Letters from Leadership

At the start of the new year, it’s custom to take inventory of where you’re at in life. Did you reach last year’s goals? What new intentions are you setting for the coming year?As part of the worship team, I wanted to take a second to look back on where we were at this time last year compared to how far we’ve come. This time last year I delivered one of my very first sermons – an honest look at…

Life is like riding a bicycle – to keep your balance you must keep moving – Albert Einstein The Revitalization Team kept momentum going by holding our first social event of 2023 last weekend, a Hygge Hangout. We also have February’s Valentine Potluck coming up on Feb 11 in Fellowship Hall. Recaps, including pictures, are available on the UUCE website in the Activities section, which can be found here: https://uuce.org/activity-highlights/ Last week we also kicked off a new Adult RE…

Happy New Year, Beloved Community! I wanted to inform you of the dates we’ll be having RE through the beginning of June, so everyone can plan accordingly. Looking forward to all that our kids and youth will do this year! We’ll plan to have RE on the following dates (and for those of you involved in D&D, we’ll plan to have games on the following dates as well): Jan 22nd  Feb 5th  Feb 19th  Mar 5th  Mar 19th  Apr 2nd …

Some of you may wonder, or hope to never learn, what it is that your Financial Secretary does on a weekly basis.  Over the past 18 months my focus has been to modify the financial processes of the Church to better fit our goals of using our resources wisely and avoiding unnecessary waste.  We do a pretty good job of managing our financial resources, but still have some work to do in terms of reducing waste. Historically our financial processes…

Letters from Leadership As 2022 winds down and we approach the mid-point of our fiscal church year, it is a perfect time to step back and take pride in all we’ve accomplished. In her December 1st letter from the Board of Trustees, Krista Wagner shares a poem from Donna Ashworth. “…take a moment to acknowledge what you already are. All that you already are. Because it’s a lot. You’re a lot. And you deserve to be seen. For catching the…

I’ve rarely had to think about whether or not I was going to church on Sunday.  From the time I first started coming to UUCE as a 21-year-old newlywed eager to find friends in a new community there has always been a compelling reason to show up.  Through years of playing various roles in the church that required my presence before, during and after the Sunday service, church attendance was a habit that was not hard to form.  But the…

The Church Has Left the Building by Margaret Weis The church is not a place; it is a people. The church is not only a steeple above the treeline, streets, and cars.Rather, it is a people proclaiming to the world thatwe are here for the work of healing and of justice. The church is not walls built stone upon stone, held together by mortarbut rather person, linked with person, linked with person:all ages and genders and abilities—a community built on the…

It’s hard to believe, but the end of 2022 is drawing near. We’re in our last month, the weather is getting colder, the streets are lit with twinkling lights, and snow is just around the corner. Another new year is approaching. I know many of us look at a new year as a time to personally reflect, evaluate, and refine ourselves. Resolutions may be made, goals set, intentions defined. For those of us who choose to look at the new…

“How’s Religious Education (RE) going?” I get this question a lot, and it’s a tough one to answer. On the one hand, it’s been a wonderful couple of months with our Youth Group. I know you all know this already, but the Youth of UUCE are caring, smart, fascinating people and it’s a joy to get to spend time with them during RE Classes. Since we started meeting every other week again, they have spent time playing games and getting to…

Climate change is a complex problem. The ways we address it are varied and have different impacts, but all are crucial in addressing climate change. Voting on climate is a critical approach. Our communities are impacted by the climate crisis, but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless. By organizing our churches, neighborhoods, and communities, we build the power necessary to nurture healthy and resilient communities where all can thrive. Together, we can elect officials – from the local to federal levels…

After an amazing year of being part of the worship team, I wanted to take some time to acknowledge my unexpected love for our lay led congregation.  While I know many of us are used to having a permanent minister, I for one am so grateful to get the unique chance of experiencing the creative diversity a lay lead church has to offer!  Since returning to UUCE, one of my favorite things has been to hear so many different perspectives,…