June 18 - Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church

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Curriculum Overview In light of our recent Rites of Passage service honoring our 8th graders, I have spent some time contemplating how we continue to strengthen our program to help our youth create a deep and abiding connection to our UU faith. This is no small task. Roughly 80% of UU youth leave the church—an astonishing number—many of whom grew up as UUs. This year, we have been lucky to have a dedicated and active Senior High Group led by twp wonderful co-chairs, Madi Hall and Naomi Anderson—both of whom will be graduating and going off to college in the fall. Together with youth council members, they have created a strong sense of community and a safe space for the youth to open up and share who they truly are. The youth council created a Facebook group for Neighborhood youth, which has been indispensible for communicating about upcoming events and keeping the youth connected to each other. They have successfully fundraised to send every youth to San Francisco for the Faithfull Fools street retreat and homeless ministry—a social justice trip that has become an annual tradition, and three of them will be attending General Assembly for the first time. And, of course, they delivered and incredible youth worship service. I am so proud of the commitment they have made and the work they have done. This is the most visible and active the youth group has been during my tenure. Madi, Naomi, and their fellow council members have set the bar high about what it means to lead this group, about the value of showing up on a consistent basis and about what committing to this group can make a meaningful difference in your life. To our graduating seniors, Naomi Anderson, Madi Hall, and Maxine Hillman, we wish you great success in college. May you enjoy this next chapter of your lives and always know this church is your home, we will remember all that Sara LaWall, DRE YRE Calendar – June 14 One Service – 10 a.m. (all youth activity) Annual Meeting following service & Juneteenth BBQ 21 Final Classroom Sunday 28 First Summer Sunday – service & classes at 10 a.m. you have accomplished here and the legacy of change you leave behind. We thank you and we love you (and look forward to your visits on break). And, of course, we hope you will keep your UU faith alive by seeking out campus groups, area churches and other UU’s. Doing so will not only feed your spirit but surely feed to lifeblood of our faith! With admiration, Sara (and your advisors) Join the YRE Team. Become a Teacher! 2009-2010 Teacher Commitment Consider deepening your faith by making a difference in the lives of our children! Yes! I’d love to teach (please choose grade level & service time Pre-K K/1 2/3 4/5 6/7 8 Sr. High 9:30 service 11:30 service No thank you, but I’ll gladly help with events (please circle event(s) Tree Planting Yule Logs Holiday pageant Earth Day Youth Worship Sundays Name __________________________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________________________________ Email _________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________ Send in this postcard by mail or return it to the Lifelong learning table on Sundays. For more information, contact Sara LaWall at 626.449.3470 ext. 19 or slawall@uuneighnorhood.org Page 2 June 18, 2009
Wow, What a Year! Every year at this time, besides feeling a bit exhausted and eager for some summer respite, I reflect back on all that has been accomplished and feel such a sense of reward. I also feel so much gratitude to be a part of this wonderful staff team where I get to work for an organization whose members are so generous with their talents and resources. Our congregation is well served by a dedicated, intelligent, generous, and enthusiastic staff team that is also truly reflective of the attributes of our members. I am particularly grateful for those staffers who report directly to me. What a joy and honor it is to lead each of them. They deserve much credit for the smooth running of the church operations: Stanley Brooks, J. Brooks-Washington, Anna Cremarosa, Kim Hayden, Rick Jimenez, Miguel Mendoza, and Venny Rodriguez. I also want to express my gratitude for our two weekly office volunteers, Judy Wallace and Michelle Shechtman. This year, due to economic factors, we did Summer Sunday Fun for Children & Youth Summer Sundays begin June 28 Although we pare down in the summer months, with only one service at 10 a.m., we still offer exciting activates for children and youth! If you plan to be here a good part of the summer, please sign your child up at the Lifelong Learning table. We have two wonderful leaders for our lower elementary group, former childcare staff members, Brittany O’Dell and Doreen Ng! We also want to offer a program specifically for our older youth in grades 6-8, based on The Simpsons, but it requires that they come to church! Please consider attending this summer when your family is in town. Sign up for our summer program at the lifelong learning table. not fill the empty administrative assistant position. When staff became stretched too thin, I called on the congregation for volunteers to help in the office. The response was overwhelming! Thanks to the dozen-plus members who responded and offered to help, from one-time projects to longer, weekly commitments. From that plea, came Judy and Michelle. They are amazing. They both do general office work and Judy is particularly helpful with weekly accounting processes and Michelle is particularly helpful with graphic and publications projects. My life was full this past year both as a church member and employee. My marriage last June was a highlight of the year and of my life. And I am so proud, both as a member and staffer, of the work our congregation did to defeat Proposition 8. While I had several professional goals last year, my priority goals were to finish my Nonprofit Management Certificate program, oversee the completion of the Neighborhood House renovation, and support our first Neighborhood Green Fair. As always, a few unexpected things crept in too. As of this writing, the Annual Meeting is still a week away. I predict that we will successfully elect new Board of Trustees officers and trustees and Nominating Committee and Committee on Ministry members. I predict that the congregation will approve the balanced budget presented by the Alyssa Bellew, Administrator Board—with, no doubt, a healthy dose of brouhaha beforehand— we are UU’s after all. And while each contingency hopes for no budget cuts to their beloved programs, I feel very satisfied that the budget reflects our mission and vision and is fair across the board, allowing us to successfully run all our programs next year with no layoffs and no deficit. There aren’t many churches that can make that claim. Considering the economy, we are doing very well. This is mostly due to the generosity and financial commitment of our members. Each year at this time, in honor of our congregation’s good work and lively spirit demonstrated at the annual meeting, I publish this writing by Molly Ivins— “It’s not the symphony of voices in sweet concert I enjoy, but the cacophony of democracy, the brouhahas and the donnybrooks, the full-throated roar of a free people busy using their right to freedom of speech. Democracy requires rather a large tolerance for confusion and a secret relish for dissent.” I wish you all a restorative summer. Still smiling, Alyssa Neighborhood News Page 3
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June 18 - Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church

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