Exciting things are happening at UUCville in this time of Developmental Ministry. Rev Tim, Rev Leia, the board and the whole congregation are making progress on our Developmental Goals. It is heartening to witness our congregation working together with such clear intention!
For Goal 1, the board appointed a Shared Vision Ad-hoc Committee to develop and guide the process for defining our vision of our purpose. Breck Gastinger, Chris Little, Rev. Tim Temerson, Jeanine Braithwaite, Pam McIntire, and Achsah Carrier make up this team. Our kick-off Sunday will be January 29 and then in mid-February we will begin Cottage Conversations where congregants will be able to talk about what this congregation means to us, our purpose, the reason we exist and what is important about how we impact the larger community and world. We anticipate that these small group conversations will provide insights, perspectives, and aspirations that lead to larger congregation wide conversations and then statements of our mission and purpose that will unite us and lead us into action.
Work for Goal 2 will accelerate as our conversations for Goal 1 develop. We are currently raising funds to change our sign on Rugby Road to “Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville” as an important step in becoming more welcoming. At the Sunday Service on January 15, “The Responsibilities of Privilege,” Rev. Tim and Greg Townsend provided a rousing call for us to examine white privilege in our congregation and in the larger world. In the conversation that followed in the sanctuary, congregants shared their experiences and insights in a powerful beginning to our journey toward building a more anti-racist community. Linda Dukes and Diane Ober are meeting with Rev. Tim to discuss anti-racism training and actions for our congregation. Rev Tim continues to meet with our Membership Committee as they continue their important work on UUCville welcoming all people. The board voted to approve UUCville as a Community Partner for talk Bryan Stevenson lecture on March 28th at JPJ Arena.
As we continue forward, we also plan to examine how we support young adults and LGBTQIA2S+ communities, how we can become more multicultural, anti-racist, anti-oppressive and how we can combat ageism.
For Goal 3, the board appointed a Stewardship Steering Committee, which includes Jimmy Gorham, Kay Frazier, Rev. Tim Temerson, Sandy Brooks, and Don Landis, with a charge to develop both short and long-term priorities in enabling and expanding the Stewardship Ministry. Hayley Owens and Bob Brett will co-chair our upcoming Pledge drive with support from many others. Kay Frazier, Sean Skally and the Finance Committee are finalizing a mid-year finance review and a revised rental policy statement. We are revitalizing a Building Committee to oversee maintenance and repairs to our property.
For our Fourth Goal, our Communications Committee continues phenomenal work on our website both in making it lovely and easy to navigate and in making sure all pertinent information is updated (please take a look at our “Developmental Goals” webpage with its beautiful graphics!). Rachel Buckland, our part-time streaming tech and editor, has been examining the broad picture of how we present UUCville on electronic media and she is working hard to get all our services posted on Youtube. Our list of Frequently Asked Questions will be posted on the website this month and in Friday emails so the structure and processes of UUCville life will be more transparent to the congregation.
I look forward to continuing to work toward these powerful goals with such inspired and wise people!
Submitted by, Pam McIntire, President