From Your Minister

I took part in an 8th Principle casita meeting recently, hosted by Rod Sauter and Rhianna Thomas. It allowed hosts and guests to learn from each other and discuss the meaning of adopting the 8th Principle.

UUs love meeting and finding what they have in common with one another. We always have our chosen faith. Believing the same is not the point. We’re about loving the same.

From the President

“April showers bring May flowers,” is a rhyme I learned in early childhood in Indiana. Though it was certainly appropriate in Indiana, my brief New Mexico experience suggests that an April day here has, on average, a 4% chance of being wet. And flowers, particularly our spring cactus flowers and poppies, will appear in late March or early April.

Music Notes

It is near Easter time and the beginning of Spring.  Our schools are reopening, and more vaccinations are taking place.  There is a spirit of cautious and tempered optimism.  Nothing will ever really be the same, and we have been taught forcefully how many ways things can go wrong in one year.  Yet, trees and flowers are budding and blooming, and the birds are singing their Spring songs again.

Religious Education by Kellie Ingram, DRE

Welcome April, a month of rebirth, regrowth, and renewal!

Religious Education will be closing out March with our second litter pick up event. Volunteers from both RE and the SJ committees met a few weeks ago to collect trash along the main street in Mesilla. Our next scheduled pick up is also for the Mesilla area, in the Dove Canyon mobile home park, where our initiative has been welcomed by the park manager. A special THANK YOU to Jean Gilbert and Dave Rice for their organization and leadership.

Fruit Anyone? by Cheri Coffelt, Church Administrator

I have been off my Bright Line eating plan for about 12 months and have gained weight during the pandemic because of my poor choices.   Instead of eating what was good for me, I ate a diet high in refined sugar and lots of comfort carbs!   I’m now coming back into my normal happy zone of eating healthy and starting to feel much better.  I forgot how good it feels to eat veggies and fruit!

Tech Guru Sara Reyes

Hey UU’s!! Whether you’re a part of our many UUCLC Committees or on your own, we’re inviting you to submit pictures, event information, etc. to be featured on the UUCLC Social Media pages! This is a nifty feature for spreading the awareness of what we do to make a greater change in society!

Social Justice

The Board of Directors and Rev. Dr. Xolani Kacela have approved the request of the Social Justice Committee to establish a Little Free Pantry at our church.  Sara Thomas and Rabbitt Loring built it and Olive Ingram decorated it.  This is a wonderful outreach service to our community reflecting the vision, mission, and principles of our congregation.

Rev. Kacela will lead a brief Blessing service for the new ministry at 9:00am on Saturday, April 17.  We hope you will be able to attend the service wearing a mask and maintaining social distance from others in attendance.

Change 4 Change

On March 21, Members and Friends of UUCLC participating in the Special meeting of the Social Justice Committee (SJC) selected the following four charities for funding in 2021 (Q2, Q3, Q4) and 2022 (Q1): 

La Casa, Inc
My Friend’s Place
Soroptimist International
El Calvario Immigration Advocacy Center

8th Principle

Our denomination’s history in relation to anti-racism work seemingly reflects the difficulty such work poses for many of us individually.  The UUA has periodically made strides toward tackling the hard work of becoming more truly diverse culturally.  However, these steps forward have often been marked by commitments to its members of color, which were later broken, usually by defunding and delays. 

The Caring Team

The Caring Committee is thrilled to welcome Joan Dormody as Co-Chair with Hale Huber.  If you need assistance or would like to volunteer to assist this ministry,  please contact Joan Dormody or Hale Huber.  They are both listed in the phone directory.

The Tombaugh Gallery

The current virtual exhibit at Tombaugh Gallery features two artists, John and Souheir Rawlings from the T or C area.  The exhibit began in early March and continues through May.

Sanctuary Renovation Update by Charlie Scholz

With the approval by the Congregation of the revised 2021 Budget, we’ve started on the rehabilitation of the Sanctuary.

The first task was to remove the old carpet and existing tile and remediate the asbestos which was in the tile mastic. This job was completed by CrossTown Construction on March 15. The air quality information and appropriate certifications were presented on March 23. A copy of this report is in the Church Office.