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As we embark on this month focused on our value of Wholeheartedness, I’ve been thinking a lot about a blessing by the late Irish poet and mystic John O’Donohue. It’s entitled “For a New Beginning” and begins like this:
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
The full blessing is well worth reading and is available here. It’s a rich companion for self-reflection, inviting us to move beyond the safety of “what we know” when “what we know” is no longer life giving.
What I love about this blessing is that it reminds us of the inner work required for wholehearted living. Often, we think of wholehearted people as those who live with confidence and courage out in public. However, O’Donohue reminds us of a different truth: before we can live wholeheartedly out in the world, we must first turn inwards and tend to the whole of our hearts.
So here’s my invitation for you this month, beloveds: take some time to listen to the oft-neglected corners of your hearts. What messages are those “out-of-the-way places” trying to communicate to you? What risks are they asking you to take? And how are they inviting you to live a life that makes space for your full self to emerge? In short: how is your heart inviting you to a life filled with more wholeness?
I can’t wait to hear—and witness—your answers as they emerge.
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February was a rough month for so many of us. As I witnessed first hand (and am still witnessing) the dismantling of federal programs, the indiscriminate firing of federal workers, wiping out of scientific data, the elimination of DEI, the terrorizing ICE raids, the attempt to erase the identity of trans and non-binary folks, the freezing of federal funds and so much more, I am feeling confused, angry, scared and heart-broken. I can’t help but wonder how this could be happening in 2025 in the United States.
While it feels like “broken-heartedness” would be a better theme for this month, “wholeheartedness,” the third on the list of our JUC values, is the theme. I understand the word as the need to make sure that I am honoring ALL of my emotions. Under normal circumstances, I can easily tap into the joy that comes naturally and I tend to want to push away the harder emotions but wholeheartedness reminds me to feel it all.
The past few weeks, however, the script has flipped - those hard emotions are persistent and I am having to dig deep to remind myself of the many gifts and blessings that are present in my life. One way that I have been doing this is to remember that Unitarian Universalism calls on me to put love at the center. When I close my eyes and open my heart I feel an expansion that allows me to feel the possibility of hope and to feel a little less angry at the world.
Also, I sing. I have been singing Lea Morris’ song, “Heart Wide Open” on repeat lately. I will leave you with these lyrics.
Keep your heart wide open
Though the waves want to push you around
You got to keep your heart wide open
Till my faith brings me back to solid ground.
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A Look Behind the Music
Song of the Month: This Is Me, from The Greatest Showman, performed by Shoshana Bean with
choreography by Travis Wall (Content warning: derogatory terms are visible in this video and used for dramatic intent)
As your Director of Music, I’m often asked how I approach the task of leading music each week.
More often than not, the answer lies in the theme of wholeheartedness… but maybe in a way you might not expect.
When I first took on this role, I assumed I would focus primarily on the preparation and technical aspects of music in worship – choosing songs, rehearsing the choirs, and ensuring that each note and rhythm was in its place. One aspect I was slightly less prepared for? Leading music a a soloist each week.
For me, I encounter wholeheartedness very internally. From my history as an academic and professional musician, I have a deep-seated need to execute music perfectly. I am my most comfortable when I can tackle a difficult tune at the piano and prove I can get every single aspect right. What takes more effort and soul work? Embracing the openness and vulnerability that leading music in worship demands. I’ve had to learn it’s about letting the music flow through me, letting go of the fear of imperfection. Because here, in our community, there’s no need for perfection. What matters most is the authenticity with which we engage with the music and each other.
Sometimes, though, this isn’t easy. Leading worship week after week can be challenging for my introverted spirit. There are moments when I feel unsure, moments when I question whether the music I’ve chosen will resonate or whether I will be able to connect with the congregation. And yet, when I take a deep breath, trust the process, and offer myself fully – heart and soul – the music always finds a way to reach out and connect us all.
I’ve come to understand that music is a mirror for our emotions, our joys, our sorrows, and our hopes. When we sing together, we are participating in an act of wholeheartedness, a shared act of expression that invites each of us to step beyond our personal boundaries and be part of something larger.
As we journey through this season, I want to encourage you to bring your whole self to worship. Whether you’re in the choir or in the pews, whether you consider yourself “musical” or not, your presence is what makes the music meaningful. Your openness and willingness to engage, to sing, to reflect, to listen – all of these are vital contributions to the wholehearted experience of worship.
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by Megan Duncan
Imagine if we lived our lives and engaged from a place of worthiness. What different choices might we make? What conversations could we have? What healing could begin?
As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalism calls us to bring our whole selves into community - our doubts alongside our convictions, our fears alongside our hopes, our struggles alongside our strengths. When we gather with this community, we're not asked to present a polished version of ourselves, but rather to show up authentically, imperfections and all.
This is why Brené Brown's research on wholeheartedness resonates so deeply with our UU values. When we embrace our fundamental worthiness, we can move beyond the paralysis of perfectionism and the barriers of shame. We can engage more fully in the work of justice, knowing that we don't have to be perfect to make a difference. We can build deeper connections within our community, understanding that vulnerability is not weakness but rather the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.
This idea of wholeheartedness is not something I grew up believing. I knew shame and felt embarrassed by my ideas and of myself. I also knew compassion and love and kindness and joy and many other things, too. When I read that someone (Brené!) believed that I am enough just as I am, it shook my faith and confidence. What if I really was enough?
Now I wonder what might our country look like if we approached our democratic ideals with wholehearted engagement? Instead of defensive posturing or cynical withdrawal, we could acknowledge both our nation's achievements and its failures with compassion and courage. We could face our historical contradictions - like those we explored in Dr. Jane Calvert's presentation last Sunday - not as sources of shame to be defended or denied, but as opportunities for growth and transformation.
Brené Brown teaches us that courage and vulnerability are inextricably linked. To be wholehearted is to be brave enough to show up, even when the outcome is uncertain. It's to engage fully in the messy, beautiful work of building beloved community, even when it's difficult. It's to believe that we are worthy of love and belonging, not because we're perfect, but because we're human.
As we move forward as a congregation, what if we embrace wholeheartedness in all we do - in our worship, in our social justice work, in our relationships with each other, and in our engagement with the community.
While we explore Choosing a New Name, let's dare to believe that we are enough, exactly as we are, living wholehearted lives. In doing so, we move a little closer to the beloved community we seek to build.
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Social Justice Lending Library
by Pam Bond
At JUC we value equity and inclusion. And we agree to courageously work together to accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
One of the things we’re doing to this end is establishing a lending library of books on anti-oppression. My own work on identifying and dismantling racism includes reading powerful and insightful books on the subject.
Former Board of Trustee Case Collard shared the importance of reading in his anti-racism journey on Sunday, May 5. Maybe he’ll donate a book or two! Many wonderful inclusions were donated by Lucinda Duncan, too.
You’ll find the library on the shelves under the People of JUC bulletin board in the south commons. Help yourself and sign out a book. Also consider donating books you’ve appreciated in your anti-oppression journey. You can drop them off at the office to be recorded before inclusion in the library.
The library includes titles such as:
Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families, interviews by Peggy Gillespie.
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor, by Layla F. Saad.
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
Black Pioneers in a White Denomination, by Mark D. Morrison-Reed.
The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism, by Mark D. Morrison-Reed
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A Major Accomplishment for Housing and Homelessness in Jefferson County
Why is JUC CAN urging everyone to come to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioner’s (BCC) Hearing the morning of Tuesday, February 25 (tomorrow!) to show support for their Housing Strategy? For years, JUC CAN, with Together Colorado, has been a strong advocate for housing issues, specifically homelessness and affordable housing. After frequent urging by our JUC CAN members, the county established a Jeffco Housing Continuum Task Force and finalized the county’s 15 Year Housing Strategic Plan for approval by the BCC!
What is in this plan and why do we care?
First, housing that is safe, affordable and accessible, is a basic human right. The 15 Year Housing Strategy covers the housing continuum from our unhoused residents up to first-time
homeowners and seniors, and addresses needs (and partnerships) in both unincorporated
Jefferson County and the cities within the county. Some key priorities in the 15 Year Plan
include:
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Robust and equitable homeless response and prevention systems for our Jeffco community. This includes helping the Lakewood Navigation Center (RecoveryWorks) remodel so that it can provide 24/7 year-round shelter, and supporting creation of a similar Navigation center in Arvada
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Preserving zoning for manufactured (mobile) home communities – these represent a significant amount of unsubsidized naturally occurring affordable housing
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Improving programs for vulnerable households and residents with special needs – including home accessibility programs and aging in place for Jeffco’s growing senior population
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Encouraging universal design to increase accessible and visitable housing stock – also important to Jeffco’s growing senior population
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Increase affordable middle-income housing, using zoning changes and partnerships across public and private sectors. This is important for our entry level workers and others who cannot afford much of the for-sale homes currently being built in Jefferson County.
Although the commissioners generally support this 15 Year Housing Strategy, we are raising some concerns at their board meeting on Tuesday, February 25. Specifically, we need to ensure that the strategies and priorities laid out in the Housing Strategic Plan are fully incorporated into Jeffco’s official planning documents and land use regulations. We don’t want this Strategy to sit on the shelf gathering dust! One of those key official Jeffco documents is the Comprehensive Plan. Currently, our county is rewriting and updating its official planning documents, and the recently released draft of the Comprehensive Plan fails to adequately reflect the housing priorities we need for our Jeffco communities to thrive.
For example, the Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan rewrite does not include the 3
major Production and Preservation Goals in the Housing Strategy, such as meeting the Proposition 123 affordable housing commitments or preserving the affordability of 100% of the existing income-restricted units in Jeffco. Similarly, the Land Use Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan does not address zoning to preserve manufactured home communities.
So…thank you to all JUC members who come to the BCC hearing on Tuesday, February 25. We need to continue emphasizing the purpose of the 15 Year Housing Strategy and its importance to our congregation and our county! 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, including your city of residence, to communityaction@jeffersonunitarian.org.
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