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Rev. Katie's Animas View
There is a popular self-help book aimed to help couples understand the way they and their romantic partner most express and appreciate love. Chocolate and flowers are not always found to be that thing at the top of the list. Instead, the book claims each of us has one primary and one secondary "love language." Maybe not surprisingly, we tend to give love in the way we prefer to receive love (either words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and/or physical touch). The goal then, is to understand our own and our partner's preferred language of love so we can give and receive love in the preferred vocabulary.
We might extend the metaphor of love languages to reflect on how we are as members of a faith community, that we have different preferences as to what most matters to each of us, and how we feel valued through the gifts we bring to the congregation and how we engage with others. We might even think of these love languages in the case of the members and their minister. (Yep, you and me!)
I have always felt that the most important thing that the minister can bring to a community is the care to the quality of relationship. We are a covenantal faith as Unitarian Universalists; rather than our focus being on the importance of beliefs, it is more important how we are together, and so it is that how we are together is ultimate.
What a special time this is right now at UUFD! As we explore our relationship and consider moving towards deepening it through the possibility of a congregational vote of the membership, I am excited and honored to be serving in such a beautiful place with such wonderful people, in such a thriving and dynamic congregation. All of these things, especially you, make serving as the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango a privilege.
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| Click here for more information about tea with Rev. Katie. |
As your minister, I love you. I would like to continue to serve you, to deepen our relationship and in so doing, broaden and widen the depth of our shared ability to serve the world. For conversation and questions, I invite you to
join me for tea on one of three days (Feb 16 @ 2pm, Feb 18 @ 10am, or Feb 20 @ 10am).
In faith, hope and love,
Rev. Katie
P.S. So that you are aware, I will be away at my minister's study group Feb. 22-26th. I meet annually with this intimate group to enrich our ongoing scholarship. On Feb. 27th, my son Parker and my daughter Natasha will be visiting as we deepen our relationship as family. I hope you can meet them in worship Feb. 28th. I will be mostly out of the office Mar 1-3. I will still respond to your emails or phone calls.
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February Sunday Services
 This month's theme: Om Mani Padme Hum/Simple Gifts/Amazing Grace
A layered song for the shortest month of the year that includes the Valentine's theme of Love, and the desire of UUs to "Stand on the Side of Love." The first song is a Buddhist chant, the second, a Quaker hymn, and the third, a personal awakening of a privileged person who became anti-oppressive.
February 7
Something To Aspire To
Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
As the Christian season of Lent is upon us, let us consider how we liberal religionists look at the role of sacrifice in our lives.
February 14
Standing on the Side of Love
Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris & Lisa McCorry
As we culminate 30 Days of Racial Justice, our multigenerational congregation and choir will celebrate courageous love and look for more ways to bring courage to the world.
February 21
With All Our Hearts
Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
Today, we'll celebrate our newest members and consider the meaning of this deepening commitment together.
February 28
The Sleeping Giant
Terri Reherman, Lisa McCorry and UUFD Youth
Where might our high school youth "Cons" (more formally called conventions in adult lexicon) encourage and empower UU values? Come and discover - maybe be inspired yourself!
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President's Message
Teresa Jordan
Are we, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango, ready to call our minister the Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris to settled ministry? That was the focus question of our recently completed Cottage Conversations. Rev. Katie has been with us since August 2014 as our developmental minister helping us in shared ministry. Now we are asking: are we ready to call Rev. Katie to settled ministry to extend our relationship with her beyond the 2017 commitment of her developmental ministry?
Thanks to Allison Andersen, Ron Garst, Tom Miller, and Aline Schwob, the Ministerial Transition Team who planned and carried out the Cottage Conversations. The board is awaiting their report to help decide our next step.
There will be a special congregational meeting after worship service on Sunday, March 6 to consider changes to the bylaws that apply to Article X - Minister. If approved, these bylaw changes will provide direction on how to call a minister to settled ministry. Click here for the proposed changes to the bylaws and an explanation, "How do the proposed bylaw changes relate to a settled ministry vote?".
If the Ministerial Transition Team concludes that the congregation is ready, based on the results of the Cottage Conversations, then the Board of Trustees will ask members to vote on the call question at a special congregational meeting on March 6 after approving the changes to the bylaws.
There will be two discussion sessions about the proposed changes to the bylaws on Sunday, January 31, before worship service from 9:00-9:45 a.m. and after service from 12:00-12:45 p.m. If you have any questions about the proposed changes to the bylaws, please plan to attend one of these sessions.
Thanks to Lois Carpenter and K. Redford, the other members of the Bylaws Task Force, for their help in drafting the proposed changes to the bylaws. Thanks also to Bonnie Miller for developing the explanation of the changes to the bylaws.
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This year, the Board of Trustees has developed a Board Covenant that we signed last month. Our covenant is the result of much reading, reflection, discussion, and revision. The board wants to share our covenant so that the congregation is aware of our agreement with each other and our commitment to our beloved community. Thank you for taking the time to read through our board covenant printed below.
The Board of Trustees always welcomes your ideas, especially now as we are considering calling our minister. Please contact any of us with your thoughts: Teresa Jordan, President; Tom McCampbell, Vice-President; Graham Smith, Treasurer; Jim Dahlberg, Associate Treasurer; Donna Nelson, Secretary; Susan Koonce, At-Large; and Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris, Minister.
-- Board of Trustees Covenant --
2015-2016
We, the members of the Board of Trustees, covenant to keep the best interests of the congregation at heart and to carry out the trust placed in us as guardians of the Mission and Principles and as stewards of the resources of our fellowship as we create a vision for our congregation. We will embrace and share our experience, wisdom, and gifts in carrying out this work.
As leaders, we recognize that board members need to model commitment, spiritual growth, and charitable giving. Beyond family obligations, we each pledge that our roles on the board will be our primary volunteer commitment. Therefore, we will faithfully attend and be fully engaged in worship services, board meetings, and Leadership Council. We will be prompt and prepared by reviewing minutes and reports prior to meetings. We will read and discuss articles and books to understand more fully the nature of faith communities. We will work with our minister to develop a spiritual discipline including lighting the chalice at each meeting. We will visit other places of worship to gain a broader perspective of contemporary religion. We agree to function from an attitude of abundance, therefore, we each will strive to reach 5 to 10 percent in pledge levels as soon as possible.
We will promote outreach in order to thrive as a congregation. We will encourage younger members to bring new ideas and assume leadership roles within the fellowship. We will be willing to take risks to enhance congregational life. Although we recognize that a leader's role is not to please everyone, we will say "yes" to as many new ideas as possible.
We will celebrate our diversity by working to create an environment in which all are heard and respected. We will speak the truth in love. As we seek consensus, we will give and accept compassionate feedback. We will support the decisions and policies of the board.
We will be honest and realistic in our expectations and commitments, both individually and collectively on our journey together. At the same time, we will accept and forgive our failures. As part of our beloved community, we will seek to minister to each other, sharing our joys, sorrows, successes, and struggles.
In this spirit, we covenant to further the mission of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango as we strive to make real the vision of Unitarian Universalism.
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SPECIAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
To Consider Bylaws Changes
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Immediately following worship service
The Board of Trustees calls for a special congregational meeting of the members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango immediately following worship service on Sunday, March 6, 2016, for the purpose of considering proposed changes to the bylaws.
SPECIAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
To Consider Calling Our Minister
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Immediately following bylaws changes approval
(pending readiness of congregation to call)
The Board of Trustees calls for a special congregational meeting of the members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango immediately following approval of proposed changes to the bylaws on Sunday, March 6, 2016, for the purpose of calling our minister the Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris to settled ministry, if a readiness of the congregation to call is evident in the Ministerial Transition Team's report on the recent Cottage Conversations.
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News from the Social Responsibility and Justice program
News: We want to welcome Charlie Clemens to the role of Social Responsibility and Justice coordinator. We greatly appreciate his willingness to offer his expertise to UUFD's efforts.
Common Read: A major portion of taking responsibility is in knowing more about the truth. The truth, and understanding it, can show us the direction to act to benefit those not treated fairly in our culture. Please join in reading and discussing this year's common read. Donna Nelson and John Schwob will lead a presentation at a time yet to be determined.
The UUA Common Read, JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson, is now available at Sunday coffee time in Bowman Hall. A donation of $15.00 is appreciated, but you may want to donate more and make it easier for others to have a copy.
Community Events: Ten of the UUFD Community attended the Martin Luther King Day at Fort Lewis College. We can look forward to hearing them share their experiences in the workshops they attended.
Members of the Healing Racism group are planning to attend the Diversity Dialogues event on March 19 to look at everyday actions in our community. Please check the poster on the SRJ wall in Bowman Hall or on the web at Embracing Diversity for more information.
Service opportunities: Several of us continue to cook and serve at Manna Soup Kitchen the fourth Tuesday of each month. If you would like join us, please contact John Schwob (johnschwob@msn.com) or Betty Bozeman (
verells@gmail.com
).
Habitat for Humanity can use volunteers in many roles, but it seems they really need volunteer clerks for the Habitat Store. If you want to share your time and talent, contact them directly at 970-382-2215.
"Ultimately you judge the character of a society . . . by how they treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated." -Bryan Stevenson in JUST MERCY
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Let there be lights!
New energy efficient fixtures installed at UUFD
We hope you are enjoying the improvement in our Sanctuary with the new lighting fixtures. We also want you to know that not only do we now get better illumination from the new fixtures, and a more pleasing aesthetic, we also are saving energy. The bulbs in the new fixtures are state-of-the-art LEDs which have an average lifetime of 25,000 hours and use 16 watts energy compared to an incandescent using 100 watts. More light, more attractive look, less energy...a winning outcome! We will be continuing some fine-tuning of the lights for the chancel (stage) area in the next few weeks.
Many thanks to the task force who began working on this last Fall: Tim Walker, Ed Cox, Marilyn Garst, John Schiffel, Ann Smith, Tom Miller, K Redford, and Bonnie Miller. Also, our gratitude to the additional people who showed up to help with the installation, taking down and putting back chairs, and cleanup: John Redemske, Ron Garst, Teresa Jordan, Karsten Andersen, Dennis Brown, Don Hayes, Dell Manners, Burt Coleman, Graham Smith, and Syl Allred. The generosity of time and talent in our Fellowship continues to bring great things to us all.
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Recital Series 2015-16
The third recital in the 2015-16 series will feature John O'Neal, percussion, in works written for marimba and vibraphone on
Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 pm
. John will be assisted in one work by M. Brent Williams on violin. All of the pieces, with the exception of one by Claude Debussy, born in 1862, were written by 20th century composers. John O'Neal is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College. He previously taught at the University of Texas-Tyler and was a teaching fellow at the University of North Texas. O'Neal has performed throughout the United States and Europe and is currently the Principal Timpanist with the San Juan Symphony. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion from the University of North Texas and additional degrees from Florida State University and the University of Kansas.
The last recital, by the Southwest Piano Trio, scheduled for April 15, has been cancelled because of Marilyn Garst's broken wrist. We hope to reschedule if for next fall.
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Member Spotlight
Nancy Fisher on why she became a member of UUFD
"I moved to Durango from Oregon in July 2013. I was raised in a UU church, but I had not been a church goer in all my adult years. I'd had community which often overlapped with my eclectic spirituality. Church didn't appeal to me. Didn't need it.
When I moved to Durango I knew I needed community. I needed friends. I needed someplace to explore spirituality. UUFD seemed like a good place to check out. It quickly became clear to me that being involved in UUFD would work for me. I never imagined what an important part of my life it would become.
I'd read the 'Path to Membership' early on. I felt comfortable being an active 'Friend.' I gave time, treasure and talent. I didn't want to be a 'member.' I didn't want to be on the Board, nor did I want to chair a committee. It didn't matter to me that I couldn't vote. I was content.
Then last spring I noticed a little nudge inside of me when the annual meeting came up. Maybe I did want to have an official voice through the voting process. That lingered in me for a while. Over the next few months a few members asked me if I was ready to become a member. Hmm, was I?
It became clear to me that I really did want a vote. Especially I wanted my voice to count when it came to calling Rev. Katie. I want to keep her with us. She has enriched my UUFD experience in so many ways. I joined. I was ready."
-Nancy Fisher
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Contract, Developmental, Called or Settled Ministry...
What's the difference?
Contract or Developmental Ministry: This type of ministry is generally a temporary or transitional position in a congregation designed to accomplish specific goals. In our case this transitioned us from 47 years of lay leadership to professional/shared ministry. The minister is hired by the Board after a search process and recommendation by a committee. The contract may be for one to three years (or longer) and is renewed yearly. Rev. Katie is currently employed in this capacity.
Called or Settled Ministry: A called ministry is an open-ended position with more permanence and a more global approach to congregational development and management. This minister is with a congregation as long as the arrangement suits both the congregation and the minister. The minister is called by a vote of the entire congregation, and substantial approval is needed for a call.
The UUA salary template is the same for all ministers, regardless of category.
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Faith Formation News (formerly Religious Education)
Our staff, name change, covenant groups and more
Get to Know Our Childcare and Nursery Staff
Sydney Anderson. "I was born San Diego, CA, raised in Durango, CO and am a life-long UU. I am a Fort Lewis College graduate and am currently running a 3-5 year old classroom at Headstart in Ignacio, CO. I've experienced amazing personal and spiritual growth in my young adulthood through perseverance, leadership training and travel. By deepening connections and self examination, I found hope in a hopeless time. I'm now considering grad school and a new future where I may be of service to children and youth who are struggling. This year, I'm enjoying a new attitude and outlook on my health and wellness. I am moved when I feel the love of my Headstart students. They are incredible kids who teach me more than I teach them sometimes."
Jeffrey Hamner. "I was born 23 years ago and dreamed of caring for kids even when I was in first grade. I dream of someday building an orphanage. When I was 18 I claim to have been born again when I shattered my pelvis. Though it was the hardest most painful event in my life so far, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. For it slowed my pace and reminded me that no matter what cards you're dealt, you can thrive. I soon saw after hurting myself that this newfound still lifestyle was an opportunity to learn and develop new skills: painting, playing music and practicing patience. A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have. Forever grateful."
Program Name Change
With the support of the minister and the approval of the Board of Trustees, UUFD transitioned to Faith Formation from Religious Education for its children's and youth ministry and adult education. This is aligned with some of the current changes across the UUA.
Following are words from Pacific Western Region staff and UUA staff explaining some thoughts surrounding the shift:
"This is an ongoing life long process. It is done in relationship with our experiences in the world and the exposure to all aspects of one's faith. It is in the way we care for one another, read and explore, UU tradition, worship, celebrate milestones in life, prayer/meditation/reflection, service, and seasonal celebrations. The biggest movement now is in finding ways to move this from simply Sunday morning to a whole-life experience. Faith formation is always happening, in church life, in the community where we live, work, and play, at home in our daily lives, and now on social media."
"I will say ... in the world of denominational lingo ... my impression is that we are talking more in terms of "faith formation" now than "religious education." This move reflects a focus and hope that our congregations are moving in the direction of overall development of UU identity and faith that includes engaged spiritual practice (however that looks for someone) that also includes religious education (Who are we as UUs? What is our history? Our values? Who are our religious neighbors? How do I approach critical issues of today as a person of faith? How do I nurture my own development as a person of faith? How do my understandings of God or the Holy change or deepen as I age?)."
From our director, Lisa McCorry: "As we move through this change, we are still offering outstanding lifespan programming and enhancing our offerings and outreach. Patiently and with understanding we'll move forward in leadership and growth. Change takes time, so don't worry if you still say RE instead of FF. In faith and love."
New Covenant Groups Starting Soon - LAST CALL
Following our
A Covenant of Sharing worship service on January 3rd when covenant group members shared their personal experiences, we are grateful to begin at least three new groups this winter.
The sign up deadline is
Tuesday, Feb 16th. If you signed up at the reflection following this worship, you do not need to sign up again. Groups are formed to best accommodate people's preferred schedules.
Sacred Circle (
not a covenant group)
Starting in March, we'll offer a drop-in group to nourish the hearts, minds and bodies of those suffering from mental illness or those with loved ones affected by mental illness. It will be after work hours once a week. More details to follow.
Contact: Lisa McCorry
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Bathroom art
Do you have something to lend?
 Please let Ann Smith know if you have artwork that you can lend for short term display in the UUFD sanctuary bathrooms. Art stored in closets, under beds, "just tired of it" pieces, or even your own work that you would like to share is all welcome to our rotating intimate space art shows. Art may be for sale, destined for the thrift shop, or anything in between! Thank you. annsmithsws@hotmail.
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Pause for Poetry
Words from the Poetry Circle
At its next meeting, the Poetry Circle will discuss the work of Emily Dickinson. Join the group from
6 to 8pm
on February 8 in Bowman Hall with light refreshments served.
To Be a Poet
When we write our first poems
We write to discover who and what we are.
We talk to ourselves about the experiences
That moved us, those moments
Of wonder when we danced with the waves,
First listened to the poetry of childhood, first opened
Our eyes to the splendor of a starry night.
We talk to ourselves about the mysterious tangle of parental
Counsel and reticence, the "yesses" and
"Noes," theirs, ours, our friends, that began to shape
The choices that would define our lives.
When we first set pen to paper, we find refuge in hiding,
Stow our poems in drawers or under the mattress
Unsure of our voice, unsure of our calling.
For whom do we speak? Are we the cartographers
Of a broken world called to chart the unspeakable,
The shame of our wars, the tawdriness of our culture,
The frequent betrayal of our democratic principles?
Are we the ones called to weave our lives into the
Transcendent beauty of a world first experienced
In the innocence of childhood, a world of tigers and elephants,
Of majestic rivers and mountains - a poetry so alive and passionate
That it adorns nature with a new song?
Or do we take flight - flee to a private world,
Enlivened by the bedlam of disordered senses,
Grasped at in random metaphors revealing
Nothing more than the ego's craving for originality?
Who will delight in a poetry so obscure, so private?
To be a poet is to embrace a broken world,
To find mystery, rapture, terror and tenderness
Within and around us all. To be a poet is to give voice
To the "dream of a common language,"
A language that speaks not of "I" but of the meaning
Of "we" and "ours"- the meaning of our collective wish
For a more expansive, inclusive and fertile world.
Doreen Hunter
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