ISSUE 47                                                                                                                                                                                                 MAY 2020
This season of pandemic has us all betwixt and between the world we knew and the one in formation. We long for the end of physical distancing, hoping to return to the familiar even as we wonder what the lasting impact of this virus will be. This liminal time is the time in which we will explore the theme of threshold. 

May is a time of thresholds. Graduations, Coming of Age celebrations, and weddings crowd our schedules. While we will likely be marking those virtually this year, that reality does not make the milestones less significant. Each marks a moving from one life to another. From a time of knowing ourselves in a particular context to learning who we might be when different things are being asked of us. Thus, while the celebration is about moving toward, it is also noting a moving away.

So, threshold invite us to step past what we already think we know and into an entirely new relationship with the many possibilities of being.

That is what we have our church has been doing for weeks now. We have moved from what we knew into a different relationship with possibilities. We have embraced iteration and experiment. And as much as we hope for it all to be seamless and precisely the right message, music, story, meditation, we are learning as we go. 

As John O'Donohue wrote in his poem "The Traveler":

Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.

This pandemic has, in the main, eclipsed our ability to travel. And yet, it seems we have entered a world we have never been in. We are figuring it out as we go. That's the nature of thresholds. 

Many of us are heartened by the thought that some of the restrictions may be loosening in May. We long to be together again. Questions abound as to when that will be. Stay tuned. JUC leadership continues to avail ourselves of all information put out by the state, as well as seek the guidance of various medical experts. As soon as we make decisions, we will let you know.

In the meantime, stay safe, strong and connected.
One of the striking things about thresholds is the way that they come in two varieties, the planned, and the unplanned. They mark the symbolic beginnings and ends of times. High school graduations that divide life from student and child into adulthood and independence. Weddings that mark the separation of time from single to partnered. And though this year reminds us that even those events, planned as they usually are, can be disrupted, we think of them as thresholds we have some level of control over. That we plan for. Even births can be like this, a planned pregnancy, a birth plan.

But there are other events that mark thresholds in our days, that we do not plan for, and hope never happen. An unexpected divorce, a car accident, a diagnosis, a death of someone we love. These unexpected events are like the current pandemic, foreseeable only in the broadest sense, but not the specifics. Things we can hedge for, but know we cannot control. They are disruptive in the deepest sense, tearing apart the fabric of our lives. And it can feel like the Fates have cut the threads of our lives they have spun out from the fibers once pulled together.
 
While it is true that we, by and large, do not have control over when or how we die, that doesn't mean this most unique of thresholds in our days is beyond our power to influence. Just last month Dr. Dan Matlock, a JUC member, MD, MPH, board certified geriatrician and palliative medicine physician at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus led an online workshop about why advance directives are important, how to complete them, and how things might be different in the setting of COVID-19.
 
He helped more than 30 JUCers think about questions like "What kind of care do I want, or don't I want, if I come face to face with death in a hospital?" Or "Who do I want to make medical care decisions for me if I am incapable of making them for myself? And what do they need to know about what matters most to me in the end?" "If I've already thought about these questions, have I actually talked to my doctor about them so s/he can make sure I'm neither given more or less care than I would like?"
 
He also shared a list of resources, online printable forms that anyone, JUCer or friend or family member, can download and print out. He graciously allowed us to both record his presentation and post his slides, so that all of us can rest assured that when we approach the biggest threshold of our life, our wishes, our voices, will be centered in our care. You can find all of the links, forms, and the presentation on our website. My thanks to him, and my hopes for you, for a long life, and well-planned set of care directives for you and your families.
L istening to Our Lives
My goodness, it sure feels like we are at the precipice of thresholds;  the point of entry or beginning --  yet we still are learning to remain in the presence of the here and now, a day and sometimes minutes at a time. Our ability to function outside our homes is still a bit foggy, and we are waiting to see how this will manifest in real-time in the month ahead of us. Each day seems to bring conflicting reports of how and when we can return to a sense of normalcy, "restart" our lives, who can return to work, and what all this might mean for our children. There are so many unknowns that can intensify the uneasiness within our hearts, minds, and bodies. We are almost there -- yet are we?

JUCer's are doing an amazing job despite the unknowns! I have received delightful stories and messages from JUC families sharing their experiences of how to make the best of these unprecedented times. There have been "travels" to different countries where families have shared international food and culture each week, Friday family dance videos, remote game nights shared with family members and friends across the country, video watch parties, remote tea parties, howling at the moon, and so much more. We are figuring out that in the midst of the unknown, we can invite creativity into our lives and, at the same time, build memories that will last lifetimes. Along with this creativity, there are also challenges; families are trying to work and engage in online schooling, there is an epidemic of restless child (and parent) syndrome, many families have financial or employment insecurities, and the concern for the health and well-being of loved ones far away is real. We are learning how to move through this pandemic as best we can, all the while holding fear, anxiety, and restlessness.  

Our understanding of thresholds for families is shifting. Graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, even funerals, look and feel different. So, what are we claiming as thresholds in our lives? How are we redefining them? How are we creating a new understanding of the thresholds? Soul Matters asks us: " But what if the true invitation of a threshold is not to successfully move from here to there, but instead to just sit and pause?" What if we saw thresholds as resting places rather than as those moving walkways that transport us through airports? What if thresholds help us "become" by asking us to "be" for a while? No moving. Just noticing and naming. Less traveling and more listening.  

We have been at a pause in our lives for what feels like an eternity. We have been asked to "be" in a whole different way. What are you able to notice and name from just being? How are you listening? The Quakers have a saying, Let your life speak, and Parker Palmer takes this a step further with the words, "Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am." What if our threshold for this month was to listen to our lives to discover a deeper sense of who we are? What are our lives telling us about who we are? I invite you to listen deeply and discover how your life might be unfolding.
In This Issue
Board of Trustees Report
We are still here! Even though we're all practicing social distancing, The Board of Trustees has been holding frequent online meetings and conducting business as usual.

You should expect a communication from the Board in the coming weeks on the State of the Church. Among the topics of discussion are all options for the Spring Congregational Meeting. 

Please know that each one of you is on our hearts and minds.
EMGT Application Extension
In light of COVID-19's impact on operations of our congregation, the Endowment Memorial Gift Trust Board is indefinitely extending the deadline for grant applications to improve our JUC community. 

EMGT has more than $40,000 available to award in grants for this fiscal year, beginning July 1. 

All grant applications need to be submitted through a standing committee at the church, so please discuss your ideas with the appropriate group and submit your application to the EMGT board. Awards will be made until funds are exhausted. The  application with all instructions is online here .
Liberation  and Planned Giving
In many ways this pandemic we are in has liberated our world and us from going about our business as usual. This provides a clearer opening to better understand the ways we are one world, one people all interconnected and interdependent. It can be an opportunity in this fast-changing modern world to make some needed changes as return to the post-pandemic world slowly occurs. 

This pandemic has also reminded us once again that estate planning is essential. A complete estate plan will liberate our minds and the minds of our loved ones from the fear of "what to do when the time comes". It can make the what ifs, more palatable. JUC will be a change agent as we stand on the threshold of recombining our community after COVID-19. To help keep it strong, include a bequest to JUC in your estate plan.

Contact JUC's planned giving coordinators: Bud & B.J. Meadows , Mike Kramer or Carol Wilsey
NAMIWalks 2020
For many years JUC has sponsored a NAMIWalks team to raise awareness and help overcome the stigma of mental illness.  This year is different for all of us due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for mental health support is more urgent than ever. NAMI Colorado, the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Colorado, provides education, support and advocacy for persons who have a mental illness and their families, through its many free programs offered statewide. 
 
Two ways to participate this year: 

Sunday, May 16
Donate through the JUC special plate offering for NAMI Colorado.

Saturday, May 30
Participate in NAMIWalks Your Way, a virtual experience, in Colorado and across the country.

Participants can make NAMIWalks their own by walking a 5K- through the neighborhood, around your backyard or on a treadmill. Or choose something else to celebrate our virtual walk day, such as crafts with your kids or practicing self-care with a favorite hobby. We hope you will join us in standing against the stigma of mental Illness, and support the work of NAMI, especially on May 16 & May 30.

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.
-Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

I started writing this column with a quote from The Lord of the Rings , one of my favorite book series. Tolkein's work is a constant companion for me in liminal times -- a reminder that moving through a threshold isn't as simple as the transition from point A to point B. Rather, the time between two worlds can be a journey itself. I know this to be true as my family finds itself in a space of many thresholds. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you all that I have decided to move back to Wisconsin in June.

Living in Colorado has been a formative journey for our family. Two years ago, my partner Jason and I moved out here, heeding the call to experience what life is like beyond our native state of Wisconsin. We learned a lot: how to be closer and kinder to each other, what to keep and what to get rid of from our previous lives, what home looks like when you create it in a new place. We experienced the magic of putting green chile on anything and everything we eat and the splendor of the mountains. 

But being in Colorado had also shown us just how much we miss our family back in Wisconsin. This became painfully clear as we started to talk about adopting a child. How involved would our relatives be in our child's life? Would my sister get to be the cool aunt she's always wanted to be? Would their grandparents be able to see them outside of the holidays? All of this pointed us towards wanting to be back in Wisconsin as we start this new chapter of our lives.

It is bittersweet having to break this news to you all during this pandemic. JUC has become a home here in Colorado. The thought that I might not be able to say goodbye to you all in person hurts. I want all of you to know how grateful I am to have been a part of this staff and this congregation. You've given me friendship, connection, and love - it is my hope that you will pass it onto others as I depart. The world will need that love in the upcoming months and years.  Wishing all of you peace, love, and justice.
There it was: a choral video from May 2019, where I was conducting multiple choirs, Jalisco and South Indian dancers, and even a Jewish fusion band. There we were, all singing "Draw the circle wide, no one stands alone, we'll stand side by side." I had clicked on the video, expecting to be uplifted with the memory of the experience, about to relive an enjoyable and impactful event from a year ago. As I listened to the singers from many backgrounds sing in harmony, as I saw bodies standing so close to one another on the risers, as I witnessed the easy and joyful movement of the drummers and dancers which included children, a sadness began to well up in me. This was hard, remembering -- was it just recently or was it another lifetime -- the experience of people gathering with common purpose to create beauty and connection. All of a sudden the physical separation hit me in unexpected ways, how so much of my life and work has been about bringing people together. Ensemble music making requires a balance of listening and creating, giving and receiving at the same time, and while watching and listening to an echo of the past, I deeply missed the process of creating music together. These practices are ones I have spent my lifetime cultivating and refining, and their absence hit me hard.

Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: No one stands alone!
Standing side by side, draw the circle wide.

Is this true for you: that music and lyrics are hitting me harder and more closely these days? As I see and hear the incredible creativity from musicians and colleagues that is exploding in this time and that musicians are sharing, I am frequently brought to tears.

Malcolm Dalglish's inspiring music to Wendell Berry's words, made sweeter through their resolution of hope and action:
Planting trees early in spring we make a place for birds to sing in time to come. How do we know? There's singing here now! There is no other guarantee that singing will ever be.
Watch here.

Our hymn #146:
Soon the day will arrive, imagining a day in the future in which we will be reunited:
Soon the day will arrive when we will be together and no longer will we live in fear. And the children will smile without wondering whether on that day thunderclouds will appear.
Watch here.

Our hymn #318:
We would be one, which connects individuals to the community of the world in this time:
But other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes as true and high as mine.

It's like all of this time, these words and this music that has been here all along, a film has been removed and the songs have a deeper meaning, more urgency, they are hitting the mark.

This is indeed a threshold time. Even as we may be desperately missing ways of being that are not possible at the moment -- for me, this includes making music in person which is about pulling together on a common goal -- one threshold is to continue to open hearts, to see what has been present the whole time with new understanding, to stay flexible and create new ways of expression.

Whether or not we are physically sitting or standing next to each other, may we be attuned more highly to the emotional and spiritual connections that are possible, knowing that we are not alone and that we are all in the circle of love.
 
Andrea Aikin, Trustee

Last week I facilitated an online New Here seminar where prospective JUC members learn more about JUC and UUism and what being a member involves. While I've facilitated in person sessions (and have done more than enough Zoom/Skype/Google Duo/etc. sessions in the last few weeks), I wasn't sure how the seminar would go with people I hadn't met. 

Despite my trepidation and the usual technical glitches of connecting and getting audio to work, the seminar was delightful. Everyone shared what had brought them to JUC and seemed happy to spend an evening in an online JUC event. We did okay, and better than okay. 

Regardless of where we stand now, we are facing all the questions around resuming life. We stand at a kind of threshold. Will the stay-at-home orders be extended? Once they are lifted, will we return to offices, grocery stores, theaters, church? Will the numbers impacted by the virus increase when we do? How will each of us be impacted by the virus going forward? 

No one can answer those questions for us. Unfortunately, we don't have any of those faith healers on staff to bop us on the forehead and pronounce us healed. While some people find security in being told exactly what to think, I suspect JUC members would find that the opposite of comforting or liberating. Unfortunately, that means we need to find our comfort in different places and I would suggest that comfort and liberation still can be found at JUC. We can still connect online through the services and chat rooms and zoom calls and emails that are happening every day through the church. 

Our church is so much more than the windows and doors and roof that make up the property. Our church is found in the connections between the people affiliated with it even when we can't actually hold hands in the sanctuary. We're in this together. And I find that liberating.  
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists just sent out a chalice lighting from the Talmud which reads:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Walk humbly, now. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

Right now, some of us may feel like we are touching the enormity of the world's grief. At the same time, our opportunities for doing justly and loving mercy continue to present themselves, even in quarantine. 

It is a relief to realize that we can only do what we can do. We are not expected to single-handedly save the world. But, just as we talked about in our Justice Sunday service a few weeks ago, we are called to keep working for a better world. 

This month's theme is "Thresholds" and we are asked to stop and notice where we are and to be intentional about where we are going. After most of us have spent weeks on end at home in close quarters with our pets and family, we are still processing just what this pandemic means for our country, our economy, our personal finances, our work, and our relationships. We are concerned, or perhaps even hopeful about the state of our natural environment and government. 

The Talmud reminds us not to let the suffering of the world stop us from working for justice. Even under stay-at-home orders, we can look around this strange new world and wonder what is on the other side of the threshold back into resuming "normal" life. 

I have heard people say that we will never go back to "normal." What does that mean? I can't help but think that in the context of the way we have been careening towards self-destruction as a species, this sounds like a good thing. Do the extreme leanings of our current administration mean we are on the threshold of a big change? 

As we approach the threshold and look towards returning to interpersonal contact in our church, social, and work lives, let us imagine what is possible for a better future. Just as our 6th Principle states, "We affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." 

May we make good use of this time for reimagining, affirming, and creating the world we want to live in from out of the rubble of this international crisis. May we be intentional about our conversations and our dreams for a new and better world. What vision do you have for our post-pandemic world?

My work life here a JUC is *mostly* like normal, other than it is very quiet here in the office. If you need something, please call or email me and I will try to help you! I'm in the office weekdays. I am making sure that things still run as smoothly as possible along with Linda Horn on Monday mornings (she is a key volunteer who helps make sure our donations get deposited and categorized properly) and our bookkeeper, Kristin Miller, who is here Wednesdays. Most of you have probably not met Kristin (though she has worked here since 2014!), but she is a gift to the Congregation. We are keeping our distance from each other and wiping down surfaces!

Grocery Rewards

If you shop for food (my household is buying more than ever right now!), the grocery store will give JUC money! Here are the ways the following stores donate when you shop:

King Soopers -  Sign up with your SooperCard to have JUC as your chosen charity for their Community Rewards. When you scan your card, or enter your ID on the pin pad, JUC gets credit for your purchases and then King Soopers sends us a quarterly check. You no longer need to use a gift card purchased from JUC and reload it!

For the last quarter of 2019 we had 83 families enrolled in the King Soopers program and our portion of the Reward donations was $1,208.12.

Safeway - Purchase a reloadable gift card from JUC. The cards come loaded with $10. When you reload at the store, JUC gets a donation of 5% of the amount. You can mail a check for $10 to the office and we'll mail a card back to you.

Natural Grocers - Purchase a gift card from JUC.  The cards come loaded with $100 (we buy the cards for $95 each so we make $5 on each card). These cards are NOT reloadable for JUC credit, so you need to purchase a new card for us to earn money. You can mail a check for $100 to the office and we'll mail a card back to you.

Thanks for helping us raise a little money just by doing your normal grocery shopping!

EFT for Special Plate Donations

Since 2013 we have taken a Special Plate offering once per month for our community partners. The Congregation has given more than $275,000 during that time to organizations that amplify our mission outside our walls. We want to make it easier for you to participate in the Special Plate offerings by setting up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) as an option. If you would like to make a regular donation each month, please fill out this form  . Donations will be processed on the 15th of each month, so you know your contribution will be there to support our partners. Remaining 2019/20 recipients are as follows:
 
May:                NAMI
June:              Jeffco Human Service Foundation
 
More information on the Special Plate and each of the partner organizations can be found  here.