUA quarterly magazine UU World.  Sign up at the UUSS Sunday Adult Enrichment table or send an e-mail to Linda Hoganson   (ljhoganson@gmail.com).

With Rev. Roger Jones and Others

6 to 6:35 p.m., Wednesdays, March 4, 11, 18, and 25, at 2425 Sierra Blvd.

Whether you are new to mindfulness meditation or have practiced for years, we invite you to share in the support of others in a simple practice of noticing.  I'm not a trained teacher, just your host!  We gather at 6 p.m., hear opening words at 6:10 and sit for 20 minutes.  This leaves time for choir practice or other evening meetings.  Freewill offering accepted (Buddhists call it dana) for Adult Enrichment.

Four Mondays, March 9, 16, 23, 30, 6:15 to 8 p.m., 2425 Sierra Boulevard

With Rev. Roger Jones

We will learn about the contexts in which the Christian scriptures emerged.  We'll reflect on several parables told by Jesus and accounts of his healing miracles and sermons, some letters of Paul, and Acts of the Apostles.  Sign up at Sunday coffee hour.

Donation for Adult Enrichment:  Sliding scale $25 to 45 per person, free up to age 25.  Minimum five people, maximum 21.  HOMEWORK:  Advance reading for March 9:  Reflect on the Gospel of Luke ch. 1-9 and Paul's letters: Galatians ch.1-3, Romans ch. 1-3. Buy a Holy Bible or borrow one from the RE Office, or use www.BibleGateway.com.

With Rev. Roger Jones

This is a four-week class, coming in spring.  Copies of Reason and Reverence by the Rev. Dr. William R. Murry ($18) will be at Connections Central during coffee hour this month.  Sign up with your preference for weekday afternoons or evening sessions.

With Bob Oyafuso, Linda Tanforan and Marty Maskall of Fair Oaks EcoHousing 

Sunday, March 29, 12:00 noon after coffee hour at 890 Morse Ave.

Church members Linda and Frank Tanforan and Bob and Fran Oyafuso will be among the first members of a cooperative housing development in Fair Oaks.  Other UUs of all ages have enjoyed cohousing communities in Davis, downtown Sacramento, Grass Valley, and elsewhere. 

It's a way to get to know our neighbors and share the joys and chores of home ownership.  It's also a way to reduce our carbon footprint and increase the common good.  Come learn about this new project. For more information, visit  www.FairOaksEcoHousing.org

In March, the UUSS Book Readers will be reading Redeployment by Phil Klay, a series of stories about Iraq and Afghanistan. It won the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction.  The next meeting is Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m., 2425 Sierra Boulevard.

UUSS Book Readers have chosen the books to discuss over several months.

April 28, The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel by Cristina Henriquez

May 26, One Summer:  America 1927 by Bill Bryson

June 30, Stone Mattress:  Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood

All are welcome to attend.  For more information, contact Jim Glidden at jamesglidden@sbcglobal.net or (916) 649-9697.

By Judy Lane, Adult Enrichment Committee

Tap into the vast resources that are available on line to help people discover family lineages.  Both free and subscription resources will be covered.

This two-part class, taught by Betty Crockford, will take place on Saturdays, April 25, and May 9, at UUSS.  Participants are asked to bring laptops to use UUSS Wi-Fi.

Sign up at the Adult Enrichment table; Maximum 6 people. New UUSS member Betty P. Crockford is a Volunteer Field Genealogist Trained by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  She has researched innumerable ancestries.

American River Parkway Clean-up Day, Saturday, March 13

The second Saturday morning of every month is when UUSS volunteers clean up a stretch of the American River Parkway not far from Howe and Sierra.  If you are interested, contact Chris Lord(QWIJIBO2112@yahoo.com), who shows up every time, along with a few other members.  Or just show up!

Folks gather by 9 a.m. and work until 10:30 a.m.  Meet at the parking lot at the West end of Northrop Avenue (see  2010 Northrop Avenue, Sacramento in Google Maps).  Chris has written:  Bring a pair of gloves if you have them; I have some to lend if you don't.  Also helpful may be one of those claw picker-uppers, and sturdy shoes and long pants to follow the paths.  Or you can stay on the main trails. We keep track of the hours for reporting to the American River Parkway Foundation.

Helping Neighbors in Need at Sierra Arden Food Pantry

By Joan Rubenson

Sierra Arden Neighborhood Food Closet has an ongoing need for food items and our congregational members are welcome to donate non perishable food items as always.  For now we will postpone putting articles into the Blue Sheet and the Unigram regarding donations until we get back to our home church in the Fall.  Feel free to email Joan Rubenson at joanndavid2@gmail.com with questions regarding this initiative.

By Kathy Styc, Earth Justice Ministry

Changing climate, war, Ebola, terrorism, economic inequality, racism - the local, national, and global challenges facing us can feel overwhelming at times.  Yet there are those who manage to remain engaged in the face of it all, working to create a better world with perseverance and even joy.  What do Kayla Mueller, the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela have in common?  In the midst of seemingly overwhelming circumstances, they applied their deepest principles to lessen human suffering in a way that attracted others without vilifying "the enemy."

Rich Howard will lead an interactive session on how we can stay connected to our spiritual principles while continuing to work on behalf of justice for the climate, the earth, and its inhabitants.  In particular, we will spend some time examining practices to maintain balance while remaining actively engaged from the work of Buddhist teacher, deep ecologist, and activist Joanna Macy (www.joannamacy.net).  Examples will be drawn from Buddhist precepts and UU principles, particularly as they apply to work on the changing climate.

Rich has been a member of UUSS since 1989, and has served many roles, including the Social Responsibility Committee, congregation president, Ministry Circle facilitator, lay worship leader, and religious educator for adults, youth, and children.  He was also a trustee of the Pacific Central District and member of its Growth Committee.  Since 2004, he has been active with Sacramento Insight Meditation, where he is a community mentor and is completing five years on its board of directors.

As a special treat, we will be joined by young adults from throughout California who have been selected for the Spiritual Activist Leadership Training (SALT) Fellows program of the UU Justice Ministry of California (http://uujmca.org/training-education/salt/).  Co-chaired by 2012 SALT graduates Garner Takahashi Morris and Rachel Howard, this program works to develop the next generation of UU justice leaders.  They have chosen Sacramento for their first weekend, so come on out to support them and be inspired.

Join us on Sunday, March 15, in Pilgrim Hall at Sierra Arden for this enlightening presentation and discussion.  We will begin about 12:00 after the coffee service and pancake breakfast anti-slavery fundraiser hosted by the Kids' Freedom Club.  All are welcome for the breakfast and presentation.  Please contact earthjusticeministry@uuss.org if you have any questions.

Sunday, March 1 

10:00-11:30   Child care available - age 5 and under

10:15-11:30   RE classes 

Sunday, March 8  -- SPRING FORWARD 1 HOUR

10:00-11:30   Child care available - age 5 and under

10:15-11:30   RE classes 

4:00                Rev. Roger's Installation Ceremony

Friday, March 13 

5:30                Games night/potluck at UUSS

Sunday, March 15 

10:00-11:30   Child care available - age 5 and under

10:15-11:30   RE classes 

Friday, March 20 - Sunday, March 22 PCD MUUGS Spring Retreat

Sunday, March 22 

10:00-11:30   Child care available - age 5 and under

10:15-11:30   Service for all ages with our baby blessing/child dedication ritual

                        Coffee hour outside in the courtyard

Sunday, March 29

10:00-11:30   Child care available - age 5 and under

10:15-11:30   RE classes

*Rev. Dr. S�ndor Kov�cs, Hungarian Unitarian Church in Transylvania

Twenty years ago as a young new Unitarian minister in Transylvania, S�ndor spent a year as a special scholar at our UU seminary in Berke

*Folk harpist and composer Christine Bonnerley.  Since then, he's earned a Ph.D. from Szeged University in Hungary.  He teaches Unitarian history and the history of religion to seminarians in Kolosvar (Cluj), Romania, the home base of the Hungarian Unitarian churches.  This semester he's teaching UU seminarians in Berkeley and visiting several pulpits.  Come meet him!

Our own member and cellist Paula Joy Welter brings folk harpist Christine Bonner to offer music for us.  Christine is a descendant of the Berryessa family; several of her compositions honor the early Californios.  Her hauntingly beautiful music has been featured on PBS's Central Valley Chronicles and California Heartland.  She and her husband, Rob, run Rainbow Music in Colfax.  Hear music at www.unclerob.com. Her CDs will be available at coffee hour March 29.