FirstWords SOUTH BAY CELEBRATES ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY

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1 FirstWords Our Monthly Publication December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 SOUTH BAY CELEBRATES ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY Sunday, October 7, 2018 was a day of joyous celebration for the ten-year anniversary of the founding of our South Bay campus. By overcoming general resistance to creating a new campus - "Chula Vista isn t like us; we've already tried and failed (to be a multicultural/multiracial church)" founding members established the South Bay campus in a rented elementary school multi-purpose room just ten years ago on October 5, These visionaries included Rev. Arvid Straube, Intern Minister Carol Layne, Fritz Stocker, Manuel Llera, Travis Mack, and Kathleen Garcia-Horlor, as well as many others. Dedicated volunteers set up for worship each Sunday and dismantled everything afterward and there was no place for group meetings other than in a narrow Sunday morning window. Eight years ago, the congregation moved to its present location and now has a new problem: the two rooms inside the building can get very crowded! But at least there is no longer an issue of having to pack everything up after services. Over the years, several lead ministers and coordinators have served the congregation. Now they have Assistant Minister, Rev. Tania Ma rquez, and the South Bay Music Coordinator, Lorelei Isidro. The Sunday celebration featured reflections on the successes and challenges from Rev. Tania and several church members. Kathleen Garcia-Horlor, current member of the Board of Trustees, spoke about the history of the church. Among her memories: a visit by then UUA President Rev. William Sinkford and other UUA leaders to encourage the South Bay church members to hold on to their vision and pursue their dream. Jan Garbosky, who was President of the First Church Board that year, remembers this: On my first full day as a married woman, I stood before those assembled at the UUs of South Bay s first service to welcome them and bring greetings from all those worshipping at First Church. It was a moving experience to look at those who did the hard work to make that morning happen to see the hope and pride and joy in their faces. It was exciting to see the worship space so full and reflecting the diverse families and age-spans we hoped would attend. What I ll remember most was the coffee hour which no one seemed to want to leave. Those I spoke with were so happy to have found a place of worship where they and all their beliefs would be honored and respected. Young families were thrilled to find a place where their children could learn about justice, hope, and love; question their own beliefs and those of others; develop a personal faith and spirituality; and find ways to actualize their values and beliefs. The social hour following the service is still an integral part of worship at South Bay and the October 7 social hour was a particularly happy occasion. A special cake was part of the celebration and the children and adults both loved the pin ata. Also in this issue: Hope is Key by Rev Kathleen Owens Pg 2 December Sermon Messages Pg 2 The Darkness is My Friend by Tony Bianca Pg 3 The Ficus Tree at South Bay by Travis Mack Pg 4 Journey Toward Wholeness by Alpa Patel & Jan Garbosky Pg 5 Interfaith Shelter at First UU Dec 23rd-Jan 6th by Angela Fujii Pg 6 Holiday Calendar Pg 7

2 F i r s t W o r d s 2 D e c e m b e r ; V o l. 1 2, N o. 1 0 DecemberSermonMessages In the hustle and bustle of this month, with the various holidays, gatherings, parties, family and friends and expectations of them and of ourselves, it s easy to forget the deeper meaning behind all the activity and celebrations. That s why we ve chosen the theme of Hope for the month of December. The season is for many things but Hope is key. Our Thanksgiving Eve service, according to the usage of The Congregation of Abraxas, offers this reflection: Three holy realities bind our lives in community as one human family of earth. Holy is truth, which makes us free; holy is love, the hope of the world; holy is community, which sustains our being, our becoming and our having been. May these forever nourish us, and the world around in justice, equity and peace. Love the hope of the world comes to us in this season in the form of light in the returning of the sun, in the form of a newborn, in the form of a small lit candle that helps us see the glow of Love and feel the warmth of it. In these, the darkest of days, we have reason to hope, to celebrate and sing, for we have the power to act, the choice to respond in ways that increase the possibility of love, of joy, of connection. Through our actions we can help Love triumph. There are several opportunities for you to engage in service to another: Our cousins living at the border are in need of many things, including kindness and connection and we ll be hosting the Winter Shelter this month and need more volunteers to ensure our guests have what they need while they re with us. We ll have many opportunities at both of our campuses to experience the wide range of expressions of hope, love and joy including feeling and acknowledging the shadows just beyond the light, the sorrow just under the joy all of these and more which make up the human experience of our time, in this season. We trust you ll join together in song, action, and joyful hope. Happy Holidays, and faithfully yours, Celebration Times: Hillcrest Campus: Sunday, 9:30 am and 11:30 am (ASL Interpretation) South Bay Campus: Sunday, 9:30 am (Intergenerational, Bilingual) December s Transformational Theme is Stories of Hope December 2, 2018 With Hope In the Balance Stevie Carmody, Intern Minister Blessing Hands / Bendecir manos Rev. Kathleen Owens, Lead Minister Rev. Tania Ma rquez, Assistant Minister December 9, 2018 The Interconnectedness of Hope Rev. Ian W. Riddell, Minister of Music & Worship Arts Our Lady of Guadalupe Stevie Carmody, Intern Minister December 16, 2018 A Hope Made Real Rev. Kathleen Owens, Lead Minister The Hope of Kindness Rev. Ian W. Riddell, Minister of Music & Worship Arts December 23, 2018 The Hope of Kindness Rev. Ian W. Riddell, Minister of Music & Worship Arts Christmas? Rev. Tania Ma rquez, Assistant Minister December 30, 2018 Starting Anew Rev. Kathleen Owens, Lead Minister Hope / Esperanza Rev. Tania Ma rquez, Assistant Minister

3 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 FirstWords 3 It s only 5:21 in the afternoon but, based solely on the view from my office window, it could well be midnight. The upper patio is completely dark except for the strings of lights outlining the walkways. Occasionally a parent walks past to pick up their child from the preschool, but they re nothing more than an indistinguishable form in the darkness. I imagine what it must have been like in much earlier times before gas or electric lights lined urban streets or even back before urban streets, for that matter. It s no wonder that so many of the December holidays focus on themes of light or its absence. As the world around them grew progressively darker and colder, I can understand why ancient humans felt the need for a little hope and celebration. As a more modern human, though, I m aware that my experience of darkness and light are very different. I recall being roughly four or five years old and suddenly afraid to go up to my bedroom one night because the moon light was creating an odd shadow on the wall. My mother walked upstairs with me and turned the lights on and off again until we discovered the shadow s source. I don t remember what it was, but I do very clearly remember her saying, You see, there s nothing to be afraid of. There s nothing here when it s dark that isn t here when it s light. Obviously, that little pearl of wisdom stuck with me and, though I still occasionally have to remind myself of it when I m locking up the Meeting House late at night, it s changed the way I relate to darkness. In my adult life, having moved passed being afraid of the dark, I ve come to see the positive aspects of darkness. I appreciate the way darkness can create a sense of intimacy and openness. I think of times when I go into a theater to watch a play. Even though there are hundreds of other people in the room, the darkness makes it feel as if it s just me and the actors. With all of the extra visual input stripped away by the darkness, I can even lose my sense of self and feel fully immersed in the world being created for me on stage. The darkness is also, oddly enough, sometimes necessary for sight. If you ve ever tried to drive east at sunrise or ever attempted to look at a star other than the one we orbit, you know that more light doesn t always mean a better view. If the sun didn t occasionally get out of our way, we d never know our place in the universe... literally. While darkness can sometimes limit our sight, there are other times when it allows us to see further. So, during this season of many holidays, I sometimes resist the urge to focus on the light and, instead, cozy up to the dark. Rather than hoping for some future time when things will be once again brighter, I choose to focus on reasons to celebrate the dark or, as one of our Children s Choir songs puts it, I remind myself that the darkness is my friend. Join me in leaning into this time of crisp nights, early stargazing, candlelight dinners, and 6:00 pm midnight strolls in the park. It ll be bright again soon enough, so why not enjoy the extra darkness while we can?

4 FirstWords 4 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 As most of you know, there is a potted Ficus Benjaminus (AKA weeping fig) right outside the front door of the South Bay Campus. But what some of you might not know is that the tree was grown from a cutting taken from the big, magnificent ficus that dominates the scene outside the giant windows in the Hillcrest meeting house. If you don t already know it, that tree was given to the church about 60 years ago by Carol and Dean Smith, and Carol is with us today. It was originally planted elsewhere on the campus, but was later moved to where it is now. Shortly after the South Bay campus was established 10 years ago, and while we were still holding service at Parkview Elementary School just four miles from our current location, the idea of having a piece of the big Hillcrest tree to grace our new found South Bay home was proposed. I believe the original idea was to someday have a church home with a piece of ground in which the tree would be planted, where it would serve as part of the cement that binds South Bay to the rest of the congregation. To make this idea a reality, and for reasons I still don t quite understand, I volunteered to make it happen. I drove my old minivan over to Hillcrest, pruning shears in hand, lopped off several smallish, youngish, low hanging branches, and then carted them back to our house in Chula Vista. I prepared a dozen or so cuttings and sat them in jars of water on the patio, and waited. Meanwhile, under the direction of Mar Cardenas, it was decided we should have a tree dedication as soon as possible, so we did. But the potted cutting we used was not the one outside the door. It was a stand-in, for it had not and never did take root. For that matter, all the original cuttings eventually died, one after another, without taking root. I was very disappointed, and I concluded that maybe the fall was not the best time to take cuttings. So, I waited until the following spring when the sap would be rising, to try it again. This time, I wanted younger cuttings from higher up, so I asked Rebecca Scott to come along and help me. She did the scary stuff like climbing the ladder and wielding the shears, while I stayed safely on the ground and held the ladder. At last and after several weeks, some of the cuttings began to show signs of growth, but out of more than a dozen cuttings, only one survived. And that one sits outside the front door of our South Bay campus. Perhaps someday soon, we ll have a place to plant it in the ground maybe even next to a big window!

5 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 FirstWords 5 We re excited to have a newly established Journey Towards Wholeness (JTW) team supporting both the South Bay and Hillcrest campuses! The JTW initiative is one that isn t new to this community. Rather, it s rooted in decades of efforts by lay leadership within our congregation. Newly re-energized, with an elected core team voted in by the board of trustees in September 2018, the group s vision continues to be one of radical welcoming striving for an unending practice of inclusion and intersectional justice for those marginalized. This includes those within our community or those who have yet to find their true home at First UU, and whose voice and truth both warrant and need amplification and support in line with our Unitarian Universalist principles. The team s mission is to dismantle systems of oppression of all types in ourselves as well as the congregation. We commit to facilitating growth and progress through efforts that will undoubtedly invite vulnerability. Through efforts that ask us all to lean into tough and yet meaningful conversations, we ll reflect on our own actions, words, and beliefs. By doing so, we can deepen connections and remove barriers to fostering a spirit of true beloved community that allows for a diverse church community aligned to our aspirations. Let s take a pause, as with even this introduction, some may be gripped by a sense of anxiety, or uncertainty, maybe even questioning its relevance within our organization. The JTW Team hopes we all can take a step back and know that our community values and invites these feelings. Yet, our values also ask that we challenge and channel them positively, by intentionally opening ourselves up to listening to varied truths, to address and resolve discrepancies in perspectives, and to move forward authentically with one another. The team is structured to lead in five key areas of focus. Each aims to assess and address how unconscious bias and racism (and other oppressions) manifest within the structure of our community both in how it s governed and how it operates with the overall goal to achieve true inclusion. The leads for each area will collaborate with staff and Ministry Teams and their groups to assess actions and activities with the anti-racism/anti-oppression/ dismantling white supremacy lens of JTW s mission. Our focus areas are: 1) Finances and Programs, 2) Worship and Music, 3) Policy and Practice, 4) Community Relationships, and 5) Education of Culture and Language. Two initiatives have been identified and implemented or proposed to the Board as educational opportunities to: - develop a cadre of congregational leaders to help in this work, - develop a common language and understanding of racism and its manifestations, and - engage in deep, relationship-building conversations. Race: Are We So Different? By mid- December, 30 Board members and Ministry Team lay leaders will have participated in a guided tour of the Museum of Man s Race: Are We So Different? exhibit and a workshop on Implicit Bias and Micro-Aggressions. At least two additional tours/workshops are being scheduled for January and beyond for additional Ministry Team lay leaders and interested congregation members. Beloved Conversations At its November meeting, Board members discussed the possibility of bringing to First UU Beloved Conversations: Meditations on Race and ethnicity. >>> Continued on page 6<<<

6 FirstWords 6 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 >>> Continued from page 5<<< This program was developed by Dr. Mark Hicks of the Fahs Collaborative at Meadville Lombard Theological School and is serving more than 140 UU, Jewish, and Quaker congregations. Using a small-group format, it explores the role of race and ethnicity in the lives of individuals and the congregation. Further investigation of the program is taking place with the goal of bringing it to our congregation in the next few months. Your JTW team is deeply moved by, motivated, and engaged in this work. We d love to have deeper conversations with anyone who would like to discuss it. Journeying Toward Wholeness is work for each of us as well as for First UU as an institution. Only by working and learning together with other congregation members, friends, and staff will our mission thrive and progress and we become the congregation to which we aspire. Your ideas, involvement, and suggestions are important to us! Please reach out to any team member for further discussion: Honor Bell, Isaac Castro, Ben Fowler, Jan Garbosky, Kendric Hornsby, Steve Howard, Maggie Marshall, and Alpa Patel. First UU Church will host 12 guests with the Interfaith Shelter Network's Rotational Winter Homeless Shelter from December 23rd-January 6 th. Find out how you can get involved! In hosting the shelter at our congregation, we re seeking groups who can offer evening meals, individuals who are willing to stay at the church as overnight hosts, and individuals to serve as greeters/point persons on holidays. Angela Fujii, Jerry Ollinger, and Noveed Safipour are coordinating the shelter. Sign-up sheets are available on Sundays at Hillcrest. Interested South Bay folks can contact Angela at the address below. We ll keep the shelter open on Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day. Our guests will be invited to attend any on-campus events that are held during these times, but we re also looking to provide activities and entertainment throughout the day. If you d like to share your time, talent, or treasure in this way, or are interested in hosting a meal or being an overnight host, please contact Angela at: angela@firstuusandiego.org

7 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 FirstWords 7 Celebrate the Season! Holiday Events at First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego December And don't forget to join us for our upcoming at 12:30 pm in Bard Hall on December 14 First UU String Quartet Play Holiday Favorites For more information see our website at firstuusandiego.org First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego Hillcrest Campus 4190 Front Street San Diego, CA South Bay Campus 970 Broadway, Ste. 104 Chula Vista, CA

8 December 2018; Vol. 12, No. 10 FirstWords 8 Staff Rev. Kathleen Owens, Lead Minister Rev. Ian W. Riddell, Minister of Music and Worship Arts Rev. Tania Márquez, Assistant Minister Stevie Carmody, Intern Minister Rev. Jim Grant and Rev. Löne Broussard, Affiliate Ministers Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, Rev. Katy Swanson, and Rev. Julie Forest, Affiliate Community Ministers Robie Evans, Director of Operations Käthe Larick, Youth Programs and OWL s Nest Coordinator Angela Fujii, Social Justice Ministry Team Coordinator Jenner Daelyn, Connections Coordinator Pam Bates, Development Manager Lorelei Garner, South Bay Music Coordinator Andrea Newall-Lockett, JUUL Tones Ensemble Director Justin Murphy-Mancini, Organist and Pianist Connie Hayes, Bookkeeper / Controller Rose Riedel, Administrative Assistant Tony Bianca, Interim Religious Education Coordinator and Handbell Programs Director Karla Alvarez-Malo, Scheduler and South Bay Administrative Asst. Ray Evans, Maintenance Mark Epler, Event Coordinator Revs. Dr. Carolyn and Dr. Tom Owen-Towle, Ministers Emeriti Board of Trustees Les GrantSmith, President Rhiannon Smith, Vice President Sue Marberry, Treasurer James Long, Secretary Richard Costantinou, Kathleen Garcia-Horlor, Angela Garcia-Sims, Kathleen MacLeod and Sarah Ormond Trustees ONLINE & Web Addresses First Words Editor & Submissions, Nancy Fisk: nfisk1@juno.com To be added to the List: firstwords@firstuusandiego.org Scheduling of Church Property Requests: schedule@firstuusandiego.org Order of Service submissions: oos@firstuusandiego.org The Window submissions (Church bulletin): window@firstuusandiego.org Care Network: carenetwork@firstuusandiego.org First Church Web Sites: Main Website: South Bay Campus: To view sermon video casts, click on these YouTube or Vimeo buttons: Giving: Click on these Amazon Affiliate or igive buttons for your online shopping and First Church receives a portion of the sales. Secure and private. Our website: On facebook: 4190 Front Street (GPS use 298 W Arbor Drive) San Diego, CA Phone: Fax: mail@firstuusandiego.org POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: First Words, 4190 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92103