The President's Perspective

In these times of rapid change and turmoil, many of us feel unclear about what steps we can take that could make a difference. One avenue to consider would be to support the LGBTQ+ community. Our Board Treasurer, Jamie Pendarvis, is working to re-establish our LGBTQ+ Action Group. Below is her brief overview of the situation. — Kathleen McFarlin On June 26, 2015, marriage equality became reality with a landmark 5-4 decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case at the…

Have you seen our new addition? No, I don’t mean the Sanctuary construction. I’m referring to the new plaques that are going up at Daniels Hall and the Pat Robitaille Room which acknowledge these church members who gave to the OCUUC Endowment Fund. We’ve had numerous donors to OCUUC over the years and we appreciate everyone’s generosity. In the past few weeks, the Stewards have been focusing on Legacy Giving and developed a brochure to help explain how your contribution…

One of my favorite parts of the New Year are those quick retrospectives that encapsulate all that has happened in recent months. So, in that vein, here is a brief review of all the Board has been working on: So this is a lengthy list of where we’ve been, and rest assured that Long-Range Planning will be a focus in the coming months. We’ll keep you posted as we make progress in 2025.

As I am writing this in advance of December 1st, I am anticipating my trip to the Antarctica Peninsula and Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil. My Thanksgiving Day dinner may or may not happen on a United Airlines flight returning from Buenos Aires – so not expecting any memorable Thanksgiving feast. But there will be some amazing memories (good or bad) from this adventure. And I’ll be able to say that I’ve visited all 7 continents…

As we enter November, let’s hear it for Thanksgiving! You remember that holiday sandwiched in-between the retail bombardment of Halloween and Christmas. And we have so much to be grateful for as a congregation — it’s so exciting to see the dream of our sanctuary take shape, our congregation continues to grow and we have an outstanding staff who keep our services and programs vibrant and relevant. Also, I would encourage you to think of each of our visitors as…

Traditionally, your Board utilized their August meeting to conduct a retreat during which they participated in team building exercises and determined specific goals to guide their activities for the coming year. This year the Retreat was broadened to include Chairs of standing committees, past Board presidents and OCUUC staff; in all, we had 30 church leaders participate. The September Board meeting processed the input from this half-day Retreat in order to determine our annual goals. These two meetings have illuminated…

September brings a special event to OCUUC and you’ll want to mark your calendar and make sure you don’t miss out. UU congregations across our country will be involved in the Climate Justice Revival developed by the UUA in order to renew our commitment to the planet, and we’re now “on the map” as a participating congregation which you can see at the Revival home page: https://www.uuclimatejustice.org/ I am proud to share that a strong team at OCUUC has come…

I know that we are all eager to hear the latest news on the sanctuary construction, and for that reason I asked Craig Spery, Chair of our Construction Committee, to give us an update. – Kathleen McFarlin As your Sanctuary Construction Committee Chair, I’m happy to give you a heads up about construction happenings that are on the immediate horizon for the beautiful new sanctuary we’ve all been waiting for. Since we signed and celebrated our con-tract last month with…

As your newly elected President of the Board, I want to thank you for your confidence in me. Although I served on the Board some years ago, I haven’t been recently involved in the Board’s work, so I ask for your patience and understanding as I get up to speed. As you may know, your Board meets each month; these meetings are typically conducted via Zoom, although once each quarter, we meet in person at the church on a Saturday…

When Rev. Sian was recruiting me in 2021 for President, she said, “Just get the sanctuary built, we really need you for that.” Huh. Just get it built, right? The sanctuary has been the focus of all my terms and will continue to be so for the future, apparently. While working with the architect and the City has definitely had its trying moments, working with all of you has been wonderful. We have kept in communication and relationship, and I…

Once again, a busy time at OCUUC. We are apporoaching the end of our fiscal year. The pledge drive is mostly done, although we are still waiting to hear from some members. The Pacific Regional and deBenneville meetings are behind us, and preparations for General Assembly are under way. Please see the information on Article 2 in the REACH. Those things happen every year. In addition, we have two staff members who will be leaving us – Karen Magoon Pearson…

Getting to a building permit is an exercise in patience and is full of frustration for me. We continue to make progress at a snail’s pace. At this point, there have been so many missed expectations by both the city and our architect, I truly don’t feel confident in any promises. I do know the ball is back in the city’s court. We are waiting for a response to our fourth submission. I am committed to keeping everyone informed and…