Throughout this pandemic, the lesson that keeps showing up in my life and maybe yours too, is to pause. There is wisdom in pausing during a traumatic pandemic year. There is wisdom in pausing and lessons in patience throughout the healing process. There is wisdom in pausing when it comes to determining what is best for your personal learning, growth, and moving forward. There is also wisdom in the pause when we look at collective healing. Let’s explore how a simple pause makes a difference in our personal lives and how these same pauses can be applied to our collective and communal lives.

SERVICE NOTES

WELCOME!

New to our church community? Sign our guestbook and let us know if you’d like to get more connected.
For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at http://www.uulosalamos.org or call at 505-662-2346. 
Connect with us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/uulosalamos
If you would like to submit a joy or sorrow to be read during next week’s service, we invite you to write it in our Virtual Prayer Book.
Have questions? While our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, is on sabbatical, contact our office administrator at office@uulosalamos.org.

MUSIC CREDITS

• “Here I Am to Listen” by Frances Matthews. (Jenni Gaffney, vocals & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission.
• “Spirit of Life” by Carolyn McDade, harmony by Grace Lewis-McLaren. (Kathy Gursky, viola & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano).  Used by permission.
• “Comfort Me” by Mimi Bornstein-Doble. (Larry Rybarcyk, acoustic guitar & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano).  Used by permission.
• “Song of the Valley,” music by Christine Smellow, video of Olympic National Park’s Hurricane Ridge by John McKenzie. (Christine Smellow, piano). Used by permission.
• “The Climb” by Jessica Alexander and Jon Mabe. (Tina DeYoe, vocals & Nylea Butler-Moore, vocals and piano).  Permission to stream BMI song #10438166 in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.  
• “Pause” by Mike and Mix’alh Adams. (Synth trumpet, guitar, programming, and mixing by Mix’alh Adams; Mike Adams, electric bass). Used by permission.
• “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Stephen Lee Cropper and Otis Redding. (Mix’alh Adams, electric guitar & Mike Adams, electric bass.)  Permission to stream BMI song #898382273 in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770. Video slideshow created by Tina DeYoe.  Used by permission.
• “The Way,” text: unknown author, music: Nylea L. Butler-Moore. (UU Virtual Singers with Larry Rybarcyk, acoustic guitar & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano; Nylea Butler-Moore, Music Director; Rick Bolton, AV Engineer.) Used by permission. 

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.

OTHER NOTES

“Respect the Light” by Charles A. Forest.  Used by permission.

*permission granted through the UUA

OFFERTORY

Our Share the Plate partner for July is Tewa Women United. 

100% of all offered this month will be given to our partner.

We are now using Givelify.com to process the weekly offering: https://giv.li/5jtcps

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS

• Tina DeYoe, Guest Speaker and Director of Lifespan Religious Education
• Jamie Cullhost, Worship Associate
• Erin Green, Guest Speaker
• Chuck Forest, Chalice Lighting Words
• Nylea Butler-Moore, Director of Music
• Jenni Gaffney, vocals 
• Kathy Gursky, viola
• Larry Rybarcyk, acoustic guitar
• Mix’alh Adams, electric guitar & Mike Adams, electric bass
• UU Virtual Singers: Kelly Shea, Nylea Butler-Moore, Rebecca Howard, Anne Marsh, Kathy Gursky, Mike Begnaud, & Skip Dunn 
• Mike Begnaud, Rick Bolton, and Renae Mitchell AV techs

Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211111035214/https://www.uulosalamos.org/ucla/pulpit/2021/20210725-The_Wisdom_of_the_Pause-Paws.mp3

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo7wK7M0yUY]

Presented by Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore

How do we actually commit to building our dream world community? This is hope-filled and imaginative work, but where do we start? I personally feel the “how” and the “where do we start” questions can be extremely daunting and overwhelming. I need a map, a blueprint, something to look at to tell me exactly what to do, but sometimes there isn’t one or it isn’t clear, and then what? I will share one method or map that has helped me in committing to this work of building a world community that is equitable for all.

SERVICE NOTES

    WELCOME!

New to our church community? Sign our guestbook and let us know if you’d like to get more connected.

For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at http://www.uulosalamos.org or call at 505-662-2346. 

Connect with us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/uulosalamos

Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, is available for virtual and phone appointments. Contact him at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

    MUSIC CREDITS

“The Way It Is” by Bruce Randall Hornsby.  (Nylea Butler-Moore, vocals & piano). Permission to stream ASCAP song #530311261 in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.

“Building a New Way” by Martha Sandefer. (Maura Taylor, vocals & Tyler Taylor, guitar). Used by permission.

“Lifted in Love” by Carl Karush and Lea Morris.  Performed by Lea Morris. Used by permission.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” words: James Weldon Johnson, music: J. Rosamond Johnson. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Public Domain.

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. (Maura Taylor, vocals & Tyler Taylor, guitar). Permission to stream ASCAP song #380135657 in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.

“The Journey Becomes our Home,” written and performed by James Underberg. Recorded at 4th Universalist Society in the City of New York. Used by permission.

“As We Leave This Friendly Place,” words: Vincent B. Silliman, words: J.S. Bach, adapt. from Chorale 38. (UCLA choir & Yelena Mealy, piano; Rick Bolton, AV Engineer). Used by permission.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770

    OTHER NOTES

Mary Oliver Poem, “Wild Geese”. 

    OFFERTORY

Our Share the Plate partner for March is Las Palomas Border Migrant Shelter.  100% of all offered this month will be given to our partner.

We are now using Givelify.com to process the weekly offering: https://giv.li/5jtcps 

    SERVICE PARTICIPANTS

Rebecca Howard, Worship Associate
Tina DeYoe, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
Nylea Butler-Moore, Director of Music
Maura Taylor, vocals & Tyler Taylor, guitar
UU Virtual Singers of Unitarian Church of Los Alamos
Rick Bolton, Mike Begnaud, & Renae Mitchell, AV techs
Jamie Cull-Host, Worship Associate and Reader
Míkalh Adams, Land Acknowledgement

Something you might not have known about me is that I am a night owl. I love the evening when it is quiet and still. This is when I like to get my work done. This is a time when I feel less anxious about the world’s chaos around me.

This year’s holiday season will be a little different than we are all used to. We, unfortunately, will not be gathering as a church community for in-person events. We might be far from family and friends. We might not be traveling at all. We might be experiencing grief.

During this year’s holiday season, I encourage you to find those moments of stillness and quiet that calm you. You could turn on some holiday lights or light a candle in the evening, sip some cider or tea, and pause in the stillness of the moment you are currently experiencing. Practice being in the present moment and thanking the darkness and the night for the stillness and beauty that it brings. Relax your mind, calm your soul, and breathe in peace and breathe out love.

May you find stillness and peace this holiday season!
Peace,

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Our UU church and tradition is one that is founded upon the covenant(s) we uphold together. We might uphold covenants in our small groups, in our online classes, in our youth spaces. But why is covenant so important in our community? The answer is because we are not a creedal faith. We instead make promises to each other on how we want to live and act and be together. These covenants guide the way we are with one another in community. These covenants are living documents and can always be added to. What if we break covenant? This is also something we can be talking about in our community. Planning ahead for how we come back into community relations with each other after covenant is broken is an important step in covenanting that sometimes gets overlooked. Here is a reflection about covenant that I really like from Rev. Victoria Safford, excerpted from the UU World:

“We are bound by covenant, each to each and each to all, by what theologian Rebecca Parker calls, ‘freely chosen and life-sustaining interdependence.’ The central question for us is not, ‘What do we believe?’ but more, ‘What do we believe in? To what larger love, to what people, principles, values, and dreams shall we be committed? To whom, to what, are we accountable?

‘To act in [covenant] is to give our word. We send it out and it carries our integrity, our fidelity, our faithfulness, our truth. Our word is still ours, but it calls back to us from the heart of another person, or a circle of people, within which it now dwells. Such a commitment does not predict the future or set it in stone. It makes a certain kind of future possible.’

May we remember to live in covenant with one another in our community. May we create those covenants in our spaces together. If you haven’t created a covenant in your committee spaces or small group spaces or your class spaces, I would encourage you to do so! And if you need information and resources for how to create a covenant, feel free to contact me.

Peace,

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

The Sitting Rock

Sit on me and breathe.
I will hold your fears and joy.
You will not fall off.

Evanescent clouds.
The warmth of the sun holds me.
Ephemeral joy.

View from The Sitting Rock (right)

Peace,

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

This past August 8th we had our RE Committee Mini-Retreat on Zoom.

Every year we brainstorm words that we would like use as our focus words as we go into planning our yearly programs for kids, youth, and adults. Erin Green and Renae Mitchell each made awesome word cloud images using this year’s focus words. So please enjoy looking at them and reflecting on them!

Peace,

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

I want to extend my thanks to ALL of the Religious Education Committee members, all of the tech crew who have been helping us during this pandemic time, AND I want to say a special THANK YOU to all of the amazing teachers and youth advisors who volunteered of their time and talents this past school year! Your time was cut short, but I am extremely grateful to each of you being flexible and rolling with the new realities of finishing up RE programming during a pandemic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! And… teachers/youth advisors, please be on the lookout for your teacher gifts coming to you via snail mail soon!

• Thank you to our Elementary Teaching Crew: Renae Mitchell, Erin Green, Terry Berry, Susan Dryja, Krista Black, Kelly Dolejsi, Carrie Manore, Anne Payne-Reeves, and Elizabeth Watts
• Thank you to our Middle School advisors: Janet VanCleave and Andrea Determan
• Thank you to our High School advisors: Theresa Cull, Patrick Webb, and Mike Adams
• Thank you to our Adult RE folks: James Carroll and Jen Jordan
• Thank you to our OWL Facilitators: Cait LeClaire, Heidi Carroll, Steve Tobin, Melissa Goldman, Jake Green
• Thank you to Melissa Mackey for being our Children’s Choir Director!
• Thank you to Amanda Bucklin, our Nursery Coordinator!
• Thank you to all of our parents too, who have been encouraging their kids to connect with their UU peers online during this pandemic time

Religious Education is always a collaboration and I am grateful to have collaborated with you all this year and look forward to our continued collaborative work.

Remember, that we, your church community, are here for you during this time. Please reach out to staff or the Caring Committee if needed!

Peace & Health,
Tina DeYoe, DLRE (Director of Lifespan Religious Education)

Thank goodness we live in a place with lots of trails and minimal people during this social distancing time!

I am grateful for the beauty of spring and thankful to hike and walk to keep me sane during this time!

What keeps you sane during this social distancing time?

Remember that we, the RE program, continue to offer online connection opportunities for your kiddos, youth, and family during this time!

If you have any ideas for programs online you would like to lead, please contact myself or an RE committee member.

We, your church community, are here for you during this time! Please reach out to staff or the caring committee if needed!

At the end of May the RE Committee will take a break from RE programming. May 17 was the original date of the end of the RE programmatic year. The RE program break will be between May 18-31.

I will also be on professional leave at this time.
Peace & health!

Tina DeYoe
Directory of Lifespan Religious Education

When people ask me how I am doing during this crazy and bizarre time in our world, I like to tell them that I am on the “Pandemic Rollercoaster of Uncertainty” with everyone else! One day I feel that my online connections with folks are strong, that our teamwork is strong, that there is hope for doing things better together as a human species on this planet; then the very next day I dip into the doom and gloom scenarios that bring fear to the surface.

Voicing and hearing the struggles of one another in this time is so necessary. I have connected with families, kids, youth, and adults online during this time and have heard many of our communal struggles.

The most obvious struggle is being isolated from one another. Kids and adults both are expressing their feelings of sadness while not being able to see their friends, family members, and church community in person. Yes, online is great, but it really is not the same. How can we help each other through the sadness of not being able to see one another in person?

Another obvious struggle is people who are experiencing sickness and health concerns during this time and people who may even be affected by Covid-19 specifically. Anxiety around health concerns are high right now. People are not able to see their doctors in a timely fashion as our whole healthcare system is feeling the stress of this pandemic. Thank you to those healthcare workers we have in our community! And if you are experiencing health concerns during this time, know that your church community is here to help! Please reach out!

A third struggle is that of finances. So many people have been laid off and filed for unemployment during this time. I am sure the questions of “Will I be ok?” “Will my family be ok?” are running high through some of your minds. If this is you, please ask us here at the church for help!

A fourth struggle that I know a lot of us are feeling is being far away from family members and friends. You might have a family member who is in a nursing facility whom you cannot see; or you may have family members and friends whom you cannot visit right now. This also contributes to our stress levels because those connections are so vital.

A fifth struggle is that of our younger kids not being fully able to understand what is going on, or why they can’t go back to school this year, or why they can’t see their friends in person. Routines are unorganized or non-existent. Parents are working from home. Childcare is not available. These are all new stressors that compound on top of each other. Again, know that your church community is here to help! So please don’t hesitate to ask and even help us brainstorm ways in which we can help even more!

We are called in this time to think creatively with one another. To be resilient and persevere even when we may not want to. To work as a community helping one another. I ask myself each day, “What does the world need from me? What are the gifts and services that I can offer and share? Is there one thing I can do today to make somebody’s life a little bit better?” Some days are better than others when I ask myself these questions. On my doom and gloom days I may not accomplish a lot; I might not get the dishes done, or the loaf of bread made, or change out of my pajamas, or all of my to-do list done, and that is OK! This rollercoaster we are all on is a communal grief process that is going to last for a while and your church community is for sure here to help you throughout this time!

The hope that I find in all of this is in our UU church community connections and even wider communities of people helping people. I find hope in you and your resiliency! I find hope in our Religious Education Committee’s creativity, flexibility, perseverance, and support. I find hope in the moments I get to connect with you in whatever way possible. Even if you need to dip into your doom and gloom scenarios and even if you just are not feeling the online connecting thing, know that we, your church community, will continue to be here when you need us! We will continue to be that constant for you in this time!

Together we will support and help one another, together we will connect with one another, and together we will continue holding the light for when we can be together in person again.

Peace, health, love,
Tine DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

During the month of November, starting on November 3, our Share the Plate offering will be going to the UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) and their work advancing human rights globally through grassroots collaborations.

This is also the month families can participate in the Guest At Your Table fundraising program, also a UUSC program.

From the UUSC website:

“Guest at Your Table is UUSC’s annual
intergenerational program to raise support for and
awareness about key human rights issues. Since UUSC works in more than 20
countries, with over 60 grassroots partners, there are thousands of individuals involved in and who benefit from the work that our members make possible. The program is an opportunity to celebrate grassroots partnership, support human rights, and learn about just four of these individuals — the “guests” in Guest at Your Table. This year’s theme of Guest At Your Table is Women Leaders, Strong Communities.”

“Since our founding, UUSC’s work has been shaped and sustained by women’s leadership. Today, we are proud to partner with women leaders who are increasing representation for women in their communities, while strengthening access to justice for all.”

Click here to learn more about UUSC and Guest At Your Table.

How can your family participate in this great program?

• On Sunday, November 3, pick up a Guest At Your Table money collection bank and daily November gratitude calendar from Tina DeYoe. The calendar has prompts for helping kids learn to be grateful for what they have while recognizing that there are people who live in poverty in this world. It also teaches kids to be stewards and givers of the monetary gifts they have.

• Donate to the Share the Plate offering. Have your kids put in their offering during the Share the Plate time in the service.

• Read the Guest At Your Table brochure that highlights this year’s theme and 4 stories about women leaders.

• Make sure your child participates in our Social Justice Sunday activities on November 3 at 11:15 am during the RE hour. (Parents are welcome to participate too!)

May we all join together this month in a spirit of gratitude and giving! 

Peace,
Tina DeYoe
DLRE (Director of Lifespan Religious Education)

Why are RE changes happening?

Goals:

• To deepen multigenerational relationships in our RE program. For example, relationships built between the kids of different ages in our church.
• To invite parents and families to be part of RE with their children.
• To go deeper in our lesson planning and teaching
  abilities. If teachers are in the classroom less, they
  are able to put more time into planning dynamic lessons for kids.
• To give adequate time off to our teachers (2 Sundays a month) for their own Adult RE and rest/rejuvenation. This helps avoid teacher/volunteer burnout.
• To give our teachers the opportunity and time to learn more about UUism and its history, therefore allowing them to be more knowledgeable and able to teach this UU foundation to our children and how to relate UUism to our monthly themes.
• To solicit more feedback from parents, teachers, kids, youth, and adults about RE programming.
• To build a welcoming environment where kids and youth actually want to come to RE classes and worship. To create a flow and connection of monthly thematic elements between worship and RE classes for all ages.

What is changing in RE Programming for the 2019-2020 year?

New schedule for the Worship Service and RE Classes for all ages starting September 8

Worship Services will begin at 10:00 am and go till 11:00 am.

Religious Education Classes for all ages (including adults) will begin at 11:15 am and go till 12 noon.
This decision was made jointly by the RE Committee, the Worship Committee, and the Music Program. It is a decision that will allow more flexibility in RE programming, more space for RE programming including adult programming, and adults in the choir will be able to participate in Adult RE options and/or as RE Teachers.

RE Thematic Curriculum starting September 8 for all ages

Children, youth, adults and families will be exploring our monthly church themes deeper in their RE classes after the 10:00 am worship service. School ages will again be split.

Worship is for ALL ages all the time and includes a Multigenerational Intention Table

What is an Intention Table? It’s a physical space for purposeful crafting in the congregation’s Sanctuary or worship space; a space where people of all ages can connect to the message of the service by creating. The Intention Table is a dynamic space that, as we move into whole church worship for all ages, provides a meaningful way to engage active hands in the worship experience. And not just young hands! This table will serve as a sacred space for congregants of all ages to create a new dynamic of their worship experience.

Kids are no longer being taken out of the service for Children’s Chapel. Instead, kids have the choice to stay in the service sitting with their families; join other kids, youth, and adults in our multigenerational intention space; go to the nursery; or go with an adult into our library/soundproof room.

Monthly Themes

• 
September: Expectation
• October: Belonging
• November: Attention
• December: Awe
• January: Integrity
• February: Resilience
• March: Wisdom
• April: Liberation
• May: Thresholds
• June: Play


Children’s RE in September

10:00 am — Worship Service for all ages! Come experience our Intention Table.

Other options for kids during the worship service:

Nursery Care is provided for 4-5 years old and younger. Amanda Bucklin is our Nursery Coordinator.
Kids can stay worshipping in our young worshippers space up in the front of the Sanctuary or in our Intention Table space.
Kids can sit with their families in the worship service.
Kids and families can sit in the library and worship. (This is a soundproof room.)

PreK-6th Grade will be starting together on September 8 at 11:15 am in a Children’s Chapel format in the Assembly Room and will then break into respective age groups for the RE thematic activities. Parents/families are welcome to join their children.

Curriculum: Soul Matters – Monthly Thematic Curriculum

Teachers: Terry Beery, Kelly Dolejsi, Erin Green, Anne Payne-Reeves, Krista Black, Carrie Manore, Renae Mitchell, Susan Dryja, Elizabeth Watts

Youth RE

Middle School Youth will be exploring the monthly themes through an interfaith lens on Sunday mornings from 11:15 am – 12 noon.
Curriculum: Crossing Paths – Interfaith Literacy and Religious Pluralism
Youth Advisors: Andrea Determan, Matthew Boles, Jen Jordan

This is an experiential learning based curriculum. Youth, youth advisors, and parents will be taking once-a- month field trips to other religion’s places of worship. Classes will meet regularly on Sundays starting on Sunday, September 8, from 11:15 am – 12 noon, followed by a taco lunch on September 8 at 12 noon!

Parent/Youth Orientation Kickoff Pizza Night Friday, September 6 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

You will find out more about the program, the dates for our field trip outings, how you as parents can connect with your youth on what they are exploring and learning, and how you as parents can help.
Please RSVP the number of people attending this orientation from your family by Wednesday, September 4 to ensure we have enough pizza!

High School Youth

High School Youth will continue planning their Sundays and weaving in the monthly theme.
Youth Advisors: Theresa Cull and Patrick Webb

High School YRUU Youth Cookout!
Sunday, September 8 from 12 noon – 3:00 pm at the Camp May Pavilion.
(We will carpool up to Camp May after the 11:15-noon YRUU class at the church.)

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Worship is for ALL ages all the time

Introducing our Multigenerational Intention Table starting July 21. What is an Intention Table? It’s a physical space for purposeful crafting in the congregation’s Sanctuary or worship space; a space where people of all ages can connect to the message of the service by creating. This is the mission of the Intention Table, a dynamic space that as we move into whole church worship for all ages, provides a meaningful way to engage active hands in the worship experience. And not just young hands! This table is open to all ages. It will serve as a sacred space where congregants (young and old) are given opportunity to create a new dynamic of their worship experience.

**If you would like to help lead (with Tina and RE Committee members helping you) a Sunday morning Intention Table activity, please contact Tina DeYoe at tina@uulosalamos.org. We are looking for volunteers!

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

One of my favorite quotes about wholeness comes from Parker Palmer’s book, A Hidden Wholeness. “Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life.” I feel that this quote not only applies to our lives, but also applies to societal systems. If I can admit that I am not perfect and I have growing edges, then I can become a better person. If societal systems and governments can admit that they are broken, then these systems and governments can also work on become better.

Wholeness is a lifetime journey that takes lots of practice, patience, forgiveness, and learning. It is also a process that is not done alone. This journey towards wholeness is done in community with others on their journey towards wholeness. This is why I value our church community. Our UU principles are guidelines for me on my path to wholeness. Our UU community is a place that I can continuously practice carrying out our principles; it is a place that I can admit my mistakes, make amends or ask for forgiveness, and learn from these mistakes and do better in the future; it is a place where I can build circles of trust and accountability with people; and it is a place where community is formed.

As we all continue to journey toward wholeness, may we remember to acknowledge the brokenness that is present on our journeys and may we also remember we are not on our journey alone.

Peace,

Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

When did I know that our UU Religious Education for our youth and kids was super important for their growth? When I became a 2nd-3rd grade Religious Education teacher at the UU church in Knoxville, TN.

As a teacher you get to learn right alongside of your students! You get to be creative and plan fun and interactive lessons. You get to play! You get to have great conversations and discussions with kids and youth. You get to explore parts of your brain that you may not explore in your daily life. You get to be a mentor to kids and youth who a lot of the times remember how much you impacted their lives when they reach adulthood!.

We, the RE Committee, are currently recruiting teachers for kids and youth! Please let me, Tina DeYoe, know if you are interested in becoming an RE teacher or a Youth Advisor! This work is very rewarding and important for our kids and youth, especially in our current societal climate, so try it for yourself and see! We would love to have you join our awesome and fun team!

Peace,
Tina DeYoe
Director of Lifespan Religious Education