It is good to see so many positive things happening in the Congregation! Sundays are great with wonderful sermons and music, thriving children and youth RE, beautiful artwork, fantastic crafts, and continued excellent zooming! I especially enjoy the Wednesday and Friday emails when I am reminded of all our faith brings to my life. So many people are doing so much good in our community. I love the feeling of connection and mutual support and commitment!

We are continuing to deepen our understanding of what it is to be UUCville with work on our Developmental Goals.

In our December Board Meeting, we hope to appoint a Task Force to begin the work on our First Goal (We want to define a broad shared vision of our purpose for being a congregation so that we can feel energized, dedicated, and aligned in the use of our resources). This Task Force will begin a broad conversation with the congregation about our mission as UUCville.

Work on our Second Goal (We want to be a more welcoming, inclusive, and anti-racist congregation, cultivating greater diversity in our membership and stronger engagement with the broader Charlottesville community) is evolving with our Membership Committee’s work and will develop further as we examine our mission (for Goal 1).

For our Third Goal (We want to strengthen our Stewardship Ministry to manifest passionate support of our mission with time, wisdom, and finances) we will vote on establishing a Stewardship Steering Committee at our December Board Meeting. We will begin organizing our Pledge Drive in January.

For our Fourth Goal (We want to strengthen our internal processes and communication skills, build trust, and become more emotionally and operationally functional than we have been historically), we have begun a list of Frequently Asked Questions (to be posted on the website and in Friday emails) to make the structure and processes of UUCville life more transparent to the congregation.

In other news, we hope to examine possibilities for a new UUCville sign in front of the church and we will consider options for purchasing a new HVAC system for Summit House (the old HVAC system can no longer cool in the summer). We also hope to set a date for the Annual Congregation Meeting for sometime in June when we will approve the budget for 2023/2024 and vote on nominations for new board and committee members.

I hope that in the coming months everyone at UUCville will get involved in conversations about our vision for our purpose. As each of us adds our passions, ideas and experiences to the conversations, I believe that we will develop a powerful mission that will deepen our commitment to each other and the larger community.

Pam McIntire, President