UUFD Newsletter, April 2023

April 2023

A message from Rev. Barbara

The Meaning of Membership

Why do you go to church? Why do you want to be part of a religious community? There are many reasons people attend church, and why they chose Unitarian Universalism. You may want to grow spiritually or have a regular place to briefly get away from the hectic grind on Sunday morning, or find a place to bring cares and concerns or to expand your knowledge, or a place to educate your children. Some of you probably seek new friendships, or know that it’s easier to do social justice with others than alone.

Admittedly, there is some paradox in the notion of a connected network of free people - you’ve probably heard jokes about how getting UUs together can be like herding cats. If you want to pursue a path in free religion and liberal spirituality, why join a congregation? In truth, membership in a congregation and a denomination comes with freedom and privileges, as well as responsibilities and boundaries. How any religious denomination or particular congregation defines their conditions for membership is central to its identity. In congregational polity, Unitarian Universalist congregations articulate their processes for membership through some type of Pathway to Membership orientation followed by a ceremony of covenanting between the congregation and new members during a worship service and a formal signing of the membership book.

Even as the specific curricula for Pathway to Membership vary from congregation to congregation, most UU communities explore a number of common conversations during these orientation sessions, which include reviewing the previous religious experiences of those attending; the theology, principles and purposes of Unitarian Universalism; a historical perspective on the UUA and the local congregation; particular activities of the congregation and ways for new members to get involved; and pledging and other financial commitments. The covenanting ceremony during worship is generally conducted in shared ministry by the congregation’s minister and Board leaders.

Grounded on democratic principles, official membership grants a member voting privileges in their congregation. Membership also offers access to rites of passage such as child dedications, weddings, memorials, and more. Membership also grants eligibility to serve as an elected officer. Understanding particular habits of congregational polity is especially important for congregations during their search for a settled minister, as UUFD is doing, to be as conversant as possible with the duties and responsibilities of a minster for the congregation, as well as the duties and responsibilities of the congregation for that new minister. Membership in a UU congregation is not about one single act of signing a book and paying a pledge. Instead, membership is an organic, ongoing process of building relationships. One should not sign the membership book on the very first visit to a congregation. On the other hand, there should be some progress. We hope that anyone who keeps coming back will eventually choose membership. If you have been attending UUFD for a long time and benefiting from resources and programs but have not committed to membership, I call you to examine your reasons for this. Organized by congregational polity as we are, our free congregations would not continue to exist without your commitment of membership.

The current plans for new member activities at UUFD include a New Member Class on Saturday April 22, from 9:00 am to 2 pm, and a covenanting ceremony during worship on Sunday, May 7. With any questions, contact Rev. Barbara, intmin@durangouu.org or Carroll Groeger, cgroeg@gmail.com.

April Services

Services begin at 10:00 am in our sanctuary located at the corner of Columbine and San Juan Drive (419 San Juan Drive) in Durango. If you are unable to attend, we stream the service on Zoom, which you can find by clicking here.

The Worship Theme for April is “Resistance”

April 2

Whether to Growth?

Rev. Barbara Coeyman

When I hear congregations express a desire to grow, this usually means growing in membership. However, congregations cannot just will growth in numbers. Greater numbers is nurtured by other types of growth: spiritual deepening, organizational maturity, and outreach to the community. Sometimes growth in number is met by either explicit or implicit resistance. Growth of all types happens best when we remain open to new ideas and new possibilities for building community.

April 9

Easter Sunday: Many Resurrections, Many Renewals

Rev. Barbara Coeyman

As the earth awakens from winter cold and darkness, we experience many renewals, many paths to new life. In this multi-generational service, we celebrate seasonal renewal through music, story, and spoken message. We also celebrate the centennial of the traditional UU Flower Ceremony, created by Unitarian Norbert Capek. Bring flowers to create community bouquets and take away a blossom gifted by another person.

April 16

Cultivating Relationships through Wisdom from the Trees

Rev. Barbara Coeyman

Many of us may have deep visual and spiritual appreciation for trees, of all shapes and sizes and smells. New ideas about how trees communicate with one another, such as by Suzanne Simard in Finding the Mother Tree, go beyond aesthetic benefits to what trees can teach us about interpersonal relationships. Consider what you can learn about interacting with others from your favorite tree!

April 23

Earth Day: Resist Doom and Gloom

Rev. Barbara Coeyman and the Environmental Justice Team

How can we resist a Doom and Gloom response? The science behind our climate changes continues to grow more overt, robust and concerning, if not alarming. The service, coordinated by UUFD's Environmental Justice Team, will offer reflections on the most recent IPCC report and what it means for our spiritual path.

April 30

Resistance: Stand against bullying

Join the children and youth in this multigen service to explore the difficulties of bullying and how to approach it with love and resistance. Presented through music, readings, and a skit, they explore how emotions interact with a bully's choices and the complexity of how hurt can be displayed. With this new perspective on the issue of bullying, we seek to expand our understanding of resistance and the different roles it can take.

Pledge campaign gratitude and reminder

Due to a great deal of detailed effort, co-chairs Allison Andersen and Nancy Fisher and their multiple team members pulled off a thorough, creative and celebratory pledge drive campaign. We’ll be hearing the bottom line results soon from our dedicated, long-standing Finance Chair, Tim Miller. We all owe a standing ovation to those involved on behalf of our beloved UUFD Community.

GRATITUDE is also owed to those of you who have turned in your pledge cards already. Also a REMINDER is owed to those of you who are still deliberating or maybe searching for your pledge card in a stack somewhere. Don't worry! You can:

pledge online here OR
mail your pledge card to UUFD, 435 San Juan Drive, Durango 81301 OR
drop the card off when you are at church OR
put the card in the black mailbox at the base of the office stairs at Bowman Hall.

Again, thanks to all for your individual and team parts in this critical part of UUFD life!

Kathleen Adams, Year Round Stewardship Chair

Faith Formation News & Notes

April's theme: Resistance

“There is no greater power than the power of love, which arises from Presence. It overcomes all resistance.” Leonard Jacobson, author of Journey into Now

When I saw the theme Soul Matters Sharing Circle chose for April was resistance, I had, well, a lot of resistance to that idea. The Latin root of the word is to oppose or stand firm against something, which does go to the Fifth Principle we UUs honor: right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. That encouraged me to look more deeply, which naturally brings us back to love, which is an action verb that encourages us to take action in the name of love. In so many ways, we see that play out in our current culture – resist hateful legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ people among us, resist the culture of gun violence that brings tragedy to too many families and communities, resist the stripping away of rights for women to have autonomy over their own health care. And so, my resistance to the idea of thematically exploring resistance faded. Hopefully, you will have a similar experience.

April showers bring May flowers, as we learned as children. For Faith Formation there is indeed a “flowering” underway, the result of hard work by so many over the last several months.

Children and Youth

OWL (Our Whole Lives) Is Underway

The first class was held on March 26. Kudos to all involved to help make this happen, especially our teachers, Anna Royer and Jeff Hamner, who have committed their Sunday afternoons for all of April and May to be with the kids taking this important class. Also, a big thanks to parents and volunteers for their participation.

As you may be aware, this is a no-cost program to the kids, so no child is turned away by a financial hardship. We are feeding the kids a light dinner and providing them with all the materials they need for the class. We gratefully continue to accept love offerings to offset the cost of those meals and supplies. If you’re called to help, click here and follow the prompts.

The Eggs-tra, Eggs-tra Special Hunt on Easter Sunday

When our kids learned that Fort Lewis College students experience homelessness and food insecurity in such large numbers, they immediately wanted to know how to help (a great example of resistance to poverty through an act of love). And so, instead of a traditional Easter egg hunt, they want to do a food drive that benefits Grub Hub. Since these donations are for college students, their food needs include the kind of thing that would be easy for them to prepare and would be single-servings rather than for a family. We are asking for donations of non-perishable foods. Noodles (regular, gluten free, ramen), ready rice, dried fruit, mixed nuts, fruit cups, canned soups (regular and vegan), canned veggies, quick cook grains, mac and cheese, granola/protein bars. Watch for the donation boxes at the back of the sanctuary and Bowman Hall.

Multi-Gen Service and Columbine Open House on April 30

The FF staff, children, and youth are busy planning for a multi-gen service on April 30. Instead of the usual sermon, the kids will be presenting a skit, Resist Bullying, a topic they chose and that they are actively involved with writing and producing. You won’t want to miss this.

In addition, Faith Formation is looking forward to showing off Columbine House to everyone after service on April 30. We hope you’ll join us there for social time after service and before the Town Hall.

Adult Faith Development Opportunities

Book Study Begins April 19 – Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism

Many of you have expressed an interest in learning more about Buddhism, especially as it relates to our practices in UU. The text, Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism, is edited by Sam Trumbore and Wayne B. Arnason, both UU ministers. They bring their experiences and insight with these two surprisingly compatible philosophies. For a taste of what this book has to offer, this YouTube video from Sam Trumbore, one of the editors of the books, explains the intent of the book. The book is available at the inSpirit UUA Bookstore. It’s also available as a Kindle book.

Anyone wanting a deeper spiritual connection with their personal theology and the non-deist teachings of Buddhism may find a gateway through this text. This book study will meet in person for five consecutive sessions beginning Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. Meetings will last for an hour and a half.

Personal Faith Development

“Resistance certainly takes the form of speaking the truth to power, but often what the world needs even more is for us to speak the truth in love.” ~ Soul Matters April 2023

For most of us, resistance shows up at two levels, the inner and the outer. Inner resistance is that insidious voice that shows up the minute we decided to do something important to ourselves, whether taking up a hobby like painting or embarking on a self-improvement regimen or deciding to move or change careers. It’s that false voice in our heads telling us we’re not good enough and to be satisfied with how things are now. Outer resistance shows up as the courage to confront the status quo when it doesn’t fit with the life we imagine for ourselves—perhaps being an artist instead of an accountant (the safe, good paying profession that makes sense). Outer resistance is also facing down injustice by doing what we can with what we have right where we are. A deeper examination reveals love is at the core of resistance. Love for ourselves when we pursue the life we imagine for ourselves, love for others when we show up to right the injustices we encounter in the world.

Resistance Exercises for Spiritual Growth

Give thanks. With this exercise, we’re invited to think of people who made our own resistance possible. Who was that person? Who was this person who helped you resist pressures to fit in and follow what everyone else was doing? Remember that someone and thank them. Your thank you might take the form of a letter or a long-overdue invitation for coffee. Whatever your personal method, find a way to let that person know about the influence they had on you and how you were changed by them.

Try a Lent-Inspired Resistance. Lent, that 40 days leading to Easter, is a remembrance of Jesus who spent 40 days in the wilderness resisting the devil’s temptations. Perhaps you are faced with your own temptations that you want to release to make space for the Good to come into your life. It’s a practice to “forego a lesser good to focus energies on the pursuit of a higher good.” Whatever that is to you is an excellent exercise to make space for what you prefer and encourage the release of habits and temptations that stand in the way.

In closing, this quote from Dr. Shefali, author of The Conscious Parent, provides one more way of redefining resistance as it relates to our personal growth: “When we accept our life in the present moment, we let go of resistance, and only then can we begin the change.”

The Faith Formation Staff

Sharon Mignerey, Coordinator of Faith Formation

Harrison Wendt, Coordinator of Youth Faith Formation

Nikki Bauer, Faith Formation Teacher

Can America overcome its addiction to poverty?

Social Responsibility and Justice special feature

This question is asked by Matthew Desmond* in a recent article in the New York Times. The article is called “America Is in a Disgraced Class of Its Own” and it describes the sobering reality of the poverty rate in our country. In 2021, more than 25% of “people in America 65 and older lived in deep poverty…meaning that they’d have to, at minimum, double their incomes just to reach the poverty line.” Hardship exists not just for those living below a defined poverty threshold ($14,580 for an individual; $30,000 for a family of four), but for plenty of people above the line as well. Our country’s child poverty rate is about the same as Estonia and Türkiye and Korea, compared to France, Norway, Canada and the Netherlands whose rate is half of our own. We devote far fewer resources to assistance programs than other rich democracies.

Desmond makes the case that we can not only reduce poverty, but eliminate it. In his article he explains that our rich country has the means and the know-how, but we must find the will to do so. He says, “Poverty persists in America because many of us benefit from it….Poverty isn’t just a failure of public policy. It’s a failure of public virtue.” He provides examples of how this is so, and suggests strategies for how to bring about change.

If this intrigues you, read the full article here.

You may be thinking that this is important work for our Congress to do. You would be right. Sensible tax reform and enforcement could fund huge improvements. But Desmond says we can’t just wait for Congress, we need to begin to act ourselves. We have power in our everyday decisions, particularly using the power of the pocketbook to reward companies whose practices support economic justice. Check out B Lab or Union Plus to find out about these companies. If we pair our personal decisions with upward pressure on corporate and elected leaders, we have the potential to transform our country to a better society where every human being can meet their basic needs for housing, food, health care and education.

*Matthew Desmond is a sociologist at Princeton University and author of the upcoming book Poverty, By America.

Nominate now your three choices for the Ministerial Search Committee

Notes from the Transition Team

As you read this, the Transition Team (TT) continues to make calls to each UUFD member soliciting three nominations for the UUFD Ministerial Search Committee (MSC). If you have received your call and made your nominations, thank you. Our list of potential nominees is growing. If you still haven’t been called, or are still deliberating, here are the three documents you can access for more information to help you decide who you want to nominate:

The MSC search process

The duties of the MSC

The list of current members available to be nominated

The TT hopes to complete all the calls by the middle of this month. When all the calls that can be completed have been made, the most frequently nominated candidates will be asked if they are willing to accept the nomination. A formal list of those willing to serve will be given to the Board for their final selection. That slate will be formally voted upon by the members at a congregational meeting, either specially called or at our Annual Meeting in May, at which point the MSC will begin their work in building our formal application for our next settled minister.

Please contact any of the members of the TT (Sherrod Beale, Mike Trefry, Becky Malecki, Judy Hayes, Tom Miller) for any questions or comments you may have about the transition process.

Celebrate, learn, and get involved in Earth Week

Notes from the Environmental Justice Team

To kick off our Earth Week activities, and in collaboration with the Citizens Climate Lobby, the Environmental Justice Team (EJT) will show the film “Kiss the Ground” at 6 pm on Monday, April 17 in the Sanctuary. The optimistic documentary “Kiss the Ground” makes the case that by regenerating the Earth’s soils, we can balance the climate, replenish the water supply, keep species off the extinction list and better feed the world. EJT member Stephen Guy and Joe Wheeling of James Ranch will start a discussion after the film. You can view the film trailer here.

UUFD will again be marching in the Earth Day parade on Saturday morning April 22, so mark your calendars. Wear your yellow gear, get a good walk down Main Street, help with signs and noise, and show our support for more earth-healthy actions. Check upcoming e-announcements for further information about specific times. At the end of the parade, join the EJT at our booth for the afternoon Earth Day festivities in Buckley Park.

The EJT will also coordinate the Earth Day Sunday Service on April 23. The science behind our climate changes continues to grow more overt, robust and concerning, if not alarming. The service will offer reflections on the serious implications included in the most recent IPCC report and what it means for our spiritual path.

Terri Reherman to chair Social Responsibility and Justice Coordinating Team

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! After eight years of leading our social justice team, Bonnie Miller is stepping down. The team is delighted to announce that Terri Reherman will be stepping into the role on July 1. Terri is passionate about social justice, has been involved in justice work, and brings her many skills as a teacher and leader to this responsibility. Please join us in welcoming Terri to this new role and sharing our deep gratitude!