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| Newsletters & Sermons UUFD NOW Beginning Meditation Beginning
Meditation will be offered again in June at the Fellowship. The
course is taught
In John's Words No surprise was that to the question "Of the following ministerial functions, rate according to its importance to you." the overwhelming response members called for was "An expansion of membership." A close second in priority was that of "Building Community." Both of these are keen personal goals of mine for the coming year and I plan to involve myself in the Membership Committee, along with those of you interested in fulfilling on the request of this survey . growth. Under the category of rating the purpose of the Sunday services for you, the two most often selected options were "To help us better understand ourselves" and "To inform and empower, leading to reasoned action." A close third was "to show paths for individual growth and change." As we move through the rest of this year and on into the new church year, in September, many of you have expressed a keen interest in continuing to bring quality guest speakers on each of the lay-led Sundays. It's clear from the survey that both my sermons and the services by outside speakers are the key attractions for your attendance on Sunday mornings. When the survey asked you to rate the various elements of a typical Sunday service, you rated the sermon as the most important. Right after that, it was the discussion following coffee, with silent meditations a close third. "Singing by the congregation" was more often rated as "somewhat important" than "very important." I found that an interesting statement. When asked to indicate the various levels of importance regarding aspects of the events at the church, things like music, pastoral care by the minister, intellectual stimulation in sermons, the need for social activities among members and friends, garnering the highest priority was, first, that there BE a minister present, and secondly, that Sunday services be filled with quality music, stimulating sermons and time for people to express themselves, as in the Joys and Concerns portion of the service, discussion over coffee and the adult RE workshops. Finally, as to the question "What is you attitude toward growth at UUFD?" by far and away most checked the "enthusiastic" response. The summary message of this survey I feel is that members and friends of UUFD are ready for spirited growth in the years ahead. Remaining the size we've been for the last 10 years is no longer acceptable. People want to see new members coming on as regular a basis as possible. Covenant Groups are seeking to excite new interest in people joining. The Membership Committee is ready to lead the way. And I certainly am encouraged about what we can all do together to build, grow and expand our congregation. Those 10 most powerful two-letter words I often speak of are so true of our growth potential: If it is to be, it is up to we. In faith, Office hours
Look Who's Celebrating! Jim Gardner
- May 8
Rummage
Sale Time Draws Nigh Yes, if
you feel another announcement about our gala UUFD Rummage Sale coming
on, you're right on target! Workers (yes, this means you!) are needed to set up, sort, mark, run the sale and clean up. And here's the well-kept secret: the work isn't that hard and members often have a lot of fun, kidding around with one another! So, join us -- sign-up sheets will appear on the UUFD foyer table in May.
A Note From Your New President -- by Marge Evans I am indebted to you for putting your trust in me to be your President. I will need your help with the many facets of moving our lay-led congregation forward. We are
so fortunate to have John Biedler and his inspiration, Gwen. He
is giving a tremendous boost to all our functions. But there are
many other aspects of our functioning I know you all represent diverse interests and talents, and surely, a little input from a lot of folks will take us a long way! "Lay-led" means, besides your officers, we have committees that take on various responsibilities. They are: Program, Religious Education, Building and Grounds, Community Outreach, Hospitality, Finance, Membership, Newsletter, Long Range Planning, Music and Committee on Ministry. So you may expect a call from me. Think about your niche. Together we will have a great year!
. . . So it seems you can hardly pick up a copy of the Herald & Review nowadays without bumping into a mention of a UUFD member! You remember
the front-page treatment and picture of Linda Shroyer about her
duties as a school nurse. That was followed in short order by an
article previewing the 175th anniversary of Macon County and Decatur.
And, of course, at any such big anniversary for the city of Decatur,
you need someone to embody the city's namesake. Enter our own John
Biedler as the Commodore himself. That earned John not one mention
before the Also talking about the H&R front page (which is becoming UUFD territory!), we shouldn't forget the centerpiece feature about Deonne Orvis's farm and Community Supported Agriculture program. It was great to see Deonne's picture, working on her beloved White Oak Farm -- and we had the benefit of June Allison's words of wisdom about the benefits from being enrolled in the community agriculture program. (We could also note the mention of Bill Faber, Lucy Murphy, John Hays, Gary Brennan and Amy Stockwell on the primary election ballot that was printed in the paper). So, who's next, we wonder? It surely won't be too long until another UUFD member takes his or her place among the pages of our local paper. Now's the time to get newsworthy!
Congregational Meeting More than a dozen UUFD members gathered for the annual Congregational Meeting on April 18. Besides discussion about the budget for the upcoming year, the members elected officers for terms beginning May 1. Jennifer Gardner was elected to a one-year term as a board member at large. Carolynn Devore was nominated from the floor for a two-year at-large position. June Allison was nominated from the floor to be vice president. She asked for time to consider the nomination. The members
then voted on the board positions, as well as the renominations
of Mark Sorensen as treasurer and Linda Shroyer as secretary for
another one-year term. Those votes were unanimous. Wade Greiner,
who presided at the meeting, was thanked for his Although not technically part of the election at the Congregational Meeting, Marge Evans will assume the post of President as of May 1, and Dick Zaker will become President-elect. Wade will be Past President, a position that maintains his seat on the UUFD Board. Ken Robertson
was re-elected to a position on the board of the UUFD Trust for
a six-year term.
UUFD Trust Summary Not everyone knows about the Trust Fund that provides UUFD with occasional income and long-term financial security. A congregational resolution established the Trust in 1989, following a gift of more than $79,000 from the estate of the late member Ken Smith. The goal of the Trust was to hold and manage all future gifts to the Fellowship. Those gifts can come in the form of bequests after a member or friend has passed away, or through individual donations for no specific occasion, as occurred several times in the past year. Also, $245 was donated from the collections received at our 50th Anniversary Service in 2003. Ken Robertson reported at the April 18 Congregational Meeting that the total asset value of the Trust was $193,290.12 as of March 31. That's a 19.5 percent increase over the previous year! The fund is divided among such investments as common stock, CDs, bond funds and money market funds. The net annual income of the Trust is $6,568. A.G. Edwards company handles the Trust accounts. We thank Ken, Vern Thistlethwaite and Ed Seymour, the Trustees, for their handling of the funds.
In the larger UU community... - Unitarian
Univeralist Association - Central
Midwest District - The World
Wide Web and the "Web of Life"
In a nurturing environment of openness, mutual respect, and friendship, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Decatur is a welcoming, diverse congregation. We share values and seek to celebrate life and support one another in our inward and outward searches for spiritual meaning, provide a liberal religious presence, and strive for compassion and justice in our community and our world. Our newsletter is printed monthly. Dick Zaker is the editor and Jennifer Gardner makes it available on the Web. Articles can be submitted through e-mail at newsletter@uufd.org, by putting them in the newsletter mailbox at UUFD, by mailing them to him in care of the fellowship, or by leaving a phone message for Dick at 429-1355. |
