News from your
Board of Trustees
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To keep you informed on actions and activities of your UUSP Board,
we'll feature highlights from the most recent Board meeting, Board member profiles, financial information, details on specific initiatives, and more.
Monthly virtual meetings are every 2nd Thursday, 5:30-7:30pm.
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Message from our Board President |
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I'm honored to be serving as Board President until the end of this church year, June 30th. With Sharon Winters, Bill Motter, Karen White, and Cynthia Patterson on the Board, I feel confident about leading our congregation through this time of change and challenge.
The biggest challenge facing our church right now is not our search for an interim minister, or the completion of our new kitchen, or saying goodbye to Rev. Jack, or even reopening our church buildings after more than a year.
The biggest challenge is our pledge campaign. We are not hearing from a lot of our members this year. I believe the problem is that many of us, probably all of us, are worn down by the pandemic's isolation and our reliance on electronic media to stay in touch. We're drifting apart, just as there is hope for getting back together in person soon.
Please, hang in there a little longer. Open one more newsletter from the pledge campaign, click on one more link, and make a financial pledge for the next year.
Many people have already pledged generously, and we're so grateful. And there are surely many among us this year whose resources make it impossible to pledge as much as they might want. But, to paraphrase a line from President Biden's inaugural address, "Enough of us must step forward to save all of us." Enough of us have to keep things going until all of us are back on our feet, and we can be together again.
I hope you can help, and I hope to see you all in person soon.
Love and caring,
Susan
Please click on the graphic below to make your 2021-22 pledge.
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Highlights from the April 8th Meeting |
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Announcements
Rev. Jack will officiate at the memorial service for Roy Price at Ft. DeSoto on April 18 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Sarah Craig is organizing a gathering on April 21 with Pastor Jack for snowbirds and others departing early. Dani Skrzypek will be organizing a church-wide farewell for Rev. Jack at the end of June.
Treasurer’s Report
Paul Craig reports that our finances for the current fiscal year are in good order; while pledge income is under budget, operating budget expenses are significantly under budget, primarily due to the continued pandemic shutdown. Paul, Harry and our new bookkeeper, Melanie Humlicek, are making good progress on conversion from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks online.
Interim Minister Search Committee
The Committee is on target with the UUA calendar of deadlines and expects to submit our application packet this week. UUSP will be matched with interested Interim Ministers on May 2. At that point, the committee will review the applicants. See more detail below.
Action Items included:
Little House Rehab
A project proposal and a supporting statement from the Social Justice Committee were submitted to the Board earlier this month. The Little House supports our social justice work, primarily UUHP and the Friday Night Picnic. The 400 square foot concrete block building has seen minimal investment and, with a 30 year old badly deteriorated roof, it is time to take action to protect and secure the building. Karen White & Sharon Winters, the Board Facilities Task Force, reviewed the proposal against our five project criteria. At the Board meeting a motion passed approving roofing and related structural repairs to the Little House at a cost of $8550. The Little House Designated Fund will cover the majority of the costs with a small amount coming from the Maintenance Reserves Fund.
Submission & Publication Guidelines / Communications
The InfoNet name change to UU St. Pete Weekly was approved by the Board.
~ Karen White
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Search for an Interim Minister
The Interim Search Committee (Sally Carville, Susan Burnore, and Sharon Winters) has completed the voluminous application packet. It includes basics about the position, what we're looking for, and a range of information about our congregation, finances, personnel, resources and programs. After Board review, we will submit the packet to UUA well before the April 22 deadline.
Once potential Interim Ministers review materials from the congregations, they will submit interest in specific positions by May 1st. We'll provide those candidates with an additional information packet including financial reports, by-laws, recent newsletters, Board meeting minutes, and info about sunny St. Petersburg.
Starting on May 3rd, the Interim Search Committee will review up to 8 applications, conduct interviews with top candidates, work with the Board to rank order our choices, and respond back to UUA by May 17th. If all goes smoothly, we expect to welcome an Interim Minister in August.
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Meet our new Office Manager |
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Sharon Wood
The Board and Pastor Jack extend a warm welcome to our new Office Manager, Sharon Wood, who started work last Friday. As a new employee, Sharon had to resign from her church membership but many of you may already know Sharon well from her days as a member.
Sharon writes:
I was born and raised in the West – Nevada mainly, and achieved a life long dream and goal by graduating with honors from Dominican College in San Rafael, CA with a BA in English literature and Humanities in 1991.
I spent many years as Executive Admin for a VP at Renown Health in Reno, retiring for first time in 2013.
I arrived in Florida 5 days before Hurricane Irma in 2017, and found my way to St. Pete and the perfect place for me and my two little dogs, Lola and Speck. I joined UUSP in 2018, after belonging to the UU fellowship in Reno since 2006.
Now, I’m overjoyed to become a staff member at the Church. This transition will be interesting and fun. I look forward to your help and advice to help me serve and meet the needs of this community.
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Harry Sauers
Assistant Treasurer
From a family with deep, multi-generational roots in Florida, Harry was born and raised here in Pinellas County. In Clearwater he spent many hours attending traditional church in very hot clothing, questioning organized religion’s relevance to his life as a Gen Xer. Instead of being told what to believe, Harry’s intuitive locus of control led him to FSU as a psychology major where he met his wife of 25 years, Amy.
At FSU, Harry delighted in music, grabbing the graveyard shift at the college radio station; appreciating music has been a constant passion of his life. After working in psychology, Harry moved with Amy to the frozen tundra of the University of Connecticut where he promptly decided software engineering was where it's at and earned an MS in Computer Science and Engineering.
Harry and Amy married, and with baby #1 suddenly on the way, joined family in Florida in 1999, settling down in St. Petersburg to raise their two sons. Today, Harry works as a software engineer, wrangling unruly code (and sometimes coders) for a local software company. When Harry’s not in front of a computer, he enjoys time with his family and friends, kayaking, camping, hiking, biking, music, movies, traveling, and good food. Harry and Amy fell in love with UUSP in 2018, where they have been growing and learning ever since. Harry is completing his 2nd year as the Assistant Treasurer.
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Why I Like Being a Unitarian Universalist |
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The one thing missing from our lives, Tom’s and mine, was a shared spiritual path. The Hebrew prayers did not move him as they did me.
That is what led us to become UU-ers. UU connects instead of divides and we feel that last missing dimension. It doesn’t move me so emotionally as Judaism but it appeals to my full self. Six of the Seven Principles really do cover my beliefs. And they are beautiful.
The one I had little experience with and which I have come to honor and cherish as a UU-er is “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation.” To me this means listening to the people in our congregation with sympathy and understanding, as a friend that you’ve known for many years. And here at UUSP, I like that I can be UU-ish while being Jewish.
--Barbara Archibald, UUSP Legacy Storytellers
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UUSP Mission: To be an inclusive, evolving religious community that inspires spiritual and intellectual growth to make our world a better place.
Mission Moment
Susan Burnore referenced the film The Two Popes. The popes differed radically from one another on nearly every subject but were aligned in their love of the church. How similar to our (or any) UU congregation! We are each unique in our personal opinions and preferences, but share in common a deep caring for our church.
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Upcoming Virtual Board Meetings for 2021
Respond to this email for Board minutes prior to this month.
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What do you want to hear about?
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Co-Editors
RE & Communications Coordinator and ex officio Board Member
Board Vice President
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