The North Unitarian Universalist Congregation Newsletter May 2008

Page 3

From your Board and Committees!

From the President Dear Members and Friends, “The decisions you make now will impact your church for 50 years…” These are the words of Philip Markwood, the architect NUUC has engaged to design our new sanctuary. Until he said this, I had not fully and deeply considered the gravity of what we are doing right now; but while I can temporize and hide from this fact, it is a true statement; what we do now will affect not only our congregation, but also the future of Unitarian Universalism in Central Ohio for years and years to come. This makes it critical that we, collectively, get it “right”; however, how can we know what are the “right” choices? Knowing what is “right”; this is the question that launched a 1,000 sermons. In my own experience, what is right is often decided by what is consistent with my vision of who I am and where I am going. A decision that supports that vision almost invariably turns out to be the “right” decision for both my immediate needs as well as my long term goals. Where I have constantly run into problems is when I have either gone against my vision, or worse, not had a guiding vision or goal with which to weigh decisions. You have likely heard (or uncomfortably participated in) the true story of the meeting between Barry Finkelstein and a group of our congregation’s members in which Mr. Finkelstein’s question, “What is the vision/mission of this congregation?” was met with a cold, lingering silence. No one could concisely articulate our driving vision. If we are to state a fear from the assessment report, I can state it in one of my favorite quotes (variously attributed) “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” So, the question continues to hang out there, what do we stand for? Fortunately, this is not a question one person must, or can, answer, but it is an answer that can be achieved by our collective thoughts and ideas. However, reaching that answer for 140+ souls will require some work on each of our parts. The Board is seeking to put together a team of fellow congregants to facilitate our discussions and then to synthesize those discussions into a coherent vision of our collective future. While not an unmoving dictate carved in stone, it will be that base to which we return and which, hopefully, will guide us to reach the “right” decision, now and for the foreseeable future. As the details of our vision quest are settled, I will share them with you in as many forums as I can, but I ask you to remember that it is quite rare when we are conscious in our daily lives of a chance to make a difference in our collective future; this is one clear chance. I hope that you will take this opportunity to seize and mold the future, our future, and the undreamed-of future of our congregation. In peace and fellowship, David J. Petras Go to: Page 1 Page 2 Page 4

Treasurer's Report TREASURER’S REPORT The Board meeting scheduled for March 15 was cancelled due to consequences of that week’s snowstorm; therefore, both the February and March Financial Reports are presented this month. FEBRUARY AND MARCH FINANCIAL REPORTS Outlined below is a summary of the financial reports presented to members of your Finance Committee and Board of Trustees for the months of February and March, 2008: Actual $ Budget Received (Planned Receipts And Paid And Payments) February, 2008 Pledge Income $ 9,485 $ 11,708 Other Income $ 7,760 $ 2,958 Total Income $ 17,245 $ 14,666 Total Expenses $ 13,484 $ 14,666 Year-to-Date Pledge Income $ 31,020 $ 23,415 Other Income $ 9,922 $ 5,917 Total Income $ 40,942 $ 29,332 Total Expenses $ 28,005 $ 29,332 March, 2008 Pledge Income $ 11,110 $ 11,708 Other Income $ 2,005 $ 2,958 Total Income $ 13,115 $ 14,666 Total Expenses $ 15,047 $ 14,666 Year-to-Date Pledge Income $ 42,130 $ 35,123 Other Income $ 11,927 $ 8,875 Total Income $ 54,057 $ 43,998 Total Expenses $ 43,052 $ 43,998 Year-to-Date Pledge Income is still over budget due to the high number of pledge payments for 2008 received at the beginning of the year. The Other Income line for February was so favorable as Vanguard transferred $6,663 to the checking account from the money market account. When the account was originally set up, Vanguard was instructed to wire dividends to the checking account, and they did not start doing this until February. In March $812 was transferred from Vanguard which appears on the Other Income line. Until next month, Nancy Remer Welcome to our Newest Members… The following people signed the NUUC Member Book on Sunday, April 20. If you haven’t already met or welcomed them, please make a point of doing so some Sunday soon! Melinda Rosenberg Carolyn Gross Babette Hatcher Jeff & Deborah Buchholtz Lyn Herron Joe Herron (Lyn’s son) Deborah Barman Getting to Know You… Here’s a little background on a couple of our newest members; watch future issues for info about other new members! Melinda Rosenberg says: I am happy to join NUUC and look forward to meeting more of you. I think the effort to live a principled (not the right word, but I can't think of what would be closer) life is difficult and not always clear, and I hope that through knowing this community my way will become clearer. I grew up in Columbus, and live in Worthington with Steve (husband) and Amelia (daughter) Rosenberg. I am a painter, a high school art teacher, a Girl Scout leader, and a house cleaner extraordinaire (not!). Babette Hatcher tells us: I was born in New Haven, CT in 1944. After living in New York City and Rome, Georgia we settled in Sunbury, OH. I moved to Westerville when I was a freshman in high school and ended up marrying my high school sweetheart Bernie (he makes me laugh). We lived in Lexington, KY (which we loved) and in West Chester, OH (which we didn’t love so much). We returned to Westerville 14 years ago because we didn’t want to be long-distance grandparents. We are both retired; Bernie from the elevator business and me from various clerical jobs. We have two children—Brent, who is a letter carrier for the USPS and Bethany who is a stay-at-home mom. Our grandson is a sophomore who plays varsity soccer and lacrosse. Now that we are retired we do what we want to, when we want to. We take exercise classes at the community center, garden, read, spend time with friends and family, try to keep our two German Shepherds Annie and Baron in line, and of course attend our grandson’s soccer and lacrosse matches. Life is good!