Numerous times over the past month, I have felt enormous appreciation for UUCville. Interestingly, this often happened in meetings! In every gathering, each person brought their own diverse way of thinking and their own unique wisdom. We listened to each other, built on each other’s understanding and we got to good places I never could have foreseen.

Our Cottage Conversations on our purpose are also a wonderful example of UUCville at its best where we listen to each other and grow. It seems to me that in these conversations we grow from the sum of our perspectives and we grow in love and understanding of each other.

We have so much expertise in our congregation: financial and stewardship experience, spiritual understanding, knowledge of effective ways of doing things, understanding about the needs of the world and our community, wisdom about nurturing children and youth, experience of being a community, and vision of how to create and empower a shared purpose.  It is wonderful to witness how we come together to work for the greater good!

I am increasingly aware of how many people put so much work into caring for each other at UUCville. Rev Leia and Rev Tim provide inspiring sermons, make the services both energizing and comforting and care for us in a hundred ways. Sean, Caroline, Rachel and Carole give consistent professional support to run all the many operations.  On Sundays we have greeters welcoming us, our Membership Committee caring for newcomers, our kitchen crew nourishing us with coffee and treats, fabulous music from the choir, Scott and John, child and youth advisors, Rachel and Sean handling the complex technical system, our worship weavers, the housekeeping folks who make the space clean and orderly, all those who work on our grounds, and those who are behind the scenes thinking about the big picture. So many people working together with purpose!

Here is some of our progress on our Developmental Goals:

Rev Tim kicked off Together with Purpose, Together on Purpose with a sermon on January 29 with Chris and Pam. Breck designed and presented a terrific training to the cottage conversation facilitators and scribes. We have announced the conversations in the Sunday Service, in email newsletters, in individual invitations via email, on the website and through reaching out to various groups in church. We have had several cottage conversations where participants answered the three questions:  1. What does this congregation mean to you? or What brings you to UUCville? 2. How would you describe our purpose, the reason we exist? and 3. What is important to you about how we impact the larger community and world? Participants have reported that the conversations are enlightening and heartening. We have had about 70 people sign up and we hope that at least 100 will participate.

Rev Tim continues to meet with Linda Dukes and Diane Ober to talk over anti-racism work. The Racial Justice group has started to have conversations again. Through Adult Faith Development, UUCville will offer a Transgender Inclusion class. We raised the full $5000 to replace the sign in the front of the church so it will read “Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville.”

We will kick off the Pledge Drive on Sunday, February 26! Our pledge drive co-chairs, Hayley Owens and Bob Brett, have asked the board to be trained as askers for the pledge drive.  The Finance Committee is examining our current financial statements and funding requests from all the UUCville groups and is working on a budget for 2023 2024.  The new Building Committee has been meeting to set priorities and handle the current building needs. Lorie Craddock and her father, Harry Craddock, have been working all over the building on repair maintenance tasks!

Bev has reviewed all the committees and is updating the website. Two Frequently Asked Questions were posted on the website and in the email newsletter and more are coming. The Communications Committee is doing a fabulous job at updating the website and making it even more colorful and appealing! Rachel Buckland, our part-time streaming tech and editor, has posted our services and sermons all the way through February 5, 2023!! you can check them out here

I greatly appreciate working with such a great team of dedicated people on such important work.  I look forward to the next steps!