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IN THIS ISSUE
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Flowing and Growing
Rev. Katie's Animas View
We often understand and consider the flow of the seasons at UUFD and other churches, much like a school year. In New England in the 1970s, our congregations would often take the summers off, the minister's taking that whole time away to spend in a cabin in Maine, the church buildings closed on Sundays. Now we realize that people need our faith all year round, and even though things may ease up a bit in the summer, that this is a great time for spiritual deepening and to introduce new people to our movement.
And then September hits, and school starts and we get back into a more regular routine, and Sunday attendance goes up, even more when we get to October and it becomes chilly. In our growing congregation, we realize that we can't do everything the way we once did it, and in order to accommodate the many folk who would like to connect with us, we need to make some changes in systems and structures.
I realize that I must make changes in the way that I structure my days, how I set up and choose meeting times, how I make room for prayer, writing, reading and visioning. This intentional shift in behavior and decision-making is my primary goal for the upcoming year, and I'll be taking a class to help lead me into those changes. I'll be welcoming in some staff and leaders to join me in that class (it's online and in an accompanying workbook) so let me know if this is something that interests you. If it is, it's probably appropriate for the interests and ministry you are leading (or will lead) at UUFD.
We've just celebrated 50 years of liberal religion here at this fellowship, and we're not stopping! We will be formally dedicating our expanded sanctuary during worship (on September 23), and we've got many programs and occasions planned for this fall and winter. I believe we will be better off with your engagement in our mission, and that you will find yourself changed the more you covenant and connect.
I am glad to be beginning my fifth year with you. Let us deepen together.
Always in the love,
Rev. Katie
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 September Services
Spiritual practice: Intentional Imagination
Song: Meditation on Breathing
Sept.
2
Reflection Service: What is your life harvesting?
-Beth Patterson, pulpit guest
On this Labor Day we'll begin the Gathering of the Harvest to look at what it is that our beliefs, thoughts, and ideas are bringing to us. What are we harvesting in our lives?
Sept. 9
Peace Like the River?
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
After a tumultuous summer, I'm not sure the Animas River has "peace," but perhaps resiliency. What might we learn from our own connection to it? Bring a small vial of water with you today to add to our sturdy stream.
Sept. 16
The Illusion of Separateness
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
The High Holy Days of Judaism offer us an opportunity to consider our needs for both mortal forgiveness and Ultimate forgiveness. What's the task?
Sept. 23
What We Dream
-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris
Writer Rebecca Solnit tells us that what we dream of is already present in the Universe. How can and do we manifest those dreams into vision and share them with the world?
Sept. 30
Everything We Do Is Faith Formation
-Lisa McCorry, Director of Faith Formation
Faith formation is not just for children. It addresses our needs for spiritual growth and meaning at all ages and stages of life. As culture changes, we'll embrace new norms for learning and thriving.
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President's Message
Tom Miller
The Grand Canyon invites deep reflection (pun intended). Over two totally unplugged, adventurous weeks, I was mostly in awe at the immensity and timelessness of the place. I got to experience fortunately short periods of very wet, adrenaline-boosting excitement and many periods of long, slow pondering. Looking far down the river at the boats ahead, I was continually struck by their almost infinitesimal smallness in the relative vastness of the canyon. It inevitably brought home the awareness of the tiny speck of time we occupy in the scheme of things earthly.
And thus, to purpose...Do we make a difference at all? The canyon doesn't care that we're here. And no matter what we do it will endure over the eons. Its purpose is just to exist. But our human consciousness pushes us toward meaning and impact, even to the extent we can affect global deterioration that we have a hand in causing. In the midst of the immensity, there is the compelling pull to say "I matter, WE matter!" But how?
So, I reflect on the other significant aspect of the adventure: the camaraderie, teamwork, and deepening relationships that were fostered, which were necessary for the trip's success. Without the care, concern, talent, skill, presence, and planning of all the people on the trip, it wouldn't have been nearly as successful, and perhaps even a disaster (there was one a couple weeks before our trip). We built the trip together as we went, with the mission to have our individual and collective adventures, safely complete it, and profit from it in whatever way we were able.
It's an easy segue to one of the challenges that faces us this year, to reconsider UUFD's vision and mission. Why do we exist as a religious community? To quote Dan Hotchkiss "What will be different after we succeed at what we are setting out to do?" (vision) And "Whose lives do we mean to change and in what way?" (mission).
I invite you to begin, if you haven't already, to actively ponder these questions on your own and bring your thoughts into the dialogue to come. Together we will continue to define and make the difference we intend.
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Social Responsibility & Justice Update
Special Feature: Needham Elementary
As children in Durango and around the U.S. head back to school, we'd like to highlight a new aspect of our partnership with our nearest school neighbor, Needham Elementary. Needham serves children K-5 and has a high percentage of their student population on free and reduced lunch due to low income. Poverty is a challenge for families in many ways, and also for the schools where their children attend. One school challenge concerns school supplies.
In a recent visit with school principal Jenny McKenna, we learned that she has adjusted the instructional supply budget that the school receives from the district to use more of the dollars to buy basic school supplies for each student. This will be a great help to many families, as they will not have the burden of purchasing so many out of their own budget. However, another consequence is that there is less money left for the many different materials that teachers want and need for specific classroom activities and lessons. Needham teachers have made requests for materials they would like to have during the year and the principal has allocated available funds to meet the biggest priorities. However, there is still a list of teacher requested instructional supplies that they are not able to afford.
This is where we can come in. Rather than leaving teachers to the dilemma of either digging into their own pockets to buy materials (a common occurrence in education due to underfunding) or do without, we'd like to see how many of the remaining priorities we are able to support. Look for the schoolhouse shaped box at the SRJ table on Sundays where we will accept donations of any amount, cash or checks made out to UUFD with 'Needham' on the memo line. We will be posting a list in priority order of the materials teachers are hoping for, their purpose, and the cost. We'll do this throughout this school year and see how much we can help Needham staff in creating a great educational experience for all children! Thanks in advance for any support you can provide to this new social justice outreach.
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Faith Formation is Everything We Do
Vision is more than a sense for which we use our eyes. Vision, the theme-based ministry for this month, embodies how we live out our values through faith. It's both the instant and the delayed gratification of practicing and becoming Unitarian Universalist. Vision certainly is applied to many elements of our life: profession, partnership, parenting, health, style, interior home design. But what guided you to UU, and how are you sustained by this faith? Vision goes beyond what we see. It is the ears to listen (perhaps if you hold more power, listen more than you talk. If you hold less power, talk more than you listen). It is the way we move toward compassion and justice. It is the voice that speaks or signs our values. It is the relationships, the time cultivated on our church Buildings and Grounds or Hospitality teams. It is the conscious attention put into action by the Caring Team. It guides how we weave connections with individuals and communities who are marginalized and oppressed. It is the passing of time apparent in watching the children of this congregation grow before our eyes. It is how we teach these children or more accurately, how these children teach us. This Vision with a capital V, informs all that we do. It is created and lived together, not only with our friends in the Four Corners, with UU's around the world.
This September, worship and children's and youth Faith Formation opens more deeply to the Vision of UUFD and Unitarian Universalism. The month's children's curriculum, upcoming worships and Adult Faith Formation offering are all found on our website at
www.durangouu.org. As UUA President, the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray lovingly reminds us, "This is no time for a causal faith."
-Lisa McCorry
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Author Chuck Collins to present "Reversing Inequality"
Join Thrive! Living Wage Coalition for its 2018 premiere educational event
 Nationally known author Chuck Collins, writer of
Born on First Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good, will be presenting three educational programs locally this October. All events are free and open to the public.
Reversing Inequality: What is the Path Forward?
Thurs., Oct. 4, 6-8 pm (panel with our Rev. Katie)
Fort Lewis Ballroom
Born on Third Base: Engaging Wealth & Power to Reverse Inequality
Sat., October 6, 1-2 pm
Pine River Library
Inequality and The Beloved Community: A Faithful Response to Extreme Wealth Inequality
Saturday, Oct. 6, 4-6 pm
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango
A light meal will be served.
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CUUPS Corner
Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans
September CUUPS Schedule
Thursday, September 6, 6:30 PM, Bowman Hall:
An educational talk about walking labyrinth and its ancient spiritual meanings.
Thursday, September 13, 6:30 PM, Bowman Hall:
Sliabh Anam Druid Grove will be holding a Druidic Mabon Ritual.
Thursday, September 20, 6:30 PM, Bowman Hall:
CUUPS will be holding a Mabon ritual (complete with a laybrninth).
CUUPS of the Half Moon
visit us on Facebook at CUUPS of the Half Moon
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The Next Phase of Long-Range Planning
The process, what's next and what we ask of you
It can be quite remarkable when people work together towards actualizing a shared goal.
The recent redo of the rear of the Sanctuary is an example of collaboration toward a significant short-term solution for "Crowding Mediation." The collective product of many hands, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved in this project; those who helped included folks on the short-term facilities planning task force, those who helped with demolition and reconstruction, and those who brought these folks refreshments and support! The results are effective, practical and pleasing. Great job!
As we continue to explore potential solutions to the space needs of our evolving campus, the next steps are about to unfold and your input will continue to be pivotal.
MORE OF OUR PROCESS
Our interactions with The Bauen Group Architecture officially began in January of 2018, and we've come along way since then. Working with the Long-Range Facility Planning Task Force, the architect helped establish a structured process to explore our collective needs. This past spring and early summer, various constituent groups met with Tom Umbhau of Bauen Group (these included the Minister, Board, Sanctuary, Administration, Faith Formation, and general members).
These interactive sessions unfolded a process that gathered various "dreams, wishes, desires and needs" for decision-making. Sessions were open for anyone and the results from the feedback we received served to be absolutely invaluable. We are grateful there was such a high level of engaged involvement; thank you all for your participation so far!
WHAT'S NEXT
Members of the task force and architect, Tom Umbhau, have tried to listen closely to the needs of the constituent groups. After compiling this programming data, rechecking his understanding with the various groups, and working with our UUFD-FPTF Team, the architect has come up with conceptual plans of how our space needs might physically connect, and function flexibly together to meet our anticipated growth demands five to 20 years from now.
We are about to unveil the first ideas in an effort to gain even more feedback form you. Rest assured, at this stage the bubble diagrams will be more recognizable than simple circles, and will be defining estimated spacial allocations (yet still loose enough to be somewhat malleable). Drawings mounted on boards have been developed to incorporate the concerns and points of view uncovered in the programming process. These boards will serve more like an architectural translation of: "Okay, here is what we heard you say that you need and want."
WHAT WE ASK OF YOU
As originally charged by our Board of Trustees, you will soon see two possible conceptual ideas for our future campus:
- one plan for contiguous campus and
- one plan for a dispersed campus
These boards will be presented at our social time for the next several Sundays. Members of the Long-Range Facility Planning Task Force will also be on hand to explain the drawings and answer questions you might have.
For each of the two plans we will want you to ask yourself questions such as:
- "Have the discussed needs been accounted for?"
- "How does this plan meet those needs?"
As before, a feedback form is always available on our Long-Range Facility Planning web page, under the "
Connections" tab on our website. Focus groups are invited to dialogue collectively, if you wish, among your participants and respond. Individuals are also encouraged to offer commentary. Talk to us!
After we get this round of feedback the primary resonant ideas will be honed further into a more developed plan, that can then serve as a guidepost for our growing congregation.
Thanks for your contributions to the whole! Together we make the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango a vital spiritual community that supports us all.
Sincerely, Mary Ocken and the Facilities Planning Task Force, including members Trenton Wann, Barbara Hawn, and Mary Hockett
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Recital Series 2018-2019
The twelfth season of the Recital Series will begin on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. with a vocal quartet and pianist in "A Night at the Opera" featuring arias, duets, trios and quartets from the musical stage, a night of music that will surely uplift and entertain. The artists will be Ingela Onstad, soprano, Kerry Ginger, mezzo-soprano, Erik Gustafson, tenor, Michael Hix, baritone, and Debra Ayers, piano. Music included in the program will be from the Baroque era to the 20th century, alternating between some of the most celebrated arias and the most rousing ensembles. Represented works will include Handel's Julius Caesar, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, Puccini's La Bohème, Donizetti's The Elixir of Love, Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard.
To learn about the artists and the remaining recitals in the series,
click here. Subscriptions and admission to individual recitals can be purchased by mailing your two brochure panels with a check to the church or by
clicking here and purchasing tickets for individual performances online. Admission can also be purchased at the door.
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A Special Note from our Caring Team
Mollie Hanson, a member of UUFD, needs a new place to live and a "helping roommate" or host home family by October 15. Mollie has a mild cognitive disability and receives services through Community Connections. She is very independent so does not require constant attention. This position could provide a second income for someone who may already be employed or caring for family. Please contact her mother, Kathleen Adams (UUFD member) for more information: [email protected] or 970-676-1022.
Our Caring Team is made up of v
olunteer members of the congregation who offer their care and wisdom to lend a hand when people are ill or otherwise in need of help. They may pay a visit, connect with community resources, or bring by a casserole -- reminding us that we are part of a larger community of care and love. If you'd like to volunteer or know someone in need of care, contact
[email protected].
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