Our FEBRUARY Social Generosity Offering will go to Hope House, a six-bed, short-term emergency shelter for youth ages 14 –19 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Located in Excelsior, Hope House is the only youth shelter west of Hwy 100. Skyler Seets, a UUCM youth, recently lead a drive at Minnetonka High School in support of Hope House. Continue reading →
From the Board: February 2020
Each month, a member of the board will share a reflection on the Soul Matters monthly theme and the state of the church. The Soul Matters theme for February is Resilience. This month’s post is offered by Cathy Bujold.
I can vividly recall an August evening about twenty years ago in which I sat on my kitchen floor weeping as my malfunctioning refrigerator ice dispenser dumped all the ice cubes it held onto the floor around me. Earlier that day, an unknown LOUD alarm sounding in the basement had sent me scurrying to try to find out what it signified and it was still unexplained at that point. Earlier that week, a car had run off the road into the ditch by my house. Fortunately, no one was hurt but now I needed a new mailbox. And earlier that month, my soon-to-be-ex-husband had moved out so I was left with our three daughters – ages 14, 12, and 10 – in a state where I had no other family, and few friends since I was fairly new to Minnesota.
As I picked up the ice cubes from the floor, I can remember a foreboding chill moving up my spine as I wondered “Do I have what it will take to move beyond all this?” “Do I have enough resilience?” Continue reading →
Join the Children Youth Religious Education (CYRE) Team :)
We’re hoping to grow the team by 2-3 people over the next few months. We meet 6:30-8pm on the 2nd Tues. of the month to evaluate the ministry and vision for the future. Come to a meeting or two, to see if it’s a good fit for you. Contact Jennifer at dre@uucmtka.org with any questions.
New Minister Board Update: Week 2
The Minister Selection Task Force is busily updating documents which are the foundation of the materials we will make available on the UUA website for prospective ministers. On the website, prospective ministers can learn more about us and decide if they want to apply for our position. Our interim ministers have told us that they believe we have a strong portfolio due to our strong financial position, congregational growth, and new church building among other favorable attributes, and we think it is likely that there will be nation-wide interest in the position. We plan to find a minister that will help us work to achieve the goals we have identified using information gathered from the annual survey and the board listening sessions. Next week, we will share information about these goals. Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for May and we are hopeful that we will have a new minister (or minister team or other possible configuration) to share at that time, or soon after that.
Homelessness and Housing Selected as UUCM’s Social Justice Focus
The UUCM Social Justice Ministry Team is excited to announce that Homelessness and Housing will be our congregational focus for the year. We spent a good deal of time discerning the many issues that call us and the purpose of congregational-based social justice work. We believe having one primary focus area will help UUCM increase our community connections and have a measurable impact on an issue.
Affordable housing is a crisis not just in the city core, but even more in the suburbs. Work around this issue is deeply grounded at UUCM through our long partnership with IOCP (Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners); our youth’s commitment through their participation in the Sleep Out for the Homeless program, food drives, and summer mission trips; and how this issue directly connects with UUCM’s mission and ends. Continue reading →
UUCM Happenings 