Peace
December always reminds me of Jesus because of Christmas, but it doesn’t remind me of Peace (our theme of worship this month). Peace always seems such an elusive thing this time of year what with hectic schedules and family gatherings. And now it feels even more so since the election. It’s hard not to get discouraged. But then I think of that Jesus guy again. No, not the one he got made in to – not the one about sin…
Minister’s Sabbatical Leave
The sabbatical leave is a tradition for Unitarian Universalist clergy, as it is for the university. It offers an extended time for study, reflection, rest, and renewal – all ingredients for effective ministry. A sabbatical leave is part of the congregation’s covenant agreement with our minister. Just as importantly, the congregation will benefit as [our minister] returns refreshed, filled with new ideas and with rekindled energy. Further, it offers the staff and congregation the opportunity to step up to fill…
Gratitude
November always invokes for me the theme of gratitude with Thanksgiving in the midst of it. And I love that we have a national holiday dedicated to this spiritual practice. Take a moment, if you can, to think about all the ways you are grateful… Go ahead. I’ll wait. Sometimes it seems a bit trite to say the words – “I’m grateful for my health” or “I’m grateful for my family,” or my friends, etc. But I think it’s really…
Kicking Off Our New Church Year
On October 16th we kicked off our new church year with new curricula! Our PreK-2nd graders are exploring World of Wonder, a program that delves deep into our Unitarian Universalist seventh Principle. It instills respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part and appreciation of its beauty, excitement, and mystery. It is founded on the premise that direct experience in nature is essential to children’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development. Our 3rd-6th graders…
Unity and Diversity
Have you ever noticed that the greatest gift a person has is also often their biggest challenge? For example, I know people who have the most generous hearts (their gift), but they often give more than they are truly able (their challenge). And so can start to feel resentful, or get burnt out, or people can take advantage of their generous spirit. The same thing goes for communities. Our greatest gift as Unitarian Universalists is our theological diversity. So much…
Looking Ahead to Our New Church Year
Calix School of Unitarian Universalist Magic has come to a close after twelve great weeks. Children, youth, family members, and teachers all celebrated with an end-of-term potluck brunch feast and magic show on Sunday, September 25th. Our children really seemed to enjoy and get a lot out of this curriculum, and much of that success is owed to the hard work of our dedicated volunteers. Special thanks go out to: Jennifer Abt for developing the original curriculum Crystal Null, Susan…
From Here to There (Hint: Sanctuary)
“Follow your heart but take your brain with you.” -Alfred Adler You’ve all been on this journey for decades and you’ve been in this space on Mesa Verde East for some three years – is it time to consider working on the next step, that of completing the sanctuary, that was in your plans when you moved here? I am so happy to have this church to come back to when Sandie and I returned to Orange County. We are…
Being Generous to Ourselves
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage —pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.'” -Steven Covey We are a very generous congregation – we give in many ways to many needy organizations. We typically give half of our collection basket every Sunday to worthy organizations in our area. We…
Exciting Calix Plans for the Rest of Summer
During the past month, OCUUC children and youth planted succulents on our church grounds, took a walking field trip to the park to learn Quidditch, had the opportunity to handle and learn about several types of reptiles and amphibians during a presentation by Jurassic Parties, and learned some self defense techniques thanks to volunteers from Karate for All. It’s been wonderful to have so many people from our church and larger community making a difference for our kids, and we…
Vocation
September 11th is our Water Ceremony, which marks for most Unitarian Universalists as the beginning of the church year. This ceremony was developed a long time ago as a way for the church to come back together after a summer hiatus. People would tell about what they did for the summer and reconnect. But gone are the days when the church takes a summer hiatus. And people realized that after a while, the ceremony became a kind of “bragging rights”…
Supporting Our Wonderful Children
I am so thrilled to be taking the reigns as your new Director of Religious Education. My first day was July 1st. Many of you have taken time to reach out to me in welcome, and I truly appreciate your support. For those of you I haven’t met yet, please find me on a Sunday morning (if I don’t find you first!) so that we can start getting to know one another. Our summer program is off to a great…
What’s in a Name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II This is my second column as your president – “El Segundo” in Spanish. Forgive me while I ramble a bit. The second half of my career I worked for a company whose headquarters are in El Segundo, California. I wondered why anyone would name their city “Number Two”. The story had more to do with…