Dear UCGers and friends,
As we start to finish out summer and school will start again this August, I have found my mind wandering towards the ‘ember’ months and what ways we are going to celebrate our church’s 60th anniversary and the other holidays that are to come. It’s a different feeling than the usual impending “oh my gosh, Christmas is almost here, and I haven’t begun to prepare or make lists!” The feeling is more of “oh my gosh, I cannot wait to spend time with my family, sharing stories with friends around campfires, and of course seeing my nephews and nieces in their Halloween costumes.” Alas, I must wait a little longer, but I also found myself feeling thankful for one UCGer:
Carol Barron. She has taught me more than she’s aware of over the past year as I took on the Director of Operations role. She has guided and mentored me throughout the process of all things construction, HVAC, and discovering so many other branches of amazing workers who help keep our campus (and homes) in tip-top shape. She has guided me on when to be firm and when to be fair. Carol has been there to lend an ear when I’m in doubt of the next step, and I cannot thank her enough. She is a fierce and compassionate woman who seems to have endless energy when it comes to keeping remodels and new installments in order. Her expertise and eye for detail is inspiring and to know she’s been a woman in a predominantly man’s world is even more so.
I appreciate that we have so many UCG members that are passionate about preserving, upkeeping and renovating our buildings. Carol is a harbinger of light (figuratively and literally) to this campus and I’m very lucky to know such a strong woman. Please give Carol a big hug, high five, or words of thanks next time you see her at UCG!
Until “SeptEMBER” time, let’s continue to keep our campus in shape, give thanks for having caring folx in our congregation, and have those hard (but open minded) conversations on how we can be better together.
Keeping the foundation strong,
Shanna Swiers
Oh my goodness! I was just reading along every part of this newsletter and came to your tribute to Carol.! Oh Shanna, what a wonderful recognition of her! She’ll be very affected by it. Thank you.
Carol is definitely one of the unsung heroes of our community. Thank you, Shanna, for “singing” her praises.
And thank you for dealing with the roof leaks and A/C failures and plumbing mishaps all at once, on top of the routine management and requests and queries that keep coming at you every day. and always with a smile.
Many kudos to Carol for her faithfulness, expertise, and love for UCG! And many, many thanks to you, Shanna. Your work and attitude is always amazing.