08/15/2017 by Patti McCall

We’re All in This Together – “To Support One Another”

Your Board of Trustees will be meeting in just over a week for the annual Board Retreat deciding on our areas of focus and setting our goals for the coming year.  Then, once decided, determining how those goals will support our Mission Statement.  In case you’ve forgotten, our Mission Statement reads: To support one another, expand our minds, and build a more just world. In this letter, I’d like to talk about the first part of our statement,  “to support one another…”.  We are a vibrant, loving community and I am reminded of that before, during and after every Sunday service;

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08/08/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of August 7

“You Will Speak When Spoken To…” Anyone remember words like that? Can we imagine making them into a spiritual practice? I’d not thought of those words in many years. I remember how I felt punished and voiceless – in childhood and teen years especially. Perhaps a few of you have experienced similar words and worse. Old memories like that tend to go underground. Skillful therapy, spiritual practices and prayer, relationships and work can all help those parts of our story be more at rest. Something happens to awaken those old words and humiliations. Then we have a choice to make.

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08/02/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of August 1

“Goodness, it’s warm…” Many of you know that this summer I drove to the East Coast and back on a vacation road trip. It was somewhat eventful with a failing fuel pump and a decision to return quickly to be of assistance to Debra and the Zen community in Eugene, Oregon. The fuel pump was resolved efficiently thanks to the mechanic recommended by my grad school friends in Alexandria, Virginia. Support for Debra and the Zen sangha in Eugene was harder to do from afar but I got back just in time to be helpful with a tragedy in that

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07/12/2017 by Shannon Day

We’re In This Together — “Transitions” A Message from Patti McCall, Board President

I have the honor to serve as your Board President for the next year along with a remarkably intelligent and competent group of six filling the remaining positions: Jill Jackson as Vice President; Allan Lang as Treasurer; David Cycleback as Secretary; and Judi Finney, Jean Mendel and Scott Iverson as Trustees At Large.  That is, there are four Board Members returning for a second year and only three new members; that is promising continuity in Westside’s leadership and something to consider in the future.  This new Board will be meeting at the end of August for a Retreat when we

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06/28/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of June 26

Several of us from Westside UU Congregation just returned from the UUA General Assembly that happens every year in a different city. This year it was in New Orleans. A special thanks to Jill Fleming, Steve Burrows, John and Viveca Monahan, Cecelia Hayes and Cynthia Westby for attending workshops, asking lots of questions about the UUA, and being voting delegates. My role at GA this year was to be co-lead chaplain with an African American colleague. We had been concerned that General Assembly this year might be a very intense gathering given all the issues that have come up in

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06/14/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of June 12

Last Sunday I talked about volunteering and its virtues as a spiritual practice. Several people asked me to repeat my admittedly tongue-in-cheek suggestion about a 24 hour volunteering ‘day’ at Westside. This is what I said: “Just for the fun of it the other day I tried to calculate the number of volunteer hours here at Westside each week apart from paid staff. We’d include everyone in the RE program, gardeners, the Sunday social hour preparers, the covenant groups and affinity groups; we’d have committees and working groups and rehearsals. I decided to use 50 hours a week of volunteer

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06/07/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister Musings Among the Mountains – Week of June 5

“So, now what…?” Year 1 of this second phase interim ministry is nearly over. Now what? Many of us are familiar with mission and vision statements from business or educational communities. Some of them can create eye-rolling responses especially in the business world. I even have two mission statement apps on my phone as humorous asides when I talk about mission statements. All that said, however, I must say I am impressed with the mission and vision statements for Westside UU Congregation as well as commitments to make the mission and vision come to pass. Here it is Our Mission

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05/31/2017 by Shannon Day

Diversity Within The Pages of the Westside Children’s Library- Cynthia Westby, Director of Religious Exploration

On Sunday, May 21st Westside held a service with guest speaker Dr. Jabali Stewart called “We Will Keep Moving Together.” He explored the painful reality of white supremacy culture in America with music and story, looking at our cultural assumptions from a place of curiosity and solution. As part of that service, our story for all ages was about an 11 year old black girl named Marley Dias who loved getting lost in a book but wanted books where black girls were the main character. When she didn’t find those books at her school or in her library, she started

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05/24/2017 by Shannon Day

Liquid Spirit – Tracy Burrows, Board President May 24, 2017

Thank you to everyone who responded to the Board’s request for feedback on the proposal to extend Rev. Alex’s interim contract. The Board heard you loud and clear and voted to enter into a new contract with Rev. Alex for a two-year duration, with a one-year check-in to confirm that the arrangement continues to be mutually beneficial. We have a lot of work to do over the next two years. Priorities include leadership development, a newly structured social justice program, improved financial stewardship planning, and a continuation in the growth of our small group ministries.  We’ll need your help to

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05/24/2017 by Shannon Day

Minister’s Musings Among the Mountains – Week of May 22

“We are a Justice Seeking People”  This last three months or so in the Unitarian Universalist Association of congregations has been intense after a strong reaction to the hiring of a colleague for a regional lead staff position in another region. That person was white, male, and a minister. Another person who was a person of color was not hired and was told they weren’t ‘a good fit.’ The responses to these events have been multi-faceted. The person who was hired later withdrew his name and the position became open again. A more important conversation has begun about the idealism

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