When: Fri. June 10, 5:00 pm
Where: Holy Family School (786 26 1/2 Road)
Why: Fight against cancer, support our survivors and those facing cancer right now
 **If you would like to purchase a luminary bag to decorate ahead of time please contact Rev. Wendy or Mallory in the office. Bags are $5.00 and we invite you to "pay a bag forward" for those people who would like to honor their loved ones but might not have the financial resources to contribute. 
     This is a great way to spend time with our UUCGV family. Plan to camp out with us and spend the night, or join us for a few hours. Rev. Wendy will be creating the luminaria ceremony this year, and Robintix Perryman will be leading a drumming circle around midnight. 
     If you would like to join our team or make a contribution please google "Relay for Life Mesa County" and it will direct you to our page. Our team name is: UU's of the Grand Valley.

This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us every month.
 
     It is the day of the Rainbow Prom. Mallory is hanging out at the Confluence Collective with her good friend Eric. She is excited about attending the Prom even though Eric cannot accompany her as planned. She’s trying to fix her dress, which a friend recently rescued from a dumpster. It is a fabulous dress! But the zipper is broken.
     People are constantly stopping by the Collective. Today a fellow named Gerald is hanging around. (Mallory has run into Gerald a couple times previously, yet knows little about him.) Gerald is listening to Eric and Mallory lament over the fate of the fabulous dress. He crosses the room to offer his services.
     You see, it turns out that Gerald once wanted to become a clothing designer, and for a while studied fashion design in school. It turns out that he has a sewing machine in his car. Actually, literally, unbelievably so!
     The thread spins from the spool onto the dress spinning, the room spinning, the earth spinning, the universe spinning. In the process of fixing her dress, Mallory finds a date to the Rainbow Prom, a soulmate, a family, the father of her child, and her soon-to-be husband. Love makes Mallory’s world go ‘round.
     Yes, Mallory is succumbing to the institution of marriage. On Saturday, July 23, 2016, Mallory Pam Rice and Gerald Alan Martinez will tie the knot. Yet, when Mallory met Gerald, she fell in love with the whole family. For Mallory and Gerald, the wedding ceremony is an announcement of the union of a family. They want everyone to know that there is a synthesis between them – Mallory, Gerald, Kiyah, Isabelle and Audrey. They have banded together and they are all in cahoots.
     Turning, turning, turning, you just never know how things are going to turn out. You see, it turns out the fateful, fabulous dress also played a role in shaping the UUCGV. When Mallory was originally hired in March 2011, it was with the understanding that she would work for only a year before leaving to attend graduate school. The UUCGV says thank you Gerald, for being so irresistible!
     Mallory described her role as administrator during the first year working for our congregation, as that of a “church mouse.” She sat back in her hole (recall her tiny, dark, back corner office at the Grand Ave. location) and prepared the Order of Service, sent out the weekly email, checked email and answered the phone; but, the phone rarely rang. Other than by Rev. Zakir, she was rarely seen.
     Mallory’s role in the congregation has expanded greatly over the years. Luckily, Mallory has a degree in anthropology (Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, primary in Anthropology, secondary in Sociology, with a minor in Mass Communications). It takes mad skills to figure out the ways of an unusual UU tribe. Have you noticed that the congregation has gradually been running more and more smoothly over the last several years? Well, Mallory has a hand in that. Indeed, she has more hands than the Hindu goddess Durga.
     When people drop in, Mallory is the first face people see in our congregation. It is a kind and joyful face. She is a people person, and can genuinely speak of us with enthusiasm. Like many UU’s, she’s been a UU at heart for a long time yet didn’t know it until she found the UUCGV. You see, she loves the UUCGV, its transformative community, and its transforming building and grounds.
     Mallory’s office is spacious and full of light. On most days a look around will tell you that she’s comfortable with a little chaos. She is the first responder on a consistently ringing telephone – it could be someone in crisis, someone asking for more information about the congregation or someone wanting to know if the improv class has been canceled because of the snow. She’s an expert hugger and a compassionate listener, and ministers to congregants as well as people off the street.
     Several years back Mallory did a four month ethnographic study on homeless women. After spending countless hours living with them, walking in their shoes in a very deep way, these women captured her heart, and she knew she had to do something. Since then, helping homeless people has been a passion for Mallory.
     Mallory organizes anything and everything. She’s a leader of projects and a taker of notes and a sedative to nerves on edge. She pays bills, sets appointments with inspectors and shows people how to use the elevator. She designs the newsletter and has the dirty job of telling people that their articles are too long. Yet she enjoys her job. She has wonderful coworkers. She and Rev. Wendy spend so much time together that they seem to be beginning to read one another’s mind. Yes, Mallory’s to-do list goes on and on.
     And life goes on...  in endless song...
Learn more about Colorado West Pride Fest at www.coloradowestpride.org. Events are May 5-8. We will march in the parade on May 8 as a congregation.

A column by Monte High
 
      The first name to come out of Monte’s hat is Floyd Joramo. Here’s a Polaroid snapshot.
      Floyd started attending UU services in 2000, shortly after the congregation had moved into its first established home, a rental space on Mesa state college, at 1060 North Avenue. Dr. Sandra Lee was the minister at that time. In 2001 he signed the book and became an official member of the Uncompahgre Unitarian Universalist Society. Later that month he decided to attend a Board meeting to find out more about his new congregation. It turned out that they needed a treasurer. He thought it over and volunteered on the spot; after all, he had considerable experience with balancing budgets. They handed him an unbalanced checkbook and wished him good luck. Welcome to the Board Floyd. A few months later he was putting on the congregation’s first Auction fundraiser.
This became a theme for Floyd: see a need, fill it. Yet he chose roles that were a good fit for him. The more he got involved, the more he came to love the UU community; the more he loved the UU community, the more he got involved. What drew him to Unitarian Universalism was its openness and acceptance of all religions. The 7 principles seemed to say all that needed to be said. It seemed to be a good fit for his family. Floyd was raised Lutheran, and Tamara, his wife, Jewish. UUCGV has, for Floyd, become a community that provides a grounded sense of belonging.
Floyd has been heavily involved with stewardship and the auction each year since joining the congregation. He’s been the treasurer of the board, the one and only volunteer coordinator, and a member of the infamous Men’s Cooking Group. It was at Floyd’s house, during a Men’s Cooking auction dinner, that the term “hot oil” was coined. If you haven’t yet heard “hot oil” shouted from the back of the room, followed by laughter, keep your ears open and wait for it. It is a joke that never grows old.
For a period of about a year in 2013/14 Floyd came close to losing his mind (he was possessed by a UU demon?). At the time the congregation was lay-led and trying to determine which leadership structure would work best, including whether we needed a minister. (Ultimately, the congregation embraced the idea that we needed both a strong lay-led and ministerial presence.) UUCGV was also in the process of purchasing, designing and remodeling a new building. During this time Floyd attended meetings for the Leadership Development Team, the Board, the newly forming TLC (The Leadership Circle), the lay-led Team, the Auction Team, the Stewardship Team and the Building Team. For a few months he attended 4 UUCGV meetings a week.
And then the remodeling project began – and Floyd took on the equivalent of a full-time job, for 8 months. There were many 8 to 10 hour days. He logged over 850 volunteer hours! Needless to say, Floyd has a great affinity for the 536 Ouray building. He still gets a little choked up when he enters the building – when he looks around, there isn’t a place that he hasn’t touched.
Floyd has taken off the past year – what a slacker! It is his first year without having a role in church leadership since he became a member in 2001.
I have known Floyd for about 10 years now. He is very kind, yes. He is very intelligent, yes. Yet most of all when I think of Floyd, I think of a very hard worker – determined. Over the years I’ve been to a few meetings with him. I’ve learned that if you want to get stuff done, get Floyd involved. He’s good at getting stuff done. He’s also good at sitting around and talking about getting stuff done, which is a UU stanchion [it’s what UU’s have for breakfast] – committee meetings.
During the interview, when I told Floyd that I was amazed at his tireless energy, his hard work, he said, “it’s the Norwegian.” Floyd began school as a 5-year-old in a one room school in North Dakota. His mother was the one-room teacher. His father was a farmer.
After 2 years at the University of Minnesota, Floyd started Navy flight training at the age of 19. He traveled around the country performing with a Navy drill team.
1962 was a momentous year for Floyd. He was stationed in Hawaii, flying Cold War radar surveillance missions. He met Tamara, and a short time later mailed her a six page proposal letter from Midway Island. He flew radar coverage for the one and only live A-bomb shot from a submarine, from just off South America over 1000 miles to just east of Christmas Island. From a distance 25 miles, he witnessed two A-bombs dropped from B-52s at 35,000 feet onto the edge of Christmas Island. On July 10, 1962 Floyd Maynard Joramo married Tamara Gene Kaufman. Floyd was 23, Tamara 21. Madly in love, Floyd and Tamara took off on a 6 week road-trip honeymoon across the Western and Midwestern United States of America.
At the age of 25 Floyd became a pilot for United Airlines. Three years later Lee was born, and Kim followed two years later. Tamara and Floyd raised the family in Southern California.
Floyd retired from United Airlines after 31 years. Since 1991 he’s run a horse boarding facility on Orchard Mesa. He and Tamara have one grandchild, Kylie, Kim’s daughter. Life goes on... in endless song...

My name is Monte High. I hope to interview a UUCGV member every month for an article in the newsletter. I’m going to call the column “Revelation” (as in The UUCGV book of Revelation). I decided to kick it off with an article on our new building. I interviewed 536 Ouray this month, and well, to be honest the building rambled on and was perhaps a bit overly sentimental. Yet, nevertheless, I’ve copied the response verbatim.
 
536 Ouray
 
I was born in 1977, so that makes me what, 38 or 39 years old? It seems like longer, with all the multitudes of people coming inside over the years, scurrying around and doing their business.
It all started with the Mesa County Teacher’s federal credit union, then the Western Rockies federal credit union moved in, then the Rio Grande federal credit union, then the Mesa County Library, and finally the strange folk of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley. As you can see, it’s been quite a whirlwind. It’s hard to wrap my mind around all the comings and goings. But I get the sense that it’s all just getting started, the mindful bustling and inspired happenings.
Some would say that I began as a house of greed, hankering after gold and the power that it brings. I suppose there’s some truth to this; yet, I prefer to think of all the teachers and their retirement pensions, all the small businesses, all the families in their new houses, and the cars getting people to work and play. I like to think I’ve got a lot of backbone.
Because my beginnings were in banking, my spine is about as sturdy as it gets –a vault, with 2 ½ foot thick walls made of concrete and steel rebar, extends the entire height  from basement to roof.
Then I became a house of knowledge. The library used me for office and storage space. They even put in a huge conveyor belt to haul books up and down from the basement. They began feeding me books, books of many flavors – delicious. The drive-up teller window went unused, yet remained as an oddity on the side of the building. The gold in the vault was replaced with junk hoping to one day be of use.
And then I began to hear rumors of a people searching far and wide throughout the city for a place to call their own. Their emissaries entered my walls, whispering, “it has a good foundation… I think we can make it work… If we tear down that wall, and this wall, and those walls… we could make a space big enough for the sanctuary…”.
They call themselves Unitarian Universalists. They took their vision and made it a practice. Building a spiritual home.
The demolition began. They knocked down my walls. They broke up concrete. They hauled out the rubble wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. I’ve never felt so loved. They removed the 2 impossibly heavy steel vault doors; they removed the drive-up teller window; they removed the conveyor belt system (what to do with the hole in the middle of the floor?!). They salvaged everything that could possibly be reused.
And then they built me up. Created a welcoming space. Made me beautiful.
They gave me a glorious sanctuary, a fun and inviting religious education space, a kitchen, new bathrooms, a ramped-up altar/stage, a new lighting system, a sound and projector system, new plumbing and wiring, a grand piano, plants and paintings, and a lift to assure that the basement is accessible to all. An outdoor play area for the kids is in sight. The list goes on and on, in endless song. 
It was a labor of love. Into my renovation these devoted people poured their blood sweat and tears. It was dirty, difficult and sometimes dangerous work. They gave up hours, days, weeks and months of their lives. What a wondrous sacrifice for me, for their new home, for their beloved community! I cannot thank them enough!
And now. Now. What to make of this precious now? Someone pinch me, to see if I’m dreaming? I am filled with a vibrant energy; my walls vibrate with a burgeoning, gracefully wild love: children playing, profound silent meditation, worship services, hugs and handshakes, justice work, sewing and knitting, choir, an improvisational acting group, discussion groups, support groups, a domestic violence action team, mindfulness, theater, concerts, town hall meetings, chanting, drumming, RE for children and adults, singing and dancing, sacred silence, and Our Whole Lives. The list goes on and on, in endless song.
These beautifully strange Unitarian Universalists have got me feeling all tingly inside.  They are a principled lot, and they’ll greet you with open arms. To all who enter my doors, they proclaim: We welcome you here… If you come here with an open mind, a loving heart, and willing hands, you are welcome here!  All are encouraged to be their authentic selves. How fortunate I am that these fine folk have found me. I am found! I am filled with such an immense sense of gratitude that it’s a wonder all my doors haven’t blown off.
Please excuse my weeping, I find myself suddenly overcome with joy.

This program is quite important to the Valley, and you all helped! Gargantuan  thank you to Robert McDonald for being the coordinator. He was here EVERY DAY FOR 15 DAYS!

​Many hands make light work!
 
Spring clean up days will occur in March, one for indoors (March 5th) and one for outdoors (March 19), from 10 am to 2 pm. This year we are going to sign people up for specific projects ahead of time. We know that all our volunteers will be working hard during the homeless stay, so we will be spreading the duties around to make it easier for everyone to participate! Sign up at church or by calling the office.

Monday, February 8th, 2016
Leaders from ten Grand Junction agencies will describe how their organizations provide “Help for the Homeless” at a League of Women Voters’ public meeting Monday, February 8th at 7 pm at UUCGV. A social at 6:30 will precede the program.
Panelists include; Dustin Bovee, Community Resource Unit of GJPD, Bennett Boeschenstein, Grand Junction City Councilman, Kathy Haller, School District 51, Sherry Cole, Grand Valley Peace and Justice, and Joyce Jade, Executive Director of Homeward Bound. Julie Mamo will facilitate.
 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1737526059813708/

​Many hands make light work!
 
Spring clean up days will occur in March, one for indoors (March 5th?) and one for outdoors (March 19?). This year we are going to sign people up for specific projects ahead of time. We know that all our volunteers will be working hard during the homeless stay, so we will be spreading the duties around to make it easier for everyone to participate! Sign up at church or by calling the office.
 

This will be an exciting and inspiring evening hosted by UUCGV, First Congregational Church, and Western Colorado Congress February 16, 2016 at First Congregational Church (at 1425 N. 5th St, across from Grand Junction High School).
     The evening will begin at 5:30 with dinner and the program will go from 6-8:30.  We will be looking at the spiritual/philosophical aspects of faith communities coming together with some practical guidelines of how to implement and make it happen.  
Organizing: What the $@%* is Organizing?
1. Convening - who's in the room and why are we here (30 minutes)? What's calling us here? Do we feel like something is missing in our mission work?
2. Extended Reflection - The world we live in and the world we want to live in (40 minutes). Community organizing is the bridge between these worlds.
3. Approaches to Fight Injustice (60 minutes). Understanding distinctions in service/advocacy/organizing approaches and how can these work together?
4. Where Do We Go From Here? (10 minutes) Next steps.
5. Eval (10 minutes) Just how awesome was tonight? Thinking/feeling/doing. This evening is open to anybody who has a passion for bringing our faith communities together in an organized and justice centered way.

     The article below was written by, and, posted on Facebook, by Kenny Wiley, a black man, a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, and a Director of Faith Formation at Prairie UU outside of Denver. 

I need my Unitarian Universalist faith family to read this post.
     I feel icky writing that--like, you can make your own decisions, right? But what happened this weekend, in terms of our racial justice hopes and dreams as a faith, is that important.
     I served as an advisor at the MLK youth con in Denver over the weekend. The 75ish youth, who spent the weekend engaging in racial justice work, asked: Would we stick with the traditional Marade route, 15,000ish strong, or would we take some risks and join the hundreds planning to "#ReclaimMLK" on an alternate route?
     Those who work with youth can especially imagine how many questions such a dilemma brought up. The logistics and back-and-forths, while important, are not the point here. 
     In the course of the community discussing whether--and how--to participate in the civil disobedience, some of our youth of color felt frustrated and dismissed in the large group conversation, both by white youth and white adult advisors. One UU youth of color spoke their disappointment, people clapped and thanked them for speaking, and then the group moved on. As tears began flowing, it was clear something needed to be done.
     In general I consider myself a decent, but not great, religious educator. I like my job at Prairie UU--our congregation SHOWED UP at the Marade Monday, by the way--but I'm more known for my work with UU World.  The fact that I was in the room--and that two other religious professionals of color were also in the space--made a HUGE difference.
     Though there were only a dozen(ish) people of color in the room out of 90-something, I decided to take a risk and ask the youth of color if they wanted to caucus to have a safer space in which to talk.
     I call it a risk because 15-year-old me never would have accepted. Hole up with other black & brown folks away from everyone else? Um, no. But I asked anyway because 16-year-old me would've wanted to say yes.
17-year-old Texan UU me had but one advisor of color around (and his attendance was erratic due to work) and needed a mentor who looked like me.
     The youth of color said yes to the caucus, and said yes to themselves.
     What they decided is important, but again, not the point here. Over the course of a night--with guest appearances from Black Lives Matter, activists who happened to be in the building, and who gave their time to youth they didn't know from a faith they don't share the night before some huge, risky actions… the UU youth of color went from "Wait, we can caucus?" to "Yeah, UU advisors of color and BLM folks, thanks, but we got this." 
     IN ONE NIGHT.
     They do "got this."
     White UU friends, when we talk about making our faith more diverse and our staffs more diverse, it's not just about you. It's about our youth of color who often grow up in white friend groups and sometimes in white families. It's about the fact that the MDD adult staff who serve youth has some INCREDIBLE white folks on it, but the three of us folks of color, with our own journeys of pain and training and discovery, were the ones who made the call to help the youth of color center themselves.
     The youth of color, as they found and wielded their power, helped lead our community into a powerful space that honored where folks are on their journeys. Those ready to join the front lines and sing, "Which side are you on?" got to sing. Those who needed to be with the main march got to be--and in the end, we all sang, "Eyes on the Prize," and others, together, because of those YoC.
     The youth of color spoke truth to white adults who needed to hear it, those who have incredible souls and hearts and still, at key times, can get in the way.
     Friends, this work is not hypothetical. It is not abstract. The work of UU religious professionals of color sometimes goes un(der)appreciated, and sometimes gets overpraised out of guilt. But make no mistake: we matter. When you think of "who we are" as UUs, you better not forget us.
     UUs of color make concessions every Sunday, and on some weeknights, as well. I am in this faith because it is home, theologically and otherwise. If you are white and UU and reading this, I consider you my family, micro/macroaggressions and all. That room of youth and adults of color, mostly UUs...that was home. That's my ministry, even as I gladly serve the larger faith. 
     (Adults of Color): We need to be in the damn room.
Every UU reading this: I love you. 
UUs-and-other folks of color: I need you to survive.
(andmaybeshareifyouwannna)
Kenny Wiley