From the President - March 2010
On a bright Sunday afternoon in February, I drove over the mountain with Alex McGee to visit the Rockbridge Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in a small Friends Meeting House. We met some of the folks who started this fellowship only two years ago. It was exciting to see such a new UU community and feel the enthusiasm of their members. They are so new that they are still writing their bylaws! It is hard to believe that TJMC was once equally new and small.
In December, I visited three congregations in California, all dealing with their own space issues with capital campaigns. The Hayward fellowship members were proud of their new social hall, and the members of Mt. Diablo UU in Walnut Creek enjoyed coffee in their new fellowship hall. The Oakland congregation was back in their beautiful sanctuary—recently retrofitted to withstand earthquakes.
These visits to other UU congregations remind me that we are part of a larger denomination. I often visit the UUA website to find information and inspiration. I also receive messages from several email list serves in which UUs across the country ask for advice on all aspects of church life. It is fascinating and comforting to know that other churches are going through many of the growing pains we have felt over the past years.
I have also received messages from the leaders of the Thomas Jefferson District regarding the upcoming district meeting being held April 30-May 1. Some church members have already expressed an interest in attending this important meeting where delegates from member churches will vote on whether we want to change the district name and to what. Our board will be discussing how to assign delegate status and how to ascertain congregational attitudes toward that name change at our March meeting.
I am also looking forward to General Assembly in Minneapolis in late June. I love the opportunity to meet with thousands of religious liberals— worshiping, learning, discussing, and making important decisions. If you can not make it there this year, I strongly encourage you to consider going to GA in Charlotte next year.
Returning to TJMC after visiting other churches also reminds me how much I value our beloved community and why I support it with my time and treasure. I am grateful for the handful of folks who started this church back in 1943 and for the many people who have nurtured it throughout the years. I am committed to doing my part to sustain and build on what we have inherited.
In faith, Pam Philips,
President Board of Trustees
