Executive Team Report of Accomplishments ~ 2024-25

•

Church Mission and Ends

Report of Accomplishments for 2024-2025

 

We Welcome All

Our congregation embraces people of any age, race, culture, income or social class, learning style, physical ability, mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Visitors and newcomers feel oriented and comfortable.

  • We feel responsible for engaging with one another. We stretch our comfort zones to learn from and affirm the differences among us.
  • All of us feel safe, accepted and valued.
  • We all feel invited to share our talents and energies, and we feel our presence makes a difference.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • The ET worked collaboratively with the emergency overnight shelter coordinators to develop protocols aimed at ensuring safety and acceptance for all guests and volunteers.
  • The addition of the themed raffle baskets to the Holiday Fair along with the Online Art Auction provided new opportunities for church members and friends to share their talents and energy and make a difference in building community and sustaining the financial health of the congregation.
  • The UCM Racial Justice Group hosted Farmer Ama and Salon Black Walnut for a Human Family Potluck to mark Black OurStory Month. This partnership aimed to grow our congregation’s capacity to learn from differences and welcome the broader community into our space.

 

Build Loving Community

Our loving community needs careful cultivation, so we practice kindness and cherish one another.

  • We practice seeing the best in others and are comfortable sharing our thoughts and feelings.
  • We celebrate and deepen our connections by sharing important transitions in our lives (such as birth, loss, coming of age).
  • We turn to one another for support and help and notice when these are needed.
  • We take action to make the broader society more loving.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • The congregation supported one another through the loss of Minister Emerita, Rev. Maggie Rebmann, through pastoral support, a meaningful memorial service and reception, and informal sharing of stories. All of this deepened connections among long-time members as well as newer members of the congregation.
  • Over 40 individuals participated in one or more sessions of the Date with Death Club which aimed to create a welcoming and safe space for discussing the transition of death and dying.
  • The UCM Choir provided support to choir members beyond weekly rehearsals to deepen
  • the loving bonds among choir members as they face health issues.

 

Nurture Each Person’s Spiritual Journey
  • Through music, words, art, and silence, in all stages of life we each have opportunities for reflection, growth and transformation.
  • We expand our awareness and continue to discover what is ultimately important.
  • We are inspired to live our values and purposes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • The weeklong summer camp held in August 2024 provided an opportunity for children in the congregation to extend their spiritual growth into the summer months and grow a deeper sense of community with one another and the church. The camp also provided an opportunity for church members to share their talents and energies in new ways.
  • Our Director of Music and Director of Spiritual Exploration hosted two Community Music nights which aimed to bring together people of all ages for connection and spiritual sustenance.
  • The worship team found new ways to incorporate art into Sunday services with the
    intention of providing sensory-rich spiritual engagement for reflection and growth.

 

Serve Human Need
  • Our congregation knows when members, friends and neighbors are in need; respecting privacy, we respond generously.
  • As a congregation, we seek and act upon effective strategies in our community and around the world to address the root causes of:
    • Violence,
    • Poverty, and
    • Injustice.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • The Caring Network provided assistance to members, friends, and neighbors in need of all ages and from a far-reaching geographic area, including assistance to one person from out of state, sharing generously of nourishing meals, time, and companionship.
  • The Community Lunch team adapted to serving a higher need population to continue offering a welcoming space as well as nutritious meals every Monday at Christ Church.
  • The Office and Rental Manager and ET supported the Ishtar Collective in moving the Community Fridge from the corner of Elm and Spring St to outside the church building with the goal of maintaining an accessible location for food to be freely offered to anyone in the community.
  • Church members responded generously to the need for continued emergency motel shelter in the fall (over $18,000 raised) and winter emergency shelter on extremely cold nights (open 46 nights) in order to maintain shelter for the most vulnerable unhoused neighbors in our community.
  • Rev. Joan offered two workshops on “Defending Democracy” with the goal of equipping church and community members with skills to respond to the unjust dismantling of democratic systems.
  • Church members participated in the April 5 Hands Off Rally as a show of support for a mass movement against authoritarianism.
  • A small group of congregants came together to form a support team for a recently arrived asylum seeker and her daughter responding generously to the need for social support and providing care and friendship across differences.

 

Protect the Earth, Our Home
  • We see ourselves as one, but only one, of the precious species to be protected on our planet.
  • We actively investigate and learn about the impact of human activity upon Earth.
  • In all our decisions as a congregation, we consider carefully what resources of the earth we are using.
  • We work for political, economic and cultural changes that protect biodiversity and that address the causes of human over-population and climate change.
  • We support one another to make the difficult and urgent personal changes necessary to live sustainably.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

● The Climate Action Team offered a wide variety of programs intended to educate and
inspire the congregation to make personal changes necessary to live sustainably and
also to take action collectively. The programs were informational (such as the workshop
on how to create a “go bag”) and also spiritually nourishing (such as the Climate Justice
Revival worship service).

 

Other Important Accomplishments:

UCM’s establishment of a Climate Resilience Study Group draws upon the talent and energy of a diverse group of congregants to engage in thoughtful, deliberate research about climate resilient options for our future.

 

Report submitted by the Executive Team, May 27, 2025