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| by,
Sue Polgar |
Mount Diablo
Congregation Announces Their New Settled Ministers 
The members of Mt. Diablo UU Church in Walnut Creek are in celebration after calling the Reverend David and the Reverend Leslie Takahashi Morris as co-ministers. David and Leslie, who now serve the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist in Charlottesville, VA, accepted the call. "We have felt a deep connection to the congregation since our first conversation with the search committee," Leslie said. "Our visit in April confirmed the warmth and vitality we sensed in this church," David added. David and Leslie both came into the ministry as second careers, with rich experience in UU congregational life. They have been active at the UUA, and share a passion for racial justice and UU evangelism. During their years in Charlottesville (David was called in 2001 and Leslie was called as co-minister in 2005), the congregation increased by a third through dynamic programming and staffing. They will be arriving in August with their 8-year-old son Liam and their daughter Garner who is a student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Leslie and David look forward to welcoming Minister Emeritus, the Reverend Dave Sammons, following his return to Mount Diablo in 2009. Meanwhile, the congregation is planning a warm send-off in June for the Reverend Diane Miller, who is heading to Massachusetts following her successful two-year interim ministry in California. | |||||
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UULMCA Working for
Water Justice 
Here's a really exciting opportunity for your congregation to support an amazing experience for one of your young adult members, ages 18-25. Our UU Legislative Ministry of CA and the Pacific Southwest District are organizing a Road Trip for 24 young adults and six staff members to study water justice issues. One van will drive up to Sacramento from southern California, and two vans will leave from there for a life-changing adventure, August 2-10. The group will study the effects of climate change and social policy on our water supply, from the base of Mount Shasta at the headwaters of the Sacramento River, to Tulare County where rural communities have no access to safe drinking water. There will also be time for worship, river rafting, music, and community building. Your congregation can help sponsor one or more young adults to be a part of this. The cost is $460 per person, and a congregational donation of $75 will be matched by the UULMCA. The fee will cover transportation, lodging, meals, insurance, professional guided rafting on the American River. Space is limited! For more information, see their web site, or contact the Reverend Lindi Ramsden, (916) 441-0018, x 202, or PSWD Program Consultant Tera Little (626) 840-5412. | ||||||
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Congratulations to Bob and Harriet Stephens who received the first ever Eco Hero Award from the Green Sanctuary Committee of our Sierra Foothills congregation, in recognition for their work on behalf of the Auburn State Recreation Area. The two have constructed and maintained hikers' trails for many years, installing benches, clearing overgrowth, and carting away trash. The UU Ministry for Earth invites all congregations to celebrate those members who have taken action on behalf of life on earth. Read more about it all on their website. A most generous member of our Berkeley Church is offering to donate her Hammond spinet organ to a good home. This might also be a great opportunity for one of our smaller congregations. If you can travel to her home to get it, contact Lucy Scott at (510) 525-1586. (Thanks, Lucy!) A spiritual retreat for free thinking kids! Our Fresno congregation is offering a week long summer day camp for kids and teens June 23-27. They will be celebrating the most important story of all, the story of everything! Youth and kids will enjoy an evolutionary based exploration of the beauty of universe. Applications are available at www.uufresno.org. Contact DRE Aubree Smith, (559) 322-6146, for a copy of their wonderful brochure. The statue of Thomas Starr King that has been in the collection of the National Statuary Hall since 1931 is once again in the news. Sadly, it is still scheduled to return to California, and replaced with a statue of Ronald Reagan. The Sacramento Bee, and numerous other newspapers around the country, is reporting on a group of conservative preachers who are organizing to challenge the IRS restrictions on political endorsements from the pulpit. The American Council on Gift Annuities is lowering the rates for charitable gift annuities established after June 30, 2008. If you have been thinking about a Charitable Gift Annuity with the UUA, now is the time to get started and lock in the current higher rate. Gift annuities are simple to put into place and can be funded with cash, securities, and even real estate. You may choose to arrange a deferred or flexible gift annuity, which will secure the current rate and give you options about when you would like to start receiving annuity payments. The UUA's Umbrella Giving Program enables you to designate your gift annuity beneficiaries as your congregation, other Unitarian Universalist entities, the UUA or a combination of these up to 100%, all managed at no cost to you. To learn more about charitable gift annuities and other gift planning options, please contact the Office of Legacy Gifts at 888-792-5885. Also, check out the online resource library that includes digital brochures and flyers. Our UUA Trustee, Linda Laskowski, has a series of postings about the April UUA Board meeting on her blog, UUA View from Berkeley. They include links to Bill Sinkford's report to the Board, updates on relief efforts for the Gulf Coast, and the latest conversations about our ministry to and with youth. | ||||||
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