 Hosted by a variety of Civic Action Groups.
Saturday, November 11 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm At UUCGV. Civic action can be fun! Keep the fires burning. Re-kindle determination. Celebrate with old and new friends. this is the party of the year for all progressive thinking people. Bring your kids, friends and family. We are making a difference. · “A Year of Civic Action” movie · Political trivia competition · Conversation · Music · Activities for kids · Snacks & Beverages Free to attend, not free to put on. There will be a tip jar. Questions? Contact kaylaafuera@gmail.com.  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 our newsletter.
Alive, balancing on the precipice. A monk on the rockface. God’s lightning Rod. Rock climbing has been an integral part of Gary Poush’s life – his extreme escape, his tremendous teacher. When you’re climbing, all focus and attention are on a few square feet of rock. Life (and death) is compressed into nothing but the present moment. The experience of climbing introduces you to flow*(Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). You enter a different state of being where everything flows purely – a heartbeat at a time, outside of time. If only it were easy to maintain the flow, to stay within the beatific state of being when you’re away from the mountain and living modern everyday life – caught up in the crush of humanity. So many distractions. The hope is to become more and more aware so that you realize it for longer stretches of time. Climbing was for Gary more than a sport; it was a lifestyle. Some of his closest friends are from his climbing past, going back into the 70s. Close bonds are formed within the climbing community. You get to know a person’s character when you’re clinging to a sheer vertical cliff and your survival depends upon his or her mindfulness. The need to let go of climbing is Gary’s biggest grudge against aging. Gary was born on February 7, 1947. He was the third of four children. At the age of 7 the Poush family moved from Iowa to Minnesota, where Gary spent most of his formative years. His father was a Nazarene minister. The Nazarenes are a conservative evangelical branch of Christianity. Gary’s social life was built around the church community, and there were few children. It was a weird upbringing, out of step with the rest of culture, separate. He spent a lot of time roaming the immense wetland woods of northern Minnesota, immersed in the natural world. Though climbing would later take it to a deeper level, the woods, and basketball were Gary’s introduction to flow, to getting into “the zone.” Beginning in his early teenage years, there were endless hours with nothing but the basketball and the orange rim in the sky. He loved it. Pushing the ball down to the ground to bring it back to his hand, caressing, weaving, over and over and over the ball finessed downward and bouncing back into his waiting hand, stop and go, running and twirling, lost in a dribbling dance. Grip the ball and point his elbow, extend his arm and let the ball fly skyward, watch it fall through the hoop and into the net, swish. When he finds himself lost in the zone, it is more than sport – it is meditation. And discipline is built through the dedication. The Poush family moved to Wyoming for Gary’s senior year of high school. Gary’s obsession with basketball earned him a scholarship to the University of Wyoming. The college courses expanded his mind and he began to question the beliefs from his upbringing. Studying science, he had to make a choice. The logic of science was impossible to deny. Because of a bad experience with the basketball coach, Gary lost his passion for basketball. After his sophomore year he gave up his full ride scholarship and worked his way through school to finish his zoology degree. During this period he got his first taste of rock climbing – it had an interesting flavor. Gary was drafted into the Army in the 1969 lottery, but wasn’t called up until January 1971. He wanted to be a medic, and because of his zoology degree the Army agreed with him – sort of. He was assigned to the dental Corps and spent most of his time at Fort Knox Kentucky. His experience of the Army was mostly boredom. Yet, all the time on his hands funneled into contemplation. The questioning of college became a searching, a wrestling match with philosophy and religion to find meaning in life. Shortly after Gary got out of the Army, he joined a group of Wyoming climbers on a two month expedition to the Cordillera Blanca (white mountain range) in Peru. The air at 20,000 feet slows everything down and effects your brain in strange ways. When he returned from Peru, Gary settled into the northern Wyoming climbing community near the Big Horns. This remained his home base for years, as a carpenter and a climber. Gary started getting into photography, getting lost in the flow of the shutter and the darkroom. His main focus was large-format black and white landscape photography. He worked his way into a part-time job as an adjunct photography teacher at Sheridan Community College. And then, in 1986 a good friend of Gary’s invited him up to the artist colony for a book reading. She managed the artist colony for the Ucross Foundation, which offered residencies across a wide range of artistic disciplines. At the meeting he met an intriguing woman who was doing a summer writing residency at the colony. Sandy Dorr. And so began Gary’s real life. With the end of summer Sandy returned to the University of Colorado to finish the final year of her graduate degree in creative writing. After graduation she returned to Wyoming, and Gary, and just over a year later Julian was born. Sandy and Gary both won fellowships from the Wyoming Council on the Arts, but they were barely scraping by, and with a newborn... So, they moved to Portland where Gary worked as a superintendent on large commercial building projects. Sandy worked as a freelance writer and taught writing classes at various colleges in the area. And then along came Lilly. The seemingly constant Portland rain began to seem oppressive. Yet, Gary’s gut was trying to tell him there was more to it than the gloomy weather. The real issue was something deeper. (Did you know that science is now affirming the belly as the second brain?) There was an ache at the core of his being. He was craving wide open spaces. He needed the experience of wildness, the real wilderness that is found in the Interior West. Portland is a great city, but it’s still a city, and the wild places nearby are not expansive. Searching, searching for a new place to land the family. Sandy and Gary desired a land with long wild stretches and large horizons; yet, they needed a place that would support their livelihoods, a place where they could play out all of their passions. They visited an old climbing friend of Gary’s and discovered that Grand Junction is a small city; yet, it is a regional hub with the amenities of a much larger city, with a growing niche of artists and writers and outdoor enthusiasts. They leaped and landed in Grand Junction without jobs. Sandy can always rely on freelance writing, and they were hoping to start a business – a contracting business – building custom, energy-efficient and sustainable homes. The business took off and for the most part has kept Gary busier than he’d like. Sandy started teaching writing and poetry classes at the university, and worked toward establishing a vibrant writing community in the Valley – a nonprofit Writers forum – teaching writing and poetry workshops and retreats, enticing well-known visiting authors, getting poetry in the local paper, poetry on buses... The region’s community of talented writers is now creating a hum of energy, a web of collective consciousness... Sometime around Y2K, Sandy and Gary met Shari Daly Miller and she pointed them toward the UUCGV. The kids were the reason they became regulars at the church. The adult RE discussion group brought Gary into a deeper involvement in the congregation. They grew to love the community and over the years have invested a lot of heartfelt energy. If you look closely you’ll see traces of blood, sweat and tears embedded in the UUCGV building (you’ll also hear plenty of joyful laughter if you put your ear to the wall). Gary put his experience in construction to good use, and gave countless hours of his time toward the renovation project. He is also a past president of the UUCGV board. The most valuable lesson Gary has learned while volunteering for the congregation is that each person in leadership brings their own history, each person has their own story to tell, their own ideas on how the church ought to be. He now has a better understanding of what the church is, in all of its variety. He realizes that UUCGV leadership cannot be about any one person’s vision –that perhaps the biggest challenge of leadership is to accommodate and align many different visions. Though Julian and Lilly have been gone for a good long while now, it seems like yesterday. You build your life around the kids, and they move on. Gary’s not sure if he’ll ever completely get used to it. Right now he’s in the process of trying to retire. He’s trying to turn the shack in the backyard into an office with a darkroom. He’s hoping to take up photography again, escape into the shutter. Sandy is currently the writer in residence at HopeWest, working on a collection of poetry. Sandy and Gary are hoping for more time to hit the trails – and the off trail backcountry wilderness. And, now that they are about to enter their second childhoods, they’re hoping to float the river more often and reconnect with their watery Minnesota upbringings. Life goes on... in endless song... On Sunday, October 22, NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) will be offering an “In Our Own Voice” presentation. These presentations change attitudes, assumptions and stereotypes by describing the reality of living with mental illness. People with mental health conditions share their powerful personal stories. Join us after the service at noon in the sanctuary.
 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.
Somewhere back in 1999 friends invited Bill Hilty and his wife to a UU Sunday Service. During the service he witnessed David Miller and Duane Carr, who were delivering the lay sermon together that day, having a friendly intellectual argument, and somewhere in the back recesses of Bill’s mind a crack opened up, and light came pouring in (and Leonard Cohen was somewhere singing). Bill began thinking about subjects he hadn’t considered since college – heavy conceptions and suppositions of philosophy and religion. He realized that he liked these questions sifting through his head – and heart. He realized that he wanted this meaningful substance in his life. Bill’s been a contributing UU member ever since. Bill was born in Ohio. His grandfather was raised as a Mennonite, but he had too many questions and chose the more liberal Congregationalist faith. Grandpa “Ray” went on to become a Congregational minister and founded the Kettering Church of Christ which exists still today in Dayton, Ohio. Bill’s family moved to Boulder, Colorado when he was three years old. He attended Sunday school at the Boulder Congregational Church until “opting out” of confirmation at the age of 13, and he did not get back into church other than for weddings and funerals until he became a Unitarian Universalist 20 years later. Like many involved in UUCGV leadership, Bill shifts positions every two years. He’s almost run the gamut. He is currently serving on the Leadership Development Team. One of Bill’s most memorable leadership experiences was a weeklong trip to the Russell Lockwood leadership retreat, which he undertook to prepare himself for the presidency. (The UUCGV tries to send two congregants a year to Russell Lockwood.) He did more thinking in one week at the leadership retreat than what is required for a semester of college. He learned UU history and what the UU’s are all about; yet, he learned even more about himself. Although not one to apply labels, he discovered that he was a “humanistic religious naturalist with a mystic twist.” Yet Bill’s principle commitment has been to family-- raising three daughters.. It might be more accurate to say that they raised him – to a higher level. He and Jill are blessed with three great kids: Bailey, India, and Maya. He is beyond grateful for the many precious moments he has shared with family, and for being able to participate in his children’s lives. Bill quickly adapted to being the only one in the home with a Y chromosome (including multiple female pets). Bill’s got Jill, his co-conspirator, beautiful wife and loving-life companion, to thank in all of this –the wonderfulness of his daughters, his blessed life. They met at a weekly international student lunch during CU medical school. They had similar interests, so they started hanging out. They’ve been hanging out ever since-- travelling the world with the entire family, like Swiss Family Robinson traversing the wilderness, and worshiping at the Church of the Great Outdoors. Camping and river rafting. Hiking, biking, and jogging are particularly favorite activities. Jill and Bill utilized the couples-matching program and left Colorado to complete their respective medical residencies in the San Francisco Bay area.. When Bill finished his residency in 1997, they moved to Grand Junction. They wanted to stay in Colorado, and the Eastern slope was becoming too congested for their liking. After researching hospitals it was clear that St. Mary’s was the right choice. Over the years the Hiltys have been grateful for this decision. St. Mary’s is a top-notch hospital and Grand Junction is a great place to raise children as well as an excellent fit for their lifestyle. Oh, by the way, Bill is an emergency room doctor. He likes intellectual challenges. One of his challenges is to adeptly adapt to any emergency, or minor complaint, that comes through the automatic sliding doors. The hours are crazy. He rotates from night shift to dayshift and the shifts run over if things are busy. Bill can sleep anywhere, anytime. It’s a good thing he can keep his ever-changing schedule on his smart phone: Jill asks, “When do you work next?” Bill replies, “I don’t know.” Jill – “tomorrow?” Bill – checking his schedule. Bill’s job at St. Mary’s is evolving into more of a leadership, administrative role. He is currently the director of the emergency physicians group, and beginning in 2018 he will be the St. Mary’s medical staff president. Jill is a local family practice physician who performs international volunteer work annually, and “on the side” is manager and shared-owner of a local aesthetic skin care business. September this year, Bill and Jill became empty-nesters. They are in the process of evolving, letting go to find themselves anew, and looking forward to new opportunities. They are finding a new phase, searching for new stories. They’ll have more quiet time together and more just-the-two-of-them adventures. Bill is an eternal optimist; he’s sure he’s got time for one more project. His compassion inspires him to take on projects that he thinks will improve the lives of those around him. His hope to make a difference gives his life meaning and purpose. So, he always seems to be slightly overextended... Life goes on… in endless song…  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.
Shari Daly Miller was born on April 22, 1966. Her dad was a seller of shoes. Her mom was an average 70’s housewife, and helped out with the administrative duties at the Lakewood Congregational church. Granddad was a Congregational minister. As far back as Shari can remember, the family was immersed in the church. When the time came for Shari to start school, mom decided to send her up to the Mountain Open Living School in Evergreen because she was sure that Shari could not sit still in a school chair. It was an hour long bus ride up the mountain from Lakewood (West Denver) every morning. Fortunately for Shari she possesses a prodigious power for sleep. She would awake to an idyllic mountain setting (Evergreen before all of the housing developments). Picture towering Ponderosa Pine whispering in the wind, a creek running through the schoolyard, and granite caves to explore in the foothills… . The bus ride down the mountain was quicker and often joyful – hippie teenagers playing the guitar and singing Crosby, Stills & Nash songs… Shari didn’t study a lot of math. In the fifth grade Shari returned to regular school. It was a culture shock. She did not like it. She was not happy. The middle school years were a struggle. She felt awkward, and doomed. She had red hair and big feet and was skinny as a stick. (Her shoe size did not change after the age of 12.) High school was better. Shari enjoyed art and choir, but the Field Studies Program was the saving grace that carried Shari through to graduate high school. It was an experiential education program with urban, rural, and wilderness units. They did backpacking, rafting, and farming. Shari was encouraged to submit her urban unit portfolio to a large Scholastic Art show. Her portfolio won a scholarship to the University of Denver. The summer after high school Shari got a job delivering flowers. The shop had two delivery vans – she took the deliveries to the north and this other guy took the deliveries to the south. She thought this guy was kind of cute, until one day he took off his hat and these gorgeous ringlets fell down around his shoulders. Oh my! David suddenly became exquisitely interesting. Shortly after the hair revelation the path of the two vans would somehow happen to cross around lunch break. All the flowers! Love, love, love. It wasn’t long before Shari knew that David Miller was “the guy”, the guy she wanted to be her Daly mate and the father to their children. His ‘genes’ fit well and his stride kept time to a rhythm of beautiful philosophies. Shari graduated from DU with a degree in Fine Art in 1988, and they were married a year later. To her surprise, Shari enjoyed college life and time flew by quickly. (During this time David was getting a Philosophy degree from the University of Colorado – Denver campus.) Before Shari knew it she was graduated and looking for fellowship. College was the only time in her life when she didn’t attend church groups. At this time Shari recalled a long past conversation with a youth advisor at the Congregational Church Camps. She had explained to her that she liked the church camp community, but wasn’t too sure about all the Jesus stuff. She replied “That’s all right Shari, you are just a Unitarian.” So Shari stopped by to check out Jefferson Unitarian, and found her spiritual home. David was skeptical and resistant at first, but when he gave it a whirl he fell in love with the place and its open-minded space. He was amazed that he could bring all of his philosophies along with him to church. Shari and David began contemplating a downshift to a smaller town. They sent feelers out to many communities in Colorado. David had been experimenting, working with printing presses and coming to love the beauty of these machines. The first job offer came from Colorado Printing in Grand Junction, so they loaded up the truck and headed our way (though most of us weren’t yet here). After finding a place to unload their stuff, they found a small floundering UU Fellowship. Shari found life lacking without church groups to participate in. She missed the connection to church that she’d had most of her life. She needed community. She needed hugs and handshakes, small-groups and choir to throw her arms around. She needed a place to help nurture her children. She needed to congregate, UU style. Shari brought her contagious enthusiasm into rebuilding the local Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and with the help of the Oswalds, the VanDuesens, the Cummings, and many others, created a vibrant community. Within a few years the defunct UU Fellowship rose from the dead to become an energetic congregation, teeming with young families and a thriving religious education program. A few of Shari’s first UU converts were friends from her homebirth class. Yes, Arlo in utero was responsible for the resurgence of Unitarian Universalism in the Grand Valley! And then Rudy came along a few years later, running around with his nonstop energy to keep everybody hopping! The congregation received the Rising from the Ashes Award from the Mountain Desert District of the UUA. Woohoo! Along the way there have been ups and downs within the congregation. The most uplifting experience for Shari was witnessing the growing support for gay and transgender people. So cool! Shari had a big hand in the transition for us to become an official Welcoming Congregation. And it was wonderful to be involved in hosting the yearly UU Mountain Desert District (members from Texas to Montana) meeting. This was a huge undertaking, especially for a small congregation, but the UUCGV pulled it off with accolades. We rented the Two Rivers Convention Center, and it was filled with a multitude of UU people attending various events taking place over a three-day weekend. In 2009 Shari and David divorced. It was about as amicable as these things can be. The weekends were happy times, spent with her teenagers Arlo and Rudy. Then, the following year Shari and Robert McDonald rediscovered one another in a new way, with an aura of romantic music playing in the background. They linked arms and slid easily into loving, contented cohabitation. And a while later Billie Sage became a roommate, and then Connie Murillo and her boys took up residence in the upstairs apartment. It was a happy rollicking household. And then, suddenly, there was a black hole in the backyard. Connie Murillo passed on, became an unbound big-hearted spirit. And though Nicolai and Cohen are now in good hands, their absence was also strongly felt. Grieving hit the household hard. They are just now beginning to resurface, and learn to dance with Connie’s beatific big-hearted spirit. Connie lives on in their experience of the (sometimes gut-wrenching) beautiful everyday. Church is a big part of Shari’s life. Over the years she’s been enmeshed in UUCGV leadership and an unceasing doer of tasks. Shari is looking forward to the coming school year as the staff coordinator of the children’s Religious Education program. It’s always a joy to see the wee ones running around, the teenagers becoming adults. And with autumn around the corner, be sure to enjoy all the eye-popping flowers, all of the colorful flower art surrounding our building. Shari is the planter and caretaker of the beauty! She also has a hand in the beautification inside the building. Shari is an artist extraordinaire. Throughout her lifetime she’s worked with about every imaginable art form – painting, sculpting, felting, photography, gardening, etc… Shari’s desire is to create and share beauty, to bring beauty into people’s lives. “Open your eyes, look around and recognize the beauty of the world!” Life goes on… in endless song…  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.
John and Ellen left Denver on a November morning, their new travel trailer in tow. Excitement was in the air. It was the beginning of a three month journey throughout the Southwest, searching for a new home, for a place where they could retire and grow old together. They spent some time along the way in public libraries, relaxing and resting up – doing research. They wanted a location with, among other things, jobs, good scenery and recreation; yet, above all else it needed a college and a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. (John and Ellen had met at a 1996 weeklong UU camp in Carbondale. They fell in love the first day. They have been an item ever since.) They headed south toward Walsenburg and Trinidad, then on to Albuquerque, Los Alamos, and onward to the Tucson area, where they celebrated the 2000 New Year. They got married in Sedona along the way. After being fused forever together by the powerful beauty of Sedona, they finally ended up visiting Grand Junction. John and Ellen liked what they found in Grand Junction. They sold their house in Denver and moved to Grand Junction in their camp trailer to begin looking for jobs and a house. They eventually found their place up Unaweep Canyon. It is a gross understatement to say that John Mayo has lived a varied life. His work history alone rivals the length of War and Peace. After graduating with an electrical engineering degree in 1967, he worked for a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. He met his first wife Karen while managing a food co-op in Madison, Wisconsin: they got hitched and moved to Texas. The family was living in a rented farmhouse and John was working as a cooperative education teacher when their two sons were born. In the mid 70’s he started work as the Chief Media Engineer for a college in Dallas; while there he also returned to the university to work on an MFA in broadcasting and film. Then he took a job at the public television station in Dallas where he did research for his thesis, which examined new technologies for television distribution that were then coming about – cable and satellite TV. Because of the contacts he made doing his research, John eventually gained employment working on the main Dallas cable TV system. He moved on as the senior engineer for studios and computer systems for another cable TV company in west Texas. After several years, John and Karen decided to move to eastern Colorado, near the ranch where she was raised. There he was the plant engineer and IT programmer for a vitamin manufacturer. After six years, John moved on as a senior engineer for a medical equipment manufacturer in Denver. A couple years later John and Karen parted ways. Then in ‘99 the medical equipment manufacturer was bought out and John was laid off. So began John and Ellen’s journey toward Grand Junction. After they were settled into their new home in Unaweep Canyon, John was unable to find a suitable engineering job in Grand Junction, so he went back to school at Mesa State College (Colorado Mesa University) to study Environmental Science and Geographic Information Systems. This education led to John’s final job (for pay) as a Hydrologist at the US Geological Survey researching water quality, which involved a lot of data analysis. He worked at the USGS for 10 years. (During this time Ellen was working for the US Fish and Wildlife Service designating endangered plant species.) It takes an uncommonly sharp and elastic mind to navigate and adapt to so many different environments. We are fortunate to have that mind in play for John’s new, far more important position of volunteer employee for the UUCGV. John’s largest undertaking for the congregation was designing and installing the sound and video system during the remodeling of our amazing new building. He and Ann Litke did hard labor installing new wiring throughout the sanctuary ceiling, floor, and sound booth. The sound and video system in the Sanctuary is still evolving. He enjoys this project because it takes him back to the public television days when he was engineering the sound and video for various shows. Engineering a worship service is a lot like putting on a show. John has also worked on many smaller projects as head of the Property Team, of which he is still a member. He is also heading up the Long-Range Planning Team, which is currently mapping out the possibilities for the next five congregational years. Since John retired two years ago he spends more time working on his favorite hobby, as an engineer of a different sort – building a model train layout. But you’ll need to expand your idea of model trains to understand the immensity of the project John is undertaking. It is modeled after the 1950 Denver Rio Grande Railroad in Western Colorado. It has intricate orchards and rivers and an oil refinery, etc. The train is run by a computer. The ongoing project is on his mind wherever he goes. When John and Ellen are out traversing the land in their camp trailer he will see, for instance, a small creek and think “perhaps I could use that in the model”. And when they’re traveling, John and Ellen are always on the look for unique “real” trains to ride. Engineering, construction, history and art are all involved in the project. Not to mention, a gentle loving hand. These are the qualities that John carries with him throughout the moments of his life. John has also been busy helping Ellen dig and plant in the yard. They are planning more trips in their “newer” camp trailer – as long as they can stay one step ahead of the mountain lion that has visited them recently in Unaweep Canyon. Life goes on... in endless song… The yard sale is our second largest fundraiser, and as such, requires a lot of preparation and volunteer commitment. Make sure you sign up in the foyer to help! Regarding donations: Please! Remember that the Yard Sale is a volunteer effort by your fellow congregants. Time and energy are precious. Make sure your donations are clean, not broken, and usable! Donation Drop Off: Donations can be brought to the church starting on Sunday, August 20 after the service. Other times: Monday – Thursday, August 21-24, 9:00-2:00 pm (during office hours). More drop off opportunities will be announced soon. Help us get top dollar for your donations!Members and Friends have the first pick. On Thursday, August 24 from 6:00-9:00 pm, join us for the first peak at the yard sale! Don’t miss this opportunity!   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.
At six or seven months an infant begins to realize that it is a separate being, separate from its mother. It can be heartbreaking for a mother to leave her crying child. The child begins to realize that crying brings her mother back to her. There is separation anxiety for both mother and child. Oh such a delicate dance, balancing the need of the child with the need of the mother. Healthy boundaries facilitate a wholesome balance of connection and separation between mother and child. Push and pull. Give and take. Lessons to last a lifetime. Jana Joramo works as a nurse for the Nurse Family Partnership. She works with low income moms from pregnancy until the infant turns two. Mostly she listens. It is a mindfulness practice, being truly present to another precious being. Fascinating, the various life stories. She channels her energies to help the moms work out their own mothering process. The job can be stressful. The moms that Jana works with often have to deal with difficult factors outside the mother-child relationship. Housing is often an issue and domestic violence is more common than people realize, for instance. Jana has learned the necessity to meet her own needs, to set her own boundaries, so that she doesn’t burn out. The work is gratifying. What can be more important than working to facilitate a prosperous mother-child relationship? Jana has found that humor is the best way to cope. Laughter was a childhood gift from her irreverent family of origin: this is no laughing matter! – ha ha ha! Laughter eases overwhelming emotions and can bring an overheated argument to its knees. It relieves muscle tension, improves your memory, and bolsters your immune system – seriously! Laughter brings it all into the belly and grounds us in the present moment – it is empowering. Improvisational humor as a spiritual practice? Jana says yes! And her perspective has two decades of study and experience to pull from. Improv is humor’s tool. Improv isn’t about trying to be funny: it’s about recognizing the humor in a situation. Ultimately, it points to the absurdity of the human condition and this is its healing force. Every action, every choice in our life carries immense importance; yet, the human condition is absurd when we start to think that we have absolute control. Improv introduces the spirit of mystery; a mysterious spirit spirals into the light. And, Jana asks, “who ever thought of the idea that we can ruin our lives? How have we come to put so much emphasis on this?” You’ve ruined your life! Or, carrying the paralyzing burden of the fear of ruining our lives… There is no such thing as a permanent mess up! When we fall flat on our face, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start another skit. If you’d like to fall flat on your face (and discover the unexpected), join Jana and the gang for amusing enlightenment on Monday nights at the UUCGV. Over the years Jana has been involved in pretty much all of the UUCGV leadership positions, including president (her husband, Lee Joramo, is also a past president). Most of her energies are now flowing into improv and Religious Education. This is why you haven’t seen her around much lately – she’s been relegated to the basement. Ha ha ha! On Sundays Jana congregates with the teens downstairs. She also teaches OWL – holy cow does she teach OWL! This past year she taught adult, high school, and middle school grades 7-9 OWL. OWL or Our Whole Lives is a comprehensive sexual education class that is co-produced by the national Unitarian Universalist Association and the national United Church of Christ. Through the high school RE program, Jana and Lee began to form a close bond with Myca Bryan. Last year she asked to live with them and they gladly opened their arms. She needed a safe and steady-going environment. Jana and Lee think of Myca as their foster child. She is wound around their hearts. She is a ray of sunshine. Myca recently turned 18, and just went through the Bridging Ceremony at the UUCGV. Myca is blossoming. She is acutely insightful, which lends itself well to her talent for actualizing art. Jana, Lee, Kyra, and Myca just took a trip to Chicago, to tour the Chicago Institute of Art. Yes, Myca was accepted to attend the prestigious school, and was offered a large grant. The Joramos are helping search for ways to fill the gap in funding. In case you haven’t heard Jana shouting with joy from the treetops, her grown daughter Kyra has returned to Grand Junction. Her wonderfully wise, gentle and sweet souled Kyra. Compassionate Kyra, so in-tuned to pain in others. The sometimes blunt Jana finds herself softening in her presence. Jana also appreciates how Kyra holds her accountable. “You do realize how you...?” Kyra, Kyra, her beautiful child – Jana is filled to overflowing with gratitude! Yes, Jana is trying to utilize all of her mothering instincts – embracing all aspects of motherhood. Mothering = channeling creative energies. Woman, brave and strong. Life goes on... in endless song…  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.
Walking slowly, intentionally. Mindful of each step, placing her feet carefully upon the path. Aware of her connection to the earth, her connection to all things. Aware of her breath, her connection to air and sky, her connection to everything unseen. Winding slowly around the spiral pathway, immersed in the moment, wholly open to the moment – the holy moment opening to awe. Thankful for each step – beholden. Winding, winding ever inward, to the center, listening to the voices at her innermost core. “Do you trust us,” they say. “Yes,” she answers, “yes I trust you.” Walking the labyrinth is a spiritual practice of choice for Wendy Jones. Reverend Wendy Jones. Our Rev. Wendy. Wendy’s labyrinthine journey to the UUCGV began at the Iliff School of Theology. Or rather, it began when she chose to study theology instead of pursuing a doctorate in psychology or a Masters in social work. While working as a social worker in an assisted living facility, Wendy observed her patients with Alzheimer’s Disease having conversations with people that she could not see. Over time Wendy began to see these conversations more as “mystical experiences” rather than merely as problems that required defining and fixing. “What if” Grace really is talking to her deceased brothers? Wendy concluded that someone willing to ask these questions might find a better fit in theology than in psychology or social work. She decided to enter seminary. During her first year at Iliff, in a role-playing exercise for her pastoral care class, Wendy was randomly paired with a fellow named Cameron Jones. What roles were they playing in this role-playing exercise, you ask? Well, husband and wife of course. And they didn’t talk again for 2 ½ years. Can you believe it? Granted, Cameron was studying Hebrew and Greek and Wendy was working toward a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in pastoral care, so their paths didn’t often cross. Well, when they finally reestablished conversation they soon discovered a deep connection. A couple years later they were living in Rhode Island as husband and wife – Cameron pursuing a law degree and Wendy working as the Director of Spiritual Services for the John Clark Retirement Center. Wendy was to be the first woman ordained at the historic Channing Memorial Church. A van carried some of the retirement center residents to her ordination. Wendy treasured her work at the retirement center. She loved the residents. Rhode Island was wonderful. Yet… Colorado was calling. Wendy and Cameron wanted to have kids and they knew they wanted to raise them in Colorado; so, Cameron took the bar exam in Colorado and began looking for employment opportunities. He was offered a job as a research attorney assisting the judges in Mesa County. They thought it over and liked the possibilities offered by the Hub of the Western Slope. Nathaniel was soon born, and not long after Danielle was born. The family began to settle into Grand Junction. Wendy applied for the ministerial position at the UUCGV. She was not chosen as minister; yet was later asked to fill the vacant director of religious education position. Wendy was our DRE for several years. Meanwhile, Wendy and Dee Jaquet co-founded the Rocky Mountain Center for Spiritual caregivers – an accredited interfaith chaplaincy training program – providing the Western Slope with quality chaplains. Cameron introduced Dee to Wendy. He ran into Dee at his place of worship, the Greek Orthodox Church. (Dee is a rarefied feminist Greek Orthodox.) Wendy was slowly and quietly becoming known within the spiritual community of the Grand Valley. She considers this time in her life a true blessing. It allowed her to balance her work with raising two small children, while keeping her toes in the ministry world. While walking the labyrinth at the First Congregational Church, on her 40th birthday, Wendy had a life altering experience. She was overcome, feeling the presence of her beloved former Alzheimer’s residents walking with her. She felt a profound sense of love and safety surrounding her. When she centered, the voices at her innermost core spoke of a challenging year ahead, a transformative year. “Do you trust us?” they asked. “Yes I trust you,” she said, standing in the heart of the labyrinth. Three months later Wendy was sitting in the waiting room at St. Mary’s Pavilion waiting for the biopsy procedure that would confirm what she already knew in her heart was true. She was about to be diagnosed with cancer. And yet, she knew that everything was going to be all right because of the profound sense of trust that the labyrinth had given her. Wendy will forever be immensely grateful for the loving care that her UUCGV family provided her and her family during the six months of surgery, chemo and rehabilitation. Two years after her cancer diagnosis Wendy was installed as the “called minister” of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley. The UUCGV community is flourishing. We are holding the hearts of all within, and reaching out to the greater community, standing on the side of love. Wendy has helped us build a space within our walls where everyone is encouraged to live into their fullest potential, a welcoming space where people are encouraged to bring their true self. Wendy loves connecting with people where they really are, not where they were or where think they should be. Wendy’s current word for her own spiritual self-work is “integration”. She is working on a seamless transition between her various roles – individual, minister, family life, etc. She wears a lot of hats – she wants to drop all the hats and “simply be”. Life goes on... in endless song...Revelations Save the date! Friday, May 5 at 7:00 pm, join us in celebrating our wonderful musicians with a music fundraiser concert!
Save this date too! Sunday, May 7 we will have a World Music Service at 10:30 am. |
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