Dear Members and Friends,

Today the summary budget for FUUSB for 2019-20 will be sent out. This budget will be put up for congregational vote at the annual meeting on June 2. Between now and then, you can attend one of the Meet the Budget sessions (11:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 19 or 6 p.m. on May 20) to learn more about it.

Your Board, Director of Operations and I are pleased to offer a balanced budget for the coming year. As I discuss in the budget introduction, it does not come without a cost. As you know, FUUSB will have only one minister in the coming year. But we believe this is an important first step in living in a financially sustainable way while also building toward a future with the staff and programming you need.

There is another change for next year that I want to lift to your attention, one several people have asked about . FUUSB will hold only one worship service on Sundays next year.  With religious education attendance declining in the past few years, both here and across the country, we can incorporate all children, youth, and adults in one service. In addition to saving some literal costs, we can conserve the human energy of both congregation and staff, have critical mass and energy at worship, and allow everyone to experience special moments that have been limited to the 11:00 service, such as membership joining ceremonies, child dedications, choir participation, to name just a few.

It is important for you to know that your incoming Developmental Minister, Rev. Tricia Hart, supports this change, as do your current staff members.   

The exact time of the one worship service is still to be established, but it will likely be at 10:00 or 10:30 a.m.

Finally, don't miss the chance on Sunday, May 19, to meet your new Developmental Minister, Rev. Tricia Hart.  Rev. Tricia will attend the worship service and be available to meet folks afterwards. Rev. Andrée Mol is leading the service, and I am taking a Sunday off.

Blessings,

Rev. Susan

The 2019 FUUSB Annual Meeting will take place on Sunday, June 2 at 11:15 a.m. in the Sanctuary. It is essential that members attend annual meeting in order for us to have a quorum and be able to pass important items on the agenda. We will also be taking time to say goodbye to staff members who will be leaving us at the end of this fiscal year. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend!

 

The 2019 Annual Meeting Warning and agenda, Proposed Summary Budget, and the Annual Report are available at this link: 

https://uusociety.org/members/meeting-minutes/

 

Immediately following the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, May 19 you will have the opportunity to find out about our FUUSB teams.

These teams provide the energy, work, and commitment that keep us running. Please stop by and talk to the teams and SIGN UP for September. Full teams would be a gift to our team chairs, our Society and our new Developmental Minister. Gift yourself with community,  involvement, and service.

 

The YUUTH Group is seeking an adult volunteer to travel to NYC for a week in June!  This year the YUUTH Group plans to travel to New York City for their annual service trip where they will serve the needs of low-income, homeless, and hungry communities. We are still in need of one additional adult advisor to join our crew. The trip will be from Sunday, June 16 - Friday, June 21, and adults must be 25 or older. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Mary Loomis at [email protected] for more information.

 

The Vermont City Marathon is being held in Burlington on Sunday, May 26. Please check out the links below in case you need to use an alternate route to or from the Meeting House that day. 

Vermont City Marathon Spectator Guide

Vermont City Marathon Course Map

 

The FUUSB offices will be closed on  Monday, May 27 for the Memorial Day holiday.

Dear UU Congregation,                                                                               

We are writing to you to invite you to submit stories for our collection, "The Every Day UU: Now and Then." As part of the UU History Renaissance Module, we were required to create a final project that would connect with what we had learned in the course. It became evident to us that although we have numerous stories that document the achievements of some UUs, many voices are missing. In addition, we noted that there are certain famous UUs that attract our attention for the huge efforts they made. But we don't have a collection of stories about UUs, who in living their faith, make small differences every day. Moving forward we thought it would be great to begin this process of sharing stories about our congregants from the past and present.

 

What are we looking for?  Each submission should be between 300-500 words submitted as a Word Document. You may submit as many stories as you like. Please include details about the person and when and where the story took place. Please provide a picture of the person if you can.

 

The deadline for the initial collection of stories will be June 30, 2019. Depending on the interest in this project, additional collections may be requested in the future.

 

We envision this collection being used in several ways. Church committees may choose to read a story as inspiration at the beginning of a meeting. Religious Educators may find stories that would work for A Time for All Ages. Congregants might read a story each day as a spiritual practice.

 

Please send all stories, photos and release forms to [email protected]

 

We look forward to receiving your stories.

 

Sincerely,

 

Joanne Dingus, Director of Religious Education, Newport News, VA

 

Twinks Hastings, Children and Youth Ministries Director, Brewster, MA