You have been a wonderful congregation with whom to live and thrive for the last sixteen months. I can’t believe how lucky the search process is and how lucky you are to have Rev. Dr. Marta starting September 1. My office chair will still be warm for her. She and I will have had a lovely transitional…
Detailsby Lindsey Telg, Executive Director For at least two years, that I am aware of, there have been ongoing discussions about the size of our Church Council and ways to streamline. The goal of restructuring was to promote collaboration between committees, to break down silos, to reduce the burden of lay leadership roles, and to…
Detailsby Alan Hill, Chair Starting in July we began a contract with Clergy Financial Resources to provide accounting and payroll services for the church. We’ve sorted through a few issues with the conversion of our balances to a new system and the proper coding of expenses. The underlying transactions will continue to be reviewed…
DetailsSeekers of God However Known is a UCG program focused on fostering spiritual growth by exploring a variety of spiritual topics, concepts, practices, and perspectives. Sessions will take place on Sundays from 9 – 9:45 a.m. in Reimer Hall unless otherwise noted. Everyone is welcome. September 13: Rev. Andy Bachmann, “The Lost Art of Lament” –…
DetailsThe Sunday Seminar Committee is pleased to announce the line-up of seminars for September. Seminars are in person and on Zoom on Sundays at 11:30 a.m. September 6: Mutual Aid versus Charity? with Ezra Stone What’s the difference between “mutual aid” and “charity”? According to Dean Spade, author of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this…
Detailsby Alan Hill Chair, Board of Business A couple updates about finances at UCG: After a search, interviews, and discussions the church will now contract with Clergy Financial Resources to provide payroll, bookkeeping, and financial reporting services. Clergy Financial Resources (CFR) is an Indiana based organization that has provided specialized tax, payroll, booking, and…
DetailsThe months of May and June have been very productive at UCG. I’m including a brief status update on various projects I have been working on. If you’d like more details, I’m happy to share. Please set up a time to meet with me or send me an email. Governance Restructuring: The Leadership Summit was…
Detailsby Larry Reimer I’d like to tell the story of how the cross with our logo wound up on the Fifth Avenue side of Reimer Hall – as we move it to the east side of the Sanctuary – and replace it with a mural. As you can imagine, when the congregation decided about a…
DetailsThe Sunday Seminar Committee is pleased to announce the line-up of seminars for July. Seminars are in person and on Zoom on Sundays at 11:30 a.m. Meeting ID: 829 6457 0385 Passcode: 1624. July 5 – no planned seminar July 12 – “American Patriotism in our 251st Year” Now that the hoopla, controversies, and grotesqueries of…
DetailsRay Meeks is now known as “The Flower Man” at Madison Correctional Institution. In fact his fame is so widespread that Ricky Dixon, Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, sought out Ray on his recent visit. Ray said Dixon came looking for him saying, “I hear you’re the flower man and I wanted to…
DetailsOn our Reform of the Foundation in our 61st year I’m excited about our self-reformation project. We have all talked in different ways at different times about the need for more coherence in our congregationalism and its commitments to self-governance. We know the pastors need support of a confidential nature – and also a way…
DetailsBy the time you read this, I will be in my new position for a month. I’m writing this toward the end of my second week. Most of my time so far has been spent getting settled in my office, attending lots of meetings to get up to speed on current tasks, and brainstorming all…
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