UUFD Newsletter, Sept. 2021

September 2021

Embracing Possibility

Rev. Katie's Animas View

We lift up our eyes to the hills, from where does our help come? –Psalm 121

One of the admired church consultants wrote a book published before the pandemic, titled How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going: Leading in a Liminal Season. It seems especially fitting in this moment.

I think many of us thought that last year was our liminal season, with its sudden shut down of regular activities and behaviors. Now I’m coming to accept that liminality doesn’t just apply to a pandemic, but rather to any in-between time separating the “already” and the “not yet.”

Early in the summer of ‘21 folx were readying to re-open. They planned to take trips, and made arrangements for an exciting autumn of programs and activities. Then suddenly the way forward seemed confusing and disappointing. As UUs, we welcome scientific tools to help us find the way when it is complex, but we need spiritual tools as well, reminders that we are connected to something larger, even if that something is simply the power of each other’s willingness to create community.

Threshold times require our faith, our trust, our patience. At the same time, they require endurance and resilience. I am ready to kick off a year of growth in faith and community with you, readying to shift when it is called for.

Our theme for September is Embracing Possibility, and I invite you to join me in the many ways our congregation remains strong. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the Embracing Possibility playlist, and the new meditation manual Shelter in This Place.

At our book communion Sunday, many of you specifically named the book Braiding Sweetgrass as a source of inspiration. All of these things, and time in meditation or prayer can be sources for embracing possibility as we move through this season.

Peace to you, and Always in the Love,

Rev. Katie

September Services (in person and online)

Theme: Embracing Possibility

Worship services will now be held both in person at the sanctuary and via Zoom. Please choose the option that makes you most comfortable. To join a Zoom worship, look for the link on the UUFD website.

September 5

Do Nothing

-Rev. Darcy Baxter, pulpit guest

In a world where our value is determined by our productivity, many of us find our every last minute captured, optimized, or appropriated as a financial resource by the technologies we use daily. In the face of all the challenges our post-pandemic society faces, how might we consider how Unitarian Universalist religious communities are being called to do nothing?

September 12*

The Possibility of Both/And

-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris

Please bring a small vial of water with you to represent your travels and your home. We’ll create community, embracing the possibility of more than one way of being and understanding the world.

*9 am Family Breakfast at Columbine House patio

September 19

Sukkot: Find My Soul a Home

–Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot is a festival holiday, commemorating the end of the harvest and the sheltering of the Israelites in the wilderness. How might we imagine the shelter we need now?

September 26

Commissioning our Leaders

-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris

Our choir sings today as we celebrate our outgoing and incoming Board of Trustees, the elected leaders of this congregation. What do we each bring to create the Beloved Community?

Message from John Redemske, UUFD Board President

My dear fellow UUFD members and friends,

As the Covid situation in our region becomes more acute, we will likely have to adjust our Covid policy so that we can operate UUFD in a reasonably safe manner. At the last Board meeting, a Covid Advisory Group of medically trained people led by Graham Smith was created to keep track of the rapidly changing Covid environment and make recommendations to the Board for policy changes. Such changes will immediately be communicated to the fellowship along with the reasons for the changes. The Covid Advisory Group will also be working to develop a table that would describe different levels or phases of Covid severity, what the basic metrics would be and what kinds of activities would be allowed at UUFD for each level. This is a very complicated task and I thank the Covid Advisory Group for working on this.

Earlier in the month, Jarrad Maiers, an ER physician working in Farmington, NM, gave a talk during the Sunday service about his experiences during the pandemic. In his talk he asked, “What can we do to help with Covid?” He suggested that “we all talk to people that we know to encourage them to get vaccinated.” I would ask all of us, what else can UUFD do to promote vaccinations? We have been vocal about BLM, women’s rights, gun control and other social justice issues. What about the promotion of vaccinations?

Improved communication and the feeling of transparency that comes along with it is a major goal of the Board this year. As part of this effort, a summary of the last Board meeting actions will be immediately communicated in this monthly newsletter (see article below) as well as in the weekly E-announcements. Feel free to contact John Redemske, Board President (603-345-2244) with any questions, concerns, suggestions or support. As we get closer to the next board meeting on the fourth Tuesday of every month, also please look for a similar summary in the weekly E-announcements of what will be on the agenda for the next board meeting.

In another effort to enhance communication, the Board, in partnership with the Healthy Congregation Committee (HCC), will be participating in an active listening workshop over the next several weeks. Improving this skill is important for all of us, but especially important for the members of the Board and the HCC. Active listening is the skill of truly listening to what the other person is saying without your mind already thinking about how you will reply! This skill is one of the tools needed in our future communication activities.

With continuing gratitude for all of you,

John Redemske

UUFD Board of Trustees President

FROLIC postponed

Mark your calendars for Sept. 30, 2022

Because of the COVID pandemic's skyrocketing numbers and guidance from the CDC and the UUA, FROLIC has been postponed until Friday, September 30, 2022. We will continue our preparation next summer from where we have currently left off.

Tickets already purchased are in our database and will be honored at next year's FROLIC. However, if you would like a refund instead, please contact Aline or Sheryl.

Stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to FROLIC 2022! Questions? Contact Sheryl at ptepte@hotmail.com or 509-991-5640.

Faith Formation Director Search Update

Position re-opened

Last spring, after eighteen months of examination, conversation and discernment, UUFD made the decision to search for a fulltime Director of Faith Formation to lead our lifespan (children and adult) religious education program. We offered the position to our desired candidate and after much consideration the offer was turned down. We have re-opened the position and are gathering applications, and our Search Team is planning to interview at a later date. To aid with organization of our program this year, we are planning to hire an experienced part-time Faith Formation coordinator. Kiara Stacey remains as our paid teacher.

-Rev. Katie Kandarian-Morris

Board Member at Large position open

"Service is our prayer"

The current Board of Trustees (BOT) has a vacancy for the Vice President position.

As an option in addition to asking members to volunteer to be Vice President of the BOT, the BOT and the Nominating Committee also encourage members to volunteer for the open Member at Large position. Later this year, after all new Members at Large have been active Board participants and have become comfortable with the Board operation, it is hoped that one of these Members at Large would be willing to be appointed to the Vice President position. We encourage newer members, members of all backgrounds, and members interested in promoting new ideas to volunteer to serve. Contact any member of the Nominating Committee for more information. We are more than happy to meet with you at your convenience to discuss board membership and answer any questions. Nancy Burpee, Chairperson (nancykburpee@gmail.com 970-759-8339), Kathleen Devine, Donna Nelson, Mary Sison.

Healthy Congregation Committee (HCC)

Moving toward healthy communication with a sacred focus

The Healthy Congregation Committee (HCC), the UUFD Board of Trustees (BOT) President, and the minister are all in agreement that we can address our congregational differences by developing a system of communication that is respectful, empathic, acknowledges the importance of our mission, and maintains a sacred focus in all of our UUFD relationships.

In terms of what the HCC is doing, what does that mean?

The HCC continues to meet every two weeks. Last Wednesday, we had a joint meeting with John Redemske (BOT President) and Reverend Katie to discuss our goals and plans for improving communication and how to move forward as a team. Reverend Katie offered the HCC the Nov 14 service to focus on our work; we plan to introduce the Relational Covenant draft to the congregation, followed by small group discussions at that service. We will personally be contacting each UU member about this event.

On August 30 and Sept 9, the HCC and UUFD BOT will be participating in two hour training sessions on facilitation and active listening skills with local facilitation consultant, Sandhya Tillotson. These sessions will deepen the capacity of church leaders to facilitate meaningful discussions with the congregation. We will also be working with Sandhya to design focus groups and listening sessions as well as hosting congregational workshops on healthy communication strategies and tools. The HCC and the BOT are sharing the cost of the training. If you are interested in reading along with us, two books that will be guiding our listening skills are Crucial Conversations - Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson and Never Call Them Jerks by Paul Boers.

Sherrod Beall

HCC Chair

Family Breakfast is Back!

Join us at Sept. 12 at 9:00 am

All kinds of families, especially those with children, are invited to join us for a continental breakfast on Sunday, September 12 at 9-9:50am. We’ll meet outdoors on the Columbine House patio. Bring fruit, juice, pastries or just yourself to reconnect. Want to help set up? Contact Becca Trefry via Breeze.

All families Faith Formation Zoom gathering

Share your thoughts, and imagine the future

Rev. Katie invites you to this brief event during which you are invited to share your struggles and imagine a great year ahead with each other. Join on Thursday, September 16 from 6 to 7 pm by clicking this link. Consider:

What family events would you like to attend this fall?
What are faith formation plans for our children?
How might we create a team?
What do we need to hear from each other?

Do you ukulele?

Play along with the UUkes

Attention ukelele players of all ages and abilities!

How would you like to join the UUkes for some musical fun? A group is forming now for a weekly jam session. Once we see who is interested, we will agree on a good time and place to meet. If you’re interested, please contact Elizabeth Crawford at choir@durangouu.org

Calling artists and art lovers

UUFD Art & Aesthetics team welcomes you

The Art & Aesthetics team would love to know about any makers and appreciators of ART who may be new members or friends of UUFD. When we eventually return to enjoying coffee time together inside of Bowman Hall, there may be opportunities to display your creative work on our gallery walls if you let us know who you are. Our team is also occasionally called upon to help make important design and decorating decisions, and we welcome new members who share a focused interest in art and aesthetics. Please contact annsmithsws@hotmail.com or 505 320-3132.

From the Environmental Justice Team: COMPOST!

Social Responsibility and Justice (SRJ) Special Feature

In our recent Environmental Survey, a little over half of you who responded indicated that you regularly compost kitchen waste. Removing food waste from the landfill reduces methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, and builds compost, a good way to store carbon!

The City of Durango has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% before the year 2050, and a 30% reduction goal by the interim year, 2030. You may have recently read (Durango Herald , August 4) about Table to Farm Compost's new partnership with the city that will bring these goals to fruition. In the coming months, Table to Farm will be working with the city to recruit new subscribers, and streamlining educational outreach so that composting becomes easy and second nature to all Durango city residents. By joining Table to Farm, those of us in the town limits who haven't yet joined can contribute to achieving these goals. This is one of the small things we can do personally to keep greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere that can make a difference.

Watch for more information coming from the City in the coming months and join this important community effort!

What happened at the last board meeting?

Keeping you up-to-date and in the know!

Notes from the Aug 24, 2021 board meeting:

Covid policy review.
The Covid Advisory Group Charge was discussed and approved. This Advisory Group is 2 to 3 medically trained people to recommend Covid Policy updated to the Board. Graham Smith is the Lead.
A chart showing different levels or phases of Covid severity as well as associated metrics and resulting UUFD activities that can be allowed will be developed by the Covid Advisory Group.
Covid is becoming acute in our region. The Board is working with the Covid Advisory Group to update the Covid policy.

An update on Frolic was given by Sheryl and Aline.
The uncertainty of Covid has impacted both ticket sales and donations and it was decided to postpone Frolic until 30 September 2022.

Bill Wallauer, chair of Risk Management gave an update regarding UUFD ventilation upgrades
Three companies will give quotes for ventilation systems for each of the UUFD buildings. Ventilation systems will improve the ability to use our buildings this winter.
Need more people to help Bill with this committee

Increased Board communication was discussed.
Short summaries of the Board Meeting activity will be immediately communicated through the monthly newsletter and every weekly E-announcement.
Within several weeks of the next Board meeting (held on the 4^th Tuesday of every month) a similar summary of the agenda will be in the Weekly E-announcements.
The Board and HCC members will partner for an Active Listening workshop over the next several weeks to sharpen our communication skills.

The Long Term Fellowship space task force charge was discussed and approved with Mary Hockett as chair
This Task Force will re-examine the size of our long term fellowship space needs.
This will build upon the prior 2019 Facility planning task force work, but will consider expansion of only the fellowship space and associated restroom and kitchen facilities.
The Task Force will consider non-contiguous and Contiguous options.
This is starting the conceptual planning now so that in the future we will be ready. This is long term thinking, looking beyond the present Covid situation.
Report is planned to the Board by May 2022.

UUFD vision statement development process
The UUFD Vision is what we want to BE in 5 years.
An upcoming Board retreat will discuss the process to determine what the fellowship wants the UUFD long term vision to be.

If you have any comments, concerns, questions or suggestions about Board activity, please call John Redemske, Board president (603-345-2244). I would love to hear from you!