By Tim Raridon
The April UUYO Board Meeting was the first in about 2 years to be held in person at the Board Room in the church. Last June the board did meet in person for business, wine and cheese on Gene Pusitari’s patio… and there were a couple other meetings that were held on the church patio as Covid waned, but with persistent surges and uncertainty, caution necessarily prevailed. This board has remained extremely functional regardless of how members have met and communicated. Yet being in our meeting room again gave board members a warm sense of coming home and provided the easy comfort of gathering and sharing thoughts and plans in person again… just as spring flowers stubbornly pushed through the frost reminding us of steadfast cyclical beauty and the inevitability of renewal.
Our church is committed to deepening its involvement in the community in multiple ways, and the board is actively engaged in providing tools, events and methods to do so effectively. With Gene Pusitari’s leadership we have already helped to produce and distribute hundreds of yard/window signs in support of Black Lives Matter. Hundreds of other signs have been distributed that colorfully explain the general philosophical fabric of which Unitarian Universalism is spun. These signs represent great progress in communicating our presence and mission in the community. We are now working to formulate a Table Kit for community and church events that includes info pamphlets, UUYO banners and/or flags and other materials that can consistently be available when opportunities for outreach present themselves.
Efforts to fully engage the church in proven educational programs related to 8th Principle goals continue to move forward. The need to open our doors and bring deeper education into our midst on these matters is as great as the need to reach beyond those doors and more actively participate in multi-racial events, meetings, musical performances etc.
It is spring. There is great need in our world right now. Our church is about working together to make a difference. Once again, we push the frost away and remind our community and each other that we have persevered together and are steadfastly dedicated to the renewal and growth that nature has planted in all of us.