“Resistance is futile” so say the Borg right before they take away your identity and absorb you into their nefarious collective (Star Trek, Next Generation). We are meant to be scared of this notion and the Borg certainly were terrifying but in some sense their phrase was not completely inaccurate. In fact, my therapist has said similar words to me at times when I am struggling with some internal resistance to something. This resistance usually occurs when I feel unwilling to change. Rather than needing to fight the Borg, my work is to take a look at what is blocking me and open myself up to allow a more expansive view of things. 

I remember my resistance showing up in the past in my struggle with the concept of “church.” When I first started working at JUC, I would always refer to it as “the church where I work.” It seemed important at the time to resist the idea that church was more than a job. I had some big assumptions about what church was, and who church people were and I was afraid that people would make those same assumptions about me. I loved my church work and was so happy to have found a church that worked for me theologically but I couldn’t bring myself to call it “my church.”  

After many years of being at JUC - becoming a member, watching my kids go through the RE programs, observing my own spiritual growth, I finally had to admit that yes, in fact, JUC is my church and I am a person who goes to church. I had to let go of the fear of what other people thought and embrace the idea that church is not an inherently bad thing; in fact for me it is a wonderful part of my life. 

Of course, there are times where resistance is absolutely not futile and is completely necessary. When my son was in elementary school, every year there would be a meeting where we were essentially told that he did not belong in his neighborhood school. Every year we resisted this and advocated for him to stay in his school with his siblings, neighbors and friends. Here at JUC, our values, mission and ends have resistance embedded in them. We can’t create a multicultural, multigenerational community if we do not actively resist the culture of white supremacy that has shaped our society. There are innumerable ways that we need to actively resist the status quo in order to create the world we want. As we go through this month of resistance I encourage you to think about when you need to move through some resistance to open yourself up, and when you need to empower your inner activist to speak up for something you believe in. 

I hope you do not resist many of the wonderful opportunities that April is bringing to 

families at JUC. Our High School Youth Group, under the direction of Denard Blackwood, Mercedes Anderson and Mike Cross, along with the help of Revs Jen, Keith and Wendy, have been working on creating the April 2 Youth-led Service. Easter Sunday, April 9, Piper Perry is working with us to allow our K-5th graders to experience the Pagan Ostara ritual. This will happen during our regular service times and will be followed by the always popular Easter Egg Hunt. We are looking for teens to help hide eggs - please contact Denard for more info. Our Children’s Music Service is Sunday, April 23 and will be led by our Children's Choir, under the direction of Laura Lizut.   

On Tuesday, April 11 we will have our first We Are Parents (+kids) evening, a part of our expanding and continuing We Are Family programming. This will be a monthly gathering that will allow parents (and kids) to gather for an evening of food and connection. We will share a meal together, then the kids will go to childcare while parents participate in interactive and fun programming put together by Sarah and a member of the Family Ministry Team. Each month will focus on a different topic or lens with the aim of deepening our connection with each other. Please do sign up each month so we know how much food to order. 

Our Faith Exploration classes continue through May and I highly encourage all of our kids to attend! It helps create a strong community when kids come regularly. 4th/5th Grade OWL begins on Sunday, April 2. Also on April 2, our 2nd-5th graders will begin a special series of classes inspired by the book “We Are Better Together” by Bill McKibben. Each week our kids will widen their view of the world by learning about an important issue in our community and will put their faith in action with a small social action project. We will tie some lessons into the UUSC project on Social Action weekend - we encourage families to participate in that on Saturday, April 15. Spring is a very full time of year! Denard and I truly appreciate the fact that you bring your families to church.  

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” - James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

“True resistance begins with people confronting pain…and wanting to do something to change it.” - bell hooks, Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics

Hello, friends!  

We’ve done a lot of talking lately about resistance at JUC.  We’ve talked about resistance to systems of racial oppression.  We’ve talked about resistance to unfair housing laws and the unchecked capitalism that is allowed to make people homeless.  We’ve talked about resistance to policies that harm our LGBTQIA+, and particularly our trans, siblings.  And I don’t know about you, but often when I see evidence of these oppressive systems on the news, or I see people espousing inhumane and unjust positions on social media, I get angry.  Maybe you do, too.

A therapist once told me that anger is a secondary emotion - an emotion fueled by other emotions.  What she meant by that is, when we experience emotional or physical pain, we might get angry because anger is easier to express than hurt or grief or loss.

And so I think it’s reasonable to surmise that we get angry at the state of the world because something is giving us - or someone else - pain.  For me, this anger and the underlying pain comes from a deep sense of the deep wrong that some of these policies force upon us, when what we need most is to experience the spiritual wholeness that only comes when we value all of our beautiful, loving, interconnected souls.

And so, there is a reason that people working for social justice - particularly from marginalized communities - are labeled as “angry” and dismissed.  There is a reason, friends, that women fighting for justice are often labeled as “shrill” or “harsh” or just plain “angry.”  And there is a reason that the “angry black woman” is a stereotype in our culture, which is that the anger of Black women in the public sphere has usually heralded a pushing back against unjust systems and distributions of power.  The anger of Black women is threatening because it is dangerous to the status quo.

As a biracial person, I’ve experienced how anger is received in Black and white communities.  (This is, of course, a generalization - and it’s also worth exploring how gender and class figure into this phenomenon.  But those are for a different article.)  In most predominantly white, middle class communities I’ve been part of, I’ve found that expressing anger is somewhat of a taboo.  Anger expressed in public tends to make folks very uncomfortable.  Why?  If I were to hazard a guess, I think at least part of the reason is that anger, as the canary in the coal mine of relationships or systems being harmful, can be seen and felt as threatening to existing ways of being.  And that’s frightening for a lot of people.   

In most Black and brown communities I’ve been in, the norm is that anger is okay to express, as long as it’s done without losing respect for the people you’re in community with.  I can tell you I’m angry with you, and I can tell you why.  Emotions may run high.  And then, when folks have had the chance to express their anger, we can then address the root cause of the emotion and move on, hopefully stronger as a community.

Friends, we need to stop acting as if being angry somehow makes the message less real - when in fact, if used correctly - as an indicator of deeper, underlying pain and injustice - anger can be a very helpful tool in doing the work of justice.  

So as we continue to talk about resistance this month, I invite you, if you find yourself getting angry, to honor that emotion.  Notice the sore spots or the expectations from which it springs.  Sit with your anger.  Interrogate it.  If you find you want to talk about it, our ministry team is available to companion you as you sit with it, too.  As we talk about resistance this month, let’s honor our emotions in their entirety because that, too, is an act of resistance.  Be well, friends.

A couple of months ago, just sitting at my computer and reading email, a message came in from a conducting friend of mine: “Would your choir like to sing in our concert?”

The colleague was Dr. Tae Hyun Kim, Artistic Director of the Colorado Korean Chorus. Tae Hyun, or “Tad” to his English speaking friends, and I had collaborated numerous times on concerts in the past, when I was conducting the One World Singers community choir in Denver. Those choruses had celebrated the Korean New Year together, had sung in Denver Cultural Festivals, and had even worked together during the COVID shutdowns on a virtual choir collaboration. Tad and I had planned events together, shared coffee and a meal, and conducted from the same stage. 

Now, Tad was turning towards the Jefferson Unitarian Church Choir. The Colorado Korean Chorus was planning a program featuring a prominent Korean church music composer, so Tad was seeking a local church choir to sing together. The request was for our choir to learn three songs by this composer, in Korean, and sing two of them by ourselves, all for a primarily Korean audience!

I breathed deeply. Korean was a challenging language to sing in (I had directed a couple of pieces in Korean previously, including music from Handel’s Messiah, sung in Korean.) I could feel the resistance in myself rising. The JUC Choir has responsibilities to sing regularly for our own church worship services. Would we be able to prepare the music sufficiently, while still meeting the need to sing in Golden on Sunday mornings? How would the choir respond to being asked to take this step into the unknown? What if we performed in a way that reflected poorly on us?

Turning to you - have you ever received an invitation that you had to wrestle with? One that you kind of wanted to say yes to, but that you also wished to turn away from as fast as possible? How did you respond to this and how did you work through it?

As I sat with the (challenging/terrifying/bold) opportunity facing the JUC Choir, I thought about my relationship with Tad. How, over the years, sometimes I had initiated an idea and asked for his participation. At other times, it was his artistic or community vision that invited me into music making. Here was a case, for a choir that almost always sang in English, being asked to step outside of our expertise and lifelong tongue, to perform in a non-native language, for native speakers. I imagined the journeys of those who sing in our potential partner choir, some born in the US and some (like Tad) who moved here from the country of their birth. I considered what it might be like to struggle with language, to wrestle to be understood in a system that ranges from challenging - to hostile - to deadly - for those who do not adapt.

So, your JUC Choir is spending the spring listening to audio coaching files and to practice tapes, understanding how Korean is sung with unfamiliar diphthongs and consonants, and preparing to represent ourselves and you all at a concert with the Colorado Korean Chorale on Sunday, April 30, 4 pm at Bethany Lutheran Church. The choir, as mentioned, will be singing two pieces on our own, accompanied by full orchestra, and will be joining with the Colorado Korean Chorale for a grand finale number conducted by Dr. Tae Hyun Kim. 

How’s it going so far? Still a little in the resistance phase. What’s keeping us going? Maintaining the end goal in sight, that of being able to say yes in creativity and joy to building partnerships both musical and cultural. Maybe one concert together isn’t enough to change the world, but on the other hand, maybe it is enough for a springtime watering of some seeds into a flower. Maybe overcoming resistance and saying *yes* will be just enough to begin a relationship across town, across borders.

Martha Johns, Trustee

Being vulnerable is hard, and often frightening. I’m a recovering perfectionist who learned to overachieve at a young age. Perhaps a few of you know what I’m talking about. I was very good at absorbing many aspects of the dominant white culture, including following the rules, studying hard, and trying to be right…all the time. It took me quite a few years to learn that my life went better when I was able to let go of that need to be correct at everything. Like my father, if I don’t know the answer to a question, I’ll construct a plausible answer; if it’s said with enough confidence, it will be believed. I still enjoy being correct, but over the years, I learned that everyone else didn’t enjoy my correctness as much as I did. Two people who later became my good friends told me that they had been intimidated by me when we first met; to my shock, they had found me unapproachable because I always seemed like I knew what I was doing. I certainly didn’t always feel that way. I’m still learning that relaxing, having fun, and being vulnerable is better in the long run than always striving for that “A” grade.

Habitat for Humanity Update

Bruce & Cathy Martin

The first build date for JUC at the new Metro Denver Habitat for Humanity site on Miller Street in Wheat Ridge is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 from 8:50 am to 4:30 pm. We have been assigned five volunteer slots. The first five to volunteer will be the work crew. And if the work crew is full you can sign on to the waitlist in case someone has plans that change. Remember you must be sixteen years old to volunteer at a build site. Lunch will be provided for the crew. Sign Up Link

JUC Community Action Network (JUC CAN) Social Justice Weekend: Ain't Gonna Let the System Walk All Over Me!

Jill Armstrong, JUC CAN

As we were singing this protest song at church this past Sunday, I reflected on how much we and our neighbors are impacted by the systems around us that can influence or even control our ability to live our full lives with dignity. JUC is involved in many excellent programs that provide direct service. Yes, we must support people’s immediate needs, but we must also look at the systems that are the root causes of why people are in need in the first place, and work to change those systems.

JUC’s Community Action Network (JUC CAN) advocates to make changes in law and policy that have long-term impacts, as well as educating those impacted – at the city, county and state level. As part of the JUC Social Justice Weekend, there are two opportunities for you to learn more about our work.

Community Organizing for Change—A Virtual Workshop

Friday, April 14 from 5:30-6:30 pm via Zoom

Presented by Kym Ray, Community Organizer for Together Colorado, and JUC CAN

A conversation on creating systemic change through organizing. We will go over some basic organizing principles and what it looks like to impact housing injustice through community organizing. We will discuss:

• Moving beyond providing services—which are important but, on their own, unlikely to produce lasting change—to changing policies, narratives, institutions, and structures.
• Centering the needs and priorities of people with lived experience in what we do and how we do it.
• Shifting more power to those who have been most disadvantaged.

Sign Up Link

The Face of Homelessness – Help beyond today!

Saturday, April 15. Approximately 9 am-2 pm

First United Methodist Church of Golden

We will prepare food at JUC and then serve this meal to around 15-20 unhoused people at Golden’s First United Methodist Church. The plan is to join them to share this meal and have a conversation.  After the meal we’ll invite our guests to join us in a short discussion about what kinds of systemic changes need to happen to improve the lives of unhoused people. Hopefully, our guests will participate in this discussion with us, as they know firsthand what their needs are. Either way, we will explore what types of systemic change is needed. Whoever signs up for the event could help with shopping, cooking, serving, eating, clean up - any, or all of that. And if you can only join us for the lunch from 11:30 am-12:30 pm, that is fine, too. Older children are welcome. Join us in this opportunity to get to know our neighbors.

Sign Up Link

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.

Inflation Impacts Scholarship Community

Gretchen May, UUSC/Guatemala Partners

This January sixty Mayan students in Rabinal, Guatemala, were able to begin their new school year because of generous donations from many members of the JUC congregation. A few are entering their first year of Middle School and several will graduate in November of this year. Two-thirds of them are girls. They all come from impoverished homes impacted by the massacres of the 80’s and would not be able to stay in school without the support of the Scholarship that we fund with our partners in the Arlington VA UU Church. In 2007 JUC was able to fund scholarships for three middle school students. For several years now we have been able to support about sixty students each year. The program is administered by the local human rights organization, ADIVIMA.

Through our relationship with ADIVIMA, we have learned what it takes for a student to overcome the many challenges that they face. From the beginning, we realized how important it was for these students to be able to stay in school each year until they reached graduation. Without the scholarship many students would start a school year, but have to drop out to help their family, or they would drop out for two to three years; maybe never returning to school. For this reason, we have made a commitment to provide enough funds to support each student who is accepted into the program until they graduate from high school. This has not always been easy and at times it has meant that the program could not be expanded. Some years there are as many as 60 applicants for six available spots for new middle schoolers. 

In the first few years it became apparent that students were having difficulty keeping up with the school work, particularly homework. Many students live in a single-parent home or with a grandparent. Most parents had not been to school themselves and often do not speak Spanish, but only Maya-Achi. We agreed with ADIVIMA’s request to hire a tutor from the community to be paid out of the Scholarship funds. This tutor travels from home-to-home offering additional academic, and emotional support as well as acting as a liaison between schools and families when needed.

During the severe lockdown and curfew imposed by the Guatemalan government during the Covid pandemic, we were able to raise emergency funds from the congregation to purchase the smart phones and internet plans that made it possible for students in remote areas to communicate with their teachers and submit schoolwork. This made it possible for almost all of the students to complete the years when the schools were closed some of the time. 

This year the community is facing another major challenge, the inflationary pressures that extend around the world. Since mid-2022, costs for food, fuel and other essentials have increased dramatically, 20% or more, affecting the families, the schools, and ADIVIMA. In the face of this challenge, we are committed to continue to support future generations by providing hope and respect through education. Thanks to the increased generosity of many donors, we are half-way to our goal to raise the extra funds necessary to keep all of these 60 students in school through November. These students are so excited to be in school and they are so grateful that people in Colorado in another country are willing to reach across borders to bring them hope and the opportunity to see that hope become real. We have found that we are all enriched when we provide opportunities where there are few. 

If you would like to learn more about the Scholarship program, please visit our webpage. If you would like to join us and help to meet our goal, you can make a one-time donation online (scroll down until you see Guatemala Scholarship) or by check made payable to JUC with Guatemala in the memo line. To become a monthly donor, visit our webpage where you will find the form to complete and submit to the JUC office.