Minister's Message

A message from UUFD Minister Rev. Jamie Boyce

Forecasting the Future

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life's coming attractions.” - Albert Einstein

The Soul Matters theme for the month of May is “Living Love through the Practice of Imagination”. It is a wonderful theme that arrives just as we feel the Earth stir and the sun opening each morning with longer days full of possibility, inviting us to welcome our

daydreams and imagine new worlds being born - just on the horizon, within our reach.

At a time when it would be easy to surrender our dreams, we can resist and reclaim our imaginative power as Susan Griffin, author of To Love the Marigold, writes:

“Let us begin to imagine the worlds we would like to inhabit, the long lives we will share,

and the many futures in our hands.”

Cultivating a practice of imagination allows new possibilities to emerge that challenge our calcified expectations and hidden agendas that alienate us from the future we deserve – one of justice, love, safety, and flourishing for people and the Earth. Taking time to daydream and claim the future we long for is a spiritual practice.

As I celebrate the anniversary of my call to UUFD, I recall how moved and inspired I was by your courage, vision, and commitment. This year, you have invited me to imagine a future with you that is bold and brave. Together, we are weaving new futures for our faith - which are alternatives to tyranny - and living our Unitarian Universalist values with courage and conviction. It is my great joy and honour to dream with you, to live our faith fearlessly into the future.

In faith and love,

Rev. Jamie

President's Message

A message from Board President Tim Miller

I hope you are enjoying the annual greening and flowering around town as much as I

am. We’re on the home stretch of this church year. At last week’s board meeting, Treasurer Steve Govreau led the discussion that got us to a balanced operating budget for the upcoming church year; that will be presented for congregational approval at the annual meeting. Thanks to the generosity of our outstanding core of long-time financial supporters - supplemented this year with contributions from five “resuming” pledgers and five new member pledge - we will be able to fund almost all of the budget requests we received. While there are still some folks the Stewardship team would like to hear from, I’m pleased to report that the “Tripping Together” campaign just exceeded its $320,000 target and is expected to reach $330,000 in the next couple weeks. Please say “Thank You” to members of the Stewardship effort: Kathleen Adams, Elaine Collins, June Russell, and Roberta Eickman.

We will preview the operating budget and balance sheet and entertain your questions about church finances at a town hall after social time this coming Sunday, May 4.

I urge members to attend UUFD’s annual General Meeting, which will be held on Sunday, May 18, right after worship. If you know you’ll be out of town, now is the time to ask someone who will attend to hold and vote your proxy. At the meeting, we’ll approve the minutes of last year’s annual meeting, discuss and vote on the operating

budget, vote on our first-ever Congregational Covenant, and elect members to the Board of Trustees and the Nominating/Leadership Development Committee.

Board Secretary Sherrod Beall is leading the effort to acquire the necessary approvals and permits to let us rent weekday space in Columbine House to an established local childcare provider, beginning this summer. We hope to receive the go-ahead in the next week or two, at which time we’ll be looking for volunteers to help repair or replace

Columbine House’s backyard fence.

Board Member-at-Large Dan King is compiling and refining the input from the recent Multi-Use Hall visioning workshop and will be presenting the results later this spring. Based on these results, we’ll raise a task force to choose an architect to produce renderings this summer.

Finally, as the weather warms up, we’ll be looking for volunteers to spruce up the church campus. Fellowship. Good times. Sanding, staining, painting - oh my!

News from the UUFD Office

Upcoming Vacation Notice

I will be out of the office starting Thursday, May 22, and will return on Tuesday, June 10. My regular office hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., so Wednesday, May 21 will be the last day to reach me before I leave.

More information will be shared in the upcoming e-announcements, and I’ll have a vacation auto-responder set up with details on whom to contact for specific tasks while I’m away.

Thank you!

Nikki, Office Administrator

All-Music Service THIS Sunday!

Please join us this Sunday, May 4, for an all-music service, “Living Love Through Music”.

We will begin this celebratory service with Gathering Songs led by our own UUkes, seven musicians playing ukuleles, together since pre-COVID. This will be their reunion!

The Diversitones, led by choir director Hannah Duff – who will be leaving to pursue her PhD in Choral Conducting – will be singing one of the pieces from Ethan Neal’s “Mass of the Angels” (the world premiere in its entirety will be performed on Saturday, May 3 - 3pm at St. Mark’s).

A choir quartet will sing “Bless the World” as they light the chalice, followed by the choir’s Call to Worship “Heleluyan”, a traditional Muskogee Creek meditation.

Service attendees will have a chance to further add their voices in song with Malvina Reynolds’ “Magic Penny” - taught first to the children and youth - and with the well-known recessional “Amen”.

One of the service highlights will be Pulpit Guest musician/speaker Tim Sullivan, who will share several musical pieces along with his hallmark insightful life stories and wisdom. We were blessed last year with Tim’s musical gifts at our summer Pine Song retreat, and many have requested an opportunity to hear him again.

Pianist Amy Barrett will share music from Sleepless in Seattle, and there are other musical delights awaiting you too! Come join us on Sunday for joyful, meaningful sharing.

Meet the Candidates for UUFD's Board of Trustees and Nominating Committee!

At this year's Annual Meeting on May 18, we will elect new members to the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee. We invite you to review the candidate photos and bios to get to know those who are offering their leadership. Your informed vote helps shape the future of our Fellowship. Thank you for participating!

Click here to view the candidates for the Board of Trustees



Click here to view the candidates for the Nominating Committee

Revised Congregational Covenant Ready for Annual Meeting Consideration

The Congregational Covenant Committee reviewed all the feedback from the listening sessions last month. Thanks to all who provided their reactions and suggestions, a number of which were incorporated in the new draft.  This document, along with the Relational Affirmation developed by the Healing Congregation Committee, form the basis for our robust Congregational Covenant, which we will vote on at the Annual Meeting on May 18. View the Congregational Covenant draft below and the Living in Covenant Relational Affirmation to the right.

More Fellowship Hall Visioning Workshop Opportunities

Hey, UUFD & Friends! Did you miss the Visioning Workshop for a new fellowship hall in March? Here are two additional opportunities to share your input on what we should keep, what we need, and what success might look like for UUFD and our growing community down the road. Join us!! 

UUFD - Multipurpose Hall Zoom Visioning Sessions - Save the Dates!! More details to follow in the weekly e-announcements. 

• Wednesday, May 7 at 7pm
• Saturday, May 10 at 9am

Seeking General Assembly Delegates

This year's UUA General Assembly is June 18-25 in Baltimore. Both in-person and online registration is available. Early registration ends May 15. We need three (3) delegates to represent us. If interested, please contact Tim Miller, president@durangouu.org, to be approved for full registration reimbursement. Click this link to www.uua.org/ga for more information concerning General Assembly.

May News from Faith Formation

I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant.  ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

Imagination! If you look up “imagination quotes,” you will find hundreds, all extolling what a wonderful thing imagination is. This one from a favorite author, Ursula Le Guin, captured mine: “a child would grow up to be an eggplant.” Would that eggplantish child have a face? A consciousness? Do eggplants per se have consciousness, and if they did, what would it be like? Does that consciousness end after being separated from their life-giving plant? And by-the-way, why are eggplants purple? All of this coming from a single a word and its close cousins – imagination and curiosity.

Imagination is the spark that encourages everyone of us to look beyond current conditions and wonder what else is possible. “What if” is the best question ever, whether stacking blocks on top of one another or creating a more just world.

Faith Formation for Kids

May 4: The youth group will be on their trip to Santa Fe, and the other children will be exploring imagination by transforming paper rolls into kitties.

May 11: The creation of Mother’s Day cards with watercolors, led by Margaret Pacheco and Ellise Lopez

May 18: The transformative power of imagination to create a social justice banner

May 25: The meaning of Memorial Day

Faith Formation for Adults

There are openings in several different covenant groups or affinity groups. For more information, contact Teresa Jordan, the Faith Formation Team lead.

Personal Faith Development – May: Living Love Through the Practice of Imagination

Imagination is the causal force behind everything, from the "what if" that caused our distant ancestors to gather and plant seeds and develop irrigation systems for them to the "what if" of sending children through a secret portal into the magical land of Narnia. To be human is to have imagination. Your own imagination makes you substitute ingredients in a recipe and allows you to plan how to help someone in need. Imagination is not just for children and artists but for us all, no matter the endeavor we apply it to.

This spiritual practice comes from John O’Donohue, Irish poet and author, who provides guidance in this YouTube video. This spiritual practice is featured in the May Soul Matters; for the packet, reach out to Sharon Mignerey. 

O’Donohue encourages you to ask, “What are the seven thoughts that guide my life?” These are imaginings because they are the lens through which we each experience the world, not the actual experiences. 

Take some time to figure out these “seven thoughts". You will probably think of many more than seven, but your analysis will probably find common themes that tie some thoughts together and other thoughts that are subsets. This is not about what seven thoughts you want to shape and guide your life. It is the seven thoughts that do shape and guide it. After you’ve pared down your list, identify the ones you’d like to alter or eliminate. What more empowering thoughts—imaginings!—might take their place? Now … embrace these thoughts—imaginings—and if they are limitless, as postulated by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau … what might be possible?



In closing, “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” ~Stephen R. Covey

UUFD Faith Formation is Moving in a New Direction

We are excited to announce a new direction for our Faith Formation ministry. Known as Whole Church, this approach is more inclusive of all ages and all aspects of our church life. Whole Church Faith Formation stresses shared experiences that connect people, strengthens our UU faith through co-learning communities, and taps faith formation practices the can benefit all ages. It benefits the entire congregation, emphasizing social, emotional, and spiritual connections for everyone. (Click this link to learn more.)

To grow in a Whole Church direction, some modifications to our Faith Formation leadership structure will be implemented, with both an intensified focus on families with children and a strong support system for adults.

In their work this year, the Faith Formation Team identified opportunities in our program to include and serve children, youth, and families, and initiated exciting changes to our programming and Sunday morning experience. You may be aware of some of the conscious efforts implemented this current church year to help create a more inclusive and welcoming experience for all, including families with children. Multigenerational worship services have been regularly scheduled to create a common experience for all to share. As a visual welcome to the sanctuary for children and families, a coloring table has been added next to the fidget toys station. The Leadership Council has explored ways that children might be included in the work of UUFD’s committees and teams. We

hope to find more ways to share social time as well as social justice work. We know that being together nurtures bonds of community across the generations and builds collective resiliency as we meet the call of our faith and live our Unitarian Universalist values in our lives and in the world.

Recognize, also, that today’s families are facing unprecedented stresses unlike those endured by previous generations. The U.S. Surgeon General identified this as a national health crisis in his report Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents, published this past November. (Click here to read the report)

To help address the unique needs of children, youth, and families, we suggest the following changes for our next church year. These changes will help align UUFD with our new direction in keeping with UUA guidelines for staffing and budget for a church our size:

Define the Faith Formation staff position to focus on family ministry and support the movement of our congregation toward a Whole Church culture. Reduce the total hours of the Faith Formation staff position. Rewrite the Faith Formation staff position description, and form a search team to recommend a new hire.

Address the needs of adult faith formation with a new sub-team of the Faith Formation Team dedicated to Adult Faith Formation programs.

We extend a loving invitation to our whole UUFD community and hope you will join us on this journey toward the Whole Church new direction in Faith Formation. Experiment with us in ways we might build deeper connections among all ages, grow our faith, and grow our capacity for living out our values together. Help us to nurture a well of joy that sustains us throughout life’s challenges as well as its celebrations. Together we can create our heart’s desire for a genuine Beloved Community.

We welcome your questions, comments, and/or ideas!

In love and trust,

Rev. Jamie Boyce, Minister

Teresa Jordan, Faith Formation Team Lead

Bonnie Miller, Adult Faith Formation Sub-Team Lead

Social Justice & Responsibility Team News

Need your Batteries Charged?

These are trying times, to be sure. Justice work in the current political climate is never-ending, exhausting, and discouraging, yet never more important. Democracy, as we know it, is at stake. Loved ones are at risk, our children and grandchildren’s future is uncertain, our planet is on fire, and our well-laid plans for the future have been turned upside down. We can never do enough, and sometimes when we think we’ve done enough to make a difference, we are, yet again, slapped in the face by the nightly news. 

Only 4 months into a 4-year sentence, and already it’s easy to give up hope, to retreat, to deny the reality of the changes occurring all around us. Yet, our UU faith calls us to action in the face of injustice. We have a long history of resisting inequalities, demanding change, and facing - head on - the challenges that many other religions don’t dare tackle. 

We have a long fight ahead of us, and it’s important to keep our stamina. This means, first and foremost, taking care of ourselves. But how do we keep our physical and psychological batteries charged? We pace ourselves, we support each other, we worship together on Sundays, and we try to maintain balance in our lives. As Joy Harjo, the first Native U.S. Poet Laureate, writes, “We need mental and spiritual food along the way as much as we need food, clothing, and shelter.” The UUFD offers several restorative practices that can help deepen your focus and strengthen your spiritual resolve. 

Bhakti Yoga Affinity Group is a chanting group that meets on the first Thursday of every month at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. Sanskrit chanting is an ancient practice that leads to a deeper sense of relaxation and peace of mind. This is a free offering by Anna Pool, who can be reached at (970) 382-8182. Here is a link to one of the chants we will be learning together on May 1, in case you are curious about Sanskrit chanting. This will take you to a secure and free music-sharing platform called Sound Cloud--just click on Om Ganesha.

Earth Whisperers Affinity Group is a monthly group that focuses on deep ecology to restore our personal kinship with Mother Earth through meditation on the land, art, writing, music, sacred plants, QiGong, breathwork, imagery journeying, and listening to nature’s life lessons. This free drop-in group meets on various public land sites the first Saturday of every month from 10:30am-noon. Contact Flo Gaia at frgaia@icloud.com for locations. 

Conscious Breathwork Masterclass, which teaches breathing techniques that help you speak, act, and live from an empowered, peaceful center, will be offered for free by Florence Gaia, RN, M.Ed, on Monday, May 12, from 5:30-6:45 in Bowman Hall.

For a deeper dive into conscious breathwork, Florence is offering a 1-day workshop on Saturday, May 31, from 9:30am-4pm at her Wild Spirit Retreat in Durango West II. Cost is $87, and the workshop is limited to 8 participants. Contact Flo Gaia at frgaia@icloud.com to register.

Yoga for a Cause takes place at YogaDurango on May 22 at 6pm. Suggested donation is $30-$50 with all donations going to support Compañeros. For more info, click here!

The UUFD Outdoors Group offers free hiking, skiing, and camping activities year-round. Outdoor activities offer numerous benefits for physical and mental well-being and can improve cardiovascular health, reduce stress, boost mood, enhance sleep, strengthen the immune system, and keep us grounded in our spiritual values. Contact John Schwob at johnschwob@msn.com to sign up.

In summary, the following poem by Joy Harjo reminds us to watch our minds and that all good work comes from a place of spiritual grounding.

For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet 

Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop.

Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control.

Open the door, then close it behind you.

Take a breath offered by friendly winds. They travel the Earth, gathering essences of plants to clean.

Give it back with gratitude.

If you sing, it will give your spirit lift to fly to the stars’ ears and back.

Acknowledge this Earth who has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely within your parents’ desire.

Let your moccasin feet take you to the encampment of the guardians who have known you before time, who will be there after time. They sit before the fire that has been there without time.

Let the earth stabilize your postcolonial insecure jitters.

Be respectful of the small insects, birds, and animal people who accompany you.

Ask their forgiveness for the harm we humans have brought down upon them.

Don’t worry.

The heart knows the way, though there may be high-rises, interstates, checkpoints, armed soldiers, massacres, wars, and those who will despise you because they despise themselves.

The journey might take you a few hours, a day, a year, a few years, a hundred, a thousand, or even more.

Watch your mind. Without training, it might run away and leave your heart for the immense human feast set by the thieves of time.

Do not hold regrets.

When you find your way to the circle, to the fire kept burning by the keepers of your soul, you will be welcomed.

You must clean yourself with cedar, sage, or other healing plant.

Cut the ties you have to failure and shame.

Let go the pain you are holding in your mind, your shoulders, your heart, all the way to your feet. Let go the pain of your ancestors to make way for those who are heading in our direction.

Ask for forgiveness.

Call upon the help of those who love you. These helpers take many forms: animal, element, bird, angel, saint, stone, or ancestor.

Call your spirit back. It may be caught in corners and creases of shame, judgment, and human abuse.

You must call in a way that your spirit will want to return.

Speak to it as you would to a beloved child.

Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It may return in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be happy to be found after being lost for so long.

Your spirit will need to sleep awhile after it is bathed and given clean clothes.

Now you can have a party. Invite everyone you know who loves and supports you. Keep room for those who have no place else to go.

Make a giveaway, and remember, keep the speeches short.

Then, you must do this: help the next person find their way through the dark. 

-Joy Harjo, 2015

Hospitality Sustainability

You know those last bites that are left on your plate at Sunday coffee hour? You can now compost them in Bowman kitchen. Plastic cookie containers are now washed and re-used for leftovers storage. Disposable cups have been replaced with glasses. The Hospitality Team, working with the Climate Justice Team and the Board, added these kitchen practices toward a more sustainable campus. Volunteers as subs are always welcome. Text Pat 970 759 7644

Breathing Calmness in Midst of Chaos

How are you caring for yourself during this turbulent time? Can you balance Paul Revere's revolutionary spirit with inner calm? Conscious breathwork is a powerful self-care practice so you speak, act, and live from an empowered peaceful center cultivating resilience. Come to a FREE master class with Florence Gaia, RN, M.Ed, Mon. May 12, 5:30-6:45pm in Bowman Hall. A follow-up workshop will be held May 31 @ Flo's lodge. REGISTER: frgaia@icloud.com