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Soon the Day Will Arrive
Rev. Katie's Animas View
This year, Advent takes place from December 3-24
th
. We'll engage in the many themes it brings such as faith, trust, waiting, and slowing down.
United Church of Christ pastor Holly Whitcomb's book,
Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting, lists the offerings right in the subtitle: Patience, Loss of Control, Living in the Present, Compassion, Gratitude, Humility, Trust in God (or what UUs might translate as Trust in Mystery).
This list might look different than the one already sitting on your counter, or the one you hold gingerly and with a tinge of anxiety floating in your head, or that invisible list that brings you the blues this time every year. I know. I feel it. I have a list of things I want to do, or purchase, or provide for the people I love. These spiritual themes of the season seem in sharp contrast with that "do, purchase, provide" mantra. Can I hold them both simultaneously?
My feeling is that if I make an Advent practice of the "Gifts of Waiting," the other list will not hold so much power over me. I will be able to choose to do less, purchase discriminately, and provide (or offer service and compassion) with joy and grace.
Please consider your relationship to your fellowship community as part of your developing spiritual practice. It's in this place, where we can work at patience, loss of control, and Trust in Mystery. I try to remember that the people who come through our doors for the first time, especially at this time of year, are in a sincere search for something meaningful in their lives. The response we give them of "I see you" can be the best gift you give all year. You do this so well, it's no wonder why ours is a community as large as it is. Let this warmth and kindness we give be that which never changes here.
And don't forget to strengthen yourself with these spiritual gifts
:
- Advent Worship & Soup Supper 6pm December 6 at St. Columba Catholic Church, December 13 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and December 20 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church
- Room at the Inn pageant December 10 at 10am, followed by tree decorating, carol-singing and fellowship
- Christmas Eve worship December 24 at 4pm and 6pm (no morning worship)
May you have the spiritual gifts of the season.
Love,
Rev. Katie
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December Sunday Services
Monthly theme:
Soon the Day will Arrive
(Concepts of Silence, Waiting, Darkness)
December 3
If You Are Silent About Your Pain
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
Voices that have remained silent for years are courageously speaking out about abuse and harassment they have suffered. How do we know when to hold silence and when it may be time to speak?
December 10
Room at the Inn
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris & Lisa McCorry
In this joyous, multi-generational service, we'll consider who belongs, and how we can make room. Children and youth will be invited to participate in our no-rehearsal pageant.
December 17
Don't Lose Heart
-Rev. Angela Henderson, pulpit guest
As we continue the season of waiting in the darkness, we listen for its wisdom and hold out hope for what is to come. What can we as Unitarian Universalists do to prepare, and what might we prepare for?
December 24
Where Is This Stupendous Stranger?
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
4pm and 6pm (no morning service)
Join us this Christmas Eve for carols, beautiful music and a sense of wonder in the quiet. We'll have eggnog and cookies in between services from 5 to 5:45 pm.
December 31
My Story
-Anna Royer, with fellowship members
Once again, we'll hear stories of spiritual awakening and journeying to better get to know our own people and inspire our own spiritual depth. Come, end the year loving our people.
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President's Message
Tom Miller
As you read this newsletter, the leftovers are probably dwindling, if not gone, and your attention has turned to managing the holiday period ahead and the dawning new year. For me, the reminder of all that we have to be grateful for still lingers. Our Fellowship is wonderfully alive and growing in many different ways. The pressures that we are facing are the good kind that signal opportunities available to us to expand how we do our ministry in our lives and in this community. In my former consulting life, I used to offer the definition of success as the opportunity to deal with increasingly larger problems. By all measures, UUFD is a successful fellowship!
The Board has been thinking a lot lately about the implications of our growth, the challenges that our new strategic plan presents to us and how to best deal with them. One concept that is helping us frame our thinking is looking at where we are in the cycle of church growth. Arlin Rothauge of the Alban Institute outlines four categories of churches based on their size: Family (1-50 members), Pastoral (51-150 members), Program (151-400 members) and Corporate (401-1000 members). Each of these phases is defined by differences in the nature of the relationships, the leadership issues and structure, how many and how programs are developed and delivered, and the kind of mission that the Church is able to identify and accomplish. Churches often stay in a particular phase for a long period, allowing members to experience stability and learn the lessons of that phase well before moving onto the next phase.
My observation is that UUFD has essentially raced through the pastoral phase of our church growth. In many ways, as we just nudge the 150-member mark, we are already acting as a program church. This has brought many changes to the way that we experience church and the connection we have to this community. We may have missed learning some of the lessons that would have been available to us if we had moved more gradually through the pastoral phase. Possibly, you have heard or felt some of the following, all of which are very typical reactions people have when moving through this growth stage :
"There are a lot of people coming to church that I don't know"
"The seat/section I usually sit in on Sunday is taken before I get there and I have a hard time finding a seat"
"There have been changes to the service that I am not used to"
"I don't know what's going on with the new facilities"
"The parking lot is too crowded"
"Why do we need to spend more money on staff?"
"I can't keep track of all that is going on"
"I'm not sure where I can fit in"
"My role in the church seems to be changing"
Alice Mann, in her book
Raising the Roof,
writes specifically about what happens when churches move from a pastoral to a program church. I would encourage any of you who are interested in understanding more to review what she has to say. The Board is fully engaged in considering how we move further and successfully into this next phase of our church life. While we have lots of balls in the air, this is a very exciting time in the life of our Fellowship. Things could feel messy for a while, and some of these changes might feel unsettling. So, I not only ask for forbearance, but your engagement in the various opportunities that will come along for you to provide input, feedback, reactions and volunteer support as we continue to figure this out.
For now, I continue to be thankful for all that we have in this fellowship, for all the gifts that you continually bring to making this Beloved Community. May you enjoy a peaceful, and joyous holiday season.
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Faith Formation News You Can Use
Celebrate the season!
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango offers many ways to celebrate the seasons.
Children's Ministry
December 3: Children's Ornament making with Teresa Jordan during Sunday session.
December 10: Christmas in the Barn, no-rehearsal pageant. Following worship gather for tree decorating, cookies, cocoa and caroling.
December 17: Holiday Market. Children shop for free for loved ones. Donations of gently used items may be dropped in Room 3 off the sanctuary.
December 24: Worship services at 4 & 6PM.
No morning worship on Christmas Eve.
December 31: Movie for all ages in the Children's Chapel in Columbine House. Pajamas, pillows and sleeping bags welcome.
Lifespan Opportunities for deepening faith
- Noel Night Parents Night Out. Enjoy Downtown Durango's local holiday shopping festivities and drop the kids at UUFD. $5 suggested donation per family towards Compañeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center.
- Interfaith Advent Service and Soup Supper at UUFD is Wednesday, December 13th, 6PM. If you plan to attend and/or are able to contribute a large pot of soup, stew or chili or a loaf of bread, please contact [email protected]
- Yule: Covenant of UU Pagans on Saturday, December 16 at 6:30 PM in Bowman Hall
- Holiday Market needs extra volunteers in children's ministry. Shoppers helpers and wrapping assistance needed on Sunday December 17th
- Healing Racism Circle continues their work. Stay tuned for dates and events. This is an open group. All are welcome. Contact [email protected] to join the team or for more info
- Social Justice and Responsibility Team focuses are Racial Justice, Gender Justice, Basic Needs and Immigration.
- An environmental focus team is forming and needs leaders and volunteers.
Deepen your connection through Spiritual Practice. UUFD offers various opportunities for spiritual practice: Covenant Groups, Pastoral Care Associates, Sage Circle, Yoga, Meditation, Painting, Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPS), Poetry Circle, Cosmology, Game night, Outdoor Adventure Group, Circle suppers and more. See the calendar for a full list of offerings.
Free Kid care is offered at the Fellowship during Circle Suppers, third Saturdays. Next circle supper is Saturday, January 20th. Contact Nancy Fisher to RSVP for these meaningful shared meals in the homes of congregants.
Childcare is generally available upon request for choir rehearsals, committee and team meetings, spiritual practice offerings and other UUFD events. Advance notice is appreciated. Contact [email protected].
-Lisa McCorry, Faith Formation Director
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Reflection on Social Justice
Social Responsibility and Justice News
"You find them in churches when you're lucky; other places too though I mostly only know ecclesiastical varieties. Long-haul people, upon whose shoulders (and pocketbooks and casseroles and daylight/nighttime hours) a church is built and maintained after the brass is tarnished and cushions need re-stitching..." -
Rudy Nemser
The faithful commitment of time and energy and skills by so many in our Fellowship makes UUFD strong and vibrant in doing our part to make a better community and world. This is certainly true of our work for social justice, which continues to expand in depth and scope.
You already know that we have teams diligently working to advocate for and support our LGBTQ community, collaborate with Compañeros to help local immigrants, explore and challenge issues of white supremacy and racism, and help meet basic needs for food and shelter in Durango.
We also support fair trade and small-scale farmers through our weekly sale of Equal Exchange products, help young girls in small villages attend school with our Days For Girls project, advocate for common sense gun safety by supporting Moms Demand Action, Stand on the Side of Love through participation in community marches and events such as Diversity Dialogue, partner with Thrive! La Plata County to work for a living wage, join in the interfaith Love Out Loud community projects, support community education work of the Southwest Community Foundation through their Make A Difference series, and make our facilities available to community groups doing their own social justice work.
Our generosity with our financial resources also continues to grow. In addition to providing help locally and internationally through contributions of our Disaster Relief and Development Fund and donations to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, through our Share the Plate program we collect funds once per month to send to selected local nonprofit organizations. Last year, we sent a total of $9609.86 to identified recipients!
Two new ministries are in development. We are sending warm thoughts and wishes to incarcerated members of the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship this holiday season. If interest continues, we will join their penpal ministry. A new Social Responsibility and Justice team, the Environmental Justice Team, has begun with a great group of motivated members and friends. Their first priority is improved recycling, but other ideas are percolating.
We hope you are proud of the robust work going on to achieve our mission for social justice. And even more, that if you aren't yet a part of one of these ministries, you will consider joining one or more of these efforts. You are needed. Stop by the SRJ table on Sundays for more information or contact Bonnie Miller at [email protected].
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Equal Exchange to be sold through SRJ Committee
A note from Janice Taylor
Equal Exchange
sales at The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango have been in existence since 2007. The endeavor began when Maureen Maliszewski began selling Equal Exchange coffee and earned enough to purchase the coffee used during our coffee break after Fellowship services.
The sales have continued since 2008 with proceeds going to the church treasury, and coffee products to the Fellowship kitchen for use after Sunday services. All proceeds have been used to purchase more Equal Exchange products to support Equal Exchange, our Sunday coffee, and the UUSC.
After 9 years, I would like to turn the sales over to the Social Responsibility and Justice program. Selling Equal Exchange products has been a way to express my frustrations and hopes for a more just world. I trust the Fellowship will continue to buy their products to support this coop as it continues to aid subsistence farmers in many countries in the world. Their sense of justice for small farmers and for their land, is expressed in their concern for our food sources globally. I encourage you to learn more about Equal Exchange through their website
.
The SRJ team will continue sales during Sunday coffee break. I hope you will look for other Equal Exchange products in the health food stores here in Durango.
It has been my pleasure to continue Maureen's initial idea to support both church Fellowship time and Equal Exchange ---a fair trade advocate that offers small farmers a chance in the world market.
Thanks for your support over the years. And many thanks to Susana Jones and Brooks Taylor for their help and encouragement.
Janice Taylor
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Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans
CUUPS of the Half Moon
December 7 at 6:30 pm in Bowman Hall
Pagan Movie Night!
Movie not yet known but it will be great. Child care available upon early request
Sliabh Anam Druid Grove
December 21 at 6:30 pm in Bowman Hall
Sam will be back and leading another enjoyable and educational discussion
 CUUPS of the Half Moon
December 16 at 6:30 pm in Bowman Hall
Special WINTER SOLSTICE ritual! Come enjoy Yule the old way.
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Compañeros fundraiser & party
December 9, 6-9 pm
Compañeros' Annual Fundraiser and Party will be hosted by the Social Justice Immigration Team at Bowman Hall on December 9
th from
6 to 9pm. Food and drink will be provided. No entry fee, but come prepared to offer a donation of any size. Any questions, contact Nancy Fisher, [email protected].
Cannot attend? Please consider a mailed contribution.
Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center
701 Camino del Rio Suite 309
Durango, CO 81301
The mission of Compañeros is to create positive social change by supporting immigrants and their loved ones through advocacy, education and integrative programs. More info available at www.companeros.info.
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Want to go greener?
New Environmental Justice team focuses on recycling
 The Environmental Justice Team met after church on Sunday, November 12. Under the umbrella of the Social Justice Team, the group would like to move forward to address some of the environmental
values and goals mentioned in the UUFD's Strategic Plan, Sections/Goals X and XI.
For now, the group has decided to focus on committed recycling at UUFD. This will include as many of the arms of the church's day-to-day functions as possible, from office to kitchen, worship services to congregation awareness, in each of the UUFD buildings and their rooms. Committee members are researching how other Durango community groups as well as others outside Durango have set up their systems; we are also checking on resources and pricing what might be needed for the project.
"Many hands make light work," and we encourage anyone interested to join us. We are currently "leaderless" and relying on each person to participate and be a part of a dynamic group that wants to make a difference.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, December 10, at noon in Bowman Hall. Please join us!
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Risk Management at UUFD
How can you help reduce risks?
In light of recent events, the UUFD Board wishes to express our on-going commitment to helping ensure the physical safety of all who attend our services, work on our grounds, and use our facilities. UUFD has a standing Risk Management Committee who work year round to monitor our buildings and grounds for physical/structural safety, meet with law enforcement and fire inspectors, provide safety training such as First Aid, CPR, and AED courses, and help us develop best practices in regards to emergency prevention and response. They also help us revisit, update, and maintain documentation of our Risk Management, Disaster Preparedness, and Emergency Response policies and procedures. While the Board of Trustees, the Minister, and the Risk Management Team lead and coordinate these efforts, it is truly the responsibility of all of us to help reduce risks. What can you do?
- Alert staff of physical dangers including tripping hazards, broken items, or anything that seems damaged or out of place.
- Alert staff if you fear that you or someone you know may be contemplating harming themselves or others.
- Learn about the safety procedures that we have in place and your role. This is especially true for those who volunteer during the service as a greeter, usher, worship leader, sound associate, childcare provider or teacher, etc.
- Contact the Minister or a member of the Risk Management committee if you would like more information or if you would like to join them in this important work.
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Upcoming Recital Series Program
Erik Gustafson, tenor, and Marilyn Garst, piano, to perform Dec. 8 at 7 pm
 The second presentation for this year will feature Erik Gustafson, tenor, assisted by Marilyn Garst, piano. The centerpiece of the program will be a complete performance of Dichterliebe (Poet's Love), a cycle of sixteen songs by the great Romantic composer Robert Schumann. The work was written in 1840, the year when he married Clara after a long tortured courtship and found himself as a song composer. The music was set to poems from Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine, one of the great German poets of the 19
th
century. The songs tell a story of young love, disillusionment and bitterly ironic despair. There is a wonderful interplay between the voice and the piano in these songs. When the voice has had its say, the piano often comments on it. Following intermission, there will be three selections from Les nuits d'été by French composer Hector Berlioz. This song cycle is normally performed in its orchestrated version but will be performed in this recital with voice and piano as it was originally conceived. The work centers on the different stages of love: youthful innocence, loss and mourning, and renewal. The closing set contains four selections from the songbook of Stephen Sondheim, representing three different decades of his incredibly prolific career. They are: (1) "Love I hear" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, written in the 1960s; (2) "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, more fully embracing the new harmonic and rhythmic complexity of the 1970s; (3) "Being Alive" from Company, also from the 1970s; (4) "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park With George from the 1980s, ushering in what we now know as modern musical theater style.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Erik is active across the nation as an oratorio soloist and choral artist. He received his education from Arizona State University and is currently a voice instructor at Fort Lewis College. Erik has collaborated on two Grammy-winning recordings with the Phoenix Chorale, as well as albums with Bach Collegium San Diego, Conspirare (Austin, TX), True Concord (Tucson, AZ), Spire Chamber Ensemble (Kansas City, MO), and Sounding Light (Detroit, MI). He also performs regularly with acclaimed ensembles Seraphic Fire (Miami, FL) and Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and is a founder of Quadrivium, a professional vocal ensemble serving the Four Corners region.
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