Dear Members & Friends,

With many attending in person and online, First Universalist had its Mid-Winter meeting on Sunday, January 28. The purpose of this meeting was to provide an update on key matters important to First U. But as mundane as that sounds, throughout the time together, we all felt an energy and sense of collective aspiration and hope that was buoyant. The topics included:  

• Jill Braithwaite’s Ordination Discussion and Vote (Approved)
• Visionary Goals Discussion and Vote (Approved)
• Work Plan Summary
• Financial and Stewardship Summary

Jill Braithwaite

As a long time member of First Universalist, Jill Braithwaite’s journey has brought her to this momentous event of being ordained a Unitarian Minister. We are all proud and filled with joy for her achievement. We send Jill our love and hope for a fruitful beginning to this new chapter in her life.

Visionary Goals

After 18 months of collaborative and contemplative work, the Visionary Goals were presented and approved overwhelmingly. We would like to thank the hundreds of congregants involved in brainstorming and providing direct feedback on these goals. These Visionary Goals are meant to shape and guide the direction we will be taking the next 5 years. 

The people of First Universalist practice Beloved Community among and beyond us. To do this we…

• Honor the richness of our Unitarian Universalist faith and embody its love within the walls of our church and beyond. 
• Foster our connection with, care for, and action on behalf of Earth's environment and all of life.
• Pursue our individual and collective work for justice, in relationship with those most affected by systems of oppression.
• Widen the opportunities for leadership participation and engagement in the many facets of how our church functions and thrives.  
• Provide meaningful presence to one another in times of joy, grief, and change.

Workplan

Reverend Arif highlighted the work of the Ministers and staff half way through the year with a focus of fostering our shared ministry. We all have parts to play in our Church!

Highlights included–

• Onboarding Allison Connelly-Vetter, Interim Director of Children, Youth, & Family Ministries
• A new Board of Trustees started July 1
• Relaunched the Finance, Stewardship and Church Governance Committees             
• Moving to a new database 
• Art & Soul worship series in July
• Reintroduction of worship associates is weaving new voices and perspectives into our shared spiritual journey
• The strengthening melody of our congregation singing together
• Growing worship attendance (a trend that was particularly palpable during our holiday services)
• Deepening sense of congregational engagement and leadership in our services
• Transition to a new database with congregant directory coming soon (including photos!)
• Increased building use by congregant led programs and external rentals
• January's Congregational Retreat saw 20% of our voting membership participate
• Saturday Sprouts and Parents of Adolescents programming for parental support and community building
• Over 220 families and 344 children and youth enrolled in Children, Youth, & Family Ministries (CYFM) programming
• Start of Youth Leadership Team & CYF Advisory Team
• Habitat for Humanity seeing full build teams
• Community Dinners see 100+ each month
• Vibrant congregant-led programming across generations and interests (see the most recent program guide)
• And so much more that we can't capture it all here

Financial and Stewardship

While the mid-year financial picture is far from a rosy one, even there we could feel the 

sense of possibility. Although our expenses are tracking fairly close to 

what was budgeted, our income is lagging significantly. While we approved a budget 

anticipating a deficit of $100,000, our projection now is that the deficit will be closer to 

$360,000. We cannot sustain this kind of loss without harm to the church; we need to 

get back to the original level of deficit we budgeted.

Nearly all (92%) of the resources we have available to support the work of the church come from congregational giving. And that giving is not coming in at the level we committed to when we passed the budget. Moreover, the problem would be even worse but for the fact that earlier in the year, when we started to see that income gap, an anonymous donor gave $100,000 to help close it.

Now, no one can make that kind of generous gift without reaching deep. And that’s what 

we all need to do. We need to think about reaching deep to get this church that we love 

through this time. And that’s what people are doing. At the meeting, many members of the church – some with long histories at First Universalist, others new to this beloved community – shared their hope for the future, their desire to help, and their willingness to dig deep.

And we have indeed dug deep. So far, congregants have contributed approximately $226,000 in additional funds to close the current year gap in giving. We are deeply grateful for the spirit of generosity, and for the passion for this church that it so beautifully embodies.

As you can see, we have accomplished quite a lot mid way through the year but we have much yet to complete. It is our collective energy, commitment and dedication to First Universalist that will create a church that will continually impact the lives of so many for the better. The meeting on January 28 was filled with hope and a renewed sense of purpose. We are the church. Its future is in our hands.  

“But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” - Robert Frost

Board of Trustees

Jeff Snyder, President

Sarah Hedge, Vice President

Marc Gorelick, Treasurer

Matt Keller, Secretary

Lou Quast

Cathy Geist

Ilo Leppik

Emily Bijangte

Emily Wallace