JANUARY 2025 – BOARD MESSAGE

Greetings MDUUC community!

As you are reading this, we hope your holidays were safe and that you were in the company of people most important to you. We know that was not the case for everyone but we hope you were able to participate in some of the activities provided through the church, for intentional connection and celebration.

We have seen our numbers grow on a weekly basis, with visitors, some folks new to us and some coming to the church physically for the first time after watching the services online. January will be full of updates and opportunities to participate in our democratic process through the Forums and the Congregational Meeting the last Sunday in January. You will be receiving timely updates but here is a brief picture of what’s to come over the next few weeks:

Our current attention is on the revisions to our Bylaws. There has been a great deal of work over the last few months to streamline our meeting/voting process as well as changes to the Nominating Committee. All of these changes have been socialized in our forums over the last few months, with opportunity for questions and comments. As we approach the time to vote on these changes, here are some ways that you can make sure that you are informed prior to the vote at the Congregational Meeting on January 26:

– Please view the recorded forum that will be posted in early January.  Please follow information provided in the weekly emails.

– January 19th we will hold our regular hybrid Congregational Forum. This will be another opportunity to bring comments regarding Bylaws changes as well as hear updates from our Ministerial team, our Treasurer and several other presentations pertaining to church business.

–  January 26th will be our Congregational Meeting. We are working very hard to make sure you have all of the pertinent information prior to this meeting so that we can move through the voting process as efficiently as possible, as well as the other business at hand. We also hope to have some time at the end of this meeting for some small breakout discussions pertaining to MDUUC facility needs and Green Sanctuary 2030.  

Volunteering – what catches your interest?

We have a lot of wonderful opportunities for people to participate and contribute to this community.  We hope members and friends will identify something they find interesting from the ”Just In Time” column, shared in the weekly emails.  We know that people are busy, with many commitments throughout the week.  This is why we take special care to offer a variety of ways for people to contribute. Giving of your time helps the church and it helps deepen your sense of community, something we are all looking for these days. 

Please stay tuned for ways to participate in the continuing creation of this community, part of the larger Unitarian Universalist faith movement, including upcoming training for those interested in leadership at MDUUC and engaging in classes we will be offering to continue our commitment to multicultural learning. 

In Gratitude,

Linda Russell

Co-President, MDUUC Board of Trustees