ISSUE 14                                                                                                                                                                                          AUGUST 2017
Small Group Ministry for the 2017/18 Church Year
We're making some changes! Small Group Ministry will now be known as Going Deeper. We  realized that there was some confusion between Small Groups and Affinity Groups, so hopefully  this will help clear that up, as well as reflect our desire to have these small group meetings be  the essential offering that JUC has to help our members and friends Deepen to their truest  selves and Connect authentically with others.

Our hope is that Going Deeper allows us to "shrink the church" so that everyone has the  opportunity to practice deep, reflective listening, authentic sharing, and to take a deeper dive  with our monthly worship themes, in groups of 8-12. Each year, Going Deeper will be an opportunity to develop authentic, intimate friendships with other JUCers, then participants will  be invited to spread the love by becoming a facilitator or joining a new group the following year.

Groups meet twice per month for an hour and a half, and there will be opportunities for year- long groups which will meet mid-September - May, as well as short-term opportunities  September - December and February - May.

We are looking for facilitators! If interested, please know that facilitators will be asked to  commit to attending five online meetings throughout the church year with Rev. Wendy Williams, Annie Scott, and Beth Leyba for both support and growth, as well as attend a Facilitator Training on Tuesday, September 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

If you are interested in participating, please sign up for one (or more) of the following, and once facilitators are established they will determine scheduling for their group and additional signups will be sent out so that participants can choose the group that works for them:

Choir And Chamber Choir this fall
With the advent of new service times of  9 and 11 a.m. , this fall will be a time to try on an approach to adult choirs and choral singing at Jefferson Unitarian Church that expands opportunities to sing!
  1. The 9:15 a.m. service is moving to a new starting time of 9 a.m., starting Sunday, September 3. As you may know, our parking situation makes it difficult for congregation members wanting to attend the 11 a.m. service to find parking easily. Having 15 more minutes between services will make a more welcoming environment for those who wish to attend the later service.
  2. For this fall, the choir will sing only at the 11 a.m. service. Rather than asking the choir to arrive at 8:25 a.m. for rehearsal, we will experiment through December with the full choir singing only at one service, the 11 a.m. service. Rehearsal will begin at 10:25 a.m. 
  3. However, the choir will still sing all services for Music Services. This fall, that will be Saturday, December 9 at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 10 at 9 & 11 a.m.
  4. We are forming a new, auditioned Chamber Choir for the 9 a.m. services. Most churches our size (800+ members) have more than one choir. I'm interested in opening up our music ministry in this way. All will be welcome to audition for the Chamber Choir, which will rehearse on Tuesday nights. Audition details and rehearsal times will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Your potential action items:
If you are a current choir member, info regarding JUC Choir registration will be sent out to the existing JUC Choir email group. When you get the registration information, please register by Friday,  September 15.

If you do not currently sing in the JUC Choir but would like to, please send your email information to Choir Manager Phyllis Bunting so you can be added to the choir email group.

If you wish to find out more about the newly forming  Tuesday night Chamber Choir, please email Keith Arnold so that you can be apprised of audition times and procedures.

I'm looking forward to this fall with some new initiatives and directions. If you've been thinking about singing in the choir, now is a great time to join. And if you've been looking for even more opportunity to participate, do consider auditioning for the Chamber choir. 
Democracy and Planned Giving
Planned Giving can protect democracy! As we have heard in the July series of sermons at JUC, democracy protects us all and we all must protect democracy. Democracy is never achieved, but it is an ongoing process always growing and always under attack. Thomas Jefferson said "lethargy is the forerunner of death to public liberty....and the people of every country are the only safe guardians of their own rights, and are the only instruments which can be used for their destruction"

Planned giving takes the longer view so that when my work is done, I can turn my resources over to future generations at JUC. Your legacy gift can help continue the hard grinding work required to protect our democracy.

Contact JUC's Planned Giving Coordinators: Bud Meadows, Mike Kramer, or Carol Wilsey .
Rummage Sale Cancelled

Thank you to all who kept the rummage sale going for so many years, particularly: Sue Parilla, Mary Anne Schiff, Linda Horn, Jean Decker, Pat Emery, Linda Ropes, Andi Pearson, Jay & Brett Wilsey, Jane Mathews, Carolyn & Bailey Belfor, Dorothy Smith, Jenny Logan, Jo Bailey, and Judy Gangloff. I am sure there are others I am either forgetting or who pre-date my tenure here, but a huge THANK YOU to all of you!
 
I know that historically the sale has been held in June, and due to some calendaring changes it was necessary to move it this year. It could be that the new timing doesn't work for many, or it could be that there's simply not enough interest to keep it going. We did not reach our goal of filling all cashier and clean-up spots as well as half of all other spots, so we are canceling the sale.
 
I am happy to hear any feedback or ideas that JUC members have regarding whether we should try again next year, as well as ideas for other fundraisers. The sale tends to net about $5-7k for the church, but takes approximately 400 volunteer hours over the course of a week to pull off, and is quite physically demanding work. It is also quite difficult to find organizations willing to come pick up our leftover rummage.
 
Thanks for saving your stuff, and my apologies that we won't be able to accept it. If you need ideas on where to take your donations, JUC is affiliated with  The Action Center and  Treasure Trunk Thrift Store (Family Tree), and  Urban Peak Thrift was planning to take some of our rummage sale leftovers and I'm sure they would appreciate donations.
JUC Caregivers for Nursery, Preschool and Childcare Needed!
WANTED: Adults and high school teens who love and appreciate children, primarily nursery and preschool age, and would like to earn some extra money caring for them at JUC. 

Work opportunities will include Sunday mornings, two Monday mornings a month for SOUUPS activities, as well as some weekday evenings and other days as needed.
 
A training for current and newly hired Caregivers will take place on Saturday, August 19, 9-11 a.m. If you're interested in working this fall, contact Julie Excell, RE Coordinator
Children and Youth Choir starts September 12th
Our choir program for Children and Youth is divided into four, distinct projects per year.

Parents and kids commit to a limited number of rehearsals that culminate in performances at JUC and elsewhere. 

Projects are reflective of the UU principles and sources, and provide an opportunity for children to explore UU values and beliefs through music.

Rehearsals for our fall children and youth choir project begin on Tuesday, September 12. Rehearsals are held Tuesday evenings, with Children's Choir (K-3rd grade) 6:30-7:10 p.m. and Radiance choir (4th-8th grade) 7:15-8 p.m. Our teen choir, Resonance, meets on Sunday mornings. For more information, or to register,  contact Sarah Billerbeck, Director of Music for Children and Youth
Family Ministry Team
Looking for opportunities to engage with the JUC community? Looking for fun events that give you volunteering credit? The Family Ministry Team has lots of opportunities for you! And you don't have to have kids in the program to help. Although if you do have kids in the program, that's great too - and bring 'em along! 

Here are examples of the types of things we need your help with:

Families Crash First Friday
Various Dates (Shop for and host dessert stand, clean up)

Parent Conversation Hosts
Three events, Various Dates. October 21 is the first (Help make sure room is set up, set out food / beverage / clean up room at end)

Multi-generational Event Host Currently penciled in for Feb (Note! Doesn't have to be a family or a young person ... hint hint older crowd!!)

Is there a project close to your heart that you want to get off the ground? Need a church group to sponsor your idea? Recent examples of these types of passion projects include the school supply drive in July and August and the new Dungeons and Dragons group that meets at JUC.

Questions? Interested in helping with any of these events? Want to help but these particular examples don't work for you? Please email the Family Ministry Team and ask your questions or volunteer.
Open Mic is back September 8th
Mark your calendars for the return of JUC's First Friday Open Mic. Come and play that song you've been practicing all summer or share your poetry, comedy, magic, film, or stories.

Better yet, come as an audience member to support the fabulous performers and for a chance to win prizes and hang out with great people. Bring the kids and enjoy a fun, family-friendly, free Friday evening! 

The show starts at 7p.m.   Performers please arrive at 6:45 p.m. to secure a spot. Contact: Rick Fisher
Contact Info for Lois Abbott
Lois recently relocated to Massachusetts to be near family. She's settled and doing well but would love to hear from her JUC friends.
 
Lois Abbott
200 West Farm Pond Road
Apt. 163
Framingham, MA  01702
508-628-7762




14350 W 32nd Avenue
Golden, CO 80401
303-279-5282
www.jeffersonunitarian.org
Spirit Map Update

In the May issue of IGNITE our board vice president Tom Goodreid, gave a good introduction to the Spirit Map survey which we were engaging in as a congregation. This survey was the product of the better part of a year's effort by a number of JUC members, particularly Elaine Zerger, Keith Arnold, Carol Wilsey, Paige LeBlanc and me. In addition Rev. Wendy really helped by encouraging all of you to take the time to complete the survey. Unity Church-Unitarian and Unity Consulting in Minneapolis developed the survey. Our main contact there was Laura Park and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge how good it was working with her.

Last week we received the results of the survey and I wanted to share a few highlights. We look forward to sharing more about the results with the congregation late this summer.  First I would note that 333 of you completed the survey. This is a really good fraction of the total congregation. The survey consisted of three components:

Forty four statements about your spiritual life. A rough classification divided the results between "signature strengths" in which you gave the statement a high self-assessment and a high importance and "key opportunities" in which you gave the statement a high importance but a low self-assessment. Examples of statements of "signature strengths" were:
  • I act with integrity
  • I care deeply about the welfare of others
Examples of statements of "key opportunities"
  • I give to others fully and generously
  • I'm able to adapt when things do not turn out the way I want


 

Evaluation of JUC's three strategic outcomes; deepen, connect and engage. You were asked to rate the details of each of these outcomes on a scale between 1 and 5 and for all three you scored on average between 4 and 5 indicating your strong support for these outcomes. In addition, you were asked whether you would recommend JUC to a friend as a measure of overall loyalty and 71% said you would.


 

Finally you were asked for general comments on how JUC was doing and, not surprisingly, we received quite a gamut of opinions. 

All of these comments as well as all the results of the 44 questions and the survey on our strategic outcomes will be shared with the entire congregation later this summer.