New Year’s in May?

UUCW’s official “church year” started May 1st. Much like the other New Year’s, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the previous 12 months and make resolutions for those to come. It’s been a year of change in many ways—navigating the last stages of the pandemic, saying goodbye to Rev. Suzelle and Rev. Denise, and figuring out how to be together again, all against a backdrop of personal losses many of us have experienced. The good news is that through it all, we’ve found strength in each other, and are on more solid footing than we were last year. But what comes next?

We’ve completed our annual pledge drive and your Board approved a budget for 2023-24, so we can move forward with confidence in our finances and programs, at least for the next 12 months. We are also entering the second year of ministerial transition. Much good work has happened since August, led by our Transition Team and Rev. Julie. We’ve had opportunities to reflect on our history, to think deeply about who we are, what we value, and how to be in community together. Just last Saturday, many of you participated in a session on mission and vision, facilitated by Dori Davenport-Thexton, to engage in conversations about who we want to become. We are creating a team to lead the search for a settled minister. Rev. Julie’s Sunday sermon about building bridges from what was to a better future provided a perfect metaphor for all this work. I’m excited about UUCW’s future and look forward to building and crossing those bridges with all of you.