Chris Chambers started work as our new Social Justice Coordinator in January 2023. Their pronouns are the singular they, their, and theirs and they are 30 years old. Chris became an activist at 16 and has been involved in grassroots organizing ever since. They worked at a food justice project, called Food not Bombs, in Seattle before moving to this area. ​Chris moved to Tijuana in 2011 where they continued to work with Food not Bombs (or Comida No Bombas) with people who've been deported and/or are unhoused. They felt this corner of the world has special geopolitical significance, that would challenge their white privilege while allowing them to continue working in social justice. Chris worked with Angela Fujii, our previous Social Justice Coordinator, at Casa Arcoiris, in Tijuana. Most recently, they've worked with transgender asylum seekers, as a paralegal.

Great news! Youth and Young Adult programs are BACK! Youth aged 12-21 are strongly encouraged to email Lara Anderson at lara@firstuusandiego.org with days and times they are able and willing to connect with one another. Please include your interests and wishes for this space. Keep an eye out for monthly events such as a movie and game night that happened in January.

Young Adults aged 22-35 began gathering in early December. We meet regularly on Mondays from 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm. These meetings include space to discuss issues and topics of interest, time for playing games, enjoying food, and planning events. Lara looks forward to meeting each and every one of you. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, preferences, or concerns.

​February 20, the youth and young adults are gathering to strengthen our writing and poetry skills, play some games and eat some yummy food together. Eva Garcia Mayers is leading us in the writing activities, which is fabulous, because Eva is fabulous.

​January 28, Saturday, Hillcrest Patio, 1 pm - 5 pm.
Please join us as we kickoff our 150th Celebration with a fun, multigenerational festival (art show, food, face painting, magic and circus arts) that is sure to please! We will have a short program in the Meeting House with visiting dignitaries and special music starting at 1:30 pm. For more information, please contact Tony Bianca.
​We expect a large turnout, so please be sure to register for your FREE tickets. 

We have two 20 hours per week job openings. Take a look and feel free to send to a friend who might be interested. Job Posting for South Bay Coordinator |  Job Posting for Social Justice Coordinator

74 events and services have been created and the auction commences today and bidding will continue through June 30, 2022. Help for bidding will be available on the patio after worship services every Sunday through June - come and see Robie Evans or Dan Paul at the tech table after service!
If you remember your bidding number from 2019, it's the same one! And, if you've been a bidder in the past, you may have already received an email from us with a direct link to the auction website. Be sure to make sure you're registered!
IMPORTANT: Download our How To Guide for ease in registering and bidding online.
We appreciate your participation in this important fundraiser and church community-building project. If you have any questions, please email Dave Hunt or Robie Evans. Thank you and good luck in bidding on your favorite events! Register and view the catalog at our Auction website. 

Though it's hard for me to believe, my six weeks as your Minister in Residence are already over, and this Sunday is my last one with you. It has been an honor to accompany you for this brief time, and to hear your stories, struggles, and aspirations for this beloved community. You have an interesting and challenging road ahead of you as you navigate what it means to be a religious community in the post-pandemic world. You also have ahead of you the many ways you'll find to heal past conflict and navigate disagreements, and the large decision about whether or not to move in the coming years. I hope you'll let yourselves be guided in all of what's ahead by your sense of mission, asking (in one way or another), Who are we called to be together? What difference do we want it to make, that First UU exists? You have terrific people in leadership - both as staff and as volunteers - and I have great confidence that along with them, your next Minister in Residence and then your new Lead Minister will help you gain clarity and map the path ahead. I'm grateful to have joined my life to yours for this little time, and will be eager to see how your next chapters unfold. With respect and affection, Rev. Kathleen McTigue

PROGRESS: The reopening Team met on Saturday March 5 to review together what we currently know about Covid in our area and the direction things are trending. Based on our discussion we are ready to recommend the following:

• Worship services should continue to be outdoors and masked at least through the rest of March.
• Based on steadily shrinking Covid cases and changed recommendations nationally and in our area, we are comfortable expanding our worship services to include singing and social hour following the service.
• Based on all that we know about Covid transmission and our awareness that some among us still cannot be effectively vaccinated, we recommend that singing outdoors continues to be masked, and that social hour follow “airplane rules,” that is, we remain masked except when actively taking a sip or a bite.
• We recommend that our staff begin working toward an eventual return to indoor worship by reviewing all the infrastructure and staff needs to do so, knowing that after two  years away from what was once “normal”, there will be considerable logistical efforts involved in returning inside.
• Knowing that there are multiple levels of vulnerability among us and widely varying perspectives on risk, we will continue to offer livestreaming as an option even after our eventual return to indoor worship. At that point, we will also offer a third option of viewing worship services from the patio for those wishing to remain outdoors.
• We support our South Bay campus in moving forward at the same pace as the Hillcrest campus, knowing that there are also additional logistical concerns having to do with the Food Pantry. Our staff and volunteers have these issues well in hand.
  

On a key point about infrastructure, skilled people have set up a complex facility outdoors to livestream our worship services. Deciding to move indoors will involve rebuilding all of that in the meeting house. That's a huge effort, hard to undo if an upsurge were to force us back out again. So we're working first on more and more happening outdoors before services move indoors. We'll continue with the livestream option open to everyone, no matter what. We're a solid, loving community. This is a time of trauma recovery, but we're in this together and definitely continuing to make progress.

We'll be back together again for in-person, outdoor worship services on the patio at our Hillcrest campus! Masked, reasonably distanced, and with a clear expectation that all who can do so will be fully vaccinated. This includes a booster.

• But no one is excluded and we'll do no checking about vaccination status.
• All masks must be N95, KN95, or KF94 types, fully covering the nose and mouth. No cloth masks will be allowed. Masks will be provided if needed.
• We trust everyone to use good judgement and we welcome persons of all ages.
• The overall rating for our area and California in general has dropped down to the "Very High" level. It's not down to "High," which we had hoped to reach, but we're convinced by the trends and by the real need for all of us to be together again.
• We know some among us are still struggling, due to being immunocompromised or other issues. We understand. And we hope you will find a comfortable place amidst our decisions.
• Our front-line staff have special, heightened concerns as well. We're trying to reach a balance. We realize we can't avoid all risk and prevent all possibility of infection.
• South Bay presents further issues since there is no designated, regular outdoor space for worship services. We hope the decisions for Hillcrest can guide decisions that will later be made about South Bay's services.
• Any time after resuming in-person services on the 27th we believe it will be OK for outdoor, in-person meetings to resume - in groups of no more than 15 - masked, distanced, and with high expectations about being fully vaccinated.
• Likewise, singing choirs and the handbell choir may exercise their own judgements about resuming practices, while acknowledging the special risks of spreading this air-borne disease through singing. We will not resume congregational singing at this time.
• We're taking some big steps about being together, which makes us happy. But we'll continue to watch many numbers carefully.

Q. When can we all meet, in-person and outdoors?
Q. When can our choirs rehearse outdoors?
A. We're looking at the end of this month.
Risk levels in San Diego are still "Severe," but we believe a drop, even down to "High," could be enough for us to meet outdoors safely. The team will meet on February 12 to make decisions about in-person outdoor services for late Feb. and early March. Our best guess about when the Omicron wave will pass its peak is anywhere between now and March 1.

​Down the road, a further risk-level drop to some fraction of "High" could be enough for us to okay meeting indoors, though we have no guess about that timeframe. We do know that waiting to reach "Medium" could be forever, so that's not our goal.

By Nancy Fisk
Marshall Voit began working in January for First UU as the new Music Director.  So far, he’s  very impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the welcome he’s received.  When in-person singing is allowed, he’ll be directing the Chalice Choir and the Women’s Choir.  Until then, he’s collaborating with the other music staff members on our worship services. A native of San Diego,  Marshall went to high school in the Poway Unified School District. He credits them with a foundation in music education that has led to his career in choral direction, singing, and playing musical instruments. Raised in the Jewish tradition, his father is a Jewish music leader, and his mother is a rabbi.

The staff team has worked very hard to get us to the point where we can livestream the Sunday service as it happens at 9:30 am on Sunday morning. This will mean that there will be a few important changes to how the online service will happen, and we wanted to be sure everyone is aware of what will be different.

Help First UU become more of a “happening place” and promote more multi-generational, ethnic, racial, and class diversity at First UU, including greater offerings for events - among members, attendees and families. The Board has created a new board committee to administer the Outreach and Growth Fund (OGF) that was created as part of the generous Renewal and Growth Fund donation to the church in late 2021.  ​

By Rhiannon Roselle, BoardTrustee
October is a month of many spooky things - pumpkin lattes, bats, ghosts, and goblins. It's also time for one thing that ISN'T scary . . . a return to the Annual Pledge Drive! First UU's yearly operations are made possible by member and friend financial commitments which make up 60% of our annual operating budget. It helps keep the programs, facilities, and music you love running. This year's Pledge Drive theme is Back to Basics: Building Our Community. With everyone longing for connection, the Annual Pledge Drive Team is planning something special. By the end of the month, every member will have received an invitation for a personal phone or zoom call or, if they're comfortable, an in-person visit. These personal calls and visits will be a chance to spend time with a fellow First UU congregant and are much more than simply making your financial pledge.

This year, we are going "Back to Basics: Building Our Community" with our Fall Annual Pledge Drive. With everyone longing for connection, the Annual Pledge Drive Team is planning something special. By the end of October, every member will have received an invitation for a personal phone or zoom call or, if they are comfortable, an in-person visit. These personal calls and visits will be a chance to spend time with a fellow First UU congregant and are much more than simply making your pledge or financial commitment. The Annual Fund Drive is a time to build our connections with each other and with our church. It's a time to get excited about the things we can do in the future - things that will only happen with our financial and energetic involvement! An important aspect this year is we are switching from a "year round" to a "calendar year" pledge drive and we're also moving it to the Fall from the Spring, which will make our annual budgeting process so much easier. Your Annual Pledge Drive Team includes Dave Hunt, Pam Bates, Isaac Castro, Rhiannon Rhys Roselle and Robie Evans. Please watch your home mailbox and your computer inbox for more detailed information about your own financial commitment. Pledge cards will be available every Sunday. If you would like to volunteer to be part of the fundraising outreach, please contact Dave Hunt. For more information, go to our website

Good News from your Board President. We are all looking forward to being back together again in person on our Hillcrest campus for Sunday morning worship services. An amazing donor has given us a gift to purchase and install custom made shade sails for the Hillcrest patio to provide much needed shade while providing 96% UV protection! We hope to have them installed in the next few weeks. The company, SoCal Shade Sails has been installing sail shades for over 25 years.  For photos of commercial installations and more info check out their website. The exciting thing is that we have two great references - one from our very own tenant: San Diego Cooperative Preschool who just installed shade sails in their back play yards. And, Palomar UU Fellowship just installed shade sails in their outside area so they could come back together for worshipping outdoors. Both organizations raved about the service and craftsmanship they received from SoCal Shade Sails. We anticipate that this will happen in a few weeks. For more information, please contact board president Julie Forest.

​As Rev. Tom Owen-Towle reminded us recently, things around us are always changing and the best approach to life is to be an ever-changing person. Tom's words have special meaning during our current pandemic. Of course not all change is for the worse.