By Karen Marcus

This post —one in a series about the 7 UU principles — explores the 7th one, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” The “interdependent web of existence” is an abstract concept and, therefore, one that applies to many aspects of life. I asked several Foothills members to share what comes to mind for them when considering the 7th principle.

Natalie Shrewsbury, who has been attending Foothills for two years and has been a member for the last nine months, notes that when you see the world through the lens of the 7th principle, decisions become more complex because you have to consider all factors in every situation. For example, “If you’re thinking about how to be a good land steward in your own backyard, maybe you want to have a garden, or some chickens. You need to consider things like the history of the location, the movement of the sun, how people and animals use the space, and how the land might be used in the future, as well as how your actions might affect your neighbors and the larger community. The idea is to create a space that works for every living being in it: plants, animals, and people.”  

Natalie is concerned that, in the current political climate, decisions are being made too quickly to use this type of problem-solving to take all factors into consideration. For example, she says, “To dismantle the health care system and come up with something new takes much longer than three months. It seems decisions are being made so fast that the decision makers aren’t honoring a wider view.”

As a Foothills member for 30 years, Brian Woodruff was around in the 1980s, when Foothills minister Walter Royal (Roy) Jones was instrumental in formulating the 7 principles. Brian explains, “Consensus on the 7th principle was difficult, and Roy’s language ‘respect for the interdependent web’ won.” As someone who has worked in air pollution throughout his career, Brian is proud of the UUA for including the environment among its principles. Brian sees the 7th principle playing out for some in changed behavior, such as the reduction of energy and raw materials in our homes. For others, he observes, “It manifests as political activism to raise awareness and fight for better environmental laws.”

Brian points out a drawback of the 7th principle: it doesn’t require action. He says, “Pride isn’t enough. I’m interested in motivating Foothills to take action on the 7th principle, in more ways than greening our buildings. Considering that climate change is the most significant threat to planetary health, what might we aspire to do together with the support of a principled church community?”

Ann Molison, along with her husband Bob, attended Foothills from 1983 to 1989, returned in 2000, and have been attending ever since. For her, the 7th principle relates to her involvement with Foothills itself. She says, “Membership has helped me develop a deeper involvement in our church.” Ann believes the 7th principle reflects our relationship to the world around us, saying, “We need this world and it needs us. Not just the people, but the environment both within and outside our church.” Church involvement has helped her to concentrate less on herself and to reach out to others. For example, Ann sits at the Welcome Kiosk on Sundays, helps with the Sanctuary program, attends workshops on the environment, and attends church services whenever possible. She remarks, “Participating in these activities has been a freeing experience and gives meaning to my commitment to Foothills.” 

Laurie Seiler, who has been a Foothills member for 10 years, has always felt connected to “the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” She says, “I continue to learn more about how to respect it. This is both an integral part of my spirituality and part of being a responsible steward of the planet we share with all life forms. Connecting in this way allows me to transmute fear, disappointment, and stress into love, joy, peace, and hope. It also motivates me to do what I can to care for our planet and everyone on it, now and into the future.” 

Laurie observes that it’s easy to think only of survival for ourselves in the current moment and forget to look at all life over an extended period of time. She notes, “When we remember to step back and look at the bigger picture we begin to understand and live in integrity with the 7th principle.”

Like Laurie, for Foothills member Peg MacMorris, “The ‘interdependent web’ embodies the idea of living in harmony with the earth; living in good conscience means limiting our carbon footprints and trying to live as sustainably as possible.” These principles have guided Peg’s life. She notes, “I’m inspired and sustained by time spent experiencing the natural environment, in large and small ways.”

At her former church, Peg worked on environmental initiatives, and at Foothills, she says, “I strive to make our congregation aware of climate justice. I also hope that care for our environment enters into all considerations within our church life, and within the lives of each congregation member.” She is also organizing efforts to help provide energy efficiency and weatherization enhancements for families with low incomes in Fort Collins. The dangers of not making these efforts, says Peg, are “a life out of harmony with the environment, a lack of awareness of our natural surroundings, and a life that is not sustainable for individuals or the community.”

What a great variety of interpretations on the 7th principle. What does it mean to you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.

By Karen Marcus

In November, Foothills Unitarian Church raised an impressive $4,404 for the Food Bank for Larimer County! The Food Bank is a non-profit organization that strives to support stability in people’s lives through hunger-relief programs. Each year it provides food to more than 37,500 people in need in our community.

Foothills supports the Food Bank in another important way: by running the Food Bank for Larimer County Mobile Pantry two Sundays per month in the Foothills parking lot. The Mobile Pantry has been in operation for over a year, and Foothills was the first entity to set one up (the second was Discovery Fellowship Church, and we hope there will be more to come).

Rebecca Parish heads up this effort, and I asked her for details about this highly successful program. Here’s what she had to say:

KM: Can you describe the variety of people who need this service?

RP: We see quite a few senior citizens, who commonly tell us that they’re living on a fixed income, and also dealing with rising housing costs and medical expenses. The result is that once they’ve paid for rent and utilities, there’s little left over for food.

We also see single mothers with their children. Most of them are working to provide for their families, but just can’t earn a large enough income to support a whole household. Food from the Food Bank helps them save on their grocery bills and make nutritious meals. One woman shared that she has just enough to pay the bills and feed her family, so she only comes through the food line at certain times of the year for grocery savings, which helps her to afford extras — like presents during the holidays, or school supplies and clothes at back-to-school time — or to make ends meet when an unexpected expense, such as a car repair, comes up.

This way, she feels she’s leaving more food for those who really need it, but the reality is she’s exactly the recipient for which the Food Bank exists! However, most people want to be independent and self-sufficient, and use such services as little as possible.

We also see some college students who eat inexpensive meals to afford college here. The Food Bank provides them more beneficial foods to eat. Additionally, even some families who have two working parents struggle to get by as the cost of living continues to rise.

There’s a perception in America that assistance recipients are all on welfare and don’t work. We don’t find that to be the case. Most of them are working, but just don’t make enough money to pay the bills. Or they’re working part-time because they’re in school so that someday they can afford to not need any assistance.

KM: What is the biggest benefit for recipients of the Mobile Pantry?

RP: One intangible benefit is feeling their community cares about them. The primary concrete benefit is that it simply helps recipients have enough food to eat and afford groceries! Most Mobile Pantry events include eggs and yogurt, sometimes packaged meats, and generally there is plenty of fresh produce. Some recipients are eating food for the first time that day when they come to our afternoon distribution.

The Mobile Pantry sometimes includes a “special treat” that appeals to kids because so many households with children come through the line. It could be cookies, fruit roll-ups, animal crackers, ​or whatever treat that happens to be available that week. For those who are just trying to put food on the table, it’s something they wouldn’t usually spend money on, so the kids get really excited to have it.

We don’t know the whole story of many of our clients — we hear little bits and pieces — but generally all the clients are very thankful for us being there and doing this. I don’t think any of them know that the church pays for the food (produce costs us nothing, but we pay a low rate per pound for the other food we distribute). They view it as exactly the same as going to the Food Bank warehouse up north or down in Loveland.

However, many of them tell us that they aren’t able to get to the Food Bank warehouse for a variety of reasons: lack of transportation, working during Food Bank hours, etc. For the roughly 90-100 households that come to us for food, 50-60 visit only our location, despite our events only being held twice a month! This means that — although each household is eligible for two shopping visits per week from the Food Bank program — the Mobile Pantry is their sole source of Food Bank assistance.

This is exactly the gap the Food Bank was trying to fill. They suspected many food-insecure households weren’t accessing the Food Bank’s services simply due to logistical issues. So, we are a success! The leadership at Foothills and our many volunteers are thrilled to help our neighbors in this way. And the Food Bank looks forward to the creation of more Mobile Pantry locations — such as the one recently started at Discovery Fellowship — to extend their reach.

KM: Do you have any other anecdotes about people who have been helped by this service?

RP: One elderly lady comes with her two young grandchildren to every Mobile Pantry. She is largely providing the care and housing for these children because their parents can’t. She’s on a fixed income and isn’t getting any financial assistance to provide for these kids, so she’s struggled to do so. She has expressed her thanks many times for us doing this work, because otherwise she doesn’t know how she’d keep her grandchildren fed. She’s making life work for her grandchildren, and they seem happy and healthy, and are very polite. I’m so glad they have her.

KM: How long have you been acting as coordinator, and what is your favorite part of that role?

BP: I’ve been the coordinator for a little over a year. We’ve grown from a small team of four to a dozen leads who, in pairs, can successfully set up, manage, and tear down one of our Mobile Pantry events. We’ve gone from a handful of volunteers to nearly 200 that have helped at one time or another. And from under 20 household recipients served at our very first “Food Bank @ Foothills” to 109 at our recent December 10th pantry! I’m so grateful for this lead team and the many dedicated volunteers that make it all come together so nicely.

My favorite part of the Mobile Pantry is that it’s an opportunity for multi-generational and family volunteering. My family and I really enjoy working there and meeting our food-insecure neighbors. I also really love that I’ve had an opportunity to get to know more Foothills members and their families when they come to volunteer. We have senior citizens working next to teenagers almost every time. It’s a very positive atmosphere where everyone is really happy to be there and that comes across to the recipients. Many of them have commented on how welcoming we are, and some have even said they “feel like royalty.” A couple of clients have become volunteers, themselves, because they want to give back to something they appreciate so much. The whole event is really heartwarming.

KM: Is there anything else you’d like to share about the Mobile Pantry?

RP: The Food Bank is able to much more effectively get quantities of food for each dollar than we as individual consumers can, even when we buy in bulk at places like Costco. So, if you have the choice to buy a case of soup for $10, or give the Food Bank $10, giving them the money is going to put more food onto the tables of food-insecure households. The Food Bank also needs and depends on volunteers in order to get more food out to our community. If you’d like to volunteer at our Mobile Pantry or at a Food Bank for Larimer County facility, your help is welcome and appreciated.

Learn more and find out how to volunteer for the Mobile Pantry.

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.

by Jane Everham

I am elated to report that we raised $5,000 for La Cocina, a non-profit mental health service for Latinx in Fort Collins during the month of October through our Share the Plate offering!

In January 2017, caring and concerned CSU faculty and students in the Marriage and Family Therapy program in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies created La Cocina. They launched the program in direct response to the many challenges facing immigrant families. Today, La Cocina has grown to a program of The Family Center/La Familia and provides a safe space for Latinxs to come together for a variety of support programs. These include open community dialogues, structured therapy groups for adults and adolescents, clinical behavioral and mental health services (including therapy through play to promote safe and healthy childhood development) and community Charlas (chat, talk) to understand what resources are available in times of need.

La Cocina’s services are provided to families at absolutely no cost. Additionally, La Cocina’s unique model of “kitchen table” support and care destigmatizes mental health services and delivers a welcoming, bilingual and bicultural environment where Latinx families may process current challenges and heal from past adversity.

“We are SO grateful and happy to be in partnership with you.” said Janina Fariñas, Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist at La Cocina. This money will certainly help La Cocina further their mission of helping Fort Collins Latinx in need of mental health services.

The generosity of Foothills members is extraordinary. As we forge relationships with other organizations committed to benevolence in the Fort Collins community, our mission of unleashing courageous love reaches far and touches many. The Foothills Unitarian Church congregation has a huge heart and our community feels its beat. Thank you for your generosity. 

Katie Watkins

Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.

Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.

Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.