From the Board of Trustees
by Todd Zagorec, Trustee
The Times They Are A-Changin’
As you might have noticed, summer is over. Nothing stays the same. That, of course, is both a blessing and a curse. Change is inevitable, unless you’re dealing with a vending machine.
Quite a bit is changing at UUCD.
Music is central to our experience as a congregation. The choir, Music Sunday, entertainment at the annual auction, and the variety of music that adds so much to every Sunday service are an essential part of what makes UUCD such a vibrant community. Finding a superb Music Specialist to fill the current vacancy in that position is perhaps the Board’s most important job this year. We have therefore created a search committee for a new half-time Music Specialist. The committee members are Rev. Tony Lorenzen, Nancy Cullen, Cheryl Edelen, Barbara Myers, Diane Purvis, Katherine Bomer, and Jennifer McPartlin. The committee will interview applicants, and recommend to the Board a candidate for the position. The details of the position are available on our website.
We are adding solar panels to the roof of the cottage. This is not only environmentally responsible, but also helps reduce operating expenses for the cottage.
I’m sure you’ve noticed the playground construction activity. This project is the result of enthusiastic volunteering on the part of our children and families, and will make UUCD a more inviting and fun place for everyone.
We are deepening our relationship with our Indigenous friends and neighbors with original mosaic artwork to be displayed in the Fellowship Hall. The artist is Eva Newell of the Pokanoket Tribe, and the unveiling is scheduled for November 1st. The mosaic will be complemented by a bronze land acknowledgment plaque to be mounted on the side of the Fellowship Hall just outside the main doors, as well as a placard in the lobby with a map of Indigenous lands in Connecticut and a QR code by which you will be able to access further information about the tribes on whose ancestral homelands we gather.
Another project worth mentioning is the review and possible restatement of our bylaws. If you have looked at our bylaws recently, you will have noticed that they are a little out of date, like the photos on your old driver licenses. They don’t exactly resemble UUCD today. We welcome your input, for which there will be opportunities between now and the Annual Meeting next spring, when we hope to propose to you a new set of bylaws that better fits today’s UUCD.
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
- Angela Davis