From the Board of Trustees 

by Margaret Henderson, President 

It was such a joy to watch people gather together in September at events like Homecoming Sunday, our first choir practice this year, and the Wednesday night community pasta dinner! Among all this activity, your Board of Trustees has also been busy. 

First and foremost we are thrilled to welcome John Miglietta to the Board as Vice-President! John’s experience makes him the perfect person for this job. We now have a complete Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, with all positions filled. Thank you, everyone!

You’ll see a note about this from Buildings & Grounds, but we’d also like to give a hearty welcome to David Luftig as our newest UUCD staff member. As the part-time Buildings & Grounds Assistant, he’ll be helping with some of the heavier regular maintenance tasks. 

ADA-accessible toilets have been installed in the handicapped stalls in the main bathrooms in Fellowship Hall. The new toilets are 2 inches taller. Folks who needed the taller toilets have been forced to use either the cottage house or the Lower Level of Fellowship Hall – when the lift is working. This will solve that problem. 

If you’re in the Cottage House, don’t be alarmed if you don’t see the copier sitting in the corner! Its contract has expired, and we took the opportunity to downsize to a desktop all-in-one printer/copier. Thanks to UUCD’s efforts to print less and conserve more, and with the help of email and other technology, we’re printing quite a bit less then we were several years ago so downsizing made sense. 

By the time you read this the Board will have completed Part 2 of our Annual Retreat; we thought it better to do two half-days this year. We’re working with a consultant to improve our communication both internally and with the congregation, so you can look forward to hearing more about our goals and initiatives in the coming months. 

One crucial initiative is the long-term plan to address our annual deficit, which is expected to be about $30,000 this year. We started on this last year, and we promised you we’ll propose a solution next spring. In the meantime, while we figure this out, we asked everyone for a one-time voluntary contribution of $250. As always, we are first and foremost a spiritual organization with respect for the worth and dignity of all individuals, so we know that only you can decide what’s right for you and your family. But if you can help with a supplemental pledge this year of any amount, please contact Sherry, our Congregational Administrator. 

As you’ll see elsewhere in this newsletter, we have decided to move our annual Auction to February this year. Between UUCD events and personal vacations, there’s just too much going on this fall. So save the Auction date: February 11, 2023. 

Finally, we want to invite everyone to join us for a 200th Anniversary brunch on Sunday, October 16 after service! We hope to see you all there! Stay tuned for more details.