ISSUE 83

MAY 2023

Welcome to the path of creativity! Who among us doesn’t have an immediate response to that word?

Visual artists, musicians, and writers may readily claim it. Most of the rest of us don’t. We define creativity too narrowly. Yet really, as Peggy Taylor says: Creativity is our ability to dream things up and make them happen. Surely then, most of us have been creative whether what we created was art or a family or a career or a community or a justice partnership.

Part of the path of creativity is understanding it more broadly so that we can remember that each of us has the opportunity to shape life around us. Years ago, James Baldwin offered these important words as both encouragement and admonishment: The world is before you, and you need not take it, or leave it, as it was when you came in.

Our Unitarian Universalist tradition has placed high value on bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice in the here and now. Still, we don’t always embrace our power to imagine ways to do that or even to change our own lives. Our forebear, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: The two terrors that discourage creativity and creative living are fear of public opinion and undue reverence for one’s own consistency.

Ouch. Sometimes truth pierces and that truth feels like a personal indictment of some of the chapters of my life. I lacked courage. I cared what others thought. I was not true to myself. I didn’t act. I abandoned the fullness of my being. I decided there were things I could and couldn’t do.

As we cleaned out our parents’ home last year, I was reminded of this. I found some of my old artwork from high school. I even brought a piece home and have it hanging by our dining table. I see it every day. It has actually drawn some compliments followed by the words “I didn’t know you were an artist.”

Of course, I stumble and stammer “I’m not really. I used to just play with it in high school.” In that response though, I wondered what happened to the me that played, that tried, that didn’t worry about producing and perfection.

I used some of my time on sabbatical to try again. It was a part of my restoration and recalibration. I returned more willing to risk wholeness. On this path of creativity, that is my wish for each of us and all of us. In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert: The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels—that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in the first place—that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one.

May - The Path of Creativity

Here’s your try-this-at-home exercise from our Soul Matters packet. It may help you reshape your relationship with the word creativity. You may even begin to see yourself as creative! As M.C. Richards put it: “All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.”

You don’t have to know how to use a paintbrush or put words into poetry to be an artist. Creativity is something we do with our very living. We are all composing pieces of art with our relationships, activism, parenting and jobs. And yet we don’t often think of our daily living that way. So, this month, let’s think that way! And let’s do it by assembling a “life art portfolio.” Here are your instructions:

Set aside some time to reflect on your past week of regular events and then make a list of the everyday “art pieces” or “creative projects” you have built, composed, planted or recreated in your daily living. Here are some examples of items that might make it onto your list (i.e. into your “regular life art portfolio”):

I created joy inside my child.
I repainted my mood after a crappy day at work.
I built a new proposal at work.
I planted a seed of hope in my friend.
I balanced my checkbook with the ease and grace of a ballet dancer.

You get the idea.

You can simply reflect on the exercise/list and leave it at that. But here are some ways for you to take it deeper;

Make another list/portfolio a week later and compare the lists to see how they - and you - have changed.
After finishing the list, ask your partner, kid, friend or co-worker what they would add.
Invite your partner, kid, or friend to do the exercise with you.
Make another list of the things you want to intentionally create and bring into the world the following week.

Transitions

Malcolm Clayton Jacobs was born to Beth Taurausi on April 15.

Marylyn Kasper passed away April 28.

Are We Making Room?

This month, we will vote on the Making Room project – whether to pursue the Covid-delayed church swap with Lakewood Church of the Nazarene (LCN) or stay at our Golden campus.

At last month’s Congregational Meeting, a majority of the comments favored pursuing the move as a way to expand JUC’s reach and impact both now and in the future, while a number of others questioned the financial wisdom of moving to a much larger facility. (You can watch a video of the meeting and read a summery of the comments here.)

All members in good standing will be asked to vote on this question from May 15-31. To be absolutely clear, a congregational vote to pursue the move WOULD NOT BE THE FINAL VOTE TO MOVE. A final vote would occur only after a deep investigation by the Board of the financials, a thorough report to the congregation, a capital campaign, and a final recommendation.

With the vote right around the corner, let’s keep talking! You can count on finding ready-to-listen Board members at the table in the south commons after services, and don’t be surprised if a Board member joins you and your coffee hour or patio companions to see if you have any comments or questions. We want to hear what you have to say! And, you can also email questions and comments to makingroom@jeffersonunitarian.org.

Resistance and Planned Giving

Estate planning is certainly a TO DO that most people find easy to resist. If you do not have an estate plan or have one that is old and inaccurate, the best way to overcome your resistance is to contact an attorney that specializes in estate planning and make an appointment. An estate plan gives you peace of mind, can help care for your loved ones and can leave your impact on the world. A thoughtful plan can also strengthen our beloved community, JUC, in permanent ways. Please let us know when you include JUC in your plan. Contact our Planned Giving team: Bud & B.J. Meadows or Carol Wilsey

Do you think of yourself as a creative person? Often I don’t. I place so many limits on what I think I would need to achieve to be considered creative. It’s very silly considering that I regularly write songs, create lesson plans, come up with ideas for Time for All Ages, collaborate with colleagues to design rituals etc. In fact, something I always loved about teaching, and that I continue to love in this role, is the chance to be creative.

Despite all of these examples, when I think about labeling myself as a creative person that seems too risky. My mind wants to limit that to people who make art or music for a living, or who, like my youngest kid, Ozzie, stays up late at night making collages or painting tiny expressions on bottle caps or making a hand-sewn, hand-painted battle jacket for our dog. I know that creativity can manifest itself in many different ways - in parenting, in cooking, in planning outings or parties with friends - every one of us is creative in some way! During this month of creativity I plan to stop limiting myself and just be brave and say, “Yes! I am creative!” I hope you do the same!

In other news…

Our imaginative, caring teams of teachers and family ministry volunteers create great programming for kids and families and May continues that trend. Following the very successful kick off of We Are Parents+kids! in April, we will have another event on Tuesday, May 9. At our last event parents really got to know each other through some very fun games led by Erik Greensfelder. You won’t want to miss the May event!

Our regular Faith exploration classes continue through the end of May. Our 4th and 5th Grade OWL class is going strong thanks to our amazing Elementary OWL team - Andrea Aikin, Mike Cross, Tracy Nolan, and Jessica Leeker. Our 2nd-5th graders are continuing their social action lessons with a focus in May on taking care of the earth. We will celebrate our year of learning on May 21. Middle and High Schoolers are wrapping up their classes with planning for bridging and some fun field trips. Everyone should save the date for the Bridging Ceremony on June 4 which will be a multigenerational service honoring our Coming of Age 8th graders, our graduating Seniors and will recognize all of our kids completing a year at church and moving on to the next level. Parents of seniors who want their kids to participate - please reach out to me as soon as possible!

Rev. Jen is creating opportunities for our Middle and High Schoolers to participate in preparations for the Pride Parade in June. This Saturday, May 6 at 12 pm there will be a Tie-dying party and Saturday, May 20 a float decorating party! Please contact Rev. Jen for more information.

May is a busy time of year! My wish for you is that you make time for creativity, however that looks for you!

In this month of creativity, I wanted to offer you some creative ways to support our community here at JUC, as well as the communities beyond our walls!

First, as you may know, each month, JUC gives one offering away to partners and projects beyond our walls. In previous years, we’ve given up to $50,000 to community partners that might not have happened otherwise.

This May, Justice Council will be accepting applications for special plate recipients for our next church year. Justice Council will carefully select recipients from this pool. You may apply here!

If you are considering making a special plate suggestion for the coming church year, here are some general guidelines (with thanks to Rev. Eric for this list). Organizations must be a 501(c)(3) tax exempt entity. They are more likely to be approved if they

Operate in Jefferson County or Colorado generally
Are small enough that $2-4,000 would make a meaningful difference in their budget
Help larger numbers of people
Have ties to the members of Jefferson Unitarian Church, particularly if our members are, or are able to be, actively involved in their work
Align with our Unitarian Universalist values and traditions

Twelve special plate applications are approved each year, and a few organizations are automatically included every year, including the Action Center, Family Tree, Habitat for Humanity, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Second, I invite you to visit the Pastoral Care table this month on the first and third Sundays! The May 7 table will include information on Mental Health Awareness Month, as well as ways you might get involved in pastoral care at JUC! On May 21, our special plate recipient will be National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - with representatives from the organization - and the pastoral care table will contain information on getting involved with NAMI.

Thank you, friends, for all you do here at JUC and beyond to live out our values, and for all you will do!

Creativity and Art - A Way to Respond to the World

A consumerist society. Cultural and ideological divides. Racial oppression.

Out in the world, there are so many forces that work against values of wholeheartedness and integrity. At JUC, we have been embracing a month of resistance - and moving to a month of creativity. In the music that we have been offering at JUC, and in the music to come in May, we are linking the two - creativity as a joyful and communal resistance to the pressures of the world.

In the Children’s Music Service that featured music of the Alphabet Rockers , our Children’s Choir, led by Laura Lizut, sang about how each person has value - we are neither cogs in a machine nor people to be devalued, but instead are complete and beautiful beings. Our kids shone as they sang these words:

I got the power

I got the strength

I got the love of those who come before me,

Who made me who I am

I got the courage

I got the drive

I got the magic forming inside me

It makes me who I am

Our JUC Choir has been responding to the invitation to stretch ourselves, to reach out and to do a new difficult thing in order to show solidarity to another. The Choir learned three Korean pieces to sing at an April 30 concert with the Colorado Korean Chorus. As part of the collaboration, the Colorado Korean Chorus’ director, Dr. Taehyun Kim, coached the JUC Choir at a Wednesday night rehearsal on the details of singing in the Korean language - and he brought delicious Korean pastries with him as a gift from the Colorado Korean Chorus! JUC was also invited to submit a short video to be presented during the concert, sharing what Jefferson Unitarian Church was about, and also relating the challenge of singing in Korean. As Unitarian Universalists, we try to respond to the call when it comes, to learn and to companion - and to grow.

In May, the JUC Choir will be singing a May 21 music service, which both includes some of the Korean music that we sang in the April concert, plus the choral settings by Rollo Dilworth of the poetry of three Black Americans. Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872 - 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His poem, “Dreams” is here:

What dreams we have and how they fly

Like rosy clouds across the sky;

Of wealth, of fame, of sure success,

Of love that comes to cheer and bless;

And how they wither, how they fade,

The waning wealth, the jilting jade—

The fame that for a moment gleams,

Then flies forever,—dreams, ah—dreams!

O burning doubt and long regret,

O tears with which our eyes are wet,

Heart–throbs, heart–aches, the glut of pain,

The somber cloud, the bitter rain,

You were not of those dreams—ah! well,

Your full fruition who can tell?

Wealth, fame, and love, ah! love that beams

Upon our souls, all dreams—ah! dreams.

Continuing on the theme of dreams, poet Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967) wrote this famous poem, which our Quarantet presented in video in April, and which the choir will sing in person in May:

I dream a world where man

No other man will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth

And peace its paths adorn

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth

And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind-

Of such I dream, my world!

Maya Angelou (1928 - 2014), American poet and civil rights activist, has many famous poems and writings, including her 1969 autobiographical I know why the caged bird sings. The poem set by Rollo Dilworth is “United in purpose."

The onus is upon us all to work to

Improve the human condition.

Perform good deeds, for that is truly

The way to battle the forces of entropy

That are at work in our world.

The composite of all our efforts can

Have an effect. Good done anywhere

Is good done everywhere.

When we unite in purpose,

We are greater than the sum of our parts.

So as we move into the month of creativity, may you look to poetry, art, dance, music… any expression you wish - to find joy, collegiality, community, and resistance, to create the world that you wish to bequeath to those who will call us all ancestors.

Trash Talk

You have been hearing about compost and trash in the news lately and there is so much confusion! As a community that has care for the environment as one of our Ends Statements (transform our relationship to the earth and act for climate justice) I encourage you to be aware of our waste streams. We have three:

Compost - anything that was alive (all food scraps) and all of our servingware (cups, flatware, plates, bowls). Remove fruit and veggie stickers! Those are leading contaminants.
Recycling - cans, bottles, cardboard, paperboard, paper, plastic containers. Our compostable items don't belong in recycling.
Landfill - everything else. This includes coffee cups from elsewhere. Unfortunately, Starbucks doesn't use compostable cups. You can check for a compostable label on products to see if they are compostable or not.

For compost and recycling, the main message is "if in doubt, leave it out." But that doesn't mean don't pay attention to our signs and just use landfill. We purposely spend precious dollars to buy compostable products so that our landfill stream is minimized. Please take a few seconds to use the correct bin! That also helps us save money on trash pickup.

We will be putting new signs on our containers that will help you understand where to toss items. If you are not sure, don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask someone for help. If you are one of our "experts," please make yourself an "ambassador" to help others.

We have a new compost service (Compost Colorado - nicknamed CoCo) that we are working closely with. They have their own local compost facility and we will be getting feedback from them about contamination (along with a contamination fee) and how well our items are composting.

CoCo also provides a community drop-off option and we will have those bins here. If you are interested, you can sign up and drop your compost off in those dedicated bins. Great option if you don't have compost pickup at home.

Please help us do a fantastic job with our waste streams! It makes a difference!

Mary LeBoeuf, Trustee

As I struggled with last month’s theme of resistance, I wanted to counter my struggle with gratitude. Instead of fighting against what I resist, can I focus on what I appreciate? This brings me to be aware of my gratitude for being able to be a member of JUC.

As a non-churchgoer for many years, I did not miss attending services. I am still as moved by the energy and enthusiasm that I find here as I was on my first visit to JUC. I immediately experienced the difference of being in a community that participates not because they are told to do so, but because they choose to do so. I don’t think I can ever make clear what a dramatic experience that was and still is for me.

I want to suggest that we each look at what is positive about our activities with JUC and not focus on what we think is wrong or what we think it should be or how we think it could be better. I am always amazed at how much work and energy and enthusiasm goes into what happens here. Our Sunday service with the Children’s Choir that was held on Sunday, April 23 was an excellent example of what I am talking about. I saw how hard Laura and Sarah worked during the services and can only imagine what all went into that production that we witnessed and were invited to participate in. How many hours went into creating and planning? I doubt that I really have any idea as to how much work that took. Not to mention the coordination with Rev. Keith and the other members of the band. Every week we are able to attend services that are inviting, thought-provoking, sometimes challenging. How blessed we are!

JUC's Community Action Network Wants YOUR Input!

JUC’s Community Action Network (JUC CAN) wants to know YOUR thoughts and concerns about housing issues in Jeffco.

Please respond to our short, anonymous poll about YOUR priorities regarding housing and homelessness in Jeffco (this will take 2 minutes max): Poll Link We also want to hear your personal housing stories, so please let us know if you are willing to share your story (send an email to communityaction@jeffersonunitarian.org).

Six years ago, our JUC CAN group asked 150 members of our congregation about their social justice priorities in Jeffco. One of the top priorities was affordable housing/homelessness. The past several years have ushered in a severe housing shortage, an alarming lack of housing affordability, and a doubling of newly unhoused people in our community. It’s truly overwhelming… Please respond to our poll and please share your housing stories with us. Your input will help inform and guide our decisions about the next steps for our JUC CAN ministry work.

Did you miss our Community Organizing for Change Webinar during JUC’s Social Justice Weekend? You can watch a recording of the meeting here.

Want more information about housing? Here are links to some videos of interest:

Got Shelter? Navigating the Unhoused Crisis in Jeffco Panel (February 28, 2023)

by League of Women Voters of Jefferson County and JUC CAN.

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Education Series

If you have questions and/or would like to be added to the JUC CAN Action Alert list to receive occasional important alerts and updates about housing issues and legislation, please send an email to communityaction@jeffersonunitarian.org.

CUUPS Corner

Piper Perry

For those who haven’t heard, our chapter of Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPs) has been learning how to use our personal stories, the stories of our ancestors, the stories of Colorado, and the stories of various European mythologies to help us build an internal foundation from which to fight white supremacy.

Much like learning any martial art or bodywork practice, these foundational skills of understanding who we are, where we come from and what kind of people we want to be in the world will help us speak up, disrupt oppression and support our marginalized siblings. I am reminded of the scene in the Karate Kid where he realizes that all the physical labor he has been doing are actually karate moves. Wax on, wax off.

This series of rituals and exercises is fundamental in the Aun Year, a call back to a pre-Christian celebration of connection with the Earth and community building in response to the cautionary tale of King Aun. King Aun was a man who sacrificed his children to lengthen his life and rule, and there are obvious parallels between King Aun’s sacrifice of his children and our willingness to sacrifice our children’s futures with gun violence, the sickness of greed and the dehumanization of the ‘other.’

Aun Year is a concept popularized by the Danish professor and Nordic animist Dr. Rune Hjarno Rasmussen as part of a world awakening series of conversations about white supremacy, decolonization and environmental degradation.

So how does creativity relate to our Aun Year work?

To create a better world, we must be able to imagine it.

Luckily, many of our greatest minds have already imagined the world we could have. We see those musings most in the work of science fiction and fantasy authors, all playing in the sandbox of imagination, creating new ways of seeing and being in the world.

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable; so did the divine right of kings. … Power can be resisted and changed by human beings.” Ursula K. Le Guin

We often get caught up in the distress of ‘I am only one person, what can I possibly change?’

While acknowledging the systems of oppression, it seems overwhelming to try to change anything.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” - Vincent Van Gogh

This is what Aun Year is all about, building great things from small changes. Wax on, wax off.

Imagine a better world and determine how you want to make it happen. Then create it, in small ways, as often as you can. Wax on, wax off

We are not having a ritual in May, rather we are meeting weekly online to work on the skills that will help us. If you are interested in what we have been doing, but haven’t been able to make the rituals or discussions, this is the perfect month for you to get involved. All of our exercises are on our webpage. The meetings in May will be about practicing the skills we have learned so far.

Our next ritual will be June 4. In June we will be using those foundations we have built to challenge assumptions and shake up/shake off complacency and comfort by discussing how our LGBTQIA2S+ siblings are dehumanized and modeling how to disrupt the prejudice that often happens right before our eyes.

May our Aun Year be disruptive. May we create something more equitable.