Greetings,
As we move into fall, we hope you’re all staying well. These are anxious times, and it is good to have our church community.
First, we thank all of you who have participated with a gift to Our Path Forward. As of last week, we have reached 93% of our goal, an achievement well worth celebrating. We expect additional gifts to come in over the next few weeks.
Many of us were fortunate to be able to attend, Paula Cole Jones workshop on the 8th principle in September. It was a rewarding and enlightening experience. The 8th Principle reads:
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
In gatherings across the congregation this coming year, we will be exploring what the 8th Principle means, and asking ourselves whether First Unitarian will adopt it. The Board hopes you will participate in these conversations.
Our worship services continue to expand with the addition of the family service at 9:15 on Sunday mornings. Cassandra Sheffman, Nicole Bowmer, Aaron Peat and Dustin Hunley, with visits from Rev. Bill, Rev. Tom and Intern Minister Stacy Mitchell, engage our young people on our monthly theme through stories, songs and questions to think about. If you have a chance, we encourage you attend on an upcoming Sunday.
The Board adopted its 1-3-year goals at the October meeting. You can find them on the board webpage (https://firstunitarianportland.org/about-us/board/board-of-trustees/) We develop our goals to guide our work and we revisit them each year. When a goal is achieved, or changes in circumstances make it necessary, they are revised.
In response to the Board’s 2018-2020 goals, a Real Estate Development Task Force was brought together in early 2019. The Task Force has completed its initial work and shared its findings with the Board. Much has changed since this work was begun. We will not be making any recommendations to the congregation until we better understand the church that we will be after Covid-19. When that time comes, we look forward to conversations with all of you about our vision for the physical presence of First Unitarian.
We will be holding our first Board Forum on November 11, right after Sunday service. We will be sharing the Board’s 1-3 year goals, talking about highlights from the annual Evaluation of the Ministry, and listening to your comments and questions. Please look for a Zoom link in the front steps the week before the forum.
Our Board meetings will continue to be held via Zoom for the remainder of the year. If you want to observe or have congregant comments, you can find the Zoom link on the Board’s web page (https://firstunitarianportland.org/about-us/board) and in the meeting agenda for the month. We will be using the same Zoom link for all Board meetings this year.
In service,
Mindy Clark
Moderator, First Unitarian Board of Trustees