Be sure to put Saturday, January 23, 10am-noon, on your calendar for our all congregation annual retreat. We will be discussing who we are and how we are doing as we prepare to vote to call a settled minister, one of the most important actions a UU congregation can take.
We had a wonderful turn-out of 45 members and friends at our annual congregation retreat on Saturday, January 25. We ate a hearty and delicious breakfast provided by our UUFCM Board members (thank you!) and participated in a well-organized and participatory workshop led by our Social Justice Coordinating Team (thank you!). After presentations and lots of discussion, we had a “spend a buck” vote (ask someone what that is!) which determined that as a congregation we will commit to making our congregation’s 2020 social justice efforts be directed to voting rights and environmental issues. We have formed two initial committees to organize and create an action plan for those efforts: Voting Rights – David Wagstaff, Jim Moreno and Melissa Nix – Environmental Issues – Sara Prussing, Deb Allore, Daniel Davis and Matt Cavalieri. Thanks to these people for stepping up and providing leadership! They’ll be meeting soon and then getting out information to the rest of us – how we can participate in these efforts, whether it’s just one time or multiple times, depending upon each of your interests and/or availabilities. When we lift our collective voices and actions, we can change our world!
“Social Justice: Where Do We Go from Here?” At our annual retreat on Saturday, January 25, we will examine where we have been and where we are as a congregation in terms of our social justice efforts and explore where we might want to go. The Social Justice Coordinating Team will present several possible directions for the congregation to consider. Breakfast and social time at 8 a.m., followed by the retreat from 9-noon. Be sure to put this important all-congregation retreat on your calendar!
At our all-congregation retreat held on Saturday, January 26, an excellent turn-out of members and friends helped us begin the process of moving forward into our new future without Dawn Daniels as our minister. After explanations of various ministerial options, the membership voted to have the Transition Team apply to the UUA for a full-time, one-year renewable contract minister. Once that decision was made, the Team then led several interactive small-group activities which addressed questions that will need to be answered in the application process: How do we describe ourselves? How do we live our values? Who do we want to be in five years? What roles would we want our minister to play? How do we define good preaching and worship? While there were lots of variations in the responses to these questions, a number of themes emerged which will guide the Team in writing our application. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact any member of the Transition Team (Norma Bailey, Jim Dealing, Laura McBride, Guy Newland, and Katie Zapoluch).
We would like to thank all those people who made the retreat such a success. The hot breakfast provided by the UU Board was an excellent start to the morning! The Transition Team did a great job presenting information and leading us in the small-group activities while several members were invaluable facilitators of the small-group discussions. And everyone who attended the retreat contributed so much – their questions, their ideas, their support, and their help with all the clean-up! The heart and soul of UUFCM is alive and well! On Saturday, January 26, we will have our annual all-congregation retreat, starting with a hot breakfast served at 8:30 and the interactive retreat following from 9-12. Because we are a self-governing congregation and because we will be making decisions about our direction forward after Dawn’s departure on January 31, it is very important that all voices be heard and that every vote counted. All members and friends will be contacted directly by a Board member to answer any questions you might have and to get your RSVP. Be sure to answer in the affirmative, and see you there!
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