The View: PUC's weekly newsletter
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January 21, 2016
Please send View submissions  to newsletter@pacificunitarian.org 
by noon on Wednesday.
Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.
Child care is available starting at 10:00 a.m.
Join us for some radical hospitality after the service!
Contents

January 24th, Sermon 
LISTEN! 

The act of listening is often unexamined. We will consider sound as an influence on spiritual formation through four experiences and reflect on how sound shapes us.
 
Kim Gosney
 

January 31st, Sermon
THEODORE PARKER & THE TRANSIENT & PERMANENT IN RELIGION 

Today James will talk about one of the most significant figures in 19th Century Unitarianism, the abolitionist, Transcendentalist and feminist, Theodore Parker & what he has to say to us today.

Reverend James Ford
Who's That?

To contact people named in The View please see the PUC Directory which is available in the Members Section of the PUC website.  If you need the password for the Members Section, or if you do not have access to a computer, contact the PUC Office for help accessing it.  The phone number and office hours are listed each week at the very bottom of The View.
Joys
&
Concerns

§
Joys and Concerns will no longer officially be meeting in the library on Sundays.
I want to thank all of you who've stopped in to share your personal thoughts and given your support to others. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to meet new friends I sincerely hope your New Year is full of joy. 

- Sandy
§
To have your joy or concern appear here, send it to
joysandconcerns@pacificunitarian.org 
or call the PUC office.  For information on how to do so, scroll down to the
end of The View.
§
If you have a pastoral concern, or know of someone in need, please contact Kim Gosney, our Minister of Congregational Life at (310)504-4919 or email 
pastoralcare@pacificunitarian.org.
 

Sunday Hospitality
Volunteers

It takes many hands to
make a Sunday.  Special thanks
to all of our volunteers!


Greeters
Linda Jenson

Welcoming Trustee
Ben Cowan

Welcome Table
Teri Masters

Top Chef
Andy Kissner

Usher
Dee Masters
William Koelsch
 

RE News 

RE Committee bids farewell and says thanks to retiring chair Dale Osborn, who moves on to serve the Worship Committee.  We applaud Michele Bethune who has stepped up to be our new chair and is doing so with her usual aplomb.  Our committee still consists of Greg Garcia, Kimberly Storr, Kris Williamson, and Wendy Clancy.  Please thank these folks for their hard work.

Our new semester is off to a great start with dedicated teachers and thanking them for stepping up again to teach in our classrooms.  Pixies will be under the care of Melissa Tyrell, Hobbits of Linda Shahain, Sojourners of Alana Garrigues.  These three groups will be meeting together, so that their teachers will each have a two week a month commitment, but now these classes will be able to meet three weeks of the month rather than two.  (We would love to have more volunteers come forward so we can separate these ages.  Let me know if you believe you could make such a commitment.)  Our Voyagers will continue with Kimberly Storr, Robin Arehart, and Rachel Bruhnke and our YRUU’s with Maurice Chevalier, Greg Garcia, and Victor Paieda, Jr.  Capably providing excellent childcare for new born through three-year-old are Zoe Zupon and Sianna Bethune

If you know of a responsible high schooler 15yrs. or older who is interested in working with small children in our childcare program, please let me know their name and contact info.  As Zoe and Sianna are both seniors this year and off to college next, we need to be finding and training replacements starting mid-May.  Zoe and Sianna have spoiled us, but we know there are other great teens out there who might like the opportunity to add depth and breadth to their resume.  Church membership is neither required nor preferred to fill our childcare positions.

Love and Wonder,

Vicki
From the Transition Team
 
Next Steps--A Little More Information about Nominations to the Ministerial Search Committee
 
Over the next several weeks, we will be reaching out to the congregation to solicit nominations to the Ministerial Search Committee. While nothing precludes folks from nominating themselves, we encourage true nominations to demonstrate that this is a congregation-centric process. Our task is to solicit a good selection of nominees, to then interview the nominees to ensure that they understand the magnitude of this commitment, and finally to develop a slate of seven candidates for the MSC. This slate of candidates will then be presented to the congregation for approval. 
 
Here are some guidelines from the UUA Settlement Handbook:
 
All members of the search committee should be: 
  • Known and respected by others in the congregation
  • More strongly committed to the congregation as a whole than to any subgroup
  • Well informed about the demands and time requirements of search committee membership. Members should promise to attend every meeting, and to give about 250-400 hours over the coming year
  • Balanced by sex, age, interests, and tenure of membership to reflect the diversity of the congregation. Major areas of church life such as religious education, social action, property management, finance, and music should be represented by participants, not partisans
  • Balanced by attributes: organizational ability, broad theological awareness, computer skills
  • Not paid members of the church staff
  • Pledged to conduct a search that is fair and nondiscriminatory with respect to race, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation, age, and national origin
  • Committed to maintain confidentiality and to seek consensus
  • Capable of both self-assertion and compromise
  • Not prone to extreme reactions to ministers. The previous ministers’ strongest supporters or opponents are rarely the best choice
  • Well suited to teamwork: a search committee is no place for Lone Rangers!
Additional information at the Town Hall meeting on the 31st. 
From the Music Department:
           
The BLACK AND WHITE CONCERT is coming up soon – Saturday, Feb. 13th at 7:30 pm. This is a fun annual benefit event that features piano music by our own members and special guests. Everyone is encouraged to dress in black and white formal attire. Dig out that tux or sequin-studded black dress that hasn’t seen the light of day for years gone by. Extravagant headgear is also encouraged. After the concert we treat ourselves to a potluck of exclusively black and white finger food. Remember to bring finger food – nothing that needs a fork or other utensil. Tickets are reasonably priced at $20 in advance and $25 at the door, but you can always give more.
           
Keep Singing, Severin  

Reach Across the Ages by participating in our Secret Pals Program
 
This is a much loved annual tradition here at PUC and it is a great opportunity to learn about people through the ages who have been associated with the Unitarian Universalist Church as well as learning more about a member of PUC who resides at the opposite end of the young - not as young age spectrum.

A church is such a special place for many reasons, and one of them is that it brings us all together, the young, the old and all ages in between.  We can learn together.  We can teach each other.  We can give love and receive love.  We can encourage each other and build each other up through genuine interactions.  And that is just what happens during the Secret Pals program. 

It is a short commitment....3 weeks.  Sign-ups are Sunday January 17th through Sunday January 24th. You will be matched with your Secret Pal the week of January 25, and you will bring a little note, drawing, or poem on Sun January 31st, February 7th and February 14th.  That last Sunday, Valentines' Day, will be the big reveal, and you will sit with your Secret Pal during brunch, along with all the other participants.

Please take this opportunity to engage with your community and enrich your life and the life of someone else.  It costs you nothing, other than a little time and some willingness to share yourself with another.

Sign-up sheets can be found on the table in the patio or in the office.  See Missy Rogers or Vicki Gavel if you have any questions.
   
The Bruhnke family is going to Debenneville Winter Elementary Camp over President's Day weekend! We went 4 years ago and it is amazing! Well worth $145, all included! Who else is in? :)
 
http://www.uucamp.org/camps-retreats/family-camps/pswd-elementaryfamily-winter-camp/
 

RE Committee is working on the details, but wants you to mark your calendars for “Parents Night Out” on February 13, 2016.  This Saturday evening is a night for romance, so we want you to sign your kids up for childcare which will be provided at a reasonable cost here at the church.  Keep an eye out at the membership table for details and sign up your youth, age 5-12, while there is space available.  Whether you attend the Black and White Concert that evening hosted by our own Dr. Severin Behrins and PUC choir, or make another plan with your sweetie, relax and leave your children to have fun with their PUC friends.  The funds will be used to support programming at PUC.

I would like to gently remind all PUC members of our church's two adult rule.  This rule means that no adult should ever be alone with unrelated children on campus (unless, of course, you are serving as the child's appointed guardian).  This is especially important in enclosed spaces, like classrooms or the library.  This can be a bit awkward, so I offer the following suggestions:

     *If you find yourself alone with a child or group of children (under 18), move to a public space to finish your conversation.  It is perfectly fine to say, “There are not two adults in this room, so we need to move to the patio.”

     *If you see another adult alone with a child or children, join them.  It is the most important way you can protect the other adult, the kids, and PUC.  Say, “We should move this conversation to a public space.  How about the patio?”  If there is resistance, report the situation to myself, an RE Committee member, Board member, James, or Kim immediately.

The two-adult rule is standard practice at most churches and in most denominations; and considered best practice.

Finally, we need parents to pick up their youth from classrooms promptly after church.  Children wanting to participate in choir with Severin will be brought to the patio to find their parent after practice.  (Parents, please save your singer a plate of food.)
 

Love and Wonder,

Vicki
Playing in the Sage…
The universe is made of stories, not atoms.
—Muriel Rukeyser
 
Narrative or storytelling is a very important part of language development and learning. It is how humans make sense of the world…and then tell others all about it in conversation.
 
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, we are excited to announce our January Story and Art Time at Pacific Sage Preschool!
 
Join us Saturday 1/30/16 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. as we celebrate the “Year of the Monkey” with stories, art and snack. 
 
This is a free family event and open to the PUC Community and the community at large. It is a great way to get to know the school and its philosophy.
 
Spread the story!
Warmly,
Sylvia
Director
Pacific Sage Preschool
 

Women Reading and Responding Book Club

Third Monday of Each Month
11:00 a.m. PUC Library    

February: The Boys in the Boat -Daniel James Brown
March: All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
April: A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
May: The Jane Austen Bookclub - Karen Joy Fowler

Contact Robin Arehart if you have any questions.

Return


Gentle Yoga Class for All
Wednesdays 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m.
Henriksen Hall

A class designed for all levels, shapes, and ages.  We will focus on a gentle practice through movement to help unblock your flow of energy and increase your mental and physical flexibility while releasing stress and enhancing body awareness. Poses and exercises build strength, relieve pain and stress, and improve balance. Questions: Debi@omhappy.com.

Suggested Donation: $15/class. 

Return
This Sunday's Flowers 
 
Please sign up for your turn to bring Sunday's Flowers on the Flower Calendar inside the door of the PUC Office


This week's flowers are contributed by John Einhorn
 
 
CALENDAR
 
PUC's calendar of events can be found here.

Congregational Meetings & Town Halls

Additional details on the specific topics will be distributed prior to the meetings. 

January 31, 2016
Town Hall
Making PUC Work for You – Who’s Who in the Zoo – PUC’s Committees

April 3, 2016
Town Hall
Making PUC Work for You – PUC’s Organizational  Structure & Governance Part III

May 1, 2016
Town Hall
Annual Business Meeting Preview & Dialogue

June 5, 2016
Congregational Meeting
Annual Business Meeting
The PUC Board of Trustees

                     John Einhorn -President 
                     Bruce Lewis -Vice President
                     Randy Ripley -Treasurer
                     Trish Botsko -Secretary

              Mike Buttitta
              Ben Cowan
              Dee Masters
             James Ford – ex officio

Ways to Contact Your Trustees

board@pacificunitarian.org
This email is forwarded to the trustees, Lead Minister, Director of Congregational Advancement, Director of Religious Education, and Pacific Sage Preschool Director.

trustees@pacificunitarian.org
This email is forwarded to the trustees & Lead Minister (ex-officio.)

 

John Einhorn, President      johneinhornrhino@gmail.com
Randy Ripley, Treasurer     treasurer@pacificunitarian.org
Phone numbers and individual email addresses for all other Trustees can be found in the Member Directory.

To request being included in Sunday morning announcements contact Kim Gosney
 welcome@thecenteratpuc.org
 

We are located at
5621 Montemalaga Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

 

Office Hours

Sunday             8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.                             
Monday            Closed 
Tuesday           Closed   
Wednesday      10:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday          12:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m
Friday               Phone messages are checked during the day.    
Saturday           Closed

 

Hours for Reverend James Ford, Interim Minister
Appointments are always recommended.
Tuesday         11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday    11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Thursday        11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

Click here for Directions

Contact Us:

Office: (310) 378-9449    Fax: (310) 378-1508

admin@pacificunitarian.org     www.pacificunitarian.org 

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