President’s Perspective – President Ruth Milledge
Dear UUCC,
It is my honor to serve as 2024-25 President of UUCC. The 2023-2024 Board of Trustees met for the final time in June. I know you join me in expressing gratitude to Melissa Ensign-Bedford, Susan Even, and Connie Ordway, who rotated off the Board after three years of service as of June 30. Please join me in welcoming Andrea Baka, Ryan Carter, and Kim Wade, who joined the board as of July 1. At the July 18 board meeting, the following officers were chosen: Kim Wade-President-Elect, Ryan Carter-Secretary, and Fred Young-Treasurer. The Board of Trustees meets on the third Thursday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. We always welcome you to observe these meetings.
In August we plan to hold a board retreat and consider our goals for this year. You can expect more information about that in the next Searchlight. At present, I can say that, with input and effort from the congregation, we will continue the work toward updating the Mission and Vision Statements. I expect that Rev. Molly will be informing us about the needs for maintaining safety of our church and congregation. We will be paying close attention to current events with an eye to the ways our UUCC congregation will continue to support each other and the wider community. As always, we welcome your thoughts, requests, and suggestions.
I look forward to serving this year.
Ruth Milledge,
2024-25 President
Rev. Dr. Molly Housh Gordon
Dear UU Churchers,
It is a fearful time in the world, in this country, in this ever-weakening democracy. I am reminded of the words of trauma expert Gabor Maté: “Safety is not the absence of threat; it is the presence of connection.”
It seems clear that tensions will only continue to heighten in our public life between now and the Presidential election in November. It is natural for us to be feeling anxious and even afraid.
Amid all of the sound and fury, the most grounding thing we can do is lean into connection, remembering that whatever happens, our safety and thriving comes most powerfully from each other.
When you feel yourself getting activated, think about how connection can soothe you: can you spend centering time with a loved one, with a pet, with the earth, with your congregation or other communities, and/or with your own deepest self?
From that connected place, we can turn away from the noise and turn back to building the resilient, loving, liberationist communities that know and live the truth that all of us need all of us to make it.
See you in church,
Rev. Molly
Jamila Batchelder, Director of Religious Education
UUs had a productive General Assembly this summer, including the adoption of a new way to understand and communicate who we are as UUs. We have identified seven core values that guide us as UUs – interdependence, pluralism, transformation, generosity, justice, equity, and, at the center of it all and guiding all we do, love.
As UUs, our values are not a passive thing, but are promises for how we will live in the world. We will be exploring these ideas this year in our curricula, service projects, worship services and more. And it is also a time for all of us to reflect on our own individual core values and how we live them every day.
Jamila Batchelder
Director of Religious Education