At a session after worship on Nov. 18, 2018, our Building Needs Task Force presented information about the issues it is considering. The task force is seeking feedback from our members and friends. Click this button to give your thoughts to the task force:
Among ideas being considered are an elevator, new carpeting, more office space, more parking, an expanded sanctuary, a fellowship hall, a commercial kitchen, more classroom space, more storage space, and the possibility of relocating closer to downtown.
An interim report on the task force’s work was presented at the Annual Congregational Meeting in May. An updated report was given to our Board of Trustees at its Nov. 8 meeting. Read the updated report.
Once again we will be hosting the Room at the Inn cold-weather shelter for the homeless. Our turn will be from the night of Dec. 9 through the night of Dec. 22. We will need many volunteers to help staff the shelter effort. Click the button below to sign up for one or more shifts.
Jan Weaver will be leading four adult religious education sessions on making the holidays meaningful. Come to any or all. Free childcare will be provided.
Getting What You Want for the Holidays – 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Nov. 27
The winter holidays have a lot of baggage, some cultural, some familial. Take some time to figure out what you want from the holidays.
Planning Your Holiday Experience – 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4
If things are going to change, you need to create new systems to support that change. Take some time to make a plan for how that change is going to happen.
The Only Person You Can Change is Yourself – 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11
The only way to really change things is to change yourself first. Take some time to reflect on what you might need to do differently for the holiday you want.
So It’s Not Going Like You Planned – 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18
Stuff happens. Take some time to prepare yourself for when things don’t turn out the way you planned.
In a process that started Friday morning, Oct. 26 and continued through Saturday evening, Oct. 27, our website address was changed from https://uuchurch.net to https://uucomo.org. Church emails also now use the extension “@uucomo.org.”
Many thanks to hostmaster Jim Hermann and UUCC friend Camden Daily, who did the technical heavy lifting to make the change. Jim is a UU in the St. Louis area whose server hosts a number of UU church websites including ours. Camden works in the computer technology field, and he and his wife and children recently began attending UUCC.
Re-directs have been set up so that if you forget and go to the old website address, you will automatically be sent to the current address, and if you send email to an old address, it will automatically go to the current address.
Our old website address was an inspired choice when our website was started many years ago (uuchurch.org was already being used by another church). However, “dot-net” domains were originally intended for use by internet service providers, and that has made our site an attractive target for hackers hoping to gain control of what they assume is an ISP because it would open the door to all sorts of spam and other online mischief. Our hostmaster Jim tells us that because of our dot-net domain name, our site experienced far more attacks than the many other sites he hosts. To date the security software on our site had protected us, but it was no absolute guarantee. Also, the volume of attacks occasionally slowed the response time of our site and other sites hosted on the same server.
For these reasons, Rev. Molly approved changing our web domain to uucomo.org. She also feels the new address is more descriptive of our church.
Please do not hesitate to contact our website administrator, Steve Scott, by email if you have questions or problems resulting from the domain name change.
UUCC members and friends donated to and walked in the successful 2018 CROPwalk to raise funds for hunger relief in Columbia, the United States and the world. The Church World Service event took place at Stephens Lake Park on Sept. 23.
At last count more than $18,000 had been raised. One-fourth of the money will stay in Columbia and go to various food pantries, St. Francis House and the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture.
Thanks to all who donated and participated!
– Allie Gassmann, Social Action Team
Among UUCC CROPwalkers were, from left, Leila, Allie and Walter
Gassmann, Peter Holmes, Sibylle Hoeschele and Wiley Miller.
I’m excited to be serving as your part-time Intern Minister for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 church years as a part of my formation as a minister. I will be working with various groups and facilitating worship services every other month (or so) during my time with you.
The UUA requires ministerial interns to develop in a variety of areas, so my work with you will evolve and might not always look the same as the months progress. Thank you for the kindness many of you have already displayed in welcoming me into your community.
My social media policy is not to “friend” or follow members and friends of the congregations I serve, but I enjoy face-to-face interactions and appreciate it when people introduce themselves to me.
I welcome conversation and can be contacted via email to set up an appointment.
Our Denominational Affairs Team (DAT) urges church members to begin thinking about becoming a delegate to our UU regional assembly or the UUA General Assembly. We are entitled to send six delegates to:
The next MidAmerica Region assembly in St. Louis April 5-7, 2019.
The next UUA G.A. in Spokane, Wash. June 19-23, 2019.
Church members interested in being delegates should email Nominating Committee Chair Todd Iveson. The committee submits delegate nominations to the Board of Trustees, which selects delegates.
For more information or to join the DAT, email chair Steve Scott.
At its annual retreat on Saturday, Sept. 8, our Social Action Team reaffirmed our church’s and our team’s important role in being moral and values-based actors in our community’s and country’s social and political life, as well as in our work on behalf of our Earth. We are one of just a few faith communities that comes from a clear and progressive perspective in a state that is dominated by conservative views.
There are five important aspects of our social justice work:
Direct service
Fundraising (to support our work and those of partnering community organizations)
Education (learning about issues, our role in them, how to effect systemic change)
Advocacy and witness (e.g. through our work with Missouri Faith Voices)
Community-building and deep connection (to sustain ourselves in the work, but also to create the world and kinds of relationships we want to see)
Our identified areas of focus and interest include economic justice, anti-racism, and diversity. We also hope to partner with the Green Sanctuary Team on areas of environmental justice.
To do this important work, we need as many hands on deck as we can gather. Please consider joining our team and one of our subcommittees. The SAT meets on the first Sunday of each month in the Library/Forum Room on the lower level immediately after the 11 a.m. service.
For more information, email new Social Action Team Chair Caya Tanski.
Our Board of Trustees is seeking volunteers to serve on the Audit Committee and the Investments and Endowment Committee.
Audit Committee: If you are looking for a way to serve the church that can be done indoors, takes about two hours a month, is needed every other month, and requires no prior experience, consider joining the Audit Committee. Members of this committee review the church’s financial records bi-monthly and conduct a more in-depth review once a year. Training will be provided. For more information, email Treasurer Patty Daus or board member Elaine Martin.
Investments and Endowment Committee: Volunteers who have experience in finance are preferred for this committee, which meets four times a year to discuss, research and make decisions on how our church can best manage its investments based on our UU principles. For more information, email Treasurer Patty Daus or committee Chair Pam Springsteel.
I am very pleased to introduce to you our next Church Administrator, Suzanne Clark.
Suzanne has recently returned to Columbia after a number of years residing near family in Rochester, NY. She spent the last 15 years working at Temple B’rith Kodesh, a Reform synagogue in Rochester, where she performed administrative duties as assistant executive director. Congregational life and the rewards of working with a community were main motivators for her in applying for the position with us. She is looking forward to meeting everyone and adjusting to a new working environment.
Suzanne will start Monday, Sept. 17, and work with retiring Administrator Kathie Bergman for the next two weeks learning the ropes. Kathie’s official retirement date is Sept. 30, although we are very grateful that she will remain available to Suzanne for a time for any questions that may come up.
Save the date for Sept. 30 after church to celebrate Kathie’s long and wonderful tenure, and get excited to welcome Suzanne warmly among us!
I am excited about the return to our two services. During my first year as Interim Director of Music, I aimed for consistency between the services by having the same music presented at both. That worked well for us, but it became clear to me that the 9 a.m. service involves a certain level of intimacy, and I would like for our musical offerings during that service to be reflective of that.
With the blessing of the Rev. Molly, Arun Garg (your Staff Pianist) and I have developed a new musical program for the 9 a.m. service. We are now shifting our focus to a chamber music offering each week. We will endeavor to enhance your worship experience with music for piano trio (piano, violin, and cello), other instrumental pairings (including voice), and solo instrumentalists as well.
I am hopeful that this new musical focus for the 9 a.m. service will propel our worship experience forward and be a welcome addition to our diverse musical programming. I also welcome instrumentalists in the congregation of whom I am unaware to contact me should you have a desire to play in an upcoming service.
I am very pleased to introduce to you our new Intern Minister, Alexis, who will be working with us part-time for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 church years as a part of her formation as a Unitarian Universalist minister!
I am so excited for us to become a teaching congregation – I know that Alexis and we, the congregation, will learn so much from one another. Alexis will be here on Sunday for our Water Ceremony Ingathering to begin to meet you, and she will begin her work with us the following week. Please join me in giving her a warm UUCC welcome!
Alexis is a candidate with the Unitarian Universalist Association. She is starting her first year of part-time supervised ministry with us and her second year of seminary as a long-distance student at Phillips Theological Seminary, a progressive Disciples of Christ seminary in Tulsa, Okla. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband and their 10-year-old son.
Alexis has experience facilitating worship and small group ministry as a lay leader at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Jefferson City, speaks regularly at the Unitarian Church in Quincy, Ill., and is very grateful for the opportunity to learn from and serve this congregation.
Her introduction to Unitarian Universalism took place more than 10 years ago when she was invited to provide Religious Education for children and youth at the Quincy Unitarian Church while studying to become an English teacher. She knew she was in the right place after reading “Love is the spirit of this church….”
Alexis is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, the Unitarian Universalist Membership Association of Membership Professionals, and attended Midwest Leadership School in 2016.
See you in Church!
Rev. Molly
[Note: Alexis’ last name is not published because of a privacy concern specific to her.]
The Peace Building Team is seeking additional team members. Anyone interested in serving on the team may contact the team’s chair, Caya Tanski-French, by phone at 573-447-2915 or 573-673-3925 or by email.
Dave Gibbons has stepped down as a member of the team because of his travel schedule and family commitments. Current members of the team are:
Our YRUU youth carried our church banner in the banner parade at the opening
session of the UUA General Assembly in Kansas City, Mo. on June 20. In the first part
of this short video, they are seen on their first pass through the convention hall.
After the transition, they are seen on their way out of the hall.
The Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly was held this year from June 20 to 24 in Kansas City, Mo. What is GA? It’s part inspiration and spiritual sustenance. It’s an opportunity to mingle with UUs from all over the country and some other countries and engage in issues important to our UU faith. But also, it’s a time to conduct a lot of the business of the association.
This year there were 2,814 registered attendees, including 134 youth. 522 congregations from all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Mexico were represented by 1,570 delegates, including 199 off-site delegates.
Our voting delegates this year were Rev. Molly, Todd Iveson, Peter Holmes, Gretchen Maune, Connie Ordway, and Steve Scott. About 15 other members of our church also attended all or part of GA, and a number of them served as volunteers performing various tasks to keep the show running, in exchange for which they received free registration for GA. For example, Maria Oropallo and Kathie Bergman staffed an information booth to answer questions from attendees, and Larry Lile assisted with the tech staff that provided audio/video services.
The business of the General Assembly takes place in General Sessions. All registered attendees are welcome at these sessions, but only voting delegates can vote.
At the business sessions there was broad consensus for aggressively challenging the criminalization of migrants, people of color, and indigenous people. Delegates overwhelmingly selected “Undoing Intersectional White Supremacy” as a multiyear Congregational Study/Action Issue.
Delegates also endorsed three Actions of Immediate Witness, which all emphasize the urgency of supporting people of color and indigenous people. The first calls for congregational action to draw attention to predatory medical fees charged to incarcerated people, who are disproportionately people of color; the UUA’s Church of the Larger Fellowship developed the resolution in partnership with its 870 incarcerated members.
A second resolution pledged solidarity with indigenous “water protectors,” who have been fighting the placement of liquid natural gas pipelines near Native American lands and who face federal charges for disrupting construction of the pipelines.
The third resolution demanded immediate action to improve U.S. treatment of asylum seekers and migrant families to keep families together. Among other demands, the resolution advocates the abolition of Immigration Customs Enforcement “and the implementation of a system that understands the causes of migration, provides a non-carceral solution while asylum seekers await a decision on their case, and has a fundamental commitment to keeping families together.”
Delegates also approved a group of bylaw changes to bring the UUA’s governing document up to date with current understandings of gender diversity. A proposal introduced last year to change Unitarian Universalism’s “Second Source” from “words and deeds of prophetic women and men” to “words and deeds of prophetic people” passed easily.
A second bylaws amendment changed all gendered pronouns in the bylaws to the gender-inclusive “they/them/their.”
A third bylaws amendment will allow religious educators who are active members of the Liberal Religious Educators Association to serve as voting delegates at future GAs.
The assembly also approved bylaws changes adding two youth trustees to the 11 at-large trustees on the UUA Board of Trustees; allowing the role of moderator at GA to be filled by more than one person; modifying the length of terms of service on committees; and simplifying the social witness resolutions process.
The primary responsibility of our new Denominational Affairs Team is to act as a liaison between our congregation and both the Unitarian Universalist Association and the MidAmerica Region. The team will:
Meet to discuss issues of denominational concern.
Promote education on UUA General Assembly social justice statements in collaboration with other teams.
Foster an understanding of and commitment to what it means to be a responsible member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Through these efforts, the Denominational Affairs Team will prepare a pool of people in our congregation to be delegates to the General Assembly and regional meetings.
For more information, contact Steve Scott at 573-442-1865 or by email.
The mission of the Member Connect Program is to assist UUCC members and friends in finding their place in our church community through deeper connection, service, and spiritual exploration. To do this a team of connectors is available to have a conversation with every member of the church who is interested. These conversations will give members a chance to reflect on their spiritual journey, their connection with the church, and their level of involvement in church life.
If you would like to participate in a meeting with a connector or would like to volunteer to be a connector, email Peter Holmes or Rosie Geiser.
Rev. Molly lit the new chalice on Jan. 28 from a flame passed from the chalice made by Naoma Powell.
Our observance of the 67th anniversary of our church’s founding at worship services on Jan. 28, 2018 included dedication of a beautiful new metal chalice purchased and given to the church by a member couple.
The late Naoma Powell made the chalice we had been using since 2006 after the congregation’s previous chalice broke, and it was always intended to be temporary. Naoma’s chalice served us long and well, but was showing signs of wear. To protect this beloved artifact, it is being officially “retired” from active duty but will always have a place in our sanctuary and will still be used for special occasions.
The new chalice is larger and will be easier to see from all parts of the sanctuary, in keeping with the needs of our growing congregation. It was dedicated with Naoma’s own January 2006 words of dedication of the chalice now being retired:
Though chalice changes, the flame burns bright. Not holder, not cup but flame that offers light. Flame that lights the darkness. Flame, in its burning, illumines night. Flame, its double halo, bringing light to shadow, warmth to shade. Flame, re-igniting Constant.
Meet the Chalice Artist
Ryan Schmidt
Our new chalice that was dedicated at the Jan. 28 worship services was crafted by Ryan Schmidt, a metal artist based in Cumberland Gap, Tenn.
Ryan owned and managed a motorcycle repair shop in Kansas City before moving to Tennessee in 2015. Shortly after moving he met a neighbor, William Brock, a traditional blacksmith who taught Ryan the art of blacksmithing. Ryan’s passion is creating custom-made functional objects, ornamental ironwork, sculptures, and furniture. He is a member of several professional blacksmithing groups.
When Ryan is not creating art at his shop, Mitty’s Metal Art (https://www.mittysmetalart.com/), he likes to get out and explore the surrounding Appalachian region on his Harley or mountain bike. Ryan is not a UU but is familiar with our denomination through friends.
Late last spring Rev. Molly formed a search team tasked with finding a replacement for our beloved Desi Long upon her retirement. Our immediate need – music for the summer services – was fairly easily met by our “deep bench” of volunteer musicians, for whom we are ALL most grateful!
The longer-term question of how best to minister through music, to both the congregation and the larger community, was far more complex. Rev. Molly has already described much of that initial process of creating an interim period in earlier communications, so we won’t repeat them here. Suffice it to say we were most fortunate to secure Marques J. Ruff as our Interim Director of Music Ministry. It was our hope that Marques could manage the immediate tasks as well as help us articulate a clear vision for UUCC’s music program and better define the skills needed by candidates for a permanent position.
Our committee met recently to discuss what we’ve learned in this first half of the church year and to review the search timeline we’d originally established.
We have already seen a number of changes. Choir rehearsals are longer and performances more frequent. We have benefited from the addition of Arun Garg as our new professional accompanist for the choir and our services. Both the choir and the congregation have had a chance to experience a diverse musical repertoire. The feedback we hear is largely positive, but we still feel there is much more to learn about music and culture in our congregation – what we love, what is uncomfortable, what is possible, and more. We want to fully engage the congregation in this conversation so that we have a more complete understanding of what we are looking for in a permanent director.
It is the consensus of the committee that our original timeline of one program year (about nine months) did not allow sufficient time for securing and reflecting on your input. We feel it is critically important to take the time we need to listen first, then recruit, select, and hire a permanent director that is the right long-term fit for our congregation.
To that end, we must adjust our search timeline. This is also, in part, because our process is being happily interrupted by our minister’s parental leave, from the end of March to mid-June 2018.
Our revised timeline extends the search process through May of 2019. That also means lengthening the interim period, allowing Marques more time to work with the congregation and with the search committee. We are very pleased to share that Marques has agreed to extend his engagement with us through May 2019. As previously stated, the interim director is not eligible to apply for the permanent position. And we are sure that Marques will be off to impressive new adventures when his degree program ends in May of 2019.
Key points in the revised timeline appear below.
Winter/Spring 2018 – Congregational Conversations
Spring/Summer 2018 – Finalize job description
Early Fall 2018 – Post and Advertise Job
Late Fall/Early Winter 2018 – Conduct Interviews
By January 2019 – Make and finalize offer
June 1, 2019 – Permanent Director of Music Ministry begins work
We have tentatively scheduled two congregational conversations to inform our search. One will occur in February and another in March. Our topics will include your present experiences and future dreams for music at UUCC. You’ll receive more detailed information shortly!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any of us.
With all our best,
Kara Braudis
Cande Iveson
Pack Matthews
Neil Minturn
2. Sign in using your normal Amazon username and password.
3. Next you will see a screen with a box on the right asking you to “Select a charity.”
4. In the bottom of that box, where it says “Or pick your own charitable organization,” type “Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia” in the box and click the “Search” button.
5. Next you will see a screen showing our church with the location listed as “Columbia MO,” and there may be other churches listed. Click the “Select” button next to our church’s name.
6. Finally, you will see another screen with a checkbox to indicate that you understand that you must always start at https://smile.amazon.com to support our church. After clicking the checkbox, you can click the “Start Shopping” button which will take you to the main Amazon screen.
A tutorial covering the above steps and including screenshots is available in a printable PDF.
In the future, always start your Amazon shopping at https://smile.amazon.com so that your purchases will benefit UUCC. You will find all the same Amazon products and prices there as regular Amazon.
Tip: If you have set up a bookmark or favorite for Amazon, be sure to change it to the new address.
Finally, don’t forget that you can also donate to UUCC when you do grocery shopping at Schnucks – read more.
UUCC was given an award recognizing our social action work and Rev. Molly’s exemplary leadership in social action – particularly our sanctuary work – at the annual dinner of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks on Saturday evening, Nov. 11, at the Missouri United Methodist Church.
Allie Gassman of our Social Action Team accepted the award on behalf of our church.
Allie said, “It was a great honor to be able to accept the award on behalf of our church – especially in the presence of all the seasoned activists in the room.”
The framed award certificate, shown in the photo below, is on display on the credenza in our Greeting Area.
Please welcome our new Sunday Morning Assistant, April Rodeghero, who began her work with us in October.
April is mother to a seven-year-old and to one-year-old twins. She has worked with MU Adventure Club, Missouri Afterschool Network and the Columbia Housing Authority. Now she works as a postpartum doula, supporting parents in their new roles. She has attended UUCC occasionally in the past year or so.
April will welcome your friendship and your help in the church kitchen – especially on potluck days for setup and cleanup! Please let’s show April our radical welcoming spirit!
Rev. Molly Housh Gordon made the following announcement on Aug. 20, 2017:
Marques Ruff
I am very pleased to introduce to you our new Interim Director of Music Ministry, Marques Jerrell Ruff, who will be working with us for this transitional year beginning Sunday, August 20, 2017.
Marques comes to us fresh off of several years touring as a member of the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer. A graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a degree in music, he is excited to begin his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Mizzou this fall!
A lover of classical, jazz, gospel and show tunes, Marques is also a writer and rather good amateur chef. When not listening to and/or creating music, he can be found enjoying nature, new restaurants, and falling down the hole that is video suggestions on YouTube.
Our search team was especially impressed by Marques’ excellence across an extremely wide variety of musical styles, and we are excited to see how he helps our congregation grow musically, as we dream together about our long-term musical hopes and goals.
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray was selected by delegates as the first elected woman President of the Unitarian Universalist Association at the June 21-25 General Assembly in New Orleans. She had been the lead minister of the UU Congregation of Phoenix, Ariz., where she became well known for her work on behalf of immigrants, since 2008. Read more.
More than 4,000 UUs attended G.A., including some 1,800 delegates from more than 500 UU congregations. UUCC’s delegates were Rev. Molly Housh Gordon, Patty Daus, Tracey Milarsky, Jeanne and Dennis Murphy, and Gena and Steve Scott.
Also attending from UUCC were DRE Jamila Batchelder along with four YRUU members and one 9-year-old. The young people carried our UUCC banner in the banner parade at the opening celebration on June 21. Five of our young people lined up to carry our UUCC banner in the banner parade at the UUA General Assembly. See them in action in the video below.
Our UUCC banner was carried by five of our young people in the banner parade at the Opening Celebration of the UUA General Assembly (G.A.) in New Orleans on June 21, 2017. In this short clip they are seen entering the Great Hall of the New Orleans Convention Center and later proceeding out of the hall.
Read more about the many important actions taken by delegates and the UUA Board of Trustees at G.A.
From left, Erin Osbourne, Jeanne Murphy and Corinne Mann enjoying the new benches.
Members and friends, young and old, have long enjoyed the outdoor spaces behind our building – for peaceful walks, interspecies connections, spiritual regeneration, ceremonies honoring life transitions, and good old fashioned fun. Much has been done by our members to preserve this natural space, to shepherd its good health, and to make it respectfully accessible.
Please feel welcome to explore and enjoy the area behind the church building:
A wide walking trail opens near the west end of the property, just yards away from the asphalt drive and continues to the Memorial Garden on the east side.
Partway down that woodland trail, two new sitting benches are situated on a flat spot among sheltering cedars.
A fire circle with benches can be found between the meadow and the memorial garden.
We are all lucky to have members who are keepers of the woods, and we keepers of the woods are grateful to have woods to keep! While many have helped, special thanks go to Peter Holmes and
Vic Meyer who have worked so consistently in the woods, laying out the trail and fire circle, making benches, and spearheading the ongoing honeysuckle removal.
May we continue to engage with and honor this interspecies home that supports our faith community!
Our Social Action Team sponsors a food collection year-round for the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri.
Donations of canned meats and fish, stews, peanut butter and powdered milk are especially appreciated, but other non-perishable food items are welcome.
Help us to help individuals in need! If you wish to have a receipt for a tax deduction, talk to Suzanne Clark, church administrator.
Hover over the “Programs” menu and select “Schnucks Fundraising” from the drop-down menu.
Click on “eScrip” in number 2 under “How It Works.”
Fill in the form to become registered.
When you come to the choice of charities under “Select your school or nonprofit,” find “Unitarian Universalist-Columbia, Mo” in the drop-down list and click on the box to mark a check.
Then click Update.
That is all! Just keep your user name and password for the Schnuck’s website in case you wish to return to it. UUCC will get a little bonus every time you shop at Schnuck’s and show your My Schnucks card at the checkout.
Our