“Living with Integrity, Nurturing Wonder, Inspiring Action”

aleidoscopeKFebruary 2015 The Monthly Newsletter of the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, CA Editor: Lesley Champlin

Our Theme for This Month is LOVE

Worship Services for February — 9:15 am & 11:00 am

February 1

The Sabbath of Song

USSB Chancel Choir and Congregation B’nai B’rith Choir

will sing

After the Egyptian army had been lost in the sea, Moses stopped and led his people in song, and the prophet Miriam danced. In a world of trouble, why take time to stop and sing and dance? Our choir joins with B’nai B’rith to sing at both congregations this weekend.

It is also a New Member Sunday!

February 8Worship Hosts: Ken Ralph &

Michael Guinn

The Gospel of Love

USSB Chancel Choir will sing

Love. Probably the biggest, most wonderful and important word in the world. Chances are, we use and feel some version of it every day. But what exactly does it mean? Is it too big or too simple to grasp? Come join Michael Guinn and Ken Ralph Sunday Feb 8, as we explore the Gospel of Love. Oh, and there just might be some singing too!

February 15

The first part of the title is of course that of W.E.B. DuBois’ great book, published in 1903. In an accompany-ing statement, he wrote that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” We made some progress mid-century, but the color line is now the problem of the twenty-first century too. The legacy of slavery and the attitude of white superiority still poisons our politics and our peace. What to do?

Reverend Lee Bond-Upson

The Souls of Black Folk (and White Folk)

USSB Women’s Chorale will sing

February 22Reverend Julia Hamilton

This Sunday, we honor the membership of this congregation, recognizing all the years of love and service that you have invested in the Unitarian Society. What endures, and what changes over time? Who are “we,” and how do we expand that circle while maintaining a clarity of purpose for our community?

Heritage Sunday: The Transient and the Permanent

USSB Chancel Choir will sing

Reverend Julia HamiltonSpecial guests: Cantor Mark Childs and the

B’nai B’rith Choir

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Who Are the USSB Stewards?

Each year the Stewardship Campaign works with our ministers and staff to lift up the value of the Unitarian Society and to bring us the information we each need to find the right level of giving for the coming year. It is not just about money. They nurture our precious spirit of generosity. Our collective pledges allow us to plan what we can be and do as a community. Susie DuPont assumed leadership of this campaign for 2014-2015, leading a group of more than 50 volunteers who lent their creativity to every aspect of the campaign. Director of Administration Erin Wilson and Rev. Julia Hamilton played significant roles in the campaign.

Your Committees at WorkThe Planned Giving Committee supports our

members in making gifts to USSB from their estates or in giving living legacy gifts to USSB. Through the work of Planned Giving more than 60 members are currently in our Chalice Circle of planned givers. The co-chairs of the Planned Giving Committee are Gary Welterlen and John Warnock. John will be stepping down from his position after more than a year of service.

The Endowment Committee is entrusted with the care of our Endowment funds, which have been donated by members as part of their estates or as living bequests, plus the returns earned by these funds. Our funds have done very well under their care and now stand at over $1.4 million. Dis-tributions from the funds make up a portion of our budget. The Endowment Committee members are Ted Stern (Chair), Jeff Carmody, John Gilbert, and Melinda Staveley, Board Treasurer, with Carol Schwyzer, Board President, Erin Wilson, and Cindy Young, Bookkeeper.

The Stewardship Visioning Committee serves as a think tank. This group has been meeting since February 2013, thinking and planning how best to care for USSB financially and how best to approach the need for financial support from our members. The initial team included three board members, Susie DuPont, Ken Ralph, and Melinda Staveley, as well as Craig Bennett and John Warnock, meeting with Rev. Julia Hamilton, Rev. Lee Bond-Upson, and Erin Wilson. As a result of their work, we are renewing the way we think about and carry out our stewardship campaign.

The stewardship campaign this year promises to be fun and effective. At this time, Susie DuPont is stepping down as chair of the Stewardship Vision-ing Committee, but will remain on the team. Su-sie also serves on the Board of Trustees. Current members of the Stewardship Visioning Team are Eileen Bunning, Gun Dukes, Susie DuPont, Ben Schroeder, Keith Strohmaier, and Gary Welterlen,

The Finance Committee assists the board in its financial stewardship of USSB. This year the members of the committee are Melinda Staveley (co-chair), John Chere (co-chair), Anita Blume, Caroline Chamberlin, Linda Liker, Patricia Reilly, Steve Young, with Ministers Lee Bond-Upson and Julia Hamilton, Carol Schwyzer, Erin Wilson, and Cindy Young.

These capable people are more than stewards—they are our friends. If you are one of them, we thank you! If you see one of them, thank them, and ask them what you can do to help. the Board of Trustees

Poetry Cafe Returns Saturday February 7 !Back by popular demand, the Poetry Café will open in Parish Hall Saturday, February 7 at 6:30 pm (sign up to read); the readings begin at 7:00 pm. Share your original poems, short essays; perform your original music and lyrics! Snacks will be provided! Donations will be accepted to benefit our spring youth project and travel. For further information please call or email Laurie Potter 569-0802 or lauriepotter@verizon.net

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Domestic Violence Solutions Thanks the Congregation

Volunteer of the Month — Linda Liker

When people retire they often find time on their hands and desire in their hearts to vol-unteer in the community to help those in need. When Linda Liker retired from her comptroller positions with several local non-profits, she looked around for ways to help the homeless and less fortunate.

She first joined the volunteer crew at Casa Esperanza where, in addition to helping serve food, once a week she reviews the books and once a month she attends to the front desk.

Linda also works with H.E.A.L., the Goleta-based church association dedicated to helping the homeless transition from street life to secure residency.

On a more personal mission, Linda, along with Susan and Max Neufeldt, visits a mutual friend once a week who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and the

mental issues associated with aging. Linda takes her service dog Duke along and brings comfort to someone alone in the world.

Of course Linda’s volunteer efforts are not only in the greater community. Since joining USSB in 2011, she has coordinated our social outreach efforts to the home-less population, and she has called on her background in finance to write the Society’s

checks weekly and serve on the Finance Committee.Linda says of her aid to the homeless, “I know I

can’t fix them, but I can help them and make their lives a little better. Making that difference keeps me going.”If there is someone you would like to nominate for VOTM please contact Peter Hale.

Imagine yourself as a small child leaving your bedroom in the middle of the night and going to a strange new home with many other children and mothers fleeing domes-tic violence. Now imagine Christmas is ap-proaching and the traumatized children at the Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) shelters are wondering if Santa Claus will find them in their new home.

Continue to imagine 74 generous Secret Santas making sure the children at DVS are well loved during the holidays.

Finally, imagine the many joyful faces you created because of your giving hearts. The happiness of the children when they receive their Secret Santa gifts from the Unitarian Society never leaves my memory.

We cannot express enough gratitude to all of you who brought joy to our little ones this year by picking a name and purchas-ing a gift for a child. Thank you also to the congregation for donating a portion of the December Sunday collection to DVS—your generosity is deeply appreciated. And special thanks to Sally Hamilton for organizing this complex arrangement year after year to make sure the children at DVS are not forgotten.

Marsha Marcoe Associate Executive Director Domestic Violence Solutions

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Sounds of Song and Silence - Tuesday February 10

The Alliance MeetingFriday, February 6 at 2 pm

Sex trafficking is a $32 billion industry which targets mostly young girls around the world. You may have heard about the sex trade and may even have seen a documentary that educates viewers about who is trafficking and who is being trafficked. Yet, have you heard about what happens to those few “lucky” girls who are rescued from the sex trade? What are their stories? Where do they go, who cares for them, and what kind of rehabilitation do they receive?

During the summer of 2004, Anna Royer, USSB assistant administrator, spent three months volun-teering at a rehabilitation center (Sanlaap) in Kolkata, India for girls rescued from commercial sexual exploita-tion. Sanlaap is an exceptional anti-sex-trafficking, non-governmental organization in northern India that is providing innovative support and rehabilita-tion services for victims of sex trafficking and their children. Come listen to her experiences and stories

collected from the heart of the red light districts to the rescue shelters for young girls. Pictures and brief video clips will be shared during the talk.

Following Anna’s presentation, we will enjoy good company and tget better acquainted with Anna, while sampling the always-delicious refreshments that every-one brings to share.

Coming up in The Alliance:March – Rev. Julia Hamilton with a panel of four

women discussing “Women Who Influenced My Life” April – Dorothy Warnock with Corey Wells from

Lotus Land on drought-tolerant gardening May – Biologist Mary Ann Jordan, talking about her

cancer research at UCSBJune – Ilse Hance sharing her stories of emigration from

Germany and other adventures over her 91 years.

The monthly Sounds of Song and Silence Taizé-like service will be held Tuesday, February 10 at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary.

A mid-week interfaith musical meditation, Taizé is an ancient tradition where short songs are repeated to encourage a calming, contemplative spirit. Singing becomes a way of listening to our inner selves.

We are expanding our worship horizons when we come together as a community to sing, meditate, listen to readings, and pray.

Girlfriends! It’s time to go through your closets and clear some space for the new-to-you outfits you’ll find at the Fashion Fling on Saturday, February 28, 6:30–8:30 pm and Sunday, March 1, after the first service until 12:30 pm.

Set aside the clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accesso-ries you are no longer wearing and bring them with

Fashion Fling is Almost Here! you to the Fling. Everything will be sold for thrift store prices, and it’s lots of fun giving tips to each other, drinking wine, and eating snacks (and choco-late!).

If you’d like to be on the setup team (Hint: This gives you first choice of the fabulous fashions.), please contact Sally Hamilton (sallyshamliton@gmail.com).

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The Movie: The Lives of Others (Acad-emy Award Winner, Best foreign language film, 2006)

This political thriller is an emotionally charged experi-ence about how the Stasi, the State Secret Police of East Germany before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, monitored its population.

The story centers around the life of a renowned playwright, his beautiful actress girlfriend, and the ambitious Stasi policeman who is ordered to bug the writer’s apartment. Their lives are changed dramati-cally during this eavesdropping process, and the story is as timely as it is timeless. In German with English subtitles.

The Book:The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest

floor into an inferno that covered nearly as much territory as the State of Connecticut.

The Big Burn is the riveting account of the fire that unleashed greater energy than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It is considered the largest wildfire in US history.

Timothy Egan writes about how this fire galvanized Teddy Roosevelt’s dream of conservation. It became known as the fire that gave the US Forest Service its mission and stopped big busi-ness from denuding the forests in the west. A fast and fascinating read of the people caught up in the inferno and the politics of the time.

Library Corner February 2015Our thanks to all of you who return books and movies in a timely manner. Some of you who are late

are kind enough to slip money into the pocket of the book or DVD, and this is very much appreciated. You can also renew your selection: just come to our table or call one of us (Ellie: 805-963-0164).

You do need to give us the name of your selection. Don’t be daunted by some of those “big books”— remember, you can renew. Feedback is also welcome.

Here are our reviews:

Each week we give away 25% of our Sunday offerings to a special project or organization. This includes all cash donations and undesignated checks. If you wish to make a full donation directly to the organization, please DO NOT make the check out to USSB—make it out to Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is a non-profit healthcare organization dedicated to providing quality, affordable, medical and dental care to those in need in Santa Barbara County, regardless of one’s ability to pay. A critical health safety net for the Santa Barbara community since the 1970’s, SBNC consists of three

medical clinics, one dental clinic and a health promotion department providing health education and preventive services to the community, with over 70,000 total patient visits each year.

The Unitarian Society supports the SBNC as part of our commitment to lifting up the worth and dignity of all people and our understanding that access to health-care should not be out of reach for anyone. We are proud of our local organizations that provide necessary care for people who might otherwise fall through the cracks in our social safety net.

February Outreach Offering

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Tiffany has been one of our beloved child-care providers in Starr King on Sunday mornings and at special events since the be-ginning of this church year; she also works at Santa Barbara Yoga Center and as a nan-ny.

Born and raised in Iowa, Tiffany has a vi-brant and varied background. She studied art in Europe, lived in South Africa and Mozambique working with non-profits, and has 20 years’ experience in child care. Tiffany has called Santa Barbara home for the last five years, with the exception

of a one-year break to live in an ashram while studying yoga and Ayurveda, ul-timately earning certifications as a Yoga Instructor through Yoga Alliance and an Ayurvedic Massage Therapist from Cali-fornia College of Ayurveda. Tiffany is currently finishing a degree in Art Studio at Santa Barbara City College.

In addition to travel and learning, Tif-fany LOVES her dog Burberry! Please join me in welcoming Tiffany.

Religious EducationJena Foster, Director

Welcoming Tiffany Jolie Our Religious Education (RE) Coordinator

February Children’s RE WorkshopsIn February, Children’s RE will focus on the theme Love through a variety of work-shops. The story that each workshop will use as a “gateway” into the discussion of Love is I Have A Dream by Kadir Nelson, a beautiful and powerfully illustrated edition of Martin

Luther King Jr.’s world-changing speech, “I Have A Dream.” As Tiffany transitions into the RE Coordinator position, we couldn’t be happier that Shannon Stark, one of our trea-sured childcare providers, will be in Starr King regularly on Sunday mornings.

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Use reusable dishes and other items because they already exist (and thus don’t have to be made), use a dishwasher with pre-cleaning (it actually is the most water and energy-efficient approach), know what can be recycled, and be proactive in recycling at home.

It takes more water to create a dish or utensil, whether it is brand new or recycled, than it does to wash it. People concerned with the water usage of washing reusable dishes should rest easy; it is still more water-efficient than using any kind of disposable item, whether recycled or not.

For events, consider renting reusables that can be returned to the vendor afterwards without washing them.

Recycling Resources1. There is a recycling center off Milpas (132

Nopalitas) that will take everyday toxic materials such as antifreeze, batteries, and paint.

2. UCSB has a recycling center that will take very toxic materials such as pesticides but its hours are limited.

3. City of Santa Barbara residents can now stick old cell phones and batteries in zip lock bags and leave them on the top of their blue bins.

4. Sharps (like medical needles) can now be placed in boxes preordered from Marborg with pre-addressed stamped shipping labels at no extra cost.

5. Medications can be dropped off at a sheriff’s substation in a specially marked box outside. They ultimately will be incinerated.

6. Twice a year free of charge, Marborg will collect bulk items in the city if a resident calls and schedules the pick-up.Next month: Results of Campus Recycling Assess-

ment and Green Team follow-up activities

Your Recycling Diva (and contact): Catherine Callahan, catherinebackup@gmail.com,

805-570-2795Green Team members: Anita Blume, Catherine

Callahan, Caroline and Doug Chamberlin, Tish House, Megan Moyer, Susan Owens, and Ken Ralph

Introducing the USSB Recycling Green Team - Part ThreeOur series on the USSB recycling Green Team continues this month with some tips and resources you can use in your own personal “footprint” to reduce, reuse, and recycle..

It’s No Secret: We Love Our Yoga Class!

Come join the fun and relaxing yoga class taught by Moira Casey every Monday and Wednesday, 5:30–6:30 pm in Jefferson Hall. Our group is dedicated to our well-being and to boosting our immune systems under Moira’s expert guidance. She teaches with gentle good humor, tuning in to particular needs and giving special attention to strengthening our core. Highly recommended for body, mind, and spirit!

“I love Moira’s gently guiding voice.” Marilee Krause “I credit my flexibility and balance to our yoga class.” Sally Hamilton“Moira is patient, encouraging, and kind to those of us who haven’t mastered even the basics of yoga.” Bob Fulmer“Blessed peace and more flexibility... an ideal com-bination for me.” Sarah Carr

Best Recycyling Strategy

New Deadline for Kaleidoscope Submissions

Effective with the March issue, the deadline for sub-mitting articles or notices of events to Kaleidoscope will be the third Tuesday of each month.

Many contributors and much work go into publish-ing Kaleidoscope each month. The new deadline will give everyone involved more time to update content, make any late-breaking changes, and for the produc-tion staff to create, print, and distribute the newsletter to you.

Submit articles to the Kaleidoscope staff at Kaleidoscope@ussb.org

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SnapshotsThe Reverend Julia Hamilton, Associate Minister

We send our condolences to the family and friends of two of our members who passed away over the holidays: Gwen Phillips died during December. She was well known and well loved in Santa Barbara as the founder and director of the Open Alternative School. Dick Cousineau died at the end of December. He was a founding mem-ber of the Humanist Society, a long time choir member, and an active member of both USSB and Live Oak UU congregations.We also extend our sympathy to Ken Ryals, USSB’s Choir Director, and his sister Karena Ryals, a long-time choir member, whose mother died suddenly on January 9 in Tucson, Arizona.

All in the Family

In Gratitude, Rev. Julia

The Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry hosts experiential learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico Border.

The next trip will be held February 13–16, departing from San Diego. It’s not too late to sign up! These trips have been running since 2013 and have given dozens of Unitarian Univer-salists a first-hand experience of the chal-lenges facing deportees under our current, broken system, along with a chance to reflect and connect with others who are interested in finding a better way forward.

Join us as we immerse ourselves in Ti-juana. To give you an idea of what a UU Borders trip is like, the last trip included:

• visiting Mother Asunta shelter, the deportee drop center, several shelters and the canal where deported U.S. veterans and other deportees live

• serving breakfast to 1,100 people each day at Desayunador Saliseano

• meeting with inspirational neighborhood orga-nizers working to build up their communities; and

• attending the Sunday communion ceremony at the border wall.

Each evening we come together to discuss Con-gressional issues and the economic issues that push

and pull immigrants and their families; how we can speak and act from our Unitarian Universalist faith in our communities and at the national level to gain compassionate and comprehensive immigration

reform in the United States. We’ll take time for education, reflection, wonder-ful Mexican food, natural beauty, and good Tijuana fun.

“For me, the entire weekend turned out to be a stunning exercise in opening oneself to humanity–with visible sorrow and joy; tenderness and cruelty; hospitality and desolation; wealth and poverty–side by side. Processing the emotions, feelings, images and thoughts will continue for some time to come. Without adequate words for description, I somehow felt that I had received a blessing–of presence and connec-tion.”

(Barbara Leighton, Conejo Valley UU Fellowship)Are you ready to learn more about U.S. immigra-

tion policy from those directly affected? Are you open to growing spiritually? Join us this February! Cost is $470 per person, all inclusive (room & board, programs, transport beginning and ending in San Diego). Visit UUJMCA.org for more details and registration information.

An Invitation from the UU Justice Ministry of California

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From our Interim MinisterRev. Lee Bond-Upson

By the time this is published, I fear people may be tired of talking and thinking about Selma. Yet I want to share my stories about it, as they involve Unitarian ministers answering Reverend King’s call the day after “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965.

I was away at college, protesting Hammermill Paper Co. discrimina-tion and dealing with not being allowed to be a full member of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) because I was white. Black separatism had begun.

My hometown minister, Jim Stoll, told me he had gotten the call and was going to Selma. When he got back, he self-deprecatingly related his conversation with King in its entirety.

Jim: “Good evening, Dr. King.” King: “Good evening.” Later that same evening, Jim Reeb was walking

with two other UU ministers, Orloff Miller and Clark Olsen. They took a wrong turn and were attacked by five white men, and Reeb was hit very hard by a club, and the other two were beaten and kicked. I got to know Clark through my future wife Deborah, who did her first ministerial internship with Clark in Morristown, New Jersey in 1975. Clark’s retelling emphasizes the fear and horror that continued after the attack, with segregationists following the ambu-lance, and the ambulance having to stop, try to fix a

flat tire, and finally turn back to Selma to get a differ-ent vehicle. Clark thought it quite likely that all three of them were going to be finished off by white men.

I have a tape of a CNN story in which Clark relates those events, and by the time you read this our YRUU youth will have seen it.

One of my internship ministers, Ar-nold Crompton of Oakland, was stung by the criticism he received for remaining behind, although he was not the only one, and the ministers there had arranged for him to cover for them. He has taken other principled stands before and after.

I was disappointed that Catholic nuns and the Greek Orthodox prelate were identified by their dress in the Selma

movie, but that although two out of three adult mar-tyrs depicted in the film were Unitarians, the movie identified Reeb only as ‘from Boston.’ Worse was the complete overlooking of Jewish participation. Rabbi A.J. Herschel, whom King called “my rabbi,” was in the front line of the march, and Jews had been very supportive of the Movement for years.

For a different view of the film, one that does not apologize for a depiction of the events in Selma and Washington through the lens of director Ava DuVer-nay, a woman who is black, read this: http://www.salon.com/2015/01/21/maureen_dowds_clueless_white_gaze_whats_really_behind_the_selma_back-lash/. It made me rethink my complaints.

Some of the Other Players in Selma

Rev. Lee

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MembershipMegan Moyer, Coordinator

New Members GalleryPlease say hello to our newest members. Read their fascinating stories on the kiosk in the Courtyard! Congratulations and thank you all for joining our vibrant community.

Laraine and Hod Gray

Jack Rief

Ellen Carey

Valentina Portz

Cindy Somers

Deborah Hartman

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New Members Gallery

Sonny Chehl

Onolee Zwicke and Maurice Wada Ramsin Eivazzadeh

Kyle Meng and Emily Maynard

IsabellaGay

ClarissePagano

The Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara

1535 Santa Barbara StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101Office. (805) 965-4583Fax. (805) 965-6273

e-mail. ussb@ussb.orgInternet. www.ussb.org

Julia Hamilton, Associate MinisterLeland Bond-Upson, Interim MinisterJohn Alexie Crane, Minister EmeritusKenneth W. Collier, Minister EmeritusJena Foster, Director of Religious EducationErin Wilson, Director of AdministrationAnna Royer, Office ManagerKen Ryals, Choral Director

Sunday Worship Service: 9:15 am & 11:00 am; Children’s Program: 9:15 am Nursery & Children’s Care: Sun 9:00 am – 12:15 am, Starr KingOffice Hours: Tues– Fri: 9 am–noon; 1:00–4:00 pm

Next Newsletter Deadline:Tuesday, February 17

for material covering March 2015E-mail: Kaleidoscope@ussb.org