A little over a year ago, Keith Arnold asked me to apply for the interim music director position at JUC. I was flattered that someone I admire so much would trust me with the music program he’s done so much to build, but I was also very nervous. I knew the expectations would be high, and my only experience had been in a congregation about one-tenth of the size of JUC. And still, after applying and interviewing, I received an offer. Though it was a difficult decision to leave my previous position, I decided to jump into the unknown.

And now, at the end of my time here, I cannot be more grateful that I stepped outside of my comfort zone and accepted this job, which has become much more than just a “job” to me. As I had suspected, this year was full of challenges and new opportunities. Most of the time, it felt like I was learning as I went along, handling each new obstacle in the best way I knew at the time, and most importantly, learning from each new experience. However important these learning experiences have been, when I think back on this year, I know I will mostly remember the amazing people I’ve had the privilege to meet and get to know.

Thank you to the JUC Choir and the JUC Ringers, for allowing me to make mistakes and try new things. I am constantly inspired by the ways that you take care of each other, as well as the passion for music and community that you bring to each rehearsal and Sunday service. I have learned so much from each of you, and I will miss you dearly.

Thank you to Jude, JUC staff pianist and choir accompanist, for your patience and kindness. People don’t realize how much you do for this church to keep things running smoothly, and you do it with professionalism, enthusiasm, and most importantly, love. I am grateful to have had the chance to get to know you and learn from you this year.

Thank you to Adam, Dave, Elliott, and John for welcoming me into the worship band with open arms. Singing with you has helped me reconnect to the joy of singing that I had lost in my years of classical training. I admire each of you not only as musicians, but as humans.

Thank you to all the congregants, whether we’ve met or not, who have participated in the community music-making during our services.  It goes without saying, but you all are the reason I love this work.

And finally, thank you to the incredible JUC staff, Carol, Darcy, Emily, Laura, Sarah, and Revs. Jen and Wendy. Each of you have challenged me this year to be a better version of myself. I will miss this team more than words can describe.

Thank you, JUC, for the life-changing experience of serving as your Acting Director of Music Ministry. I’m grateful for the memories that I take with me on this next chapter of my life. As many of you know, starting in August, I will be working toward my Master of Music in Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder. Additionally, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to serve my previous congregation, Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church, in a different position as their quarter-time Faith Development Coordinator. This position will allow me to use my previous experiences in Unitarian Universalism, music, art, and teaching to serve the children and youth at Columbine, while balancing my schedule as a full-time student and Teaching Assistant at CU. While I’m sad to be leaving JUC, I’m excited for what this next chapter will bring.

Though this is a goodbye that I have been anticipating all year, it’s still not an easy one, but knowing that such an experienced and passionate Director of Music is taking over, I’m excited to see what’s next for this church. Under Baker Purdon’s leadership, I have the utmost confidence that the music ministry at JUC will continue to flourish and grow. I hope that you all will continue to keep your minds and hearts open to Baker’s guidance, the same openness that you have graciously granted me. I will be cheering you on from afar.

Thank you for an unforgettable year. I love you all.

Why Donate Blood?

Brad Carson

Due to my chronic condition of Primary Immune Deficiency Disease, I am a monthly recipient of blood-derived treatments.

I want to give you reasons to participate in the next JUC Blood Drive.

Did you know that one (1) out of every three (3) people will require a blood transfusion in their lifetime? Or that someone in this country needs a life-saving transfusion every three (3) seconds.

You can help meet the need for blood products in our community by participating in the JUC Community Blood drive Wednesday, August 28. There are slots available from 2-7 pm. For an appointment or more information, please call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and use sponsor code: JUC. Bring a photo ID or your blood donor card, or two other forms of ID. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass for more information.

It’s easy! And you get a tasty snack afterward that is well worth the effort.

You may be wondering what happens to your blood after your donation. The first thing a blood bank does with its donations is to split the whole blood into its three primary components:

The first component is plasma. Plasma is the component of blood that people like me with immune deficiency disease rely upon. Thankfully, plasma can be frozen and stored for over a year. This is good because it takes over 90,000 plasma units to create a pharmaceutical batch of antibody replacement. As you might imagine, this is a costly product because of the amount of plasma involved. These treatments are billed at over $20,000 per infusion, and I look forward to the day when enough plasma is donated to reduce this therapy's cost significantly.

The second component is red blood cells. We are most familiar with this component when we think of blood infusions. People who receive red blood cells include trauma victims, transplant patients, emergency surgery patients, cancer patients, new mothers who experienced complications during childbirth, newly born babies who experienced complications after childbirth, and chronically transfused patients like those suffering from sickle cell disease and Cooley’s disease. Red blood cells have a shelf life of only 35 days.

The third component is platelets. The primary recipients of platelets are burn victims and cancer patients, who are often some of the most challenged patients. Unfortunately, platelets have a shelf life of 5 days from donation. The short shelf life and the never-ending demand make managing this component challenging.

Since joining JUC, I have been amazed at this community's compassion and charity. I have seen people open their hearts and wallets for hurricane, flood, and earthquake victims. I have seen us organize and perform miracles for members of this community who have faced difficult times. Please consider giving the gift of life at our drive this month. I’m asking you to help people like me who rely upon the charity of others to receive our lifesaving therapies.

Racial Justice Team Report

Piper Perry

As we gear up for a new year at JUC, the Racial Justice team has been busy. Since we overwhelmingly passed the 8th principle, we have been looking at the nuts and bolts of how that will change our congregation for the better. 

Julica Hermann de la Fuente gave us a comprehensive rubric for how to move our congregation toward an anti-racist congregation that we are using to evaluate what our congregation is already doing and how we can keep moving forward. 

We’ve identified some ways we can all make JUC a more welcoming place where we are dismantling systems of oppression in our own spaces and some ways that we can come together to build that multigenerational, kind, accountable group we all want to be in our hearts. 

This is where we would like your help. 

We realized that one of the things we should have is a shared story of who we are as a church. What events have shaped us? What brings us together in love and service? Who are we now? Where do you see us going from here? Where do you see us in 10 years? If you have a story or something you would like us to consider in our JUC story, please email us at racialjustice@jeffersonunitarian.org before our next meeting on Sunday, August 11. 

We would like to have a story of who we were, who we are and who we are going to be by our Fall Congregational meeting. 

Part of that story is changing the name of our church. 

In all of our discussions, continuing to use Jefferson as part of our name does not make us a more welcoming place. Whether we take that part of our name from the president as a Unitarian, or from the county our church is in, also named after Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson is not the example we want to lift up or justify to our siblings of color. 

We also want to teach our UU theology, and how it pertains to racial justice. We want to be sensitive to those who have distress around using the word theology and also support those who want to lean into our liberal Christian roots. We want to offer some training around conflict resolution and healing religious trauma.

Save the Date: Fiesta Time!

Kathleen Whitney, UUSC/Guatemala Partners

This marks the 18th year that our congregation has supported the educational programs of the Mayan nonprofit organization ADIVIMA in the town of Rabinal, Guatemala. ADIVIMA provides scholarships for secondary school students and their tutors. These programs assist individual students, their families and their community. ADIVIMA invites our members to visit Rabinal to meet the students and their families and to look in on their programs. Over the years our members have made numerous trips to take advantage of their invitation. The groups that have gone have also brought supplies such as medical equipment for the district midwives. The staff of ADIVIMA have always welcomed us and acted as our hosts.

Guatemala had a national election last year and, for the first time, a presidential candidate supported by the common people WON! Since the election, the reactionary forces in Guatemalan politics have been doing everything they can to frustrate the new administration and prevent it from governing.

We invite you to join us in celebrating these amazing students at our annual Guatemala Fiesta on Sunday, September 22. This event will also kick off our Social Justice Challenge.

Migrants – Myths and Facts

Margie Robinson, JUC CAN

This past year there has been an unprecedented influx of migrants to Denver, with many people welcoming them and doing what they can to help, while others feel threatened. Throughout Jeffco, at City Council and Ward meetings, some people have been speaking out against migrants, incorrectly suggesting that the Jeffco school district has plans to house these migrants in unoccupied schools, that they are here illegally, use our tax dollars which should be used for our own citizens, are criminals bringing drugs into the country, and are stealing our jobs. JUC CAN has investigated these claims, and wants to give you, our member congregants, fact-based information to counter these claims.

Claim #1: Jeffco School District has plans to use unoccupied school buildings to house migrants.

According to Lisa Relou, (May 2024 email) Chief of Staff, Jeffco Public Schools, Jeffco “has no plans to provide migrant housing in its vacant facilities” and “has not been contacted by any of its partner municipalities with a request to house migrants.”  “All current district properties that have been through the districts’ surplus process are now in the disposition process, which involves gathering proposals from private businesses of the Jeffco municipality in which the property is located.”

Claim #2:  Migrants who enter the US from the southwest border are “illegal.”

Many of the migrants from the border enter legally at authorized entry points. There, they turn themselves into US Customs and Border Patrol agents, where they have a preliminary screening to determine their eligibility to remain and plead their case in court. Those who enter at illegal border crossing – places not designated by the Department of Homeland Security – are considered illegal entrants. (Source)

Claim #3:  Migrants use our tax dollars

New migrants indeed use Colorado tax dollars as they work to resettle; however, overall, undocumented immigrants living in this state pay $167.5 million in state and local taxes, while the cost of providing federally mandated services (K-12 education, emergency medical care, incarceration) is $166.5 million. Thus, they are paying taxes at a rate that fully covers the costs of services. (Source) Even though they pay into public benefit systems, they cannot access benefits equal to US citizens and are often excluded from welfare policies. (Source)

Claim #4:  Migrants are criminals bringing illegal drugs into Colorado.

Undocumented immigrants have substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, cited by the Department of Justice) 90% of Fentanyl and other deadly drugs arrive through official ports of entry, not via immigrants illegally crossing the border. 86% of people convicted of trafficking fentanyl across the border in 2021 were US citizens (Source)

Claim #5:  Migrants are taking jobs away from US citizens.

Undocumented workers fill critical gaps in our labor force and make up 4% of Colorado’s workforce. They often work low paying, physically demanding jobs which US citizens don’t want. 78,600 undocumented immigrants in Colorado were on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response yet were ineligible for COVID 19 recovery benefits. (Bell Policy Center)

This fall, JUC CAN and the Racial Justice Team will be hosting a presentation to further discuss Immigration Myths.