Baja 4: Stronger Together
Unitarian Universalists from across Southeast Arizona
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Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm X | | |
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We are the Baja 4!
Representing Unitarian Universalists across southeastern Arizona, we love beyond belief and find inspiration from a wide array of spiritual, religious, and secular sources. We come together as a Baja 4 because we know we are stronger together.
Learn more about each congregation!
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Celebrations and Special Days
It's always fun to celebrate and at the same time learn about cultures around the world. Here are a few things happening this month.
Interfaith:
Unitarian Universalist:
National & Cultural:
For Fun and On the Fringe:
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We Explore Commitment
The theme this month is Commitment and we are exploring what is important to us. It’s called what we are committed to. Here is what is important to us as Unitarian Universalists:
● We are committed to curiosity.
● We are committed to change.
● We are committed to conscience.
● We are committed to compassion.
Commitment means that we act on what we value and hold important. What does your faith encourage you to commit to? Let's explore!
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Chalice Lighting to Share
Covenant
Rev. Peter Friedrichs
Enriched by our differences,
And joined together in our search for meaning,
We covenant with ourselves and each other:
To seek truth in a spirit of love;
To strive for justice; and
To serve others with a joyful heart
Find more chalice lightings here.
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Jiminy Cricket is a famous "conscience". Does the story of Pinocchio hold up in 2022? It could be an interesting talking point! | |
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Conscience
We are committed to conscience as a way to tell right from wrong. Our 5th UU principle inspires us towards “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” Instead of turning to one person (like a king or a single “wise-person”) for all the answers, we believe that every single person has wisdom inside that needs to be listened to. The still, inner voice that we call conscience is a way to guide us on our journeys. So, what’s one of the ways our faith guides us into becoming a people of commitment? It says, “Always trust your conscience/inner voice/gut to help you tell right from wrong.”
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Mindful Moment: Body and Conscience
Centering: Let’s get into our meditation positions.
Sit comfortably in your chair or on the floor.
Put your hands on your lap or on your knees.
Sit up nice and tall.
Focus your eyes in front of you.
Find your breath moving in your body in and out.
Mindful Moment:
Your conscience can tell you something is right or wrong through signals from your body. Let’s explore them in a mindful way.
Imagine that you have decided to play a computer game even when you are supposed to be finishing your chore of emptying the trash cans.
Or imagine your own time when you did something that was wrong.
Can you feel the ways that your body signals you?
Put your hands over your heart. Feel it ache. [PAUSE]
Put your hands over your stomach. Feel that tight feeling. [PAUSE]
Put your hands on your forehead. Feel the nervousness. [PAUSE]
When our conscience knows something is wrong, we feel worry, fear of getting in trouble, wanting to hide your action from others.
Sit with these feelings for a moment and feel how they signal in your body when something is wrong. [PAUSE]
Your conscience can also signal you when something is right. Imagine you are fixing a broken toy for a little child. Or imagine your own time when you did something that was right.
Can you feel the ways that your body signals you?
Put your hands over your heart. Feel it glow. [PAUSE]
Put your hands on your waist. Feel it centered and filled with pride. [PAUSE]
Put your hands on your head. Feel it grow with responsibility. [PAUSE]
Put your hands on your cheeks. Feel the sense of caring. [PAUSE]
Put your hands on your strong legs. Feel them strong with honesty. [PAUSE]
When our conscience knows something is right , we feel pride, a glow, caring, and a sense of peace and balance.
Sit with these feelings for a moment and feel how good you feel when your conscience knows you are doing the right thing. [PAUSE]
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Watch the video of the book here. | Inside the Lost Photos of Gordon Parks video above provides some background. | |
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Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America
by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author) and Jamey Christoph (Illustrator)
This is a story of how a self-taught artist prodded the conscience of America just before the Civil Rights Movement by publishing photographs of poverty and segregation.
Video: https://youtu.be/Gn3vef-NWws
Discussion Guidance:
- Do you think that seeing photographs can help wake up the conscience?
- How was the conscience of America sleeping when it came to racism?
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Coming Events
What's Happening This Month?
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On The Patio
Mondays from 6-8pm,
Tuesdays from 9-11am, and Saturdays from 3-5pm | On the UUCT Patio at 4831 E. 22nd Street
Introducing, Open Patio Hours! Come enjoy some fellowship and community on the patio at UUCT. The focus of these events is mostly social with optional participatory activities and the occasional opportunity for causing some holy trouble. The Saturday event will be created with families with young kids in mind; UUCT will pay for playground monitors so the kids can play while parents and guardians take a break.
As soon as our policies allow, these gatherings will move indoors into Holland so that all can enjoy some time in our sacred space. Please wear a mask. All are welcome!
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2nd Hour
Jan. 9 | 12:15-1:15pm | Zoom
Please join us for 2nd Hour: a once -per -month afternoon of a variety of educational, spiritual, interesting, and fun workshops.
See the UU Quest website for links and descriptions!
- Harvest the Power: Faith and Conflict **Starts at noon**
- Article X at UUCT with Steve Kraynak
2nd Hour **Seeking 2nd Hour Workshop Leaders**
Right now I’m building a schedule of workshops for 2nd Hour and would love to include you in the line up. What do you have to share with the world? Bring me an idea and we’ll work together to develop it! No need to worry about technical support. I’ll have assistants available to manage the Zoom, so you can simply lead.
If you have any questions or want to lead a workshop, please contact Jamili at DRE.UUCT@gmail.com.
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Parenting of Preschoolers (POPS)
Join on Zoom others with children ages birth to 6 years old to offer support as we come to understand our child's spiritual development, to build rituals that support this development, and to see ourselves as spiritual teachers. Zoom link will be sent out to all that are registered for the classes. Not registered? Please fill out this form and we will add you to the email list. Thank you!
Jan. 8, 1-2pm --Children's Story Time --Designed for children ages birth to 6+, but everyone is welcome. We will participate in storytelling, crafts, spiritual reflection and much more. We hope that you will join us.
Jan. 29, 1-2pm --Grown Up meet up --Designed for those adults raising children who are ages birth to 6, but everyone is welcome. This is an amazing group of parents that come together once a month to talk about topics relevant to our daily lives. We offer support, words of wisdom, and connect to those around us. We hope that you join and share with us.
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Heart Space: I Quit!
Jan. 13 | 6:30pm-7:30pm | zoom
Evening Worship returns! In this dynamic, all-ages worship, we will experiment and play with different ways to be in a reverent community together. This month in our theme of commitment, we explore the questions of when to quit something. How do we know when to stay the course and when to diverge? When did you quit something? There will be creative, hands-on time and time for reflection, laughter, and joy. Please join us!
The room opens at 6:15pm for some social time and a heart-felt worship to follow at 6:30pm.
Zoom in at: https://zoom.us/j/5716364277
Meeting ID: 571 636 4277
Password: 973902
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UUCT TBIRDs + MVUU Snowbirds Picnic
Thursday, Jan. 20 | noon | Himmel Park
Fully immunized UUCT and MVUU seasonal members, visitors and friends will gather 1/20 at noon on the east side of centrally located Himmel Park across from 2nd St. Set your GPS for 1000 N. Treat Ave, a block south of East Speedway where you will find ample on-street parking. All should bring deck chairs along with their lunch to join the circle. Himmel features many colorful Vermillion flycatchers chirping away.
Contact Howard.tolley@gmail.com for picnic info or to sign up for TBIRD/Snowbird winter 2022 announcements, including last minute weather related updates for January 20 get-together.
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Youth Worship: Comfort and community
Saturday, January 15th | 7PM MT | Zoom
Calling all UU youth (all middle and high schoolers welcome)!
Come worship with us and join us as we talk about comfort and community! There will be worship, games, and discussion as we talk about what we want and need from this new community and, most importantly, we start to get to know one another! Feel free to DRESS UP IN YOUR COMFIEST JAMMIES for this worship!
The Mountain Top BIPOC UU Community, Colorado UUs for Racial Justice and UU Justice Ministry of California are hosting monthly online youth (middle and high school) worship, open to ALL youth. We'll worship together, have fun, build community, and learn about our faith and ourselves. The event will consist of half an hour of worship, followed by discussion and activity groups.
Please register here: https://tinyurl.com/janyouth
For more information, visit here: https://themountaintopuu.org/january-15-youth-worship/
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Laughter Yoga
Tuesdays and Thursdays | 4-4:30pm | Zoom
Laughter Yoga is a unique concept that invites everyone to laugh without jokes, humor, or comedy. Through laughter exercises, hatha yoga breathing, and playfulness we will laugh into joy, health, and bonds within the Baja 4. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Mandan Kataria, today Laughter Yoga is practiced by thousands in over 115 countries.
Rev. Matthew is a practicing laughter yogi who trained under Dr. Kataria and is a certified Yoga Laughter facilitator. Members and Friends of BUU will be joining Rev. Matthew to assist in demonstrating laughter exercises, yoga breathing, and Bollywood dance! Learn more about Laughter Yoga: https://laughteryoga.org/
Ages: Everyone who wants to laugh
Dates and Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4-4:30pm
Zoom in at: https://zoom.us/j/99073129659
Meeting ID: 990 7312 9659
Passcode: 574011
Contact information: Please contact Rev. Matthew with laugher and questions: minister.borderlandsuu@gmail.com
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Camp!
Pacific Western Region camps will be open summer of 2022 to middle and high school youth with age specific programming. Woo hoo!
All staff and participants will adhere to strict safety guidelines including up to date methods to ensure COVID precautions are maintained.
- QUUest Camp - July 3-9, in Casper, WY with a bus from the Denver area
- Camp Blue Boat - July 17-22, in Ellensburg, WA
For more info go to uua.org/pwrcamp or email our Camping Ministries Director, Jessica Laikeman, at jlaikeman@uua.org
Interested in being on staff? Applications are up at bit.ly/PWRCampApp2022
See you in the woods this summer!
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Movie and Discussion: “Living and Dying: A Love Story”
Jan 22 | 2-4PM | Zoom
**Content Warning** This series will examine frankly and directly death and end of life choices. Please consider the appropriateness of this event for younger people.
As a part of the Death with Dignity Film Series, we will watch this film, a 2018 documentary by Sher and Rob Safran documenting the last week of Sher’s parents’ lives. Charlie, a retired surgeon with Parkinson’s, and Francie with heart disease, chose to exit together using Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. Watch the 45 minute film with us on Zoom, and stay around for a discussion after.
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Courage for Racial Justice, Courage for Collective Liberation
Multiple offerings:
- Monday, Jan. 24th in Phoenix 6:30 - 8:30 pm
- Wednesday, Jan. 26th in Sedona 10:00 am -12:00 pm
- Wednesday, Jan. 26th in Prescott 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Anti-racism and racial justice are core to our spiritual/religious values and taking action for justice and collective liberation is a way that we live our values, in our congregations, and in our communities. Join us for an interactive workshop with longtime social justice educator, author, and organizer, Chris Crass, one of the leading voices in the country calling for and supporting white people to work for racial justice. Whether you’ve been active for decades or a few days, this is an opportunity to develop a stronger culture of inspiration, resilience, and courage for racial justice.
Register for this workshop here
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Creating a New Way: Workshop for Men on Courage for Feminism and Anti-Racism
Thursday, Jan. 27 | 5:30 - 7:30 pm | Both in person at UUCT and on Zoom
For white men and boys who want to live with social justice values in our hearts and minds, rather than the messages that blame people of color, women, LGBTQ+ for our pain. For white men and boys who want beloved community, who believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all, and want to be courageous against systems of oppression that divide us. This interactive workshop will be an opportunity to explore what it means to be feminist and anti-racist and ways that we can reject and heal from patriarchal masculinity and work together to live our values and root our identities in love and collective liberation.
Register for this workshop here
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Movie Night! Sponsored by Tucson area UU Younger Adults (TUUYA)
Jan 29 | 6:30pm | Zoom
Films and friends! Let's gather [virtually] to share an evening of movies. We will be watching a new release from a famous studio that has a mouse as a mascot. Rated PG the film is about The Madrigals, an extraordinary family who lives hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place. The magic of the town has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift -- every child except Mirabel. However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger.
Bring friends, a snack, and tissues (I’m serious about the tissues!)
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/5716364277
Meeting ID: 571 636 4277
Password: 973902
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PS. Have you joined the Parenting Club group on Facebook? Everyone in the Baja 4 is welcome!
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