Portraits in Generosity highlights our Sustaining Donors, the people who’ve committed to a monthly donation to the South Bay Food Pantry
Judy Ramirez, who calls the South Bay campus her church home, is one of the Pantry’s earliest and most loyal donors. She knew Maureen McNair, who founded the Pantry, and learned about the Pantry soon after its launch in December 2019— “people in the South Bay campus were talking about it.” She wrote a check to support its work, and she’s written a check every month since.
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My partner, Karen Kircher and I, Louise Titlow, have been Diaper Pantry volunteers for a year and a half primarily receiving the deliveries every other week on Tuesdays. Sometimes our shift overlaps with some of the Food Pantry volunteers who bag non perishable food items. At first, the food bagging team and our diaper delivery team tried to work in our overlapping cramped spaces, but there wasn’t enough room and we kept bumping into each other. We made a compromise, and we now help them bag food and they help us carry and stack boxes. I said how grateful I was for Sue Marberry’s help one day and she said “This is what we do, we help each other.” We are creating community while working shoulder to shoulder together, and getting to know each other better. Karen and I have been monthly Sustaining Donors of the Pantry for a few years, and we feel our donation is very well spent, supporting one of our community’s most important programs.
2-5 pm Saturday, July 29th, 2023 Continuing our community events series, First UU San Diego is thrilled to present La Rondalla with Mariachi Victoria! La Rondalla (Spanish for serenade) de San Diego singers, guitarists and percussionists performing traditional songs of Mexico, Latin American, and the Caribbean primarily at libraries, senior facilities, schools, and festivals. Mariachi Victoria de San Diego, based in City Heights, is dedicated to the study of Mariachi music offering all-age/all-level classes, rehearsals, and performances. Learn more about Mariachi Victoria at cityheightsmusicschool.org/mariachi-victoria . Join us for this joyous three hour celebration of traditional folk classics and Mariachi! Admission is free. Registration is required, sign up for your free tickets. The South Bay Food Pantry is a major success story for First UU San Diego. From its start in December 2020, the Pantry has grown from feeding 20 to 30 people each week to 400 households, about 1200 people, every Saturday. That’s an 800 percent increase! This expansion has been driven by the need in the community, and supported by volunteers from both church campuses, and many of our clients. We have much to be proud of, and much to be grateful for.
By Mindy Hochgesang “Many hands make work light”….I learned this mantra as part of my son’s Cub Scouts experience but seems to hold very true for how the team that supports the Diaper Pantry (the little sister of the Food Pantry). Each Sunday, our doors at the Diaper Pantry at the Chula Vista campus open for one hour and typically serve families with a combined total of 60-80 children. In addition to diapers, families are provided with diaper wipes, menstrual hygiene products for females in the household, and often, bread that has been donated by a local bakery.
7:30-9pm Sunday, April 30th, 2023 presented by Front Street Productions
MacArthur Genius Natalia Molina unveils the hidden history of the Nayarit, a restaurant in Los Angeles that nourished its community of Mexican immigrants with a sense of belonging. In the 1950s and 60s, a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles was much more than a popular eating spot: it was an urban anchor whose ethnic Mexican workers and customers formed a robust community. Molina illuminates the many facets of the immigrant experience from racism and segregation to family and community networks, the cross-currents of gender and sexuality, and the small pleasures of daily life. The Nayarit was a space where people could speak out, claim space, and belong. Natalia's editor, our own Isabella Furth, will be on hand along with staff from Libélula Books & Co, an independent book store in Barrio Logan, which will be handling book sales at our reception afterwards. Join us! Registration is free but required, sign up for your free tickets. Nancy Toba-Laba, a long time member of the South Bay campus and an ardent volunteer at the food pantry, sends this report on distributing food for 400 households in the rain:
"Rainy and cold Saturday in the South Bay Food Pantry. There we were, all the volunteers, moving from one side to another, laughing and shouting to complete our goals. We looked like children playing in the rain. While our hands felt coldly frozen, I must say that never a complaint was heard. It was a curious Saturday, quite different not only because it rained but also because of the attitude of all the people who were there, as if we were witnesses of an unparalleled event. The volunteers were engrossed in their work with their happy faces, and meanwhile the clients waited in line chatting animatedly. They observed with great attention the tasks that the volunteers carried out and for the first time I observed empathy, gratitude and perhaps some other feeling that moved and filled my heart with satisfaction. I could not stop observing everything that happened that day, because it was truly a day like no other. From time to time I would ask the volunteers who pack the fruits and vegetables, Hello, how are you? They answered in chorus "blessed" and my face lit up with gratitude at the strength of their response. This Saturday is great. I told myself inside. It had been a long time since I had lived the satisfaction of feeling, listening and witnessing a completely unifying day, incomparable, where we were all able to put ourselves in each other's shoes and our clients had so many beautiful, unique and blessed words for the volunteers and our South Bay Food Pantry. Gratitude was the queen this Saturday because despite the rain and the cold we were there working with love, energy and diligence so that our dear clients could take their food home just like every Saturday. We have two 20 hours per week job openings. Take a look and feel free to send to a friend who might be interested. Administrative Assistant
San Diego Children's Intermediate Choir in concert with the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir3/11/2023 A collaborative evening of spectacular singing
by children and youth under the age of 18
from San Diego and Oakland. Free-Registration required. Get your free tickets. 7:30-9pm Saturday, April 1st, 2023 Theologian and ordained Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks about personal failings, recovery, grace, faith, and really whatever the hell else she wants. A former stand-up comic and a recovering alcoholic, she founded the House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver, created and hosts the popular podcast The Confessional and is the author of three New York Times best-selling memoirs. Registration is free but required, sign up for your free tickets.
7:30 pm Sunday March 26th, 2023. Classics from Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson and Abby Lincoln finished with a sweet dose of Spanish boleros. Mali Irene is a versatile vocal artist composer, scholar and collaborator. Her work breathes on an inspired continuum between opera, jazz, world, and electronic music - always embracing her embodied connection to music of the African diaspora. She has performed with legendary operas throughout the world and is the recipient of the prestigious National Black Arts Festival Horizon Award. 7:30 pm Saturday, March 11th 2023. Experience barbershop standards and originals in English, Spanish and Portuguese! Formado en 2019, Los Bordershop es el primer cuarteto mexicano de barbershop, y uno de los únicos del mundo que canta en español. No pierdas la oportunidad de ver su debut en los EEUU. Formed in 2019, Los Bordershop is Mexico's premier barbershop quartet, and among the only quartets in the world to sing in Spanish. Don't miss your chance to see their U.S. debut. Also featuring very special musical guests: MotleyQ and So Noted! Share this free concert, download a flyer to send to friends. Registration required. Get your free tickets. Download a flyer for the whole week. Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director and vocal activist. She facilitates vocal and stick pounding workshops for professional choirs and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations. We are thrilled to welcome Melanie DeMore for a whole week of music and YOU are heartily invited to her Song as Worship Workshop, Community Sing Concert AND our Music of the Heart Sunday service - all FREE. Read on for the weeklong schedule. The Membership Coordinator (25 hours per week) oversees our comprehensive membership program which promotes membership growth, new member assimilation, membership tracking, and volunteer identification across two campuses. The Membership Coordinator also serves as a resource for committees and ministry teams who are looking for volunteers. Please forward to anyone who you feel would be a good match. For the job summary including application instructions download the Job Description. Join us at 7:30pm on Saturday, March 4th for Melanie DeMore's Community Sing. Melanie is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and social-activist who will have you singing in your seat in an unforgettable interactive evening of story and song presented by Front Street Productions. For more details contact Robie Evans. You must register to attend this open-seating show. Get your free tickets. Our 150th kickoff celebration on January 28th was a big hit. In the morning, members gathered to visit on the lower patio and enjoy the sunshine. Our sound therapist Terry provided healing sound sessions, which were very popular, while others enjoyed the meandering magician and fascinating historical art show by John Keasler, which lined the walls of Bard Hall. Soon enough it was time for our short program in the Meeting House with special music and visiting dignitaries. Highlights included a message from council member Chris Ward (a church member) and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who provided a special proclamation. Click photos to view larger, click Read More for more info and photos. 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 [email protected] 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. Michael Odegaard will join us on February 23rd, as our next presenter in the Adult RE Speaker Series, to tell us about his current project to preserve the Kumeyaay Language. This event will be one more step toward establishing an accountable relationship between First UU and the Kumeyaay People. Michael serves as a Director of the United Nations Association of San Diego to coordinate implementation of the United Nations 2022-2032 Decade of Indigenous Languages' goals, which includes ecuring legal status for San Diego County's two indigenous languages, Kumeyaay and Luiseno (Chamtēela).
The Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, the fifth oldest church in the city, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding with a year long series of celebrations. An opening festival for all ages will take place at the Front Street campus on Saturday, January 28, featuring dignitaries, food, face painting, stilt walkers and music. Choral festivals, special worship services and a series of speakers on the cutting edge of religious thought are planned throughout the year. By Sebastian Hochgesang My name is Sebastian. I'm 10 years old and I go to Martin Elementary. We have been volunteering at the Diaper Pantry since it first opened. My mom and I started volunteering about a year and a half ago. In the beginning, it was a little bit hard, but eventually I got used to it. It was nice to know other people in the community. And my mom and I usually go for a treat after we volunteer. Here are some of the things I help my mom with when we volunteer: By Isabella Furth, Pantry Volunteer For years, I have been fiercely protective of my Saturdays. As it is for many people, my work week is a bustle of work and meetings and activity. Sundays are full of church, music rehearsals, and gearing up for the week to come. But Saturdays! For me, they are the day of rest. There’s time for a swim, a walk, an outing, visiting a friend, doing the crossword, cooking. A time to relax, to think, to slow down and make room for things outside the world of work and consumption and productivity. Saturdays are my Sabbath. For years, when faced with any standing commitment, no matter how important or worthwhile—if it meant giving up Saturdays I would give it a pass. And then in March 2020, Maureen McNair called me, looking for volunteers to work at the food pantry. On Saturdays. 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. By Rhea Kuhlman, Pantry Volunteer In the two and a half years that John and Peggy Holl have been picking up bread donations from Con Pane Bakery at Liberty Station, hauling it to the South Bay Food Pantry in their small car, weighing it, and individually wrapping or bagging each loaf or pastry assortment, they’ve handled about 7,200 pounds of bread, or a little over 3.6 tons. That’s a lot of tonnage for a couple in their 80s! Now the Holls are passing the torch to a new generation of volunteers, to satisfy their children, who worry about their night driving on the freeway. |
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