Category / From the Board

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(Archive) Plans for a Phased Reopening of the Church

(Archive) Fred Hulting and Rev. Lisa Friedman

With the increase in vaccination rates, and the relaxation of state COVID restrictions, many of you are asking the question: “when will we reopen the church?”  We are all looking forward to a time when we get back together safely and resume many of our familiar rituals and programs.

At its May 13th meeting, the Board approved a plan from Rev. Lisa Friedman for the phased reopening of the church.  This approach will accommodate the needs of our community, while ensuring the safety of our staff, members, and friends.  And it will give our staff the necessary time to work through the many details required to reopen the building. This is not just a return to the way things were.  We get to learn from the past year and work towards a new multi-platform ministry, with Sunday services and other programs available both in-person and online. Continue reading →

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UUCM Annual Congregational Meeting

11:15 AM on Sunday, May 23, 2021

Fred Hulting, Board President

The UUCM Annual Congregational Meeting will be held Sunday, May 23, 2021, at 11:15, via Zoom, in accordance with the UUCM By-Laws. All members are encouraged to participate, as a quorum is needed to conduct business.  Friends of UUCM are also welcome to attend.

Below you will find information about the decisions to be made at the meeting. This page will updated regularly over the next week with new details.

The full agenda is available; here are the main business items: Continue reading →

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From the Board: May 2021

Each month, a member of the board will share a reflection on the Soul Matters monthly theme and the state of the church. The theme for May is Story. This month’s post is offered by Janna Sperry Sundby.

Just because you think something, doesn’t mean it’s true.

Just because we say something, tell a story, or hear a story, it doesn’t mean it’s true either.  However, stories are what make us so very human.  Only humans can tell stories. It seems to me that through stories we have actually created ourselves over time. Other animals and plants can show and/or sing their stories, but they don’t have verbal speaking and writing skills that can create entire storylines like we humans. What a special skill. I’d like to believe that when we tell stories about ourselves or others, we try to keep them based on fact and inspiration, not on fear, or some power struggle that we seem to lean into as a species.

Continue reading →

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From the Board: April 2021

Each month, a member of the board will share a reflection on the Soul Matters monthly theme and the state of the church. The theme for April is Becoming. This month’s post is offered by Betty Hartnett.

“Real isn’t how you are made, said the Skin Horse (Velveteen Rabbit, by Shaenon Garrity). It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

In this scenario, both the Skin Horse and the child change. The Skin Horse becomes Real over time as the Child first plays with, and then, loves him. Both are slowly evolving into something better. To be sure, the Skin Horse didn’t have any agency himself (or did he?) to become Real. It’s what happened to him as a result of being there for the child and the child’s love over time. It appears as if the child is not consciously growing his love; his love simply continues as a result of the ongoing close relationship. Sometimes agency is not clear. Sometimes, perhaps, we may not be aware of becoming something different until we are. Continue reading →

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UUCM Members Approve a Public Statement on “Black Lives Matter”

Fred Hulting, Board President

At a Special Meeting of the Members of UUCM on Sunday February 28, the following public statement – to be accompanied by a “Black Lives Matter” banner on the exterior of the church – was approved by a vote of 87 – 0:

Black Lives Matter. Period. A sign that states Black Lives Matter is part of our racial justice work. The sign is symbolic of our congregational journey towards justice for people of color. It symbolizes the work we are doing and our commitment to future work.  A sign is a bold message to our community that we stand in solidarity with people of color and hold them in love and honor. We will not back down or turn away from oppression but fight against it. We want the world to know our congregation takes a firm stand against racism in its many forms and communicate our commitment to the journey of ensuring that Black Lives Matter. (Approved by UUCM Members on February 28, 2021 by a vote of 87 – 0)

For more background on the context of the special meeting, please see the previous articles “Announcement of UUCM Special Congregational Meeting” and “Making a Public Statement on Black Lives Matter”.

The Racial Justice team, part of the Social Justice Ministry, is now working with our Facilities team to design and place the banner on the front of our building.  If we are asked about the meaning of our banner, the statement is our answer. We will be placing this statement on the church website. 

It is important to remind ourselves that the statement and banner are only meaningful if they are supported by action. Our Racial Justice team is leading a variety of activities to facilitate that action, and I encourage you to reach out to Kate Flom, or others on the team, to learn more about how you can educate yourself about white supremacy and racial justice and engage in these activities.

The act of proposing, discussing, voting, and approving this statement is also a big step forward for our congregation and its democratic process.  It has been many years since UUCM has come together to make such a statement. I want to thank the petitioners for their passion; the congregation for their respectful engagement in robust discussions, and the Board for managing an open and transparent process.

Finding our voice and expressing our beliefs it critical to advancing our work on racial justice.  As we move forward, we will need to make additional statements, and we now have a model for how we can do that.