ABOUT US

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 Cresenta, CA 91214 Phone: 818-248-3954 E-mail: info@uuverdugo.org Office Hours: 9:00 to 12:00, Tuesday & Thursday Rental Space available for weddings, classes, recitals

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 American 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.

We are a religious community whose mission is to offer a center for freedom of thought where an open search for truth and meaning is encouraged and the worth and dignity of each person is affirmed. We respect the interdependent web of all existence and share a vision to create a world of peace, equality, and compassion in human relations. We unite to share our beliefs, encourage spiritual growth, pass along our evolving religious heritage, and challenge each other into action to enrich ourselves and the community at large.

SEVEN BASIC PRINCIPLES

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

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.

Gary N. Clark, Congregation President

We have a new roof, and new paint is in the pipeline. This is largely financed by robustly depleting the UUCVH Continuity Fund, and our thanks to all those who created and contributed to it in the past. We have newly re-covered chairs in the Fellowship Hall, for which we are grateful to Paula Hallowell. We had a very successful rummage sale. The youth will be participating in the OWL program with other churches in the Cluster.
Many people, perhaps even most, put in a lot of time and work to sustain the Church and the congregation. Much of what it provides is in the nature of community, but as an institution it also reaffirms values, serves the larger community, and provides a window into the holy and the mystical.
 
This is also the time of year when the Church solicits pledges and commitment for the coming year. We had a great and creative Pledge Dinner, with Alice, Steve, and Elizabeth providing scintillation, and good UU food provided by many. If you have not yet sent in a pledge, please do so. We face a financially challenging near-term future while the sale of the Burbank property is pending, and we will face challenges after that, if the sale of the Burbank property does go through. I believe the vision of our future is attainable and viable, and your continuing support is important.
 
 
 

---

 

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.

Occassional:

• 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 and Aprendamos, a program for ‘at-risk’ children.
  
  

 

---

September 21, 2007 will be "National Prayer for Peace Day."

Glendale Peace Vigil

invites everyone to join in a

Peace Vigil at Brand and Broadway in Glendale from 5 to 8 p.m.

To sing and hold candles for peace.

 

Jerry Buchanan, Chairperson Social Action Circle
I’ll fill you in with more information as I have it.  UUCVH has been very active lately in helping others, but you ain't
seen nothing yet. Many of our projects lately have been for the aid of the homeless. We have done some wonderful things for PATH Achieve Glendale. Our next push is for the children of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Many years ago, our church "adopted" a social worker through the ACAC Association for Child Abuse Counselors). That worker was promoted nd it took some time us to be assigned to a new worker. But now, we have as our new "adoptee" Mercede Webb. Mercede will let us know what special needs some of the children under her supervision have. These
are children that have been neglected or abused and require oversight by the county either in foster homes or still within the family unit.

During our August meeting, the Social Action Circle (SAC) agreed to work on three of the needs that Mercede has let us know about. She mentioned that one family needed a $50 grocery gift card. The members of the SAC took it upon themselves to donate that money and we collected the $50 in about fifteen seconds. That family has already received the gift card. We put our money where our hearts are.

It's back-to-school time and the children of the DCFS need backpacks filled with school supplies. A list of necessary items will be provided to you at church for the different age groups. Please buy a backpack and stuff it with the items on the list. We will be a little late for the start of school, but if we have the backpacks by Sunday, September 9, that should be soon enough.

Keep in mind that in late October we will start the annual Christmas gift drive for these same children. If your budget is slim, choose which project you would like to participate in-backpacks or Christmas.

A friend asked me recently why, with the beliefs that I have, do I need to belong to a church. One big reason is the opportunity to participate in these works that make a difference in others' lives.
   

,UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST LINKS

National
The Unitarian Universalist Association
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

District (Southern California, Arizona, Las Vegas)
The Pacific Southwest District, District e-mail: pswd@aol.com
DeBenneville Pines UU Camp

Other Unitarian Universalist Churches near UUVerdugo:
Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park
Neighborhood Church, Pasadena
Sepulveda UU Society (The Onion), North Hills
The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica, Santa Monica
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, Studio City
Unitarian Universalists of the Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Clarita

 

 

 

Contact Us | By Laws | FAQs | © 2005 The Unitarian Universalist Church of Verdugo Hills