The View: PUC's weekly newsletter
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March 24, 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 a delicious brunch after the service!
Contents
March 27th Sermon
HALLELUJAH ANYWAY

An Easter Sunday Meditation for hard times.

Reverend James Ford
April 3rd Sermon
HOW FREE IS FREE RELIGION?

Today James will explore the costs of being in a spiritual community. What are we being offered by belonging? And what it takes from us to make it happen. Might be fun.
When “Minister” Is More Than a Job Title

It’s a really rotten day. You are sent to an emergency room in an ambulance, and after 8 hours you are admitted. Nurses in and out.  Fluid, lots of fluid. Get this fever down. Tests and more tests.  What to do about the child, the responsibilities? Your family scrambles to figure it all out. 

The next morning there you lie, wondering what it means to your family that you can’t be there for them. Wondering at the strangeness of having your life abruptly put on hold. And then, there in the doorway is your minister, asking if you would like to spend a little time together, but not presuming to enter without an invitation. You can see that it’s just fine to say, "Not today". You also see it doesn’t matter how you look. It doesn’t matter that you can’t really hold up your end of a conversation. The conversation turns out to be easy. You find that there is a whole set of skills your minister has that you would never otherwise get to see.

 

And it feels so good to see a caring face, when you didn’t think you wanted to see anyone. It feels good to talk to someone who knows how hospitals work. It feels good to be with someone who can sit with you and think about the questions that swirl in your mind, or to just sit there gently talking about nothing in particular and yet be soothing.  

And later, when you feel better, you wonder at the fact that visiting someone in a hospital is a skill: it can be done well or it can be done poorly. It’s hidden from most, and yet it is there for each of of us at PUC. You realize for the first time why “minister” is both a job title and a verb.  

 

 

That was me. And as we approach the pledge drive, I am giving a lot of thought to the importance of having a full-time minister. Our minister may see us in some of the most vulnerable, and even intimate, moments of our lives. Our minister matters for many reasons, but this may be the most important. Please join me in increasing our pledges from last year. This year we only had enough in the budget for a 3/4 time minster. That’s not enough to meet our congregation’s pastoral needs. If you can’t imagine ever needing this for yourself, look around on Sunday morning. There are people you talk to every week who will need this, and it may not be the people you think.
 

Sincerely,
Lora Childers
Member 2016/2017 Pledge Drive Committee
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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
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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
Terri Masters
Wendy Clancy

Top Chef
Naresh Deo

Usher
Dee Masters 
William Koelsch
 
 
Join UU’s worldwide and PUC in observing Climate Justice Month, beginning with World Water Day on March 22nd and continuing through Earth Day on April 22nd.  
 
Just One Thing.  Changing small habits can have big impacts — We can all commit to do Just One Thing to help heal the Earth.  Stop by the Social Justice/Green Sanctuary table and make your commitment to adopt one new habit — or do more of a good habit you already have!  
 
FOLAR Great LA River Cleanup — April 30.  Friends of the LA River, FOLAR, has been leading the charge to transform the concrete channel we know as the LA River into a more natural resource running through the region’s central industrial corridor.  PUC will join FOLAR and diverse volunteers from all over Southern California to clean up the LA River near Long Beach on April 30th.  Families and children are welcome!  Sign up at the Social Justice table!!!  
 
Power to Create Change — Vote!  PUC can help you register to vote in time for the upcoming primaries and general election.  Voter registration forms and information on how to register on-line are available at the Social Justice table every Sunday.
We will all have a good dance, a good time, on GOOD FRIDAY !


Pacific Southwest District
Big Faith – No Borders! Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association
300 S. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101
 

March 18, 2016
 
Dear Members of Pacific Unitarian Church,
 
I am writing this note to encourage you to be as generous as possible in your current pledge drive.  I have known the ministers and members for this congregation for over 35 years.  It has been an important center in the Peninsula and South Bay area for our Unitarian Universalist faith.  Not only has this congregation been important for your area but also for our wider faith.  People from this congregation have been active in the Pacific Southwest District and Unitarian Universalist Association since the congregation’s founding.  Members have served on the District and UUA board, been on important committees, served as consultants to other congregations, and supported our Camp DeBenneville Pines.  I hope you will continue to serve our faith in these ways but it begins by ensuring that your congregation has strong ministry and programs.  Please support the vision for your congregations continued greatness.
 
 
In the Faith,
 
Rev. Dr. Ken Brown

 
Mother's Day Announcement
 
May 8th Mother’s Day— Pacific Unitarian Church welcomes with pleasure the St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble in concert at noon.  The deep, richly blended voices perform Russian sacred and folk music.  Kirill, Andrei, Sergey and Vadim fill the Hall with cathedral sound.  There will be a small charge.

Carolyn Waters
Upcoming Membership Sessions!

Sign up for one - April 10 or May 22...Held 12 - 2 PM.
Following these classes, we will host a New Member Ceremony:  SUNDAY, May 29 at 10:30 AM. Sign up, and you will receive the packet to read and to fill out before the session. Get information at the Welcome Table or email Kim Gosney at membership@pacificunitarian.org  We so look forward to getting to know you better!
 

It’s Up to Us

Our annual pledge drive is still two weeks away and we already have our first pledge.  Many thanks to Sue Cutler for starting us off!  

The campaign begins on Sunday, April 3.  Early next week you will receive your pledging materials via US mail.  As you think about your giving, please consider moving your GRC pledge back over to your pledge to the general fund if you are able.  

We only had enough for a 3/4 time minister this year.  The pool of ministers looking for 3/4 time work is exceedingly small.  If we want to have a choice in ministers we will to need pledge enough to fund a full time position.   And over the past year some of our primary donors have passed on. We are all going to have to stretch this year to make it.

And by all means, pledge early and pledge often!

Religious Education Spring Calendar


March
 

March 27 Multigen Easter Service

 

April

April 3 RE Classes

April 10 RE Classes

April 17 RE Multigen Blessing of the Animals

April 24 RE Classes



May  

May 1 Solve It Sunday (Kimberly and Co.)

May 8   Mother's Day (Kim and Vicki)

May 15 RE Classes

May 22 RE Sunday

May 29 Memorial Sunday (TBA)

Playing in the Sage…

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.”
                                                                                    ---Debby Boone


Spring has sprung and the children are starting the seeds for the new season in our garden. Talk around their choices was spirited and lively…but all potentially yummy. 
 
We pulled our winter veggies to make space…but we have not completely given up on our cabbage and kale. (The guinea pigs are happy about that.)
 
Looking at all the different kinds of seeds, the friends were amazed that something as big as a watermelon was waiting to grow inside that little black seed.
 
Seeds and children…isn’t there always something amazing inside waiting to happen?


 
Warmly,
Sylvia
Director, Pacific Sage Preschool

Women Reading & Responding Book Club

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

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 donated by Ron Keyes.
 
 
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. 

April 3, 2016

Congretional Meeting

Making PUC Work for You

-Vote on the Ministerial Search Committee slate

-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 a Sunday morning announcement 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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