Initiation March 15, 2023; 70th Birthday August 25, 2022; Sponsored by Two Tai Chi Classes
2023 Ritual Introduction Read by Rosalie Simari
Sharing Information: Donna Redmond
Vicki Shackford had her 70th birthday on August 25, 2022. Vicki and her husband, John Shackford, began attending UU Cville in 2016, shortly after they moved to this area. They soon joined as members. One of their strong interests is Tai Chi and they are both Senior Teachers of Tai Chi. After joining the church, they decided to offer Tai Chi classes as part of their financial contribution to the congregation. They charge a minimal amount for each class session, and give the proceeds to the church. They provide two classes weekly throughout the church program year. Vicki teaches a class for beginners called Tai Chi for Health. It focuses on development of strength and balance, using a variety of Tai Chi exercises. Vicki and John together teach a class for more experienced Tai Chi “players,” which focuses on learning the form, principles, and philosophy of the Chang Man-Ching style of Tai Chi. Students practice individual movements in this style, go through the full form together every week, and also focus on internal aspects of Tai Chi.
These classes have been presented annually over more than six years, including classes outdoors and on Zoom during the Covid pandemic, when such group activities were restricted. They have provided a valuable opportunity for congregation members to improve their health; since people outside the congregation are also accepted into the classes, they have introduced new local residents to our church and members; new connections and friendships have developed between and among the Tai Chi class members; and class fees have been a welcome addition to the church budget.
In addition to teaching Tai Chi, Vicki served as a Pastoral Visitor for two years (2017-19), visiting congregants who were isolated or needed a listening ear. Those of us who know Vicki have experienced what an empathetic listener she is! Vicki and John both served as mentors to the congregation’s Challenge/Coming of Age youth in 2017-18. They met regularly with their mentees throughout the church year, helping to challenge and guide them in completing a lengthy notebook. From 2018-21 Vicki and John also worked as UU IMPACT Network Members, attending Network meetings with members from the other IMPACT congregations, and inviting members of our congregation to attend the Nehemiah Action in March. Clearly, they have contributed to the strength and development of the church in a variety of ways, and worked as a team much of the time.
You may be wondering why only Vicki is becoming a recipient of the Edith Good Birthday Bouquet today. It is because John had his 80th birthday on October 25, 2021, and the tradition of Passing the Edith Good Birthday Bouquet did not begin until January 2022. John will be an eligible recipient on his 90th birthday, in October, 2031. That will be a banner year for Birthday Bouquet recipients, because eight other current church members will be having a decadal birthday that year. We are happy to be able to honor John’s contributions today, as we celebrate Vicki’s decadal birthday belatedly.
Would anyone else like to share a comment about Vicki’s work with the Tai Chi classes?
(Almost every participant made a positive comment about their interactions with Vicki, but the meeting was not recorded. Comments noted here were provided in written form after the meeting.)
Greta Dershimer: In the last Tai Chi class I attended, outdoors during the Covid pandemic, my right ankle was sore, very red, and slightly swollen. As I was changing my shoes and socks after the class, Vicki noticed this and asked about it. I told her I thought my ankle was infected by some insect bite, and was treating it with Neosporin. Vicki said, very solemnly, “You should have your doctor take a look at that.” That afternoon I went to see my doctor, because she spoke so seriously. I learned that it was not an infection. I had a blood clot in my ankle. It needed to be dissolved, or it could break loose and travel deeper into my bloodstream, ending up in my lungs or brain, and causing serious damage. This is just one example of Vicki’s close observation of her students, and personal care for our welfare. It made a big difference for my own health maintenance.
While I was taking the Tai Chi for Health class, I also enjoyed working with John. He has a great sense of humor, and his comments kept us laughing, as well as thinking about the ways we could improve our balance. Laughing is a very good breathing exercise!
John Shackford: I need to say that there is something very wrong going on in this ceremony. People keep talking about Elders. Vicki and I are NOT Elders! We will never be Elders!!
(Laughter)
Greta: Well, that confirms what I said about John!
Linda Dukes: I first met Vicki and John 10 to 15 years ago, when they came to Crozet to teach a special Tai Chi workshop for one of their Tai Chi mentees, who was my first teacher. Later I got to know Vicki at a couple of week-long trainings that the Tai Chi Foundation holds, and at one or two workshops in Northern Virginia, where they were living at the time. When one of my teachers was taking a break from teaching, and another had moved away from Charlottesville, I was looking for a new teacher who used the Chang Man-Ching form, which I had been learning. One of the more senior teachers of that form told me that Vicki was moving to the Charlottesville area soon, and said I should try to become one of her students.
That took a bit of work, because Vicki and John did not want to jump right in to teaching until they were sure they were not stepping on anyone else’s toes! After a little while, they invited me to their home at Lake Monticello for lunch and to do a round of Tai Chi. I was wearing an activist button, which John asked about, saying that they agreed with what the button said. That led me to tell them about our church, and John said he’d grown up in a Unitarian Church in Northern Virginia, and had good memories of his time there! They decided to try out our church and ended up staying. When they agreed to teach a Tai Chi class, our church was the natural place for the class to meet. That made me very happy!
Presentation of Birthday Bouquet: Wayne Arnason
It’s a great pleasure to be part of this ceremony today honoring Vicki Shackford’s 70th birthday, because it brings together for me three elements of life that are very important to me and that Vicki is also involved with: Tai Chi, Elderhood, and Church.
For me, the Tai Chi preceded my involvement with this church. I started learning Tai Chi in my twenties, ten years before I came to Charlottesville. It was an important spiritual and physical practice for me. When I arrived here, however, I was a young parent and the new minister and my life was very full. I looked for a Tai Chi teacher but I couldn’t find one at that time that taught the form I knew. My Tai Chi practice languished somewhat without a regular class to attend. But I kept doing the form with only occasional opportunities to work with teachers.
Even though I started learning Tai Chi in my twenties, I always knew that it was a spiritual practice for a lifetime. Everything I knew about it confirmed that elders could benefit the most from continuing their practice through their sixties, seventies, and eighties. As I entered my own elderhood, and came back to Charlottesville at age 67, I knew I wanted to get my practice going again. I hoped that things would be different this time and that I could find a teacher using the form I had learned. I was pleased when Linda Dukes told me about the class she attended and the form that she had learned – which was the same form that I knew! And, even better, the class was held at this church!
I was so pleased to find the many opportunities for spiritual practice for elders that our church offers. I was grateful to find out that Tai Chi was one of the offerings in our building. I assumed that the teachers were renting our space.
I came to the class and approached the teachers about joining and was welcomed. It wasn’t long after that when I was attending the worship services in person, before the pandemic shut us down, that I looked down the pew and sitting there were my Tai Chi teachers, Vicki and John! They not only taught Tai Chi in the building but they were members of the church as well! And active members too! I found out later than John was involved in Active Minds. I saw them both at the Impact Assembly that year and saw that they were involved in our social justice efforts as well. This meant a lot to me.
So today, we honor Vicki as she is recognized by the community of elders in our church, not only for reaching her 70th birthday, but for being part of the teaching ministries of our church, and as a part of her membership commitment, offering the spiritual practice of Tai Chi to our community. We appreciate not only her teaching skills, but her spiritual depth, and her friendship.
So, Vicki, it is a great pleasure to give you this beautiful bouquet to hold as we celebrate this significant birthday with you, and honor your contributions to our congregation. (Hands Vicki the bouquet to hold.)
Would you like to make a brief comment?
Vicki: I remember being contacted by Linda Dukes about Tai Chi, and she came to our house for lunch, and to practice Tai Chi together with us. John noticed her pin, and she explained its origins. John added that he was in a Unitarian youth group, and has strong and happy memories of that time. We went to the service at UUCC the next day, and I cried as I heard the words of greeting in the service. And that was that. I felt I would be accepted and wanted to be a part of this community.
Thank you all for being here today and making me a Recipient of this beautiful Birthday Bouquet.
