I have been fortunate over the past year to participate in UU Wellspring. UU Wellspring is a religious education program for adults that helps us delve more deeply into what it means to be a UU. We are fortunate to have UU Wellspring classes that we offer each year here at JUC. My Wellspring course was a year-long study of the six Unitarian Universalist Sources.  

While doing the preliminary reading for the class, I was struck by the fact that, while I had read the descriptions of the sources many times and I sometimes use them to guide my choices in music or Faith Exploration activities, I had never really taken the opportunity to think deeply about each one. This month’s theme, The Gift of Mystery, calls to mind the first source:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.

There is so much to unpack in this sentence but for the sake of our theme let’s just look at the word “mystery.” It can be easy to dismiss the idea of mystery. We think we can explain everything or, that if we can’t (i.e. I really have no understanding of physics) we feel assured that someone who has studied the subject can. But through the process of pondering the words of the first source I have realized that there are so many things I can't explain. Love, for example. I can’t really explain how it works but I know it exists. Paradox - why are there so many situations that encompass two different, opposite truths. Socks - how does just one of my favorite pair always disappear? I tend toward the skeptical and the rational but I love the idea that there are things that we truly don’t know. Mystery and wonder make life interesting, exciting and full.  

Speaking of mystery, if you want to further explore December’s theme I encourage you to come to our December Theme Thing. We will be attending a performance of “The Miracle at Tepayac” at the Su Teatro Cultural and Performance Center on Friday, December 9. This show features music, Aztec dancers and a story that overlays current issues of immigration and indigenous identities on the myth of the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 16th century Mexico. The show is appropriate for people of all ages! Tickets are $12/person and, as always, let us know if you need help with the ticket cost. Sign Up Link

I also invite you to any of the many Holiday services we will hold this month from Blue Christmas to Solstice to Christmas Eve. Our Christmas Eve family services will be held at 11 am and 1 pm and will feature music led by our Children and Youth. The family services are welcoming, fun and participatory. I am looking for kids to play easy roles in the pageant for the 1 pm service (Children’s choir will play the roles at 11 am). If your child is interested please let me know.  

The holiday season can be stressful - I hope that amidst the hustle and bustle you will find time for joy, laughter, music and at least a little mystery!

I am a person who does not frequently see “Mystery” as a gift. I like knowing things for certain. I like facts and I like proof. I don’t like it when I can’t plan ahead, and I tend to stress over the smallest things that I feel I can’t predict or control.

I think back to how overwhelmed I felt during my first year of college. I was having a really hard time keeping up with all that was expected of me as a student and new adult, and I couldn’t foresee myself finishing school successfully, nor could I envision a future where I didn’t finish my degree. What would life look like?

That summer, I took a job as a camp counselor at a fine arts camp in Michigan in hopes that I would distract myself from these feelings, spend some time outside, and make some music. While singing with the staff choir, we sang “Even When He Is Silent” by Kim André Arneson which, to this day, is probably my favorite piece of choral music. Its text is an anonymous poem, and it is said that it was written on a wall at a Cologne concentration camp during World War II. The poem reads: “I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining. / I believe in love, even when I can’t feel it. / I believe in God, even when He is silent.”

I remember not being able to stop myself from crying while singing this piece. The text brought up so many emotions; I couldn’t stop thinking about the immense strength and faith of this author who, while experiencing the most heinous of crimes against humanity, chose to write something so encouraging, and at a time that I would have described myself as a “ball of worry,” this text really put things into perspective.

Recently, I went digging into this text a bit more, and found a set of blog posts by UU minister, Rev. Everett Howe, who four years after their initial blog post, successfully found a primary source that describes Catholic Scouts discovering underground passageways, and discovering a shelter in which nine Jewish fugitives had hidden for four months. In this source, it talks about finding an inscription on the wall, which translated literally says: “I believe in the sun, though it be dark; I believe in God, though He be silent; I believe in neighborly love, though it be unable to reveal itself.” To me, I prefer this more literal translation, especially qualifying love as “neighborly love,” which, as Rev. Howe points out, could also simply be called compassion.

On Sunday, December 3, JUC Choir will be singing “I Believe” by Mark A. Miller, which uses this same text. When I learned that we were exploring “The Gift of Mystery” in December, I knew I wanted to find a time to sing this poem, which frequently has brought me peace and reminds me to stay open to the unknown, because if there’s one thing I can trust, it’s that there is inherent good in the world, even when it’s hard to spot.

Elizabeth Duhegraham, Trustee

For a trip this past summer, we had planned a bike ride on the Ile d’Orleans, which is an island in Quebéc. The complaining started before the ride: about how early we were getting up, that rain was in the forecast, and that the bikes were more expensive than we’d anticipated. Grandma realized she couldn’t manage a bike on her own and almost missed the ride. At one point, after looking back to make sure Julie was still behind me and discovering I couldn’t see her, I stopped and stood in the rain next to my bike—alone and annoyed. 

And, suddenly, things shifted. I was awed by the misty, beautiful world around me. I realized Jessie’s boyfriend and grandma were having fun riding the tandem bike together, and that Jessie was having fun even though she had been the most resistant to this activity. I stopped looking back for Julie and as I faced forward, I was elated to see her riding toward me out of the mist. 

The holidays can be like this too. You plan and prep and try so hard to make it fun and meaningful. But while some things will fall flat, you never know when a box will spark joy. This month’s church theme of the gift of mystery reminds me to appreciate the little joys that pop up unexpectedly in the chaos.

Shop BIPOC

ShopBIPOC is an online directory collaboratively developed by Center for Community Wealth Building. It is an online marketplace designed to make it easy for individual and institutional consumers to locate local Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) owned businesses - everything from restaurants to candle makers to architects to concrete contractors to jewelry makers to therapists and many things in between. Imagine the impact it will make if each member of our congregation makes a purchase from a business featured on ShopBIPOC! That is the power of congregation.

Jefferson Unitarian Church is proud to be a founding member of Equity Exchange, an initiative launched by Center for Community Wealth Building, to support faith-based entities in aligning their purchasing with their racial and social justice values. We meet monthly to share progress, challenges, and identify current spending categories that we could look to new vendors to fulfill – specifically, local small businesses owned by People of Color, women, LGBTQIA+, or veterans. The primary emphasis, however, is with People of Color, in light of the well-documented racial wealth gap that exists at the local and national levels. 

You will find wonderful gift giving options for the holidays, as well as businesses ready to meet your year round needs. We are thrilled that ShopBIPOC exists and that it was built with our congregation and other values-aligned organizations and institutions in mind. Join the movement — ShopBIPOC! 

Habitat for Humanity Update

Bruce and Cathy Martin

Thank you to those who supported the JIP (Jeffco Interfaith Partners) pumpkin patch set up, staffing and sales in October. Also, a thank you to those who supported the October Special Plate Offering that was also directed toward JIP and Metro Denver Habitat for Humanity (MD H4H). The pumpkin patch raised over $100,000 and the third Sunday offering was over $2,000. The pumpkin patch proceeds will allow a return of $60,000 to the Navajo nation and leave over $40,000 to put toward next year’s JIP co-sponsorship of a house construction project for MD H4H.

The current Miller Street MD H4H building project is just about to finish up. Seven of the eight units have buyers approved as moving in starts to happen.

With the pumpkin patches cleaned up and supplies back in storage there are still a couple ways to support MD H4H and its mission to provide long term affordable housing. As you consider year end gifting you could keep in mind MD H4H (you can designate through our JIP entity if that appeals to you). And all year round you can go to the MD H4H web site and volunteer as an individual to help at a Restore or a winter construction site. If you volunteer three times through December, January and February you will qualify for a “Winter Warrior” H4H neck gaiter.

Guatemala Partners

June LeCrone, UUSC/Guatemala Partners

Guatemala is a country with limited opportunities for its young people. When those young people are members of the indigenous Mayan community those opportunities are even more limited because of the isolating, discriminatory and violent actions of successive governments towards the Mayan community in particular. Over the course of the 20th century those governments were supported both covertly and overtly by our government. More often than not that support took the form of military support. In the past few years, the US government has been much more likely to weigh in on the side of democratic forces and an independent judiciary in Guatemala. The current situation is a case in point. Elections were held in June 2023 with the second round August 20. The opposition anti-corruption candidate, Bernardo Arevalo won the 2nd round with 61% of the vote. Since then, the current government has made every effort, including threatening arrest, to prevent Arrevalo from taking office in January. At several levels the US government has put pressure on the current Guatemalan government to honor the results of the 2023 election. US State Department Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols visited Guatemala October 25 to support a peaceful presidential transition process. During his two days he visited with Indigenous leaders, civil society representatives and private sector leaders and the foreign secretary of Guatemala. After decades of interference on the side of non-democratic forces in Guatemala, these are small but crucial steps towards increasing stability and economic vitality in the country. 

What does all of this have to do with JUC? Yes, Guatemala is one of our neighbors in Central America and the origin point for many thousands of immigrants trying to cross the US/Mexico border. But we have a much stronger connection to Guatemala. 

Since 2007 JUC has been supporting the young people from one community of Mayans in the area of Rabinal, Guatemala, through financial support for a scholarship program. The first year we supported three Middle School (Basico) students. In the intervening years the program has grown to include High School (diversificados) students. For almost ten years we have been supporting 59-60 students each year, more than 80% of whom entered the program as middle schoolers and have been supported through their five to six years until graduation. Two-thirds of the students in the program are girls. The opportunity to receive an education and become qualified professionals in their community brings immense hope to the young people in our program. It is also true that the political climate in which the scholarship students are studying impacts their success and it impacts the opportunities available to them Many aspects of this program are special, but two things stand out to me:

First, the administrator of the program, grassroots organization ADIVIMA, selects students based on economic need, not merit because they recognize that most of the students live in conditions of extreme poverty that can prevent optimal academic performance. 

Second, once the students become a part of the program, they receive the individual support that makes it possible for them to be successful in school. This includes the fulltime tutor supported by our donations. She meets with every student regularly either at their home or in the study center. 

Ten years ago, we realized that building relationships with the students’ community and bearing witness to their efforts could strengthen the program immeasurably. Beginning in 2014 we have built those relationships through a succession of trips to visit their community. Many JUCers have joined those trips and found their world view changed as well as their sense of connection with the Mayan community. We alternate adult trips with family trips (parent/teen). Our most recent adult trip returned October 12. If you missed the Fiesta, we will have a slide show of the trip running in the South Commons later in December. You will also be able to see some of the pictures if you come to I Heart Christmas, Sunday, December 10. We hope to be able to take a Family trip in July of 2024. We will have more details for you in January. If you have teens ages 13 to 18, and you are at all interested, please hold mid-July on your calendars; trip dates will be forthcoming. We are aware that the current political situation could impact our ability to take a trip in July. We will be in close touch with our partner, ADIVIMA to monitor that situation. If you would be interested in helping to plan the 2024 or subsequent trips, please get in touch with us. We welcome your input.