Dear UCM members and friends,

 

We are eager to start our 2020-2021 church year with all of you and hope that you had a chance for some relaxation and fun over the summer months.

 

Your Executive Team (ET) manages the day-to-day operations of the church. We took a break from meeting during the month of July and are now fully immersed once again in handling the operational matters of our congregation.

 

 We want to share with you a few important updates.

 

 UCM now has a Covid-19 Response Task Force in place, which has been meeting and continues to make recommendations regarding the safe use of our building and meeting of church groups during the pandemic. Based on the Task Force’s recommendations, UCM will be holding virtual Sunday services through at least December 2020, and the building remains closed until further notice.

 

The search for our Interim Director of Music is well under way and in its final phases.

 

At the beginning of the summer, a committee was formed to evaluate our needs for the coming church year, and to develop a job description for this position. The Director creates and directs a program of stimulating and inspiring music for our worship services, and also leads the Church Choir. The group consisted of representatives from the Choir, Music Committee, Worship and Arts Committee, Executive Team, our accompanist, Eliza Thomas, our Director of Lifespan Spiritual Exploration, Liza Earle-Centers, and Rev. Joan. After the job description was finalized, they created a list of desired attributes and formulated interview questions to match these attributes. The position was advertised in local media and on UUA-affiliated job posting sites.

 

A Hiring Committee with a representative from the Choir, Worship and Arts Committee, Executive Team, and Rev. Joan, was formed to review 15 applications, resumes, references, and musical samples. Seven of the most qualified candidates were selected for Zoom interviews, which included an interactive demonstration. The committee is in discernment of their top choices and expects, in the next week or so, to make their recommendation to the Executive Team for their approval, and then to the Board for their final approval. Our hope is to have someone in place this month.

 

Please feel free to reach out at any time with questions or concerns. We can be reached at ucm.executiveteam@gmail.com.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ron Cameron, Claudia Clark, Rev. Joan Javier-Duval, and Leslie Parr

UCM Executive Team – 2020-2021 Church Year