CUUCSA ON-LINE NEWSLETTER/ VOL. 13, NO. 4/April 2001

Editor: Margaret Batschelet, typea45@swbell.net

Nosotros, las congregaciones miembros de la Asociación UU, convenimos en afirmar y formentar el valor y la dignidad propria de cada persona.

Nominations

We are seeking candidates for President, Treasurer adn Trustee at Large for the Board. Anyone with an interest in serving on the Board (instead of or as well as a committee) can contact Steve Boyd of the Nominating Committee, 830/606-0636.

Circle Dinners

Circle Dinners are planned for the weekend of April 20-21. Sign up at Church or call Sandi Boyd, 830/606-0636, for info.

Decorating the Sanctuary

I hung two small metal half-moon shaped shelves on the front wall of the sanctuary. I invite everyone or anyone in the congregation who feels inspired to display something on the shelves to feel free to do so. Just move whatever's up there (assuming whatever's up there has been there for at least one service), and create your own display. My thought was that they could be for things of beauty, or meaning, or whimsy, or whatever, but that they would be a way to make our sanctuary feel a little bit more like a church "home." People might share something about their display, or just let it be there for us to enjoy. The key in my thinking was to have some fun with it. For example I would call the shelf on the left Exhibit A, Janet's lame attempt to arrange some flowers in a vase, and the one on the right Exhibit B, clearly done by someone who knows their way around flower arranging! All are invited -- enjoy! Janet Oglethorpe

And many thanks to Janet Oglethorpe for her hard work in repainting and "brightening" our sanctuary. It looks terrific!

Moving into the New Organization

The church recently took a carving knife to its tangled organizational web and decided to put itself in the care of three committees, described in the enabling resolution as follows.*

- Matters currently handled by buildings and grounds, nominating, some aspects of finance, and long range planning will be combined under the Operations and Maintenance Committee.

- Matters currently handled by membership, pastoral care, social activities, newsletter and web page, publicity, and certain aspects of finance will be combined under the member services committee.

- Matters currently handled by worship, religious education, and social justice will be combined under the Program Committee.

This new, leaner structure won't make for less work, but it will make the work easier and more fun. Committee members can call on each other for help in particular tasks. Old hands can help new committee members learn the ropes and thus provide backup and ease transition. Friends and members can seek out the jobs in which they're most interested.

As a friend or member of the church, who will be involved in one or more of these committees, you may find yourself asking, "OK, what next?" The board and the nominating committee are going to make the next step easy for you. Before the annual meeting on May 20, we will hold three informal, informational meetings devoted to the activities of each of the three committees. These meetings will be held after services and they will provide you with an opportunity find out who shares your interests and what ideas we all have for committee activities. Every one of us should try to make at least one of these meetings, and no one should hesitate to attend more than one. If you find you just can't make it to the meeting of your choice, please let Steve Boyd (our august nominating committee chair, whose email is msbtoys@nbtx.com) what you're interested in.

In case you're at a loss to decide which committees you're interested in, in case you have only the vaguest idea of what "Matters currently handled by ..." really are, Here is every friend and member's guide to the new structure.

Operations and Maintenance. This committee is for you if you're one of those angels of the church who keeps things going. You'll have the opportunity to make sure the building and pool are properly maintained and to effect significant improvements thereto--to continue our church's tradition of raising its own walls. You'll be able to satisfy the urge to garden by ensuring that we have well-kept grounds, ones that attract visitors, support our need to worship, and offer a place for children and adults to play. You'll help in the pivotal role of finding volunteers for key leadership positions, which, under the new organization, are fewer and easier to to fill than in the old structure. You'll also help to keep the church's finances aligned with its plans by working through the budget process and helping committees track their spending. You can be one of those who looks to the church's future and helps us to decide what we are about. Without Operations and Maintenance, the church ceases to exist, and there's probably some way that you can contribute to the work of this committee. If you're handy with a hammer or a spreadsheet, if you have a green thumb or are an artist, if you know the congregation well and are a reasonable judge of people, if you have a vision for this church or if you yearn for one, CUUC needs you on the Operations and Maintenance Committee.

Member Services. This committee is for you if you're one of those angels of the church who supports the bonds that unite us. You'll have an opportunity to make sure that we keep track of existing friends and members and that we don't lose track of potential new members. You'll have a chance ensure that the church presents itself in an attractive and informative way through its advertising, newsletter, web page, and other mechanisms. You'll be able to help each of the friends and members, through the pledge process, decide on the right level of support. You can be one of those who lends support to an ill or troubled member. You can be one of those who helps to bring us together socially on holidays or other special occasions. Or, you can be one of those that brings us closer to our religious roots by strengthening our bonds with the denomination. The mutual support that we give each other is one of the distinguishing features of CUUC. If you can keep records or cook, if you can organize, if you're good with words or design, if you can listen, if you can use a telephone or email, CUUC needs you on the Member Services Committee.

Program. This committee is for you if you're one of those angels of the church who bear the gifts we receive in Sunday services, RE, and outreach. You'll have the opportunity to speak, or sing, or dance, or pray at worship or to support others who seek such opportunities. You'll have a hand in fulfilling the destiny of the church through its programs for children and for helping all of us "grow our souls" through programs for adults. You'll be able to foster, in our church, the strong U-U traditions of advancing the cause of justice and improving the human condition. Programs are the tangible and substantive work of the church. They are what make us into something more than a mutual support society or social club. If you have a brain or a heart, if you can play an instrument or lead a worship service, if you can teach or reach out to others in the community, if you can make coffee on Sunday morning or print up an order of service, if you like kids or if you have a kid, then CUUC needs you on the Program Committee.

Use the new structure for personal growth. If you don't think you've got the qualifications for a task that interests you, look into the responsible committee anyhow. There will probably be someone on that committee who would like nothing better than to offer mentoring in return for help.

If you're still asking yourself, "Yes, but what do these committees, actually do?" you may want to consult our Manual of Operations, available in the office, for details of the "matters currently handled by" the existing committees.

But, in fact, what the new committees really do will be what you, their members, decide that they should do and support them in doing. The great promise of the new system is that an individual like yourself can act upon his or her ambitions and concerns for the church with the knowledge that other individuals will be there to support those actions. However, the system will only work if each of us brings our voice to help build these committees' missions and our hands to support their work.

A get-acquainted meeting for Operations and Maintenance will be held at noon on Sunday, April 22.

A get-acquainted meeting for Member Services will be held at noon on Sunday, April 29.

A get-acquainted meeting for Programs will be held at noon on Sunday, May 6.

These meetings are not meant to form the new committees but rather to help us inform ourselves of what these committees might do. So you can, and should, come to as many of the meetings as possible. Doing so won't commit you to anything.

*The astute reader will notice that some of the "matters handled by ..." have changed committees since the resolution was approved by the church. The board, at its last meeting, made a few "improvements" to the allocation of "matters currently handled by ..." in hopes that the congregation would either approve of or simply not notice the changes.

Garage Sale Planning

Remember our Community Garage Sale, coming up next month! You can donate household items, books, tapes or cd's, tool, electronic equipment, and more. Non-clothes items can be brought to the church now, and Steve Boyd can pick up things as needed. The date of the sale is May 19. For more information on items and pick-up, contact Steve Boyd (830/606-0636), or John or Joan Bradshaw (341-8506).

UU Chaplains

Until now, the "Divine Services" for UU sailors, mandated by Congress in 1775 to the Sailors of the United States Navy, could not be provided. With so few Unitarian Universalist Chaplains, worship, religious education and religious support for UU Sea Service personnel was impossible. Unitarian Universalist Sea Services Support was created to provide comprehensive religious support to Unitarian Universalists in the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Come visit the website and show your support for the Unitarian Universalists in the Sea Services! Eric T. Johnson, Ens. USNR uuseaservsupport.org

Upcoming Worship Services

April 22 - "Reflections on the Tao," Steve Botts
April 29 - YRUU service, Coordinator: Margaret Batschelet
May 6 - "Beltane," John Wiesen
May 13 - Mother's Day Service, Steve Botts
May 20--"ASCEND," with guest speaker Rebecca Brune, Coordinator: Janet Oglethorpe
May 27-"Hearts and Hands and Voices," Part III, Henry Halff
June 3--RE Closing Service
On June 10 we'll begin alternating regular services with abbreviated service and brunch.

Pledging in a Democratic Church

It's that time of year again. Actually, it's past that time, but still not too late for a few pertinent comments. On pledging that is, the way that CUUC meets its financial needs and those of its services and programs. The canvass is a good opportunity for each of us to ask what we want in the way of a church. Most of us find that there are some things--the meditation garden, invited speakers, for example--that the church currently funds. And, we wouldn't be a church if there weren't a few things on each of our wish lists--an administrative assistant, perhaps, or a steeple for the church (a steeple?)--that the church ought to fund.

So, it occurs to some of us around pledge time to say to ourself, "Gee, I'm only really interested in the newsletter. I'll just pledge twenty bucks and write a note on my pledge card that it's for the newsletter." Or, "I'm really here for RE, so I'll put a note on my pledge card that $350 of my $360 pledge is supposed to go to RE."

Directed pledges may work for political campaigns, but they don't work very well, indeed, they don't work at all, for churches. Here's why.

For one thing, the vast bulk of the CUUC's budget is needed just to keep things going. The board, this month, went over the budget implications of our new organization an we figured that roughly 80% of the funds are for Operations and Maintenance. That means, that for every dollar spent, we have to spend 80¢ on essential but unexciting stuff like the mortgage and copier maintenance. If your $350 is all tossed into the RE budget, that means that that there's $1,400 from other folks (that maybe they wanted for other programs) that goes to pay for the infrastructure needed to have an RE program. If everybody directed their pledges to their favorite things, the whole CUUC enterprise would collapse.

Here's another problem with directed pledges. "Money talks" is such a pervasive perspective in our society that we don't often notice when it's inappropriate. Our church is a democracy, and the Bumbles, who can only afford a $12 pledge have just as much of a voice in church affairs as do the Morgans, who pledge $1,200. Mrs. Bumble's idea for an outreach program may be far better for the church than Mr. Morgan's idea for a flashing neon sign that says "God is Dead." It's just not right to let Mr. Morgan direct his pledge to the neon sign while Mrs. Bumble's program languishes for lack of funding (and her $12 goes to pay the utilities bill). We are a democratic church, not a shopping mall.

So, what's a body to do if she really wants to see some program or another funded? One easy route is telling the board. An email to cuuc-board@yahoogroups.com goes to every member of the board. Better yet, take advantage of our new organization and join the committee that handles the program you're interested in. The church is giving these committees broad discretionary power over their spending. So, if you're interested in, say, a stained glass window for the sanctuary, join the Operations and Maintenance committee and ask them to incorporate it in the budget. Of course, you can still use your pledge card, which is for writing on. So a note such as, "I would like to thank the church for buying a loaner computer and have increased my pledge by $100 as a token of my gratitude," would certainly be appropriate. Also appropriate might be "I would like to see this church sponsor a conference on low-income housing. I realize that such a conference might be expensive and am accordingly increasing my pledge by $700." The board will be informed of the sentiments expressed in the notes but the numbers behind them will be kept in confidence. These kinds of notes give the church resources without constraining the democratic process that it uses to decide where those resources go. In effect, the church budget belongs to all of its members.

The one course of action to be most avoided is that of keeping quiet. If you do have a good idea, tell someone, tell everyone, about it, even if you don't think the church can afford it. You'd be surprised at how adept this church can be at getting resources for good ideas. If you don't have a good idea, think of one. It's your church, and it goes no place that you don't take it.

Kerrville Workshop

The Rev. Robert L. Hill, District Executive for the Southwest District and the UUA, will present a workshop in Kerrville entitled "Big Gains from Small Groups" on Saturday, April 28, from 9:30 am to noon. Other Unitarian Universalist congregations in the area will be invited to attend.

After lunch Bob will be free to meet with Board members, committee chairs and other leaders of our church to talk about this congregation and its relationship to the District and the UUA.

The workshop will deal with the following topics: Why the potential of our faith has fallen so short of our dreams. The advantages of small-group organization: The five necessary elements of effective small groups.

Lunch location will be announced at the workshop. There is no childcare in place at this time; however, with advance request arrangements can be made.

The church is located at 960 Barnett, Kerrville, Texas. From Interstate 10 take Hwy. 16 South. Turn left at Barnett (KY Chicken, Bus Station) proceed to 960 Barnett.

I hope to go to this workshop myself and could take others - John Bradshaw

Men's Group Meetings

The CUUC men's group meets sometime during the second and fourth week. The exact date, time, and location are set using the groups' highly refined anarchic methods of governance. You can find out when the next meeting is, and even have a say in the schedule, by subscribing to their mailing list. Getting on the list is as simple as sending an email to cuuc-men-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or giving Henry Halff a shout at 210-493-7501. (Henry's email is henry@quiensabe.com).

Many Thanks

I am most grateful and overwhelmed with the many offerings of blood. It is an unforgettable gift and I thank all who gave me their name for giving and those that just gave. Many, many thanks. Phyllis Katcher

RE Corner

To conclude the study of the UU World Religions Curriculum, the students selected what they considered to be the Ten Best All-Star Ideas to live by from the units studied this past year. They chose from Buddhism (two), Christianity (three), and The Tao of Pooh or Taoism (five). None were selected from Judaism, Islam, Jainism, Native American Religions, African Religions, Paganism and Hinduism, the other religions of the world that were introduced, although, they, too, may have contained a similar philosophy as those chosen.

This concluding activity was in response to the UU Principle #4, "We are all responsible for what we believe and how we behave", and the UU Source #3, "Wisdom from the world's religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life".

Those selected are listed by the order of the most to the least number of votes they received and were chosen from a list of thirty possible ideas.

THE TEN ALL-STAR LIST OF IDEAS (according to Chloe, Davey, Michelle and Alexis:)
1. Live in a loving, non-violent way.
2. Do not kill.
3. Do not steal.
4. Respect your parents.
5. Learn from the world.
6. The more you give to others the more you have.
7. Enjoy yourself along the Way.
8. Choose a good vocation. (work)
9. Respect your specialness.
10. Live a life of balance and harmony. :)

A HUGE thank you to all who participated. - Joan Bradshaw

What Brings Us to CUUC?

At the January 9, 2000 service, each member of the congregation wrote on a card what, of a spiritual nature, brought them to church. Because the answers to this question tell us a good deal about ourselves, we publish one of them in each newsletter. We welcome any additional contributions from those not in attendance at the service, or those who were.

Here is April 2001's selection.

As a means of exploring long held spiritual understanding from a mainstream Protestant background. Different understandings of spiritual growth.

Dates to Mark

April 22 - "Reflections on the Tao," Steve Botts
April 22 - Maintenance and Operations Committee "get-acquainted" meeting after service
April 25 - Women's Group, 7:30
April 28 - "Big Gains from Small Groups," 9:30-12:00, Kerrville, TX
April 29 - YRUU Service, Coordinator: Margaret Batschelet
April 29 - Member Services "get-acquainted" meeting after service
May 6 - "Beltane," John Weisen
May 6 - Program Committee "get-acquainted" meeting after service
May 9 - Women's Group, 7:30
May 13 - Mother's Day Service, Steve Botts
May 19 - Community Garage Sale
May 20 - "ASCEND," with guest speaker Rebecca Brune, Coordinator: Janet Oglethorpe
May 23 - Women's Group, 7:30
May 27 - "Hearts and Hands and Voices," Part III, Henry Halff
June 3 - RE Closing Service
June 10 - Brunch Sundays begin

To Subscribe

If you'd like to receive the e-mail version of this newsletter every month, send a message to Margaret Batschelet, the newsletter editor.