Perspectives for January 2025

"Living with Intention"

One of my husband and my New Year’s traditions is to spend time reflecting on the year that has been and the year to come. We do a kind of inventory, sharing some of our highlights from the previous year and remembering the challenges and difficulties we experienced. We remember really significant things - like life changing events or times of worry and hardship, and we also remember more mundane things like the best or worst movie we saw or meal we ate. Once we feel like we have had a good inventory of the last year, we begin to imagine the New Year ahead. We share our hopes for the New Year, the intentions we hope to bring forward, and we consider any major changes that might be ahead.

The New Year is a time that invites contemplation - it is a natural time for reflection. January is named for the God Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions who is often featured with two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. This time of contemplation and reflection is an invitation to be more intentional and thoughtful in how we hope to move forward into the New Year. This is where the tradition of setting New Year’s Resolutions comes from. In my younger days, I would often set New Year’s resolutions and would probably break them by February (if not January!). Now, I have come to understand the value in setting intentions that I hope to bring forward into the New Year. Rather than being rooted in things I judge about myself, they are rooted in practices and values that I actually hold - and the intention is a reminder to hold these more present in the year.

This month of January, we will explore living with intention and for the first Sunday of the New Year, our service will invite us to set an intention for the year.

Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray

revsfg@uubloomington.org

We are grateful for the over 295 people who responded to the survey about moving to two services! While we know there are complications, extra effort, and losses associated with moving to two services, we also heard from people that they can't attend in person because there is not enough parking, including handicap parking with only one service. We are also in need of more space for our children’s programs, which having two services will create. Our data also supports the move to 2 services. On average since September 1st, our meeting room has been at 82% of maximum occupancy - and this does not include the children in the meeting room! So on average, we have been almost at full capacity!

UUCB is an incredible community! And the ministry we offer matters. We know how it can be life changing and life saving for people and families. We want to make room for all who need a community like UUCB. We recognize the importance of an inclusive, welcoming, justice-centered religious community that can be a refuge, sanctuary, and community of hope and power during difficult times. This is why we make this move. To make room for all who are in need of, and all who are looking for a religious community like ours.

We will move to two services beginning February 2nd through May 18th. The service times will be 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. We will follow a similar plan as UUCB used pre-pandemic when we also had two services. During this four-month trial, we welcome feedback. We will then take the summer to reassess for the fall. Sue Swaney and Stephanie Kimball are already talking with the choir and RE teachers about changes in their programs for two services.

Between now and February 2nd, we need your help! To make this move, we will need more Religious Education teachers, more ushers and greeters, safety team members, as well as additional java crew and parking volunteers. We may also need more choir members! Volunteering is a great way to meet people and working together with others is a great way to build friendships. Please contact Stephanie Kimball and Anabel Watson to find out how you can help! Also, I ask all who are able, to please park across Fee Lane, or across the Bypass or on David Baker so that we can reserve as much parking for those who have limited mobility or for guests and visitors. Thank you for all the ways you are supporting this dynamic and growing congregation!

Yours,

Rev. Susan

Join the Choir!

It’s a good time to join the choir! We will be starting new music at our first rehearsal of the year on Thursday, January 2nd at 7 p.m. in the Meeting Room. Singing with other people is the highest form of human evolution! All are welcome.

Susan Swaney, Director of Music

music@uubloomington.org

As we live into our intention to create a community that nurtures, welcomes, and inspires people of all ages and stages of life, we are making a number of changes to our children and youth religious education programming. Normally we would wait until summer to make large shifts, but because of the recent and rapid growth in attendance and our upcoming start of two services, it makes sense to dive in now!

During our Sunday morning religious education time in January (January 12, 19, and 26) our children and youth grades 2-8 will participate in special multi-age groups, each exploring this month's congregational theme of Intention through different topics and activities. Spirit Play will continue for our youngest, who tend to thrive on consistency and predictable routines, but if you feel your child would be comfortable in a multi-age setting please contact Stephanie Kimball to discuss the options. Please note that on January 5 we’ll offer an all-ages service; childcare will be provided but there will be no separate religious education for children.

Details will be on our website soon, and emailed to registered families early in January. (If you have not registered your child for religious education, please do so here!)

January will also serve as an intersession of sorts for Adult religious education programming. Many have expressed an interest in a new workshop series I mentioned at the Congregational Meeting on December 15, designed for people considering volunteering as children/youth religious education teachers but not fully confident in their knowledge of Unitarian Universalism, children and youth, and/or our practices here at UUCB. People may sign up for one, two, or all three of these workshops, and do not need to commit to teaching in order to participate. I also strongly encourage people to sign up for Stuart Yoak’s stellar workshop on UU History, taking place on January 25. This overview of Unitarian and Universalist history sheds light on where our current faith comes from, and also prompts reflection on one’s own beliefs, values, and individual faith journey.

Thank you in advance for your grace and patience as we work to make these adjustments and communicate with everyone at an already busy time of year. Together we can do this!

Wishing you all many blessings for the holidays and the new year,

Stephanie

Dr. Stephanie Kimball, Director of Lifespan Religious Education

kimball@uubloomington.org

Follow-up from the December 15, Congregational Meeting

Hello! Connections Coordinator here. As requested during this month’s congregational meeting, I am providing numbers on our membership:

Current membership: 456

New members joined since the beginning of the new fiscal year (July 1, 2024): 12

New members joined since the December 10, 2023 congregational meeting: 35

Living with Intention

In thinking about the theme of “intention” I think about the idea of living in an intentional way, perhaps as opposed to living in a frivolous or mindless way. I think about the small actions we perform on a regular basis, and the meaning and thought that we put into them. As for myself, investing in cage-free eggs at the grocery store, making my bed before I go to sleep, and entering each new day with a moment of gratitude are examples of small mundane-seeming actions with an added layer of intention behind them.

In this way, “intention” feels like an approach to life, a way of being in the present. To me, intention seems to imply the questions of why we do what we do, and how our actions impact others and ourselves. I think about my dear friend Kourtney whose life is drastically impacted by Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. MCS causes her to have severe difficulty breathing and physically functioning when exposed to fragrance. Part of my living with intention involves thinking about whether the products I am using–dish soaps, hair products, laundry detergent, lotions, etc--include the added ingredient of fragrance, which in turn determines whether I am able to interact with Kourtney. To me, this act of intention and way of living is a way of caring for my friend and our friendship.

I invite you to think with intention about some of the daily, mundane-seeming activities you engage in; are there any you might like to approach in a more meaningful or thoughtful way? Have you put thought into how they might impact those around you? Of course, many of our regular activities simply exist as they are.

I invite you now to think about your involvement at UUCB. What are some of those regular activities you participate in weekly, yearly, monthly? How do you approach these activities? How do they impact others? This congregation is so generous and so frequently acts with the wellbeing of others in mind. Below, I share a few volunteer activities, forms of involvement often imbued with much intention. Your help with any of these activities will greatly benefit those in the community. I am also here to help answer any questions about these roles.

I hope you will take a moment in these days between the current year and the next to contemplate the ways in which you live and aim to live with intention.

Volunteer Opportunities

Parking Volunteers

Parking volunteers help ensure that all wishing to attend our services can find a place to park and can do so without much difficulty. Have you had trouble finding a spot in recent months? If you feel inspired to make this challenge less challenging for our vibrant community, consider putting on a neon vest and joining the effort on Sunday mornings. Join this volunteer group to stay up-to-date and register here for an upcoming week. A few considerate congregants have volunteered significant time by standing by the driveway and informing attendees of nearby parking options and updated availability in our own lot. Do you think you can arrive a little early and help out too? If so, sign up above or send me an email to connect@uubloomington.org with any questions. I would love to be in touch!

A note on transportation and church: as you may have read in our recent Friday Updates, the City of Bloomington offers a free rideshare service called Go Bloomington for folks traveling to destinations in our area. Our Sunday services have been posted as destination events within this rideshare platform. If you are in need of a ride to church or willing to provide others with a ride, please consider creating an account on Go Bloomington to look for others in your neighborhood! Link to the December 29th Sunday service event: Go Bloomington - Event Details

Greeters

Greeters help ensure that all who have risen early and taken the time to make it to Sunday services feel welcomed as they enter the building and connect with our community. Greeters, as a face of our community, also help those who are visiting feel they are seen, valued, and comfortable in knowing where things are located and what to expect in terms of worship and greater involvement. Some Greeter roles involve greater levels of discussion and some involve a simple greeting and smile.

Moving to two services will require twice as many Greeters, 12 per Sunday according to our current practices. Have you felt an uplift in your mood when Greeted by a volunteer on Sunday mornings? If so, I invite you to help others experience this by signing up to Greet or adding yourself to our Greeters group to stay notified about upcoming volunteer needs.

Java Crew

The Java Crew helps ensure that congregants attending Community Hour are able to enjoy refreshments while gathering with others. If you have enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea (which you have also enjoyed not needing to wash), perhaps with sweetener and cream, it is thanks to the Java Crew. Volunteering with this team just once a month will make a big difference, as there are many mugs to wash and much coffee to restock each Sunday. Please follow this link to register for an upcoming date, or click here to add yourself to the Java Crew group for updates.

Please feel free to reach out to me at connect@uubloomington.org for more information about any of these volunteer activities, or those listed below. I am happy to help talk through them with you and provide additional resources. Thank you for considering!

Membership and Orientation Classes

New to UU: January 5 at Noon

If you are newly attending UUCB, I hope you will join me to learn more about Unitarian Universalist values, our ongoing and current activities, engage in an (optional) building tour, and have the chance to get to know others visiting. I will answer folks’ questions, along with a volunteer who will share about our numerous opportunities to engage with social justice in the community. This class is approximately 45-minutes and occurs at noon after our weekly post-service Community Hour social gathering time. All are invited with no registration necessary. Please feel free to email with any questions to connect@uubloomington.org.

Exploring UUCB on January 26 and February 2:

Membership Opportunity (sign up here!)

For those looking to dive a bit deeper, the Exploring UUCB course, also known as the Membership Class, is upcoming on January 26th and February 2nd. This two-day course is a prerequisite to joining official membership at UUCB and is also an excellent learning opportunity for those newer congregants to lean into the details of information presented in the New to UU class. We cover UUCB and UU history, the topics of ministry, governance, and membership, current activities and involvement opportunities, and so much more. After culmination, participants have the opportunity to sign the Membership Book and participate in a Covenanting Ceremony during an upcoming Sunday. It is an engaging class with long-time members as facilitators and guest speakers, and an opportunity for meaningful connection amongst participants. Whether you are hoping to become a member, looking to learn more about this community, or both, I welcome you to sign up. This two-day class occurs 3-4 times a year. So, if you are unable to make this fall offering, keep an eye out for upcoming dates. Please register HERE or reach out to me for more information at connect@uubloomington.org.

For current members:

I have some need throughout the year for assistance with teaching Exploring UUCB (the membership class) and making congratulatory phone calls to members on or around their membership joining anniversary. These phone calls are intended to maintain the connectivity of our community and express appreciation to our members. I also am occasionally in need of help with staffing the welcome table and helping with morning announcements. If any of these volunteer roles call to you, and if you are a member, I welcome an email from you (connect@uubloomington.org). We can explore together whether they may be a good fit for you!

With gratitude,
Anabel Watson
Connections Coordinator
connect@uubloomington.org

"A Perspective on Perspectives"

When considering the idea of intention, I find it important to lay out my understanding of the intention behind our newsletters - the Friday Update and Perspectives.

The Friday Update is a weekly newsletter - filled to the brim with exciting events and timely information. Most of our Friday Update is action oriented. It outlines things to do, places to be, what can be donated to the community through our Task Forces, how to volunteer, and what to expect in the next couple of weeks. Due to these many calls to action, we strive for a shorter format.

Perspectives, on the other hand, is a monthly newsletter. Perspectives is a space for the minister, staff, board, and leaders of groups, task forces, and committees to share big picture news and reflections on the work of our church and the community we create together. In this regard, Perspectives is a call to reflect, dream, and envision together. Due to this, we strive for a longer format that can tie in overarching themes and insights. Additionally, all upcoming service descriptions, attendance information, and offertory information are available in Perspectives.

Moving forward, we will be publishing Perspectives on the last Wednesday of each month, making the submission deadline the second to last Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. For example, the newsletter for March will be published on the last Wednesday in February (February 26), and the submission deadline will be on February 19. In making this change, we will be able to format the newsletter for consistency and inclusion of information that pertains to the upcoming month. Due to this change in scheduling, our attendance information will be published with the information from two months prior.

An aside: If you ever delete a Friday Update or Perspectives email, you can find them available on our website by going to the home page (uubloomington.org), finding the “News” tab (the 3rd tab from the left), and clicking either “Friday Update” or “Perspectives.” The link to the Friday Update archive is: https://www.uubloomington.org/news/friday-update/. The link to the Perspectives archive is: https://www.uubloomington.org/news/perspectives/.

Jo Bowman, Communications Coordinator

office@uubloomington.org

At the mid-year congregational meeting, the Board shared its three main goals for the 2024-25 year:

1. Nurture the congregation as we grow and change
2. Support Reverend Susan, the congregation, and ourselves as we build trusting relationships around the settled ministry
3. Implement partnership governance

Each goal has subgoals which are accompanied by specific action items. For example, one subgoal to goal #2 is “facilitate greater communication between the Board and congregants.” One specific action we are taking is to hold Cookies and Conversation events with the Board, at which we share what the Board has been working on, take comments, and answer questions, in a more intimate setting than the larger congregational meetings allow. At the end of the year, we will assess our work toward these goals and use that assessment to guide our planning for 2025-26.

At root, each of our goals is an intention: a plan to move into our new settled ministry with purpose, courage, and open hearts.

The upcoming start-up weekend offers interested congregants the opportunity to become more deeply engaged in the work of supporting and nurturing our congregation. On the evening of Friday, January 10, following an all-congregation potluck, Lauren Wyeth and David Pyle from the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) will facilitate a community conversation on who we are as a community. Register for the all-congregation potluck here. On the morning of Saturday, January 11, Lauren and David will meet with lay leaders to learn more about how things work at UUCB, our norms, and our values. (Lay leaders include anyone who is or has been involved in leadership within the congregation by holding formal leadership positions or by advancing UUCB’s mission through other commitments of time and energy.) Register for the lay leader workshop here. Links to sign-ups for both events can be found above and in recent Friday Updates. We hope that you will join us as we take these next intentional steps in building a strong shared ministry for our beloved spiritual community.

Jane McLeod, Board President

pres@uubloomington.org

"Homeless Advocacy: Help Ourselves Mutual Aid"

On August 21, 2024, I woke up from a nap to the notification that there was another camp clearing off the rail trail and I hopped on my kick scooter. I didn't know how I might be able to help, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I'd had a midday meeting for the Homelessness Task Force postponed and, well, this was the boots-on-the-ground form of what we were supposed to discuss anyway.

The first woman I came upon was stopped with a wagon full of things and I asked her how I could help. She told me the location where she was piling her things at the nearby church and then paused to ask, "Wait, where do I know you from?"

The answer was on my shirt: Beacon, Inc.

When she gave me her name, I remembered writing it down many times for help with services, bus tickets, and showers--things most of us rarely (if ever) have to ask for, let alone to strangers. And yet after I helped her deconstruct her shelter, she thanked me.

She thanked me for helping destroy her shelter and cart away her belongings.

The next person I ran into was a downtown resource officer who knows me because of a series of meetings some of our congregants at UUCB had at the Perry Township Hall. We met with the trustee and other advocates in the community to help address street homelessness less through strategic planning and more by following some practices of mutual aid that center human relations.

On the day of the clearing, the officer said to me, resigned, “Today, I'm the bad guy.” I told him I knew him better than that. Because even if I can't absolve him for any harm he's doing in his role, I know his orders come from elsewhere, and he also devotes personal funds to providing supplies to people like those he was displacing.

However, showing up once again put me in contact with service providers and a student organization known as Help Ourselves Mutual Aid (HOMA).

I first encountered HOMA two years ago for my birthday in December when I served meals with them in Seminary Park. You may have seen them with their banner, but what you miss if you don't get closer is how they empower people experiencing homelessness to participate in their own self determination. They embody true mutual aid, captured in the sentiment, “No leaders; no flakes.”

After the camp clearing, HOMA began a new initiative to help secure new spaces for displaced residents to camp where participants could check in on campers and attend to their needs. Without expectations of anything but common humanity, I've witnessed (and sometimes helped) as the organization established trust; organized a system of attending to immediate needs of shelter, food, and toiletries; and even helped campers travel in attempts of obtaining housing and/or jobs. Rather than waiting for funding from grants or other sources, the members have pooled their own funds and resources to provide for the neighbors they serve.

Now that winter is settling in, the organization has been focused on providing winterizing supplies. But the collective budget of students is radically insufficient to account for the deep needs of helping our unhoused neighbors.

This is where you can play a part.

Our congregation has had collection bins for a little over a month receiving your generous donations towards the efforts of HOMA. Around the holidays, I visited the camp of the woman I saw on the day of the camp clearings. As she hugged the members who were present, she said with great emotion, “I'm so thankful to have you guys around. You're a real blessing, and you help us out so much!”

Even as the organization has had to cut back their materials to what is donated and the essentials for winterizing, the communities they're working with feel a deep sense of belonging from all they/we do. And I'm not asking you to hop on your scooters or donate your time trudging into the woods, but anything you can offer helps. In particular, HOMA needs more single-occupant tents, thermal bedding, gloves, coats, sweatshirts, hats, and hand warmers. Additionally, you can donate directly to outreach efforts by visiting https://helpourselves.org/ where you can see a breakdown of expenses on materials and several ways to donate–including PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo.

If you have further questions or want to get involved in other ways, don't hesitate to reach out to me using this contact form. The Homelessness Task Force thanks you for the part you play to help us in Building Community for all our neighbors, regardless of housing status.

Thank you for any and all you do, because when you help our neighbors, we help ourselves.

Jason Michálek, Co-chair of Homelessness Task Force

"88 Reasons for a Small Group"

Playing the Piano for Pleasure is a small group that is open to anyone from UU who would like to resurrect/improve their piano playing skills. I offer tips (coaching) on how to learn and improve whatever you want to play. Anyone from advanced beginners (able to read music) to those playing standard repertoire is welcome.

You choose what you play. Folks usually play the same piece several sessions as they progress, depending on the difficulty and how much practice time they have. It’s rarely a ‘one and done’ but it’s your choice.

We are about learning, not performing. Right now our (very) small group ranges from playing early intermediate level music to difficult repertoire.

We meet in southeast Bloomington every Tuesday evening usually for an hour to an hour and a half. There are no attendance or playing requirements.

If you’d like to talk with me or someone in the group for their perspective, please let me know. I’m also happy to share my professional music background with you.

If this appeals to you but Tuesday evenings don’t fit, please let me know.

By the way, the seed of this idea was planted at a UU Habitat Women Build lunchtime conversation on the ‘build’ porch 9 or 10 years ago. When I finally presented my idea a couple of years later to UU music director Susan Swaney she shouted “Yes!”

If you’re even a little bit curious about joining us I invite you to find me some January Sunday—I’ll usher every Sunday so I’ll be easy to find. Or check our church directory.

I appreciate that our UU Connections Coordinator Anabel Watson (and Jo Bowman who has vocal background) asked me to write about our group. Do you know that Anabel grew up listening to her mother give piano lessons and her dad rehearse his songs for community theatre productions as her mother accompanied him? I bet she was really playing the piano for pleasure.

Play on!

Beverly McGahey