Dear Friends!

Thanks to so many of you who have shared your ideas and feedback with the Board as we work toward creating a new vision statement and shaping our organizational strategy for the future. Whether you participated in last April’s visioning workshop, completed the online survey last month, attended one of our smaller focus groups, or shared your perspective with us informally, we are deeply grateful for your thoughtful input about our future.

As Rev. Joan mentioned in her remarks this past Sunday, the Board continues to make progress in our strategic planning work, which also includes bringing the excellent work of the Climate Resilience Study Group to the congregation later this year. We’d like to share a brief update on our expected process for this important work.

At our annual meeting in May, the Board will present to the congregation for approval a revised UCM vision statement and strategic plan. We will be sharing early drafts of these materials in advance of the annual meeting with the congregation in various forums to continue to gather your feedback and iterate these important materials.

Earlier this month, the Climate Resilience Study Group (CRSG) presented its final report, which identifies and examines options for our future facilities that will enable us to fulfill our mission in anticipation of ever-increasing climate change. This dedicated group spent most of the past year conducting research on and gathering perspectives from experts in our region about five options to address the climate challenges we face. These five options came from the congregation after the 2023 flood. The CRSG has created a document that clearly lays out these five options for UCM to discuss and deliberate, and ultimately decide on the best course of action. Later this year, the congregation will have the opportunity to objectively review the CRSG report, discuss its findings in different forums, and then make a collective decision about what action to take to become a climate resilient congregation.

We look forward to your continued participation, discernment, and wisdom as we advance this important work to fully embrace and live out our mission.

With love and gratitude, 

Jeremy Beaudry (President), Emily Seiffert (Vice-President), Ansel Ploog (Financial Officer), Jen Matthews (Secretary), Steve Gold (At Large), Katie Spring (At Large), Susan Koch (At Large)