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JANUARY 22, 2023
https://uuma.zoom.us/my/uuslo
Meeting ID 834 863 1482
Or dial in by phone: +1 669 900 6833
10:30 am
Rev. Rod Richards
Worship Associate: Alice McNeely
The Messy Middle
"At the root of it all..." "At the heart of this matter..." Such phrases seem to suggest that if we trace something to its source or its center that we will find a singular clarity. Is that true?
Religious Exploration
Order of Service
January 22, 2023 at 10:30 am
PRELUDE I Choose Love
by Mark Miller
Choir performs
WELCOME Alice McNeely, Worship Associate
CHALICE LIGHTING
DOXOLOGY
CALL TO WORSHIP Rev. Rod Richards
HYMN #112 Do You Hear
TIME FOR ALL AGES Janet Murphy, DRE
JOYS, SORROWS, CONCERNS Rev. Rod Richards
HYMN #83 Winds be Still
OFFERING Restorative Partners
OFFERTORY On a Clear Day by Lane & Lerner
Don Gaede and Mark Pietri
MEDITATION AND SILENCE
ANTHEM Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
Choir performs
SERMON Rev. Rod Richards / The Messy Middle
HYMN #140 Hail the Glorious Golden City
EXTINGUISHING THE CHALICE
BENEDICTION Rev. Rod Richards
POSTLUDE Jersey Bounce by Bradshaw, Johnson & Plater
Looking Ahead in Worship
January 29, 2023
Rev. Dana Worsnop of Ventura (part of our Cluster Congregations)
Worship Associate: Alison Rittger - featuring readings by Mary Glick and Sheridan Cole
From Earthseed: The Book of the Living by Octavia E. Butler
A cluster collaboration, Rev. Dana Worsnop of Ventura has provided a sermon on video exploring the inspiring work of Octavia Butler and the scripture contained in her "Parable" series: Earthseed.
UU & YOU
U(nitarian) U(niversalism) and YOU (are welcome here!)
Are you a recent visitor to our congregation brimming with questions about what those two ‘U’s’ stand for?
Are you considering membership, yet wondering just what exactly membership means?
Are you a new member looking to learn more about our history and find ways to shape our future?
Are you a seasoned member who wants to delve deeper into understanding our tradition and our congregation?
Would you like to share your story and hear from others about how they came to be here and what this congregation means to them?
Are you tired of reading all these questions and ready to ask some of your own?
You’re all encouraged to attend UU & YOU gatherings to learn about where we came from, who we are, and what we can be together. You need bring nothing but your questions and reflections.
ONSITE: First Sundays beginning February 5, at noon in the Social Hall.
ONLINE: Second Sundays beginning February 12, at noon in the Worship Zoom Room.
Over $11,000 raised in December
for the Minister’s Discretionary Fund
I want to express my profound gratitude to members and friends of this congregation for your response to the December Community Outreach Offering and to those who gave directly to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund in December. We received $11,354.35, which allows us to continue assistance to individuals in need within and outside the congregation in accordance with the mission of the congregation.
I remind the people we help that this assistance is made possible through the generosity of people in this congregation who may not know them, and yet hold them as precious and worthy. Your offerings to this fund have made and continue to make a difference in the lives of individuals and in this community. The “minister” in the title of the fund means that I have the honor of being the steward of your generosity. And I am also honored to receive the deep appreciation and gratitude from the people who receive these funds. Let me take this opportunity to carry that gratitude back to the people who make this happen.
Thank you for your generosity! It matters.
In grateful community, Rod
Brynn Albanese
in a One-Woman-Show
@ UUSLO on February 12 at 2 pm
DESCRIPTION: Brynn is a well-known and loved multi-genre violinist on the California Central Coast. She has been seen front and center as Soloist and Concertmaster on numerous Performing Arts Center stages with a wide variety of groups in the area as well as the ever-popular World Music Band, Café Musique. During the Pandemic, Brynn created a One-Woman-Show using backing tracks and recordings of her own band in the living room of her Cambria home. Aware that people were starving for LIVE music, in person, she took to the streets, cul-de-sacs, medians, yards, balconies and driveways and has performed over 175 Concerts and Educational Shows since April 2020. A mix of European gypsy, Latin jazz, classical with a twist, opera covers, movie score trivia and a big splash of Celtic... she has created a lively, engaging and interactive show that she has now taken on the road!
LOCATION: This performance will take place at Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO), 2201 Lawton Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
DONATIONS ONLY: This is a fundraiser for UUSLO. A suggested Donation of $20 per adult will be gratefully received, at the door or in advance via brownpapertickets.com
MASK ETIQUETTE: Mask wearing is highly recommended but not required.
Coffee with the minister in January 2023!
Deepening connections, one cup at a time…
This is open to everyone, whether you like coffee or prefer another refreshment (or none!). My “coffee shop schedule” for the upcoming month is below; I invite you to stop by if it is convenient for you. There is no agenda, just conversation and connection (though I may invite any reflections you may have about the theme for January: The Path of Finding Our Center). Look forward to seeing you!
8:30-10:30am
Tuesday, 01/31/2023
Ascendo Coffee
1230 Los Osos Valley Rd
Los Osos
YOU are invited to come to one or both movies
WHEN: Friday, January 27
BASIC LATIN DANCE CLASS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 12:30-2 pm
SOCIAL HALL
Did you miss bidding on this item at pre-pandemic UUSLO auctions? No worries! You can still learn basic salsa, merengue, and cha cha steps soon after the Sunday, January 29 service, in the Social Hall. Just make a $20 per dancer donation to UUSLO before the class. (And make sure to indicate that the donation is for "Latin Dance Class"). Beginners and guests welcome!
We will focus on individual, not partner, dancing. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and bring your own refreshments for short breaks during the class. Wearing a face mask is also strongly encouraged. The instructor is Lata Murti, a UUSLO member who has taught this class twice before as a UUSLO auction offering. She herself was a student of Basic Latin Dance at Merecumbe Dance Studio in San Jose, Costa Rica.
LIT WITS 2/7/23
Lit Wits Zoom meeting is at 6pm on February 7. The non-fiction book for February 7 is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teaching of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. She circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles is our novel for this month. Librarian Odile joins the Resistance in WWII in Paris. Her story shows that heroes can be found in unlikely places.
ZOOM LINK: We meet at 6pm on the first Tuesday of each month. We are meeting on Mary Parker’s Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81618487257
We hope you can join us. For more information, you can email
Mary Parker, mnparker539@gmail.com or Jan Clarke, janclarke@charter.net
We Welcome a New LDC member
Each year the Leadership Development Committee (LDC), formerly known as the Nominating Committee, is tasked with finding leaders among us - leaders who can help make our congregation stronger, can help us live into our values. Two people responded to our article in last week’s newsletter, and both attended our meeting this past Monday. Alison Ritger committed to joining our team immediately. Welcome, Alison!
If you are interested in joining us or just want to learn more about what we do, please contact one of us at our emails below.
We are now recruiting for leadership positions for the next church year, July 2023-June 2024. We need folks for the LDC, the Board of Trustees, and possibly the Endowment Committee. Don’t be surprised if you get an email or phone call from one of us. And If you know you are interested, please contact Jan, David, Sheridan, or Alison.
Jan Meslin, 858-395-4675, meslinjan@gmail.com
David Cochran, dmichaelcochran@gmail.com
Sheridan Cole, sheridancole@yahoo.com
Alison Rittger, arittger@gmail.com
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT THE CLIMATE: NEXT STEPS
Alternative Super Bowl Party
We are thrilled to secure one of the most positive people on the planet to speak at the UUSLO Climate Action Community's next meeting.
Don Maruska has focused his formidable business and legal talents on the climate. Don just published "Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet" and has a multitude of ideas, with a process of how to put Joy into your life while helping the planet. Don has also been instrumental in developing a spiritual earth stewardship program at St. Benedict's in Los Osos, and can tell us about their efforts. Don will kickstart our thoughts about SLO Interfaith possibilities.
Don is also a Master Certified "Coach" - perfect for the day of the Superbowl. Kathy Myers is contemplating lunch with a Superbowl focus and the promise to have you out well before kickoff. Or well out before the one-woman-show at UU SLO by violinist Brynn Albanese. Please RSVP so we know how much food to prepare (we will ask for a donation this time, but we do want you all to come). Please reply to this email to RSVP.
Date: Sunday, February 12
Place: Our social hall
Time: 12 noon to 1:30
Program: Don will speak for about 30 minutes, have a Q&A, and then you will have an opportunity to buy his book - well worth the price of $15.
After we listen to Don's "coaching", each of us will commit to at least one of the five priorities we created at the January 15th meeting. Next meeting is tentatively set for March 5.
Are these folks doing something you might want to do?
Travel to Tijuana with a group of UUs to help a family build their house?
I'm excited that two of you are interested in going and plan to attend the January 28th orientation!
Partnering with https://casasdeluz.org (a project of San Dieguito UU Fellowship), the UU Justice Ministry of California is sponsoring a 3-day housebuild and then visit to binational Friendship Park, from April 13-16, 2023.
The UUJMCA’s Immigrant Justice Action team has been sponsoring border immersion trips to Tijuana since 2013 (Rev. Rod, Douglas, Gina, and Jan, went on one in 2019). On the April trip, we will learn more about U.S. immigration policy from people directly impacted, as we help them build their home in an emerging Tijuana community. We will stay in an orphanage. There is no fee but we ask that you make a donation for materials. See link below.
After the build, we plan to spend Sunday morning at binational Friendship Park to attend the binational “Border Church” before going home.
Join UUJMCA to learn, serve, reflect, enjoy good food and fellowship. It is a great way to live into your UU values along with others who are working for an immigration policy rooted in collective liberation.
To learn more, attend an orientation on Saturday, January 28th. To register, donate, and also to get more information about the orientation and the build (including an itinerary for the 3 days), visit
https://uujmca.org/event/pilgrimage-to-the-border-april-2023-house-build/
Of course I'm going and will be driving to San Diego if you need a ride...
-Jan Meslin, for UU Justice Ministry of California
NEXT STEPS WEEKEND
Congregational Meeting
March 19, 2023, after service Time TBD
The Board of Trustees has hired Rachel Maxwell, Stewardship Consultant, to help us accomplish our 2022/2023 goals. This process will take place from March 17 through March 19 at UUSLO.
The Next Steps process focuses on the overall organizational and financial health of the congregation, including readiness to support a prospective Capital Campaign if desired. It is an essential first step to help leaders and members of the congregation understand how to move forward with their goals successfully, and to hear from an independent professional who is experienced with the unique culture of Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Prior to on-site or virtual face-to-face meetings, detailed information provided by the congregation is reviewed, including information on finances, stewardship and pledging, membership, programs, staffing, bylaws, congregational history, community engagement, outreach, recent annual reports, newsletters, weekly e-bulletins, the church web site, social media, and any other relevant information specific to the congregation. This review can be coupled with virtual meetings with leadership, and is followed by face to-face virtual meetings or an on-site visit that entails a meeting with the board and other small group meetings with key committees/teams.
After the on-site weekend or virtual meetings, a presentation is made to the congregation after a Sunday service, followed by a question and answer period. Within two weeks of the presentation, a written report is provided that contains observations of strengths, any areas of concern or opportunities to improve, and recommendations for actions to meet our stated goals.
For the next few months, the Board will be gathering the information needed by Rachel for her to prepare for the weekend.
Benefits & Outcomes of the Next Steps process:
- Independent professional meets with your congregation in person to understand your unique culture, concerns, and your hopes and priorities for moving forward, resulting in customized advice.
- Congregation hears from an experienced professional about what you are doing well and what areas, if any, need further development to move forward with your goals.
- Congregation is informed by an independent professional about the structure of your current funding.
- Success stories are shared and comfort and confidence are built within the congregation. Questions and concerns are addressed.
- Detailed report follows the visit with observations and specific recommendations for steps to take, including a customized timeline, to achieve your stated goals.
Dawn Olsen, President, Board of Trustees
Joys, Sorrows & Concerns - 1/15/2023
Patricia Martin Today we are celebrating wedding anniversary #40. We were married at 2pm, 40 years ago on January 15, 1983. We often talked about making it to this day alive. And here we are… living, laughing and loving.
Janet Lester: The Music Committee has a great joy: Our fabulous local multi genre violinist, Brynn Albanese ("albanaysay") will be performing her "one woman show" as a fund raiser for UUSLO on Sunday, February 12. The show starts at 2:00 pm. A suggested donation of $20 will be gratefully accepted, at the door or in advance via brownpapertickets.com.
Gina Whitaker & Ken Hill: The rumors are true! Ken and I will be grandparents again! Justice and Rolake in Brooklyn are expecting their first baby - a girl - in late April or early May! We are thrilled to be grandparents of three girls soon!
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J/S/C Instructions
Please fill out the form at https://uuslo.org/joys-sorrows and we will read your joy/sorrow/concern at the next Sunday service. Deadline is Saturday at noon for the upcoming Sunday. Submissions received after that will be read the following Sunday. Let us know on the form if you would like them printed in our Weekly NUUs. Any questions or problems with the form, please contact Jan Clarke (janclarke@charter.net). We will continue having paper forms available at the in-person worship to be filled out before the service.
UUA Article II Commission Submits Revision & Calls for Input
Discussion will take place from 12 Noon-2 PM PACIFIC TIME on Friday JAN 20.
Interdependence. We honor the interdependent web of all existence.
We covenant to cherish Earth and all beings by creating and nurturing relationships of care and respect. With humility and reverence, we acknowledge our place in the great web of life, and we work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Pluralism. We celebrate that we are all sacred beings diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
Justice. We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression.
We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions.
Transformation. We adapt to the changing world.
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically.
Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
Generosity. We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources.
Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
Equity. We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.
Here is the link to the report: https://www.uua.org/files/2023-01/a2sc_rpt_01172023.pdf
Please consider including yourself in this valuable UUSLO workshop!
A signup sheet is on our website: https://UUSLO.org.
January Community Outreach Offering
Restorative Partners provides services and programs for those in-custody and for those released from the San Luis County Juvenile Hall, Jail, Honor Farm and State Prisons. Our restorative justice approach focuses on mind, body and spiritual transformation, incorporates trauma informed care, addresses responsibility and accountability, and offers accompaniment through reentry mentorship. We also provide clean and sober living homes for men and for women as well as own and operate a home for women who are ready to reunite with their children and move forward with their lives. The goal in all of our transformative work is to reduce violence and lower recidivism by providing a continuum of care from incarceration through reincorporation to our community.
Our Vision and Mission
We envision a safer community where everyone belongs.
We strive to accomplish this through transforming lives impacted by crime through healing services and relationships.
Our Goals
- We educate the community in the philosophy and practice of restorative justice.
- We partner with stakeholders to initiate, sponsor, and coordinate services at the SLO County Jail, Juvenile Hall and in the SLO community.
- We recruit and train volunteers to share their gifts and expertise in our programs.
- We create a wide base of support to sustain our programs.
Our Beliefs
We believe in accompanying and supporting anyone affected by crime on their healing journey, to be an instrument of restoration, of forgiveness, of accountability, and of reconciliation.
We believe that violence is never a solution to any problem and that every person is endowed with a sacred dignity, and is capable of changing, healing, and being restored.
We believe that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.
We believe that we can overcome violence with education, love, and compassion.
The Bridge Cafe
Partnering with Cuesta College, we will soon be opening The Bridge Cafe, a restaurant as a social enterprise, to provide reentry services and education. One bite at a time.
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