ABOUT US

{Our History | Mission | Seven Basic Principles | Lay Leadership | Social Action | Calendar | Unitarian Universalist Links}

We warmly welcome visitors to our Sunday Services (click link for weekly topics and speakers) and Children’s Religious Education classes (click link for current program), held every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Child Care is always available. Refreshments are served after every service, and the first Sunday of each month we share a potluck lunch. CONTACT US Address: 4451 Dunsmore Avenue in La Crescenta, CA 91214 Phone: 818-248-3954 E-mail: info@uuverdugo.org Office Hours: 10:30am - 1:30pm, Tuesday;  Thursday by appointment only. Rental Space available for weddings, classes, recitals, meetings.

OUR HISTORY

The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Verdugo Hills is the product of the merger of two separate fellowships, each founded in the late 1950s. Our present church was formed in 1990 and the congregation includes 55 members. Both fellowships began by meeting in members’ homes, and then grew to purchase church buildings and to hire ministers, on a part-time basis.

We select our consulting ministers from those approved by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association. To obtain approval from this committee, ministers must have earned a Masters of Divinity degree from an accredited theological school and met other requirements.

Our congregation is one of more than 1000 congregations worldwide in a liberal religious tradition that is over 200 years old in America and goes back more than 450 years in Europe. We celebrate religious diversity and strive for social justice. We encourage each person to find her or his own answers to the great religious questions of life, in a community of open hearts and inquiring minds.

MISSION

The members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Verdugo Hills, using reason as our guide and freedom as our method, seek to grow in the understanding of ourselves and of our world, and to promote and serve the universal human family.

"UUCVH is a growing and welcoming community, offering a diverse spiritual landscape for an informed search for truth and meaning.  We promote social justice, affirm the dignity of all people, and respect the interdependent web of all existence."

 

SEVEN BASIC PRINCIPLES

Unitarian Universalists share the common values expressed in the following principles:

Original (from UUA by-laws)	Kid-Friendly (by Carol Holst, UUCVH member)
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:	As Unitarian Universalists, we agree that:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person;	Every person is important.
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;	We should be kind in all we do.
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation;	We’re free to learn together,
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;	And search for what is true.
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;	All people need a voice.
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;	We want to build a fair and peaceful world.
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.	We care for Earth’s lifeboat.

 

LAY LEADERSHIP

Our church is self-governing. A Board of Trustees is elected from our membership to oversee the business of the church. The Board, in turn, is guided by our by-laws. Major decisions such as the calling of a minister are decided by vote of the entire membership. An Annual Report from the president, staff and committee chairs is compiled to review programs and goals.

Financially we support our church through the voluntary pledges and gifts of our members and friends. A portion of our income is raised through rent on our building in Burbank, the site of the former Burbank Unitarian Fellowship. There is no set charge for membership. Individual members make annual pledges in accordance with their own conscience and ability to pay.

We receive no regular financial support from the Unitarian Universalist Association. Rather, we contribute about $100 per year per member to the support of the Association and the Pacific Southwest District.

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President’s Perspective

Ann Miller Rillo, Congregation President

 

 

Greetings my friends-

I thank my lucky stars that I found UUCVH.  I had been without any church affiliation for forty years.  During some of those years I was active in C.O.R.E., a civil rights organization, in Rochester, N.Y.  I helped organize a demonstration, aimed at City Hall, to get a traffic light installed near a school in an inner-city neighborhood.  We were successful.  It felt good.  Working alongside other community organizations I helped in putting together a candle-light march through a disadvantaged area.  Our goal was to have street lights installed.  It worked.  And it felt good.  As with most organizations, fund raising was a major concern.  Rummage sales, concerts, and one weekend I cooked 100 chicken dinners with all the trimmings... other members cooked that weekend also.  And at $5.00 a plate we made a good bit of money.  It felt good to be a part of something so positive.  When the riots hit Rochester the National Guard was called in to maintain order.  There were tanks in the park across the street from our home.  And there were soldiers, young men, in our living room borrowing our phone to call home to their families.  It was a frightening time.  I had no spiritual recourse.  No comfort.  In time we returned to California, where we found hiking on the weekends and backpacking trips in the Sierras with our children drew us all closer to a spiritual experience.  The children grew up.  Our lives moved in different directions.  For a time I found that teaching at an inner-city school gave me a good feeling.  I was connected.  But there was still an empty space.  As I began planning my retirement it was clear to me that I would continue to need direction in my life.  A connection...maybe a spiritual home.  And so here I am.  UUCVH.  A place that enriches my spirit.  Thanks to all of you who welcomed me in.  And to those of you who came after me, I am happy you are here.

I have found a place of comfort, purpose, friendship... and spirituality.

I wish you peace,

Ann Miller Rillo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

SOCIAL ACTION

Members of the Social Action Circle attempt to address several of our Unitarian Universalist principles by researching and proposing humanitarian projects which individuals in the congregation may become involved in. Those principles include the promotion of justice, equity and compassion in human relations; and respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

 PROJECTS

Ongoing:

• Collecting and donating food, clothing and personal care items to the Burbank Temporary Aid Center (BTAC), a vital “aid station” for those in need.
• Contributing financially to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a voluntary, nonsectarian organization working to advance justice throughout the world.
• Participating in the Alliance for the Care of Abused Children (ACAC) program, whereby we provide individualized holiday and birthday gifts for specific children who may have little or no family contacts. We also take part in the “Feel Like a Princess” event, which helps young women with few financial resources prepare for their proms.
• Knitting Circle, in which several members make sweaters for needy children around the world.
  

Occasional:

• Cooking/serving dinner and dining with the people in a local homeless transitional program; serving dinner, providing new clothing/blankets for people at the Glendale Armory Winter Shelter.
• Educating the congregation on legislative actions/ballot measures that specifically relate to UU principles; writing letters to add to our congregation’s voice about issues that affect us.
• Supporting children’s education, such as Reading to Kids.
  

 

 

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Jerry Buchanan, Chairperson, Social Action Circle

 

 

—Jerry Buchanan, SAC Chair

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