A Message from Reverend Barbara

Minister’s Report: UUA General Assembly, Pittsburgh, June 21 – 25, 2023

Unitarian Universalists from around the country and abroad recently gathered for their annual General Assembly (GA), held in Pittsburgh’s downtown Convention Center. Joining me in attending in-person were UUFD’s Faith Formation staff, Harrison Wendt and Nikki Bauer. UUFD was also represented by two online participants, Coordinator of Faith Formation, Sharon Mignerey; and Lisa McCorry. Lisa and I served as official delegates for the various voting matters during the Assembly’s five business sessions. As is the tradition, UU ministers came together in the same location two days prior to GA for Ministry Days, an important time for professional development and seeing friends and colleagues socially.

A few days ago, I received the July newsletter from the UUA Pacific Western Region. The cover article, by the Regional Leader Rev. Carlton E. Smith, includes a lovely summary of many of the important actions and activities at GA 2023, especially his report on the affirmative vote to continue study of “Article II,” the new statement about UUA values and purposes. With his permission, I want to offer Rev. Smith’s summary of GA, and invite you to read more about regional activities in the July PWR newsletter.

The theme of this year’s GA was "Faithfully Becoming". To me, it pointed to the idea that we as individuals, congregations, and an association are constantly evolving, but in that evolution, we endeavor to be true to our best and highest ideals. It ties into the concepts behind Theodore Parker’s famous sermon on the "Transient and the Permanent in Christianity." We seek to retain ways of being we wish to pass on, and to release those that seem to have served their purpose.

Of course, none of us has a list of things we’d choose to hold onto that’s identical to anyone else’s. Each of us emerges from distinct periods of time and particular place and unique circumstances, such that the meanings we bring to our lives and our culture will be specific to each of us individually. Not all of what each of us loves will be part of the future of our faith. There will be loss associated with letting go of some of what was familiar as we bring our focus to the path that lies ahead.

At this GA, we said farewell to Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray in her role as UUA President after six very challenging years in the history of our Association, of the United States, and of the world. I am so grateful to count her as a friend, and to have been part of her extended team during her historic, impactful tenure.

We also joyously welcomed Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt into her new role upon her election as the next President of our UUA. Rev. Dr. Sofía has close ties to the Pacific Western Region, as a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry and as a former member of its faculty, in addition to having served as minister at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton and interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno.

With regards to the work of the Article II Commission, the process of revising our statement of purpose goes forward…The General Assembly delegates voted to continue the conversation for another year. A final vote on Article II will take place at 2024’s online General Assembly. We invite you to engage with the process on the Article II Commission pages.

For further reading of other regional news, click here. Finally, remember that Rev. Sarah Gibb-Millspaugh continues as UUFD’s primary contact with the PWR Regional Staff. I look forward in the fall to sharing leadership on the topic of Covenant with Rev. Sarah.

President's Message

Hello fellow UUFD members and friends,

As I assume my duties as President of your Board of Trustees, I’m struck by the similarity of navigating the issues that we have faced as a congregation since I first became a Board member three years ago and rafting a challenging river. The next rapid (or issue) may chill us to the bone, unexpectedly drenching us as events attempt to capsize our raft, but I’m continually inspired by the trust we have in each other as we face each turbulent situation. I firmly believe that together we will continue to do so.

As your Board looks to our immediate future, I realize this is not going to change. In fact, we are launching ourselves into something new as we navigate the search for a called minister. Fortunately, we have a strong search committee working on our behalf. They’ll challenge us to provide the information they need to represent us positively. They’ll dare us to look at ourselves and define what we want and need as a congregation. We can trust they’ll do a great job. They’ll trust us to support their efforts every way possible, including our active and honest participation.

I’m thrilled to be going on this journey with you. In fact, just as I am when facing a river, I’m so excited by the adventure ahead of us that I can barely wait to begin! 

With gratitude and respect,

Steve Govreau

P.S. Don't forget - our next Board of Trustees Town Hall meeting is on Sunday, August 2 following worship, about 11:30 am. See you there!

Love courageously. Inspire spiritual growth. Work for justice.

Keep up with the Ministerial Search Committee

Members of the Ministerial Search Committee are organizing and beginning work on the many tasks necessary to move us toward finding a new settled minister.  Members approved by the congregation in June include Allison Andersen, Sheryl Guy, Liz Volz, Tim Miller, Connie Jacobs, Lisa McCorry and Bonnie Miller.  While the whole committee is responsible for completing all elements of the search process, each of us is taking the lead on various pieces, with Allison and Sheryl agreeing to co-chair.  We will also be asking for help with parts of the work until we get to those tasks that are confidential.

Here's what’s immediately ahead.  

1. We are revising questions on the Congregational Survey that must go into the search application packet and hope to be ready to administer the survey during the month of August.  This will be one of the first areas where we really need your help, as your answers will be extremely important to our understanding of what we need and want in a minister, and also extremely important to ministerial candidates so they can form a well-defined perception of our congregation.
2. We are working to make corrections, additions and improvements to our church website so that ministerial candidates doing an early exploration of churches in search have an accurate, and hopefully exciting, picture of our congregation and what we are about.
3. We will begin organizing a plan for a series of cottage meetings in which we hope all of you will participate.  This will be a chance for us to dig more deeply into understanding what is important to all of us as we search for a great minister match.
4. On August 5, the MSC will participate in a retreat led by a UUA facilitator.  The retreat is designed to help us fully understand the search process and responsibilities, get to know one another and our working styles, work on a covenant that builds trust in each other and that honors the trust the congregation has placed in us, and consider how we can most effectively work and make decisions together.

A major deadline we are working toward is December by which time we must have completed our Congregational Record, assembled required documents (e.g. bylaws, budget history, annual reports, congregational meeting minutes, sample worship Orders of Service, survey and cottage meeting summaries, and more), and received initial reviews by the UUA Transitions Program Manager. In mid-December we then post all information into the Ministry Search System where ministerial candidates will view them.

MSC members commit to keeping you informed of our progress and invite you to ask us questions along the way.  Watch for information in newsletters, e-announcements, and occasional announcements in church or special emails.  We’re off and running!

Climate crisis heats up

Social Responsibility and Justice Team Special Feature

Yeah, yeah, we all know that the earth is in danger from the climate crisis.  Well…some of us know this.  It’s easy to become desensitized to news about the crisis since we hear so much of it, but our recent heat wave has prompted much new research that is the most shocking to date.  

The New York Times reports that a team of international researchers confirmed that human-caused climate change is driving the life-threatening heat waves in the U.S., Europe, and China. The U.S. has broken more than 2,000 high temperature records in the past month, and it looks like July will be the hottest month on Earth since scientists have kept record. Many places in southern Europe are experiencing record-breaking, triple-digit temperatures.  A remote township in China hit 126 degrees, breaking a national record (July 26, 2023).

Because humans are continuing to burn fossil fuels, which add to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the odds will continue to tip in extreme heat’s favor:  even if we stop, temperatures will not cool again, they will just stop rising.

Globally, 44% of the world’s oceans are experiencing a marine heat wave.  On July 23 and 24 of this year, the ocean water off the tip of Florida reached temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius), the same temperature as an average hot tub (NOAA).

Many local and national governments, especially in Europe, have created heat action plans than include things like public cooling centers, and advance warning and coordination between social services and hospitals (World Weather Attribution).

So what is UUFD doing to help alleviate this crisis? Tom Miller, leader of the Environmental Justice Team, says the team is focusing its efforts on climate optimism through bringing awareness and actionable items to the attention of the congregation. Current areas they are looking at include helping to find financial support for the addition of heat pumps to replace our fading HVAC system in the Sanctuary, what additional work can be done to make our campus more environmentally responsible, how we want to respond to the lack of emphasis on climate justice in the current discussion of the revision of our principles, how to include the spiritual aspects of our environmental concerns more into worship, and how we can participate as a group in concerted political action on environmental issues.

Many, many thanks to the important work of the Environmental Justice Team.

News from Faith Formation

Sharon Mignerey, Coordinator for Faith Formation, will be out of the office July 17 through August 6. If you have questions or need assistance from Faith Formation during this time, please reach out to Harrison Wendt, Youth Programming Coordinator.  

Plans are underway for the autumn kick off. Faith Formation has a number of programs planned for both kids and adults beginning after September 1. The date for the Fall Festival will be announced soon. 

A UU Writers group that uses the prompts supplied by (Soul Matters) UU Writers will launch in September. If you'd like to see a sample packet of what this program will be like, click here. Watch this space for a registration form.  

A Creativity Matters group that uses the prompts supplied by (Soul Matters) Creativity will also launch in September. If you'd like to see a sample packet of what this program will be like, click here. Watch this space for a registration form.  

Are you a creative type of person who likes expressing yourself through your art? Have you been thinking about becoming more involved with UUFD? Are you called to facilitate this group? The time commitment would be 3 to 5 hours per month plus the time the group meets. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Sharon Mignerey.