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Its not too early to start collecting water and stories from your vacations and trips this summer to share at our Ingathering of Waters service September 12. We recommend you freeze small quantities of water until shortly before the service to prevent unintentional science experiments from occurring.

How Can I Find Out About...?

As we grow more diverse and more active, the issue of effective communication is becoming almost as important as the information we want to distribute. Sometimes (not very often!) I almost envy those varieties of insects who communicate by sense of smell alone. As we work toward better ways of sharing information among ourselves, it seems appropriate to remind folks what kinds of information are available and where they can be found.

Our newsletter, the Unigram, is mailed to members, friends, and visitors every two weeks, and copies can be found on the greeters table in the foyer. If you want to know what’s going on at UUFC, reading it is a good start. Among other news items, the Unigram always includes information about upcoming Sunday services and a calendar of events. Once a month our Religious Education department includes its own page. If your child participates in RE, be sure to check the news and reminders from our RE staff. Some announcements are included in the Sunday order of service as well.

Information about Unitarian Universalism as a denomination as well as specialized information about this congregation may be found on the table in the foyer and in the social hall, on the tables and in the literature racks.

One bulletin board in the main hallway is dedicated to news about our Religious Education offerings and related events, while another offers information of interest to teenagers. Communications from our wider denomination and our congregation’s leadership may be found on the Board of Trustees bulletin board. Here you will also find the minutes of the monthly board meetings and a copy of our congregation’s bylaws. (Our bylaws outline how our congregation governs itself.) Additional copies of board minutes and our bylaws are available upon request (ask the administrator) if you would like a copy to keep for future reference.

You can hear recorded information about the UUFC Coffee House folk music series by calling 799-1746.

Voicemail messages for the staff may be left by calling 799-0845 (extension 1 for Rev. Patrick Price, ext. 2 for administrator Laura Ingram, ext. 3 for Director of Religious Education Susan Corbett). You may bypass the initial message by immediately pushing the extension number. If you would like to leave a general or time-sensitive message, you may speak after with initial message without pushing an extension and whoever checks the voicemail will receive your message.

So, does that tell you all you need to know? If not, that’s fine.... Our staff is always happy to talk with you about your questions and concerns.

Patrick’s Ponderings...

As I begin preparing to attend our UU General Assembly in Salt Lake City at the end of June, I am reflecting on the things I will share with my colleagues as we gather at the end of another program year. As in most years a great deal has happened over the last twelve months.

We have paid off our mortgage and are debt free for the first time in many years. We are in a good position relative to taking on new obligations for our future growth and development as a vibrant liberal religious presence in the Midlands. This is especially important as we consider our future and vision ourselves and our ministry through the Long Range Planning Process we are engaged in and preparing for our fiftieth anniversary next year on April 30.

A recent trip by eighteen lay leaders and staff to the 750-member Eno River UU Fellowship (ERUUF) in Durham, NC gave us a reality check and good insight to some relative strengths here at UUFC. Our youth program is the strongest in our district. This is clearly because of the congregation's wisdom two years ago in calling professional youth staff to minister to and with our growing youth population here. Consequently we have nearly as many youth as younger children in our growing religious education program.

At ERUUF we also learned that we have many of our administrative functions well in hand, especially relative to a congregation our size of two hundred. We handle our money well and have good systems of accounting in place. Our shifting more of the daily financial and administrative functions of our ministry to professional staff are also part of a healthy, growing congregation in transition. This frees members to engage more in the ministries which the congregation exists to express and further in our world.

Another reality check I gained from the generous sharing of the folks from Eno River was that there is no point at which we are done. A religious community has a life just like individuals. Either we are growing, maturing and deepening in our faith or we are stagnant and perhaps dying. We are constantly engaged in the work and play of our ministry together with no end point in sight.

We will be sharing more of what we gleaned from this workshop and others over the weeks and months to come. Those who went ERUUF are Mary Maclachlan, Ann Johnson, Joe Kyle, John Reed, Noel and Tom Morton, Don and Pat Mohr, Tootsie Holland, Carrita Barr, Judy Turnipseed, Kay White, Heather Cunningham, Heather Leeper, Rusty Wene-rick, Terry, Murphy, Laura Ingram and myself. Feel free to ask us about what we experienced and insights brought back.

What I will share with my colleagues is that we are growing and learning in our role as bearers of our liberal religious tradition. We are on the road to being who we are and who we can be, and in the process we are helping the world be more of what it can be as well. Peace, Patrick

Several UUFC friends of Howard and Frances Boozer have arranged for a Howard and Frances Boozer Fund, as a memorial to Howard and a way of honoring their unique roles as generous, concerned pillars of our community for many many years. Frances will be asked to advise on the use of these monies for the Fellowship. Lee and Julian Minghi

Summer Travellers:

Save Your Unwanted Treasures!!

PS: Be on the lookout at the end of July for the Yard Sale

Helpers' Sign-Up sheet in the Social Hall! It is always great fun, great food, and great fellowship! You will want to be there!!

Let them Eat Cake... and Soups... and Pies... and Veggie Dishes!

Board Members and Committee Chairs!!!

The annual Board and Committee Chairs Retreat is scheduled for Saturday August 21 from 9am to 3:30pm. We are very fortunate to have our new TJ District representative Ms. Qiayama Rahman conducting our day together. This retreat is a time when board members and committee chairds spend time setting goals for the upcoming year and deciding how we will carry them out. Location and lunch plans will be announced later. Please mark your calendars now for this important event.

Treasurer’s Report

+ We paid back our loan from savings this month.

+ We have received our "paid off" mortgage documentation, and

+ We closed our most successful canvass ever. (We raised $112K in pledges, and over $7K in dues pledges.)

- We are behind on pledge payments for this year (which ends June 30) so please make an effort to pay off your pledges so we can have a clean slate this year.

+ If you have paid your pledge in full, thank you very much. $ If you are still behind after July 1, we will allocate any payments towards FISCAL 99 during the month of July and August to allow you to catch up.

You can be a villain or a hero with no risk!

A group of UUFC members and friends plan to meet once a month to read selected plays. You’ll have the opportunity to read or just listen. We have a good time and discuss what we read.The first Play Reading will be on Monday, June 21^st at 7pm, at the UUFC Library. Ron Edge

Calendar

9:30am YAC

11:00am Gay Pride Service

12:30pm Long Range Planning Work/Lunch Groups:

--Managing Our Resources

--Nurturing Ourselves

12:30pm Junior High Parents’ Meeting

7:30pm Meditation

6:00pm Board of Trustees (room 1)

7:30pm Coffee House: Bill Staines

5:30pm Tai Chi (Peter Kandis)

6:00pm Eno River DeBriefing

5:30pm Off Chants

7:00pm Dance Choir

7:00pm Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPs)

6:30pm *September Set

??pm *Supper Groups

7:00pm *Taste of Civilization

9:30am Forum

11:00am Worship Service

12:30pm Long Range Planning Work/Lunch Groups:

--Congregational Polity

--Spreading the Good News

7:00pm Dance Improv Jam

7:30pm Meditation

Monday, June 21

7:00pm Playreaders (library)

7:30pm Sierra Club

* denotes an event held somewhere other than UUFC

A Taste of Civilization

Star Wars Trivial Pursuit Party

Swing Fling

Cuisine ala Francaise

Risk It All for a Day!

English Tea Party and "Talking Heads"

Sign up in the Social Hall or call the UUFC office.