Sep 10, 2020 | Vespers & Wednesday Program
Join Rev. Jeff Jones and co-host John Bloomer for Vespers at 6:30 PM, Wednesday, Sept 16. This multigenerational vespers service, we will use the book, V Is for Vegan: The ABCs of Kindness, for our reflection together.
After Vespers program, 7PM: Spiritual Practices – Exploration and Practice Challenge, every third Wed. Join Nancy Bragg for Contemplative Stillness Practices.
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
2
Vespers Leader: Joyce-Hooley Gingrich
Program: Theme Talk- Renewal, Rev. Claudia
9
Vespers Leader: Rev Claudia
Program: Telling Our Story: Multiple Truths and Realities I, Rev Claudia
16
Vespers Leader: Rev Jeff Jones
Program: Spiritual Practices I: Contemplative Stillness, Nancy Bragg
23
Vespers Leader: TBA
Program: Telling Our Story: Multiple Truths and Realities II, Joyce Hooley-Gingrich
30
Vespers Leader: Rev Claudia
Program: Beyond the Partisan Divide I, Rev Claudia
Sep 10, 2020 | Weekly Message
By the calendar I have followed in my head for the past 16 years, this coming Sunday – the week after Labor Day – should be Ingathering Sunday, the day when we return from the slower pace of our summer services and start our fall worship schedule. We should be resuming two weekly Sunday services, dedicating our teachers, restarting our Religious Education program, and in general just celebrating this community.
But as with so many things, the novel coronavirus has disrupted our plans. We won’t be gathering at 1 Edwin Place. Worship and religious education are online. And we’re all trying to get our heads around how the work we do as a congregation translates into a socially-distanced world.
It’s disorienting, but really we’ve been at this now for about six months and there’s no sign it’s going to end any time soon. And more importantly, the work we do as a liberal religious voice, as a gathered people seeking connection, inspiration, compassion, and justice is as essential as ever.
So, we’re staying the course. We won’t falter in our commitments, and as we adjust to all the technological and other challenges of this time we’ll be looking for how we can leverage what we are learning and experiencing to grow this congregation, this faith in a world still thirsty for what we have to give.
We’ll begin this Sunday with a different kind of Ingathering that will be a live Zoom service at 11am. We will, once again, be dedicating our teachers for a new year of religious education, and we’ll be using the time to explore who we are in this new age and what we need from each other.
Of course, we’re not alone in this situation. Church consultants have pointed out all kinds of ways that the pandemic has forced congregations of all denominations to think differently. I was intrigued this past week with a posting by Susan Beaumont, a consultant who has worked with us in the past. She wrote that there are several myths about congregations that COVID days have exploded.
Traditionally, she said, churches defined the communities they served by people in their geographical area. Well, when worship and other church programs are online, there are no geographical bounds. People can tune in from far away.
That’s certainly been our experience. There are a number of people formerly connected with UUCA who are tuning into worship and other events as well as many others with no formal connection to the congregation who are checking us out. Before COVID, we had an average Sunday attendance of around 300 or so with a membership of around 500. These days we send the link for Sunday services to a mailing list of around 1,425 people and roughly 450 open it each Sunday; others open later in the week.
But even then, Beaumont reports, worship attendance may not be the best measure of participation. Some people connect with a congregation’s social justice work or small group ministry more than worship and may check in Sunday only occasionally.
Also, even though we feel that the best connections happen in person, there are some deep and meaningful interactions that can happen online. For that to happen, though, it requires us to adjust how we plan our gatherings and discover and then build confidence in the technologies that work best for those settings.
So, yes, all these changes are a big lift for us all, but they also offer new opportunities that help keep us relevant and keep our ministries vital. Our staff at UUCA are in conversation about how we tweak what we do here to stay on task and help our people stay engaged. But we’d like your help, too. Keep us posted on what’s on your mind and we’ll get through this time together.
Rev. Mark Ward, Lead Minister
Sep 6, 2020 | Vespers & Wednesday Program
Join Rev Claudia and co-host John Bloomer for Vespers at 6:30 PM, Wednesday, Sept 9. The theme is “Renewing Our Commitments”. The join us for the launch of a…
NEW Adult Faith Development: Building the World We Dream About; 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at 7pm
“We need to approach racism as it exists in our lives today, and not as an exercise in studying history. We need to share our experiences and viewpoints, and listen with open hearts and minds to each other, especially when we disagree.”
-Ruth Alatorre in Bringing Gifts
This UUA curriculum invites us to learn how to develop anti-racist habits and skills that will show us a path to building the beloved community we dream about. We’ll use our own personal histories and UU beliefs and values to understand anti-racism work through frank conversation and reflection about race. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, although drop-ins are OK, too. Questions? Contact Rev.Claudia
This month through dialogue and reflective exercises we explore mattering (inclusion) and marginality (exclusion) through story: case studies and reflection on personal experiences. We will explore the connections between these stories and “welcoming” in our congregation.
Facilitators: Joyce-Hooley Gingrich, Rev. Claudia
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
2
Vespers Leader: Joyce-Hooley Gingrich
Program: Theme Talk- Renewal, Rev. Claudia
9
Vespers Leader: Rev Claudia
Program: Telling Our Story: Multiple Truths and Realities I, Rev Claudia
16
Vespers Leader: Rev Jeff Jones
Program: Spiritual Practices I: Contemplative Stillness, Nancy Bragg
23
Vespers Leader: TBA
Program: Telling Our Story: Multiple Truths and Realities II, Joyce Hooley-Gingrich
30
Vespers Leader: Rev Claudia
Program: Beyond the Partisan Divide I, Rev Claudia
Sep 3, 2020 | Weekly Message
Over the last few years, I have heard a number of people in my life express a wide range of feelings at the sudden insertion of 
words like White Supremacy, White Privilege, Systemic Racism, and Black Lives Matter into their daily lives. It is important to note that the awareness of the sudden increase in these words has been noted by both black friends and white friends alike. After all, the mainstream introduction of a set of vocabulary words and frameworks previously reserved for more academic settings is honestly new for everyone. What has been more interesting and impactful for me in hearing the various responses however has been the underlying experiences and understandings of what these words mean to different people. Many of my white friends and family, when talking about this new vocabulary, have expressed such feelings as confusion, anger, sadness, guilt, denial, enlightenment, and inspiration. The response of the majority of my black friends and family however has been much more consistent. “Aha,” they basically have said. “So that’s what it’s called. So that’s the word for describing what we already knew was real.”
So let me speak to my fellow white UUs. It is my belief that however you or I have personally experienced or responded to this new vocabulary and framework is valid. It’s real. It’s honest. In my opinion, the immediate experience of complex emotions is part of that whole inherent worth and dignity of every individual. It’s what we proclaim when we speak of our First Principle. So please don’t judge others for where their hearts and minds are located when confronted with “new” ideas. Please don’t judge me. Don’t judge yourself.
But please don’t stay there. Don’t sit passively by while others stay there. After all, though the First Principle might allow us a space to be seen and respected for our immediate emotional and intellectual responses, there are other principles we have to listen to as well. Other Principles to help move us forward.
Personally, I would argue that once we recognize where we are in one principle, we might listen to and be moved by some of the others. For example, our 2nd Principle calls for equity and compassion in human relations. Our 3rd Principle calls for acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. Our 5th affirms our belief in the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. Our 6th Principle proclaims a goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
One might even draw inspiration from the recently proposed 8th Principle that calls UUs to “affirm and promote a journey toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by actions that dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” In other words, regardless of where you find yourself within the 1st Principle, you are also called on to move yourself by the others.
Motivated by this past summer’s explosion of anger and action around racial injustice, the Board of Trustees here at UUCA has felt the call to respond to the reality of White Supremacy in the world around us near and far, as well as to the reality of White Supremacy in the world within us. We have felt called to move ourselves. We have felt hopeful and inspired by the idea of the movement of our congregation. In that vein, we have been engaged in conversations around how we might craft a statement in support of Black lives and opposed to White Supremacy. Further, we have been engaged in discussion on how we might move beyond a statement as well to help strengthen the momentum already occurring within UUCA towards the goal of racial justice.
These are ideas that we all agree on. Yet despite our shared values, as it is in our larger lives, simply agreeing does not always result in “Agreement”. This conversation, be it taking place among the Board members or taking place around the dinner table, is not an easy one. It takes patience, love, flexibility, and steadfastness. It takes buy-in. It takes covenant. It takes time. It’s hard work.
In the coming weeks and months, the Board will be continuing to center our Annual Vision of Ministry discussion around the work of anti-racism and Beloved Community. As we work out the meaning and the methods of this annual vision of ministry, know that the larger goal will not be based necessarily on the offering of more workshops or book studies. Know that the larger goal will not be based necessarily on the sharing out of websites and worship services. After all, we as a Board know that there are so many incredible individuals who have already been and continue to do these things and who have been leading this work on so many levels for years and we want them to know that their work is deeply appreciated and honored.
However, rather than fine tune our vision on the involvement of individuals, it is our hope instead to focus on the UUCA as a whole and on empowering and fostering a UUCA that not only believes in the goal of racial justice but systemically provides the spiritual nourishment and environment for that work to fully happen.
So how do we get there? Well, that brings me back to us all sharing and honoring where we as a congregation came from and where we find ourselves now, to letting our principles guide us forward. And know that as we move forward in this conversation, we the Board will be leaning on the input and experience of those UUCA individuals already so actively engaged. We know also however that each and every congregant here can contribute a wide range of inspirations and ideas to help shape or influence the direction in which we will embark. We know that there are Black and Brown neighbors and friends in our community who stand outside of the UUCA walls (that’s figurative of course since, thanks to COVID, we are all standing outside of UUCA walls…) that can offer the truth of personal experience and who can hold up guidepost and caution signs as we make our way towards this new horizon.
In the coming weeks and months, know that we might come to you and ask for your input as well as your action to help this vision take shape. Know that we will want you to come to us and share with us your ideas on how this vision takes form. This work will require the COLLECTIVE participation of us all as we work to envision what it means for UUCA to help build and become the Beloved Community our Principles call us to be. Are you ready to get moving?!
Ryan William, President, Board of Trustees
Sep 3, 2020 | Green Tips
Contact the Garden Helpline offered by Buncombe County Master Gardeners. Send questions and photos to buncombemg@gmail.com or call 828-250-4878.
