ISSUE 71

MAY 2022

As we conclude this month’s theme of awakening, I am in awe of of our congregation and its capacity. We have endured much this month. The resignation of our Director of Faith Exploration, Jules Jaramillo, and the announcement that Rev. Eric Banner will be leaving us to become the Senior Minister at First Universalist.

News like that could rock other congregations, but not JUC. You have been showing up online and in person. You hold the losses with both sadness and good wishes. As I look forward in excitement to hiring these two key positions at the same time, you have joined me in a confident openness to the future.

Especially amazing to me is that in the midst of this change, so many of you have approached me with thoughtful concern. “Oh, I hope this doesn’t ruin your sabbatical. You have had quite a year. You need time off. We will be OK.” Your words touch me deeply.

You should know that the Board continues to support my planned sabbatical. I will be here through July and able to onboard our two new staff members. In August, an experienced minister will arrive and stay for three months to help lead staff and worship. I will return to you for the flurry that is JUC in December. As ready for rest as I am, the thought of returning in December fills me with joy.

Rest. It is such a countercultural notion even though it is an integral part of a healthy life. As we said in the worship service Rev. Keith and I led to open the month, taking time for rest is one of the pathways to awakening described in our hymn “Wake Now My Senses.” Do you remember? Together we sang, “Suffer thy limit and praise the sublime.” We cannot do everything. Rest is essential.

With that in mind, and noting the wear and tear on our staff from the added and unpredictable demands of the pandemic, we have decided to go to one service on Sundays beginning Memorial Day weekend (May 29) and ending Labor Day weekend (September 4). That service will be at 10 a.m. I’m excited to be one community through the summer months.

Thank you for being the amazing congregation that you are and for the privilege of serving as your Senior Minister.

About once a year I go back and read an old book on preaching by Fred Craddock, a man credited with one of the most important changes in church style in the 20^th century. I have dog-eared a page that I return to often, because it is a reminder I need to hear, and perhaps you do, too. “The urgent business of the world, we are told, demands that there be some leverage in all that we say and do, and beauty is powerless. Or to change the imagery, beauty is frosting, but it will not feed the world. There is a practical ring to this position that is not without persuasion, nor precedent… For all the wise caution and sound counsel in these clear-eyed observations, there still remains something essentially vulgar about this craving for utility. Whoever looks upon a forest as only so many feet of lumber, or upon clouds as only inches of rain, or upon meadows as only bales of hay operates the estate at a loss. Extract from a person’s life a healthy portion of songs and flowers and you have reduced to something less than human ‘the creature the Lord God has made.’”

Whether you share his theology, his point remains worth keeping. We live in a time and a world where it can seem like everywhere we turn there are life hacks, and ways to optimize your time, be more productive, grow your wealth or your investment returns. But I share Craddock’s sense that there is something essentially vulgar about wealth piled high, like the old cartoons with Scrooge McDuck from my childhood, held only for the purpose of having more than the next person. It would be one thing, I suppose, to keep working for greater efficiencies if they meant more free time, more time for beauty, love, connection, compassion, and care. Instead they often seem to be excuses to have or consume more, instead of creating more of what matters most in our days.

And yet, I fall victim, too. Checking the balances in my retirement accounts. Asking whether we really ought to spend our time on something just for the joy, the beauty, of it. Trying to make sure that we’ve been good stewards of the resources that have been entrusted to us. Failing to see the forest for the lumber it might yet produce. It’s a balance, I know. And the balance will shift and vary for each of us, and throughout our lifetimes, but my encouragement to you, and to myself, is to ask not only “What is it good for?” and to ask instead, “What goodness might I yet make of all that has been given to me?”

Transitions

Barb Bailey died on March 25.

Board of Trustees Report

The Board approved members John Schaffer and Andrea Aikin as delegates to this year's General Assembly

The Spring Congregational vote will be online again this year. Tentative plans are to provide details regarding the vote to the Congregation mid-May, with the deadline to vote in early June. Members will vote on new leadership and the 2022-2023 JUC annual budget.

The Board has completed the Following Our Spirit of Love project and will share JUC's new Values, Ends and Mission Statement in the coming weeks. The current plan is to then schedule cottage meetings with members of the congregation to discuss how these will guide us going forward.

Awakening and Planned Giving

We are always living a transitional life. Our community teaches us to strive to evaluate and grow from the past, be in this moment, and awaken to a new future with hope. Our species is long living, and we individuals are not. We receive gifts for our use. When we are spent, we pass on what we were given to others who follow. What came to us as seed, goes on to others as blossoms of love. This is the spirit in which we invite you to include JUC as a beneficiary in your estate plan.

Contact our Planned Giving team: Bud & B.J. Meadows, Mike Kramer or Carol Wilsey

Thank You!

The Circles of Connection group facilitated by Ed and Meridee Cecil thanks you for your participation in their food drive benefitting BGOLDN (formerly Golden Backpacks).

Hundreds of items were collected, weighing several hundred pounds.

In January I wrote about composing the Ruach Song Cycle, a multi-movement choral work that acknowledges the primacy of breath and spirit in life and in song.

The scheduled January 20 performance was postponed due to the Omicron wave of COVID, but it is back on for Friday, May 20 at Lakewood Church of the Nazarene (details and registration below). The one-hour fundraising concert for Second Wind Fund of Colorado is a response to the challenges, tragedies, and triumphs of the time from 2020 to 2022, including the losses of loved ones during the pandemic, the demonstrations for racial justice, the war in Ukraine, and the preciousness of being able to gather and sing in person.

The choice of venue for the concert is significant in the life of Jefferson Unitarian Church, as Lakewood Church of the Nazarene is a potential future home for JUC. Our current sanctuary simply isn’t big enough for this concert, while both the chancel and congregation area at LCN are vast in comparison and lend themselves to an event of this scale. If you have any interest in scouting out LCN’s space, this is a good opportunity to try it on.

In May’s month of Nurturing Beauty, this concert will feature JUCers and others creating together to make sound vibrations that stir the soul. Music is an art of air - it can’t be seen, just heard and felt. Aldous Huxley said, “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” The people gathering to create that music on May 20 will be folks who tap into the power of sound, of melody and harmony, color and timbre, soft and loud.

In a recent conversation of UU musicians that I was a part of, many of us spoke of the honor and privilege of creating music, supporting worship services, and tending to people’s spirits through music. As the lyrics in the Ruach Song Cycle say:

May we always choose to sing,

Though the night has not ceased,

And our song be a balm

For all to hear.

This concert is a resolution: despite the separations that come and go, we are here for one another.

I hope you choose to sing, to listen, or to be present in any way that you are able.

Friday, May 20, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Lakewood Church of the Nazarene or streamed online

A fundraising concert for the Second Wind Fund (youth suicide prevention)

Performed by the choirs of Jefferson Unitarian Church, One World Singers, Voices of Light Chamber Choir, Sage Singers, plus orchestra, it's an event you won't want to miss! The concert is free! But please register .

Tracy Nolan, Trustee

The Board has engaged in a process over the last several months involving Following the Spirit of Love workshops. In this article, I do not intend to present results of that work. However, we spent quite a lot of energy exploring the meaning to our congregants of certain important words. One of those was the word AWE.

If the meaning of this word confounds my readers as it did me and some of my fellow board members, I supply you with the third of the seven Oxford English Dictionary definitions: The feeling of solemn and reverential wonder, tinged with latent fear, inspired by what is terribly sublime and majestic in nature, e.g. thunder, a storm at sea. (O.E.D. 2nd Edition).

Encouraged, but not fully satisfied with this definition, I decided to dig a bit deeper. In so doing, I came to a surprising personal realization.

During the Board’s work, I had a flicker in the deep recesses of my memory of a college religion class. From the class, I remembered a discussion of awe as a description of one’s experience in the natural world as a religious experience. At the time, this notion was surprising to me. (Wait….religion isn’t restricted to church and rules from old books?) For me, the idea resonated then and continues to now.

I realized that I need to revisit my professor’s book: Spirit and Nature: Why the Environment is a Religious Issue (Beacon, 1992); Steven Rockefeller. Thank goodness for the internet, and for my boxes of school textbooks that I’ve insisted on hoarding from grad school, undergrad, and even high school!

In this busy season of my life, I confess that I my re-reading has been superficial so far. Nevertheless, upon my cursory review, I was surprised to discover that my class back in the mid 1990’s probably was my first step on the path to finding religion. Prior to this, I thought that my search for religion began when I had kids and realized that I needed to grow their hearts and didn’t know where to start. But instead I now know that I was already finding my way to Unitarian Universalism 27 years ago.

And, I learned through these workshops that I am not alone in finding awe and the religious in nature. In the event that others are interested in a book club on this book, please reach out to me. Maybe I could even reach out to Mr. Rockefeller to Zoom with us!

This month I’m continuing my series featuring JUC’s activists. I spoke with Martin Voelker, co-founder of our local Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) chapter and chair of the Green Task Force.

I wanted to know how and why Martin got involved with climate justice, as well as what JUCers can do on a practical level to be greener. Of course, the Green Task Force existed prior to Martin’s involvement, in fact, they are credited with JUC’s success in achieving Green Sanctuary status.

While Martin was always environmentally aware, all his knowledge never turned him into an activist. That changed when he was struck by the enormity of the climate crisis after an event by Bill McKibben, one of the leaders of the climate movement. McKibben warned that the fossil fuel industry plans to emit five times more carbon dioxide than what is safe to keep our climate stable. Basic math dictates we must keep carbon in the ground. Martin was galvanized to action and realized he had to do more.

Encouraged by JUC’s Ron Larson, Martin started a chapter of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society in early 2014 and gathered like minded people to breathe some new life into the Green Task Force whose most active people had moved away.

Pre-pandemic, Green Task Force’s events were well-attended, with movie nights, presentations, and conferences. The group is currently in a state of rebuilding, as are many justice groups at JUC and in other UU churches.

It hasn’t always been easy going. Martin encountered some frustration along the way. One of those events was an Earth Day celebration the Green Task Force hosted at JUC that wasn’t well-attended but one simple lesson was that we don’t have to do everything ourselves but can direct people to existing community events.

While climate collapse is a dire issue, and a direct result of human activities, Martin believes that there is hope. There are more solutions than most people are aware of, both on the technology side and when it comes to individual choices. Together, these solutions can make a huge difference once they take off on a larger scale. Martin argues that much hinges on voting for climate-aware politicians who are serious about making an impact. He is also interested in the promise of electric vehicles and their direct effect on improving air pollution.

Perhaps the biggest difference individuals can make is changing their minds, and acting on their new knowledge. Spreading the word about climate issues, as well as letting others know about events that focus on the environment, will help to disseminate information in a time when there aren’t as many pulpit announcements.

Doomscrolling is bad for the soul, Martin warns, and adds the best antidote against the depression and anxiety that we feel when we consider climate degradation is to become active and involved in the civic sphere locally or by testifying and writing letters (although eating chocolate also helps).

Martin is also impressed by the JUC community because we keep up with science and the news, but most importantly are truly compassionate people. It’s easy to put our heads in the sand and ignore climate collapse, but the dangers are real. Solutions are plentiful, we just need to learn what difference we can each make.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Kathy Smith, JUC CAN

Six years ago, when JUC’s Community Action Network (JUC CAN) first started as an affiliate of Together Colorado, we met with about 150 JUC members to ask about their priorities for social justice work in Jefferson County. Two main topics emerged; affordable housing/homelessness and mental health. In recent years we have conducted much of our mental health work through the Jefferson County Communities That Care Coalition.

Jefferson County Communities That Care (CTC) is a very active coalition comprised of more than 100 stakeholders, community members, key leaders, and youth. They use a structured, evidence-based community change process focused on preventing substance misuse, sexual/relationship violence, and hopelessness/anxiety among youth in our Jeffco community. If you’re an Instagram user, please check out @jeffco_teens and @twelve_talks.

Current CTC initiatives include:

Twelve Talks to Have with Teens
Empowers parents, guardians, and trusted adults to support the teens they love with information, resources, conversational tools, and much more
Building Allyship and Diversity in Jeffco
“Out for Safe Spaces'' is a national initiative that supports adults who work with youth to visibly identify as trusted adults to LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and multiracial youth
Jeffco Teens and Social Norming
During the pandemic shutdown, youth interns found ways to virtually connect with their peers to promote specific actions youth can take to help themselves deal with stressful situations and promote unwinding, physical health, connection, and calming anxiety
Overdose Prevention Don't run. Call 911.
Find Your Words what you say to someone with depression can change everything
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. Call 24/7 at 866-488-7386 or text ‘START’ to 678-678.
RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
Confidential Talk/Text 24/7: You’re not alone…text ‘TALK’ to 38255 or call 844-493-TALK (8255) to be connected to a mental health professional
Health Ed and Social Emotional Learning
Made recommendations to Jeffco Public Schools to revise the district’s health education policies
Policy and Substance Availability
Encourage cities and towns to pass local resolutions or ordinances that address risk or protective factors for youth

Another JUC CAN partner is Jefferson Center, a nonprofit that is the primary provider of community mental health care in Jeffco. JUC has offered suicide prevention classes (e.g., Mental Health First Aid) through the Jefferson Center. When you attend Mental Health First Aid, you’ll learn how to identify the signs and symptoms of a range of mental health and substance use disorders and will build the skills and confidence to help someone in crisis.

JUC CAN plans to continue looking at ways to engage with Mental Health issues, especially with youth. Just as the past two years have exacerbated housing issues, it has also increased the stresses on mental health in both school age children and adults. If this is an area in which you are interested, please let us know. You can also sign up for the JUC CAN Action Alert list to receive periodic updates about housing issues, legislation, and actions.

Send an email to communityaction@jeffersonunitarian.org with your request to sign up.

Support Team JUC at NAMI Walks Your Way

Deda Nelson, JUC Mental Wellness Associates

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a strong advocate that works to combat the stigma of mental illness and provides a variety of free resources and courses to help people deal with the challenges of Mental Illness.

Some members in our congregation have found support through NAMI as they have faced their journey with mental illness. NAMI provides literature, support groups, and educational workshops at no cost throughout our state.

We hope you will take this opportunity to stand against the stigma of Mental Illness by supporting NAMI. You can help reach out past JUC’s walls to insure the valuable work of this organization continues. Click here to register to be a member of our team or to make a donation on behalf of a JUC team member.

Visit us at the Mental Wellness Advocates table in the commons between services on Sundays, May 1, May 8 or May 15. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide information on NAMI and the upcoming walk Saturday, May 21.

We hope you will support our effort so that NAMI can continue to help families and friends in our community and throughout Colorado.