Ukiah history

First Baptist Churchukiah has occupied the same corner (302 W. Henry St.) since 1859 and has watched many pastors come and go during that time.

The Rev. Garry Zeek grew up in that church and later became pastor of the church. Since leaving First Baptist, most of his ministry has been in Baptist churches both stateside and overseas. Recently he has served with the Evangelical Free Church of America. In over 40 years of ministry, Garry has served as a senior pastor and associate pastor in Minnesota, Northern California, and New Zealand. He has also served as a mentor or ministry coach to other pastors and lay leaders during that time. His passion for training leaders stateside and around the world as executive director of leadership development with S.O.S. International is driven by his life motto, “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48).

Garry is now a church revitalization and leadership development consultant with Church Assistance Ministry. He’s returned for a period of time to the Ukiah church in that role. He preached this last Sunday.

He said, “This church has been on this corner since 1859. Can you imagine how many prayers have been offered up on this corner since then?” Regarding the relevancy of the church today, he said, “The church is still the delivery system for God’s direction for our lives.”

Current leader staff: David Allen- co-interim/ discipleship pastor, and Zach Dison- co-interim/ music worship pastor.

Church phone number is (707) 462-2779 and email is: fbuoffice@firstbaptistukiah.org

Women celebrating the vote

The Mendocino Women’s Political Coalition will celebrate the 101st anniversary of Women Getting the Vote on Saturday, Aug. 21, at the Kelley House lawn in Mendocino from 2 to 4 p.m. to honor the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote.

This event will include music by the Coast Women’s Choir, oral histories, poetry and speeches.

From Val Muchowski, longtime leader in all good things: “League members Priscilla Comen and Jane Person plan to portray suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Carrie Chapman Catt; Loreto Rojas will speak about becoming a citizen, and California Treasurer Fiona Ma will give an address. Fort Bragg City Council member and Soroptimist Tess Albinsmith will moderate.

“This is a proud tradition which we have enacted in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. A pre-festivities parade is also planned for 1 p.m. for those who can arrive early. The public is invited — bring a chair.

“On Aug. 26, 1920, after three generations of an unrelenting, brilliant, courageous, political campaign, women in the United States won the right to vote. To honor and commemorate the historic date of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Congresswoman Bella Abzug introduced a Congressional Resolution to ensure that this date would be commemorated with the designation of Women’s Equality Day, which is celebrated on August 26th each year. We women living here today enjoy the fruits of what the suffragists won for us — our right to vote, and our enhanced ability to shape the way we want to live. Since the pandemic prevented us from gathering last year, we are celebrating both the centennial and the 101st anniversary of the 19th Amendment this August.”

The Mendocino Women’s Political Coalition (MWPC) and the City of Ukiah have created two Centennial displays for the community to view. They begin Aug. 17 and will continue for the following two weeks to encourage increased awareness, education and celebration. Take note of the banner across State Street at Clay Street and the unique display in the front of the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Ave., which will have exterior lighting of purple, gold, and white, the colors of the suffragists. Everyone is encouraged to visit the Civic Center including families and children.

Beginning again

Mendocino College Concert Choir will begin meeting in person Monday, Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m. in the College Center Theatre (social distancing, you know!!!).

From the teacher, Janice Timm: “It’s really happening! We are resuming choir for the fall semester. Iwouldlovetohaveyou join us, and I am very excited to finally be meeting in person/face-to-face again. Register for either MUS 281 (the “regular” class) or MUS 580 (the “older adults” class, for community members, and anyone who has termed out of regular registration).”

Take a look at the fall repertoire here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uc7glulfhe6miqh/aactpd0w9ctzgohdnfd86cda?dl=0

More music

Ukiah Symphony Orchestra (USO) is offering season tickets — on sale now. They have a terrific line-up for the season (check out website: ukiahsymphony.org). Concerts are at Mendocino College Center Theatre stage.

Benefits of season subscription: Attendance flexibility. Each season subscriber will receive a membership card with four total admissions; each admission can be used for any concert in the season — virtual or in-person.

Subscriptions are a bargain at $100/each or $25 per concert.

Preferred seating reservations: USO stated “We may be required to have reserved, socially distant seating if protocols allow for in-person, live audiences. Season subscribers will have the opportunity to make early reservations for selected seats before single concert tickets go on sale to the general public.

Contact USO, P.O. Box 892, Ukiah, CA 95482. (707) 510-1793, info@ukiahsymphony.org.

Equity and inclusion in the workplace

A workshop on this subject — DEI in the workplace 101 — is Friday, Aug. 27, via zoom 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost is $50, $35 for nonprofit. Participants limited to 36.

Presenters are L. Jani Sheppard and Roseanne Ibarra, MLSA, both Partners in Leadershipsolutions. For more information, contact L. Jani Sheppard, ljs.leadershipsolutions, LLC at ljs.leadershipsolutions@gmail. com.

What is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)? Diversity is the presence of differences that may include race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, language, (dis)ability, age, religious commitment, or political perspective — populations that have been, and remain, underrepresented among practitioners in the field and marginalized in the broader society.

Equity is promoting justice, impartiality and fairness within the procedures, processes, and distribution of resources by institutions or systems. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society.

Inclusion is an outcome to ensure those that are diverse actually feel and/or are welcomed. Inclusion outcomes are met when you, your institution, and your program are truly inviting to all — to the degree to which diverse individuals are able to participate fully in the decision-making processes and development opportunities within an organization or group.

LJS Leadership Solutions offers Executive Coaching, Strategic Planning, Meeting Facilitation, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership and Supervisory Training, Board Development and Training, Retreats, Corporate Team Building

Future workshops may include: DEI and Patient and Client/client, Learning In as a DEI Informed Leader: The Joy and Responsibility, Trauma Informed DEI, DEI and Non-profit Leadership, Checking My Own Bias and Moving Forward, Managing Bias in my workplace: I’m not going crazy, Power Dynamics and Decision Making: The Role of Bias and Privilege.