Message from Margo

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Dear UU Community of San Diego,

I’m sorry I have not been able to be in touch - I have not had reliable email access. I know that many of you have been concerned about Chalice members and how we are doing. Thank you for your outpouring of support. At this point, I am not sure what all we need. Due to evacuations, many members of Chalice are spread throughout Southern California.

If you are a Chalice member, and have not contacted me already, please contact me on my cell phone. 858.472.3162. I would like to know where you are and how you are doing.

A brief update: Tom and I fled at 5 am Monday morning. We were awakened to a wall of fire coming down Battle Mountain behind our condo complex. We left with minimal items. We were forced evacuated north on Highway 15.
After two attempted settlings and realizing we would be evacuated again, we settled in Temecula in the home of John and Lynn Welniak - founding members of the Temecula Valley UU Community. We do know that our condo did not burn, but we are uncertain of the smoke damage.

The status of the Chalice UU building remains unknown. We’ve received conflicting reports that the building was fine and also that there were buildings burning around it. We hope to know in the next couple of days whether our church is still standing. What we do know is that ours is a resilient and loving congregation and we will pull together as the strong community we are.

We are deeply grateful to the Unitarian Universalist Association Relief Team and the Pacific Southwest District Executive, Rev. Dr. Ken Brown, who are working to raise funds for any San Diego UUs who might need assistance. Our gratitude also to First UU Church as well as Palomar Fellowship for their offers of homes, food, and whatever else might be needed as we recover. Our concern also goes out to those members of San Dieguito who may be suffering losses at this time.

I know that our San Diego Cluster is connected, compassionate, and we are so fortunate at this time to have such a loving community.

My thanks to Rev. Beth Johnson and David Miller for their support during time.

Blessings on the journey,

Rev. Margo McKenna-Brower
Chalice UU Congregation