Torch Articles
A New Way to Give To Our Church!
Need to pay on your pledge but forgot your checkbook? Has the plate been passed to you, but you don’t have any cash? Not to worry – now you can give electronically right from your pew with your smartphone, using Givelify.
Givelify instructions:
- Download the Givelify app from the iTunes store or Google Play.
- Open the app and complete your profile (you may be asked to confirm your registration by opening a confirmation email).
- Choose First Unitarian Church from the map, or search for it by name.
- Click “Give” at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose the amount you want to give.
- Choose what you’re giving to: your pledge, the collection plate, or the Sanctuary Family Fund.
- Complete your transaction! Thank you!
If you need help getting set up on this app, please see Reverend Monica, who will be happy to help!
People will sometimes ask me, how does the political climate of Utah compare with that of my home state, Alabama? There are some ways in which they are very different… and, sadly, many ways in which they are the same.
Five years ago, I was busy advocating for the Affordable Care Act and for the expansion of Medicaid in Alabama. Working with national groups such as Faith in Action and the Poor People’s Campaign, I helped talk to lawmakers and appeared in advertisements, telling my story of how the ACA made it possible for me to go to seminary. After all, I had to quit my job to go to school… but I couldn’t have responsibly done that without assurance of affordable health insurance to take care of my family.
Fast forward to last month, when the Utah legislature tried to nullify the voter-approved Proposition 3, which would have expanded Medicaid for Utahns living within 138% of the federal poverty rate. As the House of Representatives voted on a bill that intended to gut Prop 3, I joined with three fellow clergypersons in protest, staging a sit-in blocking the doors to the House chambers and praying for almost two hours for our legislators to respect the will of the people.
The conservative lawmakers in both Utah and Alabama who oppose Medicaid expansion often express their opposition in philosophical terms: they argue that adults ought to be responsible for themselves, self-sufficient and not dependent on the government or any other structure outside their family and their faith community for help. But a doctrine of self-sufficiency fails to take into account the compounding interest charged by generational poverty: the longer a family remains in poverty, the longer it will take them to climb out, no matter how hard-working and self-sufficient they may be. Add to that the burdens of racism, sexism, disability… and there may simply be no amount of self-sufficiency that can ever pull a family up.
Worse than that: there is often an assumption, whether implied or explicit, that families who are poor have done something to deserve that fate, and that those who have money and privilege were blessed by God. But I believe that God’s sun shines on the just and the unjust – wealth and poverty are not judgments for behavior. Rather, they are systemic – which puts the burden on those with power to make the system work for everyone.
When people in power are unwilling to do this, then it is the duty of religious leaders to disrupt the systems of power and privilege that prevent people from accessing the basic necessities of life and dignity. That’s why I was willing to risk arrest in order to call those lawmakers to their conscience. Health care is a basic human right, and no one should ever suffer or risk their health or safety because they can’t afford to see a doctor. No one should ever have to choose between health care and food or rent. And our government has no right to erode democratic processes to protect wealth and privilege.
I was so grateful to those members of our congregation who showed up with me that day at the Capitol and supported these clergy in our civil disobedience, and for all who stopped during their day to cheer us on. Your love gives us the strength and courage to keep fighting, no matter what
…And now for a bit of optimism.
Discouragement comes easily when assessing societal change. Both attitudes and laws seem as rigidly fixed as ever. Extending human and civil rights to everyone moves at a snail’s pace. It usually feels like the snail is crawling backwards.
But lately, change has shaken its sluggish pace a bit. Change can happen with such unsuspecting subtlety that hardly anybody will notice. But if our antenna is up, a few progressive changes have indeed occurred that can give us heart, and hope.
About 15 years ago, an African American member of our young adult program came to see me about a case of discrimination. He was working up in the ski resorts and his job was threatened because of his dreadlocks. It was either cut your hair or you’re fired. He left the job because his hair was really important to him in terms of identity and style. I called the ACLU but was told that they do not take discrimination cases. I never knew that, but hiring a lawyer was financially unfeasible. It proved another instance of overt discrimination without any recourse.
Last week, The New York City Commission on human rights released new guidelines that targeting people based on their hair or hairstyle at work, school, or in public places will now be considered racial discrimination. This is now law, with penalties of up to $250,000. Although this takes place only in New York for now, it’s a huge breakthrough that people have the right to “maintain their natural hair, treated or untreated hairstyles such as dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, fades, Afros, and/or the right to keep hair in an uncut or untrimmed state.” Change…
Last week in Salt Lake City, up on the Hill in our legislative session, lawmakers proposed a ban on conversion therapy among minors aimed at changing their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has given its blessing. It’s so nice to be on the same side of a social issue at least once in a while. I cry internally when I think of the anguish and pain and insult suffered by young people forced to endure such medieval treatment. Change…
We may think that nothing has changed in the state of Virginia since both the governor and attorney general were oblivious to the racism inherent in wearing blackface while they attended college. Both Governor Northam and Attorney General Herring discovered that attitudes about race have drastically changed. Their jobs are now on the line as they should be. The “long ago” argument doesn’t hold up anymore. And the host of the Today Show, Megyn Kelly was startled to learn that her comment about blackface being acceptable on Halloween was, in fact, unacceptable. She even apologized, but still lost her job. Change…
So lest we despair about the glacial speed of change, we’ve met some unexpected surprises of late that inspire hope. And the Me Too movement has propelled necessary change, and the Roman Catholic Church must reinvent itself entirely after 2000 years. And maybe, just maybe, we may be changing ourselves. Growing in deeper understanding about gender fluidity, the violation of rights to transgender people, and maybe even our own attitudes about hair. There’s enough perceptible change going on right now that I am hopeful, wondering what the world will look like following the 2020 election. TRG
- Sunday, March 3, 2019, The Katmandu Grill, 212 South 700 East, Ste D,Salt Lake City, Ut 84102, 801-355-0454
- March 10, 2019, Piper Down,1492 South State Street,Salt Lake City, Utah 84115, 801-468-1492, www.piperdownpub.com
- March 17, 2019, Zest, 275 South 200th West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, 801-433-0589, www.zestslc.com
- March 24, 2019, The Black Sheep Foothill, 1400 S Foothill Dr Ste 166, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, 801-877-9350
- March 31, 2019, Noodles & Company - Sugarhouse, 1152 East 2100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106, 801-465-8880, www.noodles.com
FAMILY FUN NIGHT: Monday, March 4th, 6:15 in Eliot Hall, dinner and minute to win it games.
UU MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION: 6pm Saturday, March 9th. Create your own mask and join us for a Mardi Gras feast of craw fish and all the fixin’s cooked up by our own southerner, Jim Turner. Join us in Eliot Hall for this celebration of the South. Auction Contribution $50 per person. Buy tickets today call Colleen Bliss 801-918-1442 (Purchase tickets by March 5th)
UU ORIENTATION: with Rev. Tom and Rev. Monica will be held on Tuesday, March 12th, 7-9pm in Eliot Hall. If you are new to our congregation, are interested in becoming a member, or want to refresh your basic understanding of being a UU, you are invited. Snacks will be served; childcare provided on request - please notify Rev. Monica, , no later than Thursday 3/7 if you need childcare in order to attend. Register @ https://airtable.com/shrVquvdj20HElBLY or at the Congregation Life table.
SOCIAL JUSTICE: “Imprisoning a Generation”, Join us Monday, March 25th at 7pm in Eliot Hall for the free showing of the film which will follow four Palestinian children who were detained and imprisoned by the Israeli military. Their perspectives, along with the voices of their families, combine to form a lens into the entangled structure of oppression that expand beyond the prison walls. The film maker, Zelda Edmunds, a Portland, Oregon based activist will be in attendance for a QA following. Ms. Edmunds is making this film available for Unitarian churches throughout the US, before it goes to the general public.
ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTRY: THE MYSTERY: Answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" - A Dramatic Interpretation and Revelation. Friday, March 29, 2019, 7-9 PM, Eliot Hall, First Unitarian Church of SLC. Enter via the double doors at the North Entrance. As part of the program, 15 copies of Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot will be given to lucky members of the audience.
ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTRY is hosting The Good Grief Network, beginning its weekly 10-Step Program to combat despair, deepen self-awareness, and embrace interconnectedness. We invite everyone grappling with the enormous challenges of systemic sociopolitical, environmental, and spiritual change needed to reign in climate collapse and other large-scale ills to join us in building psychosocial resilience starting 2/27/19 from 6:30-8:15 pm in Room 218 (continuing Wednesdays through 5/01/19) Drop-ins are welcome but you can contact to RSVP or for more information.
ARTISTS DISCUSSING ART: The last Monday of every month artists gather at 7pm in the Haven to discuss each others art. The group is open to all visual artist, watercolor, acrylic, oil, mixed media, fused glass, and clay. Bring work to discuss or just come to listen. Bring a light refreshment to share.
SAVE THE DATE: Art Fair is Saturday & Sunday, April 20th & 21st
DINNER AND DIALOGUE: Meet other UUs on a more personal level over a potluck dinner. Sign up at the Congregational Life table in Eliot Hall to host or Join a group. Contact with questions.
MEDITATION WALKS: Nature Walks along the Jordan River, every Tuesday 10am to Noon, Meet at Arrowhead Park, 550 W 4800 S. Friendly dogs on leash welcome, 1 to 3 miles
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION GROUP: Meets Sunday at 10am in the ParlorAn evening of Buddhist teachings investigating the foundations of mindfulness meditation. What is mindfulness and how might it be of benefit in our personal lives, alone and together as a community? We will consider how to cultivate a daily practice of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha and is practiced today. All are welcome. Come to the Parlor on the third Wednesday at 6:30 pm. For more information
MYSTICAL SPIRITUALITY: Meets the 2nd and 4th Sunday, 12:45 pm in Room 201
SANCTUARY: Sanctuary Questions? Want to learn more about our Sanctuary effort? Stop by the Sanctuary table in Eliot Hall after each Sunday Service.
- VOLUNTEER: To volunteer to become a Sanctuary Host, sign up at: https://slcsanctuary.org/volunteer/
- SANCTUARY TRAINING: One-on-one sanctuary training is provided to new sanctuary volunteers, after sign up
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DONATE: Online donations to the Sanctuary Family Fund may be made at: https://slcuu.org/sanctuary-fund. To donate by check, make check payable to: First Unitarian Church of SLC, and write: Sanctuary Family Fund in the note.
YOUNG ADULTS: A community of people in their 20's, 30's, or young at heart. See all of our upcoming events on Facebook: First Unitarian SLC Young Adults, or email us to receive notifications via email: , or you can reach out to Heather Drenckhahn
WALK: Walks along the Jordan River with Mary, every Thursday 10am to Noon. Meet at Arrowhead Park, 550 W 4800 S. Friendly dogs on leash welcome, 1 to 2 miles.
Sandwich Sunday Needs Your Help!
We're short on supplies for the next Sandwich Sunday, coming up on the week of March 3rd. All supplies donated will be used to make sandwiches for the VOA Homeless Teen Shelter. Anything you can bring helps!
Donate Sandwich Sunday Supplies
How fast can you get a cookie into your mouth without using your hands? How high can you stack cups? Can you beat the clock or get a face full of pie? It's one of our favorite evenings of the year, Minute to Win It games! Join us on March 4th at 6:15 pm for Family Fun Night! We'll start with dinner, then move into playing Minute to Win It Games!
Please email us with any dietary restrictions! See you on the 4th!
Family Fun Night Register Here
Coffeehouse Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who came to our High School Coffeehouse on March 1st. Through ticket sales and donations, we raised over $1,200 for the High School Trip Fund. This fund enables scholarships and pays for our chaperones to attend the trips. Thank you!
Lower school youth continue to focus on mindfulness this year. In January, we looked at how our interconnected web affects others and our relationship to ourselves. In February, we focused on affirmations and created our own affirmation books. Join us on April 21st for our next Mindfulness Matters Sunday! (Photo thanks to Amanda & Peter Esko)
Child Dedication will be held on April 14, 2019. This is a wonderful opportunity to welcome new children into our community. If your family would like to participate, please fill out this form. Questions? Please email Amanda Esko at .
- March 3: Celebration Sunday, 6th/7th Field Trip
- March 4: Family Fun Night
- March 10: Sanctuary Sunday, Jr Choir Sings
- March 17: Last week of K/2nd OWL
- March 21: Spring Equinox Potluck
- March 31: Art Block beings
- April 7: Sanctuary Sunday, Sandwich Sunday
Make sure your legacy reflects your values by including First Unitarian Church in your estate plans. And, let your endowment committee know so you can be listed as a member of our Emerson Society. Our church's endowment fund is also the perfect place for memorial and other special contributions. The fund is managed to support both present and future needs, so a contribution is truly a gift that endures. For more information on the endowment fund, find the brochure at the congregational life table in Eliot Hall.
As surely as the snow begins to melt in March and the crocus and daffodil bravely defy the odds, First Unitarian Church launches its Pledge Drive right on schedule. You can count on it as reliably as the seasons changing and birds flying north.
Our theme this year is “Rise to the Challenge.” It echoes what we aspire to every Pledge Drive, maintaining a progressive church community in increasingly challenging times. Immigration issues have revealed the worst of our nation’s xenophobic tendencies, but our church has opened its doors to provide sanctuary. Refugees arrive with only the clothes or their backs, and our church furnishes their apartments and accommodates them with furniture, appliances, bikes, toys, and love. Homelessness grows in alarming proportions, but our church provides four meals a month at the Teen Homeless Shelter. We also partner with The Inn Between, a hospice for the homeless. Our nation notoriously lags behind in efforts to reverse global warming, but our Environmental Ministry team tirelessly lift their voices in protest and tell the truth to a reluctant population.
Our church meets these challenges and more with deep commitments to endless volunteer hours. The annual Pledge Drive reminds us that meeting these challenges also requires funding for our programs, staff, and building. Providing decent health care for the staff is a continuing challenge. Keeping up with technology to run our operations is a challenge. Maintenance is a challenge, from utilities, to snow removal to the wear and tear on the building. We are never short of challenges.
For First Unitarian Church to meet these challenges we rely completely on your generosity. We are more powerful and influential together than we are alone. Our church is a gift, providing us the opportunity to engage more effectively in a world that has lost its moral compass.
To rise to this challenge we need $580,000 in pledge income, the same as last year’s goal which we nearly met. Please consider whether you can help us meet this goal. The times demand that our church move forward as a progressive community that dares to change the world.
With deep gratitude,
Rev. Tom Goldsmith Rev. Monica Dobbins Pledge Chair: Rebecca Heal
Join Us In Worship!
Our upper school youth need to attend service. There, I just said it out loud, plain as day. As a RE team, we've built in several Sundays throughout the year for our upper school youth to attend. You may have noticed on announcements or on the bulletin board the phrase, "Please join your families in service." This isn't an accident. And it's also not because there's nothing planned that day. Setting aside one(ish) service a month for our upper school youth, and saying out loud that upper school youth in service are welcome and valued, is an intentional shift in our thinking at First Church.
Our goal in RE is not to keep the youth "busy." Our goal is to foster a community that learns, grows, and develops a spiritual life. Attending worship is one way we as a community do this! Our youth should have the opportunity to sit in service to hear the choir. They can take a quiet minute of mediation with Rev. Monica. They should listen to Rev. Tom preach on the idea of a just world. There is space for religious education classes and worship. It's not one or the other.
We cannot expect our youth to want to continue to be lifelong UU's if they have no connection with the larger community. We cannot expect them to lead worship services such as Coming of Age and High School services if they never get to see a worship service. Bring your youth with you into service. Stand with them as we sing. Go to brunch to discuss the sermon. The youth at First Church are intellectual, curious, and engaging. I cannot wait to ask them what they think.
In Peace,
Amanda Esko
Director of Religious Education
Family Fun Night
Family Fun Night returns February 4th at 6:15 pm! (Note that we're trying 6:15 pm again!) We'll be joined by Rev. Monica Dobbins.
"So, yeah, we go to church on Sunday. But it's not like regular church, and the people are great, and I love the youth programs. And summers are off, but amazing speakers from the community come in. It's just not CHURCH church." Raise your hand if you have had this conversation! How do we, as UU's, speak about our faith to others in a way that feels authentic? Rev. Monica will help facilitate this conversation so we can all be a little more eloquent in expressing our faith.
While the adults are busy talking, the youth will be working with Lissa Lander on an art project!
UU of The Week
Each week in Children’s Chapel we learn about important UU’s throughout history.
Meet Francis Ellen Watkins Harper(1825-1911), our UU of the week! Francis Harper was an African American abolitionist, writer, lecturer, and activist who promoted civil rights, women's rights, and temperance. She was a popular speaker and traveled across the United States before the Civil War. Harper's short story, "The Two Offers", was the first short story to be published by an African American author. Most of the earnings from her writing went to help free slaves with her work on the Underground Railroad.
After the Civil War, Harper focused her efforts on the rights of women, working with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In contrast to Anthony and Stanton however, Harper supported the immediate passage of the 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution. The immediate threats of violence to people of color, and the promise of legal protections these amendments offered, swayed her to support the passage of these amendments before voting rights for women.
Harper split her spiritual life between her two faiths, the AME church of her youth, and the Unitarian Church. The AME church provided her community, while her Christology and political leanings lead her to the Unitarian Church. Francis Ellen Watkins Harper died on February 22, 1911. Her funeral was at the Unitarian Church on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.
Sandwich Sunday
Sandwich Sunday is right around the corner! If you're able, signup to bring something OR take the lunches to the VOA!
RE Calendar
Chalice Lighting Family
Each month we invite a family from our Religious Education community to light our chalice.
Meet the Fetter-Bond’s!
Who's in your family?