ISSUE 91

JANUARY 2024

As I write this in the days just prior to the Solstice and Christmas, my heart is full. Life feels especially fragile with the recent deaths in our community, the wars that rage, and, among other things, the continued political attacks on women’s reproductive health choices and the very existence of people who live outside the gender binary. Despite it all, the earth keeps turning, the old year gives way to the new, breath continues to come in and out of our bodies, and we are again invited to consider what we do with it.

Appropriately, then, our theme to start the year is liberating love. Most of us have likely come round to the idea that love is not sentimentality or feeling, as much as it is a behavior and a choice. So, what then is liberating love? Liberation from what? Liberation to what? These are the questions we will be wrestling with all month. For now, suffice it to say, that love is our common theological core as Unitarian Universalists. Our practice of it illustrates our deepest commitments to each other, to humanity, to our values, and to the earth itself. Liberating love is one that frees us from living into lives and narratives that are unexamined. It is one that reminds us again and again and again that we are in this together. All of us.

I have loved what Buddhist teacher and activist, the Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams wrote about liberation in an article a few years ago: “liberation wants nothing else but liberation for all. That’s the only reason I can speak from this place—because one day I woke up and much to my chagrin, I loved the very same people who would rather see my body lying in the street. I loved the very same people who would ignore me in my dharma center. I loved the very same people who would make me invisible. I didn’t say I liked them! But I do love them. This is not the path of “Everything is going to be neat.” This is not the path of “All the answers will make you feel good.” This is a path of complexity. And that love is not an easy burden.”

This will be a challenge and a rigorous way to start the year. At its core liberation is about gaining awareness of and then freeing ourselves from anything that limits us from living into our full potential. Lean in, beloveds. Together, we can do hard things. We always have. We always will.

January Theme: The Gift of Liberating Love

Sometimes we read a quote and it perfectly captures what’s going on for us right now. Or it allows us to view our current circumstances in a new light. With this in mind, spend some time this month reading through the quotes below to find the one that best illuminates your journey with Liberating Love.

A little bit of guidance:

Read through the list of quotes a few times, noting which ones “shimmer” (i.e. call to you or have an emotional gravitational pull for you). It often helps to circle or star these quotes that stand out.
With each reading, narrow your focus in on those that stick out, until you finally settle on the one quote that pulls at you the most.
Then make space to reflect on the gift, challenge or insight your chosen quote is offering you.
Some of us may want to go further and capture your reflections with journaling or creative expression.

“The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love—whether we call it friendship or family or romance— is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light. Gentle work. Steadfast work. Life-saving work in those moments when life and shame and sorrow occlude our own light from our view but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another.” ~ James Baldwin

“I feel our nation’s turning away from love… moving into a wilderness of spirit so intense we may never find our way home again. I write of love to bear witness both to the danger in this movement, and to call for a return to love.” ~ bell hooks

“To accept your country without betraying it, you must love it for that which shows what it might become. America -- this monument to the genius of ordinary men and women, this place where hope becomes capacity, this long, halting turn of 'no' into the 'yes' -- needs citizens who love it enough to re-imagine and re-make it.” ~ Cornel West

“I am confused by people who say they love us but are never upset when we are treated unjustly. The two simply cannot co-exist. A love that's aloof isn't a love I have any use for. I need a love that is troubled by injustice.” ~ Austin Channing Brown

Transitions

Dave Black passed away November 19.

Melissa and Riordan Powell were killed in a car accident December 12.

Gail Abbott passed away December 16.

Ernie Werren passed away December 17.

Board of Trustees December

Meeting Summary

The meeting time was delayed so that trustees could attend the pastoral gathering in recognition of the tragic deaths of Melissa and Riordan Powell.

All trustees are participating as beta testers for a UUA course: Knotty Conversations. Trustees will be discussing the course at meetings January - May.

The board discussed the community response to the Indigenous Unlearning weekend in November and the followup Reflections on Unlearning in early December.

The Gift of Mystery and Planned Giving

One of the mysteries in your life may be the mystery of your legacy. What will you leave behind when you’re gone? How will you make a lasting impact on the world? How will you support the causes that matter to you?

An answer may be planned giving! Planned giving is a way of donating to JUC as a part of your financial or estate plans. It allows you to make a significant gift that may not be possible during your lifetime, while also enjoying tax benefits and income benefits for yourself or your loved ones. Planned giving is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a personalized and flexible way of giving that suits your needs and goals. You can choose from a variety of options.

To learn more about planned giving and how it can work for you, contact our Planned Giving team: Bud & B.J. Meadows or Carol Wilsey

As I write this article in mid December, sitting in the grief of the tragic loss of Melissa Powell and her son Riordan, I can scarcely imagine January. Still in the month of mystery, I can’t help but ask why. Why do terrible things happen to good people? Why do we waste time worrying about small things when we could receive a life-changing phone call that will make us forever wish that we had those small things to worry about. Why do some people experience unthinkable hard times and ultimately survive?

I am remembering the gift of the empty box that started the month of mystery and how appropriate that has turned out to be. We presented the box as an invitation - to wonder, to create our own stories, to be open to the unknowable. It was very easy for me, in my natural cheerfulness to view the emptiness of that box with such excitement. And I still feel that way.

However, today I see the harder part of the empty box. Some religions attempt to offer easier answers to the questions posed above but Unitarian Universalism does not. I do not know where Melissa and Riordan are now. I can’t know and I suspect that they are just gone. That’s an incredibly hard thought. So I am left with a choice. I can look into the box and find the bottom to have dropped out, that my religion has left me with no ground to stand on. Or, I can look into the box and see the incredible gift of love that is a central part of Unitarian Universalism and that has flowed out of our community since we lost these two dear people.

Love. I witnessed the love that our teen workers had for Melissa and Riordan. And I saw the manifestation of the way she loved those teens in a way that will touch them forever. I witnessed the love that Riordan’s Faith Exploration teachers had for him and that Halen’s (Riordan’s younger brother) teachers have for him. I witness my own love for Melissa, who supported me in so many ways over the years, from making costumes when her kids were in the musicals, to taking on the job of Early Childhood Coordinator with intention and love, and my love for Riordan and Halen and who were part of many choir and musical events. I witness the love of our ministers and staff as we work to try to find the best ways to hold the people who knew Melissa and Riordan the most. I witness the love of our congregation who continually reached out to check in on me. I witnessed the love in Melissa’s husband Ryan’s eyes when he spoke to me about this loss.

Our January theme is liberating love. I have witnessed clearly how love is the center of our faith and, as the song says, “will guide us through the hard night.” But how do we take that love a step further? How do we live into the idea that love is a verb, an action that is required as the first step toward liberating ourselves from our own fears, our self-judgment, our societally ingrained beliefs about our worth? How do we do the work of self-liberation that is required for us to be able to work toward the liberation of others. Melissa modeled the kind of love that was rooted in kindness, acceptance, and action; the kind of love that is needed to point us toward a liberatory path. At the start of this new year I will be keeping the memory of Melissa and Riordan close to my heart. I will be hugging my children tighter, telling my people I love them more often and re-committing myself to work toward the liberation of us all. I hope that in this month of liberating love you are able to do the same.

Mary LeBoeuf, Trustee

“I think you bring light, first of all, by listening, genuinely listening, to the other, by responding with decency, with kindness, with respect, with goodness and, also as has been true for millions of years, you bring light with love. I think that bringing love to the world is the task of every faith.”

The above wording is quoted from Rabbi David Wolpe from an interview that he had given to Hari Sreenivasan on December 12, 2023, on Amanpour and Company. I was so touched by the comments that I listened again and again so I could properly record the words. The words were a response to a question about Hanukkah – the season of light. How does Rabbi Wolpe think we can bring light into the world?

I think most of you know about the recent service on November 12 when Rev. Kia Bordner shared some of her knowledge about what indigenous people have undergone in our country. The service was presented as an Indigenous Unlearning Service and was designed so that we could have a better understanding as to what our education and culture has failed to include of the reality of the experiences of indigenous citizens in the arrival of Europeans and the establishment of the United States.

Many of our members had strong reactions to what Rev. Bordner presented, some positive and some not. On Monday, December 4, I attended the followup Reflections on Unlearning online event. Rev. Wendy, Rev. Jen, and Sarah were all present and encouraged participants to share what the experience had been for them. Everything Rabbi Wolpe spoke about in my opening quote was present at the meeting. Genuine listening, decency, kindness, respect, goodness, and love. It was truly a pleasure to have individuals share what was on their minds and hearts and to have the staff and other members respond with care and love. Once again, I am so glad and consider myself so blessed to be a part of this church where community and connection are honored and respected in actions and in words.

2023 Donations/Statements

Thank you all for your generosity in giving to JUC in 2023!

If you have any additional donations that you wish to make for this calendar year, they must be received or postmarked by Sunday, December 31.

2023 Donation Statements will be prepared and sent in late January. If you have an email address on file with us, that is how you will receive your statement. Watch for an announcement from me when the statements have been sent.

Happy New Year!

What kind of Fireball are you?

Hello Beloved Community! As your new Membership Coordinator I can’t wait to join you all on a journey of community and love over the new year. To start our journey, I pose a question to you. What kind of Fireball are you? I like to think of each one of us as fireballs. We are wonderful energy filled people that can fill the world with light and beauty. We have the ability to create such amazing things together.

In Dungeons and Dragons, the famous roleplaying game, Fireball is used as the most common damage causing spell a magic wielder can have. You can use it to cause serious damage to your enemy, create light for their party to see, or clear blockages on your pathway to adventure!

In some cultures it is believed that fireballs, swung in the dark, are meant to represent the sun. There is also a pre-Christian theory that fireballs purify the world by consuming evil and warding off evil spirits.

Even in science, Fireballs and bolides are astronomical terms for exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to be seen over a large area. WOW!

Some fireballs are fighting evil while others are creating light for their party to see further. As we are starting out a new year, we get to find out what kind of fireball we want to be! Are we burning brightly and showing our colors? Are we using our skills to clear a path for adventure? How can we truly share our brilliant light with our beloved community? I can’t wait to light up this community together! So come say hi to me on Sunday and let me know how you shine!

Welcome Baskets for Miller Street Residents

Bruce and Cathy Martin

JUC has an offer to help welcome the residents who will be moving into the newly constructed duplexes built by Metro Denver Habitat for Humanity (MD H4H) on Miller Street in Wheat Ridge. Through Danielle Faris, the Compass Montessori School, which backs up to the duplexes, was made aware of the soon to be new residents in the neighborhood. They gladly took on a project of making welcoming banners for the new neighborhood families. However, they ran out of time to complete a project of raising funds and collecting cleaning products to make “welcoming baskets” before the families will move in.

So Danielle, Cathy and I, with the support of JUC will run a fundraising effort on Sundays January 7 and 14 to raise money to fill the “welcome baskets” for the eight families moving in. The goal for the project if $400 and any excess funds raised will be contributed to the general funds of MD H4H. Look for a Jeffco Interfaith Partners/Habitat table in the commons area on those two Sundays to ask questions or offer your donations. We are called to be a welcoming and generous community. Thanks for your support!

Advocacy by the Faith Community Can Create Positive Change

JUC Community Action Network

For the past couple of years our JUC Community Action Network (JUC CAN) team has been advocating for Jefferson County to provide more resources for our unhoused community during severe and extreme weather conditions. In early October several members of JUC CAN, our Revs. Wendy and Jen, Pastor Ben of Lakewood United Methodist Church, and Linda Barringer with Colorado Safe Parking met with Jefferson County Manager Joe Kerby and staff to share our concerns about the county’s response to sheltering the unhoused during severe and extreme weather. Several of us from JUC CAN also testified in front of the county commissioners.

The past week we received an update from Mr. Kerby that contains many positive steps that the county has taken, and we’d like to share them with you. Here are excerpts from his response, with key results in bold:

“Our staff has been working to identify process gaps within our organization and to implement solutions that will better serve the community in the event of severe and extreme weather. We have identified key personnel to receive updates from the Severe Weather Shelter Network which will allow us to begin immediate communication to the public once severe or extreme weather is declared. Cassie Pearce, who is responsible for public communications for the County, …and her team have created a visual banner that will be published on the County’s front page of our website when severe weather is declared. When someone clicks on this banner, they will then be redirected to a page with information regarding severe weather resources within our area. This page will include information from Heading Home and Severe Weather Shelter network sites. Our team will be able to adjust information quickly as it changes. In addition, on the front page of our website, news flashes with details regarding the incoming storm/severe weather and information with links to resources will also be displayed. These news flashes are also sent out to nearly 10,000 subscribers who have registered to receive notifications. Lastly, in situations where we anticipate that the Severe Weather Shelter Network will open, our team will push those resources out on social media ahead of time, so people have more time to prepare. I continue to monitor our progress and ensure we keep this topic as a top priority for the County.

“We are very excited and fortunate to have hired Kerry Wrenick as our new Regional Homeless Coordinator. … Kerry joins Jefferson County with a career dedicated to addressing social issues that create barriers for the underserved and underrepresented. She is excited to serve in a capacity that removes silos, convenes decision-makers, and elevates the root causes towards preventing and ending homelessness… With Kerry’s extensive background, we look forward to her being able to fill the gaps we have recently experienced. Kerry will be responsible for pursuing the Severe Weather Blueprint recommendations. We look forward to introducing you to her in person in the near future.

“I am very proud to share that Jefferson County, as part of our 2024 Budget, received the support of the County Commissioners to fund 4 additional full-time positions to advance our work in the area of housing and homelessness. … the County has also received money from the State who will assist with funding 3 outreach workers for 3 years. While we have identified funding to get us through 2024 to support funding all 7 of these new positions, we have more work to do to identify sustainable funding sources for these positions long term. This is a significant investment by Jefferson County in new resources for 2024 and well exceeds an annual investment in excess of $750,000.

“Lastly, just last week I had an extensive discussion with representatives from Adams County regarding the challenges we all face in providing transportation to the severe weather shelters. I plan to hand this information off to Kat Douglas/Kerry Wrenick and ask them to evaluate and pursue the model that Adam’s County is currently using which seems to address many of the challenges surrounding transportation.”

There is still work to be done to make sure that the unhoused can access shelter outside of severe and extreme weather, and JUC CAN, along with other faith leaders, plans to continue this work. If you are interested in joining us, our next online meeting is Sunday, January 7. Look in Weekly Connections for the meeting. You can also receive updates for legislation around affordable housing and renters’ rights via our Community Action Alerts. Just email communityaction@jeffersonunitarian.or g and ask to be added.