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Tales From the Not So Cryptic
Rev. Katie's Animas View
I've heard many people around me say they are glad for 2016 to be history. Whether you think it was a good one (I was called to be your minister!), or not so good, it is over and the new year ahead allows for new habits and new ways of doing things.
Our worship theme for January is "Building a New Way," and we'll (all) be talking and working toward creating strategic plans for the mission, vision and goals of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango. It's an exciting and hopeful time!
Even small practices can have big impact. I am always reminding myself how I can continue to create healthy communication between us in our fellowship. Congregational consultant Kibbie Ruth names three problematic communication patterns:
triangulation, pass-through communication, and anonymous feedback.
Triangulation is a three-way conversation, kind of like the game of telephone, and asks someone to relay a message to someone else. Sometimes, the message comes from a fourth party. By the time it gets to the desired party, the message is not what is desired.
Pass-through communication is similar - maybe simply asking someone to pass on the results of a meeting, but expecting someone else to give the information to a third party. If being asked to carry a message, you might respond, "I'm not comfortable carrying that message" or "I might mix up what you've said, so perhaps you could call him yourself."
The third bad habit is accepting anonymous feedback. Sometimes the individual doesn't know whom to talk to about a concern, sometimes that individual may fear reprisals, or sometimes it allows an individual to avoid accountability. It's good for all of our committees, teams and groups to remember in our policies and procedures that we don't accept this kind of feedback.
Here's the list of tools that Kibbie Ruth suggests for cleaning up bad habits:
- Speak directly to the person or committee that the issue concerns.
- Refuse to carry a message from one person or group to another.
- If two people talk with you about each other, offer to meet with both of them together or to find them a mediator.
- If a person complains to you about someone else but refuses to directly talk with the person to resolve the problem, ask him or her to stop talking to you or others about it.
- Reduce venting by first listening and then asking what action the person will undertake to resolve the problem.
- Refuse to take nonspecific or anonymous feedback seriously.
I have experienced UUFD to be a very healthy congregation, and as we grow, we can continue to practice and adopt beneficial ways of communication.
With love and excitement for this new year with you,
Rev. Katie
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January Sunday Services
Theme:
Building a New Way (beginnings, mission, change)
January 1
My Story
-UUFD members, pulpit guests
Come, hear the spiritual odysseys and faith journeys of three of our members and possibly discover yourself through their stories.
January 8
The Wisdom to Know the Difference
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
For our annual "burning off" ceremony, let's take some time to consider what makes sense to let go this year. What spiritual or emotional baggage have you been clutching?
January 15
A Knock at Midnight
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
Let's listen to prophetic words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and glean wisdom for today's times.
January 22
Sorry to Burst Your Bubble
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
We've been hearing that we're stuck in silos of agreement. Our groups are based on class, race, political leanings. Where might breaking out be a way of growth and meaning?
January 29
Our Compañeros
-Danny Quinlan, pulpit guest
In English, Compañeros means companion or partner. How might we partner with our newest community members?
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President's Message
Teresa Jordan
Meditation, ritual and prayer are the glamorous side of the spiritual life, but service is its heart.
- Thomas Moore
Like other voluntary associations the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango (UUFD) depends on our donations - not only our financial resources, but also our time and talents. What we do together depends on volunteers to help make it happen. UUFD needs you so that we can do church together.
There are other reasons to get more involved at UUFD. Volunteering feels good. It provides opportunities to meet people, form new friendships, and become more integrated into our congregation. And it can be a doorway to service as a spiritual practice.
Last April, K. Redford, Rev. Katie, and I had the pleasure to sit at the luncheon table with Rev. Gary Kowalski, the keynote speaker at the Mountain Desert District Annual Meeting in Albuquerque. Let me share Rev. Kowalski's quote on service as a spiritual practice from Serving with Grace: Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice by Erik Walker Wiktrom:
"People who come to Unitarian Universalism seeking spiritual goods
are likely to be disappointed so long as they have the outlook of
consumers in search of material goods. If their connection to our
liberal faith is to grow into something more rewarding, they have
to give up the consumer mindset and begin to think of themselves
instead as shareholders, investors, co-owners in what happens in church."
In other words, we need to be involved in service to experience a fuller spiritual life. Active participation in the life of our fellowship provides a stake in it, making UUFD our true spiritual home.
There are many opportunities for service at UUFD in both governance and in ministry, in both longer-term committee work and short-term task force assignments or occasional jobs. Ask yourself how you can best apply your time and talents in service at UUFD. Then talk with me or any of the board members, committee chairs, team leaders, or Rev. Katie to get started and claim your strand of the interdependent web, the UU Seventh Principle.
Teresa Jordan
Board of Trustees President
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Have a Justice Concern? You Can Do Something!
Social Responsibility and Justice News
We are hearing from many of you concerns about what may happen as the result of policies enacted in the next presidency. Will LGBTQ individuals experience heightened prejudice and loss of rights? People of color? Muslims? Immigrants? Might the right to choice be compromised for women? Will gains made in wages and healthcare be reversed? While none of us know what actions may be set in motion, the rhetoric we have heard gives us reason to be alert and prepared to act in accordance with our values.
If you would like to learn more about what you can do, come to the community-wide event
RESPOND on January 21 beginning at 9:00 am at the Smiley building. UUFD's Social Responsibility and Justice program supports this event and encourages participation in the free classes and activities. This all-volunteer event will offer information and training in topics such as nonviolent communication, successful historical political movements, how we can support immigrants in our community, how to transform despair into positive action, white privilege, what citizens can do to affect political change and more. In addition, UUFD is sponsoring a
Standing on the Side of Love community march linked to RESPOND that will begin at 12:00 noon at the train station and end in a gathering at Buckley Park. By marching together, we publicly stand up for our values of love over hate and build awareness and energy for positive action. We hope all of you will join us in this march - wear your yellow Standing on the Side of Love tee-shirts!
In other SRJ news, we have a new team taking on the priority of immigration justice. The team will be focusing on local immigration issues and partnering with Compañeros, the Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center. See the article by team facilitator, Mo Maliszewski, elsewhere in this newsletter.
 Mark your calendar:
January 14 - Healing Racism Circle, 9-12 in Bowman Hall
January 21 - Standing on the Side of Love march at noon; RESPOND 9-4
February 19 - Transgender 101 at noon in Bowman Hall
Social Responsibility and Justice Coordinators: Bonnie Miller, Betty Schwartz-Bozeman, Charlie Clements
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Considering Consciousness
Faith Formation News & Notes
What if the point is to feel joy when joyous, love when loving, anger when angry, thoughtful when full of thought? What if the point from the beginning has been to simply be?
How do we stay present? What is the benefit of being present? What is the alternative? Living fully in each moment or attempting to shift our awareness brings consciousness to light. Even if that means half of our present moments are born of the realization that we are not present, awareness is the door to change.
Unitarian Universalism offers us the freedom to change. To remain open. Or to open where we were previously closed. Through micro-changes in consciousness, we can practice quiet attention. Even sometimes or rarely is enough to begin. Beloved community and genuine connection can awaken our consciousness. From this space, compassion is rooted. May we ground ourselves in love. Our actions of peace, love and inclusion are inherent in our covenantal faith. As part of a religiously liberal community, we are called to act. There are great opportunities at UUFD to get involved.
Teachers and volunteers are greatly needed and appreciated in our children's and youth programs. Light commitment.
Healing Racism Circle meets
Saturday, January 14, from 9 am to noon for a viewing of Tim Wise's
White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.
NEW:
Kid care is now offered at the Fellowship during 3rd Saturday Circle Suppers. Next circle supper is January 21st.
Snowdown is February 1-5. UUFD is in the parade again. Please contact John Redemske to assist with float construction. All ages are welcome to ride on the float
Friday evening,
February 3rd.
Childcare is generally available upon request for choir rehearsals, committee and team meetings, CUUPS, covenant groups and other spiritual practice offerings. Contact
re@durangouu.org or text
970-403-4103.
UUFD offers many opportunities to engage in spiritual practice: Sage Circle, Yoga, Meditation, Painting, Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPS), Poetry Circle, Game night, Outdoor Adventure Group, Circle suppers and more. See our calendar for a full list of offerings
.
Lisa McCorry, Director of Faith Formation
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Thrive! Living Wage Coalition
2016 End-of-Year Summary and Thank You
 Thrive! had a great year in 2016. We are seeing the rewards of four years of coalition building, outreach and education. With passage of Amendment 70 (raising the Colorado minimum wage for 477,000 workers to $12 by 2020), we have made significant progress in reaching our goal of a living wage for all workers in La Plata County. We cannot wait for the federal government to lift low wage workers out of poverty, but we have shown that we can, and must, do this at the local and state level. Through this campaign, Thrive! has become part of a larger state-wide coalition focused on workers' rights. We will continue to collaborate with them on public policy issues. Stay tuned. This campaign showed the strength of the volunteer force we have been growing for three years. We were ready, willing and able to create change and we did.
Through our work of public policy advocacy, education, coalition-building, and recognition of employers, important and transformational conversations are taking place. People in La Plata County are becoming aware of what a living wage is and why it is important. We are shifting expectations from a minimum wage to a living wage. We are creating change.
As our annual educational event, Nina Disalvo, Director of Towards Justice, presented workshops to the public, workers, lawyers and nonprofits about the pervasive and under-recognized problem of wage theft. In 2017 we will have a community forum on early childhood education and daycare related to effects of cost on childcare workers, working parents, employers and children.
As an affiliate of Interfaith Worker Justice, Thrive! launched an Interfaith Partner Program this year. We have three Interfaith Partners: UUFD, Christ the King and Durango Friends. From the onset, Thrive! has recognized that faith groups are an important part of our coalition because paying a living wage is a moral issue and all major faith traditions believe that workers have a right to be paid a living wage. We hope to add at least two faith-based partners in 2017 and organize an interfaith panel discussion around Labor Day.
Eighty eight employers have joined the Thrive! Employer Recognition Program (TERP). TERP employers employ 1847 La Plata residents. Of those employees, 56 have had their wages increased, totaling almost $49,000 per year, in order for the employers to qualify for TERP. A complete list of TERP employers can be found at our website: www.ThriveLaPlata.org. Our goal is to recognize 50 additional employers in 2017.
With a strong and growing coalition locally and statewide, we have the capacity to make critical social changes that result in fair wages and dignity for workers. In three short years we have made substantial progress toward our vision of La Plata County being a place where all workers are paid a living wage, enabling individuals, families, and the community to thrive.
Many thanks to all the UUFD members and friends who have supported Thrive! in so many with many hours of volunteer support and well as donations through Share-the-Plate in October, November and December. We could not have accomplished all we have without you.
With Gratitude,
Maureen Maliszewski, Director
La Plata County Thrive! Living Wage Coalition
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Don't take a seat - GIVE one
Will you please help sponsor a chair for our sanctuary?
Ten additional chairs for the sanctuary are on order, and you can help purchase one. Each chair costs $150, but donations of any amount are appreciated. Please write "chairs" on the memo line of your check, and drop it into the collection plate, or mail it to UUFD, 419 San Juan Dr., Durango, CO 81301.
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Immigration as a Moral Issue - Call to Action
BACKGROUND
This is a call to respond to the post-election reality wherein fear, discrimination and xenophobia have taken new precedence in our country's politics. With the promise of the Trump Administration to deport millions, as people of faith we have a moral responsibility to act.
Compañeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center is the one organization in Southwest Colorado working tirelessly to defend and protect the dignity and rights of our immigrant neighbors.
Shortly after the elections, representatives from UUFD met with Compañeros' Executive Director, Danny Quinlin, to find out what the concerns of the immigrant community are and how we might provide support. He is hoping that people from various faith groups will
show up to witness and be advocates
when Compañeros meets with elected officials and law enforcement. The second thing that he requested is that we
consider providing sanctuary
if needed.
Following the meeting with Danny, the UUFD Social Responsibility and Justice (SRJ) Committee met and agreed to form an Immigration Team, led by Maureen Maliszewski who will act as liaison with Compañeros. Charlie Clements will be the SRJ Coordinator. Susana Jones and Nancy Fischer are on the Team with Maureen.
NEXT STEPS
- Read "Immigration as a Moral Issue" now by going to http://www.uua.org/statements/immigration-moral-issue .
- Join the Immigration Action group:
- Members will be trained on how to provide public witness (when called upon to do so by Compañeros) at meetings with elected officials and law enforcement
- Members will be kept up to date on issues and action plans as they develop
To join the Action Group, show up at one of the following times at UUFD's Fellowship Hall for a brief training on providing public witness: Thursday January 19 at 10AM and 5:30PM. Further education and activities will take place in the coming months. For information, call Maureen at 970-903-0957.
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 CUUPs Corner
Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans
Please come and join CUUPS of the Half Moon as we explore two interesting aspects of spirituality this month. On
January 5th
, we will explore the use of hands in spiritual awakening and celebration.
Then on
January 19th
, we begin a three part series, running into February, on Ritual: preparation, planning, and leading. The first one is about the structure of, and preparing, meaningful ritual. Both sessions are
on Thursday
night beginning at
6:30 p.m.
in Bowman Hall. Look forward to seeing you there! Childcare can be provided on advance request. Inquires to cuupsdurango@gmail.com.
-Sam Foster
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UUFD seeking new board members
Consider how you could become involved!
How exciting to see our congregation growing and new faces every week. Our board is working hard to keep up and anticipate the needs of our growing fellowship. The nominating committee is beginning its annual search for new board members. In May 2017 UUFD will be voting on four new positions:
·
Vice President
·
Associate Treasurer
·
Secretary
·
Board Member at Large
We will spend the next few months working closely with the board to recruit current UUFD members to serve on the board. In April we will submit a slate of candidates to the fellowship and in May at the annual members meeting UUFD will vote. Please let us know if you'd like additional information on any of these positions. Also feel free to inquire with current and past board members about what it is like to serve on the board and the responsibilities involved in the various positions.
Below is an excerpt from the current Board's Covenant
We covenant to keep the best interests of our congregation at heart, to carry out the trust placed in us as guardians of the Mission and Principles and to act as partners in our shared ministry. We will make decisions with the intent always to lift lives toward a greater good. We will practice courageous leadership, acting as role models for the Fellowship in all aspects of congregational life. We... will work together with respect, acceptance and caring. We will celebrate our diversity by working to create an environment in which all are heard and respected. As we seek consensus, we will give and accept constructive feedback. We will faithfully attend and be fully engaged in Board meetings. We will show our commitment by being prompt, prepared, and focused. In this spirit, we covenant to further the mission of UUFD as we strive to make real the vision of Unitarian Universalism.
Do you have
experience working on a board or experience related to a particular board position? Does this sound like something you'd like to be a part of?
Please contact Nominating Committee members Allison Andersen, Maureen Maliszewski and Susie Francis for more information or to answer your questions.
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Pause for Poetry
Come join the Poetry Circle on
Monday, January 9
,
6-8pm
for reading and discussing your offerings and favorites. Light refreshments are served. Inquire
durangofolk@frontier.net
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The Day After
I think the next day
Is what I mostly like
About Christmas when
The wrapping paper and tinsel and
Other gay detritus are carefully
Tucked away and the
Happy excited look in
Children's eyes is fresh
In yesterday's memory along
With the kindly smiles
Of family and friends
And strangers even
And I am aware
That we have safely navigated
The white water of another
Year with its successes
And its sorrows, and our
Eyes now focus only on the tree
With all its baubles collected over
A life time hanging quietly and
The space beneath it emptied of the
Brightly colored packages
And the tree alone directing us
To peaceful paths
With its symbolic star
I like the day okay but the next day
Is the one I prefer, offering a quiet space
A universal exhalation.
The day after, when thoughts are
Gathered up and cast into clear light,
I see the suffering world and the dim
Outline of small things I'm meant to do
I also hear the laughter
And the mixture of the two
Brings hope that each next day
Will find us further on
(Ralph Blanchard)
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