Perspectives for January 2024

Sunday, January 7
10:15 a.m.
What Makes a Family?
Reverend Connie Grant

Families come in many shapes and sizes, and evolve through stages of life. Members of some UUCB families of differing ages and configurations will help us explore the question "What makes a family?" This is a multigenerational service - there will be no Religiou Education classes for youth today.

Join us in Fellowship Hall after the service to celebrate Everybody's Birthday! Guests will sit at tables according to their birthday month, for a chance to get to know others who were born around the same time of year, possibly in different decades. Lunch will be provided, along with party games and more. And, of course, birthday cake! Hosted by our Lifespan Engagement Team.

Sunday, January 14
10:15 a.m.
Living in a World House
Reverend Connie Grant

In his 1964 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., suggested that we are “living in a ‘world house’” in which we “must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.” True then, how much more true now?

Sunday, January 21
10:15 a.m.
Celebrating 75 Years
Reverend Connie Grant
Erica Whichello, Worship Associate

2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of this congregation, recognized as the Bloomington Unitarian Fellowship by the American Unitarian Association. We’ll recognize membership anniversaries and begin a year of celebration.

Sunday, January 28
10:15 a.m.
The Blessings of (Im)Maturity
Reverend Connie Grant

We’re all getting older, but are we all becoming more mature? And just how mature do we want to become? Reflections on the blessings of (im)maturity.

As you’ve likely heard me say, one of my most important roles is to help you be the congregation you want to be. And I’ve heard more than one person say that you want to be a lively and thriving congregation where people of all ages interact as they learn and grow.

The Lifespan Engagement Team aims to make UUCB a place where people of all ages and stages of life -- children and their families, elders, young adults, and everyone else -- are visibly included, recognized, and appreciated. Their mission is to promote and create opportunities for participation in all aspects of congregational life, including social events as well as other activities.

The Lifespan Engagement Team is a new program team, formed with the support of your program staff. If you’d like to be part of this new team, please contact program staff members Stephanie Kimball, Anabel Watson, or me.

One of the team’s first projects is “Everybody’s Birthday Party,” happening during Community Hour this coming Sunday, January 7. If you have a birthday (ever), this party is for you! No need to RSVP, just be there or be square.

In faith and hope,

Connie

Reverend Connie Grant

Interim Lead Minister

grant@uubloomington.org

I hope that you have had a chance to rest, to nourish your creativity and wonder, to engage in enjoyable activities, or to simply get stuff done that has been placed on the backburner throughout the year. A pause. I find that this time of year often prompts a more conscious attitude of togetherness, with its traditions and celebrations, both secular and spiritual, and its acknowledgement of the change in season. These celebrations can bring a sense of uplift to a season that is often cold and gray. In planning for this new calendar year, I hope to bring this attitude of community and support forward as we continue into 2024.

While visiting with family, I watched the 2020 film, Nomadland. This 3-time Oscar winner depicts the journeys of a woman who has lost her husband and the company home they once lived in. She becomes a “nomad,” traveling the U.S. via van and creating lasting bonds with other van and RV dwellers at campout gatherings, national parks, and other sites. This character is often remembered by fellow travelers down the road, recognizing her as the person who lent them an ear during difficult times, tended to them while sick, or shared the little that she had. To me, this film was all about the community support and compassion fostered when we act with kindness and generosity, in the ways that we are able, toward those around us.

We have a diverse and active array of community groups and activities at UUCB. I invite you to engage with these opportunities if you are seeking a deeper sense of community, or simply something to do, during this season. With fewer outdoor concerts and activities available, some Bloomingtonians gone for the winter months, and perhaps a need to increase our uplift amidst dreary skies, our congregation’s varied activities provide a space to engage.

Information on the many groups and activities of the church is available on our website, with additional links to sign up or join mailing lists. If you would like assistance in getting involved, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at connect@uubloomington.org. These activities remain thriving and active because of your enthusiasm and participation!

Upcoming Membership Opportunities:

While participation in most of our church activities is open to all, some key decisions of our community depend on votes taken by official membership at our bi-annual and special congregational meetings. This April, as our two-year period of interim ministry nears its end, members will vote on whether to call a ministerial candidate selected by our Ministerial Search Committee. If you consider UUCB a church home and would like to be part of this important decision, consider becoming a member. We ask that all considering membership participate in the Exploring UUCB course. This course offers a 4-hour overview of Unitarian Universalism, the history of this church, and topics such as membership, ministry, stewardship, and engagement. Register here for the course occurring January 14 and 21 OR register here for the course occurring March 17 and 24.

Following each course, there will be a chance to officially sign the Membership Book and participate in a Covenanting Ceremony, formally marking your membership. I am available to answer any questions – just send me an email (connect@uubloomington.org)!

Whether you are looking for opportunities to find meaning and connection with others, or looking to contribute your skills and insights in an official membership capacity, I am grateful for the opportunity to help you on your journey. I am glad to be in community together here at UUCB.

Wishing all a meaningful and fulfilling start to the New Year,

Anabel

Anabel Watson

Connections Coordinator

connect@uubloomington.org

After some difficult deliberation, I recently c​ame ​around to the decision ​that it is time to leave my job at the church, in order to better tend to my family and other parts of my life. I joined the UUCB staff as an office assistant in the spring of 2018, and over the past six years​ both the flexibility and the continuity of working here have been so valuable to me. I am grateful that I was able to take on the new​ title of Communications Coordinator in 2023, which utilized my skills in more focused ways, including​ responsibility for email newsletters​ and website content updates​. The current plan is for ​Office Assistant Jo Bowman to take on additional hou​rs and tasks after I leave. My last day will be Friday, January 26. I am still a member of this church, and will still be involved here and there as I'm able! Wishing everyone a fulfilling year of new beginnings!

Mandy Skinner

Communications Coordinator

office@uubloomington.org

What does it mean to be a member of this church? In the simplest terms, a member is someone who signs the membership book, supports the church financially as they are able, and is involved in the life of the congregation. A friend of the church may also do all of these things, so why does the church make a distinction between member and friend? Why does it matter who is a member and who is not?

The main difference between a member of the church and someone who is not a member is that members are able to vote at congregational meetings to determine the direction of the church. According to our revised Bylaws, we must have 15% of the current church membership present at a congregational meeting to form a quorum. Without a quorum, no votes may be conducted. At our December Congregational Meeting we were not able to reach quorum, which might be a first for this congregation. I believe it is not because folks are uninterested, but rather that we have a lot of people on our membership roll who are no longer involved in the life of this congregation. It is crucial that we have an accurate count of our membership before our special congregational meeting April 28 to call a new lead minister.

In January and February, members who have not made a financial pledge to the church in the last calendar year will be contacted to see if they would like to remain members of this congregation. If they do, all they have to do is say “yes” and they will continue to be on the membership roll. Like all members, they will also be expected to make a pledge during the upcoming 2024 spring pledge drive. If people respond “no,” or we get no response after reaching out to them via email, phone, and letter, then they will be removed from the membership roll before the April vote.

I hope everyone in the church, members and friends alike, will be engaged in the myriad of activities during Candidating week, planned for April 21-28, and I hope every member attends the April 28 Special Congregational meeting to cast their vote for a new minister.

Abby Gitlitz

Board President

pres@uubloomington.org

The UUA General Assembly will be here before you know it! General Assembly is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association. Participants worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic processes. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with UUs outside of our immediate community, and to learn more about our wider faith. There is always insightful programming, deep conversation, community building, and important business to conduct.

This year, General Assembly is happening entirely online, so there’s a much lower barrier to participation. Visit the UUA website for more general information: uua.org/GA

Back in November, the 2023 cohort of Inner Work of Age hosted a Death Cafe in Fellowship Hall. We weren’t sure if anyone would show up, because there is such a taboo on talking about death in our culture that many people turned away immediately. But twelve people signed up – and 23 attended! We spent a couple of hours eating cake and sharing our thoughts, fears, hopes, experiences, and questions around death. And when it was time to go, the entire group affirmed they would like to do it again, on a regular basis.

I’ll admit, this outcome surprised me. But it shouldn’t have. One thing I have heard consistently over the last couple of years especially is that people are hungry for community and connection. Often, this is taken to mean that people want more social activities: game nights, dinners, and other activities that bring people together over a common experience and encourage them to interact. Those activities can be fun, and valuable – but they don’t necessarily lead to a deep, meaningful connection, at least not right away.

But what if people are getting together with the express purpose of discussing deep, meaningful, inescapable and important topics, like death? On that date in November, at least, what happened was that people jumped right into sharing their thoughts, listening deeply, bearing witness to each other’s experiences, seeing and hearing themselves in each other’s stories. That is essentially what connection is about. Of course, death is not the only topic that brings people together in this way. In fact, religious education experiences often focus on topics and questions that cut through the chatter: Where do we come from? Who am I? How should I live my life? What is my purpose in life? What does it mean to be free? What is soul/spirit/god? What is my place in the universe? And so on. Death seems to be a particularly powerful topic to connect on, perhaps because death is universal, inevitable and mysterious.

As Parker Palmer writes, death is the boundary that gives life meaning. The fact that at some point you will not get to make any more choices is what makes your choices now significant. Living with the end in mind puts the preciousness of life into perspective.

Everybody dies. But few people talk about it. Won’t you join us?

Our next Death Cafe is scheduled for January 14, 2024, 3-5 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Please register.

Stephanie Kimball

Director of Lifespan Religious Education

kimball@uubloomington.org

Youth (grades 8-12) are invited to attend a kick-off event of our newly reorganized Youth Group on Sunday, February 4, 2024, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Watch your email and future newsletters for details, or contact Sarah Gettie (sburks@uuma.org) for more information.

Reminder: Sign up NOW for these classes and experiences!

Learn more and register at the links below.

• Attention Parents of Elementary Children: Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive lifespan sexuality education program. This year we are offering classes for children in grades K-1 and grades 4-5. Mandatory orientation meetings for parents/caregivers and children will be held in January, and classes start in February. Register now for the orientation meetings on January 14 (K-1) or January 21 (4-5).
• Inner Work of Age - starts on Wednesday, January 10 at 10 a.m.
• OWL for Adults - starts on Wednesday, January 10, 7:00 p.m.
• Sound Bath for Relaxation - Saturday, January 13, 11:30 a.m. (Also offered Feb 10, March 9 , and April 13)
• Article II Study & Reflection - starts on Monday, January 22 at 6 p.m.
• Wills and Financial Planning - Sunday, January 28, 12 - 2 p.m.
• A Journey Through UU History - Date change: now scheduled for Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

By Jason Michálek

The Hunger and Homelessness Task Force invites you to join us in an exciting development. To quote our Affiliated Community Minister, Forrest Gilmore: "Our goal is not just to provide a meal but to get a person back home, and until a person's back home, we know our job isn't done." It is with this goal in mind that the Hunger and Homelessness Task Force of the UU Church of Bloomington supports the work of Avalon Community Land Trust (ACLT) through UUCB’s congregational affiliate, Jana Pereau.

The immediate goal of ACLT is to use the cooperative rental housing model to plan and build their first cooperative house, Avalon Garden, at 1500 West 8th Street in Bloomington–the site of a long-time community garden in a low-income downtown neighborhood. In addition to providing seven low-cost rooms in a beautiful space, their goal is to infuse new social life into the existing garden and surrounding neighborhood. They plan to offer a free artist residence room via local art funding and to provide a place for people in the surrounding neighborhoods to gather around agricultural, musical, and other community events.

The ACLT has already acquired the land (1/3 acre), permits, zoning approval, some loan commitments, plans, and a contractor waiting to break ground on a 7 bedroom house with affordable cost ($625/month including utilities and food). In addition, because it is a land trust, it can stay affordable even when the market continues to balloon.

The Hunger and Homelessness Task Force is committed to this project. We fully support the efforts of ACLT to apply for grants from the Unitarian Universalist Church. In addition, we plan to generate funds for the project by sponsoring concerts, soliciting funds directly from church members, and giving presentations to organizations possibly interested in supporting the project.

If you need more information from our task force, please feel free to contact Alan Backler.

Introducing Our New Task of the Month Program

How do we respond to daily news of floods, fires, and record temperatures that we know are exacerbated by climate change? Residential energy use is responsible for about 23% of the City’s Greenhouse Gas emissions. Our church community can help Bloomington meet its Climate Action Plan goals. If changes we make in our own lives inspire others to do the same, and they in turn inspire us to do more, we can transform our “climate anxiety” into hope.

The Green Sanctuary Task Force has created an updated version of Task of the Month, a program to help individuals and households take one action each month.* Tasks were selected based on their potential for significant energy savings. Most suggestions are for improving homes or changing habits to reduce our carbon footprints, but advocacy is also an important way we can make a difference. Do whatever works for you! Following this program together will strengthen our sense of community. And actions by our congregation often influence others to make a real difference. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said, “Hope is the tiny light that leads to a better future. When we decide we’re doomed, we really are!”

*If you have already done a task, or want to do more, talk to one of our Green Sanctuary task force members during Community Hour or email zero.gstf@uubloomington.org for help joining one of our Zero in Bloomington teams, which track our individual and our congregation’s progress.

By Molly O’Donnell

Green Sanctuary Task Force