ISSUE 37                                                                                                                                                                                                JULY 2019
Happy Summer! It is officially here despite the 45 degree temperature for the All-Church Worship and Picnic in the park on June 9, where we sang and moved and shouted in celebration. It was a fun time.

This summer our worship services will again feature the voices of individual members. Last year, we asked "What is your North Star?" Each speaker dove deeply to offer a reflection. Many conversations were sparked well into the fall, as many of us wondered how we might answer.

This year, as our children learn about Unitarian Universalist heroes, we ask the question who is your hero? The question comes from a YouTube video I watched of actor Jim Carrey accepting the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award. In it, Carrey described Chaplin as one of his heroes, and reminded us all that Chaplin's life was hard. His father died when he was young and his mother was sent to an asylum by the time he was 14. The result was that Chaplin grew up in abject poverty. His most famous character, the Little Tramp, walked funny because he too was impoverished to afford shoes that fit properly and didn't have holes.

Carrey said that childhood trauma turns some people into monsters and others into heroes - people who remind us of our virtue. The best definition of hero I have ever heard!

And so, in July and August, our speakers will be naming someone who has been a hero to them, as well as the virtue that person has reminded them to live into.

Of course, I too am reflecting on how I might answer. I'm thinking of someone I met when I first joined a Unitarian Universalist church. I remember standing outside that building and talking about many things including her young daughter. She shared a story I've thought about many times since that I'm certain didn't even seem significant to her.

Apparently, the two were in a department store shopping for some housewares for her brother's room in a new group home. Like most five year-old kids, the daughter saw numbers of things that she wanted or as she put it "needed."

I commented on how tiresome that must have been.

Not really, she said.  "I just told her that I wouldn't be buying any of that because I tried to spend my money in ways that are aligned with my values."

Years later, the words are no longer so shocking. However, at the time, I was more present to the memories of being raised by parents who often made decisions by saying "I don't know. Ask your (other parent)." Alternatively, and often, I was told we couldn't afford it. Then I would witness us spend money on something else that seemed to my young eyes non-essential.

It was truly the first time I had ever heard someone speak so clearly and cleanly about money and values. Now, decades later, I still try to live into that virtue.

May all of our heroes continue to inspire us to live boldly into our values even if they have to teach them to us first.
In This Issue
Welcome Our New Members
Holly Storm  works as a parenting coach, and she has two young children, Forest and River. 
Summer of UU Heroes
This summer, in our Religious Education program, we are telling the stories of inspiring Unitarian and Universalist real-life heroes. Did you know that Charles Darwin is among them? Or Henry Bergh, who founded the ASPCA? Or Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross, and "The Angel of the Battlefield"? Or Antoinette Brown, the first woman to be ordained as a minister in this country? And there are many more.

As UU's, we have a proud heritage of UU Heroes. Each Sunday, we will focus on a new UU hero, tell their story and discuss it, focusing on the virtue this person embodied. Then, using our Exploration carts (Drama cart, Artist/Maker cart, and Builder cart) our rising kindergarten through 5 th graders will use the inspiration from the stories to guide them in creating works of art. Near the end, we will think about how each of us can become a UU hero, using our own strengths and virtues to make a positive difference in the world!

Member volunteers (and youth assistants) are needed to make this program happen.   Please sign up to teach today!
As we set off to explore heroes and virtues I find myself returning, perhaps not surprisingly, to my father. I learned long ago that fathers are complicated figures in our lives, whether we are one, or have one, or wish we had one, or wish we had a different one than the one we have. On Father's Day weekend this year I went with my wife and children to our hometown to celebrate the life, and mourn the loss of my father, Chris Banner. He'd asked me to speak at his service, and so I did, and you can find what I said, far too long for this newsletter space, on my blog . 

But what I will say here is this - it's good to have someone who believes in you, especially when you don't much believe in yourself. Someone who believes in you in spite of the fact that they know you. Or maybe because they know something more than you do about yourself. And it's good to have someone who can teach you how to navigate in this world. But my hope is this, that as this summer progresses you live in such ways that there is always someone who can speak to what kind of hero you are. What virtues you live out. What knowledge you pass on. You don't have to wear a cape to be a hero, but you do have to be in service to something bigger than yourself.
The Musicians are Coming!  The Musicians are Coming!
Each summer, the professional music leaders of Unitarian Universalist congregations gather for a week of development, education, networking, and resource sharing. This year, the annual gathering of the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM) is being held in Denver, based at First Universalist Church. 

This year's conference is designed to get musicians outside their heads; to release inner creative energy; color outside the lines and bring a fresh approach to the sacred work that they do. Conference attendees will sing repertoire by composers of color. Featured headliners are Mark Miller (composer of "Draw the Circle Wide" that the JUC Choir has sung), Black/trans/queer poet and educator J. Mase III, and sound painter Mark Harris.

Approximately 250 UU music leaders from across the country will be present at this year's conference, including JUC's Music Ministry Staff: Sarah Billerbeck, Laura Lizut, Adam Revell, and me.

JUC is playing a role in this conference, as our church's Endowment and Memorial Gift Trust (EMGT) awarded the AUUMM $3,200 for scholarships to support musicians of color at the conference. The award supports the JUC Strategic Outcome of serving a s a trusted and visible leader, partner, and advocate for the creation of a just society and sustainable environment. By funding this grant request, the EMGT benefits the larger UU community by helping to bring UU music ministry leaders to the center of dialogue and to the future of UU music ministry.

JUC leadership will also show up in the conference week. Sarah Billerbeck is a member of the Conference Planning Committee and has worked with her team for more than a year, envisioning and bringing this conference to fruition. Rev. Wendy and I will be leading a four-hour session for the UUA Music Leader Certification Program, "Creating Worship Collaboratively." And David Burrows and I will be leading daily Evensong worship services during the conference.

On Sunday, July 28, JUC's worship will be partly led by traveling UU musician and drummer, Matt Meyer. Matt has visited JUC before, and will be sharing in the summer series of Heroes. 

You may not see our music staff around the church the week of July 22, but we will be grounding ourselves in the community of UU musicians and other religious professionals, to help transform ourselves and others through the power of music.
 
Every Pledge is Important
The operating budget of $1,048,703 for our 2019/20 fiscal year was just presented and approved at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 19. The large majority - almost 85% -  of expected income is from pledges. In order to fund all of the programs, staff and the facility we need money from our members and friends! As you have heard Rev. Wendy say from the pulpit, everything you see, hear, touch or taste at JUC, we pay for. 

Your pledge is an important commitment to this religious community. When you make a pledge, we count on it when we generate the budget, and throughout the year as we navigate our fiscal needs. Every year almost everything costs more, so considering an increase when your time to pledge comes is very appreciated. Your contributions are the "treasure" in the three-legged stool of time, talent and treasure that supports this community, and we are grateful!

If you need to make a change to your pledge, we really want to hear from you. That helps us adjust as we go along. We welcome and understand people in their seasons of bounty or hardship. We aim to make it easy to communicate with us by providing quarterly statements and multiple communication methods when your pledge month comes around. When you get your pledge letter, we really do want to get the completed form back. If something changes, give me a call.

I sometimes get asked how much it costs JUC to have a member here. That is not really a simple question. However, to try to answer it in part, the average annual pledge needs to be around $1,600 per household (we have 560 pledging households). Of course, we have households with much lower and much higher pledges. We have five households with pledges in the range $10,000 up to nearly $20,000, and 20 that are $100 or less. The median is around $1,000. We also have households experiencing financial difficulties for which their pledge is currently waived. No matter the size of the pledge, it takes all of us!

If you are not currently a member or pledging friend, you are more than welcome to make a pledge to support JUC. Give me a call any time or use this form. We are very grateful for your consideration!
 
"I want to try everything once." - Anthony Bourdain

Growing up, my mom would say that I was the pickiest child she ever met ... and I likely was. Mashed potatoes and white rice were my favorite foods. The concept of 'tasty vegetables' was a lie perpetuated by whoever grew Brussels sprouts. My cure for an upset stomach consisted of equal parts Mountain Dew and French fries. Food was a closed box, with anything outside my comfort zone typically labeled as a no-thank-you food without even trying it.

Therefore, it was an odd twist of fate when I stumbled upon a show called Parts Unknown with its host, Anthony Bourdain. What I saw changed the way I viewed food forever. Here was a person who explored food without judgement, trying everything he was offered regardless of his preconceived notions. Eating wasn't simply a means of sustenance, but a chance to experience something new and learn about the world at-large. Bourdain's fearlessness was infectious - what was I missing out on trying by succumbing to my own ideas of what I liked? He became a hero to me, a champion of unbridled curiosity and discovery.

The world seemed to darken after Bourdain's passing in 2018. Though I had never met him, Bourdain had given me a new outlook on food and on the larger world: try everything. This motto, and with it his spirit, lives with me to this day. Food connects us all and it's a shame to not explore every part of it. Anthony Bourdain, wherever you are, thank you from the world's pickiest child.

P.S. Are you now bristling with a renewed passion for cooking? Got some catering skills you'd like to utilize? Wanting to get outside and do some exploration of your own? We would love to know about this and any other interests/skills you have! June 25 th marks the launch date of our online church-wide survey. Keep your eyes peeled for an emailed invitation to the survey!
Reflections

As we approach the end of another Church year, I find myself in a reflective mood. Personally, I have just completed my fourth year (I was appointed to finish the term of a Board member who had resigned, and I am now two thirds of the way through my "own" three-year term) as a member of the Board of Trustees. When I began my Board service, the Church was in the process of moving to the policy governance system. As a result, the Board spent a great deal of time during that 2015-16 Church year actually writing policies. It was, one might say, very "nuts and bolts" type of work.  

In 2016-17 the Board spent a significant amount of time and effort implementing and interpreting various policies that had been written previously and contemplating additional policies that still needed to be drafted. I found this second year to be a much bigger picture "Where have we been and where are we going?" kind of experience. The ensuing year was another matter altogether. At the Board retreat that kicked off my third year, the Board adopted new President Kathy Covert's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) of moving the Church to a new facility. That BHAG, of course, led to JUC's Making Room initiative, which has dominated the Board's energies for the past two years.

As I look back, I find myself grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Church's leadership. My personal horizons have been expanded significantly through seeing and participating in "how the sausage gets made." I now look forward to another year as the final installment of my time on the Board during what has been, and what continues to be, interesting times in the life of our Church.
 
Shoelaces and Heartstrings

It is not an "assault on our country", but merely poor, humble and loving families requesting asylum. Our country has for centuries offered this to other migrants (many of our ancestors) seeking a better life for their children.

Besides surrendering to authorities, they must give up their belts, their medicines, their shoelaces, their rosaries and even their hair ties. They forfeit their dignity by being banded with very tight wrist bands listing only a number, now having also lost their names. But, they continue to hope their sacrifices are worth it for an improved and safer existence.

It shames me to think of the days I agonized over the decision whether or not to go to El Paso and assist with the sheltering of these courageous families. My journey involved only temporarily giving up my home and getting on a plane! A friend of 50 years (we served together in Vietnam), and fellow UU, read the urgent request on the College of Social Justice website. Reuben Garcia with Annunciation House  has been offering shelter to refugees for over 40 years. To encourage/guilt me, my friend reminded me that we answered the call during the Vietnam crisis; this is today's overwhelming crisis. I reminded her that we were in our risk-taking 20s then, not  our cautious 70s. Plus, we don't speak Spanish!! But, Wendy has said, "put fear aside for curiosity and compassion allowing your heart to see." I now appreciate these words.

One of my favorite duties was to cut off those dreaded wrist bands and loudly pronounce, "libre" and enjoy their beautiful, if tired smiles. They wait so patiently to be assisted in making their life changing phone call. Almost all have family or someone that will sponsor them, and help provide transportation to where their new opportunity awaits. They used to be merely released to the streets or dropped at a nearby bus station. Annunciation House provides Red Cross cots, meals, hygiene products, diapers, access to showers and clean clothes. The greatest gift is facilitating the individual connections while providing simple, basic needs until arrangements are complete. During my 15 LONG days, at Casa Del Refujiado (a converted warehouse able to accommodate 500), I worked closely with incredible volunteers to launch over 3,000 of these sweet and extremely grateful people.

Lessons learned and treasured heartstring moments? There is more goodness, generosity and kindness in this world than anger and division which we hear and feel so often. The Abundant Living Faith Center of El Paso pays the $90,000 rent for the warehouse; Salvation Army provides 900 meals a day; college students give up spring break and summer vacations. I assisted dozens of devoted, Catholic sisters who truly LIVE the African proverb, "when you pray, move your feet." I realized you don't have to speak the same language in order to help restore a person's dignity or make an exhausted, confused child smile. Simply hand them their very own toothbrush.

Offering a much needed hair tie to a woman...you would think we presented them with a day at the SPA. A local TV camera man filming the facility stopped, put down his equipment and created a paper funnel to greatly expedite my sloppy delivery of formula for dozens of hungry babies. He then had to turn away so as not to show his tears after observing these priceless, joyful, and obviously well-loved children. Probably the most touching gesture was done by my hotel's kitchen worker. She overheard my laments about not having enough hair ties for the hundreds of women. I returned after a particularly grueling day to have the front desk present me with a box FULL of these precious items, a selfless gift from this worker. I met fellow UU volunteers from around the country, united in living the value of service to others with needs greater than our own. I returned with a bursting heart and my spirit renewed. We need to simply welcome, not fear, these resilient, productive and hopeful new residents.

Martin Luther King said, "One comes to appreciate the reality that there can be no we and they in our lives, but only brothers and sisters all sacred and dignified."