I wanted to take a moment to update you on what is going on right now at UCG, and let me tell you, there is a lot! After a discernment process lasting over six months, we formally decided at our fall congregational meeting to proceed with a search for a third full-time minister. The vote indicated strong support for this course of action. Although to some it may seem like we have taken a long time to come full circle (we had three ministers, and we will again!) the months of discussion and soul-searching allowed us to share our thoughts with each other and achieve a nearly unanimous consensus. It also allowed us to acknowledge the challenges, particularly financial, that lie ahead, and meet them with eyes wide open. At the same time, we approved our 2024 challenge budget and kicked off the 2024 enlistment campaign to fund the budget. In that spirit of keeping our eyes wide open, we acknowledged that our ability to search for a new minister does depend on meeting our enlistment goal.  So, please turn in your pledge!  

What else is going on? We continue to try out a single-service structure, a major change from the past many years, and will decide on whether to stick with one service or return to two. We are exploring a capital campaign that has the potential not only to give our beautiful physical campus the care it deserves but to position our church for a visionary future. We continue to examine our communications strategy, opportunities to welcome new members, our engagement with the community and the university, and other aspects of our organizational structure and programming. Through it all we continue to live into the richness of UCG life. In-person worship attendance is increasing (and online viewing is strong), our members are organizing climate summits, literally carrying Pride banners down the streets of Gainesville, and continuing to play music, read books, hike through the woods, read banned books, acknowledge the injustice and wrong and pain in the world, and do so much more together. We support our own in times of need and celebrate with them in times of joy. We seek, together, a larger meaning and purpose.