Dear UCM community,

I want to thank you for the thoughtful and engaged congregational meeting you held this past Sunday, February 13. It was wonderful to see robust participation with over 120 of you logged on (and with some Zoom screens with multiple household members), a mix of church members as well as non-member congregants.

I look forward to working with you in the coming days to live out the adopted 8th Principle, “journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” Each of you will choose to engage with this principle in different ways based on the calling of your own heart and your capacity to dedicate time and energy to these endeavors. I have faith that our collective commitment to this principle will make a difference for one another and for our broader community.

I also know that we are all eager to see the Air Quality Project fully completed and our church building fully reopened. Thank you to our Air Quality Project Management Team for keeping this project moving along, to the generous donors who have contributed a total of $175,000 towards the project, and to all of you for your patience and trust. I am also thankful to those who came before us whose financial investments in the church make it possible for us to draw upon a healthy endowment in support of this project.

Brighter days are ahead. We will find ourselves once again in the company of one another’s warm smiles, laughter, and embrace. We will continue to come together with love and care to engage in the brave work of creating a more Beloved Community and a more sustainable planet.

Amidst all the uncertainty, we carry on.

With love and gratitude,

 

PS – In case you missed the Building Blessing Ceremony, you can watch the video here.