The Fourth U leadership met on September 20 for a day-long retreat to chart the future of the Society. One thing we agreed upon was that we wanted a larger, more vibrant and more engaged community. Growing our membership is a task for all of us, not just the leadership. As Rosemary often says: on Sunday, everyone is a member of the Membership Committee. How welcoming are we to visitors and newcomers? We think of Fourth U as a warm and friendly place, where anyone would feel comfortable. But are we really making enough of an effort to reach out to those who are seeking a spiritual and religious home?
A few years back, UUA president William Sinkford asked UUs to develop an “elevator speech,” a description of Unitarian Universalism which is short and concise enough to be given in the space of an elevator ride. It is easy to get tongue-tied when describing our faith, a faith which defies description because it is as diverse as we are. Nevertheless, we can all be better spokespeople for our faith and for Fourth U. We tend to spend coffee hour catching up with friends and conducting church business. Let us use coffee hour as the fellowship hour it was intended to be, and spend more time greeting and getting to know our visitors. Let them know about Unitarian Universalism and what a special place this is. Share with them your religious odyssey. Perhaps Fourth U will be a part of theirs as well.
Matt Gilbert
Our fifth UU principle reminds us of our covenant to affirm and promote the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. We at Fourth Universalist have spent this past year living out this principle through our participation in denominational affairs. Many of you attended our Principles and Purposes workshop series last year where we helped shape the future of our faith. Many of you also discussed and voted upon whether to pass the two draft Congregational Study Action Issues on to the 2008 General Assembly for a vote. It is now time for Fourth U to take the next steps on both of these issues.
The UUA Commision on Appraisal (COA) has posted its draft revisions to our Principles and Purposes and has asked that all Unitarian Universalists read this draft on the UUA website and send their feedback. The draft will also be posted in the sanctuary on the Denominational Affairs board. All comments are due to me by October 16 and will be reviewed by the COA soon thereafter.
Also, at our 2008 General Assembly, delegates from our congregation and others voted to choose our denomination’s next Congregational Study Action Issue: Ethical Eating. Thanks go to all at Fourth U who shared their views. At our next congregational meeting, on October 26, we will spend some time talking about this process and ways in which we might study and take action around the issue of ethical eating.
I am looking forward to our progress this year on these projects and on other ways to better connect us to our larger denominational community. Please be in touch!
Ryan Novosielski
Chair, Denominational Affairs Committee
