UUFC President’s Letter May 22, 2022
Dear UU members and friends,
In this time of worry about Covid, politics, mass shootings, and the Ukrainian war, it’s uplifting to recall the lyrics from the old “Cheers” sitcom: sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.” Our UU is a place of welcome, friendship, activities and focus on the things we can work to change and the things we just have to accept as beyond our control. We come together to share our joys and concerns, to listen to different points of view, and to search for truth and meaning. Join us whenever you can at the Sunday Service or for any of our weekly or monthly activities.
UU News
- On Sunday, June 12, we will hold a very short business meeting to discuss and vote on amending our Fellowship’s Bylaws concerning the number of members required to have a quorum. Currently we have a requirement of 30% of members to constitute a quorum, but the Board has evaluated the situation and recommends 20%. The reason for this request is that while we have about 70 members, our attendance, coupled with friends of the Fellowship, hovers around 35. Our concern is that at an essential business meeting we might not muster the required quorum of members to have a meeting.
- There have been a number of improvements to our Fellowship since the last President’s Letter:
- Brenda Stevens has a new Dell computer for the front office. She was working with an older system that needed updating.
- A natural stone bench overlooking Heiferhorn Creek has been placed to the right of the Pavilion. It’s a peaceful shady spot to meditate or just enjoy the soothing sound of the creek cascading over the stones.
- Rotten fascia on the Meeting House (MH) has been replaced, a portion of the MH’s roof repaired, and insulation blown in the MH’s attic. The latter should help reduce the cost of heating and cooling.
- New shelving was installed in the upstairs storage room to provide better organization and ease of access.
- Orm Burnham has been patching the concrete pad in front of the Meditation Garden and filling the major cracks on the Pavilion’s floor. He is also replacing ruined tiles in the back kitchen. Thank you, Orm!
- As Summer approaches and the heat and humidity rise, we need to turn on the air conditioners and close the doors. The doors will be locked at 11:10 on Sundays. The doorbell by the side door at the top of the ramp works in the event you are locked out after the start of the Service. If you arrive late through the front door, the hall door will be locked, but you can knock gently on the door, so someone can let you in.
- Volunteers from our UU met and worked with Hamilton Hood, an organization focused on the preservation of the historic Pierce Chapel African American Cemetery. Judy Barnett participated in the first workday. This last workday, Brenda Stevens and I enjoyed meeting with about 50 other people from different congregations and an archeologist from Auburn to clear off some of the understory to find graves…and that we did. I will announce the next workday. It was worthwhile work to uncover hidden graves and meet descendants of some of the people buried there.
- Let’s keep in our thoughts/prayers the people who are suffering from injustice and war: The families of the Buffalo, NY mass shooting victims and the Ukrainians who continue to suffer from a brutal war
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racists. We must be anti-racists.”
Angela Davis
“True peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of justice.”
Jane Addams
In Fellowship,
Hal Midgette, President UUFC